Brad, towing Eric and Sara behind, caught sight of Mike as soon as they walked into the Great Hall. All of the students were being led there by their prefects while the staff was busy setting additional wards and enchantments.
"Hey, Cap," Mike greeted. Brad was happy to see him in his gear. The psych docs might not want him going out on operations, but they needed every gun they could get right now and Mike was a great operator. Brad had every confidence in him.
Hermione, along with Harry and Ron, stood by Mike. All of them looked stoic. The castle being so brazenly attacked...it was unprecedented, but they were handling it in stride.
"Mike, good to see you," Brad replied, looking around. "Where's Fleur?"
Mike cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Fleur? Isn't she in Hogsmeade?"
Brad chewed his lip. He'd sent her to the castle right off the bat. He'd made it to Phoenix, been briefed, geared up, and made it to the castle. She should be here by now.
He looked around the room. She wouldn't just hang out by any of the other tables, she only closely knew Griffindors, specifically Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Still, he couldn't see her anywhere. A few more students filed in with Professor Flitwick, who ushered them toward a table and then quickly left.
"What're we doing?" Mike asked.
It was a valid question. The Captain that had greeted them on their arrival from the FOB had simply told them to go to the Great Hall and find a way to help out.
"You and Eric stay here with the element protecting the students." Brad ordered. The current plan was to escort students, youngest to oldest, to the Headmasters office, where they could use the Floo to get home. Thus far, they'd been unable to establish a safe meeting place with the Ministry, and London as a whole, under threat.
He looked over to Eric and Sara, the latter of which had elected to grab an M110 Designated Marksman's Rifle.
"Sara, find a perch up top in one of the towers."
"Where are you going?" Mike asked, a note of concern in his voice.
"To find Fleur," Brad replied, already turning to the door.
Eden could not believe his good fortune as he made it to the gargoyle that stood in the path of the Headmasters office. He'd been told to expect the password to be some kind of muggle candy. Apparently the Headmaster had an affinity for them.
Instead, the gargoyle was already standing aside, leaving the path wide open. Careful not to make a sound, Eden began to creep up the stairs. They were narrow, but he had his wand at the ready, and beneath the invisibility cloak, he would no doubt surprise his opponent.
At the top of the stairs, he was again in luck. The wooden door to the Headmasters office was already wide open. He could hear a shuffling sound in the room.
Eden peeked through and saw a tall and very old man stooped over the desk. His long beard was hiked over his shoulder as he worked with one hand to add ingredients into a bowl. His other hand was blackened and shriveled, confirming what Eden knew in his heart.
He had taken the stone, and thus had borne the brunt of whatever curse had been placed on the box. He'd been useful for something, at least.
Eden stepped into the room as the Headmaster picked up a vial of another ingredient, pouring it liberally into the bowl. He was certain he hadn't made a sound, yet, the headmaster looked up directly at him.
With one hand shriveled and dead, and the other holding a vial, the Headmaster never stood a chance to get to his wand. Eden threw the cloak aside, wincing at the careless way he discarded such a valuable treasure, and fired a killing spell at the Headmaster.
The spell crashed into a fire red bird, which threw itself in front of the Headmaster at the last second. Eden cursed, sending another spell wide as the Headmaster ducked, dropping the vial and drawing his own wand.
Before Dumbledore could recover enough to attack back, Eden sent a jet of flame at the underside of the desk. A shout of surprise caused Eden a twisted smile, and he leapt forward to capitalize.
He found the Headmaster laying on the ground, his legs and remaining arm smoldering, clearly in pain.
Eden killed him. He had no desire to see the old wizard in pain, nor did he wish to allow him the chance to pull some kind of victory from the jaws of defeat. Best to just kill him and be done with it.
With the Headmaster dead, Eden crouched and pulled up the wand. It was a long, skinny, knobby affair, and he felt an undeniable surge of power when he touched it. Finally, it was his!
He searched the wizard for the Resurrection Stone and found nothing in his pockets. He stood up, frowning. Where would it be hidden?
