A silver light shot from Dumbledore's pocket. Fudge immediately activated his defensive artefact and scrambled away while shouting, "Seven against one! The advantage is ours! Go on, I believe you can subdue Dumbledore!"
The five Aurors, along with Percy and Umbridge, steeled themselves and attacked.
The ground trembled as spells flew wildly. The armour behind Dumbledore clanked loudly, striding forward to position itself before him like an impenetrable fortress, blocking all attacks.
The silver light exploded above Percy's head. His eyes rolled back as he fainted instantly. The Auror beside him tumbled to evade, but stone arms suddenly emerged from the floor, dragging him into the ground.
"No!" Dawlish yelled, attempting a rescue, but the nearby candle flames blazed brightly, rapidly expanding into a fiery dragon that swallowed him whole.
Bang!
The previously sealed room door burst open as Harry charged out, wand in hand: "Professor, I'll help you!"
"Harry?!" Dumbledore's expression shifted. "Get back inside! Don't come out!"
The door slammed shut, pushing Harry back. Dumbledore finally drew his wand, flicking it lightly to lock the door securely.
A cloud of red smoke then billowed from his sleeve, morphing into a giant hand that slapped Umbridge hard across the face, knocking her unconscious.
Beside her, Smith's eyes also rolled back as he collapsed.
"Expelliarmus!"
"Reducto!"
"Confringo!"
The remaining Kingsley and his two colleagues frantically shot spells, shattering the armour guarding Dumbledore. Before they could rejoice, the world turned upside down.
Their section of the corridor inverted completely – the ceiling became the floor, the floor became the ceiling.
All three plummeted straight down. One crashed headfirst and was knocked out instantly. The other two struggled to rise, but another silver light flew to them and detonated.
In the blink of an eye, the fight was over.
The five Aurors and two assistants had departed very peacefully.
Yet Dumbledore shook his head with slight dissatisfaction.
"Fifteen seconds... I'm getting old."
If Harry hadn't interrupted, it might have been even quicker.
After this brief moment of lamenting his age, Dumbledore approached the petrified Fudge. As the distance between them narrowed, Fudge snapped back to reality.
"You—stay away from me!"
Fudge scrambled backwards, trying to flee downstairs, but the statue at the stairwell seized him and marched him step by step toward Dumbledore.
Just as despair set in, a heavenly voice reached Fudge's ears.
"Professor Dumbledore, how could you attack the Minister for Magic?"
The armour abruptly halted, releasing Fudge. Wayne slowly ascended the stairs, regarding Dumbledore with a deeply disappointed expression.
Dumbledore suddenly felt a twinge of regret.
He hadn't even left yet, and Wayne was already causing such chaos. If he were to leave...
But the arrow was already nocked – ready or not, it had to be fired. Matters had escalated to this point, and his departure was now inevitable.
"Mr Lawrence, you misunderstand," Dumbledore said calmly. "I had no intention of harming Cornelius. I merely feared he might fall down the stairs and injure himself."
"Can we arrest him?" Wayne's arrival gave Fudge confidence as he tentatively asked.
Wayne shook his head like a rattlesnake, "That's the greatest white wizard of this century! I'm just a child, you know."
Fudge was left speechless, and Dumbledore's expression wasn't much better either.
A groan came from the ground. Old Dumbledore glanced at the awakening Dawlish at his feet, winked his right eye, and Fawkes flew out from somewhere to perch on his shoulder.
"Cornelius, my greatest regret is choosing to support you back then."
With these words, he and Fawkes burst into light together, vanishing from the spot.
"Mr Lawrence, thank goodness you were here today; otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable." Fudge took out a handkerchief to wipe the cold sweat from his face, repeatedly expressing his gratitude.
Wayne toyed with his wand, merely saying softly: "Enough now. We both know perfectly well Dumbledore would never actually attack you."
Fudge didn't refute this. Now that he'd calmed down, he realised Dumbledore's only purpose had been to resist arrest - otherwise Kingsley and the others would already be dead.
But that didn't mean the image of Dumbledore steadily approaching him hadn't been terrifying.
Moreover, with this pretext, he could exploit the situation to pin several more charges on Dumbledore and properly vent his anger.
Since Dumbledore hadn't used excessive force, several Aurors and Umbridge soon regained consciousness.
"Minister, are you alright?" Dawlish looked around after waking up. "Where's Dumbledore?"
"He's already escaped."
Kingsley breathed a sigh of relief, stopped pretending to be unconscious, rubbed his lower back and stood up.
"Minister, Dumbledore may have escaped, but those students are still inside." Umbridge pointed angrily at the still intact door and shouted: "Anyone inside who doesn't want to be expelled should come out now! Potter, I saw you in there!"
"Don't even think about resisting! Can't you hear Dumbledore has already fled?"
A buzzing sound came from inside the room, but the door remained closed.
"Expel students?" Wayne chuckled softly, looking at her mockingly: "Only the Headmaster has the authority to expel students from Hogwarts, Professor Umbridge. Unless your office has moved to the eighth floor?"
Umbridge didn't take offence, first glancing at the silent Fudge before smiling at Wayne:
"Hogwarts will soon welcome a new Headmaster. I'm certain she won't disregard the Ministry like Dumbledore did, and will definitely expel these rule-breaking students as per the Educational Decree."
"Isn't that right, Minister Fudge?"
"Hmm, quite right." Fudge nodded absently. "Hogwarts needs a respected Headmaster to take charge."
