Umbridge's order made the Aurors hesitate. One only had to notice the hostile looks from the surrounding students to know this was definitely no easy assignment.
Most of the Aurors had heard of Albert Anderson, and some even knew a fair bit about him, because they had discussed the man together not long ago.
Who had so easily taken down the Auror squad pursuing Hagrid?
The Ministry of Magic had yet to find the attacker, but that did not mean they had not identified a suspect.
Yes, that suspect was Albert Anderson.
As the Ministry of Magic's most formidable force of violence, every Auror was highly capable. They were not opponents ordinary wizards could handle, let alone an Auror squad of ten being taken down all at once. Even if the attacker had used a despicable ambush, he had only used a few very common spells to accomplish it with ease. That meant he was undoubtedly an exceptionally powerful wizard.
In all of Hogwarts, apart from a few Heads of House who might have been capable of doing it, only the newly crowned International Duelling Champion remained.
Albert had proven his strength to the world long ago. The dragon he had easily subdued, Little Barty Crouch's attempt to ambush him in the maze, and even the Dark wizards he had defeated in the Duelling Competition—all of them highlighted his formidable ability.
Most importantly, Albert rarely used Dark Magic. Only extraordinary wizards could manage that.
Godwin Robards was not foolish enough to make a move. Frowning, he looked at Umbridge, utterly unable to understand why this woman had made such a stupid decision. Was she afraid things had not become serious enough? Did she really think the Ministry of Magic's authority alone could make Albert surrender without resistance? What a joke.