Someone placed their hand on his other shoulder. "Harry?"

Harry looked up and saw the face of Doctor Strange. For once he wasn't looking back at him scornfully or with annoyance, instead his face showed great sympathy and sadness, an understanding.

Strange spoke in a very conserved and hushed tone. "I'm sorry – sincerely – but I don't know how much longer this pocket dimension will be able to sustain itself. We need to act in a relatively fast manner if we want to have a semblance of surviving."

"Let the kid breathe for a minute, why don't ya?" scoffed a gruff voice belonging to Logan. He still had no idea who he was or what powers he possessed.

Harry tore himself from Hermione's and Ron's embrace and reluctantly stood up on his feet. His face trembled in anger, or sadness – maybe both. He looked to the rest of the Weasley's gathered around Ginny who was lying on the ground and not showing many signs of life.

"Is Ginny okay?" he forced himself to say, his throat hoarse and throbbing.

"She's breathing and got a pulse, that's got to be something", said mr Weasley, his hand on his heart.

Mrs Weasley rushed forward to hug him. She said no words, just hugged him and gave him a sad look.

Harry looked around, startled to find out that their feet hovered on pure empty space. They were in a room, except it wasn't really a room.

The walls, floor and ceiling were see-through, sparkling and flowing with dozens and dozens of dazzling and alluring colors that he couldn't put a name to. It was mesmerizing to look at.

He wanted to touch it. Harry reached out with his hand, trying to touch the colors, they slipped through his fingers like flowing water, except it wasn't wet, it wasn't anything really, just

"What is this place?" he turned around to Strange.

Strange let out a deep and weary sigh; his messy hair showed every bit of the stress he was dealing with.

"A pocket dimension", said Doctor Strange, gesturing with his hands. "We're stuck here because reality is gone." Nodding he gave Harry a wry smile.

"What you mean gone?" exclaimed Harry alarmingly.

Strange snapped. "Gone!" the doctor mimicked an explosion with his hands. "It's spent! It doesn't exist! Not anymore!" He let out a tiny laughter caused by all the stress and chaos.

All this time, Harry had truly believed that they were on track to save reality. And now it was just gone.

"Then how are we supposed to mend it – reality?" Hermione walked up next to Harry, crossing her arms, she was still shaken by of the events that had just taken place a few minutes ago.

"I don't know!" said Strange frustratingly.

Harry let go of a rueful sigh, sitting himself down on the ground – if it even was ground in the first place – his shaking body wasn't letting him to keep standing up for very long.

His eyes examined the many faces around him; everyone that had been on the wedding were there, a handful of the Avengers – and Lupin, who as usually glared at him, but this time Harry felt his stare was much more aggressive.

No sign of Tonks or Mood-eye however.

"Do we at least have the bloody Stones?" he said, burying his hands in his hair.

Lupin scoffed.

Strange shook his head, defeated. "No. We're still one short."

Peter frowned. "So what-what… that's it? Is this-is this some kind of joke?" he made agitated gestures with his arms, making his annoyance clear to everyone around him. "I don't believe you."

He paced back and forth for a few seconds, the colors shifted under his feet, then he strode towards Strange, looked at his face chuckling as the sorcerer uttered: "Believe it", and almost amused by the situation, Peter shook his head.

With his back turned to Strange, Peter threw up his arms in defeat and sat himself down on the floor, leaning against a wall, or barrier – whatever it was. Colors shifted and pushed away from the space his body occupied, reminding Harry again of water.

Everyone else's confidence seemed to be shot down along with Peter's, most had taken his example and slumped down on the floor, while others were more determined than that and held loud conversations with each other about what to do.

Or at least their voices came across as loud… it sounded like they were speaking through a speaker from somewhere, distorted and distant.

Harry took notice of Tony looking displeased and shaking his head at Banner, brushing him off as if he was an annoying insect and walked away – towards him.

"Hey kid", Tony sat down next to him. He smiled sadly. "I would tell you things get better… but they don't."

He wasn't wearing his Iron Man suit, instead he was dressed like any regular guy on the street.

Tony grimaced, his lip lopsided. Harry didn't want to think of it, the ugly fate his aunt had met.

Maybe Tony noticed this, because he nodded at the ring on Harry's finger trying to lift his spirits: "Congratulations by the way."

"Thanks."

Tony cast him a comforting smile.

"Y'know, I should've been there", he said. "On the wedding", he added when he saw Harry's frown.

