Chapter 698: The Battle at Hogwarts (Edited)

"Professor McGonagall, as you can see, I'm defending Hogwarts," Tom replied.

Initially, Professor McGonagall wanted to send this underage young wizard back, but suddenly, she realized that this guy was probably more skilled in combat than the vast majority of adult wizards.

So, what reason did she have to persuade him to leave?

At that moment, Hermione also obediently followed behind Tom, trying to reduce her presence. However, she was still caught by Professor McGonagall's sharp gaze.

"Miss Granger, this is not where you should be; go back to the Common Room quickly!" McGonagall said sternly, which filled Tom with joy.

Tom fully agreed with the professor's opinion. He thought Hermione should stay in the Common Room. Unfortunately, he couldn't persuade this stubborn young woman.

"No, Professor McGonagall, I can fight too!" This time, Hermione didn't obey Professor McGonagall's order. She raised her chin and said, "Tom is not better at spells than me!"

Professor McGonagall: ???

She looked at Tom with an incredulous look, and under her gaze, Tom lowered his head, feeling guilty.

As for spellcasting ability, Hermione was indeed stronger than him. Tom hadn't been focused on studying spells lately; instead, he had been concentrating on alchemy and exploring his girlfriend's body. Hermione was smart and hardworking, whereas Tom had neglected his studies a bit, so it was normal for there to be a slight gap between them.

McGonagall: ...

"Very well, I can't do anything with you two," Professor McGonagall said helplessly. "Take care of yourselves."

Regarding Hermione Granger and Tom Yodel, Professor McGonagall always felt a sense of helplessness. Both of them were completely different from regular students, almost as if they were outside the rules.

With or without Dumbledore's intentional help, their position within Hogwarts was more like that of teachers than students, and the school rules practically didn't affect them; it all depended on Hermione's conscience.

Seeing Professor McGonagall nod, a small smile appeared on Hermione's face, but she knew it wasn't time to celebrate, so she forcefully suppressed the urge to rejoice and simply dragged Tom to quickly leave the Great Hall.

Once they bid farewell to the two of them, Professor McGonagall continued organizing the defense in the Great Hall, establishing the first line of defense to stop the invaders. Meanwhile, out of McGonagall's sight, Hermione wore a satisfied smile.

"How about that? Don't you dare leave me behind and fight alone," she said, hands on her hips, the corner of her lips raised, looking at Tom proudly.

Seeing Hermione's excitement, Tom sighed and bent down to ruffle her hair.

"But this battle will be very dangerous; I really hope you'll return to the Common Room; you're only in your fourth year."

Hermione pouted. "You're in your fourth year too, Yodel!"

"It's not the same—" Tom wanted to explain how he was different from Hermione after equipping himself with alchemical armor, but he was interrupted by Hermione.

"Don't say any more, this time I'll definitely fight with you. I can't just stay by the fireplace in the Common Room while you face the invaders, even if..."

"Don't say those unfortunate things; I understand what you mean." Tom lifted Hermione into his arms and placed her in front of him on his mount. Once Hermione settled in, he kissed her cheek and directed Buckbeak into the night sky.

The summer night breeze was cool, even a bit chilly, so Hermione snuggled closer in Tom's embrace, basking in the feeling of safety. Although a great battle was approaching, her heart was surprisingly calm, as if this moment were the happiest of her life. She closed her eyes, wishing time would stand still, but Hogwarts Castle wasn't that tall, and it didn't take them long to fly from the ground to the top, quickly interrupting Hermione's brief happiness.

Tom took Hermione to the Ravenclaw Tower, where the view was wide and suitable as an outpost to attack the enemy. Professor Flitwick was already there ahead of him. After observing for a moment, Professor Flitwick began casting spells to harness the power of the wind. Accompanied by his incantations, strange whistles could be heard on the grounds outside the castle.

Tom's appearance, with his armor and riding a hippogriff, caught the attention of the Ravenclaw students who were older than Professor Flitwick had brought with him. To them, the combination of armor and mount was unusual and novel.

