Harry Potter is the property of J. K. Rowlings and Supergirl the CW. I own nothing and I don't make any money from this story.
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Chapter 8: Keep Moving Forward
There was complete silence in the room as everyone stared at him. At least until Winn decided he couldn't wait any more.
"I'm sorry, did you just offer to store a piece of advanced alien technology/religious icon in your vault at Gringotts on your Earth?" Winn was practically vibrating with excitement at the possibility of seeing another earth.
"No." Harry replied dryly. "I don't have an account with Gringotts any more. And even if I did, I can't return to my Earth."
Kara and Alex exchanged a quick glance. Both of them immediately latching on to what he had just let slip. He couldn't return to his earth?
Unfortunately, before they could press him for clarification, Winn steamrolled on. "But you just offered to store it in your vault."
"Not that vault. The vault I'm talking about isn't on my earth." He explained. "Or any earth for that matter."
This time it was J'onn who beat the sisters to the punch. "How exactly can your vault not be on any earth."
Harry just exhaled through his nose. He had made the offer but didn't appear too happy about his choice. "I think it would be easier if I just showed you."
He reached up and touched the center fang on his silver necklace. Every one watched as his previously skintight black suit rippled like water in a pond before it seemed to get looser. For a moment it hung off of his body before it rapidly seemed to vacuum up into the thick band of the necklace.
Watching this happen for the first time, Kara felt both amazed and a little envious. That was quicker and much easier than putting on her suit. And looked much more comfortable too. Winn did a great job designing her suit but every time she zipped it up she felt like she was being tied into a corset.
Once his suit had fully retracted into his necklace, Harry removed his gauntlets and situated them between his right arm and his torso. He then lifted his necklace from around his neck and rotated it till he was holding the fang that would normally rest at the back of his neck. Kara noticed that this fang was subtly different from the others that were spaced around the band of the necklace. Where the others were curved and rounded, this one was strait lines and sharp edges.
She was further surprised when he opened it like a locket. The inside of one half is a flat black surface, while the other looked like a circuit board. Kara watched as he pressed his thumb into the flat surface causing it to light up.
'It's a finger print scanner.' She realized.
Everybody in the room was startled as a breach suddenly opened inside Alex's lab. Or at least, it was similar to a breach. A breach appeared as a ring of blue and gray energy in the air. This was more like a swirling hole of white mist. Almost like a wormhole.
"Follow me." He instructed putting his gauntlets and necklace back on before stepping inside the vortex.
Kara eyes flicked around the room to see the reactions of everybody there. Winn was practically vibrating in place as he stared at the vortex. Shockingly, Alex wasn't much better. The scientist in her was obviously intrigued by the idea of stepping into a blackhole-ish portal and seeing where it leads. And J'onn, stoic as ever, gave her a look that seemed to say everything and nothing at the same time.
But Kara understood. And she moved to step through first. Hand outstretched before her to keep her from colliding with whatever was waiting on the other side. There wasn't any kind of resistance that Kara could feel. But there was the telltale feel of a charge around her, just like when passing through a breach to another earth.
It only took a few seconds before her boots landed on an uneven hard surface. Looking down, Kara could see the floor was made of metal. Its honeycombed with hexagonal segments with unknown symbols etched into each. Looking up from the floor, Kara saw Harry standing near the far wall watching her exit the portal.
Taking her eyes off him to examine the room further, she got the strangest sense of being surrounded by mirrors. Every surface was polished to a near mirror shine. But the walls were just like the floor, honeycombed with strange symbols. And it wasn't very big. The room as a whole is egg shaped and maybe ten meters at it's longest points and eight meters at its widest. And it looked nothing like a vault.
Kara is pulled from her thoughts by a familiar hand coming to rest on her shoulder. Turning her head she spied Alex behind her, having just exited the portal behind her. Gentle pressure had her moving aside so J'onn, carrying the staff, and Winn could follow before the portal closes.
They all took a moment to sweep their eyes around the room just like Kara did before Harry grabbed their attention. "Welcome to my vault." He said this with all the lack luster flourish of a high school student going through the motions of his after school job. Either he didn't want to be here or he just didn't want them here, Kara didn't know which.
"Doesn't look much like a vault." Was Kara's snide comment.
"I don't see any doors or windows. Are we underground? Is that what you meant by it not being on any earth?" Winn rambled. His curiosity getting the best of him as usual.
Harry let out his first smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Not even close. Window, open."
Kara and the others spin around quickly at the sudden sound of clicks and swooshes as he hexagon panels on the wall behind them begin to slide and fold over each other to reveal a large transparent window. And beyond that window...
"Oh my god."
Kara wasn't certain who said that. She was too focused on the ocean of swirling warm reds, oranges and yellows flecked with pale blues, purples and vibrant whites. Bolts of energy darting across the infinite expanse like lightning strikes. Shifting, ebbing and flowing onward forever. Kara was awed by the breathtaking sight.
Unbidden, an image of her mother Alura standing with her father Zor came to mind - they're standing on the balcony of their home on Krypton bathed in the light of Rao. They were smiling at her as they lean into each other, there was so much love between them and in how they looked at her.
She could remember that image from the Black Mercy, of her as she was now, Kal as the younger cousin he should have been asking her a question on his learning assignment as Aunt Laura and Uncle Jor watch nearby. Again, Rao's light shining through the balcony door behind them.
She saw herself, wearing a Kryptonian wedding dress, standing at the altar of a bonding ceremony with a man who looked similar to Mon-El but with darker hair, of all the strange things her mind could conjure up. He was holding her hands and gazing at her adoringly as they swore to walk together in Rao's light.
That same man was standing behind her, with his arms wrapped around her waist and his chin on her shoulder. They were both staring lovingly down at the bundle cradled so gently in her arms. This place, this sight had somehow pulled all of these images from her mind, from her heart, and played them before her eyes.
