The Legacy of Merlin

Harry looked around the Great Hall nervously. Today was the day of the public inquiry. The Headmaster, who no one had seen since the Quibbler's expose, was at the Ministry, and along with him many of the other professors as well.

He could see the empty seats as he stared at the teacher's table. Professor's Snape, Flitwick, Sprout, Vector, and Babbling were gone, and aside from Professor McGonagall and Professor Green, they were the Professors that stood the best chance against the Alumni.

Harry glanced uneasily at the Ravenclaw table. Egwu, Winger, and MacGillony were all still here, eating their breakfast, seemingly without a care in the world, along with the rest of the study group.

'Come on,' Harry thought, staring at them, looking for some clue to what they were up to.

"It won't be long," Merlin said. "They'll have to leave to start the ritual soon."

"Harry," Draco whispered, moving to stand beside him. "We have a problem."

"What is it?" Harry whispered back.

"It's Bole. He isn't in the hospital wing," Draco revealed.

"What? Are you sure?" Ron questioned, his eyes widening.

"Positive," Draco replied. "I had a checkup with Madam Pomfrey, and he was gone, worse still, she didn't even remember he was a patient."

Harry, Hermione, Draco and Ron shared an uneasy look, all of them thinking the same thing, she had been obliviated.

"Why aren't they doing anything? Why are they just sitting there?" Hermione asked, furrowing her brows. "It doesn't make any sense."

"I was thinking the same thing," Harry agreed, looking at Andre out of the corner of his eye. "But all we can do for now is keep an eye on them."

"Why not send Dermott to the Minister now?" Hermione suggested. "It can't be much longer before they start the ritual."

"No," Harry shook his head. "We can't risk it. He's at the inquiry. If he comes here and nothing's happened yet, the Wizengamot will have him arrested for causing a panic."

"So we're on our own?" Ron asked, his worry growing.

"We're not alone," Harry replied. "The Unspeakables said they would be here to help when the times comes."

"I hope you're right," Draco said, casting a worried glance at the Slytherin table.

"Alright, breakfast is over," Harry said. "We'll have to go to class, but when things start, it'll be hard to miss. Dermott is going to be outside the window for all my classes. I'll send the Minister the message as soon as we're sure."

***

Albus sat outside the Ministry courtroom, waiting to be called, staring at the smooth, stone walls in disbelief. It hadn't been that long ago that he presided over the Wizengamot, and now he was going to be questioned by them like a common criminal.

In the end his defense came down to what he revealed about Evergreen, but he wouldn't put it past his political rivals to push for his expulsion regardless.

Thankfully he was allowed to call in his hand-picked professors to speak on his behalf, acting as character witnesses, and head off that avenue before it became an issue.

"Professor Dumbledore," An Auror said, opening the door, and sticking his head through. "The Wizengamot is ready for you, sir."

"Lead the way, young man," Albus said smiling, slipping into the affable grandfather persona he'd perfected over the decades.

He followed the Auror into the courtroom, looking up at his colleagues as he made his way to his desk, finding Elphias already there waiting for him, ready to act as his barrister.

"Are we ready?" Albus leaned in to whisper.

"As ready as we're going to be," Elphias replied. "Alister wasn't able to track down Dung, but everything else is ready."

"Good," Albus replied, just before he heard the banging of a gavel.

"I call this inquiry to order," Ogden said. "I, Tiberius Ogden, will act as Chief Warlock in this matter. Albus Dumbledore, please present yourself and your barrister."

"Albus Dumbledore," Albus answered. "Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, and Headmaster of Hogwarts."

"Elphias Dodge," Elphias said next. "Barrister for Albus Dumbledore."

"Very well," Ogden replied. "Albus Dumbledore, you are here to answer the Wizengamot's questions regarding a company known as Evergreen, accused of a litany of crimes, including, but not limited to, the theft of pureblood estates."

"A recent article published in the Quibbler newspaper stated that you were aware of this company and their alleged criminal activities," Ogden continued. "It went on to say you spoke to the ownership group of this company directly. Is this correct?"

"That is correct, Chief Warlock," Elphias replied for Albus, receiving some startled chatter from the Wizengamot, along with the watching crowd at the admission.

"Ted Tonks, acting as barrister for Harry Potter, could only contact Evergreen by owl, and an investigation by the DMLE alongside the Minister's office failed to uncover any new information. Please enlighten the Wizengamot on how you managed to reach them," Ogden asked, continuing his line of questioning.

Elphias nodded to Dumbledore, letting him speak for himself.

"As you know, I have been a fixture in wizarding politics for some time," Albus said, sticking to the plan he crafted with Elphias earlier. "This has allowed me to build relationships with many individuals, both within and outside the Ministry. It was one of those outside connections I leveraged to speak with the ownership group of Evergreen.

"What reason did you have to speak to Evergreen?" Ogden pressed.

"It was brought to my attention that a good friend of mine, Tom Porter, the owner and proprietor of the Leaky Cauldron, was having some difficulty with a recent rent increase," Albus explained. "When Tom could not reach the ownership group, I stepped in to help."

"Did you know about the existence of Evergreen and their activities prior to helping Tom with his rent issues?" Ogden asked.

After a brief pause Albus replied, "Yes. I was aware of their suspected activities for more than ten years."

Ogden looked at Dumbledore in surprise. He wasn't alone, as there were even more whispers from the crowd. "Silence," he said to the crown, banging his gavel.

When the room fell silent, he asked the question everyone wanted to know. "Why is this the first the Wizengamot is hearing of this? You have been the Chief Warlock for all that time. It is your duty to bring such things to our attention."

"I knew I couldn't bring any accusations against Evergreen without proof," Albus replied. "I came close once. They caught wind of my investigation. They were operating under the name Greenview at the time and simply shut down their operations," he said, weaving some truth into his lies to sell it.

"For a long time, I assumed they shut down their operation to avoid getting exposed. I was wrong. They changed their name to Greenview and increased the number of shell companies they operated through to further hide their actions."

"I eventually made the connection between the two companies, but again, there was no proof," Albus added. "At least until the exemplary investigative work of both Xeno Lovegood and Rita Skeeter," he said, playing to the crowd.

James and Lily sat silent, surprised that Dumbledore had revealed as much as he did, both with a growing suspicion that Albus had found a way to weasel his way out of this.

"Let's get back on topic," Ogden said, silencing the crowd again. "You contacted the ownership group. Are you prepared to identify them?"

"I am," Albus nodded. "The person running Evergreen is someone I knew quite well, or at least I thought I did. I suspect now that it was all a ruse for him to learn about my investigation and to stay one step ahead of it."

Lily felt a growing worry in the pit of her stomach as she listened to Dumbledore weave his story. It was believable and fell in line with what the public believed about him, and what they knew about Evergreen.

"That person's name is Mundungus Fletcher," Albus said. "He is a known criminal, but during the war, the information he provided saved many lives. His heroic actions blinded me to what he was truly capable of. I only ask that you consider that before you pass judgment on him."

James glared at the headmaster. He knew first hand Dung wasn't behind this, but with his criminal record, Dumbledore had successfully muddied the waters enough to shift the blame off himself.

He fought the urge to get to his feet, and expose Dumbledore's lies, thankful for Lily's steady hand on his forearm to ground him. Anything he said now about Dung would just blow back on them.

***

"I don't get it," Ron said, glancing up from his lunch. "Why are they still here?" he whispered.

"I don't know," Harry said, narrowing his eyes in suspicion as he looked at the study group. "But something isn't right. They should be in the chamber preparing for the ritual. They're running out of time."

"Maybe we got the date wrong," Hermione said, biting her lip thoughtfully.

"No, Hermione," Harry denied. "You said it yourself. Today's the day of the spring equinox. It has to be today."

Hermione glanced at Draco, seeing a similar look of confusion on his face as he continued to glance at Ismelda.

"And where's Bole?" Ron questioned. "If he's out of the hospital wing, he should be here, shouldn't he? Do you think he's in the chamber already?"

"I doubt it," Harry said, shaking his head. "He can't open the portal on his own. There's something here we're missing."

