*pop*

Looking around for any stray students Pips began to dust around the entrance hall. There were many things that needed done today. But Pips just wants to get back to the kitchen and make food for the little students.

*hiccup*

Pips moved about whipping down the hand rails of the staircase and the portraits he could reach. Assuming he had time he would just get the rest later. He snickered.

*POP*

Tinka entered the entrance hall, one of the best spots to see studentsies moving about between classes, and cleared her throat. "Tinka need studentsies help. Toddles not behave. Tinka need studentsies or professors come help stop Toddles in Laundry Room."

That seemed to be enough information to get someone to come and help. She didn't feel like alerting the Headmistress yet and Algamus would get word that something was up.

*POP* she was gone.

Gaston sprinted through the doors, his eyes darting frantically to make sure everyone who'd followed him from the lake got back safely. It was only thrn that he dared look back, hoping against hope not to see any Inferi following. Just for good measure, he aimed a fire ball out the doors to deter any of the creatures before slamming the doors shut behind him. The thought occurred to him to magically lock the doors to buy them time, but there might be people trying either to join the fight or get back to safety. He decided to hold off for now.

"Is everyone here and alright?" he asked anyone who was around. "The Inferi could make their way here any moment -" He had to swallow the lump rising in his throat at the thought. "-and if that happens, it'll take all of us to defend the school. Stay close, wands ready. I'll warn the others." He couldn't have anyone wandering off alone!

Gaston raised his wand, concentrating with all his might on a happy memory. Desiree... He thought of going home to his daughter when the fight was done, of the way her eyes would light up the minute she saw him. Silvery platypuses appeared from the tip of his wand and scattered in the directions of the house common rooms with a warning message, while a final one set off toward his home in Hogsmeade... Just in case the unthinkable happened and he never made it back.

He looked around. Where were the other professors?
Paul? Laurel? Kalen? Charles? Celestia? Surely they couldn't all be at the lake with Hawthorne and the others! Hopefully more people would come to help defend the entrance - and fast! There was no way he could do it all on his own...

Daisy was going to defend Hogwarts to the best of her ability. She was at Professor Marchand's side as she nervously eyed the door waiting in fear for the presence of any Inferi. She didn't know how things were going to pan out for her so she thought of flying on her first broomstick as she cast, "Expecto Patronum!" Soon silver sparrows headed towards Diagon Alley where her aunt worked and towards the house where her mother lived.

Daisy then aimed her wand towards the doors, ready to do what she could.

A bit out of breath from running all the way from the lake, Maddie paused just inside the entrance hall. She took a few deep breaths, tried to collect her thoughts, and then joined Marchand's side. When the man sent a fireball out the door, Maddie jumped, thinking their skeletal company had joined them. It was just a precaution, though.

She nodded toward him and got her wand at the ready. Part of her wanted to run and hide, but the other part of her was running on adrenaline alone and just wanted to fight to save the school. "Daisy," Maddie said, still out of breath. "The Inferi could be coming. Do you know your fire spells?" Because if she didn't, Maddie had about two minutes to teach them to her.

Isa followed Professor Marchand through the doors of the castle, hoping that the inferi would never make it inside. ”I’m here,” Isa called in response to the professor’s question. The fact that Isa was to be part of the schools last line of defense was not exactly comforting. Now Isa wished she had put more effort into defense against the dark arts classes over the years. She wasn’t even taking defense against the dark arts at the NEWT level, so things were not looking promising if it came down to her having to fight the inferi. Sure she could cast a decent incedio, but would she be able to pull off a more powerful fire spell in a stressful situation? This was the ultimate test of skills and there was no room for error. With a real life situation came the very real possibility of death if she failed. She could only hope that the professors and her classmates would be able to protect the school if the worst should happen to her. No more time to worry though, because she needed to prepare to fight. ”Do you think the inferi will try to get to the treasure display if they do make it to here?” She had a whole group around her and there was safety in numbers. Isa drew her wand, ready to defend the school if it came to it. If the inferi reached here, what would that mean for her fiends down at the lake? For Emmalyn? For Skylar? Isa tried not to think about that. She needed her mind to be clear and focused in case the inferi reached the castle.

Dorian was coughing and gasping for air as he ran with the group inside of the castle. He had never ran this fast in his life , not even when he was late for classes. Which was nearly everyday. When he ran in to the entrance hall, the Ravenclaw let out a yelp when Professor Marchand send a fire ball flying towards the grounds. Had he seen one of the inferi coming closer?

His eyes were still wide open and he heard what the professor was telling them to do but his mind took a while to process it. When it did, his eyes suddenly filled with tears. They weren't rolling down his cheeks but they were definitely visible in his eyes. He wanted to hide so bad but the fact that the other students around him were willing to fight for their school. It did something to him.

He wanted to graduate from this school. He wanted to go to classes and do his homework and learn about so many branches of magic. And if the inferi attacked and he didn't help the others perhaps there would not be a school left for him to graduate from. Because if they lost, the school would probably close down.

"Professor" he said, his voice small and he hoped he was heard. "I'm not good at the fire spell" the one they had learned in Transfiguration. He was able to do it but only when he was concentrating long enough and if, no when the inferi came he would not have the time. "Is-is there another way i can help out?"

Kalen had been in the middle of a cup of tea in his office when he had heard the shriek down at the lake. He had hurried down the stairs as quickly as possible and was moving towards the entrance hall when he noticed Gaston and several students skidding into the entrance hall and looking frightened and out of breath!

Concern instantly flooded through his and he slipped his wand out of his wrist holder and made his way to Gaston after casting a cursory glance at the students to make sure they were all right.

“What’s going on Gaston?” He asked as he looked around, why did they all have their wands out and what was this about a fire spell? What had he missed and what had that shrieking been about? He looked around once more before looking back at Gaston, hoping to get an answer out of the man.

Nope, nope,NOPE!!

She was not alright, she was shaking and her teeth were chattering. By the time they got up to the castle she was hoping to be stronger, but she felt worse and the tears wouldn't stop and now the professor was saying they could come there and she whimpered.

Finally making it into the entrance hall she found a corner and slid down into a ball. "Iwantmybrother"

As much as Nettie was happy to be back indoors and in the safety of the castle - she wondered if they were just backing themselves into a corner. THAT wouldn't be good, not in the slightest! What if the inferi pushed them all the way up to the towers? They would have no where to go from there, unless they all got brooms or thestrals from the forest to help them!

Trying not to think of that, Nettie turned to Chloe, who was now sitting in a corner crying about her brother, and bit her lip. She turned to Marchard and tugged on his sleeve. "Professor? Is there a plan in place for people to go somewhere if they don't want to fight?" she asked. The room of requirement maybe? One of the common rooms?

Because if her friend didn't want to fight, that was cool and all - but right now she was basically a sitting duck waiting to be attacked in the corner.

Daisy turned towards an out of breath Maddie and gave a firm nod at her question. "I know quite a few fire-related spells which I will not hesitate to use."

Daisy looked sadly at the young Ravenclaw. She looked at both professors and said, "I think that she needs to be somewhere else like Nettie has just suggested."

Seeing that everyone who had followed him from the lake made it back safely, Gaston breathed a silent sigh of relief. As he turned to face the students, he saw that Daisy had joined them, probably summoned by his patrons message. He gave her an encouraging not, but before he could say anything, Maddie was filling her in on what had happened.

His head whipped around, spilling his dark hair into his eyes, as he heard Isa's question. It was entirely possible, but he couldn't waste time speculating what the Inferi's intentions were. "I'm not sure what they'll do if they get here," he said. "Right now we need to focus on keeping them from getting further into the castle if they do come." He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was more a question of when than if the Inferi would arrive, but he didn't want to frighten the students any more than they already were!