And she had never felt more grateful and content than in this moment. The light of this place reminded her so much of the light of her home planet. But her heart ached a moment later when she realized that these memories and fantasies were just that. Kara drew in a shuddering breath as she tried to pull herself together. Tried to reason why this sight had forced these thoughts upon her.
'It's like staring into the heart of Rao's light.' Kara mused to herself as she raised her hand to brush a tickling hair. But when her knuckle made contact with the soft skin of her cheek she was surprised to find, not a hair, but a damp trail moving down from her eye. This...whatever it was had brought her to tears.
"What is this place?" J'onn voice jolted her back to the here and now. And he sounded just as floored as her. She wondered if this place made them see things too or if it was just her.
"This is the Speed Force." Harry began, walking up behind her. "You get your powers from the light of a yellow sun. I, and every other speedster in the multiverse, get our powers from this."
None of them took their eyes off of the rare spectacle in front of them. But Harry could tell he had their attention. "It's an infinite space filled with all possible forms of energy. It exists outside of any universe. And it's what gave me my powers as a speedster."
"Gave you your powers? You talk about it like its alive?" Alex interrupted him, finally tearing her eyes from the magnificent view. Kara was still entranced by it, though she was listening carefully.
"In a way, it is. There are...entities within the Speed Force." Harry sounded dissatisfied by that description, but he clearly didn't know a better one. "Now what they are exactly is unclear. There are many myths throughout the multiverse about them. Some say they are alien life forms that came to live in this extra-dimensional plane. Others say they are the Speed Force itself. Sentient energy that can take the form of whatever or whoever they choose. It's not known which is true, but it is a fact that it is these beings that decide whom to grant the power of speed, and be their agents on the different earths."
Winn looked away from the view outside partway through his explanation. And in a move eerily similar to the first time he met Barry, he tentatively raised his hand to ask a question. "I'm sorry, but extra-dimensional plane? Aren't we just in another part of the multiverse?"
"Not exactly. Think of the multiverse as a building. And each individual Earth is a brick that makes up the building. They are all stacked next to and on top of each other. But holding them together is the Speed Force. The mortar that is separate from, but connected to each earth. And all a part of the whole."
"Succinctly and rather poetically put." J'onn complemented.
Half way through his analogy, Alex put a hand on Kara's shoulder to gently turn her around and break her gaze out the window. She couldn't begin to imagine what was going through her little sister's head at the moment, but she didn't have to be a big sister to see the view had affected Kara more than she wanted the others to know. So as soon as Harry finished speaking, she posed her own question to distract and buy time for Kara to compose herself. "So, what exactly is this thing that we are inside of? You called it your vault. But what does that mean?"
"Think of it like a space station." He began as the sisters listened with undivided attention. Though J'onn was watching as Winn moved to the nearest wall to examine the symbols on it. "It's a self-contained system with life support, artificial gravity and living quarters for the times I feel the need to get away from certain issues. Though I tend to use it more like a storage locker than a home."
He looked like he was about to say more but was interrupted by J'onn. He had been watching as Winn reached out to touch one of the symbols on the wall in an effort to figure out its meaning. "Perhaps we should refrain from touching anything we don't yet understand while we are here."
Too late. Winn's hand touched one of the symbols. He jumped back as the panels began to click, shift and fold just as the panels that had obscured the window had. But this opening was only about a third as big as the window, about the size of Kara's refrigerator. And it was filled with bottles of varying shapes, sizes and colors.
"What did I just say?" J'onn attempted to reprimand Winn. He was ignored.
"Oh my god. Those are magic potions. Right? Those have to be magic potions. Tell me those are magic potions?" Winn practically gushed.
A fierce grimace crossed Harry's face as he spoke, "Those are some of the most dangerous substances known throughout the multiverse. Some of those bottles could level cities. A single drop from others could poison whole armies. Their power is devastating." He impressed upon them all as he moved between Winn and the substances that had Alex and Kara sharing alarmed looks.
"Seriously?" Winn asked as Harry removed an amber bottle from its holder.
The grimace on Harry's faced vanished in an instant to be replaced by a look of condescending amusement. "No. This is my liquor cabinet." Having said that, Harry pulled the cork from the bottle he was holding and began to pour the contents in crystal tumblers that Kara just realized were sitting on a waist high cabinet.
Winn's shoulders dropped so fast you would think someone had let the air out of him. Though he did perk up a moment later when Harry offered him one of the tumblers with two fingers of... whatever he had poured into them.
"Is that a Macallan Single malt scotch in your liquor cabinet back there?" Alex asked in awe, while pointing at a bottle on the top shelf. "That is one of the best and most expensive bottles of scotch there is."
Kara just raised her eyebrows at her sister, impressed that she recognized the bottle. She expected Alex to know a good bottle of wine when she saw one. But she didn't think she knew so much about scotch. 'Guess you learn something new everyday.'
"Oh yeah, I got that on Earth-19. I might have stolen that from President Capone's private stash after exposing him for corruption and illegal gambling." He said it so flippantly Kara almost thought he was joking again.
"Seriously, President Capone?" Winn asked, still holding the tumbler of whiskey.
"Yes, seriously. I was just as surprised by that as you are." He said as he offered Alex and J'onn both a glass as well, while Alex silently mouthed to herself "President Capone?"
Though Kara hesitated when offered her own glass. Ignoring the fact that it was still the first thing in the morning, alcohol had no effect on her. For that reason, she rarely drank unless she was out with friends and either had to keep up appearances or just didn't want to feel left out. Even then, she usually stuck to club soda simply because she preferred the taste over beer or wine.
However, wanting to raise her spirit, she accepted the offered drink. Everybody clinked their glasses together and she took a tentative sip, before her eyes widened and she was knocking the rest back. She looked around and saw that everybody had the same reaction. And she couldn't blame them. Whatever that stuff was, it was good.
