Chapter 3

The week had flown by, with the new arrivals enjoying the luxuries on the island. They were served drinks by the divination-inclined bar-elf and they were offered every sort of service by a staff that apparently came from the island's very own Room of Requirement. While they discovered a lot and met many people, aliens included, they tried to spend the time in fun pastimes, with every wife having a Harry at her side at all times.

The large waterslide had even made an appearance and the new Harry had instantly decided he needed one for Harmony. The impossible angles and strangely flowing water made the experience one he would not soon forget.

Pansy, not having come across elves before, spent some time with them and checking them out with her diagnostic spells. Their physiological differences were superficial, but their genome held some strange revelations, with regard to cell replication, which she planned on studying when her Harry spent some time with his older twin, to help make new magicals.

That prospect had all his girls excited and they would not complain about the possibility of making new magicals. They had no doubt that their Harry would learn enough to be able to create a similar system as their brother-in-law. Failing that, he'd use what he learned to make something similar, but one way or another, he'd be succeeding.

Luna was planning on making a documentary about the island, its inhabitants and the Fae, and she had a recording crystal following her everywhere she and her other self, went.

The other girls all had either things that they wanted to, or could work on, especially considering the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity they currently had. Some of the magical beasts that they had found here, were completely new to them. Creatures from other planets that existed only in this reality, apparently. New techniques for potion brewing with modern appliances and devices to help the process along. Bruce had no problem sharing some of his recipes for curing or treating different diseases. In his opinion, if it helped people, he'd share it.

They also learned all about how EPI had come into being and how they protected their secrets. It seemed that a lot of their techniques were built on or around the fact that the local Harry was an enchanter. His way of doing things was definitely different than theirs, but they could most likely learn a lot from them.

The one thing that none of the girls had known, was that the older Harry had given his younger counterpart a certain book, which had most of them dragging whatever Harry they had with them, to the Sphere for some alone time. Regularly.

In return the new Harry had shown the older one the trick he'd used to capture Hathor with her own depravity. The spell was still a hex, though, so the older Harry decided to keep it in reserve, for if he ever fought a female and wanted her incapacitated for a while without knocking her out, for whatever reason. He'd normally not resort to such things, preferring to go for the knockout, but even he could see the usefulness of this unorthodox spell. Hell, Charlie would likely thank him, if he could sate the desires of the Veela that were usually dragging him away. For that matter, the Nymphs would likely also welcome an easy release. He'd just have to put the hex in an enchantment.

When the Honeymoon finally ended, the two Harrys disappeared to the older one's Workshop. He never told the younger one where it was, but not surprisingly, he didn't even ask after it. He had his own hidden laboratories and workshops, after all.

"So, this is what I've got so far." the older Harry started, revealing a core he'd been working on. It was visible currently, because it was in phase with the current universe. Normally a magical core was slightly out of phase, but just enough to allow for a connection. Along with the core itself, there were what looked like veins and arteries. Larger conduits which travelled through the body, with little hairs that supposedly made contact with the skin.

"So this is a magical core." the younger said, as he inspected what he was seeing in minute detail with his magic. "It's damn complicated." he admitted. "I'm detecting every kind of magic I can think of and even a few I've not seen. I'm assuming that's your influence?"

"Likely." the older Harry admitted. "I based this off an actual magical core I've got stored away."

"Let's see that one." the younger Harry said.

"Why?" the older asked.

"Well, if you're saying this is similar, but not the same, I'll need to see what's normal, won't I?" the younger said. "I'm also assuming you didn't just copy this, like you can do with your Asgardian magic?"

"No." the older agreed. "I tried that, but it makes a perfect copy, along with the imperfections. I'd rather not use those." He focussed his magic through his new ring and summoned an original magical core. As the core came in for a soft landing, he said, "I must compliment you little brother. This ring is very useful."

"We'll have to address this little brother thing at some point." the younger Harry said. "We were born at the same time. I'm just from a different timeline."

"Well, not really." The older Harry admitted. "I was sent forward in time as well, but not as far as you. Since I've lived longer, have more life experiences and all that, you're literally younger." 'I also tend to use time-turners a lot.' he finished in his head.

"Fine." the younger Harry conceded, as he ran his magic over the real magical core and compared the two. "I'm sensing a difference here." he said, indicating the original.

"What are you sensing for?" the older asked. "The dark magic is saturated. Somehow, I think the dark mark had an effect here, but it's strange. Severus doesn't have that in his core. I checked."

"Maybe it's had time to fix itself, since he reformed?" the younger Harry asked. "And no, it's not that. There's something here that yours doesn't have."

"What do you mean?" the older asked.

"I don't know." the younger said. "There's just something more here. It's like it has real life. When I scan clones and humans, I get the same feeling. One is just artificial. There's no soul. No innate intelligence."

"You're saying my new core lacks soul?" the older Harry asked, with a bit of a smile.

"No, it's just… It's not real." the younger Harry said. "The function is there, but it's… Wait, let me try something." he said then, as he got an idea. He reached forward and lifted the arm of the new core with his magic and held his fingers out to touch it. After a few seconds, he did the same with the original core. "Yeah, that's definitely it." he said, with a nod.

"What?" the older Harry asked.

"This core has no experiences.��� the younger Harry said. "As a magical grows, his core grows with them. That's what the darkness in the core is. It's the shaped magic. Magic becomes capable of more, as the individual learns."

"So, the new core needs to learn?" the older Harry asked.

