Loud explosions rang out all over the world. The news continued to report on what they could find out. Yet that was getting to be a rather hazardous job. The military was losing badly, despite their best efforts. It was not for any lack of trying, but just being crippled due to the lack of technology. All of the resources were being rerouted to keep the civilians out of harm's way. While no hostages appeared to have been taken yet, Intel was sketchy and very hard to come by.
The crowd looked up, cheering as Superman flew several endangered children out of the way. He landed on a building, and aimed a blast of heat vision, cutting through the air towards a pod. The Flash zoomed across, getting more civilians out of harm's way. Several alien blasters shot towards the fastest man alive.
He evaded them with super speed.
"Come on, don't give up now," said Flash, but immediately a blast of laser fire cut through the air. He dodged it. "Okay, changing my mind, you can give it up any time."
Green Lantern used an energy attack to rip the weapons out of the hands. His ring construct's were simple, but rather effective. Everyone looked around for Batman, but he had snuck in around the back. A loud explosion indicated Batman had disabled one of the larger pods. He was surrounded by the creatures, but the Martian Manhunter saved him in the nick of time.
"So how many do we have left?" asked Superman.
"I'm guessing too many," said Flash.
Hawkgirl smashed one of them hard with a brutal swing with her mace.
"Well that's one less that we have to deal with," commented Hawkgirl. She flew forward, and swung it again, taking out more.
Wonder Girl and Wonder Woman fought side by side, taking out the invading forces.
"Slow down you two, leave some for us," said Sirius, as he blasted another creature with a ball of flames from his wand.
"You're actually complaining that we have less work to do," said Remus.
"Hey, he's just gotten his freedom, let the man live a little," said Tonks, taking a deep breath, and managing cause one of the pods to explode in a stream of golden light.
Screams and cheers combined in the distance, depending on the vantage point. Sparks flew in the sky, and brimstone could be smelt in the air. Several people rested on the ground, and paramedics bravely tried to get them some form of medical attention.
"They should really have checked in by now," said Sirius in a frustrated voice. "What if they got caught?"
Sirius looked about to do something reckless, but thankfully someone had the presence of mind to speak up.
"They won't get caught, they're careful," said Batman in a stoic tone. He launched two batarangs into the air. They stuck into the side of an abandoned building. He pressed a detonator device, and a loud explosion rang out. The pods got buried in bricks. "These type of things take time."
"Yeah, but we're kind of running out of time," said Hawkgirl, smashing through them.
"What are they doing?" asked Green Lantern.
"Saving the world, as they always do," said Hermione with a challenging look. She managed to blow up one of the creatures with a well-placed shot, a look of determination and fury on her face.
"She's got some anger management issues," whispered Flash to Superman, but Wonder Woman wrapped her lasso around the legs of one of the pods and she smashed it down. "On second thought, I can see where she gets it from."
Superman nodded, as he blew his attackers off course. Hermione looked at everyone as she heard a buzzing in the ear piece that she had on.
"Yeah, Arcane, what is it?" asked Hermione. Thankfully she was covered, so it would be a simple matter to talk to Harry hands free.
"We managed to go through Brainiac's files," said Harry. "Sure enough, there was a way to beat them. He devised a way to shut them down, and steal the information they collected for his little program. Kara and I are working on developing it. It should be done in about the next thirty minutes, maybe forty five."
Hermione let that all set in before she responded.
"Forty five minutes!" yelled Hermione.
"Hey, we're cutting as many corners as we can," said Harry. "Just stall them. Be creative. And remember the other plan we talked about if worse comes to worse."
"Yeah, I understand," said Hermione with a nod. "Just, do what you can. I know you and Kara will come through. At the last second, but that does seem to be par for the course."
Harry just snickered on the other end of the communication link. "Alright Wonder Girl, just make sure you don't do anything too reckless out there."
"You of all people telling me that is the height of amusement," dead panned Hermione, but she was grinning.
There was a bit of a pause, as Harry and Kara seemed to be verifying something with each other. Hermione could not pick it up.
