There were too many.
The Inferi kept coming in endless waves. Even though they could be repelled by light, it was impossible to hold back such numbers.
Unless they could last until dawn, the Inferi would eventually wear them down and kill them all.
And there were still the dark wizards watching from the shadows, as well as Voldemort himself.
Every time Dumbledore acted, it boosted their morale, but it could not make up for the overwhelming disparity in numbers.
Even Slytherin, equipped with the same "Silverhand series" gear, had begun to suffer casualties.
With one hand dragging Blaise and the other wielding his wand, Malfoy blasted away a banshee that had rushed right up to him.
Daphne came down to reinforce them, bringing Ginny with her.
"The giants are destroying the castle!" Daphne cried in alarm. "Their skin is too tough—we can't hurt them!"
"Ginny, you're Percy's beloved sister. Go hide in the Constellation Society."
Malfoy gave the order to Ginny, who had come out with Daphne, but Ginny shot back, "I'm not going! I want to fight too. Gryffindors don't fear anything!"
"Who cares if you're a Gryffindor?" Malfoy snapped irritably. "If something happens to you, Percy will kill me!"
"Then let him kill you." Ginny snorted stubbornly, raised her wand, and unleashed an impressively precise Blasting Curse that exploded on a wizard.
"Damn.." Goyle swallowed and said, "I think she makes a lot of sense."
"Whose side are you on?" Malfoy kicked Goyle in the backside and cursed under his breath. "Hurry up and clear a path for me!"
The two big boys responded, shoulder to shoulder, lowering their heads as they charged into the swarm of Inferi that had breached the castle.
Like two shock grenades thrown into a crowd.
Boom!
A powerful impact burst forth from the chainmail on their bodies.
Under the force of the impact, the Inferi were sent flying.
Malfoy, Daphne, and Ginny charged forward together.
Daphne pointed her wand at the ground beneath the Inferi's feet, causing it to sink rapidly.
Malfoy swung his wand, and a black serpent shot from its tip, coiling around an Inferius's neck.
Ginny aimed her Blasting Curse at the Inferi trapped in the collapsing pit. White light collided with them and vanished.
Suddenly, just as they rushed out of the Entrance Hall, they were struck by a massive club hurled by a giant.
Boom!
"Urg!" Malfoy barely had time to cast Shield Charm. The spell collided with the club, and he was blasted backward.
Daphne narrowly avoided disaster by bending backward with remarkable flexibility.
Ginny rolled aside, then raised her wand and shouted, "Accio broom!"
The Summoning Charm called a broom to her. She mounted it at once, shot into the air, and cast blinding spells at the giant's eyes.
Malfoy was not seriously injured, but he looked thoroughly disheveled.
He got to his feet, ripped off his obstructive robes, and tossed them aside, then punched a banshee in the nose just as it was about to scream.
Grabbing the dazed banshee by the neck, he hurled it beneath the blinded giant's feet.
The giant crushed the banshee with a single stomp. Thrashing wildly, it crushed more than a dozen Inferi underfoot.
"Fuck! Why hasn't Percy arrived yet?!" Malfoy dodged another giant's stomp and roared.
In the current situation, even if they wanted to activate the Constellation Society, they were still short of badges.
At that moment, Harry finally found Malfoy.
He rushed over and grabbed Malfoy's hand, shouting anxiously, "Do you still have that 'universal potion'?"
"What?"
Malfoy was stunned. At a time like this, you're asking me for potions?
Ron and Hermione ran out together.
"Universal potion?" Malfoy yanked his hand free and sneered. "Why should I give it to you?"
"Dumbledore needs it. Can you—"
Before Harry could finish, a banshee opened its mouth and let out a terrifying scream.
"Urrrh~!"
Pain flashed across Malfoy's face. He raised his wand and fired a spell at the banshee, but it dodged.
"What did you just say?!" Malfoy shouted, his ears ringing so badly he could barely hear.
Harry shouted back as well, "I need the universal potion!"
Smack! "Why are you yelling so loudly?!" Malfoy answered with a punch, making Harry feel like his nose was about to be knocked crooked.
Without the slightest remorse, Malfoy roared, "Don't get in the way!"
Malfoy rolled aside to dodge an incoming curse.
In the current situation, Harry couldn't reveal Dumbledore's condition, so he had no choice but to follow Malfoy.
But the Inferi were increasing in number, and without realizing it, the two of them had pushed too deep into the battlefield and found themselves surrounded.
Malfoy's face darkened. This was bad.
Harry raised his wand as well. The two people who normally couldn't stand each other now had no choice but to stand back to back, blocking attacks for each other.
"Harry!" Hermione was too far away from him.
Professor McGonagall transformed into a tabby cat, darting back and forth among the giant Inferi, while Professor Flitwick was being chased by a giant.
Slughorn and Professor Sprout led the students in knocking the banshees down.
Inside the castle, a brilliant white light burst forth like a flash grenade, illuminating the surroundings.
Immediately after, someone rushed out of the entrance hall, holding a large bundle of something and making a throwing motion, hurling it into the sky.
"Mirage!"
As the voice rang out, thick, unscattering mist poured from the wand.
The bundle exploded in midair, sand raining down in a cascade.
Cursed sand.
