Flames carried by Fawkes scattered in all directions, and a face framed by silver-white hair and beard, aged and solemn, emerged from the fire!
It was Professor Dumbledore!
The instant Harry saw that face clearly, his entire body relaxed.
No one else would be hurt or die tonight. Voldemort and his Death Eaters were truly doomed this time!
It was not only Harry. Sirius beside him, the Aurors, Arthur, the Longbottoms, and the young wizards who had risked coming here tonight all shared the same thought.
Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, the greatest wizard of the age!
Even during these years when Professor Breen's reputation had been so overwhelming, people had never forgotten the changes Albus Dumbledore had brought to this world.
People still called Albus Dumbledore the only wizard ever feared by the most evil dark wizard in history!
In contrast to Harry and the others' exhilaration, the surviving Death Eaters looked as though their parents had died.
Forget Lickwood and Rabastan—even Bellatrix, the most fiercely loyal among them, stood frozen in place, at a complete loss.
"Dumbledore."
Voldemort, who had just escaped through the power of the Twin Serpent Wand, still hovered in midair. His blood-red eyes were wide as he stared at Dumbledore, who had appeared from the void, and unmistakable terror surfaced on his bloodless pale face.
That fear ran deep and was complicated. It could even be said that it had nothing to do with the difference in strength between the two of them.
"Too many have died tonight, Tom. Enough—"
Dumbledore said.
None of those currently in the shattered reception hall of the Ministry of Magic had ever seen an Albus Dumbledore like this.
His silver-white hair and beard stirred without wind, and an invisible yet tangible force radiated from his body. Even Hermione