"No." the younger said, as he sat back. "If I cloned your body right now, it will be an empty shell. No soul, no memories, no magic. If I made a copy of your memories and placed them in the brain of the clone, what do you think will happen?"

"I have no idea." the older said. He'd think that the clone would think he's himself. "I don't have experiences with cloning."

"The clone would have your memories, but it would still not know how to access those memories, or even know that it should." the younger said. "That information starts when you are born and certain things happen to your mind even before that, when you're in your mother's whom. That's the mystery of life. Fortunately we're not creating life."

"But, you're saying that the magic needs to learn from the individual?" the older Harry said. "The Dursleys didn't need that. I could feel the magic in them and Dudley even accidentally apparated away, in fear."

The younger Harry just chuckled. He'd loved hearing that story. "That's what the magic knows to do, due to ingrained responses, no doubt." he said, after he calmed down. "What about where he went? Did he go someplace he knew, or somewhere else?"

"Knockturn Alley." the older Harry said. He should have realized that. "Okay, I'm catching on. So you're saying the cores I've been making have the capabilities, but lack the real experience?"

"I'm saying we need to start earlier." the younger Harry said. "We need to examine how magical cores grow in the young. Fortunately you've got little Teddy for us to look at."

"You are not experimenting on him, or my son." the older Harry said, immediately.

"Wow." the younger said. "Do you, or do you not possess the ability to copy things?" he reminded his older self. "Come on man, you're supposed to know at least your own abilities." he said, when he saw the older Harry catching on.

"Well excuse me for not thinking about that." the older Harry defended himself. "I'm not some sort of scientist."

"You're telling me." the younger said. "You know, just a little bit of study and understanding of how molecules work, allowed me to transfigure diamonds from common coal. A little bit of high school science taught me enough to make that ring." he said, indicating his older self's hand.

"Hey, I had a more difficult life than you." the older Harry said. "Give me a little slack for not having been raised by Sirius and Remus and being able to do what I liked."

"Just so you know, as far as I can tell, we lived the same life until the second wizarding war." the younger said. "Somehow my memories were sent back to my younger body and I worked from there on out to achieve everything I did. I wasn't handed shit."

The older Harry was quiet then. He'd suspected something, considering the whispered message he'd gotten from his younger self about not acting shocked at his wives and their original histories. "So that's what you meant. You changed history. Diverged the timeline when you were younger, to save more people." he said, in understanding.

"Did you do something like that?" the younger said.

"It's complicated, but I went back and saved people, but without anyone knowing, so that things could play out as they should. Then, when my younger self had defeated Tom, I stopped him from coming back and doing as he liked and diverged the timeline." the older Harry confessed.

"So we're both not in our original worlds?" the younger Harry said. From the sounds of it, there was likely a timeline where his younger self had actually died and had been sent back, so those people had still ended up facing Voldemort, but this time without him there.

"Or, there was a timeline where you died and your soul was sent back to fix things." the older said, having followed the same thoughts. "I've read about similar things. Maybe your timeline simply had a loop in it, with you as the fulcrum."

"I hate predestination theorisation." the younger said. "I've already had that whole 'make magic in the first place' thing happen to me."

"Well, to hear you tell it, Magic knew you would make it, so likely just helped you give yourself the chance." the older Harry said, seeing the younger him was beginning to struggle with something he'd put a lot of thought into. He wasn't stupid either. They just had different experiences.

"Oh, you suck." the younger finally said. "Let's just get back on topic. Shall we take a break so that you can go copy Teddy's core, for us to study?" He had sensed that little James didn't have magic, but he'd assumed that his counterpart knew. Whatever. If they succeeded, they could fix that too.

"We'll need to ask Tonks and Natasha first." the older Harry said, not having realised what his younger counterpart had. "I won't harm kids, but it's still something they'll need to be aware of and agree to."

"Fair enough." the younger said, as he stretched out. Then a smirk appeared. "Oh, now I get it. The timeline thing. It makes sense if you consider it the way you described."

"That's not fair." the older Harry said. "You had one of your others thinking about it and they helped you."

"Actually, my instance with the Hermiones and Tony started discussing it, when I brought it up." the younger Harry said. "Hermione is a great teacher."

"Mine, not so much." the older Harry said. "She's more about book smarts. She can recite everything verbatim though. I swear she's got a photographic memory sometimes."

"Almost." the younger agreed. "Mine spent a lot of time tutoring people and researched ways to do that better, so she's got it down."

"Spent a lot of time studying together?" the older Harry asked.

"I may have encouraged my entire group to study together and helped them finish Hogwarts two years early." the younger Harry said.

"Learning crystals?" the older asked knowingly.

"Yup." the younger said, with a smirk. "It's not cheating, since they really knew the subjects afterward."

"Not cheating, huh?" the older asked. "So, if I asked you for a learning crystal to give me an advantage with learning Tony's perception and knowledge of runes?"

"You'd have to ask him if he's willing to share it." the younger said with a shrug. "Something tells me that he won't like just giving away his information like that. You guys make a great team as you are, don't you?"

The older Harry had to concede that point and pretty soon he'd transported both himself and his younger counterpart away again. As was becoming the norm, the Winter Queen was sitting by the bar, chatting with Hela. On arrival, her posture changed and she turned ever so slightly, to show off her pale legs in her newly acquired swimsuit.

"She does realise that I'm married, right?" the younger murmured.

