Chapter 1728: Saving Ron

“You can’t help me, but thankfully, the battlefield of this fight is this boy’s soul, where he is the supreme ruler,” Riddle continued. “Only he can help me. You can simply understand this as: if he and I can defeat another, stronger Riddle, then this boy can still be saved.”

“No problem, Ron is strong, he’s a true Gryffindor.”

“You two will definitely win.”

“I’m not as optimistic as you are,” Riddle shook his head. “Gryffindor? In my eyes, it’s nothing but a synonym for foolishness. Forgive my bluntness, but while there are occasionally some brilliant individuals in this House, most are mindless, inflexible idiots who fight by shouting, using their wands like swords, endlessly casting Disarming Charms or Stunning Charms as if they know nothing else. Unfortunately, the boy lying there is one of them. He’s no different from all the fools I’ve met. I have no doubt that even if he were given another seven years of schooling, he still wouldn’t know more than I did in my first year.”

Riddle’s scathing remarks were no less than Snape’s.

They definitely had a lot in common!

Under different circumstances, Harry would have definitely retorted fiercely, but now, they were all counting on Riddle.

He was a fragment of Voldemort’s soul that had accidentally detached from his main soul when he was fifteen. According to what Dumbledore and Evan had said before, he was the embodiment of all of Voldemort’s goodness and conscience.

Harry seriously doubted whether Voldemort had ever possessed goodness and conscience. Even when he was still Riddle, from the many memories Dumbledore had shown him, Harry knew that Voldemort, even as a child, possessed immense malice and knew how to retaliate against other children.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but blurt out, “Why are you willing to help us?”

“Considering the promises Dumbledore and Evan Mason made to me, in a sense, we’re on the same side. I hope you can achieve victory and destroy the main soul. Of course, in the upcoming battle, if I’m outmatched, I won’t fight to the death. That needs to be made clear beforehand.”

Riddle smiled as he spoke, courteous and composed. “If there are no other questions, then I will enter his soul.”

He stretched out his hand, and the white orb of light that had been floating in mid-air slowly flew towards his palm.

Amidst the shifting light and shadow, his body began to blur.

“Dumbledore’s magic will guide the boy’s soul-consciousness; he will be the true protagonist in the battle to come,” Riddle paused. “By the way, what’s this boy’s name again?”

“Ron Weasley!”

“Very well, Ron Weasley, Gryffindor’s warrior. I hope you won’t disappoint me.”

Riddle’s body vanished completely, and the white orb flew towards Ron.

It wobbled, circled Ron once, and finally slipped into his ear.

Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance, then hurried out to summon all the members of the Order of the Phoenix.

Darkness, endless darkness.

Ron stared blankly at the darkness before him, feeling as if he had lost all sensation.

He was like a stranded ship, motionless, abandoned where it lay.

Even time itself seemed to have lost all meaning. Ron didn’t know what he was thinking anymore.

He was thus trapped in a state of stagnation, devoid of thought, perception, and meaning.

He knew this was wrong, but he didn’t know what to do. At first, a voice kept telling him to go out, but he was terrified. From some point onward, he lost all perception. If possible, Ron would rather be swallowed by endless darkness, so he wouldn’t have to endure this torment.

Harry and the others were going to be disappointed again. He had once again been controlled and forced to do evil.

Ron didn’t know what his body was being controlled to do, but he could feel it. He had experienced similar things several times in the past few years, and he was tired of it, but this time was exceptionally different. His heart was filled with darkness, and a more terrifying monster lurked in the depths of that darkness. There was no chance of victory; he couldn’t defeat it.

What was the point of continuing?

Even Harry, Evan, and Hermione were probably disappointed in him. After all, time and time again, anyone would be…

Then, suddenly, Ron realized something: he could think again. Although waves of despair or evil thoughts assaulted him, he could indeed think.

What was happening?

A glimmer of hope rose in Ron’s heart. With this glimmer, he saw a white orb of light appear out of nowhere, slowly floating before him.

The light, though not very bright, dispelled the darkness.

Ron felt a long-lost warmth; he could move again and got to his feet.

Using the light, he saw that he was trapped in a stone chamber.

The walls were carved with astonishing patterns that looked vaguely familiar to Ron.

“This is the Centaur temple?” There was no doubt about it. Ron vividly remembered Sirius Black’s adventure with them to the Centaur temple years ago; he had recalled that night countless times.

That was where he had encountered the horrifying Acromantulas. Ron remembered it clearly — inside the Centaur temple, they had been everywhere, packed together in the thousands. They had lunged at him and torn him apart without mercy.

Ron shuddered. So, were Acromantulas waiting for him ahead?

Or, an even more terrifying monster? Was it the owner of that voice that had initially lured him out?

Ron had no idea. The white orb of light floated forward, and he hurriedly followed, passing through a hidden stone door into an empty corridor. The stone walls on both sides were also carved with horrifying figures, all creations of the evil god!

Compared to them, Acromantulas could only be described as tame.

Ron didn’t know where the orb of light was leading him, so he cautiously moved forward in trembling steps, afraid of being left behind. Beyond the reach of the light of the white orb, darkness occupied the entire space, as though waiting to devour him.

After walking for a while, he finally remembered —

He didn’t have his wand.

What if he ran into danger?

He fumbled around — and to his surprise, he actually found a wand on himself. It was the one he had used before his second year, the one Charlie had given him. The white unicorn hair at the tip was still visible.

That was strange. Hadn’t this wand already been snapped in half?

So how did it appear again?

The more Ron thought about it, the stranger it felt. He kept following the path ahead for quite some time, until he reached the very top of the Centaur Temple. Then he heard the sound of two people talking somewhere ahead. Someone was there.

He hurried forward, quickening his pace, and shouted, “Harry, Evan, Hermione, is that you? Have you come to save me?”