Hello everyone, when I wrote my one-shot of Harry/Johann, I never intende to wrote a sequel but here it is! You can thank the IRL friends for their ideas and the girlfriend who pressured me into writing a sequel XD
Disclamer: I own nothing! REALLY! Wish I could tho!
WARNING:VIOLENCE, MENTION OF PAST MPREG, BLOOD, LANGUAGE, PAST TORTURE
"talking"/ "spells"
'thinking'
flashback
He was woken up by an excited cry beside him and the shaking of his seat. Lifting the sleeping mask slightly, Harry squinted at his daughter who was squealing and pointing at something outside the plane.
"DADDY! DADDY! LOOK!"the excited redhead said, jumping up and down on the seat.
On the seat on his right, his son was fast asleep, not even bothered by his sister's screech—lucky bugger!
"My little flower"said Harry sleepily"You're bothering the people around us"
"But daddy!"Lily squealed"We are in New York! NEW YORK!"
Nodding sleepily at his daughter.
"I know sweetie, but some people need their rest"reasoned Harry"You don't want them to think I have trouble raising you or your brother?"
This calmed his daughter down immediately, she sat down, smothered her clothes and settled against her seat. Harry smiled and leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. How come he was here? Because he had made himself a promise concerning the Cosmic Cube or rather the Tesseract as it is called now
Harry stared angrily at the pictures Coulson had handed him. Tossing them rageously on the table, Harry glowered at Coulson.
"I'm sure you have a lot of questions, Mister Potter"calmly said Coulson, Harry's glare intensifying
"That's an understatement"hissed Harry, his voice cold.
Coulson gave the man a kind smile.
"Who is your 'viable' source?"asked Harry
"We had many of them at the beginning of S.H.I.E.L.D., one of them was one of HYDRA's scientist Doctor Zola"Harry's eyes widened slightly"There was also a few blurry pictures of you taken during one of your trip with Red Skull and a HYDRA soldier's journal with a drawing of you and a few information concerning what he heard of you"
"And it didn't come to mind that, maybe, I'm just a descendent of this man?"hissed Harry
Coulson smiled kindly—If the man went on, Harry will scratch that smile off and force the man to eat it!
"So you are the descendant of the man, who looks exactly like you, has the same age as you and the same name, Mister Potter"
There was a blank between the two.
"Okay, point for you"conceded Harry.
"Daddy!"a girl's voice shouted"We're finished, can we go out and play?"
Turning to his daughter, Harry hid his anger and exasperation with a smile and nodded—and cancelled the Muffliato around him and the agent.
"Of course sweetie, as long as you're careful"said Harry, smiling as his twins shouted happily and went to the door to go outside "And do not talk to strangers, even if they present themselves, understood!?"
"YES DADDY" chorused the twins before closing the entrance door.
Now, the two adults were alone in the house, the laugher of the children outside cutting the deafening silence around them.
"Where is their mother?"asked Coulson
'He's standing right in front of you and the father is a megalomaniac red skulled bastard who I hope crashed his plane'thought Harry bitterly
"It's just the three of us"answered Harry"Why do you want me? How do you even know I know about this thing?!"Harry pointed to the Cube on the picture
'Do you even know who the father of the twins is?!' thought Harry
"All we know is just that it was you during the 40s"answered Coulson"We just assumed you knew this and could help us and from the reaction you had when you saw the picture, we were right"
Harry's eyes widened.
'I half gave myself away'thought Harry
"You tricked me"accused Harry
Coulson smiled sheepishly
"Sorry?"
Harry gave him the look he usually gives his twins when they do stupid things, smirking when Coulson shrank a little under his glare.
"I refuse"
"Mister Pot-"began Coulson
"No! I know what you're going to say"hissed Harry" I can't help you, I. Have. A. Family! Who's going to look after them if I come with you? And don't say"began Harry as he saw Coulson open his mouth to argue"I have my friends who can look after them, I don't, they don't even know the reasons why I left and hell no I'll have some strangers look after them!"
'Add the fact that the twins have super human power AND magic'
Harry stood up.
"So please, Mister Coulson, kindly remove yourself from my house and my life, our lives, and never come back"
Coulson nodded, stood up but not before handing Harry a business card.
"If you change your mind"said Coulson, he went to the entrance door but stopped and turned toward the man "The Tesseract was stolen by a man, well more like Norse God, named Loki, we do not know what is his purpose but we do know it is not for the greater good"
And with that the man exited the house, he faintly heard him say good bye to the twins then the door of a car opening and closing before it drove away.
The same day, hours later after his meeting with Coulson, he called the man.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your belts, we are about to land at JFK Airport, the temperature is 85°—'WHAT?! ARE WE IN HELL?! Oh, wait! We're in Fahrenheit— and the weather is partly cloudy. Hope you enjoyed your flight"
Taking off his sleeping mask, he fastened the belt around his son's sleepy form, then turned to his daughter to find her already fastened. He gave her a smile and she smiled back.
"Could we visit the Statue of Liberty? Or better, the Smithsonian? Or-"
"Lils, the Smithsonian is in Washington, not New York"Harry said" We'll see what we can do after I've done my grown-up work"
"You mean your Auror work?"asked Lily
Harry smiled.
"You could say that"
The plane landed softly and stopped. Harry was careful not to wake up his son as he took him in his arms and exited the plane with his daughter holding his hand. Inside the airport, Harry took his bottomless duffel bag and walked toward the exit. People held cardboards over their head for friends or family and it was a sight to see Coulson holding a cardboard that said 'Jamesie and Lils Potter'—'I like this man'— and a tiny '+ Harry'—'Okay, I take it back'. Once they were rather close to the suit dressed man, Lily let go of his hand to go and greet Coulson by hugging him.
"Mister Coulson, good morning!"said Lily
"Good morning, sweetpie"smiled Coulson then turned to Harry to shake his hand"Mister Potter"
Shifting James in his arms, Harry took his hand.
"Mister Coulson"greeted Harry
"You travel light" Coulson noticed the duffel bag slung over Harry's shoulder
Harry said nothing and smiled knowingly.
"I can assure you, I never travel light, especially with children now"
"Of course"Coulson smiled and turned"Follow me please"
The group walked outside toward a black car that was waiting for them. Coulson went to open the back seat door and mentioned for the little family to go inside. Lily was the first to jump inside, followed by her father then Coulson took his seat behind the wheel. Motor roaring to life, Coulson drove them out of the airport to wherever they were driving.
"Flight was good?"asked the man.
"YES!"shouted Lily"It was awesome! I've never flown with a plane before!"
"I believe you have your answer, Mister Coulson"chuckled Harry
" You're quite an excited one in the morning, sweetie"chuckled too Coulson"Can't say the same about your brother"
Looking down at the sleeping boy on his chest, Harry smiled fondly at him.
"They're usually really energetic, it's just the jet lag that has got to him, although I don't know about you Lils" smiling and turning to mock glare at his daughter"Have you been eating candies, young lady?"
"No!"giggled Lily.
He was half lying, he knew why both twin were energetic everyday—Thanks a fucking bunch Johann! Next time go fuck yourself— it was always a bother to put them to sleep he had to drug them slightly with a diluted drop of Draught of Living Death—And that just got them sleepy! Fuck you so much Johann!— in a hot chocolate. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't and he had to wait until they dropped dead from exhaustion—Or in rarer case, they would fall asleep normally like James today.
"Where are we going?"asked Harry.
"You'll see"answered Coulson.
Harry nodded and stared out of the window, after a while they left the city's skyscrapers for the dockside—or whatever looked like it.
"We're here"said Coulson, killing the engine and exiting the car.
Opening his door, Harry struggled a little to get out and Lily jumped out of her side and started running around.
"Lily! Be careful!"shouted Harry, knowing that stopping her will just make it worse with her overflowing energy.
"Promise!"was the shouted answer.
Following Coulson to where was waiting a strange looking plane and a man with blond hair, a squared shirt beneath a brown leather jacket and dark trousers. A rather familiar man. Approaching the group, Harry stilled and let out a small gasp. The man must have heard him gasp because he turned and his eyes widened and his mouth opened slightly under his surprise. Coulson, whom had been talking with the pilots, turned to them and observed the two. Inhaling sharply, Harry walked closer to Steve Rogers.
"Long time no see, Captain"greeted Harry, plastering a smile on his face to hide his uneasiness.
Taken aback, Steve simply nodded.
"I…I thought…You…with…"
Harry extended a hand toward the man.
"Harry Potter"said Harry"We hardly had the time to present each other last time"
'Last time was about 70 something years ago'
Taking the hand, Steve smiled at him.
"Steve Rogers"
"If it's not prying… How are you still…"Pointing to the man's physical appearance"Like that?"
Steve smiled sadly.
"Decided to take an Ice Course of Treatment"
"Ah…"answered Harry, half understanding"And…Do you know what happened to R-"
"He died"answered Steve.
Harry nodded, a slight pang of sadness in his chest.
Something—or rather someone—collided with his leg and Harry held back a pained whimper, he really needed to re-tell his daughter to mind with her strength.
"And who might you be, sweetie?"asked Steve, smiling and lowering to Lily's eyes level.
"Daddy told me not to talk to strangers, even if they present themselves"answered Lily
'I think I'm just going to invent a concept for 'stranger danger' for the twins'
"Your daddy is a wise man"Steve nodded solemnly at her with a grin, staring into her blue right eye and green left one"But since he's here, I'm sure you can talk to me"
"Then I'm Lily Potter, nice to meet you!"Lily extended a hand to shake"And you are, sir?"
Gently taking her hand in his larger one and shook it.
"Steve Rogers"smiled Steve.
Steve's eyes widened at the little girl's grip, almost the same as his. Harry held his breath, having noticed Rogers's expression. A small moan startled him, and James raised his upper body.
"Sleepy head is finally awake"commented Coulson from behind Steve.
"Mor'ing Cou'son"mumbled James, rubbing his mismatched eyes.
Steve stopped breathing as he stared at the boy in Harry's arms, his resemblance to Johann Schmidt was striking, even with the right eye green and the left eye blue and the really red hair.
"Slept well, pumpkin?"asked Harry
James nodded sleepily and laid his head back on his father's shoulder.
"You do know you're nearly eight and you still want to be carried around"laughed Harry gently
"Dun care" was the muffled reply
"Come on guys, let's get into the Quinjet"called Coulson, climbing inside.
Lily dashed past her father and Rogers to follow him inside, and Harry followed his daughter, sensing Rogers's heavy gaze on his back as he followed the small family.
As soon as the door closed and the Quinjet took off toward the sea, a heavy silence settled inside the plane.
"Sooooo…You two know each others?"asked Coulson
"Long story"said both men, both staring at each other after they said it.
"I'm sure we have time before arriving"said Coulson, sitting on one the seat the Quinjet offered.
Harry gave the man a hard stare.
"Let's just say we had a common enemy, that's all I'm going to say"Harry said, James was getting more and more awake and Harry put him down"The rest is not for children's ears"
Steve stilled and his face frowned angrily, remembering the first time he had seen the man it was at a HYDRA base in 1945 and the man had revealed he hadn't been here willing and had showed him the collar with the tag of HYDRA, and from the way he had behaved there was more than meets the eye, and he couldn't forget how Red Skull had looked after the man had disappeared.
'He sounded crazier, well cazier than before'supplied his mind
"Daddy!"Lilly called"I'm hungry!"
"Me too! Me too!"shouted James
Both kids came to him, asking for food.
"Alright, alright, calm down"laughed Harry.
Taking off his duffel bag, he 'Accio'ed silently two sandwiches from his tiny bag and handed them to the little pests.
"Here you go you little Gremlins"said fondly Harry.
Taking each a sandwich, the two dug into them hungrily. Raising his head, he noticed both men were staring at him and at his tiny—completely unable to have sandwiches inside— bag.
"What? I told you Coulson, I never travel light"said Harry
"But…How did you fit those into your bag?"asked Steve
"Organisation is the key"replied Harry with a knowing smile.
Both kids laughed knowingly too as they munched happily their meal under the bewildered gaze of the two muggles.
"So, why are we here?"asked Rogers
"Mister Coulson, someone on the line for you"said the pilot
Coulson handed Rogers a pad and left for the console on the wall near the cockpit and talked—whispered— with whomever was calling him. Looking over Steve's shoulder, Harry eyed the pad as Steve scrolled the information. Only understanding a part of what he was reading, Harry gave up and turned to watch the twins as they started running around in circles, in a way to spend their over-flowing energies.
"We're about 40 minutes out from home base sir"said the pilot
Coulson came back to them.
"So, this doctor Banner"began Steve" Was trying to replicate the serum they used on me?"
Harry looked at Steve weirdly.
"A lot of people were"answered Coulson"You were the world's first super hero"
"And Red Skull the super villain"added bitterly Harry.
Both men nodded to him.
"What happened to him? I mean, his face is…"Harry moved his hands to describe Johann's face but couldn't "And I never knew when I was with him…"
Silence fell, even the twins had settled down and stared at their father.
"He was injected with the same serum as I"answered Steve"Except it wasn't finished"
"So that explains his face…And his strength"said Harry
'And his fucking strong stamina'
"…Gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine's original formula"continued Coulson
"If I'm following correctly, Erskine was the creator of Joh- Red Skull's and your formula, right?"
"Yes"said Rogers, his eyes still on the video of a giant green thing" And it didn't really go his way, did it?"
'Well, if he became this thing…'
"Not so much"agreed Coulson"When he's not that thing, though, the guy's like a Stephen Hawking"
Steve looked confusedly at Coulson.
"Coulson just meant the man is really intelligent"informed Harry
Steve still looked like he hardly understand.
"I gotta say"began Coulson"It's an honor to meet you officially"
Harry shot Steve compassionate look, knowing what the man must be going through being the first hero and all the burden he must be bearing.
'Another unwilling chosen one'thought ruefully Harry
"I've sort of met you, I mean"waffled Coulson"I watched you while you were sleeping"
'Red alert, red alert, we have a creeper!'thought Harry
"Creeeeeeeeeeeeeeepy!"drawled chirpily Harry, snickering when Coulson send him a dark look.
"I mean, I was present while you were unconscious from the ice"Steve stood and walked toward the cockpit while Harry snorted—and the twins giggled— at Coulson's blabbering"You know it's really just a huge honor to have you on board this…"
"Coulson, you're digging your grave"joked Harry, making the twins giggle louder.
Coulson glowered at Harry—which only made him laugh.
"I hope I'm the man for the job"simply said Steve, staring at the horizon.
"Oh! You are, absolutely!"said Coulson
"Why don't you just kiss the man, Mister Coulson?"suggested Lily
Harry had to hold on his seat not to fall on the floor and laugh his arse off at both the men's expression—flabbergasted and embarrassed. Coulson cleared his embarrassment with a clearing of his throat.
"We made some modifications to the uniform"informed Coulson" I had a little design input"
"Skip the wooing and go to the bedding!"shouted James
Harry wanted to correct his son on his bad words but he was too taken up by not dying of laugher— but then again he was expecting this kind of phrase from his daughter.
"The uniform?"asked Steve, trying to ignore the three in the back "Aren't the stars and stripes a little old-fashioned?"
"With everything that's happening"said Coulson, red colouring his cheeks"And the thing that are about to come to light, people might need a light old-fashioned"
The way Coulson said it, sobered everyone up, revealing that something bad is about to be coming their way.
"Home base in sight, ETA 10 minutes"said the pilot
"Seems like we have arrived"said Coulson.
They landed on top of an aircraft carrier. The cargo door opened and the twins were the first to dash out.
"Be careful!"shouted Harry as he go out calmly
"PROMISE!"answered him the twins, running around and spending so much contained energy.
