Chapter Fourteen: "Kennel from Hell."

Astra settled in on the Waverider. Harry walked in and entered the Waverider, with a couple of cups of hot chocolate and handed one to Astra. She took it with a smile.

"Not bad," Astra remarked.

"Yeah, it's not as good as a friend of mine made, she never would give me the recipe," Harry said. "So, how are you feeling?"

Astra looked over the top of the cup of hot chocolate and gazed at Harry.

"That's what I should be asking you," Astra said "Because, you don't look well at all. And those glamor spells can barely hide it."

Astra snapped her fingers and the glamor charms Harry had faded. It revealed his face, looking like it was withered and decayed, and he looked like was aging rapidly. Green veins pulsed where the snake bit him and it pulsed with a disgusting looking aura of magic.

"Damn, Harry," Astra said. "I…."

"It's worse than I thought," Harry admitted. "The Phoenix Tears are burning out fast, and I can't heal. That little encounter at the hotel really did a number on me. I have aches and pains for far longer than I ever had aches and pains. I'm struggling to hold myself together."

Astra gripped Harry by the hand.

"We have to use the Loom to fix this," Astra told him quietly.

"And John made you a promise to get Natalie back," Harry said. "And I promised Zari I would use it to bring her brother back, and I also promised Charlie that I would destroy the Loom, once we were done…fulfilling those promises. She's not too happy we're using it."

If they could use it, Harry just barely managed to stop himself from saying that it may be hopeless.

"And I'm not sure if the Loom could fix this," Harry breathed.

"What are you going to do then?" Astra asked. "You might only have days. This isn't slowing down. This is accelerating. I never should have…"

"No, you weren't the one who released Herpo," Harry told her. "You didn't intend for this to happen."

Astra just frowned deeply, and Harry put his hand on Astra's shoulder, to try to relax her.

"I'll pull a miracle out," Harry told her. "I always do."

Astra just frowned and drained the rest of the hot chocolate.

"What if you're out of miracles?"

Harry had thought of that question, for a moment. He reapplied the glamorous, for lack of anything else to do.

"Rakepick's working on a way to counteract the curse," Harry informed Astra.

Astra responded with a very labored sigh. Harry could tell she was biting on her tongue for something. Harry waved it off.

"You know she has a reputation for a reason, right?"

Harry answered with a nod. He put his mask on and stood up. He almost staggered, but stopped. Astra just looked at Harry, and moved in to help steady him.

"You're going to need a cane if this gets much worse," Astra told him.

"I'm going to talk to Charlie about the Loom, see if we can get this show up the road," Harry said.

"The sooner, the better," Astra said. "I have a feeling no one really wants me here, other than you and John, and John only wants to appease his own guilt. Out of the mistake he made."

"One of many," Harry said. "But, we all have to face the past eventually…"

A knock on the door brought Harry and Astra out of the conversation. Astra went invisible, not ready to face everyone just yet.

"Come in," Harry said.

The door opened up and Sara made her way into the room.

"Serious problem," Sara murmured.

"Another one?" Harry asked when he saw Sara groping the air. "What the hell happened?'

"I can't see," Sara said. "I can't see a thing. The headaches got worse until I went blind. I saw a fate in her true form and it blinded me."

Harry stopped himself from saying things could be worse. He steadied Sara into the seat next to him, as Astra stood a few inches away.

"How can I do this without seeing?" Sara asked.

"Because, you're Sara Lance," Harry said. "You get things done."

"Yes, I do," Sara admitted. "But, Gideon can't figure out a way to fix this."

Shit, that was not good. Harry grabbed Sara by the hand and suddenly, Sara shifted and shivered, and pulled back from Harry. She looked completely shocked and shaken.

"Everyone on this ship is in terrible danger," Sara told Harry. "Because, I'm going to kill them."

"You brought a dog onto the ship?' Ava asked. "Why?"

"Well, I've suffered a lot of trauma," Gary responded. "And I needed an emotional support animal."

"We don't have a therapist," Ava said. "How did you get a signed note from one?"

"Legally speaking, you're obligated to allow me my animal," Gary said.

"Fine, just clean up after it and make sure you don't forget to feed it," Ava said.

"It's not an it," Gary said before picking up the dog and cradling it. "He is the bestest boy, oh yes you are, yes you are. I think I'm going to name you Gary Jr. You can be my sidekick, I've always wanted a sidekick. Cool people get sidekicks like. Batman has about five different Robins…"

The door opened up and Harry and Sara stepped out. Ava moved away from the scene of Gary cooing over his new emotional support animal.

