When Wand and Sword Collide || Percy Jackson/ Harry Potter

Taken for Granted

The blast caused Luth to surge backwards and slice through the air. He impacted with the earth in a deafening cry of agony, and soil vomited upwards. Riptide, too, flew backwards and walloped Percy in the face with an unnerving crack.

Due to Luth's pre-placed magic, Percy also catapulted backwards and roly-polyed into the soil. His cries were immediate.

"Ack!" Riptide flopped to the floor beside Harry, "My nose!"

Harry looked back to Luth. He hadn't moved to a stand, or to even a crawl and, for a second, Harry had thought they'd won – of course, Luth began to twitch seconds after, and Harry cursed his early celebration. The bespectacled boy had no time to worry about Percy's nasal system as he stood up, wary of his quaky legs, and grabbed Riptide.

"Percy!" he called, "Are you okay?" he didn't dare take his eyes of the enemy, who had now risen to their knees – cheeks kindled with wild fire. He heard a shuffle behind him, and in seconds, Percy was by his side. His nose appeared crooked, red, and swollen like a balloon.

"I'm cool. Cool like Khione," the cringe on his face suggested he was everything but cool, as did the unusual amount of bruising that curled around his eyes like charcoal face tattoos. Luth stood back to his feet – but his orientation was off, and he wavered left and right. Harry could no longer see the once calm and calculating son of Hecate, but a drunken boy desperate for power.

"I... will... not be defeated," he muttered – a second magical beam of energy conjured in his hands. Harry glanced to Percy.

"I think it's time we take him down," he whispered, Riptide protecting his face, "He looks too weak."

"Best thing I've heard yet," Percy struggled to say, as he gripped onto his wand and pointed it at the blond, "Impedimenta!"

The blast sailed through the air and shocked Luth as his reaction dragged. Too late did he attempt to block, and the spell wrapped around him like cling film. He fell back to his knees as fatigue clung to his body. Harry sprinted forward. Though slowed, Luth raised his hand to conjure one more spell and lob it at Harry. He deflected, raced forward to greet him, and swung his sword.

A scream of pain gurgled in Luth's throat as he fell back to the floor – blood matted his sleeve, where Harry had struck. He slashed at the other arm, so too much pain would come should he try to throw more of his tricks at them, which only sent Luth into further Tartarus on earth.

Soon, he had become nothing but a mass of person on the floor – weak, bleeding, breathless. His blond hair frenzied in every direction, and covered his rough and callused face. Harry allowed himself a long, refreshing breath – though the air stank of war – and pointed the tip of Riptide at his throat. Luth turned his head and bore his teeth at him.

Percy joined Harry's side. Harry could just see that blood had started to dribble from his nose, which looked much worse for wear since the collision. It didn't seem to faze him though, as he aimed his wand at Luth's head.

"Give up," he said.

Harry loosened his shoulders, "It's over."

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Luth dared to growl, though his voice cracked and jumped, "It's never over. I will-"

"Incarcerous!" Ginny's voice coursed through the atmosphere, and suddenly, Luth was wrapped in ropes that tightened around his mouth and body. He writhed against its grip, but Ginny kept the spell on strong, and eventually he lay as useless as a sack of potatoes. She bounded next to the pair, Harry and Percy, though she looked just as worn and beaten as they were. Harry could swear parts of her hair had been chopped off.