With loud CRACKS, the Pillars appeared in the Hogwarts' Great Hall directly from the Headmaster's office.
And all they saw was dust and debris, lingering under the gaping hole above.
The Great Hall's ceiling was enchanted to look like the sky outside.
However, as they stood there, they knew it wasn't the magic they were staring at, but the real thing.
On the ground, bloody figures of wizards and witches lay, buried under the rubble.
Behind, on the dais, the Mirror Madam Villanelle was still tied up in iron shackles, Sirius Black's figure levitating a few feet over her head, surrounded by a glove of whiteness.
Suddenly, their heads snapped back toward the ceiling.
There, under the midnight's blackness, hovered a yellow spot.
Lord Yellow Warlock!
Before any of the Pillars could as much as lift a Wand, the yellow spot blurred, shooting away from the Castle.
"After him!" Harry shouted, his eyes blazing with fury.
Voldemort didn't stop them from running after the Yellow Warlock.
However, instead of following them in the chase, he narrowed his slitted eyes, looking around.
Was this a distraction? He asked himself.
If it was a distraction, then it was the poorest kind.
No matter how an outsider like Yellow Warlock infiltrated the Castle from inside, if his task was to distract, then who was meant to rescue Villanelle and Sirius?
Lord Black Phoenix?
Another Contestant — that woman from the Space?
Or was it the Lord of Azkaban — Ekrizdis, the Inferius?
No.
From all he had gathered on Yellow Warlock, that man was a weakling for sure, but not a fool.
Red must have known that Mirrors would have only one chance to rescue Villanelle and Sirius.
With the explosion, that chance was as good as gone now.
Because it wasn't like the Mirrors would invade the Castle just to meet their demise under the Pillars' hand.
If they had wanted to rescue Villanelle and Sirius, then they would have aimed for complete silence. Definitely not an eye-catching, murderous explosion — powerful enough to shake the entire Castle, alerting the vengeful Ultramarines and burnt Villanelle.
So, no.
It wasn't as simple as it seemed.
Something was happening beneath it all.
Not only was Yellow Warlock acting alone, but he must have been aiming for the Pillars to chase him.
Voldemort looked toward the little girl — Hermione — who was still squirming, hovering against the tip of his wand.
A sacrifice.
Yes.
Now, that suited Yellow Warlock's nature.
Remembering Ekrizdis, and for whom the Inferius truly worked, Voldemort couldn't help but think if Red had planned on him killing the girl.
There were only so many ways a weak outsider could harm a Pillar like him.
Tricking him into injuring himself was stupid, but it was the most direct way.
Protection of Love?
No.
He had already learned to recognize that Spell.
Regardless of what the girl's purpose was, Voldemort had no choice but to look at her as a poisonous pill.
"There are many ways to kill someone," Voldemort hissed, knowing that he must rush to save the Pillars from whatever Yellow Warlock had planned for them. "Let's see… Dementors!"
With one word, coldness spread across the destroyed Great Hall.
Voldemort's black cloak billowed, its tattered ends giving off smoky trails.
Then, those smoky trails suddenly expanded and began gaining shapes, becoming… Dementors!
There were at least a hundred of them, howling like starving wraiths.
Voldemort pressed his Wand deeper and sent Hermione flying toward the imprisoned Villanelle. "Kill the girl!"
Then, he disapparated with a CRACK.
And the moment Voldemort disappeared, another CRACK resounded within the Great Hall.
It was the group of Harry, Ron, Daphne, Mismagius, and Draco.
Getting Darcie's signal, they had already left the Room of Requirement.
Ever since then, Draco had been using Acute Perception to apparate right next to the imprisoned Villanelle.
The moment Voldemort left, and knowing that hundreds of Dementors were about to feast on Hermione's soul, he had no choice but to arrive without sharing a single word with the others.
Thankfully, the people in this group were capable enough to react at a moment's notice.
Years of facing one hardship after another, preparing for one tournament after another, and surviving one Battle Workshop after another had trained all Hogwarts' students, both physically and mentally.
Much less needed to be said about Harry, who had never been an ordinary wizard to begin with.
"Ron!" Harry screamed his first word. Then, saying nothing else, he whipped the Wand. "Expecto Patronum!"
With a blinding burst of light, a massive Stag stormed out of Harry's Wand and slammed into a dozen Dementors simultaneously, the Patronus' horns throwing them off like twigs.
Simultaneously, Harry activated Brave Heart, while Ron activated Mecha Eye.
Harry's hand stirred like a glitch as he mentally came to the verge of casting a Spell to save Villanelle and Sirius, the Brave Heart letting him see how the Curses placed on them retaliated — repeatedly.
Ron, on the other hand, looked at Harry's Wand, catching on to what Spell he was using one after another and speaking them aloud.
However, the one to act was neither of the boys, but Daphne.
The information about the Pokemon within her mind told her that it could sense her intention.
Not only that, but the Pokemon could also cast Spells based on those intentions.
"Mismagius—" Daphne called out, Harry's Patronus bolting from one end to another. "— Use Curse!"
Mismagius's eyes suddenly glowed… yellow.
Microscopic runes of otherworldly nature danced in its surroundings as two yellow crystals bobbed up and down in its eyes.
Then, two purple beams of light, one from each eye, went for Villanelle and Sirius.
With a deep, ringing noise, the iron shackles, holding Villanelle up like pig, shattered.
Harry's entire face lit up.
Then, he saw the purple beam of light going for Sirius… get reflected away by the whiteness surrounding him.
Loud THUDS rang in their ears at that exact moment, towering, armored Giants appearing at the threshold of the Great Hall.
Draco, whose head was already on the verge of exploding because of the continuous use of Acute Perception, grabbed Harry.
Ron grabbed Draco and Hermione, Mismagius pulling Daphne, Villanelle, and the rest toward herself.
"NOOOOOOOOO!" Harry screamed.
Then, just as a sword was about to hack them to pieces, the children vanished.