Albus frowned, narrowing his eyes as he looking back and forth between Ogden and the rest of the Wizengamot. Something wasn't sitting right with him. After so many years as Chief Warlock, he had developed an innate sense for when someone was wasting his time, and he had that feeling from the moment he set foot in these chambers.
He thought back to Fudge's exit. It had been far more dramatic than how the man normally conducted himself, and the time had long since passed for him to reemerge and reveal whatever scheme he had cooked up.
He shared a glance with Elphias and knew he was thinking along the same lines. Something wasn't right. There was far more going on here than he was aware of.
He looked sharply to the door, hearing a commotion coming from the other side, but couldn't make out what they were saying over whatever Ogden was prattling on about now.
He glanced back and forth between the door, and the Wizengamot. For the first time in a very long time feeling like the chess piece instead of chess master.
***
Harry looked around as the Aurors, Medi witches and wizards swarmed around the students, assessing their injuries, and evacuating as many students as they could.
The wards were making it difficult with the two floo connections in the castle being used to evacuate the most injured students first.
He pointedly avoided looking at Professor Green's remains, feeling a more profound sense of loss than he was ready to deal with it at the moment.
An Auror had the presence of mind to conjure a sheet to cover her body, along with everyone else that died in the battle, making the feeling of loss a little more bearable, at least for the moment.
It was a small comfort to not have to look into their lifeless eyes, but he could still see the pools of blood doting the great hall, along with distinct, metallic smell of blood he couldn't escape, even when he closed his eyes.
"You're as ready as you're going to be," Merlin said somberly, finishing up the patch job he did to get Harry back on his feet.
Harry nodded, slowly getting back on his feet before he made his way to the Minister, glad to at least be doing something instead of sitting there, allowing his thoughts to fester.
"Harry?" Cornelius asked, looking at the boy in concern. "Are you sure you should be moving around? Maybe it's better if you head to St. Mungo's and get yourself checked out," He suggested.
He had seen the amount of magic Harry had thrown around first hand, and from the accounts of the students he'd spoken to, it didn't even scratch the surface of what he did today.
By all rights, Harry should have been unconscious, with a severe case of magical exhaustion, or worse, but that wasn't what concerned him the most. It was the look in his eyes, the thousand-yard stare he was all too familiar with.
He'd seen it before, but never in someone so young. Harry hadn't just seen death, he'd dealt it out. In this moment, so soon after it happened, it didn't matter that he had done it in the defense of others, not to Harry, and not to the Aurors when they first experienced it in the war.
Things like this changed a person. There was no getting around it. For some, it made them harder, more closed off. It was how they coped with the pain, the loss.
For others, a select few, they reveled in it, developing a taste for it over time, and becoming unrecognizable from the people they used to be.
He didn't want either of those things to happen to Harry, promising himself that once this was over, he would do all he could to help the boy navigate through it, and come out on the other side.
"There isn't time for that," Harry replied quietly. "Where's Tonks?" he asked. "She said the Unspeakables would be here to help."
"I don't know," Cornelius replied, shaking his head. "She didn't show up at work today. I thought she had made her way here, or was coordinating with the Unspeakables, but she's not responding to my owls either."
"Do you think the Alumni could have got to them?" Harry asked, fearing that Tonks might also be dead, or trapped somewhere like the Alumni planned to do with them.
"I'm not sure," Cornelius admitted. "The Unspeakables… no one, not even I know very much about them. They've always been secretive."
Harry nodded, silently accepting that they couldn't count on them to show up. "We can't wait much longer," he said. "I can feel the magic building up."
"Amelia's sent an Auror back to the Ministry. Now that we have a firsthand account, I'm hoping it will be enough to mobilize the rest of the Aurors," Cornelius said, looking conflicted.
"It doesn't sound like you have much faith in that happening," Harry observed.
"No," Cornelius admitted. "Amelia and I, we've probably already lost our jobs. The Wizengamot is going to do what they're good at," he said, no longer able to keep the frustration out of voice. "They'll squabble and waste time. The Alumni will see to that, but I'm hoping that enough of the Aurors will listen, and do their duty."
