A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Neville emerged, brandishing his wand anxiously. "What's going on? I heard noises, and those humanoid things..." He shivered, and Fred, George, Lee Jordan, and a few others crowded the doorway, all eyes on Harry.

"Those are Inferi—" Harry gasped for breath.

"Really Inferi? Hey, I've only read about them in books!" Fred exclaimed, looking oddly cheerful. "Is it the work of Death Eaters? Then what are we waiting for? It's time to show off our skills."

His words garnered murmurs of agreement.

Harry uncomfortably realized he was in a tough spot. He didn't know if he should let them join the risky adventure. This wasn't training; even if training was tough, it didn't carry a risk to life. This was real combat, not one-on-one, but full of deceit. Death Eaters could be hiding among the Inferi, waiting to strike with lethal curses.

If anyone died, he would live with the guilt forever.

"Where's Ginny? Luna? Are there any students outside?" Harry tried to stall for time, needing a moment to weigh his options.

"I'm here, Harry!" Ginny's voice called out, raising an arm from behind the crowd. Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

"No one's outside. We saw Luna trying to open a door when we returned," Ron said.

"What door?" Harry regretted the question as soon as it left his lips.

"Don't know," Ron shrugged. "We were in a rush, didn't have time to ask—"

"How's it on your end?" Harry asked. "Did Avery do anything?"

Hermione and Ron wore peculiar expressions.

"He was quiet. We spotted someone keeping an eye on him, so we went to find Malfoy. Intercepted someone halfway, but it had nothing to do with the chaos, rather we faced some snarky comments... or reminders?" Hermione spoke rapidly. "Anyway, we heard someone was trying to break into Professor Snape's office—"

"Who?" Harry asked hurriedly.

"Crabbe and Goyle," Ron shrugged. "When we got there, we found them tangled up in vines, unconscious at the door. The professor wasn't inside, and neither was Valen... We didn't know what to do at the moment, then heard commotion outside, so we left them and hurried back."

"It's the professor's defense mechanisms," Hermione added.

Questions done, Harry looked around. All eyes were on him. He had to make a choice.

"Harry, give the orders. We've all learned the Patronus Charm. You mentioned once how effective it is against dark creatures." Neville spoke slowly. "We need to do something."

"I, uh—" Harry suddenly remembered something, pulling out a small vial from his pocket. "Okay, take a sip of this, each of you—"

"What is this?" Neville asked.

"Felix Felicis," Harry said excitedly. His blood pulsed; were they about to fight together, just like Sirius mentioned, becoming real warriors? At that moment, a loud roar echoed from afar, cutting through the dark night and the chaos within the castle, piercing their ears.

"It's Hagrid!" Hermione exclaimed in fear. They all rushed to the window. "And Grawp, oh my goodness!"

"Who's Grawp, Hagrid's friend? Oh, oh—" Fred stared into the dark night and, upon seeing the massive figure beside Hagrid, was left speechless.

Compared to that unknown giant, Hagrid seemed like a dwarf, and the Inferi, pale and reflecting eerie green and phosphorescent marks of Dark Magic, seemed like bouncing dwarves around them.

"Inferi probably can't harm a giant," Ron anxiously looked into the distance. "Their nails might just tickle, and Grawp could crush them like pancakes."

"No, there are Dementors, Hagrid and Grawp can't handle those," Hermione groaned.

Harry struggled to calm himself. He wanted to use the Patronus Charm, but the distance was too great; he didn't know if it would work. What he needed now was to support Hagrid as soon as possible. With a raised wand, "Incendio!"

After a few seconds, a streamlined broom tore through the air, whizzing from the bedroom across the common room, passing through the open door adorned with the portrait of the Fat Lady, landing in Harry's hand.

"Oh, by the way, I have a broomstick too, it's a Firebolt, works great," Ron said, dazed. "No one asked you to advertise," Fred snapped, then turned to Harry, "Can you lend me your broomstick? George and I left ours with the team." George continuously nodded in agreement.

"Stay here, organize people to maintain order," Harry said.

"Hagrid's our friend too, Harry," Fred said.

Harry stared, "Then call more people, not just one or two." He finished and raised his wand; the glass shattered before him. Harry glanced back at Ron and Hermione, they understood his message, 'Protect them.' He jumped down from the castle. Others pressed against the window to watch. Harry descended about fifteen feet, then swiftly ascended, becoming a blurry shadow, maximizing the Firebolt's performance.

"Pro—tec—tor—"

A silver stag appeared, shining brightly, continuously leaping in mid-air, rushing towards Hagrid's cabin alongside Harry.

The light emitted by the Patronus formed a straight path, illuminating the ground below. People gasped; the grounds were teeming with Inferi, almost enclosing the castle.

"We must guard the entrance, not let them in," Neville's face was filled with fear, but he remained resolute.

"We know a shortcut," Fred said, pointing to himself and George.

"I have a suggestion, can we go through Madame Hooch's office? It might be a bit longer, but I remember there's a room with old broomsticks nearby," George said. "Hermione, what are you doing?"

Hermione was tapping a parchment with her wand, "Oh, done. I just informed the lookout station and the Ancient Runes Society."

"Cool," Fred said. Over a dozen Gryffindor students traversed the castle's secret passages, seeing other students in motion and prefects maintaining order. Upon understanding their objective, without hesitation, others joined the group.

When they arrived at the broomstick storeroom, their numbers had swelled to over thirty.

"The door's locked," Ron said. "Alohomora." He tried, but the door remained unmoved. Frowning, he used the Severing Charm; the door's surface shimmered briefly as the spell was nullified. "Madame Hooch is diligent—"

"Step aside, Ron!" Hermione shouted, sticking six or seven small wooden plaques on the door. Everyone stepped back, "Boom!" The thick door splintered into pieces.

"Brilliant," Fred exclaimed happily as a group rushed into the storeroom to select broomsticks. "Look what I found, the Cleansweep series, a Comet 140, even classics like Oakshaft 79, Moontrimmer, and Silver Arrow... the Firebolt 1000, Firebolt 1001, Firebolt 1500, Firebolt 1700, is this the Firebolt 2000? Madame Hooch hid this one well!"

"Too bad there's no Firebolt 2001," George greedily remarked. Students grabbed brooms, even Hermione chose a Cleansweep Seven.

"So, um—" Hermione started, "we need to allocate some to assist Harry. The rest should go to the front gate, back gate, and other exits. The professors are there. It would be good if a few could fly around the castle on brooms, issuing warnings—"

"What happened to our trump cards? Professor Flitwick's Lumos would be perfect right now. And Headmaster Dumbledore, he wouldn't be asleep, would he? Has anyone considered that...?" Fred asked cheerfully.

Yeah, where were they now?

Hermione and Harry, riding brooms, pondered this question.

Each person's time was a line, only able to see from their own perspective, especially when in the thick of it. But if a historian were to analyze later, they would discover that today was a significant and chaotic day.

The entire British wizarding world seemed like a boiling cauldron, and the beginning of this series of events wasn't the sudden attack on the Ministry of Magic, Felix Harp showing up at the burning Sword Bridge, or even Dumbledore receiving a distress signal from his own younger brother. It was something earlier.

It all started when Voldemort walked into the Hog's Head, wreaking havoc.

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