Boom!
With a single swing of its club, a giant shattered the stone statues into pieces.
Fragments of rock flew everywhere, drawing a scream from a Ravenclaw student.
A chunk of stone slammed into the student's thigh, piercing straight through.
Flitwick swung his wand to block the debris, his small body standing in front of the student.
"Get back!" Professor Flitwick shrieked.
Another wizard appeared. He immediately flicked his wand, and three spells shot toward the wizard, breaking through the Shield Charm and blasting him away.
But a green beam grazed past his head, making Flitwick feel the situation grow increasingly difficult.
What should have taken only a single spell now required triple the effort because of the enemy's defenses.
Fortunately, the Ministry had originally stationed Aurors here. With their support, the pressure eased somewhat.
However, the Aurors' equipment had limits. When the magic in one Auror's Impact Ring was exhausted, he was instantly pushed into a disadvantage.
Bellatrix blasted the wall apart with a Blasting Curse, burying that Auror beneath the rubble.
"George!" Seeing Bellatrix rampaging through the battlefield, Fred pulled a smoke bomb from his pocket.
George understood instantly and threw one as well.
One flew into the air, the other rolled across the ground.
Both exploded at the same time, releasing an enormous cloud of smoke.
"Run!" George shouted, urging the students to retreat.
Fred pulled out a Portable Swamp and hurled it down the corridor. The entire passage instantly turned into a swamp, sending those who couldn't see the path tumbling into it.
"Haha! Please recognize Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes products!" Fred cheered.
"Damn you, Weasleys!"
Bellatrix shrieked savagely, firing curses through the smoke and swamp.
A red beam flashed past Fred's side, making the twin who had just been cheering break out in a cold sweat.
"I think staying here isn't exactly a wise choice."
"Brilliant, brother, I was thinking the exact same thing."
The twins exchanged a glance and hurriedly fled the area.
Gryffindor students aimed their Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder and other fireworks at the army outside the castle, firing relentlessly.
Tonks stumbled into the corridor, shouting, "Wands up!"
Behind her, several werewolves roared as they gave chase.
Ron was among the group. Seeing this, he immediately drew his wand and shouted, "Impedimenta!"
Dean, Seamus, and the others joined in, and the werewolves pursuing Tonks were blasted away.
Before they could celebrate, a werewolf dodged the spells with terrifying agility and lunged at Dean beside Ron.
"No!"
Dean was knocked to the ground. Ron rushed forward to help, while Tonks blasted the werewolf away with a Banishing Charm.
But it was already too late—two bloody puncture wounds appeared on Dean's neck.
"Dean!" Seamus rushed forward to support his friend, but blood kept pouring from the wounds.
"Episkey!" Tonks cast a healing spell, yet werewolf-inflicted injuries could not be cured so easily.
Just as Dean was on the brink of death, several werewolves shook their heads and charged toward the group.
"Stupefy!"
Slytherin arrived in time. Malfoy and Daphne struck together, red beams hitting the charging werewolves.
Blaise raised the hand wearing his ring, and a silent, instant Stunning Spell hit a werewolf with perfect precision.
Glancing at the dying Dean, Malfoy kicked Seamus, who was crying uncontrollably, aside.
He pulled a bottle of emerald-green potion from his pocket and poured it over the bleeding wound.
Under the effect of the jade-colored potion, the injury healed rapidly.
Tonks widened her eyes. "What is that?"
"Emerald Potion." Malfoy stuffed the remaining half-bottle back into his pocket and said proudly, "A kind of 'universal potion.'"
Dean's bleeding stopped.
Malfoy stood up and walked away.
"Wait, Malfoy." Ron looked conflicted, but finally said, "Thank you."
"Thank me? You think you're worthy?" Malfoy spat coldly. "You never bother to work hard, and when battle comes, you still need others to save you. A bunch of useless idiots."
Everyone who understood Malfoy's talent for drawing fire knew it well.
Ignoring Ron's expression that looked like he'd just swallowed something foul, Malfoy led his people deeper into the battlefield.
Their mission was simple: keep as many people alive as possible.
They advanced through the corridors, attacking along the way, with ghosts occasionally appearing to inform them of enemy numbers.
Moaning Myrtle floated near the ceiling and said, "Three enemies ahead, handsome boy."
Goyle and Crabbe crouched at the corner. When the three men walked in, the two of them charged like bulldozers, slamming into them together and knocking them unconscious.
"Break their wands," Malfoy said, striding forward arrogantly. Wherever he passed, no wand was spared.