A glint of gold sparkled from Dumbledore's blackened hand, drawing his eye. He bent and looked. A ring, with an ornate stone...carved with the emblem of the Deathly Hallows.
Eden yanked the ring free and placed it on his own finger, a giddiness rising in his chest that he couldn't escape. This was it. He was the Master of Death. He could bring her back.
Unable and unwilling to hide the grin on his face, Eden threw the cloak back over himself and quickly descended the stairs. The sooner he was free of the castle, the sooner it would be safe to bring his beloved back from the jaws of Death himse-
Eden crashed into someone at the base of the steps. Both of them hit the ground and Eden winced, almost disappointed by the fact that even as Master of Death he could be so simply knocked over.
Still, he caught sight of a beautiful creature trying to right herself. She looked around, confused, tucking silvery-blonde hair behind her ear as she tried to identify who hit her. She would make an excellent hostage in the off chance he was caught.
"Imperio!" he muttered, only just remembering he was still under the cloak. It didn't matter. The Elder Wand sent its magic straight through the cloak and immediately, her eyes went hazy. He knew he had her.
He stood up and brought her under the cloak with him before covering them both. She was warm, pressed against him as they walked, and the scent of vanilla and cinnamon assaulted his nose in a pleasant way. For the first time since he'd lost Bellatrix, he felt something stirring. He forced it out of his head as they walked, though.
For now, they just needed to get free of the castle.
Professor Minerva McGonagall tried to focus on the incantation, but the radio crackling to life beside her was a distraction that she could do little to avoid. As much as she wanted to deny it, she was desperate for information.
"Echo One to all elements," the voice stated, "evac corridor is non-viable. Headmaster is KIA, repeat, Headmaster is KIA."
She understood the words, but couldn't fit them together in her mind. KIA was a muggle term used to indicate someone was dead, but they were talking about Headmaster Dumbledore. No matter how she tried to fit the idea together, it simply didn't. He couldn't be dead.
"Echo One, Overlord, confirm status of Headmaster." She knew that Overlord was the name of the soldier directing all of the muggle soldiers.
"Overlord, Echo One confirms, Headmaster is KIA. It's a mess here, sir. We can't guarantee safety if the corridors are compromised."
There was a long pause on the radio, though the two soldiers standing guard beside her were muttering to themselves.
"Overlord copies, return to the Great Hall and prepare defenses there."
McGonagall's lips began to prickle. She hadn't realized how tightly she was pursing them. She opened her mouth for a deep breath, more to steady her nerves than to relieve her lips of their lack of blood flow.
"Piertotum Locomotor!" she cried out, pushing the welling in her eyes and constriction of her chest out of mind. "Defend your castle!" she ordered the suits of armor, which began to creak and move.
What would they do without Dumbledore?
"Hawkeye, Zephyr Actual, repeat fire!" Lieutenant Evan Williams shouted. He thumped a squad leader on the shoulder and gestured at the big enemy in front of them. "Focus on that troll!"
Hawkeye replied in the affirmative as the light machine gun from Second Squad let loose a long string of tracer ammunition, which stitched up the left side of the troll, ending at its neck. The creature stumbled and bled, but continued forward, lifting a huge warhammer up over its head.
Williams lifted his rifle, not bothering with the flip up sight. He eyeballed it and lobbed a 40mm grenade from the underslung launcher. He was aiming for the abdomen, but the grenade struck against its left shoulder. Even better.
A spray of blood, bone, and gristle erupted and the creature dropped, either dead or dying. Williams slid open the grenade launcher, allowing the empty shell to drop and replacing it with another.
He glanced behind him in time to see another humvee filled with civilians start to roll forward. He had one squad checking cottages and businesses for stragglers. They'd started by pounding on doors, ordering people to evacuate however possible. Anyone not able to simply apparate away could load up on humvees and be brought back to the FOB.
Then the army of dark creatures arrived and the gunfire erupted. Anyone stupid enough to stay here during this fight...well, they couldn't be helped.