'I'll have to find a way to tire them as they get older, I can't go on like they do!'
"Stow the captain's gear"said Coulson behind him as he exited with Steve following him.
"Yes sir!"was answered by yellow clad men.
They were joined by a redheaded woman.
"Agent Romanoff, Captain Rogers and Harry Potter"presented Coulson" And the two Duracell© powered redheads running around are Lily and James Potter, Mister Potter's children"
"Ma'am"greeted Steve
"Hullo"said Harry
"Hi"answered Romanoff, she turned to Coulson"They're starting face-trace"
"See you there"said Coulson before he walked away.
"It was quite the buzz around here"began Romanoff"Finding you in the ice"
Rogers and Romanoff started walking off. Harry looked around to catch a glimpse of his children's red hair, finding none, Harry panicked a little.
"JAMES SIRIUS POTTER! LILY LUNA POTTER! IF YOU DON'T COME HERE IN TEN SECONDS I'LL CONFISCATE YOUR FAVOURITE TOYS UNTIL YOUR ACCEPTANCE LETTER!"shouted Harry, making heads turn toward him.
The twins favourite toys were mini-sized Firebolt and both loved Quidditch and flying. Harry waited and counted in his head.
"I'LL BE COUNTING! 10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5!"shouted Harry
"WE'RE HERE DADDY!" Two redheads barrelled into his legs.
Ruffling both their hair, Harry went down to their level.
"Always stay within my sight here, okay?"
They nodded and each grabbed a hand as Harry walked toward Rogers and Romanoff who were still talking.
"Sorry, had to take those Gremlins with me"said Harry, raising both his hands holding the twins'.
"Gremlins?"asked Rogers.
"Little pests"elaborated Harry.
"Hey!"shouted indignantly the twins.
"Soooooo…What did I miss?"asked Harry
"We were just talking about Coulson's mancrush on Steve"said Romanoff
"I know! I've seen it!"said Harry" We are going to lock them up in a closet if their UST went on!"
"UST?"asked Steve, red-cheeked"Actually don't tell me!"
"And the fact that I'm surprised that Coulson didn't ask Rogers to sign his vintage Captain America trading cards"
If possible, Steve cheeks went redder.
"You're like daddy then!"said James" He also have his own card!"
"What?!"
Both twins nodded at the two.
"Inside Chocolate Frogs!"added Lily
"What are Chocolate Frogs?"asked Romanoff
Harry laughed nervously.
"They are tricksters, the both of them, always in for a little joke"said Harry uneasily.
"But daddy…"
Harry made a noise behind his throat and simply looked at Lily, who closed her mouth and looked at the ground. Romanoff squinted at them while Rogers frowned and Harry laughed nervously.
"I am rather famished! Is there going to be a meal?"asked Harry, trying to divert the conversation away from him.
"Sometimes later"answered Romanoff.
Harry nodded and Romanoff leaded them toward an awkward standing man.
"Doctor Banner!"called Rogers, walking to the man and extending a hand
"Yeah, hi"replied awkwardly the man, shaking Steve's hand"They told me you were coming"
"Word is, you can find the Cube"said Rogers
"You can?!"said Harry, surprised.
Banner blinked at him.
"Yes…"
"Sorry"Harry let go of James's hand and extended it to shook the man's"Name's Harry Potter, and this is James and Lily, my children"
The man's expression changed from awkward to smiling as he lowered himself to greet the twins.
"Hello"said Banner"My name is Bruce Banner"
Lily let go of her father hand and extended it for Banner to shake.
"Hello to you too!"
Laughing slightly at her antics, Bruce took her hand and shook it. He did the same with James.
"You said you were abled to find it?"asked Harry
"Is that the only word on me?"asked Bruce
Lily cocked her head on one side
"Why should there be more words on you, Mister Banner?"asked the girl
Bruce gave the girl a sad smile.
"Only word I care about"said Steve.
Bruce turned this time his sad smile to him.
"It must be strange for you, all of this"said the man to Steve.
Steve looked around and gave Banner a sad small smile.
"Well, this is actually kind of familiar"
"And if I could, I'd walk away from here"muttered Harry
"Why's that?"asked Romanoff
"The last time I was around something like this"Harry gestured around him"I was taken unwillingly and used for bad deeds"
Both three adults fell silent and his children hugged him around his waist. He knew he had promised to tell them about their other father—and what he did to him— when they are older, very much older.
"Gentlemen"said Romanoff after a moment"You might want to step inside in a minute"She looked down at the twins then looked at Harry"You might also want to keep those two close since they have the tendencies to run away"
Harry cocked his head on one side but nodded.
"Why?"asked Lily
"It's going to get a little hard to breath"said Romanoff mysteriously.
"Flight crew!"they heard"Secure the deck!"
The whole ship started vibrating under his feet and the water started making noises.
"Is this a submarine?"asked Rogers
"With all the, most probably, expensive stuff they have on deck? I don't think so"answered Harry
Rogers and Banner walked toward the edge, the twins went to follow them but Harry held them back.
"You heard what the lady said, stay close to me"said Harry
He walked them slowly to the edge and joined the two men to stare at…At a turbine?!
"Wha…"began Harry
"Oooooooooooh!"shouted the twins"This is awesome!"
"This is much worse than pressured underwater"commented Banner
The ship—or whatever it is— moved and made louder noises as it…started raising from the fucking ground—well more like sea.
"So, when you say it will be 'a little hard to breath' "understood Harry as he returned to the red headed woman"You meant up in the sky and not underwater"
Romanoff lifted slightly her lips upward as she nodded.
"Come on!"she shouted over the noise of the turbine"Let's get inside"
Crossing throught the deck, Romanoff led them over a door of—"What is that thing called?" "A Helicarrier"— the inside of the Hellicarrier.
The metal wall made him claustrophobic, having not forgotten the inside of the HYDRA Alpine Base.
'At last, some of us are having fun'thought Harry as he stared at the twins running away into the metallic hallways then coming back to him and repeating the whole thing as Romanoff led them toward the cockpit.
'Well more like the main deck of a Stark Trek movie, except bigger'
"Do not touch anything"whispered Harry to the twins as they ran closer to him"We don't want any of them to know"
They nodded solemnly then went back to running around.
"And make sure you don't bother anyone working!"shouted after them Harry.
"They are very energetic"commented Steve
"I blame their other parent"said wryly Harry
"What happened to her? I mean"Steve sputtered"Something must have happened to her, if not you wouldn't have taken them, and you could have let them with a babysitter and you didn't so…"
"You're right, something happened to the other parent"said Harry"And I kind of exiled myself from my friends and family after my ordeal with our common friend"
Steve took on a grave face.
"Did she…"Steve cut himself, not exactly knowing what to say.
"Left me? More like I left the other"said Harry" It's not like there was something between the two of us anyway"
Steve nodded slowly. Walking toward the table placed near by the entrance door, Harry took a seat and put a two fingers to his mouth. A loud whistle, which made a few people groan or cover their ears, rang around the room. As soon sas the whistle ended, two red-head barrelled into the room and made a bee line toward their dad. James and Lily jumped onto their dad's lap and nestled against his neck. Looking around, Harry was again reminded of a Star Trek movie's main deck but with more space and more people.
"Preparing for maximum take off"he heard somewhere in the room"Increase output to capacity"
"Power plant performing at capacity" a female voice said"We are clear"
"All engine's operating, S.H.I.E.L.D. Emergency protocol 193.6 in effect"said a brown haired woman as she turned to a black man with an eye-patch at the central console panel"We are at level, sir"
"Good"he answered her"Let's vanish"
"Vanish?"murmured Lily
"Are we going to Disapparate?"whispered James
"I don't think so"answered them Harry
"Engage retro-reflection panels"
"See"smiled Harry
"Reflection panels engaged"
The one-eyed man turned to the group, his gaze resting on him and his children longer than he would have wanted.
"Gentlemen"said the man
Lily cleared her throat.
"…And miss"Lily smiled.
Steve walked toward the man to hand him…a note. The black man hide a smile as Steve walked along the bridge. Harry watched as the leather clad man—'Why does everyone I met loves leather?!'— walked toward Banner to shake his hand.
"Doctor, thank you for coming"
Banner shook the hand uneasily.
"Thanks for asking nicely"replied Banner"So how long am I staying?"
"Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the wind"
"About that"cut Harry" I hope you don't plan on keeping it"
Both turning to look at him, the dark-skinned man walked toward him and extended a hand.
"Mister Potter"
Harry eyed the hand then the man.
"I don't believe we have been presented"said Harry
"Nick Fury"the know named Nick Fury said.
"I'd love to say it's a pleasure to meet you but given the circumstance"replied dryly Harry.
Fury took back his hand.
"You're quite the phenomenon here Mister Potter"said Fury
Harry smiled wryly at the man.
"I prefer the term 'gifted' but back at my question, what are you planning to do with the Cube once it's back in your grip?"
"Keeping it safe"answered Fury.
'Lies'
"Like last time?"Harry put on an innocent smile.
Fury shoot him a dark look.
"You may be an important person back home, Potter, but here you still have some answers to respond so if I were you, I would take on a low profile"informed Fury.
Gently setting his children down, Harry stood up and stood right in front of him.
"Then, ssssssssssir"hissed Harry,almost switching to Parseltongue"Why have you asked for my presence if you deemed it…Unwanted"
"I haven't said anything of the sort"replied darkly Fury"We need you, as much as we need Banner, concerning the Tesseract, seeing you had a first-hand look back in the 40s"
Harry glowered darkly at the man as he sat back on his seat, noticing the silence around them. A few console panels beeped and blinked—which send a few people into panic mode— as his magic acted up lightly but a few deep breath and everything went back to normal. His children going back onto his laps, he hardly noticed the gazes sent his way.
"So…Where are you with the research?"asked Banner, walking toward the railing.
Fury turns to Agent Coulson to explain.
"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet"said Coulson "Cell phones, laptops, if it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us.
"That's still not gonna find them in time"Harry heard Romanoff say.
"You have to narrow the field"said Banner, taking off his grey jacket"How many spectrometers do you have access to?"
"How many are there?"
"Call every lab you know, tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays"said Banner, Harry blinked at them, barely understanding what was going on"I'll rough out a tracking algorithm based on cluster recognition, at least we could rule out a few places, do you have somewhere for me to work?"
"Agent Romanoff, would you show Doctor Banner to his laboratory, please"Fury said.
Romanoff must have accepted because she walks off, leading Banner down the hall. "You're gonna love it, Doc"Harry heard the woman say"We got all the toys"
Steve joined him at the table and send him a tense smile. Harry let out a breath and stood up, with his two kids in his arms—Thanks Feather-Weight Charm.
"If someone could show me somewhere I could sleep"said Harry"It's been a long day for us three"
"I will show you"said Coulson, joining him by the table.
Harry nodded and Coulson led him away.
"By the way!"exclaimed Harry"I hope you know what you're doing with this artefact, Mister Fury"
"You have something to say, Potter"
"A crap ton yeah! If anything, this thing shouldn't be used by anyone, let them be of good or bad affiliation"
"And you know this because?"asked snarkily the brunet woman, Agent Hill if he had heard correctly
"Because I watched and fought a mad man who created seven artefacts, less powerful than the Cube, and nearly become the ruler of my world"Hary took a step toward her"I watched another mad man, who used this artefact, nearly become the ruler of the world, I believe I have more experience in my pinky than you could get in ten life time"
Silence fell again in the bridge as everybody stared at the raven haired man.
"I am here for a reason, so why don't you tell me"hissed Harry, setting down his children, who chose to hide behind their father.
"We might have need of you, Mister Potter"said Fury"You and your 'powers'"
People looked at him strangely, some a little scared.
"You're a born liar, Mister Fury"said Harry"But I will accept this for an answer, for now, you might want to consider telling me the truth or you'll be finding someone else to help you"
"You won't quit, Potter"answered Fury" I know you, I read every single files I could find on you"
Harry snarled.
"You don't know ANYTHING about me!"hissed Harry, turning toward the exit with his children.
"I know about your power, I know about your family"—Harry's back tensed at this and he thought 'Is he talking about my relative or the twins'—"and the fact you served in a war, and I'm not talking about WWII"
Feeling everyone's eyes one him, Harry took breaths to make sure his magic doesn't act up and blow them off the skies.
"If you know of what I did in this war"hissed Harry, turning his Avada Kedavra eyes toward the man"Then you must know it's better to have me on your side than against, ask their leader, Oh! Wait! He is dead, I blew him to pieces"
With that, Harry left the bridge with his two kids, Coulson in tow.
Harry hardly heard Coulson call him over the blood and magic pumping in his ears. He had the choice to either calm himself or go outside and start using his excess of magic. He stopped walking altogether and concentrated on his mental shield, rebuilding them, storing away memories, and finding a calm place inside his mind. Seeing the man had stopped walking, Coulson went to extend a hand but stopped when Lily grabbed his hand and shook her head so hard he was scared it will shake off.
"If you value your life, Mister Coulson"warned James solemnly"You wait until he's calmed before touching him"
"Why is that?"asked Coulson
"A certain condition"answered Lily evasively
"Your powers, right?"asked Coulson
Both twins went silent but it was all that Coulson needed for his answer. Hearing a sharp intake of breath, Coulson turned to watch Harry, who had come out of whatever he was in.
"Sorry about that"said Harry, his children coming to hug him tightly—'Mind the spine please'.
"It's nothing"Coulson smiled gently at the man"Come with me, I'll show you three your temporary quarters"
Harry nodded and followed the man mindlessly. Taking turns and turns around the Helicarrier, Coulson stopped them in front of a metallic door. Taking out a magnetic card from his pocket, Coulson opened the door and led the family inside.
"Here is the key to the room"Coulson handed them three cards"I have to go back on the bridge, I'll you all laters" and with that Coulson exited the room.
Placing the card on a table, Harry looked around their room. They were in the common-room with a black couch, a small table, a flat screen, an small American kitchen with a dinning table and its chairs and a small fridge. There was also three doors, one must lead to the bathroom and the others two to the bedroom.
"Be careful around anything remotely electric"said Harry sleepily.
"Promise daddy!"answered both twins, running around and exploring their new rooms.
Sitting on the couch, Hary kicked off his shoes and laid on it. He 'Accio'ed his duffel bag—'Thank you whomever kind person who put it here'—extracted a cover and draped himself as he closed his eyes for a nap. The twins could have blew up the whole Helicarrier, he wouldn't have heard it.
—
"Daddy"
Harry groaned.
"Daddy"
Lily watched as her father turned on one side and fall back asleep. She sighed and walked to the door, opening it, revealing Steve Rogers, now in his Captain America suit, who had knocked a couple minutes earlier.
"I'm sorry, I can't wake him up"said Lily
Steve smiled down at her.
"It's okay, let your father sleep"answered Steve"I'll tell Fury I didn't have need for your father"
Lily nodded and watched him go.
"Mister Rogers, sir, where are you going?"asked Lily
"On a mission"
"But WHERE exactly"
"Why do you need to know?"
"In case you need a hand"answered Lily"My father could get there in a jiffy"
Steve blinked at her.
"Stuttgart, Germany, 28 Konigstrasse"answered Steve"Do you want me to wri-"
"There is currently a Nordic exposition at the Museum in Stuttgart, and it's not Konigstrasse but more like Königstraße, the vowels sound different when there is an Umlaut or diaeresis on top of a letter"Lily frowned at him"Didn't you learn a bit of German back in the 40s?"
Steve shook his head, eyes wide.
"I'll tell my father where you are when he wakes up"
Lily closed the door and Steve was left blinking at it.
'I have just been told off by a kid'
Shaking his head, he headed off toward on of the Quinjet waiting for him.
