Note : This chapter contains considerable violence and graphic descriptions.
"Trolls, front and centre!" Nolan ordered curtly. "Aurors, fall back behind them. Two meters spread, keep your wands up and your shield charms on your tongue!"
Twelve armoured Trolls lumbered forward, their clubs held high and their eyes blank. They had long ago been conditioned to serve as Auror heavy melee units and lived only to devote themselves towards the Dark Lord. They wore thick five-inch thick metal armour and large helmets which covered most of their face. Their clubs were a mixture between thick, strong wooden longs, for smashing down walls and thin spike-covered rails, for swiping at flyers. They all carried large shields, almost as big as the Troll itself, and each shield was enchanted and enhanced using powerful runes.
Two hundred and forty Auror's arranged themselves behind the Trolls, their Auror robes flapping madly in the wind. Most of them were shivering and wore determined yet resigned expressions. They knew that they were dead, that they couldn't win this battle. They also knew that death was a better alternative to what waited if they refused to participate. Two trolls tugged on thick ropes to drag a large clunky object of wheels forward.
"Aurors, forward march!"
High up on the western tower of Azkaban, Robin peered through her omnioculars and anxiously chewed on a strand of her hair as she watched the thick Auror formation lumber forward, led by powerful battle trolls. She put down the omnioculars and turned around to her partners, two who were fumbling with a heavy green staff and two who were holding a thin light-blue staff. The green staff was as thick and tall as a person and weighed over a hundred kilograms. It looked like a fat tree stump with a large jagged crystal inserted at the top.
"For Merlin's sake, do you have wands or not?" Robin snapped. The two men glanced sheepishly at each other and both let go of the Staff, which fell to the floor with a loud thump. A few seconds later, the staff was levitated to its designated position at the center of the tower, where a single ray of light shone onto it from a circular hole in the tower roof, roughly a meter in diameter.
"Step back, I'm going to activate it!" Robin warned and the two men hastily moved away as she waved her wand. The Staff crystal suddenly produced a weak light, which flickered dimly in the tower. However, the light was gradually getting stronger.
"Alright, Mathew, get me a position!" Robin snapped.
One of the men moved forward, grabbing a pair of omnioculars and peering down at the approaching column of Auror's. After a few seconds of observation and careful note taking, he dropped the omnioculars and turned back to Robin.
"I've got a set of initial co-ordinates!" He called.
"Alright, Richard and I will power the weapon. Ben, Simon; watch our backs and keep those flyers off our arse! Mathew, you'll give us the co-ordinates!"
"Let's do this!" Richard said and stepped forward into a small carved circle on the tower ground. Robin did the same on the opposite end of the staff, and together they raised their wands, leveled it at the staff, and bellowed an incantation. Instantly, the small circles glowed with an intense magical white light and from their wands came a continuous beam of glowing white energy. The air thrummed with magic and from the ground far below, one could see the windows of the tower glow with an intense light.
"Co-ordinates are….grid B, section 21!" Mathew called out.
Robin gritted her teeth as she poured her power into the weapon. The crystal head on the staff was building up in power, glowing brighter and brighter as it as fed by two beams of raw magic. Robin focused her mind and closed her eyes. Concentrating on the co-ordinates, she sent them to the staff, which had been 'programmed', for lack of a better word, to strike at various locations with different co-ordinates.
"Now!" Robin cried out and forcefully lowered her arm, ending the connection of raw magic. On the other side, Richard did the same and they both sagged back as the Staff hummed with repressed magic. Magic cackled around the crystal head, which glowed with a blinding intensity. Suddenly magic flowed through the crystal and erupted from the tip with a loud deep roar that echoed around the island. The magical burst blinded Robin as it rocketed upwards, past the circular hole in the roof and into the night sky.
Nolan watched the four glowing towers, the west and east tower and the two gate towers, with apprehension as his column of men slowly moved forward. They had not encountered any resistance yet, either through guards or flyers. Their own flyers were flying up ahead in formation with the dragon. Suddenly the lights on the towers dimmed and almost dropped, before they suddenly flared up again. Benjamin could only watch with horror and surprise as a burst of glowing light erupted from each tower and shot up into the air, before pausing very abruptly,
"Merlin!" He whispered, as the large bursts of powerful magic suddenly rocketed at the Auror battalion. "Incoming!" He screamed loudly. "Trolls; shields up! Aurors; take cover!"
The Trolls quickly raised their shields and Auror's dove to the ground, casting their own powerful shields. Hundreds of glowing bronze, gold, silver, blue and purple shields sprang into existence, forming a powerful defensive mesh around the large group that glittered brightly.
The streaks rocketed down and slammed into the shielded group. Two of them hit the shields of the Troll and two others slammed into the defensive net of shields. The ground rumbled and a loud concussion wave rang through the air as one of the Trolls' shields exploded in a wave of searing white fire. The Troll roared in agony as the streak of light dove into his armour, searing past the inches of metal. The Troll dropped to his knees as the streak of light drove into his body, the intense heat boiling organs and blood. Steaming blood exploded from his ears and nostrils as the torso of the Troll literally exploded underneath the armour. The Troll collapsed onto the ground and didn't move again.
The other Troll was luckier. The streak of searing white power slammed down onto his shield, but the shield held underneath the intense heat and magic. The Troll roared in anger and defiance as he strained his bulging muscles to hold his shield against the concentrated power. Sweat ran down its face, its bulging eyes glaring at the shield. The streak of light wavered and struggled against the powerful shield, fighting against the thick metal; inherit magic woven into the shield and a thin purple shield that hovered inches above the metal. The streak gave one final push and faded away as its magic dissipated.
The powerful barrage of streaks that struck the woven net of individual shielding charms was much more effective. One of them struck the net and slammed against it, exploding in a wave of magical sparks and searing white flames. Auror's fell to the ground underneath the sheer force of the attack and the shield faltered, if only for a second. The second streak tore through the weakened shield and exploded in the middle of the Auror ranks. The ground rumbled and exploded in a geyser of dirt and rocks. Four Auror's were instantly killed as a white ball of flames burst from the ground and enveloped them. Five other Auror's screamed in agony as a searing heat washed over their exposed skin, and two others were cut down by the resulting shrapnel as it tore into their fragile bodies.
"Aurors, increase spread to four meters! Spread out… don't give them a cluster to target!" Benjamin screamed out desperately. He raised his wand at the sky and let off a shower of dark brown sparks, just as the towers pulsed with light and sent out another wave of streaks. "Incoming!"
High above in the sky, Warrington, leader of the Auror Broomstick Division frowned when he saw a glittering wave of brown sparks from the ground forces. Those bloody landies could never hold themselves in a fight! He signaled to his left and to his right, and steered his broomstick downwards. He risked a glance behind him and saw two dozen flyers following him in his dive. The wind roared and slashed into the bubblehead charm he was wearing, while the warming charms in his clothes beat away the coldness that assailed him. As he got closer, he suddenly saw a streak of white light burst from one of the towers and rise up towards him.
He gestured fiercely and pulled a sharp left, intent on avoiding the attack, but the streak of light suddenly stopped twenty meters from the diving flyers and rocketed downwards, towards the approaching Aurors and Trolls.
"Merlin!" Warrington breathed as he saw it slam into the ground, tearing past the flimsy shields of the Aurors and vaporise two men in a column of white fire. He signaled desperately to his men and with a complex series of hand movements, they had their orders. He made a sharp turn and as six flyers settled behind him, he rocketed towards the western tower. He shoved his wand in his holster and withdrew a beaters bat from its harness. As he approached the tower, he caught glimpses of small figures on the battlements. He paid them no attention as he zoomed in closer, his bat held firmly in his hands. Behind him, a rider suddenly accelerated past Warrington, a ball the size of a quaffle in his hands. He let it got and pulled away as Warrington approached, swinging the beaters bat with great accuracy. There was a crack as the bat slammed on the ball and Warrington zoomed past the tower with a smug smile on his face as the ball shot towards the tower. The force of the swing had activated the dormant magic inside of it and when it struck the tower, it exploded violently. Fire jutted out and the tower shook slightly as an explosion threatened to tear into it. But an almost transparent shield of magic absorbed the explosion, shimmering and rippling as it bore the brunt of the detonation, fire batted aside with ease. Warrington's smirk fell from his face as he did a lazy loop on his broom, preparing to attack the tower again.
