Title: The Hidden Life of Steve Rogers

Author: animealam/Black Dragon on the Rocks

Rating: T

Pairing: Steve Rogers/OFC, Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanoff, Tony/Pepper, Thor/Jane

Notes.- Well, this chapter came as a surprise to me. It did not go where I had originally intended the story to go. As I said, mine seem to have a mind of their own. It's not a new idea, at least for me, since I was already experimenting with the concept in Two for the price of one. It's actually that story which highjacked my original idea for The Hidden Life of Steve Rogers.

To be truthful, it's practically impossible for me to work on just one story at a time. My muses need some distraction to avoid the dreaded writer's block. So I'm usually jumping between stories.

I was not sure if I should go on with the 'imported' idea, or try to go back to what I had originally planned. After much thought I decided, why the hell not? I haven't read a story incorporating it the way I'm thinking of, besides my own (Two for the price of one), and it did not change my original idea too much. Let's see what you think about it.

In the last chapter I mentioned Grant (Steve's alias) was to be Steve's great grandson. I was not quite happy with the idea, so after playing a bit around with the dates I decided it was feasable to skip a generation, and make Steve Grant's grandfather instead. I'll probably correct it in the past chapter.

Also, Polyjuice Potion was indeed an option I considered, but having to take a dose every hour was not practical for the story. It would have been detected by some of the magical folks, as well as Clint and Natasha.

And last, I apologize for taking so long in posting this chapter, but I was really not quite happy with it and the next one. So I decided to let them sit for a while, then go back to them and see if I could do something to like them better. This is also the longest chapter yet, to compensate for the long delay. It's 5,633 words without notes.

Another apology, for some reason the iPad app I have been using to write and post my chapters decided out of the blue to start adding css code to any formated text I copy. I've edited the html files and hopefully the problem is solved. I really am sorry for this extra delay.


Chapter 08

Steve was just coming out to the waiting room where Damon, his wife Aretha (who had probably arrived when he and Harry were speaking with Dana), and Sandy were waiting for them. Others had arrived as well. Marina Rodriguez, her daughters Lucia and Monica, her sons Ismael, Joaquin, and Pedro, as well as her husband Rigo. The whole family worked for Dana, and had done so for many years.

The Rodriguez family, the rest of the staff at the cabin, and the members of Dana's closest security detail were the only ones who knew his real identity. They had insured his privacy by requesting all give him Secrecy Oaths to keep the information quiet. Thanks to he Oaths Steve had not needed to be 'in character' while at the cabin, unless they had visitors.

Katy Pearson, Hannah Rivers, and Edward Morgan, who were Dana's closest friends had arrived as well. All three looked as devastated as he felt. They had known his wife since they were in elementary school, and considered her a sister. While the trio had been very close to Dana, they did not know who he truly was. He and Dana had not wanted to risk more people knowing the truth, than there already were.

Those three were very protective of their friend. The fact he was much younger than Dana, and came practically out of nowhere, had had them up in arms at first. It took him a lot to win them over, but he did in the end. Once they realized 'Grant Williams' was not after her money, and the fact he truly cared deeply about their friend, the trio welcomed him as one of them.

Walter Kemp, Dana's second in command at Williams Enterprises, and who had already been acting as CEO behind the scenes, would be taking the post for real. Dana had wanted more time for herself, to work on her many and varied projects, for him, and later for Steve Jr., so she had delegated. Kemp had been in charge since before Steve met her. Unfortunately the man had not come alone, he brought his wife Tammy, plus a few others.

Steve had met the couple on several occasions as Grant Williams, when he passed as Dana's personal trainer and escort. Kemp was aware Grant was dating Dana, but they had not told Mrs Kemp. Dana called the woman a gossip queen, and an addict to social media.

If Tammy Kemp had known he and Dana were dating, everyone and their uncle would have known it within hours. It was not something either of them were willing to deal with. The attention it would have brought would have been too much.

Kemp probably even knew they were married, as his girl had really worked hard to cover all bases, and make things easier for him should the worst happen. The Marriage Certificate for Dana and Grant was dated two weeks before he left for Italy on his mission for SHIELD. Her Will, where she left him and their child nearly all she owned, had been updated a couple of months ago.

With Williams Enterprises CEO, Steve saw three of the company's Division Directors, and at least four members of the Board. He did not like the fact they were there, as Steve did not believe it was appropiate for them to be at the hospital. It would have been better if they had waited until Dana's body had been moved to the funeral home. But he did not think there was much he could do to keep the people from dropping by.

