Chapter 19

The plan that the defenders of Hogwarts had come up with to defend the castle began with concentrating their power in the Great Hall where the symbolic seat of power was located. It was assumed that, in his quest to conquer the castle, Voldemort would dedicate the majority of his force to capturing the Great Hall while a comparatively small force would be tasked with eliminating the pockets of resistance in the other parts of the castle.

These pockets would consist of groups of five or six witches and wizards behind an assortment of the various Wizarding Wheezes that the Weasley twins had created for battle purposes. In the lower levels of the castle the professors stood with the members of the Order of the Phoenix against the impending Death Eater army. On the middle levels the members of the D.A. who had responded to Hermione's call were stationed. On the highest floors of the castle were the students who elected to fight against the tyranny of Voldemort.

Harry, Hermione, Luna, Neville, Cho, and Ron sprinted up the grand staircase that connected the entrance Hall to the upper floors of the castle. Banking right the group veered into their designated corridor where they would make their stand against the Death eaters who sought to gain access to the higher levels of the castle. Harry and McGonagall had argued about where Harry would be during the fight. Harry wanted to be in the Great Hall so that he could fight the battle that he brought to Hogwarts and prevent more people dying to keep him safe. McGonagall wanted to protect the young Gryffindor and hoped to convince him that the best place for him was in the higher levels of the castle. In the end Harry agreed to stay out of the Great Hall for the initial Death Eater rush on the condition that once he secured his corridor he could regroup with those making their stand in the Great Hall.

When the group reached a T-intersection in the corridor Harry, Hermione, and Cho took their position on the left while Ron, Neville, and Luna took cover behind the wall on the right. They had been able to make an escape when the centaurs fired their arrows into Voldemort's army but they knew that it wouldn't be long until the familiar hall was inundated with Death Eaters seeking to gain favor from their lord. Before the group saw anything, they heard the sound of footsteps echoing through the corridor then they heard shouts that told them that the Death Eaters were upon them. There were only seconds left until the final battle would begin for Harry Potter and his companions.

On the ground floor Minerva McGonagall had just finished an incredibly complex feat of Transfiguration when the Death Eaters began swarming into the castle. All of the benches and tables that normally gave the students a place to eat turned into giant slabs of marble which were then enlarged and charmed, by Filius Flitwick, to rotate and shift in position to create a giant maze that the Death Eaters would be forced to navigate through if they wished to accomplish to engage in battle against Hogwarts' defenders and take the room. The final stone slid into place right as the leading Death Eater opened the door to the Great Hall of his alma mater.

Although the prospect of going into a maze without doing any kind of reconnaissance was daunting, the thought of facing his master's wrath was much more intimidating. So with a shout the Death Eater entered the maze quickly followed by a group of around twenty Death Eaters that had been closest to the castle before the Centaurs had fired. He knew that this was his opportunity to prove his worth to his master and intended to make the most out of it. Charging through the maze, after several minutes of traveling the Death Eater was beginning to feel anxious since he still hadn't come across any of those delusional enough to stand against his master.

Still leading his fellow Death Eaters the man finally came to a long straight away that led to the teacher's pavilion, where a group of the teacher s had decided to make their stand. The brash wizard announced his presence by yelling and casting spells as quickly as he could at the group standing on the platform. He was incited to channel more rage into his dark spells as the Hogwarts staff showed their mettle by deflecting all that he and his comrades could throw at them. The Death Eater was extremely close to the end of the tunnel when he saw the short one, who he knew to be Filius Flitwick, drop his guard and move his wand in a strange manner.

That one second was all the Death Eater needed as he channeled his hatred of 'half-blood scum' and fired the Avada Kadavra curse and struck the small wizard in the chest. Before his soul left his body the diminutive wizard managed to complete the spell that he had been casting; the walls of the corridor that the Death Eaters had been running through slammed together and crushed all of the Death Eaters who had been foolish enough to walk into the Master Charmer's trap.

Minerva McGonagall was stricken by the death of her colleague. She had always respected his abilities since the first day she had walked into his charms class. That was a time before she had hit her growth spurt and was considered short for her age. The two had bonded and, when Minerva had graduated and was looking for a job, it was the word of Filius Flitwick that had made the difference in getting her appointment as the new Transfiguration professor. Silently paying her respects, Minerva reset the stone thus reopening the passage to the table where the professors were standing. There would be more Death Eaters who sought to finish what the young Death Eater, who had killed Flitwick, had started; she would be ready for them.

In the Headmaster's office, Severus Snape considered what his next move would be. From his position he was able to look down upon the battles that had raged on the grounds of Hogwarts. He saw the statues of Hogwarts defeated by a numerically superior group of giants and trolls. He saw the damage that the centaurs had been able to inflict with their arrows and their subsequent battle. Although they won their heard was decimated. By the time that the last of the trolls and werewolves had fallen dead upon the ground there were so few centaurs remaining that it was very possible that the herd would die out and become little more than a legend told to first-years of something that they would never witness.

