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HP - Chapter 417: One Hundred And One
🕑 Added 2024-12-16 10:38:34 +0000 UTCDisclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I create.
“Dialogue”
‘Thoughts’
-Author notes-
Chapter 417: One Hundred And One
"That thing is insane! It's crushing the golems like they’re toys," Lily exclaimed, staring at the skeletal dragon.
She had seen firsthand just how powerful those white marble golems were during the werewolf invasion, but now, even a hundred of them didn’t appear to be enough.
"That… that’s a true monster, like its master," James said, his mind still haunted by the image of the dragon standing over the ruins of the Bones manor.
"Shouldn't we try to escape?" Neville asked hesitantly.
"Look around you," Daphne replied.
It was then that Neville noticed not everyone in Voldemort’s army was distracted by the golems.
Several Death Eaters were flying around the audience stands, and a dozen vampires stood nearby, ready to intercept anyone who tried to escape or fight back.
"Oh…" Neville’s desire to run quickly disappeared.
"Still, if we just sit here and do nothing…" Lily’s restlessness was growing. She knew that once Voldemort’s army finished dealing with the golems, they’d come for the rest of them next.
James, however, knew just how hopeless the situation was.
Even if every single member of the audience stood up to fight at the same time, they wouldn’t accomplish much.
Most of them were students from Hogwarts or the two visiting schools. When it came to combat, they likely knew little more than the Disarming Charm, and under this pressure, many might not even manage that.
As for the few adults present… the vast majority of the country’s magical population had little experience defending themselves with their wands.
That just wasn’t how magic was used in their daily lives.
Even the weakest of the Death Eaters could make quick work of them.
And that wasn’t even accounting for the vampires.
James shuddered, remembering just how deadly those creatures were. They moved with incredible speed, and some carried cursed daggers. Even a tiny wound from those blades could kill within seconds.
There were only a handful of people James could rely on. A few former Aurors who had joined the Order of the Phoenix were present, but they were likely thinking the same thing he was... that any resistance they mounted would be nothing more than a brief distraction.
'Harry… what were you thinking?' James wished his son had shared the specifics of his plan. He could be a lot more relaxed if he knew what he had planned.
His eyes moved to Voldemort’s army.
They were still struggling with the golems, but it wouldn’t last much longer now that Voldemort himself had joined the fray.
Then his gaze shifted to the two figures who had descended from the dragon. They hadn’t moved from their spot.
James noted that those two were traveling with Voldemort, which could only mean their positions within his ranks were significant.
That also meant they were likely even more dangerous than the others.
"Daphne…" Lily whispered. "Can you bring more of those golems?" Her voice betrayed her growing concern as their numbers dwindled.
"There are one hundred and one white marble golems in Hogwarts. One hundred are already here… the last one is on its way."
"There’s only one more?" Lily’s tone grew desperate. "What is one more golem going to do?"
"This last one is special," Daphne replied.
"Special how?" Lily asked.
A slightly mischievous smile appeared on Daphne’s face. "You’ll see in a moment… it’s almost here."
As she spoke, the ground began to shake violently.
"What is happening now?!" Neville cried.
Voldemort himself seemed to wonder the same thing when, all of a sudden, something massive emerged from the ground beneath him.
Large amounts of dirt and stone were pushed aside as something else came into view.
The first thing they all saw was a colossal white hand grabbing the dragon’s equally massive neck and pulling it down.
Voldemort was forced to retreat as the ground became unstable.
The dragon let out a chilling screech, struggling against the grip of the enormous hand.
Slowly but steadily, more of the golem came into view as it emerged from the ground, its grip never loosening on the dragon’s neck.
When the colossal figure was fully visible, gasps of shock rippled through the crowd.
"That’s a golem too?!" James exclaimed.
"Whoa! It’s kinda big," Luna commented.
"Kinda?! That thing is as big as the dragon!" Neville added. "It's on our side...right?"
Lily turned to glare at Daphne, clearly expecting an explanation.
"I told you the last golem was special," Daphne stated. "I believe it was originally designed to fight against giant monsters that dared to attack the castle. So it is fitting to be used against that one."
That was speculation on Daphne’s part, as Harry had mentioned the foundations where the golems were stored were much older than Hogwarts itself.
"Wow!"
"Merlin!"
"What the...!"
The audience collectively gasped as the colossal golem lifted the dragon with one hand. With its free hand, it punched the creature square in the face, sending it tumbling.
"Where did something like that come from?" James wondered aloud.
He could believe the smaller golems had been hidden somewhere in the castle...even if he and his friends had spent years exploring and mapping Hogwarts during their school days.
But this thing? This massive stone creature? There was no way they could have missed something like that.
The golem stood nearly three hundred feet tall, a true colossus made of white marble.
"Okay… this one might actually make a difference," Lily had to admit.
