It had become a game. A friendly game with Harry on one side, Bruce and Tony on the other. There were no points involved; no winners or losers. It had started when Tony met the other two downstairs in the kitchen that morning and stood in front of Harry and said one word, "Wormholes."
"Good morning to you too," Harry answered after a pause. Seated on a bar stool, Harry hadn't understood Tony's greeting and turned to Bruce, who only shrugged back and returned to cracking a couple of eggs for an omelet. "Is this a password for something?" Harry guessed.
"Your teleportation or Apparition – wormholes. Going from one Plank-level black hole to the other instantly."
"So you're trying to guess what they are? Your equivalents?"
Tony grinned. "Equivalents or the same thing - doesn't matter. Give me something else."
With Dummy next to him, Harry was reminded of Dobby again.
"House elves."
"Are we talking about Keebler elves? Tolkien elves?" Tony tried to get a clarification.
Harry couldn't answer those questions, so instead he held his hand to about knee level.
"Throw me something else if you're just talking about small people with pointed ears," Tony waved away the challenge.
Harry wanted to explain that house elves were some of the strongest magic users, but then Tony and he would get into another argument about magic again. Harry turned to Bruce who had a contemplative look on his face. When Bruce remained silent, Harry tossed out what he thought was an impressive example of the magical world. "Dragons."
"Seriously?" Tony asked excitedly. "Do you have the Thu'um?"
"What's that?" Harry asked as he got off the stool and helped Bruce wash some spinach. He didn't want to be useless and letting Bruce do all the work didn't sit right with him.
"Dragon tongue."
Paused with the spinach over the sink, Harry asked incredulously, "You have dragons here?"
"No… but we did have huge flying worms as big as skyscrapers rain down in New York last year. It might have ended world hunger for a day if the things were edible."
Harry couldn't tell if Tony was serious or not. Harry looked like he had swallowed something distasteful when all he could imagine was massive flobberworms falling from the sky. A glance towards Bruce who didn't deny it, made Harry think Tony was really telling the truth. This world didn't sound as mundane as he had thought.
Bruce looked up after adding the spinach into the omelet and asked, "How are dragons different from dinosaurs?"
"Fire-breathing dragons," Harry amended.
Bruce and Tony turned to each other for a moment, before Bruce suggested, "It doesn't seem that implausible for something to produce a flammable material and maybe have a special organ for sparks?"
Harry gave them a look to indicate that there was more to dragons than just that, but he went along with the game and suggested another. "Flying brooms."
"Really?" Tony asked as he stole the omelet from Bruce. For a moment, Harry thought Bruce's eyes had gained a greenish tint. Harry didn't miss the way Tony tried to place Dummy between himself and Bruce. "Now you're angry? You showed nothing with that electric shock back in the Helicarrier!"
Bruce only smiled in response and turned around to crack another egg. "So, Harry … about brooms?"
Harry took that as a sign to continue. "It can fly as fast as your automobiles can drive."
"Magnetic? There is that hovering – levitation effect," Tony thought out loud. "The Maglev train system in Japan clocked almost 600km/hr or about 360mph."
"I don't think our brooms can match that speed yet, but I'm sure it's more maneuverable. Alright, how about sticking charm?" Harry was quick to add, "Not with glue."
Bruce tapped his chin. "I'm assuming not gravitational force since that requires large masses to actually have a noticeable effect."
Tony snapped his fingers. "Van der waals forces! Increasing the surface area can increase the attractive force between two objects. It's already in research."
Harry was starting to have fun. It was clear both Bruce and Tony were experts. "Alchemy – turning lead to gold."
"Nuclear fission," Bruce answered automatically. "Well usually from much heavier elements into lighter ones. I do admit that we currently have no way of efficiently removing the extra protons and neutrons from lead to form gold. That reminds me, when we go see Jane, she might have an idea on one of your Exceptions to Gamp's Law."
Tony furrowed his brow. "I've never heard of this law before." When neither Bruce nor Harry explained further, Tony stuffed another bite of the omelet into his mouth in annoyance.
