Chapter Twenty One: Race for the Elder Wand.

Harry scanned around the area where the Stone of Resurrection once was. He frowned deeply when he kept looking around. His green eyes fixed on everything. Slowly but surely he began to clarify his theory. He let out a low whistle.

He snapped his fingers and shook his head. "It's just as I fear, an old friend of mine is back."

Harry figured that the witch boy would have tried to lead a false trail to try and throw him off of the trail. He lifted his hand and retracted the rune storms. The wraiths hovered around the pedestal. Without the stone, all of them looked like they were without a purpose. His eyes narrowed.

"Any luck?" Gwen asked him.

"I'm pretty sure he has the stone," Harry said. He came to one extremely grim and likely conclusion. "And it was the stone, stone, not some counterfeit of the stone."

"So…..I've got to ask you a question," Gwen commented and she could see that she had Harry's full and undivided attention. "On a scale of about one to Armageddon, how bad is someone like Klarion having the stone?"

Gwen heard about Harry's past struggles with the chaos lord. She wanted full disclosure to be honest.

Harry sighed and that wasn't a good sigh. It wasn't a sigh of relief. "Well, let's just put things this way. He's a pain without the stone. What he can summon with the stone is a bad thing."

"He hasn't tried anything yet, though?"

"That much power is numbing to a person's plans," Harry told her. The frown on his face deepened to the point where someone might expect it to be a permanent fixture. "Even someone like Klarion, he doesn't know what he's going to do."

"Do you think that the Unholy Trinity could even screw him over?" Gwen suggested to Harry.

Harry frowned in response. "Things are not always as they seem, especially with someone like Klarion."

Harry's cryptic response was extremely cryptic. He needed to look around to make sure there were no nasty traps. Klarion had been watching him at various points of time this evening.

It was almost like he was using Harry's work to lead himself towards the Hallows. Harry frowned deeply. He could use that to his advantage if he played his cards completely right. That's what he hoped that he could do.

"Harry, are you with me?" Gwen asked him.

Harry didn't mean to ignore Gwen. It just accidentally happened when he was deep in thought for some reason.

"Yeah, Gwen, I'm with you, just thinking out loud," Harry said.

Gwen smiled despite herself. "I know how you are better than anyone else. You're setting some kind of trap for him, aren't you?"

"Some kind of trap….yes," Harry muttered. He realized that these Wraiths weren't moving in any way whatsoever.

He thought for sure that they would stir to life when he did something. Harry didn't stir them up in any way.

"Has your bad luck finally left you alone?" Gwen asked him.

"I don't want to jinx it," Harry said. His eyes never left the wraiths. "Klarion has the stone, I have the cloak, and there's the wand."

"The wand's the worst of them all," Gwen said. She didn't even need to ask what would happen should Klarion get his hands on the wand. It was something that was assumed and what she assumed was the end of everything. "I can't believe so much blood got shed over a stupid stick."

"You and I both Gwen, you and I both," Harry commented with a subtle sigh. That was the problem. He hated this entire circle of the Hallows. It was a legend that over the centuries destroyed many lives.

The people who were after the Unholy Trinity for unsavory reasons, they deserved everything that they got. They went after artifacts as a quick fix. They could barely handle a standard wand. This over the top wand was something else entirely.

"Do you even think that the Hallows will give them mastery of death like the legends?" Gwen asked him.

"You want me honest opinion on this, don't you?" Harry asked.

"Yes, I want your honest opinion on this," Gwen admitted to him. She wondered if she would like the answer that she would get.

Harry finished off, making his way around the temple.

"I believe anything is possible," Harry admitted to her. "If I'm skeptical for this one thing, then I have to be skeptical about all of the insane things that I did see and I know to be true. But that doesn't matter right now because I have to find him. And Klarion's pretty good at covering his tracks."

"Just like you're pretty good at covering yours," Gwen commented with a smirk on her face. "What's next?"

"I've got to check up on some things at the Fortress," Harry said. "And then I'll conclude the final hunt for the Wand."

Harry disappeared from the hallway and made his way to the Fortress.

'I hope that Faora's progress is as it should be,' Harry thought. The injuries she sustained, Harry wished that he punished D'Ken with something more brutal. He was at a loss of what it would be. The Phantom Zone was a fate worse than death for someone like him.

