Hogwarts was vast, and the battle lines naturally stretched wide.
The roar of Blasting Curses rang out across the battlefield at any moment, drowning out screams and incantations.
The once lush green lawn had long since become scorched earth, dotted everywhere with craters blasted open by magic, wands snapped into several pieces, and severed hands still clutching their wands.
A Ministry of Magic employee had only just climbed up from the ground when he tripped over a corpse at his feet and fell into a patch of mud mixed with blood.
Before he could even wipe the blood from his face, a chill rose from the depths of his soul.
The sickly green light of a Killing Curse appeared, grazing past his ear.
Bang!
A dull thud from behind made him realize what had happened, and he hurriedly turned around.
Not far behind him, another Ministry of Magic employee had collapsed onto the ground.
Before the battle began, he might have screamed at the sight before him.
But the fighting had been going on for some time now. Faced with the death of yet another colleague, he felt only a trace of numbness.
He even wanted to get to his feet, raise both hands high, draw the attention of those dark wizards, and receive a Killing Curse of his own. That would probably free him.
Yet even though he thought that, he still could not bring himself to act on it.
Perhaps it was fear, or perhaps something else he could neither name nor understand, that made him feel he ought to do something at the very least.
Just then, another Ministry of Magic employee shouted, "Stupefy!"
A faint red beam shot from the tip of his wand, only to be easily dodged by the dark wizard opposite him.
"Hehehe!"