"Yeah, well still don't do anything too reckless, I don't want to have to go through another near death experience with you," said Harry. "Unless you got any other personalities rattling around in your head."
"Not to my knowledge," said Hermione dryly. "Anyway, got to help the others, finish that device, let me know when it's done. Then we'll do the other part plan."
Harry disconnected the link. Hermione walked off to give the good news.
"At least thirty minutes, maybe a little bit more," said Hermione.
This got her a few exasperated looks, but Hermione just shrugged apologetically.
"Well that's the best we can hope for," said Batman in a firm voice.
"Buy them all of the time they need," agreed Superman but without the sun he was running on sheer instincts. Even the simulated magical sunlight only boosted him to a third of his full power. He had to use lower impact attacks, and pick his spots wisely.
The forces had been depleted, but they still refused to go down. The entire assembled group of heroes rushed into the attack. Everyone took their best shots.
Of course more nagging hints in the back of their mind about whether their best would be good enough continued to dog them. They tried to shut those out; thoughts like that would only lead to defeat. Pressing on and engaging the enemy, with loud cracks and more attacks. The insane battle continued to rage on as the alien invasion crippling the world caused everyone to wonder about their potential savior in their darkest hour.
The world waited to see what would transpire.
"Could we be moments away from the end of the world as we know it? Despite our best attacks, defenses against the alien invasion have been barely able to put a dent in their forces. Heroes such as Superman have gone in to save the day, but even the Man of Steel appears to be overwhelmed. The United Nations are meeting for a last ditch resolution, but we are dealing with an uncaring and brutal foe."
People around the world watched this on their television screens, viewed it over the Internet, and heard it over the radios. Children in their classrooms watched on television screens, as their teachers offered comfort for something that could not come. Those who lived through the Cold War and thought of the worst case scenarios thought back to what could have occurred during that time.
This was far worse. Mostly because this was no potential scenario, it actually was happening. For a few hours, all of the nations of the world reluctantly put aside any differences. No matter what the nationality, they were all citizens in the world.
Most of the invading forces had been centered around London. While there were hints the forces depleted, there was every hint that this was the calm before the storm.
A loud crackle had caused all communications to become scrambled. Everyone was cut off from the world once again, and now the entire world waited in the dark.
Panic followed despite the best efforts of those in power to calm down the situation.
Kara and Harry looked over the finished product. The news went dead, but Patronus Inc had a power source separate from everything else that was not dependent on anything from the rest of the world.
"Okay, this should work," said Kara. She took a deep breath, and added in a small voice, "I hope."
"Kara, it will work," said Harry as he wrapped his arms around her, and pressed her tight. "You did what you could. You took your time, you didn't rush it. You were under a lot of pressure, but if we can get inside, we can shut them down once and for all."
Harry relaxed his grip on her.
"Yeah, it's got to work," said Kara as she pulled herself up and pushed the chair in. She looked at Harry. "Now it's time to get into the second phase of our little plan."
They enjoyed one last quiet moment in each other's arms, but they had to get going.
"The entire world's hinging on us, you know," said Harry.
"Yeah, no pressure or anything," said Kara with a smile, but it was rather forced and not the happy and confident expression she normally wore. "So, nothing left to lose."
Harry had no comment. There was everything to lose. All of the times he had to save the day, the stakes were never quite this high, but now everything rested on their shoulders. Harry leaned over, and gave her a brief, but encouraging kiss. It was about a few seconds, but he put so much into it. Kara returned it, before she broke it.
"Ready to go," said Harry, arm draped around his wife's waist, and she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.
"Yeah," agreed Kara as she looked out the window. She could see the barren streets. Everyone had gone indoors which was weird and rather unsettling for Metropolis.
Kara picked up the finished program, and without another word, the two popped away. The world continued to wait for the end, or hopefully a new hope. No one really had any clear idea.
There were two individuals who had the potential key to the salvation of the world in their hands. The events of today started with Umbridge attacking them, but it spiraled into far more dire than anything that foul woman could think of.
It was always darkest before the new day came.
