Grim: Last Hope (HP/DC/Marvel)

Forest of Dean

Harry woke up with a gasp, dreaming of his many lives. The horrors he had been subjected to and the horrors he had inflicted had left their mark on him. He sat up from the still-cushioned mud, crossed his legs, and began to meditate. His panting gradually calmed, and he became aware of his mind. Harry was shocked to see the progress of his mind's defenses and the organization of his memories. He truly understood how superior a Telepath was compared to traditional mind magics. His mind palace, Hogwarts, was almost complete, with ten percent of his memories already organized in digital files in the Chamber of Secrets under Hogwarts.

Harry grinned, realizing that becoming a powerful Telepath had enhanced his mind and brain. He never realized how superior a Telepath's mind was because his experience and raw magical power were enough to defend his mind while he wrecked the bald man in a wheelchair whenever they clashed in several lives. Parallel processing and thought streams were the greatest Occlumency skills ever discovered, and Harry had mastered them after several lifetimes to their utmost perfection.

Before, his mind was like an ordinary processor in a common computer. Now, it was like a supercomputer. The dramatic increase in processing power was the reason for the progress in his mind palace. Harry opened his eyes and noticed his body. It was still a weak ten-year-old body, fit to be a poster child for starvation, but all his scars and injuries had healed. It seemed that his awakening had caused an influx of magical and psychic energy. He could sense a well of energy separate from his own magic, slowly being commanded by his innate magic. It always amazed him to see the relationship of magic with a Lord of Magic; magic itself bent and was eager to please them in whatever they wanted. There was a reason Tom Riddle successfully made six Horcruxes and didn't get destroyed at the second one. He was thankful that he was still a Magical Lord in this life too, as it would be cruel if it were not so.

Harry sent a pulse of magical energy inside his body, and a full body scan appeared in his mind.

"Interesting, very interesting. This body's natural magic is already attuned to physically healing itself more than any other magic." Harry immediately grimaced in anger, realizing how much torture the body had endured at the hands of his dear family for his magic to teach itself to heal.

The winds stopped around him as his energy reacted to the thought of torture, prompting one of his thought processes to go through this body's memories in seconds. The rage increased, and the ground broke under his psychic and magical might. The rage further intensified at the realization that the Dursleys had died in seconds and could not be held accountable for the atrocities in this life.

"Enough."

A dreadful cold enveloped the area, and the grass around him died as Lady Death appeared in front of him. He immediately closed his eyes, knowing this body would not survive seeing Lady Death as it had not yet united the Hallows. His soul would survive, but he had no plans to live as a spirit waiting for Thanos to kill him and start another loop. His only chance of winning was the knowledge of this changed universe. Even then, if Thanos won, there would be no happy ending for him.

"Why are you here, Lady Death? You know my body wouldn't survive seeing you now," Harry inquired.

"Ah, your ungratefulness truly astounds me, Harry. I have done something unique for you, and this is the thanks I receive. I even made your body survive the awakening of the X-gene along with your magic."

Harry bowed his head in shame, acknowledging that the lady had truly outdone herself this time.

"Thank you, my lady. More than that, it is equally good that you made my mutant abilities the same as Jean Grey's. I already know how to use them. So why are you here?"

"I came to stop your temper tantrum and warn you. Your emotions are not settled, and the rage would have consumed you, even with your impressive Occlumency. You would have gone the opposite way from your plans and made everything harder and bloodier for you. You have to redesign the thought processes in your mind with your increased psychic powers and the control you give them to use your powers subconsciously."

Harry looked chastised but also very curious. "What you are saying is impossible. Are you saying that my thought processes may do things detrimental to me without my say-so? But that is not possible as it is not a sentient being."

"Ah, but that is where you are wrong, Harry. Your impressive skills in mind magics along with telepathic power may not have evolved into an AI-like mind like us Beings, but the blessing of Phoenix truly fixed that gap."

Harry was surprised to hear that. "Blessing from Phoenix? What? I thought you hate her, and the feeling was mutual."

"We did hate each other, but it was only a phase. It may be fate that Jean Grey awakened her mutant power on the same day your parents died. Phoenix visited you that day and asked my permission for blessing, and I allowed it. Your increased affinity to mind magic and now this is due to that blessing. Your mind is on the cusp of awakening, and it will when you increase your powers. There is nothing to worry about if you correctly lay down the basic code to follow. This ability will be a game-changer for you, especially during fights, as your various senses will work automatically."

"Well, it seems that I owe you and Lady Phoenix thanks for additional blessings," Harry said with gratitude. "What is the warning you have to give me? I don't think this was the only thing; you would have just enjoyed my misery."

Death laughed, knowing the truth. "That is correct, my dear. The merging has unforeseen consequences, and there are many changes in this world. You may recognize many of them from the various lives you played out to gather information, but the merging has attracted the attention of other powerful multiversal beings, and they will find you once the ripples have calmed down. I suggest you accelerate acquiring the powers you need and the Hallows in this body to become the true Avatar of Death again to even have a chance of standing in front of them. I know the amount of new powers you could acquire will freeze when you become the Avatar, but the Beings care not for your fight against Thanos. This is the true reason I am here. I have left you a magnificent gift in the Chamber of Secrets for you, accessible only to Lord Peverell. I suggest you acquire the lordship and do the needful."

Harry was further surprised by the amount of support from the usually indifferent being. He couldn't look at Death, but he had enough experience with her to sense that she was hiding something very important from him.

"Why now? Why in this life? What is different that warrants such overwhelming support?"

Death sighed, knowing she couldn't answer that question. "It is because I couldn't see you failing again and again. It is very boring for me, and you have exhausted all the methods you could think of," Death said.

For a moment, anger enveloped him, but he suppressed it, knowing it was useless. "Glad that you got bored, at least after millennia of years spent in loops after loops," Harry said sarcastically.

"Harry, know that this is your last chance in the sense that there will be no help from any of us in the future. So if you lose this time, the chances of you ever winning will be exponentially low and almost impossible as the new board will be this, and Thanos will learn it all if he succeeds."

Harry sighed, knowing Death was telling the truth. "I know it, this will be the only chance I have. I will not squander it; I will beg, manipulate, and do anything to be successful this time, to save myself."

"Don't forget the centillion lives that have stagnated, their souls slowly getting heavy as they are denied the gift of Death and recycling. An uncomfortableness that has been slowly building as they suffer under something the majority of them couldn't even imagine," Death warned before disappearing.

Harry remained deep in thought for an hour after Lady Death vanished. The revelations and blessings she had given were unexpected, disrupting his plans for this life. For all his knowledge of the worlds, he knew it was only a helpful guide in this merged world, which was different. Harry decided he would leave the forest only after thoroughly reviewing his mind and thought streams, ensuring his power wouldn't go out of control again.

Harry sat cross-legged and meditated. His psychic power made it easy to slip inside his mind. As he appeared in the void, Hogwarts sat on an asteroid in the middle, as large as the real-life version. Harry dismissed the parallel thought streams that had been passively scanning his surroundings and processing Voldemort's memories. As the thought streams were snuffed out, he felt his psychic energy increasing and his magic being barely used. He had six options for parallel thought streams.

Harry knew that his body should be optimized for maximum efficiency to fight and control his various powers. He decided to assign different jobs to his thought streams, tasks that would help him operate at maximum efficiency while less important things could be done automatically in his subconscious. This would save valuable time, and Harry had even less time now, taking Death's warning seriously.

Thought Stream 1: Regular Mind

This stream was more than a thought stream; it was Harry's primary mind. It allowed him to interact with others as his normal self, managing his everyday activities, social interactions, plans, and behavior. This stream would help him act and behave as expected by others, charming them to do his bidding.

Thought Stream 2: Body Scan and Resource Allocation

Harry decided that one of the thought streams would be used exclusively for maintaining his body at peak condition. He knew enough to compensate for malnutrition and use magical methods to recover quickly. He started the stream and named it Body Scan. Using magical sensing and telekinesis, he mapped out his entire body. A hologram of his body appeared beside him, showing the injuries that needed healing and how long it would take. He felt the pain in the red-marked areas of the hologram and assigned control of pain receptors to the Body Scan, allowing him to carry on normally even when in pain. The Body Scan would alleviate the pain and heal the damages. He created a priority sheet of organs for the Body Scan to focus on, though it would take time to perfect this process.