The tower shuddered under the force of the explosion, but the wards of Azkaban held and Mathew breathed a sigh in relief. He swung his omnioculars after the flyer that had just rocketed past and grimaced as he saw the man loop around. Three flyers fell into formation behind him and together, they zoomed back for the tower.
"Guys, he's coming around again!" He called out urgently. Robin and Richard were busy feeding another volley into the Earth Staff
The two men with the thin blue staffs positioned themselves around the small circular windows in the tower and waited. The staffs they held were thin, medium sized and light. They each held scatterings of crystals at the end, which glowed in anticipation as the two men fed their magic through the unusual focus.
"Here they come!" Matthew yelled.
The flyers zoomed closer and the two men lifted their staffs. They concentrated and drew their magic through the staff, much like they would do with a wand. The staff accepted the flow of raw and unrefined magic and with the use of powerful enchantments and elaborate runes, transformed and stored the magic into the crystals. The magic quickly built up and the crystals grew brighter and brighter, pale blue light sparkling in the foggy morning.
"On our right!" One of the men shouted and jumped across the room to a different window, his pale-blue staff held out in front of him like a wand.
Warrington raised his wand, zooming in back towards the tower. Another four bursts of searing white-hot magic erupted from the towers as the Order continued with its bombardment. The searing bolts of heat sprang up towards the sky in a vapor trail of sparkling silver magic. Warrington couldn't help himself and followed the bolts with his eyes as they rocketed upwards, before stopping violently and hanging silently in the air, before lancing downwards at the Auror ground forces. Whatever those weapons were, Warrington had seen nothing like them before.
He turned his eyes back to the tower, his concentration only being diverted for a matter of seconds, but that was all it took for failure. He was closer enough to see the occupants of the tower, two small figures around a large glowing crystal, one figure tracking his progress with a pair of omnioculars and two figures aiming some kind of staff at him….Merlin!
"Bludgers!" Warrington could barely hear himself over the wind as he screamed the codeword for counter-aerial attack. He leveled his wand at the tower and he tugged his broom to the right, flattening himself down. From each of the two staffs came a rapidly-paced barrage of shining golden bursts of energy. Magic flittered through the air, lancing out towards the group of broomstick riders, who scattered and broke off their attack run.
One wizard was struck in the chest three times as he tried to dodge the powerful bolts of magic and screamed as they seared into him. His robes exploded in a shower of flames as the bolts ate away at him, boring holes into his chest. His blood steamed violently and he shuddered madly, his eyes wide with horror and agony, before they went blank and he slumped down on the broomstick. Immediately the broomstick made a steep dive towards the thick walls of the Azkaban Fortress and slammed into them like a comet, the fire catching onto the broomstick as well. The wall shimmered and rippled with an almost-transparent wave of energy and the broomstick splintered and was crushed under the powerful forces of its own speed and the powerful wards. The wizard was jolted from his seat at the impact and dropped to the ground, his flaming robes burning brightly as they were fed massive amounts of oxygen until he slammed into the sea and disappeared.
Warrington and the rest of his team were much luckier and spiraled away from the fast barrage of searing golden energy. The sky was suddenly consumed with trails of the same energy as staff-wielders from the battlements and towers lashed out at their enemy attackers. Warrington cursed loudly as he pulled up over a burst of seven shining golden streaks of magic, tasting the burnt ozone and intoxicating smell of raw power that surrounded this powerful magic.
The next two minutes became similar to a practice game of Quidditch as Warrington's flyers ducked and weaved, and dodged and dove around and away from the deadly magical bolts. It was almost comical, seeing thirty odd broomstick riders flying in absurd patterns as they strained to flee from death. Several were struck and screamed in agony as they caught fire, their brooms suddenly veering sharply as they slumped to a side. Two of his men simply fell off their brooms as they each zoomed into each other in their evasive maneuvering and fell from a height of seventy meters. Each of them was saved by the ground forces, which were still under powerful bombardment, as safety charms were cast to catch them. Suddenly, after a few minutes, the skies were strangely clear. Warrington steered his broom to the side and stared at the island fortress. The ground bombardment had ceased as well and for a moment Warrington just stared in disbelief, before a clawing sense of relief and triumph came over him. Of course! They couldn't continually power those weapons all day; they had to be extremely draining on a person's magic to cause such devastating effects! That meant that now was the perfect time to strike!
