Harry could only lay there, watching in horror as Olivia's lifeless eyes stared back at him. "No," he whispered, shaking his head in disbelief. 'No… She can't be dead,' he thought, refusing to believe what he was seeing.
"Harry, Harry, come on, stay with me," Hermione said, trying to put on a brave face, but couldn't stop the crack in her voice. "W-we need a plan," she said softly. "There has to be a way to stop that thing."
"There isn't," Harry said, quietly. "It's too strong," he said, watching as the golem slowly crossed the room. He watched it scan the room, feeling another pang of guilt as he realized McGonagall was its next target, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
None of the students were fighting it, not anymore. All of them cowering in fear, trying to make themselves as small as possible, hoping to avoid drawing the golem's attention.
'How could it end this way?' Harry thought in dismay, Merlin remaining silent in his mind as they both surveyed the death and destruction around them.
"No," Hermione shook her head, desperately clinging to hope. "You said help was coming, the Minister, the Department of Mysteries. They'll be here soon. It'll be ok. Let's just get you healed up," she said, tears slowly falling from her cheeks as she realized how bad off Harry was. "Episkey! Episkey!" She said, healing the minor cuts on Harry's face and arms.
"Hermione," Harry shook his head sadly. "It's not going to do any good."
"No," Hermione denied, her voice breaking. "You're going to get us out of this. You are. That's what you do, that's what you always do, even… even when we don't deserve it," she said, remembering how Harry had saved her from the study group, even after how terribly she treated him.
"You deserved it, Hermione." Harry smiled through the pain, knowing exactly what Hermione was talking about. "We may not have got along back then… but I could see you were a good person, how you helped Neville on the train, how you helped everyone study."
"Harry," Hermione sobbed, wiping her tears, but unable to stop crying. Her eyes widened as her fingers brushed up against something in her robe. She pulled it out, looking at it. It was a Pepper-up potion. She bought it to help her stay up late and study longer, hoping she could find something they could use to stop the study group.
"Here," she said, uncorking the vial, seeing Harry's eyes begin to droop. "Drink this. It should at least help you stay awake."
Harry could feel a surge of energy as he drank the potion, feeling his head clear a little.
"Mandrake root, "Merlin said, the surprise clear in his tone. It wasn't much, but there was enough for him to work with. "Ask her for more, "he demanded, feeling a glimmer of hope.
'What? Why?' Harry thought, wondering what Merlin was thinking.
"Mandrake root has restorative properties!" Merlin exclaimed. "I don't know why I didn't think of it before! It isn't enough to heal you, but it might be enough to get you back on your feet."
"Hermione?" Harry asked, after finishing the first vial. "Do you have any more?"
"Harry… I don't know if that's a good idea. You're already pretty hurt. It could make things a lot worse if you drink too much," Hermione explained.
"Trust me, Hermione," Harry replied, already feeling the effects as Merlin isolated, and redirected the healing properties of the potion to his most serious injuries.
Hermione reluctantly pulled out another three vials of potion, holding them up for Harry to see.
"Give them to me, please," Harry said, now able to sit up a little.
Hermione nodded, uncorking a second vial and holding it up to his lips, realizing only then that the potion wasn't effecting him like it normally should. "Harry, what's going on?" She asked, feeling like she was missing something important.
"There should be steam coming out of your ears," she said, noticing that the normal side effect of the potion hadn't happened yet, and that was after Harry drank two vials of it.
"The potion has healing properties," Harry replied. "It's hard to explain… but it's helping."
"This is going to take some time, Harry, "Merlin explained, working as fast as he could.
'Hurry,' Harry thought as he watched Professor McGonagall square off against the golem.
Minerva looked around in shock, averting her eyes from Olivia's body. She glanced back at the line she cut through the wall. She had barely made it through an inch of stone. The students were cowering in fear. Harry was down and didn't look like he would last much longer.
'Is this how it's going to end?' she couldn't help but think. She could see the golem headed towards her, and knew she was its next target. She took a deep breath, focusing her mind on what she needed to do as she raised her wand.
While she was cutting through the wall, she had glanced back, seeing how Olivia and Harry had fought it, and already knew that direct attacks wouldn't work. Its armor was simply too strong for that, and while environmental spells had some effect, the golem had learned to overcome them as the battle went on.
"Incarcerous! Incarcerous!" she shouted, binding the golem in thick ropes. She could hear the ropes strain as they began to snap, one by one as the golem strained against them. Holding her wand against the golem, she transfigured the ropes turning them into steel cables, multiplying their strength.
She watched the golem carefully, never taking her eyes off of it as she heard its gears grind as it strained against the cables, pushing them to their limit.
