Bab 700: Chapter 700: Searching for Her (Edited)
Dumbledore returned to Hogwarts.
In the one-on-one duel, he managed to survive and fulfill his mission.
When he returned to Hogwarts, even though he was mentally prepared, Dumbledore felt his heart tighten at the sight of the battle's aftermath. Fortunately, everyone did not disappoint Dumbledore's trust, and Hogwarts had survived this calamity. When Dumbledore returned, everything was already calm. Members of the Order of the Phoenix, Hogwarts students, and Ministry of Magic personnel had completely defeated the invading Japanese wizards and the Trackers who dared to attack. Many of them died in the battle, while those who survived were captured and taken from Azkaban by the Dementors, facing a fate worse than death.
After achieving victory, Professor McGonagall did not show joy on her face. Upon seeing Dumbledore, she hurried over to him and whispered a few words in his ear.
Dumbledore's face changed immediately.
Had Hermione Granger died? Had Tom Yodel disappeared with her body?
For Dumbledore, this news was like a lightning bolt striking on a sunny day.
"Lead me."
Dumbledore was very aware of the consequences of this, so he hastily left the castle and used his wand to point the way. After casting a few spells, Dumbledore found the person he was looking for, Tom Yodel.
Tom was sitting by the Black Lake, holding Hermione's body. Her head rested on Tom's lap, his eyes closed. With one hand, he cradled Hermione, and with the other, he held his wand. They appeared to be asleep.
Dumbledore walked gently towards the two of them, who remained silent like marble statues.
"Bury them here," he ordered Professor McGonagall, who quickly caught up with him. At that moment, Dumbledore felt completely powerless, as if all the bones had been taken from his body.
...
The cold tip of the wand left his throat and plunged him into endless darkness. He didn't know how much time had passed, but a voice rang in Tom's ears once again.
"This way."
Tom opened his eyes and realized he had returned to the familiar place: King's Cross Station platform.
However, it was very clear that this was not the real station platform; this was the place where people went after death.
Thanks to having died once before, Tom was familiar with the place.
As for why he was here, the cause of his death had been the Killing Curse. After finding a place that satisfied him, Tom had used that Unforgivable Curse on himself while holding Hermione.
He believed Hermione was waiting for him at the station; he couldn't keep her waiting for long, he had to come here and take her back.
However, this experience seemed different from the previous one. In front of Tom stood a young man dressed in a ticket vendor's uniform, who was guiding him.
Tom stopped in his tracks, and the young ticket vendor also turned to him, with an ambiguous smile on his face.
"Why the delay? It would be terrible if you miss the train." The young man had light blond hair, and his face was extremely attractive.
"Who are you?" Tom didn't want to be led by him; he had to understand the situation.
"I'm just an ordinary ticket vendor," the young man showed a standard smile. "I accompany guests to the train, but if you don't want to take it, there are other options as well, after all, the customer is always right."
Tom frowned.
After seeing Tom's expression, the young man thought for a moment and said, "Are you asking for my name? I actually don't have a name, but if you really want to call me something, you can call me Avada."
"Avada?" Tom had a vague guess about the identity of the young man in front of him.
"Yes," seeming to have guessed Tom's thoughts, the young man nodded. "You always say 'Avada Kedavra' to take life away, so calling me Avada makes sense. The train will depart soon, are you going or not?"
Tom followed Avada's steps. Anyway, he had to reach the platform first.
However, this young man called Avada in front of him made him feel uneasy. He feared that this guy might ruin his plans.
Would Death allow the deceased to escape her grasp?
The platform was not far, and Tom was quickly brought there, where a red steam train was already parked.
On the platform, a figure stood on tiptoes, looking into the distance.
"Hermione." Tom immediately recognized the person's identity. In three steps, he rushed to Hermione and hugged her tightly.
Tears fell from his eyes.
"Why are you crying?" Hermione wiped his tears, but her eyes were also red.
"Why did you come too?"
"I missed you."
After a brief conversation, they both fell into silence and then looked at Avada.
"You can board this train together and start your new journey. Believe me, you can continue to accompany each other." Avada shrugged, a little impatient to hurry.
Tom shook his head, and at that moment, Phoenix sounds were heard from the platform.
"Mr. Avada, I'm afraid I will disappoint you; we have no intention of embarking on a new journey. Our journey has just begun!"
Hermione bit her lip, not saying anything, but holding onto Tom's arm tightly.
Obviously, Avada didn't like Tom's response.
"Why do you have to break the rules?" He looked at Tom with an unsatisfied expression. "You've already broken the rules once."
"Breaking them again isn't a big deal, is it?" A golden and red Phoenix landed on a nearby post, tilting its head towards them.
Avada fell silent for a moment, as if someone had kicked him, and reluctantly agreed to Tom's request.
"Fine, I hope to see you follow the rules next time."
"Thank you." Tom and Hermione smiled. But as they prepared to board the Phoenix together and return to the world of the living, Avada grabbed Hermione's hand.
"You can, she can't," he said seriously.
Tom: ...
Hermione's smile froze.
"Be a little flexible." How could Tom accept this condition? His goal here was to bring Hermione back, so why bother if he couldn't do it?
Judging by the fact that Avada could move freely between life and death, it was clear he had some flexibility, so it wasn't impossible to strike a deal with him to get Hermione out of here.
Avada closed his mouth and looked at Tom, thinking for a moment before taking out a golden scale from his pocket.
At one end of the scale, there was a bright red heart.
"If you give a sufficient price, I will allow you to bring another person back, this is my bottom line!"
Tom reached out to Death and began offering tokens on the other end of the scale.
As he started offering, Tom understood the kind of things he could offer; they weren't tangible objects but intangible things, so he decided to test it.
He thought about putting his system on the scale.
And he succeeded.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone