The Great Hall was no longer a place for house points or idle chatter. The four long house tables had been pushed against the walls to make room for a massive, glowing holographic map of the groundsāa piece of Kamar-Taj's architectural projection magic that Ethan had overlaid onto the castle's blueprints.
Dumbledore stood at the front, his rejuvenated voice carrying through the hall with a resonance that hadn't been heard in decades. He didn't need a charm; the raw magic in his lungs did the work.
"The time for secrecy is over," Dumbledore said, his eyes scanning the sea of students. "Lord Voldemort is currently marching on this castle. He is not coming for a parley. He is coming to destroy the last bastion of resistance in Britain."
A wave of murmurs and stifled sobs broke out among the younger years.
"Anyone under the age of seventeen will evacuate through the Room of Requirement immediately," Dumbledore commanded. "Those of age who wish to stay and fight may do so. But understand this: tonight will be recorded in history. We are not just defending a school; we are ending a war that was supposed to drag on for years. We end it tonight."
******
The next few hours were a frantic blur of industrial-scale preparation.
The Professors: McGonagall was in the courtyard, her wand slashing through the air as she animated the stone statues. The giant knights lumbered to life, their heavy stone feet cracking the pavement as they marched to the perimeter.
The Order: Kingsley Shacklebolt, Mad-Eye Moody, and Arthur Weasley arrived via the Floo network, bringing with them a small army of Ministry employees who hadn't yet fallen under Voldemort's thumb.
The Students: Neville Longbottom and Ginny Weasley were leading a group of DA members, checking the stocks of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder and Decoy Detonators.
Ethan stood on the highest battlements, watching the shield charmsāProtego Maxima and Fianto Duriāshimmer into existence over the spires. It had only been a short time since he'd dropped into this world. In the original timeline, this battle was nearly a year away. By incinerating the soul fragments early, he'd forced Voldemort's hand, dragging the Dark Lord out of the shadows before his grip on the Ministry was complete.
"So it's finally time, huh?"
Ethan turned to see Tonks walking up beside him. She looked different in her combat gearāstrapped with potions and a jagged dagger at her belt. Her hair was a short, practical black, matching the gravity of the night.
"It is."
"The whole magical society is in a panic," Tonks said, looking out toward the dark, misty hills. "The Ministry is paralyzed. Half the Aurors don't know who to follow. But the word is out: the 'Master of Hogwarts' is making his stand. People are choosing sides tonight."
*****
Miles away, the forest surrounding Malfoy Manor was alive with the sounds of a nightmare.
Voldemort didn't have time for the slow infiltration of the Wizengamot or the subtle bribery of officials. He was bleeding soul-energy, and he knew it. He had summoned everything he had left.
The Giants: Three massive giants, recruited from the mountains, were already tearing up trees to use as clubs.
The Werewolves: Greyback was dead, but his pack remained, snarling in the shadows, waiting for the smell of blood.
The Dementors: The air around the manor had turned frigid as hundreds of the hooded guards of Azkaban abandoned their posts to follow the only being who could promise them a feast of despair.
"My Lord," Lucius Malfoy whispered, kneeling in the dirt. "The outer perimeter of Hogwarts is being scouted. The shields are up."
Voldemort didn't look at him. He was staring at the horizon, his red eyes glowing with a manic, flickering light. He felt small, diminished, but his rage was keeping him anchored.
"Every Death Eater. Every creature. Every sympathizer," Voldemort hissed. "We flatten Hogwarts today. I want Williams alive until I can show him what happens to those who touch my soul. The rest... kill them all."
****
Back at the castle, the bridge was being rigged with explosives by Seamus Finnigan and Neville.
Ethan watched the preparations with a strange sense of detachment. He had been trained by the Ancient One. He had spent months in Kamar-Taj being tossed into hell dimensions and fighting entities that could swallow whole galaxies just for the "educational experience."
To him, a so-called Dark Lord with a few monsters was just... small-time. If he wanted, he could have stepped into the Mirror Dimension, walked right up to Voldemort, and dragged him into a void where the concept of "immortality" was a joke.
But the System was clear: the rewards depended on the way the mission was completed. He had to lead this world to its own victory, not just do the chores for them. He looked down into the Great Hall through the high windows. He saw Ron and Hermione arguing over a map, Harry sharpening the Sword of Gryffindor, and the twins testing out new explosive products. He had compressed years of trauma and growth into seventy-two hours.
"He's here," Ethan said, his voice quiet but carrying through the wind.
The temperature on the battlements dropped forty degrees in a second. The sky turned a bruised, sickly purple. On the horizon, thousands of tiny lights appearedātorches, wand-tips, and the glowing eyes of monsters.
The Siege of Hogwarts had begun, and it was two years early. Ethan let his hands glow with the golden light of the Eldritch magic.
Author's Note:
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