A Younger Generation of Keepers

Chapter 3: Christmas at Hogsmeade (part 3)

Jessica's pov

The Christmas festival at Hogsmeade had finally arrived! The streets, the bridges, every shop, as well as a massive Christmas tree in the centre of the main plaza, were all beautifully decorated with ornaments.

Sebastian, Ominis, George and I went all together to the festival. It brought games to Hogsmeade, along with other exciting extracurricular activities. I was eager to try all of the new games and watch the fireworks.

"Look, it's Grayson" George waved to a far-away Grayson, who waved back.

"Grayson? Is he alone?" Ominis asked.

"No, he's with Samantha Dale" Sebastian replied and I gave him a threatening look.

"Let's go say hi" Ominis grabbed my hand and we walked over to Grayson.

"Hi Samantha, hi Grayson, lovely night, isn't it?" I could not tell if Ominis was being sarcastic or if he was genuine, but his tone was strange.

"Ominis! Good to see you" Grayson replied. I greeted them both and then Ominis and I headed back to Sebastian.

"Where's George?" I inquired once I noticed Sebastian was left alone.

"Over there with Sweeting" he pointed out.

"Ominis are you okay?" Sebastian questioned.

"Uh – yes, I'm fine" Ominis lied, he was clearly upset.

"Let's go sit by the river to watch the fireworks, they're about to start" I dragged them to the perfect spot. We sat by the river, but Ominis could not relax. He took out his wand as if he was considering his next move.

"I'm going to go talk to Grayson" Ominis announced with confidence; he stood up and walked away.

"I'm proud of Ominis" Sebastian admitted and put his arm around me as I laid my head on his chest; waiting for the fireworks to light up the night sky.

Mia's pov

It was nearly midnight when Leander, Garreth, Natty and I arrived in Hogsmeade. After spending some time at the games, Garreth and I decided to give Leander and Natty some alone time, hoping that our plan would work and these two would eventually get together!

We made our way to the centre of the festival, where we had Butterbeer and sat on an unoccupied bench as the fireworks began. The spectacle was incredible; the pyrotechnics in a variety of shapes and designs, including a smile, a dragon and a gnome. This moment felt amazing, but we had no idea it would be short-lived.

Suddenly, the joyful cheers were replaced by loud screams! The townspeople of Hogsmeade were running around panicked! I could feel the tension rise...but why?

"Goblins!" someone yelled.

I followed the sound of the screaming until I discovered numerous Ranrok's Loyalists attacking students and townspeople; Officer Singer was already there fighting.

Without a second thought, I jumped in front of two third-year students and used Bombarda to launch an attacking goblin away. I looked back and saw Garreth lifting a goblin, so I cast Diffindo to destroy it.

A white, swiftly moving smoke emerge from behind us. George and Grayson appeared through it and joined the fight. Grayson transformed a goblin into an explosive barrel, which he lifted with Ancient Magic and flung at two other goblins creating a small yet efficient explosion. Grayson was always the best at Transfiguration amongst the Keepers.

A crossbow-holding goblin fired a red glowing bow at George, but he intercepted it with Protego before casting Expelliarmus on the goblin, taking away its weapon. Another goblin jumped into the air and attempted to assault George but was promptly pushed back against a house wall by a Poppy's Depulso spell.

"Poppy! Go back to Hogwarts it's not safe here" George shouted while burning two goblins with Confringo.

"You're welcome" she replied while casting Incendio on a goblin that was levitated by Ominis.

The fight went on, and the number of goblins was significantly reduced without injuring many wizards. I thought we were winning until an ice-glowing smoke flew above a house and landed in the centre of the plaza. A woman appeared through the smoke, wearing a white dress. I turned to face her; her eyes were sparkling and looked cold as ice. That must be Larissa!

"Surrender, or you will face the wrath of my power" she shouted in a slow yet clear tone.

"Go scare someone who's actually afraid of you" Grayson replied, casting a spell towards her. She deflected it at him but he dodged it perfectly.

"You arrogant young man! You really think you can face me?" she asked.

In the blink of an eye, she turned around and cast a freezing spell on a Ravenclaw student. The screams from the other students became louder, but I could not hear anything, my anger had just doubled! I noticed some goblins attacking Garreth, Poppy and the rest of the students who had joined the fight, but I knew they could handle themselves, so I focused my attention on the witch.

"That's it you're going down" I shouted and non-verbally cast a few flaming spells. She turned around and began throwing sharp icy crystals towards me, which completely negated my flaming spell.

Her crystals kept moving towards me, and although I used Protego, her spell was too strong; I could feel my shield cracking. Fortunately, Grayson noticed that and interfered, using Incendio towards her. She used her left hand to cast a red spell that clashed with Grayson's while sending crystals at me with her other hand.

George lifted a few wooden pieces from a broken bridge and threw them at her, but an invisible shield formed right in front of her, leaving her unharmed. I could feel my shield weakening, I kneeled down to keep it from cracking. That bitch can certainly unleash powerful spells!

Just as my shield was about to break, Jessica finally appeared behind the witch. With the use of Ancient Magic, she lifted Larissa and flung her towards a building, which completely collapsed. Larissa rose up amidst the shattered fragments of the building, realising several Aurors from the ministry had appeared.

"This is far from over" she shouted and vanished.

It took me a few seconds to regain my strength, but as soon as I did, I searched for Garreth.

"She needs to be taken to the hospital wing immediately" somebody screamed. I turned around and saw Astoria Crickett, the girl who had been frozen. Due to the intense battle, I had forgotten what the witch did to her.

"She's gone for now, but we'll need more protection here and on Hogwarts" stated Officer Singer. I always thought she is not doing a great job as an Officer and this time was no different. A poor student was frozen with an unknown form of magic! A firm hug from behind me pulled me out of my thoughts, it was Garreth!

"I'm glad you're okay" he kissed me.

"Garreth! Are you hurt?" I examined his body to see if there are any wounds.

"No, I'm fine, these Ranrok's loyalists got what they deserved" Garreth replied proudly.

"We have to head back to the castle" George approached us. "It's not safe to stay out here".

I looked around and realised what a mess Larissa had caused. Sebastian and Jessica were using Reparo to fix some of the destroyed buildings, alongside some Aurors. I noticed Ominis talking to Grayson, but I did not think much of it, considering the circumstances.

We returned to the castle and I went straight to my Common Room to have a shower. I was exhausted; I wanted to wait for Poppy to return, but once I placed my head on my pillow, I fell asleep right away.