Positions Deployed, Reinforcements Arrive!

The area where everyone stood was enclosed beneath the enormous shield, which extended all the way to the entrance of the bridge before coming to a stop.

Just as everyone worked together to set up the enormous shield, Voldemort's voice pierced through it all. High-pitched, cold, and perfectly clear, it sounded as though it were speaking directly into their ears.

"I know you are preparing to resist... Your efforts are useless. You are no match for me... I do not wish to kill you. I have great respect for the professors of Hogwarts... Or rather, I do not wish to see wizards bleed..."

"Abandon all resistance, and none of you will be harmed. Abandon all resistance, and I will ensure the school remains unharmed. Abandon all resistance, and you will be rewarded... I will wait only until the full moon rises. If you persist, I will make the stars fall and the earth howl..."

Voldemort's voice was like a devil's whisper, ringing in everyone's ears.

Yet no one paid heed to his words. Everyone continued working together to establish this final line of defense.

After the shield had fully sealed, Seamus Finnigan stepped forward. His gaze rested on the distant bridge as he said to Linley, "Linley, should I blow up that bridge? Without it, those Death Eaters will lose their only shortcut to Hogwarts Castle."

At that, Linley followed Seamus's gaze. The bridge connected the high ground where Hogwarts Castle stood to the other high ground occupied by Voldemort and more than three thousand Death Eaters.

It was the only bridge connecting the two high grounds. If Seamus destroyed it, the Death Eaters, who could not use black-smoke flight within the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, would have only one way to approach Hogwarts Castle: cross