Harry's POV
Steven let out a cry of frustration as Festus curled around him, his bronze body pinning the son of Hades's arms to his sides.
"Maniae!" He shrieked desperately, "Attack!" All at once, the students of Hogwarts moved, shooting spells at demigods and gods alike.
Even Percy's eyes glazed back over so that he joined the fray, his wand in one hand and his sword in the other. Many of the spells simply fizzled out of existence against the god's skin, but Riptide and the elements were doing nothing to help Olympus.
It was a mess. Student after student fell in the Olympians' attempt to protect themselves without causing too many casualties. However, their efforts were in vain as they tried to stall Percy.
Professor Trelawney was right, all of those months ago. Percy might survive, but many around him would not. I watched Dean fall. I watched as Dennis Creevey and Padma Patil and Ernie MacMillan so many others that I had never learned the names of hit the ground, never to rise again.
Percy Jackson was a demon. Fire and lightning shot in all directions as water swirled around the throne room. It didn't only hurt gods, but knocked out many students as well.
They couldn't have known this day would come. The gods had figured that there would be no way in Elysium or Tartarus that Percy Jackson, their savior, would turn against them. They filled him with extraordinary powers to protect themselves. It had backfired, to say the least.
"What do we do?" I yelled at Annabeth over the fray, "We can't stop all of them!" She didn't respond, either because she was thinking or because she was trying to stop herself from getting knocked off her feet.
I approached Steven, who snarled at me. "You tricked me!" He screamed, "A ploy to make me stop my invasion. It didn't work, Potter! It won't work!"
I leapt back as he struggled toward me, his teeth bared. My back collided with another body, and I spun to face the new threat. It was Raydon. This could be a problem.
I was defenseless, having thrown away my wand to get Steven to trust me only moments ago. I remembered Percy's training in self defense class, but there were to many spells flying around to be able to dodge all of them.
"Raydon!" I called, hoping to break him out of his stupor, "It's me, Harry. Harry Potter? You know, I don't think Ginny would be too pleased if you killed me!" I yelped as he shot a stream of red and green spells at me. His attention was turned away from me as something struck him in the back, making him spin in anger.
I leaped right back into Steven, who was a bit tied up at the moment, but intimidating nonetheless.
I looked down as something hit my foot. My wand. Perfect. I turned to Steven.
"Get away from me, Potter! My invasion will not stop! Your trickery will not delay the inevitable!"
I didn't do it on purpose. Of course, he didn't know that. It was terrible timing. I had gotten him to see the light for a split second before he had been plunged back into darkness, deeper and even more ferociously than before.
Wait a minute.
Light.
That was Annabeth's reasoning. He was shadow. He had been saying it all along. The only thing that creates or destroys shadow is light. Otherwise everything is the pitch black darkness of night, and we can't have that.
That was why Festus was glowing so brightly. It rendered Steven powerless, but in order for him to control the Maniae, he would have to feed off of insanity and frenzy. None of my friends knew what they were doing. They felt only their vengeance upon the gods, a blurry idea in their head.
They needed to remember that not everything was pitted against them. That they had happy moments before the war and after. And if there was one spell I knew that could help them, this was it.
I poured all of my positive emotions into a single burst of energy.
"Expecto Patronum!"
I recalled sitting on the Hogwarts Express with Ron and Hermione. I thought about the Christmases I had spent with them, my friends, who had loved me more than my own family ever would. I found every memory of victory, of joy, of love and thrust it out of myself in a silvery stag that galloped its way through the ranks of wizards and witches.
One by one, the last remnants of Steven's army had dissipated and left only confused members of the Wizarding World in their place.
I couldn't help but smile as Hermione tackled Ron in a hug. I watched so many happy reunions and found myself wishing that I had one of my own.
My thoughts were interrupted by Dumbledore's insistent voice. "Come, students, let us return to Hogwarts and recuperate. The students who could Apparate paired up with those who couldn't, some needing to make multiple trips.
One by one, everyone was gone, leaving only me, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Raydon for the wizards.
I heard a booming voice. "Steven Umbrano!" It was Zeus. What an idiot. He sat there like a coward for the entire battle, which in all honesty did not last that long, and now he speaks up.
"As King of the Gods, and head of the Olympian Council, I have decided that the Underworld is no suitable place for your confinement." I didn't like where this was heading. He must have been implying that death wasn't a good enough punishment. But how many things could be worse than death?
"I have come to understand that you will not be denied your revenge against me, so I have no other choice." Steven was so shocked and curious that he stopped struggling for a moment.
I furrowed my eyebrows. To dispose of him was the only way to stop him from getting revenge, but the Underworld or any other prison was easily escapable for someone like him.
I thought that Zeus was going to condemn him to a life in the Sun Chariot, where his powers would be subdued and he would be forced to listen to Apollo's awful haikus for the rest of eternity. What came out of Zeus's mouth was much worse.
"We will make you immortal, and then cause you to fade to the void."
