The grounds of Hogwarts were chaos. Bryony had given herself a second to think that as she’d dashed off from the gates toward the wooden bridge, Auror sense noticing a grouping over in that vicinity. Emilia had gone elsewhere and she imagined Frankie was dealing with his wife, so off she’d run, wand in hand. Which had been advantageous since there had been no lack of needing to protect herself as she’d run.

One of these days I’d really like to be coming back to Hogwarts for a good reason, she had thought as she skidded to a halt just outside of the anti-gravity bubble she suspected Flamsteed had cast, seeing the older man amidst the crowd. Flamsteed, a few other fellow Ministry people, and, bizarrely, her old headmistress from Hogwarts back when she was ickle. Fighting for the Alliance? It was absolutely mindboggling, but one thing she knew how to do well was focus. Compartmentalize. Confusion didn’t belong on a battlefield, not when one wanted to survive.

The Inferi had seemed to be well at hand, given the number of people focusing on them, so the blonde Auror had chosen another target, shielding herself from the spells sent her way at the same time she aimed a nonverbal Incarcerous in the direction of the crazy witch on the broom (Vesna)

Peggy had tossed a few other hexes out before she spotted the tell-tale green flash of a killing curse. She quickly cast a nonverbal shield charm about herself as she turned to see who it was aimed at. That--was that Oakey Gunter? Aww, she remembered him from school. Less aww that he was the intended target of that killing curse, though. He seemed unscathed, though, so she turned away only to see her favorite professor Hadley, being attacked by...oh no.

Those were Inferi.

And why was this young beater going after the inferi with a bat?

Peggy barely noticed the others she knew or recognized joining the fray, Camilo from the U14 league, Flamsteed and Aurora from work. She was too busy. She conjured her own bat, lit it on fire, and proceeded to swing the bat in one hand, her wand protecting her in the other. Zoryn Chosen had a good idea, she just hadn't thought it all the way through. She did not notice Flamsteed's antigravity spell lifting people and inferi into the air, as she was outside the range of the spell. She did finally realize that her former headmistress was on the wrong side. Weren't Hufflepuffs meant to be nice to everyone? Wasn't that their one thing? Also why were there so many former Hufflepuffs here?

Still with her shield charm up when the first lightning bolt from Vesna hit, Peggy staggered backward from the magical force. A few more green flashes had gone by, sufficiently distracting her that her shield charm faltered.

She howled in pain as the second lightning bolt hit, instinctively reissuing a shield charm as she crumpled from the intense pain. It was worse than every time she'd had her arm broken by a missed bludger, combined. Logically, she knew it was not as bad as the cruciatus curse, but she'd been lucky enough not to experience that one, so she decided this was definitely worse.

ZORYN CHOSEN: ORDER ALIGNED

She’d stick to her bat, thanks. Turning to give the old man (Oakey) a LOOK, Zoryn shouted right back. ”The bridge’s made out of WOOD, dude!” Fire was great (her favorite of all elements), but she trusted her bat with her LIFE.

Plus, she’d just rely upon her quick reflexes to dodge the incoming spells. She was doing a mighty fine job of it to so TAKE THAT, YOU SOGGY FROG BRAINED NEO-CHUMPS! ”AYYYY, AYYY, AYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!” And another WHACK to a zombie. If it weren’t for the whole life threatening part, this might’ve even been FUN. But what was life without a little chaos anyway?

Fortunately, the anti-gravity spell didn’t have full-reach and Zoryn managed to stay out of range. And look! Someone else (Peggy) brought their bat too and set it on FIRE. Innovative. ”NICE BAT,” she shouted, before turning around to whack at a nearby zombie creeper.

”OI! Zombie scum, MEET MY BACKSWING.”

*THWACK*

She is small, but she is mighty.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverTiger

Bryony Keighley: Order-aligned

The grounds of Hogwarts were chaos. Bryony had given herself a second to think that as she’d dashed off from the gates toward the wooden bridge, Auror sense noticing a grouping over in that vicinity. Emilia had gone elsewhere and she imagined Frankie was dealing with his wife, so off she’d run, wand in hand. Which had been advantageous since there had been no lack of needing to protect herself as she’d run.

One of these days I’d really like to be coming back to Hogwarts for a good reason, she had thought as she skidded to a halt just outside of the anti-gravity bubble she suspected Flamsteed had cast, seeing the older man amidst the crowd. Flamsteed, a few other fellow Ministry people, and, bizarrely, her old headmistress from Hogwarts back when she was ickle. Fighting for the Alliance? It was absolutely mindboggling, but one thing she knew how to do well was focus. Compartmentalize. Confusion didn’t belong on a battlefield, not when one wanted to survive.

The Inferi had seemed to be well at hand, given the number of people focusing on them, so the blonde Auror had chosen another target, shielding herself from the spells sent her way at the same time she aimed a nonverbal Incarcerous in the direction of the crazy witch on the broom (Vesna)

She was so close. SO CLOSE.

