A/N - It's update time again. This week summer vacation comes to an end.
Disclaimer: The X-Men were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and belong to Marvel Comics. Harry Potter was created by and belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no money from this and the only thing that's mine are the original parts of the story.
10) CHANGES AT THE END OF SUMMER
Quotes taken from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Quote taken from Captain America Comics #1, Timely Comics, 1941
All too soon the Weasleys and Hermione had to go back to Britain to prepare for the new year at Hogwarts. Harry promised to stay in touch with everyone and Ron and Hermione knew that it was no empty promise, especially after all of the letters they'd exchanged the previous year. Mr. Weasley thanked Harry for the chance to see so much more of the muggle world than he had ever seen before. He also hinted that Harry might be sorry not to be at Hogwarts this year but wouldn't say why. It seemed that something big was going to happen there this year and he'd hear about it in the news soon enough. That was all Mr. Weasley would say. None of their kids seemed to know anything about it either. Harry decided that he was glad he wouldn't be at Hogwarts this year if something big was going to happen there. With his luck if he was there he'd probably wind up right in the middle of it all.
Harry's own school year wouldn't start until about one third of the way through September. As Ilvermorny was an American school it didn't start its fall term until some days after the U. S. holiday of Labor Day. That year it was on Monday September 5th. Ilvermorny's welcome feast would be on Friday the 9th and classes would start on the 12th. Harry hadn't been to the welcoming feast the previous year since his schedule wasn't the regular one and was only there in the afternoons. His own sorting had taken place prior to the school year. He'd been sorted into Thunderbird House but what with staying at Xavier's School he didn't know very many people at Ilvermorny. Beyond his teachers he was only acquainted with a very small number of students who were on individual study tracks like he was.
That would change this year with Ororo's arrival at the school. They had exchanged letters since their meeting at the Quidditch World Cup. As she and her mother had left directly after the game they had not been there when the Death Eaters attacked. Harry told her all about it, including the surprise appearance of the X-Men although he didn't tell her he was Lightning. Ororo had written back that yes, she had heard about the attack as it had been in the news in Kenya. She was glad Harry was safe and she looked forward to seeing him again at school. Harry decided to go to the welcoming feast this year so he could watch Ororo's sorting. He wondered what house she would be in.
Near the end of August Moody told Xavier that he wouldn't be around for a while as he was starting a new job in September. Dumbledore had hired him to be the new Defense teacher at Hogwarts for the upcoming year so he would have to put his Academy Danger Room project on the back burner for now although he wasn't going to stop working on it. He raised the idea of sending auror trainees here to be tested and Xavier said he'd consider it as long as there was no risk of compromising the X-Men, something Moody was already thinking about. Mr. Weasley's idea of portkeying people directly into and out of the Danger Room seemed like the best idea for now.
Another thing that was going on was that Harry's Attorney, John Hurt of Hurt & Payne, informed him and Sirius that they were ready to start work against the Dursleys. Harry set the date for the first of September. He wasn't really a vengeful or vindictive person but after all of the abuse he'd suffered from his aunt, uncle, and cousin he was willing to make an exception. He didn't want them dead or anything as bad as that he just wanted – well he wasn't really sure what he ultimately wanted for the Dursleys beyond some justice for the past. He supposed he'd figure it out eventually.
Then there was Harry's, or rather Lightning's growing friendship with Thor, Captain America, and now the other Avengers. At the end of his first visit to the Avengers Mansion earlier that year Captain America had told Lightning to "feel free to drop by again anytime." This was too good of an opportunity to miss so a couple of weeks later with Professor Xavier's blessing Lightning had gone back to the Avengers Mansion. This time though he had called ahead – or rather Professor X had called ahead for him telepathically – and was expected. Jarvis the butler greeted him at the door and showed him into the kitchen where the Thor and the captain happened to be. After the pleasantries and the refreshments were shared Lightning was introduced to the others. For the first time Lightning finally got to meet Iron Man, the Wasp, and Ant Man who had also undergone some changes. He was now also able to grow to be twelve feet tall and had taken on the additional alias of Giant Man when he was in this physical state.
