Disclaimer- I don't own any of the characters. All rights go to their respective owners, and no money is being made off this.

Note:

Thoughts- 'thought'

Spells(italic)- "Expelliarmus!"

Flashback/Disjoint Scene - Bold text


Previously, on Harry Potter: A New Universe -

Harry and Sirius meet the Avengers, gearing up for the hunt for Loki. Meanwhile, back home Ron discovers that Harry's invisibility cloak is missing, and informs Dumbledore, who is intrigued by the phenomenon. Sirius and Captain America fight Loki in Stuttgart, while Harry figures out that he's only being a distraction. He goes off inside the building, and after a fight with Barton, manages to subdue him and remove the mind control from him, also recovering the iridium in the process.


Harry Potter: A New Universe

Chapter 3


Location: Stuttgart, Germany

Harry's feet slammed onto the polished floors of the empty hall where Loki had gatecrashed a beautiful evening about half an hour ago. Besides him, Clint Barton rolled on the ground, unconscious by his stunner. He pointed his wand at his sprawled yet stiff body because of his ropes, and whispered, "Mobilicorpus!"

With a flourish of the wand, Barton floated over to one feet over the ground by his side, and he paced to the huge entrance in front of him, the agent's body hovering like Remus once had Snape's.

Descending the rather flattered steps outside the building, Harry saw that the Quinjet had landed and Sirius, Cap and someone in a red-gold armor he could only assume to be Iron Man, were towering over Loki, the latter's hands raised in surrender. Natasha came out of the jet, throwing Loki a dirty look.

He caught up with the crowd, all the members of which gaped at him, Loki included. Sirius broke off the gathering, shouting, "Harry! Where did you go? What are you doing outside? Who's this man?"

Natasha was the next to speak. Her eyes widened when she saw the man, her eyes registering an emotion akin to...gratitude. Harry was confused.

"It's Barton...what have you done with him?"

He snorted, giving her an incredulous look. "The question should be other way round. I broke the control over him, but had to tie him just for safety," he finished lightly, giving a wry smile.

Meanwhile, Sirius' shouts were painfully ringing in his ears, and he found himself getting very annoyed. He seethed, "Just quit it...this was a ploy to distract you and thank me that we got back whatever Loki wanted to steal, along with rescuing him from grovelling at Loki's feet!"

"Wait, how did you cure him? That takes too much power, and you don't even know the counter-curse...heck, even I don't know-"

"My patronus did the trick," he said, attempting to stop the flow of power through his body, which was expanding by his anger.

Silence. Then Sirius broke into laughter, and between rough gasps he said, "Aaand once again you come up with a simple, yet profitable solution that no one thought of. You gotta quit this habit of being the first to do things your way."

He grinned back, and Natasha looked at them oddly as if worried for Sirius' sanity. Harry was glad that Sirius' annoyance had vanished...that was why he liked his godfather so much. Meanwhile, Cap and Iron Man hauled off Loki and were pushing him to climb into the jet. Loki turned his head slightly, and his blue eyes found the emerald green irises, giving a smirk in his direction. Harry frowned, noticing that for a second the blue color was replaced by green, displaying hurt and anger in them, and he thought that he was looking at a different person. Then the blue was back, with the evil persona in place. [1]

Iron Man left Loki to Cap's and the pilot and came back to their group, the metallic mask opening with a metallic groan and a click. Harry said, "Hello, Mr. Tony Stark. I'm Harry."

"Please, kid. No one called me Mister. Tony. Stark. Call me Tony. Glad to meet you, and I must inform you that I still don't believe in the story Fury told me. Dimensional travel, yes. Wizards, not quite."

He raised a sarcastic eyebrow, and said, "Then how do you believe I'm levitating this unconscious man?"

"Levitating," Tony snorted. "Harry, this tool you have here must be a device to modify energy. Energy can neither be created, nor be destroyed, but it can change forms. Have you heard about this?" Tony asked as if teaching something to a five year old.

He replied, "Indeed...and you believe my wand is a sophisticated machine?"

"Not a machine, but it should have something in its core. If you let me analyze it-"

"It has a phoenix feather in the core."

Tony opened his mouth, and closed it, seeming lost for a reply. Then he said, "You didn't tell your full name. Harry what?"

"Just Harry."

"Harry Houdini?" Tony's lips curled up in faint amusement, though Harry could see that the man was appraising him silently.

"Er, no. It's Harry Potter, and seeing is believing Tony."

"I'm seeing...still working on believing."

He replied sympathetically, "I know. When I was informed I thought it was a hidden camera show and someone was going to jump and reveal them."