He raised his wand and let loose a shower of red sparks, before flicking them towards Azkaban. The trail of sparks was met with loud roars of anger, defiance and battle-lust as the twenty one surviving flyers grouped together with Warrington in lead, before zooming down towards Azkaban with their bats and wands out.
Nolan winced as another streak of white searing flames spiraled down from the sky and struck the ground. The ground rumbled ominously as a column of flames sprouted from where the magical bolt had struck the ground. An Auror screamed as his arms was vaporised underneath the powerful scorching heat and staggered around aimlessly, his arm gone from elbow down. Tears ran down his dirt-streaked face as he sobbed to himself, before the Auror Medic arrived, words of healing already on his lips.
Nolan looked away and glared at the offending battlements of Azkaban with hatred, his lips curling slightly. Damn Lord Voldemort! How was he meant to take this island with a single Auror battalion, when Azkaban had defenses like that? He growled angrily under his breath and stamped the ground, waiting for the next wave of bombardments to slaughter yet more of his Auror's. It never came.
"Sir, they've stopped!" One of the Auror Captains bellowed from across the formations. Dazed Auror's looked up, undeniable smiles of relief and joy on their faces. They believed that it was all over, and for a moment, Nolan pitied them, for he knew that none of them could return without even trying to assault the fortress. No, more people would die today, and most of them would be his.
"Auror's, move in! Keep your heads down; they'll be sending spells from the battlements! Position yourself around the gate… concentrate on the eastern side more than the western side." Nolan barked roughly.
The Auror's obediently began moving forward, their wands up and curses on their lips as they began their siege on Azkaban. Trolls lumbered forward, their shields held high and their clubs dragging on the ground behind them, while Auror's followed behind. Nolan looked up to the sky as he heard a wave of resounding cheers and saw their flyers zooming back towards Azkaban.
Suddenly one of his Auror's pointed to something at the battlements, a panicked look on his face.
"Sir, Phoenix flyers!" He shouted.
Nolan felt his heart wrench and quickly peered where the Auror was pointing to. From beyond the looming walls rose fifteen small specks, and two larger specks, the last two being some kind of beast. He squinted upwards and fumbled for his omnioculars, pressing them to his eyes. The first thing he saw was the beasts, hippogriffs, one mounted by a wizard and one mounted by a witch. The second thing he saw was the leader of the Phoenix flyers, who was dressed in dark robes with a silver trim. Glasses framed his determined glinting green eyes and his face was hard and stony, his wand clasped in his right hand.
"Merlin! It's Potter!"
Harry gripped the handle of his trusty old Firebolt tightly as zoomed from the battlements of Azkaban. His wand lay clasped in his right hand, and his eyes were narrowed with anger and determination. The wind swept across him, blocked out by the Bubblehead charm that had been cast around his head to prevent the sun's glare from blinding him.
Behind him rode fifteen of the best fliers in Azkaban, each armed with a specific weapon. Five of them carried wands, much like Harry, while ten others carried beater's bats of different variations; some of the were the plain sturdy bats used to whack Bludgers at other people, while a few of them had a large jagged and barbed metal spike in the end of them.
"Williamson, take the ground forces!" Harry said over the sound of rushing wind, his voice powered by a sonorous charm. "I'll take on the Flyers, Greg, take Patecy and Leone, and escort those fliers to the dragon!"
Without waiting to see if his men would obey his orders, for he knew that they would, he flattened himself against his broom and urged its speed up just a fraction. While there were more recent models that outstripped the Firebolt's capabilities, such as the Starfall, Harry preferred using his old broom. A small reminiscent smile washed over his face as he recalled the Quidditch games he used to play at Hogwarts. The smile disappeared as he felt the last traces of sadness and self-pity stir into his heart. Focusing, he blanked his mind and emptied it of all emotion, pulling together his powerful mental shields. He suddenly found that he was distanced from his situation, and he was floating amongst the sea of his own calm mind. He was aware of his heart beating, a continual and steady thump, and for a moment he was content. He opened his eyes again and noticed that a group of nine Auror Flyers were approaching him. Next to him, four Flyers flanked him, two with wands and two with bats, while Williamson led his group of seven into a steep dive towards the Trolls and Aurors.
