Regulus had really outdone himself. Fae had barely felt a thing as she plowed her wand into the stone ground, an alchemic circle lighting up and creating a pillar of roaring, blazing creatures spouting from the center with the Horcruxes and shooting straight up into the sky for what felt like miles. The creatures didn't stray one bit, but the entire stone ground cracked under the destruction of the Horcruxes, waves of dark, gross power rocked the castle and it began to fall to pieces. The castle held though and a moment later, they dispelled the Fiendfyre. The Horcruxes were thoroughly destroyed, a pile of soul-less, useless, ashes.
Then there were loud bangs and pops. Laughing delightedly, Fae ran to the stairs to get on the roof and catch the show.
"Race you guys to the top!"
The fireworks were magnificent, giant and bright, colorful flowers punctuating the cursive letters writing across the sky.
OVER HERE, DUMBASS
Ah, that custom fireworks guy in Chinatown really knew his stuff. If she got out of this alive and ever made it back to New York, he'd have a very loyal customer for life. She could just imagine all the different ways to use these - Harry's Birthday, Regulus getting into Healer School, Remus getting into college, Sirius having a boyfriend for longer than a few months, Tuesday Dinners, James' Quidditch matches.
She got in a good ten minutes of the show before Regulus shouted, "Closing in, Fae! Time to go!"
She took one last look at the fireworks, let her gaze fall to the horizon, and took a deep breath when she saw the enemies rushing across the field and apparating just out of their wards. Ugh, there were still that many after all the work she'd done? Annoying. She turned and hopped onto Reginald behind Regulus and Romilly. The dragon took off with a mighty roar and at the exact same time, the first wave of enemies came within fifty feet of the castle and then suddenly stopped as if their feet were glued to the ground.
"Oh he DID NOT."
Sirius definitely created a massive active Colloshoo field - the spell they'd always used to fuck with each other. The first line was stuck still and then were trampled into the earth by the crowds behind them. Fae, with her hearing as enhanced as it was, could hear the squishing of organs and the breaking of bones. And then she heard nothing but screams as the enemies came in closer and suddenly dropped into a giant ring pit of Venomous Brazilian Fire Rats. They were more brutal than her flesh-eating slugs, that was for damn sure.
"Jesus fucking Christ, Merlin, Morgana, and sweet St. Jude. That's fucked up," Fae said cheerfully.
And the enemies still didn't back off, continuing to charge forward and just charming bridges and shields, only to be bombarded by what appeared as falling sparks from the fireworks. Except then the sparks turned into flaming, speeding, shooting stars that hit the ground with massively explosive force, knocking several to the ground as the light faded and members of the Order of the Phoenix and the Brigade appeared. Moody. Dorcas. Sirius. Christian and Willis. Sirius. JAMES and LILY.
"Good luck guys, y'all better stay alive!" Fae cried, jumping off Reginald.
"Back at ya!"
Fae hit the ground a few feet away from James and Lily and launched herself into the fray, making her way to her brother and sister-in-law. For two people that had been in isolation, they were really kicking ass, keeping back to back and firing off some nasty knee-cracking jinxes, eye-sealing hexes, and fully-body binds. Fae blinked and then smiled prettily when she realized that as soon as an enemy body hit the earth, vines would rise up and take them below the ground. To be buried alive or for safe-keeping until capture, she didn't know, but also didn't really care.
"What are you guys doing here?!" she yelled, both pissed and happy. James absolutely beamed and rushed to hug her, only for Lily to hex him out of the way so she could get a hug first. Fae teared up a little as her sister-in-law cracked her ribs with her love and enthusiasm. And then the lecture started.
"That is the last time I ever take your side! I vouched for you to be Keeper and what did you do?!"
"Kept it," Fae said smugly, "Definitely kept it, I do believe. Which is now worthless, because you're not even home. Where's Harry?" she asked, a little nervous. It wasn't Halloween and the prophecy wasn't coming true, but she needed to know he was safe and far away.
"He's safe at Hogwarts," Lily said as she fired an Expelliarmus, wordlessly, over Fae's shoulder. "My point is, you are in a lot of trouble young lady."
Fae rolled her eyes. "Mooo-oooom. What for? I only got into a pissing match with crackpot Dark Lord wannabe."
Lily gave her a fond, exasperated smile and then glared. "And you didn't tell Remus."
"Uhhh.." Fae said, then she turned to her favorite sibling who had been dutifully warding off enemies for them. "James! Bro, I missed you so much! Come give your sister a bear hug! Or impale me with antlers, I don't care, just come here!"
Lily took up the mantle of repelling enemies while Fae and James collided, each trying to be stronger and pick each other up. "Fae! It's good to see you in one piece, you absolute nutter! What were you thinking!?" he asked, shoving her shoulders back and then shaking her like a maraca. Fae giggled and then they both paused as a few loud cracks echoed across the battlefield.
Fae blinked and looked around. Then said, "Those…. weren't fireworks." They sounded like fireworks, but there were definitely no more lights in the darkening sky.
"That would be correct!" Sirius yelled as he was thrown towards them, hit the ground in a roll, and Fae took out his attacker. The shots rang out again and Fae gasped.
"Those are guns?"
"Correct again! Now get over here!" Sirius yelled, catching Fae around the waist and succeeding where James failed, lifting her up in a big, spinning hug that had Fae shrieking with laughter.
More shots rang out and Fae could've sworn she heard an actual shotgun in there. "Who the fuck brought guns?" she asked, internally kicking herself for not having thought of the same thing. She could've shot Tom Riddle! How about that for poetic justice?
Lily grinned and cast a shield charm around the four of them as three enemies surrounded them with Stupefys. Fae, James, and Sirius stabbed their wands into the ground at the border of the shield and shot out electricity. They all high-fived as the enemies went flying.
"Muggle-borns gotta come from somewhere, right? And as a fellow parent, I know what it feels like to need to protect your child's future," Lily said.
More shots rang out and Fae pumped a fist in the air. "Right on!" Fuckin hell, muggles had joined the fight and were taking down bitches with guns and she swore she just heard someone rev a chainsaw. That was so fucking badass.
The shield around them suddenly crackled and began to freeze over. All of them stilled and Fae felt fear and ice as tons of black, shadowy figures flew over the battlefield, beginning to circle. Dementors. Several began to descend, attacking whoever they could. From the ground, Fae couldn't tell if they were on their side or Riddle's side, but she had a feeling it wasn't theirs.
