Chapter 206: Magical War II
"Attack! There is the person who wants to deprive us of our great gift!" Voldemort exclaimed, urging his army to continue the assault on the great barrier protecting the grounds of Potter Manor.
His army of hundreds roared with ferocity and continued their attack. Several unfortunate souls who were the first to reach the barrier were turned to dust, but the assault persisted. No one attempted to pass through anymore. They attacked the barrier from a distance, waiting for it to fall.
Voldemort's army was composed of a wide variety of members: Death Eaters, scavengers, a pack of werewolf wizards, creatures like trolls and giants, among others, and also dark creatures with a very bad reputation, such as Dementors, witches, vampires, gorgons, and Lethifolds.
"In a few minutes, the barrier will be shattered," a Death Eater commented, his tone hiding his excitement for the grand skirmish of the day. They would destroy one of their most troublesome enemies.
No one would have thought that the Potter family would become the most difficult obstacle to their dark rebellion. Especially since James Potter, the current Lord, took charge of the family's affairs and played a major role in the war.
The Death Eaters watched from the back. Voldemort believed that the pawns were the first to be moved.
'At last, I will avenge my brother,' thought a Death Eater. Behind his mask was a youthful face. It was Rabastan Lestrange. His older brother Rodolphus, the pride of his family, had been killed by James in the sunken vault more than two years ago.
A great roar echoed throughout the area when the barrier collapsed, unable to withstand all the attacks from the hundreds of enemies.
"Attack!" shouted a Death Eater, urging the entire army forward as they roared and charged ahead without hesitation. They had to eliminate the great threat that was James Potter. The wizard who could turn you into a squib.
Voldemort watched coldly with his red eyes at the great mansion in the distance. He never thought a 16-year-old would be such a bothersome and dangerous opponent, but today would be his end. There would be no time to escape, nor to get reinforcements, no matter how many owls he sent or messages through the Floo network.
The army advanced at a fast pace across the well-maintained, flat terrain that was already part of the Potters. As they covered about ten meters, a large portion of creatures and scavengers were repelled by dozens of knights with swords and lances. Eight golems over three meters tall also appeared, crushing many scavengers, who had no time to react.
"Automatons!" shouted a wizard, narrowly dodging a knight's sword that would have decapitated him. He quickly attacked with a Diffindo, trying to cut it, but his spell was severed, and then his head was cut off.
"A good defense, but useless," sneered Voldemort, observing the dozens of automatons and the gigantic golems. He wasn't surprised to see them planted there. He simply thought it was another defense like the barrier, which the Potters always had.
His army was in the thousands. He had dozens of giants under his command who were twice the height of the golems, which were quickly overwhelmed and destroyed, but they had served their purpose of buying time and killing several enemies. The same went for the knights.
The giants continued their advance. Their rage intensified upon seeing some of their fellow giants being killed by the golems. The trolls followed behind them, and behind them, the scavengers. The dark creatures were more free and didn't care much about order. They just wanted to see blood.
At one point, as they were getting closer to Potter Manor, a figure appeared out of nowhere just meters away from them. They had no time to see the figure clearly, which seemed to be a wizard, as he raised his hand and from his wand shot out a stream of fire that reached the giants in seconds.
The temperature in the area changed abruptly. From a cool autumn night to the hottest summer night, it was as if hell itself had come to earth.
"Burn them, Fiendfyre! Be free!" shouted James, increasing the power of the fire. He didn't bother controlling it. The demonic fire already had a great number of delicious victims right in front of it.
Many giants were engulfed by the demonic fire, which began to burn them to ashes regardless of the beasts' tough skin.
The fire had taken on a gigantic serpent shape that roared with delight at seeing all the lives it could feast upon. Voldemort's army, especially the creatures on the front line, were shocked and terrified by the demonic fire. They began to scatter, fleeing from the fire serpent.
The Fiendfyre, now a gigantic serpent wrapped in blazing flames, writhed with chaotic and wild energy, consuming everything in its path. Giants, trolls, and other creatures fell, screaming and turning to ashes.
The scavengers screamed as they recoiled from the sight of the demonic fire. The chaos was total. The Fiendfyre made no distinction between enemies and allies; all were doomed to become its fuel. The Potter mansion, barely visible in the distance, was illuminated by the infernal glow of the flames.
Even several Death Eaters (the younger ones) were petrified with fear as they watched the serpent ruthlessly kill their troops.
At that moment, a serpentine laugh was heard on the battlefield. Voldemort, with a cold smile, approached the serpent. He raised his wand and cast the counter-curse that made the flames disappear.
After that, a silence reigned on the battlefield. The smell of burnt flesh and ash hung in the air. Voldemort looked at James with a smile and a chuckle that would give chills to even the bravest of men.
