The demigods are now gods. Sweet. But, as the fates are evil and unable to give us a happy ending, there's a whole new problem to deal with. Namely, a flaming Neville Longbottom falling out of the sky and nearly squashing the new goddess of magic.
N...
The great hall was in its prime, glowing with bright candlelight as it welcomed the Hogwarts students back to school for another year.
Hermione and Ginny were chatting about timetables next to me, lost in the delights of structured education. Harry was talking to Ron, and Ron was trying to look like he was listening whilst simultaneously stuffing his face with food.
I was happy to just sit, enjoying being back in the place where I felt most at home. It had been hard, back when I first started at Hogwarts, to fit in in the way I wanted, especially with Snape constantly bullying me. But now, after the battle, there was a feeling of unity between survivors, and being within Hogwarts' walls filled me with warmth.
There were differences, of course, from how it had been before. The architecture had been rebuilt ever so slightly differently, and there weren't quite so many candles floating above the tables. Dumbledore was noticeably missing, as were a few other teachers and the Slytherin table was significantly thinned out. Also, the Triwizard Cup and Goblet of Fire stood on matching pedestals at either end of the teachers table, in celebration of Harry's win all those years ago.
God, had it really only been four years ago? It felt like an age, back when we were fifteen, and our main problems were dating and homework and the occasional magical upheaval. That was what was so amazing about Hogwarts. Everything was normal, even when it wasn't. It was truly a place of magic.
Very suddenly, a lull in conversation hit the great hall. This was brought about by a massive crash, which sounded to come from the entrance hall. Any remaining chatter was abolished when the double doors to the hall flew off their hinges and up, slamming into the walls. I jumped, shuffling backwards on the bench as a feeling of foreboding swept over me.
The dust cleared to reveal eight very familiar matching outlines. Scared yells and shouts began echoing around the hall as people identified the robes of the death eaters on the figures. The eight didn't say anything, just marching into the great room in tandem, and lifting their wands towards the head table.
This very direct threat to the teachers spurred many people into action, and people began pulling wands, potions, even pets out of their pockets. Others grabbed steak knives from the table, wielding them much like you would a wand.
The older year groups fell swiftly back into the order created during the final battle, pushing first and second years behind them towards the teachers, before drawing weapons and forming a blockade against the death eaters.
Silence, other than the rustling of robes and the swish of practice wand movements.
'Hand over the goblet of fire, and no one gets hurt.' One of the death eaters murmured huskily.
'Yeah, like we haven't heard that one before!' A particularly gutsy sixth year fired back. A cheer followed his statement. The death eater sighed.
'So be it.'
The groups launched at each other, instantly engaging in vicious battle. This wouldn't be a prisoners-taking kind of fight, it seemed. But that wasn't an issue. We outnumbered them fifty to one - this was in the bag.
As if to disprove me, more death eaters swooped in the now-doorless entryway, ten, twenty, a hundred of them soring over the students and firing down from above. Groans echoed from students all over the room, and I cursed the drop in moral this change would surely bring.
To their credit, the Hogwarts students seemed to fight harder, driven to even fiercer fight by the fresh challenge. A wave of pride washed over me - pride in my school, in my peers, in myself for the resilience and constant positivity we'd shown in the face of so much danger.
'Why do they even want the bloody cup?' Ron yelled over the carnage. Somehow, he'd managed to pick his way over to me through the warzone.
'No idea.' Harry said, jogging over to us. 'But I'm willing to bet they don't just want to allocate their chore rotation using it.'
'Someone should go and get it!' Hermione yelled over at us from where she was fighting against three very tall death eaters.
She had a point. I sprinted full-tilt to the cup, just making it there before a pair of cloaked figures, and attempting to run away backwards at the same time as firing petrifying spells at the two of them. Predictably, this didn't go very well, as I tripped over my robe, spilling the blue flames of the cup all over myself in the process. I barely had time to consider how bad this was before the sounds of the battle faded, and my consciousness along with it.
CHAPTER FOUR AT LAST
Enough action for you? I'm not particularly good at fight scenes, which is why this one didn't feature very much fighting.
Any other suggestions?
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