"…Missing," Ron repeated, scanning the Slytherin table as he panicked, noticing an empty seat.

"What? What is it?" Hermione asked, seeing the look on Ron's face.

"Sally isn't here. She was here at breakfast. I know. I saw her," Ron replied. "Did they do something to her?"

"Oh no," Harry said, feeling his stomach drop as he quickly scanned the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff table. ".. They took them," he said in disbelief, berating himself for not seeing it coming.

"Took who?" Hermione demanded.

"Wayne, Oliver, and Sally, all three of them are gone," Harry replied grimly.

"Your scholarship students," Hermione said, her eyes widening.

"They're going to use them to open the portal," Merlin said gravely. "Morgan must have figured out how to modify the ritual to make up for the lack of casters."

'The husks,' Harry thought, feeling a chill go down his spine, remembering what Morgan had done to her followers in Merlin's memory.

"Exactly," Merlin replied, coming to the same conclusion. "You need to get to them quickly."

"Draco," Harry called out, waving over his friend.

"What is it?" Draco asked, feeling the eyes of the study group on him as he made his way to the Gryffindor table.

"Do you know where Sally is?" Harry asked, hoping that it was just a coincidence, and there was a rational explanation for the disappearance of his scholarship students.

"Sally?" Draco asked, furrowing his brow as he thought about the question. "She was in Herbology class, sitting at the front. With Sprout gone, we were just reading from the textbook."

"Did she leave part way through class? Did you see her in any of your other classes?" Ron pressed.

"…No," Draco realized. "She wasn't in charm class. I was so distracted, I didn't even notice. What's going on?"

"They took her," Harry replied, glaring at Andre. "And it wasn't just her. They took Oliver and Sally too."

Draco slowly turned to look at the study group, expecting some type of reaction from them, but they were just eating their lunch, acting as if nothing was wrong. "…Did you see that?" he asked, his eyes narrowing on Beatrice. "She has something in her pocket," he said, noticing a glint of silver. He turned away quickly before Beatrice caught him looking at her.

Harry glanced at the other members of the study group, his eyes narrowing as he saw a similar glint of silver in Andre's hand as well.

"Draco, walk with me," Harry said, standing up as he pieced together what happened.

"What's going on?" Draco asked, falling instep with Harry.

"Just act like we're talking about something," Harry said, making a point to walk past the Hufflepuff table as they made their way to the door.

Draco nodded, pretending to talk about Quidditch as they walked past Beatrice, nearly brushing against her shoulder.

"Ok, what's going on?" Draco asked after Harry opened the door to the Great Hall and they stepped outside.

"It's not them," Harry replied. "They're using polyjuice potion. I could smell it on them."

"Shit," Draco said, his face going pale as he looked back at the door to the Great Hall, wondering what they were supposed to do now.

"We have to go back inside," Harry said.

"Wait, why?" Draco questioned. "We already know it's not them. Let's just send your owl now."

"No," Harry shook his head. "They're watching us. If we stay out here too long, they're going to know."

"Well, what are we supposed to do, then?" Draco questioned. "Attack them?"

"No, not yet," Harry replied, thinking quickly. "The professors are going to step in and protect them. We have to expose them first, otherwise it'll just be chaos."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Draco questioned. "It's not like we can take away their polyjuice potion with everyone watching."

"Maybe we can," Harry said thoughtfully, walking back into the Great Hall.

***

James sighed in exasperation, watching Wizengamot member after member ask the most inane questions. 'It's like they're actively trying to waste as much of everyone's time as possible.'

After Dumbledore lied about Dung running Evergreen, the professors were trotted out, one after the other, giving character references for him, followed by his political opponents questioning them for far longer than was strictly necessary.

"Alright," Ogden said, sounding just as board as everyone else in the gallery as he banged his gavel. "Now that we have heard from all the character witnesses, let's return to the matter at hand. Professor Dumbledore, you named Mundungus Fletcher as the one operating Evergreen."

"That is correct," Albus replied.

"Do you have any proof of this accusation?" Ogden asked.

