Chapter 5
I do not own anything you recognize from Marvel or Harry Potter.
So basically I'm going away from Harry for awhile since he's practically just running around like a homeless, escaped prisoner all over London and stuff. I'll be focusing mainly on Avengers for some time, like I mentioned in Chapter 4.
I really hope ya'll get some feels from this chapter. I sort of made it a little emotional.
And the chapters continue to gradually get longer...
Thanks for reading and please review! :)
Stumbling toward his master, Dobby gulped as he bowed.
"Have you convinced him? Never to return?" said the god in his low, commanding voice.
"Dobby tried, sir! It seems Harry Potter has run away from home, sir!" Dobby whimpered.
"Is he returning to that school, you mewling quim?!"
"N-No, sir. He has just run away into the streets!"
"Find him. Now. Before the rest of them," the Master slammed his staff onto the floor. "I need him here. Do you realize how useful he could be to me when I succeed in my next attack?"
"Yes, sir. Of course, sir. Right away, sir!" Dobby scuttled quickly out of the god's presence.
It was pitch black out, with a sliver of a silver moon failing to illuminate the dead of the night. After all of them had changed into somewhat more casual clothes, the Avengers were on the road in what looked like some sort of Police escort. Steve was in front, on a rented black motorbike with his usual slacks and brown leather jacket. The only reason he was wearing a biker helmet was so he could receive and send radio inputs with the rest of the group. In a S.H.I.E.L.D. Acura behind him, Barton, Agent Romanoff, Bruce, Thor, and Stark were uncomfortably crushed together. Of course, Tony was driving in his Black Sabbath T-shirt, faded jeans and a pair of red Converse. Thor sat shotgun with a white T, out of his usual Asguardian attire. Squished in the back, Clint and Bruce sat on either side of Natasha. Bruce and Clint both had dark shirts and slacks, while Nat had her straightened hair in a tight French twist, with a collared, white, eyelet top over a dark blue tank and frayed shorts.
All of them would of wished for Steve's predicament, but didn't complain much. They had a job to do, and they were going to get it done.
"It's a twelve year old kid running around London. How hard can it be?" reasoned Tony, the radio system, where the CD player usually was in a car, automatically picked up his voice for Steve.
"Don't count on anything being easy, Stark. I thought you would of learned by now: never underestimate your opponent," said Clint.
"Hmph," Tony shrugged.
"What do you know of him, Thor?"
"Nothing. My mind contains no hypothesis to when Loki would of had a child with this mortal, Bellatrix Lestrange. Loki wished to destroy this planet. So if he had a son on Midguard, he obviously didn't care much about him," Thor replied.
"Could the son have had contact with Loki before the New York portho-"
"DON'T SAY THE N-Y OR P WORD WHILE I'M DRIVING!" Tony shouted in the radio to Steve.
Through the windshield, they saw Steve swerve a little. "Dammit Stark! Don't yell into my headset! This thing is louder than you think! You're gonna make me cause an accident with it being pitch-black out!"
There's no one out to hit at midnight, Capsicle, thought Tony as he "Hmph-ed" again.
"And you'll be paying!" Cap added.
"He has a point though. Can someone on Asguard make contact with someone on Earth?" Agent Romanoff asked.
"Not exactly. You must travel to Midguard to make contact. Of course, you can send someone to deliver a message for you."
"Could Loki of done that?"
"He's locked up in a glass cell with fifteen guards and very little communication to anyone," the god of thunder answered.
"But can't the little bastard make doubles of himself and send them places?" Rogers asked.
"There is enchantments and ancient spells casted upon his chamber. For him, there is little chance to escape."
"But haven't we learned that he'll take that little chance?" Bruce spoke up, turning away his attention from the window.
Tony's grip tightened on the steering wheel. "What if he returns? We've learned that he doesn't give up easy, and he'll want revenge on us. Last time he targeted each of us, tried to separate us so that we'd be weaker. But this time he'll want to lure us away from each other. He knows he can't win with us in his way. So he'll target what's most important to each of us, make them his tools so we'll run after him and be down on our knees begging him for them back. He wants control over us. Vengeance. And he'll have no mercy."
No one said anything for awhile. In front of them, Steve had slowed down quite a bit, as they had all become lost in thought after Tony's deep words for a few minutes.
"Tony?" said Captain Rogers.
"Yeah?"
"You're talking about Pepper, aren't you?"
