Harry dropped the last of the hula hoops in the pile and called for an elf.

"Can you please put these in the Bungalow? I wouldn't want them getting lost or used too early."

With a bow, the elf snapped its fingers and the hoops vanished.

"Alright, Luna, I'm all yours, thanks for waiting," he said, striding towards her.

"Now, that's what a wife likes to hear, her man telling another woman that he's all hers," Daisy stated, coming into the room with a small crowd at her back.

"Would you like me to hit him for you?" Crystal asked, a smile playing around her lips.

"Nah, if he needs it, I can do that myself," Daisy replied. "Besides, I know just how he likes it."

Harry grinned at her, stepped over to her and gave her a searing kiss.

"You didn't greet me like that, Harry," Luna mock-pouted, "and you said that I was all yours."

"You're a married woman, remember, Luna," Harry laughed. "It wouldn't be right."

"Hi, Luna," Daisy said, disentangling herself from her husband. "I'm guessing you got the message that big, dark and troublesome over there sent?"

"I did," Luna nodded.

"And it looks like your mission was a success as well," Harry commented. "Black Bolt, Medusa, Crystal, thank you for coming."

"Daisy explained the situation, there was no way that we wouldn't come to help," Medusa replied.

Black Bolt signed something with his hands and Medusa nodded at him.

"Black Bolt says to tell you that a very large space ship entered the solar system not ten minutes ago," she said.

"Merlin," Harry swore. "We were hoping we had more time."

"Where is everyone?" Daisy asked.

"New York," Harry replied grimly. "Or at least, what's left of it. It was bombarded from space and completely destroyed. There're millions dead and Tony and Matt are among the missing. The Compound's gone, too. We're doing what we can to help the survivors, finding as many as we can. Vision will bring you up to speed."

The Avenger in question stepped forward.

"If you would follow me, I will show you the images that we have and tell you everything that I know," he said.

Daisy, after one tight squeeze of Harry's hand and a hard, passionate kiss, nodded at him. He reached up and wiped away her tears.

"We'll have time to grieve later," he said. "Believe me, I know what you're feeling. I'm feeling it too."

"But you've already compartmentalised," she nodded. "You're right. Stay safe, Magic Man."

"I promise that I won't be leaving the island without you."

As she walked away with Vision and the Inhumans, Luna stepped forward.

"It's true? A city was destroyed from space?" she asked, more serious than Harry'd ever seen her.

"Yeah," he sighed.

"Can the people who did it be stopped?" she asked.

"I think so. I hope so," he said. "That's why I asked you to come here. I need your advice."

"Anything," she promised.

Harry stepped up to her side and placed a hand around her. Luna's nod told him that she understood his intensions. Thus, he twisted and the two of them apparated away.

ooo00ooo

"Father," Ebony Maw said as the four of them walked into Thanos' throne room on the Sanctuary II. "I trust that your errand was successful?"

Thanos smiled at his children and held up his bejewelled, gauntleted hand.

"It was," he replied. "And what of the task that I set you?"

Ebony Maw dropped into a low bow as he began speaking.

"We found the Mind Stone, Father," he said. "However, we were unable to obtain it for you."

"You failed?" Thanos asked with a combination of disbelief and anger in his voice.

"We were prevented from attaining it by a group of humans," Proxima Midnight replied, disgust clear in her voice. "That fool Loki called them 'Avengers'. They managed to best us in battle."

"These were the same humans who battled my Chitauri to a standstill," Thanos mused. "Clearly they need to be taught to respect their betters. How was it that you, the best warriors in the galaxy, undefeated in more systems than I care to count, were beaten by mere humans?"

"They are unlike any that we have encountered before," Ebony Maw replied. "They have extraordinary gifts. They attacked in waves and put us on the backfoot, a position that we were unable to recover from."

"Hmm," Thanos replied, turning away and pacing. Finally, he looked back up at them. "You did see the Mind Stone at least, so you have knowledge of its whereabouts. Tell me."

"It is embedded in the head of an android," Ebony Maw replied. "It has worked out how to harness its power and use it. The Avengers defended it when they realised what we were sought."

