John fell backward, lying flat on his back and staring up at the sky.
As Voldemort made contact with the Grail, the opal necklace curse activated. The once-unrivaled Dark Lord finally turned into drifting ashes.
The shell dispersed, leaving only the soul behind.
And before the Grail, a door that only John could see slowly opened.
John's palm burned with heat, a sign that the contract had been fulfilled.
Voldemort's soul was pierced through by chains, letting out terrified wails.
The piercing screams nearly made Neville stumble as the black soul was dragged away by the chains.
No matter how it struggled, it was useless.
John propped himself up and sat there, looking toward the figure in the black cloak.
"I believe our deal is complete."
Only John could see him.
Death.
He had come as promised to take the soul away.
Death studied John deeply and said, "You are the boldest person I have ever seen."
"The transaction is complete. I will honor my promise."
"Remember this—those who toy with death never meet a good end."
Binding Voldemort's soul, Death ignored his struggles as his form gradually faded away.
"Divine power…"
John stared at the spot where Death had vanished, unable to collect himself for a long time.
Even someone like Voldemort had been utterly powerless before Death.
The rules of the magical world.
A deal fulfilled meant the return of an old friend.
The Grail burst forth with radiant light.
The soul contained within it grew ever more solid at that moment.
John took a bottle of emerald potion from his satchel, uncorked it, and poured it into his mouth. The depletion of magic within his body gradually eased.
While waiting for his strength to recover, John suddenly laughed.
Without any warning at all.
And the laughter only grew louder.
He laughed like a madman.
When he was finally exhausted from laughing, he lay down flat.
Not caring about the dust or mud on the ground, he laughed with unrestrained joy.
Harry watched John, who looked as though he had gone mad, his emotions growing even more complicated.
Neville walked over, sword still in hand.
"We succeeded, right?" The fearlessness he had shown when killing Voldemort was gone.
He was cautious now, as if afraid that a beautiful dream might shatter at any moment.
Looking at John, his expression was tense.
"Of course," John said, lying on the ground and gazing up at the starry sky, a broad smile on his face. "Of course we succeeded."
Two years.
Two long fucking years had passed.
From the first false news of death, to their scheming within the Ministry of Magic, and then failure.
Over those two years, John had used every card he possessed to finally bring his plan to completion.
At this moment, he could no longer maintain his usual composure and restraint.
Now, for the first time, he truly looked like a boy full of youthful vitality.
It made one suddenly remember that he was only sixteen years old.
Hearing this, Neville's face broke into a sincere smile as well.
The tension he had been holding onto finally dissolved.
Once a person relaxes, weakness inevitably follows.
And he had, after all, poured every ounce of his strength into killing Voldemort just moments ago.
So Neville lay down as well.
The doors of the Constellation Society opened once more. This time, the ones who entered were its members.
The maze had been nearly destroyed by the battle, and the group rushed in.
They saw the glowing Grail.
"Where's Voldemort?" Malfoy asked uncertainly.
Golden eyes filled with tears as he stepped toward the Grail, one step at a time.
Within the Grail, the soul was gradually becoming solid.
The sight made him break down in silent sobs.
Percy stood there in a daze. Fleur covered her mouth, trying to keep her crying from escaping.
Cedric murmured to himself, "We did it… we did it…"
This time, they were not too late.
Daphne threw herself into John's arms.
Malfoy lifted an arm to signal that Astoria could come in and cry, only for Fleur to wrap an arm around Astoria and snatch her away halfway.
Above the vault, the stars shimmered.
The Grail slowly rose, gold and silver intertwining.
John had mostly recovered by now, and Daphne helped him to his feet.
"Let's go," he said. "Let's go bring our friend back."
Harry quietly stepped aside. He knew that now was the time to leave this group alone.
This was a historic moment in the magical world.
An iron law that had never been broken before was being overturned by the efforts of a group of young students, turning the impossible into reality.
The members of the Constellation Society gathered around the Grail.
John took Daphne's wand and tapped the Grail lightly with it.
The opal attached to the Grail fell away.
John reached out, touched the Grail, and cradled it in his hands.
He lowered his head and looked inside.
Heinrich Edgar's soul still lay there quietly.
Now, there was only one step left.
They exchanged glances and walked out of the Constellation Society together.
…
Hogwarts.
The battle that belonged to the students had already ended.
The Minister for Magic, Barty Crouch Sr., personally led the response, and the centaurs who had remained on standby in the Forbidden Forest also joined the fight.
It was likely that, seeing the outcome already decided, they were afraid of being settled with afterward, one by one.
