Chapter Twenty-Eight:
Exposure
The enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall littered with tiny stars. Underneath it, the four long tables were filled with scared students, most not even respecting their designated house table. Some were still in their pyjamas, others in dressing gowns. Here and there you could see the pearly shine of the ghosts hovering the floor. Every eye was locked on Professor McGonagall, still in her torn travelling robes as she stood on the raised platform at the top of the Hall. Behind her, the teachers stood in line, including the massive shape of Hagrid at the corner of the Hall.
Hiccup sat next to Aster and Astrid, Jack sitting across them next to Merida and Azel, who still had her leg bandaged under the table; all displaying the small cuts and bruises from the battle half an hour before then. From the entrance of the Hall, the doors opened as a strange group of wizards marched in the room. The teenagers did not recognise them from start until they saw Quim Shacklebolt, followed up by a red haired wizard with long nose and many freckles; another witch with bushy hair tied back in a long plait; and a wizard with black hair and green eyes behind the round glasses, who Hiccup recognised as Potter. Another fifteen wizards walked in behind them, storming into the room, and that was when the boys recognised the Order of the Phoenix.
"You better have found your artefact, Mister Potter." McGonagall spoke from her place, "Agatha White managed to give us one last warning before the curse took her consciousness away. We're out of time."
"We've found it, Professor." Said Potter, walking up to his former teacher. "They have just attacked the Ministry's headquarters, but Hestia Jones managed to extract the answers before they took her."
"Took her?!" McGonagall had an expression of shock. "You mean…?"
"Dedalus Diggle tried to get to her but he was too late. That's why the Dark Mark was hovering above Saint Francis Folly this morning."
"Oh no…" Professor Slughorn, who had great admiration for the fallen witch, gave a mournful moan.
"So, where is the artefact?" McGonagall asked with a determined look. Right then, a tall wizard with long silver hair stepped on to the elevated platform, his hand shaking in seemingly unmeasured fear.
"It's in the castle, Professor. But we don't have much time to look for it while the Order of the Seven approaches, the unplottable charm has been rendered useless with the threat of the Obscurial… They plan to destroy us." The man answered, and Hiccup felt an elbow touching his ribs when Aster leaned over him:
"That's Lovegood, Hiccup!" The Australian boy had a secretive whisper to his voice, and Hiccup's eyes were locked on the wizard. "He's that bloke from the Quibbler."
"What artefact are they talking about?" Astrid asked, and both boys shook their heads.
"What about the students?" The witch with brown and bushy hair asked. "They have the right to know what is happening."
"Yes, Miss Granger, naturally…" McGonagall said, now joining her hands in front of herself as she turned to the Great Hall. "Listen to me. All of you: there was an attack earlier today. The Wizarding Community has been exposed."
A wave of cries and whispers crossed over the four tables.
"These are not Death Eaters nor… followers or Voldemort we are facing." The students gave a strange shiver at the mention of the tabooed name; McGonagall resumed her speech indifferently. "It appears that Muggles are threatening the integrity of the fidelius charm cast over this castle for the past millennia… It is hard to tell if the castle is still unplottable. The responsible is no longer hiding. Instead, he claims to be among us. An Obscurial."
Now fear rose over the students, who began muttering louder. Hiccup stared to the rest of the Hall as people started looking at each other with the most accusatory looks. And then most eyes landed on him.
"It's not your job to point out between you who might be carrying such a parasite. But for the sake of the school, I must warn you that if any of you holds an Obscurial within you, then not only does your life run grave danger, but so does the life of any of your colleagues."
"He should turn himself in!" From the Slytherin table, Nicholas Stonem yelled, and most of his peers followed, Merida only stared with angry eyes at the house she once belonged to proudly. "Whoever he is, his life isn't worth all of ours."
"Maybe we should turn yeh in ter the Obscurus, Stonem," Merida raised her voice in anger, standing up. "What right do yeh have ter choose fer anyone?"
Most of the Gryffindor table stood with the red haired Slytherin girl, followed immediately by the Huffle-Puffs, and then the Ravenclaws.
"They never fail to make me emotional…" The red haired wizard next to Potter commented behind his hand.
"I suggest you remain quiet, Mister Stonem." McGonagall warned from the elevated platform. "We are not turning anyone in tonight, unless someone decides to out themselves voluntarily." The Hall quieted down, safe for some protests from the Slytherins. "Now, if there is an Order of Obscurials heading our way, then we must start evacuating the castle. Immediately. The House prefects will oversee your departure, and it is essential-"
"What about our things?" A girl from Ravenclaw asked.
"And our owls?"
"We have no time for rescuing belongings; the priority is to get out of here safely."
"What if we choose to stay and help?" A Gryffindor said, and several others cheered.
"If you are over seventeen years old, you can stay."
Across the table, Jack aimed a short kick to Hiccup's leg, and the boy gave a strange look before seeing that the white-haired boy was shaking his head ever so slightly. He knew what that meant. Jack was not planning to leave.
From the edge of the professor's table, a sudden shout brought the attention of the Hall. "Sibilla!" Pomona Sprout screamed when the witch next to her began contorting in a painful manner, her arms folding against one another and her long pointy fingers began shaking. The Divination professor hissed.