"We'll have to leave at least a couple of Aurors behind to see to the evacuation," Amelia said, overhearing their conversation. "But the rest of us are ready to go, Cornelius."
Harry nodded, catching the attention of Hermione, Ron, and Draco, who quickly marched over.
"Hold on a second," Amelia said, seeing the determined looks on the first year's faces. "You don't think you're coming with us, do you!?"
"We are," Harry said resolutely. "We need to see this through to the end, and the Aurors aren't equipped to deal with this."
"Absolutely not!" Amelia shot back. "The only thing you four will do is evacuate with the rest of the students. You've done a lot," she added, her voice softening. "More than anyone had the right to expect of you, but you are children. I can't have anymore of your deaths on my conscience," she said, her eyes welling up as she looked at the sea of white sheets around them.
"Do you really think this was all the Alumni had to throw at us?" Ron asked pointedly, an edge in his voice. "Harry's right, you can't do this on your own."
"Director Bones," Draco said, stone faced, not waiting for Bones to reply. "Look around you. It wasn't your Aurors that took down the Alumni, it was us. It wasn't your Aurors that took down the golem that was us. You showed up at the end while we fought the battle."
"That's right," Hermione said, picking up where Draco left off. "We know what's at stake, we know what's going to happen if the Alumni win. You can't stop them on your own, and you know it."
Amelia looked at the Minister for support, but when she saw the look in his eyes she knew it was a lost cause. "Cornelius, you can't be serious."
"I don't like it anymore than you do," Cornelius replied. "But what choice do we have? They're going to go whether we like it or not. It's better they're with us than out there on their own."
"They won't be," Fred interrupted, stepping up. "We're coming too," he said, getting nods from Lee, Higgs, and George, along with a few 5th, 6th, and 7th year students.
Harry did a quick count, including the Aurors, the Minister, and Madam Bones. It gave them only twenty-five, and he didn't doubt for a second there were more Alumni waiting for them outside, but even outnumbered, retreat wasn't an option. They would have to face them head on.
"Let's go," he said, nodding to everyone as he made his way to the hole in the wall, stepping through as Cornelius and Amelia moved to either side of him.
"I assume you know where they are, Potter," Amelia said with a sigh, accepting that she wouldn't be able to stop the students from coming along, not without a fight they could ill afford to have at the moment.
"There," Harry said as they stepped outside of the school, pointing deep into the forbidden forest.
"Alright," Amelia said. "But you all stick close to the Aurors. If they tell you to run, you do it," she ordered sternly.
Harry said nothing as he marched forward, the students behind him as he kept his eyes trained on the edges of the forest.
***
Harry looked out across the empty school grounds to the forest with a frown. It was too quiet.
"What is it?" Ron asked, seeing the apprehensive look on Harry's face.
"Something isn't right," Harry replied, coming to a stop. "There should be more of them out here."
"Maybe they're all at the ritual chamber," Hermione suggested.
"…No," Harry shook his head. "They won't be taking part in the ritual. They would have no reason to be there."
"A trap then?" Cornelius asked, overhearing their conversation.
"That's where I would do it," Draco replied, pointing into the forest. "Lot's of cover, no clear line of sight. We're sitting ducks out here in the open."
"I agree," Amelia said, giving a nod of respect to Draco. She raised her fist in the air, bringing the Aurors to a stop.
"There's no other alternative," Merlin said. "Their plan is obvious. Delay and hold us back until the ritual is over. We can't let that happen."
Harry mentally nodded in agreement, feeling even more magic out here than in the castle, a clear sign Andre was ready to start the ritual.
"Spread out," Amelia ordered, knowing if they stayed clumped together, it would just make them easier targets for the Alumni.
"They're going to attack us from there," Ron pointed, taking in the terrain. "Beyond that point, we won't even have any cover to speak of."
"They've had hundreds of years to plan this out," Harry said, still watching the tree line closely. "They know they don't even have to beat us, just delay us until the ritual is over. We can't let them stop us," he said, stepping forward again.
Harry's eyes narrowed, catching a glint of light from inside the forest. He expanded his senses, searching for the Alumni only to curse mentally a second later. There was so much magic permeating the forest he couldn't tell one magical signature from the other, all of them blending together into an unrecognizable blob.
