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The entrance to Hogwarts castle and grounds is an impressive, massive wrought-iron gate flanked by two giant stone statues of winged boars. This entrance traditionally keeps the students inside while making sure anything (and anyone) unwanted stays out.
The winged boars' gate is the main entry and exit of the Hogwarts Grounds and the school's first line of defense; as such, it remains closed and magically locked at all times. The only notable exceptions to this include the start and end of the school year for the carriages to pass through, and during Hogsmeade weekends, when students tread under the boars' watchful eyes and head up the path to Hogsmeade.
Staff members are the only ones who can undo the complex enchantments that surround this barrier, so don't even think about trying to sneak out for a late-night rendezvous in Hogsmeade. The winged boars will know.
Nem couldn't see Bernadette at all, given the charms in place. Maybe on a well lit day, they might have, though even then they tended to find it easier to spot a Disillusionment indoors as opposed to out. In the dark of night, on the grounds, with the colourful beams from a multitude of spells giving the area the most inconvenient lighting set-up, she was totally invisible to them, which helped inform them as to exactly how they appeared to everyone else. Also meant there was no point watching her go. They'd see her again, very soon.
Only a moment after they sensed Bernadette leaving, the world around Nem seemed to give a sudden lurch, and they staggered several paces to the left. Their ankle (sprained? probably not broken) gave way on the third step, and, not even bothering to try and stay upright, Nem fell down on all fours, pain shooting through one forearm. They could only wait for the lightheadedness to pass, and only then did they look up, first towards the forest, and then the castle. The forest was quieter, better for a quick getaway, but the towers held the best vantage points. It was just a case of reaching one, and staying undetected the whole way. A herculean task, in this state.
But what was Nemesis Upstead if not arrogantly overconfident, even when on their last legs? In any case, they had to find out what happened. In general, sure, but specifically with one man in particular. Could only do that by hanging around.
Fixing their eyes on one of the towers, Nem made up their mind, and clambered to their feet. Strapping up a Disillusioned ankle would not be a wise move just yet, so Nem opted against it, only tested that their foot could still bear their weight, and then set off again. What was it that one idiot over there had said? One last push.
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Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Chocolate!
So much was running through her mind right now. That whole 'flashes of life' thing. The fact that she wouldn't be seeing her son again. Her brother or their mother neither. That her last words to her baby boy had been to be careful, and there she was letting the enemy get the best of her. Oh, the irony.
Her vision was starting to go black when the relief came. Someone had severed the whip around her neck. Roxanne started gasping for breath again, filling her lungs with precious, precious air. She gasped a "thank you," to her savior before taking a deep breath and sitting up slowly. She knew better than to sit up too fast after nearly dying.
She also saw the strangling horror go down, thankfully.
The sheer insanity of it all.
Evan couldn't have wrapped her head around it all even if she was seeing it in slow motion, and sometimes it felt like she was. Wizards, good and bad, were dropping left and right, some only stunned, others never to raise their wands again. She had flinched away, but the visions of death danced behind the lids of her dark eyes. The smile didn't vanish from her lips, it had just shifted, from joyful to feral.
nonetheless, it was glorious to watch the witch crash. Stunned by her Evan's magic. She panted, relieved as the woman spoke. "Us girls gotta stick together." The Ravenclaw said lightly, nearly tripping over a bit of rubble as she grabbed the witch's wand. souvenir. "You oughta had to the Great Hall, there's healers there." the witch looked pretty shaken up.
Evan didn't have much time to revel as she slipped back into the battle, however. Spells were coming in from nearly every direction and it was sheer luck she managed to deflect a nasty looking hex before it took her out. "Sh-" She began in relief, but the rest of her words were ripped apart as she let out a scream of agony.
The pain was white hot and pulsing hard under her skin, igniting every cell until it was blistering. She fell to her knees, her arms tight around her as she endured the greatest pain she had ever felt. The cruciatus curse was nothing like it was described in books. It was worse. So much worse. Vision blurred, her mind blank save for a single thought.
I'm going to die. I'm going to die. The pain is going to kill me.
And then it stopped, and she was kneeling, shaking all over and her breathing ragged.
And the fight was still going. What had felt like a lifetime to Evan had only been a moment for the world. She barked out a laugh that turned into a cough. "That was... so dirty... " No, she wasn't crying, that was dust in her eyes and Evan roughly wiped it away.
SHHHHHHHreAAAAAAAkk
The crash rent the air and Evan looked up just in time to watch the burning wooden bridge fall. The Sky was red. Shuddering, the witch clambered hastily to her feet, her legs protesting painfully all the while, but there was no time to lay around.