Gaston's heart shattered as he saw tears in Dorian's eyes, and he couldn't resist giving the Ravenclaw a comforting pat on the shoulder. "We're going to protect you, I promise," he assured him, managing a shaky smile. "Are there any fire spells you feel confident doing? What about Incendio?" It wouldn't be as strong as a fire lasso, nut he could use it to defend himself if any Inferi came near him.

Then he saw poor little Chloe huddled in a ball, crying in a corner. He felt a tug on his sleeve. Nettie and Daisy's words were noted and acknowledged with a nod, but for now he was in full comforting dad!professor more, all his attention focused on Chloe. He knelt beside her. "Chloe? Shh... it's okay to be scared," he said, lowering his voice so the other students wouldn't hear as he added, "I'm a little scared myself." That was an understatement! He was terrified at the possibility of never seeing Rose or Desiree again, but even more so that his best efforts might not be enough to protect the students. "We'd like you to stay so we know where you are and can protect you, but I understand if this is too much for you. You may go back to the Ravenclaw common room if you want."

Rising to his full height, he addressed the group, "If you feel that you can't stay here, go back to your common room NOW and stay there until further notice!" Quick, while there was still time! In the back of his mind, he secretly hoped that not all of them would abandon him, though he wouldn't blame them in the least if they did.

It was only then that Gaston noticed Kalen; he felt a huge surge of relief knowing that he was no longer the only adult here. "We're under attack... Inferi!" he filled the other professor in. "It started at the lake. Hawthorne and several others are there trying to hold them off, but they could be here any moment!" There wasn't time to explain further! "We have to defend the school!"

Now they just needed a plan. Oh, if only Hirsch and Hawthorne weren't still at the lake; they could really use their defensive strategies! Think, Gaston, think! His mind suddenly wandered back to a dueling club incident in his first year teaching at Hogwarts. "A wall of fire...," he mumbled under his breath; then in a louder tone he said, "We're going to form a wall of fire! Everyone, stand side by side and cast a fire lasso around yourself! If you don't know how, stick close to someone who does. The combined ropes should act as a barrier and drive them back!"

Once again, the dark thoughts of what might've happened to the people at the lake, of what might happen to him - them, all of them, threatened, but he shook his head in an attempt to make them go away. He turned to Kalen with a worried look, pulling the little black book he carried out if his jacket pocket. Hoping the students wouldn't hear, he whispered, "Make sure this gets back to Rose if I..." He couldn't bring himself you say it! "...if anything happens."

Apparently he was invisible or something as all the students gathered around were mainly talking to Gaston and not him.

All right.

He didn’t think he had done a disillusionment spell but one couldn’t be so sure about these things yeah?

He looked down at his hand and saw that it was indeed visible, so he just wasn’t important to the kids. Made perfect sense. Epic Danger and all that.

He turned towards Gaston as he spoke and Kalen’s green eyes went wide at the words “Inferi.”

Several swear words ran through his head and he gripped his wand tighter. Of course there was Inferi at Hogwarts, why wouldn’t there be Inferi at Hogwarts. Dear... Merlin. He wasn’t prepared for this and he was currently wishing he was back up in his office enjoying some tea. But now was not the time to be comfortable.

“I’ll stay here with you to help protect the castle, it sounds like they have things covered at the lake.” He said as he made sure the students were behind him and Gaston, his racing thoughts landed on Arabella for a moment and then on Tristan, he hoped his best friend would be safe through all this. He had a momentary urge to race out into the night to go find Tris, but he had people to protect right here and he needed to support Gaston, the man needed it.

Fire lasso? That he could do!

With a wave of his wand a fire lasso appeared in front of him and he turned to Gaston as the man spoke and handed him something.