—
Something had shifted.
When Harry opened his eyes, he sensed a strong potential of magic inside the Helicarrier. And it wasn't his. He stood up, put on his shoes and went out. Crossing through the many halls, he headed for the main deck. Upon arriving, he noticed there were more people than this morning. He recognised Captain America in his new suit sitting at the main table, Agent Romanoff in a S.H.I.E.L.D. cat suit, too sitting and her eyes riveted on the table, Bruce Banner in his light purple shirt, and a nice specimen of man. In a strange armour, he was tall, muscled, long golden blond hair and did he mention A FUCKING NICE SPECIMEN OF THE MALE GENDER.
'I'd tap that'thought Harry
Clearing his thoughts, Harry took on the sombre look on everyone's face to know something had happened.
"What did I miss?"asked Harry.
Some people turned to him.
"We captured Loki"said Romanoff, never raising her eyes from the table.
Harry made a small noise.
"That would explain why I felt a disturbance in the Force"
Steve and Blondie shoot him a questioning look.
"What Force are you talking about, Sorcerer?"asked Blond Man, then turning to the others he said"Why didn't you tell me there was a sorcerer among us
Frowning, Harry marched toward the man as people looked at him questioningly.
"I don't believe we've been presented, Rapunzel"hissed Harry"So for your sake, you better not start revealing my secrets unless you want to find yourself in a precarious situation"
"Do you dare threaten me?"growled Blondie
Harry gave the man a shark smile.
"You want to see how I threaten?"
Magic vibrating around him slightly, Harry itched for a fight.
"Enough!"ordered Steve"The both of you!"
Glowering at the taller man, Harry sat down in an empty chair.
"So, Trickster God has been taken, so why the sombre look?"asked Harry after a pause.
"It was too easy"replied Natasha, still not lifting her eyes.
Harry frowned, okay now he understood.
"…You talk about peace and you kill 'cause it's fun"Harry finally heard Fury's voice coming from…The table?! Well it was more like a monitor built inside the table or something"You have made me very desperate, you might not be glad that you did" "Ooh"Another unknown voice said, Loki's most probably" It burns you to come so close, to have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power, and for what? A warm light for all mankind to share, and then to be reminded what real power is"
There was a silence then.
"Well, you let me know if Real Power wants a magazine or something"
The monitor goes black and a heavy silence settled around the bridge.
"He really grows on you, doesn't he?"joked slightly Banner
"Loki's gonna drag this out"said Steve"So, Thor, what's his play?"
"He has an army called the Chitauri"Thor answered after a moment"They're not of Asgard or any world known"He turns to fully face the group" He means to lead them against your people, they will win him the earth, in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."
"Wait! What?!"shouted Harry
"An army? From outer space?"From the man's tone, Harry couldn't tell if Steve was being sarcastic or utterly serious.
"So he's building another portal"understood Banner"That's what he needs Erik Selvig for"
"Selvig?"asked Thor
"Who?"questioned Harry, why was he one who wasn't told anything?
"He's an astrophysicist"answered Banner to the two.
"He's a friend"corrected Thor
"Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of ours"cut Romanoff, finally raising her eyes to glare at the blond God.
"I wanna know why Loki let us take him"wondered Steve"He's not leading an army from here"
"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki"said Banner"That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you could smell crazy on him.
"Have care how you speak"growled Thor"Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he's my brother"
"He killed eighty people in two days" deadpanned Romanoff.
"He's adopted"replied Thor after a minute
Harry snorted.
"Let us all appreciate the greatest comeback of 2k12"snarked Harry.
Thor glared at him and Harry smiled toothily.
"I think it's about the mechanics, Iridium"said Banner, hoping to break the tension between Harry and Thor"What did they need the Iridium for?"
"It's a stabilizing agent"came a voice from the hallway.
Turning around his seat, Harry watched a close-shaved man in a suit walks in with Coulson who had his children in each hand.
"I'm just saying"Harry heard the man said to Coulson" Pick a weekend, I'll fly you to Portland"Looking extremely embarrassed, Coulson walked toward Harry, smiled and gave him his children—who hugged him.
"I found them roaming the halls, thought you would have liked to have them with you"said Coulson
"Thank you"said Harry, as the twins climbed his lap.
Coulson smiled again and left him to return to his post
"Keep the love alive"said the bearded man to Coulson's back then turned to the group"Means the portal won't collapse on itself, like it did at S.H.I.E.L.D."He walked toward Thor and patted him on the arm"No hard feelings, Point Break, you've got a mean swing"He walked toward Fury's control panel"Also, it means the portal can open as wide, and stay open as long, as Loki wants"Back turned to them, he addressed the crew"Uh, raise the mizzenmast, jib the top sails"
Harry and his kids snorted at the man's antics.
"That man is playing Galaga!"shouted the bearded-man, pointing to his right, and from the corner of his eyes, Harry saw Steve look questioningly toward that direction and he snorted at him"Thought we wouldn't notice, but we did"Covering his eye, the man looked around the console"How does Fury do this?"
"He turns"answered Agent Hill seriously.
"Well, that sounds exhausting"remarked seriously the man, touching and scrolling the information of the console"The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily, only major component he still needs is a power source, a high energy density"Finishing with tinkering the console, the man turned to the group"Something to kick start the cube"
"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?"asked Hill.
"Last night"replied the man and Harry couldn't again tell if he was serious or sarcastic"The packet, Selvig's notes, the Extraction Theory papers, am I the only one who did the reading?"
"Well, you're one of the few who can understand the gibberish"replied Harry from his seat
"I don't believe we've been presented"said the man, noticing him for the first time"Althought I don't believe we need"
Harry frowned at the man.
"I don't understand"replied Harry.
The man looked at him as if he were an idiot.
"I'm well-known"replied the man
"And so am I!"smiled sardonically Harry"Does that mean you know me?"
It was the man's turn to look at him with a frown.
"What do you mean? I'm Tony Stark, renowned genius, millionaire, playboy, super-hero"
Harry puffed up his cheeks and blew a raspberry.
"Nope! Never heard of you, maybe you have heard of Harry Potter, Chosen One, Defeater of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Boy-Who-Lived-Twice and Saviour of the Wizarding World?"
Harry knew he shouldn't flung out important information like this by seeing the look on the man's face was totally worth it and the fact that Thor had already prepared the ground with his early question, he knew he'd have to explain himself later so why not start now?
"Wait! What?!"
"Wizarding World?!"
Questions shoot out from the people around him.
"ENOUGH!"shouted Harry"One question at the time!"
"Wizarding world?"that was Romanoff's voice
"I'm a wizard"replied Harry"You know, pointy hats, black cauldrons, magic wand and flying of a broom?"
"Magic?"Stark's voice sounded like he didn't believe him.
"Okay so there is like a man who wants to use a space army to conquer the world, which is a Norse God, another Norse God who wields a MAGIC HAMMER and you're doubting me and my magic? Alright, let me show you"
Setting his—surprisingly calm— children down, Harry stood up and turned to Coulson who was doing his job and minding his business. The brunet had no idea what was going to hit him.
"Coulson"called Harry and the man turned to him and eyed the wand pointing at him and Harry's sadistic smirk"Sorry about that"
"Wha…"
A spell hit the man and in his place stood a tiny chihuahua, its coat the same pattern as Coulson's suit. There were cries, shouts and laughers around him, but the most funny of it, the chihuahua started barking like mad. The twins let out a squeal and ran to the dog to pet it.
"Amazing!"he heard Banner say.
"Agent, you've never looked cuter!"laughed Stark
"Potter, transform him back!"ordered Hill
"I will, I will"laughed Harry"In a moment, just let me enjoy the moment"
The chihuahua growled at him from under the twins petting.
"Coulson, you're so cuuuuuute"chipped Harry, between laughs and wheezes.
The chihuahua barked its discontentment and Harry smiled, put the Elder Wand on the table and rolled up his sleeves.
"Nothing in my hands, nor sleeves"Putting them up like a magician to show his audience, he pointed a hand at the Chihuahua, who had stopped barking to cringe.
'Silencio!'thought Harry, his hand pointed toward the chihuahua.
Coulson, thinking he would re-transform into a human, waited but when he stayed in the body of a dog he opened his jaws to bark at Harry some more but no sound went past his chops. He was barking silently at the wizard.
"I can do wandless and wordless magic"explained Harry, then turned to Stark"Still believing magic doesn't ex-Aaaah!"
Something bit him! Looking down at his leg, Coulson had his jaws around his ankles.
"Ouch! Coulson! Stop it!"
The bite hardened and Harry screamed his pain.
"Harry, transform him back"ordered Steve
"Only if he stops taking my ankle for a bone!"
The little dog let go of him and sat on its behind, waiting.
"Tch! You're no fun, Coulson"pouted Harry
Coulson snarled silently at him and Harry put his hand up in surrender.
Casting the counter-spells, instead of a Chihuahua stood now a dishevelled brunet, suit and tie a little askew and an angry gaze.
"Don't ever do that again Potter"growled Coulson
"Sorry"Harry smiled"But in my defence, you guilt tripped me into coming here, let's just say it's payback, and it's the kindest one"
The brunet growled but said nothing.
"Oh! Come on Coulson"Harry hugged the man"It's payback!"Letting go of the man, Harry extended a hand toward him"Even-Steven?"
Coulson took the hand.
"You just wait until I get my revenge by tasering you, Harry"
Harry's eyes shone mischievously and he smiled. Coulson went back to his post, putting as much distance between the wizard and him.
"Soooo! Back to your problem at hand"said Harry, sitting down and his children joined him on his laps"What were we talking about?"
"Kick-starting the Cube with an important source of energy!"supplied helpfully Lily.
"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?"asked Steve, turning serious again "He's got to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin"explained Banner"Just to break through the Coulomb barrier"
"Unless, Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunnelling effect"added Stark, walking toward the man
"Well, if he could do that he could achieve Heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet"responded Banner
"Finally, someone who speaks English"Stark shook hands with Banner, his eyes glimmering.
"Is that what just happened?"wondered Steve
"I don't even know if they were talking or wooing each others"muttered Harry to Steve who snickered slightly.
"It's good to meet you, Doctor Banner"said Stark"You're work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled, and I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster"
Eyes widening, Harry blinked questioningly at Banner who adverted his eyes from everyone in the room.
"Thanks"he simply said.
"Doctor Banner is only here to track the cube"said Fury upon arriving on the Bridge"I was hoping you might join him"Fury turned to Harry"You too Potter"
"Me!? I know nothing about science or anything electrical"cried Harry"Anything electrical I touch either blow up or end up fried by my magic! Same goes for Lils and Jaimie"Both twins nodded at this
"You could start with that stick of his"suggested Steve" It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon and…You could try and…"Looking sadly at the wizard, Steve tried to convey all his courage to the wizard who looked pale and shivering at the mention of HYDRA.
"I don't know about that"said Fury"But it is powered by the cube, and I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys"
"Monkeys? I do not understand"said Thor
"I do!"said proudly Steve and Harry shot him a compassionate look then glared from the corner of his eyes at Stark who was rolling his eyes"I understood that reference"
"Shall we play, doctor? Wizard of Oz? Since we're in 'not in Kansas anymore'"replied snarkily Stark.
"If I am to be the Wizard, you get to be the Tin Man, Stark"smirked Harry, standing to follow the men down the lab, his children in each hand.
Stark smirked back at the wizard appreciatively.
"This way sirs"said Banner then smiled down at the ground"And miss"
Lily smiled and let go of Harry to take Banner's hand. Seeing the man tense then smile at her, Harry knew that, whatever the man transformed into, he was no threat to anyone here, except maybe for Loki.
—
"Whatever you do"explained Harry as they entered the lab"Do not hand me something electric, unless you want it destroyed and don't even try to hand me something Stark"
Pouting slightly, Stark went into a corner to start working.
"How did you even know what I wanted to do?!"questioned the man
Harry him a sad smile.
"Someone already did the same thing"
"Really? Who?"asked Banner this time.
Harry stayed silent but by the way his head was down, both scientist realised it wasn't something good.
"What do you know about me?"asked suddenly Harry, watching as his children looked at everything inside the lab. with a reasonable distance.
"Is there something to know about you?"asked Stark"I didn't find your file in any S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database"
"Well…Let's just say that I was hexed back into the past-"
"REALLY?! Can time be manipulated by wizards?! What happens if you accidentally changes something?! Does it have consquences in-"cut Stark
"Please!"hissed Harry" Yes time can be manipulated by wizard BUT! Only with a magical artefact and you can only go back in hours, yes if you changes something in the past it has consequences, can I continue?"Both men—and children nodded—"I was send back in the 40s, in Germany, I met Red Skull"—there was a sharp in-take of breath in the audience—"he wanted me as a weapon, tried to break me but never succeeded in the end and I went back home in my time"
"How did you do that, Daddy?"asked his son's tiny voice.
"The Tesseract"said Harry dismissively, turning toward the sceptre.
Both adults—one of which had been tortured into submission but it had failed— knew that there was more than what the man was saying but they said nothing. When he is ready and he trusts them, he will talk, pushing him now and he will clam himself up and never talk.
Going back to his original work, Banner scanned with a gamma ray detection scanner on the sceptre for radiation. Harry is staring intensely at the sceptre, putting his hand over it and sensing a great power within it.
'Like the Tesseract's'thought Harry.
That made him think, he thought the Tesseract had a unique power but sensing something alike it, made him reconsider if the Tesseract was the only artefact or if there were more.
'If there is, I'll have to make sure nobody get their hands on them'.
"Shouldn't the Munchkins be put to bed?"asked Stark from his monitor.
"Not tired!"shouted both twins
"They're hyper-actives, putting them to bed is hard"said Harry"And whatever I give them to sleep is in my room"
"Couldn't you…You know, spell that inside here?"asked Stark
"Do you want to blow up the whole Helicarrier?"asked Harry"I already put you in danger with my little trick on Coulson"
Staring wide-eyed at the wizard, Stark opened and closed then opened his mouth only to close it again.
"I didn't say anything"mumbled Stark turning back to his monitors, shifting and solving as many algorithms and equations.
"The gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig's reports on the Tesseract"said Banner.
"Can you process it?"asked strangely James, looking at Stark's monitors.
Blinking at the man, Banner responded
"It's gonna take weeks"
"But if we bypass their mainframe and direct a reroute to the Homer cluster"supplied Stark, ruffling James's hair"We can clock this around six hundred teraflops."
Harry nodded to all the men said, he didn't even understood what they were saying but they were right!
"All I packed was a tooth brush"joked Banner
Stark smiled.
"You know, you should come by Stark Tower sometime"said Stark, approaching Banner's working corner"Top ten floors, all R&D, you'd love it, it's candy land"
"What's Candy Land? I want to go!"shouted Lily, gripping Stark's trousers and staring at him with puppy eyes, making all adults laugh at her. Stark smiled down at her, picked her up and put her on his hip as he got around Banner's desk, grabbing an electrical prod on his way.
"Thanks, but the last time I was in New York I kind of broke...Harlem"said Banner sadly "Well, I promise a stress free environment"said Stark, walking behind Banner"No tension, no surprises"
Stark pokes Banner suddenly with his prod.
"Owh!"cried Banner, turning his head to stare at a serious faced Stark and a giggling Lily.
"Nothing?"asked Stark, making Lily giggle harder
"Hey!"Steve shouted. He had walked in on them as Stark pulled this"Are you nuts?!"
"Steve, lightened up"sighed Harry"It was a joke"
"Jury's out"said Tony, ignoring Steve"You really have got a lid on it, haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?"
"Is everything a joke to you?"demanded Steve
"Funny things are"replied Tony then turning to a still giggling Lily"Don't you agree sweetheart?"
