To bypass the maze anti-apparation wards, Dante masked himself as a house-elf and disapparated to his father's location. The moment he arrived, he observed the scene with a calm gaze. The area was a graveyard filled by figures in Death Eater robes. Dante recognized most of them—pure-blood families who had visited the Malfoy Manor or attended social events with his father. Some were even the parents of his and Draco's schoolmates. Among them stood a fat man in shabby clothes whom Dante didn't recognize, and in the center of the circle was a grotesque, noseless figure with pale, snake-like skin and glowing red eyes. A few meters away, Harry Potter lay on the ground, still alive.
Dante's arrival was accompanied by the faint sound of apparition, drawing the attention of everyone present, including Voldemort and Harry. Dante ignored the Death Eaters, his silver eyes locking onto Voldemort. "Is that him?" he asked, his voice calm but carrying an edge of curiosity.
Lucius nodded, his face pale but composed. "Yes," he said quietly.
Dante smiled and began walking past his father, his steps unhurried as he approached Voldemort. The Death Eaters shifted uneasily, their wands twitching but unsure of how to react. Voldemort's red eyes narrowed as he watched the boy approach.
"Tom Riddle," Dante said, his tone almost conversational. "Voldemort. The Dark Lord. The one who shall not be named. I've been looking forward to meeting you in person for quite some time now. Since my birth, I've heard so much about you. When I learned that Harry was necessary for your return, I went out of my way to ensure his delivery to you."
Voldemort's expression darkened at the mention of his original name, but Dante's next words intrigued him. The boy had played a role in his revival? His lips curled into a cold smile. "And who are you?" he asked, his voice a low hiss.
Dante replied "How rude of me. My name is Dante Malfoy, the eldest son of Lucius Malfoy."
Voldemort glanced at Lucius, then back at Dante, his eyes narrowing as he noted the resemblance. "Ah, yes," he said slowly. "The Malfoys. I see the family resemblance now."
Harry, who had been lying on the ground, stirred and sat up, his eyes blazing with anger as he recognized Dante. "I should have known, you are the one who pushed me" Harry spat. "You're an evil Death Eater, just like your father!"
Dante's gaze shifted to Harry, his expression unbothered. "Actually, I'm not a Death Eater," he said calmly. "My father is. You can ask him if you want." He gestured toward Voldemort with a casual wave of his hand.
Harry's anger didn't diminish, but Voldemort's patience was wearing thin. This was supposed to be his moment of glorious revival, yet this boy was strolling around as if he owned the place. The arrogance was infuriating.
Dante turned his attention back to Voldemort. "When I heard that Harry was needed for your return, I wondered what you were planning. But now, seeing you up close, I'm disappointed. You used Harry's blood to create this body. Now you can touch him, but do you understand the consequences of that?"
Voldemort's eyes flared with anger. "It seems Lucius didn't raise you properly," he hissed. "You're arrogant and blind. But I am a merciful master. On behalf of your father, if you kneel and beg for forgiveness, I might spare you."
Dante blinked, his smile never wavering. "You're not even curious about the mistake you've made? How disappointing." With a wave of his wand, he helped Harry to his feet. "Harry," he said, his tone calm but firm, "he can't beat you. Your mother's magic is now inside him. Trust that magic and teach this fool a lesson."
Voldemort's rage erupted. "You insolent child!" he roared, raising his wand. "I'll kill you, and then I'll punish Lucius for raising such a disgrace!"
Dante placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Now, fight," he said simply.
At the same time, Voldemort shouted, "Avada Kedavra!" A bright green light shot from his wand, hurtling toward Harry and Dante. Harry, acting on instinct, raised his wand and cried, "Expelliarmus!" A beam of red light erupted from his wand, colliding with Voldemort's killing curse.
The two spells locked in a fierce struggle, their beams intertwining and creating a dome of light around Harry and Voldemort. From the clash, three ghostly figures emerged: Harry's parents, James and Lily Potter, and an old man.
The spirits of Harry's parents moved close to him, their voices gentle but filled with love. "We'll help you," Lily said, her eyes soft.
But Dante's voice cut through the moment. "Leave," he said, his tone confident. "Go in peace. Harry will be fine. I'll protect him. Voldemort can't do anything with me here."
The spirits turned to Dante, their expressions a mix of surprise and worry. Lily hesitated but something about the boy in front of her made her trust him. In the end, she nodded. "Please, protect our child," she said before the ghosts faded away.