“I’ll take it. But nothings going to happen and I’ll give this back.” He said softly as he pocketed the black book and put his hand on the other man’s shoulder, “I’ve got your back.” He said softly as he took a breath and kept peering out into the darkness.

Alastar hoped he was ready. He didn’t really know what was going on, but he would do anything he could to help. A fire lasso was something he was pretty sure he could handle. Odd he thought, an invasion right after a lesson role playing a mere people invasion.

There was still whimpering and shaking as others were saying she should go somewhere, but where? Her legs didn't want to move and she was feeling even dumber and the worst witch ever that she wasn't brave like the others. She was always brave when she was younger, but now, this was a new level a brave. She didn't have this level of brave.

Her eyes looked at Nettie and then an older puff that her freaked out mind couldn't remember, but no words would come out as she shivered with fear.

Seeing the Professor kneel down she gripped his arm with a terrified death grip as he spoke to her. He was afraid too? But.. but he was an adult and adults always knew what to do and always protected them. "You won't let them in, right?" The ugly creatures were in her thoughts and she was certainly going to have nightmares.

"NO!! Don't leave me alone, I don't want to go there alone." She didn't want to be here, but she wasn't going in the castle alone either, her grip going tighter on his robes. "Where is my brother, he isn't out there anywhere is he?"


She needed to know where Gunnar was.

Seeing the other professor she just shook and looked at him hoping that with two of them here they would be safe.

Professor Marchand' reassuring hand on his shoulder made him look up and he wiped the tears that were threatening to fall away and then he nodded.

"I can do Incendio maybe incendio tria but I've never tried it" he used it most of the time during potions class to heat up the cauldron. He wondered how his father would react when he found out he had to battle inferi with fire.

Shaking away his thoughts, the Ravenclaw grabbed his wand and looked at it. He was doing a silent prayer that his magical ability did not fail him today.

He then watched how Daisy tried to comfort Chloe. A first year in his own house and he had the feeling that he should do the same thing. But he did not want to give false hope . Things were bad, really bad. By now the Inferi would be all over the grounds if the group at the Lake hadn't been able to defeat them. How did you defeat an animated corpse in the first pla----

Dorian gasped, a bit too loud as a thought suddenly dawned on him. "Professors" He said, looking at Marchand and then at Kennedy "Aren't Inferi animated corpses bought to life by dark magic? That means someone is controlling them right?" the thought made him shiver. "What if it is someone we know? A student or even a staff member? Or the Giant Squid! I never completely trusted him. I mean, an squid that can talk!" he laughed. ok he was rambling again. A sure sign that he was close to panicking.

As she stood in the entrance hall, wand still at the ready, Maddie was surprising herself. Shocking herself, even. Had somebody told her this was going to happen, she'd bet all her money at Gringott's that she'd be bawling her eyes out right now. Maybe even hiding. Maybe even on her broom flying away from the school.

But guarding the school at its entrance, heart thumping a million miles a minute, without a tear in sight? She'd never have guessed it. Maddie overheard Isa's question and shook her head. "I don't think so," she said. "Inferi are controlled creatures. I'm worried they're just a distraction." A distraction that was trying to kill them.

Poor Chloe. She was acting just how Maddie imagined she'd have acted if this had happened during her first year. "Nettie, I don't know. Do we really want her out there alone? Not wanting to fight?" she asked. It just didn't seem like a good idea to have a first year out there alone, especially one that wasn't even comfortable fighting. What would she do if the inferi attacked her in the hiding place?

There were other things she wanted to say to the others gathered around her, but Marchand had commanded the plan--a wall of fire. Maddie nodded and moved to stand in the line beside him. "Chloe, do you want to stand beside me? I'll cast a fire lasso around us both," she offered.

Daisy quickly stood beside Maddie and spoke to Chloe. "How about you stand in between Maddie and I and we will both cast a fire lasso around ourselves and you?" As she said this, Daisy looked at Maddie as if silently asking her if this was okay with her.