Lily nodded strongly.
"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny"reprimanded Steve then turned apologisingly to Bruce"No offense, doctor"
"Steve"hissed Harry"Let me tell you a story, I knew a man, who was the kindest sweetest man you can ever hope to met but you know what, he had a certain condition that made him grew fur every months for a couple of days, and for that he was ostracised by wizards but it is not because he was made a monster that you had to treat him like one!"
Steve looked down ashamedly.
"What happened to him?"asked Tony
"He died with his wife, protecting what he believed in"answered Harry, a pang of sadness as he thought about Remus, Tonks and their son Teddy, he must have grown now, being in his 4th year at Hogwarts now.
"It's alright"reassured Bruce"I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things"
"You're tiptoeing, big man"advised Tony, putting Lily down and grabbing in his metallic trunk a bag of food"You need to strut"
"And you need to focus on the problem, Mister Stark"answered Steve
"You think I'm not?"answered dryly Stark, rummaging in his bag of food then putting his hand over his mouth"Why did Fury call us and why now? Why not before? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables."
"He's right, Steve"said Harry, going to the desk where everyone has reunited "I'm still wondering, why am I here? And it's really not about the Tesseract, there is something the man is not telling me or us!"
"You think Fury's hiding something?"asked Steve
"I don't think"replied Harry"I know"
Something shakes by his eye's corner, he turns and Tony is extending his bag toward him, offering him food. Nodding his thanks, Harry fished blueberries, handing some to his Gremlins.
"He's a spy, Captain"added Stark"He's The spy, his secrets have secrets"Tony points to Bruce"It's bugging him too, isn't it?"
"Uh..."awkwardly began Bruce, trying to concentrate on his work"I just wanna finish my work here and..."
"Doctor?" Everyone heard the silent 'Speak your mind'
Silence fell and Bruce took off his glasses
" 'A warm light for all mankind"quoted Bruce"Loki's jab at Fury about the cube" "I heard it"said Steve.
"We all did"added calmly Harry.
"Well, I think that was meant for you"said Bruce to Tony and Tony extends his blueberries bag, Bruce takes some berries before continuing"Even if Barton didn't tell Loki about the Tower, it was still all over the news"
"Stark Tower?"asked Harry
"The Stark Tower? That big ugly" Tony gives Steve a look and Steve pauses for a moment"...building in New York?"
"It's powered by Stark Reactors"explained Bruce"Self-sustaining energy source, that building will run itself for, what, a year?"
Harry whistles impressed and the twins start 'oooooh'ing.
"That's just the prototype"said humbly Tony although he's clearly moved"I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now, that's what he's getting at"added at Steve questioning face.
"So, why didn't SHIELD bring him"—pints to Tony—"in on the Tesseract project? I mean, what are they doing in the energy business in the first place?"
"You're in the right, Bruce"said Harry, after thinking about it.
"I should probably look into that"agreed Tony, going around the desk to face Steve while extracting from his trousers' back pocket a tiny flat screen"Once my decryption programmer finishes breaking into all of SHIELD's secure files."
"I'm sorry, did you say...?"Steve looked taken aback by Tony's action.
"You hacked into SHIELD's Database?!"cried Lily
"AWESOME!"said James
Tony nodded toward the twins.
"JARVIS has been running it since I hit the bridge"said Tony"In a few hours we'll know every dirty secret SHIELD has ever tried to hide"Tony helds out his bag of blueberries right in Steve's face"Blueberry?"Tony's tone said he clearly won't give the man any. "Yet you're confused about why they didn't want you around?"replied dryly Steve.
"An intelligence organization that fears intelligence?"Tony wanted to laugh sarcastically"Historically, not awesome"
"I think Loki's trying to wind us up"stated Steve"This is a man who means to start a war, and if don't stay focused, he'll succeed, we have orders, we should follow them"
Tony's demeanour changed drastically
"Following is not really my style"replied Tony, shoving blueberries in his mouth.
Steve smirked
"And you're all about style, aren't you?"he asked haughtily
"Of the people in this room, including the children"asked Tony, a bit peeved" Which one is: A. wearing a spangly outfit and B. not of use?"
"That's enough, both of you!"scolded Harry in his best 'Father Voice' "Steve"reasoned gently Bruce"Tell me none of this smells a little funky to you?"
Harry now knew why Shacklebolt asked him not to undergo the Auror Training Program, real Aurors—and in this case also soldiers— do not think outside the box, they just obey orders. And since he's been a little boy, he had always hated rules, especially if they were made by his relatives. And it was his way of thinking that had Shacklebolt already appointing him as leader of a small group of Aurors. Harry watched as Steve looked torn between believing them and following orders.
"Just find the cube"growled Steve as he walked out of the lab. Staring at his retracting back, Harry sighed and turned to the two scientists.
"That's the guy my dad never shut up about?"growled Tony staring intensely at his monitor, anger seeping out of him"Wondering if they shouldn't have kept him on ice"
"Tones…"chided Harry and Tony put his hands in mock surrender
"The guy's not wrong about Loki"said Bruce, from his own monitor across the room, tinkering with it"He does have the jump on us"
"What he's got is an ACME dynamite kit"Tony went to another monitor"It's gonna blow up in his face, and I'm gonna be there when it does"
"Yeah"Bruce smiled at Tony"I'll read all about it"
Bruce moved a data on his monitor and send it to Tony's
"Uh-huh, or you'll be suiting up like the rest of us"suggested Tony
"Ah, you see"began Bruce"I don't get a suit of armor, I'm exposed, like a nerve, it's a nightmare."
It didn't take him long to know that Bruce was talking about his power.
"If you don't want to feel bad about it"started Harry"You know I told you I served in a Wizard War, well the Dark Lord, Lord Voldemort, and I we had a connection, I felt what he did, if he was angry, I felt it, if he was punishing one of his minions, I felt every spell, curse, hex, he used on the poor bugger"Harry smiled sadly at the two" We were connected and more than once he tried to take over my mind and he nearly succeeded once"
Tony whistled, impressed.
"Since we're sharing sob stories, here's mine"Tony pointed to his chest, were a blue glowing could be seen albeit faintly"I've got a cluster of shrapnel, trying every second to crawl its way into my heart and this stops it, this little circle of light, it's part of me now"Tony walked toward Bruce"Not just armor, it's a... terrible privilege"
Harry smiled sadly in understanding.
"But you can control it"countered Bruce
"Because I learned how"
"It's different"sighed Bruce.
He tried to read his screen but Tony slid the data aside with his finger so the two couldn see and talk to each other, face-to-face.
"Hey, I've read all about your accident"explained gently and calmly Tony"That much gamma exposure should have killed you"
"So you're saying that the Hulk..."Bruce stammered"The other guy... saved my life? That's nice, It's a nice sentiment. Saved it for what?"
"That Bruce"Harry walked toward the man and laid a gentle yet firm hand on his shoulder"Is something you need to discover for yourself"
Tony smiled at the two of them and all three returned to work.
"You might not like that"added Bruce, his smile not agreeing with what he said. "You just might"responded Tony with a smile.
Harry stretched.
"I don't know for you guys but I'm rather famished"Harry went to the door then turned"Want me to bring you something?"
"YES DADDY!"shouted the twins
"You heard the kids"grinned Tony"I'm not really picky, so…Take whatever edible they have"
"Could you take a cup of tea for me"added almost silently Bruce
"Okie Dokie!"smiled Harry"I'll be back in a jiffy and you two"Harry looked pointedly at the twins"You behave with Mister Stark and Mister Banner"
"Promise!"
Harry stepped out of the lab.
—
Harry looked for the Helicarrier's canteen for a moment, trying doors after doors but never finding it. He had asked his way, of course, but each time he asked, he seemed more lost than ever.
'Hope this door is the good one!'
He hit the button to open the door and entered the room. Finding it too much silent.
"Wrong one again"groaned Harry.
"Finally some company"said a voice inside the room.
Harry knew this voice, he had heard it throught a monitor. Loki. Of all door he had to open, it was the one for the entrance of Loki's cell.
'Fucking Potter Luck!'
"Not for long"growled Harry toward the voice, intending to get out of here quickly.
"Are you sure Little Death?"asked Loki.
'Little Death?'
"Little Death? What are you even saying?"
"Why don't you come and find out, Little Death?"
'Get out of here!'supplied a voice in his mind
Ignoring the voice, Harry walked toward the glass cage and stared at the man inside. Leather clad, tall and mighty in a magical way, Loki was still an impressive person even in a prison.
"What is your name, Little Death?"asked Loki, standing and walking toward him.
"And I should tell you because?"asked Harry"What can you give me in exchange?"
"An answer"responded Loki, a charming smirk on his face"You wondered why I called you Little Death, I'll give you an answer"
"Why should I believe you?"Harry frowned"You're the God of Lies and Mischief"
Loki smirked and magic vibrated around them. Harry gasped as he felt Loki's magic, cold and sharp like a winter, wrap around him. Not in threatening way but also not in a gentle way.
"This will guarantee it"said Loki
This. Loki's magic. Loki had made a Wizarding Oath, and would lose his magic if he were to lie.
"Potter. Harry"answered Harry
Loki's eyes widened then shone with something akin to surprise then mirth and understanding.
"So it's you!"Loki almost giggled"It's you this Pitiful Creature has been trying to go home to!"
Harry looked at Loki weirdly.
"If He knew"Loki cackled"If He knew who you really are!"
"Excuse me!? But what the fuck am I?!"snarled Harry, getting tired of this conversation"And who is He?!"
"Oh!"Loki cackled louder"You don't know, She didn't tell you anything?"
Harry exhaled loudly.
"I'm out of here!"
Harry was close to the exit.
"Master of Death!"shouted Loki"He will come back!"
Harry stilled and turned slowly toward Loki.
"Who is he?"whispered Harry
Loki smirked at him.
The door opened and Fury entered. He glared at Harry.
"Potter! Out! Now!"ordered Fury.
Harry didn't seem to have heard him, his eyes fixated on a smirking Loki. Forcefully taking the boy by the arm, Fury dragged him out.
"What the fuck was that Potter?!"shouted Fury once they were out of Loki's cell"Answer me!"
Turning his unseeing gaze toward the man he said in an almost robotic voice
"I don't know, I'm sorry"
And headed quickly toward the lab. Upon reaching the inside of the lab., heads turned toward him.
"You took your time Ha-"began Stark only to stop and stare at the pale and shaking wizard"You alright there, buddy?"
Acting as if he didn't hear him, Harry went to a desk and grabbed the edges. Around him, monitors and lights blinked, something made of glass broke and a few pieces of junks started floating.
'Calm down, Potter, you're putting everyone in danger if you don't…Deep breath, in and out, in and out'
"Deep breath, buddy"said a voice throught the cotton in his ears"In and out, in and out…"
Unknown to the boy, Tony had come to the wizard and was talking to into calming down. A couple of time his ARK reactor blinked but hold on into its job as Tony settled the wizard down.
Unseeing eyes focused and Harry stared into Tony's warm brown eyes.
"That's it, bud! You're doing good!"Tony smiled at him"You alright?"
Harry nodded and looked around him, the room was in disarray and all the occupants looked a bit shaken.
"What happened Harry?"asked Bruce
Breathing in then out Harry answered in an almost calm tone.
"I was trying to find the canteen…I got lost…I opened the wrong door…Loki…We talked and…"Harry was starting to hyperventilate again and his magic acted up.
"Harry, Harry! It's okay, calm down"reassured Tony
Harry felt two pairs of arms hug him around his waist and he started calming down a little.
"I'm sorry, I forgot about the food, I-I'll immedi-"
"Harry, settle down, okay?"said Tony,gently sitting the wizard on a desk and flexing his knees to look directly into the boy's eyes"I'll ask Agent to send a meal for us, okay"
"And ask him for Daddy's duffle bag!"said Lily"There is something inside that can help him"
"I'll go get it!"James shot out of the room toward their temporary room.
"I'll go see Mister Coulson"suggested Lily"Can you stay with Daddy?"
"Of course, sweetcheeks"smiled Bruce, abandoning his desk to join Tony and keep Harry calm.
Lily left too in a run to find Coulson. Each time Harry seemed to hyperventilate, both Tony and Bruce talked and settled him down.
James was the first one to come back with Harry's duffle bag, Lily came in later with a stray with various food and drinks on—and totally too heavy for a mere little girl. Lily waved Tony off as he went to help her, she set down the stray on a desk, grabbed a cup of tea and filled it with tea as James rummaged the bottomless bag—surprising both scientists as he went arm deep into the bag— to fish, with a victorious noise, a glass vial filled with a translucent lavender liquid. Joining his sister, James handed her the vial and she poured the content of a tea spoon into the tea then went to her father.
"Daddy"called softly Lily and handing him the teacup"Here, drink this"
Shakily taking the cup in his hand, he lifted it to his lips and drank, closing his eyes as the liquid instantly calmed him. Bruce and Tony watched as the wizard went from a shaking and hyperventilating state to an utterly calm one.
"What-?"
"Calming Draught"answered James"Can calm the worst state of emotional turmoil in a jiffy"
"May I see it?"asked Bruce
James nodded and handed the vial to Bruce, who started examining it.
Eyes still closed, Harry stored away the memories where Loki mouthed the word 'Red Skull' to him. Opening them, Harry stared at the small worried group around him and smiled gently at them.
"Do you want to talk about it?"asked Tony"You do know you'll have to talk about it since Loki may have given you an important information"
"I know, Tones, I know"Harry breathed in"It's just…This information regards only me and-"Harry cut himself and frowned.
'Master of Death, Loki had called me Master of Death'
Old memories of running away from Voldemort and ending at Xenophilius's for answers and the story of the Three Brothers and then Xenophilius had said something about the Master of Death. His eyes widened as he remembered when he was back in the 40s, inside a plane with Captain America and Red Skull fighting and him grabbing the Tesseract and a female figure embracing him like a mother and calling him Master.
'I understand now!'
"-ry! Harry!"called Tony
Harry started and stared at Tony.
"What it is?"asked the genius"You spaced out on us"
"I just…I understood something"said Harry"Something very important"
Tony slapped gently his back.
"How about this, you go catch some Zs while we work"
"No! I'm alright an-"
"Potter! Stop being stubborn and go get some rest"cut Tony fondly
"Alright, alright!"Harry stood from the desk and went to a far corne in the room"I'm sleeping but I'll stay here"
Harry transfigurated a few pieces of junks into a thin mattress and a bed cover, he settled under the cover and closed his eyes. He was sound asleep after a couple minutes.
"Your father is really something!"commented wryly Tony
Both twins giggled in agreement.
"Now, let's go back to work"said Stark, returning to his monitor.
Bruce grabbed a cup of tea from the tray and too returned to work.
After a while, both twins started getting sleepy and they decided to join their father on the mattress. Both men couldn't help the fond smile as they watched the tiny family sleep peacefully.
—
Harry woke up to a tense room. Looking up toward Tony—who was sitting cross-legged on a desk— and Bruce who was reading over Tony's shoulder the monitor, both their expression grave. Slowly untangling himself from the tiny body and the cover, Harry joined them.
"Something happened right?"asked rhetorically Harry
Tony made an angry 'yes' noise.
"What is it?"asked the wizard
"You'll find soon enough"Tony jerked his head toward the door.
Turning around, Harry saw Fury in the hallway end enter their lab. angrily.
"What are you doing, Mr. Stark?"demanded the dark man
"Uh...kind of been wondering the same thing about you"responded Tony
"You're supposed to be locating the Tesseract"scolded angrily Fury
"We are"said Banner"The model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now, when we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile"
Tony squinted at Fury.