A moment later, he saw another glint of light, a clear sign of movement. "It's them. Get ready," he warned.
The attack came seconds later as jets of light streaked from inside the forest, barreling towards them. "Down!" Harry shouted, charging up his spell. "Avis!" He created a large flock of birds to take the attack.
Ron dove to the ground, looking around frantically. "Over here!" he shouted, running back towards a tree for cover. "Bombarda! Bombarda! Bombarda!" he shouted, firing wildly into the forest as he ran, only for his spells to harmlessly splash against the trees.
"It's no good," Draco said as he and Hermione joined him behind the tree. "We can't even see where they are."
"There has to be something we can do!" Ron said, trying to spot them. "Diffindo!" he shouted, sending a cutting curse at where he saw the last spell come from, but other than a branch falling to the ground, it had no effect.
Hermione looked down alarmed, feeling the ground shake, breathing a sigh of relief when a wall of dirt sprouted from the ground in front if them, recognizing the spell Harry cast when they fought the study group in the chamber.
"Duro!" Harry shouted, turning the wall of dirt to stone before the Alumni's spell fire could destroy it.
"Thanks Harry," Fred said gratefully, standing up as he carefully peered above the edge of the wall, only to duck back behind the wall again as a spell streaked past where his head had been a moment ago.
"There's at least thirty of them in the forest," Merlin advised, counting where the spells were coming from.
'Any ideas?' Harry thought, wondering how they could get past an enemy they couldn't even see.
"Isn't it obvious?" Merlin asked. "They're using the forest for cover. Get rid of the trees."
Harry nodded in agreement, but it was easier said than done, not without burning down the entire forest. He looked beside him at the Aurors blindly sending stunners into the forest.
All they were doing was waisting their magic hitting trees, while the Alumni concentrated their fire on his wall.
"This isn't working!" Harry said to Amelia. "Tell them to stop firing. They're just wasting their magic."
"If you have a better idea, I would like to hear it, Potter," Amelia replied, sending a stunner of her own in the direction the last spell came from.
"We need to put them on the defensive," Harry replied, looking down at his wand for a moment. "Alright," he said, getting an idea. "Draw their fire. I'm going to see what I can do about the trees."
Before Amelia could respond, Harry darted out from behind the wall, enhancing his perception to dodge around the alumni's spells as he raised his wand.
"Damn it Potter!" Amelia shouted in frustration. "Cover him! Before he gets himself killed!" she shouted to her Aurors. "Concentrate your fire there!" She pointed to the line of trees in front of Harry, where most of the spell fire was coming from.
"Incendio," Harry said, charging up his spell. A task made all the more difficult as he continued to weave around the spells being fired at him.
He could feel the buildup as his wand shook, but held on until the ball of flame on the end of his wand turned a hot white. Feeling the heat come off his wand, he squinted his eyes against the bright light and let loose his spell, continuing to funnel magic through his wand as a continuous stream of burning light streaked across the grounds.
The spell wouldn't normally have been possible for him to cast, but with the high concentration of magic around him it made it far easier to draw it into his magical pathways, and funnel into his spell.
He could hear their panicked shouts before he saw them. His spell struck the first tree, cutting a fiery path through the forest as he slowly moved his arm to the right, the flame from his spell hot enough to cut through the trees instantly, sending them tumbling to the ground with a loud, rumbling thud.
Amelia, along with her Aurors, could only stare in shock at the powerful spell the first year had used to devastating effect, cutting through a swath of trees like a hot knife through butter.
"Don't just stand there!" Amelia shouted, shaking herself out of her stupor. "Fire!"
Her order was taken up not just by her Aurors, but also the students, as they could finally see their attackers.
*
"Confringo!" George shouted, clipping the shoulder of an Alumni, and sending him sprawling to the floor.
"Not bad," Higgs complimented, impressed that George could nail the Alumni's arm from so far away.
"I was aiming for his chest," George grunted, sending a diffindo at the same Alumni as he staggered to his feet, scrambling backwards to avoiding his follow up spell.
George growled, furious at himself for missing the easy shot. With his ruined eye, his depth perception was off, making it even harder for him to hit his target.
