"Professor Dumbledore isn't at school?"
Harry glanced again at the tall empty seat in the center of the staff table, wondering where the professor could have gone at such a critical moment.
"Professor Dumbledore isn't just the headmaster of Hogwarts."
Hermione closed the copy of "Standard Potions" in front of her and stuffed it into the large book bag beside her. Speaking rapidly, she said, "He's also the Chairman of the International Wizard Federation, as well as the Chief Wizard of the Wizengamot... You've at least heard of the Wizengamot, haven't you?"
"I've heard the name," Harry muttered, lowering his head with a guilty look.
Hermione let out a heavy sigh. "The Wizengamot is the wizards' court. Back then, most of the Dark Lord's Death Eaters were thrown into Azkaban after being tried by the Wizengamot... So with the Dark Wizards breaking out on such a large scale this time, the members of the Wizengamot must be among the most anxious and furious."
"They're afraid the Dark Wizards will retaliate?" For some reason, Harry immediately thought of what Dudley and his gang used to do at school.
Hermione shot him a look.
"Retaliate?"
Her tone sharpened. "The Dark Lord's fate is unknown, while the Wizengamot has the greatest wizard of this age as its Chief Wizard. How could they possibly fear retaliation? They're just worried about being mocked by the Daily Prophet and losing face like Fudge."
"I don't know whether the Wizengamot will lose face, but I do know Zheng Qing is finished."
After swallowing the bacon sandwich in his mouth, Ron finally spoke. Rather than joining his two friends in analyzing where the headmaster had gone, he steered the discussion in another direction, with more than a hint of gloating in his voice. "I heard Fudge threw a