James Romanov fit the role of the Winter Soldier quite well. Broad shoulders across his body made the man bigger than most, and between the scowling jawline and built muscles, the brainwashed soulmate was downright intimidating. He knew he had memories of a whole different life taken from him, but if that was the cost to stay with Natalia, then he would pay it over and over without hesitation. Her safety came above everything else in his mind; it wasn't just the soul bond speaking though. The girl had saved his life, and he felt he owed everything to her. Together, thanks to Hydra, they were unstoppable. Being master assassins wasn't a choice given to them, but they served their duties when needed, and did it perfectly. There were never any witnesses to any of their heinous crimes.

Until now.

The soldier immediately took quick and threatening steps towards the boy, the preprogrammed actions taking over. No witnesses. He could hear his girl shouting at him, and watched as the boy's eyes widened in fear at the incoming man. James' arm began whirring and the metal plates flexed, the fingers stretched and throbbing as though strangling the air. Within seconds, James was before the child and reached out to eliminate the threat, when the boy just disappeared. He made a similar noise Natalia did when she disapparated, but she had been taught how to do it much more quietly.

Spinning around, the soldier watched as the child landed next to his soulmate, and his preprogrammed thoughts began screaming at him to get her away from the danger! He tried to take a step forward and ended up walking straight into one of Natalia's spells, one that made his legs collapse. Grinding his teeth, he desperately crawled forwards and continued his task, ignoring the rain of pebbles that his soulmate sent at him. Finally, she froze him to his spot in the snow and huffed at her soulmate. Nothing more than kisses had ever passed between them, and yet he acted as though they had been consummated for years.

Natalia spun around to her brother and began speaking Russian to the guards walking up behind him.

"We're fine, just get him to medical." Harry heard through his bespelled earring and concentrated as he heard multiple voices talking over each other, giving him a headache with the concentration it took to hear them all.

"Come, Harry. I need to introduce you to someone." Natalia offered a hand up to her shaken brother, and he carefully placed a shaking hand into hers. She provided a steady relief to him, consciously holding herself with a bit more grace than usual. Swearing to always protect him, even from those important to her, Natalia took him into his new home in the KGB.

"Welcome home, brother." Whispered through his earpiece.

It turns out the vodka Madame Viknei had given her the last time they talked wasn't the one she was hiding out on, Natalia discovered. Having introduced Harry to her caused the leader to reach behind a portrait and pull out a full bottle of strong alcohol. Personally, the thirteen-year-old believed it was odd to have flavoured vodka in the heart of Mother Russia, but she kept her thoughts to herself when she was offered a glass. She transfigured Harry's cup into something on the weak side, and by weak, she meant flavoured water. He wouldn't visibly notice the difference.

Natalia explained quickly Harry's hearing issue as well as his earpiece, prompting Madame Viknei to summon a private Healer and mediwitch, who both declared that Harry's hearing was heavily damaged and would take years to properly heal even with magic. Upon hearing that, Natalia downed her cup of vodka and refilled it again, going past the publicly acceptable amount, and slouched in a seat next to the fireplace in the office.

Madame Viknei barked at her to sit up properly while company was in, and immediately Natalia did so. One does not argue against their superiors, especially in a workplace such as this.

"Agent Romanov, I see you reached your goal."

Natalia took another sip before answering, swallowing the bitter drink down her tight throat. She felt like crying. "One of them, yes."

From behind her chair, the Madame watched as the healer and mediwitch uselessly flittered about to take diagnostic spells, and grew bored with their hushed whispers.

"Healer, give me the papers. You're both free to go."

Instantly, both of them disappeared, leaving their papers floating softly onto her desk.

"Harry Potter," the Madame began. "You are the sibling of our top asset, and have been tasked with a horrible burden according to these papers." She handed the papers with his total diagnostic over to his sister, who grabbed them with unwavering hands.

"The abuse you faced under those people will not be left unpunished," The woman continued. "We simply won't allow it."

Beckoning Harry towards her desk, Madame Viknei waited until he stood in front of it before offering her hands. He hesitated, and shot Natalia a look, questioning silently if it was safe to do so. He received a small nod from the redhead and cautiously watched as his hands placed themselves in the woman's. He slowly looked up, and when Harry's eyes connected with hers, Madame Viknei tightened her hands over his. She was careful with her hands and words as she spoke.

"You will be trained under us, and will learn as much as possible before your time to go to school. For now, Harry, you may call me Maman instead, if that's okay."

