High Serpent King and starsmiles thanks for the reviews – as for the stuff at the end, I found it interesting but not surprising that you guys weren't if it was a vision or a dream, but I felt like you guys have had your fill of those – that WAS happening. It was certainly very interesting to write.
Thanks for reading Bhekie! And Relaxing Pikachu, when you reach this chapter thanks for reading this too.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of this.
Lastly, I'm sorry for all the weird symbols in that end sequence – I have no idea what they were from. I just switched from plain-text to using Word so I could use italics and it clearly had some unanticipated effects.
Chapter 23 – Attack
Harry looked around at the Hospital Wing as the numbers kept spinning around in his head. 76 injuries - many of them first-years, second-years, and third-years incapable of really fighting the Death Eaters. Two fatalities. Tears began to sting Harry's eyes as he remembered how it all started.
A crash was heard, resounding throughout the whole hall and shaking the chandeliers. Dumbledore's happy and care-free expression vanished as his face creased with worry. He shouted for everyone to get back as Death Eaters suddenly burst through the doors, shooting spells everywhere. Some of the people there hadn't brought their wands. Students were being slammed against the walls, disarmed, no match for the well-trained Death Eaters. Voldemort was nowhere in sight. Harry was reckless, knowing he could not be killed without Voldemort there, forgetting that serious injury could still happen. He sent spells shooting everywhere, hitting anything that was there. He saw Neville fighting a Death Eater. He told him to move, but Neville wouldn't. Harry's ears hurt as someone was hit by the Cruciatus Curse. The screams ended abruptly as Dumbledore got the Death Eater. Dumbledore yelled something at McGonagall, who started getting the younger students out to safety. Ron and Hermione appeared out of nowhere. Ron said something about seeing Pettigrew somewhere, but Hermione said she didn't know where he had gone. Snape suddenly came out of nowhere and told Neville to move out of the way. Malfoy saw Snape and figured out he was working against him. Malfoy murmured a spell with pleasure and a jet of green light hit Snape. Snape fell. Draco Malfoy saw what happened, and suddenly seemed afraid. Harry finally grabbed Parvati after finding her and told her to stick with him. He heard Flitwick telling Luna to move back. The Death Eaters suddenly vanished, and the first thing Harry heard was a gust of wind. Suddenly an immense coldness came over him. He heard his mother's screams again...Ron and Hermione sprung into action along with Harry, yelling the Patronus. A powerful Patronus came out of each of their wands – a stag, a weasel, and an otter – and sent them scattering. Death Eaters reappeared with the Dementors advancing in the front. He saw Seamus fighting Draco Malfoy and figured out that he must've been how they got in. He saw Seamus be hit in the back with an Imperius Curse by some other Death Eater. He yelled out for Seamus to fight it. Seamus threw it off but had dropped the wand. He used wandless magic instead. Ron was suddenly disarmed and Harry saw someone use a spell to break it in half. Ron muttered a few curses before Seamus told him to use wandless magic too. Seamus and Ron went recklessly into the fight headfirst at Death Eaters, sending them flying. Harry suddenly saw something that was eventually barely identifiable as Professor Park. Park was leaving a path of destruction of Death Eaters everywhere. Ron muttered something to that effect when he saw him too. Suddenly Harry saw the shadow of a rat grow into the shadow of a fully grown-man. He saw the shadow point a wand at Ron and turned around just fast enough to see Peter Pettigrew kill Ron Weasley.
Here's the explanation of the dialogue at the end of the last story. Next chapter will be the aftermath. It'll probably come this weekend.