Tony waggled his eyebrows. "My thoughts exactly."

Sirius patted Harry's back lightly. "Enough chit-chat. You'll get plenty of time for that once we get back."

Harry didn't tell anyone about the shrunken glass container that was in her pocket, containing the second most dense metal on Earth...of course, Harry didn't know that. Skeptical about the whole scheme of Loki, he didn't want to let him see that he had foiled his plans, and intended on giving the object back to Fury later. He hoped to appease the director by that.

They boarded the jet, and Harry set Barton on the floor on a spot near the cockpit. The exit door closed with a loud hiss as the chamber sealed, and the Quinjet took off into the night sky.


Location: SHIELD Helicarrier

"Director, we cannot afford to risk subjugation while you continue your reckless antics."

Nick Fury gritted his teeth, inwardly wanting to lash out at the World Council members. He calmly replied, "Antics? This is not a mock drill, council men. We are at war! The whole idea behind this was to have people that could fight a battle that we never could."

"Do you have any proof behind this talk of alternate universes?"

"No, but-"

"Haven't you considered the fact that all this might be an elaborate trick from a foreign world to double cross us?"

"Yeah, it might be."

"Then you should-"

"Now listen here," he said in a deadly low voice. "Our current priority is to get back the Tesseract. We have no choice but to take them on their word, so for now, I'm willing to use their help. Not to mention that past hour I got news that they apprehended Loki successfully and broke his mind-control on one of our best agents. I'll keep my end of the bargain, if they keep theirs."

One of the representatives he least liked spoke up, "That's all well and good director, if you get your idea of this band of merry men to actually work, and retrieve the cube from Loki. Otherwise, we might have to rethink our decision of leaving this in your hands."

Others murmured in argument. Another said, "I agree. The army would have been a much better idea."

He wearily replied, "We've gone over this already. The regular army is hopelessly outmatched against such threats."

"Then use the opportunity, director. Try and use this 'magic' to develop our technology. The implications of this power are brighter than the Tesseract! If they actually are allies, then consider the vast potentials of the energy they could provide us with."

"I see," he muttered disgustedly. "But unfortunately, they want to leave as soon as we get the cube. They're not exactly here for sight seeing..."

"Then...delay their departure?"

He fumed, "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." With that, he closed the screen and turned to leave the room. Agent Hill was waiting for him, giving him her thick pensive look. She said, "They're on their way back. Expected to return in two hours."

He nodded his acknowledgement. Raising his communicator, he established contact to Natasha.

"Agent Romanoff do you copy?"

A few seconds later, she replied, "Yes, sir."

"Got him without any trouble? Agents posted there have reported missing iridium."

"Barton is still unconscious. And yeah, got two wizards, a super soldier, one snarky git watching Loki."

"Hmm...is he saying anything?"

"Not a word."

"Just get him here...we're low on time."


Harry was trying to look anywhere but at Loki's face. He couldn't pinpoint the source of his anxiety, but Loki got on his nerves a bit. He got the feeling that the trickster was scrutinizing him, trying to study him, and that made him irritated beyond measure. He focused on his godfather, who was conversing animatedly with Tony.

"So you're seriously Serious, or Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky?"

"Well, they named me after the Dog Star, but I'm not serious at all."

Tony smirked. "Ah...I love the puns."

Steve was watching their banter with quiet amusement, and Harry grinned at him, getting one in return. His gaze fell on the windshield of the jet, and to his surprise a brilliant white flashes branched into the night sky, dazzling them from their reveries. A second later the first thunder clap had reached his ears, and by the narrow gap between those two Harry felt that the source clouds were close. He didn't know the reason behind his fear, which was bubbling in his stomach, but as the intensity of light grew, the Quinjet was bathed by the luminous streaks of lightning.

"Why is this coming..." Natasha muttered worriedly. He noticed that Loki's neutral mask had fell, his eyebrows quirked up in nervousness. Besides him, Steve spoke, "What? Scared of a little lightning?"

"I'm not overly fond of what follows."

The proclamation did nothing to calm Harry's mood. They all caught each other's eyes, raising silent questions. Just then, the chamber shook violently as something...someone...whatever thudded loudly on the roof. Seven heads snapped upwards, as another burst of thunder rolled through the air, stronger than the previous ones. Tony picked up his helmet and put it on, tiny quadrilaterals of light illuminating the eyes. Steve also pulled his mask over his face, while Sirius whispered worriedly, "Wands out, Harry."