" Avada Kedavra!" One of the approaching Auror Flyers cried out loudly, no more then twenty meters away, loud enough for Harry to hear it. A sickening jet of green light streaked from his wand, soaring through the air at tremendous speeds, propelled by the Auror's own momentum. While Harry's companions broke formation and scattered, seeking refuge from the deadly curse, Harry edged his broom slightly, and the streak of glowing green light rushed pass him with an accompanying roaring wind. The Auror Flyer gave a start of alarm as he realised that his target was still on course and tried to dive.
" Spiculum!" Harry muttered softly, almost to himself, and gracefully pulled away as a shimmering thin silver arc of magic erupted from his wand. It lanced on target and a second later, it struck the Auror in the neck. For a split-second, the Auror didn't move, his broom slowing down as he blinked, trying to comprehend what just happened. Then his eyes bulged and blood dribbled from his mouth as his neck was ripped apart savagely. His head flopped backwards in a rain of dark crimson droplets and his broom veered upwards, until the Auror was flying upside down and lost the strength to cling onto the broom. Both the broom and the Auror dropped to the ground amidst a mist of blood. The Auror was already dead when he struck the ground.
The Auror Flyers responded immediately and zoomed forward, wands and bats up.
" Ignis!" One of them cried out, his wand flicking sharply towards one of the Order Flyers, who ducked and rolled as a stream of yellow and red flickering flames roared through the air.
" Crucio!" One of the other Auror's cried out, her sharp voice ringing with anger and hatred. The Unforgivable missed her intended target by a hairs length, the red flash sizzling through the air.
" Expelliarmus!" One of the Phoenix Flyers snapped, and a scarlet flash of light slammed into a conjured glowing silver dome that surrounded one of the Aurors broomstick. The Auror, however, didn't see the next attack that was aimed at him, and a spiked bat slammed itself past the shield charm and lodged itself in his chest, He gurgled as the force of the blow knocked him off his broom, and a blur of colour raced past the now-empty broomstick.
Together, Auror and Phoenix Flyers battled for supremacy of the sky. Spells erupted from wands with casual ease, most missing their targets as they ducked and dodged the curses. Flyers with bats battled each other, using them like swords as they tried to smash each other out of the sky. A pair of combatants flying at speeds over sixty kilometers per hour struggled over control over a single wooden bat after the other one as knocked out of the Aurors hands. After a few seconds, the Auror managed to give a vicious jab to the Phoenix Flyer's head and grabbed the bat, slamming it down onto the other man's head and crushing his skull. A second later, a cone of tightly suppressed power engulfed the Auror in the stomach, who screamed in absolute agony as his torso was reduced to a mangled heap, killing him instantly.
On the ground, Nolan desperately laid siege to the walls of Azkaban. From the battlements, the Order defenders rained down curses and spells, brightly coloured rays and beams smashing down on the Auror battalion. Two Trolls were dead, their bodies lying in a heap at the front of the gates and their shields being propped up by Aurors, who ducked under the oppressive hail of spells. Zooming above them was a small contingent of Phoenix Flyers, who were laying waste to the Aurors on the ground. They would dive down, their wands sending of waves of sparks as they bombarded them with explosions hexes and large-scale fire spells. Auror's would occasionally send back a curse or two, but for the most part they huddled where they could, usually behind the Trolls or a fellow Aurors corpse, and tried not to get killed.
"Is the siege weapon ready?" He yelled at a subordinated, wincing as a Flyer zoomed over his head in a blur of colour, a stream of fire flowing from his wand as he tried to flush out a group of Auror's hidden behind a troll shield. One of the surviving Trolls roared with anger as another Flyer swooped down, wand spitting out a shower of glistening silver shards that slashed at the Troll's face. But its helmet protected it from most of the damage and it lifted its club and swung it wildly. The Flyer tried to duck, but the spiked club slammed into her. The broom splintered and snapped under the powerful blow and the Flyer dropped to the ground in several small bloody pieces.
Nolan smiled tightly as he observed the Flyer's death. Bodies were dropping from the sky now, several of them in terrible and bloody condition and most of them Aurors, but there was the occasional Phoenix Flyer who slammed into the ground.
