Of Claws and Talons

"You've become quite a hero, Adela Lancaster."

"No!" Rose gasped. "There must be another way - you've seen him, he's a madman. He won't just defeat you, he'll kill you!"

My throat tightened painfully, robbing me of speech. I looked at Aleksandra, and the Bulgarian cleared her throat. "It's the only way," she said, extending an arm to halt Rose's advance.

"No, Adela, this is insane," Scorpius protested, shouldering past Aleksandra. "You can't possibly Al - or any of us - would allow this."

"We'll have to take this chance, Scorp. It's one life or thousands - you don't have to be as numbers oriented to know what the logical choice is," I said, forcing a small smile. I reached forward impulsively and wrapped the four of them into a tight hug. "Please feed Sir Archibald and Lady Bacon for me."

Then, before they could stop me, I sprinted towards the hulking monster looming over my brother. "Luke!" I shouted, brandishing the Elder wand high in the air.

Luke turned, his mouth twisting into a hungry smile when he saw the wand. "That," he seethed, "belongs to me."

"I'd like to see you try," I said, my lips pulling back into a snarl of my own. "Avis oppugno!"

A flock of nine jet-black eagles spun into existence and, at my direction, flew directly at the man, their talons outstretched. I didn't wait for them to make contact. Instead, I sprinted at the man and, keeping a carefully loose grasp on the wand, barreled into his gut. Seth always said I had a hard head - it was about time I used it.

My momentum sent us both sprawling to the ground, and I began punching forward blindly, struggling to deal as much damage as I could. My fists collided solidly with his chest, sending sparks splintering through the air as the runes began to swirl angrily around the points of impact. Luke snarled and, with a fluid twist of his body, slammed me underneath him.

My head crashed against the solid rock, summoning a fresh wave of disorienting spots to dance in my line of sight. I was distantly aware of the heavy pressure on my lungs as his knees dug into the soft flesh of my torso. I felt the wand being wrenched from my grasp and, soon after, the familiar pressure of a wand against my throat.

"Luke," I gasped out, wheezing as I felt the air leave my lungs. "This isn't the way - this isn't you. Please, you can still make this right if you would just stop-"

Luke's pupils expanded, shredding the blue-green of his eyes until only a depthless black remained. "No," he said, his lips pulling back to reveal teeth flashing red with runes. "I don't think I shall."

Although every instinct in my body was screaming at me to fight, to find some way to get out before he cast the killing blow -

I needed him to cast a spell with the Elder wand. This was our only hope, and if that meant I needed to die, then, at least I would have the chance to tell Lorcan I was sorry. I tilted my head back, looking away from Luke's venomous eyes, and stared blearily at the shifting boulders above us. If I squinted, I could just pretend that the rocks were broomsticks.

"ADELA!"

The pressure was released suddenly from my stomach, and I slumped back.

"-dela!"

I felt like I was floating. I couldn't remember the last time I'd gone swimming. Maybe I was in an ocean, now. Maybe the afterlife was one big, beautiful sea. I wouldn't mind that. I'd always found the sound of waves to be peaceful.

Two hazy green blobs appeared in the distance, and I frowned. Normally, I would say that that particular shade of green - a cross between the colour of moss and the darkest emeralds - was my favourite colour, but now it only reminded me of what I'd lost.

Had I ever told Al how I'd felt about him? How happy I was to have known him for those years, to have counted him as one of my closest friends?

"ADELA!"

The two circles snapped into focus, revealing two eyes fringed with sooty black lashes. Runes so dark they appeared to be depthless stained his eyelids, and my lips parted, forming a silent "Al."

Before I could ask him what he was doing here, he was wrenched from my line of sight, and I heard a distant scream. Rose.

The sensations came flooding back to me all at once, hurried and merciless. My breath rattled between my clenched teeth, and I forced myself to my knees. The rock shuddered again, dipping another meter lower, and I cried out, falling once more.

