Using floating charms and cursed energy to create steps, Link drifted lightly down onto the ground.
At this moment, the originally intact entrance of the Ravenclaw Tower had already become full of pits and rubble, a complete mess.
Link frowned and picked up the only potion bottle key left on the ground.
He knew very well, this was the "ticket" Voldemort had left him, an invitation to the feast.
Although this was clearly a deadly trap disguised as an invitation, Link had to go regardless. After all, this was part of the predetermined plan.
But Link didn't rush.
He frowned, glanced toward the entrance of the tower, then flicked his wand. A thick ice arm extended along the side of the tower and dragged the Sphinx back.
"Talk. What happened?" Link said flatly.
Harry's foolishness lay in the fact that he had never truly understood Sphinxes.
Knowing Sphinxes were prone to shirking duty and running away, wizards naturally set restraints on them to limit their range of movement.
So in truth, that cowardly, self-preserving Sphinx hadn't run far at all. It had just been hiding nearby, watching the whole time.
"L-Lord!" the Sphinx, dragged back, chuckled awkwardly in flattery. "After you left, another wizard lord came here, but compared to you he was laughably weak…"
"Speak clearly!"
"Okay, okay, I'll say it!" The Sphinx raised its paw in surrender.
"I saw a large group of wizards besieging two wizards, one big, one small! Later, those two couldn't win. The smaller one was captured. The larger wizard chased after them!"
Link's brow furrowed even deeper.
Combining what the Sphinx and the gargoyle had told him, he finally pieced together what had happened.
The real question now was, how did Snape get involved?
According to the original plan, because of Snape's identity as a double agent, he wasn't supposed to act at all.
But now, things had gone this far. Link sighed, stopped paying attention to the Sphinx, and pried open the stopper of the key bottle with one hand.
Buzz!
With a rush of spinning and dizziness, Link was sucked into the Portkey and carried to that desolate graveyard.
The instant his feet touched the ground, he reacted almost exactly as Snape had earlier.
But he went even further.
As his shield, he used both cursed energy and the vampire bat cloak he always wore. And once he confirmed he was surrounded by Death Eaters, he directly transformed the outer cursed energy into invisible blades and fired them outward.
The Death Eaters surrounding him suffered miserably.
They hadn't imagined Voldemort's "honored guest" would be so arrogant. In an instant, the sword-blade storm that erupted around Link inflicted huge casualties.
Those farther away fared better. Those closer had arms cut off, legs severed, some even sliced clean in half.
In moments, the entire graveyard was filled with carnage.
Fortunately, when Snape had first joined the Death Eaters, he hadn't kept anything back. He had contributed the full incantation of Sectumsempra's counter-curse.
Because of that, many Death Eaters knew how to heal these wounds.
Thanks to their frantic rescues, casualties remained barely manageable.
Of course, plenty of Death Eaters also wanted to counterattack. But just as they raised their wands, the intense pain from their Dark Marks forced them to collapse flat on the ground.
"Master, w-why…?"
One Death Eater close by gritted his teeth through the pain and asked the infant-like Voldemort.
But Voldemort only said, "I told you, this is my honored guest! How could you raise your hands against him?"
At that, the Death Eaters all fell silent.
Though their hearts burned with hate, what could they do?
Those marked with the Dark Mark were all Voldemort's property. They had no right to resist him.
On the other side, Link had also stopped his attack. He just stood on the ground, quietly watching Voldemort.
More precisely, watching Snape, who had collapsed unconscious at Voldemort's feet.
He didn't know exactly how much Snape had suffered. But he knew Voldemort had dragged Snape out as a hostage, meant for Link to see.
So even though this was the perfect chance to attack Voldemort's true body, Link had no choice but to hold back.
"Welcome, Link Flamel! Tonight's most honored guest. I'm so glad you came!" Voldemort said with great delight.
As he spoke, he signaled Wormtail to unwrap the bundle, revealing his true face to Link.
At the sight, Link's brow twitched uncontrollably.
Voldemort now looked far worse than in the movies, more terrifying, more pitiful. He could hardly be called human anymore, but rather a pale-skinned puppet draped loosely over a skeleton.
And this puppet was shoddily made.
His pale skin was full of wrinkles and stitch marks. His oversized bald head, mismatched with his frail body, bore a ferocious, noseless snake-face.
Worst of all, the number of Death Eaters gathered around Voldemort was far greater than Link had expected.
Voldemort clearly noticed Link's reaction.
Surprisingly, he wasn't angry. With the scraps of muscle left on his face, he forced out a smile even uglier than crying.
"I look miserable now, don't I? But it doesn't matter. Soon, I'll replace this half-dead body and appear before the world in a stronger, more perfect form."
Here Voldemort paused, then raised his tone several degrees, "All I need is one small ritual!"
"So what?" Link said, Occlumency and his heightened senses fully active, expressionless.
"You went through all this trouble to invite me. Surely it's not just so I can watch the ceremony?"
Voldemort seemed startled by Link's bluntness, falling silent.
After a long pause, hideous laughter spilled from his mouth.
"Link, Link… you're truly a clever child. And I love dealing with clever people."