"We'll get em," Higgs nodded savagely. "Bombarda!" he shouted, targeting the ground in front of the Alumni, sending dirt and rocks flying in all directions.
George was quick to capitalize, "Diffindo!" he shouted, sending a cutting curse at the Alumni's chest, but hitting his wand arm instead. He watched with grim satisfaction as the man's wand arm fell to the ground, cut off at the elbow, blood spurting from his wound as he screamed in agony, thrashing on the ground.
"Stupefy!" Higgs shouted, knocking out the Alumni.
"Don't do that again," George growled, grabbing Higgs by the shoulder and glaring at him.
"Wh-what?" Higgs asked, looking at George in confusion.
"No stupefys, don't waste your magic on that shit," George replied, a dark look in his eyes. "You put them down hard or you might as well just go back to the castle with everyone else."
".. He's bleeding out," Higgs pointed out, surprised by the visceral response from the normally light-hearted Gryffindor. "Either way, he isn't getting back up, not from that," he added, looking at the growing pool of blood around the man.
"I don't care," George spat. "Those animals don't deserve our mercy. You got that?" He demanded, hammering his finger into Higgs's chest.
"…Yeah," Higgs nodded shakily. "I got it," he said, rubbing his chest.
George said nothing as he took aim at another Alumni, promising himself that he would pay them back for everything they took from him today.
*
Harry could see the rest of the Alumni now, just on the edge of the forest, outnumbering them heavily. He looked down at his wand, the tip still glowing from the incendio he cast, and he knew it would be awhile before he could cast another spell as powerful as that.
"Bombarda!" he shouted, snapping up his wand and hitting an Alumni before he could take the head off of one of the Auror's that stuck their head too far above the wall.
'What the hell are they doing?' he thought angrily. Aside from a few incendio's the Aurors were mostly using a mix of stunners and shield spells.
"I've seen this before. None of them have actually seen battle before," Merlin observed.
'They weren't like that with the golem,' Harry thought back angrily. 'What's changed?'
"The golem wasn't human," Merlin replied.
Harry cursed mentally as he moved behind the barrier again. "Bones! We're not going to win this with stunners! Tell your Aurors to get their heads in the game!"
Amelia nodded, seeing the stark difference between how the children attacked the Alumni and her own Aurors. "You heard him!" She shouted. "No more holding back. We're not dealing with common criminals. These are enemy combatants! Act accordingly!"
Harry nodded to Amelia as the Aurors finally switched to Bombardas, hoping it would be enough to turn the tides.
"Accio tree!" he shouted, bowling over a couple of Alumni with a tree trunk he cut down earlier, before directing it to the right and slamming it into the chest of another Alumni that was closing in on Hermione, Draco, and Ron.
*
Hermione gave a startled yelp as a tree trunk knocked over the Alumni they had been fighting, sending him sprawling to the ground with a heavy thud. She looked at Harry, who nodded at her before attacking another Alumni.
"There's too many of them," Ron said, wiping his brow with the back of his hand before sending out a Bombarda as the Alumni closed in again. "They're trying to surround us."
He could already see Fred and Lee moving towards Harry as the Alumni destroyed the boulder they had been taking cover behind, the other students doing the same as they continued to lose ground.
*
"Protego!" Harry shouted, creating a shield to protect the students as the Alumni concentrated their fire on him, multiple spells impacting his shield at the same time.
He grit his teeth, pushing more magic into his shield to keep it from collapsing as the students scurried back.
The Alumni were quick to take advantage, gaining even more ground without having to deal with his attacks.
He looked back across the field, his eyes widening as the Alumni split off, half of them attacking the barrier he created as well.
The Aurors and students were doing their best to hold them back, with the Aurors finally switching to more lethal spells, but it looked to be too little too late. Aurors and students alike dropping under the constant barrage of spell fire.
He needed to turn the tides and give them some more breathing room to formulate a counter attack. "Everyone down!" he shouted, dropping his shield as he enhanced his perception.
Time slowed down to a crawl around him as he sidestepped the Alumni's spells, moving just enough for them to fly passed him, the spectacle causing the Alumni to falter as they halted their advance, a look of fear crossing their faces at the intimidating display before they rallied, pushing forward again, but far more cautiously than before.
