Disclaimer: I don't own them

This is the rewrite of Death Comes to Town.
From DC we shall have elements of Smallville, Batman, Wonder Woman and a bit of Man of Steel cause I like the look of the tech and Superman's suit.
A lot of setting the scene in this chapter.
Pairings remain the same; Clark/Chloe, Lex/Lana, Harry/Diana. With the option of some becoming threesomes, maybe in the future but not harem.

Chapter 1

She cried out in pain, gripping the sheets tightly as her husband hovered over her, checking the readings Kelor was showing again. "Almost there," he promised as she cried out again, gently brushing long, sweat-dampened curls from her face. With one last scream, a baby's cry broke the silence as she fell back, panting from exhaustion. She raised her hand and Jor-El leant in, showing the now blanket wrapped bundle to her.

"Kal-El," she smiled as Kelor hovered around them, scanning the baby. "He's beautiful."

"I must go before the Council in Kandor and try again to convince them."

"I will ensure the ship is ready if needed. We will be fine," she let Kelor check her over and clean her up. "Do you really think it will be necessary?"

"I do." He kissed her and their son before leaving and Lara cradled her baby close, knowing that if Jor-El was right she would soon have to give her son up.

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"Do you not understand? Krypton's core is collapsing. We may only have a matter of weeks. I warned you, harvesting the core was suicide. It has accelerated the process of implosion," Jor-El, dressed in the more formal robes of the House of El, fought the urge to pace as he pushed for them to act and save their people.

"Our energy reserves were exhausted. What would you have us do, El?"

"Look to the stars, like our ancestors did. There are habitable worlds within reach. We can begin by using the old outposts."

"Are you seriously suggesting that we evacuate the entire planet?" One of the female Councillor's demanded.

"No. Everybody here is already dead. Give me control of the Codex. I will ensure the survival of our race. There is still hope. I have held that hope in my hands." He held his hands out and then turned as the sound of many footsteps sounded.

"This council has been disbanded," Zod commanded as he stalked into the Council Chamber.

"On whose authority?" An elderly woman on the Council demanded and they all watched in disbelief and horror as Zod killed her right before them.

"Mine. The rest of you will be tried and punished accordingly."

"What are you doing, Zod? This is madness," Jor-El warned him, grasping his arm to try and hold him back.

"What I should have done years ago," Zod pulled away. "These lawmakers with their endless debates have lead Krypton to ruin."

"And if your forces prevail you'll be the leader of nothing," Jor-El warned.

"Then join me. Help me save our race. We'll start anew. We'll sever the degenerative bloodlines that led us to this state."

Jor-El shook his head, feeling sad and older than he really was. "And who will decide

which bloodlines survive, Zod? You?" he missed the old days of their friendship, of the times when his brother, Zor-El, had been with them too. His own brother had tried to kill him years ago and now Zod had turned on them too. He knew his brother had to be the one assuring the Council that the Harvesting was safe. Zor-El was condemning his wife and daughter to death as well and it made him wonder if his brother had gone mad.

"Don't do this, El. The last thing I want is for us to be enemies," Zod tried even as the Councillors were led away by his troops and the sounds of battle reached them.

"You have abandoned the principles that bound us together. You've taken up the sword against your own people. I will honour the man you once were, Zod not this monster you've become," Jor-El stepped away from his one-time friend.

"Take him away," Zod commanded and two of his men stepped up to take Jor-El away. He went quietly, walking calmly between them down the hall to the landing pad.

"Sir? Is everything all right?" Kelex asked as it came up in front of them, floating calmly right in their way.

"Out of the way," the soldier commanded and Jor-El moved; so many dismissed him as simply a scientist, but he had grown up with Zod and learnt a lot from him when they were younger. The two soldiers went down easily.

"Get me Lara," he told Kelex who quickly connected to Kelor.

"Jor. Behind you," she said as the link was established, her face forming within the liquid geo in Kelex's centre. He turned and shot the approaching soldiers.

"Lara, you have to ready the launch. I'll be with you as soon as I can," he promised before ending the connection, running out onto the landing pad, shedding the heavy robes for the dark, skin-tight suit beneath, the symbol of his House on his chest. "H'Raka!" he called and soon the familiar form of his four-winged mount appeared, landing only long enough for him to get in the saddle. "Hyah!" they lifted off and dove, trying to avoid the enemy, Kelex flying with them. "Can you see the Codex?" he asked as they hovered over the complex.

"It's just beneath the central hub. But I'm compelled to warn you. Breaching the genesis chamber is a Class-B crime—"

"Nobody cares anymore, Kelex. The world is about to come to an end," he dove from H'Raka's back, swimming deep until he eventually surfaced inside the Codex Chamber. He stared in awe before moving to unhook the codex, hiding it in his clothes before leaving.

