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𝐖𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐑𝐒

here we are, don't turn away now

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How do you kill a God?

Aphrodite laughs, head tossed back with stars

in her hair, "We are immortal. We are ageless.

We will never die."

How do you kill a God?

Hera sighs, "you rob them of loyalty.

They will be alone and unhappy, and eternity

will seem like a punishment, but it is not death."

How do you kill a God?

Zeus declares, rather confidently, "You deny

them their power." Poseidon nods his head in

agreement. "They will be weak and defeated,

perhaps even chopped up into pieces, but it is

not death."

How do you kill a God?

Apollo closes his eyes. "You strip them of their

senses. Their eyes, and they cease to see.

Their ears, and they are rendered silent. They

will be in the dark, conscious and cut off for

millennium, but it is not death."

How do you kill a God?

Hades whispers, though his voice still carries,

"With another God. An immortal for an

immortal. Era for an Era. A celestial being to

strip another's soul." He pauses, the rest are

silent. "A God for a God."

― L.H.Z. // How do you kill a God?

·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .

𝐑𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐘 had moved towards Clover, ready to help when a body fell past the hole blown into the side of the school, and curses flew in at them from the darkness, hitting the wall behind their heads.

"Get down!" Elara shouted, as more curses flew through the night: She and Ron had both grabbed Harry and Hermione and pulled them to the floor.

"How the hell are we — "

Fred's question was cut off by Hermione's scream, and Elara, turning, did not need to ask why. A monstrous spider the size of a small car was trying to climb through the huge hole in the wall: One of Aragog'sdescendants had joined the fight.

Ron and Harry shouted together; their spells collided and the monster was blown backward, its legs jerking horribly, and vanished into the darkness.

"It brought friends!" Elara called to the others, glancing over the edge of the castle through the hole in the wall the curses had blasted: More giant spiders were climbing the side of the building, liberated from the Forbidden Forest, into which the Death Eaters must have penetrated.

Elara directed flames down upon them, knocking the lead monster into its fellows, so that they rolled back down the building and out of sight. The sheer power of her flame forced her to stumble backwards. The lightning bolts sparked more violently around her body.

Then more curses came soaring over Elara's head, so close she felt the force of them move her braids.

"Let's move, NOW!" shouted Harry.

Elara dove towards Clover, picking her up by the legs. Fred joined, grabbing under her armpits and running. Percy was with Harry, Ron, and Hermione as they weaved through the onslaught of spells. There was a small niche beside a set of armor.

"Here," said Elara directing Fred.

They set Clover down there. Elara tearing the bandana off her arm. Quickly, she tied it around Clover's bleeding leg.

"That's going to have to do for now."

"You think you can run, Clove?" asked Fred.

When she shook her head, Fred wasted no time in scooping her up with an arm under the bend of her kees and one behind her back, and took off sprinting. Elara followed suit, every so often directing a spout of flames at the advancing spiders.

Draco and Goyle had vanished, but at the end of the corridor, which was now full of dust and falling masonry, glass long gone from the windows, Elara saw many people running backward and forward, whether friends or foes she could not tell. Rounding the corner, Percy let out a bull-like roar: "ROOKWOOD!" and sprinted off in the direction of a tall man, who was pursuing a couple of students.

"Lara, in here!" Hermione screamed.

She had pulled Harry and Ron behind a tapestry.

"I have to fight," panted Elara. "I can't just sit here."

"But, we need the snake, we've got to kill the snake!"

"Hermione, listen. No one here knows the contents of my prophecy. I do. I'm meant to be out there, fighting. You three can handle the snake, all right?"

"We will fight!" Hermione said. "We'll have to, to reach the snake! We're the only ones who can end it!"

"Hermione, for so long I've wondered what I'm meant to do." The lightning bolts brimming over her body jolted, growing hungrier by the second. "And — and I struggled for so long with what I learned about the Constellations. . . . . I need to fight. It's what I was born to do. You know what I was born to do."

Hermione nodded, wiping her face on her torn and singed sleeve.