He could distantly hear Sergeant Doublet shouting on a bullhorn for residents to apparate away or come out to a truck to evacuate, because the town was being abandoned. They simply didn't have the personnel to hold it.
"Right flank!" someone cried out, and a crescendo of fire erupted around him. He aimed his rifle as well, seeing a few dozen enterprising ghouls and spiders rushing to get behind a small shack on the other side of the train tracks.
BOOM! An artillery shell detonated not ten feet from the group of rushing creatures, sending up a geyser of dirt and limbs.
More shells landed and there was a lull in the fighting as creatures dipped back into the trees.
"One more load should do it, Lieutenant!" Staff Sergeant Goldman shouted from next to him. Williams looked back and saw the remaining crowd of civilians, ducking and holding one another as one of his fireteams surrounded and protected them.
"What the fu-" the exclamation turned into a scream of fear and surprise. Williams looked back to see one of his soldiers being carried into the sky by a lion with wings. The creature was holding the soldier by the arm with its powerful jaws.
Thwack! The creature stopped beating its wings and dropped alongside the unfortunate trooper. It was low enough that he might survive, but something was probably broken.
Williams gave an approving nod to the marksman as the man shifted back to the woodline, looking for another target of opportunity. A pair of soldiers rushed out to go recover the fallen man.
Another set of Humvees should be on the way now. The sooner it got here the better.
"Contact!" someone shouted, and the treeline burst to life again as dozens of creatures rushed forward.
Brad jogged down a side corridor, looking for Fleur. She could be anywhere in the castle! He'd already checked Gryffindor tower. Now, he was taking a side route back to the main hall, certain he wouldn't stumble into her if he went back the way he'd left.
"All units, Overlord, enemy contact is imminent. Fight like hell."
The words brought Brad to a stop. He couldn't keep looking for her. They were under threat now. He'd have to pray she was okay and find her after the fight...if there was an after.
"Contact!" a shout echoed from down the corridor to his left, followed by gunfire. Brad sprinted down that direction. They'd need the additional gun.
He recognized the corridor as he came up to the end. It was a path that led toward the Quidditch Pitch. Now, half a dozen soldiers were arranged in a semicircle outside the door, firing at...Jesus, it looked like a wall of creatures.
A dark mass of spiders, ghouls, trolls, and other awful creatures, all rushing forward under the withering fire.
Brad could see the lancing arcs of tracer fire from machine gun emplacements several stories above him. They cut into the rushing mass at regular intervals, but it was hardly enough to stop the tide.
He shouldered his rifle, switched the selector to automatic, and began firing. It didn't matter much where he aimed, he was going to hit something.
The writhing mass got closer as they fired, but no one broke...no one retreated. They fired until empty and swapped to fresh magazines, calling out when they were reloading.
"Psycho 1 on station," a voice crackled over the command net.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzt. Brad watched as the small AH-6 Little Bird loosed several hundred rounds into the approaching mass, directly in front of them. He wished the thing was loaded with Hydra rockets too, but every little bit helped.
The helicopter fired another long burst at the approaching line, buying them precious time, before shifting its fire to another portion of the field.
"Overlord, Echo Six, we have giants headed to the main entry!"
"Echo Six, we have additional ordinance on the way, hold your ground."
Brad risked a glance in that direction. There were several figures, each taller than a house, lumbering slowly toward the center of the castle.
"Shit, giant!" someone shouted from beside Brad. He looked back in time to see one of the behemoths bursting forward, knocking those in front of it aside. Unlike it's brethren further along the castle, this one was rushing forward at a run, already bleeding from a wound.
"Moving!" another soldier shouted before darting forward and to the side. Brad's confusion was answered as the soldier unslung an M4 Gustav recoilless rifle from his back and aimed it. "Clear behind!" he shouted.
Thump! Smoke and dust erupted around them and Brad watched the round arc into the giants chest, blasting it apart. The soldier rushed back to the firing line, dropping the Gustav beside him and getting his rifle back into the fight.
