A/N I don't own Avengers or Harry Potter!

I still don't have a beta so please notify me if you see any words or grammar that don't make sense.

Writing ~text

Writing~ Jarvis

Writing~ dreams

'Writing' ~ thoughts

When Tony woke up he was shocked. Not because he didn't know where he was, though that did come to mind later, but because he didn't wake up gasping for air the nightmare-portal didn't have. He also realized with a huff, that he actually felt well rested.

He didn't recognize the room was in, though that wasn't a new experience for him. The fact the he was wearing a new set of pajamas was. Looking around the room he saw that it was simply furnished. The colors a light blend of shimmering light gray, muted meadow greens, and highlighted by misty blues. Along with the mural painted on the ceiling he vaguely felt as if he was outside.

In his perusal of his surroundings Tony noticed a bundle of cloth on the bedside table next to a cup with a toothbrush and toothpaste inside.

The generosity of his mystery host astounded him to stillness for a moment. He sat, in a bed, in new pajamas, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and the person who supplied these things hadn't appeared to ask for anything in return. Huh...

Mentally slapping himself Tony reminded himself of Obadiah, and how even those who seem thoughtful have ulterior motives. He stood from the bed and grabbed the cup. Heading to the first door he saw he yanked it open and stomped in.

It was a closet. A small closet.

a small Dark closet.

A dark empty abyss that seemed to squirm into the very sky itself. A horror that ate anything else around it. Burning away its very existence. And I was headed straight for it.

Tony scrambled backwards out of the room, barely noticing he was on hands and knees.

His blood pumped through his veins. His breathing sped until there was no still air in his lungs.

A darkness that ate everything in it's path...

He vaguely heard the door slam open and someone curse under their breath.

A coal mouth opened its maw wider and wider. Its spiked teeth drawing closer to him...

Hands gently griped his shoulders trying to turn his body to face them, but all he could see was the closet. The dark that was slowly etching its way closer to him. His subconscious noted that the person was calling his name, but he didn't answer.

The black. The cold never ending black...

The hands were shaking him now.

The dark hell that would always torment him. It grinned almost upon him when...

Light. someone had turned on the lights.

Tony blinked.

Someone sighed close to Tony's ear, startling him into movement. Not that he could see very far since he was practically on top of the person.

"you gonna be alright now mate?" said the man standing by the closet. He was dressed in similar pajamas to the ones Tony was wearing minus the top, and was breathing heavily. The kind of heavy breathing one gets when startled. He also seemed vaguely familiar.

"you're ok now." Said the one holding him as they started rocking him back and forth "you're ok." Tony felt his panicked breathing settle. Slowing down till it almost matched the slow rocking of the person holding him. They smelt nice. Like soap and pine, with hints of cinnamon and coffee. 'I hope this is a guy it would be so embarrassing if it was a girl.' Tony jumped up from where he had been leaning on the persons side. Before he could stop it the thought was through his brain and out of his mouth.

"you're the guy from yesterday! The one who smelt like flowers!" he pointed accusingly at the ginger leaning across the closet doorframe. His sudden movement started both strangers.

Silence.

Tony could feel a blush creeping its way up his neck but he forced it down. He had lots of practice dealing with award situations. Especially ones he made by not filtering his thoughts. Though pepper was usually here to take care of the aftermath.

"Pffft" Tony's attention snapped back to the man in front of him. The man who now had a hand across his mouth and seemed to be trying his hardest not to laugh. He definitely wasn't very good at it. The man seemed to burst at the seams, laughing ridiculously loud before falling to the floor holding his sides.

The man holding him sighed again, though this time with a smile on his lips. He turned to Tony and smiled. "ignore him, he just has an insatiable sense of humor. Were you looking for the bathroom? I noticed you dropped the toothbrush I left for you." The man said holding up the toothbrush and paste. Before Tony could nod or express anything at all the man placed his arms around Tony's waist, lifting him gently from his half-curled position on the floor.

