The destruction of the Horcrux was a success. With each passing day, tension in the magical community grew. By mid-September, Hogwarts classes were canceled due to the countless battles occurring daily between the Death Eaters and the Ministry of Magic, as well as the two Orders.
Recent successes by the Ministry—largely thanks to James and his companions—had led to the imprisonment of several high-ranking Death Eaters. Voldemort's organization was faltering with the loss of its first-generation Death Eaters.
This setback prompted an increase in attacks by the Death Eaters, who, feeling cornered, became more desperate and aggressive. The war was reaching its peak, with attacks even occurring in broad daylight.
The Muggle community was also caught up in the chaos affecting the British magical world. Death Eaters were attacking Muggle locations in daylight. Ministry employees were inundated with work, erasing Muggle memories and making the attacks appear as natural accidents or other excuses.
On a positive note for James's side, the Greengrass family finally decided to abandon their neutral stance and join their cause. Diana, the eldest daughter of the Greengrass family, played a significant role in this decision, as she was a member of the Order James founded and could not stand by while her father remained neutral amidst the atrocities committed by the Death Eaters.
James was pleased with this news, but he was not very grateful to Diana's father. He joined this war after five years and at a crucial moment when the balance was against Voldemort and his followers. He hadn't risked much.
This news seemed to reach the Death Eaters, who began more violent attacks than ever. Their modus operandi changed; they started attacking one by one the important wizarding families who opposed them with many troops.
Fortunately, their attacks were repelled, as James knew in advance whom they would target and could position the Aurors and other wizards to defend those families, as in the case of the Bones.
This was thanks to Regulus. The perfect spy. Ring with mental protection and the ability to project thoughts and communicate over long distances without leaving his home, plus he is a user of Occlumency, has an invisibility cloak, and his profile is the typical supremacist. He is beyond suspicion.
In several attacks, Regulus did not participate, but he managed to find out about these attacks as he risked spying on his own Death Eater comrades using the invisibility cloak and various other security measures. Therefore, the Death Eaters' attacks were neutralized, and Regulus did not always participate in those attacks.
Although things were looking good for James's side, it did not mean that everything was rosy. Sometimes, they arrived late to an attack, or the attack changed timing, and Regulus couldn't get the information in time to pass it on to James. Many on the Ministry's side were injured, and there were many casualties, but they were increasingly capturing more Death Eaters.
One cold night, James was in his office with a large stack of documents. It was almost midnight. At that moment, he received a telepathic message from Regulus.
'James, it's urgent!'
James was surprised by the sudden message. Regulus's voice, which always remained calm and informed everything clearly, now sounded very nervous.
'What's going on?' James asked, already used to speaking telepathically. Strangely, the signal is so good.
'The Dark Lord has suddenly gathered his entire army! We're marching towards Potter Manor!' Regulus said nervously. He couldn't warn him because he was called suddenly and didn't even know where they were heading with all of Voldemort's troops: Death Eaters, dark creatures, scavengers still on their side, etc.
James abruptly stood up from his chair. This is new. A large-scale attack directed at a single family. As for why his family was targeted, James could think of several reasons. He was the caster of the curse that turned you into a squib, his reputation as the youngest Lord and Auror in history, reaching even Moody. With his wandless magic and the curse he created, he was the fear of all Death Eaters and their allies.
Added to that, the Potter family was the family that supported the Ministry the most, both financially and in other ways. It was obvious that Voldemort wanted to eliminate this family with ideals completely opposed to his cause.
'How long until the attack?' James asked as a sword in a black sheath emerged from his ring, and he positioned it at his waist.
'Less than twenty minutes!' Regulus replied. With the number of people there, it would be impossible for the Potters to defend themselves, even though the family was gathered in full at Potter Manor. All members of the branches now lived in the mansion.
'Calm down, Regulus. Remember our communication methods. Voldemort would never think there was such an effective method of communication. He believes that by using a surprise attack that only he knows will happen, the spy in his ranks won't be able to warn in time, but that's his mistake. The one that will lead him to his defeat and the end of the war,' James said, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly.
The time had come. James cut off communication with Regulus and quickly alerted all members of his household about the imminent attack.
The entire Potter family prepared as quickly as they could. The Shafiqs also readied themselves. Sirius began mentally preparing for the large-scale battle.
As for James, he sent telepathic messages to the members of his Order and the Order of the Phoenix. The Prewetts, the Longbottoms, the Lovegoods, the Princes, the Greengrasses, the Weasleys, the Dumbledores, and the Moodys, all were alerted about the attack that Voldemort himself would carry out.
