As the first bead of light draws near Harry's wand, its tip becomes scorching hot, causing him to worry that it might burn. The renewal is swift. The light bead approaches and Harry's wand vibrates intensely. He believes that his wand cannot withstand the touch of the light bead and fears it might break in his hands. This is not good; he must make the light ball shine, and he cannot be defeated!
Harry abandons distracting thoughts, focuses his complete attention, and compels the light bead towards Voldemort. In his ear, the song of the phoenix resonates, his vision remains steadfast, and he exudes determination.
Slowly, the light bead begins to tremble and then stops. Next, it starts moving towards Voldemort's wand at a similar pace, and Voldemort's wand vibrates ominously.
Voldemort appears shocked, perhaps even fearful, despite his belief that, apart from Dumbledore, nobody could match his power. Yet, he finds himself struggling against this young boy. His wand refuses to obey, and his once-great power becomes a mockery, leaving Voldemort helpless.
Outside the light net, another 13-year-old boy uses his strength to suppress Death Eaters, forcing them to flee. Voldemort experiences an unprecedented sense of shame and astonishment. He then notices Evan approaching Nagini.
Evan stares at Nagini, understanding that he must kill this enormous snake, a task more challenging than he could have imagined. Nagini is engulfed in Fiendfyre, not dodging like the Death Eaters but opening her mouth to strike at Evan. He wields his wand with all his might, a silver beam flashes, and in the next moment, he severs the snake's head.
The snake's head spins high into the sky, landing in the nearby flames and turning into ashes almost instantly. Evan is taken aback but realizes that Nagini is not a Horcrux. Voldemort hadn't placed a fragment of his soul in her; she was just an ordinary snake. She remained flesh and blood, susceptible to powerful magic, requiring no special weapon to kill.
"No!" Voldemort shouts in anger, but no one can hear him. He glares angrily at Evan, then turns to the small light bead approaching his wand, inches away.
He can't afford to focus on Evan, the beloved snake, or the escaping Death Eaters. His attention is firmly fixed on the confrontation with Harry and their wands. He must make the light ball shine; he senses a terrifying force emanating from it.
"Stay!" Harry exclaims angrily, keeping his gaze on the light above his wand. He doesn't understand why he's doing this or what the outcome will be. However, he's never been so concentrated, dedicating his entire being to compelling the light bead into Voldemort's wand.
Slowly, the light bead moves along the golden thread, trembling before merging with the wand's tip. Voldemort's wand emits a painful scream that echoes relentlessly.
Voldemort's crimson eyes widened in astonishment as a powerful force formed from thick smoke left his wand, disappearing completely like Durand's Vampire, who had recently finished a job.
Another agonized cry and a larger entity emerge sharply from Voldemort's wand. It's an ashen-gray, amorphous figure, seemingly composed of dense smoke. It starts with a head, followed by a torso—it's a woman's shadow.
It's Bertha Jorkins's ghost, looking around and wide-eyed, observing the ongoing battle. "Don't let go!" she tells Harry, her voice distant and echoing.
Harry is taken aback but instinctively holds his wand tightly, keeping the golden thread intact. Like himself, he notices that Voldemort is taken aback by this unexpected development. Bertha Jorkins drifts along the edge of the golden net, glaring at Voldemort menacingly.
Voldemort's wand emits another painful scream as another figure, composed of thick smoke, emerges from it. It's a head, followed by arms and a body. This is a wizard Harry had never seen before, killed by Voldemort in the corrupted Centaur's vestige. Like Bertha Jorkins, this figure glares at Voldemort with vengeful intent.
"Keep going, kid. Avenge me!" the figure implores, another innocent victim of Voldemort's cruelty.
These apparitions circle the duelists, encouraging Harry in hushed tones while also uttering biting words directed at Voldemort, words Harry cannot hear but are undeniably venomous. These words drive Voldemort to madness.
Now, another figure emerges sharply from Voldemort's wand. Harry saw this coming as if he had anticipated it since Bertha Jorkins appeared. It's the person he has thought about most throughout his life.
The long-haired female ghost falls like Bertha, standing tall and gazing directly at him. Harry's eyes fix his mother's face, and his arms tremble.
"Harry, your father is here too," she softly says. "He wants to see you, and everything will be alright. Be strong."
He really has come out, first the head, then the body. A tall man with messy hair, the soul of James Potter, emerges from Voldemort's wand. He lands on the ground like his wife, standing tall.
James Potter approaches Harry, looks down at him, and speaks to him with a similarly distant and echoing voice, too low for Voldemort to hear. Voldemort, surrounded by the apparitions of those he has killed, pales in terror.
"Father," Harry says, tears streaming down his face. Though amid a duel, an inexplicable sadness overwhelms him. He gazes at his parents, seeing them as young as they were before their deaths.
"Harry, I am proud of you," James Potter says.
"Harry," his mother whispers, gazing at him with a serene spirit. "After this brief connection, we can only stay for a little while, but we will buy you time. It would help if you reached the Portkey with that boy outside. It will take you back to Hogwarts. Will you do it, Harry?"