His mind drifted to other things. He hoped that Claire and Faora would have gotten along nicely. Their two houses had some issues in the past. Most of them had to do with Zod's perceived betrayal of Jor-El, about being unable to resurrect his son.

Funnily enough, Harry put two and two together and he was here right now.

"Entering," Harry said.

"Welcome back Harry," Lara said. "I was just about to have Claire retrieve you but I can see that there's no need to do so."

"Thank you for the thought, Lara," Harry said. He proceeded to walk into the Fortress in amusement. "And yes, I wish to check up on both of the girls to make sure they're getting along."

"Don't worry, Har, they're getting along really great," Lara said.

Perhaps it was Harry's imagination but there was something suggestive in Lara's voice about this. The green eyed young man walked into the Fortress. The first thing he saw would be Faora. She sat in the middle of the Fortress, stretching her legs.

"Har," Faora commented, turning and rising herself up. She took two steps forward and threw her arms around him.

The woman's lips planted against Harry's with a searing kiss on him. He decided to overpower her, something that barely happened with any man.

"I take it that you're feeling better," Harry remarked idly.

"Much better thank you," Faora commented. "I've got to say though, I want to see what Lara has to say before I consider myself one hundred percent."

There was something in Faora's voice that indicated that she thought that she was beneath such things. Harry stepped towards her with a smile on his face.

"Now, Faora, you know that Lara is an expert, she knows best," Harry told her.

"Yes, I believe you," Faora commented and Harry frowned at her. "I really believe you."

Faora decided to offer Harry a seat. The two of them sat down to next each other.

"So, how are you doing?" Faora asked.

Harry gave her a stern and a firm look. "I feel like I should be the one asking you that question."

"I'm fine as I said, but you seem like you've been working hard," Faora commented. She crossed her arms and stared at him. "Clara told me some of what you've been up to. You are the youngest Sorcerer Supreme in history."

"Kara mentioned that magic was a taboo subject on Krypton," Harry commented.

"Beautiful girl," Faora commented wistfully when she thought of Kara. Harry's eyes directed towards hers. "But yes, she was correct to say that magic was a taboo subject on Krypton. It was right up there with natural pregnancies. I'm sure Lara explained that to you all though."

"She has," Harry commented to her.

"I figured as much," Faora told him. "Therefore we shouldn't go down old grounds."

"Indeed, but I have the results of your final physical," Lara said with a smile.

Faora sat up straight along with Harry. She looked excited to hear this news. The dark haired girl looked absolutely giddy with some level of anticipation.

"Well, don't let me in the dark because of this then," Faora commented.

Lara smiled at her. "You are completely one hundred percent. Soon your powers will grow at the rate that they should be."

"I'll help you learn your powers," Harry told her.

"You're too kind, I'm sure that I could use a refresher," Faora commented. "It's a long time since I've been through basic training. And there's something else that has been a long time coming."

Claire made her way out of the bedroom at this moment. Harry's eyes shifted towards her. She barely was able to stand up straight. His eyes turned towards Faora.

"What?" Faora asked her. "We were bonding."

"I can tell that," Harry said with a sigh. He had a few ideas of what he could do with these girls. He was going to have his fun with them. "But I think that we need a discussion on some ground rules."

"Of course," Faora said. A wicked grin crossed her face. "I wouldn't dare deny you."

"Yes, I think it would be good if you kneel before him," Claire said to her.

Faora obeyed, it was obvious that Claire was going to get some revenge on her now. And she grew excited by this.

Kara allowed herself some downtime when she soaked in the sun's rays. Harry would be meeting her along with Jean in a little bit.

The first person was here in a matter of seconds. The blonde looked up and saw Jean sitting there in front of her.

"So, you're getting the hang of your powers, aren't you?" Kara asked.

"I could ask the same about you," Jean commented. She stared at Kara with a wicked grin. "And I can see that you're really taking advantage of this entire yellow solar radiation thing by soaking in some rays."

Jean shook her head in response when she saw Kara get to her feet. She did not have a single stitch of clothing on her when she stood up to face Jean. She didn't really bat an eyelash of it.

"It's not anything that you haven't seen," Kara commented to her. She tried to psyche Jean out. Jean wasn't phased by this. It was almost like she read Kara's mind and knew what her intentions were.