Steven pulled against Festus's scales even harder in an attempt to rip himself free. It wouldn't work. I knew it. He knew it. But he was desperate. If there was one thing he longed for it was life, and this was the exact opposite.
"No!"
Even I was surprised at myself. The Son of Hades was misunderstood, but, he had caused me so much pain and suffering in the past year. I wasn't entirely convinced that he didn't deserve to fade.
"He's made some bad choices," I said, stepping up where everyone could see me, "But haven't we all? If it weren't for you, Zeus, we wouldn't be having this problem at all. All you do is try to kill the other gods' kids. Nico and Bianca Di Angelo and Percy Jackson, just to name a few. This is just karma coming back to bite you."
Zeus's face grew red, sparks popping in his thundercloud-like hair. "Back out, mortal. This does not concern you."
I narrowed my eyes at the god, staring him down with a surprising amount of confidence. "I beg to differ. I was the one who saved you. I was the one who got him to stand down. I get a say, or we can just go back in time and erase the part where I stop him from destroying you."
"Watch it, little wizard," he growled, his Master Bolt appearing in his hand, "You seem to be forgetting who I am."
I smirked. "Oh, I know exactly who you are. A pretentious little airhead with a throne and a shiny weapon. Terrible."
I paused for a second to think about it. "Actually, Percy tells me that Airheads are nearly as good as Skittles, but based on what I know about you, I'd have to disagree."
Shockingly enough, Zeus held his tongue. I guess he had enough of mortals beating him up for a day.
I turned to face Steven. "I meant what I said before. I really think that you could do some great things, make some wonderful memories, if you were just given the chance. I want to offer you that chance."
I cast a sidelong glance at Zeus. "Now, I'm no King of the Gods, but I can tell you that you don't deserve to fade. Now, that goes completely different for some others, but given the proper guidance, you will make for a fantastic human being."
He looked at me, his eyes shining. "Do you really think so?"
I smiled and nodded, "Of course I do."
His face, so full of awe and happiness, slid into distaste. "Then you are just stupid as I thought you were."
I reeled back in shock. "Huh?"
"Did you really think I would give up that easily? That a couple of heartfelt words would stop me from getting what I wanted? Look around, Potter. Olympus is in ruins. Your precious little Wizarding Community is lying dead around you. Can you really consider this a victory?"
I realized that he was right. We may have stopped him from completely demolishing our way of life, but there was a lot of rebuilding to do, both physically and emotionally.
"That's the thing about us pesky little mortals, Steven. We know how to build from ruin. When everything comes crashing down, we will come back stronger than before."
Despite his situation, Steven managed a cocky grin. "Well there's another thing you should know about shadow, Potter. Light can get rid of one, but it will always create more. Turn, wizard, and watch as your world crumbles."
Against all better judgement, I heeded his words and spun on my heel.
Behind me was Raydon, a dark substance oozing through his shirt. That was impossible. Only five minutes ago he was perfectly fine.
"There's something about humans that I find intriguing," Steven said slowly, mockingly, "How they are either strong enough or idiotic enough to know that they are hurt but stand anyway. To enter a battle knowing that there is no way they will survive to see the next day is beyond me."
"Raydon?" I whispered at the same time as Ginny did. I paused, to let her continue.
"What is this? What is happening? Why is it happening?"
He smiled weakly at her. "It's nothing, Ginny. I was hit by a spell while the Maniae was still inside of me. It must have, I don't know, melted it somehow. I just don't feel too well is all." He coughed, some of that sticky liquid finding its way out of his mouth.
I remembered that. He had been struck as he attacked me. At the moment I had thought nothing of it. When he turned he was fine. Something must have reacted with the spirit. Now he was dying.
"I know these might be my last words," he muttered, "Don't even try to save me, because there's no way you can." He wasn't looking at me, but somehow I knew that I was his intended target.
"I need you to take care of her for me. She never looked at me the same way she looked at you. It's that simple. I asked her out because she was amazing. You couldn't see it, but I knew you eventually would. But guess what. She spent so long pining after you that she forgot that you are not the only boy in the world."
I stared at Raydon in shock. He was using his dying breath to lecture me about girls. He was insane. He had also been spending too much time with Percy.
"I made her happy in those months that we were together," he continued as if she weren't even here, "I knew you would make her happier, though. I always knew. But you were an idiot. Steven was right about that much. I need you to treat her like you were going to end up like me in two seconds flat. If you had only moments left with her, what would you do? How would you make the most of it? That's what I need you to remember. Because that's what's important."
I nodded, gulping. "I will. I promise."
He sighed and closed his eyes, content. "Good."
I watched as he lay like that for five more agonizing minutes. I watched as he broke into spasms as more of the substance leaked out of him. He took one final, shuddering breath before he became quiet.
"Now that that sentimental junk is over," Steven said carelessly, "I think it's time I take my leave. Watch your back, wizards, and remember that with light always comes shadow." He proceeded to burst into fragments of shadow.
I turned to the demigods and wizards, smiling.
"Like a Phoenix come alive from the ashes, we will return."
"Because destruction is just the start of a new beginning."