Under Mrs Weasley's intense gaze, Ron was forced to swallow his words.
Bill stepped forward and patted Harry on the shoulder, exclaiming, "I must say, you've been very brave today, Harry, duelling You-Know-Who while surrounded by Death Eaters. I'd be horrified!"
Harry shook his head; he did not think much of his performance, having escaped from the graveyard thanks to luck, the ghosts, and the help of Ivan and Sirius.
However, the Order of the Phoenix apparently disagreed, agreeing with Bill that Harry's ability to stand up to Lord Voldemort in a manner that would put most wizards to shame…
"Well, everyone, if you want to know more details, you'll have to wait until tomorrow. What Harry needs most right now is a check-up at the hospital wing and a good night's rest!" Sirius said, pushing his way through the crowd surrounding Harry.
Bill and the others had a lot of questions, but they shut up when they saw Harry's pallor and exhaustion.
After consulting Dumbledore, Sirius dragged Harry away, but not before turning to Ivan and advising him to go to the hospital wing.
'No, I'm fine!' Ivan shook his head, refusing Sirius's offer.
He was well-versed in medical magic, so he was well aware of his physical condition. He was not injured, but at most, he had used up too much magic and was mentally exhausted…
… .
At the same time, all the students in the Great Hall were gathered around the long tables of the four houses, anxiously waiting, or whispering about the chaos on the Quidditch pitch in the evening.
The prefects who were maintaining order were shouting themselves hoarse, but to no avail. Helpless, they could only look towards the teachers' seats.
Snape was sitting alone at the empty teacher's table, clutching his left arm with a grim expression on his face. He was in no mood to listen to the noisy discussion going on around him.
A few minutes later, the doors to the Great Hall were pushed open, and hundreds of young wizards turned to look. Several professors and Dumbledore, who had been out of sight all this time, entered the hall.
Ivan and the others sat down at the Gryffindor table.
"Ivan, where have you been tonight? I heard that Harry was taken. Is that true?" George and Fred asked curiously.
"Well, you could say that. Professor Dumbledore will explain the details later…" Ivan said vaguely.
On the other side, Hermione, Ron, and the others were surrounded by the other young Gryffindor witches and wizards, all of whom bombarded them with questions about their whereabouts.
During the riot in the early evening, Ivan and the others were overheard talking, and many people were interested in hearing about it.
"Silence!"
On the stage, Dumbledore's voice rang out, his face serious and not at all his usual genial self.
Sensing this, the young wizards all fell silent, and the noisy Great Hall suddenly became very quiet, as if everyone had been bewitched.
"Tonight, many unexpected things have happened, and I know you must have many questions by now, but before I tell you this, there is something else I must say, so as not to spoil your good mood…"
Dumbledore's half-moon eyes looked around the Great Hall, then fixed on Ivan.
"First of all, I would like to congratulate Mr. Ivan-Harrs on winning the Triwizard Tournament for Hogwarts! He has performed exceptionally well and is a worthy champion…"
As soon as Dumbledore finished speaking, the Great Hall erupted in applause, and everyone turned to look at the Gryffindor table with admiration, admiration, and awe.
After three matches, even Beauxbatons and the Durmstrang students were convinced that Ivan had won.
Amid the compliments and applause, Ivan nodded casually at the crowd, but his heart did not waver. After learning of Voldemort's return, he was in no mood to celebrate his victory.
"Secondly, it was Harry Potter, who came in second!" Dumbledore added, waiting for the applause to die down.
Hearing this, the crowd applauded and looked away from Ivan, searching the table for Harry.
However, to their surprise, Harry did not appear to be in attendance, as he was nowhere to be found in the Great Hall.
"I'm sure some of you have guessed part of the truth, and that's what I'm going to tell you!" Dumbledore exclaimed, watching the expressions on everyone's faces.
"At the end of the Triwizard Tournament, Azkaban's outlaw Peter Pettigrew used Polyjuice Potion to take Harry Potter from the Quidditch pitch and bring him to Lord Voldemort…"
"According to Mr Potter's post-mortem description, Voldemort used his blood to perform a Dark ritual, brewing a potion to restore his powers!"
Dumbledore's words caused the atmosphere in the Great Hall to freeze as everyone stared at him in horror and disbelief, some even wondering if he was telling an extremely bad joke.
However, Dumbledore's expression showed no signs of joking as he said, "I must regret to inform you of his success… There have been attempts to put a stop to it, but we were apparently too late…"
"And now… he's come back to life. Yes, you heard right. His magic brought him back!"
Dumbledore's words caused an uproar in the crowd, which caused the wizards to chatter nervously and fearfully, their voices growing louder and louder, with a faint, uncontrollable edge…
Ivan, Ron, and Hermione, who were in the know, were even more annoyed, and at first had the presence of mind to explain things to the students who asked if they were telling the truth.
However, in the end, there were too many people who questioned it, and they simply couldn't be bothered to explain.