I wrenched myself upwards again, my hands curling into fists when I saw Rose, Scorpius, Seth, Aleksandra and Vane enclosed in a cage of three meter tall runes. Two meters to their left, Luke stood above Al, his foot planted firmly on Al's chest. He lifted his leg and, with a smug smile, slammed his foot down with a dull thud.

Al didn't let out a sound, but I saw his face go pale. My fingers ghosted over the gash on my own torso, and I snarled. I'd tried reasoning with Luke. It was time to try something different.

"OI! LUKE!" I wheezed.

Luke turned. "Has anyone told you how annoying you are?"

I forced a shrug. "Only all the time."

Then, pulling my wand from my pocket, I yelled, "Confringo!"

Luke deflected the spell easily, and the magic sent his left leg winking briefly out of existence. Hope, wonderful and terrible, burrowed deep in the pit of my stomach.

"Stupefy!" I yelled. This time, Luke sent back an inky black curse of his own, and the two jets of magic met in the middle, forming a blistering line of power.

I bit my lip, tasting blood, as I struggled to channel the magic through my wand. My arm began to shake uncontrollably, sending erratic flares of light spinning out into the smoke-filled air (when had we gotten so close to the lava's surface?), and I saw Luke's smile widen. He knew I couldn't hold this for much longer - already, the stream of scarlet magic was rapidly dwindling.

I fell to my knees, gripping my wand with both hands. At this rate, we would all plunge into the lava below. I was fine with risking my own life, but I refused to condemn my friends to a fate they did not deserve. As Luke pressed forward, I tried desperately to come up with a plan. Surely there was a way out of this. Surely he must have expended enough magic by now.

"You do not understand the magic you are playing with." Aleksandra. What was she trying to do? I didn't dare look away from Luke, but I only hoped she knew what she was doing. I saw sweat drip down his nose as he stepped forward.

"You're playing wizard, but you'll never be as good as we are." Vane.

Luke snarled, sending a fresh wave of magic through our link. I let out a strangled sob. Merlin, that hurt. Merlin Merlin Merlin -

"You're a kid playing dress-up. Go home." Scorpius.

Angry, frayed black magic began to teem around the former Squib's body, and Numberita finally, finally realised what my friends were doing. Anger, it appeared, made him expend more magic. It was unfortunate that this meant my hastened demise, but it was something I was willing to sacrifice.

"This isn't how magic works, Luke," I gasped out. "Fancy wands and runes don't change what you are."

There was a sudden, loud cracking noise, but I didn't have time to find out the source, for the rock suddenly shuddered underneath my feet. Lava crept up the far edge, pulling the boulder into a steep 33˚ incline. I let out a loud cry as I was sent sprawling again to the ground, my wand rolling from my limp grasp. I stretched out my arm uselessly as my wand hovered on the edge, the wood gleaming dully in the glow of the lava, before spinning over the edge.

I looked up as Luke stalked towards me, his whole body glowing black and red. "Funny," he said, and his voice held the echo of a thousand splintered voices. "It seems to me that these fancy runes and wands are quite effective."

Then, his teeth flashing scarlet, he sent a wave of magic searing through my body, lashing me from my neck to my navel. I screamed, feeling like the very molecules composing my flesh were being torn apart.

"Are you going to plead for your life?" I heard Luke say.

I thought again of Al, of how he'd remained quiet even when faced with this monster's brutality. "Never," I spat.

"Pity," Luke said.

He raised his arm again, preparing to hit me with another curse, when a short figure came running forward. I watched, sure that I was hallucinating, as Ragnuk latched himself onto Luke's leg. He bit down hard, sending the man stumbling backwards.

"NOT MY FRIEND, YOU BASTARD!" I heard Rose bellow. I caught a glimpse of wildly curly red hair as my best friend tackled Luke's other leg. She tensed as the contact sent the black magic spiraling over her freckled skin.

