Number 21
Harry was in a panic.
Christmas was in two days and he didn't have any gifts for anyone.
"Mr Potter, let me assure you no one expects you to buy them gifts," Jarvis told him, not for the first time. "Though perhaps making a Christmas card for the others would be appreciated."
Harry sighed and rubbed his hands across his face, glasses almost falling off. He quickly pushed them back on his nose and sighed again. Making Christmas cards? No. Harry had no talents for arts and crafts, at least not when it had been expected of him back in primary school and he hadn't done anything artsy since. The only thing he was good at, besides certain aspects of magic, was cleaning and cooking for the Dursleys.
He could offer coupons to everyone, good for Harry vacuuming their rooms or something. Or he could do as Bucky and bake some treats.
Wait.
Harry looked up, eyes widening. He could do as Bucky and bake some treats. Harry had baked biscuits at the Dursleys numerous times. "Jarvis," Harry said urgently, looking up at the nearest camera like he always did when talking to the faceless AI. "Would it be appreciated, do you think, if I baked people biscuits?"
"I believe so," Jarvis said, obviously warming to the subject. "It is indeed tradition to share homemade baked goods amongst your loved ones, and Christmas cookies appear to be a favourite thing to make. Shall I look up a few recipes and order the necessary ingredients? And perhaps add some festive cookie jars to gift them in? And some wrapping paper?"
"Yes, yes, and yes!" Harry jumped up from the couch and picked up the nearest tablet where Jarvis conveniently displayed multiple recipes for Harry to choose from.
There were many recipes, some very simple, and some that needed an advanced degree in frosting by the looks of it. Harry selected three recipes. Gingerbread cookies, because Jarvis assured him they were traditional and the frosting didn't seem too complicated. Peppermint Pattie-stuffed chocolate cookies, because they frankly looked delicious and weren't even that difficult to make. And a simple peanut butter chocolate chip cookie.
Jarvis got all the ingredients delivered within the hour, and by that time Harry had gathered all the tools he needed. A sturdy stand mixer he'd borrowed from the main kitchen, several cookie sheets, mixing bowls and spatulas.
Following the recipes carefully, Harry got started at once and before long had a big batch of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies in the oven while he started on the gingerbread cookies. Jarvis turned on some classic Christmas music to add to the mood and Harry hummed along as he took out the first batch of cookies, placed them on several cooling racks and got the next batch baking. Then he tackled the Peppermint Pattie-stuffed chocolate cookies, which were a little more involved but still easy enough to make.
By that time a few big boxes of various Christmasy cookie jars were delivered, together with a pile of cards, a bag of bows and several rolls of wrapping paper, and Harry started organizing how many jars he needed for who.
"Something smells delicious," Thor said as he entered their living room, returning from his daily workout.
"No!" Harry looked up in alarm from a new batch of cookies he was mixing. "You can't have any and you can't even be here. It's for Christmas and it's supposed to be a surprise."
Thor looked around at the living room covered in cookie jars and the kitchen covered in cooling racks piled with cookies and gave Harry a serious look. "I swear, Haraldr, I shall not speak a word of this." And with that Thor disappeared into his bedroom to take a shower.
Less than ten minutes later Jarvis alerted him to a visitor standing outside their door. "Mr Barnes requests entrance."
"Nope. Tell him I'm busy," Harry said, and he was busy trying to frost gingerbread cookies with a piping bag.
"Mr Barnes requests you give him the recipe of whatever it is you're baking," Jarvis said with obvious amusement in his voice.
"Tell him after Christmas." This whole piping thing was much harder than it looked, Harry quickly found out. No wonder Bucky's cupcakes always looked like they were covered in turds.
"Mr Barnes wants you to know those terms are acceptable and he shall see you at dinner."
Harry spent the whole afternoon baking and frosting and filling cookie jars. He took a quick break for a joint dinner with the others, but afterwards he went right back at it. The next day was spent wrapping all the cookie jars, after Jarvis showed him a few very helpful YouTube videos on how one should wrap presents and have them look at least somewhat presentable. And later that night, when the communal living room was empty, Harry snuck all his presents under the big tree decorated with Avengers ornaments and Christmas lights in red and gold. By the looks of it, he was the last one to do so because there were dozens and dozens of presents already there.
And then Christmas arrived and Tony got Jarvis to wake everyone up before the crack of dawn, ordering them into the living room where a simple breakfast buffet waited for them with coffee, tea and hot chocolate and easy to eat sandwiches, and scones filled with fried eggs and ham, croissants and sausage rolls.
Everyone shuffled inside still in their pyjamas, Harry included since Jarvis had made sure he had appropriate Christmas pyjamas just a few days earlier, and they filled plates and mugs before sitting in a loose circle around the tree, yawning and rubbing their eyes.
Opening presents with so many people was slightly chaotic, especially since Tony had put himself in charge and had a habit of randomly handing our gifts three or four at a time, so everyone was unwrapping gifts and thanking each other at the same time.