Steve had met the Division Directors and the Board members at a couple of the few events Dana had not been able to avoid, and where he had acted as her escort for the night. It was actually quite common for Dana, when she did attend such events, to be escorted by a member of her security detail, or her friend Ed when he was in between girlfriends or wives (if Steve wasn't wrong he was divorcing from the fourth).

Inwardly he sighed. Steve did not want to deal with all those people at the moment, or any time soon, but he knew it could not be helped. What was worse, Steve knew there would be more to come. He really did not know how he was going to manage coping with so many people when all he wanted was to lock himself in their bedroom to grieve.

His non SHIELD phone rang with a message just as Kemp and his entourage caught sight of him and Steve Junior. It gave him the excuse to get a bit of private time, because he really did not want to speak with those people. The message was from Fury, and from a number Steve did not recognize. His personal phone perhaps? Did Fury even have one?

{Grant Williams has been a SHIELD agent since February 2011. He was assigned as Williams bodyguard on April 21 2012, and he was assigned the Bastieri case on June 1 2013} Steve's eyebrows went up.

Dana told him Fury was working on doing damage control, but Steve had not been sure what the Director could have done. This probably made things better, although there was still Manning to deal with, as he was the one to assign him the mission in the first place. Steve would need to speak with Fury later to see what he had done in regards to his handler, and to get an update in the situation.

{Tell Johnson it is done. SHIELD will respond as requested. As soon as the shit hits the fan there will be a press release about the case} Came another message.

{Expect Stark and company, minus Thor, sometime today. The insertion of Williams into SHIELD is his work. You've seen Mission Impossible, we'll do with these messages as they do with theirs}

This last message puzzled Steve for a moment until he remembered. Then he chuckled, shaking his head slightly. He could bet Fury had actually been dying to write something like: 'This message will self-destruct in five seconds', so he showed them to Harry and Damon, then deleted them.

Mission Impossible (the TV series mostly, but the movies as well) had been amongst the things Fury suggested he added to the List. The one eyed spy had actually nagged at him until Steve finally watched them. They had been entertaining, but that was all. He truly would have never pegged the Director for a closet fan of the series.

Steve received another message in his personal non SHIELD phone, this one from Stark. He sighed, nothing was ever truly private in the 21st century. Steve did not wonder how either of the two men obtained his number, Stark and JARVIS would have found it with next to no trouble. Fury might have gotten it through SHIELD, but he hoped not, or obtained it through Stark, which was the better option.

{Fury told us Grant, did some damage ctrl how r u? We're en route to DC, ETA 1hr. Landing at the hospital's 2nd helipad.} Steve sighed.

It was surprisingly comforting to know the team would be there. While as Avengers they had not done more than train, they had developed the closeness of a tight knitted unit. Which was probably what Fury had intended from the start. The rapport the Avengers had was not something Steve had managed to obtain with the STRIKE teams he usually worked with.

{Thanks. I will be at the landing pad Tony. I am OK} He texted back, then turned to face Kemp and the others, only to see himself (as blond Steve Rogers) coming from the elevator.

His eyes immediately went to the time displayed on his phone. It would be important to know how many hours he would have to go back in time. Then he took notice of what his future self was wearing, jeans, a black t-shirt, his black light jacket, and his blue Supra Vaider sneakers. He would need to dress the same when he used the Time Turner.

All conversation died around him, as his future self made his way towards him. The look he spared to Natasha and Clint showed the both of them were actually gaping. It would have been hilarious if he had not just lost Dana. Besides him he saw Harry take his phone out, and surreptitiously take a few photos of the dumbfounded spies. He supposed they were to provide him with blackmail material later.

Harry looked him in the eyes. The Wards at the stairs cube are still in place, although dormant. I'll take your friends there, then follow with your older self so we can explain. Call him Grandpa, or something, remember he's supposed to be family. Harry projected to his father's mind. Also, you can touch, so a manly hug, or a handshake won't end the Universe.

OK, just be careful with Natasha and Clint, both are quite paranoid and distrustful. I don't want you getting hurt. He thought and 'pushed' into Harry's mind. The kid nodded before Steve went to his future self.

"I just got the message Kid, I am so sorry for your loss." Future Steve said looking sadddened, and worried, but not distraught. He pulled his shocked younger self into a hug. It had been beyond strange the first time he did it, since he was on the receiving end, but by now he was used to it.

