I do not own Harry Potter or Superman, Marvel and DC do.

Due to the chapter buffer getting low, I'm switching to a chapter per week. Sorry.

.

End Of Term

.

Once again, the Great Hall boasted two extra tables for the visiting schools and three banners hung over the Teacher's Table.

"…and Lord Black asked me to report on the Ball in the Quibbler!" Luna bubbled. "It's such an honor to be the official reporter!"

"What about Skeeter?" Neville frowned as he stabbed his last potato with his fork. "I thought I heard that she was attending too…"

"She is." Luna's cheery mood vanished almost instantaneously, then her grin reappeared. "But there are going to be quite a few Veela there. Skeeter hates Veela, especially after what Fleur did to her."

Harry managed not to laugh at the memory of a singed Rita being pulled out of the lake, although Hermione wasn't quite as succesful at hiding her amusement.

"Exactly why did Sirius ask to host it?" Ginny asked, earning several looks. "What? Have you heard the number of rumours going around? That huge boarded-off area up at Hogsmeade with an illusion over it so if anyone tries to look at it from the air, they see dancing cows? Ones that sing an odd song about phenomena?"

"Sirius has a strange sense of humour." Neville chuckled.

"I've seen what's there and I think everyone will enjoy it." Harry said, earning a number of quizzical glances from everyone close enough to overhear. "It's officially opening to the general public on Boxing Day and it'll be open twenty-four hours a day. I know Sirius has hired several vampires to oversee the night shift."

"…makes sense." Hermione finally admitted, then she looked at Ginny. "What?"

"Sorry, but… I was raised to think that if I misbehaved too badly, a Vampire would come and suck all my blood out." Ginny shivered. "Having them as suddenly being almost equal to Wizards and not trying to feed off everyone is… hard to get used to."

Hermione opened her mouth to reply, then closed it again as a ringing sound echoed through the Hall. Half-turning on her bench, she watched as Headmistress McGonagall put down the small spoon that she had tapped the glass goblet with to attract everyone's attention.

"Tomorrow, many of you are going home for the holidays to be with your friends, families and loved ones." She began with a slight, wistful smile on her face. "As such, there are a few announcements that I feel I must make at this point.
"First, I would like to thank all of the Hogwarts students for going out of their way to make our visitors feel welcome. Your actions have done far more to bring our schools closer than you may realize.
"Secondly, I would like to announce that due to certain requests, a heated swimming area will be being added over the holidays, one that will be available for use when you return. It will be connected to the lake outside, so expect to see Merfolk using the facilities as well. Safety Runes as developed by Blackwolf Industries will be installed to ensure that no-one drowns, but I must stress that skinny-dipping is not allowed. If you wish to swim, then swimming outfits must be worn.
"Third and finally, all of you have received invitations to the Christmas Ball hosted by Lord Black. Although attendance is optional, the dress code is formal for those of you who choose to attend.
"And now, let us have pudding."

As Minerva sat down, a number of sweet dishes appeared on the tables.

"So many puddings…" Luna marvelled as she stared wide-eyed at the veritable cornucopea arrayed before her.

.

.

"Welcome back, sir." Jor-El said as Harry stepped out of the Switching Room. "I have taken the liberty of modifying your wardrobe so that your clothes still fit."

"Thanks, Jor-El." Harry shrugged off his over-robe. "Can you set up the standard Chaser evasion drills on the Pitch?"

Jor'El's hologram appeared, allowing him to raise a querying eyebrow. "Sir, wouldn't the standard Keeper Maneuvering Drills be more useful?"

"Not this time." Harry shook his head. "Oh, and don't worry about pulling out a broomstick for me."

Jor-El's image froze and Harry hid a grin at having managed to temporarily flummox the AI.

.

Stepping onto the pitch, Harry looked round at the dozen floating pseudo-Bludgers (which were controlled by Jor-El), then he stretched, the movements causing his sleeves and trouser legs to briefly ride up, showing that he wasn't wearing the belt/bracer/greaves flight set that Blackwolf Industries was selling.

"Alright, Jor-El." Harry bounced up and down on his toes. "We'll start at level one and go from there."

All but one of the Bludgers retreated to the walls and the final Bludger moved away from him before reversing course.

"Sir, I must ask what…"

Jor-El's voice stopped mid-sentence as Harry leapt over the Bludger… and remained in the air.

"Better activate the crash-fields around the edge." Harry mused as he side-slipped to allow the Bludger to pass by harmlessly. "I'm not entirely certain just how maneuverable I am and I don't want to leave craters."

"Protective fields have been activated, sir." Jor-El stated as rows of small lights lit the lower and upper edges of the side walls. "Requesting permission to activate full scanning systems."

"You probably want to know how I'm doing this almost as much as I do." Harry laughed as he spiralled out of the Bludger's way. "This is too easy. Kick it up a level."

The Bludger bouncing around the pitch was joined by a second one and Harry began to fly around the pitch, adjusting course to avoid the projectiles whenever they got near him.

"Bring out the rings as well, let's see just how well I can fly."

"Yes, sir."

.

.

"Welcome back." Gellert looked at his fellow Dark Lord with a quizzical expression. "From your expression, you are ready to show me what you were working on."

Voldemort nodded with a triumphant smirk. "I am indeed. Come!"