Harry smiled; it felt good confusing Tony for once. "Time travel?"
"Achieving the speed of light stops time for you," Bruce suggested. He slid a cooked omelet onto a plate and placed it in front of Harry.
"Thank you," Harry said as he found a fork in a drawer.
Tony pointed up. "Yeah, that's why satellite systems adjust for the slight time difference because they go so fast."
"How about going backwards in time?" Harry pushed. He'd definitely look into these topics when he got back home.
"I think with enough gravitation – you might want to ask Jane about that," Bruce replied, making another omelet.
"Werewolves."
Tony immediately turned to Bruce, who slowly requested a, "Pass."
There was no way Harry missed how Bruce's normally open face had closed down. What was this world's version of a werewolf? He also remembered Bruce's earlier statement about being invulnerable. Perhaps they were connected. Harry wondered if what Bruce was talking about maybe something like the natural magic resistance on dragon skin.
"Inferi - undead," Harry whispered out – starting to get worried. What else did this world have?
"I don't think we have anything like that," Bruce softly said. "I don't think you want us to figure it out either."
Harry was relieved there was nothing like the inferi here.
"Zombie apocalypse," Tony added with a shiver.
Harry faced Tony with an anxious look. "Isn't that similar to what you said you were searching for yesterday? Your own Frankenstein?"
"To bring someone back – like they were before, not sown in pieces or an empty moving corpse."
"Like they were before … " Harry hollowly repeated. Even magic wasn't capable and yet, he had defied even that limitation… maybe he didn't defy it – at least not completely, because Harry wasn't sure if he was the same as before.
Coulson saved them from the uncomfortable silence. In a pressed black suit, he had entered the house with no opposition from JARVIS again. Tony scowled at the intrusion.
"Ready to go?" Coulson asked.
"We're about done. Let me just clean this up," Bruce replied when no one else said anything.
The game was suspended for now.
Jane Foster checked the security cameras around the Cube one more time before she picked up her keys. Every day she would make sure that Tony's bots were okay. She had grown fond of them and would sometimes pat them on the head. They seemed to like the attention.
She switched off her desk lamp and was about to leave her office when she remembered something. She turned around and grabbed her coffee – she almost forgot it. Jane locked her office and approached the young woman at the desk a few feet away.
Darcy Lewis was fresh out of college with a degree in political science; she was also Jane's first choice as an assistant. Not that Darcy understood astrophysics like Jane did, but the girl had been with her and Eric Selvig when they had first encountered Thor. Darcy had immediately accepted the job offer, claiming an interest in the politics that were sure to emerge between the two races. Being the more socially conscious of the two, Darcy was also in charge of Jane's wardrobe and public appearances as Director of a prominent research facility.
"Darcy, I'm heading out. I'll be back in about an hour or so."
"Sure," was the quick response. Blue eyes looked up from the monitor to settle on Jane. "And, don't run him over."
Jane was instantly defensive. "I'm not going to run him over – " She paused to reluctantly admit, " - again."
Darcy just shrugged. "I'm not worried for him. He'll be fine, but you'll total your new car."
Jane just gave an exasperated sigh and left the building. As she stepped out into the hot sun, she couldn't hold back the bounce in her step. She couldn't wait to see Thor again. She reached into her pocket to feel the texture of the hand-pressed paper note that was left at her desk yesterday. It had the time and place written in Thor's hand. He signed it with a drawing of a hammer-shaped symbol.
As she was driving to the spot where she had first met him, she couldn't help thinking that her situation definitely fit the long-distance relationship category. She parked her car and checked the skies. When she went back into her car to grab a pair of sunglasses, she felt the car shake a little before a cloud of dirt and dust blew out towards her. She quickly closed the car door to prevent any of it from getting in.
"Jane?" a strong voice asked.
"Yeah, just one moment. I want the dust to clear first – I just bought this car and I don't want any of it in here."