"Jor-El, by the authority of General Zod surrender the Codex." The call came from a ship as he emerged. He glanced down and smirked, stepping off the edge only to land on H'Raka's back. They flew low, twisting and turning to throw off their pursuit.

"Unh! Ahhh!"

"Easy, H'Raka." He reached down, and his hand came back coated in blood. He pushed her on for home and she gave it her all. "Just a little further," he urged as The House of El Citadel came into view. "Almost there." The landing was more of a crash and he gently stroked her neck as she slumped, dead. He turned and ran inside, activating the defences as he found Lara in the launch room, a small ship in the centre and their son lying in a crib nearby. "Did you find a world?"

"We have," she brought up the information. "Orbiting a main sequence yellow star just as you said it would."

"A young star. His cells will drink its radiation. It's an intelligent population, for the most part, they call it Earth," he offered as comfort, he had been there before when he was younger.

"He'll be an outcast. A freak. They'll kill him." She argued, terrified for her son.

"How? He'll be a god to them." Jor-El gently picked sleeping Kal up and cradled him before giving him to Lara.

"What if the ship doesn't make it? He'll die out there alone…. I can't do it. I thought I could, but..."

"Lara."

"...now that he's here..." She bit back a sob.

"Krypton is doomed, it's his only chance now. It's our people's only hope." He assured her, their son would live. Kelex flew up and he looked at her. "What is it, Kelex?"

"Five attack ships converging from the east. Citadel's defences are being scanned and evaluated."

"I'll upload the Codex." He went to take Kal back.

"No, wait."

"Lara."

"Just let me look at him," she stroked a baby soft cheek and blue eyes opened sleepily. "We'll never get to see him walk. Never hear him say our names," she was barely restraining the sobs, but she could not hold back her tears.

"But out there amongst the stars he will live.," Jor-El reassured her as he activated the Codex, sending the data within into their now squirming son.

"Goodbye, my son. Our hopes and dreams travel with you," Lara whispered as she stepped back, going to her own console they worked together, the ship closing around their son. Jor-El removed the liquid geo Command Key that formed from his console and moved it to the correct place on the ship.

"Lady Lara, the phantom drives are coming online," Kelor announced. Jor-El left the rest to Lara and moved to don his battle armour.

"Proceed to ignition," she ordered as she looked at her husband, standing there in full armour, ready to defend them. The doors finally gave way and Zod stormed inside.

"I know you stole the Codex, Jor-El. Surrender it and I'll let you live."

"This is a second chance for all of Krypton, not just the bloodlines you deem worthy."

"What have you done?" Zod asked in growing horror.

"We've had a child, Zod. A boy child. Krypton's first natural birth in centuries. And he will be free. Free to forge his own destiny," Jor-El smiled at the look of shock and horror on Zod's face.

"Heresy. Destroy it!" Zod commanded and his men moved to obey only to face a furious Jor-El. They fell rather easily. The two one-time friends clashed and to Zod's shock Jor-El soon had the upper hand.

"Lara listen to me. The Codex is Krypton's future. Abort the launch." Zod demanded from his knees. She looked to Jor-El who nodded, and she set the sequence. Seeing that Zod moved, a hidden blade snapping out and he rammed it through Jor-El's armour.

"Ah…!" Jor-El staggered back and then collapsed.

"No!" she screamed even as their son was launched into the air. She ran to her husband's side, gently cradling him close, crying as she realised he was already gone.

"Your son, Lara where have you sent him?" Zod demanded, for his old friends' sake he would not touch her, she was no threat after all.

"His name..." she took a deep breath and raised her head, glaring at the man she had known for years. "...is Kal, son of El. And he is beyond your reach." She finished triumphantly, no matter what happened to her, Kal would live. It would take time, even with the Phantom Drive, for him to reach earth but the ship was designed to teach him as he travelled and slept.

"Bring that ship down," Zod screamed as he ran out to his troops.

"Lay down your weapons. Your forces are surrounded." They were suddenly surrounded by ships and had no choice but to surrender. Zod watched as the ship carrying young Kal-El vanished into space.

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Zor-El watched as his unconscious daughter was placed into her ship. His plan should work, Kara would not remember what he had done. He was too badly injured to survive the trip to Earth but the blue crystal she carried held genetic data form him and Lara. Once on Earth, clone bodies could be made for them and he would finally have Lara all to himself. And she was his fall-back plan, if Kara failed then Lara's pattern would be the bait for her son, Kal-El. He watched as the ship launched, smirking, he would finally win over his brother. Jor-El should have left Lara to him, should have stayed out of things and let him and Zod secure Krypton's future with Brainiac's help.

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"General Zod for the crimes of murder and high treason the Council has sentenced you

and your fellow insurgents to three hundred cycles of somatic reconditioning. Do you have any last words?" the Council asked as they sat above the group of prisoners, Lady Lara standing off to the side, dressed in the formal regalia of her station.

