"Is everyone ready?" Harry asked, staring up at the ominous pillar of green light in the sky.
"My god," Amelia breathed, craning her neck, looking into the sky as well. "Everyone within 50 miles could see this."
Harry nodded his head in agreement. "We don't have much time. They're holding students hostage, using them to open the portal."
"To battle then," Griphook said firmly, nodding his head to his fellow goblins.
Harry turned to his friends, looking at each of them in turn. "I know I can't talk you out of going back with the others, but you need to be careful. The Alumni, they've probably saved their best to guard the ritual chamber. No unnecessary risks, don't go off on your own, stick with the group," he ordered.
George looked like he was going to say something, but looked away when Fred put a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head firmly.
Harry sighed. "Look, George, I know you want to get back at them. We all do, but you have to stay in control out there. If you go in half cocked, it won't just be you that pays the price," he added, looking at the rest of their group meaningfully.
"…Alright," George finally relented, Harry's words cutting through his anger.
"Alright, let's go," Harry said, drawing his wand. "Keep your eyes open. Expect another surprise attack."
Harry stepped forward, Amelia and Griphook on either side of him as everyone else moved in behind them. He looked around carefully as they entered the forest, the eeiry silence only broken by the sounds of their footsteps.
"The animals," Griphook observed. "They're always quiet when they fear a predator is near."
Harry nodded as they stepped past a dead acromantula. It wasn't large, only the size of a quaffle, looking like it had died only a few hours ago.
"Killed by the Alumni when they set their battle lines," Merlin confirmed. "The rest have likely fled deeper into the forest."
'At least there's that,' Harry thought, glad they wouldn't have to deal with a surprise attack from the spiders on top of everything else.
"We're close," Harry said as he stepped over a fallen log, seeing no point in whispering. There were far too many of them to sneak in, and with the loud clanging of the goblin's armor, it wouldn't take long for the Alumni to work out where they were. "Use the trees for cover, and don't let them flank you," he advised, remembering a war story Ben had told him.
He caught a flash of light out of the corner of his eye and quickly raised a shield. "Protego!" he shouted, blocking three spells with his shield. "Spread out!" he shouted through gritted teeth at his friends and allies as another two spells impacted his shield, cracking it.
The goblins were the first to scatter, using their smaller stature to their advantage. They stayed low to the ground, some of them advancing in the direction the spells came from, while others spread out further into the forest, looking for other targets.
Hermione, Draco, Ron, and the twins ducked low, running towards a large stump for cover as they dodged around a hail of enemy spells.
The Aurors were the slowest to react, two of them going down in the initial attack before the rest scrambled to find cover.
Harry enhanced his perception, avoiding spells when he could, and using shields spells sparingly. He couldn't use incendio spells under the canopy of trees for fear of starting a forest fire, forcing him to get creative with his attacks.
"Glacius!" Harry shouted, aiming his wand at the nearest Alumni, creating a shard of ice at the tip of his wand. He sent it flying at the Alumni before rolling out of the way, avoiding another spell.
He tracked his spell as it flew through the air, picking up speed as it closed in on its target, but missed, the Alumni that ducked out of the way at the last moment, his spell slamming into the tree behind him, sending splinters of wood in all directions as it carved a hole in the trunk.
"Concentrate, Harry!" Merlin said into his mind. "A straight shot isn't enough. Consider the distance to your target and the speed of your spell."
'I'm sending my spells as fast as I can!' Harry thought, ducking behind a tree to avoid a pair of diffindo's.
"Alter your spell," Merlin instructed. "You need something that will cut through the air faster."
Harry nodded, realizing what he needed to do. "Glacius," he said, but this time instead of forming a shard of ice, he formed a smaller, rounded one, with a sharp point, making it both harder to spot, and allowing it to cut through the air even faster.
The spell streaked across the forest, slamming into the shoulder of the same Alumni, who this time couldn't duck out of the way, sending him to the ground screaming.
"It's not over," Merlin reminded Harry, grimly. "Put him down."