"And you'll get your cube back, no muss, no fuss"Tony stops and turns his monitor toward the man"What is PHASE 2?"
CLANG!
Both Harry and the twins started at the noise. Steve had entered and dropped a gun on a desk. A very familiar gun. Trying to calm his breathings, Harry grabbed the edges of the desk Tony was sitting on and looked away from the HYDRA insignia on the gun.
"PHASE 2 is S.H.I.E.L.D. uses the cube to make weapons"Steve looked at Tony then at Harry"Sorry, the computer was moving a little slow."
"I hope you're kidding me, Fury"Harry's voice could have frozen Hell, his magic acted up again and on the window appeared cracks.
"Rogers, Potter"tried to explain Fury, advancing toward Steve"We gathered everything related to the Tesseract, this does not mean that we're..."
"I'm sorry, Nick"cut Tony as he went down his desk and turned the monitor toward Steve and Fury to show the plans of the weapons on it"What were you lying?"
"Please tell me you're not trying to pull a Red Skull with theose weapons!"more cracks appeared on the window, the lights blinked and a couple of objects started flying
"I was wrong, Director"stated Steve"The world hasn't changed a bit"
Thor and Romanoff chose this moment to walk inside the room. The redhead's stair is focused on Bruce and Bruce notices it.
"Did you know about this?"asked a pissed Bruce at Romanoff.
"You wanna think about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?"she asked, advancing slowly toward the man
"I was in Calcutta"responded Bruce"I was pretty well removed"
"Loki's manipulating you"she stated
"He's not the only one who's been doing that around, is he?"hissed Harry
Now fully awake, the twins stared at the scene in front of them and at their father. Never, in their short life-time, they have seen their father this angry, not even after Lily conked one of her brother's bullies, rushing him to the A&E.
"Banner, you didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you"replied Romanoff, ignoring Harry's sentence.
"Yes"answered Bruce"And I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy, I'd like to know why S.H.I.E.L.D. is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction"
"Because of him"Fury points at Thor, calmly standing there
"Me?"asked Thor, stunned
"Oh! Pleeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaase!"hissed Harry, turning to fully face Fury"Don't go around and blame people for your mistakes Fury!"
"Last year earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town"explained Fury while glaring at Harry then at Thor"We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned"
"And yet I don't see you arming yourself against the wizards or anything! And we've been here as long as you!"snarled Harry, this his magic was blowing a magical wind around.
"My people want nothing but peace with your planet"said Thor
"But you're not the only people out there, are you?"asked the leather-clad man"And, you're not the only threat, the world's filling up with people who can't be matched, they can't be controlled"
"Like you controlled the cube?"asked sarcastically Steve
"The first time I gazed upon that Cube, it was in Red Skull's hand and I knew, no power like this should be in the hand of someone like him"Harry turned his almost glowing emerald eyes"Or men like you"
"You're work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies"added Thor"It is the signal to all the realms that the earth is ready for a higher form of war"
"A higher form?"asked Steve
" You forced our hand. We had to come up with something"Justified himself Fury "Nuclear deterrent"supplied Tony,deadpanned"'Cause that always calms everything right down"
"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?"questioned Fury angrily "I'm sure if he still made weapons"said Steve"Stark would be neck-deep…"
"Wait! Wait! Hold on!"Cut Tony angrily"How is this now about me?"
Steve turned a sarcastic gaze at him.
"... I'm sorry, isn't everything?"drawled Steve
"I thought humans were more evolved than this"stated Thor
"Excuse me"growled Fury"Did WE come to YOUR planet and blow stuff up?"
"Did you always give your champions such mistrust?"questioned Thor
"Are you boys really that naïve?"drawled Romanoff"S.H.I.E.L.D monitors potential threat potential
"Captain America is on threats watch? And so is Harry?"asked Bruce
"We all are"added Romanoff
"But wizards need to be monitored and watched! We nearly had a worldwide catastrophe with their last Dark Lord!"hissed Fury
"Wait! You're on that list?"asked sarcastically Stark at Rogers"Are you above or below angry bees?"
"Stark, so help me God"hissed Rogers"If you make one more wisecrack..." "Threat! Verbal Threat!"said Stark"I feel threatened!"
"Show me some respect!"hissed Rogers
"Respect what?!"snarled Stark
The next thing he knew, there was a maelstrom of phrases that made no sense to him.
Magic pulsed around him and inside him, and Harry let it out. The window broke in a crash, the shards of glass stayed suspended in the air as gushes of wind engulfed the whole room as it bathed in a red light as an alarm sounded. People stopped arguing around him to stare at the wizard. Harry's eyes glowed an eerie green with speckles of blue.
'Kill them, you know you want to…'supplied a voice in his mind.
'NO!'
Getting a hold on his magic, Harry repaired the window and deactivated the alarm with his magic.
"All of you"hissed Harry"Calm down"
"I think you're the last person on Earth to tell us to calm down Potter"growled Fury"Especially after that little stunt you pulled"
"And yet I'm the first one to calm down while all of you exhale anger"hissed Harry
"I won't let Red Skull's bitch dictate what we have to do!"snarled Fury
Window rattling, Harry started trembling.
"What did you say?!"
"Hit a nerve? Thought we wouldn't have noticed it?"asked Fury
"Shut up, shut up now!"hissed Harry dangerously
"You thought we wouldn't have noticed that your little bastards were R-"
Harry extended a hand toward the man and made it into a fist, Harry watched in satisfaction as the man's windpipe closed under his magic and he started choking.
"Potter! Stop it"Romanoff took out her gun and aimed at Harry.
Turning his gaze toward her, Harry jerked the gun from her hands with magic, levitated it in front of her threateningly and aimed, ready to fire.
"Potter stop!"ordered Rogers advancing toward him, Harry looked at the man, and then said man was immediately suspended by his ankles.
"Harry stop it!"tried Tony and ducked a nasty hex thrown his way.
Romanoff made a movement toward Harry but the gun fired at the ground, missing her purposely
"Next time, I won't miss"hissed Harry, his eyes almost blue with power.
He tightened his fist and smirked in satisfaction as Fury choked harder and fall to his knees. A few more minutes and the man would be dead. Harry chuckled darkly.
"Daddy! Please stop"wailed a voice.
Somehow, he snapped back. His eyes returned green and immediately Harry cancelled the spells around Fury and Rogers and settled down Romanoff's gun on a desk next to her. Everyone stared fearfully at the wizard, even the twins looked at their father like that. And Harry noticed.
"Oh! Merlin's bollocks"Tears threatened to fall"I'm sorry, oh Merlin! So sorry"
Harry made a step toward his children but they took a step back and that wrenched his heart.
"You…have no…control…or whatsoever"wheezed Fury angrily, standing up.
"And so do you"hissed Harry, turning to glare at Fury"You want to control a team when you can't even control a simple weapon! Ah! What a joke!"
"You speak of control, yet you court chaos"agreed Thor
"It's his M.O., isn't it?"said Banner"I mean, what are we, a team? No, no, no, we're a chemical mixture that makes chaos, we're... we're a time-bomb"
"You need to step away"suggested Fury
Stark put his hands around Steve's shoulder with a smirk plastered on his face.
"Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?"asked Stark
Rogers shoved the hand away and frowned at the man
"You know damn well why! Back off!"ordered Rogers
Stark sneered at Rogers
"Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me"challenged Stark
"Yeah, big man in a suit of armor"Rogers walked around Stark, gauging the pitiful human in front of him"Take that off, what are you?"
"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist"answered seriously Stark
Harry snorted.
"I'm surprised, I thought you would have come with the 'Stark naked' joke"
Tony smirked knowingly at the wizard and Rogers glared at them both.
"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you"growled Steve"I've seen the footage, the only thing you really fight for is yourself, you're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you"
"I think I would just cut the wire"said Tony, the tone of his voice revealed an intense pain.
"Always a way out..."smirked Rogers
"Oh! For Merlin's sake!"
Harry came up to Rogers, whispered a modified form of 'Duro' on his hand and slapped Rogers, who staggered upon the impact. Everyone stared wide-eyed at the wizard.
"You really need to start getting your head out of your arse and soldier mind, Rogers"hissed Harry"Why think you have to sacrifice someone to save millions when you can think of a way to save everyone! And that, sir, is what makes Tony more of a hero than you could ever hope to be!"
Rogers sneered and glared down at him.
"You know, Stark may not be a threat, but you and him better stop pretending to be heroes"hissed Rogers, advancing dangerously toward the smaller wizard.
"A hero? Like you?"snarled Stark, placing himself between Harry and Rogers"You're a laboratory experiment, Rogers, everything special about you came out of a bottle!"
Steve started puffing up his chest at Tony, who just stands there, unmoving, protecting Harry.
"Put on the suit, let's go a few rounds"ordered Rogers
Someone started laughing at them.
"You people are so petty... and tiny"laughed the Thunder God
Both men's attentions were diverted by the blonde's phrase and Tony rubbed his head as if trying to chase away a headache while Rogers turned to watch Fury and the others.
"Yeah, this is a team..."commented sarcastically Banner
"Agent Romanoff"asked Fury"Would you escort Doctor Banner back to his... "
Banner cut the man.
"Where? You rented my room"
"The cell was just in case..."tried Fury but Banner cut him again
"In case you needed to kill me, but you can't, I know I tried"There was an even more tense silence now, Harry held back a gasp, putting a hand over his mouth and the other around his chest. The fact that Bruce tried to kill himself and his resigned casual tone made him want to go over the man, hug him and protect him from any threats.
"I got low"continued Bruce"I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spit it out, so I moved on, I focused on helping other people"Something was wrong with Bruce, Harry sensed it rather than felt"I was good, until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone"Harry saw him look at where the twins were huddled"here at risk!"
Harry could see hints of green in the man's skin and eyes.
"Bruce"called softly Harry, making a steps toward him, both hands in the man's sight"It's okay, do you want to try my Calm-"
Banner glared at him then at Romanoff
"You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanoff?"asked Banner"You wanna know how I stay calm?"
Harry saw Banner grab the sceptre and both Romanoff's and Fury 's hand going for their guns.
"Doctor Banner..."ordered calmly Rogers"Put down the scepter"
Bruce looked down and Harry saw the shock on the man's face when he noticed he was holding Loki's sceptre. The computer beeped and all of them turned to it. "Got it"said helpfully Tony.
Banner put down the scepter and walked over to the computer.
"Sorry, kids"said almost forlornly Banner, reading the computer"You don't get to see mylittle party trick after all"
"You located the Tesseract?"asked Thor.
"I can get there faster"supplied Stark.
"Look, all of us..."started Rogers but Thor cut him.
"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard"said Thor"No human is a match for it"
Stark turned to leave and put on his suit to go and get the Tesseract, but Steve stopped him by grabbing his arm.
"You're not going alone!"shouted Rogers
Stark slapped the arm away.
"You gonna stop me?"
Both men stood with their face inches apart, ready to beat the other.
"Put on the suit, let's find out."suggested angrily Rogers
"I'm not afraid to hit an old man"snarked Stark
"Put on the suit"hissed Rogers.
Harry was the only one calm now, and while the others looked ready to go at each others, he had been staring at Bruce. Bruce, whose expression looked like nothing good has happened.
"Oh, my God!"muttered Bruce.
Instincts acting, Harry mindlessly threw a powerful ward around his children, just as the lab. exploded and blasted him through a window. Right into the sky and the emptiness.
"HARRY!"
"DADDY!"
Steve looked at Tony, panic in his eyes
"Put on the suit!"ordered Steve
"Yeah!"
Tony stood up, with Steve helping him up but before they exited the lab., they went to where the twins huddled were and grabbed each one.
"DADDY!"shouted Lily in Steve's arms, attempting to free herself"SOMEONE NEEDS TO GO AND SAVE HIM!"
"I will, sweetheart!"promised Tony, patting gently James's head and running down toward the hangar to put on his suit"I promise!"
"Hill!?"Tony heard Fury from his earpiece.
"External detonation"was Hill's answer"Number 3 engine is down! Can we get a run in? … Talk to me… We lose one more engine, we won't be! Somebody's got to get inside and patch that engine"
"Stark! You copy that?!"said Fury in his ear piece
"I'm on it!"replied Tony" After I saved our wizard!"
Shutting his earpiece, Tony hurried down, each second they lose is Harry meters away from the ground.
Finally arriving into the Hangar, Tony set down James, and turned to Steve.
"Find Engine Three I'll meet you there"
Steve put down Lily and nodded at Tony, and left. Tony kneeled before the twins.
"Steve and I need to go save your daddy and the ship"He stood up and patted them on the head"Stay safe, understood?"
Both nodded and Tony approached a tech room, taking out a flat remote, he activated it and doors opened to reveal the Iron Man suit. Tony stepped inside the suit and a hatch opened beneath his armour's feet. Dropping himself, Tony activated his reactors and flew into the sky to try and save Harry.
—
Slightly punch-drunk Harry let himself fall. His back was hurting, he was sure he had some shards stuck on his back, and his glasses were cracked. He groaned and turned on his belly. Air blowing his hair and face, Harry closed his eyes concentrated on his Animagus. His body shrank and changed and covered in bright red and gold feathers. Opening his still green eyes, instead of a human body was the body of a Phoenix.
'I never tried to fly after a dive'he smirked mentally'Guess it's time to learn!'
Letting out a shrill cry, he extended his wings and fell the wind under his feathers. Beating his wings, he stabilised himself then climbed vertically toward the Helicarrier.
A flash of red caught his attention. A man in armoured suit flew down. Vaguely remembering that this was Iron Man, Harry followed him as fast as his wings would carry him.
'Maybe I should I told them I could transform into a bird'thought Harry as he tried to catch up with Tony.
Giving up entirely on following the much faster man, Harry let out a shrill cry that he hoped the man would hear.
—
"JARVIS? Can you detect him?"asked Tony to his computer.
"Negative, sir"answered the AI"I can not locate Mister Potter heat signature nor presence"
Tony panicked slightly, Harry couldn't have already hit the ground, right? He had promised the Munchkins he would bring their daddy back.
'Except I can find him!'thought bitterly Tony.
A sharp cry startled him.
"JARVIS, did you hear that?"asked Tony
"Yes, sir"answered JARVIS"I believe its provenance comes from behind you, sir"
Turning around and stabilising himself vertically, Tony stared at the flaming red bird meters away from him. It approached him and Tony noticed the bird's green eyes. Familiar green eyes.
'Holy fuck! Is it…Is that?!'
"Harry?!"shouted Tony"Is that you?!"
The bird sang and Tony was filled with calmness and courage. The bird—Harry—jerked his head up, toward the Helicarrier, and started flying ahead.
"Roger that"Tony pushed his thrusters and climbed up, the bird following at its pace.
—
"Stark! Stark, I'm here!"yelled Steve into his earpiece"Did you save Harry?!"
"Good"replied Iron Man
The Iron Man suit arrived and got close to the damaged engine.
"Let's see what we got"
Steve noticed the lack of the wizard with Stark.
"Stark! Where is Harry?!"asked Steve
Dread filled him, was Harry dead?
"Don't worry about Harry"said Iron Man as he observed the inside of the engine with his view screen"He's coming, don't worry"
'Coming?'
"What ar-"
A shrill cry caught his attention and a flaming red bird landed on the rest of a railing then hopped down it but it wasn't a bird that hit the ground but a young man.
"Harry!"Steve smiled at him, glad to see the man alive and safe.
"Hullo!"smiled Harry before turning serious"What's the issue, Tones!?"
Iron Man began to pull on the stuck rotors then looked over at Harry and Steve "I need you to get to that engine control panel"Tony pints at where the control is"And tell me which relays are in overload position, and Harry, don't fall and let Cap handle the wares"And Tony flies into giant cooling conductors.
