The Unknown of the Order (Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

The Battle of Hogwarts

"Keep going! Reinforce the enchantments!" Lupin yelled. 

The clash of spells firing from opposite sides of the wall, opposite sides of the world, made for a fantastic fireworks display. If he wasn't so worried they were about to die, Barnaby would have been tempted to grab popcorn. 

He glanced on either side of him, at Merula and Elena. Their families were waiting on the other side of the barrier, just as his was. He saw, by the light of a thousand spells, the excited glints in their eyes. They longed to see their relatives, could hardly wait for the barrier to lift. Barnaby, on the other hand, wished with all his might he would never see his parents again. 

He was afraid of them, as he'd never been afraid of anything of his life. He'd always been afraid of them; first of disappointing them, then of becoming them, but now it was just a natural predatory fear of being destroyed by them. He could see their faces as they'd tortured him in the cellar for days--his father's furious scowl, his mother's insistent smile, and his Gran's cold glare as she watched, enjoying the revenge for the year's she'd wasted raising him. Barnaby worried that if he saw his parents tonight, he'd crumple to the floor, as he had so many times back in the cellar. 

"Giants!" he heard someone cry. 

An entire tree flew at them through the sky, flipping end over end until it collided with the barrier. It splintered into hundreds of pieces upon impact, but a sickening crunch resounded along the barrier, like ice cracking. 

"Hold! Hold!" yelled Lupin, and several people who'd dived out of the way jumped to their feet to resume their spellwork. 

Two giants came into view, each at least twenty-five feet tall, grumbling angrily and waving clubs in their arms. 

One of the giants swung its club at the weakening barrier, right over the training grounds. To Barnaby's horror, it passed through. 

"Move!" he heard Sarah scream. 

He dove to the side. the club slammed into the ground, leaving a crater exactly where Barnaby and Elena had been standing a moment before. 

"Hit its eyes! The eyes!" Lupin yelled. 

Barnaby clambered to his feet, disoriented by all the shouting and colliding bodies. Jets of light were firing from all directions. When the giants weren't yelling, he could hear Death Eaters advancing on them. 

Sarah. Where was Sarah?

He ran out of the way of the giant's heavy footsteps, searching frantically for her blonde ponytail. He spotted her standing upon one of the wooden tables they used for polishing broomsticks. She was shooting spells, aiming at the eyes of the nearest giant. She didn't see its companion coming at her from the side, raising its club. 

Barnaby yelled to her, but she couldn't hear over the thunderous roars of the giants. He ran as fast as he could, but he wouldn't make it it time. 

He heard a whinny from above him. The thestrals had heard the commotion and had come from the forest. 

"Pluto!" 

The lead thestral dived down and Barnaby jumped on its back. There hadn't been time to put on a saddle or bridle, but Barnaby nudged the creature with his legs, steering it toward Sarah. Squeezing his legs around the horse's middle with all his might so as not to fall, he reached out and grabbed her, swinging her on the horse behind him right as the giant's club came down. 

"Woah!" yelled Sarah. "Thanks." She positioned herself so she was properly seated behind him. "Can you get me closer so I can get at the eyes?"

Barnaby turned Pluto round and they galloped through the air to circle round the giant's head. Furious, it raised its hand to swat at them, but Sarah fired a sleeping charm directly into his face. The giant howled, staggering in place for a moment before its eyelids drooped. It flung its club at the castle, breaking several windows.