"Glacius," Harry spoke, a note of finality in his tone as he sent another ice bullet at his target, watching as it slammed into the side of the Alumni's head, cutting off his pained screams abruptly, his body going limp.
"There will be time for the dead later," Merlin reminded Harry, feeling his revulsion at what he had to do. "Focus on those you can save," Merlin said, directing his attention to the two Alumni overrunning his friends.
Harry nodded, running forward. "Glacius! Glacius!" he shouted sending two more ice bullets at the enemy, watching as the first hit an Alumni in the back of the head, sending him to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, and the second slamming into the spine of the second Alumni, sending her screaming to the ground, injured, but still alive.
He ran past her, going to the aid of a group of goblins facing down another five alumni.
George's eye flickered to Harry before looking down at the alumni he left alive. She had dropped her wand when she fell, and her legs weren't moving. "Diffindo!" He shouted, aiming for the woman's neck, watching as her blood soaked into the ground and her eyes became lifeless.
Hermione saw the look in George's remaining eye. He looked half dead himself, then at the Alumni Harry killed as he ran past, and finally down at the one George finished off.
Just like her friends, she didn't know how many of the Alumni died by her wand today, nor the exact number of students the Alumni killed. It all blended together in her mind, a never-ending nightmare of screams, blood, and death.
"Hey!" Ron shouted, grabbing Hermione's shoulder and shaking her. "Stay with us Hermione! We need you!" He said, seeing the shell-shocked look on her face.
"Right, right," Hermione said softly, shaking her head. "Let's go," she said, pointing toward a group of Aurors being overrun.
Fred looked where Hermione was pointing, seeing three Aurors facing off against seven Alumni. If it wasn't bad enough they were outnumbered, the Aurors still weren't fighting like they meant it, hesitating when they should have been going for the kill.
"Protego!" Draco and Ron shouted, creating a pair of shields to cover their group as two Alumni broke off their attack on the Aurors, noticing their approach, and sending a pair of diffindo's at them.
The alumni's spells shattered their shields on impact, but they were enough to stop the spells, giving them enough time to duck behind cover.
Fred poked his head out from behind a tree, only to duck back behind it again as a diffindo struck the tree trunk, digging a deep gouge into it. He cursed, hating how limited their spell choices was in the forest.
"Expulso!" he shouted, aggravated when the spell partially struck a tree, blunting much of the spell's impact, and only sending the Alumni staggering back.
"Diffindo!" Draco shouted, targeting the same alumni, his spell slicing into his leg. He ignored the man's pained scream as he fired again, "Diffindo!" this time able to land a solid hit on his chest that sent him to the ground.
Hitting the alumni in the woods was difficult, and instead of landing the lethal blow he wanted. He had to settle for whatever hits he could land through the tree cover.
"Protego!" Ron shouted from beside Draco, raising a shield just in time to block the other alumni's cutting curse as Hermione created another shield just behind his.
The spell easily shattered his shield, but blunted the force of the attack enough so that it only cracked Hermione's shield.
George was quick to take advantage, sending a spell through the crack in Hermione's shield. "Depulso!" He shouted, sending the Alumni flying back, and slamming into the other three Alumni.
His eyes widened as he heard a shout from his blind side. He tried to duck out of the way but it was too late, a diffindo cut deeply into his side. He gripped his side, gritting his teeth as he applied pressure to his wound to stop the bleeding as he fell to the ground.
"Protego! Protego!" Hermione and Draco shouted, creating a layered shield around their group as Ron knelt down to check George's wound.
"It's fine," George said, hiding his grimace of pain as he pushed Ron away. "Keep your head in the fight!"
"Damn it, George!" Ron said, batting away his brother's hand as Fred returned fire on the Alumni, giving him the breathing room to check on George's wound. "We don't have time for this! Let me have a look, George."
From what he could see, it was bad. The spell had cut deep, and George was losing a lot of blood. "Episkey! Episkey! Episkey!" he shouted, doing what he could to seal the wound, but the minor healing spell could only do so much. The bleeding slowed, and the wound got a little smaller, but it was still bad.
