On Punching Gods and Absentee Dads
Enigmaris
Chapter 5: Trip to the Arcade
Summary:
Harry decides to do some exploring of New York City before heading back to Britain and facing whatever consequences await him there. Too bad he didn't plan on facing consequences on this continent.
Notes:
Thank you all so much for the amazing comments on this story! I've really enjoyed responding to the ones that I've managed to find the time to do so, you're reactions have been amazing and every time I get an email letting me know I have a comment it brightens my day! I hope you enjoy this extra long chapter.
Chapter Text
Harry spent the next few days just recovering. He'd used so much more magic than he'd thought fighting Amora and it had taken its toll. He was pretty sure Hermione would have made him go to see a healer. Ron might have let him get away with sleeping it off, but not without some Weasley styled mothering. Neither of them were with him so it was rather easy to just lay in bed, unconscious, for a full day. The next day he pulled himself out of the bed to consume two full meals in the same number of hours, only to then pass out again.
It wasn't until the third day post god-punching incident that he felt human enough to move. He showered, brushed his teeth, and tried to get his hair under control. Was it just him or had his hair become even more untameable after he broke the spells Loki had placed on him? Harry couldn't prove that, it might have just been that now that he had perfect eyesight the eyesore that was his hair was more obvious.
Slowly, as if he'd been placed under a time spell, he dressed. His brain felt like mush. He wasn't sure what to do now. Hermione had mentioned on the train that he should consider asking the Avengers for help with the Voldemort issue. But he'd seen them against a magic user. It hadn't been good. Maybe if it was a human magic user then they'd have a better shot but the last thing he wanted was to get any of them killed.
So maybe he should just go back to Britain. At the same time the very idea made his stomach twist. Harry glanced at the bed. Maybe it would be better to just lay down and melt into the mattress. Forget about everything and become nothing. Even as the thought entered his head he knew it was stupid. He felt guilty for even considering it. He couldn't abandon the world to Voldemort. Not when he was the only one who could save anyone from him.
Harry shuffled over to the balcony and looked out on the city. Most everything had been repaired from what he could see. Maybe his dad had used magic. Or maybe being a billionaire meant that you could get your tower fixed instantaneously. Harry wouldn't know, thanks to all the money his parents and Sirius had left him he was only a millionaire. Harry huffed a laugh and ran a hand through his hair. He might as well be a tourist for a bit. It couldn't hurt anything to take time to think through his next step.
Harry left the hotel and started wandering, he didn't want to use magic and went by foot around the city. His magic still felt a bit shaky. He went into the muggle side of the city to explore instead of the magical. It was hot outside, much hotter than Harry was used to. Within 30 minutes he realized that just wandering was liable to make him die of heatstroke. So, Harry snuck into the nearest place that looked interesting. An arcade.
He'd heard Dudley talk about arcades before, when his cousin turned 7 that had been his birthday party. Harry had, of course, spent the entire day in the cupboard. Dudley had crowed about how fun it had been for weeks after, making Harry seethe with want. And now here was an arcade. It was a huge building, mostly lit by all the games and consoles. The first thing Harry found was an exchange desk where he could exchange muggle money for coins.
Everything about the place was so different from anything he'd experienced that he decided he might as well go crazy. A few minutes later Harry had a gigantic plastic cup full of golden coins. It didn't take long to find a game he wanted to try. It was a whole set up where you sat in a motorcycle seat and pretended to drive against other computer players. Sitting on it reminded Harry vaguely of riding a broom so he put in the required number of coins and off he went.
It really was rather easy compared to flying a broom. Not that it was any less fun. He played a few races, getting lost in the digital raceways. It was mind numbing but not in the way he'd been before this whole thing started. Not like how he'd laid in bed and thought of nothing at all. His mind was still working, and it wasn't thinking about anything but the game. It was nice. No wonder Dudley liked it so much.
Within an hour Harry had played about 20 different games. Games of chance, shooting games, fighting games, reflex games, and puzzle games. He had to use magic a few times to fix the handles on the controller where he bent them in his excitement but other than that the entire thing was smooth sailing.
It was when Harry was in the middle of playing a street fighter game that he was sure he'd seen Dudley playing before that someone interrupted his fun time.
"Do you know how hard you are to find kid?"
Harry froze and looked to the side to see Tony Stark standing in the arcade, like this was something he did every day. He wasn't wearing a suit, or even the ironman armor, instead he was wearing what Harry was sure he deemed 'casual'. It was comprised of sunglasses worth as much as his Hogwarts tuition and clothing that was just too nice to be considered normal. The man was looking at him as if he was the source of all the world's problems, but in a way that was so different from Uncle Vernon that it made Harry's shoulders relax.
Harry turned back to the game and spoke softly.
"Didn't realize I was hiding."
"Trust me kid you were and really, it was starting to annoy me. I'm Tony Stark, people don't just hide from me."
"That's not creepy at all."
"You're sassy. I like that."