Scorpius ran forward, kicking the shattered remains of their cage aside, and wrapped his hands around Luke's torso. Luke shuddered, his arms turning transparent for a split second, as the magic spread to cover Scorpius as well.

Perhaps this was the way to defeat him. I felt two familiar hands touch my arms, and I looked up to see Al's concerned gaze.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Please don't die on me," Al said at the same time.

His lips twitched, and I beamed at him. Behind us, I heard Vane let out a strangled yell. Right. Enemy was still alive and I had no time for a sappy reunion.

The rock shuddered again, sending us all inching closer and closer to the noxious lava. I felt the bottom of my trainers began to warm as the rock began to glow orange-red. I looked again at Al and, summoning my courage (Merlin, why was this harder than facing Luke?), blurted, "Albus Severus Potter, I think I love you and um yeah that's all Adela out!"

I wrenched myself up, stumbling towards the misshapen huddle, and froze, feeling a hand land on my shoulder. I turned, my cheeks burning, as Al grinned at me. Merlin, he was beautiful. He reached forward and tucked a strand of hair behind my air. "Me, too," he said quietly, and I felt a thrill travel down my spine.

"Love myself, that is," he elaborated with a wink. I stared at him in disbelief for two seconds and, unable to hide my smile, smacked him soundly on the arm.

I heard Seth yell, then, and flinched.

"We have horrid timing, don't we?" Al said, his lips curled into a rueful smile. His fingers ghosted over my cheekbone, and he murmured, "I love you, Adela Lancaster - you and Numberita."

I beamed. Then, gripping his hand tightly, I turned towards Luke. I looked at Al once more, our fingers interlaced, and placed my other hand onto Luke's back. Immediately, I felt the familiar grip of magic, acrid and ravenous, and I dug my fingers into his skin.

Underneath my touch, Luke snarled, trying in vain to push us from his body. Still, Elder wand or not, it was hard to move under the weight of seven humans and one goblin. Gritting my teeth, I jumped up and, using Lysander's shoulder to prop myself up, wrapped my legs around Luke's upper body. The runes encasing his skin blurred, and my foot passed momentarily through his shoulder. I could feel the marks burning into my skin, but I wasn't about to give up - not after everything we had all already been through.

I leaned backwards, hoping to send Luke to the ground, but he unfortunately stayed upright. We all huddled together, nine figures locked at an impasse, as the lava swallowed more and more of the rock's remaining surface. Numberita ran some quick calculations and estimated we had only two minute and forty-nine seconds until the entire rock was submerged.

"We will all die," Luke rasped, his lips moving underneath my fingers. His eyes flicked upwards, and I stared into his suddenly all-too-human irises. "Adela, is this what you want?"

I looked at my brother, who had taken it upon himself to plant his teeth firmly into the exposed flesh of Luke's lower right arm. Below him, Vane was landing punches on Luke's kneecap, her blonde hair flying wildly out of the confines of her ponytail. Rose, for her part, was working with Scorpius to send a steady stream of hexes targeted at a sensitive area of Luke's lower anatomy. Ragnuk was still firmly secured against Luke's right leg.

These were my closest friends (well, with the exception of Ragnuk). They'd all risked their lives to help me - to help all of us. "It doesn't matter what I want," I said slowly. "I don't speak for them. They're my friends, not my minions. And that, Luke, is something you will never understand."

His hand appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around my throat. He lifted me easily, ignoring the cries of my friends, and said, "Shut up."

Ninety-six seconds left. It wasn't enough - although I could see that some of the runes were beginning to tear themselves apart, he was still standing.

"Adela!" Rose shouted, and I saw her extend her hand towards mine -

A scarred, dark hand encircled Rose's wrist, and she pulled back with a startled cry. Aleksandra stared woodenly down at her and, her mouth set in a grim line. The Bulgarian looked at me, then, and I felt a fresh wave of horror at the frailty of her skin. Although her flesh was still darkly solid in some places, the majority of her skin was paper-thin, revealing only runes where her bones ought to be.