"You were doing more important things", said Harry.

Shaking his head, Tony looked at him with a skeptical grin. "Aside from saving the world? Nah", Tony dismissed it jokingly with a wave. "Had I been there, maybe things would've turned out differently."

Harry didn't have the energy to think about what ifs anymore. All he knew how to do right now was to cope and come to terms with… well, everything.

"C'mon go to your friends, they need you." Tony patted him on his shoulder.

Harry exhaled and got up on his uncontrollably shaking legs.

"Really sorry about your aunt, Harry. She was a good-hearted soul. I mean it."

Harry wanted to thank him, but instead he just felt his head bob sluggishly. He might as well, he didn't have a lot else to do for the moment, so he dragged himself over to Hermione who had joined the Weasley's by Ginny's side.

"How is she?" asked Harry.

The color in Ginny's face had returned and appeared to breathe normally.

"Better now", croaked mr Weasley.

Harry bit his lip nervously and gave mr Weasley a reassuring smile, but he had a feeling he looked rather miserable and sheepish.

Hermione put her head on his shoulder, with the rest of her body leaned against him. She was tired, extremely tired. Harry let her use him as support to briefly get some shut-eye.

"What hit her?" asked Harry.

"Some kinda curse", mumbled George where he was sitting leaned against Fred, the blood seeping from his head starting to dry. "Standing one second, down the next."

"The charm I cast on her stabilized her. I've checked her pulse, she'll be okay", assured Hermione, answering Harry's look. "I'm not sure how she will be affected, but relatively speaking she will be alright."

"Great job Hermione", Harry patted his wife on the back. She groaned in response. Her head fell back onto his shoulder.

It was a relief knowing that Ginny wasn't too badly wounded, though something was off – he felt it, nothing to do with Ginny, but in the air. Harry looked over his shoulder, definitely sensing something wasn't right.

"Hey guys, you sense that?" said Pete.

Ron looked around. "Sense what?"

"Yeah, no no, I sense that too", said Peter, stumbling up from his spot.

Harry straightened himself up, the very familiar distorted siren sound blaring through his ears, almost drowning itself out because of how loud it was, turning into a sort of twisted song and tuning itself in like a radio.

And then he saw them, other Spider-People, their ghostly silhouettes glaring back at him behind whatever veil that hid them away.

At least three, five… maybe six? Hard to tell. There was too much interference.

He caught Hermione's frightened and questioning look. "You alright, love?" she asked.

"You alright, love?" parroted a mocking voice, suddenly breaking through the commotion.

The colors around them shifted and formed into purple rock formations, quivering through the ground and sprouting steps leading up to a purple, shimmering calcite throne at the very end of the space they all occupied.

Upon the throne sat the stature of an imposing man… a Spider-Man, his almost entirely red suit resembling the very material he sat on, only to break up in scatters of blue and the formation of a blue spider crawling across his chest, over his shoulder and down his back.

The eyes on this menacing figure glowed red and were permanently formed as though he was constantly squinting. In his lap sat a curvaceous woman with flowing blonde hair, she too in a Spider suit but all black for the exception of the large white eyes, and spider symbol in a similar pattern to the man.

Two more Spider-People sat on the steps, their suits sporting various shapes and colors. Harry's eyes slid to the side, catching the glimpse of two cages out of sparkling gems that had been stuffed into a corner, something or someone sat in them.

"Aren't you a sorry gathering?" said the man. His voice protruded of a demanding authority, menacing and overarching, echoing spookily in the pocket they were stuck in.

Harry squinted, attempting to hone in on the man in the chair. As though he was hypnotized, he stepped forwards.

"Harry, what are you doing?" called Hermione alarmingly.

"Yes, Harry – what are you doing?" laughed one of the Spider-People.

The two on the steps stood up, appearing both to be women now that Harry got a closer look. The way she moved was mesmerizing, bewitching his very eyes.

"Like what you see?" the woman in the menacing Spider-Man's lap stood up, walking towards him with gracious steps.

"Murderer", whispered one of the Spider-Women. They began to circle him, glaring at him like predators did prey.

"These are my co-workers", said the Spider-Man in the throne, gesturing to the other Spider-People.

"Easy there. We don't want a fight", said Peter, joining Harry.

The black-suited woman laughed. "Don't want a fight!"

"We've got you outnumbered", the other Peter landed by their side, gesturing with his thumb over his shoulder at the small army gathering up behind him.

Hermione and Ron stopped by Harry's side, nodding at him. He nodded shakily back.