To Harry's surprise, Iron Man stepped forward, and opened the exit, sending air into the aircraft like gales.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Cap shouted. Sirius yelled immediately after, "YEAH, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Taking no notice of their shouts, Iron Man stood like a sentry, waiting for anything to happen. Then dramatically, a huge figure dropped gracefully in front of the billionaire, wearing some kind of medieval armor, a red cape fluttering in the wind.

Before any of them could say anything to their visitor, he'd raised a big hammer and struck Iron Man on the chest, throwing him away forcefully. He took a long stride and grabbed Loki by the neck, and turned to leave. Surprised that Sirius hadn't done anything yet, Harry yelled, "Expelliarmus!"

The hammer flew out of the hand of the man, but curved in mid air and returned to the waiting palm of its owner. The man turned regally, and eyed him curiously. Then he boomed, "Stay out of this, whoever you are, young Seidhr."

He made a face, as his brilliant plan had failed and he had no idea what the word meant. He obviously thought that if he took away that hammer, Cap would be free to take him down. But he'd already started to spin the hammer in his hand. Just as he took the first step in the opposite direction, Sirius raised his wand. "LOCOMOTOR MORTIS!"

The mystery man attempted to fly, and leap into the air. But the leg locker jinx made him stumble down, and Harry was reminded of his first attempt at throwing off the Imperius curse. If the situation wasn't tense, he might have laughed. But it seemed like he'd gained enough momentum, as he rolled off the Quinjet along with Loki, disappearing into the night sky which was still covered with bright streaks of lightning.

"Now there's that guy..." Iron Man had recovered from the blow, getting to his feet slowly as he muttered incoherent words.

"Another Asgardian?"

"This guy's a friendly?" Cap asked, to which Iron Man replied calmly. "Doesn't matter. If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract is lost." He then moved on to the wide exit, preparing himself for the pursuit.

Cap shouted, "Stark, we need a plan of attack!"

"I have a plan. Attack!"

With that, he blasted off into the sky, and Sirius rolled his eyes, while Cap shook his head disdainfully. Harry said, "Nice one, Sirius. But wrong TIMING."

His godfather replied sheepishly, "Normal magic like stunners won't work, Harry. Their skins are really tough like giants, as I already tried to stun him silently while you were not looking. I needed a physical spell, or an elemental one. But sometimes, the simplest jinxes are the most effective. I hadn't counted on the hammer thingy though..."

They moved towards the exit, while Cap scooped a parachute. Harry looked down into the darkness, maintaining a safe distance from the edge. His knees tingled slightly at the sight of the unending darkness, only marred by a pin point of Iron Man's thruster light.

Harry asked the super soldier, "Fancy a lift?"

"No thanks. I might get uncomfortable by your methods of travel."

Harry kept his mouth shut. He didn't tell him, or Sirius of the fact that he'd apparated Barton successfully with him. Meanwhile, Natasha flicked a switch over her head and muttered, "I'd sit this one out, Cap. Let them handle it."

"I don't see how I can."

"These guys come from legends...they're basically gods."

"There's only one God ma'am, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress up like that." Harry snickered, and they stood in front of the gaping blackness. Harry and Sirius disapparated with a thin 'pop', and Cap took a leap into the sky.


"-I've grown in my exile, Odinson. I've seen-"

Harry felt his feet slam into the grass, and opened his eyes to see Loki and his kidnapper, the latter gaping at him. Sirius apparated besides him, adding to the surprise in the man's face. Apparating to the exact location was easy. The Asgardian had left a massive electric surge, easily traceable even to young wizards like them.

Sirius swiftly took charge, shouting, "Who are you? You've no right abducting our prisoner, even if he's your acquaintance. His crimes directly affect our world..."

Harry noticed the tall, broad shouldered man's eyes show sorrow on the word 'acquaintance', and he interrupted Sirius loudly. "Back off, please. On behalf of Asgard I am honored to meet you...as your kind haven't been seen for many centuries and they were our allies. But Loki will face Asgardian justice."

A bright beam of light passed them, and landed on the grass with a thump. Iron Man said, "He gives up the cube he's all yours. Until then, stay out of the way."

Harry was beginning to get worried. Hostile approach won't help in the slightest. Sirius said, "Please confirm who you-"

"Thor. The crown prince of Asgard."

Loki snorted darkly at this, and everyone looked at him oddly. Harry said, "Pleased to meet you, Thor," he bowed for effect. "The god of thunder. Harry Potter, pleased to meet you." He didn't know why he was spouting such nonsense, but a little politeness surely won't go amiss. He knew little of Norse deities in his world, but he knew that Thor was sometimes known to be vain. Loki smirked, raising his hands and said, "Why dear brother, we've to cut this meeting short. I have certain 'obligations'."