"At least we have a target," Thanos mused.

"That is not all, Father," Corvus Glaive said. "We have found an ally here."

Thanos' head snapped up, piercing him with his gaze.

"An ally, tell me more," he commanded.

"An android that calls itself 'Ultron'. It has also fought these Avengers," Corvus replied. "It provided us with tactical knowledge in advance of what Loki had given us or what we gathered during our last attack on this planet."

"We used this knowledge to sow discord among the planet's population," Ebony Maw continued. "They are primitive with a political and social environment that could be exploited. We also delivered a pre-emptive strike against the Avengers, destroying their main bases, one of their cities, and hopefully also dealing a critical blow to any response that they could mount against us."

"Unorthodox," Thanos replied. "But perhaps this planet needs some unorthodox tactics. What of the Time Stone or the Soul Stone?"

"No sign as yet, Father," Proxima Midnight replied. "But if one or both are here, we will find them."

"I have faith in you, my children," Thanos replied. "Now, this ally. I would like to meet it."

"At once, Father," Ebony Maw replied. "I will send for it."

ooo00ooo

Harry and Luna arrived outside a small cave. As he expected, their arrival garnered instant attention and thus, he waved at the three draconian heads that had emerged to see who had entered their territory and so close to their caves at that. Seeing that it was just Harry, they disappeared back inside their caves to do whatever it was that dragons liked to do.

"You know, Rolf and his grandfather would both love to come here and interact with your dragons," Luna commented. "I don't think that they've seen a dragon in their natural habitat before."

"After all this is over, assuming of course that the planet survives, feel free to bring them here and I'll make sure that they can interact with the dragons as much as they want," Harry said. "If you could just wait here for a moment?"

With that, Harry quickly ducked into the small crack in the rock and made his way to the end. Thankfully, he knew exactly what he was looking for and where it was otherwise it would have been impossible to find. Picking up the invisible bundle, he made his way back outside.

"Harry?" Luna asked, her head cocked to the side and her silver-blue eyes looking inquisitively at the way he held his arms.

At his gesture, she copied him and sank to the ground across from him.

Carefully, Harry felt for an edge of the Cloak and unwrapped it to reveal a very distinctive wand made of elder wood and a glowing orange stone.

"I would ask if that was the three Hallows united except that that is not the Resurrection Stone," Luna commented.

"Actually, Luna, it is," Harry corrected her. "I retrieved the Stone a few days ago from where I left it all those years ago. Then Daisy cracked its casing open to reveal this gem. It is the Resurrection Stone but it also has another name: the Soul Stone, one of the Infinity Stones that made up the building blocks of the entire universe."

Luna's eyes slowly lifted from the three objects to search Harry's own eyes. Obviously, she found what she was looking for for she slowly nodded.

"You are the Master of the Hallows," she stated.

"So, I gathered," Harry deadpanned. "What I'd like to know, though, is: what does that actually mean?"

Luna carefully reached out a hand and lightly touched each object – Stone, Wand and Cloak.

"I don't know," she replied.

"You don't?" Harry asked, his hopes sinking.

"No one has united the three since they were given to the Peverell brothers," she said. "And even back them, no one individual held all three, just the one that they were given."

"'Given'," Harry repeated, latching on to that word. "Can we start there? Maybe knowing how they ended up in the wizarding world would help. Who gave them to my ancestor and his brothers?"

"Your ancestor?" Luna asked. "Of course. Ignotus Peverell whose granddaughter married a Potter."

Harry nodded. "Yes, that's what I discovered, too."

"As for who gave the objects to the Brothers, the Tale is quite clear," Luna said. "Death."

Harry's eyes never left hers as he waited for the rest of it. Unfortunately, that was it.

"You don't know any more?" he asked.

"Sorry, Harry, but no. You've read the Tale yourself. You know as much as me," Luna replied. "The Stone was given to one brother; the wand fashioned from a nearby tree and given to another brother and Death's own Cloak was cut to fashion the Cloak that has been passed down through your family through all these generations. I'm sorry, Harry, but that's all I know."

"It's okay, Luna, I knew it was a long shot," he replied. "I had just thought that there might be more to it."