Ron looked up as Hermione's shield broke, and Draco's shield cracked. "Protego!" he shouted, creating another shield. He didn't know what to do. They couldn't risk moving George, not with the possibility of him bleeding out.
He looked across the battlefield, but didn't see anyone close enough to help. Their allies were all engaged in their own chaotic melees, and too far away to be of any immediate help.
Hermione and Draco kept raising shields as Fred returned fire when he could, but with George down they couldn't go on the offensive, and they could only use shield spells for so long before they magically exhausted themselves.
Ron looked at Harry, just like the others, he was too far away, taking on another three Alumni by himself, but he was holding his own.
Harry ducked under a cutting curse, resorting to hand to hand combat to preserve as much of his magic as he could. He was already reaching the limits of what he could get away with using the pepper up potions, and could only channel so much magic through his pathways before he burned them all out.
He jumped high into the air, slamming his feet into the Alumni closest to him, sending the man sprawling to the floor.
Landing on his hands, Harry went into a forward roll as he dodged out of the way of the other two Alumni's spells, sprays of dirt flying into the air on either side of him as they missed by scant inches.
He sprang to his feet, coating his palm with iron skin as he batted away one of the Alumni's follow up spells, re-directing the diffindo so that it struck the chest of the Alumni he hit earlier, just as he staggered to his feet, taking him out of the fight for good.
The two remaining Alumni shared a weary look, both recognizing Harry from Andre's report. They had both assumed it was a mix of exaggeration and luck when they read it, neither one of them believing a first year could be so adapt at fighting, but from what they'd seen so far, Andre's report had if anything, downplayed his abilities.
He was like greased lightning, fluidly weaving around their spells, constantly moving as he rapidly closed the distance between them. Even now, forcing them to retreat to create the distance they needed to get their spells off.
"Bombarda!" one of them shouted, taking the risk of starting a fire with an explosion curse, but just like all their other spells Harry dodged out of the way, leaving an explosion of dirt behind him as he surged forward, slammed his fist into the alumni's chest.
The Alumni fell down, landing painfully on the hard ground. His ribs broken, the shattered bones slicing into his heart and lungs. He only had time to look up in shock as blood filled his ruined lungs, drowning him in seconds.
Harry tilted his head to the side, letting a diffindo fly past his head as he turned to face the last Alumni. He could see the man's eyes widen with fear as he stalked forward, moving just enough for the Alumni's spells to fly past him harmlessly.
The Alumni grew desperate, stepping further and further back as the first year advanced on him. None of his spells landed, missing Harry by the smallest of margins as he stepped closer and closer.
He looked around desperately as the panic set in, wanting nothing more than to get as far away from this monster as he could.
"Confringo!" he shouted, taking the risk of setting the forest on fire in his panic, hoping the explosion curse would do what his cutting curses couldn't.
Harry held up his palm, catching the spell in his palm, curling his fingers around the spell as he crushed it, compacting the magic into a tight ball before throwing it back at the shocked Alumni, caving in his chest, and decisively ending the fight.
He looked around the battlefield. The Aurors, the few that remained, were holding out against the Alumni as best they could, not taking too much damage, but no longer going on the offensive as they stayed huddled close together.
The Goblins were spread out across the forest in groups of three and four as they went after the Alumni, but from what he could see, their numbers had been cut down by a third, and dropping fast.
That was when he spotted his friends. George was down. He could see the blood dripping from his wound, and the others were stuck on the defensive, casting shields to hold back the Alumni attacking them from behind, and in front of them.
He ran forward, dodging around a group of Goblins, putting down an Alumni. His eyes widened, seeing Hermione's shield crack, and the exhausted looks on Draco's and Ron's faces as they raised another pair of shields, noticeably weaker than their previous ones.
Harry pushed his magic into his legs, increasing his speed as he darted towards them. As he closed the distance, he jumped high into the air, coating his knee with iron skin for good measure before slamming it into an alumni's temple, knocking him out, or killing him, he wasn't sure which.