She reared her arm back, punched through the iced shield to shatter it, and then pointed her wand high.
"Expecto Patronum!"
Her wolf, easily the size of a car, burst from the tip and attacked the Dementors with fervor. A deer, a doe, and a black dog quickly joined the fray, but Fae could still hear the cry of magic-less humans across the field, the shots fired into the air with no effect. Quickly, she gave her siblings kisses on the cheek and then ran off to help.
"Stay alive, all of you!"
James and Lily cried out in affirmative while Sirius transformed into Padfoot and ran alongside her. He barked at her as they cut through their enemies and then she jumped onto his back, riding like Princess Mononoke as she kept her patronus clearing out Dementors and did her best to take out Death Eaters and other enemies with her fists and claws.
They made it to a group of people, all huddled together and being circled by four dementors, slowly having the soul and happiness sucked out of them. Sirius changed back and they got to work, allowing their canine Patronuses to chase off as many Dementors as they could manage while also staying out of the crossfire of the guns and doing their best to take down yet more Death Eaters and Dark Supporters.
They just kept coming and Fae was grateful she'd picked the day before the full moon or she'd be beginning to feel tapped out, firing off Expelliarmus', Stupefy's, and stunning curses as fast as she could while her Patronus wolf kept circling. When the magical strain started to become annoying, she ripped the metal protective armor off the nearest enemy and transfigured it into a set of highly illegal brass knuckles with serrated spikes across the top - not unlike Asuma's from Naruto. Then, with each satisfying punch, she let her wild magic burst and run madly from her.
As the battle wore on and on for what seemed like hours and the sky grew dark navy, the brass knuckles began acting like a conduit and Fae was able to cast more and more wandless Incarcerous and Stupefys with each hit. She had long drifted from Sirius and it was a little disheartening to have not seen an ally in a while, then again they were hard to identify. It seemed like the whole country was fighting and only the Death Eaters and the Brigade had any sort of identification.
Speaking of the Brigade, Fae caught a flash of red on the ground, two werewolves having their souls sucked out by Dementors.
"No you don't!" Fae cried, whipping out her wand and recasting her Patronus back to full strength to save the two werewolves. The Dementors were chased away and she helped them up, grasps slipping a bit thanks to the metal of the brass knuckles and the blood dripping off them.
"Alpha!" one of them cried while the other cried, "Ms. Fae!"
Fae's face screwed up in a confused, but hopeful and pleased smile. "Who me?" she joked.
"Thank you for saving us! How can we help you?" the other said. Fae didn't recognize these two werewolves - they were young and freckled, one with a nasty head wound, the other with blood dripping off his arm, both very clearly sluggish and weak from the Dementor attack. It was cute, albeit kind of strange that they knew who she was.
"Uhhh..!" Fae cast a shield charm around them as she fought off two incoming Dark Supporters while trying to look around for somewhere for them to go. Then she saw a flash of white deep in the fighting about 35 yards off.
She handed them each a chocolate bar and then shot a Periculum right down main street instead of straight up, clearing a path to the healer. "Head to them to get fixed up and then keep guard for them while they heal others. Help them locate our allies in need of help!"
"Right!" And they were gone, eager little things. Busy watching them go, Fae almost missed the Skin-splitting curse aimed at her back. Someone else got there faster, using their wand to deflect it, stun, and then they pounced on the attacker, taking them down, shredding, and letting the vines remove their body from the field. Fae blinked owlishly. Was that...? With a wand?
"Good call, those two were green and I warned them not to come," the blonde werewolf said, standing tall and returning to Fae's side as they went back to back.
"Celeste!" she said, grinning brightly. Holy fuck, Celeste was here. Using a wand. And she brought her pack. Holy fuck!
"Have you gotten so weak that you need weapons instead of claws, Fae?" she said, gesturing to Fae's brass knuckles.
"Oh shut it!" she said, laughing and shattering the jaw of a Death Eater and then breaking a rib with her second fist. Celeste gave a deep hum of approval and then the fighting got rough again. Fae must've wandered into where most of the Brigade had landed and joined the fight, she was beginning to see red bandannas everywhere. And she felt immeasurably proud to be wearing her own, marking her a member of the Brigade.
A whimper and a howl went up to her right and Fae ducked in, picking up her nearest attacker and bodily throwing him in the way of the Dementor praying on, shit that was Maddy! Maddy was hunched desperately over Jim's still body, blood and a little white wisp of soul trickling out of his mouth. She could still hear his heart though, so it wasn't too late. Not yet.
"Head for the white ribbon - smells like antiseptic! Go, go, go, I'll cover you!" Fae screamed, commanding Maddy to lift Jim and carry him to the nearest healer. Maddy cradled him in her arms and started running immediately, sobs still overtaking her and making her usually sure steps increasingly clumsy. It was a mad rush, there were two healers working frantically, surrounded by six members of the Order, two members of the Brigade, and a muggle with a sniper set-up on a small conjured hill which split and opened like a mouth to swallow any nearby curses aimed at the sniper. The wolves circled and fought off any who got close to the muggle while three Order Members maintained a shield and the other three kept the stunning spells and patronuses going. Jim and Maddy made it into the shield and Fae realized there were at least six injured up here. Six injured, including Nile who was holding the cold, dead hand of Alex Diggory.
Fae tilted her head back and howled mournfully for him as the two healers got to work on saving Jim. Fae pulled Maddy back to let them work and set her to helping defend this hill. After, Fae darted out to find more healers. She found three, working on several Dementor victims and helped them all back, taking a few burning curses across the shoulder and missing the launch of a percussion grenade that was just far enough to not make her go completely deaf. Ears were definitely ringing for a minute and then the sniper took out the guy with the grenades, dropping a regular bomb that exploded and made the ground shake, hopefully taking out his allies rather than hers.
Now there were ten fighters, five healers, and eight injured on this hill. Unfortunately, having so many bodies in one, high place just drew the attention of a huge pack of Dementors. Fae called out her patronus once more, running in circles around the hill. Fuck, there were so many. Her fellow allies, the werewolves and the Order Members, had called out their own patronuses as well. There were dark and white wisps everywhere, so much that it was making her dizzy. And cold. A stallion, a golden retriever, a killer whale that was making some serious waves, a gecko, an elephant, was that a fucking kangaroo?
