2
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to JKR.
AN: A big THANK YOU to my faithful beta Federer Rex
An exodus took place from the Great Hall when they arrived. Small groups of people emerged, determined looks on their faces, and hurried off, some of them up the Moving Staircase, some of them out into the grounds. Kingsley was among the last to come out, followed by some seventh-years from Ravenclaw: Lisa Turpin, Terry Boot, and Anthony Goldstein, together with a couple of adults she had never seen before. The group rushed past them, out into the grounds.
"Let's follow Kingsley," Daphne said and tugged on her sister's hand. They hurried after the fast moving group. A whooshing sound made them look upward. Three brooms, flying in arrow formation, soared above, in the direction of the Forbidden Forest, and soon disappeared in the darkness. Moments later, the shout of Lumos Maxima interrupted the quiet of the night, and three bright beams illuminated the trees.
Daphne held her breath. If He was in the forest, wouldn't he retaliate? Or was he so sure of himself and his victory that he let the defendants try to fight him, playing with them like a cat with the mouse?
The beams vanished, the whooshing sound returned. Three shadows landed close to Kingsley's group.
"No light, we don't want to give away our position," someone—Kingsley?—whispered.
"We're not dumb, Kingsley," a younger voice whispered back.
Daphne and Astoria inched closer. In the dim light of the stars, Daphne recognised Oliver Wood.
"The enemy has congregated in a clearing of the Forbidden Forest, in a straight line to the west from Hagrid's stables and paddock."
"Good work," the first voice said. Two silver lynxes burst from the tip of a wand and disappeared into the darkness.
Daphne smiled to herself. The sight of Kingsley's Patronus was oddly comforting.
"Fly back to the castle, Oliver, we'll need you as back-up when things get ugly here."
Wood gave what looked like a small salute. He and his companions mounted their brooms, and the next second they were gone.
"We'll take up our post on the northern battlement," Kingsley said. "Voldemort and his forces have to break through there if they want to get into the castle. I want you to take out as many of his followers as you can. Spread out in a line so they won't get more than one of us with any one spell."
"What about Voldemort himself?" a female voice that sounded like Lisa Turpin asked in a low voice.
"None of you is equipped to face him in an one-to-one fight, even less when he is supported by his Death Eaters," Kingsley said in a grim voice. "Leave him be. Take out as many as you can. Aim to maim, not to disable. Use any spell you think necessary."
An icy hand grabbed Daphne's heart. Kingsley's words drove home the harsh reality of the battle they were entering. In an involuntary move, she pulled Astoria to her chest.
Kingsley's head shot around, his wand pointed at her and Astoria. "Who's there?" Other wands followed.
Astoria stepped forward. "It's us, Kingsley, Daphne and Astoria."
"Daph and—" Kingsley's arm slacked, betraying his surprise. "What, by Hades, are you doing here, Astoria? You're not yet of age!"
"Good question," Lisa Turpin muttered. "You can't trust those snakes, anyway." The surrounding students nodded agreement. None of them lowered their wand.
"Couldn't you keep her away?" Kingsley turned to Daphne, his anger almost palpable.
"Don't you dare talk like I'm not here," Astoria growled. "Daphne wanted to fight, but she wouldn't have stayed without knowing if I was safe, so I decided to fight, too."
The jury still was out about her desire to join the battle. Daphne sighed. Tori always thought the best of her.
"I don't have the time for that now," Kingsley muttered with a heavy sigh. "Alright, you can stay. Daphne, you're in charge. I wouldn't be able to look your uncle in the face if something happened to one of you."
"But—" Lisa Turpin said.
"Enough. Lisa, isn't it?" Kingsley's sharp voice and his raised hand left no doubt that he was the one in charge and tolerated no opposition. "I know both of them from the cradle. They are on our side, I have no doubts." He turned away from a still mutinous looking Lisa and addressed the entire group. "Take your places. Maintain cover. Watch out for each other!"
Again, Daphne's heart was in her throat. Her palms were moist as she followed her sister to their assigned places and she repeatedly wiped them on her robes. This was it; they were about to fight a battle where they both might die. Sweet Lady, I don't ask for anything for myself. Please, protect my sister and let no harm befall her, she sent a silent prayer to the Triple Goddess. She hid behind a merlon of the northern battlement and risked a peek through the crenellation next to her.
The Forbidden Forest was looming in the darkness like the shadow of a gigantic beast. The gentle night breeze rustled in the leaves of the trees and carried the heady smell of moist wood. Every so often, the cry of a small animal echoed through the night. Somewhere in the cover of those trees was an army getting ready to fight them.
Daphne shivered. What was she doing here? Why didn't she turn around and run? There was still time enough if—The clockwork on the Bell Tower buzzed, followed by the sound of the bell. Her hand gripped tighter around her wand as she silently counted the strikes of the bell that reverberated through the night: … nine—ten—eleven—
The moment the clock struck twelve, a flash of lightning raced from the Forbidden Forest towards the battlements, for a split second illuminating the night as bright as daylight.
An army materialised at the seam of the Forbidden Forest, easily twice the number of the defenders of Hogwarts. Daphne gasped.
BOOM!
The spell impacted on the castle stone with the force of a hundred battering rams, and the very ground beneath her feet shook. Her ears rang with the sound of the explosion, splinters of stones rained down around her, and the dust that floated on the slight breeze caused her to cough violently. Spellfire broke out to her left and right and illuminated the night in a deadly firework of red, yellow, and green. Daphne gritted her teeth and risked another peek.
