The courtyard was a field of shadows and fire. Statues had come alive, thundering across the cobblestones with stone swords raised high. Debris from shattered windows and collapsed archways littered the corridors inside. Suits of armor marched like silent soldiers, and portraits screamed warnings or wept for the wounded. The Great Hall, once a sanctuary of laughter and feasts, had become an infirmary stained with blood and echoing with groans of the injured. The Battle of hogwarts had begun.