Author's Note: Okay, so I hate to do this but, as mentioned on my profile, all incomplete stories are on an indefinite hiatus. Until further notice, (occasionally) interconnected one-shots are the best you're getting out of me because the plot bunnies keep chasing each other away. I've moved the time setting of Harry Potter up and moved the MCU back a few years, made S.H.I.E.L.D. into a truly global organisation rather than mainly American along with basically ignoring the majority of the films after Thor: The Dark World.
R.I.P. Alan Rickman.
Disclaimer: Only the idea is (mostly) mine. The Marvel Cinematic Universe belong to Marvel and Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling.
Triskelion, Washington D.C., 2002
"Director Fury, you wanted to see me?"
"I did. Come in, Agent Hill," the tall African-American man told the woman in the doorway.
The brunette stepped in, hands clasped behind her back as she stood in front of her superior's desk.
"You requested to be informed if anything came up regarding Potter junior's location. Well, we've found him," Fury stated, straight to the point as usual.
Maria Hill's eyes widened ever so slightly at the news before her face returned to its neutral expression.
"I'm glad to hear it. Is he safe?" Hill asked, the slightest hint of concern in her voice.
"That remains to be seen. He's with his mother's sister and her family. Clearly, you suspect something," Fury added, raising an eyebrow at the small wince his agent failed to conceal.
"Yes sir. I only ever met them once, they were at James and Lily's wedding. They didn't leave a good impression. If Harry is with them, I suspect he may not have been treated well."
"Indeed? In that case, put a small team together and investigate his living conditions. Contact me before you take action," Fury ordered, directing a warning glare at her.
"Yes sir. If I may, what if he is abused?" Hill asked, sounding almost unsure if she wanted to know the answer.
Fury's single eye narrowed at her.
"If necessary, we'll move him to another guardian. As his last remaining viable godparent, the decision would ultimately lie with you. Now get out."
S.H.I.E.L.D. Craft 720 Daedalus, Somewhere over Atlantic Ocean, 2008
A knock sounded on the door to Maria Hill's office. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Deputy Director looked up for her computer, securing the more sensitive documents.
"Enter."
Barely had she spoken the word, her door slid open and a ten year old bounced into her office.
"It's here! It's here!" the raven-haired boy cheered.
"Harry? What are you-STARK!" Maria roared.
"Hiya, Hill. The kid really wanted to tell you in person. I just helped him get to the helicarrier," Tony Stark commented, indicating himself he strolled in behind the hyperactive ten year old.
"Out! Now!" Maria ordered the Avenger.
The hero's eyes widened before darting out of the room just as a pen hit the wall where his head had been.
"Now, I wonder, what's got you so excited, young man? It isn't your birthday yet so it can't be that. So what could it be?" Maria asked, acting confused.
"Don't be silly, Aunt Maria. It's my Hogwarts letter. It's finally here!" Harry Potter cheered.
"My my, you must be a big boy to have a Hogwarts letter already. Have you read it yet?" Maria asked him.
"Nu-uh. Tony tried to get me to open it but I didn't want to open it without you," Harry admitted.
"Well then, let's have a look, shall we?"
As Harry tore open the envelope, Maria briefly thought back to the events that led to Harry being in her care. The investigation into the Dursleys all those years ago had revealed a rather severe case of neglect with hints of abuse. Whilst normally, such cases were not of interest to the Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage and Logistics Directorate, the fact that five year old Harry Potter was powerful, the son of two of their agents and the apparent subject of a prophecy meant that S.H.I.E.L.D. had made an exception.
When S.H.I.E.L.D. had decided to remove Harry from the house, they had opted to do so quietly. No charges had been filed against the Dursleys and as far as most were concerned, a cousin of his father's had taken him off the Dursleys' hands. The fact that it was in fact his father's former pupil was known only to a few outside S.H.I.E.L.D. and most of those were consultants that were part of the Avengers.
These days, although most of them would never admit it, Harry had most of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s upper echelon wrapped around his little finger along with most of the Avengers. The only ones with any sort of immunity were Maria and Clint but even they couldn't resist the combined efforts of Harry and the Barton children.