"Yes, and one of your wives is the descendant of the Summer Queen." the older said. "She feels that Winter needs to be represented as well. It's a whole thing with the Summer and Winter Courts. They compete over everything. She's likely hoping that you'll be willing to take another wife. You have eight already, after all."

"It would be simpler for her to work her way into my girls' favour." the younger said. "I'm quite happy with my current number, though. Should I address it?" he asked.

"Likely a good idea." the older said, as he veered off to go speak to his wife, who was struggling to get little James to eat his lunch of some kind of sloppy substance. He usually just transfigured it into yoghurt, so that he'd eat it and then it turned back into healthy food in the baby's tummy.

The younger Harry, currently with nothing better to do, decided to take a moment to speak to his new admirer. She was a visiting monarch and he'd visited her realm a few times now, usually with Luna, so he thought it was probably best to catch things before they became problematic for his older self.

"Good afternoon, Queen Mab." he said, as he approached her and Hela. "Sup, big sis." he added with a fond smile at the goddess of death. He liked the idea that he had siblings, and they didn't seem to mind his addition to the family either.

"Good afternoon, Lord Harry." Mab responded, with what she thought was a welcoming smile.

"Hello, little brother." Hela said, smirking at him.

"I'm never being called anything else, am I?" Harry asked.

"No." Hela agreed, before getting up. "I'll be feeding the Thestrals." she said, having heard part of the conversation. Hopefully her friend would stop pining after the newcomer, if they took a moment to talk things through.

"How are you doing Queen Mab?" Harry asked, as he sat down.

"Please, would you call me Mab?" she asked, as she leaned toward him.

"Harry then." Harry insisted, as Eldrin placed a drink before him. "Listen, I'm thinking it's time we discussed this situation." he said, indicating Mab's blatant attempt to draw his attention to her chest.

"What situation are-" she started.

"Don't give me that." Harry interrupted. "We both know you're not an idiot and I'd like to think you don't think I'm one."

"Of course not, Harry." Mab said seriously, but sitting back as well. "I'm just not certain what you wish to discuss. I've just been as courteous as I can be."

"So you've not been trying to get my attention?" Harry asked, with a raised eyebrow.

Mab took a deep breath. "Fine then. I would like to spend some time getting to know you." she relented. "It is not only an injustice that Summer has a representative in your house, but you spend more time with her and in Summer's realm. I cannot lose to them. Winter would forever be shamed for Summer having someone so close to the Founder and not having a representative ourselves."

"I didn't choose that for myself." Harry said. "That's just how things are." He sighed then. "Listen, Mab, you are a beautiful woman, you don't need to work so hard to gain my attention. So just do me a favour and stop trying. You should be trying to get close to my wives. I'm not the one in charge of the decisions in my household. They are. I started honestly dating them at their insistence.

"Also, when I leave, if you somehow convinced them to join us, would you be leaving your people to come with us?" Harry said, quite honestly. One of his instances was discussing this with Daphne as the conversation went, so that he'd not keep any secrets from his girls, and she'd pointed that out to him.

"I was actually hoping I could convince you to stay here, or at least one of you." Mab admitted.

"But then that would be unfair toward Summer." Harry pointed out. "That is if I could stay here, which I don't think I can do."

"Not if you married the Luna here as well." Mab said. "And why can't you let one of your 'instances' stay here?"

"It has to do with what you call the Source." Harry said. "The others are all still me. We see everything the others see. We feel everything the others feel. For all intents and purposes, we're the same person, with all the same memories and experiences. Right now I'm running with Susan through the woods, while I'm helping Luna with her documentary, while I'm chatting with the Hermiones and Tony, while I'm working on a list with Daphne for priorities when we get back and telling her about this discussion, while I'm inspecting the medical branch of EPI with Pansy, while I'm being intimate with Fleur and the Patil twins in the Sphere, while a part of me is working on a limited form of ascension for my family, while I'm sitting here chatting with you. All of this is in my head at this very moment.

"With the time-difference, I don't think I'll be able to be here and back home." Harry finished.

"You aren't copies, or different people?" Mab asked. "It's all just you? You are much like the Fae then."

"But there is a difference." Harry said. "I'm not many counterparts of myself. I'm different instances of myself with no borders between any of us."

"You are truly a g-" Mab started.

"Don't do that." Harry interrupted again. "I'm not divine, like my older twin. I'm a human with a special skill and connection to magic. I chose not to become what you are thinking on purpose. I like limits. I choose limits. I only cheat to make my relationship with my girls more fair to them."

"Can you not be fair to the Fae too?" Mab insisted.

Harry sighed. "You're not letting this go, are you?" he asked.

"Not while you are here and I have the possibility to sway you." Mab said. "I am meant to do what is best for my people. A connection to you would be a triumph for Winter, which Summer can already claim."

"My Luna is human, with Fae blood." Harry pointed out, ignoring the fact that she didn't mention that there was a natural attraction. That counted in his favour, by his estimation.

"She's been made Fae again, by Titania." Mab pointed out. "Both of them are now as the rest of their realm, blessed by Summer. No doubt Titania knew what she was doing when she reinstated her daughter's descendants."

"No offense, Mab, but the Summer Queen doesn't seem like the scheming type to me." Harry said. "That seems more like something you would do. Luna is her family and her last descendant. I think she did it out of love."

"I think that's enough of that." Daphne said, as she appeared. "I'll be looking into this for you Queen Mab. We have many magics that we can perform. If my husband, himself, can add to your realm in some way, would that not suit your needs for boasting rights?"