Still, Harry enjoyed the whole thing immensely and didn't think he'd ever had this good of a Christmas before, least of all because he spent it with his actual parents for the first time ever. Thor and Loki sat on either side of him and more than once Harry glanced at them in slight disbelief. Barely six months ago he hadn't known that he had living parents who genuinely loved him and now look at him. Those thoughts filled Harry with warmth even more so than the delicious hot chocolate did.
Harry received several magical books from his mother and a small sword from his father, with the promise to start teaching him how to use it as soon as possible. Harry actually looked forward to that because sword fighting seemed like a really cool thing to learn.
From the others he got an assortment of things, from new clothes courtesy of Pepper to gift cards from Steve and some books from Bruce. Tony, of course, gave him the latest Stark phone which had been prepped to work around magic, with a charger that worked on solar power.
Bucky had baked everyone cupcakes, gifting them in special Christmas cupcake containers, which Harry hadn't even known existed. Still, he looked forward to eating them because Bucky really was a talented baker.
"I'm very surprised by this gift," Thor proclaimed loudly when he opened Harry's gift to him. "I had no idea you would gift me with homemade baked goods, Haraldr." And then he winked at Harry, and Harry simultaneously laughed while shaking his head. Subtle, his father was not.
Harry's cookie jars went over well and people thanked him for his effort and Clint and Sam and Tony all immediately tried a few of the cookies, not caring that the gingerbread men looked like they had vomit running down their bodies, thanks to Harry's minimal talents in frosting.
"These are the best," Clint announced, holding up a peppermint pattie-stuffed chocolate cookie. "Seriously, from now on you can bake these for me for any special occasion that requires gifts and I'll be completely happy."
Bucky, who'd been keeping Harry's gift to him on his lap, guarding it with his metal arm, tentatively opened up his cookie jar and fished out a peppermint pattie-stuffed chocolate cookie. He took a careful bite, chewed for a moment and then his eyes widened and he stared at Harry in amazement before taking a bigger bite.
For some reason this made Harry's cheeks heat up and he ducked his head, suddenly feeling all sorts of shy, which was really weird, but then again, he'd never experienced a Christmas morning like this so who even knew how he was supposed to feel.
When everyone was just about done with opening presents, and all seemed to appreciate Harry's efforts and his cookies, Harry looked up at the nearest camera and offered it a quick thumbs-up.
In reply, Jarvis flashed a smiley face on the screen of Harry's new phone.
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Number 22
"You want in on the next round?" Bucky called from where he sat on the couch, playing Mario Kart with Steve, Sam and Thor.
"Sure," Harry said and he got up from his seat at the dining table in the communal living room.
"We can team up, kid," Clint said, leaning back in his chair on the other side of the table, tipping it backwards as far as he could without falling over.
"All right," Harry said with an easy shrug. He'd happily team up with Clint, since the man was much better at Mario Kart than Harry was. Harry had just been finishing up his diary that Agatha had requested he start keeping, as a way for him to work through things that happened to him on a day to day basis, but also to try to help him describe some of the more traumatic events of his life that Harry usually still had trouble putting into spoken words.
Agatha had also arranged with Tony that she would videocall Harry on his phone once a week so they could continue their sessions while Harry was at Hogwarts. Harry didn't mind, not really. Yes, the sessions with Agatha always left him feeling raw and vulnerable and sometimes almost irrationally angry, but they also gave him a great sense of liberation. Somehow sharing all your troubles, big and small, with a neutral third party who didn't judge you and just wanted to help you process all of it was really quite helpful, even if it didn't always seem like that.
It was the day before New Year's and the holiday was slowly but surely coming to an end, much to Harry's disappointment. Loki had hinted several times, and downright asked once, for Harry to stay with them in New York, but Harry really did want to go back to Hogwarts. He loved the castle and his friends and the student life he had there, even if he knew he would miss his family and friends in New York more and more the better he got to know them every time he spent time in Avengers Tower.
Of course, there was one person who apparently didn't even believe in holidays of any sort for his students, and that was Snape. Naturally, he'd assigned them all homework, the only professor to do so for the winter holidays.
Harry sighed. His potions grades were mediocre at best so he really couldn't afford to mess up the essay he was expected to write. He'd best make sure he'd finished it properly and hadn't forgotten anything. Shuffling through his pile of paperwork, Harry picked up his dad's hammer to move it, since Thor had the habit of putting it on the first surface he could find without a care in the world whenever he entered a room, no matter that happened to be right on top of his son's homework.
There was a loud crash from across the dining table as Clint fell backwards, chair and all.
"What the fuck!" Clint yelled as he quickly jumped to his feet. "Harry!"
Harry stood frozen, hammer in one hand, potions essay in the other, unsure if he'd done something wrong.
Of course, Clint's loud response had drawn the attention of everyone in the room, because there came a loud and overly enthused "Son!" from the living room area not soon after.
Thor was at Harry's side in an instant, a bright smile lighting up his whole face as he stared down at Harry with obvious pride written across every inch of him. "Son!"