And her wolf. Wait…. no. Vanilla. Books. Fresh laundry and life. Warmth. She was suddenly so warm and there was another wolf patronus, just slightly smaller than hers. The Dementors cleared, chased by two monstrous wolves and then she saw him. Remus, her darling, so beautiful. Tall, strong, a blood-rust duster off his shoulders which looked way broader than she last saw. Their gazes met and the world faded away as his pretty grey-blue eyes lit up brighter than the fireworks or any light spell, his mouth stretched in the most dazzling of smiles, he was already running towards her and she was running right back to him, an all-compelling force like magnets. Or gravity. After all this time apart, there he was.
"Fae!"
"Remus!"
Fae reached him and tackled him in a hug, wrapping her everything around him and climbing him like a tree. All of the air in her lungs escaped and she felt like several thousand chains she hadn't realized were around her had just been snapped off. Every cut, bruise, and ache she had faded to nothing compared to how wonderful and alive and perfect he felt in her arms. His scent enveloped her and the smell of blood and dark magic faded. Fae felt invincible. And then she realized, huh, there was a lot more of him to hold than she remembered. Oh. Good Fucking God, he got ripped. Oh no. That wasn't fair. But oh this was the elixir of immortality, the ambrosia of the Gods, the stuff of legends and fairytales.
"Remus! I-" Fae tried to pull back so she could see his face, tell him how much she missed him. Except the second their heads were separated, one of his arms slid up her spine, cupped the back of her neck, and forced their lips into an absolutely maddening, heart-stopping, mind-blanking kiss. Her first instinct was to kiss back and she was powerless to do anything else. Fae melted, squeezed his ribs with her thighs, hands on his cheeks and fingers in his hair and eyelashes brushing, tongues lashing, hot wet heat and feverish sucking, smacking, apart and together again. He tasted so good, so delicious beneath the blood, and her teeth found his bottom lip to nibble and make him groan before she dove back in with her tongue. As frantic and desperate and brilliant as when they were 17. Making out like young things again, in the middle of a war. A war.
Fuck! There was a war!
Fae pulled herself back, unwound her arms, and whipped her head around, ready to aim and fire a curse. The Dementors were gone and they were close enough to the sniper and the two Brigade Wolves that most Dark Supporters and Death Eaters hadn't been able to get close again yet. Just inside the barrier, and safe, but certainly not helping. She tried to jump out of his arms, pushing at his strong, rock-hard shoulders, oh fuck, and unwinding her legs. But his arms stayed around her like steel cables, keeping her pinned to his solid body. "What the- What are you doing?!" Fae screeched, flustered and panicking and freaking the fuck out, why was he just staring at her like that, why had he just- War! There was a war and they weren't even helping fight right now!
"I missed you so much." he said, arching up to nuzzle their noses together, voice impossibly low and smooth and fond and fucking with her so much right now. "You're crazy, you know that?" Remus laughed softly, the deep roll giving her shivers and making her forget to keep trying to escape his grip. Gods he got strong. Or she got weak. Was weak. Both.
Oh, she was so weak. Her body felt tingly and like noodles and so firmly captive in his grip. But she also felt like she could tackle a crowd of Death Eaters and stomp them to death easily, she felt so strong. "You- you- you just kissed me!" she squeaked, her hands coming up to hide her flushed cheeks. Just saying it made her feel all wiggly like a worm. He held her weight easily despite her not holding on at all and she met his impossibly warm gaze, peeking through her fingers.
"Yeah, I did," he said sweetly. "Did you miss me too?""
His smile was so beautiful. "Of course I- no, don't change the subject! Why did you do that!?" she shrieked, closing her eyes and hiding behind her hands completely. Everything about him was far too alluring, far too dangerous. Why was he acting like this? This is not the reunion she'd imagined, not by a long shot.
He answered her like he'd answer a question about what he wanted for dinner or if he wanted another cup of tea. Just simple, easy, right out there. Natural.
"Because I'm in love with you."
"You're." Fae's hands fell, her mouth gaped, her eyes blinked in quick succession a few million times. "WHAT," she yelled, voice echoing over the battlefield. She couldn't have possibly heard that right. No, abso-fucking-lutely not.
OH FUCKING MERLIN, he was holding her with one arm now, still nearly impossible to escape from as one of his hands came up to caress her cheek, brush back her bangs so gently and reverently.
"Fae, I love you. I know I've been shit at showing it and I've made a lot of mistakes, but I've always loved you," Remus said, voice smooth and steady and impossible. It sounded like him, but it couldn't be. Fae began to struggle in earnest, trying to get away from him. Damn shame that her body felt so gelatinous.
"No! No you haven't! You don't! You don't mean that!" Always loved her? What utter bullshit! Maybe as pack, as a best friend, but not romantically. Not passionately and endlessly. Not like she's loved him all these years. What a cruel fucking thing to say and now she was almost sure this wasn't real.
Finally, his smile faded. But that little frown, that furrow of his brows, that fierce spark in his eyes, that was still all Remus. Still seemed exactly like him and it was making her head spin. "Of course I do! I'm so in love with you I don't know what to-"
"Stop it! What is wrong with you?!" Fae cried, cutting him off and finally escaping after she twinged his arm with a little stinging jinx. Her feet hit the ground and she stumbled back, knees weak. That wouldn't do. She had to get strong, the fight was still going. "We're in the middle of a war! Did Sirius spike your tea with a love potion?"
If Sirius fucking did this, she was going to tear him into pieces and feed him to the Dementors. This was not funny. This was painful. Hearing this ridiculous declaration of love on a battlefield like some cheesy romance novel. What was this, revenge for taking Keeper from him? For peacing out without him? Did Regulus want revenge too, for going to America without him?
Remus snarled and that sound was exact. "The only thing wrong with me is that you left me! And that you've been gone for far too long!" he yelled back, advancing on her and towering over her. Fae flinched almost violently, hurt and guilty from his accusation, and scared.
It must've shown on her face because his expression turned gentle again. He reached for her, cupping her face with his big, warm hands. The scent on the inside of his wrists was vanilla and books all the way. Completely Remus. Soothing her whether she liked it or not.
"But you're here now and I just," he said softly, bringing their bodies and foreheads together, moving his hands down to cradle her hips, pretty eyes staring intently into her's. "I need you to know that I love you and I want to be with you, every day, you and me, cooking dinner or dancing or running or reading books or-"
Fae ripped herself away and pointed her wand at him. "Revelio!"