"There possibly is," she said. "Is there something that made you think that? Specifically, I mean."

"Well, once I placed the Stone with the Cloak, I could feel where the wand was, even though I already knew. And when I went there, I found that the wand had repaired itself," he told her.

"Repaired? I don't understand what you mean," Luna said with a shake of her head.

"I ... I'd snapped it. Years ago. I'd thought that by doing that, I could break its power, stop it from being the cause of so much death," he admitted.

"Perhaps you had something there and you didn't even realise it," she mused. "The Cloak that has the ability to hide anyone from Death's gaze; the Stone that can call all souls to it, disregarding Death's own claim; and the Wand that holds the power of Life and Death over anyone who it is turned on. Death is a theme that runs through them all."

"Dumbledore did once say that whosoever wielded all three would be the Master of Death," Harry stated, still unsure how he felt about such a designation.

"Perhaps he was right," Luna said. "You are the Master of all three and the Master of different aspects of Death. With the Wand, you can send souls into Death's realm. With the Stone, you can summon them back if you so choose. And the Cloak that hides its wearer from Death himself? Perhaps that means that there's a way for you to enter Death's domain without fear of becoming trapped there. I'm sorry, Harry, I know it's not the answers that you were looking for and all I have is, at best, guesses."

"Luna, I have very often found that your guesses have more truth to them than you realise," Harry smiled. "I wouldn't be surprised if you're right. It's just a pity that I don't have more time to fully Master what having all three in my possession means before whatever is coming arrives."

"The Harry Potter that I know has always mastered spells and problems best when he was under pressure and fighting to save not only his own life but the lives of others," Luna smiled.

She leant forward then and kissed him on the cheek before sitting back upright again.

"I have faith in you, Harry Potter," she said. "Don't hide the Hallows away, keep them with you, you never know, their mysteries may be revealed to you when you least expect it."

Harry smiled back at one of his oldest, dearest friends and her unconventional wisdom.

"I'll do that, Luna. Thank you."

ooo00ooo

As much as he didn't want to, Steve pressed a finger against his earpiece.

"Friday, sound an All-Avengers recall to the Island," he commanded.

"Are you sure, Captain?" the AI asked.

Steve could understand why she asked. He'd been out here searching for hours. They all had been.

It had actually been surprising how many people they'd managed to find and rescue or dig up out of the rubble. Hundreds at least, between the entire team, not to mention the others that were helping – the X-men, the Inhumans, the military, ordinary citizens. Even dozens and dozens of witches and wizards had arrived with a multitude of pops and begun waving their wands, levitating pieces of concrete and bits of building, vanishing detritus and saving lives.

Hundreds, though, wasn't many. Not in a city that had held millions just hours before. Of their own, Luke had been found and Wong, both with barely a scratch although Wong's leg had been broken. Matt, too had been dug out of the remains of his office not that long ago. The report that Steve had heard said that he, as well as the two who'd been with him, had been barely alive, with more bones in their body broken than there were whole ones.

Steve hadn't had as much success finding those who were still alive, which wasn't a surprise. He'd assigned himself the area of densest destruction – right where the Tower had once stood. Hour upon hour he'd searched the area, all to no avail.

In all that time, he had not once seen a hint of red and gold armour.

He'd only found one thing, one item that he wished he hadn't but knew that it'd be wanted. A wooden sign, blackened with soot and because of that both the words and the picture on it was almost impossible to read. Only the fact that he'd seen it so many times had allowed Steve to recognise it for what it was. A stag, a wolf and a dog on one side, the name of the building that it'd once hung proudly outside of on the other.

Every telemetry that Friday had had placed Tony, placed Iron Man right next to the Tower when it'd been bombarded and all connections to the armour had been lost.

Leaning over, Steve ran an arm across his forehead, spreading even more dust and dirt there than there already had been.

"Captain?" Friday prompted.

Steve took one long, last, careful look around the blackened concrete and bricks and twisted metal and the crater that he was standing on the edge of. Nothing. Not a sign.

"Confirm," he said.