"It's not about boasting, Lady Daphne." Mab said, respectfully. "It is about a connection. A powerful ally. A worthy consort. There is a balance that must be maintained. Winter cannot allow the current imbalance to stand."

"Let's discuss that then." Daphne said. "I believe my husband has other things to do." she said, indicating off to the side, where the older Harry was standing and waiting, while he watched the younger children at play.

"Of course." Mab agreed, still seeming frustrated with the fact that Harry had not responded to her as she had hoped. Perhaps his wife could help persuade him. If they could come here through time to the present, they might decide to come here again, in their future, but at the present here still.

The younger Harry excused himself and walked over to his older self.

"No luck then?" the older one asked.

"Not yet." the younger agreed. "Hopefully Daphne can help her out. These Fae have strange ways about them, but I'm thinking that I understand her a bit better now."

"Better you than me." the older Harry said.

"Don't think you're out of the woods, yet." the younger Harry said. "If, by the time that we leave, there is no solution, I think Mab might very well decide that you, as my older twin, would be the only substitute."

"I'd like to see her try." the older Harry scoffed. He doubted his wife would allow anything like that and he had more than enough women in his life with her and Xera.

They were soon back in the Workshop and the older Harry pulled out a new core. It was obviously from a smaller person, but the core was already fully grown.

"Couldn't get your wife to allow the copy?" the younger asked, seeing a look in his eyes and wanting to get this out of the way.

The older Harry sighed. "No. She didn't have a problem with it. It just seems that my son was not gifted with magic." He'd not looked before, since magic usually manifested itself later in life only. He was not happy with the revelation, but he'd definitely be fixing it the moment that he could do what they were working on. He looked at his younger self, then. "You knew, didn't you?" he asked.

"Yes." the younger said. "I'm sorry. I realised that you didn't know and decided not to push, but, I'll make sure we sort this out. All else fails, you can just copy and implant Teddy's core, right?"

"Not until we understand this situation." the older Harry denied. "So, let's get those ascended brains of yours pumping. If I have to teach you how to make one of these myself, to ensure my family has these advantages, I'll do that, but you have to promise me to keep my secrets and not to abuse the knowledge."

"Hell no." the younger Harry denied. "There's no chance I'm letting you spoil this for me. I'll figure out my own method, before I allow you to teach me yours. No offense, but this is the kind of thing I love figuring out."

"Even if it takes you years?" the older Harry asked. "Enchanting is not as simple as adding power when you make things. There's a lot of-"

"Finesse?" the younger Harry asked, as the new core and conduits lifted up and mimed giving the older Harry the finger. "I've got tons of finesse. All I need is to understand the concepts and I'll be able to do anything that is magically possible. If that fails, I'll invent technology that allows me to bridge the gap."

"Fair enough." the older Harry sighed. His younger self likely could do as he claimed. "Let's get started then."

It was easier said than done. While the older Harry had done a lot of research into making magical cores, there was still a hell of a lot to figure out. It took them two months, but the older Harry had finally revealed one of his secrets and time dilation was soon an option, allowing them to spend many times more time on the project than in real time. In real time, it took only a week.

By the end of that time, though, they had figured out the problem, with the younger Harry gaining enough of the concept to be useful. The magical core needed to start out as a blank copy. There was also a bit of an issue with how magic recharged, but the younger Harry's research had helped there. The older Harry had unknowingly copied both a trained core and a more advanced magical conduit system. Those apparently needed to develop with time and use. Fortunately they had time and the younger Harry had shared part of another of his secrets, for the time-dilation concept, which he intended to copy the moment he got home.

They created a false-life construct, with no personality and only the ability to grow. Implanting a new, blank magical core into the tiny body allowed it access to magic, but it would not be using that magic, to keep it clean of influence. Instead the construct would grow with time and hopefully allow the conduits to grow with it. Putting that construct into a time-dilated environment, pushed to the max, allowed them to create their very first, functional, artificially created magical core.

OPU

They celebrated their success by throwing a party, wherein a copy of the adult-sized core would be implanted into a very willing subject: Tony.

"Come on guys!" Tony exclaimed excitedly, as all their friends stood around waiting for the test. "I don't need to know all this procedural crap. Just gimme!"

"You do realise that you will be no more powerful than a first-year and that you'll need to train your magic to allow you to gain proficiency and endurance." the older Harry said.

"I don't care!" Tony said again. "You said you learn levitation first-year, right?"

"A feather." the younger Harry confirmed.

"Just… do it, okay?" Tony pleaded.

"Should we?" the older Harry asked his younger self.

"I don't know." the younger said, as the gathered crowd chuckled. "He's too eager. Maybe we should try someone else first. Natasha's been waiting patiently."

"I've got enough magical gear to make up for not having my own for now." Natasha said. Honestly, she was looking forward to her own, but she also knew Tony would become unbearable while he waited for his own. Bruce was another matter entirely. With Hulk residing in his body, nobody knew what would happen if he was given magic. They'd try it, at some point, but it would be under strict supervision.

"Okay, fine." the older Harry said, with a fake sigh, as an examination table appeared form the ground, with no indication of who had cast the spell. Honestly, not even the older Harry knew if he had conjured it. It could very well have been the Room of Requirement. He'd just begun thinking of needing one, when it appeared.

"Get on." the younger said, as he pulled out a storage disk from inside his Comm. It was where they'd stored the core and conduits, since it was a perfect form of stasis. Harry hadn't shared how the technology worked, but had easily stored the core in it. He pressed a button and the core was suddenly standing before them, contained in a jelly-like substance, in a see-through container.