At the last second, the woman's silent spell sent ropes flying after Vesna and got tangled on her broom and her legs. A disgusting howl escaped the woman's lips as she struggled... and then the witch tangled in ropes dropped from view.

Fire Whip! Fire Whip! Fire Whip! Oakey continued to hit toward the Inferi trying to free Professor Hadley from their grip like some kind of cheap-on-fire-Indiana-Jones-Knock-Off. Needing to step forward and back to avoid the hands of the Inferi himself. He didn't have much time to retort back at the girl who told him what everyone already knew. At this rate...Taking out the bridge to stop the advancing Neo-Alliance wouldn't sound like a half bad idea. The Bridge could be rebuilt. Much of Hogwarts would need to be rebuilt after tonight. "Hadley! Come on! Fight them off." He shouted toward her. He had to duck for cover once more as spells were shot his way. Some more just barely missing him by a hair.

He pushed forward again and held his hand out to Hadley. "Come on Professor!"

He just barely had her. Then without any warning...Flamsteed?! Professor Flamsteed as well!? He was...oh no don't don't.

No not again

He tried to grab at Hadley once more as he felt himself being lifted up along side a number of the Inferi. He tried once more to grab at one of the wooden posts near the front of the bridge but he missed he was just going up.

Anti-Gravity Gunter was up in the air with undead and not a bunch of colored balls. This was a very different kind of situation. Oakey kicked his feet out and away from some of the rotting creatures. He pointed his wand toward any that might have been caught by the spell and cast a few wordless incendio's toward them. He looked at his location and kicked his feet once more placing him over some ground. A He quickly cast finite on himself and was prepared to do a quick arresto momentum to slow his fall.

But too late. He turned to see a ton of small bolts of lightning come his way. He tossed up a shield as fast he could. The bolts of lightning hit. He let out a scream as he felt the surge of electricity move threw his body. His fall had not been slowed either and Anti-Gravity Gunter met the dirt hard knocking the wind out of him.

He got to his hands and knees feeling some shock still in him and breathing hard trying to catch his breath. The dirt and blood on his face charred black. He crawled clumsily to get himself behind a nearby rock. He winced hard and held his right hand. His whole body hurt, from the fall and from the lightning... and...and... He looked to his right hand. It was there, but he couldn't feel it. He couldn't close it into a fist either...oh no. Calm down Gunter maybe the feeling will come back. Stay calm.

Lucille had just fired her series of spells when she saw the young man (Nem) fire a lightning bolt spell in her direction. As she dodged the spell and placed a powerful Shield Charm around her, she felt herself floating in the air, thanks to Flamsteed. Looking around, she wrapped her free arm around a wooden pillar. Her eyes almost glowed with the amount of fury she felt when the female broom jockey (Vesna) begin to head for the castle.

Lucille was ready to fire a spell at the woman when she saw the blond Auror (Bryony) tangle the broomstick riding witch who disappeared from view. A single line of fire was emitted from her wand and aimed at the Inferi.

Charlotte had her wand up and ready of course, it would be silly not to be prepared to react with a moment's notice with all these spells going off. She'd cast featherlight on herself to make it easier to move quickly, and she was darting in and out of the fight, hauling back the injured and directing them to the relative safety of the Great Hall, where the triage was being set up. She'd volunteered to play fetch, to help those who needed it, rather than fighting herself. The problem was you couldn't NOT fight if you were out there, and she was getting a good work out with her shield spells too.

The chaos at the wooden bridge had pulled her in, and she ran into the mix in time to see multiple floating inferi, a lighting strike, and finally a woman dropping from the sky, wrapped in vines. Luckily she had also seen that that particular witch was also fighting for the WRONG side, so Char didn't try and help that one. Maybe there would be time to help the injured on the other side later, but it was hardly a priority right now. She ran in toward the woman who had bore the brunt of that lighting spell, but then saw someone ELSE fall.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Moose

Anti-Gravity Gunter was up in the air with undead and not a bunch of colored balls. This was a very different kind of situation. Oakey kicked his feet out and away from some of the rotting creatures. He pointed his wand toward any that might have been caught by the spell and cast a few wordless incendio's toward them. He looked at his location and kicked his feet once more placing him over some ground. A He quickly cast finite on himself and was prepared to do a quick arresto momentum to slow his fall.

But too late. He turned to see a ton of small bolts of lightning come his way. He tossed up a shield as fast he could. The bolts of lightning hit. He let out a scream as he felt the surge of electricity move threw his body. His fall had not been slowed either and Anti-Gravity Gunter met the dirt hard knocking the wind out of him.

