"Roar-"
The moment the roar like muffled thunder pierced the night sky, several dense masses of black gas, dragging their long tails, broke through the sky from a distance.
They bring not only the smell of evil, but also a kind of panic originating from the unknown.
But just when several groups of black energy were trying to rush towards Hogwarts Castle in the air, they all fell straight to the ground as if they hit an invisible wall.
"boom!"
With a burst of gravel flying, they landed heavily in front of the school gate one after another, making several shallow holes in the horse path.
If you are interested, you may be able to see that at the moment it was blocked by an unknown barrier, a rune appeared faintly in the sky above the castle.
This is not the original defensive magic of Hogwarts Castle, but the masterpiece of Dumbledore who is holding the wand at this moment.
With his own strength, he can cast a magic that protects the entire castle. This is the true strength of Dumbledore, the old white wizard.
"Roar-"
After a few more roars, several humanoid creatures covered in black energy suddenly stood up in those pits. They looked very evil. After they roared to the sky, they rushed straight to the school gate without hesitation and started hitting with all their strength.
The transparent barrier was still blocking their progress, but perhaps because the defense range was a bit too large, vibration ripples visible to the naked eye appeared due to their continuous beating and impact.
The barrier keeps denting!
If Maka was here, he would be able to recognize it at a glance - it would definitely be the "Black Death Apostle" mentioned repeatedly in "The Book of Sin"!
Those guys were originally wizards, but they lost the ability to use magic, and the magic power in their bodies was also released, turning into a rich black energy that enveloped themselves.
While they gained extremely powerful power, their resistance to magic was even more unusual, but at the cost of most of their wisdom and polluted souls that could never be purified.
At this time, members of the Order of the Phoenix had withdrawn into the school, and Hogwarts' defense line was compressed.
But at this moment, no one on the Death Eaters side dared to take this opportunity to chase after him, because they still had sense left.
When they saw Dumbledore standing at the school gate, no one would be like the Black Death who stood within a few feet of Dumbledore and knocked on the barrier without any scruples, not even caring about his own life or death. In the heart.
Sure enough, when a red beam of light flashed past, the Black Death disciples flew backwards far away as if they had been hit by a train.
Dumbledore held the Elder Wand and stood calmly at the school gate. He alone was able to frighten all the Death Eaters in place.
But those Black Death disciples did not receive any damage. Even Dumbledore couldn't hurt them with just a casual blow.
I saw them running towards this side again. Dumbledore's expression remained unchanged.
He was waiting for the person who should come to show up in person.
…
Outside the castle, the Death Eaters were coming fiercely, but they were blocked by Dumbledore alone. But inside the castle, the situation was not stable.
Most of the little wizards were greatly frightened. After all, they were still children.
In the auditorium, as the commotion outside became louder and louder, it was impossible to take a good rest. Professor Flitwick and others were standing at the door, while the students were sitting in the middle with their heads hunched, most of them silent.
In the side hall, Professor McGonagall, who had received a message from Moody, was discussing something in a low voice with Mrs. Maxim.
Right in front of them, Fleur's mother, Lady Delacour, was lying motionless on the table, covered with a thin blanket to protect her from the cold.
As for Fleur herself... Moody didn't have time to bring her back.
"...Mrs. Maxim, Miss Delacour is safe there now. If we go out, we will be in danger!" Professor McGonagall said seriously, "I don't think it is a good idea for you to go out now."
"No! Leave that child there, I'm very worried! Very!" Mrs. Maxim was much taller than Mag. She was speaking angrily below. From a distance, it looked like her mother was there. Reprimand your own children.
"But… "
"I said - no!" Mrs. Maxim angrily rejected Professor McGonagall's persuasion. She took a few steps left and right, then simply turned around and walked out.
"Etc., etc… "
Professor McGonagall quickly followed him out, but outside was the auditorium, and the children were all there! She is needed here!
When she met those trembling eyes, her steps hesitated.
"Step aside… "
Madam Maxime pulled the little Flitwick aside, then opened the door and walked out.
"Oh, I..." Hagrid on the side couldn't help but glanced at Harry, then gritted his teeth and chased after him, "Wait for me! I'll go too..."
