Cassandra spared Draco only a glance, then turned her attention back to Voldemort and his followers.
After all, whether Draco was complicit or not, it no longer mattered. Her immediate concern was how to rescue Harry from Lucius's grasp and escape safely.
But while Cassandra might not have cared, others certainly did. Ron stepped forward, pointing at Draco, his face contorted with grief and indignation. "Draco, stop pretending! I don't believe for a second you knew nothing about this! I was wrong about you; you and your father are just as revolting and despicable as ever!"
Facing Ron's accusations, Draco opened his mouth as if to explain, but ultimately, no words came out.
Meanwhile, Lucius, seeing his son's distress, apologized profusely to Lord Voldemort and shot a meaningful look at Narcissa. Narcissa sighed inwardly, but with matters having progressed this far, she had no choice but to proceed as planned.
"Stupefy!"
Narcissa cast a Stunning Spell, and Draco swayed backward, only to be caught in Narcissa's arms. Holding Draco, Narcissa humbly explained to Lord Voldemort: "My great Lord, please forgive Draco's discourtesy! Draco was, after all, unaware of this beforehand, so he may find it difficult to accept at first. Please forgive his offense!"
This time, unusually, Lord Voldemort did not pursue the matter despite Narcissa's apology. Perhaps his mind wasn't on Draco at all. He merely said in a low voice, "Very well, take him away. He has done well this time. Afterwards, I shall reward him. He will be worthy of receiving my Dark Mark!"
Hearing Lord Voldemort's words, Lucius wore a look of overwhelming delight, thanking him profusely. Whether Lucius was truly so pleased inside remained unknown.
Ignoring Lucius, Lord Voldemort instead addressed Harry Potter, who was beside Lucius. "Harry Potter! We meet again! This time, I wonder who will come to save you!"
Hearing Lord Voldemort's words, Harry Potter glared furiously at him and retorted, "If you want revenge, come after me! Leave them out of it!" As he spoke, Harry gestured toward Cassandra and the others.
Lord Voldemort coldly responded to Harry's words, "Harry Potter, who do you think I am? You alone cannot appease my wrath!"
"Not just you, but that wretched Wentworth Grindelwald too! Both of you shall die! But not before you've suffered a fate worse than death!"
Then, Lord Voldemort instructed the Death Eaters before him, "These wizards are both Albus Dumbledore's students and Wentworth Grindelwald's friends! I want you to capture them alive!"
"Heh heh heh, I want Albus Dumbledore and Wentworth Grindelwald to watch with their own eyes as their students and friends die because of them!"
Hearing Lord Voldemort's command, the Death Eaters before him readily agreed.
Immediately, Bellatrix Lestrange was the first to rise, drawing her wand and sneering as she looked at Cassandra and the others.
The rest followed suit, slowly encircling Cassandra's group.
Seeing this, Harry, who was still being held by Lucius, quickly shouted, "Go! Run, all of you!" But before Harry could finish, Lucius seized him by the throat.
Cassandra, however, shook her head, her face grave, and said, "We can't leave. Unless we defeat them, we won't get out of this manor!"
Bellatrix Lestrange, still gnawing on her wand, approached Cassandra with a sinister grin, speaking with a playful sneer: "Little one, I wonder if your bones are as hard as your mouth! I'm going to rip your bones from your body, one by one! You'd better hold out! I wouldn't want you to die after just a few hits; that would be dreadfully boring!"
Facing Bellatrix's threats, Cassandra calmly replied, "Lord Voldemort, it seems you're quite confident you've got us?"
Lord Voldemort sneered, "Heh heh heh, of course. Didn't you say that Wentworth Grindelwald is the one you swore allegiance to for life? Where is he now? I'd like to see how he intends to save you all! I'll make you realize that I am the most powerful Dark wizard in this world!"
Hearing Lord Voldemort's words, Cassandra subtly signaled to Cedric behind her, while casually saying, "You're mistaken, Lord Voldemort. I chose to pledge my allegiance to Wentworth Grindelwald not because of his power. Perhaps there's something you don't know?"
At Cassandra's response, even Lord Voldemort felt a flicker of curiosity. He stopped Bellatrix and asked, sounding surprised, "Oh? What is it that I don't know?"
Cassandra held her head high, her gaze fixed on Lord Voldemort, and slowly began, "Everyone is talking about Wentworth now, even at Hogwarts. It seems Wentworth is considered the most powerful among the current students at Hogwarts."
"As for outside the school, it goes without saying. Not everyone can appear in the Daily Prophet three or four times! In terms of fame, Wentworth is undoubtedly the most well-known Hogwarts student! It's as if everyone takes it for granted that Wentworth is 'Hogwarts's Number One!'"
"But it seems they've all forgotten that since he started at Hogwarts, Wentworth has never beaten me in a duel! I, this lady, am the number one student at Hogwarts!"
Before her words had fully left her lips, a wand suddenly flew from Cassandra's sleeve into her hand. Unbeknownst to them, Cassandra had secretly concealed her wand in her sleeve at some point. With a silent Accio, the wand had immediately flown to her.
Immediately, Cassandra raised her wand, pointing it at Bellatrix before her, and loudly declared, "Avada Kedavra!"
What happened next occurred in a flash.
Suddenly seeing someone raise a wand at her and utter the Killing Curse, Bellatrix instinctively dodged to the side.
As Cassandra's curse narrowly missed her, Bellatrix was about to laugh when she seemed to remember something crucial.
She quickly turned back to Lord Voldemort, screaming, "No!"
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