"Awesome." Tony said, as he lay down on the table. "I'll need to know how you did that later." he said to the younger Harry. To him it had looked like a remote-control, activating a remote transport, but it didn't look like any of the technology they had seen to date.

"Sorry, buddy. That's a Trade Secret." the younger Harry said.

"Seriously?" Tony asked. "Just how many different kinds of magical technology did you invent?"

"Oh, I'm certain I don't have a number off the top of my head." the younger Harry said, even as the older one magically lifted the core from its suspended state.

"With the researchers adding to his collection, we've got thousands of new and different ways to do things never before achievable in the magical or mundane worlds." Daphne piped up. "At last count, it was two-thousand six hundred and twenty five. Most of that all stemmed off research Harry himself pioneered."

"I call dibs on the fun stuff, though." said Harry pointed out.

"I bet." Tony said, as he watched the core, which was aligned above his heart, and the conduits line up with his form. "Is this going to hurt?" he asked.

"The Dursleys didn't seem like they were in pain." Loki put in. "Then again, they were unconscious at the time."

"Maybe you should knock me out?" Tony asked hopefully. He was suddenly nervous.

"Wouldn't want to affect the natural integration of your new core with outside influences." the older Harry said. "Now lay still." he finished, as he finally lowered the core into his friend's body.

Having been built to go into a human body, the core easily found a place next to the heart and the conduits started attaching themselves to the correct locations, under both Harrys' strict supervision. When the core had settled and the conduits were finally stable, having stabilized themselves, Tony finally spoke up.

"So, I'm feeling kind of tingly." he said. "Is that normal?"

"We don't honestly know." the older Harry said. "Can you feel everything, though? You're not experiencing pain of any kind?"

"No. Not that I know of." Tony said. "Wait, was that a possibility?" he asked urgently.

"No, it's just magic isn't natural to your body, so I was just wondering if there was discomfort." the older Harry said. "Well all tests come back positive. You're a wizard, congrats."

Tony shot upright and looked around. "Well, the world doesn't look any more magical." he said after a moment, almost regretfully.

The younger Harry cast a patronus, though, and it trotted up to Tony. "Can you see that?" he asked.

"The giant patronus in my face?" Tony asked, as a smile slowly dawned on his face. "I'm a wizard!" he exclaimed.

"So, no special first words?" the older Harry asked. "Just, 'The giant patronus in my face', and 'I'm a wizard'?" Technically his first words were 'So, I'm feeling kind of tingly'.

"Damn, I missed another opportunity didn't I?" Tony said, in realization. "How about, 'This is so damn cool'?"

There was a bit of laughter and soon clapping as everyone present congratulated both Harrys on their success.

Pretty soon, though, Wanda was pulling Tony to his feet. "Come on, I have been preparing wands. I'd like to see how you compare with them."

"You may want to give it a few minutes." the older Harry said. "His core isn't really full of magic at this point. It'll fill up quickly here, but let's not test his limits just yet."

"Or, he could just use this, while his conduits develop?" the younger Harry said, pulling out a wand he had slapped together quickly, with some of the blue diamond he always carried on him, as the core. "Universal wand." he explained.

"You can make wands?" Wanda asked.

"Not like a real wandmaker." the younger Harry said. "Mine has a very special core, which works as a perfect medium for all kinds of magic."

"I want one." Tony said instantly.

"Nope." the younger Harry said. "This is also Family Magic. I just thought you could use it while your core settles. Did you know that magicals tend to have special talents with certain kinds of magic? Using a wand aligned to your talents will serve you much better in the learning process, than something that works for everything."

Wanda looked relieved at that, but still looked at the new wand. "May I try it?" she asked.

"Sure thing." the younger Harry said, flipping the wand to her.

Wanda quickly conjured a swarm of butterflies, before incinerating the lot of them with two flicks from her wand. "Wow." she said, looking at the wand in her hand. "This wand is wonderful. What would it take for you to teach me its secrets?"

"You'd have to marry him." Pansy said. "As I understand it, your significant other wouldn't like that." she added smugly.

"Family magic is meant to be kept in the family." the younger Harry said, ignoring it when Wanda stubbornly pulled out her own wand and scanned the new one. "It's also protected by magics that hide its secrets, or destroy them if people start prying into them." he added, with a smirk.

"But you're going to another universe." Tony said, then. If this wand was capable of making the local wandmaker jealous, he definitely wanted one. "Your secrets won't come back to your world." he added.

"Doesn't change the fact that I have a duty to uphold." the younger Harry said. "Family magics are sacred to us. This particular secret is also so versatile that, in the wrong hands, it could spell the end of civilizations." The Replicators had been all but wiped out by weapons based on this particular secret. The fact that he had, in fact, shared this secret with the Asgard, wouldn't be mentioned, but then they were bound by contract and their own word, which they'd already proven to be trustworthy.

If the older Harry really wanted to know, Harry might decide to share it with him, but only under contract, but it didn't really seem like he needed it. They'd be around for a few more days, though. He wanted to be around to confirm that the core was stable and to work on replicating a core of his own. He'd already figured out part of the creation process and it seemed to him that the older Harry would be good to have around while he perfected his own version.

"So, you've got your first core created." Tony asked his friend, trying to change the subject, from something he knew would just frustrate him if he carried on. "Do you have a firm grasp on the process? When do you think you can get Pepper and Morgan one?"