"Damn that's smooth." Winn exclaimed after lowering his glass. Alex and J'onn both humming their agreement. "What is this stuff?"
Harry held up the bottle to show them the label. "Ogden's Finest Fire Whiskey. The best that earth-47 has to offer."
"Ok, now I'm confused." Winn interrupted. "You would expect something called Fire Whiskey to have more of a burn to it. So why do they call it Fire Whiskey?"
Before Harry could answer, they were all stunned when Kara of all people let out an uninhibited belch, accompanied by a fire cloud. Kara's hand clamped over her mouth as she slowly turned wide horrified eyes to the others in the room.
Winn and Alex's mouths were hanging open in shock, and J'onn's eyebrows nearly reached his hairline. All of them too surprised to speak after seeing sweet and well-mannered Kara fire off a flaming burp in public. After a moment, Harry decided to break the tension by answering Winn's question.
"That's why they call it Fire Whiskey." He remarked dryly, jabbing a thumb in Kara's direction.
That seemed to be the cue for Winn to laugh at his friend. Alex tried to give her sister some dignity by hiding her snickers behind her own hand. But the way her shoulders shook gave her away. Even J'onn couldn't fully suppress a smirk.
Kara however was horrified. Not only by what she just did but by the fact that her friends and family were laughing, seemingly at her expense. She wasn't about to take this lying down.
"I forbode you's from saying this, ever." She asserted. Though, to Harry's bewilderment, it came out more slur than threat. Which only made Winn and Alex laugh harder.
She tried again. "I mean, I forboded you." Harry was now starring at her in astonishment. While her family just kept laughing. Alex not even trying to hide it any more. Apparently, a drunk Kara was a rare and hilarious sight.
"Forbodeded." She kept trying. She was either desperate to get her point across or drunk Kara didn't know when to quit so she tried to say it slower. Sounding out each syllable. "For-bow-did-did."
That didn't make it any better.
"You have got to be kidding me." Harry exclaimed over the guffaws and cackles of the others. Unable to believe what he was seeing. "Two fingers of whiskey and you're sloshed. Who would believe, the girl of steel, a lightweight."
"Oh, you have no idea. Normally, alcohol doesn't affect her at all. I'm guessing this stuff does because its magic." Alex managed to wheeze between laughs. Happily needling her sister.
"One finger of whiskey and she would be... sloshed." Alex briefly tripped over the unfamiliar slang. "But don't worry, her metabolism should burn through it in a few minutes."
Kara, having given up try to forbid them from ever speaking of this, sent her sister a full puppy dog pout, complete with forehead crinkle. Alex finally stopped laughing and put her arm around her shoulders before planting a quick peck on Kara's temple to show she was only teasing.
"In the meantime," J'onn drew all of their attention back to him as he raised the staff. Reminding them why they are here in the first place. "You said you had some place to put this?"
"Right. Of course." Harry said as he collected the empty tumblers and set them back in the cabinet. He then gently pressed his foot on one of the symbols on the floor and the wall again closed over the liquor cabinet.
As Harry made his way to the opposite wall, Winn was looking down at the hexagon he just stepped on, before his eyes began roving around the room. Not just the walls, but the floor and even the ceiling were covered with hexagonal panels. Each with a different strange symbol in them, making him reassess what he knew about this place. "Does every panel in this place open a different door?"
"Not all of them open doors. Some trigger security functions or other automated systems like cleaning and maintenance, you get the idea." Harry flippantly explained before pressing his hand against another symbol. "I'm away from this place for great lengths of time. Unable to tell when I'll be able to return."
Another set of clicks announced the shifting of the wall panels again. Once the panels had stopped moving, they left an opening that was the size of the average doorway.
While this was happening, Harry kept talking. "Because of that, a certain amount of automation is necessary to maintain this place. And I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving some of the things I keep here alone without my security system."
"Is security a problem?" J'onn inquired, wondering if leaving the staff here was a bad idea.
"Nobody has ever managed to infiltrate this place, but I still worry. There are a lot of people who would want to see me dead."
After he said that nobody, not even J'onn, could resist looking at Kara. Knowing they were expecting some reaction from her, she merely shrugged, shook her head and replied, "I'm not touching that one." Then she turned back to the open doorway.
They couldn't see much at first. Beyond the threshold was dark. Until Harry stepped through and the room detected his presence and the lights automatically came to life.
'Now this looks like a vault.' Kara thought to herself as her head finally started to clear. The walls of this room were lined, not with hexagon shaped panels, but with square and rectangular doors with locks that just screamed safety deposit boxes. Although, there were a number of glass display cases running down the center of the room and even pedestals with various objects that made the room look less like a bank and more like a museum.
Or her cousin's fortress.
Kara took a quick moment to inventory some of the items on pedestals. Curious about what someone like Harry would feel the need to display in a speedster version of the Fortress of Solitude.
One pedestal had a featureless manikin head with a helmet on top. It looked like a silver hubcap except for the pair of gold wings on top.
Another pedestal had a baseball and bat lying on top. 'Of course, he is a guy. Sports paraphernalia is to be expected.' They didn't look like much. Kara was just about to look for something more interesting, until she noticed the signatures scrolled across their surfaces.
Jackie Robinson and Babe Ruth on the ball and bat respectively.
Now Kara was impressed.
One pedestal had two items. One was a box that looked like it was made out of stone. It had some faded engravings around the outside that might have once been words, but age had worn them away. Next to it was some type of stone. It appeared to be made of a transparent silver substance, containing something that shined a white light from its center.
Kara was mesmerized by it. The way the light shined from within it was very beautiful. She was pulled from her thoughts by Harry turning back to face her and seeing where her eyes had landed.
"It's a piece of philosopher's stone." He began to explain. "It was found on Earth-31. Nobody there could figure out what it was or what to do with it. I recognized it and asked to keep it, and they let me."
