Things happened suddenly, in an instant.
Snape received Voldemort's summons through Lucius Malfoy. Thus, Chown planned to take a look at the problems in the school. However, he bumped into Harry on the way.
They were heading to the Shrieking Shack.
So Jon also planned to take a look at the Shrieking Shack.
There was a bit of trouble on the way, but it was still within the range of the students. He ran as fast as he could, almost feeling that he could leave death behind him. He ignored the rays of light that shot through the darkness around him. He ignored the sounds of the lake that sounded like waves crashing against the sea. He also ignored the creaking sounds coming from the Forbidden Forest, even though there was no wind at night. They ran through the playground that seemed to be rebelling, and Harry had never run so fast in his life. Then, he was the first to see the big tree, the Whacking Willow with its whip-like branches, protecting the secret under its roots.
Harry slowed down, out of breath, to avoid the whipping branches of the Whacking Willow, and looked carefully at the thick trunk in the dark, trying to see the scar on the old bark that could calm the big tree. Ron and Hermione caught up, and Hermione was so out of breath that she could not speak.
"How — how do we get in?" Ron gasped. "I can — can see that place — if we — still have Crookes Hill —"
"Crookes Hill?" Hermione gasped, bending over and clutching her chest. "Are you Wizard or not?"
"Oh — yes — yes —"
Ron looked around, then pointed his wand at a branch on the ground and said, "Haggadym Leviosa!" The branch suddenly flew up from the ground, and spun in the air as if blown by the wind, then whizzed through the Whacking Willow's dangerous branches and rushed towards the trunk. It poked at a place near the roots, and suddenly, the twisting willow quieted down.
"Beautiful!" Hermione gasped.
"Wait."
In that brief moment, Harry hesitated. The air was filled with the roar and crash of battle. Voldemort wanted him to do this, wanted him to deliver himself to him … Was he leading Ron and Hermione into a trap?
Then reality seemed to surround him, cruel and clear: there was only one way forward, and that was to kill the snake, and the snake was with Voldemort, and Voldemort was at the end of the tunnel …
"Harry, we're here. Come on in!" Ron said, pushing him forward.
Harry wriggled his way into the tunnel of earth hidden under the roots of the tree. It was much narrower than the last time they had been here. The ceiling of the tunnel was so low that almost four years ago they had to bend over, and now they could only crawl forward. Harry was at the front. He lit up his wand and was always on guard against any obstacles. Unexpectedly, everything went smoothly. They crept forward in silence. Harry stared at the flickering light from the wand in his hand.
At last the tunnel began to rise, and Harry saw a narrow sliver of light in front of him. Hermione tugged at his ankle.
"The invisibility cloak!" she whispered. "Put on the invisibility cloak!"
Harry groped behind him, and Hermione shoved the slippery garment into his wandless hand. Harry struggled to pull it on, murmured "Knox", extinguished the light from his wand, and crawled on on his hands and knees, trying to make as little noise as possible. He was tense, aware that at any moment he might be discovered, that at any moment he might hear a cold, clear voice, or see a flash of green light.
Then he heard voices coming from the room ahead, but the gap at the end of the tunnel was blocked by what looked like an old box, and the voices sounded muffled. Harry held his breath as best he could, inched his way to the gap, and looked through the narrow gap between the box and the wall.
The room on the other side was dim, but he saw Nagini. The snake was safe in the glittering sphere of protection that floated in the air, writhing and coiling as if it were underwater. Harry also saw a pale, long-fingered hand on the edge of a table, toying with a wand. Then Snape spoke, and Harry's heart gave a great leap. Snape was only a few inches from where Harry crouched in hiding.
"... Master, their resistance is crumbling -"
"- and you have nothing to do with it," said Voldemort in his high, clear voice. "Severus, you are a good Wizard, but I don't think you are of much use now. We are so close to success... so close. "
"Let me find the boy. Let me bring Potter to you. I know I can find him, Master. I beg you. "
Snape passed through the gap, and Harry drew back a little, his eyes still on Nagini. He wondered if there were any charms that could break through the shield around the snake, but he could think of none. He dared not act rashly. If he failed, he would give away his position...
Voldemort rose to his feet. Harry could see him now, the red eyes, the flat, snakelike face, the pale gleam of his pale light in the gloom.
"I have a problem, Severus," said Voldemort softly.
"Master?" said Snape.
Voldemort raised the old wand and held it delicately between his fingers, as if he were holding a baton.
"Why doesn't it work on me, Severus?"
In the silence, Harry thought he could hear the hiss of the snake as it coiled and stretched, or was it Voldemort's sigh that lingered in the air?
"M-master?" said Snape blankly. "I don't understand. You - you've done some great magic with this wand. "
"No," said Voldemort. "I've only done my usual wand. I am great, but this wand... no. It hasn't done the wonders it should. I don't feel any difference between this wand and the one I bought from Ollivander all those years ago. "
Voldemort's voice was calm and thoughtful, but Harry's scar began to throb painfully again. As the pain on his forehead intensified, he could feel the fury in Voldemort's heart escalating.
"No difference," said Voldemort again.
Snape said nothing. Harry could not see his face, and wondered if Snape had sensed the danger and was searching for the right words to say to reassure his master.
Voldemort began to pace up and down the room. For a few seconds Harry could not see him, and could only hear him speaking in the same unhurried voice as he paced. All the while, Harry's pain and anger continued to grow.
"I've thought long and hard, Severus... Do you know why I called you back from the field?"
For a moment Harry could see Snape's profile, his eyes fixed on the coiled snake in the enchanted cage.