He got to his hands and knees feeling some shock still in him and breathing hard trying to catch his breath. The dirt and blood on his face charred black. He crawled clumsily to get himself behind a nearby rock. He winced hard and held his right hand. His whole body hurt, from the fall and from the lightning... and...and... He looked to his right hand. It was there, but he couldn't feel it. He couldn't close it into a fist either...oh no. Calm down Gunter maybe the feeling will come back. Stay calm.

It was fine, really! Just people raining from the sky! Being hit by so much lightning! Char's eyes widened slightly but when the man landed not too far from the injured woman she was making her way towards. He had crawled behind a rock which was a good call, and she hollered out "Stay there! I'm a healer, I'll be right there!" She said, still running.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waddles

Peggy Laplace: order-aligned

Peggy had tossed a few other hexes out before she spotted the tell-tale green flash of a killing curse. She quickly cast a nonverbal shield charm about herself as she turned to see who it was aimed at. That--was that Oakey Gunter? Aww, she remembered him from school. Less aww that he was the intended target of that killing curse, though. He seemed unscathed, though, so she turned away only to see her favorite professor Hadley, being attacked by...oh no.

Those were Inferi.

And why was this young beater going after the inferi with a bat?

Peggy barely noticed the others she knew or recognized joining the fray, Camilo from the U14 league, Flamsteed and Aurora from work. She was too busy. She conjured her own bat, lit it on fire, and proceeded to swing the bat in one hand, her wand protecting her in the other. Zoryn Chosen had a good idea, she just hadn't thought it all the way through. She did not notice Flamsteed's antigravity spell lifting people and inferi into the air, as she was outside the range of the spell. She did finally realize that her former headmistress was on the wrong side. Weren't Hufflepuffs meant to be nice to everyone? Wasn't that their one thing? Also why were there so many former Hufflepuffs here?

Still with her shield charm up when the first lightning bolt from Vesna hit, Peggy staggered backward from the magical force. A few more green flashes had gone by, sufficiently distracting her that her shield charm faltered.

She howled in pain as the second lightning bolt hit, instinctively reissuing a shield charm as she crumpled from the intense pain. It was worse than every time she'd had her arm broken by a missed bludger, combined. Logically, she knew it was not as bad as the cruciatus curse, but she'd been lucky enough not to experience that one, so she decided this was definitely worse.

Char slid to a stop, dropping to her knees in front of the woman,

"Come on, can you move? Here." She cast a targeted immobulus and numbing spell combo on the woman's arm. "Lets get out of the way, behind that rock." Her Mungos badge glinted in the light of a few nearby reflected spells and she offered her hand in assistance and looked back towards the other lightning victim. It would be easier if she could get them both together, and if they could help each other to get clear....

"The great hall, we've taken it over and set up a healer station, and if you can still cast with your other arm, you can help defend it after we patch you up."

The Inferi were very busy, attacking all these people. As the first witches and wizards began attacking with fire, they retreated from the spell casters, some quicker than others. Those few corpses that could not avoid the fire succumbed to it, and lumbered, burning, away from their fellows.

Several Inferi received solid thwacks in the head from Zoryn Chosen's bat, but they did not stop attempting to grab her or the others. What is a blow to the head when you're already dead?

Those clustered around the woman, Josephine Hadley, continued grabbing her, and attempted to drag her to the side of the bridge. The generalized flame attacks on these Inferi had little impact in saving the woman, for the corpses attempted to drag her with them as they fled the flame. The proximity of the caster (Oakey)of the more precise flame whips led to more success. Half the Inferi attacking the woman backed off, avoiding the thin tendrils of flame in a final act of self-preservation, while a few remaining Inferi still tugged the woman closer to the railing.

Those Inferi who were within range of Airey Flamsteed's antigravity spell floated into the air, grabbing at each other, at the Order, at the bridge, at air. Their enchantress had not anticipated such an attack, and their own brains no longer functioned, so they were useless in the face of such an experience, there was nothing they could do but float. The fireballs from the Gladin couple landed on every floating Inferi they had aimed at. As such easy targets, the floating Inferi were decimated. And when the antigravity spell wore off, they landed in a heap, the fire spreading from Inferius to Inferius within the pile.

A few Inferi near the woman with the flaming bat caught fire, but most retreated, resulting mostly in the remaining Inferi giving the woman and the medic a large berth as they wished to avoid the bat of fire.

Returning to the woman (Zoryn) with the fire-less bat, one Inferus grabbed ahold of the bat, suffering multiple blows to its head and torso before it attempted to wrench it from her hands. Another grabbed for the woman's arms, and a third attempted to grab her legs.

"Maybe imperioed," Ethan nodded at Wade as he continued to grip his wand while keeping his eyes Nemesis and Truebridge. "Or maybe not," he added as Wade sent up a shield protecting them from many of the spells she sent their way. She was absolutely mad.

And what was even more maddening was the child's answer back to him. Not that dangerous? Ethan was confused just a moment until he realized that Nemesis was aligned with the extremist group. Just what had been going on in this school the past year.