"Don't look now, but I think we've found out what they're building," said Superman. His eyes looked up and the assembled party looked forward to see a large pulsing device giving energy waves. A force field surrounded the device.
"So that's what they were working on in the Department of Mysteries," said Tonks. "What is it?"
"It's destabilizing all transmitted communication," said the Martian Manhunter. "A world that cannot communicate is lost and submerged in fear. They feed on fear. That's how they destroyed many worlds, and now they just softened us up. They're going in for the kill."
"There's a plan, please tell me there's a plan!" said Flash. "And no one's offering any positive reinforcement so I'm guessing we're still in the stalling phase."
Tonks gave him an exasperated look and he calmed down immediately.
"We're going to have to do something if those two don't come in with whatever they're building to disable this invasion," said Green Lantern in a firm voice.
"Yeah, we better get in, see if we can…"
A blast impacted them, as a larger invading army moved in. They marched into the city of London.
"They found us," said Superman.
"Well let's not give them an easy time," said Wonder Woman. She flew up to engage them without thinking.
"Diana wait!" yelled Hermione.
A loud sizzle had caused her to get knocked for a loop. The Flash, the Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Superman all rushed in for the battle. A loud explosion echoed throughout as they continued to battle. Wonder Woman got back to her feet.
Sirius, Remus, and Tonks snuck around to the other side. Hermione slid underneath the attack, and began to send spells. Immediately, she got a signal and nodded.
"Going in now," said Hermione under her breath.
Hermione aimed a high impact shot at her enemies. The battle continued to rage on, and explosions kicked up dust. The girl appeared to twist her ankle. Hermione landed on the ground, as the invaders closed in on her. She fought out, but several of the invaders moved in and dragged her towards the main ship.
"Donna!" yelled Wonder Woman.
"Keep focused!" warned Superman but that fell on deaf ears, as she tried to fight through the invading forces on her own.
Batman went down hard with a huge blast. Hawkgirl tried to move in, but was blasted down. She landed on the ground hard. Green Lantern used a shield with his ring to block the attacks for a few minutes. This effort only held up for a matter of minutes. The shield was disabled, and knocked down to the ground. Green Lantern, Superman, and Flash had been dragged out.
"No, you aren't getting this world!" yelled the Martian Manhunter. He rushed forward, and began to engage the enemy. Determined and fierce, he fought his enemies.
The Martian Manhunter fought bravely, and fought through but the entire group overwhelmed him. Immediately, he was carried off despite his best efforts. He looked up, groggy as Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman, Wonder Girl, Batman, Superman, and the Flash were all placed into pods for containment, and potential dissection.
"So, now what?" asked Green Lantern.
"All going according to plan," said Hermione underneath her breath.
"Plan, you can't be serious!" shouted the Green Lantern. "What kind of amateurish plan leads to us getting captured…"
"Oh, the one that saves the world," said Hermione. She looked relaxed, almost like she was hanging out for a day at the spa.
No one seemed to know what to say for the longest time.
"I just hope the plan works, whatever it is," said Superman.
"Well it's not like we have many other options," said Flash. "We're fresh out of them."
The group surrounded the captured group of heroes, as Hermione activated the beacon that signified they found the Imperium's ship.
"Earth, I had no idea this planet would be so tough to take down. But it appears there are always a few heroes who wish to be brave. Yet once the world sees that you are captured, the rest will fall. The world is lost."
"Nothing is lost, not until we stop breathing," said Superman in a determined voice.
There were mutterings at this, disdain, but the heroes remained steadfast.
"So, whatever this plan is, I hope it pans out soon," said Flash, breathing in and out to try and not panic.
They could only wait.
At the speed of light, Harry and Kara arrived. They touched down, and snuck around in the shadows until they found what they were looking for.
"There's the device that blocks out the sun," whispered Kara.
"There was the device that blocked out the sun," corrected Harry, calculating the best attack.
He flew in. With a high impact magical attack, he caused the device to be cracked. Kara smashed into it, and the sky opened back up. The yellow sunlight once again was able to shine in. She sighed, completely restored.