He pointed to a door opposite the one the two men had come from. "the bathroom is through that door. When you're done change into the clothes I left for you and come downstairs. I'll have some breakfast waiting for you." He placed the cup in Tony's hand before giving him a slight nudge towards the door. The man then grabbed the arms of the ginger before dragging him from the room.

Tony stared at the door they had left through for exactly seven seconds before shaking his head. Then, taking the toothpaste and clothes, headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

"What were you thinking!" Harry whisper-yelled at the still laughing George. George just laughed harder. "he just had a panic attack of course he would say something like that! That doesn't mean you get to laugh at him for it! Do I laugh when you say something stupid after a nightmare? No! I don't!" by this time George was rolling on the floor, red faced, and it was obvious he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. Harry glared at him. "Oh for Merlin's sake. I'm going to go make breakfast. You tell me when he comes out."

Harry stormed from the room leaving the still hysteric George to pick himself from the floor himself. 'if he thinks he is getting any muffins in the next week...'

He headed downstairs into the kitchen of his small café. This was where the magic happened. Literally.

Taking a moment to breathe in the leftover scent of flour and fresh baked goods Harry set to work making the days batch of confections. Soon bowls were floating with various mixtures churning away inside them. Chocolate chip cookies with essence of phoenix song for the downhearted, coffee scones with tentacula seeds for vigor, blueberry muffins with moly petals to help give those with conflicting emotions the calm needed to sort through them, etc.

Harry was just putting another batch of cream cheese brownies in the oven when the muggle warning wards he had placed around his kitchen went off. Directing the few bowls still floating to rest on the surfaces around him Harry grabbed a platter of blueberry muffins and a small bowl of fruit salad before backing out of the kitchen. When he turned he saw George leading Tony to one of the tables near the café window.

"I hope you like blueberry muffins" Harry said to Tony as he placed his wares on the table. Tony, eyes wide, dove at the muffins. Practically stuffing a whole one in his mouth he moaned. "I'll... take that as a yes" Harry said his voice laced with amusement. He turned to George who was stuffing his face in a way very akin to Ron and asked "George would you like some tea to help you wash all that down a the endless cavern you call your mouth?" George nodded his head knowing Harry's hate of bad table manners. A side effect of his years with the Dursly's. How he had put up with Ron's eating habits for all those years was a miracle.

"Animals eat outside George. People answer with words." Was all Harry said, but if you knew him well enough you would hear a smile breaking through his mothering tone.

Still a bit worried about Tony's health, Harry didn't bother to ask him if he wanted a drink. He had already started a smoothy for the man. One that may or may not have some magical ingredients.

As the kitchen doors swung shut behind Harry Tony took some time to look around the café. It was small, much smaller than any place he usually visited. There were four tables situated by the store front window and six more towards a small fireplace along the back wall. The door was a tiny single glass pane that was positioned to be directly in front of the display case. That too was small, and unlike larger cafés Tony had been to this one didn't have any coffee machines behind the counter. It seemed everything in the café was made in the kitchen situated behind the two gray doors. Directly to the left of the kitchen doors was the staircase leading up the apartment Tony had just come from.

Grabbing another muffin Tony leaned back in his chair. It was more comfortable than it looked. Another thing Tony had noticed was that all the chairs were older cushioned chairs whose color ranged from an obnoxious yellow to faded grass green. There even a hot rod red one which was almost the same color as his suit. The chairs ranged in height and width, some of them big enough to hold two people. But even though none of them matched it only added to the homey sense given off by the whole café.

The most interesting thing by far was the ceiling. It was a fantastically realistic mural of a foreign sky. Around the edges you could see the tops of trees that were stopped a foot down the walls by an illusion of another wall. On the left side you could faintly see a moon that was tinted a pale orange, and on the right birds with feathers that faded from red to green to blue soared over the checkout line.

It was beautiful. He might have to ask who had painted it so he could get one at the tower. Tony bit into his third muffin. He would also have to ask for a large box of these muffins to take with him. Maybe even a repeat order. I wonder if they deliver...