"Do you have any ideas how to restore Sara's eyesight?" Ava asked Harry in undertone.

"I'm not deaf," Sara said crossly.

"Yes, Ava, I have ideas," Harry said. "But, with my powers as they are right now…."

"Right, one problem at a time," Ava said.

"Get yourself together first, I'll be fine," Sara said. "Not sure when I started sounding like you but…."

Sara shuddered for a second. She had still be a bit weirded out a bit more.

"Wait, why is Gary cooing?" Sara asked. "Is that a dog?"

"It's my emotional support animal," Gary said. "I got a note from my therapist."

"Since when did we have therapists?" Sara asked.

Harry just shrugged in response.

"Don't look at me, I didn't authorize this," Harry said.

"We have to legally accept it though," Ava said.

The door opened up and Mick appeared, walking straight onto the ship, along with his daughter, Lita.

"MICK!" Ava yelled.

"Wait, this is where you work?" Lita asked. "This stuff is real?"

"Yeah," Mick said.

"I thought you said it was a con," Lita said to Harry.

"That was to get a pushy film developer off my back," Harry said.

"So, the real con is you made people think it's a con," Lita said. "Which means you're…you're…."

Harry just nodded in response.

"Oh my God," Lita murmured. "You're him. But you can't be but you are."

Lita looked in awe.

"I thought you were over your Harry Potter phase," Harry told her.

"The fake fictional character who lines the pockets of a deranged delusional woman, not the real thing," Lita said. "This place is so cool."

"Just don't touch anything," Mick said.

"Not touching, merely looking," Lita said. "Oh, it's a real time ship. An actual time ship. This is…"

"It's pretty schway," Harry said.

"Schway?" Lita asked.

"Future thing," Harry said. "And seeing is believing."

Sara started to clear her throat and Harry's attention turned to her.

"So, Mick, you brought your kid on the ship, and Gary brought a dog," Sara said. "Is there anything else that I should be told about?"

"Well, Astra's here," Harry said. "Thought Ava would have mentioned it by now."

"Damn," Ava murmured.

Sara just responded by throwing her hands up in defeat and walking off to catch her bearings.

"Let me show you the rest of the ship," Mick said.

"Oh, but it's getting good," Lita said.

Harry moved over to Charlie, Zari, John, and Astra.

"So, do you think we can do this?" Charlie asked.

"Well, you're a fate, Astra was being groomed to be a replacement, and Harry is Harry," John said. "I think we've got a good enough shot."

"Good, I'm glad you think this is going to work," Zari said. "Let's…do this."

"Let's bring Natalie back," John said.

"I think we should fix Harry first," Astra said.

"What?" John asked. "Are you sure?"

"I can't…my mother can wait, but Harry could die if one more really bad thing happens," Astra said.

"I'm not that bad, and we should fix Sara's blindness," Harry said.

"You know something, Natalie is a big change, and Harry and Sara, they're smaller changes, but still rather big," Charlie said. "We test to make sure this thing even works by bringing Behrad back. He would cause the smallest ripple and be the least problematic if it goes wrong."

"Unless he comes back as a zombie," John murmured.

"What?" Zari asked.

"Nothing," Harry said quickly. "Let's start."

The rings were out and the process to use the loom began. They spun and tried to lock onto Behrad. The threads were working their way onto him.

"I can feel him," Harry said.

"Me too," Astra said.

"Yes, we can finally pull…." Charlie said. "BUGGER!"

A discharge came from the Loom and sent a burst of flame ricohetting through the ship. The rings went flying and Harry had been knocked down. His arms were on fire for a minute, until they were put out. He winced.

"Fine, I'm fine," Harry groaned.

"What happened?" Astra demanded.

"We lost the thread," Charlie said.

"And Harry almost lost his arms!" Zari yelled.

"I told you we should have fixed him first," Astra said.

"It wouldn't have bloody mattered!" Charlie yelled. "And I feel them…I got…alarmed. They're watching…we could alert them to our presence."

Harry pulled himself up. His arms were severely burned in the aftermath of what just occurred.

Harry's arms were wrapped up completely. Astra stepped in to check on him.

"I'll heal," Harry murmured. "Although not as fast."

Astra just took a second to consider everything. She put her hands on Harry's shoulders and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"The Loom takes three fates to control, and Charlie is only one," Astra said. "I should have never trusted John. I never should have never thought he could make this work."

"Well, did you trust me or were you all out of options?"

John stepped in and Astra turned towards her.