"You won't kill us yourself!" Zod yelled. "You wouldn't sully your hands! But you'll damn us to a black hole for eternity!" he sneered at them. Jor-El was right. You're a pack of fools, every last one of you." He looked at the blank-faced Lara then. "And you. You believe your son is safe? I will find him. I will reclaim what you have taken from us. I will find him. I will find him, Lara. I will find him!" He kept telling her until he was unable to speak, and the group was sent up to the waiting ship.

With the trial over, she left and returned to the Citadel, going to the bedroom she had shared for years with Jor-El. She sat on the bed and inhaled what remained of his scent for a while before restlessly wandering the halls. Only hours later the floor shook, and she moved to the entry hall, staring out as volcanic material was ejected from the ground.

"Lady Lara, shouldn't you find refuge?"

She smiled sadly, watching the incredible sight. "There is no refuge, Kelor. Jor-El was right. This is the end," she whispered as the destruction moved ever closer. "Make a better world than ours, Kal," she prayed and then closed her eyes as the Citadel exploded.

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"Abracadabra." Lana waved her wand over the child's tea set as Jonathan and Martha Kent walked into the shop.

"Afternoon, Nell."

"Jonathan!" Nell smiled brightly until she saw Martha with him. "Martha What a surprise. What brings the reclusive Kent's to town?"

"Tulips. Red ones if you have them," Martha answered as she walked up to the counter.

"What about a tiger orchid?" Nell offered.

"No, thanks. Martha has her heart set on tulips."

"Yes. Well, they are a very uncomplicated flower."

Jonathan and Martha exchanged a look before Martha walked over to Lana and knelt down next to her. "That is a beautiful dress, Lana. Are you a princess?"

"I'm a fairy princess."

"Hey, where are her parents?" Jonathan asked Nell, watching Martha with the little girl.

"Oh, at the Homecoming game like everyone else. I'm being the good Aunt."

"Do you want to make a wish?" Lana asked, and Martha smiled.

"I would love to make a wish."

"Okay. Abracadabra." Lana extended the wand towards Martha's head and touched her brow.

Nell finally found the tulips and they left the shop. Jonathan put the bags in the back of their red pick-up truck. Martha was already in the truck, staring out the window, looking dreamy-eyed. Jonathan got in the car behind the wheel. "I know what you wished for."

She smiled wistfully, "I see a little face. It's all I ever wanted." They kissed softly as the Homecoming parade of cars went past them down the avenue.

"Hey, looks like Smallville won again." He started the engine and they drove off under a banner that said: Let's Go Crows! They drove out of town and towards the family farm. Suddenly, a meteorite hit by the side of the road.

"What's happening, Jonathan?" Martha asked in terror as he glanced back towards town, seeing more hits there. Another meteorite hit the road right in front of them and caused them to crash.

The truck landed on its roof, knocking them both out. Eventually, Jonathan stirred and blinked as he looked out the window, seeing a small, naked little boy. "Martha?"

Martha turned her head to look out the driver's side window. They looked at each other in shock. Outside the small boy smiled happily even as the two adults began freeing themselves from the truck. Once free Martha pulled a blanket from the backseat and slowly approached the child, wrapping him in the blanket as she picked him up. They looked around but there was no sign of any other car or where he might have come from. They began walking through the debris and into Miller's field.

"Kids don't just fall out of the sky, Martha."

"Then where did he come from?"

"I don't know, but he must have parents," and then they froze as they stared at the silvery grey and black object in the crater.

"Well, if he does, they're definitely not from Kansas."

"Sweetheart, we can't keep him. What are we going to tell people, 'we found him out in a field?'"

Martha smiled at the boy who was playing with her hair curiously. He couldn't be more than two. "We didn't find him. He found us."

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Harry reached the Forest's edge. Within, further on, he could see Dementors drifting between the trees. Harry started to enter, then paused, reaching into his pocket to remove the Snitch. He stared at the words etched upon it: 'I open at the close.' Harry frowned, then closed his eyes and brought the metal orb to his lips. His fingers trembled and then he lowered his hand, watching as the metal shell fell away to reveal the Resurrection Stone, as jagged crack running through its centre, along the line representing the Elder Wand. The triangle and circle, representing the Cloak and Stone, were faintly visible. Harry stared at it, then closed his eyes and began to roll the Stone over in his hand. "Once. Twice. Thrice..." he breathed out and a wave of power blew out from the stone in his hand, another from the cloak and a third from the wand, although no one living felt or sensed them. All three Hallows owed their allegiance to one person in that second. Harry stood for a moment and then, slowly, opened his eyes.

