Caleb felt...a bit odd being back here. He never thought he'd step foot in this place again, but when he'd heard the news bulletin - well, something tugged at his heartstrings. Hogwarts was basically the reason he was even here. If his mum and dad had never been prefects and met at this place, he wouldn't exist. He felt a sort of attachment, despite not having any kids of his own that he knew of *cough cough* something just told him he had to be here. Something was calling him back. He thought of how he would have reacted if this had happened when HE was at school, and...well, there were innocent kids in there. This wasn't right. So against all his better judgements - he was here. Wand at the ready.

****

So Nettie hadn't uh...told her boyfriend she was going to sneak out and go fight in this battle. She'd snuck out after he went to bed, even though they both expressed disgust at the news bulletin the Minister sent out. She had mostly been focused on how awful it was that the poor man had been manipulated all this time - she could hardly imagine how Eiji and Becky were feeling about that - but she'd secretly felt in her gut that she HAD to come take up arms. It was the right thing to do! She didn't think Alex would necessarily stop her from going, or even leave her all alone to fight - but she didn't WANT him here fighting. She knew where he was, and she knew he was safe. That was a weight lifted off her shoulders, so she could focus on the important things - taking down these alliance members with every ounce of fight she had in her.

"Missa!" she exclaimed in shock as she found her former dorm mate amongst the crowd. She pushed forward, feeling a surge of relief at seeing even just one familiar face. She was accompanied by...OMG. Was that Eiji's mum?? It HAD to be, and even though Nettie had never actually met the woman, she froze. Why was she so intimidating to her for some reason?? There was literally no reason for her to be nervous around her - SHE wasn't going to bring up the locket debacle from second year. RIGHT??

Thank Merlin she spotted another familiar face in the crowd and was able to be distracted for a moment. "Over here, Evan!" she called out, thinking that sticking to a group of her former Ravenclaws was probably a smart thing to do. She didn't recognize the man Evan was standing by, but she didn't recognize a LOT of people gathered here.

And wow - there were a LOT of people here. SO many people had come to fight! This was...truly amazing, how much solidarity there was here for these kids. Heck, she herself knew half of them in there, she HAD only graduated just two years ago! The support they were all showing for the students, the staff, all of them...

Merlin, this was NOT the time to start being EMOTIONAL, Trinetta!

****

Y'all. Javier Hernandez was MAD.

True, he was usually in a sour mood even on his best days. But ever since this stupid Alliance had moved into the Ministry, he'd known something was up. He felt like he could sense that it was all going to come to a head like this at some point, and he was ready to be right there on the front lines and take them OUT. Their views of muggles were absolutely disgusting, and he was sick of it being shoved in his face. He could only imagine how those who had muggle parentage felt - he was privileged enough to stay out of the limelight, but he hadn't stopped listening. And he'd been disgusted by what he had heard. After yelling out "I KNEW IT!" triumphantly to himself after hearing Charles' announcement, he'd dropped Cami had his parents house and headed here immediately.

Camila wanted to go to school here next term and he wanted nothing more than to give his daughter everything she wanted. So he was here to take this school back. Spew all the garbage you want, but when you start hurting kids, Javier couldn't sit back and just let it happen. No sir.

The man was practically FUMING as he joined the crowd at the gates of Hogwarts. As a father, he knew he would be ready to take down any obstacle in his way to get his kid out of the castle and out of harms way, and he was here to help ALL these parents achieve that goal. "Well, what are we all waiting for?!" he grumbled to no one in particular as he tried to make his way towards the front.

Javier Hernandez was here to FIGHT and he was READY. TO. GO. Everyone stand back!

OOC: Talia Trent = Order adjacent, but part of ANOTHER resistance group (with permission). Feel free to just say your charrie is with them as well if you want/need something for your charrie to have been involved in before this point. Details in this post. Anyone can join, if you wanna figure out how to make it make sense for your charrie poke me and I can help! And we can headcanon some fun things together later too <3

Talia Trent was ready as soon as Charles had contacted her telling her she had been right and actually sounding almost like his old self (except somehow even older, and more tired, which was understandable given everything). There hadn't been much time to talk, and while he'd given the gist of what was going on, he had told her to turn on the wireless, that there would soon be an announcement for everyone. She had in turn let her own contacts know to turn it on and be ready to hear the call to arms.

She had been working tirelessly for a long while now, first from when she had realised the man acting as headmaster was NOT her husband, and then more actively after she had met with Charles and discovered things were not right there. It had been hard to know who to trust and what to do (especially because she did NOT trust the ministry right now), but little by little a group was formed. The main goal had been ensuring muggle family members would be safe, not just her own or those of the group, but of any muggleborns and halfbloods who had needed help and protection for their families.

They had been kept very busy.

Beyond that, some of the group had been following leads, trying to discover who had true ties to this neo-alliance and who were only sympathisers. There were a LOT of dead ends. Maybe some of them had fake names. Maybe MORE of them wore fake faces like the man who had taken place of her missing husband. Still, every dead end narrowed things down further and she was sure ultimately the information would be useful to someone, even if it was just for clearing some names, and redirecting the authorities (if they ever became 'the authorities' again that was) in more fruitful directions. It all went back, of course, to the Azkaban break out. To the graffiti that had begun appearing several years ago now. But it had to go back further than that.

