Watching the swarm of Goblins and Trolls rising from the shores, Hermione's eyes remained unfazed—not that she could even be panicked now. In fact, the original intention behind William's research into the Flow State was to shield against the Secret Vault's influence, and his ability to stay composed in battle was merely a side effect.
So, in front of Hermione—
To her left were dozens of regrouped black-robed Wizards riding brooms, hovering over the dark surface of the lake; in front of her was Rookwood himself, wearing a black robe and hovering barefoot in the air, filling the void in this Hogwarts defense battle left by the absence of Voldemort—though, the only out-of-character point might be his lush mane of hair; on her right, reinforcements surged in intimidating waves, with ice quickly forming and expanding under the Wizards' maintenance, much more solid than Hermione's temporary freeze. Soon, a circular ice surface covered a large portion of the Black Lake—
The girl was surrounded, with no support in sight…
Rookwood believed this, but before he could commence his villainous "routine" speech, Hermione tilted her head, then performed an action that made him frown—she withdrew her Magic Wand, crouched down, and gently placed the palm of her left hand on the ice surface beneath her feet.
What? What is she doinM…
"Boom—"
Mere moments after her palm touched the ice, a light blue Rune suddenly lit up on Hermione's hand. The glow wasn't blinding, indicating this probably wasn't a powerful attack Rune, but the low-pitched, underwater roar caused Rookwood's eyelids to twitch uncontrollably—
"Moti…"
"Splash—"
Not giving the man a chance to command, in the next moment, numerous water splashes of varying sizes and chaos erupted simultaneously across the freshly frozen Black Lake surface. Cracks spread instantly, and the once-hard ice crumbled into small islands. Along with the breaking waves, figures leaped out—
Most stood between one meter seventy and two meters fifty tall, humanoid upper bodies with varying shades of iron-gray skin covered in slick scales, and long fish tails at the bottom that slapped the water to maintain their balance.
Their faces were often rugged and wild, with large, bulging, deep yellow eyes and wide mouths revealing sharp teeth. In their hands, they clutched not the usual makeshift spears but a batch of well-crafted iron Tridents, adorned with glowing blue Runes, decorated with seaweed and seashells.
Now.
Sixty plus Merpeople broke through the water, scanning the battlefield with their murky yellow eyes and emitting deep, muddled growls. The leading male Merman, particularly strong and with chin full of tendril-like whiskers, glanced at Hermione before turning toward the approaching Goblins and Trolls, letting out a piercing shriek—
"Screee—!"
It was as if a battle horn had been blown, and all the Merpeople moved simultaneously. They didn't form any orderly formation but scattered like a pack of hunting wolves, darting with phenomenal speed through the ice's cracks and underwater. Their Tridents glowing blue, each strike almost always took down a group of Goblins—
After each successful attack, they would dive underwater again, evading the ensuing arrows and Charms.
The Merpeople's combat style was primitive yet efficient, fully leveraging their aquatic agility and newfound weapons to relieve the pressure on Hermione, but they were ultimately outnumbered—Goblin and Troll reinforcements summoned by Victor seemed endless, and though the Merpeople fought valiantly, casualties began to mount.
Soon, a Merman, unable to dive in time, got surrounded by several Goblins, their swords clashing against the Magic Rune-etched scales and sparking, but a Goblin's axe eventually breached his defense, forcing him to struggle free and plunge into the water with a scream.
At the same time, another Merman tried to block a Troll's club with his Trident but was sent flying, Merman and Trident alike, into the water, not resurfacing.
From the start, the Merpeople were steadily retreating.
Victor, tactfully withdrawing his Magic Wand, watched the girl holding her own without falling behind him in the least, a glimmer of admiration flashing in his eyes.
"You are clever."
His voice pierced through the battlefield's noise and reached Hermione, "You knew to enlist the Black Lake's inhabitants for help, but alas, they are too weak, merely delaying your Death slightly. Give up, your Death won't be alone for long; soon, your classmates, Professors, they will all join you."
Standing in the ice-bound center, Hermione, with over thirty remaining Merpeople still combat-capable gathered around her, looked a bit pale—the battle, lasting over ten minutes since her involvement, wasn't easy for a Wizard barely into adulthood.
But, hearing Victor, facing countless enemies, she suddenly raised her head and showed a mocking smile—
"Join me?"
Her voice wasn't loud, yet it clearly reached Victor's ears, "You're right, they will indeed come to join me."
She paused, gesturing toward the direction behind Victor with her hand, making his eyes flicker with a twitch of color.
"Why don't you turn around and see for yourself?"
Victor spun around abruptly.
Then, he saw a "torrent" pouring from the direction of Hogwarts Castle at some unknown point.
Leading the charge was our "Savior."
Harry rode his Firebolt, leaving the series of Nimbus 2001 and Cleansweep Seven far behind in the dust. Wielding his Holly Wand with one hand, he paved a path with continuous Ice Freeze Curses for those accompanying him. He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as his eyes found Hermione through the swarm of monsters.
Hot on his heels was Cedric, speeding across the ice. The usually gentle and handsome Hufflepuff Prefect was now clad in full-body silver-gray armor, etched with complex light blue Magic Runes glowing faintly. He held not a Magic Wand but a double-handed Great Sword like a doorplate, its broad, heavy blade glinting with chilling sharpness.
"Woohoo—!"
In the next moment, two identical red-haired Wizards flew past the army's flanks on brooms, leaving firework trails at the broom tails, setting the rhythm for the charge.
Next in line were Ron, Neville, Ginny, and Dursley…
And not just students.
Professor McGonagall strode beside the ranks, her expression as hard as granite, each Magic Wand wave blasting several approaching Goblins away. Professor Flitwick, lifted by his own coat tails and floating in mid-air, shrieked instructions to keep the student formation…
Behind them.
Dozens of Stone Knight Guards marched heavily, each step sending tremors across the ice. Their massive stone weapons shimmered with magical war-glow added temporarily.
Over a hundred House-Elves—
Dobby led the pack in front, adorned in seven contrastingly colored socks, his little face full of pride. Lacking Magic Wands, their hands waved, sending all sorts of pots, pans, candlesticks, and mops hurling toward enemies. Though not powerful, their sheer numbers made for highly effective disruption.
And the Ghosts—
Though lacking combat prowess, they sang battle songs under Nearly Headless Nick's organization. Songs meant to stir the heart when sung by Ghosts, however, always carried a dispiriting touch, yet still—
This diverse army, with overwhelming momentum, quickly swept away the sparse resistance before the Castle and charged towards the Black Lake.
"They…"
For the first time, a tremor appeared in Victor's voice. He had assumed they would choose to regroup, for previous battles surely yielded gains, but how they reorganized so swiftly for a direct counterattack was beyond…
By this time, Cedric had reached the battlefield's edge.
He glanced at Hermione and the Merpeople entangled in battle on the lake and at the black-robed Wizards overhead and the surrounding mass of enemies.
Thus, Cedric took a deep breath, raised the heavy Great Sword in his hand high, and its tip pointed directly to the sky—
"Hogwarts—"
His voice, like rolling thunder, drowned out all battlefield clamor.