Tony didn't reply, so Steve spoke up again, "I heard what happened. How everything was almost ripped away from you. Pepper, Happy, Rhodes. And I know you think I'm just some old soldier and pretty stupid when it comes to the modern world, but listen to me. I have had everything ripped away from me. Back in my life, I had it all. An amazing girl who loved me no matter what, friends who would die for me, friends who did die for me, an unbelievable career and future plans for myself as soon as the war was over. I was going to marry Peggy. I wanted to have some kids and raise them in New York. And then, I do my duty, obey my oath to my country. I sacrificed it all. I was going to die instead of the entire population of the Eastern coastal states. And I did. But then I wake up. Reality hits. Everyone, absolutely everyone I had ever known and loved was gone. Dead years ago. Yet here I was. Nothing was familiar to me at all and I had nothing to hold on to. I tried to find things to bring me back for just a few short seconds. But it was like I was stuck on a different world. Because nothing could replace Peggy's kisses, Bucky desperately trying to find me a date, the Colonel's strict orders, Dr. Erksine's wise words to me, and the days my buddies and I would 'sock Hitler in the face'. I have nothing, Tony. It's just another empty day in hell, everyday, and honestly, I wished I was dead. I'd rather be. And all of you, you don't realize how blessed you are. You can all have everything I can never have again. So, Tony, maybe I am just an old soldier, haunted by memories of my past. But I want to help you if you need it. Because no one, no one should have to go through what I'm going through. And the least I can do is make sure that never happens."
Tony kept staring straight at the road but whispered, "Thanks."
"You are a noble man, mortal," Thor nodded.
It was two hours later, and very little had been conversed after Steve's speech. The trio in the backseat of the Acura had managed to fall asleep, with Natasha laying her head on Clint's shoulder. Thor was snoring loudly in the passenger's side, which was pretty much driving the exhausted Tony insane. For the most part, Steve was still wide awake. They were driving the back streets of London, still searching for Harry. The Captain had allowed Tony to turn on his brights, so they could see the sides of the road better even though that meant Steve's rearview mirrors were pretty much useless.
"How're doin'?" Steve asked over the radio. "Because I don't want you falling asleep behind the wheel and crashing into me."
"Well that just may happen i-in-" Tony yawned, "-in half an hour."
"You could wake up Clint or Nat and have them drive," suggested Rogers.
"Nah, I'll let them sleep. I usually stay up 48 hours straight. It's just, with the time change and all, it's a little different. How're you doing?"
"I've slept for 70 years, I think I've had my rest."
"You know you can't use the same excuse forever."
"I can try," Cap chuckled.
"Thank you, really," Tony said.
"For...?"
"Saying what you said earlier, old soldier."
"It was true, ya know," replied Steve. "You can ask for help. You don't have to do everything yourself."
"I know. But Mr. Iron Man, needing help? Not the best media image."
Rogers laughed. "But according to the media, you've come back to life one or two times."
"Ah, well..."
"Do you think you could turn your brights off now? I really doubt we'll locate the kid tonight. Let's get off on the next exit to the highway and find the nearest hotel. Can you ask Jarvis where one is?"
"Yeah sure, Capsicle," Stark clicked the brights off. "Jarvis?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Please detect the closest five-star hotel."
"I'm already working on it, sir. There is a small-"
Jarvis didn't get to finish his sentence.
At that moment, some type of animal ran in front of Steve's motorbike and he swerved - too hard. The bike went down, and Tony immediately slammed the brakes and yanked the wheel to the left. The Acura slid to a stop, burning rubber and causing skid marks on the asphalt.
It was enough to wake up the confused passengers in the car, but Tony jumped out and ran to the other side of the Acura. He sighed with relief when he saw Steve already standing up and brushing himself off. The helmet, still on his head, had quite a dent on the right side. The four filed out of the now wide open doors.
"What the hell just happened?!"
"Oh my gawd, Rogers are you okay?!"
Cap pulled the helmet off and the first thing he said was, "Nice slide, Stark. I thought you used to race."
"Steve, are you okay?" Nat stared at the jacked-up bike.
"I'm fine, honestly. It'll take a lot more than that to make me feel any pain," he smiled assuredly.
"Your head's bleeding," Clint pointed out.
"It is?" Steve reached his hand up to above his right temple, and drew back his hand to see blood. "So it is."
"Your clothes are...um.."
Steve looked down to see the right side of his slacks completely torn to shreds; his jacket had seen better days as well.
"Well, it's time to go shopping again, I guess," Rogers scowled. He turned behind him and just glared at the bike for a few seconds before walking over to it. The paint job was ruined and it had a few dings, but asides from that it looked fine. Steve pulled it up, straightened everything out, then climbed on and tried to start it. It fired right up and Steve grinned.
"Well we can't exactly return it to the rental place this way, but at least it runs."
"Don't worry, I'll cover it," Tony shrugged.
"Steve get off that bike and come over here," Bruce commanded, striding towards him. Rogers didn't move, but he let the Doctor inspect his head.
"Tell me when it hurts," Bruce gently applied pressure with his thumb around where it was bleeding. Steve sat there with his arms crossed, with a bored expression on his face.
"C'mon Banner. Really, I'm fine. You don't need to do this."
With a concerned expression on his face, Bruce said, "Fine. But I'm going to be watching you closely. I don't care if you're a super-soldier, you may of had a concussion."
Steve just laughed.
"I don't want you driving and I want you to put ice on your head as soon as we can get some."