Four people now stood with him; James Potter, Lily Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Lily eyed him lovingly and beckoned him forth. As if in a dream, Harry drifted through the trees, stopping before her. "You've been so brave, sweetheart," she praised.

"Why are you here? All of you?"

"We never left, dear," she promised, they had always watched over him. Petunia was in for a major tongue lashing when she passed on.

"Does it hurt?" he asked, voice shaking a little. "Dying?"

"Quicker than falling asleep," Sirius promised.

"And he will want it to be quick," Remus pointed out, it was very unlikely Riddle would draw Harry's death out.

"You're nearly there, son," James stared sadly at his son. He was so proud of him, but he did not want him to die. There was no other way, even they knew that.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want any of you to die for me. And Remus, your son..." Harry choked out and Remus lifted a hand, reaching out futilely to his eldest cub.

"Others will tell him what his mother and father died for. Someday he'll understand..." the now ex-werewolf assured him.

A chill breeze shook the trees and Harry looked ahead "You'll stay with me?"

"Until the end," James swore, they could do this much for him, he would not die alone amongst his enemies.

"He won't be able to see you?"

Sirius shook his head, gesturing to Harry's heart. "No. We're here, you see."

Harry turned to his mother. "Stay close to me," he begged, and she smiled sadly.

"Always," she swore, she had died for him, he wasn't meant to have to die to end this.

Harry glanced back toward the Forest's Edge, taking a last look at the castle in the distance, then set off. Dozens of Dementors drifted amongst the smoking trees, but his guides insulated him, and they merely peeled away. Harry walked on, his legs driving him, until light splintered the trees ahead, and a clearing came into view. A fire burnt, the light flickering over the throng of Death Eaters, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy sat apart from the rest, weary with fear. Bellatrix paced in and out of the shadows, muttering madly. Voldemort stood with his head bowed, skeletal hands folded over the Elder Wand, Nagini coiled at his feet.

Yaxley entered the clearing and bowed. "No sign of him, my Lord."

Voldemort nodded, unmoving. "I thought he would come. I was, it seems... mistaken."

"You weren't." All eyes shifted to Harry, standing at the clearing's edge. He let the Resurrection Stone tumble from his fingers and James, Sirius, Lupin and, lastly, Lily - all vanished. Harry stepped into the firelight.

"HARRY! NO! WHAT'RE YEH DOIN''ERE!" Hagrid yelled from where he was trussed to a tree, the branches shaking violently as he tried to break free.

"Quiet!" Yaxley flicked his wand and Hagrid slumped, going silent.

A cackling laugh rose on the air and Harry turned, seeing Bellatrix glancing eagerly from Harry to Voldemort. Voldemort took a step forward and the flickering flames washed over his pale skin. He tilted his head to the side, a smile curling on his mouth. "Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived. Come to die." Nagini hissed behind her protective guard of Death Eaters. Harry's gaze shifted to her when Voldemort raised his wand, Scarlet flickering in his eyes. Then a bolt of green light shattered the night, and all was silent.

"Is he alive…?" Narcissa whispered.

Harry lay face down, glasses askew. He opened his eyes a millimetre, finding Narcissa's face swimming in the dawn's muted light, eyeing him with a strange intensity: the question, he realised, was posed to him.

"My lord, let me help you –"

"I do not require assistance." He snapped at his most loyal, if very insane, follower. Voldemort rose shakily, Bellatrix at his elbow. The Death Eaters watched, stirring uncertainly. Voldemort glanced toward Narcissa, toward Harry. Bellatrix detected the wary glint in his eyes.

"The boy, is he dead?" Bellatrix demanded of her sister.

Harry's eyes shifted, meeting Narcissa's once again. Something in her expression... he closed his eyes. She placed her fingers over his heart, and whispered, "Is he alive? Draco?" Harry hesitated and then... nodded - so subtly it was barely perceptible. Narcissa withdrew her hand and turned to where Bellatrix stood alongside Voldemort. She nodded, and the Death Eaters cheered. Hagrid howled in misery. The news seemed to rejuvenate Voldemort, a fierce glint returned to his eyes, his stature grew. He eyed the Elder Wand... and smiled.

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Harry sped between duellers and into the Great Hall, knowing he had to end things once and for all. Voldemort was in the centre of the battle, and he was striking and smiting all within reach. Harry could not get a clear shot, but fought his way nearer, still invisible, and the Great Hall became more and more crowded as everyone who could walk forced their way inside.

Harry saw Yaxley slammed to the floor by George and Lee Jordan, saw Dolohov fall with a scream at Flitwick's hands, saw Walden Macnair thrown across the room by Hagrid, hit the stone wall opposite, and slide unconscious, possibly dead, to the ground. He saw Ron and Neville bringing down Fenrir Greyback for good. Aberforth Stunning Rookwood, Arthur and Percy flooring Thicknesse, and Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy running through the crowd, not even attempting to fight, screaming for their son. He let them go, not even attempting to curse them, Narcissa had helped his deception while playing dead after all.

