Hermione stood in the back of the room as Harry stumbled into the room looking sick. As everyone watched he swayed on his feet.

“Hermione, Pocket. Note,” Harry said, not seeming to see her before collapsing to the ground. All the Gryffindors crowded in as the earth shook again in the distance. Hermione shoved her way to the front, using her wandless magic to shove people in the crowd to the side. Fred stood crouched over Harry’s body, staring in confusion at a piece of parchment. He looked at Hermione and silently passed her the note. The writing on it was messy and splotched as if done in a hurry.

‘Live Food. Soul damage, will heal. Else coma. Give to Herm.’

Hermione understood immediately. Harry had said that when he had fought those wizards in his escape from the Dursleys that consuming a soul had helped him heal himself. But where would she find something? It wasn’t like they just kept live animals around the…

What was she doing? She realized the obvious solution. She levitated Harry and despite everyone’s protests around her floated Harry back inside. Several people tried to grab her but she sent them flying back in bursts of magic. She rushed out in the resulting confusion and ran for a few seconds Harry’s unconscious floating body in front of her. She ran into a nearby abandoned classroom where she was sure no one was looking.

“Dobby,” Hermione called making sure to express her urgency in the message. Dobby popped into the air just in front of her, and his eyes widened when he spotted Harry's state.

“Ms. Granger! This… Mr. Potter is injured? The wards are trying to keep me from leaving again. It will take a few minutes for me to bypass them I think. Where does Ms. Granger want to go?”

“A farm,” Hermione said, “We have to feed him live animals for him to heal. That’s the only way to save him now.”

Hermione didn’t think St. Mungo’s would have the slightest idea on how to heal soul damage. She had to hurry before Harry’s soul fully separated from his body and he entered the void he described from before. Who knows how long it would take for him to come back if that happened.

Dobby nodded and then started muttering to himself as his fingers dance in the air as if playing some sort of instrument. Hermione let Harry float down to gently rest on the floor. The ground shook again and the booms of spells in the distance grew closer. There was shouting outside through the closed door of the room. Before Hermione could react the door blasted open, and the Weasley twins and another three seventh year Gryffindors stood there with their wands out.

“What are you doing to Harry Potter?” One of the Weasley twins demanded, everyone’s eyes darting to Dobby behind Hermione, “Who’s that?”

“Getting him out of here!” Hermione said, “This person’s… he has access to the wards! He is trying to apparate Harry out right now.”

Dobby paused and looked at her but she shook his head and returned to his work after a second.

“What about us?” One seventh year boy demanded as the windows rattled behind us, “Can he take us too?”

“Are you injured?” Hermione said coldly, “Harry might die if we don’t treat him. You saw the shield outside, we’ll be fine.”

“You’re just saving your own hide!” the boy accused her.

“I’m only going to make sure Harry gets healed,” Hermione said, backing up so she was standing nearly on top of the unconscious Harry.

“Liar!” The panicked boy shouted and cast a spell at her. She cast a wandless protego bubble shield to block his curse and then sent a stunner back into the attacker, sending them slumping to the ground.

“Ms. Granger!” Dobby shouted in concern.

“Keep going, we have to get Harry out of here! I’ll stop any attacks,” Hermione said without looking back.

Fred and George stepped out and turned around to the other two who looked ready to attack.

“Stop it, both of you!” One of the twins shouted, “Is this Gryffindor bravery? Attacking our friends when things get tense? I see both of you eyeing her, you should be ashamed!”

The two of them wavered and lowered their wands slightly. Hermione saw the desperation and fear in their eyes as the castle rumbled again, the explosions shaking the ground below their feet.

“Ready,” Dobby called out and Hermione wandlessly lifted Harry up as Dobby grabbed her and Harry and with a twist in Hermione’s gut they were standing in front of a barn.

Hermione turned to Harry, “Renervate!”

Harry twitched and opened his eyes and looked unfocused as he blinked at her. He remained still for an instant.

“Not… Not long…” Harry said

“Accio mouse!” Hermione said and one of the critters flew out of the nearby grass to float in front of her. She floated it over to Harry who looked down at the squirming animal.

“Sorry…” he muttered drowsily before biting down. It took a minute of him chewing, but he eventually managed to choke it down. His eyes gained a little awareness.

“Dobby? Can you go get more little live animals? Something he can eat quickly?” Hermione asked. The elf nodded and started using summoning charms to summon all sorts of animals to himself. Harry looked a little sick, but didn’t protest as Hermione helped him eat creature after creature. His focus was coming back as they continued.

“Not… enough,” Harry said, “Slower decay, but still… not stopped. I have to transform so I can eat faster. I won’t have much time when I do so.”

