Hogwarts: Third Dark Lord

The room fell into a moment of silence at Wentworth's words—until Ron scoffed dismissively.

"Gellert Grindelwald? An old man over a hundred years old?!"

Wentworth let out a dry chuckle and replied,

"Albus Dumbledore is also over a hundred. Want me to take you to see him now? Haven't you always wanted to kill him?"

Ron was instantly deflated. Seeing this, Harry seized the moment and, while Ron was distracted, raised his wand without hesitation:

"Expelliarmus!"

Had it been just Ron, Harry's spell might have succeeded. Unfortunately, the one in control of Ron's body was none other than a young Tom Riddle.

Riddle reacted just as swiftly—dodging Harry's disarming spell and retaliating immediately with a curse of his own.

In the blink of an eye, Harry and Ron were locked in fierce combat.

But Harry quickly found himself overwhelmed, driven back step by step under Ron's onslaught. A malicious grin spread across Ron's face as he snarled:

"Today, your blood shall mark my return!"

Seeing Harry forced back, Wentworth sighed and muttered,

"As expected, I have to do everything myself…"

Just as he drew his wand to join the fray, someone stepped in front of him—it was Kirk.

Kirk fixed his eyes on the duel and, without turning, spoke to Wentworth:

"I've been holding a grudge since that skirmish in the Forbidden Forest. And now, a young version of Lord Voldemort? Perfect warm-up."

Cedric stepped forward too, adding,

"What a coincidence—I was thinking the same thing. Kirk, surely you're not the type to insist on some noble one-on-one with Tom Riddle?"

Kirk chuckled, shaking his head.

"Do I look like the chivalrous sort?"

And with that, Cedric and Kirk strode side by side toward the battle. Wentworth called after them,

"Be careful. He was the most brilliant student Hogwarts had in his day."

Kirk snorted.

"Most brilliant? Aren't we all?"

Cedric looked over his shoulder with a faint smile.

"You sit on the throne—don't let the snow and wind stain your robes."

It became immediately clear: this version of Tom Riddle was not yet the dark lord he would become. With Cedric and Kirk joining in, the tide of battle shifted.

"Sectumsempra!"

"Stupefy!"

Cedric and Kirk were no Harry Potter with only a disarming spell in his arsenal. If not for concern over Ron's body, they might have unleashed blazing firestorms.

Having fought side by side many times before, Cedric and Kirk moved with practiced coordination. Forming a triangle with Harry, they attacked Ron from three angles. Riddle, though powerful, was soon overwhelmed.

Seeing himself being pushed to the edge, Ron's expression twisted with inner turmoil. Then, with venom in his voice, he snarled at Harry:

"Avada Kedavra!"

Cedric and Kirk paled, immediately unleashing every ounce of magic in their wands to disrupt the spell.

Harry, caught in the curse's path, stared wide-eyed, frozen in fear as the green light flared from Ron's wand—

But, shockingly, the killing curse sputtered and faded into nothing before it could strike.

Everyone stared in stunned silence. And then, Ron collapsed to his knees, clutching his head in agony and screaming.

The sudden reversal caught everyone off guard.

Kirk's eyes widened as a realization dawned. He snapped his head toward Wentworth—and saw it.

A cold blue flame flickered in Wentworth's hand.

The Ravenclaw diadem lay amid the ghostly fire, already beginning to blacken and crumble.

Wentworth noticed Kirk looking his way and calmly pointed at Ron.

"Well? Don't just stand there—grab the diary!"

Realizing what had happened, Cedric and Kirk lunged forward, one to each side, pinning Ron's arms like two unruly Muggle bouncers. Harry scrambled to search Ron's robes.

Ron struggled with all his might, but the searing pain in his soul robbed him of magic. He was helpless.

Harry soon found the diary and passed it to Wentworth, while Cedric and Kirk hauled Ron forward.

Wentworth glanced at the diary, then down at the kneeling Ron.

"With this," he said scornfully, "you hoped to achieve immortality?"

He tossed the diary into the fire. Flames leapt higher—and Ron let out a howl of pure torment.

Moments later, a ghostly figure in Slytherin robes began to rise from Ron's body. It clutched its head in pain, but its eyes burned with malevolent intent as it stared at Wentworth.

Before Wentworth could speak, the apparition—Tom Riddle—shattered into a cascade of starlight, vanishing before their eyes.

With Riddle's soul fragment gone, Ron suddenly fell silent. Sweat poured down his face as he looked around in confusion—then he collapsed.

"Ron!"

Harry rushed forward, catching him and checking his condition. Cedric and Kirk returned to Wentworth's side.

"Is… is Voldemort gone?" Kirk asked cautiously.

Wentworth shook his head slowly.

"We've only destroyed two Horcruxes. Finishing him off completely… will take a lot more work."

As he spoke, he looked over at Harry.

With Luna in his arms and Harry and Cedric supporting Ron, Wentworth led the group out of the Chamber.

The moment they reached the surface, a flurry of footsteps echoed toward them—then Dumbledore and several others appeared.

Seeing the injured, Dumbledore quickly dispatched people to take Ron and Luna for treatment.

Wentworth had just turned to leave and find rest when someone blocked his way.

It was Lockhart.

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