"They've been brainwashing the students," he told Minerva. "We need to get to Morgan." Well, obviously. But what if he had been brainwashed too? What if all of their children had been brainwashed? He didn't know what he'd do if this cult trained their children to fight for these warped views against them.

Was that... Professor Flamsteed? What was he...? Oh no, he remembered that spell somewhere in the back of his mind and instinctively grabbed one of the bridge supports with his non-wand hand. His lower body soon floated upwards, still holding on, still holding his wand. Why, Flamsteed, WHY. Ethan knew why, and maybe it was a halfway decent plan, but this was rather inconvenient.

He cast a quick Finite and Arresto Momentum to himself, then sent spell after nonverbal spell - incarcerous and fulgari, along with a few stupefies for good measure - to the crowd of Neo-Alliance followers, including Truebridge herself, but doing his best to avoid the teenager. He could not bring himself to cast at them just yet. Ethan was also aware of the continued fire being cast at the corralled inferi, knowing that was usually a good plan with those sorts, but also... they were on a wooden bridge. Although...maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to burn down the bridge with all the baddies on it. Though he'd still need to keep the child safe.

Was Oakey okay? Ethan quickly located him, assured that he was still alive and being tended to, then went back to sending his stunning and incarcerous spells. He was worried for his friend of course, but they clearly needed man power out here to defeat these guys. And he was going to help defeat these guys!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In case anyone was wondering, Henry did not ask his wife, Charlotte, to stay away from what he was certain to be a harrowing battle. If anyone thought he could keep Char from doing exactly what she wanted to do, they were crazy. And so when they heard the announcement on the radio and she wanted to go, all Henry could do was join her. He didn't even give it another thought.

He was no healer, but he'd been a decent dueller in his day and learned plenty from Char. He wasn't exactly interested in fighting himself so much, but he knew that covering Char with any shields or spells necessary to make sure she could safely tend to the injured would be a great choice for him.

Henry ran out alongside her towards the wooden bridge, his own featherlight charm cast and deflecting a few spells on their way. This was a crazy scene, but he was used to those having been a student himself, even if they had been different circumstances. He noted who was on the ground and who Char could tend to first, and he head towards the man (Oakey) crouched behind a rock.

"Are you okay? Can you walk?" Henry asked the man and offered his non-dominant hand to him. "I'm going to get you out of here and into the Great Hall to see a healer." Out of the battlefield would be best for him and they could assess his injuries.

Stella Starson- Order aligned
The colors of different color spells flying around was enough to make anyone feel uneasy and their emotions high. That's exactly what Stella Starson was feeling, with so many emotions in her head, she knew that she had to keep a level head and keep her emotions in check. There was no time to show any signs of emotions, not when there was a war going on. Merlin didn't seem long that she left this place, now there was a war going on here?! What else was new and why was it always Hogwarts they attacked?



Her Chestnut wand tightly in her left hand she charged towards the inferi wand a blazing sending a nonverbal Incendio towards them. Seeing some of the Neo Alliance flying towards the castle she growled. Seeing Bryony send the old hag down she smirked, one down many more to go. Oh crap, was it just her or was the inferi getting bigger and bigger?

This wasn't how she imagined coming back here was going to be like. She was worried about her friends and her boyfriend Oceanus, she wondered if he was here. She knew that he had to be here, he wasn't going to back down on this chance. She didn't want anyone hurt, but knew that wasn't going to be possible with all of this choas .

This was unreal, Minerva McCarthy felt like she was having an outer body experience as she had gotten up from that last blast that had gotten her. Watching everything that was going on even if it was only for a second, she just couldn't believe what all she was seeing. Hogwarts had it's problems, believe her she had been in the middle of a few, but this was something out of a horror movie. With that and watching her HOH, someone she looked up to for so long, someone she leaned on when her parents had died fighting for her life, then her former headmistress fighting against them instead of with them, and now her former Astronomy professor all together fighting with all her old teammates and husband, people that were her family since she was basically eleven years old. She couldn't help to feel the emotions she was feeling.

Swiftly she got back to action even if she was still bleeding. There was no way she was going to let any of these people down, nor let them protect her because she was being the weakest link. No, she was going to fight hard and help protect as many as she could. Going for Hadley first, "Hadley, fight with all your might. Please, you have to." She pulled her wand on the dead things and sent a flame towards them. She hadn't heard Ethan and Wade and was just going with instincts.

When the floating charm set in she took that as an advantage, she was near the end of the bridge so she grabbed on and held tight. It wasn't a broom, but she could grip it pretty well. Watching the others she couldn't put it in her mind that Truebridge was the one that sent her flying and made her head bleed, though she shouldn't be shocked since she allowed two professors to burn her hair off while she was in school.

It wasn't until Ethan called for her that she got out of her own head, "Yes we need to get to the castle. This is worst than I could have feared." There was something about Nem that was putting her more on edge. Seeing Oakey fall she was concerned but happy when someone else came for him. She put another shield up and ran to Ethan. "I think we need to get out of here. Get closer to the castle."