"Oh you sure do", the ominous Spider-Man sported his claws as he raised himself from the throne, casting a towering shadow over them. "Tell me Harry… was it worth it? Destroying all of reality for a girl?"

Glancing at Hermione, Harry saw the visible confusion in her face. "Harry, what—"

The foreboding Spider-Man chuckled. "That's right… you knew, didn't you? But you never told her? That your meddling with time was the catalyst to all of this? Coward!"

Harry felt his eyes widen, his senses screaming at him to move.

A string, or more like a tiny spear, of crystallized web shot at him, he made a move and felt it narrowly miss his throat by a few inches.

In retaliation, Harry latched a web string to pull himself in and land a blow to the opposing Spider-Man's shiny crystal jaw. It didn't even leave a scratch.

He swung again, again and again… the other Spider-Man gracefully dodged his flurry of punches, he was just hitting air. His feet weren't connecting either, he was simply too slow.

Something pierced his shoulder, a foot kicked him in the ribs, sending him tumbling back down the stairs again.

The other Spider-Man took a few steps down the stairs, his red eyes fixed on Harry.

"Curious. You hold yourself back", said the malevolent Spider-Man with great interest in his voice.

Someone cried his name. "Harry!" A spell hit and bounced off the opposing Spider-Man's chest.

Harry staggered back up, bracing his stinging shoulder. Blood poured out of the wound, literally sizzling as it touched the colors underneath his feet.

Numerous spells zipped over Harry's head, but this time the Spider-Man struck back, swiping his hand through the air sent them back in random directions.

He shook his head in disappointment. "Look at you. Still believing you have a chance!" The anger in his voice made it echo in a metallic, almost robotic way. "Please, somebody realize you've lost! You're going to starve and die, and there's nothing you can do about it because instead of doing something about it, you mucked about – and where did that land you?"

Harry kept his eye on the three Spider-People that now were circling them, their eyes gleaming with a hunger for their blood.

On top of this, Harry noticed the towering Spider-Man in the menacing suit was running out of patience.

"Let me give you a proposition; you hand me the Stones and I'll make sure all of reality is restored as you left it."

Harry scoffed. "Somehow I don't believe that."

"No?" the Spider-Man took a couple more steps down, reaching out with his hand. "I can't fix it because of you, but stabilizing it enough for you to do something about it – that I can."

"Don't listen to a single thing he says!" yelled a sudden voice from one of the cages.

"Be silent!" hissed one of the Spider-Women.

"Harry!" Strange stepped out from the crowd, looking rather tense. Harry turned to him, he waved him off. "No, not you! This one!" He pointed dramatically at the Spider-Man with the throne. "Cease this insanity! The multiverse will not survive another hit, and certainly not at the mercy of the Stones. If it goes, this pocket goes with it!"

The doctor's words fell on deaf ears however, not a single soul responded to him.

Hermione's head spun around to Harry, then back to the man nicknaming himself the Spider.

"Harry?" Hermione said disturbingly.

The menacing Spider-Man lowered his voice. He seemed to take the name in for a second before he spoke. "Harry? Harry is dead. All that remains is the Spider. Enough talk. If you won't hand me the Stones…"

The Spider chuckled. "Well, use your imagination."

Harry saw it coming but his mind was too overwhelmed by everything else – the crystallized spear struck him across his face. He made a jump for it up into the air, the other Spider-Men followed him, he kicked the Spider in the face; Peter was immediately knocked out of the air by the black suited woman.

An arm hit Harry in the jaw, slapping him away from the Spider. He crashed into the throne, and he had no time to react before the Spider was on top of him, fists pummeling at him. In a horrible attempt at defending himself he held up his arms, felt a bone break – he screamed and hit back.

The throne crumbled underneath him. He hit the ground, the pain in his arm aching. The Spider pinned him to the ground, four crystallized spears protruded from the Spider's back, resembling spider-legs – about to strike. Harry pushed him off with his legs, yelled in surprise as one of the arms struck him, embedding itself into his leg.

With a well-aimed chop, he broke the spear off in half, eluded the rest flailing madly for him, his fist slid across the ground in the motion, aiming for the Spider's jaw and without knowing how, he shattered his mask clean off into thousands of tiny shining crystal pieces.

Underneath stared a weathered, tired face back at him, eyes sunken in and a beard was growing on his face, scar still visible on his forehead. He hardly resembled Harry, if anything he reminded him of an older, worse for wear James Potter. The mask on his face regenerated back within seconds, the small crystal pieces forming from nothing, first colorless, until the color seeped back in the way paint spread across a surface.