Harry kept dogging, waiting for them to get closer. When they formed a half circle around him, he razed his wand, "incendio!"
Instead of the simple burst of flame the Alumni expected, he created a whip of fire attached to the end of his wand. He spun on his heel, continuing to dodge their spells as he lashed out with the whip, striking multiple Alumni at once, sending them to the ground screaming as the rest backed away fearfully.
"Go!" Harry shouted as the Alumni's spells petered out as they broke off their attacks. "Get back to the barrier!"
The students quickly scrambled to their feet, making a mad dash back to the barrier, a few of them shooting spells over their shoulders at the Alumni as they ran.
Harry breathed a sigh of relief as the students reinforced the Aurors, but could already feel the strain of enhancing his perception so many times in one day, and knew he couldn't keep it up the technique for much longer.
It was a retreat, but he had little choice as he returned behind the barrier, ducking down to catch his breath.
"Are you alright Harry? Were you hit?" Cornelius asked, cutting off his own attack as he moved to sit down beside him.
"No," Harry shook his head, getting his breathing back under control, before looking up, seeing the Alumni surround the barrier. He cursed mentally, having hoped for a longer breather before rejoining the fight.
He surveyed the battlefield. They had taken down a few of the Alumni, but many of them were already getting back to their feet. By his count, the Alumni were down to about forty now, but still outnumbered them three to one, and the barrier was taking heavy fire.
"Duro!" Harry said, reinforcing the barrier. It was only a temporary measure, and he would have to recast the spell again soon, but it would buy them a few more minutes.
"We're losing," Harry said, turning to face the Minister. "It's only a matter of time before they wear down our defenses. Is there anyone else coming?"
"No," Cornelius said, shaking his head resignedly. "They would have been here by now if they were. We're on our own," he said, sending off a Reducto at an advancing Alumni only for him to block it with a shield spell.
Harry looked over the barrier wearily as the Alumni grew more confident, forming a loose circle around them, using blasting curses to chip away at the stone walls.
"Incendio! Incendio! Incendio!" Harry shouted, sending a trio of fire blasts at an advancing Alumni, charging up the spells so they flew out of his wand like bullets.
The first spell struck an Alumni's shield with a loud gong, the second shattered it, and the last spell slammed into the Alumni's chest, sending him to the ground, unmoving.
Harry didn't have to look to know the man was dead, and closed his eyes, letting out a tired breath. It wasn't even the first person he killed today. The entire battle had blurred together in his mind, leaving him with no idea how many people died by his hand, or he failed to save.
"Don't think about that now. Focus on the battle," Merlin said softly. "There will be time for the dead later, but only if we succeed. The important thing now is to survive."
Harry nodded his head, knowing that Merlin was right. Killing the Alumni was the only way to stop them. There was no time for second chances or mercy, not anymore.
Cornelius regarded Harry. Far too much had been placed on the boy's shoulders. It was enough to make even grown men buckle under the pressure. Even for him, someone whose entire job was to speak, he couldn't find the words.
Harry looked up, surprised when the Minister put a comforting hand on his shoulder. He said nothing, but from the look in his eyes, he seemed to understand what he was going through.
"They're closing in," Fred said, breaking the tense silence.
"Right," Harry nodded with a sigh as he joined the others, sending spells at the Alumni, but it was getting less and less effective by the second. The Alumni had closed ranks, overlaying their shields for better protection as they continued to rain down attacks on them from all sides.
"This is hopeless," an Auror muttered in defeat, ready to throw in the towel. He had never seen battle before, too young to have fought during the last war, and unprepared for the harsh truths of battle.
When he followed Bones and the minister out of the Wizengamot, he hadn't expected this. In truth, he hadn't really known what to expect. From the stories the instructors told, he knew it would be difficult, but was unprepared for the feeling of dread that filled his very soul as he faced down a force of witches and wizards doing their level best to obliterate them.
These weren't pickpockets, Hogwarts drop outs that had turned to crime to make ends meet, or other petty criminals. They were a professionally trained fighting force that had the better tactical position and were even now pressing their advantage.