Tony was broken out of his musings by a small cough. He turned to the man who had carried him. Seeing his amused expression Tony raised an eyebrow. A motion that George was familiar with after seeing Harry do it all the time to silently demand answers.

"Sorry you just remind me of someone. He had the same look on his face when he saw this place"

"Really? I was so sure that all the looks I made were original. My smirk is practically patented. In fact that's a good idea. I'll do that when I get home" Tony blew out in a single breath.

George blinked once, then guffawed. Almost choking on the bite of pineapple in his mouth.

"Oh my god you are just like him! Do you happen to have any relatives with white blond hair, upturned noses, who do remarkable impersonations of weasels?" George barely managed to force out amongst his laughter. Though saying that just made him laugh harder.

"I don't think I have any relatives that match that description." Tony said warily. He watched as the ginger man's face colored until it matched the bright hue of his hair. The man across from him didn't seem to be breathing in between loud sets of laughter. That thought reminded him that he didn't know either of his hosts names.

'why should you bother? They are probably just after a reward' said a part of his conscious that had developed after Obadiah's betrayal.'they could even be kidnappers for all you know'

'if they are a potential threat then learning their names is a priority' said a voice that sounded suspiciously similar to Natasha. Wow, he had an internal Natasha. Since when did he hang around her long enough to developed an internal version of her? An internal Bruce he would understand, and internal Clint he would welcome. The quips would keep him amused. He would even have expected an internal caprice, but an internal Natasha. Just... wow.

Tony was again broken out of his mental ramblings by one of his hosts. Though this time it was because a thin glass being placed in front of him. It was a strange swirl of light red, a bit too close to pink for Tony's esthetics to approve, and an electric green.

"I don't mean to say that I doubt you guys' judgment or anything, but you wouldn't happen to be the kind of people who would heal a guys just to poison him would you?" Tony asked as his gaze flicked between his hosts slash potential kidnappers.

'even if a café isn't an opportune place to keep a hostage never make assumptions.' said internal Natasha. Geez, even in his head she sounded stiff.

"I would hope not. Seeing as that drink is one of my more popular smoothies it would be a huge blunder on my part if I was poisoning my customers. You out of everyone should be able to imagine the lawsuits?" said the raven headed man, an amused smile pulling at his lips. "of course if you would prefer a different drink I could make you one. Maybe a coffee?" Tony cringed at that, no matter how much he loved the drink he didn't think coffee would be good for his health at the moment. No matter his reckless tendencies even he wasn't that bad.

"No, this will be fine" he said snatching the cup from the table top. Preparing himself for the nasty taste he had come to associate with smoothies after his palladium poisoning Tony was shocked at the flavor that burst across his tongue. It was a pleasant mix of strawberry, banana, with a hint of mint. It swirled across his taste buds with the same electricity as it's coloring, before sliding down his throat. It left behind a cool calming wisp of taste in his mouth, and Tony could feel the sensation spreading from his abdomen through his body. Calming and soothing his muscles as it went.

Releasing a huge sigh he didn't even know he had gathered Tony smiled. He felt different. Not strange different, or I-just-got-drugged different, but calm. Like he didn't have to rush through anything. It was nice. ever since he was small he had always been running after things. Whether it be his fathers approval when he was a kid, to his own hyper speed thoughts as he grew up. This feeling that he could just wait and move at his own pace was new to him. He liked it... a lot.

Tony looked at his hosts who were both smiling at him with a knowing look in their eyes.

"this is really good. I don't suppose I could get the recipe?" the raven haired man laughed for the first time since Tony had seen him while the ginger burst straight into loud guffaws again.

"hah. Good luck with that mate. It took my mum five years to drag his muffin recipe out of him, and she still can't make it right! You're better off just asking him for a cooler full" the ginger said.

"George stop being rude. You know that molly is a wonderful cook." The raven replied throwing a small cookie at his companion. "I apologize for him. He tends to think everything is a joke. Though he is right about the recipe. Sorry, but I can't just go giving it out to anyone or I'd be out of business before you could say pigmy puff."

