Oi, guys... did I enable Silent Mode on the comments section or something?
You're all reading, I can see the views going up, and every day I'm getting new Patreon subscribers...
So why? Why? 😭
I can't improve if ya'll don't say anything. Praise, crit, rant even... I'll take it. Just leave a comment.
...Okay, maybe go easy on the rants. My heart is very fragile.
But seriously, I'd really appreciate some constructive feedback. Tell me what you like, what you don't, what feels slow, what could be better, or even just your favorite moment from the novel. It genuinely helps me improve and keeps me motivated to write.
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While things were heating up at the graveyard in Little Hangleton, the atmosphere back at Hogwarts had also reached its peak.
Sirius Black was absolutely determined to claim the Triwizard Cup in the name of his godson, but it quickly became clear to him that accomplishing that goal was not as easy as he had first imagined.
Yes, the magical creatures appearing throughout the maze were hardly much of a challenge for a wizard of Sirius's rank, but the real problem was actually finding his way through the maze itself.
As the saying went, birds of a feather flock together. It turned out Sirius was just as hopeless with directions as his godson was, if anything, he might actually have been worse.
More than once, the audience watched in stunned silence as Sirius somehow stumbled into the same dead end again and again without realizing it.
Even Harry, who had already finished assisting with the Dark Lord's plastic surgery operation and had since returned to a safe location to watch the remainder of the tournament, could only bury his face in his hands in embarrassment.
"Look at it this way, Harry," Lupin said comfortingly. "It's only fair that he does not win, isn't it?... Sirius is an entire rank above your schoolmates, after all."
"I know, Professor," Harry groaned as he watched the magical broadcast before him. At the same time, Lupin and Sarah Walker continued treating the injuries he had suffered earlier that night. "But I look like a complete idiot now. Even the commentator is making fun of me."
"Ah," Lupin chuckled, "but that is your godfather..."
"They don't know that," Harry replied miserably. "To everyone else, that is supposed to be me out there... how do you even walk in circles three times without noticing?"
Lupin's brows twitched slightly.
Well, Harry wasn't wrong, even Lupin could hardly believe it himself. Being best friends with the old mutt for so long, he wondered how he had never realized Sirius was a complete idiot when it came to directions. Then again, Harry himself was hardly any better, but Lupin wisely decided to keep that particular thought to himself.
In the end, although Sirius displayed some truly impressive magic throughout the task, he unfortunately failed to reach the Triwizard Cup first. On the bright side, however, the Cup still went to Hogwarts.
Cedric performed brilliantly from start to finish, along the way, he even managed to eliminate two of the five remaining champions before finally reaching the prize himself.
Overall, the tournament concluded with a spectacular display of magic from all the champions involved, and not a single person in the crowd realized that a grand conspiracy had unfolded right in the middle of it all. Everything had begun and ended without any visible accidents.
The audience was absolutely electric. Judging from the deafening cheers echoing through the stadium, it was safe to say they had thoroughly enjoyed the night's entertainment.
After which, Dumbledore gave a short closing speech, congratulating the champions and the organizers on a successful tournament. The champion school and the individual champion were crowned afterward, and soon, the stage was once again handed back over to the champions for celebration.
It was bound to be a very long night of celebrations. For a few others, however, it would be a very long night for entirely different reasons.
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Terrifying gusts of wind, dirt, and rubble engulfed the small graveyard of Little Hangleton while thick jets of burning magical energy tore wildly through the violent mist, crashing into tombstones, graves and the earth until before long the entire area had become completely unrecognizable.
Lord Voldemort had perhaps never been this enraged in his entire life, not even on the night he had so miserably "died" after his own rebounding magic destroyed his body more than a decade ago.
His scarlet eyes burned so fiercely that it looked as though blood itself might begin leaking from them at any moment as he roared furiously and hurled hex after hex without the slightest care for the destruction around him.
Boom—Boom—Boom—Crack—Boom—Crack—crack!