Lightning was very happy to meet them all even if he wasn't quite sure about what to make of them yet. Iron Man seemed very serious but with a streak of irreverence that sometimes reared its head. There was something familiar about him but Lightning couldn't figure out what. He recognized the Wasp when he saw her. She was the rich socialite Janet Van Dyne and Harry had met her at Tony Stark's party on July 4th. That meant that Giant Man was most likely her significant other Dr. Henry Pym. They all seemed nice enough. As had happened the first time he'd been at the mansion the three Avengers he had not met before asked him to show them what he could do. In a return trip to the mansion training room he did although he refused to spar with any of them saying that he wouldn't be a match for any of them for quite some time. At the end of the visit his standing invitation to drop by anytime was repeated and maybe in the future he could bring along some of his own teammates. That sounded like a great idea but it hadn't happened yet.
On one occasion some time later Captain America explained to Lightning why, when they'd first met, he had thought that Lightning looked a bit young to be a superhero.
"At first you reminded me of Bucky" he said.
"Who's Bucky?" asked Lightning.
"He was my old partner back during the war" was the reply, "how old are you? 13? 14?"
"Something like that."
"Bucky was about two years older than you when we first met" said Captain America as his eyes took on a far away look, "it was 1941. I'd become Captain America and in everyday life was living at Camp Lehigh as Private Steve Rogers. No one there knew I was also Captain America.
"Bucky was the camp mascot and that's where we first met and became friends. He was also a big fan of Captain America and sometimes said he wished he could be like him.
"One evening I'd just finished a mission and was still in costume having just removed my mask when Bucky barged into my tent, saw me, and realized the truth. I remember exactly what I said to him. I said 'You little rascal! I ought to tan your hide! I guess you got me dead to rights – I am Captain America!...From now on we must both share this secret together. That means you're my partner Bucky.' So I trained him and he became my partner. We were a great team and we worked together all throughout the war."
"Where is he now?" asked Lightning.
"He was killed in the same accident that got me frozen in the ice" said Captain America.
"I'm sorry" said Lightning, "I shouldn't have asked."
"There's no crime in being curious" said the Captain, "but sometimes I wonder if I should have let him become my partner in the first place. Would he still be alive? Now you see why I said what I did when we first met?"
"Yes" said Lightning, "this might be a tactless question but are you sure he didn't survive? You did, why not him too? Sorry, you've probably had his death confirmed, haven't you? You've probably visited his grave and everything. I know I would."
"They never found his body" said Captain America, "but the last thing I remember before losing consciousness was seeing him go down with me. I suppose you're trying to comfort me or give me hope and that's nice. Thanks for doing that. But if he did survive then what happened to him? Where is he now?" Lightning had no answer for that.
As if those things weren't enough in late August the cook who came in each evening during the week to make dinner at Xavier's school gave her notice. She was moving to Los Angeles to be closer to her family and had taken a job at a high class restaurant out there. Her departure left the school short handed but Harry had an idea which he talked over with Sirius and Remus before they went to see the professor.
"You want me to hire a what?" asked Professor Xavier in surprise. They were in his office and he was, as usual, sitting at his desk.
"A house elf" said Sirius, "do you know what that is?"
"I know about house elves" said Xavier, "I don't like the idea of having a slave working in my school."
"That won't be a problem" said Harry, "I know of one house elf who isn't a slave anymore. Maybe he could come work here?"
"Oh?" asked the professor, "would he be able to keep the secrets of what we do here? And would he accept being paid and time off and all the normal benefits of regular employment?"
"As to the first question, yes definitely" said Harry, "a house elf always keeps its master's or employer's secrets. As long as one works for you he can't tell your secrets. As for the second question I don't know. We'd have to see what he wants. I haven't seen him in over a year but he seemed to like me a lot so maybe he'd take the job. We just have to find him first. Professor if you could – "
"The professor doesn't need to find him" said Remus, "just call him. If he likes you that much he'll hear you and he'll come."
"Okay" said Harry who concentrated for a moment and said "Dobby?"
CRACK!
"The great Harry Potter has called for Dobby!" came the voice of a very excited house elf, "Dobby has been hoping for so long that the he would call for Dobby and now he has. What can Dobby do for the Great Harry Potter sir?"
"Whoa, calm down there" said Harry a bit blown away by the elf's enthusiasm and trying not to laugh, "first, just call me Harry."