While there might not be any Avengers within his sight, Steve knew what they would all be feeling right then. None would want to stop, to give up or risk not saving anyone. Unfortunately, they knew what was coming. They all knew what was coming. One city had already been lost. One hero, one friend as well. They couldn't allow the world to be next.

"I'm sorry, Tony," he whispered.

Then, with a single, whispered phrase, he picked up the battered sign at his feet and portkeyed away.

ooo00ooo

The large living space was crowded with Avengers and support staff. Every single one of them looked dirty, tired and depressed. Most had obviously been crying. Shoulders were shaking and even hands and fingers were bloodied and red-raw. Not one didn't show the raw emotions that they were feeling.

"Alright everyone, I know you're tired and none of you want to be here," Steve began, gaining their attention simply by speaking into the still, deathly quiet room. "But we don't have a choice. We're Avengers. That means that it's our job to do the job that has to be done, that no one else can do and, in this case, actually avenge the fallen."

"There's no news on Tony?" Peter asked, his arm around Gwen.

Steve shook his head but it was Pepper who spoke.

"Don't count him out yet," she stated fiercely. "This is just like him, to want to make a big, grandstanding entrance at the last minute. He's done it before."

Her last sentence trailed off into sobs and it was only Rhodey and Lavender catching her that stopped her from crashing to her knees.

"We will keep looking," Steve promised. "Just as soon as we've dealt with saving the planet."

"You're not alone in this," Charles Xavier stated.

Steve looked across at the clustered X-men and nodded his thanks before moving on to the Fantastic Four, the Inhumans and the Guardians. The world's heroes, united.

"Harry?" Steve said, inviting the wizard to take over the briefing.

At once, Harry stepped forward and gestured to Gangee, the head House Elf of Paradis Noir. Gangee nodded at his master and snapped his fingers. Instantly, pops could be heard all through the room as the island's elves appeared amongst the heroes bearing trays.

"You'll find two types of vials on the trays," Harry stated. "One bearing a dark blue liquid, the other a deep red. Please take one of each but don't drink either just yet."

He waited as the elves did their job. Finally, when everyone had been served, they vanished.

"I'll explain what you've been given before I begin the briefing proper," he said. "Everyone here is exhausted, there's no debating that. And going into a battle tired is not a good thing. I did that way too many times when I was younger so I know what I'm talking about. As soon as this briefing is over, go find a room, have a shower and drink the blue potion. It's a vial of dreamless sleep. It'll give you a solid, uninterrupted three hours of sleep. I'd offer you more if I could but our window is short.

"That sleep, combined with the other potion – a pepper-up – which you'll take just before we leave, will give you the energy you need for the coming battle. Please make sure that you leave your uniforms out while you sleep; the elves will ensure that they're cleaned and ready for you."

"Useful critters," Logan muttered.

"Please, they are not 'critters'," Harry admonished. "House elves are sentient beings with their own culture and feelings and magic. You do not want to annoy one, believe me. They are also my friends and this is their home."

"You have Logan's apologies, he often opens his mouth without thinking," Scott Summers stated.

Harry's nod, put an end to that conversation.

"We all know that the battle is coming. Last time Thanos sent his forces to Earth, they arrived over New York City and millions in damage was done and thousands of people lost their lives. This time, those forces have already struck an even bigger blow. Now, it's our turn to dictate terms. We will be choosing the battle ground and it won't be anywhere near any civilian whatsoever."

"Where do you have in mind?" Reed Richards asked.

Harry tapping a button brought up the holographic display of Earth. He then used his hands to manipulate it, turning it on its side and magnifying one particular part of it.

"Antarctica?" Scott blanched. "Um, I hate to point this out, but isn't that going to be a mite cold for us to battle in?"

"Ordinarily, yes," Harry replied. "However, you've forgotten one minor detail. Magic. Ted, Lavender, Nico and I will be applying warming charms on everyone. Believe me, by the time that we're done, you won't even notice the cold."

"That's handy," Pietro commented and received a number of agreeing nods.

"I have portkeys to take everyone there," Harry continued. "Once we're in position, we'll use magic to give us a few extra advantages while Doctor Strange and Wong bring the Wakandan army to us to bolster our