Daphne split up from him. Outside the library, she encountered Ginny in the middle of a fight.
She ambushed a wizard from behind, then used Levicorpus to take down another.
Suddenly, a roar echoed through the corridor.
Daphne's expression changed as she shouted, "Get down!"
Ginny reacted instantly. The moment they dropped to the floor, a massive wooden club smashed through the fourth floor, shattering classroom windows and walls.
A giant.
They looked down. In the courtyard on the Ground Floor, the giant wearing a golden helmet grabbed a statue and swung it toward the castle with all his might.
The statue shattered upon impact, leaving another gaping hole in the wall.
This giant was larger and more imposing than the others.
Harry, on the Ground Floor, noticed the giant.
"That's the Gurg!" Harry remembered Hagrid saying that the giant leader was called the Gurg.
A Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder firework hit the Gurg on the nose, making him furious. He knocked down several pillars and hurled them toward the castle like cannonballs.
"Stop!"
Harry fired a spell at the Gurg, but the giant's tough hide rendered magic ineffective.
A rock from the giant's hand smashed into the castle, and several unlucky students were blasted away by the impact.
The Gurg let out a thunderous roar.
The giants began moving closer.
"Don't stand here, Potter."
Harry's arm was grabbed, and he was dragged away.
When he looked back, he saw Professor Slughorn.
"Professor, we have to stop the giants."
"I'm afraid we can't stop them for now, Potter," Slughorn said. "I don't know why Albus still hasn't appeared."
At this moment, the castle's hope rested on Dumbledore, yet Dumbledore was unable to intervene.
"He's searching for Voldemort, sir." Harry was dragged far away before he finally caught his breath.
Slughorn brought him to a safe place, then turned back to engage an enemy in battle.
Harry knew that the best solution right now was to defeat Voldemort.
Dumbledore was guarding the area outside the Constellation Society, preventing Voldemort from taking advantage of any opportunity.
Yet from the beginning until now, apart from hearing his voice, they had not seen Voldemort himself.
"Voldemort, where are you?"
Harry knew he had to draw Voldemort out so that Dumbledore could act without restraint.
So he began searching for Voldemort's whereabouts.
He collided with Theodore, who appeared in a panic, and the two of them lost their footing and tumbled down the stairs.
When Theodore fell, a badge slipped out of his pocket.
Harry saw the badge, confusion in his eyes.
Why was the Constellation badge on Theodore?
"Get lost!"
Panic flashed in Theodore's eyes. He didn't notice the badge and snarled at Harry before striding away.
Harry picked up the badge, slipped it into his pocket, and was about to follow him.
When he looked up, he saw a banshee staring at him with predatory intent.
...fuck.
The next second, the banshee opened her mouth wide, and a piercing, shrill scream bombarded Harry's eardrums.
…
"Minerva, a large number of banshees have breached the castle."
Professor Sprout hurried over to Professor McGonagall.
She had deployed Devil's Snare to temporarily slow part of the advance.
Professor McGonagall's expression changed when Professor Flitwick also ran over, shouting shrilly, "The giants have entered the courtyard!"
"There are also many vampiric harpy birds approaching the Astronomy Tower!"
The battle was becoming terrifying.
The pressure on Professor McGonagall was immense, and Slughorn was unable to make effective decisions in such a situation.
Auror Dawlish was panting heavily as he said, "Look outside!"
They all turned to look.
In the pitch-black surface of the Black Lake, two enormous figures were the first to climb out.
They were giants, but unlike the others, their bodies were deathly pale.
They were Inferi.
After the two giant Inferi appeared, more and more Inferi began crawling out of the Black Lake.
It was a horrifying number, the undead surging like a tide toward the outer perimeter of the castle.
A suit of armor shouted as it waved its sword and charged toward the Inferi.
"Charge! I am a dragon knight!"
Its sword pierced straight into an Inferus as the medieval armor launched its assault.
The battle erupted on both sides.
No one knew how many Inferi were hidden in the Black Lake—they continued crawling out without end.
Professor McGonagall used Transfiguration to reshape two collapsed pillars into barriers, blocking incoming spells.
"We need Dumbledore!" she shouted to Harry, who had just barely finished dealing with the banshees.
Harry understood her meaning. Pale-faced, he nodded and sprinted toward the 3rd floor.
In the face of an overwhelming sea of enemies, the students seemed so fragile.
The castle was surrounded on all sides by Inferi, an unimaginably terrifying number.
"How many lives did he have to kill to create this?" Professor McGonagall and several other professors cast spells to encircle the castle, holding back the advancing Inferi.
~~~
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