"Oh, have you finished that armor, Yodel?" Professor Flitwick also noticed Tom and Hermione's presence, so after completing the complicated spell, he turned to look at Tom and Hermione.

Tom nodded. "Yes, today is a good day to test the effectiveness of this armor."

Professor Flitwick smiled, expressing that the true quality of equipment would only be shown in battle. He wished Tom good luck.

Hermione jumped off Buckbeak and approached the edge of the tower to observe the situation outside, trying to identify the invaders by the noise and commotion. Meanwhile, Tom found Professor Flitwick and shared some ideas with him.

"Atmospheric spells, huh?" Professor Flitwick stroked his chin and pondered for a moment, thinking that Tom's suggestion was feasible.

When the invaders broke through the protections at the entrance of Hogwarts, a storm with thunder and lightning would be the best welcome. However, the storm would also hinder the visibility of the defenders, which had its pros and cons.

Looking at the torn protection in the distance, Professor Flitwick felt that time was running out and gathered his students.

"Kids, use the atmospheric spells I taught you. Everyone with me... Three, two, one!"

"Atmospheric-nubilum!" (Atmospheric cloud)

"Atmospheric-pluvia!" (Atmospheric rain)

"Atmospheric-fulmenr!" (Atmospheric lightning)

Dozens of spells soared into the night sky, causing dramatic changes in the weather conditions.

Dark clouds began to gather over Hogwarts, and lightning began to flash as well. When everything was ready, there was a deafening roar where the entrance to Hogwarts had been, and the castle's outer protection emitted a final creak before breaking. Under this commotion, everyone knew that the war had begun.

A bolt of lightning descended appropriately, illuminating the dark grass and revealing the pale faces of the invaders.

A large number of Trackers and wizards from the Japanese Ministry of Magic stormed into Hogwarts.

Curiously, the Death Eaters, whom Dumbledore had always considered imaginary enemies, didn't appear. Instead, the main contingent consisted of Japanese wizards and Trackers from the United States.

With various intentions, they burst into this ancient magical school and, as expected, were met with a strong counterattack from the school authorities.

The moment they crossed the gate, they were soaked by the rain falling from the sky, and the worst part was that the rain was mixed with lightning.

Because there were puddles on the ground, these lightning strikes, even when falling less than a meter away, were enough to leave people partially paralyzed, not to mention when they hit directly. An unfortunate Tracker, driven by his ambition to earn merits, ran too fast and was struck by lightning, causing his body to emit the smell of roast meat.

"Protego!" Seeing the disaster befall their comrade, the invaders were startled and quickly used the shield spell to add protection over their heads.

"Advance! Head for the castle!" The Shogun drew the sword from his waist with one hand, waved it towards the sky, and lightning appeared, breaking a hole in the clouds and stopping the rain.

The wizards and Trackers who saw the opportunity hurried forward, but it wasn't long before someone screamed in pain.

These invaders encountered Hogwarts' second line of defense: Professor Sprout had placed various magical plants on the grass outside the castle, which automatically attacked invaders who entered their territory.

Poisonous plants, Devil's Snare, vines... These plants made the invaders pay a high price. However, time was limited, and Professor Sprout's preparations were too, so some of the invading wizards managed to overcome the magical plant attack and ran forward.

After all, the attack speed of the magical plants was also limited. If they managed to catch a companion, then the individual could escape. This was the strategy of the Trackers and Japanese wizards: simple but very effective.

Moreover, due to the special nature of both factions, they even sabotaged their own comrades. For example, they pushed a nearby Tracker or secretly placed obstacles in the path of Japanese wizards, something that was quite common. Who said that in these two factions, even "being united" was hard to achieve?

As a result, as they advanced towards the castle, the invaders had already paid the price of dozens of people, and that was just the beginning. When they got closer, a variety of strange and curious spells rained down on them from the castle towers as if they were actual rain.

Stunning spells, petrification, cutting, explosions...