High above the ground, higher than any of the Flyer battles, the large winged dragon opened its mouth and spat out a large ball of flames. A hippogriff shrieked madly as it beat its wings madly and swooped above the searing ball of yellow flames. Around them, three Phoenix Flyers fought against two Auror Flyers, who were much better at flying than they were. This was apparent when of the Phoenix Flyers was blasted off his broom by a sleek jet of green light. His lifeless body tumbled towards the ground as his broom slowly began its descent without its rider.
" Silpormo!" One of the riders screamed, brandishing a wand fearlessly. A scorching white pillar zapped from his wand and lashed out on the thick hide of the dragon, who roared in agony as it failed to dodge the white beam. Thick black blood oozed from its burn as it swung its spiked tail with deadly accuracy. The Hippogriff screamed in agony as it was sliced into two by the terrible thrust of the blade, while the Dragon lashed out with its teeth at the other one, sinking its fangs into both the Rider and the hippogriff and crushing them.
" Avada Kedavra!" One of the Phoenix Riders screamed. As a jet of green light zoomed towards the dragon, the Death Eater riding it waved his wand in a quick and easy movement, and a large chrome disc zoomed off the dragons back, its harnesses breaking off, and intercepted the curse. It exploded in a shower of molten metal and sickly green flames, but the dragon was safe as it sent a stream of boiling flames the Flyer, who was consumed instantly. The other Flyer broke off and dove down, ducking another stream of flames and zooming back to Azkaban. The dragon roared in triumph and began its descent, its eyes glowing with suppressed rage and heat.
Suddenly there was a loud roar and Nolan immediately flinched at the very sound of it. High in the sky, the dragon had been fighting two Hippogriff Riders, and now it looked as if it were finished with them. He smiled openly, a dark and terrible smile as the dragon swooped down, ready to assault Azkaban.
"Parks! Re-aim that siege weapon at the eastern tower! Auror's, concentrate all of your firepower on that tower… I want it to crumble before my very eyes!" He hollered loudly. There were a few surprised blinks at the sudden change of strategy, but most obeyed without hesitation.
Two Trolls pulled away an object and positioned it further back, aiming it towards the eastern tower. The siege weapon was shaped like a catapult of sorts, except that instead of throwing objects, it channeled powerful blasts of magic.
The Trolls grunted in exertion as they stood back and twelve Auror's stood in a circle around it, their wands all leveled at it. They each muttered a specific charm and stood back as the siege weapon hummed audibly, before a blinding burst of lightning lanced forward from it, striking at the tower violently.
In the eastern tower, a young woman named Mills brushed her black hair back from her tired face as she swallowed yet another potion. The sour taste made her grimace but she swallowed it quickly and peered out from the small windows. The air battle raged over a hundred meters away, flashes of light flying between small fast-moving figures.
"How long?" She asked hoarsely as she felt her magic stirring within her.
"Give it a couple of minutes, then well start." A tired young man with blonde hair said, exhaustion clear in his voice. His partner on the Earth Staff moaned tiredly, while her partner on the Air Staff leant on the wall, his eyes half-closed. Nearby, a red-haired woman observed the battle, taking in calculations and positions and sending silvery swirling lights back to the Command Centre.
Suddenly a silver light glided into the room, swirling around the young man and entering his head. He stiffened and jumped to his feet, placing himself around the Earth Staff.
"A dragon's coming!" He shouted, causing his partner to stir and open his eyes. "Bolshev, get your arse up! A dragon's coming!"
Mills picked up her Air-Staff and peered from the window, her heart thumping madly. Her eyes were wide with both fear and excitement and she felt her magic grow as the restoration potion began its last phase of treatment.
The red-haired woman peered from her omnioculars, glancing at the skies and at the aerial battle taking place, and frowned in confusion, distress clearly on her face.
"I can't see it!" She cried out.
"It's above us!" Mills' partner suddenly cried out. Mills jumped back form the window as something leathery flashed past. She gave a startled yelp and staggered back as the dragon roared in fury, flapping its leathery wings as it hovered a few meters from the tower. It opened its mouth and let loose a column of searing flames.
