Hey there everyone! Happy Annual Cuddly Kitten Day! Have you cuddled with your kitten today?
For those of you here on fanfiction, if you have no problem with the site, go find this story on Ao3 I have posted some extra bit over there because of how easy it is to make a series on that site. It's got some Harri/twins fluff and stuff!
So here is today's chapter! Harri v. Hydra!
Enjoy!
Charlie was grateful that he had managed to get a whole month off from the reserve to deal with the family problems that had come up. With Bill actually having to be at work he wasn't sure if Percy would have been able to hold back the twins on his own.
Ever since the article had come out and he, Bill, and Percy had agreed to join their side, the twins had been more open with them; they still guarded what little of Harriet's secrets they had but they were more open personally with them, telling them about what they were working to create and what they already had made as well as their plans for a joke shop grand enough to rival Zonko's. The rest of the family, however, where apparently fair game for the twins more brutal pranks, the only way they currently had to voice their displeasure at what the others were planning for THEIR soulmate.
The three eldest tried to temper things, just to keep the house livable but they were beginning to understand that the only one who would truly have a chance of that was Harriet. They had yet to manage actually stopping one of the twins' pranks but they had kept the heat off the twins for the worst ones (Charlie himself had ended up taking credit for the exploding concoction they had put in the sink that had left Molly bald for the better part of an evening). The twins had proudly taken credit for the ones their brothers hadn't jumped in front of and had only glared as Molly shouted at them.
The three older brothers could see that the twins were getting more antsy as time passed and that was only being made worse when Molly, Ginny, or Ron mentioned Harri or the twins overheard them talking about their plans for her. Charlie knew that the twins would be going to see Harriet in a week or so but he honestly wasn't sure if the Burrow could survive that long.
Charlie glanced over to the twins who were currently sitting on one of the sofas and staring intently at an almost violently twitching Ginny who was at the kitchen table eating a late breakfast. Every time she reached for food or her drink she would shoot a glance over to the twins who would simply smirk. Needless to say, it had been fifteen minutes and she hadn't consumed anything.
Charlie's gaze was drawn to the stairs as footsteps thudded down toward them, soon Arthur stood there fixing his clothes on his way toward the floo to get to work. "Has the paper arrived yet?"
"Not yet dear." Molly called from her spot in the kitchen where she was cutting up vegetables to simmer in a pot for lunch.
Arthur frowned, "Dear Merlin, why is it so late today?"
"Some reporter must have sent in an article at the last minute." Charlie said with a shrug.
Arthur sighed, "Well, I can't wait any longer. Save me a paper for later. I'm off to work dear." He called to Molly before stepping over to the floo and leaving.
Charlie went back to the amusing sight of the twins and Ginny in just enough time to see her brave a drink from her pumpkin juice and end up with a beak and electric blue hair. The twins snickered as she shrieked and ran up the stairs, pushing aside Ron in the process. Ron glared at the twins before he looked to Molly, "Mum! The twins gave Ginny another weird potion."
Molly huffed and spun from her cutting to glare at the twins, "Did you two experiment on your sister again?!"
"No, mum..."
"We didn't, we..."
"Used an already tested..."
"Potion on her." The twins answered unapologetically.
Molly huffed and pointed the knife at them, "I don't know what has gotten into you two but it better stop! One more of these and you'll be grounded!" She turned back to her cutting, "Honestly, it's like you two lost all common sense over the last school year. It has to be that girl." The twins tensed, "She's a bad influence! Ill mannered! That's what I heard!" Charlie stood and blocked the twins direct path to their mother who couldn't sense the danger, "Ronald when you start dating that girl you be sure to teach her manners. Teach her to be a proper lady."
Charlie was so stunned by his mother's comment he only just managed to grab the twins by their collars to keep them back when Ron replied, "Of course mum. I'll get her to behave."
"Oh look!" Charlie said loudly to draw the conversation away from this increasingly dangerous conversation, "The paper finally showed up!"
"Well it's about time!" Molly huffed, "Charlie can you make the copies? My hands are a bit wet."
"Of course mum!" Charlie said as the owl rerouted to him, Charlie moved the twins back to the couch with a warning glance. Charlie paid the owl before taking a paper and casting the copying charm. Just as Charlie was handing Molly her copy he caught sight of the headline and dread filled him. The twins were going to lose it if the conversation over this went in any way like the last one.
'Our Savior's Life with Muggles: Princess or Slave?'
Charlie glanced over to the twins who had taken their copy from him when he wasn't looking. Their hands were tight on the edges of the paper as their eyes ran over the article that occupied the entire front page. Charlie heard his mother take her copy and decided he had better read it to see if he would be able to do anything to stop the impending explosion.
Hello once again readers! After my last article detailing my interview with our young Savior I simply could not get those questions out of my head. Had we really failed our Savior? Had we really left her to people who hated her? It kept me up at night readers, wondering if young Harriet Potter was truly safe where she returned to when I had seen her last. It was this worry that drove me into the muggle world to seek out and check on the girl-who-lived.