"...Didn't Hagrid give up?"
In the crowd, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were sitting together. They all happened to see Hagrid turn his head, and Ron muttered in surprise.
"No, I don't think-" Hermione curled her lips.
Harry also shrugged, and then whispered: "Don't worry about Hagrid for now, I said... Hermione, why did you abstain, what happened?"
Hermione heard this and immediately shook her head.
"This is Professor Moody's arrangement. He came to inform me before the game that he would take my place in the third event. He also said... and said..."
She hesitated for a while, and under the urging of Harry and Ron, she had no choice but to continue: "He also said that this was an idea that Maka and Dumbledore made together - they wanted to lure Voldemort out!"
"Ah?" Ron said in surprise, "What about Maka? Well... and Miss Delacour, they are not here!"
"Who knows?" Hermione said dullly, "Anyway, I have been in the castle today..."
Maka hid everything from them, which made them feel a little uncomfortable... But so what? They themselves also know that their little strength is really not enough.
If you mess around casually, it may cause the incident where Luna was injured last time to happen again - that would be really bad.
Until now, Harry had not dared to touch the Sword of Gryffindor. He didn't even dare to practice, because he couldn't be sure at all. He might go crazy again and deny his relatives.
But without the Sword of Gryffindor, he really has no confidence based on his ability alone.
If anyone was in danger, Harry might be able to use his momentum to perform beyond his level, but now, he had enough sense to tell him that there was probably nothing he could do with his ability.
Maka's strength left an obstacle in the hearts of their three little lions that could not be ignored.
Therefore, whenever Maka gets busy, they can't help but compare, and then honestly tell themselves that helping is just adding trouble.
Although Maka would encourage them from time to time, but how useful would that be
When the facts are clear in front of them, Maka's words of encouragement can indeed bring them energy and motivation, but they cannot immediately become their strength.
Just like now, the terrifying Dark Lord has struck again, but what can they do
In fact, Maka has actually noticed that his existence has affected many people, both positively and negatively.
But no matter what the impact was, it was never greater than the pressure he brought to everyone.
But whether this pressure is good or bad depends on the little wizards' own mentality. Just like this moment, Hermione, who used to be the most sensible person, was now the first one to stand up.
"Harry, Ron... and everyone!" She raised her head, looked around, and said seriously, "Our school is in trouble!"
"As students, we are also members of Hogwarts! We cannot always shrink under the protection of professors, and we cannot let Professor Dumbledore go out to fight the crisis alone! We also have an obligation to work hard to protect our school!"
"Perhaps our power is small, yes, insignificant... But I think that as long as we work together, we can definitely keep the Death Eaters—and Voldemort—out!"
Sitting around her were a group of silent students.
But when she mentioned the word "Voldemort", the little wizards who had been suppressing couldn't help but become a lot more nervous, and many began to whisper.
At the door of the Great Hall, Professor Flitwick couldn't help but take a step forward - he thought that if Hermione continued to speak, the children might be more nervous and frightened.
But Professor McGonagall, who was always rational, grabbed him at this moment and shook his head gently at him.
She continued to talk, and in order to let her words reach the ears of every classmate, she even added a loudspeaker spell to herself.
"... Among us, there are brave Gryffindors, smart Ravenclaws, hard-working Hufflepuffs... and shrewd Slytherins!"
"Yes, I actually don't like Slytherin, but..." When there was a commotion around her, Hermione said loudly, "But! Maka McClain told me that Slytherin is also Hogwarts. A student who also possesses excellent wizard qualities—"
"Although I haven't been able to figure it out yet, I believe what Maka said! I believe that when Hogwarts encounters difficulties, everyone will fight for the school we have been living in!"
At this point, Hermione suddenly increased her volume and said loudly:
"Like Maka once said at the graduates' farewell party—we are all Hogwarts!"
Before she finished speaking, Hermione kicked Harry in the leg.
Even though she said it so grandly and passionately, in her heart, her original purpose was for her own selfishness.
She really couldn't bear it. On the road of continuous advancement in life, she could only watch Maka's back getting further and further away, as if she could never catch up with him.
"Step forward! Hermione Jane Granger!" she whispered to herself.