"Been running on reserves," said Kara. "Granted, I have a lot left in the old solar battery, enough for a couple of days, but it's best to be careful."
The loud screams of several creatures left out in the sun could be heard by their enhanced hearing. Harry waved his wand, using a spell that increased the intensity of the sun.
"Warn, must warn…"
"Sorry, I can't let you do that," said Kara, sending a blast of high intense and magically amplified heat vision. The heat vision caused the creatures to wilt and blister, along with the sunlight.
The loud humming from just across from the Ministry stood indicated the device that had been planted.
"And now we know how they've been blocking the communications around the world," summarized Kara, and she flew in. A force field caught her off guard, and she stopped. Harry caught her before she was off balance. "So what do you think?"
He did a diagnostic spell, and nodded.
"The force field only extends past the ground, not underneath," said Harry.
Kara thought about what was suggested, and verified Harry's results with her X-Ray vision. The couple smashed their way through the ground. Harry blocked the debris from flying, and smashed over inside the force field. Kara disabled the force field, and Harry short circuited the device.
"Okay, the communications are coming back on line!" yelled Harry, checking with his contact at Patronus Incorporated.
"Two things down, one more to go," said Kara, spurred on by their success so far.
The two flew through the air. Harry followed Hermione's signal.
"Yeah, but it's the big one," said Harry, clearing up the debris. "Hermione and the others are inside the main ship. We've got to get to them, before it's too late."
Kara nodded, forced and determined. The two zoomed through the air, following the signal. They watched as the remaining aliens tried to retreat back to the main ship, but they were weakened completely from the returning sunlight. Sirius, Tonks, and Remus moved around on the outside.
"It's go time," said Harry.
The two rushed underneath, and made their way to the opening. The combined attacks of the two managed to dent the door enough to pull it open, and allowed them entrance into the ship.
Kara and Harry watched, as the main computer was right in front of them. Harry waved his hand, and the containment pods bust open. Superman, Hawkgirl, Batman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Wonder Girl, Wonder Woman, and the Martian Manhunter all were freed.
"Contain them!"
Chaos occurred. Kara darted over, and pulled the chair over. Harry shielded them from the attacks.
"Three minutes!" yelled Harry over his shoulder.
"Oh, that is that all?" asked Hermione.
"Hey, these things take time, just stall them," said Harry.
Hermione shrugged as she relayed Harry's words to anyone who didn't hear.
"You heard him," said Batman. He dropped several pellets, and smoke appeared. The entire group of aliens battled the defending heroes.
Kara bit her tongue, and hooked up the virus uplink to the main computer. She managed to upload it into the computer. Everything hummed to life, and the firewall was broken down just as Brainiac had planned.
"Stop her before she collapses the entire fleet," ordered the Imperium.
Superman split open the top of the ship. Sunlight appeared, empowering Superman and also weakening the invaders. They screamed, and smoked. The parasites were weakened, unable to stand in the light.
Hawkgirl smashed them hard. A lantern construct shot out and blew them out. Wonder Woman jumped up and took them out with several swift attacks.
"Upload in process, almost complete."
"Oh, and once this upload completes, we've got about fifteen seconds to get out of here!" yelled Harry.
There was a few seconds where that new piece of information set in.
"Everyone start running!" called Superman, smashing through the walls to allow an exit strategy.
Harry grabbed Kara around the arm, readying for the escape. The computer began to blink to life.
"Let's go!" called Kara.
The couple was popped out of the ship. They joined the rest of the group, as the ships retreated. The main ship melted down, completely destroyed by the sunlight that engulfed the remaining invaders.
Nothing but a smoking mess had been left in the street.
"So, we won," said Flash.
"Yeah, we won," said Superman.
"We couldn't have done it without Arcane and Supergirl," said Hermione, but Harry shook his head. "What do you mean no?"
Harry deferred this particular explanation to his wife.
"We just delivered the crushing blow, you did a good job in setting them up," said Kara.