Thought Stream 3: Passive Defense and Offense Planning

Harry knew from his long experience that even as a magical lord, he had major deficiencies in speed, healing, stamina, and physical defense. Even when he found things that could harm Thanos, he was too slow or too vulnerable. Harry planned to gain physical strength and endurance, but it would take time. Until then, and even afterward, he knew his defenses needed work. He was still vulnerable to snipers and constant gunfire. Assigning one thought stream to maintaining his defenses at all times would compensate for the mental strain of channeling energies. He channeled 5% of his psychic and magical power throughout his body, increasing his strength and durability. This stream would also constantly monitor his senses, both mundane, magical, and psychic, to foresee an attack and plan for defense and retaliation.

Thought Stream 4: Fight Mode

Harry had centuries of combined battle experience, both magical and mundane. He had been a soldier, a general, a king, and each role required different strategic thinking. His mind had locked away the memories to reduce the strain of long memories. Harry decided to prepare a partition of all the fights and wars he participated in. Although his body didn't have muscle memory of the moves yet, he could use telekinesis to enact them and deal with the damage through Body Scan. He unlocked the Memory of Wars and assigned this stream to go through them and familiarize himself with the moves. In a fight, this stream would take over and prioritize his goals and the efficiency of achieving them.

Thought Stream 5: Mind Magic and Telepathic Field

The fifth thought stream focused on mind magic and maintaining a telepathic field. It projected a "trust me" aura and charisma leak, subtly influencing those around him and ensuring effective communication and persuasion. This stream would also deal with any Legilimens and telepaths who attacked his mind, a deadly mistake on their part.

Thought Stream 6: Memory Cache

The sixth thought stream processed his countless years of memories, studying and organizing knowledge. This included accessing and making sense of Voldemort's knowledge, which required careful management to prevent emotions from affecting him. This stream was also responsible for background strategic planning based on the information he gathered. He assigned this stream to find ways to become Lord Peverell, as suggested by Lady Death. He knew it would take time to get the answer, as he had encountered various ways to claim lordship throughout his lives.

Thought Stream 7: Telepathy and Telekinesis

The seventh and final thought stream was dedicated to training his telepathic and telekinetic abilities. This stream ensured he constantly honed these skills, maintaining control over them even in the heat of battle and using them to maximum effect.

As Harry maintained these seven parallel thought streams, he felt a profound sense of clarity and control. Each stream operated independently, yet all contributed to his overall awareness and readiness. The practice was demanding, but Harry knew it was essential for mastering his unique combination of powers. He opened his eyes, which glowed brightly with coiled power. He stood up and stretched to engage his frozen muscles and improve blood circulation. As he stretched, he assessed the Body Scan and felt his magic hiding the discomfort and pain from him while slowly healing. He assessed the Passive Defense and sensed no threats around him for 100 meters, given his current mundane sensory range. He applied the Fight Mode and imagined a target in front of him, his body moving to take down the imaginary opponent.

As he made the Fight Mode subconscious, he was alerted by the Memory Cache with a sudden flood of thoughts: the first method of assessing the Lordship.

"Try to summon the ring," the first-ever message from his own mind to himself arrived. Harry groaned, knowing this would be trial and error for becoming Lord Peverell. He closed his eyes and willed the Peverell Magic to recognize him. After a minute, nothing happened. He groaned, knowing this was going to be a headache.

He closed his eyes again and said, "I, Harry James Potter, hereby claim House Peverell, by blood, by magic, and by the blessing of Lady Death."

He waited for a minute, trying to sense any change in his magic, but there was nothing. He cursed as the claim of lordship was not that easy.

"Gringotts may have something to do with house rings and family accounts maintenance," the next suggestion came from Memory Cache. Harry groaned at the prospect of dealing with Goblins. He knew he must deal with them later, but he needed to observe which version of Goblins he was dealing with in this new world and prepare accordingly.

He decided to visit Hogsmeade under the effect of the Cloak's magic and acquire the basic knowledge of this Wizarding world. He sighed in relief that even in this life, he could access the magic of the Cloak without even touching it. He suspects that his own soul has learned the aspect of Cloak's hiding mechanism after using it for long.

He Apparated to the edges of Hogsmeade. The landmarks of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade were always the same across worlds, and he could arrive there even without having been there before. His Apparition was silent as always. He arrived at the end of the Forbidden Forest and saw the village of Hogsmeade.

He walked towards the village to find someone and read their mind. It was only after three steps that he froze.