Josephina was wriggling with the inferi, trying to focus on the present and the fact that her fellow order members and order aligned peers were shooting fire at the inferi. She felt like all energy she had go into the battle was completely drained; the gouging spell that Anastasia had sent her way had made contact with her calf thanks to inferi moving her along. "The ... wrong side? I'm ... I'm on the students side. Like always." Hadley managed to breathe out the words in a slow drawl.

She heard Oakey and Minerva in the distance (was it really that distant? Hadley had no idea because everything just seemed so far away and fading). Fight back. Fight back. She wouldn't die by inferi. But she also was pretty sure walking anywhere would be impossible even if she did free herself. Remember why you're here, she closed her eyes trying to focus all her energy on NOT being dragged. Trying to maneuver her wand arm to jab the inferi away and wishing she had mastered wandless magic at that moment. Because potential jabbing with the wand was all she could manage in that moment to hopefully keep the inferi at bay???

And look what Anastasia had here.

A... peer?

Never. That was impossible; she had no equal. No equivalency. No one was as bright or as brilliant as she was. Not even Zan, her aging, yet still darling, husband.

Certainly not an... "UPSTEAD?!" the redhead practically screamed, her voice catching on the night wind and floating away. By now they had somehow fallen behind the pack of inferi, which was fine, it meant they were more protected from the onlaught of do-gooders. She let a wriggling zombie zoom past her and hinged at the hips to face the lad. "Did you say you were an Upstead? Nemesis. Upstead." Yes, she was repeating this ridiculous name. Because.... Wow? Really? Upstart's urchins were now giving her a fake name and everything?? IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WAR? What in the---

She stumbled, her heel catching on a particularly splintery piece of wood on the bridge. She was... stuck? But alright, this was fine, Upstead was...somehow... being useful here. And, in addition, was... Lucien's favorite?

The BunBunz could not function at this particular junction. She simply could not compute the facts that were upon her. She was stuck, heel in the wood, and staring at this whiz kid. Absolutely shook, bamboozled, confused, and hoodwinked. And then, as ever, angry about it all. "What are you?" she barked insensitively. "Some kind of demon? What is WRONG WITH YOU?"

Heel still in the wood, she flourished her wand at them, a flury of color exploding out the end of her wand.

His breathing was still off and frantic. He pulled his unfeeling right hand against his stomach and with his left hand pressed it against himself to try and compose himself. He poked his head out from cover briefly when he heard someone call over to him and to sit still. Some tears forming under his yes wetting the blackened dirt under his eye. He turned back around and continued to tightly clutch his hand. He had to focus on himself for just this moment. Hope that everyone else at the bridge could hold there own. Had anyone gotten Hadley free? Heh, even when he said to focus on himself he couldn't. A small smile but sad smile crossed his lips, how ridiculous that he thought he could hold back his bad luck. Oakey rushed off getting separated from his Wife and Daughter in the process, Tank took a killing curse because he had his back turned rushing to Minerva, and he was open and vulnerable while in the air from Flamsteed's spell. He was in over his head. His heavy panting smile turned into gritted teeth to fight off those feeling when he heard another voice this time closer.

"Y-yeh-I canwalk" He spoke in broken words. "Gr-grab my-rm. Help me up." He extended his right arm out to the man. then pulled it back. He looked at the man real quick. He didn't know him. The voice that told him to sit still was a female's. He pulled his arm back and gripped his wand in his left hand tight. There as some relief that he could still feel in that hand. The hesitated moment subsided quickly. He had to trust him. Anyone else who could have gotten to this side by now and found him would not have even taken the time to attempt to fool him. They would have done him in right away. He kept his wand out but away from the man offering help and held his arm out again. "S-s-sorry I couldn't I was..Ijust..." His words were apologetic mixed with him trying to breath. "I'll be fine. M'wand hand is still working." A quick little hint that not everything was alright but he could still make the run to the Great Hall with him.

He watched his right hand twitch, but felt nothing from it.

The henchwoman was gone then. Flown away, at first, ("Peace," Nem had replied, regular conversational volume even over the general rabble) but who knew where she was now. Dead on the rocks below maybe, or she'd saved herself from the impact of that fall.

Anyways.

Nem was more or less enjoying the show, twirling their wand around their fingers as they watched from further back down the column now, expression empty but for the gleam in their eyes. Here, at least, people seemed reluctant to fire spells at them. And, you know, it wasn't often they could stand in place while hordes of inferi went around them to focus on killing other people. Wasn't often they were really around inferi at all. In fact, this would be the first time.

That they knew of. Some of those Gryffindors up at the castle, though, they certainly had the brains (and the smell) to fit in.