She knew she needed to press her advantage before the monstrosity broke free. "Incarcerous!" she shouted again, this time aiming for its head and eyes, then used the same trick to turn the ropes into steel.
She took a breath, preparing for her next transfiguration. She aimed her wand at the golem's head, transfiguring the cables to molten steel, hoping that by taking out its head, it would take down the golem for good.
She took a step back, feeling the heat come off the golem as she watched the molten metal drip down its face, hearing it sizzle and hiss as it dripped down its chest. 'Come on, 'she thought desperately, watching it intently, hoping it would be enough.
She heard a loud snap, watching as one of the iron cables snapped, falling heavily to the ground with a loud crash, followed by another, and another, the golem throwing its arms up as it threw off the rest of the cables, then clawed at its face, wiping away the molten steel.
Minerva watched with bated breath, seeing the deep gouges in the golem head as it stood there unmoving, its eyes dimming. Then it fell to one knee, crushing the stone floor beneath it as the fire in its eyes died out.
She let out the breath she had been holding as she slowly lowered her wand, but kept her eyes trained on the golem, still not sure it was over.
She glanced at Harry and Hermione near the far wall. It looked like he was doing a little better, not nearly as pale as he had been before.
'She did some damage, 'Harry thought as he observed the fight between Professor McGonagall and the golem.
"Not enough, "Merlin replied. "It won't keep it down for long."
'Am I ready to go yet?' Harry thought back, unwilling to leave Professor McGonagall to face the threat alone.
"As ready as you can be, "Merlin replied with a sigh. "I've done what I can, but you're still badly injured.. you're basically running on fumes now. I've had to use just about everything to patch up the worst of the injuries."
"Harry, there's something you need to understand, "Merlin added, listening in on Harry's thoughts. "I didn't heal you, I patched you back together."
'What's the difference?' Harry thought back, confused.
"Your body needs time to truly heal," Merlin explained. "The healing properties in the potions are what's holding your muscle fibers together, stemming your internal bleeding, and reinforcing your cracked bones. Once those potions are out of your system, you'll be right back where you started, worse if you take too many more hits."
'How much time do I have?' Harry thought back.
"There's no way to tell, "Merlin replied. "The harder you fight, the faster you'll burn through the potions. I can extend the time a little further with more potions, but even that has its limits."
'I guess I'll have to make it count then, 'Harry thought, slowly getting to his feet.
"No! Harry! You need to stay down," Hermione said, shocked that Harry could even stand at this point. "You could be bleeding internally," she warned.
"I am," Harry replied, standing on his feet again. He could feel it, a dull pain all over his body, even standing still it hurt.
"The fight's over, look," Hermione said, pointing to the golem and Professor McGonagall standing in front of it. "Just sit back down until we can get you some help," she implored.
"It isn't over, not yet," Harry revealed. "Look."
Minerva looked at the heavily damaged head of the golem. There were holes in its armored head, and she could see the gears. They were slow, but still turning, then suddenly its eyes flared to life again. The gears whirled faster, clicking louder as as it rose to its feet again.
"Bombarda!" Minerva shouted, aiming her spell at the exposed gears in the golem's skull, but it was already prepared for her attack, tilting its head to the side as it used its hand to shield its head.
"Run Professor!" Harry shouted, already knowing the golem was going to speed towards her in a surprise attack.
Minerva heard Harry's shout and quickly scrambled back. "Glacius!" she shouted, targeting the floor, and turning it into a sheet of ice just as the golem stepped forward.
She watched as its foot slid before it caught itself, then slammed its foot down hard, breaking the ice and cracking the floor underneath. The tremors nearly sent Minerva to the ground as it moved forward, albeit at a slower pace, the floor cracking beneath its feet with each lumbering step.
"Confringo! Confringo!" Minerva shouted, cursing when the golem used its hand to shield the exposed gears in its head from her spells.
"Run! Get away!" she shouted to the students, hoping to keep them out of the path of the golem as it stalked towards her.
Harry watched from the other side of the hall as the golem drew closer and closer to Professor McGonagall, his mind flashing back to what happened to Professor Green as the golem raised its fist in the air. He couldn't let it happen, not again.
He drew magic into himself again, pushing it into his muscles as he surged forward, shooting across the room like a rocket.
He could hear Merlin's warnings in his mind, but ignored them, pushing forward regardless, putting himself between McGonagall and the golem.
With each step he took his control improved, his feet no longer smashing through the floor as he adjusted the amount of force he used, allowing him to move even faster.
'What?' Minerva thought, blinking as Harry suddenly appeared in front of her. "No!" she shouted a warning as the golem brought down its arm, but before the hit could land, Harry pushed her out of the way, sending her skidding across the floor.