Sometimes it was hard to stay focused, it was hard to care, when your children and your husband were both missing (and the guilt of sending her children back to that place even with her suspicions, it GOT to her, it did. Even if she had told them and then let them decide for themselves if they would return, she'd never forgive herself for not simply pulling them as soon as she had known that Kai was not Kai at all), but her own parents were muggles, so it had started there for Talia. She couldn't sit on her thumbs and do nothing, so it had expanded. To some parents who likewise had their children at Hogwarts, to some of her current and former professional contacts, to friends and friends of friends, and even in a few cases, to other muggleborns who hadn't been known to her before all of this.

The muggle news had been very forthcoming with information too - a lot of missing muggles in certain places. They had tracked that as much as possible as well, and patterns emerged. There wasn't much they could do for those muggles though. There were too many muggles in general, so a focus on muggle families who had magical connections was the only way to contribute, to do something that mattered.

More recently, through one of her colleagues, Talia had connected to a young man working in the ministry itself, a former student of her husband's, and her colleague's son. One of two who were involved in a resistance group, the one she now knew was responsible for freeing Charles and for the wireless announcement. It was rather sweet and fitting of them to style themselves as a reiteration of the historical Order of the Phoenix, and it had her wondering idly at the time how many other groups had self-styled themselves as such. She supposed that anyone could, and it wouldn't matter, as long as they were fighting on the right side.

Which was another thing to worry about - perhaps some who were gathering here were NOT in fact on the right side. You really could not be sure anymore and it was important to remain vigilant.

Apparating not far from Charles, she saw January Bones slipping her hand into the old man's. It was a relief to know he was being looked after. And there, not far away was his daughter, the one that worked with dragons. She would stick near him herself, but not to look after him, rather because she felt it would be likely that he would be the one to find the man who had replaced her husband.

And then maybe Talia could find Malachi.

She would of course be searching desperately for her children too, and if the opportunity came to scoop up Kale and Mavis and get out of there, she likely would do so, or make them take up one of the emergency portkeys she had on her person, but she needed to know if Kai was okay. If he was as alive as her conviction told her.

"Charles." She said, loud enough for him to hear him, her voice full of determination.

She was here, and she was going to get her family back, so help her Merlin.

________________________________________

OOC: Carmine Beryl, also order adjacent, but more importantly mama of some order members and also students, and healer. Will be making her way to the triage area.
Also here, not far behind Talia Trent, was Healer Carmine Beryl, former professor. She would not be fighting, rather she would join the triage team, but she had arrived with the resistance group that she had been working with to help with the muggles in need, and intended that her two boys (of whom she was so proud) knew she was there for them. They would find their brother and sister, she was sure. Raj and Shivali would be brought back to her. She wore her St Mungos robes with her name and 'Head Healer, Artifact Accidents' emblazoned on the front.

She already saw several of her former students, and hoped there might be one or two in particular that she knew would likely be particularly good assistants in the triage staging area, which she had heard through colleagues would be best fit in the Great Hall, a point that she agreed upon as it was a defendable space, if they could get to it first.

Leobald had by now managed to put his jacket on straight as he scanned the crowd for familiar faces as more and more people apparated into the Hogwarts grounds for the battle. He trusted that Cassie was keeping Gemma and Jackson safe, but he needed to SEE all of them. Touch them. Talk to them. Hug them. Just be with them.

Seeing the castle up ahead brought back memories and with it came a rush of nostalgia. It had been sometime now since he had been a professor here. Leo was drawing his wand out of it's holster as Airey came to a stop beside him. Shaking his head, he smiled genuinly at his former colleague. "It's good to see you, too Airey. I doubt Cece will come this time and shout at us if we injure ourselves in the battle." Like she had done in days past.

As another woman apparated into the grounds Leo blinked and blinked. It was no misstaking. Josephina, Fina was here to fight in the battle too. Raising his hand to wave at her to come over, he asked with glance at Airey. "Do you think anyone else in the old gang will come to arms?"

ooc; Both of these are Order aligned. Vannie will be heading towards the healer team / triage area and Hattie will be fighting

To Vanessa there hadn't even been a thought about where she'd be coming to Hogwarts. When she'd heard the bulletin, she had to go. She wouldn't fight. Not that she thought she was too old for that. But her specialities lay elsewhere. She was a healer, a spell damage specialist at that. She'd always been a healer. Well apart from when she'd briefly owned the owl shop. But most of her adult life had been spent healing people. Her skills didn't lay in casting offensive spells, but they did lie in repairing, and healing spell damage. And so that was why she came to Hogwarts that night. There was going to much need for healing tonight, and she would be there. She'd rallied her department around, making sure the spell damage wards were taken care off before firstly apparating home. Hogwarts was going to be dangerous, and she had to hug her husband one last time. Just in case.

And then she appeared at Hogwarts, her St Mungo's robes flapping behind her. She'd not thought to take them off, and now figured they'd probably be useful in indicating that she was going to be heading towards the triage area. She took a glance around. There were a lot of people here, some she recognised, some she didn't.

