They entered the room, and Sirius stepped forward, relieved as he saw Evan and Harry lying on the ground.
"Thank God, you two are still alive!" he exclaimed loudly, his face filled with excitement. "Why didn't I go with you? I had this dreadful feeling that something had happened after you disappeared. Did it?"
Sirius's arm was bleeding from the scar he got during his fight with Barty Jr. Crouch, but he paid it no mind. He immediately rushed to Evan and Harry, lying on the floor, and checked on them.
"I'm okay, Sirius! But Voldemort has returned, and he's regained his physical form!" Harry said quickly upon seeing Dumbledore and Sirius. "He used a potion, a mixture of his father's bone, my blood, and his servant's flesh."
Harry didn't mention that he had heard Barty Jr. Crouch laugh maniacally.
"The Dark Lord is back! You're all going to die! I've succeeded! I, Harry Potter, have been given to him, and I will earn more honor than any other Death Eater. I'll be his favorite!" Barty Jr. Crouch continued to laugh wildly despite Sirius landing a heavy punch, causing him to bleed from the nose and mouth. This man seemed completely insane.
Snape looked at Barty Jr. Crouch with disgust and tried to use his wand, but no sound came out.
"Evan and I were brought here by portkey, and Voldemort has been resurrected with my blood," Evan explained briefly, looking directly into Dumbledore's eyes. "Then he gathered the Death Eaters, and we had a battle."
"Did you have a battle?" Snape inquired skeptically. "And the Dark Lord had his Death Eaters with him?"
"More accurately, Harry dueled with Voldemort, and I took care of the other Death Eaters and a snake named Nagini. However, Nagini turned out to be just an ordinary snake, not the powerful creature I had imagined," Evan clarified, assuming Dumbledore could discern the implications.
He had suspected Nagini might be a Horcrux, but that wasn't the case. Voldemort hadn't made a Horcrux out of it. This was not good news, indicating that Voldemort might have created a Horcrux that Evan was unaware of, further complicating their efforts.
"During my duel with Voldemort, I used a Disarming Charm," Harry added, realizing that the others found it hard to believe him. "Our wands, mine and Voldemort's, were connected, and a large, golden light appeared."
Harry then explained the details of the duel, something Evan wasn't privy to. As their wands clashed and the image of things emerged from Voldemort's wand, Harry experienced a rush of memories. He saw Bertha Jorkins, the two wizards, his mother, and his father.
A heavy silence filled the room after he spoke. Even Snape appeared distracted after hearing about Lily's ghost.
"James and Lily, their wands connected?" Sirius asked, looking at Dumbledore. "Why?"
"Priori Incantatem," Dumbledore whispered. He took out his wand and managed to silence Barty Jr. Crouch, who seemed to have fallen asleep, or perhaps he had gone quiet.
Dumbledore turned around and locked eyes with Harry, their gazes holding a connection that seemed to go beyond the physical realm.
Then, he turned his attention to Evan, expressing profound contentment.
"Priori Incantatem?" Sirius inquired, seeking clarification. "Does it replay the spells cast?"
"Yes," Dumbledore replied softly. "Harry's and Voldemort's wand share the same core, a feather from the same phoenix. Specifically, the feather comes from the phoenix I keep, Fawkes."
"The feather in my wand is from Fawkes?" Harry asked, surprised.
"Yes," Dumbledore confirmed. "Four years ago, Mr. OllEvander wrote to tell me that your second wand was purchased from his shop."
"In that case, what happens if two wands from the same core meet?" Sirius asked.
"Normally, they wouldn't harm each other," Dumbledore explained patiently. "If two wand masters were to duel, a rare phenomenon might occur. One wand would force the other to duplicate its last spell in reverse order. It starts with the most recent spell, followed by those that Harry saw – the people Voldemort has killed."
"When my parents spoke to me, were they alive?" Harry asked eagerly. "Like ghosts?"
"I'm afraid not," Dumbledore said solemnly. "No magic can truly bring the dead back to life. You saw merely echoes, shadows of James and Lily, preserved as sacrificial victims under Voldemort's wand."
A heavy silence fell over the room once more. Sirius clutched his chest, his body trembling slightly. Snape's complexion remained dark as he stared at the broken mirror on the wall, lost in thought.
Evan's gaze remained on Barty Jr. Crouch, who sat across from them. He suspected that Dumbledore had used some form of magic on him. Barty Jr. Crouch didn't appear unconscious but sat there in a daze.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In the quiet office, everyone was immersed in a somber mood. Then, they noticed that Harry's arm was still bleeding, and Sirius quickly moved to help him tend to the wound.
Meanwhile, Evan realized he was wearing his school robe and removed the tattered robe he borrowed from Gabrielle.
"I don't quite understand why Voldemort used your blood," Sirius asked, examining Harry's wound.
"He said that using other people's blood in combination with mine would make him stronger," Harry explained as he extended his arm for Sirius to dress the wound. "He claimed that the protection my mother left in me also made him want a share of that strength. He's right because he won't be harmed the next time he encounters me. After resurrecting, he bumped into me again and wasn't injured. He also touched my face."
In a brief moment, Harry thought he saw a glimmer of joy in Dumbledore's eyes. However, he quickly dismissed the idea as a trick of the light. Dumbledore immediately appeared as old and weary as ever.