"The fact I gave you the benefit of the doubt, after everything you were responsible for, what was I thinking?" Astra asked. "After you stood by and let Dumbledore send Harry back to them."

"He threatened to send me through the veil if I got in contact with Harry again," John protested.

"It would have been no less than what you deserved," Astra said.

"Alright knock it off," Harry said. "This argument solves nothing."

"Well, you're making a lot of decisions based on emotion, rather than reason," John said.

"Don't you…don't you talk to him like that," Astra said.

"You used the Loom, even though you knew it would hurt you," John said. "And Rakepick, you would think that you would know all of the reasons why you could not trust her."

"And I have my reasons for trusting her, but it's not like I'm sharing them with you," Harry said.

"Look at yourself, you're becoming Dumbledore….."

"Don't you ever compare Harry to him!" Astra hissed.

The door opened up in the middle of the argument.

"Alright, Astra, what did you do with it?"

Charlie stormed in and looked at Astra for a second.

"What?" Astra asked.

"What did you do with the Bloody Loom?" Charlie demanded.

Nate, Ray, and Zari came in, all drawn in by the source of the argument and Charlie and Astra going face to face with each other.

"I thought you had it," Astra said.

"I did," Charlie said. "But, it's gone and you have a vested interest in taking it."

"I DIDN'T TAKE THE DAMN LOOM!"

"Okay, what's going on?" Sara asked as she stepped into the Med-Bay with Ava.

"She stole the Loom," Charlie said.

"Are you sure you didn't lose the bloody thing?"

"Alright, everyone settle down!" Ray yelled.

"Oh, shove it boy scout!" Charlie said. "Obviously my sister's still pulling her strings. And it's a pity she's not woman enough to admit it and…"

"ENOUGH!" Harry yelled. "Astra didn't take the Loom, because she was with me the entire time."

"Well, if Astra, didn't take it, then who did?" Charlie asked.

"Good question," Harry said. "Gideon. Pull up the security footage and focus on Charlie."

The security footage pops up and we see Charlie with the pieces of the Loom. She dropped them down the toilet to try and get rid of them.

"Oh come on!" Nate yelled. "That's our only toilet."

"Everyone needs to calm down and stop shouting," Sara said. "We need to get this situation under control, stat."

"I'll get a plunger," Ray offered with a defeated sigh.

Harry suddenly had been stricken by the sudden and most violent impulse to murder all of the men on the ship. He mused how easy it would be to slit Nate's throat or to murder Ray with a single wiggle of his finger.

Harry pulled out of his murderous thoughts and breathed deeply. He had no idea what was going on.

"I need to take a walk," Harry said. "You people are driving me mad."

And the fact he wanted to kill every single man on the ship concerned Harry.

Harry took a couple of deep breaths and walked out. And he noticed Lita storming past her father.

"Wait! Lita! Damn it!"

Lita slammed the door behind her and Mick was locked out of the study.

"Problems?" Harry asked.

"She saw all of my loot, that I kept in the vault, and she was excited about it," Mick said. "Way too excited…I don't want that kind of life for her. It's not good for anyone. Damn it, this is why I thought she was better off without me."

"So, you saw some of yourself in her and it freaked you out?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, hit the nail on the head," Mick said. "I don't want her to spend half of her life in jail. It's not a good life for anyone."

Harry understood where Mick was coming from. Harry heard Gary whistle. Suddenly, Harry's fingers, curled around as he imagined wrapping his hands around Gary's throat and strangling him. Gary was too preoccupied with his dog and it would be aasy.

"Problem?" Mick asked.

"I want to kill Gary," Harry said.

"Oh, that's pretty normal," Mick said.

"Normally not like this," Harry said.

A voice whispering to Harry to take them all out caused him to hold the top of his head. He turned around and saw Sara, Ava, and John walking off.

"There's going to be side effects with what happened with you," John said. "You might not be seeing what you think you're seeing."

"I know what I'm seeing," Sara said through gritted teeth.

"What are you seeing?" Harry asked her. "You had another vision."

"She did, but…surely it can't be real?" Ava asked.

"I know what I saw," Sara said. "It was me murdering everyone on the ship. And while you put me down, I fatally wounded you. You bled to death, slow and alone, until Charlie's sisters swooped in to pick up the pieces. And then they enslaved the world."

"It's not going to happen," Harry said. "There's no way it's not going to happen."

"It's not," Ava said. "You're control of your own actions. You won't…you can't be seeing the future."

"She could be."

Ava turned to Harry. Harry ignored the murderous urges he was having towards the other men on the ship and turned back to the conversation.

