Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

At first, Thea didn't pay attention when the white light first shone on the island in the lake.

It's just an enhanced version of the Guardian Charm, at most it's wider in range... and a bit more powerful—

But Thea's smile froze as Voldemort's next spell attack landed precisely on the fortress-like, reinforced soundproof shield.

Thea's heart skipped a beat, and before she could have any bad premonition, the protective shield slowly cracked open.

Thea's expression instantly turned sinister.

Although reason told her that the protective shield had held for several hours, and given the internal and external troubles, it was time for it to be used—

But Thea still couldn't swallow her anger!

Is this a regular protective shield?

This is a protective shield that she set up over a whole semester!

Unable to swallow her anger, Thea gripped her wand tightly once more, and the spell once again surged towards Voldemort with a suicidal momentum!

Bang! ! !

The enormous sound of colliding spells slowly spread, but when it reached the ears of the vigilant wizards on the castle's highest point, it sounded no different from the other sounds of colliding spells.

"Strange, is the smell of blood wafting so quickly? What's the wind direction today...?"

He frowned, his worried gaze falling once more on the battlefield below.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"stop!"

"Two Gryffindor brutes..."

Inside the Slytherin common room, Hermione and Ron searched around but found no clues. Just as Ron's dangerous gaze fell on the huge tapestry and the transparent glass window, a voice suddenly rang out to stop them.

Inside the temporary monitoring room, Zabini touched his nose and said he felt like he hadn't done something. It turned out he had forgotten to put the "key" out.

"Take the key!"

Before Hermione could even utter a word, a Slytherin with a sour expression appeared on the stairs and threw something at the two of them. Ron instinctively went to catch it.

"Your things are in the box on the table."

After coldly uttering those words, Slytherin turned and ran out. Ron didn't hesitate, but when he chased after him, he only saw the hem of the man's clothes disappear around the corner.

Ron lost track of the person and was naturally in a bad mood.

But when I came in, I saw Hermione fiddling with the box on the table.

Ron frowned the moment he saw the box, for no other reason than that it looked too common, the kind that's ubiquitous in stores with a promotional sign in front of it.

This box is also easy to open; just insert the key and turn it twice to open it.

When they saw what was inside, Ron and Hermione both gasped in surprise.

It was a huge snake fang that was clearly covered in venom.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Draco! Stop!"

Harry gradually realized something was wrong and tried to stop, but Draco wasn't about to, and Harry's commanding tone further enraged him.

"Shut up, Potter! You have no right to order me around!"

As he spoke, Draco unleashed another spell.

What finally separated the two was a seemingly harmless flame.

"You brought your two lackeys in here too?!"

Draco, upon recognizing Fiend, was furious. He had thought Harry was a fair and square opponent, but he never expected that the other party would resort to such underhanded tricks!

"Those are clearly your two lackeys!"

Harry blurted it out, and Draco realized who he was referring to.

"Crawb...Gall! You two idiots!"

Draco still hadn't forgotten to swear at this point, leaving Harry exasperated:

"Damn it! Can't you focus on putting out the fire?!"

"You bastard! Who gave you the right to tell me how to do things!"

Even when things were at their most urgent, the two didn't forget to bicker; this was probably an incompatibility ingrained in their genes.

I have to go find them!

Ten seconds later, seeing the fire growing bigger and bigger, Draco finally frowned. "Although they are idiots, idiots who were fooled by their family!"

"Then I'll go put out the fire?!"

"roll!"

Harry quickly went to find something to put out the fire, while Draco tentatively tried to take a shortcut to find the two idiots.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Divine Sharpness Without a Shadow!"

Unlike the previous spell which Voldemort avoided, this spell was successfully cast on Voldemort's battered chest once again!

"You've lost another escape route."

Thea said calmly. She had keenly noticed Voldemort's momentary distraction and weakness, and the only reason Thea could think of for this was that something had happened to the Horcrux.

Although she could barely stand, she still seized the opportunity.

"Oh………"

Voldemort no longer had any intention of recruiting Thea; he now had only one thought: to take Thea down with him!

She tried so hard to get closer to the light, how could he, as her father, let her have her way?!

Avada Kedavra!

"Heart-piercing and bone-scraping!"

"...Protect them all!"

Thea, who had been a step too slow to react after dodging the Killing Curse, was struck by the Crucifixion Curse again. But before she could recover from the pain, another beam of green light shot towards her—

Amidst the trembling of her body caused by pain, Thea vaguely thought:

"Savior, are you done on your end—"

"If this doesn't end soon... I can't take it anymore—"

Five minutes!

"I bet you can finish in five minutes!"

Ten minutes passed...

"...Ten minutes."

"Just ten more minutes... and you'll be done!"

Thea didn’t know how many ten minutes she counted, she only knew that she had been subjected to more than a dozen more Heart-Rending Curses.

Fortunately, I was able to dodge the...death curse!

Just as she was thinking this, Thea narrowly avoided another green light.

Thea's situation is a race against time, and Harry's is similar, except he has a few more companions.

The Fiendfire spread extremely quickly. Draco only had time to pull the two fools he called them up before the flames engulfed the spot where they had just been standing.

It swept into the entire room with an overwhelming force!

Left with no other choice, Draco could only drag the two of them up to a higher place.

I really hope to see you again, Thea.

Draco gritted his teeth and climbed upwards, the thought of the sea of ​​fire below consuming his entire being.

"Draco!"

Give me your hand!

As Draco was reciting his last words, a hand covered in scars reached out to him.

He didn't reach out immediately, but instead looked at the other two people behind Harry riding on flying broomsticks.

Seeing the two rushing toward the two trapped on the pile of debris, Draco reached out and was then pulled onto the flying broom.

Draco almost blurted out a hint of disdain, then paused, realizing he should probably say "thank you" instead.

But before he could even lower himself, Harry spoke first:

"...Where's Blake? She made so many arrangements, where are the people?"

"She's not on the battlefield outside?!"

Draco was startled; unease quickly overwhelmed him.

Harry, too, tried to remain calm, but his trembling voice betrayed him.

"No, I haven't seen her anywhere today."

In that instant, Draco and Harry both saw the stiffness on their arch-enemy's face reflected in each other's pupils.

"Something happened to her!"

"Something happened to her!"

There's no particular reason; it's just their subconscious.

"Think carefully, where is her most likely possibility right now?!"

Hermione and Ron heard this as soon as they approached Harry and Ron.

Sensing something amiss in their words, the two men had a sudden realization, and their expressions turned grim.