"Dad," Harry replied with a dubious smile, still not sure what was happening. "Could you maybe not leave your hammer on my potions essays again? If it smudges the ink, Snape will deduct points. Well, more points than usual."
"Son!" Thor said again, now beaming at Harry in a way that Harry had never seen before, and then he wrapped his huge arms around Harry, hammer and essay and all.
The elevator opened to release a dishevelled looking Tony and a pale, disbelieving Loki. "Jarvis said something had happened," Tony said, quickly glancing around the room to figure out what it could possibly be.
"Loki, look!" Thor stepped back to reveal a very confused Harry, who looked up at his mother with pleading eyes, hoping that someone might explain what on earth was happening.
"I'll be damned," Tony said with a crooked grin as he crossed his arms and stepped up to Clint. "It's got to be the DNA, right?"
"They do share DNA, yeah," Clint said, as if he hadn't thought of that before. "That might be it."
"Whut?" Harry managed to croak, while he looked between Tony and Clint with wide eyes.
"Nice hammer you got there. Been lifting it often?" Tony asked with a tilt of his head, grin still firmly in place.
"Whenever Dad leaves it lying about and I need to move it," Harry said, unsure why anyone would be interested in this topic.
"Jarvis, you sly dog," Tony said, winking up at the ceiling. "You've been keeping secrets from us."
"I merely didn't want to ruin the surprise," Jarvis said without a hint of remorse.
Loki, much to Harry's added confusion, didn't seem all that excited about whatever was happening. Loki sniffed and straightened himself up to his full height while giving Thor a look of utmost supremacy. Or perhaps it was merely a murderous look. It was hard to tell with Loki sometimes.
"Obviously Haraldr can lift your hammer," Loki said in a tone that suggested he found the topic utterly droll. "He is your son."
Something came over Thor, something soft and understanding, and he all but lifted Harry up as he closed the space between them and Loki, so he could pull his brother in a tight hug. "You forget, Loki," Thor whispered as he held them both as close as he could. "That Haraldr is half yours. And yet he can still raise Mjolnir. That can't all be me."
Loki stilled in Thor's arms before he released a shuddering sigh and relaxed against his brother, head leaning on Thor's shoulder. And Harry stood between his parents, hammer clutched in his hand, his potions essay a crumbled mess, and he wondered if his parents had suddenly gone utterly insane.
"Can someone please explain what is going on?" Bucky yelled from the couch. "I'm so confused."
That made two of them, Harry thought, even if he did enjoy the impromptu family hug.
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Number 23
"Jesus, fuck," Bucky groaned, face buried in his flesh hand while his metal hand gripped several moist tissues. "That should be illegal."
"Yeah," Harry agreed in a hoarse voice. "Or at least come with some sort of warning." Harry squeezed his eyes shut while rubbing a tissue over his raw, dripping nose. In his lap lay a collection of about ten used tissues, all wet and crumpled.
They had just watched the first ten minutes of Pixar's Up.
It had started out fine. A fun introduction between two kids who went on to become friends who ended up married and lived their lives. Such a simple story, yet told in such a way that both Harry and Bucky had completely lost their shit, pretty much, and ended up bawling their eyes out sitting side by side on the couch while Jarvis tactically paused the movie.
It was December 31st and early that morning the Avengers had announced they had a mission but would probably be home in time to celebrate New Year's at the tower. And since Harry and Bucky were still ploughing their way through the whole list of Pixar movies, they decided to have a lazy day on the couch together and binge watch what they could before the rest returned.
Harry figured he had earned a day of lazing about after he'd basically discovered that only yesterday he'd pulled the Norse version of Excalibur out of a rock. Or something. Harry still wasn't entirely sure what it all meant and he preferred not to think about it for a good long while.
"I assure you that the rest of the movie is just a fun adventure between the older gentleman, a young boy and an assortment of talking dogs," Jarvis said when both Harry and Bucky had regained most of their composure.
Inhaling a deep breath, Harry got up to refill their mugs with hot chocolate and once they were both sipping their beverages, box of tissues placed strategically between them, just in case, Jarvis restarted the movie.
They did enjoy the rest of the movie without any further breakdowns, and they followed it up with Brave, which was also a pleasant viewing experience. They decided to skip any of the Cars and Toy Story sequels for now, since they wanted to watch as many original titles as they could before Harry had to return to Hogwarts in three days' time.
Jarvis ordered them Italian subs for lunch, which they devoured while watching the beginning of Inside Out, which also seemed to be an exciting adventure without any emotional boobytraps.
And then Bing Bong died.
"Motherfucker!" Bucky sat hunched over, face buried in a whole wad of tissues.
Harry was desperately trying to inhale breath after breath as tears streamed down his face while wondering why the hell some elephant-dolphin cartoon character affected him that much while he'd bloody well faced Lord Voldemort multiple times and walked away without a single tear shed.
This time Bucky went to refill their hot cocoas.
The rest of Inside Out was an interesting story with a rather profound message about happiness and sadness that stuck with Harry in ways he couldn't yet completely understand, but which he was sure he'd be thinking about for days to come.