"She could be," Harry said. "But the future is set in stone and…"

They came across an unconscious Nate, lying just outside of the bathroom. Then Ray, halfway in the bathroom, with a plunger next to him. And lying beside of him, was a blunt object which Harry picked up.

So easy to finish the job right now.

Sara grabbed the object out of Harry's hand.

"You were going to pound them to a pulp," Sara said.

"I've got a thirst to kill them and it's getting stronger, as my…something's not right," Harry said. "I want to murder every single man on the ship."

"That's not normal?" John asked.

"I think if I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't bat an eyelid," Harry said. "But, something is really….Gary!"

Gary's eyes opened up wide and he had the Loom, dripping with toilet water in his hands. Zari, who had been at the hallway, rushed up.

"I have to destroy it," Gary said.

"Oh, no you don't!"

Zari rushed over and started to struggle against Gary. She managed to knock him back and take the pieces of the Loom.

"Ew," Zari said when she realized where they had been.

"What's going on?" Gary asked. "What….I must have blacked out…why do my hands smell like…."

Harry turned to Gary's dog. Cute, unassuming, and completely and utterly giving off an aura of dark magic which almost blinded Harry. And Harry's thoughts to murder Gary, Nate, Ray, and John intensified the closer he stepped to the dog.

He was most certainly not a good boy.

Harry blasted the dog against the wall which caused everyone watching to scream in pain.

"The hell?" Gary asked. "Have you lost your mind?"

"No, he hasn't," Sara breathed. "I see it now."

Laughter filled the ship.

"The feared Dragon is about to lose his spark," the dog said in a deep and insidious voice.

The dog continued his laughter, and his eyes flashed with fire, before he turned to the Legends who remained awake. It was not a normal dog.

"Gary, where did you get that dog?" Ava asked.

"He was a rescue pet," Gary said. "From Hell."

"Damn it Gary!" Sara cursed.

"Ripping apart the famous Harry Potter and his friends, will be a treat," The Hellhound rasped. "I'm responsible for more bloodshed through history than you can imagine. The Son of Sam owes his infamy to my guiding paw."

"The Son of Sam did say he was influenced by his neighbor's dog," Ava said.

Harry tried to contain the voices in his head, along with containing the dog. And in a flash, Sara dove at the dog and tried to stab it, but it flashed out of the way.

The hellhound was not giving the Legends a good time. Biting, scratching, and burning them, in several different ways.

"There's got to be a way to take down this infernal thing," John said.

Harry made an attempt to collar the hellhound. Needless to say, it did not like that and vanished, in a blink of an eye. Mick's eyes widened when he heard Lita's screams.

"Hang on!" Mick shouted.

Mick slammed into the door, breaking down the study door, with his heat gun at the ready.

"Is he going to try and use a heat gun on a hellhound?" John asked. "Ooh bloody hell!"

"Ha!" the hellhound growled. "It tickles!"

Harry flashed in where Lita was standing, and grabbed her before teleporting her out of the way. All while splinching himself in the process. Blood splattered all over the place as Harry made sure Lita was out of harm's way.

"Harry!" Ava shouted.

"Yes, Ava, I'm aware I'm missing a part of my leg," Harry said through gritted teeth. "And I got to get both my leg and Mick out of harm's way before…oooh…bloody hell!"

Harry disappeared and sent the dog flying for a second. He then grabbed Mick before the flames connsumed him, along with the detached part of his leg.

"You ripped your leg off?" Mick asked.

"Merely a flesh wound," Harry said.

Harry magically, and quite painfully, stitched his leg back on before teleporting Mick out of harm's way. Harry thought sealing the study door behind him would slow the Hellhound down.

The door blasted open. Harry was wrong. Dead wrong. This would not be fun, even without the massive amount of blood he lost.

"I think I can send this thing back," John said. "If I knew what his name is."

Harry found himself wobbling back and forth. Astra entered the hallway.

"Oh, it's you," Astra said. "Marchosias."

"Astra Logue, Lachesis will make you pay," Marchoasias said.

"Oh, thank you, that's all I need," John said. "Everyone stand clear."

Harry was glad that John was able to do this. Harry almost collapsed, with Lita and Astra catching him.

"What happened to your leg?" Astra asked.

"Splinched," Harry said.

"And I never want to see that in person again," Lita said with a grimace. "The books downplay how gruesome that is."

"The books downplay a lot of stuff," Harry winced. "But, maybe that's another conversation for another time."

John banished Gary's Hellhound.

"Everyone okay?" Harry asked.

"Oh, I'll be feeling that one for weeks," Nate said. "But, things could be worse."