She scrambled to her knees, feeling a sharp pain in her leg, but ignored it, her mouth agape at the impossible sight in front of her. Harry had his forearm raised, catching the clubbing blow from the golem.
She looked down, seeing the crushed stone beneath Harry's feet, proving that it wasn't a hallucination. He had actually taken the full brunt of the golem's attack and was still standing.
"You're not going to hurt anyone else I care about," Harry spat, glaring up at the damaged face of the golem. He shoved his arm up, sending the golem staggering back before it regained its balance.
Harry moved forward, jumping into the air as he punched the golem's chest, applying iron skin to his fist the moment before impact to lessen the strain on his magical pathways.
A loud metallic thud filled the room as his attack sent the golem skidding backwards again.
The Golem dug its fingers into the ground, scratching deeply into the floor as it came to a stop, then without missing a beat, threw itself forward, swinging its fist at Harry's chest.
Harry saw the blow coming, using his enhanced perception to track where the attack would land in the blink of an eye. He bent his knees, jumping high into the air. Just as the golem sailed underneath him, he came down on it, bringing both his fists down on its already damaged head in a vicious double Axe handle strike.
Another heavy metallic thud filled the hall as the golem's already weakened head crumpled as it fell to the ground, cratering the stone floor.
Harry could see the gears moving in its head, grinding against its damaged head, and sending sparks flying as he looked at it with contempt.
He jumped back as the golem pushed itself off the ground, getting back on its feet, despite the damage.
He could see the small indent in its chest where he struck it earlier, but it didn't seem to matter. The golem was still moving, just as easily as before.
The golem surged forward, putting on a burst of speed as it came in with a job cross combination, intending to take him out the same way it did before.
'Not this time, 'Harry thought with a growl, leaning back to avoid the first blow, then ducking and spinning as he avoided the second as he came up behind the golem.
He jumped up, grabbing onto the golem's shoulder as he rained down punches on its heavily damaged head.
The golem staggered back and forth as Harry's hammer blows landed, trying to reach up and rip Harry off its back, but Harry changed his grip, anticipating the golem's attack as he dogged the golem continuing to rain down blows onto its head.
Heavy clangs of metal filled the Great Hall as Harry gradually deformed the golem's head, his numerous strikes finally having an impact.
The golem staggered to a wall, slamming its back against it, but Harry was ready for it, and quickly jumped off before getting squashed.
"HARRY!" Merlin shouted into Harry's mind.
'What!?' Harry thought back, glaring at the downed form of the Golem.
"Don't ignore me," Merlin ground. "You are not invincible!"
'I seem to be doing ok, 'Harry thought back, annoyed that Merlin had interrupted him, right when he was making some progress.
"No, "Merlin argued back. "You're not. I've had to triple your endorphin production just to keep you standing. You're pushing too hard. You need to slow down."
'No,' Harry thought back stubbornly.' I'm getting the hang of this, 'he said, surging forward again, and going into a combination of his own, landing a jab to the golem's head, followed by a cross, then an uppercut as the golem landed heavily on the ground.
He looked at the golem carefully, noting the heavy damage to it head. He knew he had to press his attack and exploit the weakness Professor McGonagall created.
He got in close as the golem got back up on one knee. He kicked the golem in the chest, sending it slamming into the wall, then raised his fists.
He got in the boxing stance Ben taught him, sending punch after punch at the golem's head. Left! Right! Left! Right! Left!
With grim satisfaction, he watched as the golem's head caved in, its gears grinding against the bent and deformed sections of its head as sparks flew. Finally, with a rage filled roar, he sent a right hook at the side of the golem's head, sending it flying off its shoulders and across the room.
Harry caught his breath, watching as the golem went limp, no longer hearing the gears turning in its body. 'Is it over?' he thought.
"I don't know," Merlin admitted. "When I beat one of these things, I had to drop it in a volcano to make sure it wouldn't get back up."
Harry looked at the golem sharply, suddenly hearing a whirling noise coming from its chest. Instinctively, he jumped back, just in time to avoid a kick from the golem that would have caved in his chest.
He looked on in growing frustration as the golem slowly returned to its feet, stepping towards him again.
'It can see my without its head?' Harry thought in surprise.
"It's a machine," Merlin explained. "Not flesh and blood. You aren't going to win fighting it like it's a man."
'That would have been useful to know earlier, 'Harry thought, watching as the golem got closer, the ground cracking under its feet with each step it took.
'I didn't come to the realization until now, 'Merlin admitted.