"Yes Harry sir" said Dobby.
"Second, I have a job to offer you – "
"Dobby will do it!"
"You don't even know what it is yet" said Harry.
"Dobby doesn't care" was the firm reply, "if it comes from the Great Harry Potter than Dobby will do it."
"Now that's devotion" said Sirius with a grin. Harry threw him a look before turning back to Dobby.
"Okay, well" said Harry, "the job isn't just for me. Let me introduce you to the man who's in charge of this school. This is Professor Charles Xavier. Professor Xavier, this is Dobby."
"How do you do Dobby?" said Xavier looking down at the small elf who stared back at him with wide eyes.
"How do you do wise professor sir" squeaked Dobby.
"I understand that you're good at keeping secrets" said Xavier, "and we have some big ones here. Do you think you can keep them?"
"Oh yes wise professor sir," said Dobby who repeated what Harry had said earlier about house elves keeping secrets.
Professor Xavier gave Dobby a long look.
"Dobby" he finally said, "do you know what mutants are?"
"The new magicals?" Dobby gasped, "does wise professor sir know about the new magicals?"
"Why do you call them new magicals?" asked Sirius, intrigued.
"Dobby was working at Hogwarts when the bad new magicals attacked last April" the elf said, "and Dobby saw the good new magicals drive them away with Dumbly headmaster's help."
"Wait" said Harry, "you saw the X-Men fight the Brotherhood?"
"Yes Harry sir" said Dobby, "all house elves at Hogwarts saw it. House elves call them new magicals because magicals like them have never been seen before. They all seem to have one or two magical powers that are very specific and powerful and don't need wands to use. Dobby liked the good new magicals very much."
"This is a surprise" said Harry, "does Professor Dumbledore know how much the house elves know?"
"Yes Harry sir" said Dobby, "Dumbly Headmaster knows this."
"This might make things easier" said Xavier, "what would you say if I told you that my school is devoted to training 'new magicals'?"
"Dobby would love it wise professor sir" said Dobby clapping his hands.
"All right" said Xavier, "let's talk."
That was how Dobby came to live and work at the X-Mansion as the new housekeeper and cook. He was brought into the secret of the X-Men and was both astonished and delighted to find out that Harry himself was one of the 'new magicals.' It also helped that Professor Dumbledore knew about the X-Men and impressed upon Dobby the importance of where he was going to work when he left Hogwarts. Harry later found out that Dobby had gone to work at Hogwarts the previous winter and had been there until now.
The other X-Men all had different reactions to Dobby at first although it didn't take long for them to get used to him and accept him. Eventually they couldn't imagine life at the school without him. Hank, as usual, was very curious about house elves in general and had several long talks with Dobby about them. Warren had grown up with servants and had accepted Dobby at once though he never talked down to him or mistreated him. Bobby liked the way Dobby could come and go with a CRACK and also do some of his work just by snapping his fingers. Jean treated him as a friend. Scott treated Dobby like he treated everyone, mostly in a serious manner and he looked out for the house elf like he would for any of his teammates.
Sirius and Remus had the most conventional view of house elves – for wizards – but they both liked Dobby. As a werewolf Remus knew what it was like to have people look down on you. Sirius told Harry that he was glad Dobby had come to work at the X-Mansion because he had no desire to possibly bring his own house elf there whom he'd inherited from his parents. That house elf, named Kreacher, until recently had apparently been quite mad and he and Sirius had never gotten along. Dobby was Kreacher's opposite in almost every way and Sirius was happy about that. Lately, however, Sirius had to admit that Kreacher seemed to be doing better, something that Sirius attributed to the removal of some dark objects from his house that had been influencing the atmosphere. He and Sirius still didn't get along very well though.
September 1st had come. Hermione, Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny were all headed back to Hogwarts. It was a mostly uneventful trip although not without some annoyances. On the platform Mrs. Weasley hinted at something happening at the school this year which might even keep them there over Christmas. She wouldn't tell them what it was though. All she say was they'd probably find out about it that evening.
Once on the train Fred and George went off to find Lee Jordan while Ginny went looking for her own friends leaving Hermione and Ron alone. After closing the compartment door the two friends began discussing Harry's latest letter. He had written to them about Dobby coming to work at the X-Mansion and told them about him calling mutants the "New Magicals." The letters for both of them had only arrived the previous day and this was the first chance they'd had to talk about it. Both of them pondered what this might mean.