The magic of an Archmage was not something to laugh at. Every blast of power carried terrifying force behind it, and even before the spells reached their target, raw magical energy leaked from them in violent streaks of lightning that carved through the ground and blasted apart anything they touched, leaving smoking pits gouged deep into the earth.
The Dark Lord was growing more desperate with every attempt. The magic he had always been so arrogant and confident in was being toyed with so casually that it almost felt as though he and the loathsome young man standing before him existed on entirely different levels of power.
Avada Kedavra!
Another Killing Curse burst directly toward Maverick, and once again he took it head-on, calmly conjuring a barrier of shimmering energy, a kind of magic Voldemort's reaction toward had now turned from curiosity to pure fury.
BOOM!
The jet of energy crashed into the barrier, and the shockwave sent more dirt and rubble flying everywhere, however, that was all it accomplished.
No matter how much murderous intent Voldemort poured into the curse, no matter how destructive the magic appeared, it failed to break through...
When the magic dispersed this time, Maverick clasped his hands together before spreading his arms outward, and at once, a deep, muffled hum echoed throughout the battered graveyard.
At the same time, the thick storm of dirt and debris split apart as though the entire mist had been cut open by some enormous invisible blade. It happened in a split second, with a loud whoosh, the dust clouds were swept aside and sent racing into the distance, revealing the ruined battlefield clearly.
Voldemort stood not far away, breathing heavily, his wand still outstretched. Fury still burned within his gaze, but there was something else there now as well.
Fear. Yes... the thing he feared more than anything else was death. It was the very reason he had continued creating Horcruxes even after reaching the rank of Archmage, despite the fact that wizards of such power could already live for centuries upon centuries. In the end, it did not matter how long one's lifespan was if death could still come from a single fatal mistake. Voldemort had never been willing to accept that simple truth.
The Horcruxes he had created were perhaps the things he took the most pride in, for they allowed him to cheat death itself. Still, Horcruxes were not unsolvable. One simply needed the right method to destroy them. Knowing that, Voldemort obviously would never have scattered them carelessly.
Thus, each one had been left in a carefully thought-out location, chosen to be both random and secure.
So he found it difficult to believe what this young man had told him. Even though Maverick had spoken very accurately about the Horcruxes earlier, could he truly have found them?
Even if someone somehow came to know about them, or even managed to find one of them, locating multiple should not have been so easy.
Could it be a bluff? he wondered. Trickery… a scheme meant to make him lose focus and lower his guard before capturing him…
But at the same time, he did not dare gamble… for now, retreating was the only sensible option. He needed answers. He needed to personally visit the places where he had scattered his Horcruxes.
However, he had already realized that even retreating would not be so easy, it had become painfully obvious that he was not yet a match for this young man's magic. Voldemort firmly believed the reason he was currently at such a disadvantage was only because he still had not fully gotten used to this new body. The disparity between the magic of two mages of the same rank simply could not possibly be this large.
Ordinarily, retreating would have been as simple as Apparating away, but he had already attempted that multiple times earlier in the fight without success. The entire area had clearly been enchanted to block all forms of spatial movement magic.
But if that rule applied to him, then surely it applied to the other person as well. Therefore, he simply needed to leave the enchanted area first. Straightforward. Run away, humiliating as it sounded. Besides, there was no one else here to witness it.
"Your twisted ambitions end here, Tom," he heard the other party mock him, fueling his already burning rage.
"I admit you could become far stronger given enough time, but for now, even you should understand the gap between our magic."
"Foolish boy… do you truly believe your little tricks can keep me here? I am—"
"Yes, yes… Tom Riddle, the man who scribbled his own name around until he came up with something even more stupid," Maverick cut in with a chuckle.
Voldemort gritted his fangs and thrust out his wand, sending another jet of scorching green energy hurtling forward.
On the other side, his smirk never leaving his face, Maverick lazily waved a hand and a shield materialized just before the energy slammed into it.