Severus had witnessed Voldemort send his forces into the castle and knew that it was only a matter of time before Voldemort confronted his turn-coat follower. Severus' death had been assured; by failing to quell the resistance movement in Hogwarts he had disappointed the Dark Lord and such disappointment could only result in one thing. Severus Snape had not been a Gryffindor but that was not due to lack of bravery. The one-time potions master had determined that he would make his way to face his fate. He would face Voldemort at a time of his own choosing; he would not be killed while cowering in his office! Utterly devoted to his decision, Severus cast a spell that sealed his last will and testament before leaving his office to confront the Dark Lord.

Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, and Angelina Johnson had been stationed with Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot and Ernie McMillan on the third floor the Gryffindors had hunkered down near the corridor that led to the chamber Albus Dumbledore had chosen to protect the Sorcerer's Stone while the Hufflepuffs had made camp near the Hospital Wing. From their perspective they had effectively been removed from the battle. The only thing that even resembled a person on that floor outside of its guardians and Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital wing was a statue of a one-eyed witch that both groups agreed was very creepy.

The two groups heard a rumble of combat from the floors below, but it was still far off in the distance. In order to break the tension Earnie was telling jokes and attempting to lighten the atmosphere.

"You know, if someone had told me a week ago that I would be all alone in a hall with five women who were all hot and bothered I would say that they were crazy. Yet, here we are. So what say you, lovely ladies? Who wants to take a ride on the McMillan express? You know how dedicated we Hufflepuff men are to those who are important to us. I will be extremely loyal to the cause, if you know what I mean," Ernie said while raising and lowering his eyebrows and the girls in the corridor.

"Get real, Ernie. We already know your routine," deadpanned Susan. "Next you will try to claim that you're the honey badger but we won't care."

"Susan, my dear, you seemed to be confused. You don't care currently, but when this badger finds the honey you will definitely care," replied Ernie with a mock bow.

The Gryffindor girls heard Ernie's claims and couldn't help but laugh. If nothing else, the Hufflepuff had spunk. Would it be enough to earn him a place in any of their beds? No, but they had to commend him for his effort. While Ernie had captured the girl's attention the group failed to notice the hump of the one-eyed witch sliding open to reveal the secret passage that led to Hogsmeade.

The Death Eater who was leading this assault had heard the exchange between the students in the hall and did not want to spoil his mission by having his presence detected. Thus, instead of firing a spell at one of the students who had been stationed to protect the area, the Death Eater elected to throw a handful of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder into the hallway in order to mask his movements in darkness. Casting the Muffliato spell filled the students' ears with buzzing as the Death Eater and his strike force entered the castle through the secret passage way that their master told them about.

On opposite ends of the corridor, Ernie and Katie reacted the same way when the corridor was flooded in darkness. They grabbed their friends' hands and pulled them around the nearest walls while casting shield charms behind them. Katie had spent enough time with Fred and George to recognize their Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder. After the twins had heard how Draco Malfoy used their Darkness Powder on the night that Dumbledore was killed the two had made sure to tell their allies how to dispel the powder.

The powder had been invented by the twins on whim when they had lived in the Burrow and had sought to create a magical compound that would allow them to work on their experiments undetected. After the first trial filled shrouded their room in darkness they realized that the powder was not practical for their purpose. The magical properties of the compound actively sought to quell any light that was being emitted in the affected area. Therefore, in order to remove the powder, one had to cast a spell that created a light source that could not be overcome by darkness: the Patronus charm.

Katie thought of the day that she received the notification that she would be able to continue playing Quidditch after she graduated from Hogwarts and conjured her Patronus. The eagle-shaped Patronus flew through the corridor acting like a vacuum and drawing in all of the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder and exposing the Death Eaters who had climbed out of the secret passage way. Since the Death Eaters lacked cover it was easy to determine that the invading force consisted of eight people.

Understanding the advantage that they acquired by removing the cover of the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder the Gryffindors and the Hufflepuffs leveled their wands at the Death Eaters and began launching spells. Only one Death Eater fell in the cross-fire; the others split up and advanced upon their assailants. Four went in the direction of the Gryffindor girls because one of the witches on that side of the room had been powerful enough to fire a corporeal Patronus. The remaining three Death Eaters managed to put the Hufflepuff trio on the defensive as they made their way towards the wall that the group was sheltering behind.

Katie, Angelina, and Alicia had been friends since before they first walked the halls of Hogwarts. They had been teammates for almost as long as they had been friends. A quick series of glances was all that it took for the three of them to communicate the manner that they would deal with their assailants. Katie was the most magically powerful and would be tasked with stalling two of the Death Eaters for long enough for one of the other two girls to defeat their opponent then come in to even the odds.

Knowing the plan, the vixens sprang into action. Alicia rolled out beyond the wall to begin firing on the farthest Death Eater while Katie flung herself diagonal from the wall to give Alicia room to step around the corridor and engage the closest Death Eater. As Katie fell backward she sent two over-powered Reductos at the middle Death Eaters. The group must not have expected such an elaborate counter attack because the speed and coherency of the girls managed to break their formation and put them on the defensive. Their combat experience helped them to adapt to the changing battle conditions however the Death Eaters had met their match in the young group of Gryffindors.

