Dumbledore?
The name seemed to possess boundless magic. The Death Eaters visibly panicked, and some could not help edging toward the exit.
They looked as though they wanted to Apparate away immediately.
Bellatrix turned around, toying with her wand as she glared viciously at them. Her icy gaze made them feel like pigs awaiting slaughter, sending chills down their spines. Only then did the restless Death Eaters settle down again.
They were not the only ones affected. Harry felt as though night had suddenly turned to day, and the sun had come out!
Buoyed by that feeling, Harry fought magnificently. Even surrounded, with Petunia and Dudley to protect, he managed to bring down two opponents before Bellatrix disarmed him and bound him to the pillar again.
Having learned from last time, Bellatrix placed Harry's wand far out of reach on the communion table. In addition to binding him, she cast Petrificus Totalus on him.
Yet even after another bout of torture, with his face bruised and swollen, Harry's heart was still full of hope.
Because of Dumbledore. Because he had come!
"Tom, we meet again..."
Dumbledore spoke calmly. Before him, a streak of black smoke descended from the sky. The spreading darkness gathered and condensed, revealing Tom Riddle's figure.
The two faced each other from a distance. No earth-shattering battle erupted immediately; they merely scrutinized one another.
One wondered whether his opponent had grown too old to lift his wand, while the other considered just how badly his enemy's mind had deteriorated.
After the standoff had lasted a while, Dumbledore finally spoke.
"To be honest, I'm a little surprised."
Dumbledore stood motionless, as though Voldemort were some insignificant nobody.
"Surprised by what, Dumbledore? Surprised that the great Voldemort has returned once again? Surprised that he has conquered death once