As he landed on the ground, he kept moving, twisting his body to avoid the two remaining Alumni's spells. He scooped up a rock, funneling magic into his arm this time as he threw it at them, adding his magic to the rock to make it fly even faster.
The rock whistled through the air, spinning end over end, going through the chest of the first Alumni, then the second one standing just behind him. It came out through his back, flying further into the forest, striking the head of an Alumni fighting the Aurors, killing him as well.
Harry channeled magic through his hand, raising a circle of dirt and rocks around his friends. "Duro!" He shouted a moment later, turning the dirt to stone before jumping into the makeshift foxhole with his friends.
He leaned his back against the stone wall, wiping his brow as he breathed heavily, finally able to catch his breath as the Alumni's spell impacted his barrier.
"Harry? Are you ok?" Hermione asked, checking Harry for injuries.
"I'm ok, I'm ok," Harry replied, getting his breathing under control. "What about you guys?"
"Better, now that you're here," Fred replied over the impacts of the Alumni's spells on the barrier.
"How's George?" Harry asked, concerned by the pool of blood around his wound.
"I'm fine," George said through gritted teeth. "Don't worry about me."
"You're not fine!" Ron snapped angrily. "You're bleeding out!"
"Episkey!" Harry said, charging up the spell a little more as he cast it on George's injured side.
The wound visibly healed, nearly closing completely, but a small trickle of blood still dripped from his side.
George took a deep breath as his pain reduced from a stabbing pain to something more bearable. "Thanks, Harry," he muttered, struggling to get to his feet again.
"NO!" Draco snapped, putting his hand on George's shoulder and pushing him back down. "You're done! You hear me? You're done!"
George leveled a glare at Draco. "I'm not taking orders from a dirty Slytherin!" He spat, reverting to old rivalries in his anger.
"Dirty?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow, looking down at himself then at George, both of them covered in dirt, bruises, and cuts. "Look who's talking," he said in a deadpan voice.
George looked away, cracking a ghost of a smile before turning serious again. "Sorry," he muttered. "Force of habit."
"He's right, brother," Fred agreed, seeing how pale George was. "You lost too much blood already. We need to get you healed up."
George glared at the ground, wanting to lash out, to scream out all his anger, but knew this wasn't the time or the place. He had to think about the family and friends he still had left. The last thing they needed was to deal with him flying off the handle on top of everything else.
"What are we going to do?" Hermione asked, peeking her head over the top of the wall. They Alumni had them outnumbered, and to make matters worse they had to battle all the way out here while the Alumni were still fresh, and in no danger of exhausting their magic.
Harry uncorked another pepper up potion, downing it before Hermione could say anything to stop him, restoring some of his magic, and giving Merlin what he needed to heal a few of his injuries.
"Harry," Hermione said in a worried tone. "You can't just keep taking those."
"I know," Harry said with a sigh. "Believe me, I know." The potions were a temporary fix, a battlefield solution, and a pale substitute for the rest he really needed to heal properly, but there was no choice. He had to keep pushing forward.
"How long do we have?" Ron asked worriedly.
Harry looked up at the pillar of green light in the sky, glowing ominously. "Not much longer now," Harry replied. "I think they're still working on the incantations."
Draco glanced out across the battlefield. They had been on the losing end of this battle from the beginning. He could see Fudge and Bones. They were down, but still looked to be breathing, and now there were only a handful of Aurors left standing.
The Goblins, as fierce as they were, were being cut down faster and faster. Many of the trees they used for cover in the early stages of the battle were either cut down or destroyed, allowing the Alumni to attack them at range.
"…Harry, you need to go," Draco said, a grim, but determined look on his face. "You're faster than them. You can dodge their spells and get to the ritual chamber. We're just slowing you down."
Harry shook his head. "If I go now, they'll overrun you."
"It's the right move, Harry," Ron said quietly. "The only thing that matters is stopping the ritual and whatever's trying to come through."
