Cancellation of the tournament

No professor is ready to accept the fact that Voldemort has returned. The horrors of the 70s were still etched in their minds and it is too sudden.

It will take time for them to come to terms with the reality once Voldemort started making his moves but the problem lies with Cornelius Fudge.

The minister of magic had turned pale and became frantic as he rejected it firmly, "No, The Dark Lord was dead more than 14 years ago and there's no way he can resurrect again. You are trying to mislead everyone and throw the wizarding world into chaos, Albus. I will not let you do that."

As Fudge gritted his teeth in frustration and anger mixed with strong denial, Dumbledore looked like he doesn't care.

He ignored the minister of magic and looked at everyone, "Whether it is the truth or the kids might have been confused, the truth will come out eventually. All of us had lived in times of the Dark Lord. He won't sit around and do nothing. The dark forces will soon unite. If the ministry and the other wizards are with me, then, it's good. If not, then, it's a pity. However, I'm talking to all of you now.

At the very least, here's what you can do to safeguard the students of Hogwarts. And Madame Maxime…"

Dumbledore then turned his head to look at the half giantess, "I apologize for doing this but in light of the safety of your students, it's best if you return along with the kids and I request you to increase the security of Beauxbatons Academy for the time being."

As the tournament is already over and they will have to return two days later anyway, Headmistress Maxime nodded in understanding. Dumbledore then tasked Severus Snape to continue to look after the students of Drumstrang Academy at the Slytherin house dorm until one of their Professors come and pick them up.

With Karkaroff fleeing away from the academy and was hiding or more like house arrested at Tagues village, for the time being, Dumbledore had no choice but to continue accommodating them.

Dumbledore felt suspicious when Moody wasn't present in the emergency meeting citing a headache. Because the meeting was urgent, he put the matter aside at first and then instructed Snape to fetch the strongest Auror as he called for the assembly.

Very soon, everyone arrived at the Great Hall where Dumbledore informed his decision.

Why were Harry and Neal teleported far away? Who was the winner between them? Why did the Triwizard get destroyed? Why are Drumstrang students told to stay but Beauxbatons students were leaving right away? Why their examinations were canceled but weren't given the summer vacation?

There are several questions in the minds of the students from Year 1 to Year 7 but Dumbledore doesn't seem like he is interested to clarify their doubts. He didn't give a single proper reason and just told them to follow the decision.

Meanwhile, Snape had returned to the Great hall alone with something in his hand. His facial expression was damn serious.

Once the students were dismissed, Snape informed Dumbledore about Moody's disappearance and handed him the small bottle, which the auror used to frequently drink something like pumpkin juice.

Minerva McGonagall and a couple of other professors turned serious as he said, "This is poly juice potion. So, that wasn't Alastor Moody."

"Who might it be?" McGonagall wondered out loud.

"We don't know who but I think you know his goal," Dumbledore replied to her.

"Are the boys safe?" She asked, although her worry is more about Harry.

"We can only hope so," Dumbledore let out a sigh as he glanced at the bottle once again. Something clicked in his mind. He abruptly looked at Snape, "Severus, you come with me for a moment."

Leaving McGonagall alone to manage the school affairs, Dumbledore grabbed Snape and disapparated to the Headmaster's office.

After reaching there, he said, "Roll up the sleeve, Severus. I need to see the mark."

Snape nodded and showed his dark mark which was shaking left and right while glowing a bit, "He was calling for my presence for the past few minutes while but I didn't get the opportunity to inform you in person. What should I do? Continue to ignore or return?"

"Go and retain his trust in your way. But, Neal's secrets should be out of your 15 years of information. Will you be able to do that?" Dumbledore asked in return.

As Snape nodded firmly because of his mastery in occlumency, Dumbledore let out a sigh, "I guess I'm putting a heavy burden on you. I apologize for that but it cannot be helped. Harry isn't ready yet."

"Ready for what? To battle the Dark Lord?" Snape almost snarled at him when thinking about such a scenario before he calmed himself and said, "He's just a boy."

"You know the prophecy, Severus." Dumbledore reminded him of something that he wished to forget for a long time now. "He will become the death of Voldemort. Now, don't tell me that you have grown fond of him."

Snape stayed silent for a while and slowly replied, "If he dies, her sacrifice would become nothing."

Dumbledore stared at him without commenting on his statement. There was a look of guilt on his face but he managed to suppress it and assured him that Harry will be safe under sacrificial protection, which was cast by lily. He doesn't know the events that happened at the Little Hangleton graveyard yet. So, Dumbledore was also confident about it.

Once Snape left the place, Dumbledore mumbled, "I guess I should speed up my search for the Horcruxes. Let's see what we have so far. First would be Voldemort himself, second is the tom riddle's diary, third would be maledictus Nagini as she always accompanies him, and fourth would be Harry himself. Well, technically, Harry wasn't one because no ritual is involved and only just a fragment of his soul was latched on to him. But, anyway, he can be counted.

So, how many more are there? Turning living things into Horcruxes is always riskier because they have limited life and also can die at any moment. The part of the soul would then wander around to possess any beings or animals. Harry turning into Horcrux was an accident that even Tom might not have any idea about.

So, I should look for powerful magical objects that could hold his soul. No, He even turned a diary into Horcrux which got succeeded to revive. If he had escaped that day, the resurrection would have been a lot earlier.

Anyway, I need to look into the things Tom Riddle held during his time as his student if there is anything left. However, it's been more than 50 years. Let's first put focus on magical objects and the other things. Just destroying one Horcrux will significantly reduce his strength.

Hmm… I wonder if Gaunts had possessed anything. They died poor but they must have some heirloom passed down the line, right? Someone like Tom who was obsessed with pure blood lineage will definitely seek his family items even if his ancestors sold them to someone else. I need to track them.

And he treated Hogwarts as his home. So, he must have wandered several places. I wonder if he had found some ancient magical objects in the castle. I also need to look into them. But first, the House of Gaunt…"