"No, it isn't," Jean agreed with her. It was something she enjoyed seeing, therefore there was no reason to be upset by it. "And I guess you're taking the theory that yellow solar radiation is easier to soak in when you don't have clothing in the way."

"I think that my flight is a bit better," Kara said. She wanted to look on the sunny side of life. Others might in face disagree with her optimistic attitude. Kara wasn't one of them who would however.

"As long as there's not a surprise airplane in the way," Jean commented to her. Kara gave her a mock look of rage. The redhead simply reached forward and patted Kara on the shoulder. "Don't worry, honey, you're doing great otherwise."

"Yeah, I'm glad that you're thinking that I'm doing great," Kara offered her with a frown.

She had some thoughts that she didn't hit the level that she wanted to. Harry warned her that Rome wasn't built in a day. Neither was Kandor, even though they should have plenty of experience with the number of times that Kandor was destroyed and completely decimated for the entire world to see.

"You're doing well, if you heard all of the horror stories regarding my powers….." Jean said. She trailed off, shuddering in response when she was about ready to say anything. "Well you were there."

Kara decided that her sun bathing was over. She pulled on her clothes. She also reached over to the watch that Harry gave her for training. It could filter in red sunlight or turn sunlight on other planets to yellow depending on the situation she was in.

"Harry should be arriving at any second," Kara said, impatient.

Jean raised her eyebrow. "You know that he'll be here when he gets here."

"Yeah, I know, but can you blame me for being excited?" Kara asked her. Jean laughed in amusement. "I'm going to take that as you don't blame me at all."

"Well, you're passionate about something. That's a good thing. Channel that passion and you should be able to move the world my dear treasure."

He was there just as soon as they mentioned it. It was almost like their talk of him summoned him. Kara wouldn't be surprised if they did.

"Sorry I was late," Harry said. Both girls greeted him fairly anxiously. "You know I've been going all around and I made sure that Claire and Faora were getting along."

Jean had some sense of where this was going. Her eyebrow corked in a manner that indicated that something was up there. "Are they getting along?"

"About as well as you and Emma did when you finally buried the hatchet," Harry commented to her.

Jean recalled what he was driving about that, since that was quite recently. The last few weeks had been a blur. The six weeks after she unlocked her Phoenix powers had been one thing after another.

"Oh, do tell me of this," Kara said. She wanted details and she wanted plenty of them. She could barely hold back her excitement.

"Maybe at another time, or do you want to tell the full story of how you bonded with your cousin?" Harry asked Kara.

Kara didn't seem to be too disturbed by this statement. She opened her mouth. Harry cut her off with a searing kiss.

"Anything on the Sorcerer Supreme front that we should know," Jean said, snickering when Harry finally pulled himself away from Kara.

"Plenty on the Sorcerer Supreme front as you should know," Harry told her. Jean waited to see what Harry would have to tell her. "But I'll give you a few brief notes about what's been going on."

Jean raised her eyebrow. "Do tell?"

Harry told her and explained it to her the best that he knew. Jean and Kara listened. Both of the girls held off on giving their feedback until Harry was done.

"So that was the bitch boy that you were telling me about," Jean commented. This simple statement caused Kara to break out into laughter.

Harry gave Kara a firm look and pinched her ass. She wasn't sorry about that but she felt that she should apologize. "Yeah, I'm sorry but….."

"He doesn't like being called such," Harry told her.

Kara got that message loud and clear. "Which is why you're going to keep calling him that until he gets sick of it, aren't you?"

"Oh I think that the idea was that he was already sick and tired of it, honey," Jean said, placing her hand against Kara's hair. She slowly stroked the blonde's hair. "Are the two of you ready to go?"

"I can't really move until I isolate the Elder Wand," Harry said. "And I'm coming up close on that."

"Where do you think it is?" Kara asked.

Harry spoke clearly so there was no mistake. "It's buried with Albus Dumbledore, I believe that his tomb is at Hogwarts. That's what my latest intelligence says."

"And you'd prefer not to dance over that minefield as soon as possible," Jean said, understanding. "What would happen if Klarion got his hands on the wand?"