When the dust cloud finally settled, she couldn't help the small laugh as she looked at Thor's rumpled appearance and wind-tossed hair. The heir apparent to the Asgardian throne was wearing Freyja's feathered cloak over his familiar armored vest, which meant that he had journeyed across Yggdrasil again. A shadow passed over her as she opened the door. It was Muninn, one of Odin's messenger ravens sent out today to guide Thor back to Midgard. It fluttered over and perched on Thor's shoulder.
"I still remember Tony calling you a parakeet – something about moving up from your mother's drapes," Jane teased as she got out of her car.
In response, Thor quickly removed the cloak, folded it over his arm and smiled. He strode forward and with calloused fingers, brought her hand to his lips to kiss it. "I do not have much time. Father will notice my absence if I stay too long."
"Sneaking around with the cloak so you don't have to use the Bifrost - people will eventually find out even if it is the quieter option." Jane nodded towards Muninn. "Anyway, how did you get him to play hookie with you?"
"Muninn was recently gifted to me. Huginn, its twin, still remains by my father's side."
Jane grew pensive. "You know, eventually, he's going to find out about us. Between the ravens and Heimdall, how can he not?"
Thor's blue eyes looked down for a moment before firmly focusing back on her. "My father may not approve but he is too dignified to eavesdrop on us. It does not mean he is unaware … unfortunately, I am not gifted in illusions. This will have to do for now."
Jane frowned but she agreed with him. This wasn't the time to be discussing about personal matters anyway. She pulled out the folded paper in her pocket. "I got your note almost as soon as I sent the signal. Heimdall doesn't miss a thing does he?"
"His duties include observing you and Midgard's Bifrost. He notified me immediately when he detected your signal."
She gestured to the note. "Muninn dropped in my office then?"
"Yes."
Jane turned to the raven. She didn't think he would appreciate a pat on the head – just from looking at its beady eyes, she thought it was more likely to bite her hand, so she said, "Thank you." It didn't look like it cared.
"I heard that you have need of my brother."
"Tony found someone –" Jane stopped when Thor's brow creased in worry.
"Heimdall has made me aware. Is this newcomer trustworthy?"
Jane frowned. Thor wasn't usually suspicious of new people. "Is there something wrong?"
"Heimdall seems troubled by him. He did not explain but mentioned something about dark magic. He did support your people's decision to have Loki confront the newcomer."
"Alright, this requires some explaining. What do you mean dark magic?"
"I will explain while we ride in your vehicle."
Jane checked her watch. "Fine, they're coming here – right now. Come on, we're going to Tony's private air strip."
Thor nodded and then turned to Muninn. "Fly and fetch my brother."
"He doesn't know yet?" Jane asked in surprise, hand posed over the door handle.
Worry creased Thor's face before he admitted, "Loki knows of him, but not his whereabouts – it is to prevent him from locating the newcomer and engaging him prematurely."
"Why? You make it sound like it's a life and death thing … " When Thor's expression didn't change, Jane gasped. "Oh my god, it is, isn't it?"
Thor only opened the driver-side door for her and didn't answer. He didn't need to answer.
Harry tried – really tried – to be angry at Coulson, but he couldn't. He was annoyed certainly, but the easy attitude from the agent gradually won him over. Coulson was the reason his wand was broken and he was handicapped from using his more intricate spells, but the man had broken it thinking it was a gun. Coulson was a heavily trained muggle who had decided to respond non-lethally; the first shot that went through could have easily gone to Harry's head instead of his wand. Harry could respect that. He didn't even consider his head an option – just because he came back twice, didn't mean he should depend on it. He didn't want to depend on it.
He glanced to the side at Coulson again who had insisted on driving to Tony's private jet. With Bruce and Harry agreeing to it, Tony was outvoted from driving his new Tesla Roadster. The only reason Tony got in Coulson's sedan in the first place was because the agent had threatened to taze him – with a smile. It didn't look like it was the first time that threat was used. Harry didn't have to turn around to look in the back seat to feel the unhappiness radiating from Tony.