"We do Chief Warlock," Elphias replied, pulling out a few sheets of parchment. "As you know, goblin documents can not be forged, and these," he said, handing them to the Auror to give to Ogden, "show that Mundungus Fletcher opened an account with Gringotts. In that account, you will see transfers from pureblood family accounts to his, going back almost a decade."

"I see," Ogden replied, going through the bank statements to confirm. "How, may I ask, did you receive these documents? The goblins are not known to provide information about their clients willingly."

"There are a few goblins that I've built a working relationship with over the years," Albus lied, "and they were just as interested in seeing justice served as I am."

"And are you willing to name these goblins?" Ogden pressed.

"No Chief Warlock," Elphias replied, jumping in. "That would compromise their safety and wellbeing. As you can see, the documents are authentic, and could have only been produced by the Goblin Nation. How the documents were obtained is irrelevant."

"Is that accurate Professor Dumbledore?" Ogden said, peering over his glasses at the Chief Warlock.

"Yes it is," Albus said, smiling inwardly. The documents were technically authentic, in the sense that a goblin created them, even though everything stated in them was a complete fabrication.

"Very well," Ogden said, moving on. "You've explained who, but not how. How did this criminal make off with the fortunes of so many prominent pureblood families?"

Albus kept his face neutral, but smiled internally at the way Ogden described Dung, confirming he had bought the story he and Elphias had painstakingly put together.

"Mundungus is a highly skilled criminal with an extensive network of individuals working underneath him," Albus continued. "One of the most important skills he's picked up is forgery. If you look at the wills of those pureblood families, you will see my name listed as a witness. They are forgeries. I did not meet with the heads of those families before they passed, or had any discussions of any kind with them about their estates."

"Amelia Bones," Ogden called for the head of the DMLE. "Please examine the magical signatures of these documents," he said, handing her the wills, "and confirm if Professor Dumbledore is telling the truth."

'Got you now,' James thought with a satisfied smirk, knowing that Dumbledore would have a difficult time explaining this one.

Amelia carefully examined each signature on the wills, adjusting her monocle, before looking up a short while later. "I can confirm the magical signature on each of these documents was made by the same person."

"That should make things easier," Elphias said. "Professor Dumbledore, if you would?" He asked, handing him a blank parchment.

"Of course," Albus replied, writing his name.

"They're not the same," Amelia said after looking at the signatures for a moment, drawing shocked exclamations from the gallery. "The written signature itself looks identical, but the magical signature is not the same."

Cornelius sighed, looking away in frustration. 'I should have known Dumbledore would have planned for this,' he thought, before looking down at his watch.

There was still no owl from Harry, and it was already lunchtime. Any hope he had of wrapping up this inquiry soon was quickly falling apart.

"Do you know the current whereabouts of Mundungus Fletcher?" Ogden asked.

"No," Albus shook his head. "Although I have made numerous attempts to contact him, he has answered none of my letters. After the Quibbler published its article, I believe he fled the country, or went into hiding."

***

"Fred, George, I need your help with something," Harry whispered, moving to stand behind the twins.

"What is it?" Fred asked curiously, having already noticed the worried look on Ron's face.

"Shh," Harry said, looking around to make sure they weren't overheard.

"What's going on?" George asked in a whisper.

"Do you know how to perform the switching spell?" Harry asked.

"Sure, we use it all the time for our pranks," Fred whispered back.

"Good," Harry replied. "Don't look, but Egwu, Winger, Murk, Haywood, and MacGillony are not who they say they are. They're using polyjuice potion."

"What?" George whispered. "Does this have anything to do with the thing you promised us you wouldn't look into anymore?"

"Yes," Harry admitted, continuing before either of the twins could interrupt. "Things are bad, really bad. I can't explain it now, but we need to get the polyjuice potions away from them. Can I count on you?" He asked, looking at the twins pointedly.

Fred and George shared a long look before George replied. "We're with you Harry. What do you need us to do?"

"Use the switching spell to switch their potions with water," Harry instructed. "We need to be quick. It won't be long before they figure out we're on to them."

"I don't know how much good that's going to do," Fred pointed out. "Even if we get the potions from them, what they drank will still be in their systems, and if they took a sip recently, it could be at least an hour before they change back."