Through various muggle means I managed to procure our Savior's address and made my way there with all haste. So imagine my surprise, dear readers, when I found the address abandoned! The whole property seemed void of life! Including our Savior! I couldn't help myself, I had to see if dear Harriet was inside. I had to see if she was safe. I managed to get inside and saw that everyone seemed to have moved out. I checked every nook and cranny, hoping for a clue to our Savior's whereabouts.
It wasn't until I checked a cupboard under the stairs that had a curious lock on it that I got any clues at all. However, it wasn't a clue leading me to the previous inhabitants, no, it was a clue to our Savior's life with these muggles.
In the cupboard I found a ratty little mattress from a child's crib laying directly on the floor, several old dresses that were worn to the point of holes, muggle cleaning supplies, and a few child's drawings that were hung to the wall; one of them proudly proclaiming 'Harri's room'(see picture on right). I was shocked readers; could our Savior really have lived in this cupboard? Was this where she spent her days while we were enjoying the peace she granted us? I leaned forward to take a closer look at the pictures and, to my horror, found browned spots of what could only be blood.
At this point readers I just had to call the aurors. Upon their arrival, they took my statement and I showed them the pictures from the cupboard. Dear readers it was blood! A fact confirmed by the aurors forensic spell! Blood from at least five years ago! What have we left our Savior to?
Unfortunately, I was not allowed further onto the now crime scene but that did not stop me readers. Not at all. I decided to go speak with the muggles in the neighborhood to see if they could help me find our lost Savior.
A curious neighbor was already outside and I was able to get a statement from her first.
"A second child? Petunia never told us of another child. Unless your speaking of her niece. Petunia would never stop complaining about the girl. Said she was a delinquent. Can't tell if it's true though. Never saw the girl out of the house myself."
That sweet girl I met a delinquent? Surely not readers! Harriet Potter was shy and gentle when I met her. I decided to move to another neighbor. The house right next door to our Savior's prison held an elderly lady who shed some light on what went on in that house.
"I saw the girl out of the house many a time. If it wasn't for her Petunia never would have won that gardening award. She worked the poor child day in and day out doing all sorts of work that a grown adult should be doing for years. And of course I heard them screaming at her all the time. Vernon called her a freak. There may be walls and a yard between us but that Vernon had a right set of lungs he did."
Miss. Potter's uncle called her a freak? And for what dear readers? Well I can only assume, after my interview with the girl in question, it was because of her magic. Our Savior was screamed at, kept in a cupboard underneath stairs, and bloodied all because she was born with the gift that is magic. And the Aunt, working a little girl all the time for years? Doing things a grown person should do? What all did these muggles have our precious Savior doing? What did these muggles DO to our Savior to have five or more years old blood within the CUPBOARD with a LOCK on it they had her sleeping in? Where is our Savior? Is she safe or is she still in the clutches of these wicked muggles who have treated her as a slave? How, readers, has Miss Potter gone through all of this and still remained sane and sweet?
All these questions have answers readers and I will find them!
Rita Skeeter
Daily Prophet Correspondent
Charlie blinked several times, staring at the paper and the picture of the truly tiny, dirty cupboard that had small pictures posted haphazardly along the back wall. This was going to cause a stir, especially once the public was notified of Dumbledore knowing Harriet's location and not doing anything about it. Charlie assumed this was discovered with Harriet's okay but he couldn't understand how she could allow this sort of thing to be paraded out in front of people.
"What a load of hogwash!" Ron exclaimed, making Charlie look up and immediately look over to the twins. They were glaring at Ron, their paper folded in their laps. "What's a little bit of garden work? We do that all the time! That's not being a Slave, that's just chores."
Molly was nodding her head in agreement, "That muggle must have been exaggerating. Skeeter obviously is. Honestly, at least the muggles gave her her own room. The muggles can't use expansion charms. That was probably the only room they had available when she showed up." Molly huffed.
"And it's not like her Uncle was wrong." Ron muttered, just loud enough for the twins and Charlie to hear, "She is a freak, with those snakes and that weird…" Ron was stopped before he could finish his hateful thought by two identical fists to his face. Charlie pulled the seething twins backward by their collars as Ron started cursing and holding his bleeding nose and Molly shrieked as she rushed over to Ron.
Molly looked up at the twins with her eyes blazing, "What in Merlin's name has gotten into you two?! What has poor Ron done to deserve this?" she gestured at his gushing nose and glared at the twins, "You two are grounded! And don't for one second think I'm not going to tell your father about this!" she let out an angry shrieky breath, "I may even take this to Dumbledore and get your school privileges revoked!" she pointed up the stairs, "Now go!"
The twins glared at her before they stomped up the stairs, their twin connection tight and only one thing running through their currently collective mind. Get to Harriet.
Halfway through throwing everything in their trunks Percy rushed into their room looking winded, they stood in front of their trunks, their faces blank. Percy gave them a lopsided smile, "Charlie told me what happened. We are going to try and temper mum's reaction to keep this from dad and Dumbledore." He waved his wand around the room, making the rest of the twin's things pile into their two trunks. The twins blinked as another two swipes of Percy's wand had their trunks closed and shrunk to pocket size, Percy picked them up and handed the trunks to the twins. "Get to Harriet. Check on her. Tell her what happened."
