402 Chapter 402

A/N: Do you want to finish reading the book today? Do it! Now you can ;)

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May the magic be with you! Enjoy! :3

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I ran as fast as I could down the corridors and stairs of the ministry in near total darkness. My gut was telling me where Potter had gone, but much better than intuition, I could tell by the sheer volume of magic that literally exploded nearby. The saddest thing was that the forced load almost drank me to the bottom. Tough creatures, those Death Eaters. It's very good that I killed Dolohov first — he managed to give out more than a third of the total destruction and spells from the Death Eaters for the whole fight in a few seconds. An expert in his field. Bella also turned out to be good, though her attacks are very spot-on, and a couple of times, she almost killed me.

And now I'm dragging my feet, being not very sure of my sanity, hurrying after Potter.

There's the Atrium and...

Disappointment. I wanted to see it. I really wanted to. In the middle of a dilapidated long hall, in which about half of the entire floor and walls covering remained, where the statues that stood on the fountain lie broken and fused in a completely different place, Potter was kneeling, banging his forehead on the floor and pounding it with his fists. Dumbledore was sitting on the floor with his back against the partition between the two fireplaces, bleeding and breathing heavily. A bald Voldemort in a black Jedi costume and a black cloak walked back and forth around this whole composition. As soon as I appeared in the hall, he immediately noticed me.

"Ah, Mr. Knight!" he smiled broadly, and I tried to get away with shadows.

As soon as I started forming them, Voldemort simply waved his hand, and I was pushed forward, rolling across the floor almost to Dumbledore's body, still alive.

"You should say goodbye to your beloved Headmaster," Voldemort scoffed, pacing back and forth and spreading magic around him in huge volumes. Intentional or not, it didn't matter, but I could sense the meaning of such chimerism, as well as the benefits in terms of power.

"I'll even be so gracious that I won't interfere because I have something to discuss with Harry Potter, don't I?" Voldemort abruptly appeared next to Potter. I just now realized how exhausted he really was, but at the same time, he didn't forget to keep us all in sight, bending over Potter and whispering something to him quietly.

"You will laugh, Mr. Knight," Dumbledore muttered, smiling sadly. His half-glasses were no longer on. "But I slipped on my own robe at a crucial moment."

I clearly felt in magic that the headmaster was no longer a fighter, but he had enough strength to try to get up, and I helped him in that endeavor. Voldemort was wary, but not much — he also seemed to understand the deplorable situation of Dumbledore, and he did not perceive me at all as an opponent.

«And you're not his opponent right now. You've put in a lot of powers. Voldemort is also not in the best condition right now, and you could compete with him, but it's unlikely that you will be able to overcome him, and you won't be able to use a sword in close combat. He just won't let you near him with the volume of magic. Chimera.»

Suddenly, the fireplaces began to blaze with green fire, and Voldemort erected a pillar of some kind of ash shield around himself and Potter. Wizards in a variety of clothes — from civilians to Aurors - poured out of fireplaces, and Fudge was at the head of this procession. When they saw the Dark Lord, everyone froze.

"I hate prophecies," I muttered, supporting the Headmaster and apparently preventing him from falling.

"I understand you so well," he nodded.

Voldemort circled around Potter for a few more seconds, saying something inaudible to us, and then he looked at the Headmaster and me.

" You know what, old man," grinned Voldemort. "I won't kill you now. I see that you've managed to pick up a deadly, unremovable curse somewhere. I can feel death slowly coursing through your veins. And I will leave you to die from it so that you can feel the full depth of your powerlessness against me, Lord Voldemort..."

Then he disappeared in a black whirlwind, leaving an unhappy and broken Potter.

There was silence in the ruined atrium for some time.

"He's really back..." muttered Fudge. "Voldemort is back..."

"Amazing foresight," the headmaster smiled sadly. "It's time for us to go to the hospital, it seems to me..."