The moment it touched the ground, all the sand transformed into humanoid figures and charged toward the Inferi.
"Draco, I'll settle the score with you for bullying my girlfriend!"
"Hahaha! I'll be waiting to get beaten then!" Malfoy had never been so happy to have someone come after him.
Cedric had returned.
He arrived together with Percy and Fleur, the cursed sand forming faceless humanoid figures that rushed toward the Inferi and entangled them.
Astoria pushed past the Inferi and rushed toward Malfoy, throwing her arms around him tightly.
"Draco, I thought I'd never see you again."
Having survived the ordeal, Malfoy heard Astoria's sobs against his shoulder.
For the first time, he felt like a complete bastard for making Asto worry.
Guilt dragged him into deep self-reproach.
Unbeknownst to Malfoy, in a direction he couldn't see, Daphne was staring at her sister in existential disbelief as she watched Astoria effortlessly take control of him.
"Cedric, how much cursed sand did you bring?"
Percy looked up at the sky, his expression grave. "We have to hold out until dawn."
Cedric turned his empty pockets inside out and said, "I threw everything away just to bring the cursed sand back."
He swung his wand, and one sandbag after another flew up, exploding above Hogwarts.
Sand figures clashed with the Inferi.
Harry didn't want to interrupt Malfoy and Astoria's reunion, but he needed the Emerald Potion.
After poking Malfoy for the third time, Malfoy snapped impatiently, "What's wrong with you, Potter?"
Harry said with a dark expression, "I need the universal potion. Dumbledore is injured."
"Him? Injured?" Malfoy reluctantly pulled out half a bottle of Emerald Potion and tossed it to Harry.
After all, they still had to rely on Dumbledore to hold out until John returned. They couldn't let that old man fall early.
Harry got the potion and immediately rushed toward Dumbledore without wasting a second.
Hermione and Ron narrowly missed him. Under Cedric's control, the mist caused the dark creatures to lose their sense of direction.
"Is this the strength of the Constellation Society?"
The strength Cedric displayed was astonishing.
Professor Sprout felt immensely proud. This was a Hufflepuff student.
A pyramid rose from the mist, towering into existence. It was a transfiguration illusion Cedric had learned during his travels.
The giants thought it was real and began smashing it with their clubs.
As a result, with a single swing, a whole group of Inferi was sent flying.
Percy joined the team. Fleur cast a spell that freed Charlie from the grasp of the vampiric harpy bird.
After landing, Charlie rubbed his aching back and smiled awkwardly at Fleur. "Should I call you sister-in-law?"
"Hmph." Fleur lifted her chin proudly and knocked down another approaching harpy bird.
Mr. Weasley was over by the Astronomy Tower.
The situation there was far from optimistic. Unlike the dark creatures assaulting the castle, the Astronomy Tower was facing a large number of wizards.
A big-headed grey owl landed on the railing of the Astronomy Tower.
Mr. Weasley had his wand knocked away by a wizard and fell into a difficult situation together with Kingsley.
He looked up, stunned. "An owl?"
"Roar—!"
The seemingly harmless owl suddenly sprouted scales.
A fifteen-foot Peruvian Vipertooth appeared inside the Astronomy Tower.
It opened its jaws and unleashed dragonfire, instantly knocking down all the wizards standing there.
Mr. Weasley stiffly raised his head as the dragon transformed back into the big-headed grey owl, belching a tiny flame.
He blinked, and on the railing, thirteen people appeared in various stances.
"Mr. Weasley, I believe we've met before."
Watson had just ridden the fire dragon up here—it had been a bit too thrilling.
He had known it. That was no ordinary owl.
What kind of owl breathes fire?
Seeing the parent of his son's classmate, he forced a faint smile and asked, "If you could tell me what's going on—and whether my son is all right—I'd be very grateful."
…
Among the group of wizards on the other side.
Voldemort stared grimly at the castle that was still resisting, Bellatrix standing behind him.
"They're too slow, Bella."
Voldemort turned his head slightly and glanced at the wizards behind him, his voice cold and shrill as he issued the order.
"Have the giants break through and destroy the castle."
At Voldemort's command,
the giants roared, ignoring the Inferi and banshees as they charged straight toward the illusion within the mist.
Voldemort raised the wand inlaid with the Philosopher's Stone. Brilliant blue light turned into lightning and shot toward the center of the battlefield.
BooOOOooom!
A violent explosion erupted, and the shockwave instantly blew away the mortal fog.
Seeing this terrifying scene, the wizards behind him burst into excited shouts and rushed toward the stone bridge.
Two figures stood at the entrance.
The larger one wore leather armor and wielded an enormous wooden club wrapped in iron plates.
The smaller one wore ornate armor, holding a shield in his left hand and a hammer in his right.
A cloud of dust rose from the Forbidden Forest as pure white unicorns appeared.
The Zouwu leapt forward, covering hundreds of meters in a single bound.
These were the reinforcements Hagrid had just summoned.
Now.
Hogwarts' gamekeeper and Professor of Care of Magical Creatures, Rubeus Hagrid, and his brother, Grawp, stood here!
Guarding the bridge!
"No one gets past!!!"
With a thunderous roar, Hagrid swung his massive hammer and charged toward the approaching Inferi and giants.
~~~
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