Percy was caught off guard as the twins came forward as one and hugged him together, his eyes went wide as he was squeezed between them. "Thank you Percy." They muttered into his shoulders.
Percy brought his arms up around them hesitantly to return their hug, "You're welcome. Stay safe. Keep us posted."
The twins pulled away and grinned at Percy, "Will do!" they chorused, saluting him.
Percy rolled his eyes at the twins, "Go, I don't know how you're getting to her but Charlie has mum sequestered in the kitchen right now. The floo should be clear."
The twins nodded and snuck down the stairs as silently as possible, they heard Charlie talking to his mum in the kitchen and saw Ron still sitting in his kitchen chair with his head thrown back to attempt stopping the bleeding. Fred and George moved quickly across the open space of the living room and to the floo, Fred grabbed floo powder and threw it into the floo making the floo flare green. "Lee Residence." They whispered in unison as they stepped together into the floo, the flames whisked them away.
They stepped out of the floo seconds later at Lee's house, the floo leading them directly into the small foyer where it was placed. "Oh hello boys." Came a light voice, the twins looked up to see a tall willowy woman coming from the main part of the house, "I wasn't expecting you for a week or so."
"Sorry Mrs. Jordan," George said.
"Had a little tiff with our brother," Fred sighed.
"thought we would come see Lee while things calmed down." George finished.
Mrs. Jordan's mouth quirked up on the side, "Let me guess, your mother has gone off the rails." The twins nodded and Mrs. Jordan nodded, "I'll cover for you if she calls. Lee is up in his room."
"Thanks Mrs. Jordan!" the twins chorused as they swept into the main house after her and ran up the stairs toward Lee's room. They found his door easily and went through without knocking, effectively scaring the boy within who fell from his bed in his fright, "Hey Lee!" the twins called.
Lee popped up from the far side of his bed and glared at the twins, "Couldn't you have knocked?"
"Nope!" they laughed.
Lee rolled his eyes and sighed as he climbed back onto his bed, pulling up the comic book he had dropped in his fright, "What are you two doing here? We aren't set to leave until next week at the earliest." His eyes narrowed at the twins when they shared a look, "What did you do? Are you on the run?" he sighed and flopped back onto the bed, "I knew this day would come. You're on the run form aurors and now you have come to me hoping that I will harbor two fugitives simply because they're my best friends." He groaned as the twins simply raised an eyebrow at him, trying to hold in their laughter, "Well I will of course but I'm not prepared for it. I thought you'd at least wait until we were out of school!" Fred and George burst out laughing and Lee simply rolled his eyes at them, "Laugh it up assholes, we're going to have to go to America and beg for protection because you couldn't wait to start your criminal careers until I had gathered all the necessary supplies for us to run. Do you know how bad the tea is in America? Not one of them can make a decent brew."
Fred and George's laughter died off but their amusement remained, "We aren't on…"
"the run from aurors but…"
"it's nice to know your…"
"ready for the inevitable!"
Lee raised an eyebrow at them, "Then why are you here early?"
"We may have punched Ron in the face," George said, rubbing at the back of his neck sheepishly.
"In front of our mum, who grounded us." Fred finished.
Lee frowned, "Why did you punch your brother?"
"He deserved it!" George defended.
"He called Harriet a freak!" Fred growled.
"How did this come about?" Lee asked calmly, "And why have you run?"
"Didn't you see today's Prophet?" George asked, pulling the folded up paper from his pocket and handing it to Lee.
Lee took it and read over the first page, his eyebrows raising the further he read, finally he looked back up to the twins, "And you ran because…"
"Mum lost it!" Fred said, "Said she would tell dad and Dumbledore!"
"And from the way you started glaring at him over the year I assume its Dumbledore you want to keep away from." Lee surmised, the twins nodded shortly, "He's the enemy?" again nods, "So you want to go tell Harriet because obviously she will know what to do about this. Right?"
"Yup!" the twins answered.
Lee bit his lip but nodded and got up to start packing his trunk, "We'll have to talk to my parents. They won't like us just disappearing out of the blue."
"Shouldn't be too hard…" George said.
"Your mum loves us!"
Lee snorted, "Of course she does. You've always played innocent with her and she seems to believe it!"
"What do you mean play?"
"We are innocent!" the twins pouted.
"Don't tell bad jokes you two. It's unbecoming." Lee said with a smirk, the twins grinned at him. "I can see why you two are foxes." The twins helped Lee pack his trunk quickly, thankfully he had left most of what he needed in his school trunk when he came back from school so it was easy to just pack summer clothes as well as his uniforms in case something happened to keep them with Harriet until school time. Once everything Lee wanted was packed in his trunk they made their way down the stairs and into the living room where Mr. and Mrs. Jordan were.
