94 Diagon Alley

Harry's pain and anger continued to grow.

"I thought about it for a long time, Severus... Do you know why I called you back from the battlefield?"

For a time, Harry saw the silhouette of Snape, Snape's eyes were staring at the big snake coiled in the magic cage.

"I don't know, Master, but I beg you to let me go back and find Potter."

"You speak like Lucius, and none of you know Potter as well as I do. Don't look for it. Potter will come to the door himself. I know his weaknesses, and one of his Big flaw. He doesn't want to watch people get knocked down around him, and he knows it's all because of him. He'll stop at any cost. He'll come."

"But, Master, he might be killed by someone else's hand—"

"My instructions to my Death Eaters were very clear. Catch Potter alive. Kill his friends—the more the better—but don't kill him."

"But, Severus, I want to talk about you, not Harry Potter. You were very valuable to me, very valuable."

"Master knows I'm 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, and as he turned around again, Harry saw the red light in his eyes and heard the rustling of his cloak , like a snake crawling on the ground. Harry also sensed Voldemort's impatience from the burning scar. "Severus, my current concern is what happens when I finally face that boy!"

"Master, of course there can't be a problem—?"

"—there is a problem, Severus, there is a problem."

Voldemort stopped, and Harry could see him clearly again, tugging the Elder Wand with his pale fingers and staring at Snape.

"Why don't the two wands I use work against Harry Potter?"

"I—I can't answer, Master."

"Really?"

Intense fury pierced into Harry's head like a nail, and he put his fist in his mouth to keep from screaming in pain. He closed his eyes, and suddenly he was Voldemort, staring at Snape's pale face.

"My yew wand did everything to me, Severus, but failed to kill Harry Potter. Failed both times. Ollivander Told me about the twin cores under torture and told me to use someone else's wand. I did it, but Lucius' wand fell to pieces as soon as it met Potter's."

"I-I don't understand either, Master."

Snape was not looking at Voldemort at the moment. His dark eyes were still fixed on the serpent coiling and twisting in the protective ball.

"I found the third wand, Severus. Elder Wand, Destiny Wand, Death Rod. I got it from its previous owner. I got it from Albus It was taken from Dumbledore's grave."

Now Snape looked at Voldemort, Snape's face was like a mask of death, pale and solid as marble. He was startled when he opened his mouth, not expecting a living person behind those empty eyes.

"Master—let me find the boy—"

"I've been sitting here all this long night, seeing the edge of victory," said Voldemort, his voice almost in a whisper, "think, think, why won't the Elder Wand do what it does? , refused to perform miracles for its rightful owner as legend has it... Now I seem to have the answer."

Snape did not speak.

"Perhaps you already know? You are a wise man after all, Severus. You have been a good and faithful servant, and I regret what must have happened."

"Master—"

"The Elder Wand doesn't work well for me, Severus, because I'm not its true owner. The Elder Wand belongs to the wizard who killed its former owner. You killed it. Buzz Dumbledore. As long as you live, Severus, the Elder Wand can't really be mine."

"Master!" Snape protested, raising his wand.

"There can be no other way," said Voldemort. "I must conquer this wand, Severus. By conquering this wand, Potter is conquered at last."

Voldemort slammed the air with his Elder Wand. Snape was unscathed, and for a split second, he seemed to think he was temporarily exempted. Then, Voldemort's intentions became clear. The serpent's cage tumbled in the air, and Snape let out just one scream, and the cage covered his head and shoulders, and Voldemort spoke in Parseltongue.

"Kill."

With a terrible scream, Harry saw that the little blood on Snape's face disappeared, and the fangs of the snake pierced his neck. He weakly pushed the magic cage away, his knees fell to the ground, his face turned pale, and his dark eyes widened.

"I'm sorry," said Voldemort coldly.

He turned around with no sorrow or remorse in his heart. With a wand at his absolute obedience, it was time for him to leave the shack and clear things up. He pointed his wand at the starlit snake cage, which floated away from Snape. Snape fell to the ground, blood gushing from the wound in his neck. Voldemort left the room quickly, without looking back, and the giant snake locked in the huge protective ball floated away with him.

Harry was back in the tunnel, back in his own mind, and he opened his eyes. In order to keep himself from shouting, he bit the knuckles of his fingers and bleeds. Now he peered through the narrow gap between the box and the cave wall, and saw a black booted foot trembling on the floor.

"Harry!" Hermione gasped behind him, but he had pointed his wand at the chest blocking his view. The box hung an inch and floated silently to the side. Harry crept into the room.

He didn't know why he was doing this, why he was approaching the dying man. He didn't know how he felt when he saw Snape's pale face and the fingers trying to seal the **** wound on his neck. Harry took off his Invisibility Cloak and looked down at the man he hated. Snape saw Harry's wide black eyes, struggling to speak. Harry leaned over and Snape grabbed the front of Harry's robes and pulled him closer to him.

Snape's throat made a terrible whirring, clucking, clucking.

"Take...go...take...go..."

It wasn't just blood that came out of Snape. A silver-blue thing, neither gas nor liquid, came out of his mouth, ears and eyes. Harry understood what it was, but didn't know what to do—

An ampoule conjured out of thin air was stuffed into his trembling hand by Hermione. Harry used his wand to scoop the silver substance into the bottle. The bottle was full, and Snape seemed to have drained his blood, and his grip on Harry's robes slackened feebly.

"Look at...I..." he said softly.

Green eyes stared at the black eyes, but after a second, something in the depths of those black eyes seemed to disappear, they became blank, dull and empty. The hand that had grabbed Harry fell to the ground, and Snape didn't move.

Harry knelt beside Snape, staring blankly at him. Suddenly, a high-pitched, grim voice that seemed so close at hand began to speak, and Harry jumped up, clutching the bottle tightly in his hand, thinking that Voldemort had returned to the room.

Voldemort's voice echoed through the walls and floor, and Harry realized that he was speaking to Hogwarts and all the surrounding areas. The residents of Hogsmeade and those still fighting in the castle could hear his voice as clearly as if he was standing beside them, his breath on the back of their necks, and he could kill them with a single shot. .

"You resisted bravely," said the high, grim voice. "Lord Voldemort knows how to appreciate courage."

"But you have suffered a heavy loss. If you continue to resist, you will die one by one. I don't want that to happen. The blood of the wizard, every drop is a loss and waste ."

"Lord Voldemort is merciful. I order my party to retreat, immediately."

"Give you an hour to place the dead decently and treat the wounded."

"Harry Potter, now I'm speaking directly to you. You let your friends die for you instead of standing up to me. I will

Wait in the Forbidden Forest for an hour. If you don't come to me after an hour and don't surrender, the fight will continue. This time, I will go into battle myself, Harry Potter, and I will find you, and I will punish every man, woman, and child who tries to hide you, not a single one. One hour. "

Both Ron and Hermione looked at Harry shaking their heads desperately. Gwen pushed them away and knelt down beside Snape, whose body was slowly dissipating, and put one hand over the wound on his neck.

"Don't listen to him," said Ron.

"It's alright," Hermione said excitedly, "Let's—let's go back to the castle. If he goes to the Forbidden Forest, we need to think about a new plan—"

She glanced at Snape and hurried towards the tunnel entrance, Ron following. Harry put away the Invisibility Cloak and looked down at Snape again. He couldn't articulate his inner feelings, but was shocked by the way Snape died and why he died...

"You guys go." Gwen was at a loss for words at this time, she just overheard what earth-shattering news. "I...I want to try again...or at least his remains..."