The Good Dinosaur was so-so, a bit boring in places. So much so that both Harry and Bucky may have taken a powernap while the movie played.
For dinner Jarvis ordered them some amazing New York pizza, and they devoured plenty of slices between them while starting on Coco. Just as they finished their food and were halfway through the movie, Tony burst through the door, closely followed by Harry's parents and the rest of the Avengers.
"Ding dong, the witch is dead!" Tony crowed as he stopped right in front of Harry and dipped down in an elaborate bow, arm swinging down in front of him. "You're welcome!"
"What?" Harry looked from Tony to his grinning parents. "What witch?"
"We have slain your enemy, Haraldr," Thor said as he stepped around Tony to give Harry's shoulder a comforting squeeze. "And your adoptive parents have been avenged."
Slowly Harry rose to his feet, feeling a little lightheaded because it sounded like Thor just said that they'd killed Voldemort.
"Easy," Loki said, and he was by Harry's side in an instant as he must have noticed Harry was getting a little woozy. "Voldemort is dead. I have slain him myself in your name."
"Poked him right in the back with a sword, went straight through his heart," Tony agreed with a proud smile directed at Loki.
Clint gave Loki the stink-eye. "Yeah, he got to the bastard before I could even load my bow."
Natasha patted Clint on the shoulder. "You still got to shoot a few other wizards."
"Through the shoulder, just so they dropped their wands," Clint said with a disappointed sigh. "After that they were pretty much defenceless."
"Aye," Thor agreed with a solemn nod. "Loki defeated the real enemy. I did get to smite some of the enemy's servants."
Steve smiled as he looked between everyone, his uniform pristine, his shield shiny, as though he hadn't seen any battle at all. "Yeah, as it turns out those wizards are nothing without their wands. We were able to round them up real quick."
"And now they'll be spending some time in the Raft," Natasha agreed with a smirk.
"Voldemort is dead? Really dead?" Harry's ears were ringing and much to his horror his bottom lip started trembling and his eyes filled with tears, which should be impossible because he was sure he'd already shed all the tears he could possible hold during the day.
It was Bucky who stepped up to Harry and pulled him into a hug right before Harry lost his control and loud, almost primal sobs took over his shaking body.
"Haraldr?" Loki's voice was laced with concern as he placed a careful hand on Harry's shoulder.
Before that morning, Harry might have been embarrassed and deeply ashamed to fall apart in Bucky's arms, to have the assassin witness his tears, but after their mutual Pixar breakdowns Harry didn't want anyone else in the world there to see him through this emotional episode.
"I do not understand." Thor said in what seemed to be genuine confusion. "We thought you would be happy, Haraldr."
Bucky looked between Loki and Thor with narrowed eyes. "It is perfectly normal to feel a little sadness with your happiness, all right?"
"Ah," Tony said with a grin and a knowing nod. "Been continuing your Pixar marathon?"
"I still do not understand," Thor said while looking at everyone in the room with raised eyebrows.
Bucky released a deep, deep sigh, as if only now realizing he was surrounded by people with the emotional abilities of the average duck. "Jarvis, start Inside Out." Arms still firmly wrapped around Harry, Bucky led him back to the couch while the rest found their own seats around the room. The moment Jarvis started the movie, Bucky side-eyed a ceiling camera and whispered, "Just maybe skip the part with Bing Bong."
People called out food orders to Jarvis while Clint got some beers and sodas and everyone settled in to wind down from their eventful day.
And Harry cried for a few minutes more while he leaned against Bucky's broad chest, even when he wasn't sure why he was crying in the first place. He was happy Voldemort was dead, really, really happy. But as Harry had learned that day, sometimes you could be happy and sad at the same time, and that was okay, too.
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Number 24
After they all watched Inside Out and everyone was fed and watered, Tony urged them all to go change and freshen up for their New Year's celebration. It wasn't anything more than a gathering of the Avengers and their usual entourage in the communal living room, but it was still a real New Year's party of sorts.
Harry enjoyed the impromptu party, and he chatted with Bucky and Steve, and Darcy and Pepper, and they turned on the big screen TV to watch a ball drop, though Harry honestly had no clue what that was all about. He did get lots of kisses the moment the clock struck midnight, more than he'd ever had before, from all the ladies, even Natasha, and also from his mother and father, and Tony also gave him a scratchy kiss on his cheek while wishing him a happy new year.
Bucky basically retreated to the shadows the moment all the kissing started, eying everyone who even looked like they wanted to step closer to him with obvious suspicion. No one but Steve did, anyway, and Steve was allowed to briefly pull Bucky in a one-armed hug, but that was all Bucky was apparently willing to put up with.
By the time Harry was kissed so much his whole face felt like it might burst into flames, Bucky looked a little more at ease again and Harry walked up to him.
"Happy new year," Harry said as he stood beside Bucky, back to the wall.
"Happy new year," Bucky replied with a small smile aimed just at Harry before going back to glaring at everyone else.
And somehow that brief exchange made Harry's face heat up just as much as all the previous kisses had done.
