"Go back and relax." Kasenhis gave Cedric a quick hug and brought the two of them back to Hogwarts, then immediately rushed Harry—who was covered in blood—back to the front of the staff table.
Madam Pomfrey had come out to watch the excitement today as well.
The moment they appeared, the entire staff table fell into chaos. No one understood how the third task, which wasn't supposed to be particularly dangerous, could have ended up like this.
Dumbledore strode over quickly. Kasenhis had just lifted his head when his eyes met Dumbledore's.
"He's back."
"Who's back?" With Barty Crouch missing, and this being the crucial moment of the Triwizard Tournament final, Fudge had also come to Hogwarts to attend the finale and temporarily act as a judge in Crouch's place.
At this moment, he edged over as well, looking extremely tense.
Kasenhis glanced at him. "Voldemort."
"Wa wha what..? Vo Vol Volde..." It was like a lead ball weighing several tons smashing straight into Fudge's chest.
"Give him a moment to process it. They're both safe, right?" Dumbledore asked.
"Harry was protected by Cedric and didn't get caught by that Death Eater hiding in the dark. But Cedric really was transported by the Portkey to a graveyard. After I got there, I helped him for a short while before Harry summoned me back."
"But when I came back, I didn't manage to change anything… that Death Eater still succeeded." As Kasenhis helped Madam Pomfrey and Snape lift Harry onto a stretcher, he straightened up. The moment he turned around, he saw the Diggorys rushing over, both of them panting.
"Kasenhis! Professor Kasenhis! Thank you so much, truly, thank you! My son is still alive. He survived coming back from that group of Dark wizards. It's all thanks to you!"
Kasenhis quickly patted Mr. Diggory, whose face had gone deathly pale. "Cedric! Come over and calm Mr. Diggory down. As for the explanation, you can take your time later. Fudge is still frozen anyway."
Cedric hurried over at once and, together with Mrs. Diggory, began comforting Mr. Diggory.
The family of three had barely taken a few steps when Mrs. Diggory suddenly dropped to the ground, sitting down hard. Cedric's experience was clearly far too shocking for a mother who loved her child so deeply.
Seeing this, Kasenhis quickly went over. He supported Mr. Diggory, had Cedric support Mrs. Diggory, and led them to two seats so they could sit down and rest for a bit.
"By the way, Mr. Diggory, may I ask whether you would like an award ceremony?" Dumbledore walked over at this moment and asked calmly, even though there were still at least a dozen urgent matters waiting for him to decide on.
"You're already very busy, Professor. There's no need."
"You're far more gentlemanly than I expected. Still, there's no need to give up an honor that should be yours just to reduce the workload of an old man like me. Tonight, in the Great Hall, all right?" Dumbledore said.
"Alright." Cedric nodded.
Grindelwald descended, wrapped in a massive sheet of black silk. Hagrid recognized it as an extremely dangerous magical creature—the Shadow Bat.
"I examined the site where the fight took place. Very brief. A few Summoning Charms, one Severing Charm. But very precise. At the very least, when it comes to combat, precise to an excessive degree," Grindelwald said.
"I understand." Dumbledore nodded, calmly pulling Fudge up from where he was slumped on the ground. "We're leaving, Cornelius… Cornelius!"
"Oh—oh… please, give me a hand." Fudge reached out, grasped Dumbledore's wrist, and struggled to his feet. "Right, Kasenhis, please go to that graveyard you mentioned with Gellert. Perhaps he'll be able to notice something important."
Kasenhis nodded and exchanged a glance with Grindelwald. He immediately wrapped Grindelwald in a force field, and the next moment, the two of them appeared inside the graveyard.
"Oh, a resurrection ritual," Grindelwald said casually.
"What?" Kasenhis asked, puzzled.
Grindelwald cleared his throat. "In the wizarding world, the destruction of the body has never really counted as true destruction. There are far too many ways to heal it, or even to reconstruct a physical body entirely."
"There's a ritual that pairs with Horcrux magic to restore a physical body. Aside from the basic materials, it requires three things. The blood of an enemy. I noticed that Harry Potter was covered in wounds caused by Severing Charms."
"The bone of the father. Look over there—what can now be called a corpse left out in the open, missing such a large piece of bone."
"And the flesh of a servant. Some wizards choose to use the flesh of a house-elf, but for him, every Death Eater is his servant, his consumable material."
"So as things stand, Voldemort—Tom Riddle—has most likely already been successfully resurrected. Even if he hasn't, it's nothing more than brewing another batch of magical potion," Grindelwald explained patiently.
"This old bastard really does come back to life way too easily," Kasenhis complained, rolling his eyes.
"Isn't that the truth? Cutting his own soul into pieces until he's neither human nor ghost? Heh…" Grindelwald mocked as well.
"Let's go back. We already know almost everything we need to know," Grindelwald said.
"Mm." Kasenhis replied, and in an instant, the two of them appeared in the headmaster's office.
"Vol Vol Vol Vol.. de.. de.. de.. de..." Fudge was still sitting on the sofa like a malfunctioning machine, hugging himself nervously.
Meanwhile, Dumbledore and Snape were both staring at Fudge with expressions full of speechless disbelief.
Seeing this, Kasenhis was just about to go over and give Fudge a solid slap to snap him out of it when Dumbledore stopped him.
"There's one last thing to take care of. Go to Barty Crouch's house… If you're fast enough, we might still be able to save an innocent life," Dumbledore said.
"Where is his house?" Kasenhis asked.
"At this address." Dumbledore handed Kasenhis the location. Kasenhis compared it briefly, teleported to the nearest spot he could reach, then blinked a few times and found a tall manor hidden beneath a Muggle-Repelling Charm.
With the front door violently forced open, Kasenhis quickly checked several places with strong signs of habitation: the bedroom, the study, the kitchen, even the stairwell, and the Harry-exclusive single-room cupboard.
Nothing. Not just physically—magically as well. With the monocle-equipped Kasenhis, it could be said that his eyes were the measuring stick.
But even so… huh? What was this?
Kasenhis looked toward a man-sized painting hanging in the corner of the hall.
He walked over and casually touched it. There was a sense of touch, but this texture—
Boom!
The entire painting, along with the wall behind it, was blown apart by a single punch from Kasenhis.
________
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