Maria smiled as Harry read the letter out loud, followed by the list of supplies. When he finished, he looked positively giddy.
"Well, you know what this means, don't you? I think it's time we went to Diagon Alley."
Maria barely restrained herself from covering her ears as Harry squealed before running from the room to find Tony.
Platform 9¾, Kings Cross Station, London, 2008
Harry gazed around in awe as he stepped onto the platform with Maria and Natasha. Maria guided the trio to the side just in time for the Barton family to follow them through, Clint pushing a trolley with two trunks and an owl cage. Harry and Cooper Barton grinned at each other before continuing to gaze around in awe.
Once the two boys had found a compartment and Clint and Maria had put their trunks in the overhead rack, they rejoined the others on the platform to say goodbye. While the Bartons said their goodbyes, Maria was talking to Harry.
"Now remember to behave yourselves. If I hear from our agent that you're putting yourself in danger, you and me will be having words," Maria told him with a warning look.
"Got it. I'm going to miss you," Harry admitted quietly.
"Hey, don't be like that. I'm just a phone call away," Maria reassured as she hugged him.
S.H.I.E.L.D., having long been aware of the magical world, had also long since found ways of making technology work around magic. Once Stark became aware of magic, he had worked with S.H.I.E.L.D. to improve the technology as well as quietly adding it to all of his technology. Whilst it wasn't commonly known in the UK, Stark tech was the only mundane technology capable of working in magically saturated areas like Hogwarts.
As Maria opened her mouth to say more, her phone started to buzz. Maria let out a sound of annoyance whilst giving Harry an apologetic look. Harry gave her a reassuring smile as she tapped her earpiece.
"Hill. This had better be important," she barked quietly.
Whatever was said brought a frown to Maria's features and she ruffled Harry's hair as a final farewell before she moved toward the wall.
"What do you mean 'we may lose South America'? How would we lose a continent?" was the last thing Harry heard before his aunt disappeared into the crowd.
Once the train was out of sight of the station, Harry and Cooper sat down in their compartment. Before they could do more, a redhead that looked about their age stuck his head in, looked at both of their foreheads and then left again.
"What was that about?" Cooper asked, bewildered.
"They expect me to have that scar, remember?" Harry pointed out, referring to the lightning bolt scar he'd had until Maria had arranged to have it removed at his request.
"Right, probably glasses too, right?" Cooper joked.
"Probably," Harry laughed.
The two friends spent most of the next hours chatting and playing poker. Their fun was interrupted when the compartment door was yanked open.
"Have either of you seen a toad? Neville's lost one."
The girl in the doorway had long bushy hair and was already in her robes. Behind her stood a slightly chubby, timid looking boy that Harry assumed was the aforementioned Neville.
"I'm afraid we have not. However, that is easily fixed," Cooper replied, rising.
Cooper pulled out his wand as he pushed past them into the corridor.
"What's the toad called?" the dirty-blond asked.
"Trevor," Neville stuttered.
"Accio Trevor the toad," Cooper muttered as he flicked his wand.
Hermione raised an eyebrow, looking prepared to deliver a patronising lecture, when there was a scream from further down the carriage. Almost lazily, Cooper reached out and plucked the flying toad from the air. Trevor gave a loud croak as Cooper held him out to Neville.
"One toad, as asked."
"How did you do that? I haven't seen that in any of the first year books," the girl demanded.
Cooper and Harry both raised an eyebrow, exchanging a glance.
"My aunt made sure we knew some useful spells before we came. She didn't restrict herself to first year," Harry explained.
The girl glared at Harry before sitting down on one of the seats, pushing the remaining sweets aside. Neville looked a little uncertain as Cooper indicated for him to do similarly. Cooper took a seat next to Harry, opposite the other two.
"What else do you know?" the brunette girl demanded.
"I know that you haven't introduced yourself since barging into our compartment," Harry commented.
"I'm Hermione Granger and this is Neville Longbottom," the now-identified Hermione stated, pausing expectantly.
"Cooper Barton, this is Harry Potter."
