The Battle of Hogwarts Finally Begins / The Chosen One Arrives at the Critical Moment

"Count me in!" "I'll help too!" "I've been taking Harry's classes for two years, now it's my chance to show off!" "Second-years, get on board!"

Hermione's decision garnered a large following, including her and Harry's friends, younger students who had been taught Defense Against the Dark Arts by Harry, and even villagers from Hogsmeade Village, all clamoring to join her in fighting the enemy.

"Quiet! Everyone, be quiet and get back to your seats! Miss Granger, you... you have to persuade everyone not to risk running out!"

Professor McGonagall, who had just entered the Great Hall, was immediately alarmed and hurriedly tried to persuade Hermione to join her in stopping the students from taking the risk.

"Professor McGonagall ... I think we should follow everyone's wishes." But Hermione shook her head and refused. "Everyone wants to contribute to the school. Keeping them cooped up in the Great Hall is just torture. Besides... if the invading enemies are indeed mainly Inferi, then the students can also play a role."

"This..." Watching the students brush past her one by one, Professor McGonagall was at a loss again.

Chapter 493 The Great Battle at Hogwarts Has Finally Begun

To be honest, Professor McGonagall had very mixed feelings as she looked at the students lined up neatly at the entrance of the Great Hall under Hermione's direction.

In the past, she would never have allowed students to do something so unruly and extremely dangerous.

And since she was only guessing, why was Hermione so certain that the enemy invading the school was the Inferi?

Could it be that it was all because of that second-year girl from Eagle House Prophecy the 'corpse'?

Luna Lovegood Lovegood... Professor McGonagall glanced instinctively at the unconscious girl in the Great Hall, who was being cared for by Madam Pomfrey and Astoria Greengrass of Slytherin House.

Seeing her would unconsciously remind Professor McGonagall of her colleague.

Hermione and Luna Lovegood are really very similar to myself and Sibyl Trelawney.

One is rational, the other is mad; their personalities are vastly different, yet they are forced to work together.

The difference is that Hermione completely trusts Luna Lovegood's judgment, but she has always scoffed at Sibyl Trelawney's Divination.

Now, I'm starting to want to trust the other person, but...

"How could there possibly be a crisis tonight? Hiccup... Just kidding. Midnight, the Dark Lord, and all that? How could I possibly make such a Prophecy..."

Looking at Trelawney, whose face was flushed and who had clearly drunk too much sherry, Professor McGonagall immediately realized that she must have been out of her mind to have believed this unreliable person.

Well, since I can't rely on others, I can only rely on myself.

At the very least, these students must be protected; they shouldn't be made to act as the school's defense line!

"The Piertotum Locomotor!!"

Professor McGonagall waved her wand toward the Great Hall, and her voice seemed to be amplified several times over, becoming so loud that it almost echoed throughout the entire castle.

After that, all the statues and armor in the school seemed to come alive. They kept leaping down from the heights, and loud crashing sounds came from all over the place, and they quickly gathered towards the Great Hall.

At the same time, a group of fully armed, armored stone statues stood imposingly before the One-Eyed Witch Passage, guarded by Snape.

"Hogwarts is under threat!" Professor McGonagall shouted at the statue. "Hold the borders! Defend our school! Fulfill your duties and do not allow the enemy to harm even a single student!!"

The rumbling of impacts continued, as the clanging stone statues brandished swords and hammers. They strode into the Great Hall, passing right past the dumbfounded students at the entrance, and formed a tall "human" wall in front of the school gate.

At that very moment, the last ray of sunlight on the horizon finally disappeared.

Roar!!

A terrifying roar shattered the tranquility of the night sky. Moments later, a large group of corpses with white eyes rushed across the path in front of the school and crashed heavily into the gates of Hogwarts!

Visible points of light kept drifting and twisting; these were the Salvio Hexia and Protego Totalum spells cast on the school gate beforehand. Unable to break through, the Inferi began to frantically tear at everything in their path with their claws.

In an instant, creaking sounds filled the air, and the doors of Hogwarts soon began to tremble and crumble!

In mid-air, the ugly vampire bats and the pitch-black Ground Bat, like heavy curtains, suddenly pressed down on the entire school!

"Oh no! All teachers, immediately follow me to deal with the enemies in the sky!"

Seeing this, Professor McGonagall quickly raised her wand into the air and unleashed a dazzling spell, like fireworks.

The other instructors quickly followed suit, unleashing powerful magic in an attempt to defeat the monsters that were attacking from the air.

Bats were screeching incessantly, and the sounds of exploding spells were incessant. Add to that the sounds of stone warriors and Inferi fighting not far away... almost as soon as the battle began, the entire Hogwarts was thrown into chaos!

