Harry Potter: Another Chance

Chapter 421: Crowd Control

Disclaimer:

Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

I own nothing but the original characters I create.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 421: Crowd Controln/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"This barrier…did Harry create this?" James stared at the translucent substance surrounding the stands.

"Magna Custodia," Daphne answered. "This is his strongest defense. It can even block Unforgivables to some degree."

"Then that's Harry over there!" Lily exclaimed as she stared at the lone figure in black robes. "He's by himself out there. We have to do something."

"We do have to do something…about them first." James gestured toward several individuals in the crowd who had begun to move.

He'd been watching closely from the beginning. Two of them were supposed to be Aurors, but he had never seen them before. There was a good chance they were Death Eaters.

The other two were shady Ministry personnel whose loyalty had been questioned for years. Now it was clear who they had been serving.

Lily followed her husband's gaze to the four men. "Right…" She pulled out her wand but kept it hidden.

"Everyone, please remain in your seats and stay calm," one of the suspicious men announced, stepping into the center of the stands while the other three moved to different spots.

"Yes, there's no need to panic. We'll do our best to remove this charm someone has placed upon us," the second man added.

"Wait a minute, why do you want to remove it?"

"Yes! Isn't this protecting us?"

Some adults in the crowd began questioning their suggestion.

"Hey, you don't know that. It could be a dangerous spell," one of the men argued.

The other pulled out his official badge. "And besides, we're both Aurors. We have more experience with this kind of thing."

"You're Aurors? Then why didn't you lift a finger when that skeleton killed a man?" one of the students asked.

"That skeleton?!" The expression of one of the so-called Aurors twisted with anger. "That's the Dark Lord! Show some respect, you mudblood!"

"Mark! Damn it…" The other Auror cursed at his companion's lack of sense before raising his wand to aim at the crowd. "Okay, no one moves, or we wi—"

"So much for pretending to be the good guys."

James had already fired a Disarming Charm at the man and quickly followed it with a Stunner.

Lily sprang into action, targeting the other man with a Petrificus Totalus spell.

While the fake Aurors went down, Daphne kept her eye on the last two. The Ministry men hadn't expected to fight and were relying on the Death Eaters disguised as Aurors to handle any violence.

But when they saw their partners being attacked, they knew they had no choice.

"Lapis Spica!"

As soon as one stepped into the open, he was pierced in the chest by a spike made from stone that conjured from Daphne's wand.

The other was about to aim his wand at her when someone unexpectedly intervened.

"Dismembra."

"Ahhh!" The man let out a bloodcurdling scream as his arm was ripped from its socket and flung away.

Daphne glanced back at the caster. "I had it under control, Luna."

The blonde girl shrugged. "It's been a while since I had the chance to use it."

Xenophilius stared at his daughter. "Pudding, did you just rip that man's arm off?"

"Is this what they teach now at Hogwarts?" one of the adults in the audience asked, his expression a mix of concern and horror.

James and Lily worked to calm the rest of the crowd.

"Everyone, it's going to be okay. As long as you stay inside the barrier, you'll be safe," Lily assured them.

Most seemed unconvinced, considering what was outside, but it wasn't like they had a better option.

Lily tried to go outside, but James stopped her. "Where are you going? We need to stay here."

"James, what are you talking about? I'm going to help my son," Lily said firmly.

"Lily," Daphne approached her. "I understand you're worried for Harry. I am too, to be honest. But…you can't help him right now. You'd only get in his way if you went out there. You have seen what he is up against... can you really do something?."

"He's not planning on facing that army by himself, is he? Please tell me he has a better plan than that," Lily pleaded.

"You know…" Daphne hesitated. "I'm sure he has a general idea of what to do, but Harry doesn't really do the whole detailed planning thing. He's more of an improviser."

"That doesn't sound reassuring…" Lily muttered.

Daphne smiled. "But you can always count on him when it matters. He won't fail. He told me he can defeat the Dark Lord and his army, and I believe it, no matter how ridiculous it sounds."

"Daphne…" Lily was taken aback by how much faith the girl had in her son.

"She's right," James added. "Harry assured us he has everything under control. Let him handle it. Trust in our son."

"It's okay," Luna said softly, drawing their attention.

She was staring at the sky with a dreamy expression. "It will be over soon…Harry is calling on Hogwarts' magic. That's why he brought them here."

"Hogwarts' magic?" Daphne asked, puzzled. Harry had been insistent on fighting Voldemort inside the school boundaries but never explained why. She had assumed it was because of the golems.

'But...he hasn't tried to repair them.' She knew that if he wanted, he could fuel more magic from the main arkstone at the foundation and make the golems regenerate faster, but he had just been raising wards so far.

Luna didn't take her eyes off the sky. "I wish you could see it too…it's beautiful."

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