Disclaimer: The Harry Potter series belongs to J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros. Inc., Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Raincoast, and any other affiliated party.
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Chapter 15: The Invasion of Magiterran
There had possibly never had been a more tension filled night as hundreds of Durmstrang war ships sailed across the calm sea. Thousands of bloodthirsty soldiers huddled in the bows of those ships ready to bring death and destruction to the lands of the great continent of Magiterran. For these soldiers were conquerors, whose only wish was the destruction and the suffering of others. That was the way they had been trained by the Dark Lord and they were his tools for revenge against the Alliance.
Soon, the dawn sun silently crept up over the horizon, and the Durmstrang soldiers were able to catch a glimpse of the shores of Hufflepuff. On top of the deck of the flagship stood Igor Karkaroff. He anticipated the invasion with glee.
"Soon, master. Soon," he muttered into his arm. "Soon, revenge shall be yours, and I will be the one who carries it out for you." Although he couldn't be seen, Karkaroff was positive that Voldemort was grinning.
Within two hours, the ships were in sight of the cliffs of Little Hangleton and the ravine in between. This was the only place where an entire army could be landed on the coastline of Magiterran other than perhaps Beauxbatons. Surprise was a key issue and the last thing the Durmstrang military wanted to do was attack a major metropolitan port city and reveal their presence to the Alliance before they had even landed.
Finally, the ships anchored on the beach. Thousands of Durmstrang soldiers left their ships and started organizing themselves by rank. The foot soldiers came first organized into battalions. They were followed by archers right behind them while the cavalry flanked each battalion. Finally, came the heavy artillery, which was dragged by many men. Karkaroff himself rode on his horse with the officers who rode at the head of every battalion.
Slowly, the Durmstrang armies marched through the ravine. The echoes of thousands of footsteps rang through the air as the armies began their invasion…
Suddenly, a large war cry rang out from above the heads of the Durmstrang armies! The soldiers stopped to look up and see Alliance soldiers perched at the top of the cliffs! Karkaroff looked up at them in horror in astonishment. 'The Alliance?!' he thought. 'How did they know we were coming?'
"Archers, fire at will!" yelled Sirius. Arrows started raining down on the Durmstrang forces. Durmstrang soldiers raised their shields over their heads so as to defend themselves from the lethal missiles the Alliance soldiers were showering them with.
"Charge!" yelled Remus. With a mighty cry, Alliance footmen ran down the cliffs on both sides of the ravine and dove into the forces of enemy forces. Pandemonium erupted as every soldier started fighting his enemy with whatever weapon they could get a hold of. Swords clashed, battleaxes hacked spears, arrows flew toward shields, flails beat on helmets, and maces and war hammers collided. The Alliance also fired their on artillery of catapults and cannons from atop the cliffs, destroying the Durmstrang artillery before most of it could even be used.
Karkaroff was starting to think that things possibly couldn't get worse when the Alliance cavalry, led by the Mage Knights, charged at them head on through the ravine.
Still, through some sort of sorcery of the Dark Lord, Durmstrang soldiers turned out to be far tougher than anticipated. They were incredibly bloodthirsty and had the stamina about three times the average man. When angered, they went absolutely berserk and many an Alliance soldier fell while fighting them in mortal combat. Despite the surprise attack of the Alliance, it was still conceivable that Durmstrang could overcome them with the sheer toughness of their soldiers.
As fighting raged on, Karkaroff decided it was time to release their secret weapon. He hadn't planned on actually using it until they attacked the major cities but the surprise attack had forced him to change his plan. Karkaroff blew a shrill whistle and hell was unleashed. Hundreds of dementors came floating out of the ships sucking all sense of hope out of the Alliance soldiers and they even managed to perform their lethal kisses on a few. Soon, moral went to an all time low as despair settled on the Alliance soldiers: the handy work of dementors.
The presence of the dementors was the cue for the Mage Knights. Thinking of the happiest thoughts they could imagine, the Mage Knights all bellowed, "Expecto Patronum!" Hundreds of silver animal images shot toward the dementors. They all combined into a single patronus stream: a silver river flowing through the air. It was perhaps the most beautiful thing in existence, for the patronus-river shone like the stars and gave a dazzling glow that blinded the enemy soldiers. Whereas one patronus simply drove dementors away, a powerful patronus-river was outright fatal to the dementors! They faded away, screaming in pain.
Soon, the Mage Knights were in the forefront of battle. Ron and Ginny were fighting side by side, each hacking at their enemy while making sure the other was all right.