Nathan gulped. Inferi attacking this school? What the actual...dragons!?!! How did they get here? And where did they come from?! He quickly formed a line among the others, wand at the ready as soon as he got up there. His wand hand was trembling slightly. In his head, he wasn’t ready to die. Nathan had no idea what propelled him to fight but he must in order to protect everyone in the school. “Professor! I’m with you!” Determined to blast these creatures out of harm’s way.

Why did everyone want to stand, WHY WAS EVERYONE SO BRAVE????


The first year just stared at them all with tears running down her face as she pulled her legs closer to her chest and made her ball tighter. She didn't know if her legs were going to hold her if she stood. She just wanted her brother to know he was okay and then she wanted her daddy.

Her grip still tight on the professor she didn't really answer either of the girls just shook her head and stayed where she was in the corner of the room.

At least those ugly creatures hadn't come into the castle yet, maybe the adults at the lake had killed them all already.

Gaston shot Kalen an extremely grateful look when he said he would stay and help. For a moment, he half expected his colleague to rush out the doors to try to find Tristan, and he wouldn't have blamed him at all if he did. If he thought Rose was there, he would've done the same thing himself! He shook his head as once again, his thoughts turned to his beloved wife, and he silently thanked the powers that be that she was no longer teaching at Hogwarts. Otherwise, she'd be right in the thick of it with him, and... Oh, good Godric Gryffindor! He couldn't think about that! He smiled sadly at Kalen as he took the little black book. At least if he died here, Desiree would one day read his songs and know how much her father loved her. He nodded, giving the other professor a look that said, I hope you're right.

He turned to Dorian with a small smile. "Good," he said. "Just stick close to me or Professor Kennedy, and if you see any Inferi, try to aim 'Incendio' at them." Blue eyes blinked in shock at what the Ravenclaw said next. The Squid, really?! "I doubt any of the students or staff are behind this." This was advanced dark magic, beyond the skills of even most seventh years, and he'd worked with the other professors long enough to know none of them would ever do anything like this of their own accord. "And Bartholomew Henry doesn't have the ability to use this type of magic."

Poor Chloe! Gaston wished there was more he could do to ease her fears. His heart leaped as she held on to his arm; having this small child cling to him strangely reminded him of Desiree. Well, if he never saw his own daughter again. at least he could keep this girl safe! He shook his head at her words, his eyes burning with fierce determination. "Never," he assured her, gripping his wand tighter. The only way the Inferi were getting to her was if they killed him first! His heart sank at that very real possibility, but he willed himself not to let any doubt show on his face. If only she knew how close he was to panicking himself! The instinct to protect his students was the only thing giving him some semblance of control over his emotions.

Permission to go back to the Ravenclaw common room only seemed to make Chloe panic more; Gaston inwardly berated himself for making her feel worse. "Okay, you don't have to go if you don't want to," he said, giving her a hug the best he could with her holding on to his arm. "You're not alone..." His expression changed at the question. He had no idea where her brother was, but he hadn't seen him at the lake. He assumed he was hiding out in the Slytherin common room. "He wasn't at the lake, so he must be in the castle somewhere. He'll be okay." He hoped... He gave Daisy and Maddie each an appreciative beam when they offered to protect Chloe. He was going to ask him if she wanted to stay with him or go with the girls, but her grip on him was the only answer he needed. Now he had to find a way to get her up. He couldn't fight the Inferi from this corner! "Chloe, look at me..." he said, softly but firmly. "You can hold on to me as long as you need..." And by that he meant until he needed his other arm to fight. "... but we have to move. Can you stand? Here, I've got you..." He tried to help her get to her feet.

As he turned to face the rest of the group, Gaston noticed that at some point Alastar and Nathan joined them. He smiled, giving the boys a nod of acknowledgement. "Glad to have you with us, gentlemen," he said. His eyes darted from the small group to the doors then back again, his mind formulating a plan.

