151 Under attack

Just as Soisen predicted, the answer came back after a few hours. Molly's worried voice could be heard shouting, while, what she assumed was the rest of the family could be heard in the background, sighing in relief to know that the youngest was safe.

Just as he had hoped, the twins were able to recognize the Patronus and explained their theory to their mother, who didn't seem at all pleased at the lack of information such as where her little girl was currently hiding, but urged her to stay wherever she was until the year started at Hogwarts, where she would be safer.

The last comment was a bit offensive in Soisen's opinion, but since it was said by a mother concerned for her youngest daughter, she granted a silent pardon.

But the mention of the school brought everyone back to reality.

-Will Hogwarts still be open this year? -Hermione asked Soisen worriedly, wondering if the seventh year assessment would still take place.

A bit ironic, because the witch was worried about a degree to find a job when in fact she already had one.

-The school will be open as usual, but additional measures will be taken to ensure the safety of the students, although they will be a bit special," Soisen replied, "Mind you, I have no idea which teachers will be taking over this year.

-What kind of measures? -asked both Hermione's mother and Silvia's mother simultaneously, as if they had rehearsed it just for this moment.

This actually irritated Soisen a lot, although he didn't show it on his face.

Did they really think that with him around, their daughters were in any danger?

This concern that they unconsciously and genuinely blurted out was also strong evidence that they really didn't seem to trust him enough on that front.

Soisen suddenly lost the urge to respond.

Besides, what good would it do to explain to them everything they did?

It's not like they could understand even a fifth of the stuff, which involved advanced enchantments, fundamental alchemy, and many more topics.

The only four people who seemed to notice his change in mood despite remaining the same on the outside were Ann and Ingta, who as his mothers, knew him better than any of the people present.

Nagini sensed this change through her magical connection as well, but couldn't think of a way to mediate without using inappropriate terms.

Silvia had also been around Soisen long enough to pick up on these signals, and could only take her place and explain some simple defenses to calm her mother, father and Hermione's family patiently.

The more Soisen thought about it, the more irritated he became and in the end as Silvia performed her explanation attracting the attention of most, he got up and left without saying goodbye to head for the subway training grounds.

Under the worried gaze of Ann and Ingta, Nagini nodded and silently followed Soisen.

Hermione finally picked up that something wasn't right as she watched them all move around and exchange glances, but she couldn't put her finger on exactly what it was. She didn't know if opening her mouth at this point might cause trouble, so she wisely waited and would later ask what she missed.

Ginny and Luna exchanged glances.

By the time Nagini located Soisen in the training ground out of the several they had, she felt slight tremors on the ground and when she opened the door, she couldn't help but grimace.

Soisen seemed to feel more humiliated than he expected.

The room Soisen chose was fully metalized and one of the sturdiest, but numerous shatters currently plagued a third of the place and three specially reinforced dummies had passed away.

One of them was practically melted and still giving off heat, another had been cut into sheets so smooth they looked like mirrors and the last one was all deformed with clear and recognizable punch marks all over its body.

These things were quite expensive and were supposed to be able to withstand the onslaught of a chimera, perhaps Soisen realized that as well, so he was currently using non-physical means as he fired different incantations and spells at the targets while his golden eyes lit up even more than usual in the presence of the explosions of fire, acids and lightning.

After a moment of contemplation, Nagini decided to close the door and wait outside for him to release some dissatisfaction.

She would only intervene if it started to get out of control.

Several minutes later, the vibrations intensified just as Silvia and Hermione seemed to locate their source and saw Nagini standing guard at the door. Silvia seemed to have explained the situation to Hermione, so after exchanging glances of silent understanding, they opened the door slightly to peek inside for a few seconds and closed it again.

-How long does it usually take for her to calm down when she gets like this? -Silvia asked in a whisper that conveyed concern. She had rarely seen her boyfriend so upset and the situation was a little uncomfortable even for her.

Her mother had practically told her to her face that she didn't trust him to protect her!

-I wouldn't know, he's holding back a lot," Nagini shook her head, she was satisfied enough with him not freaking out.

-She's still holding back?! -Hermione almost screamed, turning a little pale in the process as she remembered the mannequins smashed to the side.

Suddenly, the vibrations died down all at once, without warning and the door swung open, revealing two golden eyes contrasting sharply with the gloomy surroundings.

-What's wrong? -Nagini asked at her master's abnormal behavior.

She could feel that she had barely released some anger and it was far from over.

-"I've received an alert from Hogwarts protections," said Soisen as his eyes lit up, "The Death Eaters are trying to take control of the castle (again) and have brought reinforcements. They are arriving just at the perfect time. Stay here, I'll be back soon.

Without giving them time to refute, Soisen appeared in the office of the Headmistress of Hogwarts, who by this time also arrived as he emerged from the green flames of the fireplace.

-I'm glad to see that you received the alert and came quickly as well, Soisen," said Minerva as she approached him. Since he graduated and will become a teaching colleague, the way she addressed him changed- What measures should we take? -she asked him somewhat anxiously.

Apart from Hagrid and the Hogwarts ghosts, there was no one else in the castle at the moment. Even Filch had taken a vacation.

-Let's check the numbers of the invaders first," he gave a mental command and the pictures of the previous headmasters separated and the wall flipped over and flew out to form a floating table to reveal an enlarged version of the Marauder's Map that reached all the Hogwarts grounds in three dimensions.

-Well, it looks like Hagrid is in the kitchens," Minerva pointed to the green dot with Hagrid's name on it. "As for the enemies... there are more than I expected," she said, frowning at the red dots that seemed to grow by the minute.

-Director Dippet, please find the Bloody Baron and ask him to prepare to command the armor if any rats sneak in," Soisen requested of one of the previous directors' cadres.

-Understood," the man in the animated painting rose from his seat and disappeared as he walked quickly to the side of his painting.

-Director Basil, ask the other ghosts to keep an eye on the entire castle and alert the Bloody Baron if they find any anomalies. Also, the Gray Lady should prepare to deploy the surprises we installed last year.

Nodding, another director disappeared from his cadre as he spread the word with the help of the rest of the cadre.

-What surprises are you talking about? -Minerva gave Soisen a puzzled look.

Is there some security measure you are not aware of?

-Don't worry, headmistress, you'll see soon enough," Soisen soothed as he counted the red dots. Four hundred and thirty-seven enemies. Do you think they are all wizards?

-It's unlikely," McGonagall dismissed as she watched the red dots move, "Even during... Tom's finest hour," she said avoiding using the name which was again functioning as a magical alert, "That number would represent a third of his forces. It's impossible that after what happened during the last attempt, he would send that many. It's more likely to be wanderers and werewolves led by a few mages.

-I see," Soisen gazed at the map with cold eyes, "Too bad they don't value their lives.

With a mental command, Hogwarts castle came to life.