Master of Death

Preparing for the Final Battle

~ *~* ~ *~* ~ *~* ~ *~* ~ *~* CHAPTER XXVI *~* ~ *~* ~ *~* ~ *~* ~ *~* ~

There was this undercurrent of tension as the year drew to a close. There were attacks in the news outlets, people dressed in the old colors of Grindelwald's army. There was confirmation that Gellert Grindelwald had died in prison, supposedly in his sleep, but Harry knew better. He had seen the Death Clock for the man, he still had some years yet and then suddenly the hourglass had emptied, the glass cracking. Thankfully with the Goblin approved Staff, they did not have to worry about Dumbledore's spies during staff meetings. Tom as Lord Slytherin had informed them of the possible attack. Which had been confirmed by several of the Divination Professors. Firenze had even admitted that the stars and planets were growing dimmer, as if they were being veiled, this of course made the Ardans go on high alert.

Thankfully Arwen had safely had her son and Eowyn had safely delivered a beautiful little girl. They had a few months to lose the excess weight and to get back into fighting shape, Slowly more guards were added to the school and as the attack became more frequent and closer to Hogwarts, many parents requested the children remain on the school grounds. Hermione when she first saw the reports in the Quibbler had written her parents and informed them of what was happening, that so far the school was safe and she would keep them posted, but she begged them to leave the country because she did not doubt that many a Muggle parent or family would be taken hostage to force compliance.

Luna was uncharacteristically quiet, her eyes focused and a fierce frown on her face. Neville shadowed her, both worried for her and worried about the slowly growing bold behavior of those against them. The Ministry seemed to have lost its marbles, because now Fudge was declaring war on Hogwarts(Why can't these people not do their jobs correctly?!). The Staff has slowly been moving the younger children into the Chambers of Secrets where Rowena's Sphinx, Nefertiti, would stand guard. The hybrid Creature would not be of use in a full out war, but at least she can keep the innocent safe with a series of riddles and maybe a few well munched bones.

Fawkes seemed to be gathering his own army of winged animals and not just birds! At night a storm cloud of Bats could be seen flying over Hogwarts like a black omen. The Merfolk in the Black Lake were alerted and had agreed to defend the school. Many of whom took special potions to walk on land as the Helga's Giant Squid(Kraken really) found the perfect ambush spot close to the shore and ready to rise like its more monstrous family members. Aldeztaile was seen more frequently with Harry, the Basilisk wore her goggles as she found she was too agitated to keep the inner eyelids shut full time. Thankfully it was merely a few rats that met their unfortunate ends at her gaze, but she would not risk killing any of her Hatchlings again. The Ghosts were also gathering up their own army, Peeves had asked Harry to kindly summon up a specific group. Harry had looked the Poltergeist in the eyes and understood what was asked of him and simply smiled.

It didn't take him long to figure out after that nothing at Hogwarts was as it seemed. It did not take long for the students to realize something was up, they were being escorted to every class, while they could not be sure, they felt that there was an increase in security, something that was very much appreciated and had not been done in the past under Dumbledore's rule. The older students had picked up on the subtle changes faster, the Creatures being acutely attuned to any shift in the feel of their environment Then the letters from their families had finally set alarms off.