"Are you really? I've read all about you-" Hermione began.
"It's probably a lie," Harry interrupted.
"What?"
"It's probably a lie. Very little in any of the books about me is actually true. For instance, I have not, in fact, spent my life being trained by having fistfights with dragons," Harry joked, referencing one of the more popular kids books involving him.
Cooper started laughing while Neville let out a quiet chuckle. Hermione looked annoyed.
Before she could begin speaking, the compartment door slid open again. A blond stood in the doorway, flanked by two boys Cooper and Harry privately compared to gorillas. The blond cast an eye over the occupants of the compartment before coming to rest on Harry.
"They're saying Harry Potter's on the train. I assume it's you?" the boy demanded of Harry.
"Now what makes you say that?" Harry asked, pleasantly.
"Messy black hair and hangs out with inadequate people. Who else would you be? I can help you make better friends," the middle boy said.
"No offence, but I like to know the names of people before I engage in any long conversation," Harry remarked.
"This is Crabbe and Goyle, and I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy," Malfoy introduced himself and his companions.
"The heir of Lucius Malfoy? It's a pleasure. I am Harry, heir of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter. This is Neville, heir of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom, Cooper, heir of the Most Esteemed House of Romanov and Hermione Granger," Harry introduced the occupants of the compartment.
"A squib, a foreigner and a mudblood? You definitely need help finding better friends. I can help you there," Malfoy offered, holding his hand out to Harry.
Harry and Cooper exchanged annoyed looks before turning back to Malfoy.
"I would suggest you leave, Malfoy, before you insult anyone else," Harry stated coolly.
"Careful, Potter. If you don't watch out, you'll go the same way as your parents," Malfoy sneered.
Anger flashed in Harry and Cooper's eyes as they surged to their feet. Hermione and Neville looked outraged at Malfoy's words as well.
"Oh are you going to fight us?" Malfoy sneered, amused.
Neither boy responded, simply drawing their wands. There was a bang and Malfoy and his thugs were flung from the compartment. Cooper stepped forward and slammed the door, attaching a small metal hemisphere across the crack. The two boys sat down to explain to the curious girl.
"That is an emergency lock. Thor himself can't open a door held by that and believe me, he tried," Cooper explained.
"Yeah, rumour has it he ripped the door out but the lock held," Harry added.
"Okay, but what about what Malfoy said?" Hermione asked, clearly deciding their supposed familiarity with the god of thunder was something to worry about later.
"Most of it was insults, veiled and not so veiled. The M-word for instance is an insult to muggleborns, one of the worst. What I don't understand is why you said Cooper was heir Romanov. They vanished a while ago," Neville pointed out.
"Yeah, my aunt Natasha is the last descendant of the line. It's distant enough that most people wouldn't make the connection despite the common name. She named me her heir so when she dies, it'll actually be Barton that takes it's place," Cooper explained.
Hogwarts, 2008
"Barton, Cooper."
Cooper strolled up to the stool and smirked as the Hat was placed on his head. After a minute, the hat seemed to reach a decision.
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Cooper gave Harry a high-five as he passed, much to the amusement of some in the hall. The Sorting was otherwise relatively uninteresting to Harry. He noted Hermione Granger going to Gryffindor and clapped when Neville joined her. He shared a glance and a raised eyebrow with Cooper when Malfoy joined his gorillas in Slytherin and then tuned out the others until…
"Potter, Harry."
He ignored the whispers that accompanied his name, striding calmly to the stool and winking at Cooper as the Hat was lowered onto his head.
"Hmm. Difficult, very difficult. Not least because, like your friend Mr Barton, you seem to have prodigious mental defences for your age," an elderly-sounding British voice commented in his mind.
"An unfortunate side effect of our guardians' employment," Harry responded.
"Quite, however I do need to see in to sort, so if you wouldn't mind."
Harry hesitantly lowered his mental shields.
"And it becomes more difficult. You really are a challenge. You are as cunning as you are brave and as clever as you are hard-working. So where to put you?"
"Hufflepuff would be best, in my opinion," Harry thought.
"Oh, and what makes you say that?"