Harry fell into bed an hour later, exhausted and happy and sad and all manner of other things that were still flying through his head ever since the Avengers had given him the news Voldemort was no more. Sleep did come, thankfully, but Harry's dreams were strange and eerie. More than once Voldemort's serpentine face invaded Harry's thoughts, proclaiming that all had been a lie and that Loki and Thor and Bucky and Tony were dead, slain by Voldemort's killing curses. Harry's sleep was fitful and restless and when he woke with a start at some point during the night there was a woman sitting on the edge of his bed, her soft hand placed gently on his forehead.
"Sshh," the woman said. She was very pretty and dressed in a luxurious blue dress while her blond hair was long and partially braided. "Fear not, Haraldr."
"Who are you?" Harry scrambled away from the woman, his heart hammering in his chest. "Jarvis!"
No reply followed from Harry's friend and guardian, much to Harry's silent horror. Was he still dreaming? Was this just an illusion brought on by the emotional day he'd had?
"Your invisible friend cannot see or hear us," the woman said, looking at Harry with a tilt of her head while giving him a warm smile. "My name is Frigga."
Harry released a shaky breath. He knew that name, had heard it quite a few times when his mother and father discussed their own family. This was his grandmother. "Are you here to take me away?" Harry said, breath catching in his throat at the idea of someone much more powerful than himself and even Loki and Thor coming to kidnap him again like they'd done when he'd just been a baby.
Frigga sighed and it was an utterly sad sound. "I am truly sorry for what Odin did to you and your parents. He hid his actions so well that even I was blind to them, and I see with more than just my eyes. It wasn't until your reunion with your mother and father that I became aware of your existence."
"That wasn't a no," Harry couldn't help but point out while he glared at her.
Frigga chuckled and gave him a very fond look. "Then let me be clear about this once and for all, Haraldr. I have no intention of separating you from your parents, now or in the future."
Harry relaxed just a bit. From what he understood from the stories of Thor and Loki, Frigga was a kind and honest woman, not to mention very wise and powerful. If she gave her word she wasn't about to kidnap him, Harry was willing to believe her. "All right. Thank you. Why are you here?"
"I wanted to get to know my grandson," Frigga said, reaching out a hand as if to touch him but drawing it back when it became apparent Harry wasn't quite willing just yet to be touched. "You do look like both Loki and Thor." Frigga sighed and it sounded both resigned yet oddly happy. "Loki never did know when a prank had gone too far. But even I never would have guessed he would one day take it this far."
Harry shrugged, not sure what to say to that. He understood all too well that people found his conception strange and off-putting. Harry himself found his own beginnings strange and off-putting, no matter that nowadays he genuinely loved his mother and father and was grateful for having them in his life.
"But no matter how you came to be, child, I am very glad to meet you," Frigga said, looking the picture of kindness again. "I have a gift for you." Frigga made a quick movement with her hand and at once a beautiful blooming red rose the size of a snitch lay on her hand, carved from what seemed to be some sort of gemstone. She handed it gently to a hesitant Harry. "Hold this gem and say my name and we'll be able to speak no matter where you are."
Harry carefully held the gem in his hand while admiring its many facets. "From anywhere?"
"Yes," Frigga said quickly. "If you are ever in trouble and need help, do not hesitate to contact me."
"Sure," Harry said agreeably. "But the Avengers killed my arch-nemesis earlier today, so I don't think I'll be in much danger anymore."
Frigga's look was both resigned and just a bit exasperated. "Perhaps your mortal enemy has been slain. But you are of Asgard, a member of the royal family, and you have many powerful enemies, child, that you may not yet know of."
Harry blinked at her and swallowed against his suddenly dry throat. He'd honestly only ever been worried about Voldemort, and now he learned that Voldemort had only been the first act, and that apparently there were many more enemy acts to follow.
"Worry not, Haraldr," Frigga quickly said, apparently noticing Harry's instant alarm. "Your parents will train you well, and I insist you call me at least once a week so I can teach you a few things myself."
Harry considered this while he stared at his grandmother. "Like what?" he asked, unable to deny his curiosity. "Loki's already teaching me magic, and Thor got me a sword so I can learn how to fight with it."
Frigga smiled while her eyes narrowed in amusement. "And I am sure my sons will teach you all they know. But I know a few things they don't, and I would be happy to share those with you."
Harry slowly nodded, figuring that talking to his grandmother once a week wouldn't hurt, especially if she wanted to teach him things that would ultimately help to keep him and his loved ones safe. "Yeah, alright, I'll call once a week."
"Thank you, Haraldr." Frigga sat up a little, brushing a quick hand down her skirts. "I will talk with Odin and convince him to let go of his silly notions about you so that some day soon you may visit Asgard for yourself."
Harry shrugged, not wanting to show how much Asgard intrigued him. Just the idea of visiting an alien world somewhere deep in space was amazing, but that it was his parents' home made it all the more interesting and Harry would someday like to visit it, even if he didn't think he'd ever want to meet Odin. He didn't think he'd ever be able to forgive his grandfather for dumping him on earth where he'd eventually ended up in the Dursleys' cupboard when he had perfectly loving parents who wanted him in Asgard.
