The students at the barricade could only watch in horror as Dennis Creevey was murdered in cold blood, followed by his brother, Colin.
They had been children; how could the Death Eaters cut down innocent children like that?
But while it was horrible, it wasn't surprising; Death Eaters didn't care who they killed.
A magically magnified voice rang out across the grounds.
"You at the barricades, listen! You've been abandoned to your fate! You must surrender!"
"Not when we've come so far!" Neville exclaimed.
"You don't have a choice! You must give up! There's no reason to throw your lives away!"
Harry let out a disbelieving snort.
"Right," he said. "We give up now, and they'll just let us skip on home, will they?"
"We may die, but at least we'll die with honor; facing our enemies," Dean said.
"We'll make them pay for everyone they killed," Hermione cried. "For Cho, Dennis, Colin, and so many others!"
It was highly unlikely that they would win; the members of Dumbledore's Army knew that. But if they died, they would die fighting for what they believed in.
Hermione's exclamation was all the incentive the Death Eaters needed; they charged towards the magical barrier, firing spell after spell, and hurling explosives at it.
Once again, students took turns darting out in an attempt to fight back Death Eaters, but this time, it happened.
The Death Eaters broke through the barrier.
It was pandemonium.
Spells were flying from every direction; a jet of green light hit Ernie Macmillan in the chest, and he fell to the ground, dead. A wild curse hit Luna, slashing her throat, and she fell to the ground, scarlet blood pouring out, convulsing.
Anthony Goldstein went to go help his fellow Ravenclaw, but August Rookwood hit him in the back with a Killing Curse, and fell lifelessly to the ground.
A few moments later, Luna stopped twitching, her blue eyes fluttered closed, and her breathing stopped.
"Come on, everyone, we need to focus! In position!" Hermione cried, but to no avail; chaos reigned.
Rodolphus Lestrange fired a Killing Curse at Hannah Abbot, and she fell dead to the ground.
Neville gave a roar of outrage and engaged in a duel with Rodolphus, but Rebastian Lestrange teamed up against Neville, and hit him in the chest with a Killing Curse.
A sudden explosion wracked the grounds; Fred and George Weasley, who'd been at the center of the explosion, were killed instantly. Padma and Parvati Patil were also lying dead near the Weasley twins.
Dean was lying dead next to Parvati Patil, and Seamus's gut was blown open from the explosion, and he was quickly dying.
To Sirius's horror, Harry had been caught in the explosion as well, and was lying on the ground, covered with gashes and burns. Sirius was caught was hit by a Disarming Charm and his wand went flying, but Sirius didn't go to retrieve it. Dodging flying spells, Sirius shielded Harry's body with his own, and quietly carried him off—he needed to get Harry help, now.
At the barricades, Ron and Hermione were the only ones still standing; everyone else had been killed.
For a moment, Hermione wondered if she should tell Ron her feelings, but just then a jet of green light hit Ron in the back, and he collapsed to the ground, dead.