"You're a mind reading hat, you already know."
The Hat laughed in his head before bellowing "HUFFLEPUFF!" for the whole hall to hear. Harry handed it back to McGonagall before making his way over to sit opposite Cooper.
"As planned, perfect camouflage," the two boys said in unison.
"What are you talking about?" a redhead by the name of Susan Bones asked from next to Cooper.
"It considered putting me in Slytherin but that would make it obvious that I'm sneaky. Hufflepuff are seen by many as somewhat useless, no offence, so it's the perfect place to go unnoticed," Cooper explained.
"Indeed. No one expects the manipulations to come from the loyal and hard-working so it's the perfect cover. Hufflepuff could run the world and most wouldn't notice," Harry added.
A lot of the nearby Hufflepuffs looked somewhat outraged by this opinion but others, like Susan Bones and a few of the older ones, looked thoughtful.
Hogwarts, 2016
Harry grinned as he looked out over the Black Lake before he left the next day. Cooper slapped him on the shoulder as he ran by before he ran off after his girlfriend, Daphne Greengrass. Neville sat nearby, unconsciously playing with Hannah Abbott's hair as she leaned against his chest.
Harry thought back on the last seven years of schooling. Despite the best efforts of the world and some people in it, his time at the school had been rather uneventful. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s agent at Hogwarts, Septima Vector, the Arithmancy Professor, had retrieved the Philosopher's Stone during his first year when it became apparent that Voldemort was close to stealing it. His second year had had a brief scare when it had seemed like the Chamber of Secrets had reopened. A S.H.I.E.L.D. Strike Team had quietly and quickly found and dealt with the basilisk in it before more than a cat had been petrified.
His third year had seen the escape of Sirius Black although S.H.I.E.L.D. had quickly recaptured him before clearing his name. His fourth had seen him almost be forced to participate in the deadly Triwizard Tournament until S.H.I.E.L.D.'s lawyers had found a way for him to get out of it. Fifth year had seen the attempted resurgence of Voldemort although S.H.I.E.L.D. had quickly nipped that in the bud, detaining most of them shortly after the start of the school year. Sixth year had seen him conducting his first missions for S.H.I.E.L.D., relatively easy ones at that. But this last year had been quiet. Apparently, Aunt Maria wanted him to have time to study in peace.
"Deep thoughts?" his girlfriend asked as she wrapped her arms around him from behind, chin resting on his shoulder.
"Just reminiscing," Harry replied, pressing a brief kiss to her lips.
Susan Bones hummed in understanding. Harry noticed her eyes had a mischievous gleam in them.
"I know that look. What are you-"
Harry never finished as Susan pushed him into the Lake. Harry pushed himself up to find Cooper, Neville and Hannah laughing at him with even Daphne chuckling slightly. Susan smiled at him innocently whilst visibly holding in her own laughter. Harry smirked at the redhead before him before running toward her. Susan let out a shriek and tried to flee but the taller man caught her and hefted her onto his shoulder. Ignoring her protests, Harry promptly ran back into the water before dropping her in.
"Now we're even," Harry stated with a smirk.
"Oh but now I'm going to get cold," Susan pretended to moan.
"I have ideas for how to fix that," Harry murmured, leaning down to kiss her.
"Mmm, I'd love to hear them, Mister Potter."
"How about I just show you, Miss Bones?"
A snowball hit Harry on the side of the head, Cooper having elected to demonstrate the uncanny accuracy the Barton children had inherited from their father.
"Get a room, lovebirds," Cooper yelled, one arm wrapped around Daphne's shoulder.
"Take your own advice, Hawkbaby," Harry retorted, although he did help Susan out of the water.
A quick drying charm saw the two ready to head back into the castle. Harry ruffled Lila Barton's hair as they passed each other in the door, leaving an angry Lila glaring at his back. As he led Susan toward the Hufflepuff Common Room, his fingers ghosted over the small jewellery box in his pocket that only Cooper, Aunt Maria and Amelia Bones knew of. All was well… Or at least, as well as it could be in a world that saw S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers called into action on a near daily basis.