BOOOOM—!
This time, it was louder, and the aftermath far more violent. The hex had seemed to be another Killing Curse, but at the last moment it revealed itself to be a Blasting Hex instead. The impact let out a deafening crack before a violent gust of force erupted outward, sending dirt, rubble, and damp soil flying everywhere and turning the area into a thick mist once again.
Naturally, such a petty trick was not enough to fool Maverick, and he continueed to humor Tom. Even his next actions did not escape Maverick's notice. Through his magical senses, he saw Voldemort's lower body dissolve into black smoke the instant he fired the spell, before he shot upward into the sky.
It all happened within the span of a single second, Voldemort now seemed completely determined to flee.
Finally. The corner of Maverick's lips curled into a smile as he waved a hand, clearing away the thick mist of dirt and rubble before raising his head toward the sky, his brow lifting slightly. The Dark Lord's method of flight was faster than he had expected, but still, it was hardly a problem.
Maverick's feet slowly lifted off the battered ground as well, his hands returning to the pockets of his long coat before following in the Dark Lord's direction.
Meanwhile, in the distance, Voldemort continuously attempted to Apparate, but the enchanted area seemed far wider than he had anticipated. His speed continued to increase as he shot straight upward toward the clouds... the spatial magic restriction could not possibly cover such a massive distance, Voldemort told himself.
The sound of wind rushing against his ears was deafening, his dark robes fluttering violently as he briefly turned his head downward to see whether he was being followed. To his relief, he saw no one. From his magical senses, he could tell the other party had barely just left the ground.
Did that boy really think he can keep me? Voldemort sneered inwardly. However, just when he thought he had finally found a way out of his miserable situation, reality once again slapped him across the face.
His rapid ascent came to a sudden stop while horror flooded his scarlet eyes the moment his gaze snapped back toward the clouds...
he had only looked away for a split second, and he could have sworn there had been no one ahead of him before, nor had his magic sensed anyone there.
But there he was, not even that far away, as though he had appeared out of nowhere.
He was a broad, muscular man standing atop an invisible magical construct, his arms crossed over his chest and a wide grin spread across his face. His long golden hair flowed wildly against the roaring wind, and even without releasing the slightest trace of magic, Voldemort could feel the raw arrogance radiating from him.
He recognized the man instantly... who in the magical world wouldn't?
"Edward… Garling?"
He muttered the man's name, recalling it from memory, however, just as the last syllable left his snake-like mouth, another voice suddenly came from behind him, instinctively making him jerk his head downward toward the sound below.
"Ah, Teacher… I thought you'd sit this one out?"
That infuriating boy was now behind him, so close...but how? When?
Voldemort's body turned sharply left and right, his head jerked between the two men. One stood ahead of him while the other floated behind.
"Is it time yet?"
"Yes. Everyone's in position..."
Voldemort turned his head sharply between the two — he had no idea what they were talking about, only that it had to be about him.
Time? Everyone?
He felt like prey cornered by two ferocious predators. Worse still, the two of them were speaking as though he was not even there, casually discussing matters over his head as if he were already defeated, like a piece of meat already butchered, with only the seasoning left to decide.
The humiliation burned hotter than Fiendfyre.
No... survival came first. The rage boiling within him screamed for blood, for torture, for revenge, but such things meant nothing if he allowed himself to fall here. He would first grow accustomed to this new body, become stronger than ever before, and then...
The promise of revenge fueled his magic even further, and he pushed himself forward at full speed, darting away from the two men and tearing through the sky parallel to them.
However, not long after he thought he had created some distance, something suddenly appeared ahead of him again.
It was not a man this time, but a... massive, orange circle.
It spun violently through the air at terrifying speed, racing directly toward him as though it had emerged from nowhere, making his scarlet eyes widen for what felt like the hundredth time tonight.
And then, before he even realized what had happened, his vision suddenly changed.
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