Harry watched the golem's shoulders as it advanced, waiting for the hitch in its shoulder to see which of its arms it would use for the attack. 'Left shoulder!' he thought just before the golem raised its fist in the air, slamming it down where Harry stood, landing on one knee as it used its full weight to strengthen the attack.
Harry was already moving, stepping to the right to avoid the golem's blow. As its fist landed on the ground beside him, he kicked at the golem's elbow joint with everything he had, hearing the metal groan as the blow connected, but the joint remained intact.
He saw a shadow in the corner of his eye, and ducked under the golem's right hook as it sailed above his head. With the golem overextended and no longer protecting its chest, he got in close, hammering punches into its chest piece, trying to break through. Left, Right, Left, Right, Left, Right.
He hit it six times, seeing its chest dent with each hit, but even then, it was the most heavily armored part of its body, making it difficult to get through.
The golem shook with each hit, staggering back a step before it finally rose to its feet.
Harry cursed mentally. The golem was too tall to land the hits on its chest he needed to break through its armor while it was standing. Even now, as damaged as it was, the golem was learning from their fight, and adjusting its strategy accordingly.
"You can do the same," Merlin advised. "Look for weaknesses, flaws in its design. Exploit them."
Harry nodded, stepping back to observe the golem, narrowing his eyes when he saw it pause. It wasn't for long, less than half a second, then it surged forward, using a burst of speed to close the gap. This time Harry didn't try to dodge it, and instead ran forward, using a burst of his own speed. At the last second, he slid beneath the golem's legs, coming up behind it.
He could see its head turning as it scanned for him, but before it could react, he jumped on its back. While the golem's chest armor was one solid piece, it wasn't the same for its back.
There were multiple connected sections, giving it the flexibility and range of motion it needed to attack.
Harry hammered a punch in to the golem's back, the metal groaning as he sent it staggering forward with the unexpected hit. He kept it up, hammering his fist into its back until finally a small section of iron broke away. He reached into the gap, prying a metal strip from the golem's back.
The golem thrashed back and forth, swinging its arms wildly as it tried to reach him, but he had been careful, selecting where to hold on to, just out of the reach of the golem's arms.
It became a challenge to hold on as the golem spun, trying to shake him off, and when they reached a wall, Harry quickly scrambled up the golem's back, jumping off its shoulders just before it slammed its back into the wall, and crushed him.
The golem hit the wall with enough force to cave in the wall; the stone breaking away from the mortar. If Harry had been a second too late jumping off, he knew he wouldn't have survived the hit, even with iron skin.
The unrelenting golem turned, taking a step forward, continuing its attack as it kicked its leg forward, aiming for Harry's chest.
Harry spun to the side to avoid the hit, putting him in range of golem's follow up attack as it sent a right jab to his head. He dropped to the ground, expecting a left cross from the golem next, only to be surprised when the attack never came. Instead, the golem stomped its leg, trying to crush his chest again.
He rolled out of the way, and sprang back up to his feet, turning to the side to avoid another right jab from the golem, followed by a left cross.
This time, when the golem raised its fist, Harry could tell something was wrong. It was slower than before, the groan of metal more pronounced as it swung its fist.
He ducked under the blow, bringing up his fist in an uppercut as he targeted the same elbow joint of the golem again. He narrowed his eyes when the golem stepped back, moving its left arm out of his reach.
'Got you,' Harry thought, triumphantly. It's arm was damaged from when he hit the joint earlier, and now it was protecting its left arm, only using it to attack sparingly.
The golem attacked with another kick, followed by a series of right punches, but never brought its left arm in close. Harry dodged and weaved through the attacks, trying to get to the golem's left side, but it was easier said than done as the golem pivoted and turned, keeping its left arm just out of his reach.
'Damn it,' Harry thought, his frustration mounting as the golem anticipated his strategy, moving into a defensive stance for the fist time since it appeared. He needed to change things up and create another opening, or a new weakness to exploit.
"You need to hurry," Merlin urged. "You can't keep this pace for much longer."
Harry nodded, already feeling the strain. As he learned to better control the added magical power, he became more efficient with it, but even that was reaching its limits. He jumped high into the air, whipping out his wand. "Bombarda!" he shouted, aiming the explosion hex at the hole where the golem's head used to be, only for the golem to use its right forearm to shield itself.
As he landed on the ground, he surged forward. He knew he couldn't go for its chest again, not without jumping in the air at close range, which would leave him open for a counterattack.
He went into a baseball slide, slamming his feet into the golem's ankle. As he slid clear, he heard it fall to the ground with a heavy clang. He scrambled back up to his feet, lunging forward as he brought his heel down on the golem's left elbow joint, feeling the iron crumple after taking the hit.