"Besides, does it really matter who takes the credit?" asked Harry. "The world has been saved, most people are safe. Everyone should be getting back to normal."
Everyone let out the breaths they were holding. Green Lantern turned his face towards Kara and Harry.
"That plan was sloppy and had a lot of rookie mistakes!" lectured the Green Lantern. "You might have won, but you were lucky."
"Sometimes luck has everything to do with it," said Superman, stepping in to defend his cousin and her husband.
"Yeah, but they might not be lucky the next time," said Green Lantern. "The plan was amateurish, and could have caused people to get hurt or worse! Then again, what could you expect from a couple of teenagers?"
Kara and Harry did not wilt under his stern look.
"Man, it must be a problem sitting down for you," said Kara breaking the silence.
John Stewart looked baffled. "What are you talking about?"
"Well, with that huge stick up your ass," said Kara with a grin.
"Yeah, I was kind of wondering that too," said Flash, who could not resist putting his two cents in.
"I'm being completely serious, there was a real risk here," said Green Lantern, but Batman raised a hand.
He offered his assessment on the situation.
"There could have been a more fluid plan," said Batman. "Of course given the circumstances, at least they came up with a plan."
"Yeah, day's saved, that's a win in my book," said Flash.
"And the Imperium finally were taken down," agreed Martian Manhunter.
Harry turned to the group.
"Like I said, the seven of you, you worked well out there."
He should have known that one particular omitted party was not going to let this go without a comment.
"What am I, chopped liver?" asked Hermione in a huff.
"Your head's inflated enough, sis," said Harry, with a good natured smile on his face.
Hermione gave a mock angry glare, which got some amused chuckles. Harry just patted her on the head.
"You did well Hermione, you lead me right to them," said Harry in an undertone to her.
"So, I think we should clear out of here," said Superman. "Mission accomplished."
"So, I'm guessing the world's saved," said Tonks suddenly.
"Yeah," confirmed Flash. "World's saved."
"Good, "yawned Sirius. "Time to clear out, tired, I need my beauty sleep."
"I doubt it will do any good," said Remus and Sirius responded with a mock dirty look.
He hid the limp he had developed; he was getting too old for this. Not that he would admit that to Sirius, because he would never hear the end of it.
The news came in all over the world. The Ministry of Magic got the word that the alien invasion ceased just around the same time everyone else did.
Currently Rufus Scrimgeour remained the Minister of Magic, for what it was worth. There was not much of a Ministry, no Gringotts, no newspaper, and no Hogwarts. Within the end of the week, the Ministry would run out of money in their reserve stores. Employees who did not get paid tended not to stick around for too long.
"Yaxley gave us misinformation," breathed Scrimgeour. The news in front of him unsettled him greatly. "The alien invasion wasn't Potter and his wife. Rather it was from the Ministry of Magic itself. The Department of Mysteries was compromised, and Umbridge was in on the entire thing apparently."
His many yes-men surrounded him, nodding up and down like bobble heads.
"It does seem so, Minister."
Scrimgeour pinched the bridge of his nose. There were rumors that Harry Potter saved the entire world from the alien invasion. If Umbridge's plan happened to succeed, then Scrimgeour would not be able to regret what might have happened.
The past nine months had been one bad event after another. It all started with the Ministry finding out He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had lived after all. It all snowballed from there, and it lead them essentially being turned into a government without anything to govern. Other magical governments around Europe and the rest of the world offered magical creatures unprecedented rights and sanctuary. It was done out of spite, to rub the nose of the Ministry in the mess of their own failure.
The Minister had his back against the wall. Everything crumbled around him, but as the ship went down, he would find a way to plug the holes. He still had a little bit of time, and when there was time there was hope.
'Time to exercise some damage control, and offer a few apologies," thought Scrimgeour.
"Sir, now what?"
"We need him back, he can save us," said Scrimgeour. "Surely we must be able to give him something. He's a teenager, he should be easily enticed. Write Potter a letter, and ask him nicely to come back here to fix this. He pulled all of his gold from the bank. He should have the resources, and the political capital to restore us back to the prominent nation of the magical world."
