Inside Hogwarts Castle's magnificent Great Hall.
Hawking controlled Harry Potter as he sat opposite Dumbledore. Below them were members of the Order of the Phoenix, several school professors, and officials from the International Confederation of Wizards who had rushed over.
In fact, when Dumbledore had sent out the plea for help yesterday, he had used a diversionary tactic.
On the surface, he had Hagrid release a large number of owls to draw the attention of the Death Eaters watching them nearby. In secret, he had Professor McGonagall transform into a tabby cat and travel through a secret passage to Hogsmeade Village to find his brother, Albus F.
At Albus F's Hog's Head Bar, a Portkey leading to the International Confederation of Wizards had already been prepared.
So when Voldemort had led his army to besiege Hogwarts, the Confederation's forces had already passed through the Portkey and quietly hidden in Hogsmeade Village, ready to launch a pincer attack at any moment.
The reason they had not acted sooner—
On one hand, they had not been confident. Their chances of victory had been below fifty percent.
On the other hand, they had been waiting for Hawking, that mysterious being who could resurrect wizards and instantly kill more than sixty Death Eaters.
What they had not expected was for Hawking to be so formidable. He had dealt with Voldemort alone and subdued so many of Voldemort's subordinates.
That was certainly a good thing, but it was also something that sent chills down their spines whenever they thought about it.
Because the strength this mysterious Hawking had displayed was simply too great—greater than Dumbledore's, perhaps even greater than Merlin's.
It was naturally wonderful for someone so powerful to save the world now. But if one day he wanted to destroy it, who could possibly