"No, Lara, I'm not letting you out of my sight — "

Elara smiled gently.

"You're going to have to trust me, okay, Harry?"

Harry opened his mouth once again to protest her decision. The words died on his tongue as she silenced him with a soft kiss, resting her forehead against his.

"Promise me you'll stay alive?" he asked, voice hoarse.

"I'll do my best."

She turned to face Ron and Hermione.

"Fuck shit up out there for me, all right?"

Elara did not wait for an answer before ducking out the tapestry, coming face to face with the battle raging in front of her.

"Who's ready to die, motherfuckers?!"

Immediately, she dove into the fray, coming face to face with Dolohov. Slowly, they circled one another before Dolohov made the first move. A blinding green light raced toward her, but it distinguished mid air as a single flame surrounded by furious lightning made contact.

"You will not best me again, Elara Tonks," growled Dolohov.

"I regret not killing you when I had the chance."

He laughed.

"You especially will once you learn I killed your beloved sister."

The already raging flames exploded.

"Liar ," snarled Elara, lunging for him.

A curse swiped across her skin, burning her. She ignored the pain and focused on ripping Dolohov's head off his shoulders. Grabbing his outstretched wand hand, swung herself upwards, bringing Dolohov with her. He landed on his back with a grunt. Elara, who had landed on her feet, advanced towards him.

"Elara!" cried a voice, and a ruby hilted sword flew towards her.

She grabbed the hilt, pointing the sword down at Dolohov's throat.

"Your time is up, dickhead."

The sword plunged downward. The next moment, Neville was at her side.

"Neville — what — " Elara realized she was holding the Sword of Gryffindor. "Where the fuck did you get this!?"

"I was fighting some Death Eaters, and Fawkes just flew by and dropped the hat, and I saw the hilt! Crazy, right?!" he yelled as he fought of a stray Stunning Spell.

"Neville, you are literally so cool — "

"Thanks, Lara, that means a lot, but if you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of a battle, here!"

The tapestry at the top of the staircase on which Harry, Ron, ad Hermione stood was ripped open.

"POTTER!"

"Be right back, Neville!"

Taking the Sword with her, she sprinted up the staircase as Hermione shouted, "Glisseo!"

The stairs underneath her flattened into a chute as she made it to the top. Harry, Ron, and Hermione hurtled down it. Relief flooded Elara as they ran, but she turned to deal with a more pressing matter at hand.

"Tonks," growled one masked Death Eater, "You are a much better prize than Potter."

"Sorry to break it to you boys," replied Elara, flames exploding out the Sword of Gryffindor, "but I'm way too expensive for either of you."

She spun the sword as she advanced towards the two. They backed up slowly before firing an onslaught of curses that incinerated the moment they came in contact with the lightning-charged flames. Elara had never fought with a sword before, but she loved it. The cool metal between her hands warmed as she swung the sword at one of the Death Eaters.

The one she'd just stabbed crumpled to the floor with a yell. The other one raised their wand.

"Oh my god!" screamed Elara. "It's — It's Voldemort!"

The Death Eater whirled around to find their master, to which Elara took the opportunity to drive the flaming sword into their back. Bored with this particular fight, she withdrew the sword, wiped the shiny blood on her jeans, and slid down the stairs.

A herd of galloping desks thundered past, shepherded by a sprinting Professor McGonagall. Her hair had come down and there was a gash on her cheek. As she turned the corner, Elara heard her scream, "CHARGE!"

Elara ran down the next staircase and found herself in a corridor full of duelers. The portraits on either side of the fighters were crammed with figures screaming advice and encouragement, while Death Eaters, both masked and unmasked, dueled students and teachers.

Dean, with Elara's wand, was face to face with the blond Death Eater that had insulted Elara only a year before, Parvati with Travers. Elara sidled up beside the latter.

"Hello, Parvati," said Elara nonchalantly, "Would you like to make a switch real fast?"

With enthusiasm, Parvati tossed Elara her wand as Elara handed her the hilt of the flaming sword. Elara cracked her neck as she stood, facing Travers.

"Hello again."

"I knew you weren't Bellatrix!" shouted Travers, sending over a spell.

Elara waved her wand, the spell rebounded off the shield she'd just conjured. Wordlessly, the two battled, brilliant lights flashing. She silently praised Anya for teaching her how to use her sight to predict her enemy's next move.

In the corner of her eye, Elara spotted Parvati silently making her way around the outskirts of the battle towards Travers.

"Hey, Travers!" shouted Elara over the roar of flying spells. "Don't fuck with women!"

Travers did not have a chance to retaliate, as the tip of the flaming sword appeared through his abdomen. Elara could see his eyes widening from yards away. He crumpled to the ground seconds later as Parvati appeared from behind him, hair wild and shoulders heaving. Elara rushed over to her.

Spinning the sword, Parvati exclaimed, "I have got to get me one of these!"

Elara laughed as the two traded weapons. They quickly said their goodbyes as they split up, both running in different directions. Elara was focused on getting down to the courtyard to prevent newcomers from entering the castle.

"Wheeeeeeeeeeee!"

Looking up, Elara saw Peeves zooming over them, dropping Snargaluff pods down onto the Death Eaters, whose heads were suddenly engulfed in wriggling green tubers like fat worms. There were more duelers all over the stairs and in the hall, Death Eaters everywhere Elara looked: Yaxley, close to the front doors, in combat with Flitwick, a masked Death Eater dueling Kingsley right beside them.

Elara cursed her new flaming red hair as it drew unwanted attention from enemies.

Students ran in every direction, some carrying or dragging injured friends. Elara directed a spout of flame toward the masked Death Eater; it missed but nearly hit Neville, who had emerged from nowhere brandishing armfuls of Venomous Tentacula, which looped itself happily around the nearest Death Eater and began reeling him in.

"Neville, this sword is bloody brilliant!" shouted Elara as she sprinted down the marble staircase.

Glass shattered to her left, and the Slytherin hourglass that had recorded House points spilled its emeralds everywhere, so that people slipped and staggered as they ran. Two bodies fell from the balcony overhead as they reached the ground. Elara dove out of the way as an unrecognizable body slammed into the ground where she had just been.

Then, with a bright white flash and a crack, a crystal ball fell on top of a Death Eater's head, and they crumpled to the ground and did not move.

"I have more!" shrieked Professor Trelawney from over the banisters. "More for any who want them! Here —"

And with a movement like a tennis serve, she heaved another enormous crystal sphere from her bag, waved her wand through the air, and caused the ball to speed across the hall and smash through a window.

At the same moment, the heavy wooden front doors burst open, and more of the gigantic spiders forced their way into the entrance hall. Screams of terror rent the air: The fighters scattered, Death Eaters and Hogwartians alike, and red and green jets of light flew into the midst of the oncoming monsters, which shuddered and reared, more terrifying than ever.

Elara, using a crumpled statue pedestal, jumped and grabbed the edge of the balcony on which Professor Trelawney was still heaving Crystal Balls. With all her might, she swung herself up onto the platform, pulling herself to her feet using a railing. A Slytherin banner was hanging limply from the ceiling, directly in front of a smashed window.

Thinking she was perhaps insane, Elara took a running start and leapt off the balcony, hands reaching for the banner. Thankfully, it was magically enchanted to stay in place, as the green cloth stayed in the air as she grabbed onto it and swung herself forwards through the shattered window. Her bare arms scraped the broken shards as she passed through, falling through the air. She ducked her head and rolled forwards on the ground, immediately popping back up to continue sprinting.

Her way was impeded by a monumental foot, which swung down out of the darkness and made the ground on which she stood shudder. She looked up: A giant stood before him, twenty feet high, its head hidden in shadow, nothing but its treelike, hairy shins illuminated by light from the castle doors. With one brutal, fluid movement, it smashed a massive fist through an upper window, and glass rained down upon Elara, forcing her back under the shelter of the doorway.

"HAGGER?"