One in particular she did recognise was a familar blonde head. "Frankie...." She murmured, stepping alongside her son. She was proud of him, and probably should have known he'd be here. "You be careful son. Those children need you." and then she was looking ahead, her wand gripped in her hand.

_____________________

Harriet had been slightly worried that her husband might not want them to come fight. They had a little girl at home. Someone that they needed to be around for. But this was Hogwarts. This was her school. This was the school she wanted to children to go too. She had to come fight. She wouldn't have blamed Royland for not coming. She would never force him to do anything that he didn't want to do. But the Gladin's were going to fight side by side. They would protect each other, whilst assisting in taking back the school. Josie was safely at Gracie's house. Her older sister wasn't going to fight. She didn't blame her. The Hensley's had two twins that were barely over a year old. Gracie was needed else where.

But there had been one place for Hattie to go. The Gladin's appeared together, Hattie's had wrapped tight around his. She looked up at the castle, and then back at her husband. "I love you...." Just in case the worst happened. "After this we'll go get a coffee that shop I was telling you about....." If they made plans, everything would be okay right. With a dark look on her face, she looked over at the castle, and sighed. For Hogwarts.

Emma had to admit that she was still slightly annoyed that Scottie had no thought to try to recruit her himself. Of course, she understood why. He had wanted to protect her. But she'd felt like screaming at him that she did this for a job. Well not exactly this, but she was a hit witch. She lived and had trained for a dangerous life. His want to protect her hadn't really worked anyway. Not when she had instantly said yes to Fletcher. None of that mattered now though.

"I was born ready Scottie" She kind of was. There was no doubt in Emma that fighting for good was in her, and if anything fighting, being in law enforcement was in her blood. She was a Ferguson. This was what they did. She just grinned at her brother. "Dad will never forgive you anyway" Which was why when she'd told dad, she'd made that explicit. Before coming to Hogwarts Emma had quickly gone to her parents, wrapping them both, and especially her dad up in a big hug. Just in case.

She looked up to the castle, and then back to Scottie, and nodded at him. "We do this together okay? Fergies together. Always." Although they'd probably end up split up anyway. But they could try.

The idea of coming back here to Hogwarts had not crossed his mind in a long time, but Gus Rainwater was here for one reason and one reason only. The former Herbology Professor apparated in beside Talia and placed a supportive hand on the shoulder of his best friend to let her know he'd got here okay. It had been no question that he was going to be here after the announcement - his kids were here. Not his actual kids, but some of the kids he had taught and thought of more often than necessary. They were the future of their kind and whether his presence changed the outcome or not... he was here for them and here for them to have the future that they deserved.

But the main reason? The one that had plagued him as he handed his three children back to their mother and kissed them goodbye.. Talia's family. He was lucky to have his three children at home, ready to spend time with whenever he wanted - but she had none at home with her. None to be in contact with. He felt awful on a daily basis, kept her company as often as he could, worked alongside her at every single opportunity he had.

"The kids and Malachi, ok? Mavis, Kale and Malachi. Get word to one another if we find out they're safe and then we get ourselves out. They're gonna need you, Tally." Ok, so he'd at least try his hardest to get word that June was safe. He'd enjoyed their back and forth letter writing until the communication had been terminated and since then had been concerned for her safety... alongside everyone elses. But hers for sure. Mavis, Kale, Malachi and June.

... was that Miss Renaldi over there?! Heavens no! Why were his students here to fight? Was he proud? Was he disappointed? NO TIME TO THINK. This was going to be a long... however long it took.

This was not the way Archer had imagined returning to Hogwarts AT ALL, yet here she was, wand at the ready. Her eyes were scanning around for a familiar head of brown hair and not finding it, which had her worried. The auror had told her that he'd be here and he should've been here already. Not that Ronan Carter owed her anything or anything like that. She'd just feel better if she knew where her sometime-boo-thing-but-currently-not actually WAS.

Though, she did still spot people she knew, so all was good. "And it's Chosen with a swinggggg and ITS A MISS!!!!" the chaser called, all announcer like. As in, her joke wasn't funny. Okay, maybe a little, but she liked poking at the fellow Quidditch player. There was time for a little bit of levity right now, since the actual fighting hadn't started yet.

She was determined not to play the worried mother tonight, no matter what type of scrape her reckless son might get himself into. He was old enough to take care of himself, after all. But, not immediately spotting him in the crowd, not even beside Sterling, was not what a mother would wish (and did make her worry a bit, but shhhh).

Roxanne had been eyeing the news coming out of Britain, both official and covert, from France for a while now, so when she'd gotten the news via Ronan that they were going in (not in as many words, of course, it was more of one of those "if something happens to me, this is why," type of messages) she'd gathered up a few of the best people from her MLE in the Ministère des Affaires Magiques. After all, the Brits would do the same for them, right? "Remember, follow any and all guidance from Minister Hollingberry or Undersecretary Fletcher," she told her group in French.

Now, what had her son gotten himself into that caused him not to be here?