"They're right," Merlin agreed. "Stopping the ritual is the only thing that matters now, otherwise all this death and destruction will have been for nothing."
Harry looked down at the ground, knowing his friends were right, but it didn't make this any easier for him. He would be leaving his friends to their deaths, something he had promised himself he would never do.
"Go Harry," Hermione said, putting her hand on Harry's shoulder. "You don't need to worry about us. I'm sure more help is coming. We'll catch up with you just as soon as we beat these guys." She lied, putting on a brave face as she tried to convince him to leave them behind.
Harry knew Hermione was lying, but couldn't bring himself to call her out on it. He nodded his head slowly before getting to his feet, taking one last look at his friends before he jumped over the barrier, running towards the ritual chamber.
Draco watched Harry go, narrowing his eyes at the Alumni as they broke off their attacks, chasing after Harry. "Bombarda! Bombarda! Bombarda!" he shouted, throwing caution to the wind, striking three of the Alumni in the back and sending them sprawling to the ground.
Hermione, Ron, and Fred were quick to jump to their feet, sending off their own blasting curses, and forcing the Alumni to turn and face them rather than go after Harry.
Their advantage only lasted a few moments, with the Aurors and Goblins picking off a few more Alumni as well before the battle again turned in favor of the Alumni and their superior numbers.
***
Harry crept through the forest, getting closer and closer to the pillar of light. So far, he hadn't run into any other Alumni. He could only hope it was the last of them.
He squinted his eyes, looking through the green light, making out three stone pillars and the three figures tied to them, guessing it was Wayne, Sally, and Oliver. Forming a circle around them, he could see the study group and could faintly hear them chanting.
"We're too late," Merlin said, recognizing the chanting from when Morgan opened the portal the first time.
He saw a flare of light. It was small, but incredibly bright, forming in between the pillars. "The portal's open," Merlin said.
Harry crept forward, staying low to the ground. The study group had their backs turned to him, giving him the advantage. He transformed his wand into its dagger form, ready to do what was necessary, but when he touched the pillar of light, it shocked him, sending him flying backwards.
Andre, along with the rest of the study group, turned to Harry, watching as he groaned, getting back to his feet.
"Harry," Andre said, a smile forming on his face. "I hoped you would be here to see this," he said, holding out his arms wide. "The greatest triumph of wizarding kind."
"Bombarda!" Harry shouted, not bother to respond as he turned his dagger back to its wand form, sending an explosion curse at the barrier, only for it to splash harmlessly against the barrier.
"Really?" Andre gloated, laughing out loud. "Did you really think that after all this time we wouldn't have prepared for this?"
"Andre," Harry said, trying again to convince him to stop. "This portal, this ritual. It isn't what you think you it is! Nothing good will come of this. You need to stop before it's too late!"
Andre shook his head, smirking arrogantly. "Your tricks won't work on us, Potter! We know what we are doing is right and true! Our society will no longer wallow in the mud. We will build something greater. Even your kind will see that in time."
Harry tried again, channeling more magic into his spell. "Diffindo!" He shouted, trying an overpowered cutting curse this time trying to pierce the shield.
"It won't work," Andre repeated, his smirk widening into a full grin. "It would take more than a five hundred fully grown witches and wizards to take down this barrier. Accept it, you've lost."
Harry looked past Andre in alarm as Wayne, Sally, and Oliver screamed, the same chilling sound Morgan's followers made when she opened the portal the first time.
"Andre, stop, please," Harry pleaded. "Look at them," he demanded, pointing at his friends. "This is going to kill them!"
"No," Andre shook his head stubbornly. "It will be uncomfortable for them, but they will survive. Celestia has already promised to heal them when this is all over."
Harry closed his eyes, trying to block out the screams as he thought furiously. He was dealing with a fanatic. There was nothing he could say that would get through to him, and seemingly no way to get through their shield, and with the portal steadily growing, it wouldn't be long before Morgan escaped.
