Once the Great Hall had fallen silent, the students realized that Voldemort's voice had not actually vanished. It had merely grown much fainter, sounding as though it came from far away rather than whispering at the backs of their necks.
"Ridiculous! Dumbledore! Do you think this will make me shut up?"
"You think that by using the Patronus Charm to put on a show and briefly draw their attention, you can escape the situation at hand?"
"Dumbledore, you are still as naïve as ever! Naïve enough to make me sick! If you truly care about Hogwarts, if you truly care about the students, then the thing you should do now is come before me and accept your punishment!"
Even though Voldemort's voice had grown faint, the coldness and venom in his tone still made many students instinctively hunch their shoulders.
After all, the terrifying image built around Voldemort through euphemisms such as "You-Know-Who," along with the fear people showed whenever they mentioned that name, had long since planted a deep-rooted fear in the students' hearts.
"Dumbledore, you know better than anyone that you are old!" Voldemort's faint voice continued. "How much longer do you think you can hold on?"
"Continuing this pointless resistance will only make your students hate you, because when you should have made the right decision, you chose meaningless resistance instead."
"You only want to preserve your own momentary dignity—set off some pretty fireworks, stand there with a benevolent expression, and deceive everyone all over again!"
"You really haven't changed at all..." Dumbledore was still smiling, as though Voldemort's whisper was nothing more than wind passing by his ears, not worth taking to heart.
Voldemort's faint voice immediately replied, "Of course I haven't changed! I have waited far too long for this moment!"
"Hogwarts! This castle that