"Lunch is almost over too," George added. "We won't have much time to expose them."

"I've thought of that," Harry replied. "I put a locking charm on the door."

"A locking charm?" Fred questioned, looking at Professor McGonagall sitting at the teacher's table. "How long do you think that's going to hold up?"

"Long enough," Harry replied. The locking spell Merlin gave him would buy them at least an hour.

"You're sure?" George questioned.

Harry nodded. "Hermione, Ron, and Draco are going to watch our backs. I'll start with the Ravenclaw table."

He tried to appear casual as he walked past the table, but he could feel their eyes on him. Then the one that looked like Andre looked directly at him.

Harry stopped, their eyes meeting. He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, then the one disguised as Andre smirked before a loud rumbling noise filled the Great Hall.

Harry looked around in surprise as thick slabs of iron rose from the floor, covering the doors and windows, effectively trapping them all inside.

The students looked around in confusion, some of them panicking as they wondered what was going on, all of them talking over each other as they tried to figure out what was to do.

A loud bang filled the room and Harry drew his wand, expecting an attack, only to see Professor McGonagall standing up at the teacher's table, wand in the air.

"Attention students," Professor McGonagall said, using a sonorus to project her voice. "There is nothing to fear," she added, projecting a sense of calm. "This is simply a protective shield that seems to have malfunctioned. Everyone, return to your seats while we get this sorted."

"Professor Green, Professor Kettleburn," McGonagall said, taking charge as she canceled the sonorus charm. "If you would, I'd like your help to examine this."

"Of course," Professor Green replied. "They look old," she said, examining the runes etched into the iron. "Maybe it would be better to wait for Septima," she suggested. "She would have a better idea of what these runes are for, or perhaps the Headmaster."

"It's been some time since I've studied runes, but these," Silvanus Kettleburn, the care of magical creatures professor, said, tracing his finger along one of them, "seems far too advanced for their age."

"I've never seen anything like this before," Minerva said, making sure the students did not overhear her. "In all my years at Hogwarts, Albus, he never mentioned this, not once."

"Could it be a prank?" Quirrell, the muggle studies professor, asked. "It seems a little advanced for the twins, but I wouldn't put it past them."

"No," Minerva shook her head. "This is well beyond what those two are capable of. I'm getting a very bad feeling about this."

"It looks like they're protection runes," Silvanus added, examining them further. "The founders themselves may have created them. Are you sure Albus mentioned nothing of this Minerva?" He asked.

"No," Minerva shook her head. "I certainly would have remembered something like this," she said, looking around the hall.

"Well, something must have triggered it," Aurora, the Astronomy professor, said. "Did any of you notice anything out of the ordinary?"

The professors shook their heads, all except Olivia Green, who looked at the Gryffindor table.

"Professor Green?" Minerva asked, wondering what she was thinking.

"It's probably not related," Olivia said, shaking her head, "but Potter and his friends have been acting strangely today."

"Yes," Quirinus remembered. "Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy left the great hall, then came back in a few minutes later. It all happened after that."

"Mr. Potter," Minerva said, calling over the first year. "Come here, please."

She frowned as Harry stood up, seeing the way he was looking at some of the older Ravenclaws. It seemed very out of character for him.

"Mr. Potter, do you know what's happened here?" Minerva asked bluntly.

"…We're in danger," Harry replied, seeing no point in hiding things anymore. If any of the professors were Alumni, it hardly mattered anymore.

Minerva's first instinct was to dismiss the boy's concerns, thinking he was just afraid, but held her tongue. Something about his tone, the way he spoke, it made her suspect there was a lot more going on than she realized.

"Explain yourself, Mr. Potter," she said firmly.

"The school has been infiltrated," Harry said, thinking about the best way to explain this. "Students are missing. Adults using polyjuice potion have taken their place."

"Harry, how can you know this?" Olivia asked, giving Harry her full attention.

"A few of them have silver flasks," Harry explained. "And when I walked past them, I could smell polyjuice potion on them."

"What do they want?" Minerva asked, putting aside for the moment that a first year could identify polyjuice potion by smell alone.