Harry preferred it this way; he could relax in his seat and listen to the music playing inside the car. As opposed to Tony's metal rock (which Harry thought only encouraged Tony to drive faster), Coulson preferred a mixture of jazz and swing. Harry found himself nodding to the upbeat rhythm of the song. He looked at the dashboard and read the song information. Topsy by The Manhattan Transfer.
As their car drove into the private air strip, Harry looked through the window to marvel at Tony's jet. He wasn't new to the idea of airplanes but it had always impressed him how muggles figured out a way to fly with such huge chunks of metal. The jet was shiny white with Stark's name proudly and boldly displayed in black. She was attended by a minimal crew dressed in jumpsuits.
Coulson parked the car and set his sunglasses on his face before opening the door. Harry exited the car with a hand covering his eyes from the sun. One of the crew broke away from the group and greeted Tony with a formal "Mr. Stark" and began to unload the luggage from Coulson's trunk. Tony responded with a nod and proceeded to climb up the stairs into the jet. Coulson just picked up his briefcase from the trunk and followed Tony inside without a word.
As Harry only had a small bag with a few days of clothing, he felt the crewman's presence unnecessary. Besides, he wasn't used to other people handling his things and had even made a point to do everything himself back in the Department of Mysteries.
"Here, let me take that," Harry offered with an outstretched hand. "I can take two."
The crewman was stunned and had an uncertain look on his weathered face. Harry thought the man acted a bit shifty. "It's my job to load and unload all cargo, sir."
Bruce stood to the side and picked up Harry's bag. "How about a compromise? Here, just take your bag and we'll be on our way."
Harry let it go, took the bag from Bruce, and started to walk across the pavement to the jet. He took one more glance back at the crewman who was busy loading mostly Tony's luggage into a motorized cart. Harry didn't think there were that many bags when they had first loaded them into the trunk. He let it go as he entered the plane.
Harry was hit with a ballooning feeling in his chest as soon as he stepped into Tony's private jet. The feeling was subtle. He didn't know if it was good or bad. He reasoned it was only nervousness.
Bruce brought him back to reality when he asked from behind, "You okay?"
Harry shook himself, walked through the aisle, and sat down on a cream-colored leather seat. He gave the first reasonable excuse he thought of. "Yes, just a little nervous, I've never been on a plane before."
"She flies smoothly – custom ordered the engines and turbines from Lockheed Martin and Boeing – before I stole some of their engineers," Tony admitted with a grin, already strapped into a seat. "JARVIS is flying us. I replaced the pilot for today to see how he can handle the plane."
Harry wasn't sure how he felt about that.
"He passed all the flight simulations," Tony continued to assure everyone.
"Tony, were the flight simulations, ones you could pass?" Bruce asked.
"Yeah, that's how I know we'll be fine."
All Harry could do was make sure the seat belt was secure.
Deputy Director Maria Hill only ran through the Helicarrier when things were about to go horribly wrong. This counted as one. As soon as she saw the message on her screen, she printed the attachments and sprinted out from her office. She couldn't call Fury and had to find him instead. It wasn't difficult since she knew where he was at all times.
"Sir!" Hill called out to Fury. It was futile as he had his ears covered to lower the hundred plus decibels coming from his handgun. He fired two more shots into the paper target before Hill, with hands over her ears, reached his stall.
Seeing Hill in the corner of his eye, Fury removed the clip from the gun, laid them down on the counter, and removed his ear muffs. He took one look at her and said, "Dammit, I was having a good day."
"We got a situation," Hill started. Fury could guess that much. She began to hand him documents. Before speaking again, she made sure her voice was loud enough as the ventilation system kicked in. "Our mole in Homeland Security discovered this." Fury looked through the documents as Hill continued. "Major red flags yesterday but it was kept quiet. Looks like it was sent directly to the Council."
Fury skimmed through and looked up when he saw a name he recognized. "Someone had searched for Granger."
"Yes, her records were hacked into and accessed as well."
