405 Trapped & Isolated

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Dumbledore opened his eyes to darkness.

He laid still for a split second; for that brief moment, his mind was at peace and quiet— but as the next beat clicked in, a dam broke loose. He felt an ocean of magic flood his 'sixth' magical sense, sending his mind buzzing with thoughts. The amount of magic was something he hadn't felt in ages. . . not since he had dueled against Grindelwald. His heart thumped in his chest as he knew that there could be only one who could cause so magic that his own magic tingled, sounding its discomfort, demanding for this threatening presence to be stopped.

Dumbledore got up from his bed and walked to the window and the curtains parted to show him the source of the terrible magic he was feeling. In the sky, a giant silver translucent cover of magic spilled outwards, forming a dorm that arched over Hogsmeade. . . and Hogwarts itself. Pulsating steaks of silver magic rose up to the sky leaving behind a soft ghost-ish trail that began at the Hogsmeade.

Dumbledore's eyes sharpened. He raised his hand; his outer robe fluttered to him, and his wand flew in his arm. He turned and yelled, "Gibby!" A Hogwarts house-elf appeared in the room; she lay on the floor and slowly got up, rubbing her sleepy eyes. "Wake up the professors— all of them. Tell Minerva to raise Hogwarts defenses. It's an emergency; tell them to have their wands ready."

Dumbledore's stern, out-of-place tone zapped Gibby's sleep in an instant. She could barely utter an acknowledgment before Dumbledore vanished away from his room— no one could Apparate or Disapparate within Hogwarts, but being Dumbledore had its exceptions.

The moment Dumbledore appeared outside on the Hogwarts ground, he briskly made his way to the gate that opened to Hogsmeade, and the moment he appeared next to the bricks, the grip on his wand tightened. Voldemort stood a few paces away, holding his wand up, shooting magic into the sky, building the dome that was growing at an alarming rate. Dumbledore saw Augustus Rookwood looking towards Hogsmeade, where he saw the flashes of magic lighting up the houses and streets mixed in with the occasional shout and scout that were extinguished before they could even get their anguish out.

When Dumbledore looked away, his shocked eyes away from Hogsmeade to Voldemort, the Dark Lord's eyes also moved to Dumbledore. The two opposites met eyes, and for a moment, the time seemed to slow down as the two juggernauts took in the presence and attention of the other.

"Dumbledore," Voldemort started. Rookwood turned at the sound and trained his wand at Dumbledore. "I expected you to arrive much earlier. Is the corrosion of time finally catching up with you? Needed the old man's sleep? I think I can see new wrinkles by your eyes."

"What are you doing, Tom?" Dumbledore raised his wand.

He got a smirk in return. Voldemort bent his elbow as if pulling on something taut before thrusting his wand arm up with force. Magic saturated the environment as Voldemort's wand tip matched the brilliance of a star; the repeating bursts of magic going up in the sky akin to skyshot fireworks were replaced by a thick tractor beam forming a pillar to the sky. The growth in the sky raced, making the previous speed look like a snail's crawl. The silverish canopy that formed over shed a silverish light on the ground, replacing the moonlight on a new moon night.

Voldemort kept his eyes on Dumbledore and pointed his wand at the old Headmaster. "This is the start of the end, Dumbledore," he said and cast a yellow spell that gleamed of death. Dumbledore's body tensed as he casted his shield and aimed it outside the Hogwarts boundary. Voldemort's dark curse was stopped from entering Hogwarts. Dumbledore narrowed his eyes as he watched the dark magic eat away at his shield, turning his magic into an ugly sludge dripping down and sizzling on the ground.

Dumbledore stepped closer to the threshold and touched his wand to a brick in the boundary wall. The space between the bricks glowed blue and magic shot up from the wall, and magical glowing blue ethereal bricks began forming a cover over Hogwarts with Voldemort's dome hanging a height over it.

"The boy's time has come to an end, Dumbledore," said Voldemort, "might as well hand him over— and while at it, I think it will be best for everyone that you surrender your life to me after I'm done with him." He raised his wand again, and a bright red pulse burst out. The red light struck the silver dome, and a ring of red travelled out on the dome's silver. "No one is leaving until I get what I want, and all of this over and buried into the ground."

As if coordinated, multiple bursts of pulsating magic rocketed towards the sky from areas around Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. They met Voldemort's dome and became a part of it. The silver glowed brighter than ever, and the dome's growth and construction hastened as it bled downwards faster.

"No one is leaving. . . and neither is anyone coming in now," Voldemort gave Dumbledore an eerie smile that made his already menacing face more threatening.

"Tom, you. . ." Dumbledore's words hitched in his throat. His eyes switched between the magic in the sky, Voldemort and Hogsmeade.

"Dumbledore!" called a squeaky voice. Flitwick came running on his little feet, and the rest of the faculty staff followed behind at a distance back. Flitwick's feet came to a skidding stop before he intended to stop; he gasped when he looked at the sight outside Hogwarts. The rest of the professor's reactions were identical. "Dumbledore. . . the Dark Lord, the magic in the sky, the Death Eaters. . . what is happening?!" the half-goblin asked in a stunned tone.