"…" Harry looked at the disguised students, his eyes locking on the one disguised as Andre. wondering what their play was.

"Mr. Potter," Minerva said, getting Harry's attention. "What do they want?" She repeated.

"…They've taken three students," Harry replied. "My scholarship students, and if I don't get to them soon, they're going to die."

Olivia gasped, scanning the crowd of students, but couldn't see Wayne, Oliver, or Sally anywhere. "Where are they?"

"They're still on the school grounds," Harry replied.

"Ok," Olivia said. "Who are they? The ones using the polyjuice potion."

"You believe all this?" Quirrell asked, skeptically. "I've seen Potter with the twins more than once, and he's good friends with their younger brother as well. Mr. Potter," he said sternly. "If this is some type of joke, now is the time to explain yourself."

"It isn't a joke, professor," Harry replied, naming Andre and the rest of the study group. "They're the ones behind this."

Quirrell was about to question Harry further when his jaw dropped as a student Harry pointed out transformed into an adult wizard. "Who are you?" He demanded, raising his wand as the rest of the students looked on in surprise and confusion.

Only a few moments passed before the polyjuice wore off on the rest of the Alumni, their clothes changing to dark purple robes as they drew their wands.

"Who we are is unimportant," the one that replaced Andre said, looking out at the frightened students. "But what we are here to do is. I promise you, we will not harm any of you, so long as you cooperate. Remain in your seats and don't cause any trouble."

"You call this asking?" Harry said, drawing his own wand. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you're holding us prisoner."

"You will release us at once," Minerva said, leveling her wand at them.

"We don't want to fight with you, professor," the man warned. "I know it doesn't look like it right now, but we're the good guys."

"Good guys?!" Harry demanded, losing his temper. "I'm so sick of you people always saying that! Why would the good guys kidnap three first-year students? Where are Wayne, Sally, and Oliver!?"

"They are helping us," the man said, exchanging glances with the others as they took in the distrustful looks on the student's faces. "And they will be returned, unharmed," he said, trying to project an air of calm.

"LIAR!" Harry accused, glaring at him. "They're not helping you! You took them!"

"Professor McGonagall," the man said, leveling a glare at Harry. "I suggest you get your students under control before they get themselves hurt," he said just as another five Alumni arrived by portkey, bringing their numbers to ten.

"Whoever you all are," Minerva said, glaring at the new arrivals. "You have forcibly taken students under my charge and protection. You will return them and leave this school immediately, or face the consequences," she demanded, hiding her growing worry as she stared them down.

The man sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this, but you leave us little choice. Tie them up," he said to his allies. "If they resist, use whatever force is required."

Harry looked into the faces of the other students. He could see the fear in their eyes, afraid of what the Alumni would do, but there was no other choice. He had to get to his friends, and stop the study group before it was too late.

"Incarcerous," the man said, aiming to take down the troublemaker Potter first, hoping the students wouldn't put up a fight after that.

Harry easily side stepped the spell, letting it splash harmlessly against the stone floor. "Petrificus Totalus," he said, using the full body-bind curse to attack the leader, knowing that he couldn't use anything more destructive without harming the students.

He watched as it flew across the room, picking up speed as it flew towards its target.

"Protego," the man said, almost lazily, easily catching Harry's spell on his shield. "That isn't going to work on us," he said confidently. "This is your last chance to surrender."

Harry regarded the man carefully, noting that he was much stronger than the guards he faced alongside Tonks when he tried to enter the chamber the second time.

'The ritual,' he realized. From the strength of his shield, it looked like he used it at least once, possibly twice.

"Be careful," Merlin warned. "They may not be as powerful as the study group, but make no mistake, they are just as deadly."

Harry mentally nodded, remembering the mental instability the study group developed after using the ritual.

"Stupefy!" he heard multiple times from behind him watching as the professors targeted the Alumni, red light streaking past him as the students scattered in all directions, only for the Alumni to block the professor's spells just as easily.

"Alright," the leader said, losing his patience. "Don't say I didn't warn you. Take out the professor's and Potter first, then we'll deal with the students."