"Gramps, thanks for coming." God it was so weird to speak to himself as if it was another person, as well as giving himself a hug. To his shock it felt incredibly comforting, and put a whole new meaning to the phrase of 'only having himself to depend on'. "I'd have sent a message sooner, but I didn't know if you were in town."

Future Steve pulled away enough to give him a knowing look. "It's OK. How are you and Junior holding on? And is the baby alright?" He signalled for Junior to come closer, and also gave him a hug, which was returned with feeling. The kid was keeping himself together for him, but he was very distraught as well. They would have to talk later.

"Junior and I are as well as can be expected," he said taking in the rest of the people gathered in the room. Kathy, Hannah, and Ed were staring at him clearly shocked he was close enough to Captain America to actually call him by what they clearly thought was a nickname. "The baby is premature but fine, we… decided to name her Sarah Rose…"

"After my mother and Dana's?" His younger self nodded. Steve had not been sure how credible their first encounter had looked, but he was satisfied. It seemed very natural. "You didn't have to, but thanks Grant."


Harry approached the two gobsmacked assassins. To avoid setting them off, he had placed his wands in his jeans back pocket. Not that he needed them, he was quite capable of wand-less magic. Although it was something he only told his new parents. Very few wizards were capable of it. Harry had only seen Dumbledore, Voldemort, and Snape use it.

"Agents Romanoff and Barton," Harry began and obtained sharp looks from both spies.

"How do you know our names?" Clint asked narrowing his eyes in suspicion. Who told the kid who they were? Not many knew them outside of SHIELD.

"Dad told me," both agents were clearly tense and confused, which was a rather deadly combination with people on their line of work. Harry sighed. "Look, you have questions, I can answer some of them while Dad and Gramps," the spies' eyes widdened but both managed to get their expressions under control, "manage to extricate themselves from those wishing to give their condolences." Shame they had not visibly reacted, his Dad would have loved to see their reaction in the pensieve later, when he was better,

"He does not have children, well none as old as you," Clint said with conviction. "It's not possible." The Cap had been around long enough to knock someone out and have a baby, so the little girl could be explained. But siring a teenager? Although the boy was practically a clone of the Cap, with the exception of the darker blue eyes. Still, as far as he knew, kids did not grow up that fast.

Rogers had been found and thawed less than two years ago. It was what made it difficult to understand how he had managed to hook up with someone, get hitched, and produce a kid in such a short time. The fact Rogers chose an older woman, albeit a very wealthy one, who was no beauty, was not something he would have expected from the Cap.

"He does now, I'm… Im adopted," Harry decided to tell them. "I'm Steven Henry Williams by the way," he offered his hand to Romanoff first.

The Black Widow was such a beautiful and enigmatic woman. Why oh why did his eyes wander towards dangerous red headed women, was it a curse or something? Had Harry still been his twenty-two year old self, he might have been interested in getting to know her and asking her out. But alas he was a kid. Such a woman was not even going to look at him once as anything more than a nuisance, her co-worker's son, or both. Romanoff took his profered hand. Hers was a surprisingly firm hand shake. Barton shook it as well.

"Everyone calls me Junior when the old man is around." He nodded towards Future-Steve, which was no lie, and he was sure the spies could tell.

"So… how can you explain…" Natasha asked looking pointedly at the Cap look alike, and the man Fury told them was Rogers.

She eyed the teenage boy with some suspicion. There was something about him that exclaimed danger to her, an aura she could not quite explain. But it was not only that, teenagers were awkward creatures, but the boy moved with the confidence of a seasoned agent, one used to field work. This boy had been trained.

A quick look at Clint let her know by his body language he sensed it too. They both had learnt to listen to their gut feelings, as it was what had kept them alive on so many occasions. Besides, there was something familiar about it. Something Natasha knew they had encountered before, and had not come out on top.

"Not here agents, it's too public," Harry whispered to the spies. "We have a secured area in the stairs cube." He gestured towards the door at the back of the ICU ward. Their eyes briefly moved to locate the stairs' door.

"Dad is not sure whether you're here to protect him under Fury's orders, or as friends. I hope it's the later for his sake. He respects you both and considers you amongst his friends. He's strong, but he does need the support of people who care about him." The spies spared a meaningful look between them, although Harry could not tell what it meant without using Legilimency. He felt it would not be a good idea to use it on them.

"If you're only here to protect him, he'll be alright for the time being. There should not be anything your remaining team, our security detail, he and Gramps can't deal with if necessary." He started towards the door without looking back, and as he expected the two assassins followed.