At his words, Kara had a book one flashback. "So that's the stone that can turn metal into gold? Not at all what I thought it would look like."
"No. Actually, that's a common misconception." Harry was quick to correct her. "Sorcerer's Stone is the alchemic substance that turns metal to gold and produces the elixir of life. Philosopher's stone is a piece of calcified speed force energy. At some point in history those two legends got tangled together and people started confusing them for the same substance."
Kara wanted to ask for more details, but was interrupted by Winn.
"How big is this place?" Winn's voice broke Kara from her thoughts as she turned to see him crane his head back to gaze at the ceiling. Looking herself, Kara could see that the room they were in was three stories high with catwalks along the walls for access to more safety deposit boxes.
"Interesting you should ask, because if you viewed this place from the outside it wouldn't be much bigger than the room we entered from." He was making his way to the left side of the room. He stopped about three shelves down from the entrance and started to scan the various boxes.
"How is it possible for this place to be three stories tall and not be any bigger than the first room we were in?" Alex asked as they moved toward him.
"Oh, I know." Winn jumped in before Harry could answer. "Space expansion charms, right? Like Hermione's beaded bag. It was bigger on the inside than on the outside."
Kara and J'onn were looking at Winn as he enthusiastically answered. But Alex had been watching Harry and thus noticed the way he flinched at something Winn said. It was just for a second, and Alex wouldn't have even been sure it happened at all were it not for the fact that he had started running his thumb along the ring finger of his right hand. 'He's nervous about something.'
"He's right actually. Between all of the rooms contained in this place it would have the equivalent of a fifty thousand square foot home. All of that contained in a metal egg roughly eleven meters long from end to end." Harry answered in a distracted tone.
He was still scanning the various boxes on the shelves, looking for what Kara couldn't be sure. The only differences she could see was that most boxes had a ring of black writing around the locks, while some didn't.
"Seriously?" Winn asked, trying to imagine the physics behind something like that... failed... and tried again.
"Yes, seriously." Harry confirmed to their shock and Winn's delight. "You need to be careful though. This place incorporates magic but it is built on technology. Marrying science and sorcery like this can be dangerous."
A look of relief appeared on his face as he finally found what he was looking for. "Magic is a wonderful and volatile miracle." He said wistfully as he pressed a hand against one of the larger boxes, and a draw handle sprouted from its surface.
He grabbed the handle and pulled. But it didn't open sideways like a door to a regular safety deposit box. It slid outward. Inside it was long enough and deep enough that the staff would rest comfortably inside with room to spare.
"I trust this will meet your needs?" He inquired to J'onn.
"It should work perfectly. Thank you." He replied before placing the staff inside and watching as he pushed it closed. As soon as the draw shut the handle melted back into its surface. That was when Kara noticed that the round lock on the draw where one would normally insert a key, didn't actually have a key hole. It was just a flat round circle of metal.
She was about to ask Harry why his safe boxes were equipped with locks that couldn't be locked. But she didn't get the chance. She was distracted by the sight of him removing one of his gloves and holding it between his arm and torso. Then with a quiet shnickt he extended one of his claws from his still gloved hand and cut himself on the tip of his ungloved pointer finger, without so much as a grimace.
He pressed his blood covered finger against the metal circle and listened to the click of the lock sliding closed. She was further fascinated by the sight of a circle of strange runes, begin to appear around the lock as if written by an invisible hand.
'So the writing around the locks means there is something inside the box. And the ones without writing must be empty.'
"There, now nobody will be able to access it without my help." Turning to face J'onn, he tried to gauge how he felt about this. "Is this to your satisfaction?"
"They look secure enough. The staff should be safe here." J'onn admitted with a content smile on his face. "Now why don't you explain what exactly this place is before Mr. Schott has an epileptic fit."
At the sound of his name, the girls and Harry all turned to see Winn practically vibrating in place as he looked at the items around the room. So absorbed were they observing Harry's security measures, they had stopped keeping tabs on Winn. Fortunately, J'onn, as an experienced father, managed to keep track of him.
Winn had been examining the items inside the glass display cases. However, one item in particular grabbed his attention the moment his eyes landed on it. It rested in a place of honor, on a velvet cushion, a top one of the most prominently placed pedestals in the room. He moved to stand as close to it as he could, leaving barely enough room to fit his car keys between him and the pedestal.
Never taking his eyes off of it, he pointed down at it, and for a moment his mouth moved but no words came out. For the first time since Kara revealed herself as Supergirl to him, Winn was completely speechless. After a few seconds he finally managed words that came out more like a stuttered croak than his voice. "I-is tha-at what I th-think it is?"
Kara and Alex moved closer to get a better look at what had Winn stuttering like a fool.
It looked like the handle of what used to be a very large sword. The handle was made of gold, wrapped in leather that had darkened with age and use. The pommel was shaped like a bird's head with a ruby where the eye would be. And more precious red gems peeked out between the crisscrossing pattern of the leather. At either end of the guard rested two more rubies the size of ping pong balls.
'It must have been very beautiful once.' Kara thought. But not any more given that all that was left of the blade was about three inches of steel before it ended in a jagged line. 'It must have broken a long time ago.'
It was a beautiful piece, certainly worthy of being in a museum (or a speedster's vault). But Kara couldn't see what had Winn so stunned by it. Until her eyes traveled just below the hilt, where words had been engraved.
Godric Gryffin-
The rest of the letters were lost with the blade. But it didn't take a great leap of faith to know what they were looking at.
"This is the sword of Gryffindor." Kara barely whispered. But they all still heard her.
"Woah woah woah, now hold on. I thought Gryffindor's sword was supposed to be made out of silver?" Alex passionately insisted in a rare moment embracing her inner geek. Gesturing at the broken edge, "And what the hell happened to the blade?"
