Notes: I have never been to New York, so please bear with any mistakes I may have made in that regard. Also, pretend that S.H.I.E.L.D. reformed after the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier (I have no idea if that is what happened, since I still haven't watched Age of Ultron, but for the purposes of this fic, it totally did).

Chapter 2

A grin fixed on his face, Thor strolled comfortably behind the prancing man in front of him. He was, after all, pursuing the wizard he had been commanded to bring to Asgard … though he doubted his father would concur with his chosen interpretation of said orders or the casual nature of his amble.

Few things startled him anymore, given his vast experience in the realm of 'interesting' over his long life and other-worldly travels. And yet, the recent days had been eye-opening, in more ways than one. For while his teammates had dragged him around the city, insisting he take in the sights and sounds (flying, he decided, was much better than enduring the maddening New York traffic), his current companion led him on a journey through a part of Midgard that he had never before seen—the wizarding world.

Harry—he learned his lesson when "Harry, son of James" merited a cloud-spewing Mjolnir—had apparently spent the last handful of years in various places across North America, and now, for what seemed to be his own entertainment (certainly not out of a sense of duty) was popping him through countless magical communities across the continent.

Thor jerked back at the sudden materialisation of Harry's face in front of his own, peering up at him impishly.

"Come on, Thor! Bestir yourself! … Or whatever it is you lot say. I want to see if the goblins here still remember me."

The wicked grin definitely boded ill for the type of 'remembering' the wizard wished to provoke, especially of those irascible money-managing creatures, but he followed dutifully nonetheless.

Currently, they were walking down a colourful lane in the French quarter of New Orleans, which couldn't be more different from their last stop—a small, tranquil village with cobbled streets in Vancouver—if it tried. The dusty and dry Rue Lafitte had old brick taverns next to freshly painted apothecaries, and sprawling bookstores opposite dingy little hair salons. Brightly dressed witches and wizards—and other beings, he realised, when a forked tongue flicked out of an otherwise ordinary-looking man—of all nationalities swarmed about chattering loudly in what Harry informed him was mainly a creole French, Spanish, and English. Thor was just thankful for his Allspeak, as well as amazed at how the Midgardians were able to communicate with each other despite such linguistic hurdles.

An insistent beeping pulled him out of his thoughts. Realising what it was, he quickly fumbled through his pockets and pulled out the S.H.I.E.L.D.-issued device that so offended Tony's refined sensibilities. The message on the pager simply read: Avengers Assemble – C.A.

"You've got to go," Harry stated from beside him.

Thor inclined his head in agreement. "I do."

A frown flitted across Harry's face, and Thor felt oddly regretful for having put the ill-suited expression there. "Well, I suppose Rue Lafitte can wait another day. Back to New York?"

"Aye. It has been a most pleasant week, my friend, and I will be sorry to see you go—"

"Oh, I'm not going anywhere," Harry interrupted, grabbing him swiftly by the arm. "I can hardly let you whirl your hammer all the way back, now, can I?"

As the vibrant lane winked out of sight, Thor couldn't help but huff a sigh of relief at the thought of not having to test the patience of the fearsome guardians of the wizarding bank.

The tension was so thick, it could be cut with a knife. Not least because his redheaded teammate had her gun aimed at his companion's head.

Harry beamed around at them all. "Aren't you a cheerful bunch. Your smiles are positively blinding—I just can't bear to look."

"You," Tony pointed, finger wagging threateningly in Harry's face, "you are not allowed in here." He paused, cocking his head thougthfully. "Jarvis, did I drunk authorise this midget? Jesus, Pep's gonna kill me if I did."

"Hey, who're you call—"

"No, sir. Your last drunk authorisation was the man delivering the pizza last month, which Ms. Potts has since deactivated."

"Hmm, right. That's why she wouldn't let me do the … well, that's not the point. The point is, leprechaun here—who, by the way, looks barely old enough to wipe the snot off his nose—appeared out of thin air in my tower without even a blip in security. How did you get in my tower?"

Thor decided that he should defend his new acquaintance before things got out of hand. "Please lower your weapon, Lady Natasha."

Her arm remained trained steadily on Harry. Harry smiled sunnily at her. Thor sighed.

"My friends, he is with me. I have been in his company for the past week, during which time he has been showing me the delights of this wonderful continent."

"Whoa, hold up," Clint interrupted, a hand raised in disbelief, "let me get this straight. This dude here is your … tour guide? What the hell, man, couldn't you have picked someone normal? Someone who, y'know, walks through the front door?"

"I can do that!" Harry chirped. "It's just easier this way, you know. Less of a hassle. Though I'm beginning to reconsider on that one …"

At this point, Steve intervened. "Be that as it may, right now our priority is our mission. We can deal with Thor's, er, friend later."

"Cap, we can't just let him roam free in my tower—I just got it renovated! Who says he's going to sit around and wait for us to be back, anyway?"

"He is right here, you know. And besides, if I really wanted to be gone, I'd be"—Harry flashed to the other side of the room—"gone."

Bruce broke the astonished—and very displeased—silence. "He's right. There's nothing we can do about him at the moment, so I suggest we follow Steve's suggestion and deal with the fluff balls before they overrun New York."

Confused, Thor started, "I do not—"

"Big pink and purple balls of fur are rolling around the city," Bruce explained, sounding faintly incredulous at the words he was uttering, "and apparently sticking their tongues into anything they can. There's been a report of one trying to lick inside a man's nose."