"Ready to quit, are you?" Amelia growled, rounding on the Auror with a glare on her face. "This is war Gibbons, and they aren't in a mood to take prisoners. If you stop fighting, we're all dead. Got it?"
Gibbons swallowed nervously before nodding his head, pushing down his fear.
"Good!" Amelia replied, the glare never leaving her face. "You keep firing. That goes for all of you!" She said, addressing the rest of her Aurors. "We don't stop! We keep fighting! That's how we won the war against you-know-who, and how we're going to win here!"
Harry watched as Gibbons returned to the fight, the rest of the Aurors fighting alongside him, fighting with a renewed vigor, but as he looked across the battlefield, he got a sinking feeling that it wouldn't be enough.
He raised his wand, knowing that he needed to break their lines for them to stand a chance, but it would take everything he had to do it. "Get ready," he called out. "I'm going to create an opening. When I do, hit them with everything you got, no holding back!"
"We'll be ready," George said, a grim expression on his face, followed by nods from the others students, and Aurors.
Harry took a breath, "Depulso," he said, charging up another spell, and shunting as much magic as he could to it, watching as the spell turned from light yellow to a deep red before he released it, sending out a wave of magic.
He kept the spell wide, allowing it to slip through the gaps in the Alumni's shield wall, sending them sprawling to the ground.
Draco's eyes widened as the Alumni's shields flickered out as they fell to the ground. "Confringo! Confringo! Confringo!" he said, sending a trio of blasting curses at the Alumni alongside a barrage of spells from the others, taking advantage of the opening Harry created.
Ron followed Draco's example, targeting the same group of alumni as they worked together, cutting a bloody swatch through their enemies. "Bombarda! Bombarda! Incendio!" he shouted, sending off his own chain of spells, and watching with a grim satisfaction as they slammed into the downed Alumni.
Harry dropped to one knee after casting the spell, gasping for breath. The last spell had taken everything he had.
"They're getting back up!" Hermione shouted in alarm, sending off some more blasting curses at the Alumni struggling to their feet, reforming their ranks.
"Damn it!" George cursed, ducking behind the barrier angrily as even with fewer fighters, the alumni raised their shield wall again.
"How many are left?" Harry asked, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"Too many," George muttered.
"Maybe thirty," Fred replied, doing a quick count before ducking back down again.
"It's not enough," Harry replied. The barrier was already on its last legs, cracks forming in the stone. "They're going to get through."
"Everyone cast duro's," Amelia shouted, knowing they need to buy some more time to regroup and try another attack.
Harry watched them cast the spell, but could already tell it had only bought them another five minutes at most. Without knowing how to draw in the surrounding magic to enhance their spells and the amount of magic they already used in the fight, he could tell they had nearly exhausted their magic.
Even with Bones continuing to rally them, he could see the power of their spells waning as they drew closer and closer to magical exhaustion. He stared grimly at the Alumni, knowing he wouldn't recover in time to launch another attack before they broke through.
The others seemed to sense it as well as their attacks continued to wain, a noticeable drop in both the number and the power of the spells they cast.
'Merlin, I hope you have a way out of this,' Harry thought, desperate for a way to turn the tides again.
Merlin racked his brains, surveying the terrain, but they were already at a severe disadvantage, and with a third of the Alumni hiding behind their shields and recovering, it was only a matter of time before they returned to the fight as well.
Harry sighed, listening to Merlin's thoughts. With even his mentor not seeing a way out of this, he felt his hopes dim even further.
"Does anyone else hear that?" Ron asked, interrupting Harry's grim thoughts as he strained his ears.
"Hear what?" Lee asked, looking around.
"I don't know," Ron said, shaking his head with a frown. "It sounds like… metal," he said, having heard the sound before, but struggling to remembering from where.
Harry listened as well, furrowing his brows as he tried to place the sound. Whatever it was, it was getting louder, and coming from the opposite direction of the ritual chamber.
Then they heard something they had no trouble recognizing, a battle cry. The Alumni broke off their attack, looking around in shock as a squad of goblins broke the tree line on the opposite side of the forest and charged them.
Harry watched as the goblins raised their weapons, slamming into the alumni before they could re-organize themselves, and shattered their lines, turning the ranged battle into a deadly melee.