Mills flinched as the flames beat against the powerful wards on Azkaban, barely-transparent magic shimmering and rippling as it absorbed the flames, beating them back madly. The dragon roared again as Mills thrust her staff from the window and channeled her magic. Bursts of shiny golden streaks of magic erupted from the end of the Air-Staff, striking at the dragon. The Dragon roared in pain as it was bombarded with dozens of magical bursts, which exploded in showers of sparks as it struck the almost-impervious dragon hide.
Suddenly the tower rocked as a white flare struck it, and Mills wobbled on her feet, her Air-Staff flying from her fingers as she fell to the ground. At the same time, the dragon opened its mouth again and let loose a stream of fire, which arced towards the tower and struck again at the wards. The wards rippled and flashed madly as they successfully beat back the searing flames, but this time a blur of colour shot forward and raced through the open window. The wards struggled against it for a second, but a purple chaotic light surrounded the figure and it tore open the wards for a brief second, courtesy of the siege weapon, the dragon and the powerful ward-disruptor the Auror carried. He came flying into the tower room, taking them all by surprise.
" Avada Kedavra!" The Auror Flyer cried out, skillfully leaping from his broom as he invaded the eastern tower. The blonde man collapsed under an onslaught of green light as Bolshev leveled his Air-Staff. A searing golden bolt of magic slammed into the Auror's chest, killing him instantly. But at the same moment, the dragon and the siege weapon fired again and two more Auror's bearing ward-disruptors flew in, magic cackling from their wands. The red-haired woman gave a shriek of pain, her wand flying from her fingers as she was killed. Mills crawled towards the tower stairs, slamming open the door with her palm, while her partner went down in a spray of blood, taking one of the Aurors with him.
" Crucio!" The tried man barked in exhaustion, and the remaining Auror ducked gracefully, rolling to the side and leveling his wand, ignoring the second flash of light that the tired man sent at him, which blasted away the bricks behind him.
" Avada Kedavra!" The Auror cried, and the tired man was blasted off his feet by the power of the curse. Mills froze as he turned to stare at her. She was wandless, staffless and in serious trouble. Suddenly there were footsteps pounding up the stairs and a small man rushed into the room, his wand held in shaky hands.
The Auror frowned and regarded the man carefully, before a look of recognition washed over his face.
"You!" He said in surprise, shock clouding his features. "What are…?"
" Spiculum!"
The Auror fell to the ground in a shower of blood, his eyes wide with surprise.
The dragon roared in triumph, a terrible high-pitched shriek that echoed in the grounds as the Air-Staff fire ceased against him. He flapped his wings, opening his mouth to deliver another burst of flames when a streak of colour zoomed in front of him. The dragon cocked its head and swiped with its tail, but the blur of colour easily avoided the spiked appendage and stopped mere meters away from the dragons head, revealing the features of Harry Potter. The dragon roared, spurred on its Death Eater master, and pulled its head back, before releasing a giant wave of searing flames. Harry made a small motion with his wand, just before the flames surrounded and enveloped him.
Harry watched as the flames surrounded him and tried to lick away at his robes and broomstick. The simple third-year Flame Freezing charm worked perfectly and Harry swiped his wand again, dispelling the flames. The dragon in front of him looked confused as Harry smiled coldly and leveled his wand at it.
" Avada Kedavra!" He said clearly, and the last thing the dragon ever saw was a blinding flash of green light.
Nolan watched with a heavy heart as the dragon's lifeless corpse tumbled to the ground. It struck the cold dirt of Azkaban and the ground rumbled. He sighed and regarded the eastern tower, remembering how the three Auror's had made it past. Suddenly the western tower glowed, and from it shot a powerful cackling bolt of ashen magic, which spiraled down and enveloped eleven Aurors.
"Not again!" Nolan muttered. He assessed his forces, seeing that at least one hundred of his men were dead, and sighed remorsefully. He needed to regroup and reorganise. Sending up a shower of green sparks, the Auror ground force quickly retreated from the gates of Azkaban, falling back to their boats. Above them, the remaining seven Auror Flyers also zoomed away, while the Phoenix Flyers zoomed back to Azkaban, not giving pursuit.
Ron watched a swirl of silver strike an analysts head and waited impatiently.