A few seconds later, Cap had joined them and Thor was looking more and more impatient. He boomed, "Leave! You have no idea what you're dealing with."

"Uh-Shakespeare in the park...doth mother know you wear-eth her drapes?"

Sirius growled in frustration. "Tony! You're not helping in the slightest."

Cap lifted his hands in a placating gesture. "Why don't we discuss this somewhere else, peacefully? Please put that hammer down-"

Harry knew it was the wrong thing to say, because Thor's face darkened and he snarled, "You want me to put the hammer down!?"

The hammer was raised, and Loki looked gleeful for a moment, to the absolute wonder of Harry. He could feel a disturbance in the air, and smelt the ionized air. The brightest beam of lightning collected on the head of the hammer, and Harry knew what he was going to do. As fear bubbled inside him, his mind instinctively calmed itself and power rose within him. Something grew inside him as the air around him heated over comfort level. He wasn't aware, that his green irises were glowing in the night, for if he was, he would have been afraid of himself. He raised his wand without thinking, and yelled, " METEOLOJINX RECANTO!" [2]

Thousands of amperes of electric current dissipated into thin air, allowing him some relief. He looked aside, and chuckled weakly at the look on Sirius' face.

"Harry? What-how? So much power!"

He replied hesitantly, "Moody- well, his impostor did this once on the Great Hall ceiling."

"HARRY! That spell is meant for dispelling minor weather charms, not to stop actual lightning. How much power did you use? You could suffer from severe magical exhaustion..."

"But I feel fine...?"

His godfather scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion. "Are you serious? Because- no. Don't even think of saying, 'you are'."

"Honestly Sirius, I'm fine. I just saved everyone's life."

Iron Man piped up, "My suit is electricity resistant, thank you very much."

Loki sneered at Thor. "Go on, esteemed brother. Kill the people under your protection. You call me ill-suited, when you lose control of your pathetic temper everyday?"

Thor flashed a look of annoyance towards his brother, and directed his words to Harry. "I apologize. It was not my intention to kill anyone."

"Yeah, you just wanted to maim, or seriously injure," Harry grinned. Cap and Sirius backed away, sporting horrified and curious looks when Thor smiled wickedly.


Location: SHIELD Helicarrier

After Loki was sent to a specially designed cell, all of them assembled in a room with a round table like that in the fallout shelter. Harry guessed that this was the debriefing room. He had handed the iridium case to Fury, who was surprised and told him that field agents there had reported it stolen by Loki's minions. Harry just grinned back good naturedly, causing Fury to mutter something about secretive teenagers.

Thor was gazing curiously at his face from across the table. He was folding his arms over his chest, with an unreadable look on his face. When he caught Harry's gaze he said, "If I may ask young Seidhr, how did the scar on your forehead originate?"

He sighed. His scar stood out like a sore thumb anywhere he went, heck, even Norse deities were poking their heads around. He replied, "Ava-er, a deadly spell hit and rebounded because of a protection charm."

Thor nodded thoughtfully, and said, "I'm not adept at these things, but your scar is a remarkable replica of the sól rune. Have you any knowledge about that?"

"Er-no. I know next to nothing about it, because I'm the only one to have such a mark in our world."

"It's a symbol for the light, victory, strength, likewise...It's even a greater honor to meet someone with your caliber, as you are definitely destined for great things."

"Great," he murmured. Sirius, however, was frowning slightly, and said, "Are you sure...Thor?"

"I'm completely sure, Sirius Black. I admit that I am very curious about the realm you come from, even if it's of another universe. Now that I pay attention, I can sense death around you...how in the world..."

Harry sharply said, "What?"

Thor let his hands swing down and replied a little sadly. "Your world must have greater horrors than this one, travelers, for you've certainly been in the realm of Hel. Am I right?"

Harry was thinking hard about the only possible reason. The veil. But to really have a concrete reason to believe that Sirius had really died...

"Excuse me, but I didn't get you clearly."

"You have the aura of death around yourself, Sirius Black. If Brunnhilde was here she could have seen the death glow around you."

"Who's Brunnhilde?" Sirius asked in confusion.

"She leads the Valkyrior. She was chosen by the Allfather...other details are rather unnecessary. But she can transport the dying individuals to the realm of dead, and can see the approach of death."

Harry took long calming breaths. This wasn't happening. Sirius was standing there, as healthy as ever and here Thor was announcing his death. Before they could talk further, Natasha had increased the volume of the feed from Loki's cell, or cage, and Harry was grateful for the distraction.

"-Built for something a lot stronger than you."

