HP North Star's Radiance

But he was sorely mistaken. Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Dumbledore still looked as if he had everything under control. This ignited Voldemort's anger, making his attacks more rapid and fierce.

One spell after another, like a meteor shower falling from the sky, but even more powerful, kept Dumbledore on his toes.

Under such attacks, Dumbledore could no longer rely on Voldemort's strength as before and had to use his own. Instead of directly resisting and defending, he constantly Apparated, dodging Voldemort's attacks and then reappearing to continue his assault.

“Boosu!” Dumbledore called out.

cracking--

A fire dragon roared and appeared out of nowhere, catching Dumbledore and spewing scorching flames at Voldemort.

"Wow--"

The crowd erupted in continuous gasps of amazement.

Riding a dragon? That's beyond the imagination of ordinary people!

“Ron, is this the dragon you rode?” Lavender exclaimed excitedly.

Ron was also surprised: "It's it! Theseus is here too!"

He stood on tiptoe and saw Theseus Scamander, covered in dust and dirt, standing in the crowd.

It wasn't that Ron was rude; it's just that no one treated little Theseus like an elder. Despite being middle-aged, he always seemed so...immature, with a sunny and cheerful demeanor. He and his son, Ron, were waving their fists and cheering for the little fire dragon, Busu.

The Catalan Fireball Dragon is very agile, and as a young dragon, Busu's small size makes it even harder to catch. It carried Dumbledore, dodging up and down, weakening Voldemort's aerial advantage and conserving Dumbledore's magical energy.

However, in return, Dumbledore had to hold firmly onto the protruding bony plates on the dragon's back with one hand, which also drained his strength.

This is why Dumbledore doesn't summon Fawkes; at least he's still on Bosu's back, instead of constantly gripping Fawkes's claws, and the dragon's flames have become part of Dumbledore's defense.

But this also sends a clear signal to Voldemort that Dumbledore is now vulnerable and can no longer maintain his composure, and he needs external help.

The impatient Voldemort, of course, wouldn't miss this opportunity! He flew through the air, pressing his advantage, using Apparition to dodge the flames spewed by Bosu, a savage grin spreading across his face as he raised the Elder Wand—

Avada Kedavra!

A green light shot towards the dragon's back. Dumbledore was powerless to dodge. He was struck as if by an invisible giant hammer, falling from the sky in a long arc.

cracking--

Facing the direction where Dumbledore had fallen, Bosu let out a mournful cry, heartbroken that he had failed to protect him.

Below the battlefield, there was the cheering of the Death Eaters and the deathly silence of the rebels.

Aside from Harry, who miraculously survived, no one could have survived the Killing Curse. Even Dumbledore, no one thought he had a chance of survival.

"The greatest white wizard? Nothing special," Voldemort said casually. "The farce is over; it was just a minor incident. In fact, I don't want to kill anyone—Hogwarts was my school too. My promise remains in effect until midnight."

No one has forgotten what his so-called promise was.

That is to sacrifice Harry in exchange for one's own survival.

After saying that, he left gracefully, leaving behind a mess.

Everyone bowed their heads in silence, as a second silent mourning for the greatest wizard, Dumbledore.

Only now did everyone understand what Dumbledore meant by "an ordinary old man." He had escaped death, but not without a price; he had finally returned to the embrace of death once more.

After the moment of silence, Professor McGonagall surveyed the room with a stern gaze and asked in a rather oppressive tone, "I don't think anyone would make such a despicable choice, would they?"

"Professor!" Lewis shouted urgently, just as he had recklessly attacked Praris before, "Dumbledore was willing to die, and we are not cowards either!"

"That's right!"

"I can't either!"

"I also!"

……

Dumbledore fell into the Forbidden Forest like a shooting star, startling countless birds into flight.

Prarese tried to rush out without hesitation, but Snape grabbed him and shouted, "Where are you going!"

“Dumbledore!” Prass’s face showed no sign of impulsiveness; she made this decision in a completely calm state. “Sir, I’m going to go and bring Dumbledore back.”

"This is utterly pointless suicide!" Snape's voice was filled with suppressed rage.

Prareas retorted, "Wasn't Dumbledore's presence in the Shrieking Shack also a death wish?"

Snape fell silent, staring coldly at his child. After a three-second standoff, he finally gritted his teeth and said, "Plares, you're becoming more and more like Gryffindor! Hill's gone, you're my responsibility now, and I can't watch you do something foolish! The dead are never as important as the living!"

After saying that, Snape himself was taken aback. How could someone who lived for the dead say such a thing?

“No, sir.” Praris bowed his head, his eyes darting around. “Dumbledore still has a chance to live. The Man of Darkness used the Elder Wand, and he wasn’t the owner of the Elder Wand… We still have a chance. Don’t stop me, I can protect myself!”

Slytherins understand best what it means to cherish life—not just their own.

Snape's chest heaved violently. He pressed down on Praris's shoulder and said in a deep voice, "I won't stop you, but you're not allowed to go—I'm going!"

This time it was Prarese's turn to grab Snape. She waved her wand, conjuring a butterfly that shone with golden light, and then took out a two-way mirror, letting the butterfly land on it: "Go, find the other mirror."

Snape followed the magical butterfly with the ability to track, leaving Prareus waiting in place.

The most fundamental difference between humans and animals is their ability to use tools. Prareas was certain that Professor Snape could find Dumbledore the fastest. The place where Dumbledore had fallen wasn't far from them, and in the darkness, no one could find him faster than they, using magic.

She pulled open her robes, took out the small potion bottles one by one, and laid them out, staring intently at the potions before her, desperately trying to find a glimmer of hope for Dumbledore.

