Before their eyes was the silver light produced when the spell was cast.
In their ears were the Dementors' agonized screams, as if they had been splashed with boiling water.
This reversal upon reversal made everyone on the battlefield look toward the direction the voices had come from.
"Is that... the Patronus Charm?!"
"Who did that?"
"On the tower!"
"Are those... students?"
Some were only indistinct blurs of silver light, but most had taken the translucent silver forms of Patronuses.
That unmistakable magical sign, combined with the Dementors' reactions, allowed everyone to recognize those Charms, as well as the Hogwarts students on the tower!!
Seeing Pansy Parkinson appear, Lucius Malfoy, who knew something of the situation, frowned slightly. "Are those Draco's people...?"
In fact, although this scene looked astonishing, it was actually only natural.
After all, from the very beginning, the reason Draco and the others had gathered everyone's strength was to figure out how to stand against Voldemort.
They knew very well what dangers they would have to face in the future, and they knew exactly what direction they needed to work toward.
That was especially true when it came to combat.
In particular, Draco and the others had put a great deal of thought into handling the Killing Curse when facing Death Eaters, surrounding and killing enormous Giants, and avoiding close combat with Werewolves.
Whether it was studying tactics to confront the Killing Curse head-on or conducting practical training against Giants, during this period, everyone in the Draco Constellation had never once slackened.
Naturally, the Dementors, creatures that seemed to appear whenever anything happened, had also been classified by Draco and the others as one of the threats that required special attention.
As for the Draco Constellation Support Squad led by Parkinson and the others, aside from mastering refined Transfiguration to support the battlefield, the Patronus Charm, which could stop them from disrupting the battlefield and even destroy Dementors, was also one of the spells they were required to learn.
Only because of that could they deliver such a direct blow to the completely unprepared Dementors at this critical moment!!
...
It was plain to see.
The scene before them, which had just moments ago been covered in dark clouds as if the end of the world were about to descend, was instantly scattered by the silver light of the Patronuses, like clouds parting to reveal the sun.
Once the Hogwarts side reacted, their morale surged at once. For a moment, even the Death Eaters were thrown into a panic.
However, although Pansy and the others had acted in time to stop the Dementors' surprise attack and greatly boosted their side's morale, the situation on the battlefield had not actually changed all that much.
That much could be seen from the grave expressions on Professor McGonagall and the others' faces.
In the end, the Dark Lord still had not appeared.
And thanks to this brief chance to catch her breath, Professor McGonagall was finally able to spare some attention for Harry Potter behind her. "Dumbledore... I mean, is Aberforth not with you?"
"I..."
"You may have missed each other by accident. Never mind. Hagrid, take Harry somewhere safe. He shouldn't be here!"
While directing the battlefield, Minerva McGonagall called out to Hagrid, who had just sent a Werewolf flying with one punch.
But before Hagrid could respond, Harry Potter shouted from behind her in frustration, "No, Professor! I can help too!"
"Listen, Harry..."
"Ahh!!"
"Harry? What's wrong?!"
"The scar on my forehead... Ngh... That person... is coming!!"
"What did you say?!"
An intense, burning pain tore through him.
Harry Potter seemed to sense something, and he gritted his teeth as he looked ahead.
And at that moment.
Boom, boom, boom!
The dark sky was suddenly covered in a sickly green light.
It was the Dark Mark fired from a wand.
And the time had just reached midnight!