Speaking of, Gryffindor McGee up there had a good point, one that had occurred to Nemesis almost daily over the past five years: this bridge was made out of wood. It wouldn't do to wait for the opposing side to send it up and provide the real spectacle; why should they get all the fun? What did Nem care about keeping the inferi unburnt anyway? They cast a look at the wooden railing to their left, and their wand stilled in their fingers.

Except.

Nem side-eyed Red, opting not to remark on how rude it was to ignore their return question. There was something else to address. "That's what I said." Irritating. Clearly, it wasn't Nem's own reputation that preceded them here, but someone else's, and they thought they had a good idea of who that someone might be. Not to mention, the surprise and doubt over their middle first name had long since grown boring. "Nemesis. Upstead."

When Red stumbled, Nem slowed and stopped too, for a better look. Merlin, the state of her. Still, they couldn't all be at Nem's level, even the Big Man wasn't quite there, after all, though he was clearly the closest by far. Nem let a smile spread slowly over their features, evidently amused. At those next words, however, it stilled, became rather fixed. "Calm down," they said, so terribly calm themselves, and in full possession of the knowledge of what effect those two little words could have, especially on someone so unhinged. Or might have had, had the woman not already worked herself into the frenzy Nem had wanted to push her into.

As soon as they realised what Red was about to do, Nem brought up their own wand and retaliated, with curses, flames, and magic Rosier had taught them, stepping back and dodging what they didn't bother to block because they, unlike someone they knew, had not found themselves trapped in the planks of a bridge. "Sure you want to know?" Just those words took real effort, slipped in between spells. Nem was brilliant, yes, but so far lacked the experience to really be able converse and curse all at once. Letting this old bat get the better of them was simply not going to happen.

It was difficult to tell whether their numbers were increasing or dwindling thanks to the growing flames. Struck by the Fire-Making Spells from the newcomer (Stella) and engulfed in the blaze, a couple of inferi crashed into one another and then toppled over the side of the railing and down down down into the ravine below. Some of the fire remained on the wood, devouring its old knots and spreading up towards the roof as the stench of decomposing flesh hung in the air.

The floor creaked beneath a group that descended upon the woman (Josephina) futilely jabbing at the rotting unfeeling bodies. Her wand poked right through and imbedded itself in eye socket of an inferius as it fell on top of her and was joined by another. Then another. And another. And another. And another still. Flames (Minerva) pushed the topmost off and into the dark abyss beyond the bridge, but were soon replaced by others on to the mound. The wood creak in warning as the inferi continued to pile on and the flames relentlessly tore at the integrity of the bridge. One final inferius was all it took for the pile of over a dozen inferi to break the side of the bridge and then fall. And then the pile fell like domino's over th edge and pulled the along woman already in their grasp (Josephina) to her demise as well.

Disoriented and ramming into everything, a trio of flaming inferi stumbled forwards towards the bickering duo (Anastasia & Nemesis) with there long boney fingers clawing at the air.

Oceanus Zunther: Order Aligned

Where was Oceanus Zunther this entire time? The young man was only mere feet behind his girlfriend, drenched in sweat, dirt smeared across his face from fighting tirelessly alongside Stella and countless others. How long had they been out here fighting? He didn't even know anymore. It could have been minutes or even days already. All he knew was this had to come to end. This had gotten ugly from the moment it started and he knew it was only bound to get worse but there was no backing out now.

His wand gripped tightly in his hand as he fired off every fire-making spell that wouldn't end up killing them all, at the inferi. He watched though as the flames began to spread over the roof of the bridge as the inferi toppled over the side of the bridge. "Stella! We need to go!" He shouted. "Now!" It wouldn't be safe to remain here for much longer and he really didn't fancy taking a trip down to the ravine below.

Aurora was a big creatures fanatic and in another time and place she'd might have seen the irony in growing horns out of her head, but not in this particular instant. Right now she was somewhat aware that people around her were shouting, spells were flying and inferies we're having a field day in the chaos. However the excruciating pain in her head was what had Aurora's whole attention. When the pain suddenly out of nowhere just stopped she thought it was a joke. Had someone taken pity on her? Had a healer come? Raising her hands to the sides of her head she felt the antlers or was it horns sticking out of her still. They were still real and There.

Easing herself up on the feet a little wobbly Aurora knew that any minute the pain would probably come back. Raising her wand she casted several non verbal fireballs in the direction of the inferie hoard as she looked around for Peggy. She didn't see her friend anywhere, had she fallen off the bridge? Scared, she hasted to the side of the bridge to look down into the water below seeing only dark water. "Peggy?" she called out.

Bunz's heel was indeed stuck. STUCK in the wooden bridge. How DARE THE BRIDGE DO THIS TO HER!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not only was the bridge misbehaving, but so was this IMPETUOUS CHILD. CALM DOWN? SHE needed to CALM DOWN?! Would the stereotyping against redheads (and women) NEVER END??!?