"Who would look into Granger?" Fury asked himself.
"Sir, the hacker wasn't careful enough … probably because he didn't think it was a big deal to look into her records."
Fury could tell that his day was completely ruined when Hill tried to make excuses for the perpetrator. "Shit's about to hit the fan?"
"The World Security Council knows it's Stark."
"Of course, it's Stark," Fury growled as he exited the shooting range. His hand in a fist, Fury wished that it was Tony's neck he was squeezing. "You have command here. I'm going to New Mexico."
Harry was bored. He'd been bored for the past half-hour. The lift off was exactly how Tony described: smooth. After that, he had looked around the cabin and the amenities inside. There wasn't a lot to look at so after a while he just sat there with nothing to do. He couldn't sleep either, fully aware and a little thrilled that he was flying 30,000 feet in the air. Flying on a plane wasn't the same as on a broom but it still provided a spectacular view while they had been ascending. Harry decided that the first thing he was going to do when he got back was to push the height limits on his latest broom.
He surreptitiously glanced at each person. All of them had a laptop out – or in Tony's case his holograms projected from a portable devise on his lap. Harry had kept silent because all of them had looked like they were busy at work; he didn't fault them for the lack of conversation. It was a different side of them that he hadn't seen before.
Glasses on his nose, Bruce had zoned everyone out to read something on his screen. Coulson looked like he was typing something. Harry thought the clacking of the keys fell into a rhythm – one that matched the beat Coulson's foot was tapping to.
Coulson was the first to break the silence. "I'm sorry again about breaking your …?"
Harry closed his eyes, already anticipating Tony's reaction. He wondered how Coulson was going to respond to the magic talk. "My wand. I'll have Ollivander look at it when I return."
Coulson only smiled as he closed his laptop - amusement on his face upon hearing wand. Harry knew Coulson started the conversation on purpose. Harry wasn't trying to hide anything anymore but he realized by posing the question in front of Tony and Bruce, Coulson was subtly pushing for more answers. Coulson had just manipulated Tony to ask the questions for him.
Tony leaned forward, momentarily distracted from reviewing contracts. "I must have misheard. Your what?"
"Wand."
"You have a wand? Like magic wand?"
"I told you it was magic."
Tony shook his head. "Jury's still out about that. Even if it is, I'm sure we can incorporate your laws into ours. You have it on you?"
Harry thought about it for a moment before pulling his wand halves out from inside his coat. He placed them in Tony's outstretched hand. "Please be careful."
"So this was what was producing that strange field…" Tony said as he inspected the wood. He looked up when Harry turned around to ask about the field. "I searched you the first time you landed in my house. JARVIS told me of a field around you and so I started looking for any electronics on you. I found your wand but didn't think much of it at first. You woke up soon after that."
Harry frowned at the thought of being unknowingly searched. Tony unbuckled his seat belt to tap Bruce on the shoulder. Bruce shook himself as he lost his concentration and asked, "Yes?"
"Bruce, what do you make of this?"
Bruce pushed his glasses further up on his nose. "What is it?"
"Magic wand – well broken obviously."
Bruce didn't touch the Holly wood but noticed the hollowed out portion. "Harry, is there something inside the Holly?"
Harry was surprised Bruce could identify the tree from just the wood. "Phoenix feather."
Tony looked up at Harry. "A feather from a real phoenix? As in that mythological bird symbolizing rebirth?"
"Yes. They go through cycles of burning up and reappearing as a chick in their ashes."
"So why are you surprised that you can do it? Come back from the dead I mean."
"They don't really die on their burning day. They don't pass on but transfigure themselves a new body –" Harry noticed their confusion when he said an unfamiliar term. " - err, change into new bodies."
Tony lifted the handle to eye level. "What can you do with a wand? I'm assuming you can do more with it than what we've seen you do so far."
"Yes, it's the main tool of all witches and wizards. While not necessary for every spell, it does ease the casting." Harry had to think for a few seconds; his mind was overcrowded with what he could say about a wand. "Well, what one can do with a wand falls into two categories: Transfiguration or Charms. Transfiguration can be described as changing an object to another one. Charms change a property of an object."