One more push, they'd said. Evan bit her lip hard, focusing on the iron taste as she raised her wand, nonverbally sending out a levicorpus towards the nearest Neo Annoyance member.
Eat. That.
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the moon: feminine, intuitive, inner strength, innocence
doesn't proofread tweets | #wrongaboutcereal | #siriusly? | emo to the extremo
Up until this point, Tomasz had done fairly well for himself. He was not as skilled with his wand, but he made up for it with his speed. And as a runner, dodging spells came to him effortlessly. He managed to zig-zag his way through the crowd, curving bursts of red and flashes of green. There were a few close calls, moments when even a millisecond of pause could have rendered him still and lifeless. But he still managed, fighting his way through the crowd, sending Cascading Jinxes and Stunning Spells towards members of the Neo-Alliance.
In the end, it was the adrenaline that kept his senses heightened, allowing him to block out the noise. But one wrong move, one misstep and Tomasz found himself crumbling to the ground. He wasn’t sure what the spell was, but it had hit close enough to the left side of his head. His good side.
With his knees surrendered to the ground, Tomasz cried out in pain. His screams were loud, but he could hardly hear them. Were they being drowned out against the backdrop of battle? No—He... He couldn’t hear at all. He turned this way and that, trying to piece together the scene before him. His ears were ringing, filling the absence of sound with a high-pitched buzz.
Despite this, the throbbing of his head, he stood up. There was no time. With renewed rage coursing through his veins, Tomasz tightened his grip on his wand and ran forward towards Jake - positioning his wand and joining in the effort for one last push. To end the reign of the Neo-Alliance. To find Raj and Shivali.
Orbis. Manus Invisibilis. Cascading Jinx.
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Zander always knew he’d be back here, but he had always thought it’d be for a class reunion or to see Mia off to school. War had to be the worst reason to return. Even then, it wasn’t a surprise that he found himself smiling in the presence of Damien Anderson-Belfort - long time friend, former housemate, brother, soulmate. It was a fleeting smile, but a smile all the same. ”We’ll put in a request next time,” he called back, keeping his gaze forward and his wand held out before him.
Fortunately, none of the oncoming spells had hit their mark. Sheer luck as Zander was not focused on protecting himself so much as he was focused on throwing shields up in front of others. He was no Sophie Brown, but he had improved his spell work quite a bit in his old age - protective spells had become his new specialty.
Becoming a father had changed everything.
But when he didn’t make it in time, when he saw yet another body hit the ground, Zander took it personally. Each cry heard in the distances filled him with guilt. He knew this wouldn’t be easy, but how could you prepare yourself for this?
Zander swallowed thickly, continuing to forge forth with his best friends at his side. When he saw a rescue group assembling, one with familiar faces and old friends (Cinna Culloden, Simon Holden, Bart Culloden), Zander instinctively pointed his wand in their direction. "SIMON! CINNA!” He couldn’t save everyone, but he’d do his best to protect those he could. "Protego Totalum!"
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Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Lemon!
Lumbering forward, leaping over rubble and running through the legs of several people, the silvery airy form of an opossum scaled several obstacles before settling on a perch to present itself to the rowdy and hostile crowd. And then the voice of the Minister, strained but strong, erupted out of the spirit guardian’s open mouth.
“Citizens...supporters and members of the Neo-Alliance...and supporters and members of the Order of the Phoenix alike...please...I implore you, lay down your wands. Lucien Rosier, leader of the Neo-Alliance, has fallen. This battle of divergent ideals and ideologies must cease. The path forward for the Neo-Alliance is at its end … though not without hope for clemency upon negotiation. This war is over. Rise to a higher dignity...and lay down your wands … so that no more of our people must die...so that we may restore peace…”
It’s tail uncoiling from around its roost, the opossum began to climb down but dissipated into thin air before reaching the ground.
Ignatius had been attacking the remaining Neo-Alliance supporters viciously, using spells he had not even thought of for years (and he was not sure if he was pleased or alarmed at how easily it all came back to him). Still, he was beginning to tire--he had a few more decades on him since the last time he had engaged in battle. When the patronus appeared with its message, however, Ignatius immediately ceased his attack and whirling around, headed toward the castle. If his granddaughter, Violet was there, he was determined to find her. And if anything had happened to the girl, whoever was responsible would pay...
Hamlet Blackthorne was just coming to, groggy from the aftereffects of the stunning spell his father had hit him with, when he heard the opossum patronus deliver its message. The Neo-Alliance had fallen! And frankly, Hamlet was not sure if he was sorry or glad about it. His enthusiasm for the Alliance message of Wizarding freedom had weakened considerably after viewing the violence and brutality displayed by some of the Alliance followers. Maybe his father and brother were right...at any rate, Hamlet was relieved he had not been forced to meet any of them face to face in the battle.
