Hogwarts: Even Voldemort Can't Stop Me From Studying

Chapter 849 - 220: The Viper in the Church

Passing through the collapsed corridor, the group entered the main chapel of the monastery.

It had long become a state of disrepair, with the towering dome cracked wide open, fragments of stained glass scattered everywhere, dust-covered benches crookedly arranged, and candlesticks corroded long ago, blackened metal branches hanging melted and dried wax tears.

The wooden door of the confession room was tightly shut, intermittent sobbing sounds emerged from inside, the sound fluctuating, like someone suppressing their cries in extreme pain, like the wail of an injured beast, occasionally transforming into indistinct murmuring.

Harry’s small body shuddered violently; he stared fixedly at the confession room, unable to understand under what circumstances a person would make such horrifying sounds.

The scar-faced man threw the two children to the ground, made a respectful posture, and said with his head down, "Dark Lord, Vid Gray and Harry Potter have been brought."

Harry’s knee hit the stone slab, causing a pain so intense that his vision darkened. But he bit his lip hard, refusing to make a sound.

Vid, however, instinctively turned his head, his gaze quickly scanning over the confession room, his heart tightening.

The door of the confession room seemed to have been pushed open a narrow crack, and Vid vaguely saw a blurred figure curled up inside, apparently shackled with heavy chains.

A nauseating blood scent permeated the room, and the chains made a faint scraping sound, as if someone was dragging them, struggling to move their body.

Suddenly, out of the corner of Vid’s eye, he caught sight of a slight movement—

A blood-red eye suddenly appeared behind the door crack, staring unblinkingly at Vid, filled with pain and despair, as if gazing into it led one to the abyss.

Vid’s entire body trembled, cold sweat instantly gushing out from his back. He quickly averted his gaze, his face pale, his heart racing.

At this moment, the sound of wood scraping came from the front of the chapel.

Vid glanced up, only to see an entirely black high-backed chair slowly turning, with a terrifying snake coiled on the chair back.

The snake’s body was as thick as an adult’s thigh, its more than three-meter-long body slowly undulating across the chair back, its scales reflecting a slick black-gold sheen.

The triangular head was raised high, amber vertical pupils coldly observing the two children, the folds of its neck expanding as its flickering tongue emitted a hair-raising "hiss" sound.

[——King Cobra!]

Vid thought to himself.

He couldn’t recall when he had seen a documentary, but he did recognize this kind of snake.

In nature, venom is often a weapon for small creatures or insects, and larger creatures naturally possess great destructive power without needing venom as an attribute.

But the king cobra is different; it is a rare large creature with deadly venom, capable of reaching over five meters long, a single injection of venom enough to kill twenty people!

While Vid’s heart pounded, he suddenly remembered, in this world, neither the king cobra’s size nor its venom makes it the pinnacle among snakes.

For in the magic world, there exist Basilisks, an immensely unreasonable hybrid creature.

And that powerful Basilisk... would be slain by a twelve-year-old Harry.

At this thought, Vid felt a subtle calmness wash over him.

The high-backed chair turned completely.

Among the coils of the king cobra’s body sat a strange infant, entirely red, half-human and half-snake, its pupils narrowed into a red line of blood, a noseless face with two narrow slits that slightly opened and closed with breathing, an abnormally long neck, clutching a slender black magic wand in its limp hand.

Contrary to its terrifying appearance, it bore a rather ordinary name—

[Tom Riddle].

Vid’s breath caught, he looked down at the floor, his small body trembling continuously.

As he lowered his head, he also noticed that in front of Voldemort was a man-high oval mirror hovering, its surface a foggy white, not reflecting any scene from the chapel.

Meanwhile, Harry seemed a little out of it, perhaps having been too terrified, he began to feel that everything around him was probably just a nightmare and not actually happening. Even upon seeing that bizarre infant, his expression didn’t change much.

The boy’s gaze occasionally swept to the king cobra, a tint of peculiarity in his expression.

"Master!" Barty Crouch Jr looked over with fanatical eyes, seemingly unaware of the infant’s grotesque and disgusting appearance, hurriedly saying, "I have finally brought you Harry Potter!"

Voldemort idly twirled the magic wand, letting out a hoarse laugh: "Ah, I know, I’ve seen it all..."

He glanced at the adjacent blank Flow Mirror.

"You’ve done very well, Barty... very well..."

Barty Crouch Jr’s face instantly flushed with a sickly blush, like a child overjoyed at finally receiving candy.

The scarred man and tattooed woman simultaneously glanced at him, and Barty Crouch Jr looked back provocatively, a buoyant joy filling his heart.

——Even being at the Master’s side serving is insignificant; I am the one who made the greatest contribution...

The two shifted their gaze, their expressions subtly odd, and Barty Crouch Jr considered it to be jealousy towards himself.

"It’s a pity," Voldemort slowly said: "The livestream was interrupted, otherwise we could now witness... Dumbledore’s panicked visage."

"Master!" Remembering that dreadful White Wizard, Barty hurriedly spoke: "We should proceed with the ritual soon! Otherwise, Dumbledore might..."

"No need to worry," Voldemort raised his deformed little hand, confidently saying: "The Fidelius Charm has been cast here, Dumbledore will never find this place."

"That is wonderful..."

Barty Crouch Jr immediately showed a relaxed smile, feeling a bit ashamed for having underestimated the Dark Lord’s caution and wisdom.

Then, he heard Voldemort’s voice suddenly turn cold: "However... Barty Crouch Jr, do you know what that child said in front of the camera?"

Barty’s face changed, he instinctively looked at Vid.

To ensure Harry could smoothly make it to the end, preferably even reaching the trophy first, Barty Crouch Jr naturally had a palm-sized Flow Mirror as well, so he could monitor the competition progress at any time.

So, when Vid and Harry stood before the trophy, Barty Crouch Jr was actually hidden nearby, having heard the entire conversation.

His smile instantly froze, his body began trembling, and cold sweat seeped from his forehead.

"Master!" Barty hastily defended: "This kid doesn’t know the whole truth! Although I was indeed captured by Dumbledore, I didn’t reveal anything! And I quickly escaped, that Ryan Smith... is the Master’s eye implanted in Ilvermorny, that student helped me divert the guarding wizards..."

"Don’t be nervous!" Voldemort interrupted his defense, saying gently: "Of course, I believe in your loyalty, my dear child. However... to remove doubts, to prove your innocence, I assume you wouldn’t refuse a small means of verification, would you?"

Barty Crouch Jr immediately prostrated forward: "Of course! I am willing to accept any test, Master! Whatever you want, I will do anything!"

"Then..."

Voldemort raised his magic wand, his crimson eye revealing a trace of ruthlessness.

"Mind Reading!"