Nodding at the man, Harry transformed into Plume—his Phoenix form's name—and flew to the panel control, Steve joined him as he was transforming back, the blond opened it up to reveal glowing red cables and orange electric circuits.
"What's it look like in there?"heard Harry from Steve's earpiece
"It seems to run on some form of electricity"replied fatalistically Steve
Harry snorted.
"Thanks, Captain Obvious"replied fondly Harry
"Well, you're not wrong"added Tony
—
She was restless. Since Mister Stark had left them in the Hangar, Jaimie and her had been pacing.
"Do you think Daddy is alright?"asked James, mismatched eyes wide and scared.
"He better be!"smirked Lily, standing up with bravado"Or I'll make him pay"
James smiled fondly at her but just for a moment. Passing a hand through his red hair and sitting down, James thought of many way they could get up and start helping around.
"Let's move out!"stated strongly the boy, standing up and about to leave.
"We can't!"hissed Lily"We were told to stay put!"
"Actually we were told to stay safe"James grabbed her shoulders"We have to help! You can't tell me you've been dying to go out and try to help"
Lily looked down then raised a determined gaze at her twin.
"Let's go!"
James smirked and let go of his sister, they were about to leave when a crash shook the whole room. They shared a look and moved, weaving between cargos and boxes to see Thor and a giant green man about to fight. At first it was impressive to watch those two fight, but not anymore after Thor was almost thrown their way.
"Let's get out of here!"hissed Lily
James nodded beside her and they looked around for an exit. Upon finding it, they made a bee line for it, as Thor and Hulk started getting serious in their fight.
"Where could we go?"asked James, once they were out of the hangar and into the hallway.
"The Lab., where we were at first"said Lily
"Are you crazy?!"asked James"We should go to the Bridge"
"Jaimie! Think about it!"said Lily"All of this is for the destruction of the good guys and to take back the sceptre, if we take the sceptre and hide it, the bad guys will make sure we stay up in the skies"
"Or they could let us drop from the sky and take back the sceptre from the carcass of the Helicarrier too"arged James
Lily shook her head negatively
"Fury would have taken the Helicarrier toward the sea, to avoid hurting the population, and I don't think they want to lose the sceptre to the sea"
James thought about it then nodded.
"Alright, let's go and take that sceptre"
The two ran toward the lab.
—
After Tony telling them that the red and orange colour was normal for the panel, both Steve and Harry concluded that everything was all right with it.
"What's our next move, Tones?"asked Harry through Steve's earpiece.
"Even if I clear the rotors"replied Tony"This thing won't re-engage without a jump, I'm gonna have to get in there and push"
"Are you daft, Stark?! This is folly!"
"Well if that thing gets up to speed, you'll get shredded!"added Steve
"Then stay in the control unit"explained Tony"And reverse polarity long enough to disengage mag..."
" TONY! / Speak English!"replied at the same time Harry and Steve
Harry was sure he heard Tony roll his eyes at them.
"See that red lever?"turning around, Harry saw it on the wall on the other side"It'll slow the rotors down long enough for me to get out, both of you stand by it and wait for my word"
Pointing to Steve where he saw the lever, Steve nodded and jumped over and nearly fell. Harry stayed by the panel control to cover Steve in case. It was a good idea seeing that armed men came and started firing at Steve, one even throws a grenade. Thinking quickly, Harry transformed and batted away the grenade with his wing, then let out a shrill cry, smirking internally when the men shrank in fear. Steve used this at his advantage to attack the men. A man aimed at Steve's head and Harry dived at the man, his talons out. The man screamed as his talons shredded the skin and his beak hit him, lifting the man, Harry flew out and let go of the man who fell screaming. More men entered and Steve picked out a rifle and fired at them, both Harry and Steve stayed rather close to the red lever.
—
"We're here!"shouted victoriously Lily, as they reached the lab.
The laboratory was in disarray, with pieces and junks all over the room, desks turned over…And no sceptre on the table. A tall man was holding it, a sadistic and victorious smile on his face. He had turned his head to stare at the newcomers.
"Well, well"the man took a step toward them"What do we have here?"
Both of them glared at the man who laughed at them.
"Give us the sceptre"growled Lily
If possible the man laughed harder.
"Or you'll do what? Cry for your Mummy?"
"If we cry for him, you'll be a dead man!"smirked James
The man stopped smiling and aimed his sceptre at them, firing a blue light at them.
James's eyes widen and he goes to hide but Lily grab his arms and she concentrate. The light hit an invisible magical barrier around them and the man look at them surprised.
"You know magic"the smirk came back full force
The man advanced toward them, and Lily concentrated again, she imagined a strong force to push this man away. Her magic acted and the man was blast against a wall.
"RUN!"shouted Lily
Both twins ran out of the lab., but the man had stood up and he spelled an invisible barrier on the door. James had been able to run out but not Lily. Eyes wide, James started hitting at the barrier, but it absorbed his blow.
"RUN!"shouted Lily at James
"I'm not leaving you!"yelled James.
"How touching"drawled the man, grabbing Lily by her collar and lifting her to his face.
The red head snarled at the man and poised her fist to hit him.
"Oh! You want to hit me, little girl"The man chuckled darkly and presented his cheek"What are you waiting for?"
Lily smirked sadistically, looking so much like her other father.
From the corner of his eyes, he saw the boy's 'Fuck this I'm out, dude you're fucked' expression, hands held in mock surrender and turn away slightly. Loki understood too late the boy's expression, the little girl's punch was like as if he had hit a wall at full speed. He dropped her and fell to the ground, a few feet away from the little pest, he could feel blood dripping from his nose and his jaws hurt slightly where he had been hit.
Lily turned to her brother who pointed at another exit on the other side.
'I'll meet you later'thought James, and his sister understood what he thought.
She ran out of the lab. just as the man was trying to stand up. As she ran, she thought
'We have to warn someone, the prisoner is out and he has his sceptre back!'
The Helicarrier shifted and she nearly stumbled. Nearly because James had caught her. Smiling at his sister, he helped her stand.
"We need to warn the other a-"
"About the sceptre and the prisoner, yes I know"cut James"But we have to find someone who could beat this man's arse"
"Don't swear in front of Daddy, he'll 'Scourgify' you before you can say 'Blood Lolly'"
"What are you two doing here?"
Turning around, both twins smiled and ran toward Coulson who was holding a gun.
"We saw your prisoner!"said Lily
"He escaped!"added James
"Where was he?"asked Coulson, readjusting his grip on his weapon
"In the lab. but I don't believe it anymore"answered Lily"Mister Coulson he-"
"Go on the Bridge and wait for your father to come and get you, I'll be looking for Loki"Coulson started walking away.
"But, Coulson, he-"tried James.
"You. Up. Now!"ordered Coulson, leaving.
Both twins stared at the man's retracting back. They exchanged a glance and decided to follow silently the man.
—
"Stark, we're losing altitude"Hary heard through Steve earpiece.
He had changed to his human form and was throwing hexes and jinxes at the incoming men.
"Yeah, I've noticed"answered Iron Man.
Harry looked toward Steve to see him struggle against a soldier, he shot the soldier a nasty hex but the man had the time to shot above Steve's head and Steve tripped, falling into the emptiness.
"STEVE!"shouted Harry.
Harry put a temporary protection around the door before diving at Steve's wake.
—
Looking around the corner, James saw Coulson enter a room and both he and his sister followed the man inside after a few minutes. They hide themselves in the shadowy entrance hallway and observed the scene. Thor was inside Loki's cell and Coulson was aiming at Loki, except there was something wrong with this Loki.
"You like this?"Coulson said, showing his gun "We started working on the prototype after you sent The Destroyer, even I don't know what it does, do you wanna find out?"
Unknown to Coulson, the real Loki with his sceptre had appeared behind the man and stabbed him through his heart as he was activating the gun. Holding each a hand to the other's mouth to stop them from screaming.
"Nooo!"shouted Thor from his cage.
The twins watched in horror as Loki send Coulson against a wall, Coulson slid down the wall, leaving a red trail on his way and slumped against it, breathing fast. Shooting out of their hiding place after Loki went to the console, they kneeled by Coulson's side and Lily pressed a hand on the wound, trying to stop the blood from flooding.
"I…thought…I…have…told…you…to go…to the bridge"gasped painfully Coulson.
Lily shushed gently Coulson, James tore a piece of fabric from his clothes, Lily took away her hands and he applied it to the wound before pressing against it.
Gushes of air engulfed the room and suddenly Thor's cage dropped out.
"NO!"shouted Lily.
Loki turned to them and frowned at the little girl.
"You!"he hissed
"Me!"snarled Lily"You vile snake!"
Loki looked pleased rather than insulted.
"My daddy is going to make you pay"hissed Lily.
"Really?"
"You will lose!"hissed this time James"They always lose!"
"Me? Losing?"Loki took dangerous steps toward them"Your heroes are scattered, your floating fortress falls from the sky...where is my disadvantage?"
"You lack conviction"said Coulson in a feeble voice
"I don't think I'm..."
Coulson cut Loki by firing his gun—under the impressed 'Ooooooooh's of the twins— and blasting the God of Mischief through a wall.
"So that's what it does"Coulson smiled and the twins tried to tend to his wound as they waited for someone, or maybe a miracle.
—
'I have just five minutes before the ward cancels itself'thought Harry.
Harry joined Steve in his falling and grabbed his gloved hands.
"ARE YOU NUTS POTTER?!"shouted Steve over the wind"WHY DID YOU JUMP?!"
"I JUMPED TO SAVE YOUR SORRY ARSE!"replied Harry"I'LL FLY US UP!"
"YOU JUST A TINY BIRD, POTTER"reasoned Steve"YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO!"
"THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE WRONG, STEVE"Feathers appeared here and there on his body"I'M NOT JUST A TINY BIRD, I'M A PHOENIX!"
Transforming fully, Plume's talons grabbed Steve's shoulders and pulled,flapping his wings. Phoenixes being able to lift heavy loads, Steve weight was no match for him or his Phoenix form.
"Cap, Oz, hit the lever!"Steve's earpiece said
"Just a minute!"said Steve.
Plume flapped his wings harder.
"Lever, now!"said Tony
They were nearly there, just a couple more meters and he could drop Steve securely!
"Uh oh"they faintly heard through the earpiece"Help!"
Letting out a shrill cry, Plume threw Steve toward the lever and the blond activated it.
Someone fire at them, his ward had cancelled itself, Plume dived toward the shooter, talons out. He gave a pained thrill as the man fired at his, hitting him in his right wing twice. He fell onto what was left of the footbridge.
"Harry!"shouted Steve, trying to move but was shot at by the man, making him dive and duck on the ground. Stopping firing at Steve, the shooter turned and aimed at the bird.
Hearing the noise of Iron Man's thrusters, Steve turned his head, just in time to see Iron Man tackling the shooter into the hallway then roll on his side, exhausted. Steve sighed in relief and picked up gently the bird from the ground and went back inside.
Tony's faceplate opened and he gasped in relief too.
"We did it Cap"wheezed the genius
"Yeah…"breathed Steve, settling Harry down.
With pained noises, Harry transformed back into a human and screamed as the full pain of his bullet wounds on his arms radiated through his whole body.
"Harry? You all right?"asked Tony
"No! Don't you see I'm screaming my happiness?"trying to move his arm, Harry hissed as the mere shaking of it was painful.
"We need to get you to Medical Bay"said Steve, helping Tony up then both men helped the wizard up and half dragged him to Medical Bay to receive treatments.
—
Tears of joys streamed down her cheeks as she saw Fury arrive. James, cheeks and hands bloody, moved out of the man's way, and went next to his sister,
"Sir…"gasped Lily, in the same state as James, hands still pressuring the wound"Coulson…He…"
"It's okay"replied Fury calmly, kneeling to Coulson's eye level.
"Sorry, boss"gasped painfully Coulson"They got rabbited"
"Just stay awake"ordered Fury, taking Coulson's face and forcing him look"Eyes on me!" "No, I'm clocked out here"Coulson gave Fury a small smile
"No,no, no,no,no!"Lily put more pressure on Coulson's wound, making him let out a whimper"You can't die, please! You can't"
"Your death, not an option"replied Fury
"It's okay, boss"Coulson smiled, one last time"This was never going to work... if they didn't have something... to..."
Coulson looked away and sighed his last breath.
Lily start shaking her head in denial and applied more pressure.
"HELP!"she shouted"WE NEED HELP HERE!"
"Lily…"called softly James, tears making his eyes shone
"SOMEBODY HELP!"screeched the redhead.
Gently grabbing the hysterical little girl, Fury picked her as the medical team went to take Coulson away. Small hands grabbed at his cloak as he exited the room, James hanging on his cloak for dear life and Lily crying into his arms. Fury put a hand on his ear and activated his earpiece
"Agent Coulson is down"he said through it
—
"Agent Coulson is down"
Both Steve and Tony stopped dragging him as they listened.
"A medical team is on its way to your location"said a S.H.I.E.L.D agent through the comm.
"They're here"replied Fury"They called it"
Harry let out a sob and covered his mouth with a hand.
"And Po-Harry"Fury said"Your kids are with me"Harry inhaled sharply"They were with Couls-"
Taking the earpiece from Steve Harry hissed into it
"Where are you now?!"
"Outside Loki's cell"
Throwing the earpiece on the ground, Harry ran, ignoring the call of his names or the pain radiating in his body, toward Loki's cell. When he arrived in the hallway leading to Loki's cell, Harry noticed Fury with his kids and he ran toward them.
"Lils! James!"yelled Harry
Raising their heads toward him, James ran to his father, and so did Lily after Fury put her down. Ignoring the pain of his arm and the blood on it, he embraced his sobbing children, Harry whispered calming words to them as they sobbed and cried their hearts out.
Harry checked James and Lily for any wounds as he noticed the blood of them.
"Not our blood"mumbled tiredly Lily
"Whose i-?"
Just then, the medical team rolled a bed with a veil on it and Harry stopped breathing, understanding immediately. As the bed passed them, Lily put her head on his chest and cried and sobbed some more, James was glaring at the ground, tears leaking from his eyes as he tried to supress his pain.
"Jaime"called gently Harry, extending his wounded arm toward his son"Come here, pumpkin"
James obeyed and embraced his father.
Harry whispered a feather light charm and lifted both his children then started walking toward his quarter
"Potter"called Fury"There will be a meeting on the bridge, I'd like you to come"
"I won't, sir"answered calmly Harry"I have to take care of children first"
With that, Harry left the man in the hallway.
—
Harry was standing in Loki's cell. His back against the wall, his slung arm held tightly against his chest. It was the same wall Coulson had died against. It had taken him hours and a couple of potions to calm his twins down. Now they were asleep in his quarters, all cleaned up and bandaged. Harry exhaled loudly, Coulson's death had hit him hard, he hardly knew the man and he would have loved to get to know the man more. But Loki had ripped this chance from him. Anger suddenly filled him. He can promise this to the man, he won't let his sacrifice be vain.
"Guess I'm not the only one who got this idea"a voice from the entrance way said.
Turning his head, Tony was standing there. The genius approached him but unlike the wizard, he stayed up in front of him. A tense silence settled as they two stared at each others.
"We…didn't see you at the meeting"said Tony
"My children were my priority"responded Harry"It's not like I missed something important"
"How…How are the Munchkins?"asked Tony
Harry shook his head 'no' sadly.
"It's…really hard for them"answered Harry"If it weren't for a couple or more potions from my bag well…Let's just say, the Helicarrier would have sunk with all the magic they unleashed"
Tony made a small noise.