"I didn't peg you as a George" said Tony "you look like more of a Finn or maybe Finnegan?" this sent 'George' into another round of laughter while the ravens eyes widened.

"Oh we never introduced ourselves did we! Where are my manners. My name is Harrison Wells, but you can call me harry. This idiots, as you already heard, is George Weston. George here found you almost dead on the street and brought you here. And before you ask I am the one who treated you, as I am a fully trained doctor. You won't be needing to pay any medicals bills." Harry's face turned more serious as he said "how did you manage to get in such a state, if you don't mind me asking"

Now it was Tony's turn to look serious. "I actually do mind. Sorry" he didn't know why he was apologizing. The fact that he was apologizing was a feat in itself.

"that's alright I can understand wanting to keep a secret." Harry waved the miracle apology off. "do you want to call someone? You have been unconscious for almost twenty two hours. We have a phone you could use to call anyone you need to." Harry left the end off the sentence hanging. Twenty two hours was a long time. Not as long as some of Tony's misadventures, but still towards the longer end. He should probably call Pepper, but then she would yell at him. She had been getting testier and testier since the whole 'aliens in new York' adventure. Maybe he would just call Jarvis. Yeah Jarvis seemed like the better option.

"that would be great harry. Where is the phone?" Tony asked. Before he left he quickly drained his cup, then headed to the kitchen door where Harry had pointed.

"it's on the left wall right next to the door." Harry called after him. Tony waved over his shoulder to show he had heard before letting the doors swing closed after him. Tony hoped whatever that juice had done to him would last, because Jarvis would probably redirect his call directly to Pepper.

Harry quickly skimmed through the results of the health scanned he had preformed on Tony while he was walking from the room. He didn't know how long Tony's phone call would last and would like to know what ends of foods he should give Tony to go.

"How is he?" George asked leaning over Harry's shoulder trying to keep up with his quick reading.

"He is much better. Though if the episode he had upstairs is anything to go by I was right in my previous diagnoses of PTSD. The dark seems to be his trigger or at least one of them"

"What so he's just scared of the dark?" George huffed around a bite of muffin.

"Chew then speak, but yes in a sense. Though much stronger than what you're thinking. One doesn't just wale up one morning with and say 'oh hey I have PTSD now'. You get the condition by experiencing something awful. Like falling from a great height or fighting in a war" Harry said giving George a pointed look. At this George looked down. His usual obnoxious humor gone, and nodded. Harry returned the results to one of the hidden endless pockets in his apron just as Tony returned from his call.

"My driver will be picking me up in a few. Thanks for everything you've done. How much do I owe you?" Tony said fiddling with the hem of his shirt. A habit he thought he had stopped years ago(though he really just replaced it by fiddling with his sunglasses). Besides who could blame him, this shirt was really soft.

"You don't owe us anything" Harry said surprised. "we didn't do anything for you to owe us"

Tony had guessed that that would be their answer but it still surprised him. So instead of replying he simply nodded, feeling very much like Bruce in that moment. Not quite knowing what to say in an awkward situation.

Seeing happy drive up in front of the café Tony nodded to the two men again and headed for the door. He made it four feet to the door before he was stopped by a soft hand on his shoulder.

"Wait! Here take these." Harry said placing a small paper bag of muffins in Tony's hand "You looked like you enjoyed them"

Tony smiled and nodded again. Whatever effect the drink from earlier had on him had almost warn off completely, leaving Tony slightly distracted by the thoughts once again whipping through his mind. Turning back to the door he walked out of the café and back into his hectic life.

Harry and George watched him go with knowing smiles. Harry was the first to turn away.

"Well that went well" George said still gazing after the car. When it finally turned out of sight George swirled in place and asked Harry's turned back "I bet you 9 galleons he'll be back within the week."

A/N thank you for reading my second chapter!

I hope you are enjoying reading my story as much I enjoy writing it.

Please point out any spelling, grammar, or name mistakes you see. I have trouble spotting them myself and I don't have a beta yet.

To answer some questions posed in comments;

Teddy will be making an appearance later in the story.

I will be attempting to update weekly.