Harry just released a put-upon sigh. "Alright, let's get something straight and out of the way right now. Your Mr. Rowlings may have written the most accurate version of my life that I have read so far, but he still got several details wrong."
Kara, Winn and Alex abruptly turned to lock gazes at his use of the words Mr. and he.
"Are you sure that you're talking about the same J. K. Rowlings?" Alex asked, all of their confusion directed at him.
"Were your books not written by Jacob Karl Rowlings?" Harry asked bewildered.
"Umm." Kara paused for a moment. Debating if it was even worth correcting him. In the end, she decided to bite the bullet. "It's actually Joanne Kathleen Rowlings on this earth. "
To their surprise, he didn't even flinch. Simply took that information in stride. "Makes sense. You can have a Doppleganger on a different Earth who isn't exactly like you. Maybe that's why her books are the most accurate so far. Women vibers on average tend to be more powerful than male vibers. But she still writes crime novels under the nom de plume of Robert Galbraith, right?"
"Robert Galbraith?" Alex's attempted to question.
"J. K. Rowlings is a viber?" Winn steamrolled over her.
Both of their questions were overruled by Kara. "You still haven't said what happened to the sword." It may have been a statement, but it was posed as a question. And her tone implied he had better answer her this time. She may not like him on principle but she still loved the books. And seeing the sword like this was like see Dorothy's ruby slippers with broken heels.
Harry just shrugged helplessly, like the answer should have been obvious. "It was the horcruxes."
"The sword was goblin made. So, when it absorbed basilisk venom it gained the power to destroy a horcrux." Harry began to lecture. "However, just because it could destroy a horcrux didn't mean that's what it was designed to do. And every time we used it to destroy one it was like setting off a grenade right against the blade."
Harry stepped closer to the pedestal and lightly ran one of his fingers along the break in the blade. A forlorn, almost grieving, expression on his face. Like he was staring down at a fallen friend's gravestone.
"We damaged it a little more every time we used it to destroy one of the foul things." His words practically dripped with disgust. He clearly had strong feelings about dark artifacts. "It's a testament to goblin skill that the blade lasted as long as it did. But by the time Neville used it to cleave Nagini in two it was already too late. The magical backlash caused the blade to shatter like glass."
"And you kept the handle for a reminder?" J'onn asked. He already knew of course. After leaving Mars, the few pieces he had left of his home went from everyday items to treasures in his eyes. He understood how Harry felt.
"I kept the entire sword actually. I made sure to collect every single piece of metal in the hopes that the goblins would be able to repair it." He answered.
"I'm guessing this was before you realized they had declared you persona non grata." Alex interjected.
"They refused to do anything that would aid me." He confirmed for Alex with a dismissive shake of his head. "Not that it would have mattered even if they had been willing. They took one look at the swords remains and said the damage was to great. That even with all of the pieces the blade would never be as strong as it was. And that the only way to fix it was to melt it down and reforge the entire sword."
Harry shook his head, looking to all of them as if that very idea offended him. And to Kara's surprise, she found herself agreeing with him. Trying to reforge a thousand-year-old sword that belonged to an important historical figure. It would be like trying to remake the Declaration of Independence after the original had been burnt to ashes. You could rewrite the text and signatures from photographs, but it would never be the same.
"Later however, when circumstances changed my status with them. They did agree to forge a new weapon for me. Something made from the shards of the sword." He told them while looking back down at the handle again.
"What new weapon did they make for you?" Winn couldn't hold back from asking. It wasn't the question that Kara really wanted to ask. She, for the moment, was more interested in the change of circumstances he mentioned a moment ago. But once the question was out there her curiosity wouldn't let her intervene.
Looking back at them, Harry looked positively roguish as he held up one of his gauntlets, and the soft sound of metal moving against metal as he unsheathed his claws. Winn wasn't the only one whose eyes were wide enough to practically fall out of his head.
"Your claws are made from the blade of Gryffindor's sword!" Winn practically shouted in Kara's ear. She however, was to stunned by what they just learned to really notice.
"They contain steel from the blade. Adding the steel that goes into the gauntlets and my helmet and even an english broad sword doesn't have enough steel to make all of that." He took a moment to scrutinize the plates of metal that covered his forearms, as if trying to surmise exactly how much of his old weapon was in them. "It's a goblin philosophy."
He cleared his throat before speaking again. This time in a low baritone voice with a gravelly undertone. "There is no weapon forged or shaped, of steel or stone, that is deadlier than one's own claws."
Kara was shocked to find herself smiling at his best impersonation of a goblin. Having never seen an actual goblin outside of a theater, she had no idea if his impression was any good. But it was still funny to listen to.
And even a little chilling. But she wasn't going to tell him that.
"And so is the necklace I'm wearing." He said hooking a thumb under the band and presenting it to them. For the first time, Kara took a detailed look at it. Aside from the ten silver claws that hung from the band like ornaments, the band itself was about an inch wide and made of the tiniest silver chain links Kara had ever seen. She didn't think a metal like silver could be worked so fine and still be functional.
'Though I suppose if anyone could make something like that it would be goblins.' Kara mused to herself. Though that brought to mind a different question.
"What's with the claws around the band? Is that some sort of fashion statement? All the rage in goblin vogue." Kara snarked. She had kept things civil so far but that doesn't mean her feelings towards him had softened in the least.
Harry had the nerve to smirk at her before answering. "Firstly, they aren't claws. They're fangs." He held one of the fangs between his thumb and pointer finger to give them a better look at it. "And the goblins did that. They had collected some of the remaining fangs from the basilisk I killed when I was twelve. And actually, it is a part of goblin style to wear trophies when you can."
With that bitter reminder, Kara remembered she was talking to somebody who had been risking his life for others while she was still listening to her mother Alura sing her to sleep on Krypton. Nothing quite so humbling as realizing you're being a bitch to somebody who was essentially a child soldier.