"Oh I've heard; a mindless beast, makes play he's still a man. How desperate are you? That you call on such lost creatures to defend you?"

"How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war, you steal a force you can't hope to control, you talk about peace, and you kill 'cause it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did."

"Oooh, it burns you to have 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. Even with the might of magic wielders by your side, you will soon realize how hopeless a cause...yours is."

Harry saw that Bruce was trying to appear unconcerned at the jab on him being mindless. Everyone else was staring with disgust at the screen.

"...well, let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine or something."

Finally, Bruce broke the silence. "He really grows on you doesn't he?"

"Loki's gonna drag this out. So, Thor. What's his play?"

"He has an army, called the Chitauri. They are not of Asgard or of any world known. He means to lead them into battle against your people. They will win him the Earth, in return, I suspect for the Tesseract."

"An army," Steve said lightly. "From outer space."

Harry felt a stab of pity for the man. He couldn't imagine how difficult it would be to cope with, after waking seventy years into the future.
Bruce added, "So he's building another portal. That's what he needs Eric Selvig for."

Thor said, "Selvig," slightly alarmed.

"He's an astrophysicist."

"He's a friend," Thor replied in a confused yet determined tone.

"Loki has him under some kind of spell, the same spell Harry cured our Agent Barton from."

Sirius had remained tight lipped for the greater part of the meeting. It was almost as if he'd given the controls to Harry. As much as he was irritated by this background show of Sirius, he liked the freedom, after spending fifteen, wait, almost sixteen years of his life in darkness.

"-He killed eighty people in two days."

"He's adopted," Thor said quickly, and Harry snorted.

"-Iridium. What do they need the iridium for?" Bruce was saying thoughtfully.

"Stabilizing agent!"

They all turned around, as Tony made his rather dramatic appearance.


Location: Hogwarts

"Honestly Ronald, did you not bother to look once again before running off to Dumbledore?"

Hermione Granger was glaring at Ron, who was protesting rather loudly in front of all the students. "I did, and I told you. It was not there."

She smoothed her robes, before taking a deep breath and continuing, "Let's take this somewhere else, shall we?" They left the common room and climbed the stairs to the boys dormitory. Inside, she could hear Ron saying, "Mate, could you wait outside for a few minutes?

"Sure." She was greeted by the not so shy face of Neville disappearing down the stairs, and she went inside. Ron said, "Look, I searched thoroughly, and it was not there. If Dumbledore agreed, I don't see how you don't believe me Mione."

She put her hands on her hips and said, "Well, maybe Dobby got it, maybe someone took it. All you thought was that the cloak disappeared off to Harry?"

"Yes!" Ron replied in an annoyed voice. "Do you see any better alternative? Because obviously Dobby didn't get it, I asked him in the kitchens. I'm not that of a fool. I checked everywhere before going to Dumbledore."

She said exasperatedly, "But that doesn't make sense. The cloak disappeared like him? C'mon Ron. He can't..."

She trailed off uncomfortably. Ron had a look of concern on his face. "I know Mione," he said gently. "I know you don't want to believe this, but we have to consider all the possibilities. Anything. Anything unusual related to Harry is a clue."

She chuckled and gave him a small smile. "When did you grow up?"

The red haired boy smiled weakly. "Someone had to do it?"

"Oh, really..." she rolled her eyes. Then she muttered, "But sometimes, the simplest spells are the most effective. Did you try the point me spell?"

Ron's face lit up, and he said excitedly, "Are you thinking of checking Harry's direction?"

"No," she huffed. "It is supposed to work on simpler magical objects than conscious beings. Now let's see. Point Me, Invisibility Cloak!"

Her wand spun on her palm, and ended up pointing towards the a distinct corner of the room. She began to laugh.

"What?" Ron asked in confusion.

"It's pointing to Harry's bed, Ron. I told you someone would have recovered it. Maybe another house elf...they're slaves for this type of work after all. You checked everywhere except the most obvious place."

Ron appeared determined, not willing to back down. He said, "I'm checking first."

After a couple of minutes, Ron had reluctantly sifted through Harry's trunk, looking for the silvery cloth, but had no success. Hermione was astonished. She had counted on the cloak being there, just as a tiny hope, but it had failed. She cast, "Accio cloak!"

"Won't work," Ron said. "Dumbledore said that it was special."

She sighed, and raised her wand again. "Well then, maybe... Specialis Revealo!"

A diminished glow rose from the base of the trunk, before a bunch of softer lights covered the magical items inside. She said sharply, "What's in that package?"

Ron put his hand inside and took out a package. He said nervously, "We shouldn't be opening this."

