Seven Devils ★ T.M.R ★

Chapter Forty-Six

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THE BATTLE OF HOGWARTS
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Content warning: blood, violence.
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VOLDEMORT STOOD WITH Nagini around his shoulders at the steps of the Castle, leering down at a boy standing before him. "If that is your choice, Longbottom," he breathed, "we revert to the original plan. On your head be it."

Voldemort's wand struck out towards the school and Marina knew without seeing that he'd summoned the Hogwarts Sorting Hat. She glanced up at Tom to find him still pale and tense, his lips pressed in a firm line and his hair stuck to his forehead. "We have to get to Nagini," she murmured.

He nodded, eyes fixed on Voldemort as he taunted Neville. "Getting close to him won't be easy," he said, jaw tense. "He'll know about my betrayal by now."

"He can't kill you," Marina frowned, "it would only be hurting himself."

"He can do a lot without killing me," Tom said darkly.

The crowd suddenly screamed and Marina looked around in alarm to find Neville standing with the hat aflame on his head, saw people edging forward to try to help only to be met with an impenetrable line of Death Eaters with their wands drawn forcing them back –

But something was happening.

Marina looked down, frowning. The rubble strewn across the steps was trembling, shivering and shifting as the very ground beneath them began to shake, and over the screams of the crowd there was an almighty, thunderous roar in the distance.

It was getting louder.

Up the hill towards the castle charged a crowd unlike anything Marina had ever seen.

Creatures of every form imaginable ran as one; they were spearheaded by galloping centaurs with bows drawn taut and aimed directly at the Death Eaters, and behind them Marina saw grey-skinned selkies with seal-skins draped around their shoulders wielding tridents and blades of serrated bone, she saw goblins with gleaming daggers and swords bearing their sharp, needle teeth, she saw what must be dwarves with braided beards and heavy war-hammers, a swarm of tiny beings with bright red hair and backwards-facing feet clutching spears and feathered shields, and above them all flew Veela and Harpies with their talons brandished, screaming in wrath.

And still more came.

Behind the creatures was a wave of witches and wizards united in a single, wordless cry of battle, the rainbow of robes revealing the diversity of their origins – the pale blue silk of Beauxbatons, the blood red of Durmstrang, Mahoutokoro with their robes folded across their chest, Koldovstoretz with their thick fur trims, Castelobruxo, Ilvermorny, Uagadou –

Marina suddenly remembered what Ollivander had said of Harry and the others in Muriel's house. "He travelled far," she whispered, watching as the army swarmed up the hill and around chunks of stone the size of houses scattered across the grass. All at once it became painfully obvious what Harry had been doing for the past year. He'd united them all against Voldemort, convinced witch, wizard, creature and being to put aside all else and fight together.

Harry's army had finally arrived.

Chaos erupted. Giants three stories tall rounded the Castle drawing back their mammoth clubs with hollow roars, swinging them into the oncoming army and sending bodies flying, Death Eaters swivelled around and let loose a storm of curses so bright that Marina had to turn away from the burning lights, spears streaked through the sky, arrows whistled to a sick thud when they met their target, and the crowd on the steps of Hogwarts bellowed as they charged forward as one towards the distracted Death Eaters.