As soon as they entered the Warded area both agents froze, their eyes a little wild, and took out their guns. They pointed them at him. That was… not good. He had underestimated the spies. Harry realized they had actually sensed the Wards.

At least one of them must be a Squib, and the other very sensitive to magical energies despite being a muggle. By their body language, the young wizard suspected it was Barton. Would wonders never cease? Judging from their reaction, Harry could tell they had both also encountered hostile magicals before.

"Hands up were we can see them, and away from your wand," Clint warned.

He had sensed the magic as soon as he crossed the protections. Few knew, Natasha being one of them, he was a Squib descended from Squibs. Clint was surprisingly very sensitive to magic despite not being able to use it for more than make the most basic potions, travel through the floo, and be able to access the magical communities.

Clint stared at the kid dumbfounded. The boy smiled at them, making him look like the Cap's clone even more, which threw him off. Why would he be pleased to find himself at gun point? He knew of Polyjuice Potion, but if the boy was using it, he would have looked the same age as the Cap. Which one of those outside might be using, now that he thought about it. Could the kid be using Glamours?

"You know about magic, good, that saves us a LOT of time on explanations, and pesky Oaths." He got a raised eyebrow from Romanoff, but nothing from Barton. "As I said, the area is secure, so we can speak freely without breaking the International Statute of Secrecy."

"You were going to tell us about magic, am I right? So why worry about the Statute? You would have been breaking the law anyway," Clint chose to point out.

"Well, we had agreed all Avengers would be told. Mum managed to get clearance for you all to know about magic without risking having your memories erased. You all knew about magic already, from your encounter with Loki.

"Anyway, to put you as much at ease as posible, there are two Wards here. One to repell eavesdroppers, and one to make what we speak about impossible to understand to anyone who actually does manage to get close, which I doubt."

"Convinient," Natasha muttered more to herself than anyone else. Such a Ward would be quite handy when discussing classified information in open areas.

After her encounter with some Dark Wizards working for the Russian mob a few years back, she had been informed about the existence of the Wizarding World. It had not been a good encounter, and neither was it the only one. While she knew they existed, no one had told her much about what kind of things wizards could do. Perhaps she should take a look, and see if there were things she could add to her arsenal.

"Put those away," Harry signalled their guns with a wave of his hand. "I'm no threat to you, unless you want to harm my Dad and baby sister. Do you really want to know what Steve Rogers will do to you if you hurt his son? Besides, I'm a kid, just fourteen." He told them, and wand-lessly activated the Wards.

"You say Rogers adopted you, but you look too much like him not to be related, and we knew nothing about it," Natasha pointed out. The 'we should have' was left unsaid.

"People tend to underestimate my Dad because he's a man out of his time. Let me assure you it does not mean he's stupid, or incapable of learning and adapting. He knew the apartments SHIELD provided for him were bugged practically since he moved in, and the same about his protection detail," He scoffed, and got raised eyebrows.

"You did not explain about your looks," Clint pointed out.

"I'm Blood Adopted, which is a magical way." Romanoff spared a look at Barton for confirmation, who nodded. It seemed the archer had heard of it, and Harry was right, the man was a Squib. "A Blood Adoption Potion changed my looks, as well as my DNA, to reflect those of my adoptive parents.

"I got Mum's eyes, and her ears," he could not help the small wavering of his voice. It was just like with his biological mother. He had also called Dana Mum, and she had loved it. "And well, as you can see Dad's genes are rather dominant."

He looked at them expectantly, and saw them trade looks that were probably whole conversations. Romanoff was reluctant to trust him, but Barton was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. The archer won, and both put away their guns. Harry breathed in relief, he was not sure he could out Apparate more than one bullet.

Harry would not die, being the Master of Death ensured it, but the wounds would take a while to heal, and Harry was not sure how his Dad would respond. Not after the terrible upheaval he had been through in just one day. The assassins would not fare well having to contend with two enraged versions of his Dad.

"Before you start drawing the wrong conclusions, let me tell you the two men you saw outside are the indeed the same person. Steve Rogers and Grant Williams ARE one man," He stressed.

"But how…" Clint began.

"Mum had Adelle, her AI, monitor the Internet for any reference to Dad's cover," the Archer coughed something that sounded like 'Stark', "She was the one who coached him, and she knew Stefano Martelli's performances were bound to draw attention. So we knew shit was going to hit the fan when the first one went viral."

"No shit Sherlock," Clint muttered again earning a glare from Natasha, but the kid gave him a sad grin.

