With the arrival of a new wave of Death Eaters, the battle was about to erupt once again.
Amidst the Aurors, a deep, loud voice called out once more.
"First and second groups maintain the Patronus Charm. All others immediately attack the invaders.
In my capacity as Head of the Auror Office, I authorize the unrestricted use of spells in the name of the Ministry of Magic."
The speaker stood among the Aurors, his tea-brown hair and thick eyebrows streaked with gray. Behind his gold-rimmed glasses were a pair of sharp eyes.
Despite a slight limp, his posture was straight and dashing, instantly giving the impression of a sharp, tough individual.
This was Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror Office.
A classic hawk within the Ministry of Magic, like Amelia Bones, he advocated for a hardline approach against Voldemort.
In the original story, after Cornelius Fudge was ousted and Bones was killed by Voldemort, Scrimgeour succeed as Minister of Magic.
Though he was resolute in his fight against Voldemort, he was ultimately captured and tortured without compromising, earning him the reputation of a steadfast warrior.
However, in terms of strategy, he was not a capable minister.
In the original story, while battling Voldemort, he also distrusted Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix, refusing to cooperate with them and even assigning Aurors to spy on Dumbledore.
Many of his tactics only maintained a superficial peace in the British wizarding world, without effectively countering the Death Eaters—a strategy akin to drinking poison to quench thirst.
It could be said that while he had the right attitude and ability, he was only a tactician and lacked strategic vision.
In short, his strategies often missed the point.
Now, with Amelia Bones as the Ministry's leader, Scrimgeour was focused solely on tactics, and his performance was outstanding.
From decisively destroying the ceiling to almost halting the Death Eaters' invasion in its infancy, to his swift response in battle, he demonstrated his competence as a leader of Aurors.
Having served as an Auror for over thirty years, and as the head of the Auror Office for more than a decade, Scrimgeour had built immense respect among the Aurors.
Among all the high-ranking officials in the Ministry, perhaps only Bones, with her recent streak of seemingly flawless commands, could rival his standing among the Aurors.
At his command, in the next moment, all the Aurors, except for a dozen, simultaneously launched their attack on the Death Eaters.
This time, they weren't using soft spells like Full-Body Bind Curse, Stupefy, or Expelliarmus.
Instead, they unleashed offensive curses, hexes, and even Dark Magic at the Death Eaters.
Caught off guard, several Death Eaters fell immediately.
However, the situation continued to turn against the Aurors.
Though Scrimgeour had mobilized nearly all available wizards at Azkaban, they were gradually being overwhelmed by the endless stream of Death Eaters and the treacherous Dementors.
In truth, the Ministry held the upper hand in terms of overall power compared to Voldemort.
But the Ministry had too many places to defend.
Even though Bones had foreseen Voldemort's plan to attack Azkaban, she couldn't commit all the Aurors there.
If Voldemort noticed that a certain area was left unguarded and chose to abandon his assault on Azkaban for a different target, it would be a disaster.
Now, Scrimgeour realized that Voldemort might indeed be going all in.
He had just noticed that the number of Death Eaters arriving via Portkey had far exceeded what he and his team could handle.
Among them, he even spotted Fenrir Greyback, the leader of the werewolves among the Death Eaters.
This formidable werewolf and his followers quickly took the Aurors by surprise, with two or three of them being tackled, and one even bitten.
Once bitten by a werewolf, one would become infected with lycanthropy and turn into a new werewolf.
Werewolves, as brutal magical creatures, were not only agile but also had fur that provided a certain level of magical resistance, making them hard to injure by less powerful wizards.
Even the well-trained Aurors found themselves entangled by the werewolves, making the situation even more dire.
Scrimgeour had to personally intervene to temporarily push Fenrir back.
However, with the werewolves' arrival and the continuous reinforcements of the Death Eaters, he had no choice but to order the Aurors to retreat step by step.
What had been a surrounding attack on the Death Eaters had now turned into a trench warfare scenario.
Both sides had formed defensive lines and were shooting spells across the battlefield.
While Muggles in such scenarios would fire bullets and shells, wizards were hurling colorful spells at one another.
Muggles used trenches and sandbags for defense, while wizards relied on Shield Charms.
The Death Eaters were being led by Alecto and Amycus Carrow, a brother-sister duo who, after the arrest of the pure-blood families like Lucius Malfoy, were among the more competent and higher-ranking Death Eaters left.
Voldemort had no choice but to have them lead the Death Eaters.
Of course, there were still higher-ranking Death Eaters like Barty Crouch Jr. and Peter Pettigrew, but they had their own tasks to attend to.
Now, under the Carrows' orders, the Death Eaters, despite being generally less skilled than the Aurors, used their numerical advantage to launch a fierce assault, determined to eliminate the Aurors and free their comrades in Azkaban.
"Get in there!" Amycus shouted from behind his comrades. "No retreat! Unless you want to feel the Dark Lord's wrath! Kill those damned Aurors!"
He casually cast the Cruciatus Curse on a retreating Death Eater.
A black-robed figure fell to the ground, writhing and screaming in agony.
The surrounding Death Eaters, terrified, stepped back but then redoubled their efforts to attack the Aurors.
"That's the fate of cowards!" Amycus gloated. "Anyone who tries to shirk their duty will regret ever being born!"
The Death Eaters attacked fiercely, the werewolves constantly charging at the Aurors, and the hundreds of Dementors circling ominously above, kept at bay only by the Patronuses.
The Aurors were forced to retreat, almost to the stairwell.
But they would go no further.
Beyond this point lay the prison cells.
If the Death Eaters broke through here, they could start freeing their comrades.
With the constant reinforcements already pressuring the Aurors, the addition of more fresh Death Eaters would surely be disastrous.
However, despite the heavy casualties among his men, Scrimgeour remained unshaken.
As a high-ranking official in the Ministry and the leader of the Aurors, he was fully aware of the plan in play, and who stood behind them.
A person capable of confronting Voldemort.
Even if the Dark Lord himself appeared, Scrimgeour would not fear.
Now, with enough Death Eaters having arrived, the Aurors stationed at Azkaban had largely completed their task as bait.
Which meant their ambush could now spring into action.
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