"Voldemort has returned," Tver said bluntly.
Even Cedric and the others, who had already realized it, could not help showing worried expressions.
As for Professor McGonagall and the other professors and judges who had no idea what had happened, they all sucked in a sharp breath.
"Wait, my boy, what did you just say? I didn't hear it clearly. Could you say it again?"
It was not that Fudge had failed to hear him. He was simply too stunned by the news.
"Someone inside the school sent Harry and the others to a place Voldemort had prepared, and helped him complete his resurrection."
Though he was answering Fudge, Tver's calm eyes remained fixed on Dumbledore.
Only then did Professor McGonagall notice the wound on Harry's face.
"Potter, come here at once. Your face is still bleeding!"
Harry, still half dazed, touched the skin beneath the wound. The stab of pain finally dragged him back from the shock of Voldemort's return.
"Either dark magic, or a blade with a fuller. Though more likely..." Snape said quickly.
But before he could finish uncorking the potion bottle in his hand, Professor McGonagall hurried over, snatched it from him, and poured the entire bottle straight onto Harry's face.
"...more likely a knife imbued with dark magic."
Snape hid both hands inside his robes, concealing the fists he had clenched tight.
He dearly wanted to point out that the bottle of dittany was extremely precious. For a wound this minor, if it had not carried traces of dark magic, even a single drop would have been too much in his eyes.
Fudge, however, paid no attention at all to that little interruption. Tver's words had already scared him out of his wits.
"That's impossible... how could it be? He's already dead... yes, yes, that's right, You-Know-Who is dead!" he suddenly roared.
"You're right, Tver. A Death Eater must have slipped into the school, taken these children away, and planted some kind of hallucination in their minds!"
"Yes, exactly. That has to be it!"
"No, we saw You-Know-Who with our own eyes... uh, climbing out of a cauldron!"
"We saw it clearly. He turned into a bald man, and his nose was just two long slits!"
The aftereffects of Cedric's soul loss had finally hit him. His head was spinning, and his complexion looked even worse than Harry's after all that blood loss.
But that did not stop him from shouting angrily at Fudge.
After all, he had just stepped one foot through death's door.
"See? You're all muddled in the head."
"Even if You-Know-Who really came back, he wouldn't come out of a cauldron like cooked food out of a pot, and he certainly wouldn't get rid of his own nose. Unless you mean to say he has some strange hobby like that?"
Fudge's cheeks twitched. After fumbling for quite a while, he finally managed a strained smile.
"I think the Ministry ought to award Tver a medal for saving these children. A Second Class Order of Merlin should be easy enough."
Faced with the strange looks from everyone around him, Fudge asked in confusion, "What is it? Of course, if Tver and Dumbledore were willing to push for it, a First Class Order is also quite possible..."
"I don't think a medal is what Tver wants," Dumbledore said at last, emerging from his silence.
"Do you remember what Tver said? Someone is hiding within Hogwarts. In fact, that person may be right here among us."
At those words, Snape and Professor Flitwick reacted instantly, raising their wands and sweeping wary gazes across everyone present.
It did not take long for them to spot Moody edging suspiciously toward the wall.
"Stupefy!"
"Reducto!"
One spell after the other blasted apart the section of wall in front of Moody. The sudden explosion drew everyone's attention to him.
"Where do you think you're going, Alastor?"
Dumbledore stood there with perfect ease, even wearing a faint smile, yet Moody did not dare move.
"I... the students outside are probably panicking because one of the judges suddenly disappeared. I think I should go calm them down."
Moody's magical eye spun wildly, but the words coming from that scarred face were so at odds with his expression that the lie looked almost absurd.
Barty Jr. had never minded dying for the Dark Lord's resurrection plan. But now that the Dark Lord really had returned, of course he wanted to live.
"You're right!"
Dumbledore suddenly turned to Professor McGonagall as if enlightened.
"Minerva, and Filius as well, please go and calm the students. Have them return to their common rooms first."
"And please reassure the Champions' parents too. Though until we investigate what happened tonight, these children cannot be allowed to go back yet."
Professor McGonagall glanced at the wound on Harry's face, now beginning to scab over, then at Cedric, who was forcing himself to stay upright.
Once she had confirmed that the Champions were in decent condition, she nodded and led Professor Flitwick into the maze toward the open grounds outside.
Dumbledore then turned to Snape.
"Severus, I trust the Veritaserum in your stores has not been stolen. Could I borrow some?"
A smile appeared on Snape's face at once, making Harry look even paler.
"I have a full bottle right here, ready to make a certain person speak obediently."
As he spoke, his pocket seemed bottomless. He pulled out another, smaller bottle, but the potion inside was even clearer and brighter.
With deliberate cruelty, Snape gave the bottle a little shake in front of Moody so he could see exactly what was inside, then handed it to Dumbledore.
"Excellent. Alastor, would you care to say a few words now? Or would you prefer to drink a little of this first?"
Carrying all the weight of the greatest white wizard, Dumbledore walked slowly toward Moody, one step at a time. Not only Moody, everyone present felt the air turn heavy in an instant.
A suffocating pressure settled over Fudge. He looked around frantically for a moment before remembering that Dawlish had taken leave tonight.
"Damn it, I should have brought him with me!" he muttered unhappily.
At the center of that crushing pressure, Moody instinctively stepped back. But he forgot that he was now a cripple missing a leg. His prosthetic caught in the grass, and he fell flat onto the ground.
He looked as though Dumbledore had scared him senseless.
"I... I don't know what you're talking about, Albus." Moody forced himself to sound calm, but a flash of viciousness suddenly crossed his eyes.
"Watch out, his wand..." Harry caught the small movement at once.
But before Harry could finish warning him, Moody had already thrust out his wand.
"Avada..."
Seeing that, Dumbledore gave a soft laugh and flicked his hand even faster.
From several steps away, he sent Moody's wand flying out of his grasp. At the same time, thick ropes burst from the ground and bound him tightly where he lay.
"Thank you for the warning, but I think I can still handle a scene like this," Dumbledore said, giving Harry an approving nod.
"And now, let us have a look at your real face..."
Dumbledore manipulated the earth, pinning Moody firmly in place and bringing him right in front of him.
What happened next left everyone stunned.
Moody's face suddenly began to change. The scars gradually faded, his skin smoothed as though growing young again, and his damaged nose was restored.
Then, with a sudden pop, the eerie magical eye sprang out of its socket, and a real eye took its place.
His skin turned a bleached sort of pallor, and his hair became pale blond.
The only thing that remained the same was the missing leg.
So the severed leg used in Voldemort's resurrection had come from him.
...