Chapter 532: Ostrich (Edited)

As soon as the four entered the office, they saw Dumbledore and Professor Flitwick gathered around the chest with seven locks, discussing something intensely.

Professor Sprout, Minister Fudge and Mr. Ludo Bagman stood silently some distance away, not saying a word.

Professor Sprout's and Fudge's faces were serious, while Bagman's expression, though much more relaxed, still held a hint of concern.

He tried several times to speak, to lighten the mood, but was too tense to do so.

Until Professor McGonagall appeared with Fish and Harry.

"Ha! Thank goodness, you're all safe and sound!"

Bagman's face cleared of worry and he jumped up to greet them, looking in good spirits, in contrast to the others, who had solemn expressions, Professor Sprout and Minister Fudge also looked happy, but still worried.

Professor McGonagall frowned, unhappy with Bagman's behavior, but she knew better, so she said nothing, but nodded coldly at him in response, and Professor Snape just ignored him.

Bagman did not mind the coldness of McGonagall's and Professor Snape's behavior, as he had been accustomed many times to this kind of treatment in the Ministry of Magic.

Moreover, with his gambling debts paid off he was in such a good mood that he thought he probably wouldn't be angry if someone spat in his face right now.

"Professor Dumbledore and the others are trying to decipher the chest, trying to figure out if there are any secrets hidden inside." Bagman continued to chuckle, explaining the situation to Professor McGonagall. "But now that you're back, they needn't be in such a hurry to open it."

No sooner had he said that, however, than Harry was heard to exclaim, "No! The real Professor Moody is probably hiding inside that box!"

Everyone's eyes turned to Harry, most looked a little surprised, only Professor Dumbledore's face had an "I see" look on it.

"The real Moody? What do you mean by that, Harry?".

Fudge, the current Head of the Ministry of Magic, walked up to him, grabbing Harry by the shoulders and asking loudly.

"The Professor Moody who took me wasn't the real Professor Moody, he was a Death Eater who used the multijuice potion." Harry squirmed a little in Fudge's grip and replied, "So the real Professor Moody must have been locked up because he needed to get hair from Professor Moody or something."

However, Fudge wasn't at all concerned about what might happen to Mad-Eye Moody at that point, as he continued to ask, "A Death Eater?! Who is he?"

"Buddy Crouch Jr." Harry's mouth spat out a surprising name.

"Barty Crouch Jr.?!" Fudge repeated, his voice a little distorted. "Impossible!" He shouted, "Barty Crouch Jr. died in Azkaban! He's been buried!"

"That's what I saw with my own eyes!" Angrily replied a hesitant Harry, "I've already seen his face in Professor Dumbledore's Thinking Room, surely I can't be wrong!"

"But... but that's impossible..." Fudge still looked incredulous as he shook his head, "No one escapes Azkaban under the watchful eye of a Dementor, not to mention the fact that Barty Crouch Jr.'s body was buried by a member of our Ministry of Magic."

"I think, you're probably forgetting Sirius Black, Cornelius." Dumbledore said softly as he approached, making Fudge's face instantly turn ugly.

"That, that was just an accident!" Minister Fudge said stiffly.

"If there was an accident, why not a second one?" Dumbledore still maintained a polite attitude and said, "As for that Barty Crouch Jr. you buried in the first place..." He looked aside at Snape, "Severus, if someone in the middle of a transformation using the multijuice potion dies, can they transform back?"

"No." replied Snape coolly, pursing his thin lips.

"This is just your guess!"

Fudge was still in denial, he would not allow another scandal of an escaped prisoner from Azkaban in the Ministry, even if the fugitive had not escaped during his tenure.

"I saw it with my own eyes!" growled Harry from the side.

"Maybe you were wrong, the other guy just looks like Barty Crouch Jr.!". Fudge waved his hand impatiently, at this point, he had no time for 'Boy Who Lived' humor.

"It's Barty Crouch Jr. that's what Voldemort calls him!". Harry continued to rant.

Suddenly there was silence.

"You, you, who are you talking about?" Fudge changed his tone again, and even Ludo Bagman couldn't keep the smile off his face.

"Voldemort!" Harry snorted, "Voldemort has come back to life! Barty Crouch Jr. kidnapped me, just to use my blood to resurrect his master!".

Fudge was stunned, as if someone had punched him in the face. He blinked dizzily and looked at Harry blankly, as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard. He stammered, still not taking his eyes off Harry.

"Already-You-Know-Who... Is back? That doesn't make any sense. Don't be ridiculous, Harry... I know something terrible happened to you today, but that's no reason for you to lie."

"I'm not lying!" Harry looked at Fudge in astonishment, suddenly realizing that he didn't seem to recognize the other man. "I saw Voldemort come back to life! And he gathered his men!"

He paused, pointing to Fish, who had begun to doze off, "Fish saw him too!".

The crowd turned their attention back to Fish, whose head was hanging off and his body was so wobbly that he would have fallen to the ground if he hadn't been holding McGonagall's robe with one hand.

?(?-ω-?)?

After the excitement of becoming a tiger and awakening spells wore off, Fish was overcome with exhaustion, so he had been in a half-asleep state since he entered Hogwarts castle, and had been dragged away by Professor McGonagall as he moved around unconsciously tugging at the corner of his robe.

Professor McGonagall had noticed Fish dozing, but she hadn't woken Fish, after all, a sleeping Fish wouldn't have time to make a fuss, so she could wake him up when something real happened.

And now was the time to wake Fish up.....

"Fish! Fish! Wake up!"

"Nya?"

?(?Φω??)

Fish raised his head groggily, rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked around suspiciously.

"Minerva, is it time for breakfast nya?".

Fish asked, smacking his lips and cocking his head towards Professor McGonagall, who was standing next to him.

"No!" Professor McGonagall replied with a grimace, then soon looked at Fish earnestly and asked, "Fish, can you tell me where the Portkey sent you and what happened?"

"Oh..."

(?ε?)

Hearing that there was nothing to eat, Fish pouted unhappily.

"When Fish touched the trophy, his eyes clouded over and he was sent to a graveyard. Before Fish could react, a black mass appeared on the ground, covering Fish..."

Fish reluctantly spoke of his experience after being transported by the Triwizard Tournament Trophy.