Hermione lifted him and brought him into the large barn that was apparently filled with chickens and a few goats. Dobby followed behind and began opening the gates and cages after closing the doors behind them. The animals started roaming freely, the loud clucking of chickens filling the space. “Do it,” Hermione said and Harry nodded and transformed a second later. His large form immediately collapsed onto the ground, only his jaws shifting open and closed slightly while his fingers twitched.

“Accio Chicken!” Hermione said and grabbed the closest chicken and quickly floated it until she was practically shoving it into Harry’s mouth. His jaws moved slowly, not seeming able to bite with enough force to kill the animal.

“Dobby, help Harry with his jaw,” Hermione commanded, “He can’t chew properly. I’ll summon the animals.”

Dobby helped using his magic to forcefully open and close Harry’s jaws over and over. Once the animal was minced enough Harry would weakly swallowed it. Then they did it again. And again.

It took a long time, and they were nearly out of chickens in the large barn by the end of it, but Harry eventually told them that he was stable enough to stop. After eating a few of the cows and goats, he lay there on the floor and stared at them. His bloody jaws moved.

“Thank you, both of you,” He said still lying limp on the ground, “I’m okay. I won’t die anymore.”

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Hermione let out a sigh of relief. She looked around the nearly emptied barn and blinked. They had really done a number on this farm. Figuring out how to pay back whoever owned this place was going to be such a hassle…

— — —

Deep within the castle, Hogwarts greatest champion stirred as the Hogwarts wards activated it. Its unmoving form grinded into motion for the first time in centuries. A strong wizard was damaging the school, and it was the Champions duty to eliminate them.

The champion stood to its full height as the wall in front of it warped and twisted to reveal a massive passageway. It hefted its greatsword in one hand and a staff tipped with a massive glowing blue gem in the other. Both priceless artifacts even in the bygone age when the Champion had been created. Most of the armors created by the founders were empty on the inside to make them more lightweight. Not the Champion, its interior was filled with a silvery liquid metal that squirmed and roiled as it walked through the tunnel. The ground shook beneath its footsteps and massive mass as it ascended upwards.

A human would be angry that his fellows, his students, his charges were attacked. A beast might have been incensed at the destruction and violation of their domain. But the Champion felt nothing, it was nothing. Simply a tool guided by the Hogwarts wards to smite its enemies.

The tunnel opened above the champion and revealed sunlight. The champion charged upward up the sloping stone tunnel. It stepped onto the grass of the Hogwarts lawn and inspected the Hogwarts grounds pockmarked with the blasts from spells. The wards pinged it and its head turned to the tiny wizard that was its target. The target stood next to the limp form of another of the great school’s protectors, harvesting its fangs.

The champion raised its staff and pointed it at the target and it began to crackle with the power of lightning enhanced in power to be even greater than the bolts in a storm. Such was the power of a weapon enhanced by the wisdom of the four great founders working together on one project…

— — —

Roachmort looked up as a massive suit of armor charged up out of a hole that opened itself in the ground before sealing shut again a second later. It was three meters tall, holding an enchanted greatsword in one hand and a staff crackling with lightning in the other. It rested the sword on its shoulder and pointed the staff at Roachmort. He jumped into the air and summoned his smoke around him as the staff pulsed. With the crack of thunder a massive bolt of lightning scorched the area below him where he had been standing a second before.

Roachmort faltered in his flight from the sheer wave of sound and light even after missing the actual lightning bolt itself. He quickly cast a quick charm on himself to muffle sound around him. He would just have to look away from the bolt himself to avoid the light.

The armored figure lowered the staff which was significantly dimmer now. It charged forward, its great sword flickering with bright orange flames. Roachmort let out a grunt as a corrosive ward struck him as he tried to fly upward, growing worse the farther he flew into the sky. He quickly dropped back down and quickly started flying towards the exterior shield.

The armor approached and swung the blade before it even reached Roachmort, who was furiously assaulting the barrier with cutting charms. The spells were chipping away and forming a small hole, but it kept healing back even as Roachmort wore away at it.

The sword flared brightly as the armor finished its swing and a fireball launched from it straight at Roachmort. Despite his best judgement, Roachmort dropped down as the fireball approached him.

‘Attack it mentally, see if you can corrupt whatever mind is in there,’ he ordered Ringvolde and Voldehat.

They complied immediately and Roachmort nearly sighed in frustration. They had been so eager fighting against Dumbledore but now they were against a faceless opponent they held back hoping he would be killed, breaking the magical contract binding them. How short sighted, he would have to punish them later.

The armor froze in place as the fireball blasted into the weakened shield above Roachmort, opening a hole. He flew up again and darted through the hole in the barrier before it could close again. Roachmort began flying away rapidly as the anti-apparition wards extended for a little distance more.