"Fuck! Why the hell am I going there when I'm a freaking powerful Telepath?" Harry cursed himself.

Harry widened his telepathic range, and the entire village came under it. He could feel hundreds of minds, many with basic Occlumency protection and many with no protection. He selected a random male mind and entered it. He searched for names like the Ministry, Gringotts, Hogwarts, Dumbledore, ICW, and lordship, copying all thoughts regarding these topics. It was over in seconds, and his Memory Cache stream paused everything else to process the new information. He randomly chose another fifty minds to invade and learn the basics.

There was nothing shocking to him as almost everything was as expected. Fudge was the Minister, and Dumbledore appeared to be a slightly mad old man working three jobs. Voldemort was said to be dead, but Death Eaters were still around. Goblins were still the bloodthirsty beasts who wanted gold or to kill wizards. They could provide Muggle banking services but only under express order of clients. Fear of Muggles was high, as memories of World War II and the power of Muggles were common knowledge in the Wizarding world. Consequently, the ICW was very strict regarding the Statute of Secrecy and was willing to go to any lengths to maintain the status quo.

Harry grimaced, knowing that his plans regarding the Muggle world had become more complicated.

At least he got the method of being acknowledged as an heir and an answer to his money problem. It was as simple as summoning the rings. He willed his Potter heir ring, and a ring appeared on his finger, a fiery magic entering his body. He felt warmth as his ancestors' family magic enveloped him, acknowledging his status as heir Potter.

Next, Harry decided to visit one of the hidden caches of emergency potions, robes, and Galleons maintained by Voldemort. It was one of the things he specifically searched for in copied memories and found near Hogsmeade under a Parseltongue ward. He Apparated nearby the cave and hissed, "Open." A small door opened, and he entered, seeing the emergency healing potions under a stasis ward and a thousand Galleons. He telekinetically pulled off the rags he was wearing and waved his hand, vanishing them. He applied a wandless cleaning charm and felt scrubbed clean. He took a resizing robe and wore it, looking like a strutting peacock in the green robes. He took the Galleons and hid them in the pockets under a protection enchantment in the robes.

He decided to raid other hidden caches of Voldemort in Britain. It took him almost an hour to raid ten places, and by the end, he was fifty thousand Galleons richer.

He Apparated to the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron and entered. He was already under an illusion and notice-me-not field created by his telepathy. His eyes and telepathy observed the clients in the Leaky Cauldron, but there was no one of importance. He reached Tom.

"Tom, I need a room for a week and food right now. Here is the advance," Harry said, placing twenty-five Galleons on the table.

Tom looked intrigued at the illusioned client but knew better. "Room 510 is free, and food will come as you order. A house-elf, Blinky, will serve you," he finished inquiringly.

"James," Harry replied. "Prepare a healthy meal for three adults in thirty minutes. I have some purchases to collect in Diagon Alley."

"Of course, James. When you reach the room after your errands, call for Blinky," Tom said.

One Hour Later

Harry was having his fourth serving in just thirty minutes while he telekinetically flipped through the history books he had purchased from Diagon Alley. He finished glancing through every page in minutes, his Occlumency processing it and matching it with his existing knowledge in the background. It would take time to sort and process the data, but Harry could do other things while the knowledge was processed.

He also had hundreds of newspapers from the last fifty years, chosen randomly to peruse. He bought Muggle history books and newspapers and was surprised to find one bookstore in Diagon Alley that carried them. They were very happy to sell him everything they had on recent Muggle history.

Harry was surprised that the ICW had managed to preserve the Statute of Secrecy despite the advanced technology of this world compared to his original timeline. In a world where only the Wizarding world existed, the current level of technology was only seen in the year 2020. But in this world, where super geniuses existed, the growth was tremendous.

As he finished his sixth serving, he started feeling full as the entire meal was immediately consumed by his magic to aid in his recovery. He stopped eating and began going over his plan to influence both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds. He knew that both plans started with having huge amounts of money, and he needed to know his current wealth, after all, according to one of his mentors and most dangerous man on the planet in a previous life, money itself was a superpower.

Authors Note: So harry setting up shop and researching things. Since the start may be a cliche at this point because of infinte number of HP fanfics, which i am inspired from, the next chapter is split into two and one plotline picks up from Nolan Grayson in 1991 and other one our own favorite hero Harry Potter.

Chapter 7 : Viltrum War.

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