Harry backed off, panting and his thoughts blazing through his mind, his wounds dragging him down.

He wasn't sure of how much longer he would keep this up – this place gave the impression of sapping his energy, and it did not help one bit that he had already wasted his energy fighting the Goblin and the others on the beach.

He had no idea if it was just all in his head or in the back somewhere that he heard a struggle and yelling, the sound of sparks and crackling.

"I don't even know what you want, man", he was struggling to keep his eyes opened. "Just give it up, alright?"

"Fine! Have it your way."

The Spider's eyes lit up in a scarlet light, he drew a twisted red-glowing wand and with just one twist of the wrist, red cracks appeared in mid-air as if a big hand had splintered the very air itself like stone.

Harry was blinded by a red flash turning into an overwhelming white. His spider-sense told him to move, but another cancelled it out, throwing all of his senses into a blender and he had no idea where—someone tackled him, claws dug into his shoulders.

His back followed by the rest of his body crashed into glass, the ground left his feet. He had a sensation of falling, rapidly. Harry opened his eyes.

Back at him stared the Spider, his red eyes shimmering menacingly, digging his claws into Harry. They were falling, glass shards flew around them, they were shouting, both of them were shouting as a searing pain splintered through their bodies and it wouldn't stop.

They had left the colorful room. Now they were falling, flying, whatever, through colors, shapes and sensations that were impossible for Harry to describe.

Harry blinked frivolously, turning his head to the Spider grasping him, watching the suit melt off the other him.

Colors shifted and turned, psychedelic shapes formed around them and the mindboggling experience hurt his head.

Another red flash and they landed in Dumbledore's office. The Spider let go of Harry, sending him tumbling through Dumbledore's various silver instruments, destroying them along with a table splintering into pieces as his body crashed through it.

Harry could barely gather his surroundings properly before his foe was on him again, tossing him face first into Dumbledore's desk with such strength it tipped over.

His nose spurted blood, staining his once white shirt with red. Something cracked below his knee.

The Spider took a few slow steps towards him, the red cracks were still present, casting a bizarre, warped light over the room. His hand reached towards, into and through the cracks, there was sounds of a struggle.

Harry watched on in horror as the Spider dragged out Hermione by the throat. She kicked wildly in the air, her bloodstained dress gracing the ground.

Her eyes were locked onto Harry, begging him to do something, anything.

Harry tried to steady himself up against the table, but only slipped and let out a pained scream. His leg laid out in a crooked way on the ground, broken.

"Poor Harry. No one to hide behind this time", said the Spider mockingly, turning his wand to Hermione's throat. "No mother, no father… no aunt."

Harry's face contorted in pain and anger, unable to stand up. He screamed at the pain exploding through his leg. He covered his bleeding face but only made it worse and watched the blood smother his hands.

"Don't you feel furious, left in the dust? By the old man that abandoned you like a splintered broom?", whispered the Spider, his free fist clenching.

"Come on, Potter", said a soft voice. It sounded like it came from over his shoulder, but there was no one there. "Come on, get up. Come on, Spider-Man." It resembled Hermione's voice.

Too much pain weighted him down – the memory of aunt Petunia zapped through his head like bolts of electricity.

"If you fail, she died for nothing!" The voice screamed at him now. It pushed him forward.

Roaring and straining from the pain, he first sat down his good foot on the ground, clasping at the turned over desk, using it to push himself up, then the other.

"Yes that's it, use your strength", leered the Spider.

"Please shut the hell up", groaned Harry. He clenched his teeth, his broken leg only able to stand up thanks to all of the adrenaline and his strength.

The voice ordered him, whispering in his ear. "You've got this."

Hermione's face was turning blue, her kicking becoming much less frequent. Bellowing out a cry, Harry threw his body at the Spider, but instead of attacking head-on as expected, he sailed down on the ground and slid between the villain's legs, landing a hard kick into his spine.

Hermione fell out of his grasp, gasping in convulsing fits on the floor; the Spider stumbled into a pillar. Harry landed a punch in his face, destroying pieces of the pillar in the process. Harry nailed his alternate self against what was left of the pillar with his arm, hitting him repeatedly in the face, screaming for every punch, aunt Petunia's unmoving face glued to his mind.