"Well, technically I've now got a blueprint which I can just copy." the older Harry said. "What you've got in your body was just the first copy of an adult-sized core and magical conduit system. I made copies along the way for younger people, but we'll likely need you and Pepper trained up, before we give your daughter, who is likely just as smart as both of her parents, the ability to do accidental magic."

"Listen to the man." Hermione said. "I've heard some horror stories and you'll want to be able to summon your daughter if she accidentally floats up to retrieve a lost balloon, or crawls up the walls."

"Tony, listen to Hermione." Pepper said. She'd been right there next to him, holding their infant daughter. Right now, she wanted to hug her husband, since he'd been dreaming of this day since Harry had first mentioned making magicals. He'd actually tried to convince Harry on multiple occasions to give him a Death Eater's core.

"Thank you, Mrs Stark." Hermione said. She really liked the woman. She was sharp and funny, but she also had a very welcoming personality.

"I told you to call me Pepper." Pepper chastised.

"So, about that core for Pepper?" Tony persisted.

"We'll be able to set her up in the next few days." the older Harry said.

���We just need to be sure you'll not be spontaneously combusting." the younger Harry said, with a serious face.

"He's joking." Tony scoffed, before he turned to a similarly serious look on his best friend's face. "Tell me he's kidding." he insisted. Both Harrys finally broke into smiles, once he started looking worried. "Oh, you're both comedians." he said, sighing in relief. He really should have known better. Harry wouldn't risk him like that. "So, when can I start practicing?" he asked, taking the wand from Wanda, who was still looking at the younger Harry through narrowed eyes.

"Swish and flick." Hermione said. "Wingardium Leviosa. Standard levitation charm. Ensure the words are pronounced correctly and with the emphasis in the correct places."

"Wingardium Leviosa." Tony repeated perfectly. "Okay, show me the movement." he demanded. Hermione just smiled at him and walked off with him and Pepper, as she conjured a feather out of nothing. "I'll need you to do everything with your wand and with the incantations in front of a camera at some point." they heard him saying as they left. Dumbledore and McGonagall was right behind them. Imagine that. Finally a new student, and he was approaching fifty years old.

"He'll have enough instructors here, I take it?" the younger Harry asked.

"Harry set me up with the Room of Requirements, making instructors from his memory." Wanda said. "Professor McGonagall was still better though."

"She's got loads of experience." the older Harry agreed. "She may have taught Transfiguration, but she's been a witch all her life."

"Taught me more than Transfiguration, before I went to Hogwarts." the younger Harry added.

"I'd really like to know your whole story." the older Harry said.

"Well, I'm sure that Luna wouldn't mind showing you the first movie." the younger Harry said. "It covers all the way to the end of second year, but the extended cut is four hours long."

"She made a movie?" the older Harry asked.

"Sure." the younger Harry said, as he conjured an illusion of himself as an eleven-year old, sitting next to Ron and Hermione as she told him how to correctly pronounce the spell she was currently teaching Tony. "With magic, it's a simple thing to reproduce things and record them. Don't even need a CG department." he said.

"Right." the older Harry said, before turning abruptly and walking straight to the Lunas, who were looking more and more like twins these days. The local one had been regaining her youth since she was made into a full Fae.

"We'll likely be watching that movie right now." Wanda noted. "Any chance it gives clues to how your secrets work."

"Some of them, sure." the younger Harry said. "Like the lightsaber, or the other little things that aren't considered trade secrets or family magic. Well, to a degree. Mostly you'll just see where I drew inspiration from."

They had been correct. Before long, Luna had gone to fetch a projector and two of the larger speakers, and had started the movie. The many guests had been wondering what was going on, until the title showed 'Harry Black – Directed by Luna Lovegood. Dedicated to Mr Snuggles, my first teddy. The washer killed you, but you are fondly remembered.'

There were chuckles at that. It was just so Luna. The movie was considered both action and adventure, and comedy. Harry had almost forgotten about some of the things he had done to entertain himself in those first two years. It seemed that Luna had gotten many of the stories from his first year, when she wasn't there yet.

By the time the movie ended, there was an applause and then many people with questions again. It showed Harry's life before he rescued Sirius, and then how he had done that, but with the real details edited, for obvious reasons. A few other fun little things, like learning he was a wandless caster, was simply made to look like a natural talent and the illusions were always slightly hazy, so as not to give his secrets away. This was meant for the magical world and the mundane, after all.

"That was fantastic." Tony said. "You used runes and other magics to get to the moon before you even hit puberty!"

"What was the real purpose of that trip?" the older Harry asked.

"Dropping off the phylactery." the younger Harry said. "Couldn't put that in the film, though, so it was left as a secret, which might be revealed later. We're still debating showing when I go and visit Tom for tricks on how to handle his Death Eaters. That or just say he's on a magically hidden asteroid that orbits the sun."

"You've still got Death Eaters?" the older Harry asked.

"No, just the one, now." the younger Harry said. "Lucius is so fucking scared of me, since I made him release the Weasleys from their family curse, that he's been a model citizen. He still has contacts into the darker side of things, but now he's an informant, so we keep him out of prison for that reason."

"Hold on." the older Harry said. "What family curse?" he asked, looking over at the Weasley matriarch, who was talking angrily at Ron, who was defending himself by saying that it's a movie from a different world.

