Just as the students were caught up in laughter and celebration-
Thud.
The doors to the Great Hall were pushed open again.
Three figures hurried inside.
Professor McGonagall, Professor Sprout, and Professor Flitwick stood at the entrance, panting.
They had been in their respective offices when they heard that Dumbledore had left the Astronomy Tower for the Great Hall, and had immediately rushed over.
But they had run into several Aurors along the way and been delayed for quite some time. By the time they arrived, the Great Hall had already been sealed off by powerful magic.
Unable to get in, they could only stand helplessly outside.
Then, a few minutes ago, the barrier had suddenly lifted.
Before the three professors could work out what was happening, they saw Lockhart leading a group of Aurors out of Hogwarts, escorting a thoroughly bedraggled Fudge.
The sight left all three utterly bewildered.
Fudge had been arrested?
Infighting at the Ministry of Magic?
They had been about to ask, only to find that the Ministry group had already gone some distance away. One after another, they departed by Apparition as though fleeing for their lives, without a single word of explanation.
Once the spatial barrier lifted, the three finally rushed into the Great Hall.
Only to find a wild celebration unfolding before them.
"Professor McGonagall, you're finally here!"
Several sharp-eyed students immediately jumped down from the tables and gathered around them.
"What happened? Where's Dolores? Why was Fudge taken away?"
Professor McGonagall fired off three questions in a row.
"The Pink Toad isn't headmistress anymore!" a student said, flushed with excitement and gesturing wildly. "Headmaster Dumbledore is back!"
"Yes, yes! Professors, you should have seen what happened!"
Another student said, "Fudge brought over a hundred Aurors to arrest Dumbledore, but they couldn't even