Voldemort was ecstatic when he learned of Potter's whereabouts.
Voldemort was confused at the sight of the Hogwarts barrier, no, the fact that someone was able to use and employ something like Protego diabolica on it.
Not even he could use this magic, Fiendfyre was already his limit in that field!
But even if he couldn't use it, he had ways to create spaces for his troops and cannon fodder to enter inside.
"Give me Harry Potter and I'll change…" Using his usual tactics, he tried to use the lives of those in the castle in exchange for the only life he was interested in, the one tied to him by the prophecy.
Too bad it didn't work and he had to take the long way to claim the boy's life.
"Begin!" he ordered, almost lazily.
Hundreds of spells flew towards the barrier, crashing into it and… nothing happened.
The blue fire devoured the magic and negated much of the damage to the barrier, causing it to barely hold.
"Again," Voldemort said, his voice riddled with annoyance, frightening those closest to him.
Three more attacks were needed to destroy the barrier around Hogwarts, but the blue fire didn't fade with it, instead it fell like oil and formed a circle around the castle, marking a clear divide into the two entrance bridges.
Voldemort was partly impressed, not being able to place who in the castle could use this magic, but he was also uneasy at the impending victory.
An explosion sounded from the other end of the castle, where he sent the werewolves to attack, his gaze shifting just in time to see the bridge that had always seemed precarious collapse.
With his subordinates inside…
It didn't matter, it's not like they were full-fledged wizards.
He turned his gaze back to the main entrance of the school.
The Death Eaters and giants charged towards her. It was a pity that all the Acromantulas had disappeared from the Forbidden Forest, they would have been useful for springing any traps and acting as sacrifice for the first wave.
Some Death Eaters cast spells as they flew near the bridge, but the spells seemed to bounce off the shiny surfaces of the statues and knock them back, falling dozens of meters to the ground, beyond saving.
"I don't remember them being able to do that," Voldemort thought absently for a moment.
The giants were striking out left and right, but the soldiers barely moved, as if they had gained a great deal of weight. Then they raised their weapons enchanted with a number of different properties and cut down the giants with astonishing ease.
It seemed that the casualties among the dark creatures were going to be much more severe than expected, but then again, it's not like they were wizards.
Ideally, both of them would perish, with him taking victory without having to make any deal with these stupid tribes…
The blue flames might have been delaying his troops on the ground, but those flying were quick to change tactics upon seeing the results of their unfortunate colleagues and set about entering through the school windows.
Inside the castle…
The Death Eaters' entry inside caused panic, fights broke out and people died in the hallways and stairwells.
Percy and Fred were fighting together against two Death Eaters, Percy managing with an unexpected move to knock out the puppet minister, Pius Thicknesse, making a joke to Fred's surprise and laughter.
A wall explodes beside him and cuts the laughter short.
"Fred!" Percy's face drains of blood as he sees his brother's death.
Mum will be devastated! And then she'll kill him too!
"Cough! Cough!" "Fred stood up covered in dust from the explosion, completely grey from head to toe like a ghost" I'm fine! I think so… "he said while rubbing a bleeding side of his face" Looks like I'll be back to matching George, now I'm missing an ear too!
It was the opposite ear lost to his twin brother's.
Too bad, the joke of mistaken identity can't be used anymore.
Good times…
"You… "Percy sighed immensely relieved" How are you okay?
An explosion like that would kill anyone it caught off guard!
"I don't know "Fred felt his body with his free hand as confused as Percy" Oh, Barnaby's gift broke… "he said somewhat sadly when he saw the accessory he and George received one of the past Christmases, all cracked and darkened.
Meanwhile, Harry along with Ron and Hermione were going down to head towards the Shrieking Shack, where Voldemort was hiding while he waited for the battle to pass patiently and in relative comfort.
They arrived at the fountain courtyard and saw giants and Death Eaters fighting for their lives, with people flying on brooms and making passes to help as they could.
A giant noticed them, but before they had to worry about him getting close to them, two rings of smoke formed over the giant and two giant metal gauntlets materialized through the smoke, grabbing the giant and brutally ripping him in two.
"Ugh…" Ron felt like he was going to vomit.
"If you have to do something, hurry up," Barnaby said as he repeated the same magic on the next giant. "The longer this goes on, the more costly victory will become."
A Death Eater tried to ambush Barnaby after realizing that the magic hands were his thing, Harry tried to stop him, but Sanshi darted out of Barnaby's shadow and destroyed the Death Eater in an instant.
Harry and the other two stepped back somewhat startled at Sanshi's sudden appearance, but seeing that he had armor similar to Barnaby's, they understood that he was one of his rare creatures.
"I think we could use some reinforcements!" Sanshi and Barnaby shouted as he lunged at the other Death Eaters at lightning speed.
Barnaby frowned and nodded, hoping he wouldn't have to resort to these guys…
Two large figures emerged from the ground as if breaking the surface of water and dwarfed the giants, who looked at them without understanding how there could be creatures larger than them here.
"What are these things? "Harry asked, having a very bad feeling about these newcomers.
"The white one is Thorny Gloom, a Nobody "Barnaby introduces while shaking his head and pointing at each one respectively" The dark one is a Dark Sider, a Heartless "He looked up and pointed at the Death Eaters and the giants, transmitting the order without the need for words using his heart.
The Dark Side began to pound the ground with its fists, while the Thorny Gloom writhed in a way that was not logical for its colossal body and preferred to take care of the stragglers around the castle.
"Barnaby!" Tonks came running through the great door. "The dementors are coming!"
"Go," Barnaby said as he took Tonks' hand and moved to stand on the bridge, with a wave of dementors about to cause devastation without caring about the side of every living being in the castle.
"Ready?" Barnaby said, raising his staff to cast a Patronus with the intention of repelling those disgusting things.
Tonks stared at the dementors for a moment, uneasy, and suddenly screamed:
"I'm pregnant!"
Barnaby's mind went blank for a moment, before the eyes of the staff in his hand suddenly burst into a powerful starlight and a massive wave of blue magic rapidly expanded into the surroundings.
That day would be marked as a historic milestone when a Patronus managed for the first time in the history of magic, to reduce hundreds of Dementors to ashes, not only proving that this charm did indeed have the ability to permanently kill them, but also breaking the record of the ancient Greek wizard, Andros the Invincible.
Andros could perhaps make a Patronus the size of a giant, but…
What is a giant compared to the burning Sun itself?