As the golem struggled to its hands and knees, sparks flew from its left arm.
Harry jumped into the air, coming down on the golem's back, hammering it back into the ground, creating a spiderweb of cracks on the stone floor beneath them.
He returned to working the golem's left arm, kicking the joint as hard as he could, each hit crumpling the iron further.
The arm was barely hanging on by the end of it, and Harry reached down, lurching it from its shoulder joint, more sparks flying as he ripped the golem's arm off at the elbow.
He lifted the arm into the air, using it as a club as the golem thrashed on the floor, hitting its right leg this time. With the golem's arm, it was much easier to deal the damage he needed, the clanging of metal filling the hall as he bashed the golem's knee joint next.
Harry finally dropped the golem's arm to the ground, and grabbed its mangled, thrashing leg, savagely twisting and pulling until its legs broke free as even more sparks flew from the golem's ruined leg.
He glared down at the golem as it struggled to get to its feet. After all the death and destruction the monstrosity caused, he felt a growing sense of satisfaction as he looked at its sorry state.
He reached down for the golem's arm, intent on using it to bash in the golem's other leg, when he felt a sudden wave of dizziness overtake him. 'No,' he thought, staggering back, knowing that he had run out of time. He reached for his wand with shaking hands, only for his fingers to go numb as it clattered from his hands, rolling across the floor.
Harry felt to his knees, struggling to stay conscious, the edges of his vision darkening. He could hear shouting around him, but he couldn't make it out, not even Merlin's voice shouting in his mind.
"Harry!" Ron shouted as he ran up to him, pulling him away from the golem crawling towards him. "Bombarda!" he shouted, aiming the spell at the hole left behind after Harry destroyed the golem's head. Despite the explosion curse hitting the golem's gears, it still continued to struggle forward, showing no damage from Ron's spell.
"Together!" Draco shouted as he and Hermione moved to either side of Ron and Harry. "Bombarda!" The three students shouted, but the spell had almost no effect as the golem continued to crawl forward, looking even more terrifying in its heavily damaged state.
"We need something stronger," Hermione said, racking her brains for a spell that would be effective against the golem. Her eyes widened, remembering how Professor Green attacked the golem. "Aguamenti!" she shouted, flooding the golem's chest with water.
"Glacius!" Draco and Ron said a moment later as they caught onto Hermione's plan, freezing the water solid, and seizing the golem's gears.
They watched with bated breath, the sound of grinding gears filling the hall as the golem struggled to break through the ice. It slowed down considerably, its arms stuck in place, but its leg were still working, allowing it to crawl forward.
Just when they thought they got a handle on the situation, and prepared another volley of spells, the whip uncoiled from the golem's torso, lashing out at them.
It caught all three of them of them by surprise when the iron whip slammed into them, sending them crashing to the ground. The only thing saving them from serious injury being the iron skin technique they used.
"How is he?" Draco asked in a pain filled voice as they sat up, looking at the slumped form of Harry.
"He's barely conscious," Ron said in a worried tone before looking back at the golem and shaking his head in disbelief as he heard a loud crunching noise as the golem finally broke through the ice, allowing it to use its arms again.
Hermione looked around at the other students. Most of them looked in bad shape, some of them too petrified to even move. She racked her brains, trying to figure a way out of this, but nothing came to mind.
She looked up sharply when she heard a grinding noise coming from the wall. "Now what?" she thought out loud, seeing the stone shift. It was the same section of wall the caved in after the golem slammed into it.
Ron and Draco lifted Harry up, throwing one of his arms over each of their shoulders as they dragged him back, staring wearily between the wall and the advancing golem.
"Get ready," Ron said, raising his wand at the wall, Draco and Hermione following suit.
They watched as a section of the stone wall fall down, crashing heavily into the ground, then another, and another until there was an opening large enough for a person to fit through.
They continued to back away from the golem, keeping their eyes trained on the wall as a wizard crawled through.
"My god!" the wizard said in disbelief as he stared at the destruction all around him.
"Who are you?!" Draco demanded. He could see the Auror robes the man was wearing, but couldn't rule out that it was another one of the Alumni, back to even the score.
"Relax kid. I'm Robards. Gawain Robards," The Auror said, raising his hands in surrender as he saw the look in Draco's eyes. "I'm here to help…" he trailed off, his eyes settling on the golem crawling towards the students. "Get back!" he shouted, pulling out his wand.
"Get in here!" he shouted behind him as another nine Aurors appeared from the hole in the wall, followed by the Minister and Amelia Bones.
"Its armor is resistant to spells!" Hermione shouted, feeling a flood of relief at seeing the Minister. "Aim for the holes and destroy the gears!"