"What makes you think he'll agree after all of the Ministry's done to him?" asked one of the officials.
Scrimgeour slammed his fist down on the desk.
"Damn it, don't say things like that!" snapped the Minister. "He has to agree, we're going to have to find a way to convince him. He…it's his duty to us. He has to help the Ministry. He wouldn't let the home of his parents just die on the vine like that. Draft a letter, but don't give him any reason to be suspicious or place a hint of a threat in it. If he feels threatened, all is lost!"
There were stammers of "yes, sir" and "right away, Minister Scrimgeour". The powerful wizard seemed desperate. Desperate and powerful was not a combination any fancied being around.
'Our darkest hour, but if I can persuade Potter I can go down as the greatest Minister in history,' thought Scrimgeour greedily. 'Rufus Scrimgeour, the wizard who brought Britain back to the promise land. I can demonize Umbridge, that would score points with Potter. Not that I have to act much for that one. Hopefully I can get him here in the next day or two. Within the week, or we're sunk for good.'
"Order of Merlin, First Class for Potter, if we can manage it!" yelled Scrimgeour, inspiration striking him at that moment.
Everyone just nodded, as the Ministry officials tripped over themselves to be the one who could take the credit for saving their world from the abyss.
'Home sweet home,' thought Harry.
It had been a few weeks since Kara and Harry had a nice quiet weekend at home. Harry had just briefly met with Bruce and Clark about the project they were working on. Harry agreed to split the costs with Bruce, and to make sure the security was top of the line so no one could take over the project. It would be online in the next couple of days.
"Kara!" yelled Harry.
"I'm in the bedroom!"
Harry walked up. Kara sat on the bed, dressed in a robe. Her hair was wet, indicating she just taken a shower.
"Kara, congratulations, you helped saved the world," said Harry. He walked over, and grabbed Kara. Kara smiled in spite herself, but Harry pulled back. "You're brooding about something isn't it? It's not what the Green Lantern said isn't it…"
"No, it's not that," said Kara with a sigh. "Harry, I'm worried about something."
Now, Harry was worried, because his wife never let anything bother her.
"What is it, honey?" asked Harry.
"Well, it's just…what if I'm unable to satisfy your needs?" asked Kara.
Harry was taken aback by this little random statement coming from his wife. She looked at him, and continued.
"When we first got married, you were so cute, how I had to guide you through everything," said Kara with a smile. "But it was worth it. You had natural talent, it just was the matter of getting it out of you. Remember?"
"I remember every moment I have with you," said Harry, wrapping his arms around her. Kara looked up into his eyes, relaxing into his embrace.
"Ever since your powers upgraded, you seem to be gaining more and more stamina," said Kara, eyes closed. "Your appetite has become insatiable almost. You need fuel, and I understand that. But there have been a few times where I had to push myself past my limits."
Harry tilted her head up, and looked into her eyes. "Kara, don't worry. You give me as much pleasure today as the first time we shared together. Maybe even more so, since we know our way around each other. We know what the other likes."
Kara nodded. Harry leaned up a little bit. She was still a couple of inches taller than him, but it was worth the effort. He gave her a nice long kiss. Kara returned it. The kiss boosted her self-esteem.
"If you ever feel pressured and think you can't go any more, just let me know," said Harry.
Kara nodded, but so far she had been able to keep up.
"Plus, you did come into some new power, so you might have more stamina than you think," said Harry in an encouraging voice. "Your magical abilities, combined with your Kryptonian physiology would make you a living goddess. Of course, you're already my goddess no matter what."
Kara gave a slight smile at that.
"You do tend to worship me," said Kara, her head rested in Harry's chest. She could hear his heart-beat.
"Every single bit of you, from your hair down to your toes," he said with a grin, holding her into him. "Anything else bothering you?"
She shook her head.
"Sorry, just got caught up in my own insecurities for the minute," said Kara. "Can you believe that? Supergirl's supposed to be all confident and bold, take charge and fearless. But here I am worrying that my husband will be disappointed in."