OOC: Feel free to add your own character to Roxanne's group! Just remember they would be coming over from France and might not be as knowledgeable as to what is going on beyond what she told them, which is this: "Britain is in trouble from a crazy cult and we're going to help them!" Though, they might've overheard her warning her son to be careful several times! Also, they might know that the alert that it was going down tonight came from Ronan, depending on how observant they are.

It likely went without saying, she was here for her daughter. Alexa had heard all the (nonsense, it was nonsense) announcements about a more focused curriculum and how intensive it was but she had a persistent child; one who needed to send letters every other week to make sure she wasn't being replaced at home or to make sure her mother knew just how much she needed to disown her.

No letters? Add to that the folks in Hogsmeade admitting they'd seen so sign of the children. Something had to be wrong.

Now, with this large group ready to make a stand, she knew the feeling that dug deep into her gut for months had been right. It tended to be. Work in the field long enough and you developed a sixth sense about this sort of thing. Nevermind that it was Hogwarts and the school was always known for being....festive.

This went far beyond the school, however, with reports pouring in from all over Europe. The fight wasn't just to get Emmerson back, it wasn't just to stop a band of misfits, it was very quickly becoming something that needed to be stamped out before it became so massive a problem that it crippled Wizarding Europe and who knew how much further. She had a duty to protect and serve and that was what she was here to do.


Jessa didn't care about muggles.

When she first heard about this little movement, she dug deeper into their messages and began making her own rounds researching. In the end, this fight was none of her business and would not affect a single person she cared for. What happened to muggles was their own fault, years of mistreatment and forcing wizarding kind into hiding. Their voices were silenced and they could never be who they really were. By all indications, the Neo Alliance wanted to change that and quite frankly, she didn't care one way or the other.

But they had her niece.

Emil and Emanuil were safe with V, she couldn't leave Emmi to the mercy of a cult. So yes, she was here, she was ready to make something of a stand to support her sister and her niece. Cambridge stuck together and helped out where there was need.

She just...didn't need anyone senselessly thinking she was here to fight for muggle rights.

Ever. They'd done enough.

To say she was terrified would be an understatement.

Regina wasn't much of a fighter or dueller. She was more the sort of person to get out of the way of people who were fighters and let them take care of it.

But she also couldn't not be here. Scott was here, and he'd recruited her to the new Order. Fletcher had told her to go with him. And her mom and dad and Naia had said they were joining too. And Kimmie and Luke had been stuck here for months. Only her sister Lucy wouldn't be joining, and that was mostly because she was all the way over in the States.

So many people that she cared about were here. So she was here too. It was far more terrifying to think of herself being elsewhere, not knowing what was happening, than it was actually being here.

Joining Scott and Emma, standing beside him, she gave them both a nod. "Good luck." Though maybe that was more for herself than for them. They could probably handle themselves.

---

Of course Vashti was here.

Now that she had confirmation of what was going on, she didn't hesitate to join in the attack tonight. She had to be here to help get her babies and the rest of the students out. It would have been better if her husband and Regina and Naia hadn't decided to join too, so she didn't have to worry about them as well, but she also knew it'd be impossible to stop them.

So she would just have to keep an eye on them as best she could.

---

Having kissed Kiera farewell and ensuring she was safe with Daphne, Atticus had joined the crowd outside the gates. He spotted Talia Trent alongside the Minister, January Bones, and Gus Rainwater in another part of the crowd, but it didn't seem the time to push his way through to get to them. The gates had burst opened and they would be moving soon...

Having been connected to Talia's group and helping where he could, thank Merlin they could finally help at Hogwarts. It had been difficult not being able to contact his daughter Cordelia, and knowing his niece Andromeda and his nephews Atlas and Aries were there as well... He was more than ready to finally remove this so-called Neo Alliance. They couldn't be allowed to spread their influence any further.

It hadn't occurred to Oakey until a few minutes after the gates blew apart exactly where he had marched toward. Oh well it would be his luck that he somehow found himself in the frontline. He turned his head around and looked nervously into the crowd of everyone behind him. Though wave of nervousness quickly washed away. He had heard in the ruckus behind him someone say his name. He couldn't place them but it sounded like Ella. Was he really that noticeable? He could see Sophie, and Alexa, and Vivi, and there was Kurumi too. They all looked extra furious today. Good. They would need that fury wouldn't they. Mom's could get real terrifying if you messed with their children. He would know. His Wife nearly killed him tossing him out the door leaving him no time to grab his lucky Whomping Willow rune he made here in his Seventh Year. Don't discount the Dad's either. He looked to his other side. Ethan McCarthy had marched along side him. No doubt he was just as concerned and mad with the Neo-Alliance as Oakey himself was. Dad Rage!

Then his eyes caught sight of some of the former Professors during his time. Professor "Mama Badger" Hadley...or uh...she was married now right? Sorry some names just stuck to him better. The Librarian Kitridge was marching in as well. And there...Professor Flamsteed as well. Look Oakey wore no red today. Whatever that meant. He still never quite understood the man's obsession with Star's Wars.

Now for real that bit of worry was gone. This was time to really make a stand and it eased his heart knowing so many his time at Hogwarts and friendships he forged were here to back him up. It didn't feel so bad to be at the front now.