"What can I say?" Harry asked. "I just love goading bullies into throwing me into rubbish bins. My favorite hobby."
"You have bullies?" The man asked sounding genuinely confused.
"Ha. When haven't I had those?" Harry asked him, pressing on some of the buttons a little too hard.
"But you're like…super strong. Plus, we saw you against Amora, you can defend yourself."
Harry rolled his eyes at the sheer idiocy of that statement.
"What was I supposed to do then Mr. Stark? Anytime anyone bullied me I punch them so hard they died? Thanks for the advice I always did want to be the second incarnation of Hercules."
"Right." The man agreed. "Why not tell an adult?"
"Why do you assume my bullies were my age?"
Silence. Harry turned a little to see Tony Stark in the middle of a grimace. Harry snorted and turned back to the console.
"Why are you here anyway? This doesn't seem like your sort of place."
"I'm here for you, obviously. Your dad-"
"Go away." Harry said cutting the man off completely. "I'm not talking about him or with him."
"Look."
"I said no."
"You don't have the full story."
"I know enough."
"He didn't know-"
Harry flipped around letting the game play out behind him.
"He didn't know I was alive yeah?" Harry asked. "That's what you're here to tell me. He thought I was dead which justifies what he did to everyone else right?"
"I…"
"He had friends! Loved ones! People who cared about him and he left them all thinking he was dead! He abandoned his home and his people, deserting everything that mattered. Who gives a fuck about me! That's not the issue here. The issue is that he's a selfish, self-absorbed git."
There was a single pause before Stark whistled in appreciation.
"So, let me get this straight. You're not made because your dad wasn't there for you or that you've been alone your whole life. You're upset because Loki left the rest of the people he cared about to go back to Asgard."
Harry gave the man a curt nod, leaning his back against the console. There were noises behind him letting him know his character had died.
"No shit you can lift that hammer." The man muttered to himself.
"What's that supposed to mean?" The man's eyes widened behind his sunglasses.
"You don't know about Thor's hammer?"
"It's a big magic hammer, what else is there to know?"
Before Tony could explain whatever it was that he wanted to tell Harry about the hammer, Harry saw something that made his stomach fill with ice. Three figures in dark robes and white masks. Terrifying skull like faces that reflected the lights of the arcade games in grotesque ways. No one seemed to notice them as they walked between the aisles. They were looking for something. Or rather, someone. Harry reached over and slapped a hand over Tony's mouth. He dragged the struggling man into a corner.
"What the hell?"
"Shut up." Harry whispered. "I need you to do what I say. Everyone here is in a lot of danger."
The man stilled and listened.
"Look over there." Harry pointed, hoping this would work. "You might not be able to see them but there are three people in dark robes and white masks."
The man squinted before speaking.
"I can see these shadows."
"They're using magic to hide." Harry explained. "They're looking for me and they will kill or torture everyone in here just for the fun of it. I need your help to get everyone out of here safely."
"What? Who are these people?"
"Death Eaters."
"But…"
"The war didn't just end because my mom died, and Loki got sad about it." Harry spat, his frustration with his dad seeping through his voice. "Look please help me? I can distract them and keep their magic from hurting anyone but only if you start an evacuation. Can you do that?"
"Are you insane? I'm not leaving a kid to fight magical terrorists!"
"So, you're going to let a bunch of innocent people die?"
The man groaned which Harry took as an agreement.
"Good. Now pull a fire alarm or something while I act as a distraction."
"I'm calling for help from your dad."
"Fine. Get everyone out of here first." Harry said standing up and looking around. He hoped to be long gone before his dad decided he was worth the effort of showing up for. "Also, one more thing. If you see a beam of green light coming towards you dodge. If it hits you, you'll die."
"That's some great need to know info there, kid." Tony said, sounding just a little strained. "Stay alive. Your dad will kill me if you get hurt."
Harry rolled his eyes at the thought that the man gave two shits about him. What adult actually cared about Harry Potter?
"Just go. Hurry please."
Tony nodded and soon the Avenger was moving through the crowd. Harry waited a few moments before deciding just to go with it. He walked directly towards the group of Death Eaters. It didn't take long for them to notice him.
"It's Potter!"
Harry did the only thing he could do. He stuck his tongue out and ran in the opposite direction. The three people chased after him, pushing gamers out of their way with angry grunts. Moments later the fire alarms went off and water started spraying down on everything. People screamed and started running towards the entrance. The Death Eaters and Harry were the only ones making their way deeper into the maze of games.
The first spell was a cutting hex that nearly hit Harry in the back of the neck. It was so powerful it made the hair on his skin stand up. Alright. They weren't playing around. Harry could do this.
"It's just like the DA." Harry told himself.
Because it was. This wasn't like with Amora where he was totally outgunned and had to win through sheer dumb luck. Harry had trained for this. He flipped around and shot a disarming spell right at the first death eater. It missed and hit a console, causing it to explode in a shower of angry sparks. Soon the spells really started flying. Dueling against three death eaters was really beyond his current level of experience, so Harry focused more on ducking and dodging.
