"That joke isn't funny at all. Ha, haha..." Hearing Harry's words, Ludo Bagman instinctively took them as a joke, but even so, his smile was very stiff.
The Hogwarts professors and Sirius, however, reacted differently.
Dumbledore said nothing. Professor McGonagall spoke first. "Mr. Potter, are you certain you're sufficiently clearheaded right now?" Her expression was grave.
Potter was a student she thought highly of, and one she had watched grow up.
Though he was very mischievous-second only to the Weasley family's twins in her decades of teaching-he knew where to draw the line. At least he knew when he could joke and when it was inappropriate.
He also knew how far a joke could go, and which jokes must never be made.
"I'm perfectly clearheaded, Professor," Harry said anxiously. "Voldemort really has come back to life. And Peter-Peter is alive too. He used some strange magic to bring Voldemort back. They also killed Horton and that headmaster from Nagudinnaf."
"Hm?" The Hogwarts group froze at his words, then all looked toward Nagudinnaf. Sure enough, their headmaster, Weir Hallen, was no longer there.
"This-this is absurd." A shrill voice rang out as a short, fat woman in a bright red sweater squeezed out of the crowd. It was the Ministry of Magic official, Umbridge.
She stared fixedly at Harry as though looking at a villain. "This boy is clearly talking nonsense!"
"Dolores..." Bagman seemed about to say something, but Umbridge's shriek cut him off.
"He's spreading malicious lies to mislead everyone! Listen to what he's saying. Claiming Peter isn't dead? Everyone knows Peter is dead. The Ministry of Magic executed him! He's slandering the Ministry. I'm taking him back to the Ministry..."
As she spoke, Umbridge reached out to grab Harry's clothes.
Just then, however, a spell struck her hand.
"Ah!"