"Oh, right." the younger Harry said. "These ones don't seem to have it. I already checked. In our world it had something to do with them attracting people, but never finding real love. I'm not supposed to tell you, though. That's considered private."

The older Harry sighed then. "Maybe it's time we start negotiating for some information. I'd really like to know how you created that living puppet thing and how you detect family magics, or use them."

"That's a big thing you're asking." the younger Harry said. "There's some real nasty things in the Black Family Grimoire."

"There's a Black Family Grimoire?" the local Sirius asked, in shock. He'd met the new Harry on the second day and then he'd complained that he'd not been introduced. A Harry, raised and adopted by himself and married to eight witches, including twins and a Veela! He was disappointed he wouldn't have the chance to meet and congratulate his obvious genius other self.

"There wasn't." the younger Harry said. "Remus used Veritaserum to get all the secrets from the prisoners kept in Lupin Penitentiary. It was even legitimised by the Crown, since it only helped the wolves protect more people. We put all those secrets in one of my magical databases and keep it under protection. Remus actually got one of the rituals straight from there the other day."

"The werewolf cure was in our family Grimoire?" Sirius asked, a smile breaking out on his face.

"No, but after I developed the ritual, we put it there." the younger Harry said.

"Merlin, I have a smart godson!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Technically, I'm another Sirius's godson." the younger Harry said. Again. Sirius refused to listen, whenever he mentioned it.

"He's not here, so I'm standing in as proxy." Sirius said, defiantly. It had been his response before as well.

"I'd still like to know about this ritual creation magic." the older Harry said. "We don't have anything like that in our restricted section."

"Yeah, I don't know what family that came from, but unless your restricted section contains every dark family's secrets, I doubt you'd find this one there." the younger Harry said. "For all I know, in your original timeline, something like that didn't exist, or it was a Dumbledore Family magic."

"It wasn't." the local Dumbledore said, from where he was standing with Minerva, both of whom were very curious about some of what they had seen.

"You're changing the subject." the older Harry said.

"No, I'm refusing to give you information that you don't need." the younger Harry said.

"If it would make you feel better, we can discuss it in private." the older Harry persisted.

"Or you could teach someone that can't perform your magic, so that they can keep the secret and only reveal completed rituals." Loki said.

"Oh, I'm not trusting you as far as I can throw a star." the younger Harry scoffed.

"How far can you throw a star?" Thor asked, genuinely curious.

"I can't.��� the younger Harry admitted. "Even if I really wanted to and figured it out, I'd still not trust the god of tricks." He got some feedback and smiled. "Yeah, I can't throw a sun, not unless I created it myself."

"Did you just tell yourself that?" the older Harry asked, glancing upward.

"I don't mind being told when something is impossible, so that I don't waste my time on it." the younger Harry admitted.

"Hey, you changed the subject again!" the older Harry said in realisation.

The younger Harry just smirked, before looking at his bare arm and saying, "Well, will you look at the time? I think it's time to retire for the night." Then he disappeared.

The older Harry looked around and saw the other instances also vanishing with the wives they were escorting. "I really want to know how he made that puppet." he said, to nobody in particular.

"Why? I've seen you animate things and give them life." Odin said.

"You don't understand, father." the local Harry said. "He can give things real life with one of those rituals. Real life and intelligence. He told me that he's made dragons that shrink until they are the size of a small dog, who you feed magic to keep alive. They can do amazing things and you can merge with them and become one. The mind of the dragon then helps you to use its body and you can create them with powers and personalities and all kinds of awesome things."

Odin's eyes had grown wide at that statement. "Truly?" he asked.

"Yes!" Harry exclaimed.

"You want a pet for James, don't you?" Natasha asked, a knowing look in her eyes.

"Of course!" Harry exclaimed again. "Can't you just see it? Little James, riding on the back of his best friend, a Dragon that can grow to the size of an elephant in a second to protect him? With a real connection to him and a loyalty that you can't pay for?"

"That does sound amazing." Natasha said, as she imagined it. A friend for her little boy, who can protect him from any harm, no matter where he goes. "We'll just have to convince him to make James a dragon then. He can protect his magics, so that the dragon can't be copied, right?"

"No!" Tony exclaimed. "What about Morgan?!" he added. "She'll want one too!"

Odin just chuckled at that. "I suspect no parent would mind such a thing for their children. A stalwart protector and friend, who would never leave you in the lurch. My grandson will have such a companion, even if I need to order Thor to empty the vaults of Asgard for it."

"Oh you guys suck!" a voice said, from right above them, where the younger Harry suddenly became visible, floating as if standing horizontally on something. "You knew I would keep an ear out for why you wanted that magic, didn't you?" he accused. He'd not be able to say no to something like that. They were just parents, looking out for their family.

"I do have years of experience with magic." Odin chuckled, confirming he knew that Harry had been there.

"Just for that, I'm only teaching Odin the magic and I'm binding it by contract, so that you guys have to pester him to help you make new dragons." Harry said, before he vanished again.

"Is he gone?" the local Harry asked. He'd not sensed a thing.

"It was an illusion, projected from the Sphere." Odin said. "It is gone now."

"Right." Harry said. "He can cast magic through his illusions. I'll need to figure out how to detect that. How did you detect it father?" he asked then.

"I felt his intent." Odin said. "You are still young and barely trained in our magics, my son. I'll need to spend some time teaching you this."

"Through his illusions?" Loki asked. That would be a trick he'd kill for.

"Apparently it's unique to him." Harry confirmed. "Something to do with his connection to Magic."