"We can't block the doors!" he addressed the group. It would take too much time to make a path through the fire lassos for anyone retreating from the lake! "It would cost any-" He almost said survivors but stopped himself just in time; he didn't want to cause panic! "-any people fleeing the lake time that they don't have. We may not be able to stop the Inferi from coming, but we can try to contain them here." He moved toward the middle of the room, closer to the stairs than the door. "Form a line beside me, fire lassos out. Stick close to the stairs! Keep them from getting to the other floors of the castle!"

He gave Chloe a reassuring look as he brandished his wand. "I'm going to cast a fire lasso around us; it's not going to hurt you." HIs bright blue eyes glanced into the darkness outside. Now all they could do was wait.

Well Hey howdy hey, people were staring to realize that he was here. Shocking. Kalen was still tempted to bolt out of the doors and try to find his Triscuit, but the words of his fellow Professor as well as the kids around him told him he was right where he needed to be.

Stay safe friend. He sent his thoughts upwards, and took a deep breath as he nodded at Gaston as the man shot him a small nod. They would make it out of here alive, and they would keep everyone alive that they were protecting.

They had to. He wasn’t going to die from a bunch of magically controlled dead things. His life wasn’t a Muggle Zombie movie.

“All right everyone, lets line up how Gaston said, try and protect the stairs, we need to make sure that nothing gets up them yeah?” He said as he kept his position next to Gaston and looked around

“If you can’t do a fire lasso, shoot incendio at them, that will help. I promise. And if you can’t do that spell, stay behind us on the stairs.” He sent his thoughts up to the students in the above floor and took a breath, he hated waiting for what could be their doom. But right now, that’s all he could do.

His heart was pounding in his chest and he was breathing a bit rapidly, despite his rather calm exterior, he was afraid. But he could have his mental breakdown later. Right now, the students, the school and his colleagues needed him.

Maybe.

If nothing else he was another in a line of defense.

You know what was even more shocking at the moment?

The Giant Squid actually had a name..... Had the students given it to him or had he named himself? No wait, of course his mother named him! Where was his mother anyway? Did she pass away? that was actually sad if it were true… or was he born without a mother… did he just POOF appear with magic?

He shook his head again as he heard a crash from somewhere outside. This was not the time to get distracted , Dorian! He hoped that the crash had been made by one of the students and not the inferi.


Dorian looked around again and noticed that more students had arrived. News traveled fast apparently… Then he turned his attention to the two professors as they began telling them what they should do. He was going to follow every order they gave cause they knew what they were doing! Except for protecting the stairs part... He would blast the whole stairs away if the inferi managed to get past them.

Them… Two Professors and a handful of students with an average age of 14... their chances of actually winning seemed to get smaller all of the sudden….

The Ravenclaw nodded again without saying a word and stood in line. He held his acacia wand at the ready and aimed it at the door in front of them, his hand shaking visibly. 'You can do this, you can do this….' he told himself as he was not only battling to stay calm but also every urge he had right now to just run away.


The only reason why he hadn't yet was because he had calculated his chances and for now his best chance of surviving was staying with them.

One by one they approached the entrance hall. Those climbing alongside the cliff crept over the edge, their ghastly hands appearing first, then their haunting grey eyes, and next the rest of their skeleton bodies. Their counterparts, which opted to take the staircase up, crept around the corner. Not a single sound was made as they inched closer... closer... closer...

Standing outside the large oak door, they all remained frozen. All faced the door with blank stairs, as if they had reached an obstacle that couldn't be overcome.

But one of the Inferi stepped forward. Its long, fleshless arm eerily reached toward the door, a finger pointed out. A nail scratched against the oak, a faint scratching noise being made that easily could have gone unheard.

Another corpse joined the first... and then another... and another... and soon all of them were scratching at the door, slowly but surely clawing apart the wood. The sound now was worse than that of nails scraping against a chalk board.