Bruce closed his eyes and leaned on the arm rest. "Those two should be connected. To change something into another means that you're changing the properties as well. This can be conceptualized as the form of an object leading to the function of said object."
"Yes they are connected. Transfiguration is seen as the higher and more difficult of the two to cast because it does simultaneously change form and function of an object."
Tony turned off his holograms and set the devise to the side. "Your magic follows rules, as you had stated before – Gamp's right? What if your magic represents an undiscovered set of natural laws?"
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
It was the second time Coulson had spoken on the jet. Tony looked shocked. "Agent, you just quoted Arthur C. Clarke's Third Law." It also looked like Tony might have found a friend in Coulson.
"We can speculate all we want but unless we study it in your world, I don't think we're going to figure this out. Too bad we can't come and visit wherever you come from," Bruce commented. "Your universe sounds very interesting. Perhaps it does work differently than ours, perhaps it doesn't – either way, interesting."
Harry smiled as he thought back to when Hagrid had introduced him to magic for the first time. It wasn't just interesting, it was wonderful. His love of magic had stayed with him.
Harry leaned forward to retrieve his wand halves from Tony. Curiosity about who he was meeting took a hold of him. "Your world has its share of wonders too. I'd like to know how you've achieved your extended life-span. A thousand years -"
Tony interrupted them when he pointed to his own seatbelt and declared, "We're leaving cruising altitude soon, so buckle up."
"We've arrived?" Harry asked, stretching his legs.
"Destination in ten minutes," JARVIS stated through the intercom.
Tony frowned. "Are we early? JARVIS, you're ruining my image."
As the plane gradually dropped altitude, Harry felt the pressure in his ears increase. He held his breath and tried to pop out his ears.
It wasn't the only thing that popped out.
With a boom, the plane lurched and then started to rumble. It was his first plane flight, but Harry knew instantly something was wrong.
"JARVIS?" Tony called out.
"Sir, an explosion in the fuselage has dislodged the undercarriage."
Tony cursed. "We can't land – "
"Harry! You can teleport," Bruce reminded. Objects, that weren't bolted down, slid off and were tossed about.
Harry caught a pen that had been flying towards him. He would have to Side-Along Apparate with three others, but he was sure he could do it - had to do it. "I'm aware of that, but I need to be in contact with all of you."
"You can teleport all of us?"
Harry felt insulted. "You thought I would just save myself?"
Harry held onto the armrests as another violent shudder ran through the plane. He felt the plane dipping even more in the turbulence.
JARVIS continued with his report. "The undercarriage collided with the tail –"
"I know JARVIS! We just lost the horizontal stabilizer! Launch Mark IX!" Tony commanded as he removed his seat-belt and tried to get up from his seat.
With a trembling creak, the floor cracked and the carpeting ripped apart. The plane was being split into two: Coulson and Bruce on the tail side and Harry and Tony on the cockpit side. Harry blinked when the wind kicked his hair into his eyes. In the next moment the plane was wrenched apart.
Harry had only a second to see Bruce's terrified green eyes before the tail end of the plane dropped away. Out of his seat, Tony fell onto the floor and rolled off over the edge.
Harry didn't think – he just unbuckled his seat-belt and jumped off after them.
AN: Review please? :)
Hmm, I think I should change my summary to better reflect the more austere aspects of this story.
The World Security Council is the group of geniuses who had ordered the nuclear missile to Manhattan in the Avengers movie (that was sarcasm when I called them geniuses btw).
The kitchen game scene is very heavy on real science. The point isn't to disillusion you on Harry's magic, but to expand your knowledge on what's possible in the real world – which is a lot.
Freyja's cloak is an item from Norse mythology which allowed the wearer to travel to different realms. I thought it was a good explanation for how Thor got back to Earth in the Avengers movie. Muninn and Huginn are Odin's twin ravens from mythology.