"No, master, but I beg you to let me go back and find Potter."
"You sound like Lucius. None of you know Potter better than I do. There's no need to find him. Potter will come to me himself. I know his weakness, his great flaw. He doesn't want to see others struck down around him, and he knows it's all because of him. He'll stop at nothing to stop it. He'll come. "
"But, master, he might be killed by accident -"
"My instructions to my Death Eaters were very clear. Take Potter alive. Kill his friends - as many as possible - but not him. "
"But, Severus, it's you I want to talk about, not Harry Potter. You were once valuable to me, very valuable. "
"Master knows I am willing to serve you. But - let me find the boy, master. Let me bring him to you. I know I can - "
"I told you, no!" said Voldemort. Said Voldemort, and as he turned again Harry saw the red gleam in his eyes and heard the rustle of his cloak, like a snake slithering on the ground. Harry could still feel Voldemort's impatience through the burning scars. "Severus, what I care about now is what will happen when I finally face the boy!"
"Master, surely there can be no problem -?"
"- there is, Severus, there is."
Voldemort stopped, and Harry could see him clearly again, stroking the old wand with his pale fingers, his eyes fixed on Snape.
"Why is it that neither of my wands worked against Harry Potter?"
"I - I can't answer that, master."
"Can you?"
A fierce anger went into Harry's head like a nail, and he put his fist in his mouth to keep from crying out in pain. He closed his eyes. Suddenly, he turned into Voldemort and stared at Snape's pale face.
"My yew wand obeyed my every command, Severus. But it couldn't kill Harry Potter. Both times it failed. Ollivander, under torture, told me about the twin wands, and told me to use someone else's wand. I did, but Lucius' wand broke into pieces when it came into contact with Potter's. "
"I - I don't understand either, master."
Snape was not looking at Voldemort now. His black eyes were still fixed on the writhing serpent in the sphere of protection.
"I found the third wand, Severus. The Old Wand, the Staff of Fate, the Death Wand. I took it from its former owner. I took it from Albus Dumbledore's grave. "
Now Snape was looking at Voldemort. Snape's face was like a mask of death, as white and frozen as marble. When he opened his mouth to speak, everyone was shocked. Who would have thought that behind those empty eyes was actually a living person?
"Master - let me find the boy -"
"All through the long night, when victory seemed so close, I sat here," said Voldemort, his voice almost a whisper. "Thinking, thinking, why the Old Wand would not do its best, why it would not perform miracles for its rightful owner as it was said to do... and now I seem to have the answer."
Snape said nothing.
"Perhaps you have? You are a clever man after all, Severus. You have been a good and loyal servant, and I am sorry for what must happen. "
"Master -"
"The Old Wand cannot serve me well, Severus, because I am not its rightful owner. The Old Wand belonged to the Wizard who killed its former owner. It was you who killed Albus Dumbledore. So long as you live, Severus, the Old Wand cannot truly belong to me. "
"Master!" Snape protested as he raised his magic wand.
"There can be no other way," said Voldemort. "I must conquer this wand, Severus. Conquer this wand, and I will conquer Potter at last. "
Voldemort struck the air with the Old Wand. Snape was unharmed, and for a moment he seemed to think that he was temporarily immune. Then Voldemort's intentions became clear. The serpent's cage rolled in the air, and Snape only had to scream before it closed over his head and shoulders. Voldemort spoke in a serpentine voice.
"Kill."
There was a terrible scream, and Harry saw what little colour had left Snape's face as the serpent's fangs sank into his neck. He pushed weakly away from the enchanted cage, and his knees gave way as he fell to the ground. His face was white as a sheet, and his black eyes were wide open.
"I am sorry," said Voldemort coldly.
He turned around, and there was no sadness or regret in his heart. With the Wand at his command, it was time for him to leave the hut and clean up the mess. He pointed the Wand at the glittering serpent's cage, and the cage floated up away from Snape. Snape fell to the ground, and blood gushed from the wound in his neck. Voldemort left the hut quickly without looking back, and the serpent in the huge protective sphere floated away with him.
Harry was back in the tunnel, back in his own thoughts. He opened his eyes. He had bitten his knuckles to stop himself from crying out. Now he peered through the narrow gap between the box and the wall, and saw a black-booted foot trembling on the floor.
"Harry!" gasped Hermione behind him, but he had already pointed the Wand at the box that blocked his view. The box hovered an inch, and floated silently to the side. Harry crept quietly into the hut.
He didn't know why he did that, why he approached the dying man. When he saw Snape's pale face and saw those fingers trying to stop the bleeding wound on his neck, he did not know how to feel. Harry took off his Invisibility Cloak and looked down at the man he hated. Snape's wide black eyes caught sight of Harry and he struggled to speak. Harry leaned over and Snape grabbed the front of Harry's robe and pulled him close to him.
A terrible wheezing, gurgling sound came from Snape's throat.
"Take … take … take …"
It was not only blood that flowed out of Snape's body. Something silver-blue, neither gas nor liquid, came out of his mouth, ears, and eyes. Harry knew what it was, but he didn't know what to do.
A thin bottle appeared out of thin air, and Hermione stuffed it into his trembling hand. Ha used his wand to scoop up the silver substance into the bottle. The bottle was full, and Snape seemed to have lost all his blood. His grip on Harry's robe loosened weakly.
"Look … at … me …"
The green eyes stared into the black eyes, but a second later something seemed to disappear from the depths of the black eyes. They were blank, dull, and empty.
The hand that had held Harry fell to the ground. Snape was still.
He must be dead.
Harry was a little flustered.
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