With the giant chieftain dead, the giants had no reason to continue fighting.
The dark creatures had already been slaughtered by the fire dragon, and the rest were wiped out by the strike teams.
After Voldemort's death, the remaining Inferi lost all vitality and turned into nothing more than true corpses.
The war came to an end.
This grand, earth-shaking conflict launched by Voldemort dissolved into dust with his death.
Snape assisted the Ministry of Magic in capturing the remaining wizards.
This time, the Ministry had rendered great service, yet no reporters were present.
Barty Crouch Sr. waited nervously before the nine doors that had appeared.
He was not the only one. The uninjured Hogwarts students had all gathered outside as well.
They were waiting for an outcome.
A true conclusion.
As one of the doors opened—Harry stepped out.
Clearly, Harry had not expected such a scene outside and was startled.
Hermione and Ron ran over, anxiously asking how things were inside.
Harry's expression was complicated as he said, "Voldemort is dead."
Hearing those words from his mouth, all of Hogwarts fell silent.
Then cheers erupted like an explosion.
Everyone was cheering Voldemort's death.
Seamus asked excitedly, "Did you defeat him?"
"No," Harry shook his head. "It was John and Neville. I didn't do anything."
The savior stepped down from the pedestal completely.
A new savior emerged.
Hearing Neville's name, Seamus froze.
He had assumed that, at the very least, it was Harry and John who had joined forces to defeat Voldemort.
He had never expected a different name entirely.
Neville was also a member of their dormitory, yet his presence in Gryffindor had always been faint.
Such a change left everyone stunned.
Another door opened.
This time, all eyes turned toward it, including Snape and Dumbledore.
Under the gaze of the crowd, a head of white hair came into view.
Hermione's eyes widened as she stared at that head of white hair.
Snape's expression was complicated.
Dumbledore let out a sigh.
The werewolves lowered their heads. The giants knelt.
Hogwarts once again fell into silence, broken only by the sound of breathing.
John stepped out of the Constellation Society, surrounded by his friends.
He held a Grail in his hands, his gaze steady and devout as he walked in a single direction.
At this moment, everyone wanted to know where John was going.
They followed behind him in silence.
The procession grew longer and longer.
From the initial nine people, to eventually all of Hogwarts following in his wake.
A night passed.
The sky lightened to a pale gray, dawn approaching.
John and the others arrived at the place where the sunrise could be seen.
The island in the middle of the lake.
Here lay the boy born of darkness.
As if understanding what John was about to do, everyone held their breath.
John held Daphne's Basil wand in his hand and bent down to scoop up a handful of soil.
Because it was soil at dawn, it was still damp.
He slowly rubbed the earth between his fingers, the dirt staining his skin with a faint hue.
He lifted his head toward the yet-unrisen sun and murmured, "The sunrise today is beautiful. You should get up and see it."
Straightening, he looked around at the familiar faces surrounding him.
Kim Ledisley.
Neville Longbottom.
Percy Weasley.
Fleur Delacour.
Draco Malfoy.
Cedric Diggory.
Daphne Greengrass.
Astoria Greengrass.
They all carried hope within them, bound together by a friendship that connected them as one.
Mm, one of those friendships had changed a little, but that didn't matter.
John flicked his wand, and the tombstone standing there cracked apart.
The soil parted to either side as a crystal coffin slowly rose.
The body of the boy from long ago still looked vivid and lifelike.
But John knew that this was only on the surface.
Only by fully restoring this body could he complete what came next.
When the crystal coffin appeared, Snape was already certain that John truly intended to do it.
That act which violated the laws of the magical world.
Barty Crouch Sr. wore a look of shock; he too had guessed what John was about to do.
As the crystal coffin opened, John released his grip on the Grail.
The Grail moved on its own without any wind, floating above the crystal coffin.
The golden liquid that granted eternal life poured out from the Grail.
The crystal coffin was quickly dyed gold.
Sacred golden light radiated outward.
The body that had once been destroyed by Fiendfyre was now reborn.
The Grail washed away the curses lingering within the flesh.
Color returned to the body.
John stepped forward.
The members of the Constellation Society surrounded the crystal coffin, holding hands and offering their most devout prayers.
With another wave of John's wand, the crystal coffin turned to dust and scattered away.
The body floated in midair.
John cut open the body's palm, letting the blood that flowed out gather together.
He then cut his own palm, his blood spilling forth.
He grasped the blood flowing from the body and merged it with his own.
Ancient whispers escaped his lips.
"Come back, Heinrich."
---
o(*￣▽￣*)ブSupport and Read 12 Chapters ahead: Patreon/Dragonel