Gwen was nearly bubbling with excitement. It seemed odd, but the tension she’d been feeling had melted away at the idea of fighting the death eaters. Some insane instinct to protect the school had taken hold on her and everything else was background noise.
She pulled her wand out of her robe, watching as the other teachers regarded her actions. They remembered very well the description Albus had given them when retelling the tale of her single handed capture of thirteen death eaters. They had no doubt she would be their front line of attack.
Not all of the teachers would be coming with them. In the chance that something might go horribly wrong they wanted as many teachers within the school as a last line of defense. Among those venturing out were Snape, Smith, LeFey, McGonagall, Hagrid and Dumbledore. Of course Graves was with them, but only Dumbledore, McGonagall and Gwen were aware of his presence.
The pounding on the door had stopped for a moment and the group used that moment to rush out, closing the doors quickly behind them. Both groups stood still for a tense moment and then a death eater pointed his wand clearly at Gwen. He was about to work the Crucio on her, but Gwen had him disarmed before he had opened his mouth.
The rest of the group was not so easy to subdue. There were three death eaters to every professor. Snape had been right, there had been more waiting to ambush.
Anthony was shooting spells left and right, trying to perfect his aim as he went. He knocked one death eater out, but he couldn’t seem to hit the other two he had targeted. Minerva was dueling one on one with a tall death eater. She was very stylish, but they were at a stalemate.
Snape was working with a bloody fury, angrily swishing his wand and dropping a death eater here, another there. Dumbledore seemed to be hanging back. He had chosen to duel one on one, as had Minerva, but he had dropped his first opponent and no others had emerged to challenge him. Hagrid had no wand, but was currently picking up a death eater and throwing him like a discus, aiming for the lake.
Gwen was surrounded by several of them. They had recognized her from an attack in Hogsmeade and were preparing to reenact the scene. But they were to be highly disappointed. Before they could do anything Gwen had all six of them disarmed. Graves was sneaking around the outside of their ring and knocking each one on his or her ass.
The teamwork had paid off. Before long they had all six wrapped in tight bonds. The battle was in such a state that no one could hear Graves congratulate Gwen on her excellent timing.
Before long all of the death eaters had been tied up thoroughly. Dumbledore immediately sent word to the Ministry. Minerva returned to the castle to check in on the students. The rest were left to watch over the group and ensure that no further mischief ensued.
“That was excellent wand work.” Anthony commented to Gwen. He sent her into a blush and she giggled just a little.
“I had help.” She said a little mysteriously and she felt the soft, invisible hand landing on her shoulder in thanks.
Snape raised his eyebrow and looked past her shoulder directly to where Graves was standing. He narrowed his eyes, as if he could see through the cloak his former student was wearing. Of course he couldn’t, but Gwen grew nervous just knowing that Snape was suspicious.
A group arrived from the Ministry not much later and shuffled the sullen bunch of death eaters into a sort of paddy wagon Gwen assumed would be heading for Azkaban. The professors left on the lawn straggled up to the castle slowly, sighing with relief and Snape growling about Ministry punctuality.