The Aurors looked on in shock and confusion, not even sure what to make of it. A goblin squad above ground was practically unheard of.
"Don't fire on the goblins!" Harry shouted. "They're on our side!"
"Don't just stand there looking at your wands!" Amelia shouted a moment later. "Attack the cultists!"
It took another moment for the Aurors to get over their shock, but when they did, they fired on the wizards, using the openings the goblins created for them to slowly turn the tide.
With the Alumni forced to fight the battle on two fronts, their lines quickly broke down, unprepared for the vicious close quarters combat style the goblins mastered centuries ago.
Harry watched a few of the Alumni break ranks, running back to towards the forest, and knew he had to stop them. He couldn't give them a chance to warn the others. Pushing some magic into his legs, he leaped high over the barrier, landing on the ground and broke out into a sprint to catch the fleeing Alumni.
Still recovering from the last the spell he cast, he knew he couldn't rely on his wand to stop them, but pushed more magic into his legs as he quickly picked up speed. He jumped into the air, slamming his feet into the back of one Alumni, sending him crashing to the ground.
The sudden cry of pain as the Alumni landed in the dirt alerted the other four, who turned to look at him in surprise. Not giving them a chance to react, Harry leaned forward, slamming his fist into the gut of the nearest Alumni, sending him to the ground gasping for breath.
He turned to face the next one, kicking his knee hard, ruining the joint and sending him screaming to the ground before he slammed his knee into the side of his head, knocking him out cold.
He leaned back, letting the third alumni's spell streak past his head as he got into a boxing stance, moving in front of him. Tracking the Alumni's wand arm he ducked his head, narrowly dodging his next spell, then reared up, hitting him with a jab, then a cross, preparing to knock him out with a hook, but dropped to the ground as he felt another spell closing in on his back.
He looked up at the third Alumni as the explosive curse struck his chest, blasting a hole through him before he crumpled to the ground, a look of shock on his face before the light left his eyes.
Harry rolled on the ground, narrowly avoiding the Alumni's follow up incendio before springing back to his feet ready to press his attack only to see a spear protruding from the alumni's chest as he coughing up a gob of blood, a look of surprise on his face before falling to the ground.
"Well met Harry Potter," the goblin standing behind the dead Alumni said, greeting him.
"Griphook? Is that you?" Harry asked, recognizing the voice of the armored goblin immediately.
"Yes," Griphook said, titling up the visor on his helmet. "The chairman sends his regards."
"…I thought he said couldn't help us," Harry said, looking past Griphook to see the goblin squad making quick work of the remaining Alumni.
"The discussions continued long after you left, Harry Potter," Griphook explained. "While there were many that advised against it, the chairman believed you about the threat these cultists posed. He assigned a soldier to watch the school from a distance. When he saw the start of your battle, he returned, sounding the alarm."
"It isn't over yet," Harry said, looking towards the forbidden forest. "And it's only a matter of time before they open the portal."
"We are at your command," Griphook said with a nod of his head, not a hint of fear in his voice.
"How many are you?" Harry asked.
"A full squad, 50 goblins," Griphook answered. "Once we see to the injured, we'll be ready to march."
Harry nodded as they made their way back to the makeshift barrier he created.
"Narglug, how does he look?" Ron asked in concern, looking over the shoulder of the goblin who had healed him after fleeing the study group earlier in the year.
"You're a brave lad," Narglug said, looking over the remains of George's eyes. "To keep fighting after an injury like this. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were part goblin," he added, cracking a smile.
"How bad is it?" George asked, grim faced.
He had refused the help of the healers at the school, telling them to look at the most injured students first, but couldn't deny that it had him worried.
"As bad as it gets," Narglug said, seeing no reason to sugarcoat it. "There's nothing left of your eye to fix."
George nodded with a heavy sigh, already having a feeling it was the answer he would get.
"Here, drink this is," Narglug said, handing George a vial of pepper up potion. "It should keep you going for a little while longer, but my advice, sit out the rest of the battle. There's no telling when it will wear off."
"No," George shook his head resolutely. "I'm seeing this through to the end."
"Good lad," Narglug said, clapping him on the shoulder, respecting the child's bravery.