"O-Old!?" Huh...no Oakey was a very young 41. Like a spring chicken! "You've become quite the Witch, Evan." Oakey said with a smile growing on his lips and pat his Son's Ex-Girlfriend on her shoulder. No...not an Ex. Evan has proven to be more than that in his eyes. Whether or not she would rekindle a relationship with Drewett or not which she should Even Eastwood was a family friend, and would he even dare to say like a daughter to him. "You noticed Tank? Good eyes. He was once mine and a very good lucky charm back in the day. Much better than an Owl for a pet."

He turned to face toward the gate once more his hand still on Evan's shoulder but with his wand Oakey wordlessly cast a spell on himself. With which suddenly a pair of Moose Antlers begun to grow out from his already wavy hair. This was for anyone who dared to get to close in combat with him! His balance was perfect he felt like he could take on the whole Neo-Alliance now.

___________

"Gryffindoring." Torrance nodded at Vi's idea her brother brought up. "Right." He gripped his wand in his hand then looked down toward it. "Vi, I don't really know yet if I can go around doing that yet." Being a Gryffindor meant something to him once. "I'm gonna kick butt and take names. It's the least I can do for everyone who gave me this second chance."

With Vi along side him he felt some extra motivation now. Keep her from dying. He won't let his Best Friend make any heroic sacrifices. She had her son, his Godson, and Ace both back at home. He also started to think on how best to utilize himself. Sure he could hold his own in a fight but his real talent came in healing, and there was bound to be some healing needed.

He gripped his wand tighter.

"Those are impressive titles, Mr. Holden." Tory managed to speak to Vi's brother. "How about we catch up tomorrow. You can tell me some embarrassing stories about Vi." he took Simon's hand and shook it firmly. Then awkwardly fumbled a business card flipped in his direction and pocketing it.

They saw them coming up the pathway to the gates, numbers they had not expected but they were no less ready. It would happen sooner or later. Not everyone agreed with the greater good, not everyone could yet see the vision their leader had so carefully been constructing.

On the order, they burst out from the castle, wands brandished as they stormed toward the gates.

Lights flashed in all directions as they began flinging spells. This wave would protect the entrance but should they fall, there were others waiting further in to take their place.

The castle would not fall.

"GET THEM!!"

Spells zipped this way and that, creating a hazard zone no sooner than the followers arrived.

The Neo-Alliance creeps at the Ministry were fancy and well put together, so it was a little jarring to see the rabble hanging out at Hogwarts. No hiding behind poufy hair and dress robes here. These uglies were chilling with her children? It was hard enough to encourage teenager hygiene without giving them escaped Azkaban convicts as role models.

Not that she had a lot of time to worry about it (and honestly, she'd take a room full of stinky teenagers over having them locked up here at Hogwarts), since this particular group of uglies was throwing spells left and right. Genevieve James let the first group of Order members (and friends) throw up defensive spells, and she dodged around jagged pieces of fallen gate to make her way onto the grounds. She crouched behind one of the dismantled boars while she regrouped, and then threw herself forward again.

Try and catch this Auror, ugliessssssss!

Well, now things were getting interesting, weren't they?

It had been a while since Kit had been in a true duel—this, arguably, couldn't be considered as much of a duel as a battle, what with the plethora of adversaries and allies—but it got Kit's heart racing in the best way nonetheless. A small smile broke out across his face; sure, it was a serious battle, but why not have some fun with it, yeah?

Kit charged the Alliance with the rest of the group, eager to get this show on the road. He casted two nonverbal Stupfy's at the Alliance before putting up a shield charm around himself and some of those close to him to deflect any stray spells. "Phew, this is exhilarating, huh?" he chuckled.

Vi listened as her best friend spoke. She was glad to be by his side but dear MERLIN's socks.... She missed her baby and Ace. It felt so bizarre not having him near. Oct... Almost a year old now and fully developing a personality. Thinking of him made her eyes glisten with tears before she blinked them away. The brunette cast her gaze towards her mate as he spoke. Ah, yes... He was referencing the trouble that he had gotten into with the Ministry. She remembered that all too well - she had gone through a series of emotions - awe, ANGER (she-HULK like!), and disappointment (like a true parent in training). She nodded before a smile tugged at her lips, betraying her solemn facial expression. "Then I'll kick butt too with you but we gotta get you home. Safe and sound. Oct needs his godfather." Merlin. She should have brought back up - maybe called Matt Merriwether up to see if he could help drag Tory out of here if worse came to worse. Or Melbourne and Kirk? Or even Skylar? Yes, Vi would play that card if need be. Mhmm...

"I'll guard you. I think you're naturally more on the defensive side, right? I recall that you were always the best at healing spells and whatnot." Vi preferred offensive charms herself. She was rather rubbish at healing so - her and Tory - actually made a good wizard hit group.

Then Tory proceeded to COMPLIMENT her brother. She scoffed, rolling her eyes, and throwing a hand to the right. "Don't ENCOURAGE his ego by calling him that! Just call him Simon!! Everyone does." she quickly interrupted before shooting an icy gaze at her brother. Riddikulus! Really... .And then he did the whole business card. "Merlin give me grace..." she muttered before looking for a disrtaction.