"I sure bloody hope not," Harry said while taking a step.

"And back to the Med-Bay with you," Sara said.

"I feel like I should move in at this point," Harry said.

Arms burned, a leg ripped off, and Harry was woozy from the blood loss. Yes, today was not a day he was going to enjoy having to relieve.

"We really must stop meeting like this," Gideon said. "And you need to really stop putting yourself in these situations because your body breaks down the more you use your magic."

"Herpo's Curse is causing you to literally fall apart," Astra said. "Damn it, we should have used the Loom on you first."

"It wouldn't have done any good," Harry said.

Lita knocked on the door.

"Yes?" Harry asked.

"Thank you for risking your life to save mine," Lita said. "You are Harry Potter."

"Last I checked," Harry said.

"Deep down, I think a part of me knew that," Lita said. "I just didn't want to believe Dad knew someone so awesome so…what was the word that you used earlier?"

"Schway is the term you're looking for," Gideon said.

"Yes," Lita said. "Schway."

Sara leaned against the edge of the doorway.

"I would ask you about how you're doing," Sara said. "But, we both know the answer to that."

Harry just smiled.

"You were this close to dying tonight."

"He really was," Death commented as she casually popped up. "Your abilities, they're coming undone. And I shudder to think what will happen if someone else gets their hands on the Hallows. You need to move quickly."

"The Loom is my best chance," Harry said.

"But, you need to fix this problem," Sara said.

"We've got many problems," Harry said. "You can't see. I can't walk right now and any magic I perform is going to cause me to degrade faster. And Charlie's sisters, they're waiting for the right moment to swoop in. We just barely avoided them last time."

And that was when Harry had a lot more of his abilities. He noticed through the window, Gary and Ava in the midst of a conversation. And Gary was holding onto a pet rabbit.

"So, things are going to be different this time," Gary said. "This is Gary Jr….II!'

"Gary," Ava murmured. "You…."

"I didn't get it from Hell, this time," Gary said. "Although the shady carny I bought it from, told me not to feed it after midnight."

"I can only imagine the look of rage that's crossing Ava's face right now," Sara murmured while leaning against Harry's arm.

"You mean the one where she wants to strangle Gary?" Harry asked.

"That's the one," Sara agreed.

"To be fair, that feels like a normal reaction," Astra chimed in, with a small little smile.

Astra looked at Harry for a second. Harry managed to walk, with the aid of a cane, and made his way out of the Med-Bay. Astra just sighed.

"Got to get back to the drawing board," Harry said. "They're closing in. We have to act now."

Eight days, at the most charitable, and the clock was ticking down. Charlie joined Astra and Harry.

"Time is running out," Charlie said. "I can feel it."

"That Loom, it was meant for three fates," Astra commented.

"Which I do wonder if Astra could have used it in the first place," Harry said while he turned to Charlie. "Your sisters might need your help to work it as much as you need help to work it."

"They want me dead, because I betrayed them," Charlie said.

"Oh, I'm sure they're hoping you make a deal with them," Harry responded.

"You can't disagree that it poses a danger every second it's on the ship," Charlie said. "Once my sisters get themselves together, they will be coming for the Legends. And they will kill all of you. And they will save you for last."

"Over my dead body," Astra said.

"That's the idea," Charlie said somberly. "And even the Master of Death can't hold them back, as the days go longer."

The door opened and Rakepick stepped onto the ship. She looked at Harry's wrapped up arms along with his damaged leg.

"Things are getting worse," Rakepick said. "But, I may have solved your issue. We need to reactivate the charm in your blood created by your mother's sacrifice. And we'll need a tribute of your mother's blood to do so."

"So, do we need to gut Petunia?" Astra asked, almost sounding hopeful. "Or Dudley?"

Harry felt that he should be concerned how suddenly his old friend's idea shifted to casual murder. Rakepick just smiled.

"Unfortunately, not that straight forward," Rakepick said. "We will need a willingly given sample of blood. Straight from Lily Evans herself."

Harry took a moment to consider this.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked.

"I will stake my entire reputation on it," Rakepick said.

"Not much left to lose there," Astra murmured.

"Oh, that's funny coming from the little Hell Queen, whose sloppy little Encore scheme put Harry in this condition in the first place," Rakepick said.

"Not now," Harry hissed before Astra could retort. "We have to make plans. And soon."

Harry was going to have to do this while causing minimal ripples throughout the timeline. And he had eight days to pull it off.

To be fair, Harry had been under worse deadlines.

To Be Continued.