Nothing happened except for Remus blinking at her and then making a sad face, putting his wand in his pocket and holding up his hands to show they were empty. He was defenseless.
"Fae.." His voice was a soulful sigh, a sweet and longing call that made her eyes sting. Nobody said her name like that, nobody but him. But this couldn't be right.
"Finite!" she yelled. This had to be some kind of trick by Riddle. Something to distract her or trap her or something. No way would her Remus ever be here, telling her all the things she'd always wanted to hear. Not now, and not like this. Remus wasn't assertive about feelings. He didn't go around spouting romantic nonsense. But her spell did nothing and she desperately shot off a few more, anything she could think of to dispel the illusion of Remus walking towards her again, arms wide open and expression sweet and soft.
"Fae, it's really me. It's me, my love. It's Remus, your darling. This is real. I love you," he said, taking her hand and pressing it against his cheek, his palm hot against hers and his fingers tracing over the brass knuckles. Her fingers brushed against his tawny hair, her hand tingled over his skin.
Her heart stopped. This was real.
"I-" The rest of her words, whatever they were, got firmly lodged in her throat.
"I know I messed up and I know I didn't make it easy or clear, but I want to be with you," Remus said. And Fae knew that voice. That was the voice he used when he was telling her to bring all her mugs into the kitchen to get washed or when she only wanted sugary cereal for dinner or when she tried to distract him from folding socks and he wasn't having it.
"Do you love me?" he asked, hopeful and pleading. This was not fucking fair. How could he ask her that?
"Remus… I…" Fae was practically gasping, hyperventilating, completely red and shaking. He waited. She took a deep breath. This was not happening.
Fae took her hand away and glared at him. "Can we not do this right now? There's kind of a battle going on!" One that they should really be returning to, and she definitely had lots of frustrations to work off now. This was confusing and impossible and she'd deal with it later. Remus had clearly lost his mind.
He smiled mischievously at her, sexy fucking bastard. "Well, when are we going to do this? Because I don't want to wait another second to kiss you again," he said, hooking a finger under her red Brigade bandanna and bringing her right back into his chest.
"What the- Jesus fucking- why- what even!" She was spazzing, desperately trying to reign in her emotions and let the rage and aggression drive her, keep her focused on the battle at hand instead of this cluster fuck.
Leaning down, he nuzzled her cheek, smiled bittersweetly, and said, "We've waited long enough, dancing around each other and pretending, haven't we? We've wasted so much time and I know that a lot of the fault lies with me."
We? We've wasted time? We've waited? We were pretending? That motherfucker.
Fae pulled herself completely away from him with an aggravated shout. "Damn right it does! Do you even know-!" She cut herself off, threw her arms in the air, and turned away from him altogether. Fae stomped back towards the battlefield and used her wand to send a Confringo at three enemies in quick succession, watching them blast backwards violently. Fuck, that felt good.
Remus was by her side instantly and she refused to look at him as she leapt back into the fray, charging recklessly and hating how she trusted completely that he'd watch her back.
"Do you even know what that felt like? To have everything I ever wanted and then to have it taken away? Just like that?" Fae yelled, punctuating her words with a wild whip of her wand that produced her wolf and sent Dementors flinging high into the sky. She had no happiness for them to feed on, and she might even believe that if she kept telling herself that. They circled her in droves, feeding off the way her stupid heart was beating triple time to the echoing rhythm of Remus telling her he was in love with her. Her enraged wolf practically disintegrated them as they got close. Gods, what a fucking mess.
"Yes!" Remus easily kept up with her war path, his own patronus joining her's. Of fucking course, now he chose to get strong and aggressive and stubborn. "I know exactly what that feels like because I felt like the world was ending when Kent, or should I say Regulus, asked you to marry him!" he shouted. His voice was ragged and completely raw with sincere emotion, making nostalgia of her own heartbreak hit her like a brick. Fuck him. Fuck him.
"That wasn't even real!" she snapped back at him.
"Well it's not like I knew that, did I?!"
"Well it's not like I knew you had any feelings for me! I've always been there Remus!" Fae screamed, slamming her fist across the nearest body and hoping it was an enemy rather than an unmarked ally. Their teeth went flying and she looked for another person to get an encore ASAP.
"I've always been right by your side, your's whenever you wanted me! You never did or said anything! And the one time you decided you might want me, you changed your mind faster than you could say 'sorry', which you didn't even say! You hurt me!" Embarrassingly, her voice cracked on that last bit and she channeled her frustrations into kicking the shit out of a Death Eater's conjured ghoul.
Fae was fucking pissed. How dare he? How dare he tell her he loved her now and act like all her years of pain were nothing? He had no fucking clue how badly it hurt to have him so close and never be able to just take him. To be so close to him and have him never take her? To never know what he meant by all those times they danced so close she couldn't tell where she ended and he began? The nights curled up playing with her hair? So many times he could've said something or just kissed her and made her his forever.
"I know! I have never regretted anything more in my life and I swear to you that I will do whatever it takes to make it up to you," Remus promised as he deflected a curse aimed at her back, swung his own fist across the attacker's face, and then spun her around to face him again.
"I'll do anything. Anything, Fae, please. Just give me a chance. Give us a chance. Let me fix it," he begged, face sad and pleading and beautiful and fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck fuckity, fuck how was she supposed to say no? This was not happening!
She stared him down, helpless, wanting to just dive back into his arms and kiss him. "I- You- Look, this is not the time! I'm trying to kill a Dark Lord here and I can't deal with you, with this right now!" she said, turning away to hide her madly blushing face. Going by the sudden bright grin showing off his teeth, she failed and he knew he had been that close to getting her to cave. Already. First try at convincing her. Merlin, she was pathetic.
"Fine! Then have dinner with me tomorrow night! 6 o'clock, before the full moon!" he commanded, throwing curses at her side with vigor and a ridiculously adorable spring in his step.
"What?! Dinner?!" she asked, trying to keep the grin off her face.
"Yes! A date! And then we can talk!" he answered cheerfully. They fell back to back, Dementors descending on two blissfully happy werewolves. They didn't stand a chance.
"No!" Fae said, trying to hide the laughter in her voice as she shot a sharp tickling charm at a Death Eater and sent him squirming back into a tree spike conjured by Remus. Wow, how brutal. Since when was her darling so violent? That was usually her thing. But she had to admit….