***
Fred ducked down for cover as more and more spells impacted the barrier, streaks of light flying over his head, keeping him pinned down. Then the inevitable happened. Fires broke out on the battlefield, slowly spreading amongst the downed trees.
The air became thick with smoke as they had to battle on two fronts, putting out the fires as they got too close to their barrier, and the Alumni's near constant barrage of spells.
"Guys," George said, seeing the cracks in the barrier forming. "The wall isn't going to last much longer!"
"Duro! Duro!" Ron and Draco shouted, shoring up the wall as best they could, but neither of them could put the same power behind their spells Harry could, buying them a few more minutes at best.
"They're getting closer!" Hermione shouted, raising her wand just above the barrier. "Avis!" she shouted, creating a flock of birds to take some of the spell fire, sparing the barrier a few hits.
"Depulso! Depulso!" Draco shouted, switching to lower powered spells to conserve his magic.
"It's no good," Fred said, peeking out over the barrier. "They're layering their shields. Our spells aren't going to get through those."
"They're routing the Aurors too," Ron replied, as the Alumni surround them on all sides.
The Aurors had created their own barrier using the fallen trees. It was cruder than the one Harry created, and couldn't take anywhere near the same amount of damage, with sections of it already blown off and on fire.
Hermione watched grimly as the Alumni formed a loose semi-circle around them as well, slowly advancing forward, absorbing their spells with their shields. 'It's over,' she thought as the Alumni hammered their barrier with spells, chunks of stone flying off with each hit.
"What's that?" Ron asked, straining his ears. "Do you hear it? It sounds like… galloping?"
"Horses?" Fred asked, hearing it now too. "No," he shook his head. "Maybe centaurs?"
"Maybe," Hermione agreed. "I read about a herd of them that lived in the forest. Maybe they're running from the fires?"
"No," Draco said, straining his ears over the battlefield. "They're not running away. They're running towards us."
"There!" Hermione shouted with growing excitement, pointing through the smoke. "It's Professor Dumbledore!"
The others looked where Hermione pointed in surprise, not just seeing Dumbledore, but also Snape and Flitwick riding to their rescue, but it was what they rode on that made them stop and gape.
Each of them sat atop a black skeletal horse with dark leathery wings and glowing red eyes.
Albus took in the chaotic scene in front of him, not sure what to think as he stopped his thestral. Wizards and witches fighting alongside goblins against a group of dark-robed wizards. it was madness.
It was clear who the aggressors were, but from the brief discussion he had with Minerva before he set off, there were still a great many questions he had.
The fighting tapered off at his arrival, both sides looking in his direction after he made his entrance. He felt a swell of pride as they recognized who he was.
He pulled out his wand. These people, whoever they were, they attacked his school, and there was a price to pay for that.
A spark of lightning danced on the tip of his wand, extending into a whip. It flew across the battlefield seemingly with a life of its own, weaving past the goblins, and striking the alumni, sending those it touched screaming to the ground in agony.
Flitwick was the next to pull out his wand. "Aguamenti!" He shouted, creating a thick geyser of water, knocking down Alumni, and putting out the fires at the same time.
Severus looked at the attackers, his eyes flat, his lips curling into a sneer. It had been a very long time since he had fought in a battle, and by his estimation, it was high time to change that.
"Sectumsempra! Sectumsempra!" he shouted, sending a pair of his own personal cutting curse at a hapless Alumni, sending him to the ground, a bleeding, screaming, mess.
The tide of the battle turned as the alumni found themselves outflanked and outmatched, the defenders finding a renewed vigor as they attacked the alumni from two sides.
The biggest threat by far was Dumbledore, transfiguring the fallen trees, and rocks into animals, sending them to viciously attack the Alumni, biting and trampling them as they tore through the battlefield.
The Goblins quickly regrouped, forming a wedged phalanx as the battle turned, attacking with spears and battle axes as they forced the Alumni to defend themselves against a third side.
It was slow at first, but the Alumni who had dominated the battle for so long began losing ground, more and more of them falling to the ground dead, or too injured to keep fighting as they exhausted their magic.