The Bulgarian's lips curved into a sad, small smile, and she looked down at the churning lava mere inches from our feet.

"No," I breathed, realising what she planned. "No!"

The Bulgarian stooped abruptly and dipped her hand into the molten rock. Instantly, the smell of burning flesh thickened the air, and I fought the urge to vomit. Aleksandra, however, remained eerily quiet. Her veins stood in stark relief as she managed to step forward, her fingers dripping fire -

Luke, realising his danger, wrenched his arm from Seth's grip, sending my twin careening towards the lava -

Vane reached out a hand, snatching my brother before he could fall into the depths. "Don't you dare die on me, Seth," she snarled.

Aleksandra side-stepped my brother and took another deliberate step towards Luke. The runes churning under her skin gleamed scarlet, and I saw an answering glow from the runes lining Al's brow.

"Avada-" Luke began, his voice scraping against my ears.

"виждам те, Andrei," the Bulgarian murmured. Then, her dark eyes intent, she reached forward and painted a single rune on the exposed expanse of Luke's throat.

Although I had only the vaguest understanding of runic magic, even I could recognise that symbol -

Mannaz. Power.

Luke's flesh burned under my touch, and I wrenched myself away. His body flooded with magic so powerful it coated my tongue with a bitter taste, and laughed, his fingers elongating into curved claws formed from runes. From his back sprouted two massive, angular arms, which he used to hoist himself from the ground.

I stumbled backwards, horror gripping my heart tight.

"Dear Merlin," Scorpius breathed. "What have you done?"

Aleksandra stepped forward, her body half-transparent, and raised her hand. The lava ran in greedy rivulets down her arm, sending spirals of toxic green smoke billowing from her skin.

"Aleksandra, don't!" I shouted. I stepped forward hurriedly, trying to think of a spell to stop her before it was too late -

She half-turned, her black eyes solemn, and smiled. "Farewell, Adela Lancaster." Then, nimbly dodging Luke's swinging arm, she drew the same symbol on his exposed leg.

Mannaz.

A third set of arms, and then a fourth, sprouted from Luke's back, and he laughed, his voice going frighteningly high. The Elder wand dropped, forgotten, from his claws, rolling to a stop mere inches from my feet. Luke stretched his neck down, peering at Aleksandra with slitted eyes, and said, "Really, do go on."

Aleksandra bared her teeth. "Foolish boy," she said.

Then, her eyes flashing wildly, she slammed her palm against the closest arm. The lava swelled immediately, bubbling between their joined skin, and the whole room shuddered violently.

Al let out a strangled cry beside me as he fell to his knees, the runes on his own skin flashing red in chorus with the runes on Aleksandra and Luke. All around us, the floating boulders began crashing to the lava waiting below, sending thick plumes of poisonous gas billowing from the surface. Our own rock tipped upwards.

"Oh, no you don't," I muttered. I grabbed the Elder wand and, turning to Lysander, demanded, "Can you reopen that rift?"

The Unspeakable didn't respond. His eyes were fixed on the glowing duo now floating meters above us, his lips moving in silent prayer.

"Lysander!" I shook him roughly, and the Unspeakable blinked. "Can you get us out of here?"

He shook his head. "N-no, I lack the power to do so."

I pressed the Elder wand into his hand and forced his fingers to curl around the weapon. "Can you open it with this?"

"Yes," he said, and he fixed me with a quizzical look. "You are...odd, Adela Lancaster."

"Yes, yes, we can discuss my weirdness later," I said.

The Unspeakable pushed back his sleeves and, his brow lowering in concentration, slashed a hole in the very air. I pulled Rose to her feet and fairly shoved her through the gap. The goblin pushed aside Scorpius and went sailing through the rift next, his dark eyes gleaming. Someone would have to make sure he didn't escape.

"Scorp?"