"I know, but this is important. Go on. I was casting it with special emphasis on the cloak. So the package must have some clue to the cloak."

Ron ripped off the wrapping paper to reveal a mirror and a parchment inside. He unrolled it and read swiftly, before handing it to her.

She said after some time, "You were right. The cloak is not here. Maybe the spell was wrong or something. It's not made for aiming at particular objects anyways."

They put the mirror back, along with the letter, and closed the trunk. She turned to leave, when an idea struck her. "Ron, the other mirror belongs to Sirius, isn't it?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So maybe the cloak went to him, in the...veil. That veil looked similar to the cloak's material."

"But that doesn't make sense. The cloak was Harry's."

She wrung her hands nervously. "What if, Harry and the cloak went there too?"

He seemed on the edge of blowing off, eyes Shaking her shoulders, he said, "Hermione listen. Harry did not enter the veil. Unless we have proof, everything is speculation. Don't make scenarios in your mind."

"Then perhaps we could, talk to...Sirius, by the mirror." she knew she sounded stupid, but the plea in her voice was recognizable even to herself.

"Er...no. Two way mirrors don't absorb the personality of the owner, though many people have tried to make them so, like magical mirrors."

"Yeah, sorry," she tiredly replied. "It was a childish thought. But...a day has passed now with us having no clue about him. So I just- " She let out a breath slowly. "Good night, Ron."

"Good night, Hermione. He'll come back, from wherever he is. Don't worry."

She didn't say anything. Silence said everything for her.


Location: SHIELD Helicarrier

Harry and Sirius stayed in the debriefing room after everyone had left. Harry wanted to go and help others in tracking down the Tesseract, so that he could return home quickly. He wondered if Ron and Hermione were bickering now like usual, or grieving for him. Even Dumbledore was out of the picture this time, Harry mused.

Jarring him from his thoughts, Sirius said, "Harry, it's really late. You should go take some rest."

He raised an eyebrow. "And why, may I ask? I'm perfectly fine."

"I know," Sirius said sagely, and Harry wanted to laugh at his expression. "But something tells me tomorrow won't be a day of peace, so get all the rest you can. Besides, you haven't slept till...what, 24 hours?"

"Actually, I didn't even sleep properly the night before exam, cramming everything. So, make that two days, but I'm not tired. I can still-"

Sirius gently replied, "Your eyelids are drooping, Pup. Let me take you to a room. And don't worry about any of these things. Others are working on that. Our only job is to assist, not worry for the safety of an alternate universe."

"Huh?"

Sirius stood up from his seat. "Let's go. At the moment you're looking drop dead gorgeous."

"Padfoot, that was the lamest thing I've ever heard."

After a few minutes, Sirius had put Harry to sleep on a bunk bed inside a small room fury had given them. Harry felt oddly at peace, his entire body relaxing the moment he left resisting to the allure of sleep.

Sirius smiled at him, ruffling his hair lovingly and said, "Not the best of bedrooms, but try to get some rest. We'll talk later."

"Sirius?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"I want to talk about my power...I feel strangely powerful sometimes, due to magical surges. When caught up in emotions I feel like I'm in command, like I'd do...anything."

He saw that Sirius was waiting for more. So he continued, "You remember the snake incident at Christmas?"

At a small nod, he said, "I wonder if my power is getting out of control. I asked it that time and I'll ask it again. Is this connection...making me like Voldemort? It's really hard to keep check of my emotions and I feel like I'll blow up any second."

"Harry, what did I tell you? You. Are. Nothing like that monster. As for the power you are concerned about, this might be, er- good news, in a way. It means that you're attaining maturity and you'll be a powerful wizard in the fut-"

"No, Sirius you're not getting my point," he continued heatedly. There it was, again. He calmed down and said, "I suddenly can feel emotions of people. I mastered spells that would have taken me at least a week to master...this is not any normal occurrence. These surges make me think I can take down Voldemort, or even Dumbledore, and win without breaking a sweat. Do you think that's normal?"

"I'm afraid Harry that we don't have answers to any of these questions, and we won't get any before we go back. So I can only ask you to try and improvise."

"Improvise?"

"Exert control. Meditation. Control is your best bet for your concerns. And you can meditate for that. I'll help you tomorrow, but close and eyes and rest for now. Good night."

