CHAPTER 1- A NEW DARK LORD
NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED, HARRY POTTER RIGHTS ARE J.K ROWLING'S AND WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT, AND AVENGERS RIGHTS ARE MARVEL STUDIOS AND DISNEY'S.
THIS FANFICTION IS ABOUT THANOS IN THE WIZARDING WORLD DURING HARRY'S THIRD YEAR, ATTEMPTING TO WIPE OUT HALF THE UNIVERSE USING THE INFINITY STONES.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
SO, THIS IS IT! I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS ONE FOR A WHILE. THIS IDEA CAME TO ME WHILE WATCHING ENDGAME, AND I REALLY WANTED TO COMBINE THESE TWO WORLDS! THIS IS A HARMONY FIC (LIKE EVERYTHING I WRITE), SO I HOPE YOU ENJOY!
ALSO – THE AVENGERS DO NOT EXIST IN THIS WORLD. SO THERE WILL BE NO CAPTAIN AMERICA JUMPING IN TO SAVE HARRY AND HERMIONE, OR IRON MAN LAUNCHING A DRONE STRIKE ON THANOS' ARMY. THIS IS JUST THANOS VS THE WIZARDING WORLD, WITH HARRY AT THE CENTRE OF IT!
WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, LET'S JUST JUMP RIGHT IN!
Barty Crouch Jr. lay dead on the floor of Voldemort's shack. He had discovered the Dark Lord's hideout several months back, and the two of them, along with other Death Eater allies, had been concocting a plan to kill Harry Potter and revive Lord Voldemort. They had just perfected the plan, and had aligned everything up with the Goblet of Fire competition at Hogwarts the next year.
But now, the plan was out the window.
Voldemort looked upon his devout follower, who's eyes were glossed over while blood poured from his abdomen. Crouch, while infuriating at times, had been helpful to the plan, and was magnificently intelligent and talented in the dark arts. As the turnout from his prior Death Eaters was poor, so having someone competent around was refreshing.
He had no use to Voldemort dead.
The Dark Lord himself was in a worse-for-wear state. He was about the size of a ten month old baby, and was unable to care for himself in any capacity. He relied on what little magic he could conjure and Death Eaters to survive in this form. Needless to say, it was remarkably degrading. Who was going to feed him? Clean him? Kill for him?
The menacing stomping coming from down the hallway made the Dark Lord realise those weren't his priorities for the time being.
The stomps were slow, but powerful. As they grew closer, they filled the dark wizard with something he was unfamiliar with – fear. He was used to provoking fear in people, and it was never the other way around. The Dark Lord was cornered, defenceless, and helpless.
"I know what it's like to lose." A deep voice echoed from the corridor. "Feel so desperately that you're right. Only to fail…"
The figure who the voice belonged to finally came into view. He was a large, purple creature, evidently not human. The voice was somewhat calming and alluring, despite his physical appearance being the opposite. He oozed danger, but not in an evil way.
"How… do you… know me?" Voldemort squeaked, lacking the energy to appropriately confront his invader.
"I know of many people across this realm. What I've heard about you, I don't like." The voice remained calm, but was full of bass.
"You dare… confront me? I am… the Dark Lord… Heir of Slytherin!"
"Titles mean nothing to me. When I complete my goal, everyone will be equal. Some would draw comparisons between us, but, we could not be more different. Your goal is the eradication of an entire race of people… a genocide of aggression. But my goal is equal, random and left to pure chance. I am a man of peace."
"Do not hurt the Dark Lord!" a cowardly voice shouted from the side of the room. As heads turned, Voldemort saw someone he believed to have died many years ago.
Peter Pettigrew.
"Wormtail?" The Dark Lord was confused, but his confusion didn't plague him for long. Pettigrew attempted to charge at the large purple man, but he was easily overpowered, as Wormtail was lifted from the ground, as the purple creature had him held firmly by his massive hand. Wormtail attempted to wriggle free, but was unsuccessful.
"Now," the purple hulk of a man continued, "It's time to hand over the stone, sorcerer."
Voldemort knew what he was talking about, but could not give it away.
"I… don't know what you're talking about!"