"Trouble, loads of trouble, I'm pretty sure that he would have power to wreck all of reality and fulfill all of his desires," Harry said. He chuckled in amusement. "But I don't think that smug little bastard has the guts to violate a tomb with so many protections. They were crafted by goblins you know and we know that our little Chaos Lord doesn't have the balls to go against goblin based enchantments."

Jean caught onto what he was saying. "He doesn't seem like anyone who could do anything worth a damn anyway. Every time you've fought him, you've curb stomped his smug little ass."

Kara smiled and knew what game Harry played now. "And even if he had the wand, I doubt he would be able to use it properly. Besides, aren't wands compensating for something?"

Jean and Harry nodded simultaneously.

"But I'm sure that tonight I can make a play for the Wand, because it's obvious he's not going to move towards it," Harry said to both girls. "Are both of you ready to head off to New York?"

"We should be back for tonight, that's when you're introducing Faora to the girls," Kara reminded Harry.

"Haven't forgotten, we should have plenty of time," Harry said. He also needed to check up on his apprentice, but her lessons ran smoothly. It made him confident that he wouldn't have to devote all of his time to being the Sorcerer Supreme for that long. That was something that just had to make him smile. Although he would have plenty of responsibilities even with an assistant; Harry knew that much.

"Yes, I agree," Jean commented. "Don't worry about it, Kara, we'll be back with plenty of time to spare."

Kara didn't worry about it. She looked forward to Lois and Faora meeting. That would be interesting for any number of reasons. She almost pitied her cousin about this arrangement. It would be an interesting test of character.

"So we're flying?" Kara asked her.

"It's the only way to travel," Jean commented and Harry was on board with that completely.

The three of them went into the air and they were up, up, and away.

Ororo Munroe thought that these quiet moments was a time to reflect. Six weeks ago it happened, six weeks Jean went off with her Phoenix force powers. She wasn't going to say who was right, who was wrong. All she was going to say was that there were severe ramifications.

She was second in command behind Scott as being the Leader of the X-Men. Scott was currently in the infirmary of the Xavier Institute. He either wasn't going to wake up or didn't want to wake up.

'As for Charles, well that's Charles,' Ororo thought. It was sad that he was trapped as a prisoner of his own mind. He would escape one day.

"Harry should be here at any moment," Kitty said, she looked like she was about to burst in excitement.

"Calm down, Kitty, before you wet yourself," Rogue commented to her.

Kitty tried to slug Rogue but she moved out of the way.

"I'm sure that he'll be here at any second," Ororo said. She was looking forward to seeing Harry again. "Although we did see him about a week ago."

"Yeah that was a week ago, when the Shi'ar invaded and there was that mess with Lobo, well it wasn't in that order," Kitty said. She was babbling extremely madly to the point of insanity. "And now, there are all these new recruits that are coming in."

"And you're worried that Harry won't have a chance to properly welcome them," Rogue said to Kitty in amusement. "I don't even need to tell you that he left the X-Men for a good reason."

"Yeah, but I figured, you know for old time's sake and stuff," Kitty commented.

"You know, I might have to."

Kitty nearly jumped out of her chair. It was a good thing that Jean was able to catch her before she fell completely over. The redhead's eyes flashed with the typical amusement.

"You know, I still think that after all of this time, you get off in terrifying girls half to death," Kitty said. Her eyes locked onto Harry and she frowned, slapping her hands on her hips.

"I think what Kitty means, is that it's good to see you, again, even if it's been only a week," Rogue said. "But I suppose that the girl has a point, a week can be a long time."

"When you consider that I've been bouncing over various dimensions, it's been an extremely long time for me," Harry told her.

"True, completely and totally true," Kitty said, her voice bubbling over in excitement. "But how are you doing?"

"About as well as could be expected," Harry said, sitting down next to Jean and Kara. "Actually I've been racing an extremely powerful enemy for three objects that can destroy the world."

"So it's business as usual for you," Rogue said.

"Aren't you worried?" Kitty asked her.

"You know I don't do worried at all, Kitty," Harry said.