She didn't have to look to hard because the Neo-Allicance was here. She bit her lip. "Right... Catching up sounds best. I got the right, you got the left. Simon, you got the rear?" she said.

As Tory and Olivia conversed, Simon couldn't help but gaze around at the rest of the non-Neo-Alliance members that were here. There were several Professors that he recognised in this moment - Hadley to name - and then ... He saw CALEB! FELLOW MATE- YO!! Where was Grayson, Agatha, and Ethan? Even Cutty? Simon's thoughts flicked to the inexplicable Cutty Mordaunt for a moment before they came to a craaashing halt when he saw a very familiar face. He almost felt giddy looking at the man because it reminded him of the first time he had stopped by his office to talk STAR TREK!

His icy blue eyes widened as he saw --- FOR THE LOVE OF STAR TREK AND ALL THINGS FOR SPOCK!! -- Airey Flamsteed. His former Astronomy Professor AND fellow Star Trek fangirl *AHEM* man. Fan-man. Yes. He was going to try to get his attention but Tory had complimented him so he was being very gracious and grateful. Mhmm... Simon Erik Holden had always been one to have manners - very different to his impatient and LOUD sister. Who was shrieking right now... How ungrateful..... No wonder the Sorting Hat had kept them in opposite houses. Hmm....

He offered Tory a smile. "Absolutely. Talk business tomorrow. Fight badies today?" he offered before smirking oh so very cunningly. "With pleasure. I think I have a few to share. I think we should trade them. I haven't heard much about what she did DURING her time here at Hogwarts. I'd love to hear all the details. Truly."

And then the bad guys showed up. Simon readied his wand, thinking of his wife, before following his sister's instructions. He cast a few protective charms on the group, readying for the oncoming charge. This was it.

He saw a fellow wizard (Kit) cast a protective spell who was near him and nodded. "Thanks!" Simon would make sure to keep an eye on him for that kindness. They were all in this together.

Hamlet Blackthorne had been talking all year with supporters of the Neo-Alliance and their talk of wizard freedom and the greater good, and he felt they had a lot of good points. His family couldn't, or wouldn't, understand, especially his supposedly smarter older brother, Helicanus. And his father--he had expected better from the formidable old man, considering his history, but unexpectedly, Ignatius had balked, demanding to know "just who are these people?!?" And the endless complaining and worrying about their half-blooded cousin, Violet. His sister should never have gotten involved with that Muggle, and if their union had produced an annoying little girl who was too smart for her own good, that was not Hamlet's problem.

He had not yet been recruited to the ranks of the new order--not yet--but after hearing the broadcast from the Ministry, he had come to Hogwarts on his own to see if he could lend a hand to the cause.

Carter did not hesitate to answer the call. He'd been worried about his baby since she stopped writing and could only imagine what she'd been through. He knew she'd do what she could to undermine where she could.

It was a comfort seeing so many familiar faces. It was almost a reunion of sorts.

He just hoped he still knew enough to help. He wasn't the best dueler, in fact, his second year was really the last fight he'd been in. But he did know a few healing spells which might come in handy. Plus, those quidditch reflexes had to be good for something. Which he immediately used to deflect an incoming spell.

------

Bennett was a little worried about this. He'd never seen the castle before, despite his younger siblings both attending the school. Hopefully that didn't give the other side too much of an upper hand.

He swallowed hard and looked over the gathering crowd as spells started flying. He threw up a shield charm and headed in with the group.

Daisy was almost blinded by the brightness of the spells being cast by the Neo-Alliance followers. Blinking rapidly, she aimed her wand at the group and yelled, "Protego Horribilis!" Oh, this woman wasn't going to be intimidated anymore.

Lucille watched as the chaos became even more...chaotic. Watching the actions of the people she had agreed with initially aka The Neo-Alliance was making her question her loyalties. Lucille needed her mind to be agile so she could battle the dark wizards and her cousin was in the castle. Fiona was like a little sister to her and there was no way that Fiona would be harmed.

"Protego Horribilis!" Lucille cast with a voice full of seething anger as fiery as her hair.

Missa had expected familiar faces, but she had certainly not expected the feeling that would accompany seeing them there. It was remarkable, commendable. And somehow it made her feel braver.

Specifically when Eiji's mom's arm went around her shoulder, Missa felt a sense of duty weighing her down. It wasn't just the students they were here to rescue, they had to make sure they got home save too. The thought of Eiji worried sick crossed her then, but there was no turning back now - was there? They had to go on. "I'll do my best, maa'm" she braved a smile in her direction as best as she could.

And brave was all she could be as she heard Nettie and saw Evan in the crowd. Not feeling alone in any sense - she moved towards them, only to be completely blindsided as the Neo Alliance followers started firing back, "GET DOWN" she shouted toward them, before ducking herself to dodge the spells.

Cursing under her breath, she waved her wand and cast a few spells defending herself and others around her.

"Lets keep pushing forward!"

This was everything he ever wanted, to see Hogwarts at war and to see the greater good finally win. This was where all his potions and all his work would finally pay off. Since he was a kid he was told how great this could be and now he was living to see it.