Recently, with the help of Snape and Gwen, James created rings with the function of mental projection, that is, telepathy. This way, their communication was perfect and instantaneous. He gifted these rings to the most trusted members of the orders.
With everyone notified, they would arrive at Potter Manor in time, maybe a few minutes late, but they would be able to join the battle and finally defeat the Death Eaters, who had made a grave mistake, though it wasn't their fault. Voldemort was unaware of the highly effective communication method used by the spy in his ranks.
The magical defenses at Potter Manor had been set up some time ago with the help of the Shafiqs. The Potters and Sirius had reinforced the magical shields. They should hold out for a few minutes before the entire magical community arrived to offer support.
According to Regulus, they currently outnumber the Death Eaters if everyone arrives on time. Not by a huge margin, but it's a start. If Dumbledore arrives, the wizard Voldemort fears, victory will be on their side.
"How many will come?" Sirius asked, looking towards the dark forest surrounding Potter Manor. His right foot was tapping the ground impatiently. The final battle was finally near. Peter could be avenged once and for all.
"Potter Manor is large… They could attack from any side. They shouldn't be too far. I've already sent a message to Diana. They'll take time to arrive, as there are anti-Apparition spells at Potter Manor and its vicinity," Lupin commented, looking around. Luckily, he lived with his parents at Potter Manor. They had moved there to facilitate the war operations.
"We'll hold out. We have the ancient Potter magical defenses. Plus, we have many magical knights and Gwen's ice golems," Toby said with a hardened expression. He would protect the Potter residence with his life. He wouldn't let those damned dark wizards destroy his family's ancient property.
"That's the spirit. James and I will be the vanguard. We'll turn them to mince," Sirius said with a fierce expression, gripping his wand tightly.
"Don't be reckless, Sirius," Emily said, scolding him. "Let's wait for James and his plan," she added, and everyone agreed. Sirius could only nod. He couldn't win an argument with Emily.
'Should I ask her out after this is over?' Sirius thought, feeling a strange emotion within him. He would finally leave behind the life of vengeance and could focus on his happiness. Unless he died today, but with James by his side, he felt invincible. Everyone felt the same. In a normal situation, everyone would be desperate in the face of such a brutal attack led by Voldemort himself, but no one showed fear.
At that moment, a hawk suddenly landed, transforming into James in an instant.
"They'll attack from the south side. Right behind the mansion. We have about five minutes," James communicated to everyone.
His parents, uncles, cousins, friends, and in-laws nodded and awaited his orders.
"What's the plan?" asked Oliver, his cousin.
"The mansion is protected by Repello inimicum, Protego maxima, and Fianto duri. The intruders will need to attack with a large number of spells to break the barrier. If they cross the limits, their bodies will disintegrate on the spot. Because of this, we'll eliminate several scavengers, and hopefully, the Death Eaters will expend energy destroying the barrier. When they break the barrier, we'll hide the golems and magical knights along the way. When they're close, they'll come out and attack. Move out," James said. He would explain the full plan on the way.
The key part is that their attackers won't expect a surprise attack while they are carrying out a surprise attack. When they break the barrier and see the mansion grounds in silence, they'll think everyone is asleep and unaware of what's happening.
On their way to the mansion, James will hide the dozens of magical knights and giant ice golems with the spell.
Cave inimicum, a charm that hides people. Like an invisibility cloak, but you have to cast the spell and designate an area. Those on the other side won't be able to see the golems and knights in front of them, and when they approach, they will be surprised by the attack of these automatons.
"While we prepare the automatons, you create a protective barrier covering only the mansion and the main garden. We have time for that," James said, looking at his parents and the other adults.
Everyone got to work. After everything was ready, they began to hear the attacks in the distance. The main barrier, which covered all the grounds belonging to the Potter family, was under attack.
James then sent everyone to the main garden. He would be the second surprise attack. He cast another Cave inimicum on himself. He would be the third defensive line. The first is the main barrier, the second the automatons, and the third him.
Gwen, Sirius, and the others accepted that he would take such a dangerous action simply because it was him and since he would be launching a large-scale attack. He would use the demonic fire, Fiendfyre. He would only control it to ensure that his attack is directed at the enemy army, then let it run its course. He would unleash all its ferocity as it pleases.
If at any point the fire threatens him and his mansion, he would need to cast the counter-curse and extinguish it.
This time, he wouldn't hold back. He doesn't kill, but this is a final occasion. In the final battle, he cannot show mercy. They are attacking his family's grounds to eradicate it.