"We're winning!" Ron whooped, sending a pair of diffindo's into the backs of an Alumni, staring in awe at Dumbledore as he took control of the battlefield, with Flitwick, and even Snape doing their parts to whittle down the alumni's superior numbers.
Dumbledore was like a force of nature, spells flying from his wand faster than Ron could even track, each of them slamming into the Alumni with pinpoint accuracy.
He tore his eyes away from the awe-inspiring sight, watching as Flitwick waded into the battle, using his shorter height to his advantage as he zipped across the battlefield, scooping a fallen goblin's sword along the way as he attacked with both sword and wand to devastating effect.
He had heard from a few of the older Ravenclaws that Flitwick had been a duelist before he became a teacher. He hadn't believed it then, but he certainly did now, and it looked like he hadn't missed a beat since his dueling days.
Snape was the most surprising of all. The dour and overly strict man looked to be in his element as he exchanged spells with the Alumni, cutting them down with ease, making Ron wonder why he was the potions professor instead of the DADA professor.
The Alumni took heavy losses as the battle continued, widdled down to less than half their number. The panic set in, many of them breaking formation and running deeper into the forest, only to be trampled by the thestral circling them as soon as they did, reducing their numbers even further.
Albus wiped his brow. It had been quite some time since he exerted himself this much, spending much of the last decade politicking. These people, whoever they were, had made a grave mistake coming to his school, looking for trouble.
He felt a flash of anger at them for underestimating him, thinking him too old to consider a threat, but he was certainly showing them today he still had some fight left in him, and when the battle was over with, no one would make such a foolish mistake again.
He cast his lightning spell again. Now that they had the Alumni surrounded, his spell was even more effective, tying them up and shocking them at the same time, leaving them wide open for Severus and Filius to take them down.
"Bombarda!" Severus shouted, widening the range of his spell to strike more of the Alumni as Filius did the same.
"They aren't fleeing," Filius observed from beside Dumbledore. "We're past the ward line. They could just apparate away."
"Yes, I've noticed as well," Albus observed. "Strange, isn't it? The battle is all but lost, yet they continue to fight."
"It isn't strange at all," Severus replied as they continued their attacks. "These are true believers," he added, remembering his own time within the ranks of the Death Eaters, and how fanatical many of them were.
The Alumni continued to lose ground, having exhausted much of their magic in the earlier stages of the battle, allowing the three fresh professors to run roughshod over them, taking down the remaining Alumni with ease.
"Dumbledore," Fudge said, limping over to him, supported by one of the Aurors as the fighting died down. "You came."
Dumbledore nodded, "and not a moment too soon from the looks of things," he said, observing the state of the forest, and the bodies littered around them. "Perhaps it's time you explained just what is going on, Cornelius."
"There isn't time to explain!" Hermione said, stepping forward. "Harry needs help. We have to get to him!"
"Make time," Snape growled, staring down the first year, but stopped, surprised when she didn't back down.
"What's there to explain?!" Draco demanded, cocking his thumb towards the glowing pillar of green light in the sky. "We need to get there, fast!"
"Draco," Snape said, giving his godson a warning glance.
"There is a group of witches and wizards attempting to open a portal to another world," Fudge jumped in. "We need to stop them."
"Another world? Preposterous," Dumbledore replied, but glancing at the pillar of green light, he knew whatever was happening. It wasn't good.
"Dumbledore," Fudge implored. "You and I have never seen eye to eye to before, but believe me when I tell you, this is the greatest threat the world has ever faced, and this is our only chance to stop it."
***
Hi! Thanks for reading. I hope you liked the latest chapter. What do you think about the battles so far? My plan is to build up the final confrontation with the study group and Morgan, while also foreshadowing the long term consequences to Harry, his friends, and the wizarding world as a whole.
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 67, 68, 69, and 70 of Legacy of Merlin, along with some character portraits for Merlin, Morgan and Nimue, and an audio versions of the chapters.