An armoured figure strode in through the doorway and Gellert rose from his chair. Stepping forwards, he slowly circled the new arrival as it stood to attention.

"Interesting armor… odd, the helmet is welded shut… and welded to the breastplate. Must make it difficult to remove… the limbs are oddly proportioned, too skinny for their length… long blades mounted on the fingers… and those are truly fascinating runes engraved on the armor."

"I admit to having been inspired by the suits of armor at Hogwarts." Voldemort admitted. "Legend has it that they will act to defend Hogwarts should the Headmaster or Headmistress command it."

"I have heard the same legend." Gellert noted as he leaned closer to the armored figure for a better look, then he sniffed and jolted back.

"Inferi!"

"Very good." Voldemort chuckled. "Yes, I used an Inferi as the basis for this new tool. I do have a large number of them at my disposal, after all, especially since the task I had intended to use them for no longer applies."

"…Inferi attack anything that lives…" Gellert started circling the armored figure again, but this time staying carefully out of reach and keeping one hand ready to pull his wand. "They cannot be controlled, only herded…"

"Inferi are sustained by magic and the rage against the living that infuses them." Voldemort agreed. "However, there is hot rage and cold rage. I have used special runes in the helmet to turn the rage into the latter and added control runes, ones that make these armoured monsters obey those who carry these medallions."

Gellert accepted the medallion that Voldemort held out and slipped it into his pocket.

"So… these iron beasts of yours?" He prompted.

"This one is only a proof of concept, but by the time that your potion is completed, I will have created several hundred of them." Voldemort gloated. "The armor contains shielding and warding runes, no direct spell will be able to affect them. Fire and ice will have no effect and their gauntlets will be able to shatter shields with a single strike. Their claws will carry not poison, but another potion that I know of, one that will daze and weaken the minds of those wounded by the claws, making them far more susceptible to being controlled. A potion that I can make now that Barty has managed to purchase some Basilisk poison for it. If followed with a standard Sleeping Draught, it will place them in a state where we can quite literally imbue into them the commands we wish them to follow."

"…and once enough of them do, we will be able to covertly force it on the rest of them." Gellert realised.

"It is a shame that the potion, once brewed, lasts no longer than three days." Voldemort sighed. "But if I can use it on Madam Pomphrey…"

"Then she will be able to use it on all the students without anyone noticing!" Gellert stared in amazement. "Brilliant!"

"It will be a second spell in our wand." Voldemort waved one hand languidly. "It will take decades to do it that way, but if we fail in our first plan, we have a backup ready to cast."

"It is always good to have a backup plan." Gellert agreed. "The one time I did not, I ended up in Nuremburg."

.

.

"I have completed my analysis, sir."

Harry looked up from the meal he was eating. "Really?"

"Your flight seems to be a logical extension of the psionic telekinetic aura which surrounds and permeates your cells." Jor-El's avatar flickered into existence, flanked by several screens that began showing views of various cells with energy patterns overlaid on them and tags pointing to various portions. "It is the same aura which grants you your enhanced strength and durability as well as most of your other skills. Your enhanced vision and hearing are achieved through what appears to be a version of fractal energy enhancement of the organs and analysis indicates that you should be able to achieve visual resolution of near-quantum levels with the psionic aura providing stability. Secondary fractal patterns have been detected, but are not yet active, so I cannot analyse their effects.
"Your enhanced velocity utilizes the same technique as your flight, internal telekinesis. Effectively, you are using your mind to move the telekinetic field which in turn carries your body along with it."

"That is… weird." Harry mused. "What about my super-speed? How do I keep up wih my movement?"

"The psionic field interacts with your neural structure to increase the effective information transfer speed by several orders of magnitude." Jor-El replied almost instantly. "The current readings of how the bio-feedback loop works indicates that effective speeds of one experiential hour per elapsed second may eventually be attainable."

Harry gaped in shock. "Whabuwha?"

"The field also enhances the flow of magical energy through your body, meaning that you are capable of casting more spells at a higher rate than a human of equivalent age and structure. However, the effect is bi-directional, which is why you are more vulnerable to magical attacks."

"So… I'm a Glass Cannon in magical terms."

"…searching… term Glass Cannon located. Description falls within acceptable range of magical status. Physical status terms Lightning Bruiser and Flying Brick may also apply."

"Like Omni-Man and his son, Invincible, but with magic." Harrny nodded, remembering the comics collection in a corner of his library.

"The comparison has merit, but it is recommended that you do not seek to conquer the world like Omni-Man intended."

Harry blinked. "Jor-El… was that a joke?"

"I am not programmed for humor."

Harry shook his head in disbelief. "You've obviously been talking with Sirius. His sense of humor is rubbing off on you."

"Your dogfather has proven to be very informative about the magical world."

"You just called him… No." Harry shook his head again. "Nope, not going there. I'm getting out-joked by an AI. Okay, subject change. Formal robes for the Christmas Ball."

"Herriet has overseen the modifications required due to your recent physical development, sir." Jor-El responded, the previous hint of teasing now absent. "Protective runes have been woven into the under-robes, although their protective capabilities are limited. Similar runes are being woven into your school robes and other items of your wardrobe. Once complete, you will have the same effective resistance as an above-average wizard."

Harry chuckled. "It'll be interesting seeing Uncle Fil's reaction to a light stunner not laying me out."

"Indeed, sir."