"…it is coming…"
Professor McGonagall stormed up to her, annoyed. "This is no time for your tricks, Trelawney…"
But Sibilla Trelawney remained glued to her chair, as sturdy as a rock, her eyes twisting on the orbits until all that could be seen were the white globes. "The reckoning is coming." She spoke again, her voice was hoarser than usual. The entire Hall went quiet. "The one who can unleash death is on his way here and he will not come alone. He has an army that outmatches our numbers but they possess power that our kind does not know… Both species will clash tonight but there is a danger that neither of them is aware of… And by dawn, all the evil will be unleashed by those who tried who contain it hidden, and the world will stare in horror at its doom, the billions of souls trapped behind the gates to the kingdom of darkness-" A horrible sound gurgled out from Trelawney's throat, a trapped scream, and with a final gasp, the witch's head tumbled downwards and then back up, her eyes rolling back to their natural position. The entire hall was still silent.
"Did I say something?" She asked, trembling. "I must have fallen asleep by chance, it's been a really long night…"
All eyes locked on Professor McGonagall. The witch swallowed drily before turning back to the students.
"We are running out of time, off you go. Monitors? Escort the students of your houses to the Room of Requirement on the Seventh Floor. Orderly!"
The four tables rose up at the same time, everybody standing up in lines as the students walked out of the hall, only a few remaining on their seats for the incoming fight. There were no Slytherins left, but some Huffle-Puffs and Ravenclaws remained in their place. McGonagall had to climb down the platform and check which Gryffindors actually were of age.
"Absolutely not, McLaggen, you're barely fourteen yet- Oh, Mister Haddock!" The Headmistress walked up to where Hiccup sat next to Jack and the other boys. "I know exactly what you're thinking, but in absolutely no circumstance I am allowing you to stay..."
"But the Black Army!" Hiccup cried, and Astrid pleaded beside him.
"It served its purpose beautifully, now let the Order handle it. I can guarantee you, nothing has prepared you for what's to come." The Professor had her voice even sturdier, and the teenagers were immediately defeated. "Now off you go, your colleagues are already getting there by now."
With a collective sigh, the six friends stood up from their seats, Azel being half aided and half dragged by Merida as her injured leg still limped painfully. The short time the teens stood behind was enough for the other houses to get a massive distance, in fact they often found themselves nearly alone walking up the corridors to the seventh floor, barely hearing the echoes of the teens that had passed through the corridors much earlier than they did.
"It's so unfair!" Astrid yelled as they rushed up the stairs. "It's as if everything we've done so far has been pointless!"
"It' not like that," Aster interjected, patting Astrid's shoulders. "We all fought today, maybe it's for the best…"
A blinding flash erupted from every window. Bright and clear as if night had turned into day. But there was no sound at first.
"What the hell…" Aster started again, but it felt like the Castle had fallen silent from the flash. Not one sound could be heard for a long minute.
Then they heard a distant whistle, growing in volume and tone until it became too close.
There was a loud explosion. The shockwave ran through the teens at full speed, pushing them several steps behind, some windows shattering with the massive hit. Through the frame of the window, the orange reflection of the fire lighted the wall of the towers outside, sparks and stones falling like a cascade in front of them.
"It came from the seventh floor!" Merida screamed through the smoke, as the realisation and fear had finally struck the six teenagers. They started to run in despair, all the time their minds hoping for the better, but as they saw the massive fire that peeked out from the stairs at the top of the sixth floor, panic had reached out to them.
"Jack!" Hiccup yelled as the boy stubbornly ran up towards the fire before anyone could hold him back. It was anger, and not bravery that moved Jack though, added to the fear of seeing the probable queue of bodies that could be on that floor.
The screams were muffled by smoke and coughing. The halls to the Room of Requirement were crowded with students struggling to stand in the chaotic scenario that the Seventh floor had become: a huge section of the outside wall was missing, as if someone had punched off an entire chuck on the tower into oblivion. Piles of wood and stones covered the floors, and blood was being drained over the rubble. A burnt hand showed up from inside a pile of the wreckage. If it was a student or a teacher, no one could tell.
Astrid covered her mouth with her hand; all the others began feeling tears watering their eyes. The ones who had managed to get back on their feet were divided between those who were in a rush to leave the tower in a massive exodus and those who scavenged through the rubble for their colleagues, who were still buried neck deep in the piles of glass and bricks.
"What is that?" Astrid asked when she looked out though the hole on the wall – what was left of it. As Hiccup and Jack stepped up to the place, balancing themselves over the rubble, they saw it. Lights, artificial ones pointing out from the ends of the horizon. First, they were two, very close to one another. And then another one flashed up next to it. And then two became four. And then four became eight and ten and fourteen.
"What the hell…?" Aster spoke lowly as more lights appeared on the horizon, until an entire line could be drawn above what seemed to be the end of the world. Suddenly there were tens of hundreds of lights. And they all flashed not farther than a few kilometres from the castle.
"Tell me that's not what I think it is," Hiccup spoke, and his heart sunk when he guessed right. A flash burst from the horizon – a muggle missile, Hiccup recognised instantly - swift and bright, speeding towards the tower.
"It's gonna hit the shield!" Aster yelled as they all expected the glass-like surface of the dome to hold the attack, but instead the explosive flew, untroubled, through the gardens of the castle. Hiccup only noticed a roar of screams filling the corridor, the imminent sense of peril, and Jack's hand yanking him to the floor, before the air around them went off.
...
...So, shitty thing this whole appocalypse feeling, right? How u people doing?