"It could be a good thing" said Hermione, "for mutants to become known as 'New Magicals' in the wizarding world."
"But their powers aren't magical" pointed out Ron.
"So Professor Xavier says" replied Hermione, "and we've all accepted that until now but they're enough like magic for people to think of them that way. Remember the X-Men were able to come to Hogwarts and attend the Quidditch World Cup without being affected by muggle repelling spells. Maybe they're not just muggle mutants but magical ones too. The first magicals from thousands of years ago had to evolve somehow. Maybe it's just a new stage in our development."
"That would be quite something" said Ron, "but muggles know about mutants. They don't know about us."
"Not right now" said Hermione, "but you saw a lot of the new muggle technology when we were in New York. How long do you think it'll be before muggles start finding out about us in ways that we can't avoid?"
"I'd rather not think about that" said Ron.
"That's where the existence of mutants can help us" said Hermione, "muggles know about mutants. They know about people like the X-Men and the Brotherhood. If they find out about magic and think that magicals are related to mutants it might help in easing their way to accepting the magical world a lot more easily than if there were no mutants. Especially when you remember that Harry is both a wizard and a mutant. He could help bridge the gap if it ever comes to that. There will probably be others like him too in the future." Ron had to think that over for a bit. In theory it sounded good but whether it would work in practice remained to be seen. Hopefully it wouldn't be put to the test for many years to come.
Ron's and Hermione's moods weren't improved when Draco Malfoy stopped by their compartment to boast that he knew what was happening at the school and rub it in their faces that they didn't. But while he was doing his usual sneering Hermione noticed that he was alone.
"Where are Crabbe and Goyle?" she asked Malfoy when he took a breath. It might have been her imagination but she could have sworn that Malfoy actually looked embarrassed for a second before he recovered and just said that it was none of Hermione's business. He left pretty quickly after that.
"I wonder what's going on with that?" asked Ron. They both got an answer not long afterwards when Neville Longbottom showed up to their compartment and he was grinning.
"Did you hear about Malfoy?" he asked them once the greetings were over.
"No" said Hermione, "we saw him just a short time ago though, what about him?"
"How did he seem?" asked Neville.
"He seemed like he always is" muttered Ron, "a stuck up git."
"Actually" said Hermione, "for a second I thought he looked embarrassed when I asked him where Crabbe and Goyle were."
"He has good reason to be embarrassed" said Neville, "he has to repeat third year."
"WHAT?!" Ron practically yelled, "why?"
"It's because of what happened last year" said Neville, "you remember that he was suspended for the rest of the year because of his behavior on the day the X-Men were at Hogwarts? That's why."
"But I would have thought his parents would hire tutors for him" said Ron, "so he could take the end of year exams and move up with us anyway."
"It seems that didn't happen" said Neville, "I heard it from gran who heard about it from friends in the ministry. The story she told me was that Draco's mother Narcissa was all in favor of hiring tutors for him but Lucius put his foot down and refused to allow it. Apparently he declared that Draco needed to learn that actions have consequence some time and the humiliation of being forced to repeat third year while everyone he knows goes on to fourth year seemed like a good idea to him."
"Wow" said Hermione, "it actually makes sense that Mr. Malfoy might do that. He saw the duels between Draco and Lightning and he didn't like how Draco behaved."
"He was also quite civil toward Lightning that day" said Ron, "what about Crabbe and Goyle?"
"They passed third year" said Neville, "they're in fourth year with us so they won't be hanging around Malfoy very much."
"That might be a good thing" said Hermione, "I remember after Malfoy left school that they seemed, well nicer is the only word I can think of, like it was the fact that they were always around Malfoy that made them into bullies too."
"I ran into them earlier" said Neville, "they were very polite, even a bit apologetic. I don't think we need to worry about them very much."
"I hope you're right" said Hermione, "the best part is that we won't have to put up with Malfoy nearly as much now since he won't be in any of our classes."
"Actually" said Ron with a smirk and looking like Christmas had come early, "the best part is that whenever he tries to mock us we can throw the fact that he was left back into his face. I'm going to have fun with that."