Voldemort was now duelling McGonagall, Slughorn and Kingsley all at once, and there was a cold hatred in his face as they wove and ducked around him, unable to finish him - Bellatrix was still fighting too, fifty yards away from Voldemort, and like her master she duelled three at once: Hermione, Ginny and Luna, all battling their hardest, but Bellatrix was equal to them, and Harry's attention was diverted as a Killing Curse shot so close to Ginny that she missed death by an inch - He changed course, running at Bellatrix rather than Voldemort, but before he had gone a few steps he was knocked sideways.

"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!" Mrs. Weasley threw off her cloak as she ran, freeing her arms. Bellatrix spun on the spot, roaring with laughter at the sight of the new challenger. "OUT OF MY WAY!" shouted Mrs. Weasley to the three girls, and with a simple swipe of her wand, she began to duel. Harry watched with terror and elation as Molly Weasley's wand slashed and twisted, and Bellatrix Lestrange's smile faltered and became a snarl. Jets of light flew from both wands, the floor around the witches' feet became hot and cracked; both women were fighting to kill. "No!" Mrs. Weasley cried as a few students ran forward, trying to come to her aid. "Get back! Get back! She is mine!"

Hundreds of people now lined the walls, watching the two fights, Voldemort and his three opponents, Bellatrix and Molly, and Harry stood, invisible, torn between both, wanting to attack and yet to protect, unable to be sure that he would not hit the innocent.

"What will happen to your children when I've killed you?" taunted Bellatrix, as mad as her master, capering as Molly's curses danced around her. "When Mummy's gone the same way as Freddie?"

"You will never touch our children again!" screamed Mrs. Weasley. Bellatrix laughed the same exhilarated laugh her cousin Sirius had given as he toppled backwards through the veil, and suddenly Harry knew what was going to happen before it did. Molly's curse soared beneath Bellatrix's constricted arm and hit her squarely in the chest, directly over her heart. Bellatrix's gloating smile froze, her eyes seemed to bulge: For the tiniest space of time she knew what had happened, and then she toppled, and the watching crowd roared, and Voldemort screamed.

Harry felt as though he turned into slow motion: he saw McGonagall, Kingsley and Slughorn blasted backwards, flailing and writhing through the air, as Voldemort's fury at the fall of his last, best lieutenant exploded with the force of a bomb, Voldemort raised his wand and directed it at Molly Weasley.

"Protego!" roared Harry without hesitation, throwing everything he had into the spell, and the Shield Charm expanded in the middle of the Hall, and Voldemort stared around for the source as Harry pulled off the Invisibility Cloak at last.

The yell of shock, the cheers, the screams on every side of: "Harry!" "HE'S ALIVE!" were stifled at once. The crowd was afraid, and silence fell abruptly and completely as Voldemort and Harry looked at each other, and began, at the same moment, to circle each other.

"I don't want anyone else to help," Harry said loudly, and in the total silence his voice carried like a trumpet call. "It's got to be like this. It's got to be me." He was the only chance left after the way Riddle had dealt with Kinsley and the others.

Voldemort hissed. "Potter doesn't mean that," he said, his red eyes wide. "This isn't how he works, is it? Who are you going to use as a shield today, Potter?"

"Nobody," said Harry simply, utterly calm, outwardly at least. If the prophecy had held any truth it was now fulfilled, meaning the fight could go either way. "There are no more Horcruxes. It's just you and me. Neither can live while the other survives, and one of us is about to leave for good..." he smirked at Riddle, egging him on, the angrier he got the sloppier his spell work.

"One of us?" jeered Voldemort, and his whole body was taut, and his red eyes stared, a snake that was about to strike. "You think it will be you, do you, the boy who has survived by accident, and because Dumbledore was pulling the strings?"

"Accident, was it, when my mother died to save me?" asked Harry. They were still moving sideways, both of them, in that perfect circle, maintaining the same distance from each other, and, for Harry, no face existed but Voldemort's. "Accident, when I decided to fight in that graveyard? Accident, that I didn't defend myself tonight, and still survived, and returned to fight again?"

"Accidents!" screamed Voldemort, but still he did not strike, and the watching crowd was frozen as if Petrified, and of the hundreds in the Hall, nobody seemed to breathe but they two. "Accident and chance and the fact that you crouched and snivelled behind the skirts of greater men and women and permitted me to kill them for you!"

"You know, there's this river in Egypt…." He shook his head. "You won't be killing anyone else tonight," said Harry as they circled, and stared into each other's eyes, green into red. "You won't be able to kill any of them ever again. Don't you get it? I was ready to die to stop you from hurting these people," Harry smirked slightly.