"Do call me soon, child," Frigga said as she got up. "I look forward to our upcoming lessons."
"Thanks," Harry whispered, and before he could say another thing she was gone, just like that. Harry sagged against the headboard, clutching the rose to his chest.
"Mr Potter, are you all right?" Jarvis asked at once, sounding all sorts of worried.
Harry had his eyes closed but managed a nod. Before he could speak, however, his door flew open and Loki rushed inside.
"Jarvis alerted me that he lost time in your room and that it seems someone may have visited you without his knowledge," Loki rambled as he looked Harry over top to bottom, one hand outstretched, probably to cast some diagnostic spells. Then he noticed the rose in Harry's hand and he released a long sigh. "Frigga, of course."
Harry blinked up at his mother. "She seemed nice. She said I could call her once a week and she'd teach me stuff."
Loki sat down on the bed, right in the spot his mother had occupied not even a few minutes earlier. "Frigga is nice, generally, and I'm sure she will enjoy teaching you." Loki narrowed his eyes for a moment while giving Harry a stern look. "Just promise me, Haraldr, that you will never go to Asgard without me or Thor present. Frigga is far too forgiving when it comes to Odin, and she is blind to his faults."
Harry gave his mother a quick nod. "I promise. I don't want to meet him."
"Good." Loki got up and brushed a quick kiss against Harry's forehead. "Sleep well, son."
"Night, Mum," Harry whispered as he burrowed under his blankets. As the door closed behind Loki, Harry added, "Thanks, Jarvis, for looking out for me."
"It is my pleasure," Jarvis replied in a softer voice than usual.
Harry clutched the rose to his chest as he turned on his side. Sleep came fairly quickly and no more creepy dreams bothered Harry that night. Instead he dreamed of a sunny garden full of roses where his grandmother sat, giving him a warm and welcoming smile.
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Number 25
Harry was terrified.
It was the morning of his last day in New York and he was supposed to be packing since they would fly to Britain that evening. Harry really wasn't looking forward to the jetlag he'd undoubtedly end up with the first few days back in Britain's time zone.
Harry had just remembered the bet he'd made with Natasha, about finding out a secret from each of the Avengers. Harry would love to say he'd spent the entire holidays observing everyone around him carefully to discover their innermost mysteries, but if he did that, Harry would be lying.
Harry had become a bit more observant about his surroundings and the people in his life. But he had completely forgotten their bet and now he was screwed.
"Jarvis, please help," Harry pleaded for the third time. If anyone knew secrets from all the Avengers it was the AI who observed them all around the clock.
"I cannot divulge private information about the inhabitants of this tower, Mr Potter," Jarvis explained, not unkindly. Then his voice took on a more reprimanding tone. "Besides, the spirit of your wager with Ms Romanoff was that you would discover these secrets on your own, wasn't it?"
"Yeah," Harry sighed as he leaned against the kitchen counter, head thrown back while he stared up at the ceiling in despair. "I suppose. Though she never explicitly said I couldn't ask for help." Harry slowly tilted his head forward again, realizing that he could ask for help because that wasn't against the rules, no matter what Jarvis thought.
And Harry happened to be very good friends with someone who, at one point at least, was as good of a covert agent as Natasha.
Now the question was if Bucky would be willing to help Harry when it was Harry who should have been doing the work himself over the past two weeks. Harry narrowed his eyes and a slow smile spread across his face. Bucky might not be willing immediately, but Harry knew some of his weak spots.
"Jarvis, please ask Bucky to come to my room in 45 minutes," Harry said as he opened cupboard after cupboard and finally the fridge. He was glad to see he still had plenty of flour, sugar, butter, chocolate chips and peanut butter left over from his foray in creating edible Christmas gifts that he could whip up a few batches of fresh cookies, which is what he did. He knew the recipe by heart by now, and the large stand mixer which Harry had commandeered from the communal kitchen was still sitting on the kitchen counter in their quarters, so Harry had a few batches ready to go into the oven in under ten minutes
By the time the cookies had cooled and the kettle had boiled, there was a knock on the door and Bucky entered, sniffing the air visibly while a small smile appeared on his face.
"Tea?" Harry asked in his most innocent voice, pouring them both a mug while a plate loaded with cookies sat in the middle of the kitchen table. "I made fresh cookies. They're chocolate chip and peanut butter ones."
Bucky slowly moved to the table, face displaying a certain kind of wariness, as though he now realized more might be going on than simple tea and biscuits between friends. Still, Bucky sat down at the table and accepted a mug of steaming tea with a slow nod.
"Have a cookie!" Harry chirped, shoving a warm cookie in Bucky's direction.
Bucky eyed the cookie for a moment, as though worried it might be poisoned before giving a shrug and taking a huge bite out of it.