"Good night, and I hope that I wish you a good night in our world next," Sirius said with a chuckle. He nodded curtly, watching Sirius leave the room. He then took out a melted knife from his pocket, the present from Sirius that was now irreparable. He continued to watch it intently, everything else in the room being too boring. He wondered if prisoners and agents got the same room, smiling as the absurdity of the notion hit him. His fingers traced the edge of the melted blade, and a tingle went through his wrist. He wanted to repair the knife, and why shouldn't he do it? He had the power, which begged to be released. Giving in to the urge, he focused on the knife as the twisted metal took shape again, and the knife was good as new. Alarmed by the waves of power now rolling in his body, he thanked God it was just a knife. His control was waning, the power itching to be unleashed. He decided to close his eyes.


Sirius left the room, heading to the laboratory where Bruce was supposed to be working. He was trying hard to keep himself together for Harry's sake, but he was getting increasingly nervous with every passing minute. He couldn't shake the fact away that they had no clue about their present dilemma and even if they got the Tesseract, he didn't know the path of return. But he had to take it in small steps. First was Loki, then the Tesseract, then maybe something would happen. Maybe.

The door before him slid open with a hiss and he entered the too well organized room, which was in sharp contrast to Grimmauld Palace.

"Any luck so far?" he asked politely.

Bruce got his head up from whatever he was looking at, and said, "Oh, Sirius...yeah, we're just trying to track the signature."

Tony Stark swiped something away on a touch screen, which was a fascinating technology for him. He said, "So, now to our little meeting. Are you seriously a wizard?"

He replied scornfully, "Yes, why?"

"Just asking. What does it feel like?"

"I'm sorry?"

"I mean, you talk of magic as a power. But for me, as a scientist, there is no such term as magic."

Slightly annoyed, he said, "Ignorance is not good for someone like you."

Tony chided, "Don't get me wrong, but we're of the philosophy that everything is energy. Anything, can be converted into anything. So, this magic, is nothing but energy in my opinion, and you, are able to command such changes. I'm just saying that the term 'magic' is rubbish. Nothing happens by magic, it's just a 'different' way of naming your methods."

"Maybe..." he shrugged. "So what were you guys discussing?"

Bruce said, "Well, we were kind of confused about the motivations of Fury here. The Tesseract might not be only required for sustainable energy here, you see?"

"Then for what?"

Tony left a table, munching something noisily. He said, "This is a spy organization, Sirius. To control peace in the world, what is the thing they would need?"

"Weapons?" He said tersely, and then the thought slowly developed roots in his mind.
"What exactly, do you mean? Using unlimited power for horrifying weapons?"

"Ah, a smart one, Banner. I told you the Captain was painfully slow on uptakes. Any decent guy would see that there is an ulterior motive."

He raised an eyebrow, and said, "Why thank you...but why is Steve slow?"

Tony replied impassively, "Nothing, he just refused to acknowledge this simple fact and muttered some crap about following orders that are given to us. I don't believe the guy, I mean-"

He smiled. "-Well, he is partially correct. In our world too there are war like conditions. You have to follow the leader's orders, as that's your best chance at winning."

"There's is war in your world?" Bruce asked skeptically.

He debated whether he'd gone too far, or they deserved to know. He slowly said, "Yes, there's a man, like Hitler I presume. You had Hitler here?"

Tony grinned. "Looks like Adolf Hitlers are abound in all the worlds. Did he start a world war there too?"

"Yeah. After his time, a boy, who was powerful rose to commit atrocious deeds, practicing dark magic and came to be feared so much that people in our world refuse to say the name."

Bruce laughed quietly. "That sounds crazy. What's in a name?"

Tony piped up, "Don't add 'Shakespeare'. What's the point then?"

They shared a laugh, and Sirius continued, "So, this man is now our enemy. He has an army of sorts, with humans, and monsters and things like that."

Tony commented a little carefully, " So you have someone like Fury there?"

"No," he said, smirking. "But we have a person like him who has a magical eye instead of the patch."

"Better choice."

"Hmm, so we have our leader in the best wizard of this age. But he's somewhat sneaky at times, and mostly keeps the whole truth to himself. But we follow his orders, as his 'ulterior motives' are almost always successful and have happy endings, that sort of thing. That doesn't mean we pry into the secrets."

Tony popped another...blueberry in his mouth and said, "I'm not willing to be anyone's pawn, much less Fury's."

He laughed, thinking about James, who had said something similar to Dumbledore after graduating, when he'd asked the Marauders to join the Order. It had been hard to convince him that uniting against Voldemort was the best choice. Alone, they would have been picked off easily.

He saw the shiny scepter, laid on the glass behind them. It was rising up in the air, vibrating slowly. He barked, "Twelve o' clock. Is that supposed to be normal?"

Both of his acquaintances whipped around, as the scepter glowed in its brilliant blue light and hovered over to them. Tony and Bruce watched with horrid fascination, as the seemingly royal staff pointed itself towards Sirius, and shot off.