Fred and Ron shared a look, both of them worried about their brother, and the sharp change in his attitude.
"…George," Ron began, hoping he could talk some sense into him.
"Save it," George snapped with a glare. "I said I'm going to see this to the end, and I will."
"How is everyone?" Harry asked, walking up with Griphook.
"Not good," Hermione shook her head. "Most of the students still standing have a severe case of magical exhaustion, the rest are too injured to continue," she said, looking at George pointedly.
Harry nodded, seeing the state they were all in, most of them looking dead on their feet.
"You're going to need this too," Narglug said, handing Harry a vial of pepper up potion as well.
Harry took it gratefully, downing it in a single gulp. "If you have a second one, I'd appreciate it."
Narglug raised an eyebrow, not seeing the normal steam coming out of Harry's ears, but handed over another vial of potion to him none the less.
"Harry," Hermione said, stopping him before he downed the second potion. "Are you sure you should?" She asked pensively. "…I mean, you have taken a lot of those today already."
"I'll be ok," Harry replied, downing the potion before Hermione could say anything else, already feeling an improvement as Merlin went to work redirecting the healing components of the potion to patch him up.
Hermione looked like she wanted to say something more, but just nodded her head, knowing there was nothing she could do to convince Harry to stop.
"I would like to formally offer my thanks to the goblin nation," Cornelius said. "Without your help, we would have been done for."
"Thank Harry Potter," Griphook replied. "It was him that sought a meeting with the chairman, and asked for the assistance of the Goblin Nation, which reminds me," he said, turning to face Harry. "The Chairman wanted you to know, should you survive this, there is a matter he requires your assistance with."
Harry nodded, feeling the sense of vindication from Merlin as he was proven right. The goblins always got their due, and it clearly wasn't a request he could ignore. "Should we survive… I'll visit the bank and speak with him."
"I'm ready," George said, getting back to his feet.
Harry gave George a long look, but knew there was nothing he could do to talk him out of this, not without a fight, at any rate. "Alright," he relented, before turning to face the other students.
He could see the rest of them were on their last legs, nursing deep cuts and broken bones. "The rest of you, get back to the castle. They'll evacuate you to St. Mungo's and get you healed up."
A few of them looked like they were ready to argue, but Harry stopped them. "I know you want to see this through to the end, but the other students need you. They're terrified, injured, and…. Some—" he said, his voice hitching in his throat as he pushed the thought out of his mind. "Aren't going to make it through. When it happens, they shouldn't be alone."
"Alright," Lee said softly, seeing Harry's point. "Take care of yourselves," he said, nodding to Harry and the others. "We'll see you when it's over, all of you," he said, stressing the last part as he and Higgs led the injured students back to the school.
Harry watched them go solemnly. Even for the ones that lived through this, nothing would ever be the same again. They'd seen war, death, and all the horrors that came with it.
He turned back, taking in what remained of his group. The twins, Hermione, Draco, Ron, seven Aurors, along with Bones, Fudge, and just under forty goblins.
The Alumni's strongest attackers would be closer to the ritual chamber. He could only hope they would be enough.
"Let's go," he said, turning towards the forest, only to stop, nearly dropping to his knees as he felt a powerful wave of magic.
"What is it?" Hermione asked, rushing over as she saw the look in Harry's eyes.
"The portal," Harry replied, "it's opening," he said, just as a giant pillar of ominous green light rose from within the forbidden forest, shooting into the sky.
***
Hi! Thanks for reading. I've had to change my normal posting date for the story to Fridays. My work hours changed recently so it just a lot easier to do this way.
What did you think of the last minute intervention by the goblins? Did anyone see it coming? I took some inspiration from the last few scenes of Avengers Endgame when everyone showed up for the final battle when I was writing it.
If you can, please take the time to review, let me know what's working, what's not. It helps a lot with figuring out what I need to adjust or change to improve the story.
If you would like to support me and my writing, please consider visiting https://taplink.cc/jumpin for all the stories I'm currently working on and early access to chapters 66, 67, 68, and 69 of Legacy of Merlin, along with some character portraits for Merlin, Morgan and Nimue, and an audio versions of the chapters.