The large purple man smiled, bringing up the hand which Wormtail was not struggling against. On that hand was a large, golden glove, with six indentations. Again, Voldemort knew what the large creature was after, not just from him. One of the indentations was filed in. Voldemort's fear grew, a feeling which was still foreign to him.
The creature had an Infinity Stone.
"This is one of the six Infinity Stones. The Soul Stone to be more specific." He looked at the orange glowing stone, his eyes watering slightly as he viewed it. "You don't know how much I had to lose to obtain it. Give me the Mind Stone now, and I shall leave. Do not hide it from me, or your servant shall pay the price."
Quickly, the massive gauntlet struck Wormtail in the head, digging the stone into the side of his head. The raw power of the stone quickly caused Wormtail's body to convulse, and he began to scream.
If the large purple man's intention was to use Pettigrew's suffering to appeal to Voldemort's empathy, then it was a fruitless endeavour. The only thing affecting the Dark Lord at the moment was the headache he was developing from Wormtail's screaming. However, as the large man began to drag his hand down Wormtail's body, the Dark Lord's discomfort increased. When the Soul Stone reached Pettigrew's upper arm, the Dark Lord began to feel legitimate pain. It didn't take long for Voldemort to realise the Dark Mark on Wormtail's arm was not only causing him pain, but every Death Eater who possessed the mark.
A few moments of unimaginable agony later, no end was in sight. The Dark Lord, all his followers and allies, were powerless.
He had no choice but to surrender.
"OKAY!" Voldemort croaked, weaker than he'd ever felt in his life. The large purple man removed the stone from Wormtail's arm, and dropped him on the ground. Pettigrew, who was weak anyway, died just seconds later.
Voldemort reached for his wand, and cancelled the disillusionment charm he had placed on the stone he had found.
The Mind Stone.
He had stolen it from Godric's Hollow the night he had killed James and Lily Potter.
The prophecy wasn't the only reason he went to the Potter household that night.
The hulking purple man walked over to the stone, picking it up.
"There is no shame in surrender, Tom." He said. "You may not understand it, but why prolong the suffering?"
Voldemort could think of several reasons why, but did not have the energy to retort.
The large man placed the stone into his gauntlet, and the energy flowed through his body as he gained the power that the stone contained.
Voldemort was furious. The Mind Stone was crucial for his plan. He had originally stolen the stone from the Potters in order to access the minds of every witch and wizard in the world, in an attempt to lure muggleborns and half-bloods into death traps and labour camps. From there, he would conquer the ministry using the stone and control the Wizarding World as the most powerful man of all time. Since his defeat, he had been using the stone to attempt to enter Harry Potter's mind, warping his thoughts and emotions. Unfortunately, he lacked the energy, but had intended to use it when he returned to power.
All of that was gone now.
In the typical Tom Riddle fashion, his anger got the better of him. Reaching for his wand, Voldemort put the last drops of energy he had into a spell intended to stop the hulking man.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
The spell was weakly cast, the green light emanating from Riddle's wand barely illuminating it's immediate surroundings. The spell itself bounced off the titan's armour, striking the ceiling.
The large purple man strode over to Voldemort, grabbing his infant-like body. He had an unnerving smile on his face, which was spookily calm for the scenario they found themselves in.
"That was a poor decision. I'm a merciful man, but you've crossed the line one too many times." Raising his gauntlet and pointing it at Voldemort, Voldemort knew his life was about to end. "I often wondered what the Soul Stone was used for. It always seemed less useful than the other five stones. But I think it has the power to both create and destroy souls. Even yours, Tom Riddle. I wonder… could the stone destroy horcruxes?"
Voldemort quivered. How did he know? But he had no time to ask questions, as the giant dropped him to the ground, and fired a beam of orange light from the Soul Stone directly at him. All across magical Britain, Voldemort's surviving horcruxes began to unleash a horrific scream, before splitting open and oozing a dark substance, effectively killing the soul which it contained.
Voldemort was mortal once again.
No followers, no body, no horcruxes, no power, no hope.
He was finished.
Tom Riddle looked up at the being which had just torn his life apart in a few short minutes, as he felt his life slowly slip away.
"Who… are… you?"
The giant man smiled another eerily calm smile.
"I am Thanos. I will bring peace to the universe. You can rest now, dark wizard. You are no longer needed."