Sure enough, two minutes later, Snape returned in human form with Dumbledore's "corpse" and his attendants.

Perhaps because Snape was so close to death today, this was the second time he had carried a corpse today.

Prareas scanned Dumbledore's entire body with her detection magic, speaking rapidly as she gestured with her hands: "He's dead, but not completely dead; he's in a state between life and death. I didn't expect this. Could I have gotten it wrong? He actually drank a Soul-Gathering Potion not long ago!"

“I think it’s because the Mystic wasn’t the Elder Wand’s owner, and the Soul-Stabilizing Potion protected Dumbledore’s soul. Plus, he was dead for less than five minutes… there’s still hope! But I’m not sure if he can survive. It’s up to my luck and his.”

How ironic that Voldemort relentlessly urged Prasrix to research the Soul-Gathering Potion, all to make himself stronger, which was one of the reasons he successfully defeated Dumbledore.

But this same vial of the sinful Soul-Stirring Potion bought Dumbledore a crucial few minutes at the critical moment, a time when he hovered on the edge of life and death.

Prareus groped Dumbledore, using his wand to help him swallow the potion and casting several different spells on him, but Dumbledore still did not wake up.

"Failed?" Snape awkwardly comforted Praris. "It's not your fault that you couldn't save Dumbledore a second time. Nobody can play tricks on Death forever."

Praris lowered his head and shook his head slightly: "No, I couldn't save Dumbledore, but he won't die for now... The rest is up to fate and time."

They couldn't keep guarding Dumbledore's body like that forever—well, his body. Prareus and Snape decided to hand Dumbledore over to the centaurs, who would then guard his body.

"How are Bain, Ronan, and Margaret?" the female centaur asked them anxiously.

Prareus and Snape exchanged a glance and slowly shook their heads: "I haven't been back to the castle yet, so I don't know the situation."

The female centaur was downcast for a moment, then raised her head again and said firmly, "Dumbledore respects us and allows us to live with dignity in the Forbidden Forest. We will also protect Dumbledore as we would our old folks and children."

They placed Dumbledore's body among the most vulnerable centaurs in the lair.

The elderly centaurs prayed silently for Dumbledore, while the young centaurs curiously reached out to touch Dumbledore's beard, only to be pulled back by their elders.

“Dumbledore is asleep,” the old man said in a hoarse voice. “Don’t wake him.”

The little horse nodded obediently.

Praris said in a low voice, "I think a lot of people would like him to be woken up."

“My child, Dumbledore has the power of mercy,” the centaur said gently. “Fate will not be unkind to the kind.”

In the instant Dumbledore fell, Harry seemed to see again the green light from his infancy, the green light that brought death.

Wearing an invisibility cloak, he darted through the dense forest, running as fast as he could towards the direction where Dumbledore had fallen. But gradually he slowed down, until he collapsed to his knees, crawling on the ground, curling up in a silent groan and weeping.

Harry knew that Dumbledore couldn't possibly have survived. He was only alive because his mother, Lily, had risked her life to protect him, while Dumbledore hadn't.

When Harry saw Dumbledore again, he had countless questions to ask, but not one of them was about why he was alive.

The cruelest thing in the world is that he had just learned that Dumbledore was alive, but then had to accept the news of Dumbledore's death.

He also harbored a sliver of hope, wishing it was just another of Dumbledore's tricks—he desperately wanted Dumbledore to deceive him once more, believing that as long as Dumbledore was alive, everything could be forgiven.

"The only compensation I can offer is that I will not let you embark on this path alone."

Harry slowly raised his head and saw his mother Lily, his father James, Headmaster Dumbledore, and... Cedric's father Amos Diggory, and Prader's mother Sylvia.

“Is my son brave?” Amos asked.

Harry wiped away his tears and nodded heavily: "Cedric is a brave man. He and Cho came back to protect Hogwarts and avenge you."

Amos smiled proudly: "Sed has always been my proud son—and your son is no less impressive."

Amos turned to James and Lily and said.

“You’re so brave.” Lily looked at Harry with fascination, as if she couldn’t get enough of him. James picked up where she left off, saying, “Harry, we’re proud of you too.”

"Does it hurt?" Harry blurted out, somewhat annoyed.

Harry had only heard Sylvia's voice once; it was hoarse and grating, utterly unpleasant. But the moment she fell was one he would never forget, and he imagined that Lily had once been just as brave.

The lady said slowly, “Death? Not at all. I came running here. This is something to celebrate.”

Harry finally looked at Dumbledore, who looked at him gently and kindly, and reached out his hand to him.

Will you walk this road with me to the end?

"We all will."

"Until the very end?"

"Until the very end."

Chapter 303 Rushing Towards Death 2

Death is both terrifying and beautiful.

A person who dies without any choice is destined to be filled with regret. A person who chooses to die is undoubtedly filled with courage.

On this day, Harry witnessed two choices made to die: once by Lady Sylvia to protect her loved ones, and once by Dumbledore to protect even more people.

Harry turned and looked toward the castle in the distance, where his hard-won family was—his godfather Sirius, his lover Ginny, his friends, and many others he had only met briefly.

He knew the ghosts surrounding him were all fake, probably just his imagination, but they were also real—they had truly existed, making him no longer alone on his journey.

Harry seemed to have made up his mind and walked deeper into the Forbidden Forest.

Emerging from the centaur's lair, Praris clenched her fist beneath her sleeve and calmly said, "Sir, go to Hogwarts."

“The mysterious man wants to kill you, and even if he knows you are not the master of the Elder Wand, he will torture you. You did not actually kill Dumbledore, either because you were an accomplice of Dumbledore or because you did not perform your duties well—he cannot tolerate incompetence.”