The army had advanced while she tried to get her bearings, and the defenders of Hogwarts received them with a hailstorm of spellfire. To either side, Tori and Lisa cast offensive spells as fast as they could into the mass of bodies below before return fire had them ducking out of the way. What was her contribution to the defence of Hogwarts to be? Her Stunners were weak, offensive spells had never been her forte. She had mastered a strong wide-range Shield Spell, however, and she was among the top three of her class in Transfiguration.
She pointed her wand at the cobblestones of the battlement behind her and Transfigured them into balls of stone. A simple Wingardium Leviosa made them airborne, and a forceful Banishing Charm sent them into the bodies below them. Loud screams told her they found their targets. Daphne permitted herself a tiny smirk of triumph and cast a powerful shield in front of her that also protected Tori and Lisa from the incoming rain of nasty hexes.
"Good work," Lisa called as she sent a complicated spell-chain from behind the cover of Daphne's shield at the forces below them. "How long can you keep it up?"
"As long as I need to, just—" Another explosion snatched the words out of her mouth. The blast sent her flying backwards. The cloud of dust and debris accompanying it clogged her eyes, filled her mouth, and pelted her skin. She coughed and wretched and rubbed her burning eyes. A searing pain was coming from the back of her head, and the rest of her body stung like being stabbed by a thousand needles. She ignored both.
When the world stopped spinning, she noticed a tear that crisscrossed the battlements, and her eyes widened in horror. Still on her back, her free hand behind her head, she raised her wand and cast Reparo. It helped little.
The explosion had sent Tori and Lisa flying, too. They scrambled to their feet. Tori ran over to Daphne, who was still trying to repair the breach in the battlements.
"Are you alright, Daph?"
"Right as rain." She croaked, "you?"
Tori nodded in response, and Daphne breathed with relief. "Go back to your post and support Lisa, I'll be with you in another sec and shield you." The crack finally closed under the last of about a dozen Reparos. Would it stand another direct attack? Probably not.
Tori ran back to her post. Daphne followed. Mindful of staying behind her cover, she glanced down at the army besieging the castle. It seemed to have grown. Five tall shadows moved from the middle of the crowd towards the walls. What was that? They looked like walking towers that could easily wipe the defenders from the top of the walls like flies being swatted.
"Giants! They brought fucking giants!" someone shouted.
Daphne's stomach gave a violent jolt. The sudden onslaught of nausea made her knees buckle. She supported herself at the coarse wall in front of her with one hand. When, if not now, had the time come to turn around and run? She pushed herself off the wall to do just that, when her eyes fell on her little sister.
Tori and Lisa were fighting side by side now, alternating between shielding each other and sending Blasting Hexes towards the attackers. Daphne hesitated. Tori would never budge, and she would never break her promise not to leave her sister. Her course of action was clear, wasn't it?
Daphne returned to the battle, her resolve renewed, although her guts were still in turmoil. Giants were hard to fight, but there had to be a way. Their position on the battlements put them almost eye to eye with them. If she could use that to their advantage—
Eye to eye—
She gasped. That was it!
Pressed against the walls of the battlement, she peeked from behind the merlon at the giants advancing on them. Each giant carried a club in their hand that was made of an entire tree, and their eyes gleamed in malicious anticipation of destruction. They walked close together, not caring if they trampled down any of their supposed allies that were in their way. The Death Eaters scampered before them, in a vain attempt not to get trampled under foot. Not all were successful, and their screams were music in Daphne's ears.
Served the bastards right! Each one trampled down by a giant was one less the defenders of Hogwarts had to deal with. The fleeting thought that one of them might be her father or her mother crossed her mind. She shook it off. Now was neither the time nor the place to bemoan the rift in their family. Their parents had chosen their path, and so had she and her sister. They—
The giants were within shooting range. The defenders on the battlements sent a storm of Stunners against them. Daphne cursed. Idiots! Didn't they pay attention to the admittedly sloppy teaching they had in Defence? The skin of a giant was impenetrable to Stunners. The onslaught didn't slow their approach at all, but made the execution of her plan more difficult.
Her heart beating fast, Daphne squinted against the firework of Stunners and took aim at the beady eyes of the one at the front.
Her Conjunctivitis Curse hit right on target. The giant wailed, dropped his tree-sized club—that fell on two Death Eaters and pinned them to the ground—and flung his hands in front of his eyes, hitting the giant next to him with his elbow as he did so.
The Hogwartians cheered.
The second giant roared with rage, raised his club, and smashed it down on the head of the first giant, who still clutched at his eyes and not even swayed under the impact of the blow to his head. However, the attack provided a distraction from his stinging eyes. With a roar that had every witch and wizard near them—whether friend or foe—frozen in horror, he lunged himself at the second giant. The next second they were locked in a deadly wrestle. The Death Eaters screamed and darted away, not to get under the enormous feet that trampled everything in their way as flat as a sheet of parchment.
Their fight caused the two giants to stumble into a pair of giants that walked behind them. They lost no time in joining the fray.
Again, the defenders of Hogwarts cheered.
"Good job, Daph," Lisa shouted. "Four for the price of one!"
Daphne beamed back.
"Watch out, Daph!" Tori screamed.
Daphne whirled around.
Giant Number Five had paid no heed to the fight among his mates. He had used the distraction and the triumph about Daphne's successful tactics to advance further until he stood right at the battlements, in front of her position. He raised his club with both hands to deal a deadly blow to the battlements and their defenders. His face shone with gleeful cruelty about the fear on the face of his next victim.
Daphne froze.
t.b.c.
Dev Saggitarius Black gifted me with my own Discord server. If you want to talk about one of my stories, ask questions, have a look at my progress, or get sneak previews into what I'm writing, join
Dorothea's Drama House
discord . gg / U5bX3SbXDT