With that, Thanos stomped his gigantic foot into Voldemort's ribcage, killing him instantly.
Turning around, he found his disciples observing him.
"My lord, this is a moment to honour." One of them said, stepping forward. "You killed the most evil wizard known to this world, and you are now the first being to ever wield two Infinity Stones."
"An honourable moment indeed." Thanos said, admiring his gauntlet. "But it is not a moment to rest. There are four other stones to find. And they are all in the Wizarding World here on Earth."
"Do you know where to look my lord?" Another disciple asked.
"I have some leads. The stones tend to call out to their counterparts. It's as if they are destined to come back together."
He paused for a moment. A breeze blew through the air, causing everyone but Thanos to shiver.
"We must leave here. The sorcerers will detect the energy output of the stones faster than their human cousins. I believe I know where to go from here, whilst I want you to clear any potential resistance at the school which hosts numerous Infinity Stones."
"Where will you be going, my lord?" A third disciple asked, stepping forward and bowing his head.
"Gringotts Bank. There's a stone hidden in vault 713. They thought hiding it in the same place they did before would throw others off the scent. A good strategy for the small minded world of sorcerers… but not for me."
With that, Thanos walked away from Voldemort's crushed corpse, and left down the corridor, returning to his ship, taking a quick rest before setting off to find the other Infinity Stones.
A new war had been brought to the Wizarding World.
Harry and Hermione stood close together, both smiling up at the cheering man riding a hippogriff into the sky, illuminated by the full moon. The past few hours had been a physical and emotional rollercoaster for the boy-who-lived, first losing Buckbeak, then finding Sirius, then finding out that Sirius was innocent, Pettigrew, Lupin becoming a werewolf, the dementors, going back in time to save Buckbeak and Sirius, and casting the most powerful patronus charm that any thirteen-year-old boy had ever cast.
Would he ever have a normal year at Hogwarts?
As Sirius disappeared into the darkness of the sky, Harry considered the young witch who stood next to him. She had been so loyal to stand by him, even after his outburst at Christmas. He winced inwardly as he remembered his misconduct toward his best friend. Even though they now knew Sirius was innocent, she has only been looking out for his well-being. She had always been there for him, more than anyone else in his life, even Ron. Harry liked Ron, and considered him to be the brother he never had, but his attitude could blow hot and cold, and Harry got the feeling Ron may not always stand behind him.
He never felt that with Hermione.
He turned his head to look at her, and realised he had subconsciously wrapped his arm around her. Hermione either hadn't noticed, or didn't mind. Her face was illuminated in the moonlight, and her chocolate brown eyes reflected the moon's surface.
'She looks beautiful right now.'
Harry caught himself quickly. Hermione? Beautiful? Where did that come from? She was his best friend, he couldn't think about her like that!
Could he?
Hermione took her gaze off the sky, and directed it towards Harry. She hadn't expected Harry to wrap his arm around her, but she didn't reject it. Giving him a warm smile, she wrapped her arm round him in return, and pulled herself in a little closer, and it became a rather warm embrace.
'He's so wonderful…'
Unlike Harry, Hermione's feelings weren't confused. She knew she loved him.
She'd loved him since first year. When he and Ron had rescued her from the troll, she fell for him. While Ron had also rescued her, she was perfectly aware that Harry had taken the initiative to find her. Ron had also tormented her for weeks, reducing her to tears numerous times, and while they had overcome that hurdle, she still found him infuriating at times. He was like an annoying little brother. But, he was her best friend, and she loved him for that.
But he was no Harry Potter.
She sighed sadly. While she loved him, she believed Harry would never look at her the same way she did at him. She didn't doubt his friendship, or his undying loyalty, but she knew she didn't have his heart.
For the first time, Hermione Granger was wrong.
Harry has barely registered Hermione's embrace, as his mind was racing. He had never thought like that before. What was freaking him out even more, was that whenever he looked at Hermione again, even for a split second, he couldn't find a reason to disagree with himself. He really thought she was beautiful.
Harry's heart rate went through the roof. This would put their friendship in jeopardy. He valued her so much, and couldn't afford to lose her. Looking down at her again, she saw him looking up at him this time, her eyes locking with his.