BOOM! An explosion erupted in the air over a particularly dense cluster of spiders. The blastwave sent a mess of legs and ichor flying in every direction as other explosions landed in the field to the front of the castle.
Hawkeye was pulling its weight, there was no doubt. Still, more creatures poured forward, including another giant.
"Get that Gustav back up!" someone shouted.
"They're breaching the castle!" Brad heard over the radio. He turned his rifle to the side and saw spiders crawling up the walls, toward windows on the second and third story. Ghouls, werewolves, and other creatures were pushing their way back into one of the doorways.
Fuck, this was getting out of hand.
Sara felt the scraping of stone against her rifle as she tracked a fast moving spider. Crack. The rifle kicked against her shoulder. Her scope quickly reattained the target and she saw it rolling to its back, legs curling up.
Explosions rocked the ground around the front of the castle as Hawkeye fired round after round, trying to keep the creatures from gaining a foothold in the castle. For a moment there, the AH-6 looked like it might turn the tide, but it quickly ran out of ammunition and had to return to FOB Phoenix for resupply.
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT! A deafening rumble erupted from the rooftop near her and she saw a streak of red tracers dart up into the sky. She only just caught sight of an approaching Griffin before the red streak intersected, small white puffs marking the air burst detonations which shredded the creature.
The PVAIDs was designed to defeat incoming rockets and artillery rounds and was proving devastatingly effective against the flesh and blood creatures trying to swoop down from the sky. That would only do so much if they couldn't hold the ground, though.
"They're breaching the castle!" someone called over the radio. She looked down through the scope and could see creatures entering a door, others climbing the walls. Too much risk she'd ricochet and hit her own people.
She swept the scope back out, targeting a mean looking troll with a club and trusting the people down there to hold their own. Crack, crack. A pair of shots caught it in the head, but seemed only to piss it off.
"This is Zephyr Actual, our convoy is trapped in the village, we need support!"
He centered back on the forehead of the troll. It had a small mark where the previous rounds had hit. Crack. Crack. Crack.
It stumbled and waved the club around, smacking a giant in the knee. The giant brought down a mighty fist on its head and the troll stumbled to the ground, dazed at the very least, if not outright dead.
"Giant at the main doors, we're pulling back into the hall. Breach imminent!"
She looked down, but from her vantage point, she couldn't see the main door. Fuck. She aimed back into the mass, finding another giant. Maybe some concentrated fire could knock one of them down.
BRRRRRRRRRRRRT! The giant simply vanished in a cloud of dirt and blood, along with several others. BOO-BOOOOM! A rapid pair of massive explosions erupted afterward and she looked up from her scope in time to see an A-10 Warthog streak past.
BRRRRRRRT! Another giant stumbled, everything from the waist down turning to mist as the 30mm depleted uranium slugs smashed into it. The wingman flew past, close enough to the tower that Sara grabbed the window frame to support herself from the air wave.
"Wooo!" someone shouted, elated, over the radio.
"Concentrate fire on that giant!"
"Get sooooome!"
Sara sighted back though the scope. The attack was wavering. Several of the creatures running from the woods stopped and slunk back to the treeline. Others pressed forward, but not as many.
Crack. She caught one running creature in the leg. It stumbled, gripping the leg painfully and discouraging others from tempting fate.
BRRRRRRRRRT! BRRRRRRRRRT! A cloud of dirt and debris stretched along the thickest line of enemy troops while another raked the treeline, pulverizing those hiding within.
"Overlord, Angel Three, things look suppressed here, we're moving on Zephyr while we have fuel and munitions."
"Understood, Angel Three, thanks for the support."
"Fuck YEAH, Angel Three, I love you!" someone else shouted, immediately drowned out by an officer telling them where to stuff that behavior.
As Sara glassed the field before them, the only movement she saw was heading to the woods. They'd broken the attack.
She sat back, pulling the earphone from her ear and rolling her neck. She needed to take a breather.