For a moment, everyone was stunned by this news, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.
Hermione was the first to react, asking curiously, "What about You-Know-Who now? You must have beaten him, right?"
"Well, You-Know-Who was badly beaten up and badly injured, and Professor Dumbledore says he won't be able to come out for a while!" Ivan tried to lighten the mood.
'Yeah, I nearly hit him with the Killing Curse in the graveyard!' Sirius added, feigning casualness.
"There's such a thing?" Lupin was amazed. "Then you almost became the second savior of the wizarding world?"
"I also think it's a pity that it was so close!" Sirius said, raising his eyebrows.
"Then when we get back, you must tell me how you managed to escape from Lord Voldemort…" Lupin said as he patted Sirius on the shoulder.
As they chatted and laughed, McGonagall, Arthur, and the others gradually recovered from the shocking news of Lord Voldemort's return, and they felt much more at ease after learning that Dumbledore and the others had injured Lord Voldemort once.
If they could defeat Voldemort once, they could defeat him a second or third time! Until they sent him to hell!
"By the way, Sirius, we heard from Miss Granger and Mr Weasley that you were the one who took Harry out of Hogwarts. How did that happen? Did You-Know-Who control you as well?" Lupin asked curiously.
"It was Peter who used Polyjuice Potion to disguise himself as me and sneak into Hogwarts…" Sirius sighed, then proceeded to explain the situation briefly.
When Sirius told the story of Kreacher risking his life to sneak into the Riddle House, only to be tortured to death by the Imperius Curse, the faces of Lupin, McGonagall, and Arthur were filled with shock, both at Kreacher's tragic fate and at the loyalty of the house-elf.
When Hermione heard this, she leaned over Ivan's shoulder and sobbed quietly…
Ivan comforted Hermione with a soft voice, his heart filled with mixed emotions. Kreacher's leak had indirectly killed Sirius, and now this house-elf had done the exact opposite, sacrificing herself to save Sirius.
"He was a wonderful elf! We should have been nicer to him before…" Lupin sighed.
Sirius looked very desolate.
Growing up, he loathed Kreacher, believing the house-elf to have an extremely pure-blood mind, inherited from his mother, and thus had a hard time with him.
While the crowd was wallowing in their grief, Moody interrupted, "I must say, Sirius … you're usually so flamboyant that it was easy for You-Know-Who to track your movements and learn that you and Harry are going to the game …"
Sirius did not argue with Moody, his face full of guilt and regret, as he knew Moody was right.
During his time in Azkaban, he wanted to make up for the ten years he had lost in Azkaban, so it was easy for Voldemort to investigate his schedule.
After reprimanding Sirius, Moody turned his gaze back to Arthur Weasley and said rather resentfully, "And you, Arthur, I've warned you to watch out for every suspicious point in a case. If only you had noticed earlier that Sirius and I were acting strangely, things might not have turned out so badly!"
Arthur smiled wryly. He hadn't heard from You-Know-Who during the World Quidditch Cup, so he didn't expect him to show up at the campsite and control Sirius with the Imperius Curse…
Moody was about to continue when Dumbledore interrupted him.
"All right, let's stop for a moment, Alastor. This is not the time for this discussion. We have a number of things to attend to…"
"Besides, I don't think this defeat was caused by the fault of any one person, and even if you had been cautious at all times, Tom would have made other plans to achieve his goals!" Dumbledore said soothingly.
Lupin and the others nodded in agreement. The main reason Voldemort had caught them off guard was because no one could have predicted that he would have regained some of his strength with Peter's help.
"Albus, now that Harry is safe, it is time for us to return to Hogwarts… and for the children to get some rest!" McGonagall reminded him eagerly.
She had heard from Hermione about the riot at Hogwarts, and was worried about what might happen if they got back too late.
Dumbledore naturally had no objections, and called for the group to prepare to leave via Disapparation.
"Wait, Professor…" said Harry, as if he had just remembered something. "Winky…Winky's still there!"
"Winky, the house-elf that Barty banished? Isn't he working for Lord Voldemort now?" Moody asked curiously.
McGonagall and the others also turned to look at Harry, as Sirius had told them about Winky.
Harry quickly told him about Lord Voldemort's torture of Winky with the Cruciatus Curse in the graveyard, and how he believed that Winky had been forced to submit to Lord Voldemort, and how she was now an ownerless house-elf after Crouch Junior's death.
Now that Lord Voldemort was gone, the Death Eaters would not dare linger in the graveyard, and Winky, now unconscious, would most likely be abandoned there.
'Harry, much as I hate to say it, those Death Eaters would never allow Winky to live, it knows too many secrets…' Sirius cautioned hesitantly.
Harry's eyes darkened.
Dumbledore suddenly spoke up. "When I return you to Hogwarts, I will take the time to visit … perhaps the Death Eaters will pass by in their haste."
"Thank you, Professor!" Harry turned to Dumbledore in delight.
"As for now, take my wrist and let's go back, Harry!" Dumbledore laughed.
(PS: One Update)