"Yeah, I know that," Kitty said with a sigh. That was the one great thing about Harry. He always managed to be cool underneath the face of sudden fire. "But you have to admit that this is completely a different thing than your usual thing. You know that, I know that, and…"

"She's always this hyperactive, isn't she?" Kara asked. She could see Jean raise her eyebrow. "Not that I have any room to talk but I have all of these super powers and…"

"She is, but that's Kitty," Rogue commented and Kitty scowled at her. Rogue lifted her hand and lightly patted Kitty on the back of the neck. Her gloved hand touched her. "But we wouldn't have it any other way."

Kitty wasn't going to say that she wasn't pleased by that.

The banter was amusing but Harry had some important business to talk about.

"How are you doing running things at the Institute?" Harry asked Ororo.

"Things are going fairly smoothly," Ororo said. Things could have been better, she wasn't going to deny that. Things could have been far worse than they were as well. "I'm not going to lie, we've got a lot of rebuilding to do."

"I've done all that I can to pretty much counter all of the anti-mutant politicians in Washington," Harry said.

"You did a lot," Ororo said to her. "You removed their teeth, and they're hot air."

"Aren't they always hot air because of the fact that they're politicians?" Kitty asked them. "I'm just saying, that's all."

"She's right, she has a point," Jean said with a sigh. Kara raised her eyebrow. "Do politicians vary much the universe over?"

"Yes, politicians vary little the universe over," Kara admitted. "You know they might be far worse on Krypton than they were on Earth."

"For now at least," Harry warned her.

"I find that completely hard to believe," Rogue said and Harry gave her one of those looks of warning. "But I believe you."

"So, Kitty mentioned that you have some new recruits?" Harry asked, abruptly switching subjects. He didn't want to talk about politics. It was a subject that was enough to cause anyone to have nausea.

"Yes, new recruits," Ororo agreed. "And most of them are of female. Some of them are on the fence."

"We were hoping that you would work some of the old Harry Potter charm….." Kitty said, yelping because Rogue pinched her. She gave the Southern Belle a cross look. "Actually we were kind of…..well we were kind of hoping that you would help us, and stuff. If you want to, we'd understand if you…..well would you help us?"

Kitty's babbling was completely adorable. The young man raised his eyebrow when he looked towards Kitty.

"You know, I might have to put aside some time for old time's sake," Harry said to her. Kitty completely beamed at him.

Ororo was far more composed that that, although she would be lying if she said that she wasn't happy. "It's much appreciated."

"My time on this team was appreciated even if my parting was of a less of ideal ways," Harry said to her.

"I understand," Ororo said. "But we all still appreciate that you're able to help out."

"Yeah, that just proves how awesome you are," Kitty said in a bubbly voice.

"But you know that goes without saying," Jean said and Kitty nodded. "Harry can back up his….well his awesomeness when the opportunity arrises."

"You know, if keep talking to me about that, my head won't be able to fit through the front door," Harry said to both of them.

"It would match another part of you," Kara said. That caused Kitty to choke on her drink.

Rogue casually patted her on the back in response. She leaned towards him. "So, is your new apprentice who I think it is?"

"Well, yes, and I'm meeting her after I get done here, to check up to see how she's doing," Harry said. Rogue smiled and there was an obvious indication that she wanted to know more.

'This really is going to stir up the entire mutant pecking order thing,' Jean thought him. 'I don't know why I'm just coming to this conclusion right now about all of this stuff.'

'Yeah, I don't know why you would be either, but it's happening,' Harry thought.

He spent the next hour catching up. This would prove to be an extremely busy day for Harry.

Claire and Faora arrived at the Kent Farmhouse. They finished up at the Fortress, with Lara giving Faora one more examination.

"I just think that your mother enjoys me being naked," Faora commented. Claire turned towards her with a raised eyebrow. "Not that I mind, and I'm sure that if she was anything like you, she looks equally as good."

Claire saw Lois and Chloe making their way up the way.

"Claire, there you are, we've been looking all over for you," Chloe commented, stepping towards her. She greeted her with a tight hug. "Is this….."

"Faora," Claire commented. "This is….."

"Lois Lane, Chloe Sullivan, and I'm surprised not to see Lana Lang here as well," Faora commented, greeting the girls. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Clara has told me so much about you."

Lois's face flashed into a look of suspicion. "What have you been telling her about us, Smallville?"

Claire patted her hand on the top of hers. "Nothing really bad Lois. Why do you have a guilty conscience?"