"Yes," Harry gasps, clutching his wand firmly.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Outside the protective light net, Evan is wrapping up the situation. The Death Eaters who didn't flee are now regrouping and launching a counter-attack. They move away from the Fiendfyre and begin targeting Evan with their spells, creating a barrage of magical attacks.
Despite their efforts, Evan feels the pressure increasing steadily. He defends himself while retreating, hoping that Harry will arrive soon. He has completed his mission by killing Nagini, and Voldemort is clearly unnerved by the turn of events.
Their current task is to leave this place and return to Hogwarts. Evan can sense the magic responding to the portkey in his pocket. As soon as Harry arrives, they can depart.
"Harry, please hurry!" Evan shouts, turning around and hoping that Harry can hear him. Unfortunately, due to the isolation caused by the light net, Harry cannot hear Evan's shout, but his father's ghost seems to have heard it.
"Very good, scatter, Harry, go with that boy!" James whispers in a low voice. "Get ready to run; scatter now!"
Harry understands that he can't hold on much longer. He exerts all his strength to break the golden thread, causing the light net to vanish. The phoenix's song also fades, but Voldemort's tortured ghost still lingers. They surround Voldemort, ensuring he doesn't see Harry.
Harry turns around and sprints towards Evan in the distance. "You bunch of useless fools, leave them behind!" Voldemort screams. "Kill them!"
Although the ghosts surround him, Voldemort uses his wand to cast spells. All flames in the area vanish instantly, leaving only the lingering smell of burning and the sound of wailing.
As Fiendfyre disappears, the Death Eaters approach hurriedly, preventing Evan from casting powerful spells. Red and green spells flash through the air, and Evan dodges desperately as he runs toward Harry. He doesn't have time to aim carefully; he can only fire spells at the Death Eaters pursuing him.
"Impedimenta! Stupefy!" Evan yells sadly, knowing he has temporarily incapacitated one of them. But he can't afford to stop and check; he keeps firing spells at the Death Eaters behind him.
"Get down, Harry, get down!" Evan exclaims as he pushes Harry to the ground. The two evade the intense barrage of spells, rolling on the ground to avoid the attacks.
"Get away; I must kill them; they're mine!" Voldemort shouts, breaking free from the ghosts. The ghosts gradually dissipate and vanish into the air. Harry sees his parents and Voldemort's terrifying red eyes. Voldemort grins wickedly, raising his wand high.
Harry's vision blurs in the next moment, and he feels a pulling sensation below his navel. Voldemort and the Death Eaters vanish, and he and Evan are swept away by a whirlwind of colors, leaving the scene behind.
The two return to Hogwarts but not beneath the lake's surface. Instead, they find themselves in an office. Harry's surroundings gradually come into focus, and he notices a large mirror on the wall, showing a blurry reflection swaying back and forth.
It's Moody's magical mirror revealing true forms. They've returned to Professor Moody's office. "Evan, what just happened?" Harry asks, seeing Evan lying beside him, breathless and worn out. Evan is wearing a tattered Gabrielle school uniform, damaged with only a few shreds of cloth.
Evan tightly grips a bat-shaped object in his left hand – Kreshkov's portkey. "Why did you transform into Gabrielle, and why was Voldemort..." Harry starts but stops abruptly, realizing the gravity of the situation. "Voldemort has returned to his physical form. We must inform Dumbledore immediately!"
"He will come soon, and when he does, we'll tell him," Evan says, drained of strength and leaning on Harry. Despite fighting dozens of Death Eaters seemingly effortlessly, he had no chance. Two powerful dark spells followed by many more exhausted his magical power and physical stamina. His mind, pushed to its limit, is now fatigued, filled with overwhelming tiredness and drowsiness.
The surroundings are eerily quiet as they lie on the office floor. Evan intermittently narrates the recent events to Harry. He mentions the Barty Crouch and Barty Jr. Crouch situations, their involvement in the plan at Hogwarts, putting Ron's name in the Goblet of Fire, Kreshkov's disguise as Moody, and their knowledge of Voldemort's plan from Kreshkov.
Harry listens intently, interrupting with questions from time to time. Evan doesn't reveal the truth about using Harry's blood and why they didn't prevent Voldemort's return. It's not the right time, and he claims his Gabrielle disguise was meant to protect Harry.
Harry, overwhelmed by the information and still shocked, exclaims, "I can't believe it. Ron said he saw Vampire's name on The Marauder's Map that night. He said Vampire was helping us, and Cedric was taken by him. But how did he know? And Barty Jr. Crouch...?"
Suddenly, footsteps echo in the corridor outside. The door to Professor Moody's office swings open. Dumbledore leads the group, outwardly composed as always but lacking his usual gentle smile. Instead, his eyes show an icy anger, making everyone uneasy.
Behind Dumbledore are Sirius and Snape. Snape remains stoic, showing no fear despite Voldemort's return. On the other hand, Sirius looks distressed, as if he's been through a fierce battle.
There's also a man with pale skin and a smattering of freckles, his light yellow hair unkempt. It's Barty Jr. Crouch, the same man they saw in the Pensieve, who was taken away by Dementors. But now, there are wrinkles around his eyes, making him appear older.
As they were brought to Hogwarts via portkey, Sirius had apprehended this man.