'Easy Kara. You can do this. Soft tone and keep things polite and civil. Remember you want to take your hands off his throat.' Kara recited J'onn's words to herself.
"Is this what I think it is?" J'onn voice startled her out of her mental pep talk.
Her eyes took a moment to locate where he was in the room. Apparently, he hadn't followed them to see the sword. He instead was looking at a long display case a few feet away from them. They all moved over to him to see what had caught his attention.
Inside the display case were several items ranging from mundane to extraordinary, simple to extravagant and common place to just plain weird. From where she and Alex were standing, on the opposite side of the case from the boys, Kara could see an antique revolver that had to be at least a hundred years old with the words non timebo mala engraved on the barrel. Next to it was a goblet made of some kind of carved wood, it didn't seem like anything special.
There was a laptop that looked like somebody had tried to smash. It would have been the easiest thing to ignore, were it not for the nazi swastika stamped next to the mouse pad. Computers like that didn't even exist during WWII, so how did the Nazi's get one?
But the thing that seemed to have grabbed J'onn's attention took up the whole length of the case and was situated right in the middle. Surrounded by all of the other items in the case.
It was a trident. Though, it had five tines and was made of a strange looking metal. The look on J'onn's face made it clear that he had seen it, or something like it before.
Harry's eyes moved from the, in Kara's opinion, bulky weapon to J'onn's face. "That was given to me on Earth-3 by the ruler of Atlantis. I helped with a coup to prevent war with the surface world and install the next ruler. In return the trident was gifted to me. It had belonged to the previous queen and was considered a royal artifact."
"Arthur Curry will make a good king." J'onn said with a fond look on his face. Kara knew who he was talking about. Clarks friend and occasional ally, Aquaman. Kara had never had the opportunity to meet him, but she had certainly heard enough about him to recognize his real name.
Although, Harry just looked confused. "The ruler of Atlantis on Earth-3 is called Queen Mera, daughter of the Kingdom of Zeble. Who is Arthur Curry?"
"Nobody important, apparently." Was J'onn's nonplussed reply.
"Alright then." Harry began very businesslike. He had seemed anxious the whole time they had been here. Now he seemed eager to leave. "Since we have safely stored the staff, how about we get back to the DEO?"
"Oh, come on." Winn practically whined. "We've only been here a few minutes, and there is still so much to see. Can't we look around just a little while?"
Harry looked indignant. "This isn't a sight-seeing tour. I just wanted to reassure J'onn the staff would be safe here. Now it's time we get back home." He was waving his hand towards the door. Indicating he wanted them to get moving.
Thankfully for Harry, someone else agreed with him.
"He's right. We should be getting back." J'onn insisted. Beginning to move towards the door. Winn didn't seem ready to give up however. He opened his mouth to argue, but before he could get a word out Harry got ahead of him.
"Alright, how about this," He interjected, having seen the coming protest. "So far you, Kara and J'onn have all gotten to ask about one thing in this room. Will it satisfy you, for now, if Alex gets to pick one item to ask about before we go back?"
Winn bit his lip in thought. They could all see the wheels spinning in his head. Trying to decide if any question Alex could ask would be enough to tide him over. He was like a little kid asking for one last snack so he wouldn't have to go to bed.
But while he mulled this over, Kara had a question she wanted to ask. "Refresh my memory: what did I ask about again?"
"The Philosopher's Stone." Was Harry's dismissive response.
"Funny," her tone made it obvious she wasn't amused as she crossed her arms in annoyance. "I don't remember asking about that. You just volunteered the information."
"You speak with your eyes." He fired back with barely a glance in her direction. Still waiting for Winn to make up his mind.
Kara drew back like she had been slapped, but never got the chance to rebut his words.
"How about this?" Winn held up a finger to stall the protest he could see on the speedster's face. "Alex gets her chance to ask about an item in this room. And we each get two general questions about you."
If the way he clenched his jaw wasn't enough of an indicator to how he felt about that proposal then the sound of the leather covered fingers squeezing together was. He didn't like having to negotiate just to get these people off of his property.
"Come on man. You've been on our Earth for months and we barely know anything about you. We're trusting you. Come on show a little love." Winn pressed. Hoping beyond hope for answers to satisfy himself.
Kara, Alex and J'onn watched like spectators as Harry looked away in thought. While Alex, subtly as she could, nudged her sister with her shoulder to get her attention. Once Kara met her eyes, Alex darted hers down to Harry's side. Where he was again running his thumb along his ring finger.
Scrunching her eyebrows together, Kara looked back at Alex. She knew Kara wouldn't know that it meant Harry was stressed about something. Alex planned to explain about his tell later. For now she just wanted Kara to notice it.
"Alex can ask about one item. And you each get one question. Agreed?" His tone made it clear he wasn't really asking. This was all Winn was going to get.
"Ok, fine. I can live with that." He turned to look at Alex before sweeping his hand in a 'go right ahead' gesture.
A little uncomfortable at suddenly being put on the spot, Alex looked around at the room for anything that caught her eye. Finally, her sight landed on a small frame hanging in a shadowing corner of the room. Out of the way, as if it had been put there to be forgotten.
Harry tensed as she began to move towards it. He wasn't comfortable with her choice of objects, which just made Alex more interested. Once she was within arms reach she could see it was a simple wood and glass frame. It contained what looked to Alex like a medal awarded to soldiers.
It was made of silver, and was in the shape of a cross. All four arms were the same length and flared outward at the ends. At the center was a triangular shield overlaying a crossed sword and scroll. It hung from a short ribbon that was divided into three vertical stripes. The center stripe was purple with a black stripe on either side. Clearly some type of service award.
'Probably military if I had to guess.' She contemplated.
As a successful federal agent, Alex had been awarded one or two such medals before. Never publicly of course as the DEO was a clandestine organization. And unless they went public she would never be allowed to wear them where anybody could see them. But she knew she earned them, and more importantly how she earned them. And now she wanted to know what Harry had done to earn this.
