"Enemy attack!"
The Auror's shout echoed through the empty marble corridor. Before the second syllable had faded, a scarlet Stunning Spell tore through the air.
The Auror instinctively twisted aside, moving like lightning, but the spell still grazed his ear and slammed into the stone door behind him. Boom! Chips of stone sprayed across his face like buckshot, stinging fiercely.
Then countless flashes lit up the end of the corridor.
Red, green, purple—they looked like fireworks set off for a festival, but carried the sickening breath of death.
"Get back! Now!"
The Auror scrambled behind a pillar, his heart pounding hard enough to crack his ribs.
"Hold the line! Don't let them through!"
Another Auror rushed out of a side corridor, his Wand tracing a blur through the air. Several Stunning Spells shot straight into the crowd. A hooded Death Eater dropped, but more Black-Robed Wizards surged in to fill the gap like a tide.
Within seconds, the battle reached a fever pitch.
The corridor was too narrow. Spells streaked back and forth through the cramped space, leaving nowhere to dodge. With the Ministry of Magic's defenses as full of holes as a sieve today, the Death Eaters soon tore through the line and fought their way into the heart of the building.
Ordinary staff huddled trembling in their offices. Only a handful of Aurors tried to stop the attackers, with dishearteningly little effect.
One Auror leaned against a broken stone pillar, gasping for breath, his forehead slick with cold sweat. He could hear the Death Eaters shouting and the crunch of boots on rubble drawing closer.
He gripped his Wand until his knuckles turned white, ready to stake his life on one last, suicidal attack.
"Confringo!"
A cold voice cut through the din of battle.
Yaxley wore a loose