The beams of light broke, and both Harry and Voldemort took two steps back. The Death Eaters watched in stunned silence, unsure of what had just happened. Dante stepped forward, his silver eyes gleaming as he looked at Voldemort.
"Do you understand now?" he asked, his voice calm but carrying an edge of amusement. "Or do I need to explain it to you?"
Voldemort stood frozen, his red eyes wide with shock. There was no way a boy like Harry Potter could rival him in power. His gaze flickered to Dante, who stood calmly with a faint smile on his face. Voldemort said nothing, but his mind raced as he tried to process what had just happened.
Dante, still smiling, explained, "The magic used to protect Harry was the result of his mother burning her life away, it is one of the oldest and most powerful sacrificial magic that requires intense love. By taking his blood into your body, her magic will act as a bloodborne curse. You can touch Harry now, but if you clash with him or try to kill him, the curse will activate, making you unable to harm him. And as Harry grows stronger, he will eventually overpower you completely. Do you understand now?"
Voldemort's anger flared at Dante's words. If this was true, then the prophecy had come true—Harry had become his equal in a manner of speaking. Dante, noticing Voldemort's burning gaze on Harry, added, "Now is not the time to focus on Harry. You have a much bigger problem."
Voldemort composed himself, his voice cold but measured. "Your theory is interesting," he said. "I admit I haven't studied that kind of protective magic yet. Even if what your theory is true, I will find a way to break it. After all, I am the greatest wizard." His eyes narrowed as he turned to Dante. "But what about you? Are you counting on Harry to protect you?"
Harry looked between Dante and Voldemort, his mind reeling. He didn't know what to make of the situation. Dante had helped Voldemort return, but it seemed he wasn't on his side. Harry had heard Dante tell the spirits of his parents that he would protect him. But why had Dante helped Voldemort in the first place?
Dante laughed, the sound cold and disdainful. "The greatest wizard?" he said, his voice dripping with scorn. "I wouldn't put you among the top twenty of those I've known."
Voldemort's patience snapped. He raised his wand and shouted, "Avada Kedavra!" A green beam of light shot toward Dante, but Dante countered with a swift "Expelliarmus!" The two spells clashed briefly before Dante's disarming charm overpowered the killing curse, hitting Voldemort and forcing him to take a few steps back.
The Death Eaters and Harry stared in shock. Harry's ability to rival Voldemort had been explained by Dante, but what about Dante himself? How could he overpower the Dark Lord so easily?
Dante's smile vanished, replaced by a cold expression. "You pathetic buffoon," he said, his voice low and menacing. "What gave you the audacity to call yourself the greatest when most of what you have is merely the legacy of your betters?"
Voldemort's fury flared. "I resurrected myself from the dead. What could a mere child possibly understand?" he spat back.
At the same time, Voldemort waved his wand, conjuring a thick, black smoke that twisted and coiled into the shape of a menacing skull. It surged toward Dante with terrifying speed. Unfazed, Dante pointed to the ground in front of him, transforming the soil into a rushing wave of water. He sent it crashing toward the smoke skull, which dissolved instantly under the force. The water surged onward, slamming into Voldemort and hurling him meters backward, leaving him sprawled on the ground.
"You claim to have resurrected, but in truth, you never truly died in the first place. Did you think creating multiple Horcruxes in a single lifetime would make you immortal? All you've done is shatter your soul. Now, you'll fade away in a few years at most. That's why I wanted you to come back quickly—I didn't want you to die before I got my hands on you."
Voldemort quickly stood back up but froze at Dante's words, his crimson eyes widening in disbelief. How did Dante know about his Horcruxes? And what did he mean by fading in a few years?
Dante continued, his voice dripping with disdain. "When I first heard of you, I didn't care. Just another fool in history, destined to be forgotten. But then I discovered you ruined little Helen's chance at peace. You tarnished Salazar's legacy. You gave my work a bad name. It's because of the likes of you that I've become the worst thing this world has ever seen."
Voldemort took a step back, a sense of dread creeping into him as Dante's eyes began to glow with a menacing silver light. "For that," Dante said, his voice as cold as ice, "I shall make what remains of your life a living hell."
Sensing imminent danger, Voldemort cast 'Fiendfyre', the cursed flames roaring to life and twisting into the form of a massive, fiery serpent. Dante, however, continued walking forward, utterly unfazed. With a calm flick of his wand, he uttered, "Glacies Aetas."
In an instant, the fiery serpent froze mid-strike, transforming into an intricate ice sculpture. The ground beneath them turned to a sheet of white ice, and the entire graveyard was engulfed in a sudden, biting cold. The Death Eaters and Harry shivered violently, their breath visible in the frigid air.