No matter how much the Spider kicked and struggled, Harry had him, punching away his crystal armor, pieces at a time. This time it didn't regenerate.

Bit by bit, the weary face was exposed. Harry kept wailing, spit burst through his teeth.

The memory of his dying aunt spurred him on, the Goblin's laugh echoing in his mind. He swore he heard a train come to a screeching halt, growing louder and louder, approaching him.

He tasted blood in his mouth.

"Harry!" cried Hermione in the back. "Please… please stop."

It was the only thing making him stop. Fists aching and bloody, he stood up from the Spider, looking down on hardly recognizable face, bruises and blood covering it.

"Yeah", the Spider uttered coarsely, a few of his teeth broken. "She's got you in her reins, steering you on her moral mission. But you will never be free from the anger you feel towards yourself."

"Shut up", Harry had it with multiverses and different versions of himself, they were all equally as broken and arrogant, some more than others. His hands were shaking uncontrollably.

"You think you know pain, Harry?" said the other him. "You don't."

"Shut—up!" spit flew from his mouth, landing two more punches to the Spider. He hated him.

"Harry!" gasped Hermione again. Harry turned his head. She sat on all fours, looking at him with terror in her eyes.

Taking deep breaths, Harry looked at his defeated enemy. He had thought he had conquered his anger, contained his emotions and turned them into something else, that with great power… "There must also come great responsibility."

Harry's ears perked up. He turned his entire body around, first he thought the sun coming in from the window blinded him. But there stood another Hermione dressed in a red and blue spider suit next to one other Spider-Man. It resembled his old one a little too much, the one that Hermione had made for him.

He felt indifferent, empty, cold. Angry.

Slowly, he crouched down next to his wife, helping her up on her feet. "I'm alright", she whispered without meeting his eyes, scared for what might happen if she did.

His hand traced across the marks after a hand and claws were left on her throat.

"It's over", said Harry and fell down on one of the chairs, breath stuck in his throat, tired, too tired. It choked him, clouded his mind.

He swore loudly at his broken leg.

The two Spider-People walked up to him, kindhearted looks on their faces. He glared at them. His Hermione embraced him, and despite her brave soul attempting to comfort him, he quivered. All of the horrible things that had happened the last hour played through his mind like a movie, images clear and vivid.

"Harry, hey… I— ", the spider-clad Hermione crouched down next to the chair. She took his hand.

Harry tore it from her. "I don't know you."

She blinked multiple times, appearing confused. She nodded. "Right, sorry. I just—you look just like him."

Harry didn't care enough to ask who. A scar shaped like a lightning bolt on her forehead caught his attention. Her green eyes blinked once more.

"He was my everything", the suit-wearing Hermione said, smiling sadly, keeping tears at bay.

"He died in my arms… uh… after he…", she sniveled. She stared blankly in front of her, almost as if she was having a hard time remembering. "He was attacked by a werewolf, bled out in my arms."

Harry gave her a quick nod, it was more like his head bobbed up and down at a fast speed, still as indifferent.

"I'm sorry that happened to you", he said hollowly.

The other Spider-Man showed his face. He waved awkwardly. "Spider-Man – I mean, Peter Parker." Harry took quick note of his suit, it was much more simple-looking but still somehow resembled what he had already seen before.

This Peter had a very young face, he couldn't be more than fifteen, seventeen.

" Another Peter – perfect", said Harry sarcastically. He heaved himself up on one good leg with a pained groan, struggling to steady himself against his love.

The third Peter looked curiously at the Spider, who was now having pained fits on the ground.

Peter-three pointed at him. "Hey, I know that guy, he kept us locked up. And after we got free, we came through to help… but, you've already taken care of everything, so—"

"Thanks. I think we got it from here", said Harry.

"You're ready?" Hermione looked at him, she held him in a tight grip to make sure he didn't fall. She looked at the red cracks glaring ominously at them.

Harry nodded.

"Wait, I think you forgot this", Peter-three scurried to pick up the wand from the floor, handing it to Harry, he reluctantly took it.

With a final look on the Spider lying defeated on the floor, Harry reached through the red cracks forming in the air and pulled Hermione with him, the two Spider-People not far behind.

The last thing he heard was the screams of Hermione before the floor of Dumbledore's office left their feet, and their bodies were hurled through time and space. His eyes met hers and he screamed too, a terrible pain crackling through his mind and body and then they mended and became one, their thoughts and agony split between them.

Harry felt his eyes roll to the back of their sockets; his sight turned black as coal.