"Sure, doc," Rogers rolled his eyes.
"So J?" Tony tapped the tiny device in his ear. "Where is the nearest five star hotel?"
"Sixteen miles, sir."
"Ok then, lets go drive sixteen miles."
"What about the bike?" asked Nat.
"I'll drive it behind you guys," offered Banner.
"Take the helmet for the radio," Steve handed it to him.
"Thanks."
"Let's go," Natasha announced with a yawn afterwards.
They got back into the desired vehicle. This time, it was Bruce behind them on the jacked up bike, Tony, Nat and Steve in the backseat of the Acura with Clint driving and Thor shotgun again.
"Nobody answered my question on how the hell this all happened," said Clint as he switched lanes.
"Well, Stark and I were just talking over the radio and he had his brights off because we had pretty much given up the search for Harry. I couldn't really see that well of what was in front of me with it being pitch black and just a single headlight with the bike. And plus, with the roar of the motorbike and the radio, I couldn't hear anything else. So I had no warning when the strangest looking animal ran in front of me. It looked like a little hairless dog with giant ears. It was just weird. Anyways, I just automatically swerved to the right, but I since I'm not that used to the bike, I just I must of turned it too hard and it just fell over. I did hit my head pretty hard and slid on the concrete a couple feet. But I think the biggest concern was Stark running me over me with a two-ton machine, but thankfully he managed to just miss me."
"You're bleeding pretty hard now," Agent Romanoff grimaced.
Steve had his hand the side of his head trying to apply some pressure to cease the flow of scarlet, but it wasn't working too well.
"Does anyone have anything ice cold in the car?" Bruce asked over the radio.
"We previously had clear containers of the hydration liquid," Thor recalled.
"Where are those?" Clint pulled off on an exit.
"Jarvis, was that the right exit?"
"Yes, sir."
Agent Barton glared at Tony in the rearview mirror. "Thanks for your trust in my driving."
"You're welcome."
They successfully reached the high-class hotel. Opening automatically, the group walked through the glass doors to the lobby with marble floors, mahogany walls, and a giant chandelier hanging from the high ceiling. Tony walked up to the empty desk and rung the little bell on the counter. A man in a business suit came out almost immediately. His jaw dropped when he saw his new customers.
"Tony Stark! The Tony Stark! In our hotel! Bloody hell!"
"Look, can you just give us the key to your biggest suite. We'll pay everything in the morning," Tony smiled, used to people gawking over him.
"Oh! Yes, yes, right away, sir!" the British man's hands shook as he handed over the plastic card. "It's floor eleven, room seven on your right, mate."
"Thanks. We'll see you in the morning."
In the suite, it truly was elegant. Three rooms, a balcony were you could see the London Eye lit up in the distance, even at 2 a.m. No one had fallen asleep again, instead they were all lounging around on the various couches, except for Tony who was searching the tables and beds for as much chocolate as he could find. Steve had changed into some clothes Thor let him borrow so they didn't have to send someone shopping. Reluctantly, Rogers had allowed Bruce to clean up his cut and apply a small bandage. He had obeyed Doctor's orders and was holding a bag of ice to his right temple. At this point, he was getting a headache so he had his eyes closed and was squeezing the bridge of his nose with his pointer finger and thumb.
"You have a headache now don't you? I have some Tylonel if you want some," Bruce was studying him closely.
"No, no. Pills are useless on me. My metabolism runs four times higher than the average person. It'll run through me before it can give an effect," Steve muttered.
"Anybody want chocolate?" Tony walked in with his hands full of red chocolate hearts.
Steve opened his left eye then closed it again, "Son of a gun."
"Should we call Fury and tell him that we didn't find him?"
"NO," almost everyone answered in unison.
"Do you want to get yelled at?" Tony glared at Natasha, his mouth full of chocolate.
"Okay, okay!" she held her hands up.
"Guys go to sleep," Steve ordered. "I don't need to be watched by five people."
"You should be laying down," Bruce had that concerned look on his face.
"Banner, I'm doing everything you wanted me to. I have ice on my head and I'm not driving. I'm absolutely fine. Now go to sleep."
"If you say so..."
"And I do. That's Captain's orders. Go on," Rogers managed a reassuring smile.
With a "good night" they filed out one by one. Soon, Steve was alone in the room.
After about an hour he was feeling better, and his hand was pretty much frozen from holding the bag of ice. He set it down on the glass table as quietly as he could. Feeling he needed some fresh air, he walked out of the room and out onto the deck. There was a slight breeze that played with his blonde hair as he listened to the sounds of a city at night. Lone cars whizzing by, buildings lit up in the distance, horns honking downtown. Even Big Ben was visible.
But after awhile Steve's headache started up again and with a groan he walked back inside.
If he had stayed just a few minutes longer, he would of seen tiny, scrawny Harry Potter walking slowly right past the hotel, wishing more than anything he could of been inside with a room.