Nat had showed him some of the Cap's performances while they waited for him to leave the ICU. He had to admit to having to pick his jaw off the floor, as well as adjust his pants. Since he batted for both teams Clint certainly appreciated what he saw VERY much, unfortunately for him, Nat noticed and had enjoyed his discomfort way too much.

"We needed to do damage control and protect Steve Rogers reputation." The assassins nodded. "Captain America is a symbol, and a role model, Grant Williams is… not a public figure, he can take the heat, as can SHIELD. What you saw was the only way Mum, Damon, and I could come up with to separate Steve Rogers from Stefano Martelli.

"I'm sure you can understand all hell would break loose if the public, and the polititians, were to discover Captain America was dancing practically in his birthday suit in front of a crowd of drunk women, half of which were probably drugged as well.

"To make things look worse, the club's owner and her people were arrested because of drug trafficking. I don't know what his true objective was, but I'm sure it was not it. Because, since when does SHIELD get involved in organized crime busts, and sends Captain America to deal with it? We believe someone wanted to set him up."

The assassins stared at him thoughtfully, good. Harry felt something was not right with SHIELD, but it was only a gut feeling so far, so he could not do much about it. What little he could do was get the two spies thinking, and ensure they were on Steve's side. He would need allies, if his hunch was correct.

Harry slid down the wall to sit on the floor, and gestured for them to find a place to sit. The archer perched on the highest step that was still under the protection of the Wards, the Black Widow sat on the steps in front of him.

"You still have not explained how Rogers managed to be in two places at the same time Steven," Natasha pointed out choosing to use the kid's name. A teen who did not act all that much like a teenager, but then she had little experience with their kind. Not even when she had been one herself.

"Mum was a witch," his voice hitched a little, but he took a deep breath. He could not allow himself to grieve Dana just yet, Steve needed him. "Damon and I are wizards…" Harry paused then he decided to go with the full shock value, and make a good pensieve moment. "Dad is one as well…" This memory he would share with his Dad. Both agents gaped before exclaiming in shock. It was hard not to start laughing.

"WHAT?" Natasha exclaimed, her inscrutable mask broken to reflect her astonishment and disbelief.

Rogers a wizard? That could not be! If it was true, the information would have been in his file. It would have been hidden magically from those with no clearance, but it would still have been in there. There were also no feats attributed to Captain America, as far as she knew, in which magic could have been a factor.

"No fucking way!" Clint exclaimed in disbelief. He had worked in several missions with the Cap, and not once had he seen something which might have led him to believe Rogers was a wizard.

"Hard to believe isn't it, but he's a wizard. Mum said Dad actually swore, much like you did agent Barton, when she told him. He had not known he was a wizard, and one with magical ancestry. For some reason no one is aware off, and which we can only speculate about, someone placed blocks on Dad's magic when he was a baby.

"The Healer said it might be the reason why he was so sickly as a kid. Anyway, He is still catching up on his magical education." Steve was average with transfiguration, and as much of a menace with potions as Neville had been. But hey, Steve was human and could not be good at everything. "He does know enough to use a wand, though. Unlike most of us wizard folk he did not learn to depend on magic when he was a kid, so he rarely uses it.

"Because he is a wizard, we are using a rare magical artefact Mum modified so Dad can be in two places at the same time." It was not truly necessary for the Time Traveller to be magical, but it helped in case of trouble. "We call it a Time Turner. It is used for Time Travel, although none but the one Mum modified can go back beyond twenty-four hours. The one Dad has been using can go as far back as a week."

"Time Travel is not posible," Natasha stated not wanting to believe it. To her it sounded like something out of a Doctor Who episode, or a science fiction novel.

"Actually Nat, I have heard of Time Turners," Clint confirmed. One of those would indeed explain why there were two of the Cap, albeit with different looks. "As the kid said, they are quite rare. They are also controlled by the Magical governments. How come Williams had one Rogers could use?"

"Williams Enterprises does not just operate in the mundane world agent Barton, you should know that." The comment made the archer glare at him. "Mum had contacts within the American Bureau of Magic. Amongst magicals, she's reknown for being a Technomancer.

"It's the field in charge of making technology work with, or on magic by the way. She was allowed to study the Time Turners, then improved them and made her own."

"So, the Rogers who just arrived is the one from the future?" Nat asked, and the boy nodded. "How far ahead?"

"A week," Steve responded as he entered the stairs cube. He stood straight by the door. Grant followed behind and went to Harry, then slid on the wall until he sat besides him. The assassins eyebrows went up.