". . . Has Minerva begun priming the defenses?" asked Dumbledore.

"S-She has."

Dumbledore turned to his peers and employees and announced, "Voldemort and the Death Eaters have surrounded the castle. . . we are now trapped inside," he sighed at the gaps. "But they won't be able to come inside as long as the Hogwarts defense stands."

"That won't be for long," everyone looked at Voldemort. The Dark Lord stepped forward and walked to just in front of Dumbledore and the Hogwarts faculty— they were separated by the magic dome, but despite that, they could see the other party very clearly. Voldemort stared at Dumbledore as he spoke, "How are you doing today, Lily Potter?"

Lily standing among the faculty group dressed in her night clothes, stared at Voldemort with a fearful expression.

"How's your son?" he continued. "He must have grown since the last time I saw him. Seventh year. . . a wizard of age— from a boy to a young man. . . I have been late, haven't I? Let him stay alive for too long. But now that I'm here, I shall remedy that."

"You-You stay away from my children."

Voldemort finally looked at her, and the red eyes shone menacingly. Dumbledore stepped in between both of them, breaking the eye contact between the two.

"You can't keep defending them, Dumbledore. There will be a time when you and your magic slips. . . and on that day, I'll be waiting. . . waiting for you to make a mistake and open the door to the school to me so that I could teach the children important life lesson. . . to kneel in the presence of greatness such as myself."

The silver dome flashed in a brilliant, burning magnesium white light before dimming to the point where it was no longer available. "That does it; it's just the both of us now," said Voldemort.

Dumbledore pursed his lips as again, for the umpteenth time, before turning away from and facing his faculty. He looked to the Bill Weasley and said, "Can you keep an eye on them, William? You do not have to worry; the shield will keep you safe as long as you stay behind them."

"Yes, sir," said the youngest of the Hogwarts professors.

"Thank you," smiled Dumbledore reassuringly. "Pomona, please keep Willian company." The Herbology Head of Hufflepuff readily agreed and stationed herself near the blue shield ward with her wand ready.

The rest of the Hogwarts group left and moved to the castle. There were no words exchanged on the way— even though all had questions, the moment Dumbledore had turned, his smile had disappeared, making them hold their tongues. When they entered, they were greeted by a startled McGonagall.

"Albus, what is happening?! Why—"

"Voldemort and the Death Eaters are at our doors, Minerva," said Dumbledore. "They have taken over Hogsmeade, taken the people hostage. Voldemort has cast barrier magic around the castle and the village— and from his words, it has created isolation— no one's going to come in or go out. We can consider Ministry help out of the question for the moment— not until they or we figure out how to get rid of it." Dumbledore stopped in the middle of the Entrance Hall and remained silent with his eyes closed. He asked, "How much food do we have?"

"For a week or so. . . we can stretch it to ten days," said McGonagall.

Dumbledore opened his eyes. "I do not like that number. We need more food. . . But before that, we need to alert the Aurors."

"The Floo is down."

"Of course they are," he sighed. "I doubt owls will work either. House-elves?" he asked.

"Gibby can't go out; we are truly trapped," she said. "What about Fawkes?"

"We can try, though I doubt it will work. He's not going to be happy being cooped in the castle."

Lily entered the conversation and suggested, "How about we use MagiFax? I know of an emergency line for family members in the Aurors Office. They'll respond immediately."

"Please do so," said Dumbledore, and Lily ran away.

"What should we do about the children?" asked Flitwick.

Dumbledore followed Lily with his eyes until she was out of sight. "Lock the doors and windows. Not a single child should venture out of the castle walls until we let them know about the situation. We will need help. The older students will have to take care of the younger ones. I will need a talk with the Prefects; the Head of House will talk to everyone fifth-year above. . . And I repeat, no one goes out."

"The Dark Lord," asked Slughorn, still wearing his sleeping cap on his head, "what does he want?"

"For me to be dead. . . along with Harry Potter," Dumbledore narrowed his eyes at the Slytherin Head of House. "Don't even think about it, Horace. Giving Potter won't solve any of this."

"I wasn't thinking about it," said Slughorn, his eyes shifting to the professors. "Then what should we do?"

"Voldemort will try to breach our defenses. I do not know long it would hold him back," at their level, there was no telling, "so we either need to break their enclosure, or we need to prepare to defend against them in case they break through."

"D-Defend, how many Death Eaters are there?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I do not know, I only saw Augustus Rookwood, but I'm sure he has brought all of his lieutenants along with him," some terrible names passed through his and everyone's minds. "Along with those people, there are many more, many-many more— we will be severely outnumbered." He looked his worried employees in the eye, "But do not despair just yet. They might have the higher number, but we this castle. A stronghold to help us defend and protect." Dumbledore's eyes steeled in resolve. He had children to protect, and he would do anything to accomplish that goal.

In the shadow of the night, Hogwarts had turned into a battlefield. However, the following morning that had a lot to offer of its own.

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Voldemort - Dark Lord - Children make great bargaining chips.

Albus Dumbledore - Headmaster - I was having a pleasant dream. . . only to wake up to a nightmare.

FictionOnlyReader - Author - How was this one?

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