"How are you holding up?" shouted Ginny as she bashed one enemy with the hilt of her sword.
"Doing like I'm the king of the world," answered Ron sarcastically. He swiped at three enemy soldiers.
"Need any help?" asked Ginny as she chopped an enemy spear in half.
"Nope, I've got it under control," said Ron, and he meant it. He yelled "Expelliarmus!" and sent the mace of one enemy soldier flying into the face of another.
"Good for you. Accio!" Ginny summoned one of the enemy's swords and started fighting with two blades.
Ron suddenly felt a presence behind him. He spun around and used his momentum to swing his sword. It hit the blade of Sir Draco Malfoy.
"Watch who you're fighting," he drawled. Draco flicked his sword behind him and stabbed an enemy soldier who was creeping up behind him.
"Nice to see you alive as well, Malfoy," said Ron. He and Ginny yelled, "Reducto!" and blasted an entire battalion of enemy soldiers away. Draco picked up a discarded flail and started bashing enemy soldiers with it while still slicing with his sword at other ones. His right hand carried his sword and his left hand carried the flail. By this time, the Mage Knights were the dominant force on the battlefield.
Karkaroff still had a number of tricks up his sleeve however. He placed two fingers on his lips and blew a shrill whistle. Suddenly, hundreds of trolls came running across the cliffs! Apparently, Karkaroff had the ability to control trolls for these were Magiterran trolls. The trolls attacked the sparsely defended areas of the Alliance forces on the tops of the cliffs, which was also where they kept their artillery. The Alliance artillery was lost to the trolls while the surviving soldiers escaped to the heat of the battle in the ravine. After disposing the artillery, the trolls also rushed into the ravine.
This proved to be a fatal mistake on the part of the trolls, for as large and strong as they were, they were also incredibly stupid and thus stood no chance against the Mage Knights. Indeed, Sirius even had the luxury to turn into his dog form to snap at one troll's throat. Ron, for one, enjoyed flinging enemy soldiers into the trolls' faces.
Soon, the writing was on the wall for Durmstrang: the battle was lost and the invasion was a disaster. They had much tougher soldiers than the Alliance, and even had the aid of dementors and trolls. Yet, they still could not beat the courageous Alliance soldiers who were fighting to protect their beloved homeland. Reluctantly, Karkaroff ordered for retreat. Without a thought of regret, the Durmstrang soldiers dropped their weapons and made a mad dash for their ships. A good number were slaughtered by the pursuing Alliance soldiers, but most escaped onto their ships.
The Alliance soldiers stood on the beach as the Durmstrang ships started sailing away. The Alliance rulers had been hoping to wipe out the entire strength of Durmstrang in the battle and end the threat once and for all. Unfortunately, most were going to escape and prepare for perhaps another invasion of Magiterran.
"They're getting away!" yelled Draco.
"Oh no they're not!" shouted Ron. "We only used our pawns, rooks, and knights to fight the main battle. Now as the enemy starts to retreat, we can release our bishops on them!"
"What in Merlin's name are you talking about?" demanded Draco.
Ron simply grinned and said, "The Gryffindor Mage Knights have a secret weapon." He signaled the herald, Neville Longbottom who was astride his horse at the top of the cliff. Neville caught sight of Ron and blew his trumpet as loud as he could. What followed was one of the most amazing sights ever.
Griffins! Gryffindor Mage Knights were riding hundreds of golden griffins flying through the air! Ron beamed at them as they flew over the heads of the amazed Alliance soldiers.
"This is the secret weapon of the Kingdom of Gryffindor!" announced Ron. "The Mage Knight Griffin Riders! Harry and I have been developing these in secret for the past two years. This is their first try out."
All of the Alliance soldiers stared at the griffins, amazed as they swooped down on the Durmstrang ships. The Mage Knights riding the griffins shot bolts of lightning down at the ships, destroying each and every one of them. Karkaroff perished as his ship blew up from a griffin attack.
Thus, the supposed invasion of Magiterran ended in disaster for Durmstrang and glorious victory for the Alliance.
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A/N I can't believe I have to explain this; it should be easy to figure out. Female Mage Knights, whether they are married or single, always go by their maiden names. So as a Mage Knight, Hermione is Sir Hermione Granger, but at the same time she's Queen Hermione Potter of Gryffindor. There, did that help clarify things? So R/R this chapter please. Next: the good guys need to decide the next course of action.