Voldemort tucked the Invisibility Cloak into his robes and turned to look at Harry, who was standing dumbly to one side. "We meet again, Potter, the boy who survived! You have escaped me time and time again, but it is a pity you will never be so lucky again…"
Being stared at by Lord Voldemort's red, serpentine eyes made Harry dizzy, his legs shook, and the lightning-bolt scar on his forehead began to throb with pain, destroying what was left of his sanity.
Even so, Harry found the courage to speak. "You will not be pleased for long, Voldemort! Even if you kill me, if you kill Professor Dumbledore, others will stand up to you!"
"Let me guess, who gave you such confidence? Ivan Hals? The so-called British Savior?" Harry's words caused Voldemort's face to darken and twist.
He looked down at the Daily Prophet lying on the table. On the cover was a moving picture of Ivan single-handedly subduing the dragon during the Goblet of Fire last year. Below it, in large letters, was the headline: "Most Talented Wizard in British History, Hope for the Future of the Wizarding World—Ivan Hals."
The more Voldemort read, the more irritated he became, and he used his wand to burn the newspaper to ashes.
"I admit that he is very skilled, daring to repeatedly tease the great Dark Lord! However, he will not be arrogant for more than a few days. When I obtain the last Deathly Hallows and obtain the power to transcend life and death, I will definitely return the humiliation he has brought me a thousand times over!"
Disgraceful? Teasing? Harry was baffled, having no idea what Lord Voldemort was talking about, except for the fact that the Dark Lord seemed to hate Ivan so much that he was desperate to find some powerful magical objects to enhance his powers.
Voldemort looked at Harry, who was still in a daze, and his lips curled into a sneer as he remembered that Harry probably did not know who Ivan Halus really was. "You might as well tell him how Dumbledore died, Severus!"
Snape hesitated for a moment, but then said, "It was Ivan Hals who set Dumbledore up to die, but he framed the Dark Lord for it…"
"That's impossible!" Harry shouted back before Snape could finish. "Everyone in the wizarding world knows you killed Professor Dumbledore… there are plenty of Aurors to testify!"
"Of course they did, because the entire Ministry of Magic, as well as the Daily Prophet, were under the control of Ivan Hals, who could naturally blame anyone for Dumbledore's death…" Voldemort said, his expression dark.
Perhaps because he had finally found an audience, and because he wanted to see Harry's faith crumble, Voldemort did not rush into action. Instead, he vented his frustration by revealing all the terrible things Ivan had done to him.
Harry, on the other hand, found this absurd.
Ivan Harris, her best friend of five years, was actually a murderous Dark Wizard?
More than three months ago, he was disguised as Lord Voldemort and led a large force into the Ministry of Magic, where he killed the former Minister Fudge on the spot.
No Muggle writer could have invented such a story!
So there was only one possibility. Voldemort and Snape were trying to deceive him, to drive a wedge between him and them, and after the previous two lessons, Harry would not believe such a ridiculous lie!
Not to mention that Professor Dumbledore's wand was now in Voldemort's possession, which reinforced Harry's belief.
Voldemort went on and on, but Harry's expression did not change.
After reading Harry's thoughts through Legilimency, Voldemort felt a sense of powerlessness, and was convinced that Trelawney's prophecy was nonsense, for his lifelong enemy could not be such a fool!
"Like I said before, I'm afraid Potter's mind can't process anything too complicated," Snape suggested, looking mockingly at Harry before turning back to Voldemort. "Master, I think you'd better get on with it, just in case…"
Snape gently cautioned him and left it at that, but Voldemort understood. The safe house was extremely secure, but no one knew if Ivan Hals would be able to get in.
Voldemort could not be bothered to explain himself to Harry, as he was sick and tired of his fateful duel with the boy.
In his opinion, Harry Potter was merely a stumbling block in his path, and the man who had brought him so much humiliation, Ivan Harris, was a worthy adversary!
Harry stared at Snape with hatred, especially after he suggested that Voldemort should kill him as soon as possible. Harry's hatred of Snape was at its peak, but the fact that he could do nothing and did not even have a wand in his hand killed his last chance of escape.
"Farewell, Harry Potter, Boy Who Lived!" Lord Voldemort said casually, lifting his wand gently.
Harry's skin crawled at the sight of the glowing green tip of the wand, and fear made him lose control of his body, so that he simply stood there, frozen in place, feeling his heart beating violently in his chest, like a drum at a funeral.
Harry longed for a miracle more than ever, imagining Ivan or Sirius jumping out of the house and taking him away, as they had done in the duelling at the cemetery…
Unfortunately, the miracle never happened, and Harry had to watch as Voldemort waved his wand at him.
"Avada Kedavra ~ (Avada Fatal Curse)"
Voldemort's voice rang out in Harry's ears, but he could no longer hear it. The green light came faster, taking everything from him in an instant, and he fell dead.
Snape's face twitched as he watched Harry being hit by the Killing Curse, the nails of his left hand digging into his flesh.
Fortunately, Voldemort did not notice this, as he reacted even more violently, and the moment he hit Harry, he felt as if someone had slammed a hammer into his brain.
The soul-deep pain caused Voldemort to cry out in pain, and he stumbled back a few steps, clutching his head. The next moment, he fell flat on his face and lay there unmoving… as if he were dead.