Skirmish at the Wooden Bridge

"That went well."

- Neville Longbottom after the bridge collapses.

This skirmish 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 Snatchers tried to cross the Covered Bridge in order to gain access to the Castle. Neville Longbottom, who was stationed on the Covered Bridge entrance, briefly duelled Scabior before blowing up the bridge, sending Scabior and many Snatchers to their deaths on the chasm below.

Background
After Lord Voldemort's ultimatum to give him Harry Potter, who was at the Castle, the Hogwarts forces started to organise their defences and to prepare themselves for battle. As the teachers secured the Castle, Minerva McGonagall, predicting the Snatchers' move, instructed Neville Longbottom to lead Seamus Finnigan to rig the Covered Bridge, one of the entryways into the Castle, and bring it down if necessary.

The Snatchers arrived at the Hogwarts Grounds shortly before midnight. Three of their number died on the spot after inadvertently crossing the magical barriers around the Castle. The Snatchers waited outside the Stone Circle for the Death Eaters to break the magical protections and were taunted by Neville Longbottom, as they were powerless to attack.

The skirmish
"Ya, you and whose army?"

- Neville Longbottom taunts the Snatchers after their way is barred by the magical protections around the Castle.

At midnight, the Death Eaters started the attack on Lord Voldemort's orders, effectively breaking the protective enchantments around the school. After Scabior tested if it was safe to cross the now-broken protections, the Snatchers charged into the Covered Bridge. As Neville ran for the Clock Tower Courtyard, he briefly duelled Scabior before casting a spell that rebounded into the wooden beams producing a large explosion on the Stone Circle-side of the Covered Bridge.



As the Snatchers fell into the ravine below, Neville threw himself onto the un-exploded part of the bridge, holding to the intact wooden beams, as Ginny Weasley, Seamus Finnigan, Cho Chang, Ernie Macmillan, Leanne, Padma Patil and Nigel Wespurt managed to help him up.

Aftermath
This skirmish resulted in the loss of many Snatchers who were loyal to Lord Voldemort. It was also a tactical achievement, as it resulted in the destruction of the Covered Bridge, one of the entryways into the Castle, thus dificulting the enemy attack.

Appearances

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