As the world spun around him, Harry soon felt himself falling heavily onto the grass, the ancient clock in his hand falling out of his hand and crashing to the ground a short distance away.
Harry's high level of myopia caused him to lose sight of his surroundings, and he was only vaguely aware that he was in a wasteland.
Harry scrambled to get down on his hands and knees and fumbled around for his glasses. Luckily, the glasses did not fall too far away and were not broken.
However, regaining his sight did not give Harry the slightest sense of security. On the contrary, it made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
Because he knew this place so well, he had even visited it once. The tombstone with the name Tom Riddle was lying not far from him, and the destruction caused by the war a year ago had not completely disappeared.
The only difference from the last visit was that the shabby mansion in front of them had been refurbished.
Apparently, this is Riddle House, home of Lord Voldemort… Harry immediately realised where he was and realised that this was a trap!
Voldemort once again managed to bring him out of Hogwarts…
Harry felt a chill run down his spine, as he regretted his rashness and wondered if he should use the Mark to get Ivan to come to his rescue. This was clearly a trap laid by Lord Voldemort, and if he summoned Ivan, he would likely end up dead.
As Harry hesitated, Snape's voice came from behind him. "Don't waste your breath. This is a safe house, under the protection of the Fidelius Charm. Even if Ivan Hals receives your message, he will not be able to get here."
Harry flinched, but before he could turn around, a hand reached out from behind and grabbed his right arm.
"I told you not to touch anything in my office… or sneak into the Dark Lord's head. It seems you didn't hear a word I said," Snape said coldly as he pulled the Invisibility Cloak off Harry.
He dared not allow Harry to remain in the Cloak of Invisibility, as he would not have been able to catch him so easily if he had not revealed his location during the teleportation and the search for the glasses.
"So you did betray us and join Lord Voldemort!" Harry hissed the moment he saw Snape, his eyes blazing.
By now, Harry had figured out that everything Snape had revealed over the past two weeks was intentional, and that he was playing along with Lord Voldemort to make Harry believe in what he saw in his dream!
However, he was very suspicious of how Snape was so certain that he would enter his office and touch the ancient clock today.
Unless … Harry felt a chill at the prospect.
"You figured it out, didn't you?" Snape's lips curled into a sardonic smile, as if he admired Harry's lack of strength. "Obviously, you can't hide anything in that empty brain of yours, and I know every single thing you've ever done, every single idea you've ever had… including that botched infiltration plan you came up with last night!"
"Didn't you ever wonder why I happened to leave Hogwarts today?" Snape looked at Harry mockingly. "Of course, perhaps I overestimated you, Potter. I'm afraid you can't think that deep…"
Harry's face turned red, and he wanted to dig a hole and hide in it when he remembered how he had thought he was so clever as to test Snape's reaction!
However, he did not want to see Snape looking so pleased with himself, so he remained silent even though he was in trouble, glaring at Snape with murderous eyes.
However, Snape was not as happy as Harry had expected him to be. Instead, he looked nervous, took a deep breath, and dragged Harry towards Riddle House.
Harry tried to struggle out of Snape's grip, but the latter's grip was like a vice, and the wand in his right hand made him feel weak.
The open door ahead was like the gaping jaws of a demon, and he was stepping through it. The feeling of slowly approaching death was excruciating, and fear washed over him.
Harry tried to channel his magic into the magical mark on his right wrist to tell Ivan what had happened to him, but as Snape said, although he received some responses, Ivan was unable to locate him.
"Master, I have brought the Cloak of Invisibility and Harry Potter," Snape said respectfully as he dragged Harry into the hall.
Harry could hear a tremor in Snape's voice, presumably from excitement at being praised by Voldemort.
"You did well, Severus. I knew you could do it!" Voldemort appeared from the shadows, ignoring Harry and not reaching for the Cloak of Invisibility. He threw his arms around Snape and embraced him, welcoming his most loyal servant.
Snape seemed very flattered. He whispered to Voldemort and then handed over the Invisibility Cloak.
Voldemort reached out and took it from her. As he ran his fingers along the surface of the Cloak of Invisibility, he could feel the immense amount of magic contained within it.
Almost without thinking, Voldemort put it on and disappeared from sight.
After a brief experiment, Voldemort was somewhat disappointed. The Deathly Hallows were much weaker than the Elder Wand, and could only be used to conceal one's presence.
However, Voldemort soon readjusted his mindset, and the existence of the Cloak of Invisibility once again confirmed the legend's authenticity.
Harry watched with a mixture of anger and fear as Voldemort fiddled with his Cloak of Invisibility. It seemed that what he had seen in the dream was not entirely false. At least, Voldemort was really looking for something — his Cloak of Invisibility!
Harry also noticed that Voldemort was holding a different wand, which he was familiar with, because it was Dumbledore's wand!