Umbridge had already puffed out her chest proudly, looking like a bloated toad.
"Mr Lawrence, I'd like you to take on this heavy responsibility."
"Thank you... wait, what?"
Umbridge stared dumbfounded, looking at Fudge in disbelief: "Minister, did... did you misspeak?"
Not just her, but the other Aurors and Percy were also staring at Fudge in shock.
Responsibility? Lawrence?
Were those two words even remotely connected?
Had the Minister gone mad? After all the effort to drive out Dumbledore, he was making a student the Headmaster?
Had he stopped loving Umbridge?
"Dolores, since I'm not speaking to you, kindly shut your mouth!" Fudge snapped sternly, then switched to a pleasant smile. "Mr Lawrence, what are your thoughts?"
Wayne smiled and nodded. "Hogwarts has been my second home since my first day here. I've dreamed of becoming Headmaster since then, and today that wish has finally been granted."
"I'm willing to accept this challenging responsibility."
Fudge nodded repeatedly. "I believe the school will only improve under your leadership."
After exchanging pleasantries, Fudge finally turned to the bewildered Umbridge. "Cooperate fully with Mr Lawrence's work."
"Minister, I..."
"That's enough, it's very late, and I need to return to issue Dumbledore's arrest warrant," Fudge interrupted Umbridge. "Back to your office - I need to use the fireplace there."
"But what about the students in the room?" Umbridge said urgently.
"Mr Lawrence is the Headmaster now, that's not your concern. Don't waste my time, Dolores."
Umbridge left with her people, leaving Smith still unconscious on the floor.
Wayne kicked him aside, then raised his wand, gave it a slight twist, opened the classroom door, and entered.
Inside, the students were huddled together in fear, with only Hermione, Harry, the twins, and others remaining relatively calm while maintaining order.
"Wayne, has Professor Dumbledore really escaped?" Hermione asked anxiously as soon as Wayne entered. The door's soundproofing was quite good - even with her ear pressed against it, she could only catch fragments of conversation.
Only Umbridge's words had been clearly audible.
"Ahem, Miss Granger, we should use proper titles during official business," Wayne said with mock seriousness. "You should address me as Headmaster Lawrence now."
"How can you joke at a time like this!" Hermione pinched his arm in annoyance, though not hard enough to actually hurt. Wayne took the hint and straightened his expression.
"The Headmaster has indeed left. Smith informed on us and revealed today's plans."
"Bastard!" Fred swore through gritted teeth, and many others' eyes burned with anger.
Indeed.
Traitors were the most despicable, and everyone's hatred shifted from Umbridge to Smith.
"You said earlier that you've become Headmaster?" Hermione asked hesitantly, remembering Wayne's earlier 'joke'.
"You'll see the official appointment tomorrow," Wayne said casually, though his words sent waves of shock through the others.
The twins stared at him as if he were a monster, while Cedric looked stunned. "But you haven't even graduated yet! How can you become Headmaster?"
"Hogwarts rules don't say a student can't be Headmaster."
The others were equally dumbfounded, but with so many shocking events happening today, they couldn't process everything and didn't know what to say.
Wayne looked at them and spoke up. "Go back and get some rest first. I'll definitely make up for the lessons I promised you."
"Who'd dare come after such bad luck on the first session..." a young wizard muttered.
"From now on, I'm the Headmaster. What authority does Umbridge have?"
Wayne smiled at the boy who had spoken. "From today onward, your activities will be completely legitimate. No more hiding - you can hold your meetings openly every week."
Hearing Wayne's assurance, everyone felt considerably more at ease.
In this regard, Wayne's words carried more weight than Dumbledore's.
During this period, when Umbridge had been running rampant through the school, it was only in Wayne's classes that she showed any restraint.
Soon, the young wizards left the classroom and returned to their respective common rooms.
As they passed the still-unconscious Smith, they all cast disgusted glances his way, with the more hot-tempered ones giving him a couple of kicks.
Before long, Smith was covered in various footprints.
Harry remained somewhat distraught, feeling that Dumbledore's departure was entirely his fault.
Cedric, however, was considering more - Smith had learned the information because Wayne had deliberately allowed it to be leaked to him...
So... had Wayne orchestrated the plan to drive Dumbledore away?
As he left the classroom, Cedric couldn't help but glance back at Wayne. The young man was looking at him with a faint, knowing smile, placing his index finger to his lips in a silencing gesture.
Cedric shuddered, immediately burying his speculation deep in his heart before turning and practically running away.
When gods fight, mere wizards suffer.
This involved the Headmaster... no, the former Headmaster and the current Headmaster, locked in a struggle—it wasn't something he could get involved in.
Better to play dumb - fools live longer.
After everyone had left, Wayne first controlled Smith and sent him to the hospital wing, then made his way to the Headmaster's Office.
The portraits of former Headmasters clearly knew why Dumbledore had left in such a hurry earlier, and as soon as Wayne entered, they eagerly began asking for updates.
Listening to the chattering and overlapping questions from the generations of Headmasters, Wayne rubbed his temples:
"Gentlemen, I'll explain everything to you, but could someone first help me summon Professor McGonagall? Otherwise, I'll have to repeat everything to her later."
"I'll go!"
Phineas called out and immediately disappeared from his frame.
Wayne surveyed the room's furnishings with some dissatisfaction.
New ruler, new court - this office was thoroughly imbued with Dumbledore's style.
It had to be changed, absolutely must be changed!
From now on, this school would bear the Lawrence name!