"But you did not!"

"I meant to, and that's what did it. I've done what my mother did. They're protected from you. Haven't you noticed how none of the spells you put on them are binding? You can't torture them. You can't touch them. You don't learn from your mistakes, Riddle, do you?" he hadn't noticed it at first, but it was obvious now, otherwise, the hall would be littered with the dead.

"You dare!"

"Yes, I dare," said Harry. "I know things you don't know, Tom Riddle. I know lots of important things that you don't. Want to hear some, before you make another big mistake?"

Voldemort did not speak, but prowled in a circle, and Harry knew that he was keeping him temporarily mesmerized and at bay, held back by the faintest possibility that Harry might indeed know a final secret... "Is it love again?" said Voldemort, his snake's face jeering. "Dumbledore's favourite solution, love, which he claimed conquered death, though love did not stop him falling from the tower and breaking like and old waxwork? Love, which did not prevent me stamping out your Mudblood mother like a cockroach, Potter and nobody seems to love you enough to run forward this time and take my curse. So, what will stop you dying now when I strike?"

"Just one thing," said Harry, and still they circled each other, wrapped in each other, held apart by nothing but the last secret.

"If it is not love that will save you this time," said Voldemort, "you must believe that you have magic that I do not, or else a weapon more powerful than mine?"

"I believe both," said Harry, and he saw shock flit across the snakelike face, though it was instantly dispelled; Voldemort began to laugh, and the sound was more frightening than his screams; humourless and insane, it echoed around the silent Hall.

"You think you know more magic than I do?" he said. "Then I, than Lord Voldemort, who has performed magic that Dumbledore himself never dreamed of?"

"Oh, he dreamed of it," said Harry, "but he knew more than you, knew enough not to do what you've done." In that Dumbledore had done the right thing and was truly a great wizard, he knew what magic not to mess with.

"You mean he was weak!" screamed Voldemort. "Too weak to dare, too weak to take what might have been his, what will be mine!"

"No, he was cleverer than you," said Harry, "a better wizard, a better man." No one else needed to know how he really felt about Dumbledore, it would do no good. And he was better than Riddle, if not by a lot.

"I brought about the death of Albus Dumbledore!"

"You thought you did," said Harry, "but you were wrong." For the first time, the watching crowd stirred as the hundreds of people around the walls drew breath as one. So far so good, Riddle was becoming more and more distracted and frustrated.

"Dumbledore is dead!" Voldemort hurled the words at Harry as in the marble tomb in the grounds of this castle, "I have seen it, Potter, and he will not return!"

"Yes, Dumbledore is dead," said Harry calmly, "but you didn't have him killed. He chose his own manner of dying, chose it months before he died, arranged the whole thing with the man you thought was your servant."

"What childish dream is this?" said Voldemort, but still he did not strike, and his red eyes did not waver from Harry's.

"Severus Snape wasn't yours," said Harry. "Snape was Dumbledore's. Dumbledore's from the moment you started hunting down my mother. And you never realized it, because of the thing you can't understand. You never saw Snape cast a Patronus, did you, Riddle?" Voldemort did not answer. They continued to circle each other like wolves about to tear each other apart. "Snape's Patronus was a doe," said Harry, "the same as my mother's, because he loved her for nearly all of his life, from the time when they were children. You should have realized," he said as he saw Voldemort's nostrils flare, "he asked you to spare her life, didn't he?" Personally, he wasn't sure it had been love, obsession and desire seemed more likely.

"He desired her, that was all," sneered Voldemort, "but when she had gone, he agreed that there were other women, and of purer blood, worthier of him."

"Of course, he told you that," said Harry, "but he was Dumbledore's spy from the moment you threatened her, and he's been working against you ever since! Dumbledore was already dying when Snape finished him!" He still wasn't 100% sure what he was saying was true, Snape may have simply desired her for himself, after all, he was not a good man, he had cared nothing for the man and baby that would die that night, only Lily. He could admit the man had been a brilliant potions master, but he was a rotten teacher and human being.

"It matters not!" shrieked Voldemort, who had followed every word with rapt attention, but now let out a cackle of mad laughter. "It matters not whether Snape was mine or Dumbledore's, or what petty obstacles they tried to put in my path! I crushed them as I crushed your mother, Snape's supposed great love! Oh, but it all makes sense, Potter, and in ways that you do not understand! Dumbledore was trying to keep the Elder Wand from me! He intended that Snape should be the true master of the wand! But I got there ahead of you, little boy, I reached the wand before you could get your hands on it, I understood the truth before you caught up. I killed Severus Snape three hours ago, and the Elder Wand, the Deathstick, the Wand of Destiny is truly mine! Dumbledore's last plan went wrong, Harry Potter!"

