The first few minutes of the battle were simply the Death Eater army throwing themselves at the wards that Dumbledore had erected in the grounds. This was encouraging, until Voldemort came forwards and just destroyed the wards with one swipe of his wand.
"Bugger"
"What?" asked Hermione.
"Voldemort destroyed the wards" I responded. She started to say something but I never heard it. The reason for this is because at that moment a wave of spells hit the tower around the window I was standing at. I ducked to avoid being hit and sent a few un-aimed spells over the sill in the rough direction of the attackers.
"Harry!" yelled Hermione over the noise.
"What?" I yelled back.
"There is another group who have just landed in the courtyard. They are trying to get in the side door" she replied while firing off spells out of her window.
"Who is stationed at the door?" I asked
"Flitwick and a couple of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff 7th years" She responded as she ducked below the sill to avoid the flurry of return fire from the group she was firing at.
"Fall back to the main castle!" said Dumbledore's magnified voice.
Hermione moved towards the door but I stopped her.
"We have to wait for Fred and George" she nodded and turned back to the room just as the entire tower gave a violent shudder.
"Go on run!" said a voice from up the stairs. And a minute later the twins came hurtling down the stairs. They were both injured and covered in dust.
"Go, the whole bloody tower is coming down" they said in unison
"How?" I asked. I know that it was not the best time for a conversation, but I needed to know.
"I dunno does it matter?" said one of the twins while we ran to the door. As we reached it and flung it open, there was an almighty wrenching sound and we all looked up. We could all see the huge cracks that were zigzagging their way across the wall. I turned again and ran full pelt out the door. I heard Hermione's footfalls behind me and I looked over my shoulder. George was still in the tower and Fred was holding the door open yelling
"Come On!"
Just as George turned to leave the tower finally succumbed to the force of gravity and started to topple over. Fred flinched back as chunks of falling debris nearly crushed him and he flew backwards away from the door. George was just getting to the door when the whole doorway collapsed and sealed him inside.
"GEORGE" I screamed but it was too late. The tower finally reached the point at which it lost all structural integrity and fell.
The entire 300 feet tall tower spontaneously crumpled up and sank with a sound of mountains colliding into the courtyard taking George with it.
I ran over to Fred's body. he was still alive and was just getting to his feet.
"Where's George?" he asked groggily. Then he saw the area the tower used to inhabit and the absence of his brother from our group.
"No...no!" he screamed and ran back to what was left of the tower.
"No Fred. We have to go" I said to the distraught boy. Tears were streaming down my face as well as his.
"I can't leave him" he said.
"He's gone Fred. We have to go!" I screamed over the tumultuous noise from the ongoing battle. He nodded numbly and allowed me to lead him away.
When we arrived in the great hall the first thing I noticed was that only about half the people who were in here when Voldemort arrived were here now. Dumbledore was at the head of the room crouching over a body.
"Take Fred to Madam Pomphrey" I told Hermione and ran off to speak to Dumbledore.
"Professor!" I called and he turned his gaze to me. His eyes were watering and now I was closer I could see who he was kneeling over. It was Professor McGonagall.
"Is she..?" I couldn't bring myself to say the word.
"No she is alive. But she is in critical condition" he said, standing upright. "Also Harry I think that you needn't call me Professor any more. There is not much of a school left now and I don't deserve the title. I let this happen. I should have been prepared." He said, suddenly looking all of his 130-odd years.
"Don't you dare give up Albus!" I said and he looks mildly surprised that I was shouting at him.
"But we can't win" he said and collapsed against the remains of a pillar nearby.
"Listen to me" I said and he looked up at the tone in my voice. "You may have given up but I haven't. We have fallen back too much already. They invade our home and we run away. They destroy whole families and we run away. No more. The line will be drawn here. This far and no further. And Riddle will regret the day that he ever crossed me" as I said this my voice got louder and louder until I was nearly shouting it. I turned away from the form of Dumbledore and looked across the room. The entire hall was staring at me.
"Listen to me" I said to the assembled group. "I know things look grim but we are not defeated yet. Think about what has happened in the run up to this event." As I said this I saw Hermione in the front of the group. I looked to her for support and she gave me a small nod and my confidence soared.
"There has been achievement, happiness and good times. And there has been grief. There has been loss. Some people who should be here now, aren't. But we are. The journey's end. And what a journey. What is a journey? Is it just the distance that you have travelled or the time you have spent? No it the events that happen to you on the way to your destination. At the end of the journey you are not the same person you were at the start. Today is about change. This doesn't mean that your circumstances change it means you change, you grow up and you ascend to a new level of maturity. Nothing will ever be the same after today. Nothing."
When I finished talking the whole crowd was listening to me with rapt attention.
"Yes" said a voice from behind me. I turned my head and saw Dumbledore standing up with his wand in his hand and a determination in his eyes that wasn't there a few minutes ago. "Harry is quite right. Nothing will be the same" at this I stepped to the side to let Dumbledore take charge but he shook his head.
"No Harry that is not my job anymore. It is yours. You lead us" he said and the whole crowd started to call their agreement. I nodded slightly stunned and took a step back toward the middle of the stage. But then a ghostly voice drifted across the hall.
"People of Hogwarts, hear me. You have fought well. But this is a huge waste of magical blood. My forces will now withdraw to allow you to deal with your dead and casualties with dignity." The voice faded for a minute and I was about to start speak when it started again.
"Harry Potter. I now speak to you personally. Today you have allowed the ones you love to die for you instead of facing me yourself. I give you one hour to come to me in the forest and I will spare the rest of the people in the castle or I will lead the next attack personally and I will kill every man, woman, and child who stands in my way of you" The voice faded again.
Hermione came up to the foot of the stage and I crouched down to listen to her.
"Don't do it Harry" I shook my head.
"Wasn't going to" I replied and stood up.
"Albus? Could you boost my voice please?" he nodded and raised his wand to point at me.
"Riddle!" I say and my voice rings out across the hall and the remainder of the castle and the forest.
"We will not surrender. We will fight you to the death. I will not come to you because your promises mean jack-shit" as I finished this I heard His voice again.
"I will kill everyone who is in the castle Potter. Do you understand me!?" he yelled.
"Yes Tom I did hear you and my answer is the same. To the Death!"
"Very well. One hour" and silence fell.
"You're a tosser Potter" said a voice from the back of the room and I saw Draco and his group of cronies standing there.
"Yea well. I am in charge so fucking suck it up"
"I know you're in charge I heard Voldemort's ultimatum" he hesitated and then said something that surprised me no end.
"I am here to help" he said this with quite a determined look in his face.
"Well... this is a surprise"
"Yea tell me about it" he said with a slight smirk.
"But thank you for the support Draco" I said much to my surprise and the surprise of everyone else in the hall.
"Let's just win this Harry so we can go back to hating each other"
"I will hold you to that"
I looked up from our new Slytherin allies to the rest of the group.
"We will fight until Voldemort has been defeated. We stop at nothing until this is done." The crowd nodded at this.
"There is an old saying. Fortune favours the Bold. Well we will see about that" and everyone nodded again.
"For Hogwarts!" I yelled and everyone, even the Slytherins joined in the chant.
And we prepared for the endgame.