"Magic itself blessed him so?" Odin asked. "I dare say, Loki would love such a talent." he chuckled, looking at his second son.

"I've got a few ideas about emulating it." Harry said. "Just, don't expect miracles. It's a long shot."

"That you would try, is something I am grateful for." Loki said, as he got up. He wanted to go catch up with Luna. She'd been spending so much time with her counterpart, he'd not had the opportunity to spend much time with his best friend of late. They had never ended up dating. Loki appreciated her friendship too much to jeopardise that. Little did he know that she was waiting for him to make a move. Frigga knew, of course, but she would not spoil her fun, by telling him. They had time, after all, and she thought it was likely a good idea for him to wait a bit. He wasn't ready yet, not for the kind of commitment Luna deserved.

"So, you'll be learning how to create magical life?" Tony asked Odin.

"It would seem so." Odin said. "It is wise to limit such knowledge. I just worry for my ability to learn it. I am no spell caster, as my youngest son is."

"I'll give you my ring to draw from, should you need it, father." Harry offered and Odin nodded in acceptance. That should help.

"Perhaps, when you know how it is done, we can attempt to create a body for me, which is capable of reproduction?" Jarvis said, from where he sat nearby with Wanda.

"It would depend on the limitations of this magic, I think." Odin said. "But you are a good man, Jarvis, and I would be willing to attempt it, if it's possible." he allowed.

--

"So they want Black Dragons." Hermione said. She and Harry had stayed behind to eavesdrop, at her insistence, when the others went to their rooms, each with a Harry. They were steadily working their way through the book and every other morning, they didn't want to leave the bedroom, to do again what they had the previous evening.

"It would seem so." Harry agreed. "I don't really mind sharing this, but I'll have to learn about their magical data storage capabilities and their long distance communications, so that they can use it properly. I don't want to risk the lives of the Dragons. Real border-line intelligent creatures deserve the proper steps and precautions. This is not considered dark magic for no reason."

"I understand." Hermione said, with a kind smile. "You are a caring man, and a wonderful husband. I'll trust you to do this right, like you did with Spike, Sparky and One. How is he doing these days anyway?"

"After the blood adoption to Poppy, his genome has changed enough that I don't have to worry about him going out and making children that could be considered mine. They will still be considered family, though." Harry said. One had become like family anyway, but Harry had needed to protect himself, so he'd asked One if he wouldn't mind a blood adoption. He'd readily agreed and Poppy had offered to be a surrogate mother to him.

She often invited him to dinner and had long conversations about how he was adjusting to life in Harmony. In all, it seemed he was just happy to be alive and allowed to live as a normal human. His origins aside, he was a very nice guy and Harry had no doubt he'd be attracting a woman at some point, even if he and Alpha were still chatting on a near daily basis. His hyper-intelligence meant it was likely going to be a scientist or doctor that he attracted, someone who could hold a conversation with him for long periods of time.

"Of course." Hermione said. "He's already basically your son. Now we just need to give him magic and he'll be all set."

"I can't wait to get into that research." Harry admitted. "I've learned so much here. This artificial magical core thing is going to change life in Harmony. I might even be able to develop a way to depower current magicals. Did what my counterpart did with magical prisoners and take their magic, before turning them over to normal prisons."

"Poetic." Hermione agreed. "Still, now you've got work to do again. I'm starting to miss my lab."

"I'm sorry, Hermione." Harry said. "I'll do this as quickly as I can. I was going to do something nice for my counterpart, for letting me learn about the cores. That's why I told him about Spike and Sparky. I wanted to see if it would work as a gift. Now, it seems I've committed myself to teaching people."

"Make a learning crystal." Hermione suggested. "It'll speed things along. Then all you have to do is hand him the ritual and tell him to learn it, while you go ahead and learn what you need to, so that you can build the body."

"They do have Naquadah here." Harry conceded. "They call it Uru, though. Apparently another alien race holds the metal as their greatest treasure. We'll need permission to use some, to create the dragons' bodies."

"That's not for you to worry about." Hermione said. "They'll handle that. You just worry about learning about their technological capabilities, so that you can use that and keep your own secrets."

--

In another room, Harry was getting an update from Daphne, while they were getting ready for bed.

"So she's still trying to worm her way in?" Harry asked.

"Not really." Daphne said. "She wants equality. In their culture it just works that way. All of them have the same advantages, but they use them differently. Luna represents a power-gap to them. You're like a god to these people. Having married a Summer Fae princess means you show them favour." 'That and Mab really wants to jump your bones.' she finished in her head.

"But I'm not and she's not really either." Harry contested.

"Yes she is." Daphne countered. "Our Luna was given her full heritage too, if you didn't realise."

"Yeah, I did, but she's from another time-line and reality." Harry said. "There's a whole other Summer Court, somewhere, who can claim that they have an advantage. What happens if we meet them at some point?"

"The Fae are all connected to each other across the universes, if you've somehow forgotten that." Daphne reminded him. "One Summer Court is connected to the other. One has an advantage in their connection to what they call the Source, so all of them do. Therefore all Winter Fae do not."

"So what's the solution?" Harry asked.

"I'll be doing some research in your private library." Daphne said. "I have an idea that might just do the trick."

"I love it when you get scheming like that." Harry said, with a smile, as he banished the rest of his clothes and summoned Daphne, who was dressed in barely there negligée, to him.

"Page seventeen?" Daphne asked, with a grin.

"Page seventeen, it is." Harry said, smiling back.