“All students to the Great Hall, immediately!” Professor Longbottom hollered.

 The Gryffindor students struggled to each push their way out of the Fat Lady’s portrait hole.

 “Hey, no pushing!” Andrew shouted.

 The corridors were filled with students from all four houses shuffling and shoving their way to the Great Hall.

 “Get out of the way!” James yelled.

 “Hey, watch it!” Rose said.

 “Excuse me, coming through!” Daisy raised her voice.

 “What is happening?” Lorcan asked.

 “No clue,” Louis replied.

 Albus and Scorpius struggled their way out of the crowd, holding tightly onto each other’s hands.

 “Where’s Alyssa?” a Slytherin asked.

 “Didn’t you hear?” another Slytherin replied. “She’s with her mum and Delphini’s other supporters.”

 The Great Hall soon became crowded, with students murmuring amongst each other.

 “What in the name of Merlin is happening?”

 “Don’t tell me someone else was attacked by Delphini!”

 “Maybe she broke into Hogwarts at last.”

 “Silence!” Professor McGonagall bellowed.

 The Great Hall fell silent at once.

 “I’m afraid Delphini will be invading Hogwarts at any moment now,” she announced.

 The students and professors all started panicking.

 “Oh no!”

 “I knew it!”

 “Where is she now?”

 “What are we going to do?”

 “Does that we’re gonna die?”

 “Silence!” Professor McGonagall hollered again, and the Great Hall went silent.

 “Only those who are of age may fight if you wish,” she continued. “If not, please follow your Heads of Houses to your common rooms immediately.”

 The Great Hall broke into loud panic again.

 “Gryffindors, please follow me!” Professor Longbottom called.

 “Hufflepuffs, come this way!” Professor Davies gestured toward his students.

 “Ravenclaws, over here!” Professor Flitwick squeaked, waving his hand in the air.

 “Slytherins, follow me!” Professor Slughorn called out.

 The students from each house all followed the professors to their respective common rooms.

 “Let’s go and barricade the castle,” Sirius said.

 “What are you lot still doing here?” Aberforth asked Albus, Rose, Scorpius, Lily, Hugo, Lorcan, Lysander and Robert. “Go to your common rooms!”

 “No, we’re gonna stay,” Albus declared.

 “We’re gonna stay and fight,” Scorpius added.

 “Albus and Lily, it’s not safe out here,” Harry said, before turning to the others. “That goes for all of you as well.”

 “Scorpius, you heard what Professor McGonagall said,” Narcissa reminded him.

 “It’s too dangerous,” Molly agreed.

 “Robert, go to the common room,” Mrs Laird said.

 “No, I’m gonna fight!”

 “But they’re all trained,” Teddy reminded the others.

 “What if they get hurt?” Victoire asked.

 “As much as I would hate seeing them hurt, it would be helpful to have more people fighting on our side,” Lorenzo replied.

 “Besides, I hate to break it, but many of us will end up injured anyway,” Sirius reminded them.

 “We’ll mobilise those in the castle,” Andromeda said to her cousin. “You take the others outside.”

 Sirius nodded, giving her a thumbs-up.

 “Andrew, Fred, Roxanne, Georgina and Robert, come with me to the Gryffindor Tower,” Mrs Laird said.

 “Hercules, James, Noel, Lorcan and Lysander, follow me to the Astronomy Tower,” Harry gestured to them.

 “I’ll take Celeste, Cosette, Perseus, and Patrick to the Ravenclaw Tower,” Aberforth added.

 “I’ll go with you,” Draco said.

 “Louis, Lucy, William, Daisy and I will guard the grounds,” Andromeda added.

 “We also need a defence system at the entrances….” Arthur reminded them.

 “We’ll take care of that,” Albus replied, then turned to Rose, Scorpius, Lily and Hugo, before Molly, Lucius or Narcissa could object. “Let’s go.”

 Meanwhile, Sirius, Lorenzo, Teddy and Victoire headed outside the castle.

 “You do realise we can’t keep out Delphini indefinitely,” Victoire said.

 “That doesn’t mean we can’t delay her,” Teddy replied.

 “She’ll be here any minute,” Lorenzo pulled out his wand, pointing it at the statues wearing suits of armour.

 “Piertotum Locomotor!”

 The statues fell one by one with a large thump and slowly stood themselves up.

 “Hogwarts is threatened! Man the boundaries, protect us, do your duty to our school!” Lorenzo commanded as he and Sirius stared in awe at the statues marching to the grounds.

 “Professor McGonagall taught me,” he said, smiling proudly.

 Sirius, Lorenzo, Teddy and Victoire also headed to the grounds, holding their wands up high.

 “Protego Maxima, Fianto Duri, Repello Inimicum….”

 “Protego Maxima, Fianto Duri, Repello Inimicum….”

 “Protego Maxima, Fianto Duri, Repello Inimicum….”

 “Protego Maxima, Fianto Duri, Repello Inimicum….”

 The four wands emitted bluish-white sparks that enlarged to create an invisible shield protecting the castle.