"Right, you heard her," Amelia shouted, taking charge as the Aurors surrounded the golem.
The golem quickly recognized the new threats and used its whip to attach the Aurors, but they were ready for it, quickly raising shields to protect themselves.
"Incendio Maxima!" Amelia shouted, quickly followed by the Aurors as they aimed for the holes in the golem's head, arm, and leg.
The students watched as the gears glowed red hot, but continued to spin.
"Glacius Maxima!" Gawain shouted, quickly cooling down the gears and freezing them in place again.
They could hear the gears grinding, struggling to spin before finally breaking through the ice, and the golem moved forward again.
"Again!" Amelia shouted, this time with Cornelius joining in as well. "Incendio Maxima!"
"I don't get it. What are they doing?" Draco asked in confusion. "They already tried that, and so did we. It doesn't work," he said, seeing the gears glow red hot again.
"Of course," Hermione said as realization struck. "They're weakening the metal! Constantly heating and cooling it is making it brittle."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Ron agreed, joining in with the Aurors. "Glacius!"
Harry groaned. His entire body was throbbing with pain. He cracked open his eyes, seeing his friends and the Aurors now battling the heavily damaged golem. He fumbled for his wand, wanting to join in.
"No, "Merlin said. "You need to recover."
Harry could only nod tiredly, watching as the gears in the golem's chest shattered, one by one.
"It's working!" Hermione shouted as more of the gears inside the golem's chest broke down, followed by the golem's damaged leg and arm going still.
"We got it on the ropes now!" Robards shouted, followed by a cheer from the other Aurors, but their moment of celebration cost them as the golem chose that moment to attack, using its metal whip to send them all sprawling to the ground.
"Hermione…" Harry said, getting a sinking feeling as the golem crawled towards the leg he ripped off earlier. "I need another one of those potions, now!"
"Harry," Hermione said, the worry clear in her tone as she looked back and forth between the golem and the Aurors, still struggling to their feet. "I don't know if that's a good idea. You've had too many of them already."
"We don't have a choice," Harry replied. "If that thing gets back on its feet, we're done for."
"Do it," Ron said, seeing the determined look in Harry's eyes.
Hermione nodded reluctantly, uncorking the vial of Pepper-up potion and holding it to Harry's lips.
Harry drank quickly, feeling Merlin re-direct the healing properties of the potion to his damaged muscles and ligaments, while also giving him a quick energy boost.
He took a breath as his mind cleared, and he got back on his feet. He reached for his wand, only remembering then that he dropped it earlier.
"Concentrate," Merlin instructed. "Hold out your hand and it will return to you."
Harry nodded, following Merlin's instructions. He still felt wobbly on his feet, but could see the golem was only a few feet away from its leg, and dangerously close to one of the downed Aurors.
"Draco, pull him back," Harry instructed, pointing at the Auror. Even with the golem now heavily damaged, it was still more than strong enough to pulverize bones.
As Draco pulled back the Auror, Harry felt the familiar weight of his wand land in his hand. "Wingardium Leviosa," he said, aiming his wand at the heavy stone block sitting on the floor. He grit his teeth as he lifted it high in the air, bringing it over top the golem, releasing his spell just as the golem reached its leg.
He watched with tired eyes as the stone fell on the golem's chest with a loud crash, its arms spasming as the stone landed. He raised his wand again. "Wingardium Leviosa," he said, lifting the stone block high into the air again.
The golem's back was caved in, but he could still hear the gears grinding away as it reached for its leg again. Ending his first spell, he cast another. "Descendo," he said, accelerating the speed of the falling stone block.
With an even louder crash, it smashed back into the golem, and this time it finally stopped moving, its chest completely destroyed.
Harry took a tired breath, sitting down on the floor as he looked around at all the death and destructions surrounding them. They had won the battle, but the cost was higher than he could have ever imagined, and the war was still far from over.
'Merlin?' Harry thought as the adrenaline finally began to wear off, and he could think clearly again. 'How did I do that?' He knew his limits, how much he could charge up his spells, how much magic he could infuse into his muscles, and he had exceeded every one of them in the last moments of his fight with the golem.
"Finally pick up on that, did you?" Merlin asked, a hint of sarcasm in his time.
Harry nodded mentally, still coming to terms with the unexpected surge of power he felt.
"You empower both your body, and your spells with the magic around you," Merlin explained as Harry nodded along. "What has changed is the density of the magic. The study group had released the magic they've been storing these last few centuries to jump start the ritual. It's permeated the entire area around Hogwarts, and growing stronger and denser as we speak."