Alicia was the most agile and graceful of the three and as such her dueling style would appear to be a deadly dance. She whirled, twirled, and leapt out of the way of incoming spells while using her constantly changing position to seek out the weak spots in her opponent's guard. Neither she nor either of the other girls felt that they were ready to use the killing curse but she had learned many spells during her time at Hogwarts that enabled a very potent offense. As she exchanged spells with her opponent it became apparent that the Death Eater was not as agile as Alicia, instead of dodging her spells the Death Eater relied on shield charms to defend himself from her spells. Filing this information away, Alicia came up with a plan; she would launch a trio of spells at different levels that would require one area to be left open if the other two were blocked. Alicia had just come out of a spin as that plan came together in her head.

She was able to use her momentum to momentarily run along the wall toward her opponent while firing three spells. She cast a stunner at her opponent's head, Petrificus Totalus at his midsection, and followed by casting Rictusempra at his feet. Due to his opponent closing in on him, the Death Eater was overwhelmed in the manner that Alicia had planned and fell over clutching his feet in laughter. When he was on the ground it was a simple matter to hit him with a stunner before she turned her attention to the Death Eater closest to her, who, along with his comrade, had Katie Bell on the ropes.

While Alicia was gracefully avoiding the spells of her assailant and Katie was being pushed back by the pair of Death Eaters that she was faced with, Angelina Johnson was having a hard time making any progress in her duel against her selected Death Eater. It appeared that the Death Eater was a woman from her figure and she was able to match Angelina's nimbleness which made the duel that much more exhausting for Angelina. The two traded volleys of spells in a cascade of light that exuded a terrible beauty. Angelina may not have been prepared to use the killing curse but her opponent was more than willing.

Jets of red and green light passed in midair occasionally hitting one another and erupting in an explosion of golden spots. After a few minutes the hall had reduced the hall to a battlefield strewn with debris. The Death Eater realized that her opponent was her match in agility but did not have the battle experience that was necessary to win a battle of this level. The Death Eater continued exchanging spells as if nothing had changed for several minutes, making sure that all of her near misses caused immense destruction to the castle around her opponent. Then, changing tactics, the witch targeted the floor around Angelina instead of Angelina, herself. The spell caused the debris to turn to ice causing Angelina to slip. The fall was almost enough to make Angelina lose consciousness however, since she was a chaser she was used to violent impacts and managed to retain consciousness as she saw a green spell impact upon her chest.

The witch who had been battling Angelina joined her colleagues in their assault against the other two girls who stood against them. Seeing the other Death Eater join her comrades in the battle versus Alicia and Katie was enough to prompt Katie to glance over to check on her long-time friend. The empty look in Angelina's eyes broke Katie's heart. These Death Eaters would pay; there is no way that Katie would fail Alicia in the way that she failed Angelina.

Katie reached deep into her magical core as she banished the debris that covered the ground and sent it flying at a very high speed toward the legs of her opponents. The Death Eaters had not been expecting an assault of that magnitude from such a petite girl. Before they could raise a shield their legs were shredded by the debris that Katie had sent flying through the air. Not wanting to give them any opportunity to rally, Katie used a summoning charm to call the Death Eaters' wands to her. She looked to Alicia and the two silently agreed that they would honor their friend by avenging her and not letting others fall to the same evil that claimed her life. Katie grabbed Alicia's hand and gave it a squeeze before letting out a sigh and pulling her friend in the direction of the Hufflepuffs who were battling the other Death Eaters.

From the adjacent hallway where the Hufflepuffs had taken shelter against the initial Death Eater assault Ernie, Susan, and Hannah were being pushed harder than they ever had before to not let themselves be overcome by the advancing DeathEaters. When a wave of debris crashed into the wall in the corridor behind them one of the Death Eaters was distracted enough that Susan was able to hit him with a stunning spell, dropping him and giving the Hufflepuffs a better chance of surviving the encounter.

Although the group was still being pushed hard by the other two Death Eaters they were no longer being driven back. Ernie used the Expulso charm to open a gaping hole in the center of the floor in front of the Death Eaters that stopped their advance. From opposite sides of the gaping chasm the combatants fired spell after spell at one another. Neither group could find the weakness in the other's defense. The Hufflepuffs were becoming wary and discouraged by their lack of success when they saw their opponents crumple to the floor. In the places where the Death Eaters had stood were Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet.

"We lost Angelina," Katie declared with glistening eyes. "We won't let them kill anyone else. They are going to pay."

AN: This chapter came to me in bits and pieces. I had contemplated splitting it but felt that the fight on the 3rd floor should be concluded. Next chapter will deal with other battles going on in the castle. Everyone that I have mentioned so far in the castle will have a role in the way that the story ultimately plays out but some will have more immediate impacts than others. Please take some time to review. It makes me happy and more willing to write on the one day that I don't have to go to either of my jobs. (Saturday)