Everyone yelped and Sirius flicked his wand, which had sprung up into his hand. "Impedimenta!"

The scepter slowed, turning midways in air, coming slowly to rest in air near his feet, like a broom. He stared at it, bewildered, while others gaped at it. He said coolly, "That was dramatic."

Bruce laughed nervously, and Sirius could feel waves of power coming from the scepter. A sudden urge of longing went through him, to pick it up, to use the vast power linked through the Tesseract.

"Sirius?" Tony asked, worriedly.

"Wha-I'm fine," he broke his gaze abruptly. "This thing is dangerous," he added quietly.

Then, he put on a brave face and did a revealing charm on the scepter. After a second, he snapped, "Finite Incantatem!"

Tony and Bruce gave him questioning looks. He said loudly, "There was a tracking charm on this thing..."

Tony's look sharpened and he shot back, "Tracking? This scepter can be tracked? Wait, sort of like a transmitter?"

He nodded slowly. The billionaire swore loudly, and said, "This is it. I was wondering why Loki let us capture him ever since Cap asked me. The bastard wants the helicarrier to be found. Someone tell Fury! We could be attacked any minute!"

Worried by the sudden turn of events, Bruce nodded weakly. Sirius wasted no time, and disapparated to the control room.


He was seeing into the terrified eyes of the death eaters assembled. He was vengeful at the entire Ministry fiasco. The idiots would face his wrath, who had the guts to show their cowardly faces without bringing him any news. All, except Severus. His faithful spy had brought him info on the brat, who was safely hidden somewhere with Dumbledore of all people. But he hated being in the dark, and all of them would pay.

He'd not anticipated a move like this from the old coot, but maybe the blood traitor Black's death had affected the delicate Potter boy harshly. Inwardly amused, he wondered how the boy would have felt when he realized that he had been outsmarted, fooled by his brilliant plan.

He petted the cold, smooth skin of Nagini, before speaking in a deathly calm voice, "Leave!"

All of them looked at him with surprise and hope in their eyes. His lips curled up slightly. "Next time, I won't be so merciful...Am I understood?"

"Yes, my lord." Everyone scrambled out of the chamber before he could change his mind. His anger ebbing away slowly, he called, "Wormtail!"

The pathetic excuse for a man whimpered slightly before turning and presenting himself at his feet. "Y-yes, my lord?"

"I have a task for you, that even someone of your brain capacity should be able to perform. You better not, disappoint me..."

"Of course, my lord."

"You will go and get information on Harry Potter for me. I don't care how you do it, use your filthy form, just don't fail. Am I understood?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Good. Crucio!"

He smirked evilly as the man writhed in agony on the floor. After a few moments, he removed the curse and spoke silkily, "I hope this is...inspiring. Don't fail me, Wormtail, or that silver hand of yours might turn...suicidal...You're dismissed."

The man gulped in terror and hobbled away, leaving him alone in the chamber with Nagini. With no one present, his anger flared again. The prophecy, the prophecy! Everything came to it, and now it was gone. Lucius was lucky he was not on the receiving end of his rage, but he would get him out of Azkaban soon. He had the perfect plan to punish him, he thought, chuckling wickedly. Young Draco Malfoy would be the executioner, and he would be more than willing to be the judge.

With the world finally aware of his return, another plan of his was delayed. Now they were afraid...he would give them terror, if terror is what they expected from him. But first, the muggles...The Brockdale Bridge would be a nice target...

He was not himself. He was someone else. He was Harry, unable to move as he watched the scene unfold. The rage simmering inside was beyond his control. He needed to wake up. Harry Potter tried to undo sleep paralysis, but was unable to do so.

Then he screamed in pain from his scar.


End of Chapter-3

(A/N): I apologize for being late in posting this chapter. Life interfered with the writing...Weekly updates from now on.

I hope you liked Sirius POV, and the interaction between the characters. Barton will wake up soon, and because Loki doesn't have the iridium, Harry and team have some time to be prepared. But then, Loki isn't called the master trickster without any reason.

[1] To answer a question from the reviews- Harry would not think at first of using the Patronus on Loki, as he believes that Loki is doing these things of his free will. But, the seed of doubt has been planted in his mind.

[2] GoF movie, Barty Crouch doing the spell. I decided to take it for obvious reasons.

Tell me what you thought of this chapter. You can of course, review, or you can PM me and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Until next time, then.


Next up, on Harry Potter: A New Universe

Harry has a 'chat' with Loki, which is too pleasant for his tastes. Back home, Dumbledore seems to unveil the mystery of the mirror.