"So," Harry said while clearing his throat. Now that he had Bucky here and the man seemed to appreciate Harry's baking, Harry wasn't actually sure how to proceed. He hadn't though this far ahead, what would come after the offer of baked goods was accepted.
Bucky ate the whole cookie and then stared at Harry while he licked his lips. "So what's going on?"
"Nothing!" Harry all but shouted and then squeezed his eyes shut for a moment.
"No, really," Bucky said with a quiet chuckle. "You take after your mother in many ways, Harry, but you do not share his talents in lying."
Sighing, Harry briefly threw his head back in despair again before leaning forward and staring at Bucky. "Okay, so I messed up."
"How?" Bucky asked, eyes narrowing.
"I made a bet with Natasha," Harry whispered, feeling very foolish indeed.
"Oh yeah," Bucky said with an understanding nod while a pained wrinkle appeared on his forehead. "You really messed up."
"I know! And now I have until this evening to discover a secret from each of the Avengers. Something they wouldn't want others to know." Harry wrapped his hands around his warm mug of tea and stared at the tabletop.
Bucky reached for another cookie and took a big bite, chewing loudly. Once he'd swallowed, he said in a practical voice, "Okay, so let's figure out some secrets."
Harry perked up and gave Bucky an utterly grateful smile. "Really? You'll help me?"
"Sure," Bucky said easily. "I don't want you to be indebted to a Black Widow. Cause she asked for a favour, didn't she?"
Harry nodded miserably.
"Yeah, I figured," Bucky said and ate the rest of his cookie before reaching for a new one. "So I can tell you a secret about Stevie right off the bat."
At once Harry felt bad that he was making Bucky betray his friend like that. Something must have shown on his face because Bucky gave him a reassuring smile while he swallowed the last of his cookie.
"It's nothing Natasha wouldn't already have figured out on her own," Bucky said, much to Harry's relief. "Steve would go back if he could."
Harry blinked. "Huh?"
Bucky shrugged as he looked down at his mug of tea. "If someone invented a time machine tomorrow, Steve would go back to the past in a heartbeat. He doesn't want others to know, but he would leave."
"Wow," Harry said, staring at Bucky with large eyes. This was the kind of secret that came with lots of emotional baggage and Harry wasn't sure if he could even understand such complicated conflicts a person could have. He was only 15, after all.
"Now for my secret," Bucky said, sounding like he just wanted to get it over with already. "I miss it, sometimes."
"Miss what?" Harry asked in a quiet voice, rather dreading the answer.
"Being the Winter Soldier." Bucky's gaze was faraway while he stared off to the right. "Being my own person is difficult and painful and so fucking exhausting. Sometimes I miss being the Winter Soldier because everything was decided for me and I never had to worry about myself."
Harry looked at Bucky while a peculiar feeling rose in his chest. There was lots of sympathy, certainly, but there was also something akin to recognition. Which seemed weird, because Harry had no experience being a soldier who'd been brainwashed and tortured by the enemy for damn near 70 years. But Harry did have experience being a pawn on a chessboard that was being controlled by someone else, and he recognized that much about Bucky's confession.
"Yeah," Harry whispered. "It is harder to be your own person, having to make your own decisions, than to simply let someone else take charge."
Bucky looked up at him with wide, surprised eyes.
Harry had to swallow a few times before he could continue. "Before last summer, I was happy enough to let people like Dumbledore make all the decisions for me, to shape my destiny, to use me as a… I don't know."
"A weapon," Bucky breathed. "That old man wanted to use you as a weapon at some point."
"Yeah, I suppose," Harry said with a small nod, staring into Bucky's blue eyes and there was a moment of sheer understanding between them, something Harry wasn't sure he'd ever shared with anyone else before. "But I am glad I'm learning to make my own choices now."
Bucky gave a few deep nods. "Yeah, me too. It'll be worth it in the end."
"So who else?" Harry said, hoping to lighten the suddenly serious mood a little.
"Clint," Bucky said at once. "His childhood was fucked up."
Harry sat back and gaped at Bucky. "That's why he's always defending me and stuff. I had noticed that he seemed to understand my childhood the best out of everyone here."
Bucky made an agreeable gesture with his hand before reaching for another cookie.
"Okay, how about Bruce?" Harry asked eagerly, beyond happy now that it looked like he might actually win the bet.
"Tough one," Bucky said in between bites. "But I think he envies the Hulk."
"Envies how?" Harry asked with a confused quirk of his eyebrows.
"Envies how the Hulk can be all the things Bruce is scared of being," Bucky explained, and while that didn't make perfect sense to Harry, he figured that was because he didn't know Bruce all that well. Of all the Avengers, Bruce was the person Harry had spent the least amount of time with. So for now Harry was happy to just take Bucky's word for it.
"Tony," Harry said and then straightened in his seat. "I actually have one for Tony, I think. He's always telling people how there's no such thing as magic and how he hates it and everything, but he's there for every single magical lesson Loki gives me, pretending not to listen." Harry gave Bucky a huge grin. "Tony wants to learn magic, but he doesn't want anyone to know."
