The Final Battle.
Chapter 1: Fallen Shields
"Oh my god."
Cecil was standing on the Astronomy Tower, staring as the bridge blew up. The D.A. had planned this, and he was not at the meeting, so he did not know what was going to happen. He trusted the others knew what they were doing, and leaped off the railing. He cast a cushioning charm just in time, landing exactly five feet from where the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore had landed only a year before. His black ginkgo wood wand was clutched in his left hand. The leather shoes he wore tapped the ground lightly as he touched down, the cobblestone shaking as the shockwave from the bridge resonated throughout the entire school. He remembered how Professor Snape had escaped in the Great Hall, and how he, Cecil, had managed to resist being put in the dungeons. He had quite a record of being a troublemaker, but not as bad as the rest of the Slytherins. So he, and a few others had been permitted to stay and fight. Feeling a bit out of place, Cecil turned and headed to the entrance of the School, the cobblestone bridge, where everyone was converging. He heard a shout echo through the air as he ran. "Piertotem Locomotor!" He turned and saw the stone statues leap from their pedestals and land on the ground with a crash. The stone floor cracked under the weight of the many statues now leaping and converging where McGonagall had pointed her wand.
He caught the professor's eye, and she nodded at him. It had been her who had permitted Cecil to stay, even though he was only a fifth year. The reason being only he had gained an Outstanding in his Transfiguration, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts classes out of all the other Slytherins.
"Cecil!" A voice echoed from above him. Turning his head to the stars, he saw his friend, Isabel, perched on one of the arches over a doorway. "Ascendio!" He flew up to her and landed on the roof.
"I-Isabel!" He stammered. "I thought-"
"I had left? Hell no." She looked concerned, yet emotion was flowing out, coating her voice like honey. "I'm really worried. So I stayed, knowing that I should do my best to protect this school. It's like my second home. If we don't, well, I won't be here. I would rather die fighting for this school and not live under that bastard's reign."
"Isabel..." Cecil never heard this much affection in her voice. He had crushed on her before, but he never got round to asking her out. Her yellow eyes reminded him of a cheetah, watching it's prey before a strike. That explained her Patronus. "Listen, Isabel... I want to tell you something... if... if something goes wrong... and one of us don't make it."
He paused. What if she didn't feel the same? Well, it was now or never.
"Isabel, I lo-"
But his words were cut short as her lips met his. Cecil placed his hands, the left still clutching his wand, on her side. She wrapped hers around his neck, and he felt like the school was far, far away. They sat there, embraced, for what felt like an eternity. That eternity was cut short by a blast that separated them from each other.
He yelled, falling down the side of the tower. He heard Isabel screaming from the other side. The wind whipped through his oak colored hair, his charcoal bag flying behind him. Twisting and waving his wand, he cast a cushioning charm in Isabel's direction, and slowed down his fall enough to grab hold of a ledge and clamber up. His favourite sweater had holes in it and there was a newly formed gash on the side of his cheek.
"Isabel! Are you alright?" He hollered, waiting for her reply. He was relieved when he heard a faint "Yes!' come from the other side of the tower. Suddenly, the night sky turned blood red.
"Oh sh-." He swore, though it remained unheard, thanks to the yells of triumph coming from the enemy. The shields had fallen. He leaped, crashing to the ground, but rolling in time to soften his fall, his sweater ripping a bit more. Dark shadows were flying through the sky, and explosions and shouts, with the occasional scream, rent the, until recently, calm air.
The battle had begun.