"Just don't start anything with him" said Hermione, "let him say the first words before you do that." Ron rolled his eyes a little but nodded to Hermione.
Since the news about Draco Malfoy had brought up his duels with Lightning the conversation moved on to discussing what had happened at the Quidditch World Cup, especially the unexpected intervention by the X-Men against the Death Eaters.
"I wish I could have seen that" said Neville, "I remember watching them at Hogwarts and it must have been wicked to see them taking down Death Eaters. I'm glad they're on our side."
"So are we" said Ron.
"You know what their being there means?" said Neville, "they obviously know people in our world beyond just Dumbledore. Either they made friends at Hogwarts or they knew some of us before that if they could get to the World Cup. I wonder who they know?"
"That's a good question" said Ron trying not to give a Hermione a knowing look.
Eventually the train ride ended and they took the carriages from the station up to the school where, upon entering, they went into the Great Hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table. The sorting happened and then the feast happened. When the feast was over Professor Dumbledore stood up to speak. He made the customary announcements regarding the Forbidden Forest and Filch's list of banned items. Then things got interesting when he told the school that there would be no Quidditch that year. Before anyone could react too much to that he began to talk about why there would be no Quidditch that year and it seemed like they were all about to find out about the special events happening at Hogwarts when the doors to the Great Hall flew open and Mad Eye Moody made his entrance.
"What's he doing here?" Hermione whispered to Ron and Neville.
"Maybe he's the new defense professor" suggested Neville who was quickly confirmed to be right when Dumbledore introduced Moody that way.
"He'll be awesome" whispered Ron to Hermione.
"Yes" Hermione whispered back "I'm glad we'll be getting another professor who knows what he's doing."
Dumbledore cleared his throat.
"As I was saying," he said, smiling at the sea of students before him, all of whom were still gazing transfixed at Mad-Eye Moody, "we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."
"You're JOKING!" said Fred Weasley loudly.
The tension that had filled the Hall ever since Moody's arrival suddenly broke. Nearly everyone laughed, and Dumbledore chuckled appreciatively. "I am not joking, Mr. Weasley," he said, "though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar . . ."
Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly.
"Er — but maybe this is not the time . . . no . . ." said Dumbledore, "where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament . . . well, some of you will not know what this tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely.
Dumbledore went on to explain that the tournament was held between Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. He explained some of the tournament's history and that it hadn't been held in over two centuries because the death toll had been too high. This time, however, the tournament organizers had gone out of their way to make it as safe as possible. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang would be sending groups of potential champions near the end of October and the champions would be chosen on Halloween. He closed his remarks by saying that only students who were at least 17 years old would be allowed to enter the tournament, something that didn't sit well with the Weasley Twins. Hermione, however, agreed with the condition.
"I'm glad you have to be of age to enter" she said to all four of the Weasleys as they climbed the stairs toward Gryffindor tower, "I'm also glad that Harry's not here for this. Somehow if he were I just know he'd be entered into the tournament against his will."
"He probably would" agreed Ron, "and I'd probably be a jealous prat to him because of it. We should send him an owl about this. You heard what Dumbledore said about the champions being chosen on Halloween? We all know his history with that day. It would be just his luck for him to be chosen even though he's not here."
"I sincerely hope you're wrong about that" said Hermione, "but I'll write him a letter tonight and send it tomorrow."
By now they had made their way up to the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, which was concealed behind a large portrait of a fat lady in a pink silk dress.
"Password?" she said as they approached.
"Balderdash," said George, "a prefect downstairs told me."
As the portrait swung open to let them into the tower Hermione shivered slightly. She hoped that the password wasn't a harbinger of the year to come.
At Number 4 Privet Drive in Little Whinging, Surrey the Dursleys were all having a perfectly normal breakfast before sending Dudley off for his fourth year at Smeltings. Vernon and Petunia Dursley had been very happy these past two years. Ever since that freak of a nephew of theirs had decided to stay somewhere else during the summer vacation life at their house had been quieter, more orderly, and above all normal.
They had last seen Harry in early August of 1992 when they saw him escaping from their house in a flying car. They had been very happy the following June when he wrote to them to say he'd be spending the summer somewhere else (he didn't say where) rather than coming back to Privet Drive. Now a second summer had passed in which he still hadn't returned to their house. It was their fondest wish that he would never come back.