"No! We can't hold out like this..." Barely managing to withstand wave after wave of attacks from the dark creatures, Professor McGonagall looked at the seemingly endless swarms of bats in the sky, her face filled with anxiety.

Due to insufficient pre-war intelligence, our side was not adequately prepared, especially lacking effective means to deal with this flying creature.

Professor McGonagall initially considered seeking help from the Ministry of Magic, but she later decided against it because she was unsure whether doing so would attract reinforcements or enemies.

With the limited capabilities of the teachers who remained at the school, they were unable to construct a protective barrier that could encompass the entire campus.

Therefore, these bats flying in the air have become the biggest threat tonight!

"Hmph, just because you can fly doesn't mean you can be so presumptuous!" However, unlike Professor McGonagall's concern, Hermione sneered dismissively.

Then she suddenly pointed her wand at her neck and unleashed an Amplifying Charm that made the whole school hear her shout.

"Those inside the Forbidden Forest, it's time to come out and meet the enemy!!"

"Awoo!!"

Hermione was met with a melodious wolf howl from the depths of the Forbidden Forest.

Almost instantly, all sorts of Magical Creatures flew out of the forest, flapping their broad wings and charging into the disgusting swarms of bats in the air!

The enormous Occamy, the Abraxan with glowing wings, the majestic and swift Hippogriff, and the Swooping Evil that resembles a bat but is even more ferocious!

Besides these, there is a special group of creatures. Although many people cannot see what they look like, they caused enormous damage to the bat swarms as soon as they appeared... That is Hagrid's group of Thestral!

Just as the flying creatures in the Forbidden Forest were frantically chasing the swarm of bats in the sky, a group of agile Centaur wielding bows and crossbows arrived in formation. They quickly dispersed to various parts of the training ground, nocking arrows and piercing the heads of bats or Inferi.

Meanwhile, the Acromantula, already positioned throughout the Hogwarts walls, began to continuously spray powerful spider silk, greatly restricting the movement of the bat swarm and intercepting all the corpses that had escaped the stone block warriors.

"Summon the Patronus with me!" Seeing that her side had regained the advantage, Hermione immediately pointed her wand to the sky, releasing the majestic and imposing materialized griffin Patronus, instantly dispelling the darkness above everyone's heads.

"Those Ground Bat are like Dementor; they're most afraid of the Patronus Charm!"

"Patronus Charm!!" *N

After receiving Hermione's instructions, all the students outside the Great Hall raised their wands and unleashed their Patronus —whether in physical form or as a wisp of silver light—to the fullest extent. Instantly, a galaxy of light shone over the campus, tearing apart the curtain of Ground Bat's power!

And so, the enemy's attack, which had been extremely dangerous just moments before, was successfully averted thanks to the combined efforts of the Fantastic Beasts of the Forbidden Forest and the Patronus of Hermione and the other students.

However, just when Professor McGonagall thought that her side could maintain this advantage and weather the crisis, unexpected bad news suddenly came.

"Inferi! Inferi have invaded the castle! Professor Snape is surrounded!!"

The panicked screams of the administrator, Filch, instantly sank the hearts of everyone present to the bottom...

Chapter 494 the Boy Who Lived Will Arrive at the Crucial Moment

"Inferi? How is that possible? Could it be that the secret passage guarded by Snape has been opened?!"

Upon hearing that Inferi had appeared inside the castle, Professor McGonagall's mind went blank for a moment, her first thought being that the fourth floor's defenses had fallen.

"No! The Inferi came from somewhere else!" Filch shouted anxiously, shaking his head. "Professor Snape and the Stonecutter were peacefully on the fourth floor, but a huge Inferi suddenly came down from upstairs and quickly surrounded them! And many more Inferi are running this way!!"

"What?! A monster has gotten into the school?!" "We're doomed! The Great Hall isn't safe anymore!!" "Help!!"

Upon hearing Filch's shout, the entire Great Hall descended into chaos once more. A large group of students simultaneously cried out in panic, and many even began pushing and shoving, attempting to escape the clearly unsafe Great Hall.

"Calm down! Everyone calm down!!"

Seeing this, Professor McGonagall hurriedly returned to the center of the Great Hall, shouting incessantly to try and maintain order, but how could these terrified students possibly listen to her?

"The Inferi are coming down!!" "Damn it! Get us out of here!!"

The students continued to push and shove, especially when the sound of scattered footsteps echoed down the corridor. Completely gripped by panic, they frantically surged towards the Great Hall entrance, trying to avoid the increasingly clear shadows of the corpses...

Boom!!

But just as a large group of students ran to the gate and were about to break through the defensive line that Hermione had worked so hard to set up, a sudden earthquake shook the playground near the Forbidden Forest!

Filch's makeshift blockage was no match for the sheer number of Inferi. A large amount of soil and rocks were suddenly thrown into the air, followed by hordes of corpses pouring out of the secret passage beneath the Whomping Willow!