Voldemort, now visibly terrified, cast the Killing Curse once more. This time, Dante conjured a swirling purple orb that absorbed the green beam effortlessly before shooting forward and exploding at Voldemort's feet. The blast hurled the Dark Lord onto his back again, his wand slipping from his trembling grasp.
Dante continued his slow, deliberate approach. Voldemort struggled to rise, but before he could, Dante hit him with a Crucio curse. Voldemort's agonized screams echoed through the graveyard as he writhed on the ground, his body convulsing uncontrollably. Harry and the Death Eaters watched in stunned silence, unable to comprehend the scene unfolding before them.
Finally, Dante lifted the curse and forced Voldemort to his feet. The Dark Lord's face was a mask of pure fear. Desperate, he tried to Apparate, but a sudden burst of lightning erupted from within him, tearing another scream of pain from his throat. He collapsed to his knees, smoke rising from his body as his entire being trembled in agony.
Dante continued his approach, stopping directly in front of Voldemort. The Dark Lord looked up, his red eyes wide with fear, and whispered in a trembling voice, "Who... who are you?"
Dante smiled cruelly and replied with a low calm voice as if a sinister whisper. "I am a wizard who conquered death thousands of years ago. The one who created Horcruxes and many of the legacies you now wield. You could say I am the progenitor of the dark arts as you know them today."
Voldemort's heart raced in terror. He believed Dante. The sheer, overwhelming magical power this boy—no, this monster—displayed was proof enough.
Dante pressed his wand against Voldemort's forehead, and the Dark Lord screamed in agony. "I've placed a curse on you," Dante said, his voice cold and emotionless. "As long as your soul remains fractured, you will suffer. The pain will intensify with each passing moment. The only way to escape it is to retrieve the fragments of your soul from your Horcruxes."
Voldemort screamed again, his body trembling violently as Dante dragged him by the back of his neck toward Harry. The Death Eaters stood frozen, their fear of Dante eclipsing any loyalty or fear they had for Voldemort.
Dante stopped in front of Harry, who was too stunned to move. "Stay still," Dante commanded, pressing his wand against Harry's lightning scar. With a swift motion, he extracted a dark wisp from the scar and forced it into Voldemort's body. The Dark Lord's screams subsided as the pain momentarily faded.
Dante threw Voldemort to the ground, his voice dripping with cruel amusement. "Now you understand your predicament. Go on, resist with all the futility you can muster. In the end, you'll either retrieve every fragment of your soul or go mad from the pain. And fix that grotesque face of yours. If I don't see a human face the next time we meet, I will torment your soul for all eternity."
Voldemort crawled away, his eyes filled with unbridled terror. Dante smirked. "What are you waiting for? Scram. All of you."
Without hesitation, Voldemort and the Death Eaters Disapparated, leaving only Dante, Harry, and Lucius in the graveyard.
Lucius approached Dante, his face pale. "So, you were serious when you said you had a bone to pick with him. I never expected to hear the Dark Lord scream like that," he admitted.
Dante looked at Lucius with clear disapproval. "After seeing him in person, I truly can't fathom how you followed trash like that."
Lucius lowered his head, his expression apologetic. "I was an idiot. It won't happen again," he said, before hesitating and asking, "But why didn't you kill him? He was at your mercy."
Dante's smile was icy. "I want him to suffer more. I've placed a curse on him that can't be broken unless he collects the fragments of his soul he left behind. But two of those pieces are already destroyed. He'll struggle, search, and despair as he tries to find them for release. In the end, he'll kill himself, go mad from the pain or come back to me to seek the sweet release."
Lucius swallowed hard, realizing the sheer depth of Dante's cruelty. This went beyond even the darkest deeds of the Death Eaters. Dante was, without question, the most sinister wizard of all time.
Dante glanced at Lucius and said, "The show's over. Harry and I should return to the Triwizard Tournament."
Lucius nodded and Disapparated without another word.
Dante turned to Harry. "Let's go back," he said. Harry nodded weakly, too shaken and terrified to resist. He had seen and heard Voldemort's suffering firsthand and finally understood why Dante had helped the Dark Lord return. It wasn't out of loyalty to Voldemort or malice toward Harry—it was to ensure Voldemort's suffering would be as prolonged and agonizing as possible. That realization terrified Harry more than anything else. For the first time, he found himself fearing Dante far more than he had ever feared Voldemort.