"Guilty conscience, I don't have a guilty conscience!" Lois said and Chloe barely kept a straight face. "Do you think that I have a guilty conscience?"

Chloe and Claire locked eyes, and laughed.

"Hello, sorry I'm late."

"Hey, Lana, no you weren't late, well not that much later than us," Claire commented to her. She greeted her friend with a tight hug and she kissed her

"That's good, speaking of late, where is….."

Lana stopped and nearly was taken completely off guard. Harry showed up next to all of them with a huge pop.

"I swear to god that you get off in giving women heart attacks by your sudden arrival," Lois said and there was amusement in the eyes of all of them. "But I suppose that someone has always told you that."

"Once or twice, I suppose," Harry said dryly.

"What, a day?" Chloe chimed in and Harry shifted his eyes towards her. "It's good to see you as well Harry."

"Same to you Chlo, same you to," Harry told her with a smile.

Faora looked over towards Claire. She could not be more pleased with the selections that she made.

"So, these were your recruits, weren't they?" Faora asked her. Claire looked at her. "You've done your duty to our house but you do have a debt of gratitude towards Har-Zod, don't you?"

"Yeah, she does pay that debt of gratitude every time that she kneels before him," Lois said and Claire's eyes shifted towards Lois.

"Oh, someone's going to get it later," Chloe said in a sing-song voice.

"Both of you are going to get it later if you don't be careful," Claire said and Lana smiled.

"Okay, ladies, behave, or none of you will get getting anything," Harry said and that caused all of them to open up their mouths. "Sorry…I'm running late…"

"But you just got here?" Lois asked and Harry raised his eyebrow. "Sorry, that's…..I didn't mean for it to sound so needy. You have a lot of important things to do, I understand, really and truthfully understand."

"I know you do, and I'll be back later, everyone stay safe, and…" Harry said and he leaned in. "Don't do anything too reckless, whatever you do."

"I guess that means that we shouldn't do anything that you do," Lois commented raising her eyebrow. She could see Harry gave her that eye.

"Get to know each other, I'll be back tonight, hopefully," Harry said.

Harry disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Well, you sure live an interesting life," Faora said, smiling at Claire. "I wonder what your father would think about this?"

"Don't know, been dead for years, and there's only one man that I call Daddy and that's under special circumstances," Claire said, which caused Lana to laugh. "Not that you have any room to talk….any of you."

That shut up all three of the girls. Claire led Faora inside to meet her mother, with the rest of her group following inside.

She didn't really worry about Harry that much. She pretty much knew that he could handle anything.

He had a plan, she just hoped that it would turn out for the best.

It was October 30th, just a little bit after midnight. Time was of the essence. The witch boy arrived with a pop outside of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

There hadn't been any classes here within the past five years. The civil war devastated the world and it would be an extremely long time before the built things together.

Klarion broke down the gates. There was some residual magic that kept the gates up.

"Closer," he whispered, excitement dancing in his voice. He slammed the gates down with a blast of energy coursing through his hands. "Even closer."

Klarion was almost to the tomb. He could see those pitiful protections.

"For the greatest wizard since Merlin, your protections are quite pitiful, I'd be rolling over in that grave," Klarion said.

"So, I guess we're both here for the same reason, aren't we?"

Klarion's eyes flashed over to focus on the Sorcerer Supreme standing in the shadows.

The protections around the tomb became more prominent.

"Do you fear what I can do to you now?" Harry asked to him.

"No, it's you who should fear what I can do to you," the Lord of Chaos said in a thunderous voice. "Step away from the zone, and I may…"

"Not monologue me to death?" Harry asked and he sent a blast of light towards Klarion.

Klarion flashed out of the way from behind him.

"If you insist of being disrespectful, then I suppose that I'm going to have to teach you a lesson," Klarion said and he slipped the stone into his hand. "The wand's mine, and I'll do my victory dance over your corpse!"

There was a flash of light. Harry wasn't sure what powers the stone was going to do. He tried to blast it out of Klarion's hand but the stone blocked his spell.

"The stone's grown rather attached to me, Sorcerer. Unlike your head to your body."

To Be Continued On November 15th, 2014.

And now we're heading towards the final chapters of this story. Klarion makes is play for the Unholy Trinity.

There was also some good character interaction.