As he moved through the crowd Edward Blaze Jr. was going to fight to win, he would take down anyone in his way and this time on these grounds he didn't have to hide his true feelings or act like they weren't appropriate.

"Avada Kedavra"

He sent the spell off into the crowd coming towards the castle.

Soooo, these were the types of people the Alliance thought appropriate to embed with children? Ew. Had they just broken out of Azkaban?

There was no time to dwell on that or the fact that she could see boo-thing's mum out the corner of her eye with no sign of said man anywhere as the fight was now starting. Archer threw up a shield charm before she could get hit, thankful for her chaser reflexes. "Avis! Oppugno!" A small flock of birds flew from her wand and in the direction of the Alliance members, stopping to peck at the dirty peoples' eyes.

Now wasn't the time to go light.

"Allez!" Roxanne cried, instructing her people. The time of peaceful assembly had ended and there was no more time to dwell on outside things.

Dodging a rather nasty green light, she returned as good as she got with a rather nasty cutting spell. If these people wanted to fight dirty, well so be it!

Ariana could barely breathe, her heart was in her stomach and she could throw up at any moment. Her BABY boy was in this building and she wasn't going home without him, without protecting them, all of them. She stood next to her husband,well almost behind him if were being honest, until the barriers started to come down and then the adrenaline hit and momma bear was ready to die fighting for what she believed in. She was sure to come dressed ready in a pair on tennis shoes and not heels for once but she was ready. She overheard familier voices behind her and she saw Ethan come up next to Oakey, her husband, and she reached for his hand once more and gave it a slight squeeze before the full barrier was broken and it was literal war time. Her wand flew up in defense as she saw streaks of color flying towards her "oh merlin!!" it had definitely been a long time since she used any sort of defensive or offensive spells but it was crazy how natural they seemed to come to her. "Stupefy!!" she didn't necessarily want to kill anyone just seriously injure them for someone else to do the deed.


She was NOT staying home!!!! this was the biggest thing since 'he who should not be named' and she was GOING to be a part of it somehow. Even after her parents ordered her to stay home she still followed their lead and came up just between her parents as all heck seemed to break out. "Cairo better be okay!" sure her brothers were ALL annoying but they were her brothers and she still loved them and the second she found an opening she was barging into the school straight to the gryffindor tower and getting her brother, wherever he may be. Maria let out a yelp as a spell flew from her mothers wand the instant she said something. She was just going to ask for forgiveness later, there wasn't anytime now. "Dad! watch it!" her father was busy with his antlers!! "Protego!" shouldn't they be protecting her here!? This was as rush and she was just gonna take all the punishment from her parents and aunts and uncles here later. hehehe hi uncle Ethan.. aunt Ella.. we see you, just ignore us. Her mind was focused on one thing and one thing only CAIRO... She couldn't just be a big sister to Mark... that'd be boring!

Oliver Petrov: Recruited Order Member

Oliver had a brief moment to look around him, taking in the faces of those surrounding him. There were many he didn't recognize, and a few he did. Former professors and classmates. There was Kaiser, who had recruited Oliver into the order. If Oliver had known the boy had gotten hurt and was supposed to be at St. Mungos he would have gone over there and scolded him. But of course he didn't know that, so he merely continued looking around. He saw Jessa, and gave her a nod that he wasn't positive she would even see. He wasn't close with Jessa necessarily, but she was married to Valko and the mother of his nephews and so she was family. Valko was not there, which he assumed meant he was home with his children just like Dragomir was. Maybe they could coordinate.

He shouldn't think about Dragomir and his own children, because it was only tempting him to turn around and go home and hold all three of them in his arms. But as much as he loved them and just wanted to be with them, he had to be here. The kids in the castle needed him. He thought about them, the Stemp House kids. Noah. Juniper. Cappi. Sophia. Theodora. Emika. Falcon. And so many more but someone didn't want to sit here and list them all. But he was thinking about all of them and that was driving him forward.

And then he heard his name, and turned toward the source. There was Victor, his friend and fellow Stemp House worker. Oliver tried to give him a friendly smile but it came off a bit tense. Understandably. He accepted the hug and gave his friend a brief shoulder squeeze. They were here for the same reason, and Oliver was a bit relieved to see him. They could watch each other's backs, and work toward the same goal. "We'll get them," he agreed. All of them. If he found out anyone had hurt any of the Stemp House kids then they would have to answer directly to him. And yes Oliver was not exactly a fighter, and tbh more accurately described as a cinnamon roll, but he could get pretty fierce if his loved ones were threatened.

Then there they were. The bad guys. The Neo-Alliance. Coming from inside the school, where all the children were. Oliver hoped they weren't completely ignorant of what was going on and were somewhere safe. They should not be in the middle of a fight. For now, Oliver still felt... alright. While it had hit him that this was a real fight and a real war and he was actually here, he was still within a large group of allies. He knew they would get split up, and things would get rough. But for now they were a unified front. He threw up a shield charm and carefully followed some that were making their way forward. His goal was getting into the castle.

If this weren't a real war Mandy would've been amused by the look of the people coming out of the castle. Merlin, haven't they showered after leaving Azkaban at all? Disgusting!