"Supergirl is just a role you play," said Harry stroking her hair, before he cupped her chin and looked into her blue eyes. "Kara is who you are, and the girl that I fell in love with."
They enjoyed the silence, but Kara had another thought she could not resist voicing.
"What if there are really more out there?" asked Kara suddenly.
"I beg your pardon?" asked Harry.
"Remember our conversation at Christmas, the expanding our relationship conversation?" asked Kara and Harry nodded.
Harry barely gave it more thought, given it seemed highly likely that Kara's entire race was extinct so she was the only one that fit his qualifications.
"Are you having second thoughts?" asked Harry.
"Well, not so much second thoughts, as…it's just another insecure thing," said Kara letting out a sigh. "I like the fact that we can bring in more to make things more dynamic. The thought of adding another female or two or more…well there's interesting possibilities."
"I did make my choices clear, Kryptonians, I prefer blondes, but…we'll cross that bridge if we get to it," said Harry. He cradled Kara in his arms as they were on the bed.
Kara thought about the situation. Kryptonian women were highly competitive when going after the same guy.
However, when they actually decided to enter a multi-partner relationship with the same guy, that's when things really got interesting and exciting, from what she heard.
'But, we're dealing with strictly hypothetical situations,' thought Kara. 'I'm the only one left, but maybe Harry's right. Maybe my powers will boost me. Maybe I'm overreacting.'
"Just everything from today got me thinking," said Kara, and Harry just responded by giving her series of light kisses on the face to sooth her.
The Dementors likely did a bit more of a number on her than Harry previously thought. She'd be okay after a good night's sleep.
"Harry, after a few hours of sleep, I'll be up for a little celebration," said Kara. "It isn't every day you help save the world from mass annihilation…twice."
"Just wake me up, Kara, and I'll be ready to go when you are," said Harry, and Kara leaned in and kissed him.
"Good night, Harry, I love you," said Kara, as Harry rested on his back and pulled her on top, so she could use him as a pillow.
"Good night Kara, love you too."
Harry stroked her blonde hair and she fell asleep in his arms. With a wave of his hand, he conjured a blanket to put over the top of them.
He allowed himself to go to sleep, until they were both full recharged.
Severus Snape looked over his shoulder. He heard the news; Ginny Weasley had died the previous day from her injuries. He barely spent time shedding a tear. There was an alien invasion, but that was a Muggle problem if there ever was one.
He was hot on the trail for the Hogwarts Killer. The final murder was perfect, almost too perfect. Snape followed the paper trail, and found himself on a remote island in the tropics.
Astoria Greengrass rested on a lawn chair on the beach sunbathing. Male servants answered her every beck and call. She had been annoyed for a while, as something blocked her sunlight. It cleared up. The green crystal necklace rested on her chest.
Her guest was right on schedule.
"Follow the bread crumbs I left for you, Professor Snape," said Astoria without looking up.
"So, you're the Hogwarts killer," said Snape dryly. "Congratulations."
"I didn't have any ambition worthy of Slytherin you told me during my second year," said Astoria in mock reminiscence. "I believe those were the words that came out of your mouth."
Snape recalled them well. He may have underestimated the girl.
"What was this all about, Miss Greengrass?" asked Snape. "Gold, is that why you killed all of these people?"
"Mostly, Professor Snape," said Astoria. "But it was just to drive both you and Dumbledore around the bend. Without your little golden boy savior here, you two failed to even get one hint. Dumbledore was blinded by his obsessive need to micro-manage Harry Potter's life, and you were blinded by your own ego. Vanity, it destroys us all, doesn't it, Professor?"
Snape held his wand out and pointed it on her. Astoria looked merely bored, and looked at her nails.
"You will come quietly, Miss Greengrass," said Snape.
Astoria just chuckled.
"Severus Snape, the hero," said Astoria with great mirth in her voice. "Really, Snape, what do you have to gain for bringing me in?"
"Justice," said Snape, but another pop echoed. Astoria looked suddenly scared and shivered.