A booming voice suddenly blasted into his head telepathically, ‘Hogwarts calls, and I answer. Your Death approaches. Hogwarts calls, and I answer. Your Death approaches. Hogwarts…’

The shield behind Roachmort disappeared and the armor charged forward again its head fixed firmly on Roachmort as he flew.

‘Voldehat, cut off my telepathy. Ringvolde, you keep on your assault on the armor,’ he said,

Ringvolde complied and suddenly the booming voice was cut off from Roachmorts skull. Telepathy was slightly different to standard legilimency attacks. It couldn’t truly harm an opponent but was also far more difficult to block than a standard mental attack. But it could sure distract Roachmort, a weakness this armor seemed to be exploiting.

Roachmort reached the edge of the wards and prepared to appa… what? He was still blocked? With Dumbledore’s death his spell should have quickly broken. He tried to push through the ward anyway, but it was rock solid. The armor would catch up before he finished. He looked back and saw the Armor had planted a stone orb into the ground that was glowing.

That must be the anchor keeping the ward active. With how much it was glowing, the ward might go for kilometers. Even now, the armor pointed its lightning staff at Roachmort. And after battling Harry Potter’s imposter and Dumbledore in quick succession, even Roachmort's magical reserves were running thin. If it wasn't for his strong body he would already be panting and shaking in exhaustion by now.

The armor fired the staff and Roachmort dropped down again to avoid the blast. But it adjusted its aim this time and only barely missed over his head this time. His ears were protected from the sound, but he felt the air crackling above him as the lightning bolt flashed by.

Roachmort realized that it was learning and his tactics would not keep it at bay for long. He had to destroy the anchor to the anti-apparition ward and apparate out of this place before the armor could adapt any more or place another of those orbs if it had any as insurance against his escape.

Decision made, Roachmort charged forward. He turned around and skimmed forward along the ground, launching dark curses at the armor still flying in his dark cloud spell. Inscriptions and enchantments on the metal chestplate lit up and most of his curses were turned to the side or repelled. But several made it through and scorched and twisted the metal slightly. The armor stumbled back as it brought its flaming sword to bear as it stood above the ward anchor protectively.

He cast several blasting curses at the ward core as the armor stumbled out of the way after Roachmorts barrage of spells. But the armor managed to shimmy to the side just in time to intercept the curses on its armored legs.

It swung its flaming sword at Roachmort and launched another fireball from its tip. It dissipated his smoky flight spell and sent him rolling on the ground with the bone plates on his back becoming singed by the flame that just passed over him. He restored his spell an instant later and darted to the side just in time to avoid being clubbed by the head of the lightning staff that was shrouded in a still building arcs and blue bolts of electricity. Roachmort managed to slip past the armor behind it and cast a blasting curse directly at the glowing ward core which shattered into pieces. He felt the anti-apparition ward begin to fail, and he began to…

*Shhhhinggg!*

Before Roachmort could react, the flaming sword had already sliced cleanly through his torso chest, causing him to fall to the ground in two pieces. His arms and most importantly wand fell away along with his limbs. His upper body twisted as it fell until Roachmort saw the armor’s upper body facing completely backwards with its legs still pointed the other way. Its legs took small steps as they twisted around until the armor was fully facing Roachmort’s body again, its torso remaining in place while its legs twisted around to face him. Its telepathic voice boomed in Roachmort’s head one last time as it raised the flaming sword above him.

‘Hogwarts calls, and I answer. Your Death… Approaches.’

The flaming sword filled Roachmort’s vision as it plunged downward into his chest and burned him to ash.

— — —

The Champion lifted its sword and launched another fireball to remove all other traces of the targets body. Things that could be used in rituals that would allow for a partial resurrection must be removed. One of the artifacts worn by the target continued attacking the champion and after requesting orders from the Hogwarts wards, it lifted its sword above the ring attacking it and struck down. The ring resisted only for an instant before shattering into a million pieces. The founders had worked hard to ensure the goblin made sword remained as strong as possible for the champion's use.

It turned to the second artifact, a crown lying unharmed among the ashes of the target. The Champion raised its flaming blade into the air… and brought its sword down.

— — —

Work done, the Champion waited after retrieving the fragments of the anti-apparition ward core. If it was a human it would have been saddened by the destruction of the expensive and useful object. But it was the Champion, so it did not feel anything. The tunnel back to the Champions chamber finally opened, and it walked inside into the darkness.

A minute later the tunnel sealed closed, leaving a smoldering and pockmarked battlefield behind on the surface. A battlefield that had claimed the lives of two of the greatest wizards of their generation. The Champion went back into its chamber, put down the staff and sword in their proper places and then powered itself down. Ready to fight again whenever Hogwarts was ever seriously threatened again.

Because when Hogwarts called... the Champion answered.