She didn't have much time to ponder about their hygiene as what seemed like hundreds of spells were being cast their way. Knowing the opposition, she was sure not having protective spells up was the stupidest thing ever since the Killing Curse was probably a favourite. So Mandy, in a surprising turn of events, focused on these type of spells first as the group started to go through the gates. A moving shield was the best option for now, as the resistance should be going forward and not stand there outside of the grounds. That'd be stupid, too.

Sophie tightened the grip on her wand when she saw the Neo Alliance followers burst out from the Castle. If her blood hadn't been boiling before, it was now. Those horrible people were coming out of the Castle, which was housing HER BELOVED CHILDREN. She had uncharacteristically ignored all the people talking around her, including some of her closest friends and family members, and she continued to do so as she moved forwards. This brunette was focused and she was decided to not stop until she was certain both her children were safe and sound.

As soon as the flashing lights started to fly their way, Sophie directed her aim at some of those filthy people. Did the Neo Alliance want a piece of her!?!?!?!? DID THEY!?! "CONFRINGO! BOMBARDA! BOMBARDA MAXIMA!"

SHE SAID TO GET OUT OF HER WAY, DID SHE NOT???

Sweet Merlin, those people were wasting no time! At first Marcy did as most others in their large group: cast the strongest protective spells she could around as many people as possible, including and especially her own daughter who she saw going straight to casting offensive spells, and dramatic ones at that.

When she was happy with the protection she had provided, she turned her attention back to the... had they all come from Azkaban? It looked like it, but Marcy would've never thought there had been so many prisoners there. "Stupefy!" She then started sending multiple stunning spells at the stereotypical, bigoted group.

Clayton Reynolds had spent literally his entire Hogwarts career trying to stay alive. Yet here he was - putting his life at risk because his SIBLINGS were in there! None of the other Reynolds siblings had answered his mirror calls when he asked if they wanted to go fight, which was ironic considering two of them were supposedly from the BRAVE house. Whatever. Guess he had to take matters into his own hands.

As soon as he joined the crowd - chaos ensued. A group of rabid looking buffoons that Clayton could ONLY assume were members of the Neo-Alliance were charging at them, whereas the rest of the crowd was all heading TOWARDs the castle, equally terrifying in their assault. He didn't go to school for math, but he was pretty sure the numbers were on their side here...

A blaze of green shot past him, and he followed the path of the spell back to the original caster, who was...wait, EDDIE? EDDIE BLAZE?? FARAH'S EDDIE?

Pieces of what had happened started to go together in his brain. Eddie was here...and on the side of the Neo-Alliance? And he was sending out KILLING CURSES?! If Clay had the mind to speak right now, he'd be swearing up a storm under his breath.

An anger that he had never felt before rose up in his stomach, and before he knew what he was doing, he was CHARGING at him at full speed. He crashed in to him with a loud yell, years of pent up animosity coming out as he attempted to pull him to the ground.

***

There was hardly any time for a true reunion before the crowd of Alliance members was charging, and Nettie flung herself to the ground as Missa yelled out a warning to them. She gripped her wand tightly and as soon as the immediate danger - was that a Killing Curse?! - was past, she hopped back up and charged forward.

She sent stunning spell after stunning spell into the group that was charging at them, not wanting to actually KILL anyone but subdue them long enough to overtake the school once again.

A flash of green light missed Daisy by less than an inch. This caused her to stop breathing for a second that it seemed that she had indeed been a victim. Thankfully, she was still alive. Whipping around to where the Killing Curse had been cast, she aimed her wand at Edward Blaze Jr and fired a "Flipendo Tria!"

Lucille witnessed the man fire a Killing Curse to the group. She recognised him as a relative of a student that Fiona was close friends with. Lucille wasn't going to let that nugget of info stop her. With a glint in her eyes, she aimed her wand at the man and cast, "Crucio!" She hoped this would temporarily stop Edward Blaze Jr.

The Antler'ed Man was about to make his charge into the castle grounds when suddenly his daughter Xaria came bursting onto the scene. No! She had promised to stay home with Drewett and to help with watching his brother's infant triplets and their three dogs. Part of him wanted to reprimand Xaria. She was always like this, she never listened and never took anything they said seriously. But he wasn't going to stop her. She was old enough to know that this was a dangerous and serious situation they were in. Saving Cairo was a top priority for her as well. Oakey would welcome that support. She did prevent a few of the now onslaught of spells from making contact with him too. He gave her a thankful nod. But now was no longer a time for idle chit chat. If he daughter was going to fight she'll hopefully remember to keep her emotions in check and if she needed to keep safe and they got separated then hopefully (again) she saw all their family friends and colleagues surrounding them. Stick with anyone here. Watch their backs and they'll watch yours.

With many defensive spells being tossed up Oakey felt confident. Rushing forward and ducking for cover where he could manage it and finding a clear path ahead when he witnessed someone actually cast the killing curse Oakey nearly jumped from his spot to go after them, but soon after some of the others were engaging him instead. This cleared a path past him and he continued to run in to the grounds. "Flipendo Maxima!" He cast toward two grunts to toss them off their feet. His running speed didn't let up. He lowered his head. Whether his spell hit or not they were about to get slammed into some rubble behind them.