"Yes!" Remus said, catching a thrown grenade mid-air with Wingardium Leviosa and then sending it sky high to explode. At the same time, he had captured an enemy in a headlock and when his grenade-throwing arm came back down it was to shove a conjured dagger through the guy's throat, into his skull. No hesitation. Fuck, that was so hot. He had always been so good at transfiguration.
"No!" Fae cast a Levicorpus, floating an enemy high and then setting him on fire with an Incendio.
In perfect sync, Remus blasted a set of Death Eaters with oil from the end of his wand as Fae dropped her victim on top of them for a nice big blaze. "Yes! Fae, go on a date with me!"
"Ugh! FINE," she yelled, ducking low to swipe the legs out from under an enemy aiming a bone-twisting curse at Remus.
"Fine!" Remus growled, jumping up and slamming his boots down on the ribcage of said Death Eater, shattering them and causing blood to spray out of his mouth like a sprinkler.
They looked at each other, pissed and euphoric and terrified, in the middle of a battlefield. Glared fiercely, then cracked a fraction of a smile. Then started laughing so hard that neither could breathe. It was so good to see him. So wonderful to see him like this. His brilliant laughter, his shining eyes, his happy head tilt, the extra high quirk on the right side of his mouth. All of it, all of him, so beautiful.
"I did miss you. By the way. I missed you so much, my darling, more than anything," Fae said, reaching slowly for his hand, thinking maybe just one more touch, she'd be perfectly recharged, they'd wreck this war and then they could. Talk. They could talk. About everything, over a cup of tea and a mug of coffee, on the couch, all night long.
He completely lit up at her words and she grinned at his proud, blood-soaked figure. The noble strength in his steel-straight-spine, the dangerous ease in his iron-clad shoulders, the magnificence in the way he carried himself and wore his Commander's jacket true and fearlessly. Confident and valiant, like she always knew he'd be. "You've done so-"
Romilly's screaming cry echoed overhead and turned Fae's blood to ice faster than any Dementor could manage. "REGULUS!"
"FAE! WAIT!" Remus shouted at her back as Fae immediately turned and sprinted towards Romilly's voice. Overhead, she saw Reginald go down, fire bursting from his mouth as Romilly landed on the ground. Fae ran faster than she'd ever run, not bothering to attack or deflect, just dodging and ducking and weaving until she came upon Romilly screaming over Regulus' body, both of them surrounded by Reginald and a ring of fire to keep the enemies back.
Fae dove right through, ignoring the burns on her skin and flicking her wand to put-out the sparks on the ends of her hair and shirt. Then she froze still, knees locked and staring blankly, listening.
"NO! No no no no, Regulus! Regulus get the fuck up! Heal yourself, you stupid fucking- You're a healer! So heal! REGULUS!" she screamed at him, ripping her gloves off and applying pressure to the worst looking gash on his chest.
From the looks of it, all the twisted, jagged gashes all over every bit of his body, he'd been hit head-on by a Ripping Spiral Curse. There were so many huge cuts, she didn't know where to start. She could barely hear his heart. Could pretty much only hear the blood gurgling in his throat.
Regulus tried to say something through the blood overwhelming his lungs and trickling out of his mouth. Too quiet, too broken to say something. Shaking, he picked up his arm and let his hand drop over Romilly's. And then the light in his eyes began to fade, his small, comforting smile began to slip. Romilly screamed and redoubled her cursing and her efforts to save him.
Fae saw red.
She took one step, then another, and another. Walked through the fire and into the heart of the battle, wand arm raised high and slowly waving in a circle, calling the wrath of Athena down on the war that had killed her best friend.
Glass meteors, like stars, rained from the sky and exploded on the ground, sending sharp shards into any unlucky enough to be too close, friend or foe. She summoned her fairy lights and twisted them dark, having them catch fire to every single thing they touched, creating a minefield around her. The vines charmed by the Marauders in the earth responded to her wild magic and rose from the ground, bringing dead bodies with them and flinging them like bludgeons and wrecking balls. The smaller vines sprouted roses and thorns, wrapping around her enemies and shredding them, painting the roses red. Her patronus wolf became the size of the castle and began eating the Dementors outright.
People screamed all around her. Curses and hexes were shot at her left and right. She dodged most of them and the ones that connected hit her armor and fizzled, only leaving slight damage behind. A few broken fingers, a dislocated shoulder, a particularly big shard of her glass meteor redirected into her left thigh.
She didn't fucking care. A Death Eater roared and sent waves of Inferi after her. She snarled and dove in with her brass knuckles, celebrating the connection of metal to flesh, uncaring of the way they clawed at her skin and ripped open scratches over her shoulders and arms, tearing through her clothes, but doing nothing to the armor strapped to her legs and chest. The armor Regulus had gotten for her.
Fae screamed and her brass knuckles were set aflame. She went into a blind frenzy of bloodlust, tearing the Inferi apart with her claws and her teeth. The Death Eater shrieked in fear as she fought her way through the mob and then tackled him to the ground, stabbing a conjured spear through him to pin him, but not to kill him. The Avis charm summoned ravens and she tainted them, commanded them to pick him apart, strip his skin and eyes while he was still alive.
A giant club hit her head from the side and sent her flying. Hitting the ground in a roll, she angled her body to roll up onto her feet. A troll had hit her and she just didn't give a fuck that it was being controlled. An innocent creature. It fucking gave her a concussion and he and his Death Eater controller would get theirs.
It stood five meters tall, towering over her. A little too tall to kick in the teeth so she transfigured a nearby vine into a rubber band and stabbed her wand into the ground to pulse and cave-in the dirt under the troll, making him stumble dumbly as the rubber vine took him. Then, with a running jump, she landed on his head just as the rubber vine launched him up, sending them both flying. Whooping, she kicked off his head, flipped, cast a weight multiplying charm on her boots, and let them slam into the teeth of the troll, sending them speeding to the ground. She laughed delightedly and reveled in the scream of the Death Eater who was then crushed beneath the troll. Oooh, she'd gotten some Inferi in that too. Score.
She stood tall on the troll and searched for her next victim, only to freeze as a voice echoed over the battlefield. Or was it in her head? Either way, everybody fucking heard that.
"FAE POTTER!"
"Riddle," Fae said, grinning and beginning to stalk towards him. He was there, all pasty and shrouded in black robes, noseless, a damn fool to reveal himself. But fuck it, she was ready to end this.