Grawp came lurching around the corner of the castle; only now did Elara realize that Grawp was, indeed, an undersized giant. The gargantuan monster trying to crush people on the upper floors looked around and let out a roar. The stone steps trembled as he stomped toward his smaller kin, and Grawp's lopsided mouth fell open, showing yellow, half-brick-sized teeth; and then they launched themselves at each other with the savagery of lions.

Figuring being killed by two battling giants was indeed not a cool way to go out, Elara launched herself forwards, weaving between piles of rubble. More Death Eaters were advancing through the courtyard as a group, and without even thinking about it, Elara pulled the hot air surrounding them together, and the night lit with a brilliant explosion.

Ahead, Elara spotted Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Where they were trying to go didn't matter, as shapes moved out in the darkness, swirling figures of concentrated blackness, moving in a great wave toward the castle, their faces hooded and their breath rattling. They were standing still. With a groan, Elara forced herself ever faster, racing against the hunger of the Dementors.

She burst through Ron and Hermione, forgetting she did not have a wand, and shouted, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Two figures burst out her hand. A gargantuan dragon raced towards the Dementor, it's sheer power already driving them away. Beside her, a gentle doe stood, watching Elara curiously, before nudging Harry's side with its head. She did not notice, however, as she stared, openmouthed, at the Hungarian Horntail driving away the hundreds of Dementors.

"What — How — " spluttered Ron, staring wildly from the doe to the dragon.

"That — that doesn't matter right now. Glad to see you all alive. How's the Horcrux game going?"

"Voldemort thinks I'm going to come to him," rushed Harry, finally wrenching his eyes away from the doe. "He also called for Snape, and we're going to go find out."

"All right, I'll see you soon, then."

"Wait, Lara — "

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure you can't come with? I'd feel a lot better with you by my side."

Elara smiled.

"I told you, Harry, we're on seperate paths now. I hope they will converge again."

Before Harry, Ron, and Hermione could respond to this alarming epiphany, Elara spun on her heel and ran back towards the courtyard. She weaved through the legs of wrestling giants. Blinding beams of light distorted her vision only slightly as white hot spells whizzed overhead. She passed Aurora valiantly fighting Macnair.

She had only made it another thirty feet before a distinct heat radiated across her back. Turning around, she saw Aurora, shoulders heaving as the dust around Macnair cleared. He was gone, reduced to nothing but a few limbs.

Aurora must've thrown a Molotov.

She saluted Elara before running off into the fray once again.

Smiling to herself, Elara made her way back into the entry hall. The battle raged on. Bodies peppered the floor. Students and Death Eaters brutally dueled one another. Explosions sounded every so often. The castle shivered under the fury. War truly was hell.

Elara pressed on, passing McGonagall overpowering Yaxley. She spotted Neville, sprinting past.

"Neville!" she called. "Take the sword!"

She tossed the sword to him. He caught it and continued on his way. Elara peered around for a way to get to higher ground. The marble staircase was relatively empty except for two blood trails tainting the beautiful white stone. She hurried up the stairs, pointedly avoiding the pools of blood, and dove behind a pillar.

As she situated herself, a bow made of pure flame materialized in her hands, bringing her back to Godric's Hollow. She smiled wickedly. Peering out from behind the column she was hiding behind, she spot Yaxley being forced slowly backward by the power of McGonagall's spells. Elara drew the string of fire backwards, took a deep breath, and let go.

The arrow of angry fire struck Yaxley behind his ear. No shout of surprise or yell of pain was made as he crumpled to the ground. Elara spotted McGonagall looking up at her hiding place. She saluted her favorite professor before placing herself back behind the column.

Clover slid to her from across the way, taking her spot behind the adjacent column.

"How's your leg?"

"Still pretty awful — Hey, d'you think you could get me one of those that wouldn't, you know, kill me?"

The bow in Elara's hands dematerialized. She swiftly imagined a weapon that would not hurt a wielder that could not control fire. Her eyes shot open as a frigid impression soared over her limbs. There lay a bow of pure grey flame.

"Cold fire?" gushed Clover. "Wicked."