"And you?"asked Harry"How are you holding it? I've noticed you two were…is friend the right word?"
Tony did not answer him, and just turned around, staring at the wall across from where they were. They stayed silent for a long, long time. That is until Steve came.
"Was he married?"asked Steve
"No"answered Tony"There was a uh...cellist, I think"
"I'm sorry"replied Steve"He seemed like a good man"
Tony snorted
"He was an idiot"growled Tony, a hint of anger toward Coulson
"Why?"almost growled Steve"For believing?"
"I swear if you start arguing now, I'm silencing you both"hissed Harry from his sitting spot.
"For taking on Loki alone"answered Tony to Steve.
"He was doing his job"argued Steve
Tony snorted again and walked a few steps toward Steve.
"He was out of his league"replied Tony"He should have waited, he should have..."
"Sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony"reasoned Steve, too walking toward the genius. "Right" he said in a false cheerful tone"How did that work for him?"
Harry stood up and put himself slightly between them, glaring. Tony went to leave the room but Steve's next sentence stopped him.
"Is this the first time you've lost a soldier?"asked Steve, making Tony turn around sharply and glare at the man.
"WE ARE NOT SOLDIERS!"Harry took a step back from the genius and if Steve looked taken aback he didn't show it, Tony's tone clearly indicated he had history with soldiers and not a good one"I am not marching to Fury's fife!"
"Neither am I!"replied Steve"He's got the same blood on his hands as Loki does, but right now we need to put this behind us and get this done"
"Tones…"said Harry"He is right, if we don't do anything now, Coulson's death would have been for nothing, and I'm sure it's not something he would have wanted"
Tony looked away, more precisely at the blood stain on the wall.
"Now, Tony"began Steve"You said earlier that Loki needed a power source, if we can put together a list…"
"He made it personal"stated Tony
Steve shook his head
"That's not the point"
"That is the point"went on Tony"That's Loki's point, he hit us all right where we live, why?"
"Divide and Conquer?"replied Harry
Tony nodded at the wizard
"It's great, but he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants, he wants to beat us and he wants to be seen doing it"Tony's eyes lit up in understanding"He wants an audience"
"Right, I caught his act at Stuttgart"said Steve.
"Okay, so power source, preferably in a large town to be seen, what's next?" "Stuttgart was just previews, this is opening night"analysed Tony"Loki's a full-tilt diva, right? He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built in the skies with his name plastered... "Tony paused suddenly.
"Tones, you sure you aren't describing yourself here?"asked Harry as Steve looked at Tony expectantly, half hiding a smirk.
"…Sonofabitch!"said Tony, running out of the room, closely followed by the other two.
And Harry couldn't tell if the insult was meant to him or Loki.
—
After taking all the needed potions for his arm, he decided to suit up. Except he hardly had any suit.
'Except maybe…'
Harry 'Accio'ed an outfit he never thought he would put on ever again. He didn't even know why he brought it with him. Harry ran his hand over the leather fabric. He had taken out the leather outfit Johann Schmidt had made him back when he was with the man. Harry sighed, and, taking out his wand, he spelled off the HYDRA signs on each shoulders and placed multiples protection spells within the fabric before putting it on. He discarded the HYDRA belt as he couldn't close it—Not like he wanted to wear it but he still hadn't lost all his pregnancy weight— and admired himself in the mirror.
'It's not worth a Dragon Hide fabric but it's better than nothing'
Before he walked out, he checked on his sleeping children in the bedroom, opening silently the door, Harry stared at their peaceful expression and tear-stained cheeks then closed the door softly before walking out to join Steve—Captain America— in the Hangar. If Steve was surprised to see him in his modified HYDRA outfit, he didn't show it, Natasha and an unknown man with a bow and full quiver was with him.
"Clint Barton, but call me Hawkeye"said the unknown man, extending a hand.
"And call me Harry"answered Harry, taking and shaking it, he turned to Steve"So, what's the plan?"
"We hijack one of those big plane"answered Steve.
"Alright"said Harry
They walked towards and into a Quinjet, a young S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot, who was tinkering with a console, looked up, stopped what he was doing and stood in their way.
"Hey!"he said, standing right in front of Steve"You guys aren't authorized to be in here"
Steve gave a look at the boy.
"Son... just don't"he said.
"But you just can'-"insisted the boy
"Oh, for Merlin's sake!"Harry took out his wand and pinted it at the bugger"Petrificus Totalus"
The man's body stiffened and toppled on the ground in a muffled noise.
'Wingardium Leviosa' he thought and his wand twirled.
The man's body lifted from the ground and Harry floated it out and left him by some box a few meters away from the plane. As he walked back inside the Quinjet, he twirled his wand while whistling then pocketed it under the flabbergasted stare of his… friends(?)
"Why are you looking at me like that?"asked Harry"We got him out, that's the most important! Now let's get this plane off!"
Nodding, Hawkeye sat in the pilot's place, Natasha on the seat next to his, and started the engine. The door of the Hangar opened and the plane took off, they soon joined by Tony in his suit.
"I'll fly ahead"said Tony through his comm.
"Be careful, Tones"said Harry as he watched the suit fly at top speed toward Stark Tower.
"When is the ETA for New York?"asked Steve.
"A couple of hours, give or take"answered Hawkeye.
Adrenaline started pumping in his veins, it's been a while since he had been on the field. He had immediately resigned after his ordeal with Red Skull—and his impending pregnancy— and had exiled himself at Grimmauld Place then had gotten a flat in Muggle London after his twins were born.
"You all right?"asked Steve.
"Ask me this once this shit is over"replied Harry, eyes fixed on the horizon.
Soon, New York came into view. Along with a giant blue beam and a portal and an army exited from said portal.
"Army from outer space, right"mumbled Harry, taking out his wand from his pocket.
"Stark, we're on your three, headed north east"said Natasha into Tony's comm.
"What?"answered Tony"Did you stop for drive-thru? Swing up Park, I'm gonna lay 'em out for you"
"Copy that"replied Hawkeye, making a turn.
Hawkeye pressed a couple of buttons. Harry saw Iron Man fly in front of them and Natasha started firing at the Chitauris that were right on his heels. Stopping firing, Hawkeye made a sharp chandelle not to crash into a building then turned to fly up to Stark Tower, all the while firing at the aliens. Pushing the button to open the hold.
"What are you doing Harry?!"asked Steve.
Harry said nothing, whispering a Sticking Charm on his shoes and climbed on top of the Quinjet and started throwing curses at unsuspected aliens. Hawkeye flew up to the balcony, where Thor and Loki were fighting. Loki saw them, threw Thor on the floor and fired at them. Harry cast a reflective ward and the blue spell was sent back to Loki who ducked out of the way. Harry and Loki started exchanging spells and jinxes, and they would have went out if the magic hadn't had overloaded the Quinjet.
"Commands are not answering!"said Hawkeye through his comm." We…ash…ng…ol…on…ter"
Harry couldn't hear the rest, his magic having fried the tiny earpiece.
Hawkeye manoeuvred the plane, which spinned and dropped toward the ground. The plane dropped out of the air, passed over skyscrapers.
'Aresto Momentum'thought Harry
Slowing their fall, Hawkeye was able to crash them into an empty street securely.
Whispering the counter-spell, Harry jumped down the plane and pointed his wand at the hold.
"Back up from the door!"yelled Harry"Bombarda!"
Exploding the door open, Steve, Natasha and Clint walked out, all of them unharmed.
Steve looked up toward Stark Tower.
"Let's go" he said"We gotta get back up there!"
The four ran into the streets, which were in disarray with cars either blown up or fuming or upside-down or all three at the same time. Sometimes, Harry cried for the people to go and take shelter underground when a roar made him still. Looking up, Harry's eyes widened as a HUGE ARSE alien Leviathan thingy coming out of the portal carrying hundreds of Chitauri soldiers. As it passed slash flew over them—and wrecked many buildings slash statues— Harry wondered if the Killing Curse could be used against this thing. The soldiers on the thing, grapplined building and got out, some of them hanging on buildings' wall, some breaking the window and entering.
"Stark, are you seeing this?"said Steve to his comm.
'Steve, anybody can see it!'though Harry
"Seeing, still working on believing"Harry heard Tony say"Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?"
"Banner?"
"You think he's coming?"said Harry to Steve's comm.
"Just keep me posted"replied Tony
Harry saw the red silhouette of Iron Man approach the Leviathan.
"We have to do something!"said Harry, determined.
"For the moment, let's focus on the civilians"replied Steve, turning to look around at the panicking people"We have to find them some shelters"
"Agreed"said Hawkeye
"Let's split up"suggested Natasha"This way we'll cover more area and help more people"
"Alright!"Harry said"I can't communicate with you so if you see a stag, don't harm it, it's just me sending a message"
"A stag? Potter wha-"
Steve cut himself as he watched Harry transform into a Phoenix and fly off.
"Steve! Civilians"reminded Natasha.
"Yeah, alright"
Steve followed Natasha and Clint as they ran into one street. As they entered, Loki was blowing up the street, there was a shrill cry and Loki ducked—and stopped firing— as a red angry bird flew toward him, barely missing taking an eye with it. Stirring his ship around, Loki started chasing it and started firing at the bird once he had aimed. The bird shrilled again and Loki held his heart as a sharp pain sized it.
'What the…?!'thought the God.
The bird flew at him and this time, succeeded into clawing his cheeks. He groaned then turned to chase it again. Harry flew up in a chandelle and looked behind him and saw Loki still chasing and firing at him.
'Good'he smirked mentally and transformed back into a human, mid-air. Letting himself fall, Harry warded himself with a Send-Back ward and a Protego, smirking as each time he was hit, the laser bullet were send back to their shooter. Loki's ship and him were meters apart from colliding. Loki stirred his ship at the last second before it collided with Harry—and would have probably destroyed it— and watched as the Master over Death transformed back into a red bird before it hit the ground.
'I'm not done with you!'
Loki snarled and gave chase.
'I have to loose him'thought Harry.
Doing a barrel roll to avoid being hit in the wings, he swerved around a building and Loki followed. The God watched as the bird disappeared as flames engulfed it.
'Where in Hel is he?!'
—
Harry re-appeared by Stark Tower and watched as Steve, Natasha and Clint struggled to hold off some Chitauris. Shrilling, he dived, transformed mid-air, wand in his hand and a curse on his lips.
'Sectusempra!'
Wounds appeared on some of the Chitauris' bodies and he retransformed before ending up as a pancake then landed as a human on a car, firing more hexes toward in-coming Chitauris. They fell down as lightning stroke them down from the sky, a figure land where the Chitauris laid. Thor landed, staggered and pushed himself up using an upside down car, his hand holding his side and Harry ran toward him.
"Show me"ordered Harry.
The God complied and Harry started healing the wound on the blond's side.
"Don't waste your magic, Sorcerer"said Thor
"I have plenty of magic to waste, Barbie"answered Harry, putting away his wand as he finished healing him.
"What's the story upstairs?"asked Steve, coming toward them
"The powers surrounding the cube is impenetrable"answered Thor
"Thor is right"replied Tony through the comm."We gotta deal with these guys"
"How do we do this?"asked Natasha
"What do you think?"asked rhetorically Harry
"As a team"respond Steve
"I have unfinished business with Loki"growled Thor, tone clearly saying 'calling dibs!'
"Yeah, get in line"growled Clint, taking some arrows back from Chitauri bodies.
"Save it"cut Steve"Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need, without him these things could run wild, we got Stark up top, he's gonna need us... "
The zoom of a bike made them all turn around and see Banner arriving on a small motorbike. Getting off, he looks around the city. Harry and the others joined him as he was dismounting the bike, and putting it on kickstand.
"So, this all seems horrible"said Bruce
"I've seen worse"replied Natasha
Bruce looked at her, apologetic
"Sorry"
"No"Natasha shook her head 'no' slightly"We could use a little worse"
Steve put an hand on his ear.
"Stark? We got him"he throught the comm.
"Banner?"
"Just like you said"responded Steve
"Then tell him to suit up"answered Tony"I'm bringing the party to you"
Looking toward a building, Harry saw Iron Man flying…FOLLOWED BY THIS HUGE ARSE LEVIATHAN. Harry and Thor poised their body and readied their weapons.
"I... I don't see how that's a party... "said Natasha
Tony swooped down toward them and the Leviathan copied him, barrelling down the street and wrecking everything on its way. Bruce looked behind him and Steve gave him a hopeful look and Bruce start walking toward the giant monster, crashing his way toward them
"Doctor Banner"said Steve"Now might be a really good time for you to get angry"
Bruce smiled and turned to them.
"That's my secret, Captain"Bruce said, his form still turned toward them"I'm always angry"
Banner's body started to swell, stretch, harden, and taking on a green tinge as he poised his fist. Hulk roared as he hit the Leviathan in the nose, its momentum forcing the Hulk to move back slightly then the thing stops, nose in the concrete and its body up in the air. Harry watched, amazed and terrified, as the Leviathan's body almost topple on them. Raising his wand, Harry thought about a spell but Tony beat him to it, as he fired a mini-rocket into the Leviathan's soft spot and Harry watched as the Leviathan exploded and started raining fire and body fluids onto them. Quickly raising his wards, Harry protected his eyes as the fire hit him and his ward. The Leviathan's body fell limply on the ground. From above and on the buildings, the Chitauris watched in horror as the group assembled and became the Avengers, Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
"That was relatively easy"said Clint
"Don't rejoice to quick"replied Harry, looking up"Look, that was just appetisers"
Looking up, the Avengers watched as more Chitauris and more Leviathans passed through the portals.
"Call it, Cap"said Tony
"Alright, listen up"began Steve"Until we can close that portal up there, we're gonna use containment, Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything, call out patterns and strays"Steve turned to Tony"Stark, you got the perimeter, anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or your turn it to ash"Steve turned to him" Harry, I want you up in the sky, throw as many spells as you know, try to maim or kill anything getting out that we missed"
"If I get up in the air, Loki will chase me"said Harry
"Can you still do it?"asked Steve
"I'm always ready to learn, Cap"smirked Harry, putting his wand up and whispering an 'Accio Firebolt', hoping to have his broom quickly and not stay in the form of a bird for long. Transforming into Plume, Harry took off but not before a shrill cry that warmed everyone up and gave them courage.
"Wanna give me a lift?"asked Clint to Tony.
Tony walked toward him.
"Right"Tony grabbed Clint"Better clench up, Legolas"
Iron man lifted Clint up to the building and left him there as he started what he has been tasked to do.
"Thor"want on Steve as he turned toward the Thunderer"You've gotta try and bottleneck that portal, slow them down, you've got the lightning, light the bastards up"
Thor nodded, spun his hammer and flied up"Steve looks at Natasha"You and me, we stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here, and Hulk"Steve turns toward the last member"SMASH"
The Hulk smiled at him and leaped off in the air onto a building's wall and started smashing every Chitauris in his sight
—
Harry flapped his wings, sometimes transforming into a human and casting spells as he fell then transforming back into a bird and repeating the same thing again and again, each spells hitting their marks. He was too focused on what he was doing to notice Loki or the spell he threw toward the wizard. Harry screamed as a blue light burned his wing, making him unable to fly. He cradled his burnt arm as he fell, all the while, looking around for a glimpse of his Firebolt. He gave a relieved smile as he watched it zoom toward him. He landed on his broom, barely six feet away from the ground. Zooming through the streets, Harry fired spell after spell and ducked every time a Chitauri or Loki fired at him. He heard the crack of thunder and looked over his shoulder to see Thor fried those buggers with his thunder. Swerving around, Harry flew past Loki's alien vehicle—throwing a hex and missing at the God.