Mr. Jordan was sitting in an arm chair with a paper in his hands and Mrs. Jordan was working at a typewriter with a muggle radio playing low in the background when the boys came in and both looked up, instantly spotting Lee's trunk. "It seems the time has come early dear. Lee has decided to move out." Mr. Jordan said with a slight smile on his face.
Mrs. Jordan turned fully away from her typewriter, "I see. Remember we expect you around for Sunday dinners each week Lee." She teased.
Lee dropped the end of his trunk down and rolled his eyes at his parents, "I'm not moving out. I and the twins want to go over to a friend house for a couple weeks."
Mrs. Jordan raised an eyebrow at that, "A couple weeks? Is this okay with this 'friends' parents?"
Lee tugged at his clothes but the twins came up on either side of him, "We do have permission from this person's parents Mrs. Jordan." George said politely.
"We were given an open invitation to come over this summer." Fred continue with a small smile on his face.
Mrs. Jordan shook her head, "Come on boys, you'll have to do better than that. I'm a writer remember." She looked directly at Lee, "The truth young man."
Mr. Jordan shuffled the paper as he turned it around, "Does it have something to do with this?" when the three boys looked over to the paper they found the Prophet headline staring back at them once more.
"Well?" Mrs. Jordan prompted.
Lee sighed and looked over at his mum, "Harriet is the twins' soulmate!" he blurted.
"Lee!" the twins exclaimed.
Mrs. Jordan just perked up though, "Oh how sweet!" she practically squealed, the twins blushed dark red.
Mr. Jordan raised an eyebrow at the twins but focused on his son, "And this is the Harriet you've been talking about since you came home? Harriet Potter, the girl-who-lived, one of the most famous witches in the world." Lee nodded, Mr. Jordan gestured to the paper, "Is she safe for you three to go to? This doesn't sound like it."
"She's not staying with them." Fred piped up.
"She sent us a note after the first article saying that she was safe." George added.
Mr. Jordan studied the twins for a moment before nodding, "So she's…what? Using the media?"
"We're not sure." Lee admitted, "She won't tell us anything more until we perfect Occlumency."
Mr. Jordan's eyebrows rose, "That's a very advanced skill. Have you had any luck?"
"We've got it!" the twins exclaimed proudly.
Lee nodded, "I'm almost there. I should have it by the end of the summer or maybe a little before."
Mrs. Jordan smiled, "Well as long as you can send us updates so we know your safe I don't see a problem." She looked to the twins, "I'm sure you two want to check on your soulmate." She gave a dreamy sigh and all the males gave a slight shudder, "It's just so adorable. You'll have to tell me how you found out! I bet you're going to sweep that girl off her feet and ride off into the sunset, on your brooms of course, Lee told me you were all on the Quidditch team together." She leveled her gaze on the three boys, "You three better bring her around so I can meet her. I need the full visual! I saw that picture in the paper but in person would be better."
"Yes Mrs. Jordan." The twins gulped.
"Of course mum." Lee laughed shakily.
Mr. Jordan just looked on, amused at his wife's antics, he knew once she had caught the scent of a fantastic story she wouldn't rest until she got the full thing. "Dear, they need to go check on Harriet first. I'm sure we can meet them in Diagon Alley at the end of the summer to get their school supplies and meet Harriet at the same time."
Mrs. Jordan's smile widened, "Perfect!" she clapped, "I expect you four to show up with enough time for me to talk to her properly!"
"Yes, ma'am." All three replied.
Mr. Jordan smiled, "Lee, take the emergency portkey with you. If you need help, don't hesitate to come home and call me." He put the paper down, "I'm sure this article will cause another stir but I won't bring in the aurors unless absolutely necessary."
"Thanks dad!" Lee said happily, he tugged at his trunk so he could drag it again, "We'll owl you when we get the chance!"
"Thank your Mr. and Mrs. Jordan!" the twins chorused.
"Thanks mum, thanks dad!" Lee said, "Bye! We'll see you at the end of the summer!"
"Bye boys!" Mrs. Jordan called as they all headed toward the foyer, "Be safe!"
"We'll see you later!" Mr. Jordan added.
The boys all made it to the foyer where the wards were relaxed enough to portkey. Lee grabbed the small African pendant necklace that was the family emergency portkey and put it around his neck, "Alright, ready!"
All three pulled their wands and pressed the tips to the bracelets Harri had given them, "Avengers Assemble!" they called together. They were pulled away instantly.
When the swirling stopped they found themselves in the huge foyer of a pureblood manor. Straight ahead of them was hallway leading deeper into the manor and twin's stair cases arched over it that lead to the upper level. "Merlin this place is big!" Lee exclaimed.
A pop alerted them to the arrival of a house elf, one that stood a little way ahead of them, "Welcome to Potter Manor!" the elf squeaked, "You must be bein' Young Lady Harri's guests!"
"Um, yes, I'm Fred Weasley."
"And I'm George Weasley." The twins introduced.
"I'm Lee Jordan." He added after the twins.
The elf nodded, "Welcome young masters!"
"Is Harriet here?" the twins asked in unison.
The elf shook his head, "Young Lady Harri is out retrieving Master Barnes. You can bes waiting for her with the others. Come, Poe will show you!" the little elf turned away from them and trotted away into the hallway under the stairs. The three boys shrugged and followed after the elf, Lee leaving his trunk in the foyer.
Poe eventually led them to a large mostly empty ball room. At the closest end was a table sat up with three people around it. Two of them, one a girl with long blonde hair who was wearing a jumper and radish earrings and the other a boy with brown hair that had gray dappled through it who was wearing slacks and a dress shirt, were playing a game of wizard's chess. The final one, the only one the twins recognized, was fiddling with what looked to be a metal arm that was laid out on the table in front of him.
"Hey Tony!" the twins greeted, making all three heads swivel over to them.
Tony grinned, "Hey! It's Harri's twins!" they blushed but came over with Lee following behind, his eyes going wide as he realized who this was.
"You're Tony Stark." Lee rasped, his eyes never leaving Tony's face.
Tony raised an eyebrow before he patted himself down, "Last time I checked."
"Bloody hell you're awesome!" Lee exclaimed, he pushed through the twins lightly and shook Tony's outstretched hand enthusiastically, "I'm a big, big fan Mr. Stark!"
Tony looked amused but let Lee continue shaking his hand, "You must be Lee Jordan, Jarvis told me about you."
"Tony Stark knows my name." Lee squeaked.
Tony chuckled as Lee finally released his hand, "Indeed I do." He looked over to the twins who were watching this with barely contained laughter, "What's up? Harri said you wouldn't be here for a while."
"Got into a bit of trouble." Fred admitted.
"We came to tell Harriet in case it ended up effecting her plans." George added.
Tony arched an eyebrow, "You've only been away from her for two weeks. What could you have done in that time?"
Lee snorted, "These two? I'm surprised they didn't end up burning the Burrow to the ground while pining for her." He said lowly, his eyes still fixed on Tony.
"We just punched Ron for badmouthing Harriet." George pouted.
"Besides we wouldn't burn down the Burrow without Harriet there to be impressed by our skills." Fred said with a smirk.
The boy playing chess chuckled, "I couldn't see her being impressed by a burning building."
The twins turned to this new addition, "It's not the burning…"
"that would impress our mate…"
"but the way we burned it down." The twins insisted.
The boy snorted, "I see." He held out a hands to them with his arms crossed, "I'm Sleipnir." He greeted.
The twins caught the peculiar arm placement as they each took a hand to shake, "I'm Fred…"
"And I'm George." They greeted. "Sleipnir huh?"
"After The God of Mischief's first son?"
"Wicked." They ended together.
Sleipnir's lips quirked up a little, "Quite." He said as he dropped their hands.
The twins turned to the girl who was sitting there, "And you?" Fred questioned.
"I'd say a Malfoy but they only have one son."
"Prat that he is."
"So Lovegood?" George asked.
She smiled and held out her hands in the same crossed form that Sleipnir had, "I'm Luna Lovegood." The twins took her hands and she tilted her head at them, "And yes, your mate is instructing people on the proper greeting for you."
Fred and George shared a look but shrugged, "That's Harriet." They chorused, Luna laughed. Fred and George looked between the three before them, "So, where exactly is Harriet?"
Harriet was currently crouched in a line of undergrowth that grew along a dirt path half a mile from the Hydra base she had found Bucky in. She kept her breathing slow and even so her breath wouldn't cloud too much in the cold Russian air. Harriet was grateful that her battle suit had shown up yesterday during their run, the temporary mission clothes she had been using really wouldn't have kept her as comfortable as the suit was.
Of course comfort was just a perk. This mission suit was really the quality she had been hoping for and made her look amazing if she was being honest. The suit fit her like a glove but was made for easy movement. It zipped up and the front and was a dark shimmering gray, the shimmer holding the specially charmed fibers that gave the suit all the protections she had ordered as well as the ability for the suit to fix its self should it get damaged. It was a real quality piece of work.
To complete her look Harriet had her wand in a thigh holster on her right and her gun in a thigh holster on left thigh. Extra clips and her throwing knives were attached to a belt around her waist. Over her suit and belt she had a knee length, long sleeved jacket with a deep hood that was made to conceal her face and that would fully conceal it in shadow to those not in the know once she had finished her personal rune work on it. She had soft leather boots to finish the look off.
Harri hissed in annoyance as her passengers tightened around her upper arms and neck, *Why did you insist on coming if you were just going to be in your snake forms?*
*We'll change back once we're in the truck.* Sirius said, *You're just better at the physical stuff than we are.*
Harriet clenched her jaw to keep from snarling back something that was less than kind. She drew in a calming breath; she knew she wasn't really angry, she was just very, very, very annoyed.
Next to her, Loki, in his light armor and without his helmet, shifted in place to look at the snakes, "Are they going to be a problem?"
"More of an annoyance." Harri muttered, "The only times I've gone into battle with a snake, it was Jörmungandr in his smaller form and he stayed around my neck so he didn't restrict my movement." She continued, pointedly ignoring the Marauders protests at being called annoyances.