"Yeah, it did," said Harry. "You're right. But before you try to kill me, I'd advise you to think what you've done... Think, and try for some remorse, Riddle..."

"What is this?"

Of all the things that Harry had said to him, beyond any revelation or taunt, nothing had shocked Voldemort like this. Harry saw his pupils contract to thin slits, saw the skin around his eyes whiten. "It's your one last chance," said Harry, "it's all you've got left... I've seen what you'll be otherwise... Be a man... try...try for some remorse..."

"You dare?" said Voldemort again.

"Yes, I dare," said Harry, "because Dumbledore's last plan hasn't backfired on me at all. It's backfired on you, Riddle." Voldemort's hand was trembling on the Elder Wand, and Harry gripped Draco's very tightly. The moment, he knew, was seconds away. "That wand still isn't working properly for you because you murdered the wrong person. Severus Snape was never the true master of the Elder Wand. He never defeated Dumbledore."

"He killed him. "

"Aren't you listening? Snape never beat Dumbledore! Dumbledore's death was planned between them! Dumbledore intended to die, undefeated, the wand's last true master! If all had gone as planned, the wand's power would have died with him, because it had never been won from him!"

"But then, Potter, Dumbledore as good as gave me the wand!" Voldemort's voice shook with malicious pleasure. "I stole the wand from its last master's tomb! I removed it against the last master's wishes! Its power is mine!"

"You still don't get it, Riddle, do you? Possessing the wand isn't enough! Holding it, using it, doesn't make it really yours. Didn't you listen to Ollivander? The wand chooses the wizard... The Elder Wand recognized a new master before Dumbledore died, someone who never even laid a hand on it. The new master removed the wand from Dumbledore against his will, never realizing exactly what he had done, or that the world's most dangerous wand had given him its allegiance..." Voldemort's chest rose and fell rapidly, and Harry could feel the curse coming, feel it building inside the wand pointed at his face. "The true master of the Elder Wand was Draco Malfoy."

Blank shock showed in Voldemort's face for a moment, but then it was gone. "But what does it matter?" he said softly. "Even if you are right, Potter, it makes no difference to you and me. You no longer have the phoenix wand: We duel on skill alone... and after I have killed you, I can attend to Draco Malfoy..."

"But you're too late," said Harry. "You've missed your chance. I got there first. I overpowered Draco weeks ago. I took his wand from him." Harry twitched the hawthorn wand, and he felt the eyes of everyone in the Hall upon it. "So, it all comes down to this, doesn't it?" whispered Harry. "Does the wand in your hand know its last master was Disarmed? Because if it does... I am the true master of the Elder Wand."

A red-glow burst suddenly across the enchanted sky above them as an edge of dazzling sun appeared over the sill of the nearest window. The light hit both of their faces at the same time, so that Voldemort's was suddenly a flaming blur. Harry heard the high voice shriek as he too yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Draco's wand:

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Expelliarmus!"

The bang was like a cannon blast, and the golden flames that erupted between them, at the dead centre of the circle they had been treading, marked the point where the spells collided. Harry saw Voldemort's green jet meet his own spell, saw the Elder Wand fly high, dark against the sunrise, spinning across the enchanted ceiling like the head of Nagini, spinning through the air toward the master it would not kill, who had come to take full possession of it at last. And Harry, with the unerring skill of the Seeker, caught the wand in his free hand as Voldemort fell backwards, arms splayed, the slit pupils of the scarlet eyes rolling upward. Tom Riddle hit the floor with a mundane finality, his body feeble and shrunken, the white hands empty, the snakelike face vacant and unknowing. Voldemort was dead, killed by his own rebounding curse, and Harry stood with two wands in his hand, staring down at his enemy's shell.

One shivering second of silence, the shock of the moment suspended: and then the tumult broke around Harry as the screams and the cheers and the roars of the watchers rent the air. The fierce new sun dazzled the windows as they thundered toward him, and the first to reach him were Ron and Hermione, and it was their arms that were wrapped around him, their incomprehensible shouts that deafened him. Then Ginny, Neville, and Luna were there, and then all the Weasley's and Hagrid, and Kingsley and McGonagall and Flitwick and Sprout, and Harry could not hear a word that anyone was shouting, not tell whose hands were seizing him, pulling him, trying to hug some part of him, hundreds of them pressing in, all of them determined to touch the Boy Who Lived, the reason it was over at last. The sun rose steadily over Hogwarts, and the Great Hall blazed with life and light.

Harry slipped the Elder wand into his pocket where it hummed warmly, and he shivered, knowing instinctively something had changed but not what.