'Kiss her…'
Harry had to catch himself again. Kiss her? What had gotten into him? Thinking she was beautiful, now wanting to kiss her?
Hermione must have registered the obvious confusion and discomfort on his face, as her previously heart-warming smile was replaced with a perplexed look.
"What's wrong Harry?"
Before Harry could think of an excuse, Harry unleashed a horrifying scream, and clutched his scar.
"HARRY!"
Harry collapsed to the ground and began to violently convulse. He was foaming at the mouth, but that wasn't what was drawing Hermione's attention. She could see Harry's scar ripping itself open, blood pouring out of it and rolling quickly down his face.
The usually level-headed witch began to panic. She had no idea what had brought this on, and her best friend was now incomprehensible whilst having some kind of fit on the ground.
Harry let out another scream, and his scar exploded, unleashing a foul-smelling black liquid, along with plenty of Harry's blood. He stopped convulsing, but the scar that was once on his forehead now resembled a bullet wound, still gushing blood.
Hermione, as brilliant as she was, couldn't heal this herself. She didn't know of any spells to fix wounds this major. She lacked any materials to help him. They were too far from the hospital wing.
She did the first thing that came to her.
"HELP!" She screamed, hoping that she would heard. "HELP! PLEASE! ANYONE!"
Harry's breathing was growing lighter, and he was barely conscious. Hermione dropped to her knees, cupping his face in her hands. Their eyes met each other again.
Harry could not begin to describe the pain he was in at that moment. It was not comparable to anything he'd ever felt before. Getting bitten by the basilisk was practically a love tap in comparison. He was dying, and he knew it. He didn't even have time to question why, but that wasn't exactly on his mind at that point.
'Kiss her.' Harry's mind repeated.
"Harry…" Hermione's eyes were welling up with tears, and was stroking his hair lovingly. Looking deep into her dark brown saucers, Harry couldn't resist.
He used the last of his strength to pull his neck up, and their lips brushed together, capturing into a kiss.
Harry couldn't help but smile, even as he felt consciousness pull away from him, for what he believed to be the last time.
Hermione couldn't believe what just happened. Harry had kissed her. Was she wrong about her previous assumptions?
Hermione was dragged back to reality when Harry closed his eyes, and his breathing became increasingly more shallow.
"Harry?" Hermione shook him. Nothing. "Harry! HARRY!"
Nothing.
"HELP!"
"Miss Granger?"
Hermione's neck snapped to the direction of the voice.
It was Dumbledore.
"Professor, please help! I-I-I don't know what's happened…" Hermione lost her voice as her emotions overtook her. Tears began to stream down her face as her breathing became shaky.
Dumbledore rushed over to Harry's side, running his wand over Harry's body.
"He's alive. There is ample time to save him, Miss Granger."
Levitating Harry using his wand, Dumbledore and Hermione rushed as quickly as they could to the Hospital Wing. The two burst through the doors just in time to see past Harry and Hermione use the Time Turner.
"Professor Dumbledore? What happened?" Madame Pomfrey, who had been tending to Ron, ran over to the boy wizard, gasping when she saw his forehead.
"Please help him…" Hermione whimpered.
By now, Harry's face was drenched in blood, parts of which had mixed with the black liquid that had been released from his scar. His breathing was almost too light to notice, and the wound was exposing parts of his skull.
Hermione was no medical expert, but she knew this was a dire situation.
"What… how… what?" Ron was so confused. He had just seen Harry and Hermione disappear, then burst through the door with Professor Dumbledore, his best friend severely injured. Ron felt like his entire grasp on reality had just vanished. What was going on?
"Professor, what is this?" Madame Pomfrey asked Dumbledore, pointing at the black liquid, which had a magma-like consistency.
"I'm not sure Poppy." Dumbledore replied, fetching a flask, then collecting some of the liquid. "I will keep this for analysis. I trust Mr Potter will be well tended to in your care, Poppy?"
He received a nod from Madame Pomfrey, who was still bustling around, collecting potions and other medical apparatus in order to try and revive Harry. Dumbledore returned the nod, turned, and left the Hospital Wing, taking the flask of black liquid with him.
"Hermione, what's happening?"