"Well, Upstead," she spat, finally answering their question from earlier since she couldn't go anywhere at the moment, "I'm former Headmistress Anastasia Reina Bunbury Truebridge, and I'm here to bring you and anyone else in my way DOWN." She continued to counter their every spell, already, at her advanced age, a master of the arts of talking and dueling simultaneously. "What---"

WHat were these STUPID zombies doing here now? Bunz couldn't focus on both the flaming zombies AND the latest Upstead to cause an upstart in her life. As a result of her split attention, one of Upstead's spells (and who knew which one; certainly not her, she was an Herbologist, for Circe's sake), broke through and hit the wall of the bridge, causing it to start to split. The bridge began to break in half and she began to go down with her half, thanks, of course, to her heel stuck in the crack. One of the inferi was on her half of the bridge. Of course it was, the stupid thing burning through.

She let out her breath in a low hisssssss, suddenly losing her balance (she was, after all, old now), and beginning to cling to the bridge. Her white-knuckled grip just barely allowed her wand to poke through her fingers as she held on for dear life.

"Upstead," she hissed, "Be the most useful one in your family and save me!"

Quentin Alvay - Order Recruit - Swooping in

The sounds of screams would never leave his head. The smell of blood. the sight of so many fallen. But Q didn't have time to think of it now, there was so much to be done and time was a privilege, not a right. The Threstrals had gotten loose, he wasn't sure how or how many but he'd found this one out by the lake being terrorized by the alliance, well, he'd taken care of that. Try as he might, the poor creature, shaken to it's core, hadn't wanted to leave his side.

So here he was, riding into the battle on a black winged horse, his hands holding a bridle he'd conjured and his thighs wrapped tight around it's middle. They dashed across the rubble and wreckage, through the grounds and toward the wooden bridge where Q could see bursts of light. But was it the Alliance trying to keep the order out? or the Order fighting them back?

But as Q neared the bridge, he saw it was not quite either.

and there was something else, something that made his skin crawl. Inferi. Everywhere, with their cold hands all over the resistance. Quentin bristled, his teeth bared. "Hyah," he said, tugging on the reins to urge the Threstral onward, faster and faster as they dodged through errant spells. There was a young woman (Zoryn) on the ground, her limbs so covered in Inferi it was hard to tell where she began and they ended. With one hand gripping the reins, he reached for his wand and- and the Threstral, which before had only been running took off from the ground, her great skeletal wings deafeningly loud, but despite the shock Q managed- really just managed- to hold on. "No, no- we need to head back down." He tried to reason with the magical creature, pulling on the reins to get her to turn about. He aimed hard for the inferi still on the bridge, a knock back jinx intended to give the surviving members a chance to flee without causing further damage.

He kept it up, shooting spell after spell all the while trying to steer his way back to the young woman being dragged off the bridge to the murky depths below. Finally, he managed to swoop in just close enough to grab ahold of the woman's arm. "I've got you, come on!" He shouted, panting hard as he pulled her from the Inferi's grasp. "Hyah!" He said, kicking his heels into the Threstral's sides and taking off into the air, his hand tight around the young woman's arm. "quick, climb up my arm and jump on her back." Q looked down to the bridge, from up here everyone looked like a friend to the cause, but he knew that couldn't be the case. "Fall Back! The bridge is going to collapse " He called out to those still fighting. "Get to the Great Hall!"

Even duelling, though they were perhaps not at such a level they could converse freely while casting - as if they would ever admit to that - Nem could still think. And listen. That name, they knew that name. At least the last two in that particular combination, and not just because they belonged to a Hogwarts Headmistress from the triassic era.

Either way, it was useful to know. Also useful to know exactly what this woman's intentions were.

Monologuing. Honestly. Some people never learned.

The flaming inferi stumbling into the duel was not exactly a welcome interference, but Nemesis could at least coolly sidestep away and around, so that Former Headmistress Anastasia Reina Bunbury Truebridge was wedged more directly in their path, with Nem further away. A strategy they stood by, especially when one of their own spells hit the bridge, and the whole thing started to go. Made sense - a lot was happening here, and the structural integrity of the thing had to be severely compromised at this point. Fire, explosions, masses of people, and literal dead weight.

It seemed, however, that that was the end of the duel. The spells suddenly dying down to nothing, Nem watched rather dispassionately as the old woman slipped through the widening crack in the bridge, until all they saw of her was her fingertips and her wand. Imagine showing up to a battle in high heels.

Well, whatever. Seeing as she asked so nicely, and they were on the same side and everything, Nem reholstered their wand, ducked around the burning inferius, and dropped to the floor. Collapsing bridge? Don't even worry about it; they were perfectly confident in their ability to survive. As they'd told McCarthy Senior, this wasn't that dangerous.