"Somebody help me!" screamed Astoria at the top her lungs.
Neville Longbottom walked up, confused at the urgent message he received told him to come to this location. He saw Snape his wand on a girl and the girl fearful.
"So there is one last Death Eater out there," said Neville as he positioned himself in front of Snape.
"Longbottom, what are you doing here?" asked Snape. "Get out of my way, I'm dealing with a murderer."
"Murderer, that's…a fourth year Slytherin, Greengrass isn't it?" asked Neville.
The Greengrasses and the Longbottoms were acquainted somewhat, but Neville had kept away from the two daughters. His grandmother warned him about that family, and how they tended to play a very political game.
"She's far more dangerous than she looks," said Snape. "Now out of my way you idiot…"
Neville managed to catch Snape with a well-placed spell, and Snape's ribs were shattered.
"Idiot boy, useless boy, can't stand up a cauldron right, I remember all of the times you bullied me, Snape!" yelled Neville, taking out years of pent up frustration on his most hated teacher. "Azkaban's too good for the likes of you."
"He…tried to put me under the Imperius Curse," sniffled Astoria as Neville looked at the girl, helpless and scared.
He turned to Snape, the look of deepest loathing on his face.
"Don't be fooled by her, Longbottom, she was the Hogwarts Killer," said Snape in a sour voice.
"That's because you put me under the Imperius Curse!" yelled Astoria, pointing her finger at Snape. "You and Dumbledore….it was a way to…to…get Harry Potter to come back. So you could get control, slip him a love potion, and bind him to Ginny Weasley. You were going to arrange to have his wife murdered as well!"
Snape swallowed. These were naturally all lies, but Longbottom bought them hook, line, and sinker. The foolish Gryffindor had been taken in by the most powerful weapon of any women, their tears.
"It's a good thing Dumbledore's dead," said Neville with an intent expression on his face. "I got robbed of my victory against that bitch Lestrange! But there's no one who's going to rob me this time."
Neville stepped on Snape's hand and then his wand. The stick shattered, leaving Snape helpless as a drowned kitten. The scarred young man forced Snape's mouth open.
"I've made enough botched potions to realize what could be lethal," said Neville. "And you explained to me the results in great detail and how I was a dunderhead. But who's the dunderhead now, Snape? This one causes your internal organs to melt if ingested."
Neville stood before Snape.
"You don't have the guts to kill me," breathed Snape.
Neville uncorked the bottle and he poured the contents down Snape's throat, using a charm to force him to swallow. It was used mostly on young children who refused to take their potions when they were sick, but it served him well here.
Snape screamed in absolute agony, and seconds later, he expired.
"Is he dead?" asked Astoria trembling and at his nod, she rushed over, throwing her arms around Neville.
"Yeah, he won't bother you anymore," said Neville, confused at what to do. He had a half-naked girl in his arms; this was a new experience for him.
"Thank you, Neville, you're so brave, and strong, and powerful," breathed Astoria with a tearful expression on her face. "It's….not safe to be around here. But you can protect me, can't you?"
Neville opened his mouth, but Astoria looked at him with a small smile. He gave a nod.
"Did you take your gold out of Gringotts, Neville?" asked Astoria.
"Yes, glad I did given what happened," said Neville. "My parents…they're not doing well."
"Sorry to hear that," said Astoria. "But, we should stick together, the world's not safe. And I know that as long as I'm with you, I'm perfectly safe."
Neville felt a rush of pride that someone, a girl especially, had that much hope in his ability to keep them safe. Perhaps he could be a hero like Harry after all.
Yet, he could not help, but shake the thought something was a bit off about her. Perhaps it was his own inherent distrust of Slytherins, but something just bugged him.
It would be best to stick with Astoria, for now, until he figured out where to go from here.
"We should stick together," suggested Neville.
"I've got a hotel room, we can hang out there for tonight," said Astoria.
The two cleared up, and walked inside.
Astoria hid the calculating smile on her face. If Potter ever managed to track her down, she had a hostage, and he didn't even know he was being kidnapped.