"Works for me," Bucky said with an agreeable nod. "The next one is Natasha."
Harry got a burst of inspiration, from where he had no idea. "I remember something Natasha said while I talked to her. She said she understood that suddenly finding family could be scary." Harry stared at Bucky as some mental puzzle pieces fell into place. "She's worried to mess this whole Avengers thing up, isn't she? Because she never had a family before." Harry understood that feeling all too well, since he felt it often enough those days.
Bucky responded with a proud smile that lit up his whole face. "That seems about right. Now for the last one."
"Thor," Harry said while giving Bucky an expectant look.
"I've got nothing," Bucky said, much to Harry's quiet horror. "He's an open book, pretty much."
"Fuck," Harry muttered while bowing his head and resting it in his hands. Just as victory had been within reach it was being snatched away again. "I've got nothing either."
"I think out of everyone in the tower, only Loki might know one or two of Thor's secrets," Bucky pointed out. "If he even has any, that is."
"Jarvis, please ask my mother to come here," Harry said at once. "Tell him it's an emergency!"
Loki all but burst through the door within three minutes, coming to an abrupt halt when he saw Harry and Bucky amicably sipping their mugs of tea.
"Cookie?" Harry picked up the significantly emptier plate and held it out to his mother.
"Haraldr, I was told there was an emergency," Loki said with a pinched mouth as he stepped up to his son.
"And that's true!" Harry insisted at once, giving his mother his most convincing smile. "I need to know a secret about Thor or else I'll lose a bet and owe Natasha a favour."
Loki narrowed his eyes while he looked Harry over and then he sighed and shook his head. "Thor does not have many secrets," Loki explained while Harry stared up at him in something that bordered on desperation. "But there is one I can share. Thor no longer wants to be king."
"Huh," Bucky said with a contemplative frown. "I wouldn't have guessed that."
"Thor has desired the throne for his entire life, but ever since he's turned Midgard into his second home he's become more aware of his own shortcomings and he no longer desires to rule Asgard, at least not for the foreseeable future." Loki leaned over and snatched up a cookie from the plate.
"That counts, right?" Harry asked, looking between Bucky and his mother with wide, hopeful eyes. "That's got to count as a secret."
"It does." Bucky gestured vaguely at the ceiling. "Call Natasha so you can get this settled right away."
"Jarvis, please ask Natasha to come here as soon as possible," Harry asked and he quickly swallowed against a lump of anxiety that suddenly got lodged in his throat.
Natasha showed up 10 minutes later, briefly observed the visitors in Harry's kitchen and gave him a knowing smile. "So you had others do the work for you."
"You never said I couldn't ask for help," Harry pointed out immediately.
Natasha briefly pursed her lips. "So I didn't."
"Anyway, I've got secrets to share," Harry offered her with a huge grin. Natasha waved her hand at him to share all he knew, so Harry rattled everything off. "Steve wants to go back if he could, Tony wants to learn magic, Bruce envies the Hulk for being all the things he's scared of being, Clint had a fucked up childhood, you're worried to mess up the whole Avengers thing and lose the only family you've ever had, and Thor no longer wants to be king."
Natasha didn't say or do anything for a few long moments as she stared at Harry. "How many of those did you come up with by yourself?"
"Two," Harry said, and then quickly added, "And a half." Since he was pretty sure he would have figured out Clint's secret quickly enough if Bucky hadn't beaten him to it. When Natasha still didn't say anything, Harry picked up the plate of cookies and held it out to her. "Cookie?"
Natasha's mouth quirked up briefly and she picked up a cookie while giving Harry an amused nod.
"Look," Harry felt compelled to explain when Natasha still didn't say anything as she ate her cookie. "I'm not like you guys. Naturally talented at discovering everything that makes another person tick. Maybe someday I'll learn, but for right now I'm good at baking cookies and making friends and getting people to help me when I need it, and that's important, too."
Natasha got a thoughtful look on her face as she finished her cookie. "You're right. Congratulations, Harry. You won the bet."
Harry beamed as he looked between Bucky, Loki and Natasha, his whole body filled with a rush of sweet, warm victory.
"May I offer you my sincere congratulations, Mr Potter," Jarvis said, sounding very proud.
"Well done," Loki said, and he quickly snatched up two cookies on his way out of the room. "I was busy in the lab with Tony. See you at dinner, Haraldr."
Natasha also grabbed another cookie before she headed out without saying another word.
That left Harry and Bucky staring at each other across the kitchen table. "Thanks," Harry whispered, genuinely grateful his friend had stepped in at the last moment and saved his arse.
Bucky looked at Harry with a confused frown. "You didn't include my secret in your list."
Harry felt his cheeks heat for some inexplicable reason. "Because you're not an official Avenger yet, and frankly, it's none of Natasha's business how you really feel."
There was one last cookie lying on the plate and Bucky reached for it. But instead of taking a bite, he leaned over the table and offered the cookie to Harry. "You haven't had one yet. They're really good."
And Harry accepted the cookie with a grateful smile while Bucky looked at him as though Harry was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen.