The Affliction of War

Second to last chapter... only one more left...

Chapter Twenty-Six - Not according to plan

Harry didn't know what to think, with Loki's words his whole world had been thrown into turmoil, his head spinning and his hands shaking. Steve couldn't be dead, he refused to believe it until he had seen it with his own two eyes, however, that didn't settle the urge he had to throw up. He hadn't been feeling well before they had started on this mission and now he was feeling worse, Loki's taunts not making things any better.

"Focus," Natasha said, sending a meaningful look to Harry. She understood Harry's pain, Clint was lying unconscious and hurt and there was nothing she could do. Whether Loki was telling the truth or not wasn't important, they had a mission to complete and that was all that mattered.

"Hand over the sphere, Harry," Loki said, his mocking tones echoing in Harry's head, reminding him that Steve might very well be dead right now and there was nothing he could do about that. Harry's hands lowered to his belly, resting there, thinking of his unborn children and what they might have lost this evening.

"Why?" Harry challenged, suddenly feeling himself fill with a fierce determination to survive, to allow for his children to survive. He had made a promise to Teddy, he wasn't going to die, he was going to go back to him, he was going to keep that promise. "If you've really killed Steve, what leverage do you have over me?" he shouted, keeping himself safely behind the pillar.

"There are others here you care about," Loki said mockingly, "they don't have to die like the Soldier," he said and even though Harry couldn't see him, he knew that Loki would be grinning.

"If Steve is really dead then he died trying to keep you from getting the sphere. Why would I besmirch his memory by giving it to you?" Harry asked angrily, as Draco used his wand to vanish the arrow from Harry's shoulder and bandage the wound as best he could. It would need more serious treatment when they had time but right now Harry would take what he could get.

"We need to get you to the hospital," Draco said in a hushed whisper, being rather concerned about how pale Harry was looking. He didn't appear to have lost a lot of blood, at least not enough to make him look so peaky. Draco had a sneaking suspicion that there was something else, something to do with the pregnancy that he needed to check. Whatever it was it probably hadn't been helped by the fact that he had just apparated but now was not the time to give Harry a lecture.

"We can't go, we need to secure the sphere," Harry said stubbornly, not willing to sacrifice the mission, not when they had come so far. The sphere was within reaching distance, he just had to transfer it from the Ministry box to the one that Tony and Bruce had devised.

"Not if it means risking your life," Draco said firmly; he didn't think the sphere was important enough to put Harry's life on the line. He cared for Harry too much to allow that to happen but he just didn't seem to be able to convince Harry of that fact.

"Especially if it means that," Harry argued, batting Draco's hands away from his wound. He knew that the healer had done everything that he could manage right now and anything else would have to wait. "The mission is what matters," Harry said, "it's all that matters."

"If Steve were here, would you say the same thing?" Draco challenged, hating seeing Harry like this. He had known that when Harry was an Auror he was goal oriented and nothing else mattered but achieving his goal, when he was done he would relax and celebrate but not until he had completed his mission. Draco had never wanted to see Harry like this.

"Enough," Natasha said, getting tired of the bickering, "we need to try and capture Loki," she said, knowing that it was the only way they could conclude this mission. It had was supposed to be simple, in and out, but it had turned out to be so much more complicated than that. She wanted it over with so they could tend to their wounded, make sure they were all okay.

"I don't have all day," Loki said in his sing song voice; however, even as the words left his lips, the ceiling above them began to crack, plaster and tile coming down around them. Reacting on gut instinct, Harry threw himself towards Natasha, pushing them both to the floor and using his wand to shield the two of them from the falling debris.

"What's going on?" Draco asked, sounding a little panicked as he too erected the same umbrella over his head as the plaster and ceiling tiles began to fall down around them. Realising then that no one had protected Clint from things that might fall on top of him and knowing that he couldn't let Barton be injured any further, Draco struggled to his feet, dodging the still falling debris as he made his way to where Clint was lying unconscious.

"I have my suspicions," Natasha responded as she glanced up to the ceiling, quite easily spotting the source of the falling tiles and plaster. Right above them a huge gaping hole was appearing and through it a large man with a red cape was descending and he wasn't alone either.

Harry couldn't help but smile when he followed the direction that Natasha was looking and saw what she had seen. "Thor," he said with utter relief, "and he's brought a friend." There were no words to how happy he was to see the Thunder God. He wasn't sure who the woman was who had accompanied him but Harry didn't care, he was just glad the two of them were here because they needed all the help that they could get right now.

The two of them landed, crouching, in front of Loki. Each of them had their weapons in hand, Thor with his hammer and the woman brandished a sword, neither of them looked as if they were in charitable moods, both prepared to use the weapons they held if it was needed. The two of them glared at the God of Mischief as they got to their feet.

"Loki you need to stop this at once," Thor bellowed, his grip fastening around his hammer, ready for whatever Loki could throw at them. Wisely, Natasha, Harry and Draco remained where they were, not wanting to get between the Thunder God and his brother.

"Really, Thor, always so rude and uncouth, I was speaking," Loki said with a sigh. "And Lady Sif, how wonderful it is to see you," he added with a smile to the woman, completely unphased by their sudden appearance.

"As usual, Loki, the pleasure is all yours," the woman retorted, looking absolutely terrifying. Harry had thought that Natasha was a woman not to be messed with, but Sif, she was something else entirely and it made him wonder if all Asgardians were as mindblowingly good looking as these two.

"I only want the sphere," Loki said with a sigh, realising that he was not likely to win this fight, when it came down to it; Thor had all the brute strength but he had all the smarts. "No one had to die. The Soldier will be a loss to you, I am sure, but hand me the sphere and I will be on my way and no one else need be hurt." Loki wasn't stupid, he knew there were only a few ways this could end and the most beneficial to him was going back to Asgard with Thor and Sif.

"I need to go and find Steve," Harry said, shouting to the others from where he was still shielding Natasha, wanting to make Thor aware that they were there. Whatever happened, he needed not to be caught in the crossfire of whatever was about to happen between Thor and Loki.

"Go," Natasha said, getting to her feet, knowing that the fight wasn't over, there were still three of Loki's men in the atrium, ready to attack on Loki's order; it wasn't over yet, there was no rest for them, at least not yet. "We can handle it from here," she said with a nod to Harry. She knew that he needed to go and find answers in relation to what had happened to Steve, she couldn't fault him for that and she knew that it was going to be better for Harry not to be present for this, not in his condition.

"I'm coming with you," Draco called out at once from next to Clint, getting to his feet and making a move to follow Harry deeper into the Ministry. However, Harry had other plans, as he looked over towards the blond.

"No," Harry said firmly to Draco, "stay here." He didn't want company for this, it was something that he had to do on his own. He glanced over at where the two new arrivals were confronting Loki, the danger was here, it wasn't inside the depths of the Ministry, at least it wasn't anymore. "Help Clint, then find Ron and help him too. They'll need you more than I will," Harry insisted, knowing that if Steve truly was dead then he would want to be alone when he found him. His mind was swimming with possibilities about what had happened, hoping and praying that Loki had been lying.

"Harry…" Draco said with concern, heading over towards the other wizard and Natasha, "your shoulder…" he tried to reason, knowing that this was a bad idea. He didn't want to see Harry go running off and injure himself even further, which Draco knew was bound to happen. Harry had already apperated and taken a arrow to the shoulder; he needed medical attention, not to go running off on his own again.

"No, I'll be fine," Harry insisted, saying it just as much to himself as to Draco, he needed to be able to believe it himself too and he wasn't sure that he did. He wasn't sure that everything was going to be fine, not if Steve was truly dead. "I need you to stay here, help the others and for goodness sake, no one is to touch that box, they might not survive if they do!"

"You're more important," Draco insisted, being rather stubborn on the matter and grabbing hold of Harry's arm to keep him from leaving. He couldn't just allow for Harry to run off like this, especially not injured, he cared for Harry too much and what's more, he knew that this wouldn't be what Steve wanted either.

"Draco, if you care anything for me then please, do as I'm asking," Harry pleaded with his friend, for the first time realising that what Ron had told him might actually be true. Harry hadn't thought for a moment that Draco could feel anything for him and yet here they were and it seemed that he had been mistaken. So leaning forward towards his friend, Harry placed a sweet kiss to his cheek, before stepping back and looking at him with wide, pleading eyes, "please."

"Let him go," Natasha snapped, her eyes trained on Thor as he began to swing his hammer in a way that could only mean more destruction. None of them really needed to be here for this but if she was going to do anything then she was going to protect Harry and the babies he was carrying; she would do it for Steve's sake, knowing it was something that he would have wanted and she looked up to Steve. This was not something she tended to do often, or at all.

Reluctantly Draco nodded, knowing that there wasn't going to be any talking Harry out of this. He could see Thor just as Natasha could and he knew why she was so keen to send Harry away; whatever was going to happen it wasn't going to end well, even he could see that and he had no experience of Thor's fighting technique.

Releasing his grip on Harry's arm, Draco felt the need to tell Harry how he felt but he held himself back, this was not the time nor the place, not if Steve truly was dead. There would be time for that later but it wasn't what Harry needed now. "Be careful," he said instead and Harry nodded before turning and running off towards the elevators.

"Don't let them touch the box," he shouted back as he threw himself into the elevator as several stunning spells were sent in his direction. However with his attackers focused on him, Natasha took her chance and began to fire, taking them out as the doors closed and Harry began to descend into the bowels of the Ministry.

-x

Steve wasn't sure what it was that Loki had used to bind his wrists and ankles but it was unlike any bonds he had seen or heard of before and it wasn't something that he could simply break either, which was frustrating him. His shield had been thrown to the opposite side of the room, smashing into a set of shelves which had spilt out some rather toxic looking substances.

Harry had told him that things in this room were protected by very dangerous magic and for very good reason too, however, he had never thought that any of this would have been possible. Whatever was defending the contents of the box was now slowly oozing towards him, black liquid that moved with a purpose, flowing like steam across the floor in thick waves and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Loki was gone, probably after Harry and the sphere, and he was lying here, helpless, and whatever the substance that was creeping its way towards him was, it seemed unlikely to differentiate between those who were good and those who were not. He had considered knocking down some of the other shelves to impede the progress of the substance but he didn't even know if that would stop it, and considering that shelves being knocked down had released the substance in the first place, he knew that was likely to just make the whole situation worse.

All he could think about was getting to Harry. That desperate need was what was giving him the strength to keep fighting against the bindings holding him down, even though he knew it would do little good. But he couldn't just sit there and do nothing, not when his boyfriend and unborn children were being hunted down by an insane alien god.

One day his own children would almost certainly have the capabilities to produce magic like this and he was determined that he was going to be around to see it. But that wasn't going to happen unless he could get out of there, and quickly, given how close the unknown black substance was getting.

He put his bound feet flat on the floor and tried to use the leverage to pull at the binding around his wrists, but they didn't budge at all. He let out a grunt of frustration, but fell quiet when he caught the sound of footsteps; someone was definitely nearby, running if he wasn't mistaken.

"In here!" he shouted out. He had no idea who it might be, but given his circumstances he didn't much care, because he didn't think that it could get much worse.

"Steve!" Harry cried out as he rounded the corner and stood in the doorway to the room. The wizard had tears on his face, was a little out of breath and looked almost surprised to see him. "You're alive," he gasped out, still staring at the super soldier in shock and relief.

"And I would like to stay that way," Steve said hastily, nodding his head at the black substance. He too was relieved to see Harry alive and well, but he had rather more pressing matters that they should deal with before anything else.

"Loki said that you were dead," Harry said breathlessly as he fell to his knees in front of his boyfriend, wanting to kiss him out of the relief he felt at finding him alive. "He told me that he had killed you."

"He certainly tried his best," Steve said, hating that Loki had managed to get the better of him. He was thinking that Harry had been right, he had been over thinking things when it came to his boyfriend's safety while he had been fighting Loki, it had been a distraction and that had made their relationship into a weakness. "He might still succeed if you don't stop that stuff."

Harry turned to see what it was that Steve was talking about, he had been so focused on getting to Steve and feeling that relief of knowing that his boyfriend was alive that he hadn't noticed the danger that they were in. Whatever it was that was edging towards them rather ominously, it wasn't a spell that Harry had used himself, it would have been a lot easier to fix if it had been; however, he was not that lucky.

"I can't stop it," Harry said with a frown, knowing that whomever had cursed the box and sealed it was the only person who would be able to call off the curse. Turning back to Steve and focusing on the bindings, which he could tell were not muggle made. "But I can do this," he said, withdrawing his wand and vanishing the bindings.

"Harry," Steve said with concern as he struggled to his feet with Harry's help, noticing the wince of pain on the younger man's face, "you've been hurt," he said as the two of them began to head towards the exit. Steve was horrified to see that Harry was bleeding through his bandages, he felt as if he should have been there to protect him rather than tied up, awaiting rescue.

"Really not the time," Harry said with a sigh as he tried to pull Steve towards the door a little faster; however, the super soldier was dragging his heels a little, as he suddenly realised that his shield was still in the room, unwilling to leave it behind given how irreplaceable he knew it was.

"My shield is still in there," Steve explained, turning back to look at where he had seen it land, not knowing how he was going to be able to get round the smoke like substance to retrieve it. He knew that it was stupid but that shield was important and he didn't want to simply leave it behind, though he was starting to think he might have to.

"Don't think for a second that you're going back in there," Harry said firmly, keeping a firm grip on the super soldier to prevent him from doing anything stupid. "Accio shield," he shouted into the room and Steve had to prepare himself as his trademark shield came racing towards him. He didn't think that he was ever going to stop being amazed by what magic could accomplish.

"Can I just say how much I love you," Steve said as he replaced the shield on to his back and finally left the room, allowing Harry to seal it shut so the black substance that had been slowly edging towards them would not follow them outside. The super soldier knew that he was the luckiest man alive to have Harry to call his own, the man was just utterly amazing.

"Later," Harry said with a sappy smile on his face, "we have the sphere to deal with first," he added, grinning from ear to ear as the two of them headed back towards the atrium to find the others. Harry linked his fingers with Steve's, simply grateful that his boyfriend was safe.

"Where's Loki?" Steve asked as the two of them headed out of the department of mysteries, Steve trusting Harry to lead the way because the entire place was a maze and he was pretty sure that with magic added into the mix, unless you knew where you were going it would be near impossible to get out of here.

"In the Atrium," Harry said, pulling Steve in the direction of the elevators, knowing all of the twists and turns to get there quickly. "Ron and Clint have been injured, I don't know how badly. Thor's here and he brought a friend," he explained, wanting to make it clear that he had not abandoned Natasha and Draco to their fates so that he could come and find his boyfriend.

"How badly injured?" Steve asked, concerned about his team mates. He wasn't about to leave any of them behind, they needed to complete the mission so they could all go home. It was taking a lot of energy not to think about the wound in Harry's shoulder, knowing that if he thought about it too closely then he was going to want to take Harry and go, leave the others behind.

His instincts to protect the man he loved and his unborn children were battling with his instinct as a soldier, to never leave a man behind and to complete his mission. It was not a good feeling and he didn't know what he should do, though part of him knew that Harry wouldn't allow them to run and hide, it wasn't in his nature either. Besides, Harry was the only one that could handle the sphere without getting seriously hurt, they had to stay, there wasn't any other choice.

"I don't know," Harry said honestly as the two of them piled into the lift, "Ron's not in the Ministry, something happened before they got inside and they had to leave him behind. Clint's unconscious, I think he was hit by a stunning spell."

"And what about you?" Steve asked, turning Harry to face him as the lift jolted and starting moving, taking them back to the Atrium. He unlinked his fingers from Harry's and brought his hand up to caress his boyfriend's cheek.

"I'm fine," Harry said softly, "my shoulder hurts a lot but I'm fine." This was a lie, he hadn't been feeling right since before they had left. He was extremely light headed and he was feeling as if the air around him was closing in but he wasn't about to communicate this to Steve, not when he was losing blood too, which Harry was sure wasn't helping.

"Let's get this finished so we can get you home," Steve said firmly and Harry nodded his agreement, accepting a sweet kiss to the lips as the lift came to a stop, knocking the two of them apart as the doors swung open.

The sight that met their eyes was not one that either of them had been expecting. Both Harry and Steve had thought that they were about to walk into a full blown fight; however, this was not what they saw. Loki was in an impressive set of handcuffs that linked his wrists, ankles and even his neck. Thor and Sif had managed to secure a gag around Loki's mouth too. It looked as if the fight was over, and the three men who had allied with Loki were either dead or unconscious, one of them had a bullet hole in his head.

Spotting Harry and Steve as they came out of the lift, Natasha and Draco headed over to them, both of them looking slightly more disheveled than when Harry had left them. The healer was instantly fussing over Harry, checking his wound but Harry batted Draco away, feeling how tense Steve had become beside him.

"Let's deal with the sphere," Harry said rather pointedly to Draco, still feeling a little light headed, so much so he had to reach over to Steve and hold on himself as he swayed a little on his feet. Closing his eyes for a moment so that he could regain himself, Harry took several deep breaths, not wanting to seem as if he couldn't do this.

"Harry…" Steve said, a little concerned with the way that his boyfriend was acting. He knew that Harry wasn't simply going to just give up the mission because he was injured but Steve didn't want for his boyfriend to push himself to the point where he hurt himself more than he already was, or hurt the children.

"No," Harry returned rather stubbornly, "I'm fine, let's just get this finished." If he had been honest with the others then he would have told them that he felt as if he were about to keel over. When he felt as if he were able to, Harry released his hold on Steve and headed for the box that contained the sphere, which had not moved since he had left.

Steve, unsure that Harry was able to carry on, followed his boyfriend, wanting to be there in case something went wrong and it wasn't something that he could handle. He knew that this wasn't something that he could do for Harry, but that didn't mean he wasn't worried about just how much it was going to take to complete the mission.

"We will return Loki to Asgard," Thor said loudly, Sif nodding in agreement, staying close to her fellow Asgardians. "He will not bother Midgard again," the God of Thunder stated rather confidently as he raised his hammer to the sky.

Natasha, taking her eyes off the progress that Harry was making over towards the sphere, looked to Thor and gave him a nod of thanks. The mission was almost over, Loki had been contained, the threat eliminated. All that was left was to move the sphere and put it in the custody of S.H.I.E.L.D, something that she would be able to handle once Harry had moved it into the container Tony and Bruce had created.

Harry couldn't help but stop and glance over his shoulder as the three Asgardians were transported back to their own world. It was certainly a rather beautiful way to travel but it left a trail of destruction in it's wake. Harry wasn't sure how he was going to explain the giant gaping hole in the ceiling of the Ministry, nor the intricate pattern now burnt into the marble floor, to Kingsley but he supposed he would handle that when it came to it. Right now they were running out of time and they needed to leave.

"Help me with Clint," Natasha instructed Draco, motioning him to follow her. Draco had been rather intently staring at Harry, barely even noticing when the three Asgardians had left. Clint was still unconscious and they needed to get him up and moving before they could all get themselves back to the safe house.

Reaching the box, Harry went down on his knees in front of it, the danger was passed and this was the last thing that they had to do before it was over and they could live their lives together, normal, happy lives with their children. "Stay back," Harry said to Steve, not wanting for the box to perceive his boyfriend as a threat and attack him.

Nodding, Steve took two steps back, though he refused to go any further, not wanting to be too far from his boyfriend, still worrying over how pale Harry looked. The wizard was swaying a little, even as he knelt in front of the box and Steve was rather concerned that Harry wasn't going to be able to remain conscious for much longer.

His hands trembling, Harry opened the lid with no resistance seeing the object inside that had caused all of the problems. It was beautiful and absolutely mesmerizing, he felt as if he could sit and watch the multi coloured lights and intrigue of darkness swirl within for the rest of his life. Deep down, Harry knew that what he was seeing was the massive amount of power that the sphere contained and that he had to stop it from getting into the wrong hands.

Removing the flat packed box from his back, Harry erected it, clicking it all into place easily, fully appreciating the design that Tony and Bruce had created in a very short space of time. The sphere would fit perfectly inside and then it was going to be over, which was something that Harry desperately needed.

"Are you sure you should touch that?" Steve asked with concern, thinking that it might be for the best if Harry didn't touch it again. Harry was already looking a little drained and as if he was about to collapse.

"I've already touched it once," Harry said with a frown, though he did hesitate for a moment, "it's already duplicated my magic." He really didn't see what more the sphere could do to him, all it did was duplicate power and it had already done that.

"Just be careful," Steve pleaded. He was fighting a rather strong urge to take Harry into his arms and hold him so that he didn't just collapse. Nodding, Harry took a deep breath, trying to stop himself feeling so dizzy as he reached for the sphere.

The moment Harry touched the sphere the breath left his body, he could feel the vibrations pulsing through him, the amount of power inside of it was immense. It clearly recognized Harry on some level, the substance inside of it turning a spectacular array of stunning colours. He struggled to let it go but he forced himself to, putting the sphere into the container, fighting to remain upright and awake.

"Harry…" Steve said, taking a step forward as Harry closed the box, sealing it shut. It was perhaps fortunate that Steve had come forward because if he hadn't then he wouldn't have been able to stop Harry from hitting the floor as he blacked out.

-x

When Hermione had woken up the next morning to discover that her husband had not returned home to her, she was more than a little concerned. Determined to get answers, she wasted no time in getting everything ready and heading over to the safe house where she knew Harry and the others were staying, taking Teddy and Rose with her.

Of course, nine year old Teddy had so many questions and none that she could answer. He was such an inquisitive little thing and she couldn't blame him for that because she had been the same way; she only wished that she was able to give him some of the answers that he needed.

"What are you doing here?" Natasha asked when she answered the door to Hermione, who was stood on the doorstep with her one year old daughter in her arms and Teddy by her side. Natasha wasn't foolish, and so she stepped aside and let the three of them inside, though she wasn't thrilled that they had simply turned up; they had a lot to deal with right now and didn't need the added complication.

"I came to find my husband," Hermione said rather briskly. She didn't much like this woman and she wasn't about to take any nonsense from her, she had her wand on her if she needed it. Hermione was determined that she was going to get answers whether this Natasha woman liked it or not.

"They are healing," she said, slamming the door closed once Hermione, Teddy and Rose were inside. "Draco is taking care of them," she added, more to put Hermione's mind at ease than anything else. Natasha wasn't good with hysterical women so she wanted to avoid that if at all possible.

"Where's Harry?" Teddy asked, looking around and wondering why his Godfather wasn't there to meet him. He was getting more and more concerned as no one else came down to see them. He had been expecting Steve to be there or even Clint but no one came.

"What happened?" Hermione asked, ignoring what Teddy had asked. She knew that the young man would be concerned about his Godfather but Hermione was not so worried about him. Harry had a habit of always landing on his feet, she wanted to know that her husband wasn't too badly hurt.

"There were complications," Natasha said, crossing her arms over her chest, unwilling to tell Hermione much of anything. What Natasha wanted was to go and sit with Clint who had been assigned to bed rest, though he was doing just fine. Draco had wanted to be sure however that the stunning spell had not had any adverse affects on the archer.

"What kind of complications?" Hermione asked, feeling a little panicked. "Is Ron alright, where is he?" she asked, needing to know what had happened to her husband. Rose was whimpering in her mother's arms, sensing the amount of tension in the air.

Teddy could see that the adults were preoccupied and he could see the stairs up to the rest of the house and he knew that he could make it up there before anyone even thought to stop him. He needed to make sure that Harry and Steve were alright because they were all he had right now and he couldn't go back to being alone, he just couldn't.

-x

Harry had been out cold since he had passed out in the Ministry of Magic. Steve had, of course, not left his side and Draco had only done so to care for Clint and Ron. The healer couldn't find anything wrong with Harry other than exhaustion and blood loss. His magic levels had been a little higher than they should have been but other than that there hadn't been anything out of the ordinary and there was no reason why he shouldn't have been awake.

Watching Harry sleep in their bed and being unable to join him was painful for Steve but he remained sat in his armchair, watching over his boyfriend and never taking his eyes off of him. Draco had done a check up a few minutes ago before leaving them to it, needing to check over Ron.

So deep in thought, Steve was rather startled when the bedroom door burst open and Teddy came barrelling through looking a little manic and entirely afraid. "Steve!" Teddy said, throwing himself into the super soldier's arms.

"Teddy," Steve said in surprise, "what are you doing here?" he asked, rather surprised that the nine year old was here. He thought that Teddy was still with Hermione, he had no idea that he would be back so soon.

"Auntie Hermione got worried," Teddy explained, hugging Steve for all he was worth, "she brought me back here and I wanted to see you, I wanted to make sure that you and Harry were alright."

"It's okay, I'm glad your back," Steve said, really meaning that because with Harry laying in bed unconscious, Steve needed all the family he had left and Teddy was part of that. "Harry is okay, he's just sleeping right now," the super soldier said, trying to explain it in a way that wasn't going to crush the nine year old.

"So we can wake him up soon?" Teddy asked hopefully. "It's morning now," he pointed out, looking over to the bed where Harry was lying completely still and unconscious.

"I wish it were that easy, kid," Steve said sadly, holding Teddy close to him as the two of them curled up on the armchair, both of them not noticing Natasha stood in the doorway watching them, Hermione hovering beside her.

-x

"Take me to Ron," Hermione said with determination. She was still carrying Rose on her hip and now that she knew that Teddy was alright and in good hands, she wanted to see her husband.

"Fine," Natasha said with a sigh, thinking that at least this way she was going to be able to go and sit with Clint for a while, "this way." She needed to make sure that he was alright and to talk to him, the two of them had a lot to talk about. Hermione followed her down the hall a little way to the next door down.

"Ron!" Hermione said as Natasha opened the door and the witch saw her husband laying on the bed, leg heavily bandaged with Draco standing over him, the healer clearly having just finished changing the dressings. "What happened to you?" she asked as she came forward sitting herself down on the bed, resting Rose on her knee, the little girl reaching for her Daddy.

Smiling, Ron sat himself up a little, though he could only manage it with Draco's help, opening his arms to accept his daughter. "I'm okay," Ron said to reassure his wife, "I never got into the Ministry, something was stopping us apperating in and protecting Natasha I got badly splinched."

"Oh, Ron," Hermione said with a sigh, "not again," she added with a frown as she placed a kiss to Ron's cheek, simply relieved that he was still alive because she had honestly feared the worst when Ron hadn't been home when she had woken up.

"I'm okay," Ron assured her, "Malfoy here has almost healed me completely. He didn't even want to leave me behind when I got injured but I told him to and even then he put up shield charms to make sure I wouldn't be found until he could come back." Ron felt rather grateful for Draco right now and he could certainly appreciate why Harry had remained close to the blond and certainly why he trusted him.

"I should leave you two alone," Draco said with a smile, not feeling very comfortable accepting either of their gratitude. He had already tended to Harry and now the only person left to check in on was Clint, who was more bitching and complaining about still being resigned to bed rest.

"Malfoy, wait," Hermione said, getting to her feet as Draco headed for the door, "wait." Draco stopped and turned in confusion, not sure what Hermione could possibly have to say to him but regardless he waited in silence, giving her the opportunity to speak. "Thank you," she said after a few moments of hesitation.

"Why?" Draco asked in confusion, not thinking that anything that he had done deserved for anyones gratitude. He had done his job as a healer by healing them, not having wanted his reputation to be ruined by not doing what he could to help them and everything else he had done because he loved Harry. To the core he knew that it was all very selfish but he didn't care, he had done what had been expected of him, it didn't matter his motivations.

"Because Ron probably wouldn't be here without you," Hermione said a little sheepishly. She wasn't at all happy about having to be grateful to Draco, however, she knew that without him she would have been a widow and her daughter would have lost her father. "In the light of everything that's happened, I think we could let bygones be bygones."

"I can be agreeable to that," Draco said with an awkward smile. He was more than a little keen to get out of the room and leave the family on their own to celebrate the fact that they were still a family. "I'll be back to check on you in a few hours," he said with a small nod of his head before retreating from the room.

Draco closed the door, beyond happy that he had managed to escape from the room. He had been awful to both Ron and Hermione while they had all been at school together and in fairness to him, despite the fact he had started off the rivalry, they had been horrible to him right back. He wasn't exactly keen to be friends but he would at least be civil because he knew that that would be what Harry would want. Yet again, another selfish reasoning.

Knowing that he had one more stop to make before he could take a rest and sit with Harry for a little while, Draco headed for Clint's room. However, as he reached the door he could hear someone else inside with the archer. He stopped and waited for a moment, knowing that he probably shouldn't be eavesdropping but he didn't want to just barge in on them.

"I want it finished, Nat," Clint said and sounding rather regretful. "You're my best friend and I'm married, I can't do this to Laura anymore." Draco held his breath, not wanting them to know that he was here but wanting to know what they were talking about.

"I thought she knew," he heard Natasha say. Just from the tone of the conversation, Draco thought that he knew what they were talking about, it was fairly clear that the two of them had been having an affair.

"In a way, but don't you think she deserves better?" Clint asked, and Draco knew that it was time to leave, he had heard enough and he needed to make sure that neither Natasha or Clint found out that he had been listening in on them.

"I think that she does," Natasha said firmly as Draco went to turn away, "you know I always thought she did, but you were the one who insisted that we needed this," she reminded him casually, "that it would make us better agents." He didn't need to hear anymore, it wasn't his business and he had other things to do other than eavesdrop on a private conversation.

By passing both Harry and Ron's rooms, Draco headed down the stairs, feeling the need for some tea. It had been a long night and he hadn't been able to get any sleep, not with healing all of the others and making sure that they survived the night, Harry in particular. Now, however, he was exhausted and in need of his bed.

"How you holding up?" Tony asked as Draco entered the kitchen. The healer wasn't at all surprised to find Stark sitting in there alone; the man had various paperwork and sketches littered across the breakfast bar and the container that contained the sphere was there beside of him as well.

"It's been a long night," Draco said with a sigh as he took a seat at the breakfast bar, Tony getting up from where he had been sat and fetching a mug of coffee for the blond healer.

"Sounds like you need to find a bed for the night," Tony said as he passed Draco the mug and sat back down, "mine's free."

"Tony, as much as I would like to take you up on that offer," Draco said with a smile, casting a cooling charm on the warm drink before sipping at it to test the temperature, "one accidental spell, any magic at all and you'd die or at the very least become very sick. That thought alone is going to kill the mood before we even get started, so, sorry but I think it best if I take the couch."

Draco couldn't deny that he liked the idea, if it had been any other time, when he hadn't been so hung up over Harry, if he hadn't just been through one hell of a fight and not slept a wink all night then he might have said yes. However the issue still stood, he didn't want to hurt Tony and therefore the answer had to be no. To conceal his musings he took a long drink of his coffee, really wishing that things were different because Tony certainly was a very attractive man.

"Probably for the best," Tony said, reeling a little from the rejection, it was something that he wasn't used to, "I'm not exactly single, though I'm not sure if I am or not some days." he said, thinking of Pepper and how distant she had been lately. The two of them weren't really together properly right now, at least he wasn't sure that they were, relationships had never been his forte.

"Then I'll tell you what," Draco said with a smile, "solve that puzzle in your chest so I can't hurt you with my magic and deal with the single or not issue and we'll talk," the healer said, draining the last of the coffee from his mug and getting to his feet.

"Okay," Tony said, appreciating the blunt honesty of the blond and knowing that he was right, now was not the right time for anything to happen between them, though it killed Tony to admit that. "The offer still stands though, take my bed, I'll stay down here. I have work to do anyway."

"You sure?" Draco asked, thinking that a bed, even Tony's, would be better than sleeping on the sofa. The problem was, Draco didn't want for Tony to think that by accepting his offer of a bed that it was in any way an acceptance of a sexual relationship between the two of them.

"More than," Tony assured him, "you need the rest. Second floor, first door on the right," he instructed and Draco smiled gratefully before thanking him once more for the drink and heading upstairs to bed.

-x

Harry woke up two nights after the fight at the Ministry of Magic. The first thing he saw was Steve asleep in an armchair across the room, and Harry quickly realised that the pressure against his side was Teddy, who was curled up next to him, fast asleep. A small movement caught his eye and he noticed was that Nick Fury was standing at the end of the bed, watching over him.

"Director," Harry said quietly, not wanting to wake either of the others who were sleeping so peacefully. "What are you doing here?" he asked, a little confused about why Nick Fury would appear here in the middle of the night with no explanation.

"I wanted to tell you in person that your friend George Weasley has been transferred into the custody of the Auror office and will now be dealt with by his own people, as I believe is fair," Nick informed Harry, keeping his tone low, knowing that both Steve and the young boy would need their rest.

"Thank you, Director," Harry said gratefully, it was a comfort to know that George was back in England and was being taken care of by other witches and wizards. He knew that the rest of the Weasley family would be happy in the knowledge too.

"Rest," Nick said with a nod, "I will be in touch, with both of you," he added before heading for the door, however he hesitated as he reached for the handle, "Jane Foster has tried to get in contact with you," he said, as if he had only just remembered, "shall I pass on your details to her?"

Harry thought about it for a moment. "Yes," he said after a short hesitation, "I don't mind being in contact with her. She was nice enough and I'm guessing she'll just want to know that Thor's alright, I can't fault her for that," Harry said, glancing over to where Steve was still fast asleep. He knew what it felt like to not know the fate of someone he cared about, he wouldn't allow for Jane to go through that.

"Enjoy your family, Mr Potter," Fury said as a parting farewell as Harry very slowly edged himself over so that he could reach Steve, being cautious not to wake Teddy. Once Nick had closed the door over, Harry took hold of his boyfriend's hand, trying to wake him.

"Harry…" Steve said rather sleepily, clearly a little clouded with sleep, "you're awake," he said, trying to focus his eyes.

"Come to bed," Harry pleaded, want to feel his soldier's arms around him, knowing that he wouldn't get back to sleep otherwise. Steve nodded, too tired and too relieved to put up any form of a fight, he allowed himself to be pulled into the bed, Harry in the middle of him and Teddy, the three of them snuggled up together.

What did you think? Only one more chapter left before the end of this story. The next chapter is over 10,000 words long and is all ready to be updated after an edit from my wonderful Beta.

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