Looking back at the others in the room, she pointed at the small frame and watched as Harry grimaced, resigning himself. Moving past her, he grabbed the frame and lifted it off the wall and moved towards the door.
As he made it to the threshold he spoke over his shoulder, "Come on. If I'm going to talk about this we can do it somewhere more comfortable. And I'm going to need more whiskey." He added the last like an afterthought.
They moved to follow him back to the main entryway. Once they were all through the door the sound of clicks and shifting metal made them look back to see the wall closing behind them. Kara briefly wondered if it did that automatically now that the room was empty of people or if one of them had stepped on the correct floor panel to trigger it like Harry had earlier. Seeing Harry had already grabbed another bottle and glass and was pressing a panel to open another room, she dismissed it as irrelevant.
The next room they entered was as big as the vault they had just left. Only instead of safety deposit boxes and display cases, this room was lined with shelves. Each shelf practically overflowing with books. Just like the last room, this one was also three stories high with stairs and catwalks to every shelf. But on the ground floor were a few small sofas and plush arm chairs. There were however a handful of pedestals along the walls. A book displayed on each.
Harry was just lowering himself into a gray lounge seat that looked as if it had seen a lot of use. It was clearly his favorite. If the indentation in the cushions weren't an indicator of that, then what was was the small tears along the edges, that could only have come from the claws of a very large cat. Apparently, this is where Harry liked to relax, as both a man and a panther.
They all filled nearby seats as Harry poured himself a healthy, or unhealthy depending on your point of view, measure of whiskey. Tossing it back all at once, he poured himself a smaller amount but just held it. He set the bottle down on the table next to him before picking up the framed medal and staring at it for a moment.
He exhaled through his nose before bitterly looking up at their expectant faces. "I doubt it has the same meaning on this earth, but do any of you know the definition of the word Paladin?"
"It refers to any of the twelve peers of Charlemagne's court, of which the Count Palantine was the chief. " All eyes in the room turned to stare at Winn as he spoke. He fidgeted for a moment before continuing. "What? After he showed up, I took an interest. I was expecting it to be the word fast or swift in another language or something. I mean why would a speedster choose a name like Paladin instead of The Flash, Trajectory or even Bolt?"
After Winn finish his little rant, all eyes returned to Harry, since they were now wondering the same thing. "A: because that's a stereotype that all speedsters have to be named an equivalent of the word fast. I've met plenty of other speedsters and not all of them have a fast code name. Some don't even have code names at all. And B: because of this." Here he held up the frame, again showing them the medal. "I'm counting that as your one question by the way."
Winn just spluttered in indignation.
"The word Paladin can also refer to a knight who is renowned for heroism and chivalry." Kara let out a quiet snort at that. She might not have spoken aloud, but they all knew what she was thinking. That there was nothing chivalric about him, and even he didn't consider himself a hero.
"This was presented to me by the queen after I killed Voldemort and ended the civil war in magical England. It signifies me as a Knight of the Paladin." He brought the glass he had been hold the whole time to his lips and took a quick sip. "Which isn't saying a lot. It's like being an Officer of the British Court. It doesn't come with rewards like land, money or special privileges. Its just a title. On my home earth, it was only presented to those who show great courage in defense of the faith, and protection of the realm. So when I needed an alias it seemed as good as anything."
The way he described the reasons for his knighthood let them know he was quoting somebody, but none of them had the slightest clue who. As for his choosing of his name, Harry just shrugged his shoulders like it didn't matter or he just didn't care. "Now I believe you three still have one free question each." He said gesturing to J'onn, Kara and Alex. "Who wants to go first?"
The sisters seemed to come to the silent consensus that J'onn should go first, and turned to face him in anticipation of what he would ask. J'onn didn't need any more invitation and already had his question in mind.
"Why do you need this place? I mean, wouldn't it be simpler to just go back to your home Earth and keep your... souvenirs there?" He tried to qualify his thoughts.
"Well I'm not allowed to travel to the various different Earths without permission as a part of my parole. But I am still allowed to leave the earth I'm on and I needed a place to store the multitude of souvenirs," he used J'onn's description for his hoard of keepsakes, "that came into my possession. So on Earth-7 I found several scientists with knowledge of the Speed Force who agreed to build this for me." Harry informed them, oblivious to or ignoring the widening of their eyes.
Alex held up a hand to halt him from doing or saying anything else. "Parole? You mean you're a criminal? What crime did you commit?"
Harry let out a sigh before throwing back the rest of the whiskey in his glass and pouring some more. When it seemed like he may not answer, Kara's frustration got the best of her. "Why doesn't it surprise me that you're a criminal. Are you a wanted criminal? Is there an earth we should be turning you over too to face charges?" She looked positively smug asking that question. Leaning forward in her seat, she clearly relished the idea of handing him off to another earths justice system and forgetting he had ever existed. Not that Kara would ever be able to forget the impact he has already made on her life.
Harry looked at Kara in such a way that just screamed 'you are completely insufferable.'
"No, I'm not wanted for any crime on another Earth. You won't be rid of me that easily. And I'm counting that as your one question." Now Harry looked smug. Kara just huffed and leaned back again.
"I'm on parole with the Speed Force." He takes another sip of whiskey. By now it was starting to take a toll, if the loss of focus in his eyes is any indication. "I told you earlier that speedsters are the agents of the Speed Force on the individual earths. We impose its will on our earths, but there are other agents that enforce the rules of the Speed Force on us. These enforcers are known as time wraiths, and whenever a speedster breaks the rules the wraiths are sent after us."
They waited with bated breath for him to continue as he took another sip from his glass. This conversation had quickly taken on a much more interesting tone, and it had piqued all of their imaginations. Winn was taking careful mental notes of what to look up in the database Team Flash sent them earlier. Kara was wondering why Barry never told her these things about being a speedster. Alex and J'onn were reserving judgment until they had heard everything.
"There are some powers that speedsters have that we shouldn't. But they come as a package deal with the power of speed. So, the Speed Force has certain rules that speedsters are expected to follow. Rules like don't alter time, don't create time remnants and don't steal the speed of other speedsters, just to name the most common ones."
He looked at them to see if they were still listening. Seeing he had their undivided attention, he continued. "I broke one of these rules. I broke it so severely that the entities within the Speed Force chose to send time wraiths after me. And time wraiths are relentless. They never sleep, they never eat and they never stop. I couldn't out run them forever, so I did something no speedster before me had ever done before."
'This guy just loves to pause for dramatic effect.' Kara used while waiting for him to finish his thought.
"I negotiated with the Speed Force."
Emptying his glass again, he up ended the bottle and poured what was left into the tumbler. "I willingly entered the Speed Force while time wraiths were chasing me, trying to drag me into the Speed Force. Ha, how thick can you be, right? But because I entered of my own free will I was granted an audience. And we worked out an arrangement. I would exist in the Speed Force until they chose to let me leave. And they would let me exit at specific times, at specific locations, on specific Earths of their choosing. Once there, I would do whatever I could to help in any way that I could. The idea being that I would eventually do enough good on other Earths to offset the bad I caused on my own Earth. And until I do, I'm not allowed to set foot on any earth other than the one they put me on."
Once Harry stopped talking the room was utterly silent. Each of them were lost in their own thoughts. So many things about Harry were finally starting to make sense. Why he was on their earth. Why he hadn't left. The ominous they that had sent him here.
But under all of this there were still more questions that needed answering. Like why he seemed to avoid talking about his home earth. Why he chose to work with them now after months of avoiding them. And more importantly, exactly which law of the Speed Force did he break so severely that he was required to balance the scales on a cosmic level?
And after everything he had hidden so far, Kara was going to get the answers to those questions.
"Why tell us this now?"
Her question stopped his glass half way to his lips. He looked directly at her and shrugged. "Because this is the longest I've ever been on any Earth. Usually when I've done my job and its time to re-enter the Speed Force and move on to the next Earth I can sense it. But since that hasn't happened yet I can only assume my job still isn't done yet. I thought changing the status quo might help."
Well that didn't really answer anything. "Which law did you break to end up here?"
Harry just gave her a condescending smirk. "I think that's a good stopping point for now." He moved to stand, but Kara was on her feet faster.
"We're not done yet." She took a step into his personal space and crossed her arms. Her message of 'if you want to leave you have to go through me' was clear to everybody present. Harry wasn't intimidated.
"Oh yes we are. I promised you each one question and I gave you two. If you want to know more you will just have to wait till I'm in a better mood or," he threw back the last of the whiskey, "till I'm much more drunk. Those are your options."
Kara was about to tell him exactly what he could do with his options when a gentle and familiar hand landed on her shoulder. Head turning to look behind her, she saw Alex giving her the 'just let it go' look.
With a sigh, she turned and they began moving back to the main entrance area so that they could return to the DEO.
"Wait. What about all of these books? Why do you have them? And aren't we going to see the other rooms in this place?" Winn hollered after them, his voice a mix between panic and whining.
"Some other time Winn. We need to get back." J'onn replied. Before turning to Harry. "And we appreciate you offering to store the staff here. And the trust you have shown in letting us in here. That can't have been easy."
Harry's answering smile was self-deprecating. "If you cannot fly, then run. If you cannot run, then walk. If you cannot walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, keep moving forward."
"Was that George Washington again?" Kara inquired.
"No, that had to be Winston Churchill." Alex insisted. Thinking the most quoted Englishman of all time was a safe bet.
"I think it was Taylor Swift." Both sisters sent Winn dubious looks.
J'onn rolled his eyes at all of them. Sending a mental prayer to H'ronmeer for patience. "Its Dr. King. You three need to brush up on your history." Harry just nodded in complement to the Martian.
"So was there a Dr. King on your earth, or did you meet him on another?" J'onn asked, digging for information more subtly than Kara had. And he was honestly curious.
Harry barked a loud laugh. "All the good earths had Dr. King. And George Washington. And Winston Churchill." His tone turned more speculative. "Not Taylor Swift, but oddly enough Robin Williams."
He shrugged in a helpless manner before pressing down on another panel on the floor and reopening the same portal that brought them here in the first place. They proceeded through one at a time with Kara the last one out. All the while thinking about what she had learned.
'Able to quote George Washington and Dr. King. That's impressive.' Kara had to admit, even if just to herself. Harry was just full of surprises.
_o0o_
Okay, first of all lets give a big CONGRATULATIONS to Melissa Benoist and Chris Wood on the coming addition to their family. They are going to make great parents. I'm a little concerned about what this means for the Supergirl series but that is out of our hands.
Second of all, I would like pat myself on the back. I've posted on schedule and so far I think I am making good on my new years resolution.
Next I would like to say sorry. I had intended to start on the episode The Faithful in this chapter, but getting more into Harry's situation kind of got away from me. So we will be getting back to the action next chapter. And most importantly to me, Harry meets Lena. I've been looking forward to this first meeting for a while and I think a few of you will be surprised with what I have planned.
And to answer a question asked last chapter: there will be romance in this fic. but I'm not one of those authors who immediately starts a star struck romance the moment the couple meet. I prefer actual character development, so this will be a slow burn, but it will happen. But of course I'm not going to tell you who is going to end up with whom. While I have had an end game in mind from the first chapter, if you want to find out you will just have to keep reading.
And somebody mentioned that there are more HP/SG stories just that they aren't listed as crossovers and I just haven't found them. So if you have any recommendations please feel free to send me the titles.
Finally, thanks again to kathryn518 for her help and hard work as my beta. We appreciate you.
Good morning, good afternoon, and good night.