Harry's absence during the summer had been noticed by the neighbors but that was okay. For over a decade Vernon and Petunia had told everyone that their nephew was a hopeless delinquent and that for the last three years he had been attending St. Brutus' Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys. These past couple of years they had explained away his summer absences by telling everyone that he had gone from being just a delinquent to becoming a hardened criminal and was now confined to a juvenile center all year. The neighbors, who had been hearing these stories for years, were very sympathetic and told Vernon and Petunia that they had done their best by the boy but sometimes people were beyond saving and they shouldn't feel bad about their failure to "save" the boy.
The best part of Harry's absence was that the Dursleys were officially still his custodial guardians and were still being sent the stipend for his care that they had been receiving from the Potter Estate ever since Harry had first come to live with them. They got a nice sum of 1,000 pounds every month. Officially this was to be used for raising Harry but they had never spent any of it on him. No, both Vernon and Petunia took the view that the freak didn't deserve to have money spent on him even if it was coming from his own family accounts. Instead the Dursleys had used the money for themselves and for Dudley. The freak's money had gone toward improving their lives through such things as a new car every two years, nice vacations abroad (without Harry), nice clothes, good food, toys for Dudley, improvements to the house, and so on. They were currently planning a trip to the British Virgin Islands during Christmas break.
On the morning of September 1st an important looking envelope arrived in the mail for the Dursleys from HSBC Holdings plc which was the source of the monthly stipend from the Potter Estate. Naturally Vernon and Petunia assumed it was that month's stipend check so they opened it first – and got a very rude shock.
Dear Mr. Vernon Dursley and Mrs. Petunia Dursley,
This letter is in regard to the monthly stipend of 1,000 pounds that you have been receiving from the estate of the late James and Lily Potter since November of 1981 for the care and upbringing of their son Harry of whom you have been the custodial guardians. It has come to our attention that the custodial guardianship of Mr. Potter has recently changed. Therefore we will be discontinuing this stipend.
Mr. Potter's new guardian is his Godfather Sirius Orion Black. Under the terms of the Potter wills Mr. Black was the first person designated by the late Mr. and Mrs. Potter to take custody of their son in the event of their deaths. Mr. Black recently took custody of Mr. Potter after having been unable to do so for many years due to circumstances beyond his control that do not concern you.
At the request of Mr. Black we have begun a full audit of the accounts of his godson. To aid us in this audit please send us any and all records regarding your usage of this stipend on Mr. Potter's behalf. This includes all statements, receipts, etc. Please provide this information to us at our London offices no later than the 1st of November.
If you have any questions you may contact us at our London offices. You may also contact the Potter family solicitor, Mr. John Hurt Esq. of the law firm of Hurt & Payne.
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
Sincerely,
S. Shard
Potter Accounts Manager
HSBC Holdings plc
There was a long silence as Vernon and Petunia stared at each other over the letter.
"Vernon" said Petunia in a small voice, "what are we going to do?"
"We can get along easily enough without that stipend" said Vernon, "my job pays very well. I don't mind losing that money if it means never having to see that freak again. We did fine before he was dumped on us and we'll do fine now. We'll just have to cut back on some of the more expensive extras for a while."
"I know that" said Petunia, "but what about the request for the records and receipts?" It was a few moments before Vernon answered.
"I don't know Pet" he finally said, "I just don't know."
(To Be Continued)
A/N - That's all for this week. It shouldn't be a surprise that Gringotts would have connections to muggle banks. It's only good business for them, especially since they have clients who invest in the muggle world. I have seen Barclays often used for this but decided to use a different one this time. HSBC Holdings is the biggest bank in Britain and the second largest in Europe and I think that it's very likely that Gringotts would have connections with it.
Captain America and Bucky were created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby and first appeared in Captain America Comics which has a date stamp of March 1941 (which means it was first released in December of 1940). In the original Captain America story line Bucky was several years younger than Steve and they didn't know each other growing up. Obviously that was changed for the MCU.
Next week Harry will meet up with Ororo again. Until then please take a moment to leave me some feedback. Constructive comments are always welcome but no flames or trolls please. As always stay safe and well everyone.