"Surrender," he said, calmly meeting her gaze as the fighting began to cease and all nearby Death Eaters and Supporters flung away their opponents so they could retreat to his side.
Surrender? Fae laughed hysterically. "Go fuck yourself."
"I said. Surrender," Riddle said, laughing and gesturing to his side. "Or he dies."
Two Death Eaters stood apart to reveal the red-clad man on his knees between them, held at wand point and wrapped in what looked like fifty chains.
Fae stopped cold and all of her rage and madness disappeared. "REMUS!" she screamed. All of the air left her lungs, all of the strength left her body. No. Nonononono, they'd taken Remus. How? Where was the Brigade? Christian and Celeste? Her body shook with fear and her fingers twitched to do something, anything.
Remus wheezed and tried to turn his head away from the wand forcing his bruised and bloody face up to look at her. "Fae, don't-" he tried to say, only for the other Death Eater to Crucio him. He didn't scream, gritting his teeth and refusing to show pain. She could see it just the same.
"STOP!" Fae shouted, beginning to take hurried, staggering steps again. She had to get to to him. Had to save him. Above all else, he had to live. "Stopstopstop I surrender! I surrender, just let him go! Let him go!"
"Drop your wand. Hands up. Come here, slow," Riddle commanded, smiling triumphantly as his fighters laughed mockingly.
"No, FA-" He screamed that time, being hit with two Crucios simultaneously. Fae dropped her wand immediately and put her hands up. She walked to Riddle, taking slow steps even though she wanted to run to Remus. Her mind was racing and blank at the same time. Where was Severus?
Fuck, she hadn't seen him once during this battle. Didn't smell him, couldn't identify him anywhere beneath all the Death Eaters' masks. For all she knew, he could've gotten caught and killed off like Peter. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Time was up.
She'd planned this for years. For years. Even with Remus being held hostage, Fae came to a stop in front of Tom Riddle and steeled herself. Calmed herself and got ready. Resolved. This was it. There had been three ways this could end, and this was the one she'd wanted least. But at least, it was an ending. This would end and Remus would live if it was the last thing she did.
As she came to stand in front of Riddle, one Death Eater took her wand and snapped it in pieces while two others flanked her, chained her, and kicked her to her knees. She didn't make a sound, kept her eyes up, her shoulders braced, her chin proud.
Riddle chuckled and smiled down at her. "We meet at last, Potter."
"You're uglier in person," she said.
Remus screamed and she saw blood drip down his arms.
"Leave him alone! You got me so let him go!" Fae growled, struggling against the chains automatically.
"And why should I do that? Isn't he important to you? Is he not your lover? Your reason for living? Why shouldn't I...take him away from you," Riddle crooned, speaking slowly and softly and full of malice.
Before Fae could scream profanities and threats at him, he continued. "But maybe I'm wrong. No, I think you are just like me. Isn't that right, Fae? All this time, stirring up trouble, and leaving everybody else to take the fall? Keeping yourself safe, untouched….unparalleled?"
She grit her teeth and growled.
"You won't die for these people. You won't die for him. No, not you, flashy, bold, wild Fae Potter. You loved the limelight, the chase, the way the world knew your name didn't you? I know you did. You didn't care who got hurt, as long as you got to have your show."
The worst part of this, Fae realized, was that he wasn't entirely wrong. And he read it on her face, saw the flashes in her mind.
He laughed. "So I'll make you an offer. You can walk, and live to try and kill me all the rest of your short life. Hunt, like the wild monster you are, and show off, like the miserable human you are. Let me kill Remus Lupin, and I'll let you go."
The outcry from the Werewolf Brigade was deafening.
But, ahhh, there were the magic words. Fae spat at his feet and grinned. He was wrong about the most important thing and now he had dug his own grave.
"I thought you'd be tired of being a coward by now. Doing things in your roundabout, convoluted, ineffective ways." She goaded him.
Remus let out a scream of pain again and Fae saw several Brigade members rush to his aid, only to be repelled by the electric shield that had apparently been cast since she'd gotten close enough to subdue. The two sides were divided in the center of the battlefield, the threat of killing Remus or her keeping anybody from moving.
Think. Focus. Remember that he was a legilimens. Fae filled her head with images of all his failures. The zines raining from the sky. All the Death Eaters she'd murdered. Her infiltration of Greyback's pack.
"While you were busy looking for an infant from a random, bullshit prophecy, I took your werewolves. I took your giants and your politicians and your resources. I killed your precious little Death Eaters. And you just kept sending me more, didn't you? Fucking dumbass," she said, laughing.
"Silence! You filthy half-blood, you are nothing!" He backhanded her across the face.
Fae grinned and showed off her bloody teeth. "Is that all you got? That's precious."
He kicked her in the gut. She explained in detail how she'd killed Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Nott. How she'd seen him sleeping and could've killed him so easily then, because he was an arrogant moron. But she'd thought she might get more fun out of fucking with him. Such a disappointment he was.
Riddle Crucio'd her for that. Fuck, that shit hurt. But it was nothing compared to the joy she felt knowing that she'd gotten his attention again. Made him crazy. She laughed while the pain wracked her body. And then gasped desperately for air as a Dementor was called to her, began to suck her soul away. It left her cold and shaking and no longer laughing, vision blurring. Then it was called away again.
Riddle tried to monologue, tried to call her a fool, tried to rub his own violent victories in her face. The print shop and diner and cafe that he'd bombed all because of her. The werewolves he'd killed. But Fae wasn't having it. If she was going down, she wasn't going to do it with his annoying bitching being the last thing she heard. No, she much preferred the sound of her own voice, her mocking and sassing and laughing. She was funnier than he was.
Every time he tried to get under her skin, she just laughed and talked over him, stole his show. He wanted to talk about how he was going to kill her brothers and Harry, she reminded him about his muggle father and his squib, crackpot mother who should've aborted him. No need for magic, a coat hanger would've done just fine, really, he wasn't that strong. Riddle got so mad that he physically hit her again, smacking her across the face multiple times and kicking her ribs before he Crucio'd her. She laughed and called him unoriginal, a true dime-a-dozen, b-grade-baddy. Nothing special.
They went back and forth like that until Fae was pretty sure she was going to black out. To be fair, it took a bit. He hit like a bitch and although the Crucios hurt, his magic was noticeably weak from the loss of his Horcruxes. Still. That wasn't how it was supposed to end. He had to kill her. He gave her the choice to leave and she chose to die. She was never meant to be in this world anyways. So she went for the throat, doing her friends a critical service. They'd better listen closely.