Harry's eyes widened as he saw the five spells flying in his direction, a combination of Confundo, Diffindo, and Petrificus Totalus curses. His mind went into overdrive, calculating their trajectories, mentally cursing when he realized he couldn't dodge all of them.

He turned on his side, allowing th first two spells to pass by him as he raised his wand.

"Protego Totalum," he shouted, drawing in as much magic as he could and funneling it into his shield spell to protect both himself and the professors behind him.

The first spell struck with a loud gong, the shield absorbing the spell, but the second pushed him back. He planted his feet to stop himself from getting knocked over, but the third spell dropped him to one knee as a visible tear appeared in the shield, and the fourth spell finally shattering it.

His eyes widened as the Diffindo curse hurtled towards him. With no time to dodge or raise a shield, he activated his hardened skin, hoping it would be enough to absorb some of the spell's damage.

"Avis!" He heard McGonagall shout from behind him, conjuring a flock of birds just in time to take the Diffindo curse.

"You will not harm my students!" Minerva shouted angrily, animating a stone gargoyle along the wall, and sending it to attack the Alumni.

The unexpected attack took the intruders off guard as the gargoyle tore into them from behind, fighting them at close range, and sending four of them sprawling to the ground.

Hermione watched in shock at how quickly the spells went back and forth as Harry and the professors battled the Alumni. She glanced at the rest of the students, seeing the panic in their eyes as they scrambled in all directions, some banging against the large iron slabs blocking the doors as they tried to escape while others hid or dropped to the ground.

She could see the tide slowly turning as the Alumni regrouped, all of them back on their feet now as one blew apart the statue with a well placed Bombarda, sending chunks of stone flying, and striking the unlucky students too close to the explosion.

"Come on!" Hermione shouted to Ron, shaking him out of his stupor as they drew their wands. "I'll cover with a shield, you attack!"

"Right," Ron nodded, falling back on his training.

It was a strategy they practiced in the room of requirement, but this would be the first time they attempted it in battle. He aimed his wand at an Alumni who had his back turned. "Diffindo!" he shouted, aiming the cutting curse between his shoulders.

He and Hermione watched as the spell flew across the room, the Alumni he targeted, turning in surprise, but not fast enough to fully escape the cutting curse as it left a gash in his back.

"Diffindo!" Ron shouted again, knowing that his first spell was only a flesh wound, and the Alumni was still very much in the fight.

He could only watch in frustration as the Alumni dove to the side, returning fire with a Diffindo of his own.

"Protego!" Hermione shouted as the Alumni dove to the ground, creating a shield to block his spell. The Diffindo shattered her shield on impact, but it was enough to stop the spell.

She breathed out wearily, glad that Harry had taught them this strategy. They were still no match for adult wizards on their own, but working together, one shielding while the other attacked, they could at least stay in the fight.

"Incendio! Incendio! Incendio!" Ron shouted, sending three bursts of fire at their opponent, keeping the grouping wide to make it harder to dodge, and hoping at least one of his spells would slip through.

The Alumni expanding his shield to block all three spells, a dark look in his eyes. "Reducto!" he shouted, no longer interested in playing around as he sent a blasting curse at the two troublesome students.

Hermione's eyes widened. Her shield spell wouldn't be enough to block the spell. "Protego!" she shouted, counting on Ron to support her.

"Protego!" Ron shouted, creating a second shield, just behind Hermione's as he came to the same conclusion, watching as the blasting curse hit Hermione's shield, shattering it on impact before striking his own. Even with the force of the spell blunted, it still shattered his own shield a second later, but thankfully stopped the spell.

Hermione and Ron shared a look. The element of surprise was gone. It put them purely on the defensive as the Alumni focused his full attention on them.

Draco looked up as he saw the Alumni attack Hermione and Ron. "Episkey!" he said quickly, casting the only healing spell he knew on Flint, who lay crumpled on the floor beside him after taking a gash to the head after the gargoyle exploded.

The spell was only for minor injuries, but Flint had lost too much blood already, and without help, he wasn't going to make it.

'At least it slowed down the bleeding,' he thought with some relief.

