The Battle of Hogwarts

The enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall was dark and scattered with stars, and

Below it the four long House tables were lined with disheveled students, some in

Traveling cloaks, others in dressing gowns. Here and there shone the pearly white figures

Of the school ghosts. Every eye, living and dead was fixed upon Professor McGonagall,

Who was speaking from the raised platform at the top of the Hall. Behind her stood the

Remaining teaches, including the palomino centaur, Firenze, and the members of the

Order of the Phoenix who had arrived to fight.

"...evacuation will be overseen by Mr. Filch and Madame Pomfrey. Prefects,

When I give the word, you will organize your House and take your charges in orderly

Fashion to the evacuation point.

Many of the students looked petrified. However, as Harry skirted the walls,

Scanning the Gryffindor table for Ron and Hermione, Ernie Macmillan stood up at the

Hufflepuff table and shouted; "And what if we want to stay and fight?"

There was a smattering of applause.

"If you are of age, you may stay." said Professor McGonagall.

"What about our things?" called a girl at the Ravenclaw table. "Our trunks, our

owls?"

"We have no time to collect possessions." said Professor McGonagall. "The

important thing is to get you out of here safely."

"Where's Professor Snape?" shouted a girl from the Slytherin table.

"He has, to use the common phrase, done a bunk." replied Professor McGonagall

And a great cheer erupted from the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws.

Harry moved up the Hall alongside the Gryffindor table, still looking for Ron and

Hermione. As he passed, faces turned in his direction, and a great deal of whispering

Broke out in his wake.

"We have already placed protection around the castle," Professor McGonagall

was saying, "but it is unlikely to hold for very long unless we reinforce it. I must ask you,

therefore, to move quickly and calmly, and do as your prefects -"

But her final words were drowned as a different voice echoed throughout the Hall.

It was high, cold, and clear. There was no telling from where it came. It seemed to issue

From the walls themselves. Like the monster it had once commanded, it might have lain

Dormant there for centuries.

"I know that you are preparing to fight." There were screams amongst the

Students, some of whom clutched each other, looking around in terror for the source of

the sound. "Your efforts are futile. You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I

have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical blood."

There was silence in the Hall now, the kind of silence that presses against the

Eardrums, that seems too huge to be contained by walls.

"Give me Harry Potter," said Voldemort's voice, "and they shall not be harmed.

Give me Harry Potter and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter and

You will be rewarded.

"You have until midnight."

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 593