"Helga Hufflepuff's Cup. Ravenclaw's Lost Diadem. The Locket of Salazar Slytherin. Marvolo Gaunt's ring. And you're fucking diary, because apparently you're a twelve-year-old girl," Fae choked out.
The look on his face was priceless. "You-"
She giggled and asked, "Tell me Tom? Did I get them all? All your little trinkets of immortality?"
"How did you find them?!" he screamed, face alight with glorious fury and panic because oops, she hadn't just destroyed the two like he thought. And that would have to be close enough. Confirmation to her allies that he was mortal, that there'd be no need to worry and look for more after this.
"Regulus Black," Fae said, announcing his name loud and proud and so sorry that she'd gotten him killed anyways, so happy that she'd see him soon. "That's what fucking happens when you only care about yourself and not the people around you. That's why you will never win. You will never win against me, Tom."
He snarled at her and she continued, not giving him a chance to bitch back.
"You only live for yourself. The only thing keeping you alive is fear of death. I live with love, Tom. And that's why I'll win. I have a reason that drives every single thing I do, pushes me beyond any limit, and elevates me higher than you can ever dream. I fight for the ones I love and death means nothing to know they'll be okay," she declared. For James, Lily, and Harry. For Sirius and Romilly.
For Remus. He would never be considered a traitor, ever. He'd never have to face losing everything in one fell swoop and going on alone, impoverished, thinking he was worthless. He would be a hero, he'd live on, and he'd achieve everything he ever wanted in his long life with his best friends by his side. And that was enough for her.
Riddle roared with laughter. "Love? A useless sentiment! Look where your love has gotten you! Love has defeated you!"
Eh. She may have surrendered for Remus' sake, but it had been her plan to be captured all along. Well, mostly. The ideal option one to end this was to just kill him outright. It was so funny to her, how predictable and gullible he was. Still underestimating her after all this time.
Fae just grinned. "Go ahead, you pathetic monster. Go right ahead and kill me. I'm willing to die for every man, woman, wizard, witch, werewolf, muggle, or in-between that fights against you. I love them all and to die for them would be an honor."
Just like Lily once would've. Back in her 7th year at Hogwarts, Fae had made sure to research that too, the Sacrificial Protection Countercharm, and had this moment planned out a thousand times, so much that it echoed in her dreams. A sacrifice of love and they would all be protected. Whoever he tried to kill next, as long as it was someone fighting on her side, the ancient magic of her sacrifice would rebound his curse and it would be game over.
"You are a fool and you will die in vain."
"You cannot kill me in any way that matters," she told him. Then smiled. She looked at Remus one more time. Even covered in blood and injured to hell and back, he was still beautiful. He always would be. His pretty blue-grey eyes were filled with desperation and she looked away, thinking of his smile. His laugh. His hands in her hair. The sound of him calling her name with fond exasperation.
"No," Fae said, voice strong and confident and ready. "I'm the one who will bring about your inevitable end. You kill me now, and I become immortalized in history. They will never stop and I will never be forgotten." She was sorry to be missing out on all the hell that would break loose when she died and she hoped that somehow, she'd get to watch. The battle would surely recommence and it would only be a matter of time before he tried to kill someone. She wondered who it would be, who would be celebrated. She hoped it was Remus.
It was the end of the line for her and she hoped that she died for good in this world. Her soul wouldn't survive waking up in another world, not when this was her true home. She grinned, Fae-like. "My memory will haunt you to your last breath and beyond, so do it. I fucking dare you."
Riddle waited for a moment and then his wand was pointed at her. "So be it."
Fae refused to look away, even if his ugly mug was an awful choice for the last thing she ever saw. She refused to let him think she feared her death, feared him. He was nothing. Death was nothing. Fae would leave this life how she entered it and lived in it - a fighter.
The green light gathered. "AVADA K-"
The sound of chains breaking. "NO!"
Fae was slammed into the ground as Remus broke free of his bindings and threw himself in the way. Her head hit the earth hard and black spots filled her vision, everything was so confused for a moment, and then she felt more than heard Remus cradling her to his chest, crying out her name. He was alive. She was alive. Riddle had frozen in place mid-curse and before Fae could register anything else, her emotions burst from her like an exploding volcano.
"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING? YOU COULD'VE BEEN KILLED!" she screamed at Remus, shoving him off her and then doing her best to get up enough to get between him and any potential danger. Fuck, what had happened? What was going on? Remus had broken through chains and nobody was attacking them and maybe she had died, but Remus could've died and REMUS COULD'VE DIED. Fae started punching him in the chest, weak as she was, mad with fear and panic.
Remus, equally mad and freaking out, yelled right back. "WHAT WAS I THINKING? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, EGGING HIM ON LIKE THAT! HE WAS ABOUT TO KILL YOU, WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO, LET HIM?"
"YES! YOU FUCKING IDIOT! WHY DID YOU JUMP IN FRONT OF ME?! WHAT IF HE HAD-"
"Fae, do you-" Severus tried to say, but neither werewolf heard him.
"GOD DAMNIT FAE YOU ARE NOT INVINCIBLE! I DON'T CARE WHAT REGULUS TOLD YOU ABOUT THAT ARMOR-" Remus shouted, stabbing a finger at her chest and making her stumble back.
Fae yelled over him, keeping up her hitting and swiping motions even though he was out of reach. It was hard to sit-up, but she had to because she needed to slap Remus across the face for being stupid. And then smack herself for being stupid because, "I DIDN'T KEEP THE STONE, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO REVIVE YOU, YOU IMBECILIC STUPID-"
Her words were cut off as he grasped her face and shook her side to side. "NOBODY CAN SURVIVE THE KILLING CURSE! THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT THE KILLING CURSE!"
"Ahem."
Fae smacked his hands away and then tried to smack his face, only to overshoot, lose her balance, pitch forward, and have to catch herself on his chest. "I KNOW THAT, I'M NOT STUPID! IF HE HAD KILLED ME WHEN I WAS WILLING TO DIE FOR-"
"WILLING TO DIE? WILLING TO DIE?! WHY THE FUCK WERE YOU WILLING TO DIE!?" Remus' growling, hysterical voice echoed and made her ears ring.
"Hey."
She pounded a fist on his chest and tried to remove herself from his grasp. "TO SAVE YOU! TO SAVE EVERYONE! MY SACRIFICE WOULD'VE PROTECTED YOU FROM BEING KILLED BY HIM!"
"HOW THE FUCK- THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!"
"DOES TOO! IT WORKED LAST TIME!"
"Silencio!"
And suddenly their words were gone, even as their mouths kept yelling for a humiliating amount of time before they realized. They were sitting in the middle of a war, surrounded by seemingly frozen Death Eaters, being glared at by Severus Snape.
"Look at you two, quarreling like an old married couple," he sneered.
Fae whipped her head to look at him and gasped. "Severus! You came!" she mouthed. Relief washed over her. Looks like option 2 for Riddle's downfall would happen anyways, although she'd expected Severus to AK him from behind while he tried to kill her. This was different than she'd planned, but certainly not unwelcome.
"Now that I have your attention." he drawled, waving his wand to dispel his silencing charm and then to unbind the chains from around her.
"Severus! Dude, what did you do? How did you...?" she asked, gaping incredulously at all the frozen Death Eaters. It was hilarious and surreal - their eyes were still moving and their bodies twitched, but none were able to make a complete movement. Those on the dark side, but without the mark, looked around wildly and cowered back. The Dementors, no longer under control, retreated. The Inferi fell still. The Trolls scratched their heads and then departed. How the hell had he done this.
Severus shrugged. "A little potion I developed. Added it to Riddle's morning tea and then activated it once the conditions were achieved to gain control of the Dark Mark."
She desperately wanted to know the details and couldn't wait to get them out of him later. For now, "Holy fuck! Nice work! Why didn't I think of that?"
He rolled his eyes.
"Right," she said, then gestured to Riddle.
"Well, that's not exactly what I asked for, but it's better in some ways I guess. You wanna….?" she trailed off, offering him the kill as promised. He'd fucking well and good earned it with this.
"No," he said, after a moment's consideration. "You should be the one."
"Me? Really? You sure?"
"Just do it."
"Okay, okay! Don't have to ask me twice," Fae said, grinning, overexcited to get to it and then nearly falling over because her legs had no strength and all the bloodloss was making her dizzy.
"Woah, easy Fae. Here," Remus said, shaken and dazed, but still sweet and gentle as ever as he wrapped his arms around her and helped her stand. Her legs shook like newborn deer and for a moment she was worried that she didn't even have the strength to kill him. Especially without her wand.
But then, her personal nurse came to the rescue.
"Fae, you fucking idiot! You're not doing shit until I patch you up again!" The shield was shattered as Regulus came charging through the legions, Romilly right behind him as he knocked over frozen Death Eaters and all but shoved Remus out of the way.
"REGULUS! YOU'RE ALIVE!" Fae screamed, reaching to wrap her arms around his living, breathing, completely healed body.
"Of course he is! I wasn't about to let him die!" Romilly said, stepping under Fae's arms with ease, preventing her from hugging Regulus, and maneuvering her into a steady position so Regulus could get to work with the healing. Oh fucking St. Jude, that felt so good.
"But I saw him-"
"It was close. Too close," Romilly growled, glaring at their living friend who was grinning and practically shining.
"Uh, yeah," Fae said, infinitely curious. "So how is he-"
"Phoenix Tears injected into the heart! I feel like I could go for hours, holy fuck this shit is good! Is anyone taking notes? Someone should take notes, I'm a medical anomaly!" Regulus answered. And well, that explained his energy and cheerfulness.
"Phoenix Tears?"
Romilly sighed and brushed some of Regulus' hair out of his eyes while he focused, her gaze relieved and fond and so gentle. She'd never seen Romilly like that before, but it was completely called for. She'd saved Regulus. He was alive. "You didn't think Gramps would let me take all that Basilisk Venom without having the cure on hand do you?"
"Oh thank Merlin…" Fae sighed, relaxing into his talented spells and warm magic. Then she immediately tensed up as she heard Lily's approaching cry.
"FAE POTTER, YOU ARE FUCKING DEAD!"
"Lily!"
Her sister's face was more red than her hair as she stomped over to Fae and opened her mouth to lecture, only for Sirius to clap one hand over her mouth. Both her brothers emerged from right behind Lily.
"James! Sirius!" she cried happily, squirming out of Regulus and Romilly's grips to hug them. They were roughed up and bloody and she vaguely wondered if Sirius would get to keep his eye, but they were alive and that was what mattered.
"Hey sis!"
They hugged her, Lily caught in the middle, and then Sirius pulled back to give her a noogie which made her concussed head throb. "You weren't seriously going to let Snivellus have the kill were you?"
"I mean-"
"Fae." Remus' voice from right behind her cut her off.
"Remus.." She turned and looked up at him. He was crying, so sad and so heartbroken, but still smiling at her. What could she do but cry too? Cry and laugh and wrap him up safe and sound in her arms where he belonged. Remus hugged her back, not bone-crackingly tight for once. Just soft and clinging and loving.
They held each other for a moment longer and then he sniffled, pulled back, and faced her with a fierce gaze. "Finish him," he said.
She nodded. Grinned, Fae-like.
Fae turned to Riddle and waved a hand towards Severus. Severus nodded and pressed his wand to his own Dark Mark. All Death Eaters kneeled, save for Regulus. Hmm, impressive control.
"Let him go," Fae commanded. Riddle was freed from the control of the mark and then immediately imprisoned again by her vines locking his arms behind his back. He glared up at her, defiant, but undeniably scared. He was trembling. Practically shitting his pants. Showing his true self, with no meat shields and no immortality to protect him. It was glorious.
"I've been waiting for this for a long time," Fae cooed, staring down at him. Before he could say anything, she slammed her brass knuckles across his face. His nose would've been shattered if he had one. As it was, he only spit out bloody teeth. Still satisfying.
"Any last words?" she asked.
He opened his mouth and Fae wrapped her hands around his throat, squeezed, dug in her claws, and ripped his head off his body.
"Just kidding," she said, laughing. "Nobody fucking cares anymore."
His body was shredded by the vines, torn into pieces, and then set ablaze as her family cast a simultaneous Incendio. The flames behind her made her glow like a star as she lifted his severed head into the air for everybody to see.
"Victory is ours!"
A/N: That was immensely satisfying for me and I hope it was good for you too.
Don't worry ya'll, we're not done quite yet. We are getting close, but Fae has some things to answer for first.