"Well?" He asked with irritation, drumming his fingers impatiently.
"Sir, the Aurors have retreated back to the docks." The analyst reported quickly.
Another swirl of silver light flooded into the room, striking another analyst.
"All Flyers are down on the ground."
"Good. Shift us out of here….leave the docks behind." Ron ordered quickly.
For Nolan, on the docks, it was not as impressive as it sounded. The island of Azkaban had been there a second ago and suddenly it wasn't. There wasn't a brilliant flash, there wasn't a shimmer, and there wasn't the slightest sound at all. Azkaban was simply gone, leaving behind the remains of the Auror Battalion. The docks he was standing were now alone in the cold large oceans. Above, the seven Flyers zoomed around rapidly, while the injured were loaded into the boats that had been scattered around the island.
"I suppose that means our second wave is cancelled?" An Auror asked Nolan, and sighed with relief when Nolan nodded his head slowly.
"Back to the boats, it's time to go home." He said gruffly and turned from the docks.
In a vast ocean, only a few kilometers from the Scotland western coast, Azkaban appeared without a noise. The seagulls cried out mournfully as they circled around the newly appeared island, flying over the dead corpses and past the walls, where the weary defenders began the process of cleaning up. Azkaban was still free.
THE DAILY PROPHET
The Order of Phoenix Slays Ambassadors!
One Hundred Aurors dead!
By special correspondent Maria Skeeter
Department of Media Affairs
Yesterday, the Order of Phoenix agreed to negotiations with the Ministry of Magic, who hoped to find a peaceful solution to the current malicious attacks. The Order of Phoenix invited the ambassadorial party to Azkaban, where they were detained and tortured by Harry Potter.
An Auror Battalion was sent out to rescue our courageous ambassadors, but suffered heavy causalities when they engaged in the Order of Phoenix forces on the ground and in the skies over Azkaban. Hundreds of Order members were killed but out elite Auror forces also suffered tremendous casualties. After a furious half-an-hour of fighting, the Order of Phoenix retreated and shifted Azkaban away from the Auror Battalion and left for an unknown location.
This marks the largest battle between the Ministry of Magic and the Order of Phoenix in twenty-five years, since the collapse of the former corrupt Ministry of Magic. Families are expected to be notified of any relatives who were murdered during the battle, and the Ministry.
This massacre comes no less than a day after Harry Potter broke several dangerous murderers and traitors from the Ministry prison of Morsmordre. There are fears that he is building up an army to invade the Ministry of Magic.
" I was in his year at Hogwarts," Tracey Davis, upstanding pureblood witch, says. "He was always up to something… always plotting. He has to be stopped. I think it's time that the Ministry stopped being patient, stopped being merciful, and crushed Harry Potter like the treasonous scum he is!"
BUNYIP BONANZA
Civil War in England Escalates!
Lord Voldemort and Harry Potter fight for control!
Yesterday, the Ministry of Magic, headed by the self-proclaimed Dark Lord Voldemort, responded to yesterday's prison-break by storming the island of Azkaban, home of Harry Potter, Commander of the Order of Phoenix. In the resulting battle, over one hundred Auror's and an unknown number of Order members were killed. The rising tensions in the despotic Ministry between Lord Voldemort and Harry Potter have so far, seen over three hundred deaths in the past two months.
Lord Voldemort has promised the international community that the threat that terrorises his country will soon be laid to rest. In a speech to the International Confederation of Wizardry, a representative of Lord Voldemort stated. "Harry Potter is a man who does not realise that the past is the past. He is unable to accept that time change."
" That makes him a dangerous man. The Ministry will do everything in our power to ensure that Harry Potter does not pose a threat to any other Wizarding nation."
But there are some who think that Harry Potter is doing the right thing. For many years, international leaders have been worried in the rapid increase in strength and equipment in England's Auror forces, and have feared an invasion.
" As long as Voldemort's tied up with the Order, he won't dare strike out. He's not stupid enough to fight a war on two fronts," said an Australian Ministry Official, who wished to remain anonymous. "The fact is, Voldemort is a dictator of the worst sort. We stood back and let him transform England into his own personal army. Sooner or later, Voldemort will destroy Azkaban and kill Harry Potter, and then he will attack the rest of the world, mark my words!"