An angry roar tore through the once-silent night sky.
All the young wizards on the Astronomy Tower turned toward the sound at once. Harry and the others were especially tense. They recognized Hagrid's voice.
Before all the students' eyes, a dazzling white light burst from Hagrid's Hut, and then the entire roof blew off.
Amid the white light, Harry saw the figures from earlier casting magic with their wands.
Harry had good eyesight, but even he could not see clearly from this far away. Fortunately, there was a telescope for stargazing beside him. Without caring how the nearby examiner felt, he immediately swung it around toward Hagrid's Hut.
Just as he turned it, he saw Fang roar and lunge at a Ministry of Magic wizard.
"Good dog!" A familiar voice reached his ears. Harry knew without looking that it had to be Ron. He was also certain that Ron must be watching Hagrid's Hut through a telescope right now.
The instant he saw Fang lunge, Harry felt exactly as Ron did.
But a moment later, his eyes widened, and his face filled with anger.
The wizard flicked out a spell, and a red jet of magic struck Fang. Fang was immediately blasted backward, then fell motionless to the ground.
It was a Stunning Spell.
Harry felt slightly reassured, but he was still furious and wished he could jump straight down to help Hagrid.
"You bastards!" Even from so far away, they could hear Hagrid's angry voice. He struggled to fend off the wizards' magic with his arms. He wore only an undershirt rather than his usual moleskin coat, which made resisting the magic very difficult.
After all, he was only a half-giant, not a true giant, and did not possess a giant's exceptional resistance to magic.
"What are they doing?