Harry mentally nodded in understanding. The density of the magic made it easier for him to draw it into his magical pathways and empower his attacks. 'What about everyone else?' he thought. 'Are their spells going to get stronger too?'
"Yes and no," Merlin explained. "Witches and wizards, most magical beings will draw in a certain amount of magic to empower their spells naturally, but not to the extent you are capable of. For them it's subconscious, with you it's a skill you've developed and honed."
Harry sighed, seeing the double edged sword for what it was. The Alumni were already powerful enough as it was, and the last thing he needed was for them to get even stronger.
"There's more," Merlin continued. "You need to limit how often you do this. This amount of magic flowing through your magical pathways is straining them, increasing your recovery time, and if you do this too often, it will burn out your magical pathways. It's not something I can patch up like the rest of your injuries."
Harry sighed mentally. His list of injuries were only increasing with each battle, and now he had to regulate how much magic he used on top of everything else. 'Where the hell are you Tonks?' he thought desperately, wondering when the support she promised was going to show up.
"Harry!" Cornelius said, kneeling in front of Harry. "My god! Are you alright? No," he said, chastising himself before Harry could even reply. "Of course you're not. It's stupid of me to even ask. We should have come sooner," he said, blaming himself.
"You made it… and that thing," Harry said, gesturing to the mangled remains of the golem. "Is destroyed, that's what's important."
"You!" Cornelius said, pointing at an Auror. "Go to the hospital wing. Find out if Madam Pomfrey is ok, then get her over here as fast as you can. We need every healing potion she has!"
"Gowain," Amelia ordered. "Get to St. Mungo's. Tell them what happened here. Get as many Medi-wizards and witches as you can. We need to evacuate the injured students ASAP."
"I'll take you to the hospital wing," Hermione offered to the other Auror.
"I'll go with you," Draco said immediately, worried about another attack.
"Has anyone seen my niece? Susan?" Amelia called out.
"I'm over here," Susan shouted back from the other side of the hall.
Amelia rushed over, checking her niece for injuries. "Susan, are you alright?"
"No," Susan replied, tears filling her eyes, the shock finally wearing off. "It was awful," she cried, her emotions a jumbled mix. Relief that it was finally over, horror at seeing so many of her classmates die, and gnawing guilt for surviving when so many others weren't so lucky.
"It'll be ok," Amelia said, hugging her niece tight, only to pull her arms back as Susan cried out in pain. "Your arm is broken," she realized, seeing the odd angle of her niece's arm, her voice thick with emotion.
Hermione and Draco took one last look around the Great Hall before they followed the Auror out.
"It's this way," Hermione said, leading the Auror to the grand staircase, only to stop and look down, seeing holes in the floor. "The golem, it must have come through here," she realized.
"Lets keep going," Draco said gently, taking Hermione's arm as he pulled her along.
Hermione nodded, grateful for the support as they made their way past the golem's footsteps, reaching the staircase.
"Wait," the Auror said, raising his hand as he narrowed his eyes, seeing something at the base of the steps. "Wait here," he said to the first year students as he pulled out his wand.
Without missing a beat, Hermione and Draco pulled out their own wands, following the Auror's gaze.
"Blood," Draco said, taking a step closer. He could see a trail of it leading away from the stairs.
"Stay right there," the Auror repeated as he followed the trail of blood to a door and cautiously opened it, before looking down, then putting away his wand with a sigh.
Hermione and Draco walked up cautiously, looking past the Auror. "Filch," Draco said, seeing the bloody and mangled remains of the Hogwarts caretaker.
"The golem must have killed him," The Auror said, kneeling down next to Filch's body.
Hermione heard a soft meow and pulled away Filch's jacket. Her eyes softened when she saw his cat, Mrs. Norris. She was obviously frightened, and deeply affected by her owner's death, her fur matted and covered in his blood.
Feeling a pang of sorrow for the cat, Hermione reached out for it, but stopped when Mrs. Norris hissed at her. "Shhh," she said soothingly. "It's ok," she said, reaching out again. "It's over now."
Mrs. Norris looked back at Hermione, obviously frightened, but reluctantly allowed Hermione to pet her, taking comfort in the contact, her gaze drifting back to her owner sadly, knowing that he was gone.
As Hermione reached out to pick up Mrs. Norris, the cat flinched back before making a beeline for the door, disappearing through it.
"Let's go," the Auror said firmly, stopping Hermione from chasing after it. "We need to get to the hospital wing."
Hermione nodded her head in agreement. Everyone in the Great Hall still needed help. She would have to check on Mrs. Norris later.
***
Poppy looked up from her desk when she heard the door open, looking up at the Auror in confusion, then down at Hermione and Draco in horror as she saw the state they were in.