The wound was still open, a steady trickle of blood leaking from his forehead, but he wasn't at risk of bleeding out right away.

"Daphne!" He shouted, grabbing the girl's wrist as she ran past, pulling her down beside him.

"Draco!" she said, trying to free her hand from his grip in a panic. "Let go! I have to get out of here!" She shouted.

"There's nowhere to run," Draco said, refusing to let go. "I need your help. Flint is in bad shape. I need you to cast Episkey on him, just flick and swish, do it as many times as it takes to close the wound."

"Why can't you?!" Daphne said, still trying to free herself. "Let go!" she demanded, clawing at his hand.

"DAPHNE!" Draco shouted. "You need to snap out of it. Flint is going to die if you don't help. Please!" He implored.

"…What are you going to do?" Daphne asked, the shock of being yelled at oddly calming her down.

"My friends," Draco said, nodding to Ron and Hermione shielding themselves against the repeated attacks of the Alumni. "They need my help."

"It looks like they're doing fine. Stay here," Daphne demanded, knowing Draco trained with Potter, and staying with him was her best chance at surviving this.

"No," Draco said, looking back at his friends. "They're getting overwhelmed. If I don't help them, they're going to die," he said, standing up. "Remember, Episkey! Don't stop until the would closes!"

"Draco! Wait!" Daphne shouted, but he was already gone, running across the hall. She looked down, hearing a pained groan from Flint. "Episkey!" She said, watching as Flint's wound shrunk slightly.

She looked up at the spells flying overhead before dragging Flint underneath a house table, hoping it would give them both a little protection as she continued to cast the healing spell on him.

She glanced around the hall. Some of the students were fighting, spotting the Weasley twins and a few other quidditch players taking on an Alumni, but were loosing badly, and dropping like flies.

Potter and the professors seemed to be holding their own, but Professor Quirrell was down, and she couldn't see Trelawney anywhere.

'Good luck Draco,' she thought, watching as he dodged spells, running towards Weasley and Granger, forgetting entirely she was still supposed to be mad at him for all the house points he'd cost Slytherin.

Ron could feel the sweat pouring down his face as he and Hermione continued to cast shield spells, giving up on attacking, and focusing entirely on shielding spells as they tried to weather the onslaught.

Just as his shield shattered, he spotted something out of the corner of his eye, a blue streak of light. He breathed a sigh of relief as he heard Draco's voice.

"Flipendo!" The curse stuck the surprised Alumni in the side, sending him into the air, before he crashed into the stone floor, face first.

Taking advantage of their downed opponent, Ron was the next to attack. "Incarcerous!" he shouted, wrapping him up in a thick set of ropes.

"Stupefy!" Hermione shouted a moment later, finally knocking him out as she dropped to a knee, panting.

"What took you so long?" Ron wheezed, breathing hard as he kept an eye on their surroundings.

There was no bite in his words, just relief that they'd finally taken down one of the Alumni.

"The gargoyle," Draco said, dropping down beside Hermione and Ron. "When it exploded, it hit a bunch of students. I was patching them up."

"What now?" Hermione asked, finally able to see the state of the Great Hall. There were students all around them, many of them injured, and unmoving, others wrapped up in ropes.

The Alumni had split up, half of them continuing their attack on Harry and the professors while the others rounded up the students. Some of the older years were fighting back, or at least trying too, but they were also taking most of the spell fire, and wouldn't last for much longer.

"We're losing," Draco said plainly, seeing the writing on the wall.

***

Hi! Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the new chapter. Sorry about missing the last update, I've been revising my plans for the conclusion of the year zero arc. What do you think so far? The study group and the alumni have been planning this for a very long time so expect an uphill battle for Harry and his friends.

If you would like to support me and my writing, please consider visiting https://taplink.cc/jumpin for all the stories I'm currently working on and early access to chapters 62, 63, 64 and 65 of Legacy of Merlin, along with some character portraits for Merlin, Morgan and Nimue, and an audio versions of the chapters, along with all the other stories I'm working on.

Thank you to all my supporters, and for everyone that reviewed. I really appreciate it.

Jumpin