"Alright, keep your hair on," Nem remarked oh-so-casually, grabbing Former Headwhatever Blah Blah Burnbridge by one wrist, plus the hand she held her wand in, lying flat on the section of broken bridge so that they were less likely to be pulled off balance and over the edge. "I've got you." Nem tugged at the woman's arms to heave her up. See? Helpful. "There was one thing, though."

This wasn't working. There were too many inferi, and even with all the fire, there was the wooden bridge to worry about...

Atticus grabbed onto one of the wooden pillars at Airey's warning then quickly cast a Finite on himself, landing on his feet and backing away, trying to keep his distance from the approaching inferi, searching for a solution to this problem. There was the obvious solution of just taking the whole bridge out, but there were allies on the bridge still, and they couldn't... But none of his or anyone else's fire spells seemed to be enough to free Fina... The inferi were almost like a hydra - set one on fire and three more climbed up to take its place.

Tossing up shield charms and dodging as best he could, nothing seemed to be enough. More and more allies were being injured. A stray flame struck his arm, and he hissed, casting a quick Aguamenti on it to extinguish the flame.

And then the bridge was collapsing. He watched in horror as the section beneath Fina and the inferi surrounding her broke off, and she...

No.

There was no time to think. He stumbled back as the bridge trembled. The other half was quickly going down...

The man riding the thestral had the right idea, both with his choice of transport and the warnings he was giving out. Everyone needed to get off this bridge. He turned, running for the solid ground at the bridge's entrance. "Let's go! Get off the bridge!"

---


When the battle had officially begun, Vashti pushed forward with many others, including Anakin, tossing out stunning spell after stunning spell at the Alliance members, pulling up shield charms and dodging spells. Though not completely unscathed, she'd made it to the wooden bridge - but amidst all the chaos...

Where had Anakin gone?

Terror raced through her veins, but she had to keep her head. Ducking behind one of the nearby trees, she fired off stunning spells and knockback jinxes in the direction of the Alliance members on the bridge, watching as allies battled them and the inferi on the bridge. She'd seen her former professor Josephina Hadley among them, though it was hard to keep track of everything at this distance.

But things were quickly getting worse. The bridge was destabilizing, and a small section was collapsing, inferi falling and... had that... had that been the part that Hadley was on?

She feared the worst, but there wasn't time to dwell as the opposite half of the bridge was collapsing now too. She took note of the man on the thestral telling everyone to fall back to the Great Hall.

That would be the goal next then, once she had made sure everyone had made it off the bridge. And once she'd found her husband.

Anakin Amstern // Anti Neo-Alliance // Angry Dad

Anakin Amstern didn't remember exactly getting himself to the bridge; the whole chaos overwhelming his remaining senses and it took all of his concentration to focus on the neo-alliance followers as they kept appearing.

Not to mention the inferius, which despite dropping like flies due to the incendios raining down from himself and the witches and wizards around him and the rather spirited young lady seeming to take them down ared only with a beaters bat, they just felt like the numbers were growing.

But maybe because that is because he was getting overwhelmed. And disoriented, after the anti-gravity effects which he had missed the yelled warning due to his lack of hearing. In the confusion of floating, he'd managed to add additional bruises to the myriad already on his body, courtesy of the battle, which also added an even heavier sense of exhaustion.

He was beginning to realize his wife was right, and he had been ill equipped to answer the call to fight. But how could he have stayed home? When all but one of his kids were here on the grounds, somewhere.

He managed to get himself up, albeit with a slight limp, and took a brief distracted moment to search for his wife, feeling a sense of relief wash through him when he saw Vashti looking at least not severely injured. He took a step towards her, to at least get back to her side to fight together, when the bridge started to destabilize, throwing him off to the side as his head thudded forcefully against the remaining pillar.

His vision blurred and he had to stop moving for a minute to vomit the remnants of his last meal. He'd been lucky in the past, beaten the odds and survived not one, but two head traumas. A moment of fear gripped him that it might not last for a third.

But he gritted his teeth, and focused on getting to his wife and off of the bridge, one foot at a time, sending spells at the remaining inferi in his path as he did so.

Following the former headmistresses lead the followers were sending spells towards the order and having a grand ol' time with the dead coming to play. It was a sight to see as they continued their fight until the bridge started to fall.

The alliance scrambled half falling off with the Inferi and half taking off towards the castle to fight more.

The pain following the lightning strike had Peggy generally unaware of the chaos surrounding her. Until, that is, a medic arrived and promptly numbed most of the pain away. Breathing slightly more easily, Peggy eyed the woman's Mungos badge and nodded. She could move. With help, she could probably even walk.

"Great hall, right," she said, unaware of anyone else requiring the woman's help as she relied heavily on her assistance to stand. She tucked her wand away, as there was no way she could both cast and lean on the woman whilst they relocated. "Let's go, then."

Hearing her name called, Peggy looked about as she leaned on the medic for support. Was that Aurora. "Not dead yet!" she shouted to her friend, wherever she was. At least that meant Aurora was not dead yet, either.