There had been many people who wanter to deliver their condolences, which delayed their appearance. Most of which were shocked to discover Dana had been married to him, and had given birth to a baby girl. Steve was not sure how the rumor started, but almost everyone he talked to believed it had been only the cancer which killed her, because no one but her closest people and Kemp knew she had been pregnant.

Sandy caught up with him, and was glad Damon and Dana had explained what they were going to do, or she would have had a shock. As Damon told him, she was taking care of things in her efficient maner. Sandy had already prepared a press release, and they agreed on a conference at eight pm, in two and a half hours. He really could not believe they had been in the hospital for a good part of the day.

Nat and Clint stared at them for a moment, assessing them. Despite them being the same person, Steve had managed to project two different personalities. He stood straighter, a bit firmer and confident in his steps, more the soldier. The Captain America everyone knew.

Grant was more relaxed, more easy going. The person he truly was in private with the people who had become his family. The Avengers had only seen a little of this side of him, but with time Steve would have opened up more.

Natasha noticed the different demeanors, and ways to carry themselves. One of her eyebrows went up in surprise, then she smiled with approval. Clint had been doing the same, and gave him a grin as well as thumbs up. Their were Masters of disguise, so their approval meant a lot to Steve.

"Why a week Rogers?" Natasha enquired. The boy had said it was the limit to the Time Travelling artefact.

"Because we're telling everyone Grant Williams is my granson from a liason I had before I took the Super Soldier Serum," he told them with a straight face and waited for Clint's explosion. The archer didn't disappoint.

"What the fuck?" Both versions of the Cap smirked; and it did not take Stark or Banner to figure out why they were going for a familial relationship. Clint shook his head to clear it. "I get it. You want to distract people from noticing certain expressions between Williams and Rogers are the same, besides the looks."

"Correct," Steve said smirking, although it did not reach his eyes. Grant and Junior smirked as well. "I can act, but there are certain expressions I haven't had the time to train myself to avoid."

All three looked the same, and Clint shook his head as if to clear it. "Man… men, don't do that! It's too weird."

"I see it now," Nat said slowly. "You are supposed to be family. I assume you're telling everyone you have become close since you found out you were related?" She got two perfectly synchronized nods. Clint was right, it WAS weird, and the idiot… idiots? Knew it and were enjoying it! She huffed. "So it's expected of Rogers to be besides Grant and the kid to offer moral support, as family ought."

"Got it in one Romanoff." He expected no less of her. "Now we need to explain how I got to know you both, as well as the rest of the team. I have to know the Avengers members well enough for all of them to leave what they were doing, and come to DC as close friends would do," Grant said.

"All of us?" Clint asked frowning.

"Stark texted me. He and Banner should be here in less than an hour," Grant informed them.

"Cap, you know what was agreed upon. Why not tell us?"

"I would rather not mess with time more than I already am Barton. Time Turners are controlled for a reason," he pointed out. "This is something Grant, and you two need to agree on."

"It was worth a try," Clint shrugged. "Isn't it weird to speak to yourself like you do to another person?"

"You have NO idea," both Steve and Grant said at the same time, making Clint groan. "You're going to be worse than Stark aren't you?" They gave him identical, 'who, me?' looks and he groaned again.

"Are you both alright?" Natasha had been observing their behavior. She knew Rogers had broken down when the woman died, she had seen it, which was something she had never expected to see. Yet Rogers, both versions of him, was behaving too… calmly. Something was up.

"No, we're not," Grant responded. "I have an extra-strenght Calming Draught on me. The potion is dosed with something to lower my metabolism so I can feel the full effects of it."

"I actually needed two of those, one Draught of Peace, double the MBL14 dose, and a Hangover Potion." Steve told them candidly. Leaving no doubt to them he was indeed a bit high on potions.

"Merlin! You're drugged up to your eyeballs!" The young wizard shook his head. It was not good, and Harry did not like it, but he did understand Steve had to appear less affected than Grant, as well as more functional. "The bottle of firewhiskey did not have enough MBL14 to get you drunk enough to need a Hangover Potion da… Gramps," Harry corrected frowning, they could not afford him slipping. "I dosed it myself. It only had enough to help take the edge of things."

"That one did not last me long, since I had to share it Junior." He was not saying with whom to avoid a paradox. "Let's just say we will need to restock the magical liquor cabinet by next week." His son just shook his head looking disapprovingly at him.

"OK, so any ideas?" Grant asked looking at the spies, and already dreading the week awaiting him. It clearly was not going to be a good one for him if he actually overdosed on potions, and got drunk enough to need a Hangover Potion.