Onslaught at the Viaduct

This onslaught was one of the first conflicts of the Battle of Hogwarts. Shortly after Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters managed to break the protective enchantments around Hogwarts Castle at midnight of 2 May, 1998, the Death Eaters and giants charged into the Castle via the Viaduct, where enchanted suits of armour were stationed. The Death Eater forces were no more than delayed, and managed to make their way through the Viaduct into the Viaduct Courtyard.

Background
"And now — Piertotum Locomotor! Hogwarts is threatened! Man the boundaries, protect us, do your duty to our school!"

- Minerva McGonagall enchants the school's suits of armour, in preparation for the Battle of Hogwarts.

After Lord Voldemort's ultimatum to give him Harry Potter, who was at the Castle, the Hogwarts forces started organising their defences and preparing themselves for battle. Professor McGonagall enchanted the school's suits of armour, and dispatched them to the school boundaries. They did so, and left into the Viaduct where they stood in defensive formation, awaiting the Death Eaters' attack.

The conflict
"GET INSIDE! Take cover! TAKE COVER!"

- Minerva McGonagall urges the Hogwarts defenders to get into the Entrance Hall as the magical protections around the Castle are broken.

At midnight, the Death Eaters started the attack on Lord Voldemort's orders, effectively breaking the protective enchantments around the school. As the giants made their way into the Viaduct the Viaduct Courtyard came under fire of the Death Eaters' curses, exploding much of the cloister. The suits of armour struggled against the giants on the Viaduct, managing to floor one, but they too came under Death Eater fire.



Aftermath
This attack had a positive result for the Death Eaters, who managed to advance to just outside the Castle, and destroy much of the school's army of suits of armour. The Hogwarts defenders were overwhelmed by the suddenness and intensity of this initial attack.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)