"Come and get me, Goat Face"shouted Harry
Loki snarled and gave chase to the wizard, firing and missing each times—thank you Seeker reflexes!
Harry snickered as Loki started getting angry—well angrier— and sped up but his tiny ship, alien manufacture of not, was no match to a Firebolt's speed. Harry dived, turned, swerved, and climbed up in a chandelle and looked over his shoulder to watch as Loki struggled to keep up with him. Speeding up, Harry headed toward a small space between buildings and was able to sneak into the tight opening. He heard crashes and he smirked. But it was short-lived, he got the attention of a Leviathan who chased after him, mouth wide opened and snapping.
'Guess it's time to see if the Killing Curse work on this thing!'thought Harry.
Concentrating, Harry pointed his wand at the Leviathan.
"Avada Kadavra!"shouted Harry, casting for the first time in years the Killing Curse.
The spell, as green as his eyes, shoot out from his wand with a whooshing sound and hit the Leviathan who let out a roar and dropped to the ground, dead.
"Guess it works"smirked Harry, the remaining magic used for the curse pumping in his body, making him slightly drunk with power. Pocketing his wand, Harry sped up toward what was supposed to be Steve's and Natasha's position. Only seeing a speckle of blue and red about to be attacked, Harry took out his wand.
'Use the Killing Curse'supplied a Dark voice in his mind.
'Ava-'
"BOMBARDA MAXIMA!"shouted Harry, putting too much magic into the spell.
The ground under the Chitauris exploded, killing them instantly. As he zoomed past Steve, he gave him a small salute before speeding ahead. As he was about to take a turn, he noticed a flash of red being pursued by a green thing.
'Loki is chasing Natasha'
Zigzagging between buildings, he was able to reach Natasha's side.
"Need a lift?"asked Harry, dodging as Loki fired at him"I'm more manoeuvrable than this thing"
Natasha looked at him, surprised to see him on a broomstick, and nodded and Harry approached the Chitauri ship as close as he could. Natasha jumped and landed behind him just as a spell hit the ship, she passed a hand around the wizard's waist as Harry stirred his broom away, Loki and a small battalion chasing them.
"Where do you want to go?!"asked Harry, diving and entering a building, smirking when he heard a few crashes behind him.
"On top of Stark Tower!"answered Natasha
"Yes ma'am!"
Speeding toward a building, Harry climbed up in a chandelle at the last second. He knew he was taking a risk if he went higher, he will have to think of ways for the Chitauris to crash or to throw curses at them.
'Kind of hard now that I have a passager'thought Harry, dodging spells and laser bullets
"Nat, what are you doing?"Harry heard Clint say from Natasha's earpiece
"Uh... a little help!"said Natasha.
They evaded Loki for a moment and when the God's ship exploded, Harry whooped in childish joy. Going up to the top of the Tower, Harry slowed down his broom and lowered them close to the ground.
"We're here!"smiled Harry
Natasha slid down and gave a small smile at the wizard as he returned to the fight at a leisure pace. Harry watched with a slight amusement as Hulk barrelled into Loki, propelling him against a wall inside Stark Tower. Approaching his broom close to the broken window, Harry watched the show before his eyes.
"ENOUGH!"shouted Loki"YOU ARE, ALL OF YOU ARE BENEATH ME! I AM A GOD, YOU DULL CREATURE, AND I WILL NOT BE BULLIED BY..."
Harry had to grab strongly onto his broom not to fall as he laughed. Hulk had sized the God during his speech and had started smashing him repeatedly on the floor then throwing him aside when Hulk had enough with his toy. Loki now laid in a Loki sized hole on the floor while Hulk walked away.
"Puny god"growled Hulk
Harry laughed even more when he heard Loki whimper like a kicked puppy.
"Hulk, mate"wheezed Harry, approaching Hulk as he was about to jump off"That was great, truly a masterpiece!"
Hulk cocked his head on one side and stared at the laughing wizard.
"Witch not scared off Hulk"stated Hulk
Harry shook his head negatively
"Believe me when I say I've seen much worse, big guy"smiled Harry"From all the tall and menacing creature I've met, you're the kindest so far"
"Hulk dangerous"growled Hulk
Harry nodded
"I never said you weren't"said calmly Harry"You're actually one of the few who didn't try to kill after they met me"Harry looked behind him then above him"I'd really love t talk more with you, but right now, we still have some work!"
Hulk blinked at him then nodded, jumping off to another building as Harry zoomed above the city.
'It will be over soon'thought hopefully Harry, firing spells after spells at incoming Chitauris and slash or Leviathans. He zoomed above Stark Tower again, killing and slashing some Chitauris with curses.
"-ry! HARRY!"Turning around, Harry saw Natasha waving at him, signalling to come to her.
"What is it, Tash?"asked Harry, lowering his broom.
"Go grab the sceptre"she said"I might have a way to close the portal"
Harry nodded and extended his wand toward the sceptre.
"Accio Loki's sceptre"
The sceptre raised from the ground and flew into Harry's hands, he then gave it to Natasha.
"Close it"ordered Harry, returning to the fight.
Their fight will be all over soon and he would be able to go back to a 'normal' life.
—
Somewhere in Space, an hour ago
'997…998…999…1000'
Stopping his abs exercises, Johann started a new session of push-ups, this time on three fingers on each hand.
'1…2…3…'
It's been a while since he had struck a deal with the so-called God of Mischief. Loki had given him a space ship with coordinates and a couple of rules.
"No matter what around you or what you do"had said Loki"Always stay cloaked and never, ever stray from those coordinates"
He had agreed before entering the ship and had stirred the tiny ship toward the location of those coordinates.
This had been four days ago—or what he believed to be four days as he had based the days on his sleeping schedules.
'…213…214…215'
He sensed something big above him and stopped his push-ups to check. Walking to the cockpit, he looked up…and almost choked on his spit as he watched an army of aliens either on ships or giant space whales fly above him.
'Into what Loki has dragged me?!'
Checking his control panel to see if he was still cloaked then letting out a relieved breath as he was still invisible from the eyes of others.
'Something is happening'thought Johann, noticing that the army was waiting for something.
Placing himself on the pilot seat, Johann put his hands on the yoke and waited.
Soon enough, a blue hole opened before the army and it started moving toward it, passing through. Giddiness started raising inside him, knowing that he was almost back to Earth.
'Gut…Now you need to move your Arsch Johann!'supplied his mind
Pushing the yoke, Johann headed for the portal, minding not to be too close to those aliens. He passed through the portal and ended up flying—invisible—over a city that looked like New York. Flying toward the outside of the city, toward a deserted green space and landed the ship. Opening the main door, Johann walked out, fell to his knees and breathed in the air of the Earth, as he laughed—almost hysterically. He had done it! He was back to Earth. He was back to Harry.
'I'm going to find you and have you at my side, mein liebling Zauber'
—
The Chitauris were getting restless. Harry dodged and dived between their shots, but one actually hit his broom. Fuming as he dived, Harry tried to land somewhere safe. He landed on the rumbles in a street. Pain radiating through his whole body, he tried to rise but something shot him and he was forced down at the blow but unhurt—thanks his protections in the fabric. He tried to stand again and fire at the Chitauris firing at him but he could do nothing but cast a ward around him and take the hits. From the corner of his eyes, he saw something red went up in the sky, toward the portal.
'Tony?! Wha-'
A nasty shot almost broke the ward around him and he tumbled on the ground. More shots were being fired and his ward was breaking. Concentrating on his last forces, he gathered all his remaining magic inside his body and unleashed it in, blasting all the Chitauris away. Breathless, he laid on the rumbles, trying to catch his breath. His head was pounding and filled with cotton, and his whole body hurt. Putting a fist on the ground, he struggled to get up and managed to sit on his knees.
"-ry!…ar-!…HARRY!"
Looking up, Harry stared blearily at Steve's dirty face as hands passed under his armpits to lift him. Turning his head, he stared into Thor's tired eyes.
"Where is Tony going?"asked Harry.
He tried to stand on shaky legs but he nearly kissed the floor and Steve had to catch him and hold him.
"Nuke was headed our way"answered Steve"Stark is flying it toward the portal"
"What?!"
Harry tried to push off Steve and try to stand and go help Tony but he couldn't stand and it was Thor this time that caught him.
"Do not over do yourself, Sorcerer"soothed Thor.
Harry groaned and looked up, trying to see Tony's form coming from the hole.
"Come on, Tones"hissed Harry"Come on…"
They stared, hoping but after a few minutes, Steve had to make a decision.
"Close it"said Steve to Natasha through the comm.
"No! You can't!"shouted Harry"He's still in there!"
At Stark Tower, the energy beam shut down and the portal started closing. As it closed, a tiny red figure hurled down and Harry whooped in joy. Stark had made it out!
"Son of a gun!"Harry heard the smile and the relief in Steve's voice
As Harry watched the figure fall, his smile disappeared. The armour was falling and Stark had not re-actived it
"He's not slowing down"
Thor swung Mjölnir around as just as Thor was about to fly up and catch Tony, Hulk shoot up and caught the man, slowing their fall by grabbing onto a building then crashing onto the street they were. They ran toward them as Hulk threw Tony on the ground, Thor bent down and ripped the face plate, throwing it away. Harry kneeled by the man's face and put a hand above the man's nose. No breathing, and the ARK reactor glowing faintly.
'What fo I do, what do I do?! I can't use Rennervate on him, it might kill him if he's still alive!'
Hulk roared and scared Tony alive. Letting out a relieved laugh, Harry stared into Tony's startled and dazzed brown eyes.
"What the hell? What just happened?"asked the man, staring into Harry's eyes"Please tell me nobody kissed me?"
"You're not my type, Tones"replied fondly Harry and Tony smirked at him.
"We won"replied Steve, relieved.
Tony sighed
"Alright yay"whooped tiredly Tony"Hurray, good job, guys, let's just not come in tomorrow, let's just take a day"Tony looked like an excited puppy"Have you ever tried shawarma?"the question made all of them smile down at the man"There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here, I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it!"
Harry snickered.
"Promise, but after we take care of one last job"Harry jerked his head toward the Tower and everybody took on a sombre look.
Tony still looked hopefully toward them
"And then shawarma after"
"You really need to sort out your priorities, Tones!"laughed Harry, standing on shaky legs.
He 'Accio'ed his Firebolt—the end a bit burned— and climbed on it.
"I'll see you at the top"said Harry, before zooming at a leisure pace toward the Tower. Flying at the top, he picked up Natasha, still holding the sceptre and then lowered them on the balcony where Clint was waiting for them. Natasha climbed down and joined the archer as Hulk landed beside him, Steve on his shoulder. Harry smiled at Hulk then at Steve when Thor came followed by Tony.
"I'm calling dibs"growled Clint, marching toward the Loki's sized hole on the ground and the God trying to crawl out of it.
"Not if I get him first"replied Harry with a smirk.
They heard Loki groan as he crawled half out of the hole, leaning on the stairs, sensed something behind him and turned. Anger rolling off of Clint, he aimed at Loki's head.
"If it's all the same to you"Loki had courtesy to look sheepish"I'll have that drink." Hulk snorted at him and Harry got a nasty smirk.
"Can I interest you in a Molotov cocktail?"asked sarcastically Harry, advancing toward the God on the ground who shrank under his glower.
Harry raised his wand and Loki lifted off the ground, then smashed against the ceiling then the ground then the ceiling again then the ground. Harry played for a few second then dropped Loki, punch-drunk, then walked toward him.
"That's for Phil Coulson and my children"snarled Harry, casting a Hardening Charm on his hand and punching Loki in the face, knocking him unconscious.
"Remind me never to make you mad"remarked Clint
Harry smirked simply.
Epilogue
Harry and his twins joined the Avengers near Central Park. It had been hard weeks for the three of them—Fury had even suggested Therapy for them to which Harry accepted. They were slightly better now, but Harry knew it would take them longer than mere weeks to heal, if only partially of this loss. After the whole fiasco with his power and magic, he arrived by broom—fuck the Ministry of Magic, there was also ALIENS!— at Central Park a the same time the others arrived. Thor was dragging a shackled and muzzled Loki, Tony was holding a large metallic briefcase—most probably holding the device that could bring Thor and Loki back to Asgard using the Tesseract—, the others stayed a bit in the background as he landed and helped the twins down his broom.
Harry watched as Loki gave him a look he couldn't decipher then looked down as Thor glared at him. Selvig took out a long device from one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s vehicle as Tony opened his briefcase and Bruce took the Tesseract out with big tweezers under a glower from both Steve and Harry.
"I hope to never see this thing again"growled Harry, and everyone heard him, looking at him with compassionate eyes.
"I won't, Sorcerer"replied Thor"Odin Allfather will protect the Tesseract from Men's madness"
"Just make sure nobody gets their hands on this thing"said Harry"That's all I want"
Thor nodded and turned to his muzzled brother.
"Thor"called Harry
"Mmh?"
Harry walked up to him and gave him a hug.
"I don't know when I'll see you again"said Harry, stopping embracing the man"Or all of you"added as he turned to look at the rest of the Avengers.
"Where will you be going?"asked Natasha
"Home, back in England"two pairs of arms hugged his waist sideway and he rested his hands on his children's nape"With my family and…And maybe…solve some unsaid things"Harry looked down at his children and they smiled up at him.
"Oz! You do know you have a place in the Avengers?"asked Tony
Harry smiled at him.
"I know"Harry looked down"Altough, I'm not ready to go back to being a hero"
Tony —and the other Avengers—gave him a look
"One day Potter, I swear"started Tony, advancing toward the wizard"We're gonna sit down, share a drink or two and you'll tell me everything about your life!"
Harry grinned and nodded then too embraced the man.
"Ow!"whined Tony as Harry's magic touched his ARK reactor.
"Oh Merlin! I'm sorry!"replied Harry
"It's okay, I'm okay"said Tony"I'll just be careful about touching you"
Harry gave the man a tiny laugh.
He went to Natasha and Clint and too embraced them.
"Next time"Harry said"I hope to now you better…And meet you again in others circumstances"
"Let's do that"smirked Clint
Harry went to Bruce and hugged him strongly.
"Harry, could I ask you something?"
"Sure Bruce, what is it?"
"That Calming Draught…Could I have some for when…"Bruce cut himself and Harry stared at him in understanding.
"I'll owl you some vials to you"said Harry
"Owl?"wondered Tony
Harry shrugged
"That's how we exchange mail, I'll buy you a owl so that you can always reach me"replied Harry, then turned back to Bruce"By the way, Bruce…It's not because you think you're a monster that you ARE one, believe me when I say I've seen real monsters in my life"His mind supplied images of Voldemort, his Death Eaters and Red Skull" And you're far from them, Bruce, really"
Bruce gave Harry a happy smile and hugged the man again. Harry then walked to the last person. Steve was of the tallest Avengers, and he felt tiny before the man. They stared at each others then Harry embraced Steve.
"Will I-we see you again?"asked Steve, holding the wizard around his mid-back
Harry mock pondered for a second.
"Maybe…"Harry smiled"I don't know yet"
Steve smiled at him and they separated.
"Come on, Gremlins"called Harry"We have to go"
The twins whined and hugged the Avengers good-bye.
"We will come back one day, right?"asked Lily, using her puppy eyes on him.
"We will"promised Harry with a smile and Lily and James grinned widely.
Harry transformed into a Phoenix, gave a good-bye song and the wizard and the children disappeared into flames.
They appeared back in the country side of England.
"Daddy?"asked James, looking around questioningly"Where are we?"
Harry looked ahead at the slightly House in bad shape with a feeling of nostalgia.
"At the Burrow"replied Harry"I have to right a few wrongs"
The three people made their way toward the house.
To be continued in another fic!
