A/N

Hey guys, this is my first ever fanfiction I've posted online! It's basically set after the events of both of the series, though there are a few obvious things which I have disregarded – for example Dumbledore still being alive and Simon still being a vampire (spoiler alert for anyone who doesn't know already, oops). Anyway, I hope you enjoy, pleeeeaaassseeeee leave a review cause it makes me feel good (unless it's a bad review, haha)

Sorry for the fact that this chapter is quite short but I needed an introduction, haha.

Obviously none of the characters or settings or anything like that belong to moi, instead they belong to the wonderful J.K Rowling and the fabulous Cassandra Clare.

- Sherasan

Minerva McGonagall hadn't thought she'd ever see the day when Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry wouldn't be returning for another school year. Yet there she was, seated in the office of Albus Dumbledore, discussing how exactly they were going to cancel the return of the students after the summer only one week from the beginning of the new term.

She might have thought she was merely having a nightmare had it not been for the blood coating her robes and the four ragged gashes which sliced across her left forearm, throbbing with a searing pain as she pressed a cold towel against them tightly to stem the flow of blood. Madame Pomfrey would have a heart attack when she saw the mess she had gotten herself into.

"Have you sent the letters away to the families yet, Albus?" She asked the headmaster through gritted teeth, wincing against the pain.

Albus Dumbledore, who was seated across from her and sporting a few of his own injuries, shook his head gravely, "Not quite," He replied with his usual calm demeanour, despite the bloody claw marks raked along the left side of his face, "They are to be dispatched within the next hour, the Ministry tells me, however. The families will know by tomorrow."

Minerva nodded sadly. She couldn't bear to see the misery in her oldest friend's eyes, their azure blue usually sparkling with laughter and life, now darkened and sad. Though it hurt dreadfully, she reached her left hand out across the desk towards him, and he took hers gently in his, offering her a weak smile.

"We'll find a way to defeat these demons, Albus. I promise." She whispered, giving his hand a soft squeeze, though there was no note of hope in her voice, only defeat. For the first time in a long, long while, Hogwarts was giving up.

The attacks had begun four weeks ago, first arousing the attention of both the Hogwarts staff and the Ministry when several of the house elves recruited in the school during the summer had been found dead, their bodies strewn through the halls, mangled and dismembered beyond recognition. Immediately, a band of magical creatures specialists had been called in, for the feral teeth and claws which had obviously torn the house elves apart were of no wizards doing. Of course, no one, not even the specialists, had ever seen anything like the monster lurking through the halls of Hogwarts, and no one could be prepared for the destruction and bloodshed it caused.

The monster was extremely invulnerable to magic – even the very worst of the Unforgivable Curses appeared to merely weaken and wound the creature, and it was only when after days and days and dozens of marauders and ministry officials that they had managed to defeat it.

Then another had appeared.

And another.

And another.

Until the most recent, which both Minerva and Albus, thoroughly exhausted yet their passion and love for the halls of Hogwarts driving them onwards, had managed to assist in the defeat of today. Judging by the patterns of the others, however, they would only have a week or so, maybe even less, before the next one appeared and hungry for blood.

Hogwarts had officially been named by the Ministry of Magic itself as being in a state of dire emergency.

For a few moments, there was silence. The two friends sat there together, their hands linked across the table, as they spent what would probably be their last moments in the place they loved most, their home. The Ministry had demanded that they evacuate a long while ago, and though they had refused, Minerva knew it was finally time to depart and leave this crisis in the hands of the Ministry, for fear of their own lives.

And then, all of a sudden, something in Albus's face shifted. Slowly, he glanced up, and she saw it, that familiar, mischievous glint sparkling in his eyes. She could practically see an idea forming before he even had to say a word.

She opened her mouth to protest, to convince him that they'd done all they could and that it was time for them to leave before anything else happened, but Albus spoke before she could begin.

"Demons, did you say, Minerva?" He asked, his voice filled with a curious glee that only he could muster.

"Yes, Albus, that is what I said, but –"

"I believe I have an idea of exactly what these creatures are, Minerva," He said, and a smile broke across his features, the first smile of his she had seen in a whole month. Albus stood up, tucked his beard neatly into his belt and strode across his office towards the window sill. Immediately, an owl fluttered through, and Albus quickly scribbled down a note before tying it to the bird's leg, muttering unintelligible instructions, "And," He continued, turning around and moving towards the doorway, "I know just the people we can call on to help. An old friend of mine owes me a favour."

And with that, he was out of the door, leaving Minerva sitting at his desk, her mouth agape. The last thing she heard before the door creaked to a close was Albus's voice ringing throughout the halls.

"CANCEL THE LETTERS HOME! HOGWARTS IS NOT GOING DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT!"