For now, he slowly crawled out from under the bushes he found himself in, painfully raised himself to his feet, and staggered off, hoping no one would try to stop him.
Last edited by MadAlice; 04-03-2021 at 08:53 PM.
Reason: I used the wrong character name! (I should be asleep...)
For every spell that came at them, each Neo-Alliance follower attempted to counter with several more, or to simply overwhelm with brutality. As the moments passed, their ranks continued to thin out.
While the freezing charm (Jake) temporarily immobilised several of their number, others were sent every which way; four were sent sailing back off their feet from the force of an explosion (Elizabeth), one man was yanked into the air as though hooked by the ankle (Evan) yet continued attempting to throw out more curses, and, nearby, two more were sucked into the ground itself (Tomasz). Those that dodged the initial flames sent their way were caught by those that followed (Bella) and became more focused on putting themselves out, and a young man who thought fast enough to deflect one disarming charm (Slade) and a binding spell (Tomasz) nevertheless earned a gash on the hand from a severing charm (Slade), and accidentally sent his wand spinning away through the air as he recoiled in pain.
But still they attempted to fight, those who could. Even when those now free of the freezing charm were knocked down by a final cascading jinx (Tomasz), the Neo-Alliance followers attempted to get up and continue the battle, or to fight from the ground.
Until the patronus came, and delivered its message. Of course, it could have been a trick, a lie, a trap, or maybe it wasn't. Those followers who remained wavered for a moment, considering the situation - the ranks that surrounded them, their depleted numbers, and now the apparent loss of their leader. One threw down his wand. "Yield," he spat.
The others joined suit, some exhausted, others mutinous but silently surrendering all the same. The levicorpus'd wizard dropped his wand onto the ground below and dangled pathetically in mid-air. This group's fight was over.
Jake had every confidence that they could do this, that they could overwhelm at least this pocket of fighters and get them secure before moving on to help fight elsewhere or reach the kids. No more of this Neo-Alliance lot had appeared to join the fray, which suggested that they were all caught up elsewhere, that numbers were dwindling in general, and not just here. Still. One thing at a time.
This last push had turned out to be exactly that. Jake had just started throwing more stunning spells into the mix, to those still standing or hovering wide of the main group, when the patronus appeared.
He didn't lower his wand, nor even look away from the Neo-Alliance followers to watch the patronus, only needed to listen to its message. Once he'd heard it all, Jake's expression didn't change, and despite what seemed like the minister's genuine plea (and those did sound like his words, didn't they? hard to say for sure until he went to look at whatever there was to see with his own eyes, of course) he still didn't lower his wand. Not, at least, until he saw - and he could see so very clearly, in the light of the rising sun - the opposing side throw down their own wands in surrender.
"Okay. Okay," Jake said aloud, to himself at first, then a little louder. "Okay. Let's round this lot up, and make sure they all stay put." This was said really to nobody in particular, mostly thinking out loud, but Jake did look towards the man who had appeared by his side (Slade), and spoke also for the benefit anyone who was willing to listen and help, anyone else he worked with in law enforcement, definitely.
Aside from a look of longing towards the castle, a desperate desire to go up there and find his kids, make sure they were safe and take them all straight home, Jake stayed firmly in business mode until he was sure things were being handled out here, and began wordlessly summoning wands to himself, those that had been voluntarily yielded or forcibly separated from their wielders on the Neo-Alliance side. "Injured need taking straight to the castle. Then the fallen." Again, mostly to nobody and everyone. "But stay on your guard, everyone." The message. He needed to ascertain the truth of it, if it really reflected the situation elsewhere, even if it had ended the skirmish here.
And, of course, Tomasz. Jake turned to him now. "You good?" he asked, unaware of the situation, how unlikely it was that his words would get through, how unlikely it was he'd even heard the patronus message. Before he could say anything else, however, Jake caught sight of another man (Hamlet), staggering away. Acting instinctively, he quickly raised his wand and sent a leg-locker curse after him.
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Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Chocolate!
Smelly cat love|so many books so little time|Loonymione| Lives in Central Perk!|Rave Slither & Huff
It was over. Thank god it was over. Lucien Rosier fallen. Laila sighed with relief. But is it possible that the Minister has been compromised again? She decided to be on her guard.
There was work left to be done. Laila wanted to see her sister so desperately. She hoped Kaira was okay. She couldn't think of what she would do if her baby sister was..NO NO..she pushed away all the negative thoughts from her head. Kaira was fine. She had to be.
She approached Jake and nodded, looking around for those injured, to be taken to the castle.
The Winged Boars 
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