Ron's question pushed Hermione over the top. All the events of that evening, Harry kissing her, his scar exploding, him lying there barely breathing, all the emotions she was feeling, and all the questions she had, it was all too much.
She broke down in tears.
She dropped to the ground, held her head in her hands, and began to bawl.
"Hermione?"
"Miss Granger!"
The voices around her were not exactly helping either, she felt as if she were being bombarded from all sides. How did Dumbledore find them? Did he know something was going to happen? If so, why didn't he prevent it? What is happening?
One thing was for sure, Harry was slowly giving out on the hospital bed, and no one knew anything.
It was too much for the young Gryffindor to handle.
Madame Pomfrey wanted to comfort Hermione, but Harry was by far the more important focus of her attention at that moment.
"Mr Weasley, if you could?"
Ron looked dumbfoundedly between Madame Pomfrey, Harry and Hermione, who was wailing on the floor. Perhaps Madame Pomfrey had forgotten that his leg had been injured, and that he was basically immobile at that moment.
"Hermione? Hermione it's okay, he's gonna be fine!"
Ron's attempt at comfort was useless, as Hermione showed no sign of even registering that he'd spoken, and continued to bawl.
In the meantime, Madame Pomfrey had taken to the task of healing Harry. The wound itself was easily healed, but Harry had lost a lot of blood, and may have experienced head trauma and blood clotting on the brain as a result of this injury. Madame Pomfrey scanned Harry's head with her wand, and was relieved that, as of that moment, he had no damage to the skull or brain. With the wound being magically stitched, it would heal properly within a week. Madame Pomfrey then began administering blood replenishment potions, and Harry began to stabilise.
By now, Hermione's bawling had died down to quiet whimpering. She was whispering to herself, praying that Harry was going to be okay.
"Miss Granger?" Madame Pomfrey placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder, which caught her attention. "I've managed to stabilise him, but we won't know if there's any additional damage until he wakes."
Hermione, while still incredibly nervous and apprehensive, breathed a sigh of relief.
"W-when will he wake up?" she asked.
"It's hard to say. He's undergone significant trauma, so it could be a couple of hours to a couple of days. It's up to him, I'm afraid."
Hermione's mind was still racing, but new questions entered the fray. What caused this? Who caused this?
Why did Harry kiss her?
Her mind began to race even faster, so much that she felt dizzy. Her eyes blurred, and the noises around her sounded like they were a million miles away.
"Miss Granger?"
Her vision faded to black as she passed out from exhaustion on the Hospital Wing floor.
Professor Dumbledore took the flask to his office, pouring it into a small dish he conjured. The elderly headmaster eyed the substance curiously, trying to figure out exactly what it was. The only thing that it gave off was the smell of rotting flesh.
Rotting flesh.
Dumbledore's eyes narrowed. How did it smell like that? Why of that specifically?
Could he use the pensive? It was a liquid, and if it smelt of rotting flesh, then it may have had an attachment to a physical body, and therefore, a consciousness.
Levitating a section of the liquid with his wand and dropping it back into the flask, he took it over to the pensive and poured it in.
Dumbledore saw all manner of things. A cup, a snake, a locket, a ring, a book, a diadem… and Harry Potter. Then, he saw the many forms of Lord Voldemort throughout the years, along with many of the atrocities and murders he committed. But what he saw last was what really caught his attention.
"I am Thanos. I will bring peace to the universe. You can rest now, dark wizard. You are no longer needed."
He then saw a large boot crush the Dark Lord, before the images stopped dead.
Pulling himself out of the mental grasp of the pensive, the headmaster was able to place events together in his head.
It was the future he was uncertain of.
The 'greater good' was out the window.
TO BE CONTINUED
SO, HERE WE GO! I'M REALLY EXCITED TO GET THIS ON THE ROAD. I'M SORRY IF THIS WASN'T WRITTEN IN THE BEST MANNER POSSIBLE, I'M SLIGHTLY RUSTY! HOPEFULLY IT'LL COME BACK TO ME WHEN WE GET A FEW CHAPTERS IN. WHAT WILL BECOME OF OUR TWO YOUNG LOVEBIRDS? WHAT IS THANOS UP TO? TUNE IN NEXT TIME TO FIND OUT!
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NEXT CHAPTER COMING SOON!