"Engorgio-ed Pygmy Puffs are on the loose?" Harry exclaimed in dismay, indignation apparently forgotten. "What in Merlin's name were George and Ron thinking? Hold on a tic, I've got this."

With that, he turned on his heel and vanished.

Thor's teammates swung their heads back to him, and he gulped nervously. However, before they could descend on him, Clint made a strangled noise and ran to the windows.

Shortly, everyone understood why.

Giant fluffy balls of pale pink and purple were careening past, all headed to a destination they couldn't see. When no more were following, an amplified voice from outside boomed, "Finite Incantatem."

"No one told me they could fly," Tony commented, raising his eyebrows at the rest of them.

"They can't—couldn't," Steve shrugged helplessly.

"Sir, Director Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. is on the line. He does not sound pleased."

Tony rolled his eyes as he reached for his phone. "Tell me something I don't know, J."

Fury's holographic face expanded into view as Tony flicked his hand. "Is someone going to tell me what Harry Potter is doing in Manhattan, corralling a herd of those fur balls through Union Square?"

At the uncertain looks, he snapped, "Agent Romanoff?"

"A black-haired, green-eyed teenager of short and slim build appeared here about ten minutes ago with Thor. He evaded questions and said nothing of substance. However, he recognised the creatures Bruce described and left to deal with them," she summarised briskly.

A gusty sigh blew out of Fury and he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Very well. If he deigns to return, tell him I would like to see him … at his earliest convenience," he added, looking like he had bitten into something particularly sour.

"Wait a mo … that was Harry Potter? The one with the Level 7 classified file full of scribbles that don't match up with any known language or code? I even ran it against ancient Arabic and Sanskrit scripts, and still came up with zilch. Seriously, Nick, what's up with that?"

In their irritation, Thor was beginning to see a resemblance between the director and the All-father.

"What is 'up', Stark, is that it is classified," Fury bit out, "and will be staying that way."

"Is he a threat?" Clint asked seriously.

"To my sanity," muttered Fury. At the quirk of Natasha's eyebrow, he gave her a Look. "Imagine another two Starks running around, but you have no idea where they are or what new global disaster they're concocting."

"Wasn't Potter the one behind freeing the ISIS hostages in Iraq last week?" Bruce inquired mildly.

Fury's one-eyed glare intensified. "I'm not even going to ask how you found that out … Does no one in this team know the meaning of the word classified?" He rubbed his face tiredly. "However, you are right, Dr. Banner. He orchestrated his capture so that the U.S. and Kurdish troops could use his microchip to pinpoint the location, and was also instrumental in rescuing his fellow captives. No doubt he has proven himself more than capable—when he wants to be."

Steve stood up, the chair falling over at the sudden force. His suspicion had cleared, leaving a determined, grim air never failed to inspire those around him. "Has S.H.I.E.L.D. always condoned the recruitment of children, sir?"

Fury considered him for a quiet moment, his eye unmoving. "Stand down, Captain. First of all, he is not under the jurisdiction of S.H.I.E.L.D.—though not for lack of trying. He turns up when he wishes, and lends a hand—or not—as he likes. Secondly," he continued, over Steve's protests, "he is not a child. I realise he looks like a teenager—seventeen, in fact—but he is—"

"—thirty five," Thor concluded.

He immediately regretted opening his mouth when all eyes focused on him. The gleam of speculation on Fury's face did nothing to ease his mind.

"Why did you bring Potter here, Thor?"

For reasons Thor did not inspect closely, he felt compelled to defend his currently absent friend. "It was not I that brought him, but Harry that graciously transported me here. And unlike my comrades, I am wholly aware of the numerous sacrifices he has made for your world, Director. It would do to well remember that he owes you naught; that he aids you at all is cause for thanks."

"Now, now, there's no need to scare dear ol' Nickie off, Thor."

Various noises of surprise were made at Harry's sudden appearance. His green eyes were fixed on Thor's, however, and the soft warmth there triggered a strange tightening in his throat.

"Hullo, Nick!" Harry wiggled his fingers at the hologram, and Thor let out a breath he hadn't realised he was holding. "Fancy seeing you here! Works out for the best, really, since I've got some debriefing for you. The Pygmy Puffs,"—he lifted the squirming bag in his hand—"I'll be returning to my brothers, who will hopefully set some kind of anti-tampering system into the new batches before selling them again. The other thing is that I've got clearance from Kings for the Statute of Secrecy with this lot, so I'm a Level 6 now. Not that it matters," he added pensively, "since I'm the only one who can read the file anyway."

Fury's lips thinned dangerously. "Come by headquarters for a proper debrief, Potter. We need to have a talk." And with a growl, he flickered out.

"So," Harry clapped, spinning back around to face them, "now that Nick is properly driven barmy … Pyjamas, blankets, and hot chocolates for all—it's story time, kids!"

A/N: Exams in less than a week but what do I do? Not study, surely! This much requested continuation is (ostensibly) for Halloween, even though that passed a week ago … But as my favourite Western occasion of the year, something had to be done! So belated Happy Halloween everyone, and I hope you are all gorging on cheap post-October candy/chocolates :p

The rescue of the ISIS hostages is a real event that occurred on Oct 23 (I believe) of this year. So the day that this chapter occurs is on Oct 31, 2015 (see what I did there? :D).

I almost didn't continue this story, but I had so much fun writing the last chapter that I instead decided (thanks to an idea suggested by a commenter) to add little holiday chapters when I can (but it won't be a regular thing). Anyway, please let me know what you think!