Voldemort smiled. "So I'll be direct. For my ritual, I still need an extra sacrifice. Do it yourself. Use your blood to fill this. Only blood given willingly has the highest quality!"
As he finished, Wormtail wrapped Voldemort tighter, while another Death Eater tossed Link a clay basin, then stomped down on the motionless Snape.
The threat was obvious.
Link's face darkened. He examined the basin, then looked at Snape.
Honestly, the basin was absurdly large. To fill it with blood, even with blood-replenishing potions, he'd inevitably be left weakened.
Worse, Harry's whereabouts were still unknown. If Voldemort mixed this basin of blood with Harry's, how terrifying would his resurrected power be?
But on the other hand, Snape's life hung in the balance.
Link wavered.
Then suddenly, he noticed Snape, lying like a dead dog on the ground, wink at him.
Link's heart jolted, though his face remained calm thanks to Occlumency.
He understood Snape's meaning.
Snape wanted him to give up, to stop Voldemort's resurrection.
Most importantly, to save Harry, and protect himself.
In Snape's heart, only Harry and Link mattered. His own life was worthless.
But what really lit up Link's mind was the fact that Snape clearly wasn't as paralyzed as he pretended.
That meant, when the real fight came, Snape could still resist.
Link also recalled how Voldemort had treated Snape in the original story.
Back then, Voldemort had already suspected Snape's betrayal.
Yet even so, he hadn't killed Snape immediately. After all, Snape was too capable, too valuable a piece inside Hogwarts.
Only when Snape's usefulness had been drained dry did Voldemort finally strike him down.
Realizing this, Link felt reassured. He twisted his face into a mocking expression and shook his head, "You should know this, I'm essentially a Slytherin."
Voldemort, who had already been stepping back into his ranks, immediately became interested again. He ordered Wormtail to stop, then asked with curiosity, "So what?"
"Slytherin qualities, you know them better than me. Sure, Professor Snape taught me a lot, and we're close. But why would you think I'd sacrifice so much for him, just to help you revive?" Link sneered.
"Besides, didn't you already plan from the start to spare me and Harry?"
"What a clever child! Your intelligence, your magical talent, your very nature, it's perfect. Perfect to the point I almost don't want to kill you!"
Voldemort's eyes gleamed. "How about this, I'll give you a chance. Swear loyalty to me. Accept the Dark Mark, and I'll spare you and Snape. As for Harry Potter, he must die."
At that, Wormtail panicked.
He had once suffered badly at Link's hands. How could he let Link become a Death Eater like him?
He hurriedly said, "But master, with your body like this, giving him the Dark Mark would cost too much, hurt you too badly!"
"No matter. Link Flamel is worth it." Voldemort said impatiently. "So what if it harms me?"
"But, "
"No buts!"
Watching master and servant quarrel, Link almost laughed.
He clapped, drawing everyone's eyes to him, and said, "Stop pretending. I will never join the Death Eaters."
The air froze.
After a long silence, Voldemort asked coldly, "Why?"
He truly didn't understand.
Moments ago, he had probed Link with Legilimency. His conclusion, Link wasn't lying.
Even if Link had used Occlumency to cover some thoughts, based on his usual behavior, it was true he had Slytherin qualities.
So if he was Slytherin, why refuse to submit?
"Do you even need to ask?" Link sneered.
"I don't believe in you. In my eyes, you're doomed to lose to Dumbledore. Why would I side with failures like you instead of standing with him?"
"How dare you!"
Voldemort was truly enraged. He pointed his trembling finger at Snape. "Aren't you afraid I'll kill him?"
This time, Link didn't answer. They had already reached the point he wanted. If he pushed further, Voldemort might really kill Snape in anger.
So instead, he shook his head, yanked out two pendants from his collar, one dragon fang, one Hogwarts crest, and crushed them!
In an instant, two beams of light, one red and one white, shot up into the sky from where Link stood, piercing the clouds!
This was the sign, the spatial coordinates had been activated.
If all went well, Link's reinforcements could Apparate in at any moment.
The sudden change threw the Death Eaters into chaos.
Even Voldemort recognized it. Staring at the twin beams, for the first time since returning to England, he doubted his judgment.
Because he realized, Link really didn't care about Snape's life.
So should he kill Snape?
Logically, yes. Otherwise, he'd lose face.
But Snape was such a capable pawn. Killing him now would be a huge waste.
Right now, Voldemort was in his comeback's first stage, short on people, food, and resources. To waste Snape? Where would he find another tool as good?
So Voldemort wavered.
Still, he was a seasoned schemer.
Even in such a moment, he knew, making a wrong decision was better than hesitating endlessly.
So he followed his instincts.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Voldemort ignored Snape at his feet and roared at Link, "Seize him!"
The Death Eaters, long itching for action, immediately drew their wands.
But Link was faster.
He didn't even chant a spell. With just a swing of his wand, a massive blade like a full moon swept outward.
"Guardian Shield!"
The Death Eaters were ready. As dozens of them shouted in unison, a milky-white fog wall suddenly rose before them.
The terrifying blade slammed into the wall, then deflected, shooting up into the sky.
But Link's attack was far from over.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.