Hogwarts students were still too inexperienced; there wasn't a single trace of an Unforgivable Curse among the attacks. The invaders also fought back vigorously, aiming for the sky. One side had more members and the advantage of being in a higher position, resulting in a fierce battle.

Inside the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall and her students were seriously focused. The enemies were just outside, separated only by a wooden door.

Fred and George briefly disappeared, and when they reappeared, they carried a bunch of fireworks they had made themselves.

After discussing it with Professor McGonagall, they aimed the fireworks at the castle's door. Once in place, an explosion occurred. The two wooden doors of Hogwarts Castle shattered, and a group of wizards dressed in black robes rushed in.

"Now's the time to test our combat skills, what do you think?" Fred asked George.

"Not bad," George replied.

Afterward, they both activated the fireworks.

The wizards who had just entered were thrown backward, and taking advantage of this momentum, Professor McGonagall led her students and the Hogwarts statues to counterattack. In an instant, the castle's entrance became chaotic.

Spells flew back and forth, and the destruction also affected the House Point Counter, causing the gemstones inside to fall like sand, but no one paid it any mind.

As spells flew and the battle intensified, the Shogun stealthily activated her invisibility spell and concealed herself in the surroundings.

For her, winning or losing wasn't important; she just wanted to reclaim her own body.

At this moment, she was only an empty, cold shell. Only by regaining her body and half of her soul would she be complete. First, she would merge the two halves of the soul, and then she would completely erase the remaining consciousness of the other half of the soul to gain a new life.

Her subordinates who were fighting meant nothing to her ambition; everything could be sacrificed. After all, they were a bunch of fools she could easily manipulate with just a few words.

A handful of fools whose ambition didn't match their strength.

The Shogun gripped the sword in her hand and slid into the chaotic battlefield.

...

After a while of sniping at the enemies from the top of the Ravenclaw Tower, Tom decided to descend and join the fight on the front lines. When Hermione learned of his intention, she didn't hesitate and mounted Buckbeak, flying with him.

As Tom arrived, shouts, screams, and sounds of combat echoed throughout the castle. Trackers and Japanese wizards had already invaded Hogwarts, and dazzling flashes were everywhere, occasionally accompanied by moans as someone or some statue fell.

"Out of my way!" Tom casually knocked a Japanese wizard who approached him and sent him flying, then he rode Buckbeak and rushed into the larger crowd of people.

"Hermione, Patronus-"

"Expecto Patronum!" After hearing Tom's words, Hermione understood without the need for explanations. Together, they waved their wands and summoned their respective Patronuses, two creatures that then merged into a complete three-headed dog.

Tom controlled the Patronus, pushing his way forward, while he himself guided Buckbeak to where there were more people. With the support of both forces, none of the Japanese or Trackers could stop him.

"That alone won't do!" Tom struck a Japanese wizard who was confronting Fred and George hard on the head. The man was busy dealing with the twins and never expected such a shameless attack. In the blink of an eye, he fell unconscious, unsure if he was alive or dead.

"Excellent Stunning Spell!" Fred exclaimed loudly.

Tom was about to say something when the air around him suddenly exploded, and the entire space seemed to tear and distort. Buckbeak staggered and threw Tom and Hermione to the ground.

Tom flew through the air and had to tightly grip the staff in his hand. The armor he was wearing saved his life, resisting the sudden explosion with its powerful shield enchantment.

Tom struggled to clear away the debris that covered him and surveyed the situation around him. The cool, fresh air coming in indicated that the explosion had just shattered the outer castle wall. In fact, not only that, almost the entire staircase had collapsed, burying Tom, Hermione, Buckbeak, Fred, and George under the rubble of the staircase.

Tom had no major injuries as the shield enchantment of his armor had saved him. But the condition of the others was uncertain.

Buckbeak's wings seemed to be broken, Fred and George were injured; one had a broken arm from a rock, and the other had his leg trapped under the debris. Both of their situations were not good.

As for Hermione, the moment Tom stood up, he turned his gaze toward her.

Tom froze.