"Fiendfyre, an advanced curse. Every day, you surprise me more, James Potter," said Voldemort in a tone devoid of anger. It seemed he didn't care about the deaths of his troops; they were just cannon fodder. None of his Death Eaters had died, and he wouldn't care much as long as he won.
"Voldemort. We finally meet," said James, who did not tremble before the gigantic empire in front of his nose.
Voldemort laughed coldly at James's audacity, "We would have made good partners. I see you have a taste for dark magic," commented Voldemort.
Voldemort thought that James was stalling to allow his family to escape from Potter Manor. Not because all the wizards from the ministry and the orders were heading this way. A hero's sacrifice, though to Voldemort it was foolishness.
"Dark magic is merely a means to end you and your dark rebellion. I'm not an enthusiast," said James.
"I see. Let's see how long you survive," said Voldemort, making a forward gesture with his pale hand with sharp, long fingers.
The creatures that survived, seeing the demonic fire disappear, began to run fiercely toward James. They needed to avenge their fallen allies. The scavengers also resumed their advance, though there was a hint of doubt in their eyes.
With a swift movement of his wand, James conjured nine iron swords that floated around him.
The plan he had told his family and friends was that after casting the powerful demonic fire, he would return to them, and together they would protect Potter Manor until reinforcements arrived, but he deceived them.
He would not return to Potter Manor. He would endure as long as he could. He did not want anyone from his friends and family to die in this battle. If his death could help prevent that, he would accept it, although if possible, he would prefer not to die.
One of the swords flew swiftly towards the small eyes of a giant, cutting them and causing it to roar in pain. The giant was pushed towards James by an invisible force. Unable to see, it stumbled and knelt a short distance from James, who could see its ugly face.
James's right hand rested on the sword at his waist, and with a quick movement, he drew the silver sword with runes inscribed on its blade.
The sword cleanly cut the giant's neck. James enhanced his speed using telekinesis to improve the force of the cut. With all the enhancements of his new sword, cutting through the giant's skin was easy.
The giant's head flew through the air and landed on the ground with a dull thud. The sight of a small human decapitating a giant in such a manner was very surprising to all those present.
The enemies took a few seconds to regroup and attack James, who used every means necessary to defend himself and kill as effectively as possible. He conjured swords, and shields, used wandless magic, and his wand to cast countless spells.
In a few minutes, he was covered in the blood of giants, trolls, and other creatures barely recognizable due to the intensity of the battle.
James fought as intelligently as the battlefield allowed. Whenever he had the chance, he used his telekinesis to defend himself with numerous conjured shields and took that moment to use potions to recover from fatigue and other ailments. This allowed him to last longer than he might have otherwise.
The first problem came when dark creatures like Dementors and Lethifolds attacked him. He had to cast his Corporeal Patronus. It was difficult and took a lot of energy, as he had been using negative emotions to enhance his wandless magic power for some time. He hadn't cast a Patronus in a long time.
Fortunately, on the third attempt, he managed to make a gigantic ethereal dragon emerge from his wand and scare away the horrible creatures. However, he suffered cuts and some injuries.
His wounds kept piling up, and despite defeating many enemies, it seemed there was no end to them.
A Killing Curse sped towards James from a blind spot as he was dealing with three scavengers at once. Fortunately, a circular silver shield covered him.
James turned his head at the explosion and instantly recognized several people. Sirius, Lupin, Gwen, his parents, all those who should have been at Potter Manor setting up defenses were here.
Instead of looking at the enemy army, everyone looked at him with furrowed brows.
'Am I in trouble…?' James thought with sweat on his forehead.
Sirius, Lupin, and the others attacked the enemies mercilessly, causing the army to halt and retreat a few steps at the appearance of several powerful wizards.
Gwen took advantage and created a giant solid ice wall that separated them from the enemy army.
"Let's go back to the mansion," said Gwen, grabbing James's arm firmly.
"We'll have a conversation later, young man," said Euphemia, looking at James with a furrowed brow.
All the wizards, including James, began to retreat towards Potter Manor. They managed to enter the last defensive line where the final barrier would buy them time before they had to fight again.
"Fortunately, we left a gap in the barrier. We knew you would try to fight on your own," said Sirius, casting a Protego and then a Bombarda Maxima, which caused a huge explosion.
James couldn't say anything in his defense. Everything would be used against him, so it was best to stay silent. Once everyone had passed through the gap in the barrier, Fleamont finished casting the barrier, sealing the gap.
"Come. I'll heal you," said Euphemia, taking James to a hastily prepared room for the wounded.
"I can still fight," said James, but he was dragged there by his mother and Gwen.
He was covered in blood from most of his enemies, with cuts he had suffered, and mental and physical fatigue.
"We'll take care of things now. We just need to hold on for a few more minutes until reinforcements arrive. Don't underestimate us," said Lupin, seeing that the enemies had arrived and were beginning their attack on the barrier.