"I'm on it," Scorpius shouted. I could barely hear him over the continuous crashes of stone against stone. He touched my arm briefly and, without a backward glance, leaped through the tear.

Above us, the war raged on. I couldn't even discern where Aleksandra ended and where Luke began, as the two forms above us were completely consumed with blinding light. Wave after wave of blistering magic threatened to knock us into the waiting lava, and I could feel my skin turn bright red from the heat. I didn't know what the effects of this much exposure to raw, runic magic was, but Numberita was fairly certain they couldn't be good.

The rock shuddered again, and I directed a lash of my own magic to form a tenuous net between the lava and our precarious perch. The spell momentarily halted our descent, but I knew it wouldn't last - already, the corrosive lava was eating away at the thin silver netting.

Al let out another yell, and I realised with a horrified start that he had gone deathly pale. I half-ran, half-fell towards the Auror. Seth reached Al at the same moment as I did.

"We need to get him out of here!" my twin shouted. "The proximity to Luke can't be good."

"Take him, Seth!" I yelled, gesturing in the direction of the rift.

My brother gripped my wrist. "You're coming, too, Adela," he said, his blue eyes glinting angrily. "No more heroics."

I looked up helplessly, squinting against the light. Aleksandra was up there, somewhere. She'd sacrificed herself for all of us. It didn't feel right to just leave her there.

"She's gone, Adela! We have to leave now," my brother snapped.

As if to prove his point, the shifting sphere of light above us sent out another whip of magic, splitting the volcano's shaft cleanly in half. As the rock walls began rumbling down, I spotted glimpses of only black nothingness beyond. I froze, staring at the darkness -

Where were we? I'd thought we were somewhere deep under the Ministry building, but this - this felt like we weren't even on Earth, anymore.

"Now, Adela!" Seth bellowed, wrenching me back to the present.

I nodded and, gritting my teeth, helped lift Al. Together, we dragged the now-unconscious Auror towards the rift, where Lysander stood nervously. The three of us managed to shove Al through, and Seth turned to me. "If you don't follow me, I will never forgive you," he said, looking more serious than I had ever seen him before.

He slipped through the rift, leaving only Lysander and me on the rapidly sinking rock.

"You sense it, too," the Unspeakable said, and I realised he was staring into the velvety black around us. Even with the light from above and the lava below, the darkness persisted. It was suddenly very quiet, very still -

It was beautiful.

"I hear my brother," Lysander continued, his voice hoarse. He turned to me, then, and his unsettlingly pale eyes gleamed behind unshed tears. "And Dad. They're out there."

He took a stiff, shuddering step forwards, his foot hovering over the blank nothingness -

I wrenched him backwards, my hand digging into the folds of his cloak. "Now is not your time, Lysander," I hissed.

The Unspeakable looked at me. "I miss them," he said simply.

Around us, our surroundings were dissolving steadily. Even the sounds of the scuffle above had faded. I knew how easy it would be to take one step forward, to leave it all behind -

I thought again of Al, of Seth, of Rose, of everyone waiting beyond the rift, and moved away from the edge.

"No," I said. "Lily is back there. Life, with all of its maddening complications, is waiting for you, Lysander. You only need to choose to go back."

Lysander let out a long, shuddering breath. "Alright," he said quietly. He reached out a hand, and I gripped it tightly. Then, as one, we stepped through the fold.

Author Note: Oof...I'll be writing a longer AN in the epilogue (coming out in the next few days), but I just wanted to thank you all again for the reviews, for the follows, for the laughs, for the reads, for the support - just, well, everything. You all are amazing, and I'm so grateful that you all have shared this experience with me. Although this is the last official chapter of OCaT, I will be updating Outtakes at some point, so feel free to leave a request on that story if you want to see some oneshot (I'll also do AU oneshots).

1000th reviewer of OCaT will get a custom one shot...and, if you're so inclined, I do have another new OC-centric fic (Marauders era) if you want to check that out!

Thank you again!

Battlecry.