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Harry listened as Kingsley confirmed McGonagall as the new Headmistress with Flitwick as deputy. Word had gone out, looking for new staff to replace those who had died or been revealed as Death Eaters. School would resume in a week, despite the fact the castle was still half in ruins from the battle. It had been decided the children needed a sense of stability and that the rebuilding could be done at the same time. Harry remained in his seat as Hermione rushed up to sign on for an '8th' year, dragging Ron with her. He just didn't want to return as a student, too much had happened at Hogwarts and the school was no longer home. He stayed on the edge of the crowd as people celebrated, slipping away and down to Hagrid's hut, or where it had once been. He summoned the stones and began working on rebuilding his first friend's home. He didn't say anything when Draco joined him, they worked together in silence for the next six hours and when they were done the hut stood strong and proud, bigger than the original. It would make a good surprise for Hagrid when he was released from the hospital.

Over the next months the two worked well together, sometimes with member of the Order, sometimes with ordinary wizards and witches, to rebuild the school. Both of them ignored the entreaties to return to class and, to Harry's surprise, when Draco spoke it was often lessons that Harry should have grown up with as the Potter and Black heir.

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"Why don't you sit next to Ginny, Harry dear," Molly pushed him gently over to where Ginny was sitting at the dinner table. He took the seat silently and accepted the bowl of mashed potatoes from Percy. Dinner chatter was fairly normal until Ron nervously stood up.

"I, uh, have an announcement," Ron paused and glanced down at a smiling Hermione. "I asked Hermione to marry me and she said yes…we're engaged."

Ginny screamed in excitement and threw herself at Hermione. Fleur was more sedate in her congratulations but no less happy for her.

Ron moved over to Harry's side and nudged him playfully. "Better get a move on mate, Ginny's waiting."

"Ron…." He never got to tell his best mate as the dinner turned into an impromptu engagement party.

Harry eventually slipped outside for air and quiet, leaning against the house. he closed his eyes and enjoyed the night air.

"Hey Harry," Ginny smiled coyly at her ex-boyfriend. The war was over, he was meant to have come back to her.

"Ginny," he opened his eyes and looked at his one-time girlfriend. He could guess what she wanted, but he didn't want that with her anymore, "you should be in the party."

"So should you," she moved closer. "Harry I still love you, why aren't we back together yet?" she leant in to kiss him and he stopped her.

"I'm sorry Ginny, but I don't feel that way for you anymore," maybe he never had. Sometimes he wondered if he'd just given into pressure over her liking him and wanting something normal for once.

"Harry, you don't mean that."

"Yes, I do. I'm sorry but I told you not to wait for me when I left, and I meant it. You deserve a happy life with someone who loves you completely, that's not me."

She shook her head, getting angry. "No! You don't get to decide that for me!" her hand slipped towards her wand and he pushed her hand away.

"I'm deciding for me Ginny, you are a wonderful girl, but this won't happen." He pushed past her and headed for the ward line, apparating away as soon as he reached it. He reappeared at the Tonk's home and smiled, letting himself in. He went up to the nursery and found Teddy wide awake. "Hey cub," he picked him up and cuddled with his godson, he would always be there for Teddy, like Sirius had wanted to be for him.

When Andromeda peered in, in the morning, she smiled at the sight of the two asleep on a transfigured couch. She was grateful for all the help she could get, she was not a young woman and Teddy was definitely his Mother's son.

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Martha smiled as she watched Clark helping his Dad out in the barn. She did wonder if maybe they had guessed wrong on his age, he seemed older than the eight years his documents claimed he was. He could be so serious at times and she knew that was partially their fault. They had been so scared of someone finding out and taking him that they had kept him close to home, maybe too close. He'd never been allowed to go over to other kids' homes and play, have sleepovers, play sports…were they ruining his life trying to keep him safe? At least he had finally made a friend, Pete Ross seemed like a good kid and knowing a Judge might come in handy one day.

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Harry stormed into Grimmauld Place and tossed his outer robe aside, running a hand through his hair. He was so frustrated! Everyone seemed to have an idea of how he should be living and what he should be doing now but no one ever asked him what he wanted. Kingsley expected him to join the Aurors since he hadn't gone back to school but he was done hunting dark wizards. Why couldn't they understand he just wanted to relax for a few years? He'd spent the last seven odd years caught up in Dumbledore's schemes and he wanted space.

He finally headed into the kitchen and ate the dinner Winky prepared for him. With her there as well, Kreacher had straightened up and was taking his responsibilities to the house seriously. The place gleamed like it hadn't in years and all the dark artefacts were gone, including the portrait of Walburga.

He went up to bed at ten, exhausted. He was going back to Hogwarts to help finish up the last of the rebuilding and to lend his massive magical reserves to the raising of the new wards. He was shocked when he woke the next morning to find the Resurrection Stone and repaired Elder Wand lying on the bed with his cloak. All three objects glowed brightly, making him shield his eyes, before suddenly vanishing. Yeah, that could not be good.

TBC…