"What happened?" she demanded.
".. You didn't hear anything?" Hermione asked in surprise, wondering how the matron could have missed it.
"What?" Poppy asked, perplexed. "Heard what?"
"There isn't time," Draco interrupted, realizing that the study group must have used the wards to hide their attack. "There's a lot of students and professors in the Great Hall that are hurt. You need to come with us."
"And bring any healing potions and anything else you can think of to treat serious injuries," the Auror added.
Poppy looked at the Auror, quickly dismissing the notion that this could be some sort of prank as she gathered her bag, tossing in vials of healing potions, and other assorted potions ingredients that she thought could help.
"I'll need to contact St. Mungo's," Poppy said as they prepared to leave.
"It's already being handled," The Auror replied.
"Right," Poppy nodded, rushing out with the Auror and two first-year students, her eyes widening when she saw the massive footprints smashed into the floor.
When they arrived in the Great Hall, she gasped, not even sure where to begin. Students and professors alike were laid out on the ground, some of them moving, groaning in pain, while others remained completely still.
"Over here," Harry called from his place on the ground, seeing the shocked on the matron's face.
Poppy shook herself before rushing over, dropping her bag in front of Harry. "What happened here?" She demanded.
Harry pointed wordlessly to the remains of the golem sitting underneath the stone block. "…Hogwarts is under attack," he explained tiredly. "The students that are standing don't need any immediate medical attention, but the ones on the ground do."
"Where are all the professors?" Poppy asked.
"Professor McGonagall is over there," he said, pointing at a large group of students. "Her leg is broken. The Minister, and Amelia Bones are somewhere around too, doing what they can for the students."
Poppy nodded, seeing the Aurors with their wands drawn guarding the hall. "What about you? How are you doing?" she asked.
Harry sighed, taking stock of his own injuries. "If you have some Skele-grow and pepper-up potions, it will help."
"Do you have any broken bones?" Poppy asked, looking him over.
"Cracked," Harry replied.
Poppy nodded, handing Harry a potion. "Drink this, it should help," she said, handing him a vial of Skele-grow.
Harry nodded, drinking down the potion quickly, grimacing at the bitter taste.
"This should get you back on your feet," she said, handing Harry the Pepper-up potion next.
"Thank you," Harry said gratefully, drinking it down as Merlin went to work, using the potions to patch him up.
'Merlin?' Harry thought, finally having a moment to think about what just happened. 'How did I do that? I've never been this strong before.'
"It's how I trained you, "Merlin explained. "You're getting better at it, by the way, drawing in the magic around you, using it to augment the power of your spells. It's starting to feel like second nature, isn't it?"
'Yeah, 'Harry thought back, really thinking about it now. He had been so focused on fighting the golem he hadn't noticed.
"It's only half the reason, "Merlin continued. "Hogwarts by design is a place with a high concentration of magic, even more so now that Andre has begun the ritual."
'So my spells will get stronger?' Harry thought. It definitely explained how he was able to fight off the golem, and could be just what he needed to stop the study group.
"It's not quite that simple Harry, "Merlin replied, hearing Harry's thoughts. "Your magical pathways are still developing, they're not ready to take on this kind of strain. You could burn them out permanently if you push too hard, and that's IF it doesn't kill you ouright."
The potion vial clattered from Harry's fingers as he gasped, his eyes growing wide.
"What is it?" Poppy asked, looking at Harry in concern, wondering if he had an adverse effect to the potions.
"It's happening," Harry breathed as he felt a sudden, overwhelming in-flux of magic.
He staggered to his feet, getting the attention of his friends, as well as the Minister and Amelia Bones.
"Harry, you shouldn't be standing. You need your rest," Cornelius said, his voice filled with concern.
"We're out of time," Harry replied. "The portal, they're opening it."
Poppy could only watch in confusion as they all went silent after Harry's revelation.
"Harry, are you sure? Absolutely sure?" The Minister pressed.
Harry nodded. There was no mistaking something like this. "It's happening."
***
Hi! Thanks for reading. What did you think of the conclusion of the battle with the golem? How do you feel about the pacing of the story since the start of the battle? The Alumni have been planning for this for a very long time, so they aren't going to make it easy for Harry to even reach the ritual chamber, let alone stop them.
A huge thank you to everyone that took the time to review. I've been looking forward to posting this chapter for a while and I'm glad it was so received so well.
If you would like to support me and my writing, please consider visiting https://taplink.cc/jumpin for all the stories I'm currently working on and early access to chapters 65, 66, 67 and 68 of Legacy of Merlin, along with some character portraits for Merlin, Morgan and Nimue, and an audio versions of the chapters.