Harry had no idea what it meant, Maman, and agreed to it without a second thought. And just like that, Harry had unintentionally garnered the support of the entire KGB.

"Okay….. Maman."

For the first time Natalia could remember, she watched a smile cross the stern face of Madame Viknei.

Natalia insisted that Harry be taken to the medical wing to begin his healing, both magical and mundane, before he be taken to their rooms. With the new title for Madame Viknei that would be used only by Harry, Natalia was able to negotiate a new apartment for herself and her soulmate, connected to the one her brother would be staying in, which was also connected to the one Madame Viknei inhabited. All in all, it was a serious upgrade she was thankful for from every cell in her body. She remembered the uncomfortable beds she started in at the start of her Black Widow training and wanted to cackle in the faces of the girls that rose up against her.

Natalia was pulled from her thoughts when Madame Viknei asked her a series of questions about the objects she had banished from the Dursleys home.

"Yes, I recognized there was a trace of compulsion spells on the letter, but I couldn't recognize who it was."

The woman in front of her snorted.

"You wouldn't be able to unless you know what you were looking for. It's Albus Dumbledore's magical signature on this thing. He's the one that compelled your aunt to get rid of you and abuse Harry. Probably set it up in those disgusting blood wards too."

The blood wards she mentioned had failed, for reasons beyond Dumbledore.

Natalia wanted to curse the bastard into the afterlife, but held onto her anger as she continued to listen to her leader.

"The official story is that Harry recognized the Soldier from a security tape someone recovered, the one that was on the news. He isn't going to be able to do any work for a bit until the news dies down on its own, but….. there's not much we can do about that right now," Madame Viknei spoke in a hushed voice, even though they were both in her locked, private office. Natalia watched as she hesitated a moment or two.

"What I am going to tell you is top secret, clearance level Dahlia, is that understood?" The sudden Russian threw her off, and Natalia nodded mutely as she watched. Madame Viknei pulled on a double finger ring, and drew her hand in a circle. The sorcery tore apart the air and created a portal to somewhere Natalia couldn't recognize. She stood up immediately however as she realized what exactly must be happening, and waited for the cue to enter the circle. With a nod, Madame Viknei walked through it, and Natalia followed half a second later. Sealing it behind them, they walked through the darkness together, random objects underfoot. Natalia sensed rocks and dirt, but that was the most she could tell.

In a pitch black cave on a completely different dimension, Madame Viknei confided in Natalia about things that would change the course of Hydra's future forever, immediately starting with how Harry knew the Soldier. The truth was that one year he was sent out to check on the boy, make sure he was well enough, and immediately wiped again once he was returned to base. During the mission, James had been at the school playground, and caught Harry accidentally apparating onto the school roof while he was running from his cousin. The soldier talked to him and explained that he had to keep magic a secret, and to wait for a letter in a few years time. She told the young girl about how Petunia knew the Red Room through Lily, who originated from Russia and was put through training. She was let go from a discontinued program to go to Hogwarts, and during the summers stayed undercover in the Evans home, which is why the blood wards never worked. She told Natalia how she cried when she found out Lily had used the obscure and dark oriented Russian protection charm, which she showed her the properties for with the promise that Lily would only use it in life or death situations. Madame Viknei knew that Lily could have fought her way out of the room and kept herself and the two children alive, but chose not to do so in order to guarantee their safety. She revealed that Lily was one of her favourites, and that she couldn't stand not having a soft spot for the daughter of one of her best and brightest. Warning her, Natalia was informed about the prophecy, and everything her subordinates discovered — the horrors of the horcruxes, how they worked, and worst of all, Harry's role in defeating the evil man. Natalia wanted to vomit by the end of it, and when she was given details about the theory of Harry's scar, she threw up stomach acid and vodka. When they were done talking, they sat in silence for ten minutes or so before Natalia began to put on a light show with her magic. Summoning her patroni, she conjured up a mimic of the Northern Lights, and they watched as her magic weaved itself through the darkness. She watched her mentor through the blue and green lights, and confided in her. Natalia told her how tired she was of the mundanes in her class, tired of not being around those similar to her. Words tumbled out of her loosened tongue, alcohol clouding her poise, and she admitted to things she normally wouldn't dare think of. By the end of the night, right when Natalia's magic gave out from exhaustion, the two women grew close together and knew they'd do whatever it took to keep the world from burning. Especially when their whole world focussed on Harry Potter.