They first pounced on the unsuspecting Acromantula and Centaur, and then charged towards the main entrance of the Great Hall with their fangs bared and claws outstretched!

"It's over..."

The sudden attack from both sides cast a shadow of despair over all the teachers and students in the school. Professor McGonagall swayed violently, almost dropping her wand...

Why did things turn out this way?

It's important to know that even when the You-Know-Who threatened the entire Britain Wizarding World, Hogwarts was absolutely a Fianto Duri fortress, and no one had ever broken into it!

But why were those Inferi able to infiltrate the castle?

Could it be... that somewhere above the fourth floor of the castle, there's some unknown secret passage?!

Roar!!

The fierce roars of the Inferi came over, and there was no time for Professor McGonagall to think. Those ferocious monsters had already rushed down the stairs, and she could even see maggots crawling in and out of their mouths and noses!

"Ooh~"

However, just as Professor McGonagall gritted her teeth, preparing to sacrifice herself to stop these monsters, a small beast, entirely orange with a long, pink, cloud-like tail trailing behind it, landed lightly in front of her.

"Zouwu, I'm counting on you for the corridor! After you've dealt with those Inferi, you absolutely must rescue Professor Snape!!"

It was Hermione! Just when the situation was extremely critical, Hermione sent out the China Dynasty Beast that had always been by her side!

"Zouwu? This is..."

Then, to Professor McGonagall's astonishment, the little beast, which had been somewhat ugly and cute, underwent a dramatic transformation!

It was a large, imposing creature with sharp teeth and claws, resembling a giant brown lion with a messy mane, swaggering towards the approaching Inferi!

"Roar!!" Suddenly, a huge roar erupted. The Zouwu's roar was like a burst of thunder. The sonic waves were so powerful that they even created a patch of shattered lightning in the corridor, instantly wiping out the large group of Inferi in front of it!

After that, it fearlessly leaped out and charged back at the Inferi blocking the stairs!

At the same time, Hermione, who had retreated to the doorway, shouted to Professor McGonagall, "Professor McGonagall, immediately have all the faculty and students evacuate! We must defend the Great Hall!"

"Everyone, come back quickly! Let's guard both sides of the Great Hall together!"

Professor McGonagall knew that if everyone retreated to the Great Hall, it would mean the entire school would have no way out, and failure would mean total annihilation... But at this moment, they had no other choice.

"They can't possibly get into the Great Hall! We still have Fantastic Beasts, Centaur, and Acromantula; we can definitely keep them out!!"

As she spoke, Hermione hurriedly directed a group of magical creatures to form a dense, layered barrier at the doorway... but in reality, she was quite uncertain about the outcome herself.

The Centaur and spiders were both subdued by Harry through ruthless methods. If Harry could maintain his dominance, they certainly wouldn't betray him.

But given the current situation, if Harry doesn't return soon, or if something truly happens to him, then aside from the Fantastic Beasts he brought with him, the rest are likely to...

What am I thinking? Harry... he'll be absolutely fine!

Hogwarts will be fine too!!

The roars grew louder and louder, and the invading enemy drew ever closer. The battle had finally reached its final moment!

At this moment, Hagrid's tall body trembled slightly, and the weakened Lupin barely managed to sit up... All the teachers and students of Hogwarts held their breath, awaiting the impending finale...

"Hmm... I'm back!" But just then, Luna Lovegood, who had been unconscious, suddenly opened her eyes.

"He's back!!"

Buzz!!

Endless streams of light shone, like a meteor shower that cleaved the sky. Then, a Golden Eagle Patronus, tens of meters tall, suddenly descended from the sky. With the flapping of its giant wings, the resulting gale swept away the encroaching darkness!

"Roar!!"

At the same time, the people in the Great Hall seemed to hear a fierce and exhilarating dragon roar, and then they discovered that a burst of firelight, enough to turn the sky red, had risen on the playground!

"That's... that's Harry back!!"

Looking at the flickering lights and shadows overhead, even though she couldn't see the actual situation on the playground, Hermione knew for sure... Harry was back!

Only Harry can summon Patronus so large that it can protect everyone; only upon seeing his return will Norberta, hidden in the Forbidden Forest, reveal itself and breathe fire to help him wipe out the invading enemies.

Only he could easily resolve this predicament that no one else could, leading everyone from danger to safety like the Boy Who Lived!

"Everyone stay in the Great Hall and don't come out! Professor McGonagall, immediately have the faculty go to the fourth floor to meet Severus Snape! Leave all the enemies on campus to me!!"

"It really is Harry Granger back! We're saved!!" "Hooray!!"

Upon hearing Harry's voice, the entire Great Hall erupted in cheers.