On the Quidditch pitch, a running battle was taking place between two of the larger groups either side had assembled. Mad-Eye Moody had led his small group, composed of himself, Tonks, Dawlish, Mundugus Fletcher and Mr Weasley to the aid of a group under Professor McGonagall's command. McGonagall's group had been sucked into a trap when a small group of Death Eaters led by Avery retreated to the Quidditch pitch where they made a stand. Quickly coming to their aid was a brigade of giants accompanied by Macnair and four of Nagini's children. The giants and snakes smashed through the stands into McGonagall's flank, killing the Aurors accompanying her and inflicting horrible wounds on Anthony Goldstein, one of the DA members assigned to help her. Avery's Death Eaters also managed to wound or kill some of the Order members. Voldemort's forces would have completely engulfed McGonagall's group if Moody hadn't arrived. The two groups, combined into one, managed to stun several of the giants and in the chaos caused by their collapse they successfully withdrew to a position beneath one set of goalposts.
"What do you think we should do, Alastor?" McGonagall asked Moody.
"We've got them tied down, but the same is true of us. If Albus wants, we could hold them here all day, but we aren't going to be able to beat them."
"So you think we should retreat?" McGonagall said, surprised Moody would suggest such a thing.
"No," Moody replied firmly. "Not unless Albus tells us to or they bring up more enemies than we can handle. If we hold them here, they aren't going to be breaking into the castle."
"We stand and fight then?"
"Yes. Arthur," Moody called to Mr Weasley, "take these youngsters round to the left." Moody indicated Seamus Finnegan, Dean Thomas and Dennis Creevey. "Try to catch them napping. If you can't, don't take any chances."
"Right, Mad-Eye," Mr Weasley acknowledged, more than willing to take the directions of the most battle-hardened person there. Mr Weasley's small group managed to move into a position where they could catch their enemies in a crossfire, but as soon as they cast their first hexes, stunning several of their foes, they were pinned down by counter-curses sent flying in their direction.
"Young Creevy," Moody said to Colin, who had been wounded in the fierce fighting that had already taken place, "take Goldstein to the infirmary. Poppy needs to deal with him. Take Hestia too. And while you're there, get yourself looked at. Get back here as soon as you can." Colin rushed off to obey Moody's orders, leading Hestia Jones and Anthony Goldstein's stretchers towards the castle. After Colin had left, Moody called to McGonagall "Minerva, you're in charge here. I'm going to see what chaos I can cause with my invisibility cloak." Moody awkwardly shrugged his cloak on, hampered by the loss of his arm, and vanished from sight. A short while later two giants were persuaded to fight one another after mud and stones had been thrown from the direction of one of them to hit the other. The Death Eaters were forced to move swiftly to avoid being trodden on by the enraged behemoths.
"So Minny, what d' you wan' us to do?" Mundungus asked McGonagall.
"I suppose we need to get back to fighting," she replied. "Fletcher, go left, though not as far left as the children. Tonks, go right. Take any opportunity you get to confuse them, the way Mad-Eye is. Dawlish, you and I will head straight up the middle. We'll disable the Death Eaters and giants if we can."
"Can we kill them?" Dawlish asked.
"Albus doesn't want us to," McGonagall replied. "He doesn't like killing. But I'm in charge here, so yes, if you feel the situation requires it. Don't get yourselves hurt trying not to kill them. Are you ready?" The other three nodded in the affirmative, so McGonagall said "Let's go then." Dawlish and McGonagall sent curses into the midst of their foes, giving Tonks and Mundungus the cover they needed to move to their new positions. Soon after moving, Mundungus hit one of the Death Eaters with a vicious hex he had learnt during his shady dealings, causing her to break out in nasty, pus-filled boils that soon burst, blinding her and causing her to choke. Tonks meanwhile used her Auror training and metamorphmagus abilities exquisitely, changing her features to better camouflage herself and changing position each time she used a curse. She was proving an annoyance on the Death Eaters' left flank, while Moody provided distractions from behind the Death Eaters, often causing the less than bright giants to swing around in ponderous circles, sometimes taking out their own allies in the process. The battle continued to rage around the Quidditch pitch until long after dawn, at which point the Death Eaters began to withdraw. However, with Moody causing chaos and the DA members having managed to manoeuvre into a position where they had cut off their most immediate line of retreat, several of the Death Eaters and giants were wounded, knocked unconscious or killed before the engagement was finished.
"What now?" Tonks asked McGonagall after the Death Eaters had retreated.
"I suppose we should head back to the castle. Dumbledore might need us there soon."
The group swiftly reunited and moved in the direction of the castle knowing that they had delayed the Death Eaters advance, but also knowing that the Death Eaters would soon attack again.