"Voldemort has broken through that extraordinary barrier!" Dumbledore declared, shifting his gaze to Barty Jr. Crouch, who sat in a chair. "He has returned, and that is a fact. Now, the question is, what should we do next? While we know most of the truth, we still need to clarify some details. Severus, please fetch your most potent Veritaserum and summon Winky, the house-elf, to look in the kitchen."
Snape nodded and promptly left the room.
"By the way, what happened after we left the school?" Evan inquired. "Krum seemed to be under the Imperius Curse. Is he alright?"
"He's fine, receiving treatment in the hospital wing now. The Merpeople immediately sent word after the three of you disappeared via portkey. I was here with this lunatic!" Sirius pointed to Barty Jr. Crouch. "I was supposed to apprehend him according to our plan, but everything happened quickly. Fudge must have been terrified, and he was rushed to the school hospital. We then escorted him back to the castle, and that's when Dumbledore told us you two were here."
Evan and Harry filled in the details of what had happened after Sirius left. It was a chaotic scene, with the sudden appearance of unexpected circumstances, combined with the previous incidents involving Vampire and the Dark Gods, leaving everyone bewildered.
Until now, the situation outside the castle was still in turmoil, with the professors doing their best to maintain order and guide the students back to their common rooms. Fortunately, aside from Cedric's disappearance, there were no reported casualties. However, Ron had sustained significant injuries; Krum had subjected him to the Cruciatus Curse and then nearly became a meal for Grindylows.
Thankfully, Moaning Myrtle had been nearby and alerted others. Merpeople had come to his rescue in time.
"Barty Jr. Crouch posed as Moody, but where is the real Moody?" Harry asked.
"Nothing has happened to him; he should be in his room. They needed him alive here, so they kept him nearby while taking on his role of brewing Polyjuice Potion," Dumbledore replied, reaching for a key from Barty Jr. Crouch's pocket.
Before everyone's eyes, Dumbledore inserted the key into a lock. It was the first of seven locks securing a box.
Dumbledore opened the box, revealing a stack of spell books inside. He closed the box, removed the first key, and inserted the second one into the second lock. Upon opening it, the box no longer contained spell books. Instead, it held various broken items, including mirrors, parchment, a quill, and a tattered silver Invisibility Cloak.
"This is the seventh, Professor," Evan reminded, knowing Dumbledore needed to proceed.
Dumbledore inserted the seventh key into the final lock and lifted the box's lid. To the surprise of Harry and Sirius, there was an underground chamber beneath the box, about three meters deep. On the chamber floor lay a man, looking thin and as if in a deep slumber. It was the real Mad-Eye Moody.
His wooden leg was missing, and the magical eye under his eyelid had an empty socket. His gray hair appeared shorter, and there was a marked difference in his appearance from the Moody they had known.
Dumbledore descended into the chamber, approached the unconscious Moody, and gently examined him.
"He has fainted, likely from being under the Imperius Curse. He's quite weak," Dumbledore said, "but fortunately, he's not in danger. Madam Pomfrey can attend to him, and he should recover in time."
Dumbledore and Sirius carefully lifted Moody and laid him on a sofa near the fireplace.
Just then, hurried footsteps echoed in the corridor, and Snape returned, accompanied by a disheveled Winky the house-elf.
Winky poked her head from under Snape's robes and immediately spotted Barty Jr. Crouch still tied to the chair.
She let out a piercing scream. "Master Barty! Master Barty, what are you doing here?" she cried, flailing her arms. "You've killed him! You've killed him! You've killed the master's son!"
"We were only keeping him detained, Winky," Dumbledore reassured her. "Please step aside, Severus. Did you bring the Veritaserum?"
Snape handed Dumbledore a vial of clear liquid, his most potent Veritaserum.
Dumbledore moved closer to Barty Jr. Crouch, who was bound to the chair and administered three drops of the Veritaserum.
Winky, still kneeling on the floor, trembled all over and covered her face with her hands, clearly distraught.
After a few seconds, Barty Crouch Jr. opened his eyes, his gaze vacant, and his cheeks slack.
Dumbledore knelt in front of him, their eyes level.
"Can you hear me speaking?" Dumbledore asked calmly.
"I can," Barty Crouch Jr. replied in a low voice, his eyelids fluttering.
"Very well. The Veritaserum has taken effect. Let's start with a simple question," Dumbledore said gently. "I hope you'll tell us how you ended up here and how you managed to escape from Azkaban."
Barty Crouch Jr. took a deep breath, then continued in a monotonous, detached tone. "My mother saved me. She knew she was dying and begged my father to save me, to do one last thing for her. My father loved her deeply, even though he never loved me. He agreed, and they visited me together, bringing Polyjuice Potion. My mother had a lock of my hair, which she used to transform into my appearance. I drank the Polyjuice Potion with her appearance, and she drank the one with my hair. We switched appearances."
Winky shook her head, her whole body trembling. "Master Barty, please, stop. Could you not say it? You'll get into trouble with your father!"
But Barty Crouch Jr. took another deep breath and continued in the same emotionless tone. "The dementors are blind. They cannot see. They rely on sensing healthy people who will die entering Azkaban and then leaving Azkaban. My father secretly led me out, disguising me as my mother to deceive the guards who looked through the cracks in the door. My mother died in Azkaban shortly afterward. She didn't forget to drink the Polyjuice Potion, taking on my appearance, and was buried as me. Everyone believed it was me."