the_debt_of_time

children, fighting off two attackers. Professor Flitwick sped along faster than Mia had ever
seen him, flinging nasty-looking hexes at unsuspecting Death Eaters. Dumbledore easily
avoided any spell sent his way, instead raising his wand to reactivate the wards that had
been adjusted to allow for visitors.
Mia caught sight of her father standing beside Augusta Longbottom who sent what
Mia was certain was an illegal—though not Unforgivable—hex at a Death Eater who began
gushing blood from his arm where the spell struck.
With her back to Sirius and Remus, each of them pivoting to protect the others,
Mia caught a glimpse of James, Lily, and Peter doing the same. Across the field, Alice,
Frank, and Mary stood back-to-back, looking determined.
"Jamie!" Mia screamed and threw a Stunning Spell at a Death Eater who had his
wand aimed at her brother. The wizard flew backward, collapsing into a row of chairs.
James went to apprehend the man but was cut off when another Death Eater approached,
took hold of his fallen comrade, and Disapparated.
Apparently, the other Death Eaters were thinking along the same lines. One by one,
they vanished as quickly as they had arrived, and no sooner were they gone than
Dumbledore raised the protective wards on the grounds, looking furious that they had
been attacked, and rightly so.
It was not a power play, it was not an assassination attempt on Dumbledore. No,
this was a message. This was Voldemort showing that he was not afraid to walk into
Dumbledore's own backyard and take without asking. This was chaos for the sake of chaos.
It was also a massacre.
Students were rounded up first, led by Lily and James who stepped back into their
roles as Head Boy and Girl to determine who was injured, who was killed, and who might
be missing. Many students suffered small wounds, and three had been killed, though more
adults had lost their lives in the short-lived fight than teenagers and children.
In the end, only one person remained unaccounted for: Severus Snape.