"You trusted one of the most venomous beings in the nine realms in close proximity to your throat?" Loki asked in surprise, "Weren't you afraid of him?"
"Nah, we were friends." Harri said, she lifted her head as the trucks they were waiting on came within hearing distance. "Besides," she started, distractedly, "venomous and scary he may be but he's still the same snake I remember having to help you nurse back to health because he thought it would be a good idea to eat two enormous acidic jello monsters. I could never be truly afraid of him after watching him whine in a pile of blankets and pillows for a week straight."
Loki's lips quirked up at that but he asked, "We nursed him as a snake? Wasn't his shifting unlocked?"
Harriet nodded as the first of the supply convoy came into view, "Yeah, but Jörmungandr preferred his snake form. He only shifted if he absolutely had to. He liked to ride around with you, me, and Tony, though he rode with him mostly because they both enjoyed freaking people out with his presence." Harri glanced up to the snow filled tree branch above them, "Okay, it looks like only four trucks. Once the second one passes I'll hit the branch to blind the third truck momentarily and we'll jump into the second. Got it?"
"It's almost like you think you're talking to Thor." Loki grumbled, getting ready.
Harri smiled but didn't let her eyes drift from the approaching convoy. Once the second truck was in front of them Harri sent a quick spell at the branch above, making the snow pour down toward the windshield of the third truck. Harri and Loki were instantly on the move, slipping from the underbrush and jumping into the back of the truck, pushing the canvas covering back into place just as the snow cleared from the other trucks view.
There was only one guard in the back of the truck with a semi-automatic rifle clutched in his hands. Harri was quick to stun him and dive into his mind to gather information. Harri pulled out of the man's mind and obliviated him before casting a sleep spell on him. *Stay as snakes.* she grudgingly told the Marauders.
"Did you get anything from him?" Loki asked.
"I have a better idea of Bucky's location and a rough estimate of how many are at the base." Harri answered, she turned to one of the creates and opened it magically, "I also saw what will happen to the trucks as soon as we get there." She pulled free the first tray full of new handguns and ammo before pulling out the last three together and tucking them safely into her pocket dimension with her other weapons. "It will be best for us to hide under these weapons with a muggle repelling ward. According to the information I got, the room this will be taken to for accounting and storage is in the same wing as Bucky."
"What a good bit of luck." Loki said, stepping over to the crate and enlarging the space directly below the top rung that would need to hold the weapons with a simple wave of his hand.
"Show off." Harri giggled as she set the crates lid on top of the weapons tray.
"I have no idea what you mean." Loki said with a smirk as he climbed into the crate and sat down.
Harri climbed in and sat opposite of Loki as she pulled the tray of weapons and the lid back on over top of them. Once it was in place Harriet wove a strong muggle repelling ward just above them before casting several disillusionment and feather weight charms on them, Loki examined the charms attached to him as they continued the ride. Harriet smiled at the genuine curiosity, it reminded her of all that time she and the twins had spent teaching Loki of the Midgardian magics. She smiled and pulled her wand free, handing it to Loki.
Loki's eyes widened a bit, he knew what this was but didn't think any of them would have allowed him to touch one. He knew any magic wielder would be very protective of tools used to focus their magic, especially one that was so closely attuned to one's magic signature. Loki glanced at Harriet but she seemed unbothered by him holding her wand; she was actually looking out through one of the holes in the crate, checking on what was happening outside. Loki pushed a little of his magic into the wand and felt the same familiar cool of Harriet's power within the wood, pulling at his magic playfully but not forcefully. Carefully, Loki channeled his magic into the wand, focusing on making on of his light orbs.
He jolted when a blinding light came from the tip of Harriet's wand for a second before she turned and clapped her hands over the tip, she smiled at him, "Careful." She kept her hands curled around the tip, "Midgardian wands don't just channel magic they give it a boost. It's all about getting the best results with the least amount of magic. So our wands are made from woods that conduct magic well, the cores within are the special bit though. We use cores made from pieces of magic animals, the better you connect with the core the better it will amplify the magic you send into it." Harri explained quietly as she felt the truck come to a stop, Loki was completely absorbed in her lesson though, "You will connect to this core rather well because it's one of my feathers. I see you as flock so the connection, though this isn't your wand, is a good one. You will need only the slightest bit of magic." she carefully opened her hands, making sure that the light had gone out, "Alright, now use maybe a fourth of what you usually would." Loki pushed just the barest bit of magic into the wand with the intention of making his light orbs, a rather bright green orb pushed its way from the tip of Harri's wand. Harri smiled and nodded, "See?"
"Curious." Loki commented, his eyes on the orb.
They were interrupted by a shout from outside of the truck and Loki dispersed the orb with a wave of his hand as he gave Harriet back her wand. They stayed tense and at the ready as their crate was taken from the truck and carried inside. Harriet drew the wards around them tighter as they were set down and angry sounding Russian was shouted overhead. The top opened and she heard the scratching of a pen before hands went around the tray above them, Harri fingered her gun but released it as the hands disappeared and the lid was replaced. They waited until the room around them went quiet and Harri peaked out through the hole in the crate, "Alright, all clear." She pushed up as she released the wards, popping the lid off once more and setting it on a crate next to them.
"We're lucky they didn't stack anything on top of us." Loki said as he climbed out of the crate after Harri.
"It's the bipolar Potter luck." She said as she pulled the snakes free, "It can flip any moment. Fate hates me." The Marauders transformed back, each wearing dueling robes that Harri shuddered thinking of having to fight in. "Code names, we don't need them getting anything substantial." She warned, Harri looked over to Loki, "You should be fine. They will probably think your name is a code." They all nodded and Harri started off with them close behind.
They set a quick pace as they moved through the base, going toward a stairwell that Harri knew they needed to climb to get to the floor Bucky was on. They were clearing most of the distance without trouble when Harriet felt something familiar brush up against her magic and froze. "What is it Godiva?" James asked, Remus was keeping an eye out behind him and Sirius further ahead as Loki spread his magic out to try and feel what had stopped Harriet.
"The Scarlet Witch is here." Harri hissed to them, feeling the energy coming closer. Harri hadn't spent much time in close contact Wanda or, as she was better known, the Scarlet Witch. In the last timeline, before they had moved into the tower but after they had become consultants to the Avengers was the first time Harri had heard about her. The team had come home from a mission and they had been invited over for the debrief when Loki had sensed a foreign energy on Tony. It was after that they found out that Tony had a small encounter with her that had him already planning an AI to police the world a bit better, Harri knew that it would have turned out badly. Harri, the twins, and Loki had been sent out to capture her and they had in record time. She wasn't a real witch, one of the worlds Ministries of Magic would have caught her for showing her magic to muggles if she were, but she was a rather powerful mutant who could be a pain in the ass if Harri didn't deal with her quickly.
Wanda's energy came closer and Harri ran her magic along it as she motioned everyone against the wall. Harri pulled her wand and tracked the energy coming toward them, its progress slow now that it had sensed another power in the area. The second the brown haired mutant stuck her head around the corner Harri shot off a stunner making the girl drop to the ground. "Keep watch." Harri ordered the Marauders as she flipped the girl over and crouched down, Loki next to her. "Shit." She whispered as she took in the young features, "She would be younger now I guess."
"What are you going to do with her?" Loki asked, "I assume she was one of our enemies since you never mentioned her."
"She's a mutant." Harri said, "When we met her last time she was older and the ideas she had were already planted deep. I was going to just take her out, she is a danger to us, especially with her hatred of Tony, but right now she's still a kid." Harri sighed and ran a hand over her face. "I'm going to send her to the Professor. Hopefully he can sort her out. If I come across her as an enemy again though I won't hold back." Loki nodded solemnly as Harri pulled out one of her throwing knives and transfigured it into a more harmless flat metal phoenix, she didn't know the exact coordinates of the X-men school but she had been there before. She hoped if she set a wide enough area the portkey would leave her somewhere she wouldn't drop onto students. Harri focused on the training simulator room she had the pleasure of seeing and cast the portus spell. Harri dropped the phoenix onto Wanda's stomach and said the activation, sending the girl far away.
"Is that all Godiva?" James asked and Harri looked up to her father, her eyes narrowing when she saw him watching her while standing slightly around the corner instead of keeping watch on that hallway.
Harri was about snap at her dad when the muzzle of a gun appeared at his head from around the corner, "Freeze!" a voice said, Harri head other boots approaching around the corner, "Identify yourself!"
James' eyes were wide but Harriet moved into action immediately, Harri cast an accio on her father while sending a cutting curse at the guard's wrist. The man lost a hand as James flew toward Harriet, she cut the spell and side stepped her father as she rolled forward and gripped the stump that vaguely reminded her of Wormtail in the graveyard. Harri pulled the screaming man forward to throw off his balance as she struck out with one of her knives, slitting his throat. Harri and Loki moved forward in tandem toward the other guards, Harri slipping into step with Loki with the ease of many battles fought together. They took out the four other men easily, the last one slumping to the ground at Harri's feet without a head.
Harri sheathed the two knives she had been using and looked back to her stunned fathers with hard eyes, "When I say keep watch, I mean it. If you want to continue to come on missions with us, you need to keep focused on the task at hand." She whirled and started off again with Loki only a step behind.
"Why did you kill them?!" Sirius whisper shouted as they all practically ran after her.
"You could have just stunned them! They were just muggles!" James added.
Remus looked a little green from what he had seen, "Why did you have to make it so messy?"
Harriet glared back at them as she opened door to the stairwell, "Quiet. We are sssneaking around and your bitching isssn't helping." She hissed, a little bit of her parseltongue sneaking through in her anger.
Loki raised an eyebrow at them as they followed him through the door, "Besides, would you rather she left that man to kill you?"
"She could have just disarmed him." Remus stated before remembering that Harri had literally taken his hand off and probably could have taken the man's entire arm instead.
"And left them more men to attack with later?" Loki asked with a quirk of his brow.
"What if he was innocent?" Sirius snapped, "He was probably just following orders."
"We could have stunned him and brought him in!" James said.
Harri's shoulders went tense and she spun to face them, "In where?" she snapped, "We aren't aurors, we aren't Shield agents, and we sure as hell aren't Dumbledore." She snarled the name like a particularly nasty curse making the Marauders eyes go wide. Her eyes were like chipped ice as she regarded them coldly, "Besides, if we took them in like you suggested they would have snapped their suicide pills rather than crowd up my cells for more than a few seconds." She said harshly before continuing up the stairs.
Loki raised an eyebrow at the three Marauders, "You Midgardians have a funny way of going about war if you're too afraid to kill, even to keep your family and comrades safe." He followed after Harriet quickly.
After they had gone up two floors Harriet stopped at the door to the hall that lead to Bucky, she opened the door quickly with her wand at the ready. Thankfully she only saw one set of patrolling guards heading away from her, Harri ran forward silently and took the two guards out with minimal effort. Another set came around the corner ahead of them and Loki stepped forward to deal with them in two quick swings of his spear.
Harri and Loki glanced at each other before Harriet motioned to the left hall and Loki nodded. The Marauders followed behind as Loki took lead into the hall this time, Harri following after. They both took a side of the hall, peering into each room, looking for Bucky who Harri knew would be in this hall in one of the rooms training, eating, preparing to go back in cryo-sleep, or getting wiped; the only thing she knew for sure was that the Winter Solider had a logged mission two days ago so he should still be active not sleeping. When Harri found the training and the dining rooms empty she felt dread enter her.
"Harriet." Loki whispered urgently, Harri was over at his side in an instant to peer in the door he was at.
"Fuck." She growled as she saw the chair meant for wiping Bucky's memories surrounded by scientists ready to go to work and Bucky himself being dragged toward the chair for reprogramming or just a wipe, either way, Harri had to stop it. She pulled her gun and made sure she had a full clip before her hand went for the door handle.
It was stopped by another hand grabbing her wrist and Harri looked over with a frown to see her father staring at her, "Don't kill them."
Harri's eyes narrowed at him and her lip curled up in a Snape worthy sneer, "I will do what is necessary to protect my flock." Glacia screeched in her head, ready for battle, ready to take out those trying to hurt a member of their flock. Harri shook her dad off just as Bucky's screams started.
With a wave of Loki's hand, the door disintegrated and Harri and Loki stepped through, Harri with her gun raised and Loki with his full armor appearing around him. "I would suggest giving us the Solider." Loki said in a low dangerous voice as the gem in his spear glowed ominously.
"Protect the asset!" one of the scientists ordered the small squadron of thirty guards meant to protect and contain Bucky.
Harri erected her full shield with barely any movement from her wand even as she darted forward, Harri emptied her clip swiftly and efficiently into the vital points of the first twelve soldiers who came at her. Harri left the rest of them to Loki as she focused on the scientist and the chair holding Bucky. Harri holstered her gun as she fired curses at the scientists, she killed two with cutting curses to the throat before throwing one of her knives into a third's forehead and hitting the last with Severus' Sectumsempra and stepping over his writhing form to the control panel as he bled out. Harri heard Loki taking care of the last three of his guards as Harri found the button to stop the machine.
Harriet quickly came around to the front of the chair, ignoring the bodies she had to cross, as it sat Bucky back upright. Harri placed a gentle hand on his shoulder as she pulled the mouth guard from him carefully, "Easy there Bucky, it's alright. Breathe." She soothed softly as he sucked in large amounts of air. Harri hit him with a close range sleep spell. Harri moved to pick him up in a fireman carry but Loki nudged her out of the way and picked him up with little issue. As Loki took Bucky out of range of the chair Harri cast fiendfyre and directed it to consume the chair, Harri held it until the torture device was nothing but a puddle of liquid metal on the floor then cut off the flames.
The sound of running boots alerted Harri that the agents were no longer unaware of their presence. Harri looked over to the Marauders who were looking over the carnage before them with sick expressions, "We need to get out of here. Get over here. Now." She ordered, they jolted into motion as Harri grabbed onto Loki's staff with him and her flames began to swirl around them. Once the three had a hand on her Harriet pulled on her flames more and they rose to encompass them, drawing them away a second before the next person entered the room to find their comrades dead on the floor and the asset gone.
Chapter Notes:
I'm not completely happy with the article but its done it purpose.
"She let out an angry shrieky breathe." no, its not a typo. It's supposed to be like when you scream with your teeth clenched, that sort of trilled scream.
Aw, Percy is so sweet.
Lee is an awesome best friend, ready to go on the run when the twins become wanted wizards.
Sure, Sleipnir was named after himself. Lol.
Jor was family through Loki but he wasn't brought into the family until Loki felt it was truly safe last time and that was about a year before the attack that killed Harri's baby.
Hot Damn! Action Scenes!
Don't forget to check out Ao3 for extra bits!
See you next time!