Harry used spells when he could, but these Death Eaters had years of dueling experience compared to him. He did manage to protect fleeing muggles which was really the most important part. A cracking noise broke his concentration and he flipped around to see more Death Eaters arrive. He cursed and cast a protego to block the incoming blasting hex. The longer he fought the more Death Eaters arrived. The magic was totally destroying the arcade, pieces of machinery were in smoking pieces along the floor. Water was still raining down, making his hair stick to his face and block his eyesight.
Harry cursed and pulled the wet strands out of the way, just in time to see an incoming killing curse that he dropped to the floor to dodge. From his position on the ground one of the Death Eaters managed to hit him with a bruising hex that sent him rolling across the floor. Harry instinctively cast a cushioning charm that protected his head from banging too hard against one of the still standing arcade machines.
Harry used a levitation charm to wrench the machine off the ground and throw it right towards the Death Eaters. This gave him time to jump up and get some cover. The console threw a group of Death Eaters to the ground and the commotion distracted a few others. Harry ducked behind an old pinball machine and tried to breathe. The break in the action didn't last long as a melting jinx hit the pinball machine and Harry was forced to jump away.
After that it was constant moving and running. Spells danced from his fingertips, sometimes they worked and sometimes they sputtered into nothing. With each failed spell the Death Eaters seemed to be getting better at hitting him. Harry was only lucky that being a demigod offered a lot of protection against low level spells.
The smell of magic was acrid against his nose, it made his eyes water. Not that he could tell with all of the ice cold water stinging his skin. Blood was running down his arms and chest from various wounds. The bright red blood looked obscene on his pale skin while it splattered itself all over the strangely patterned carpet. The air sliced through his lungs with each heave of his chest. His stomach was rolling and protesting against the strain. He really hadn't recovered from Amora's attack.
Stupefy! Protego! Filpendo! Ventus! Oppungo!
Spells kept coming, Harry desperately trying to keep up with the assault flying at him from what seemed like all directions. A few Death Eaters were pushing Harry back towards a corner, which Harry knew from experience with his cousin was a recipe for trouble. He quickly formed a plan to get out as the corner neared. Once Harry was close enough, he shot out a blinding spell, jumped up so his feet were planted high against the wall. Then with his hands facing behind him, he cast a spell.
"Ascendio!"
Just like his fourth year he shot forward at high speeds, up and over the Death Eaters. It wasn't until gravity started pulling him down that Harry realized he had no idea on how he was going to land without knocking himself unconscious. He closed his eyes and prepared for a hard hit. Only to land safely in two wide arms.
"Nephew!" Thor boomed causing Harry to open his eyes.
The god of thunder had managed to catch Harry perfectly so that he was cradled in the man's arms. It was way more comfortable than Harry thought it would be.
"Are you sure now is the time to try flying?"
"Any time is the right time if you don't worry about the landing."
Thor laughed while the rest of the Avengers rushed in and started fighting the Death Eaters in a way Harry couldn't. Loki, in particular, was like a man possessed. Harry watched for a moment in awe as the man dispatched Death Eaters in a way Harry could never have replicated. For all his anger he couldn't ignore how amazing the man was at dueling.
"Woah."
"He's very good, isn't he?" Thor asked.
"Don't tell him." Harry told Thor. "His fat head probably doesn't need the ego boost."
"It'll stay between us."
They grinned at each other, and Harry realized that Thor still hadn't put him down. Harry wriggled a little but that only made Thor lift him up higher to steady his grip.
"You can put me down now."
"My job is to keep you safe."
"Which you're going to do with both of your arms out of commission?" Thor shifted but didn't relent, so Harry tried again. Comfortable or not he was not staying like this, it was undignified. "If I swear to stay right next to you for the entire fight so that you can protect me, will you put me down?"
"Yes." Thor said after a moment. "But you've got to promise."
"I promise." Harry said.
Thor nodded and finally let his feet touch the ground again. Harry carefully moved so that he was standing next to Thor. The god nodded pleased that Harry hadn't immediately run off. Like Harry would do that. He looked out and saw a Death Eater getting ready to hit Captain America with a crucio. Harry lifted his hand and shot a blasting hex right at him. The Death Eater went flying and the Captain was safe.
Thor gave him a disapproving look and Harry only lifted an eyebrow.
I promised I'd stay right here, and I will." A wordless stunning spell fired from his hands right towards another Death Eater, sending them tumbling to the ground.
"You're not supposed to draw attention to yourself." Thor hissed.
Harry lifted up both hands in surrender and turned to stand there next to Thor. The man looked menacing and was watching like a hawk for potential dangers. It was a little weird. No one had ever really been that focused on his safety like this. He didn't really know how to feel about it.
"You will die Harry Potter!" A Death Eater bum rushed them, before Thor could even lift his hammer Harry shot a wind blasting spell at the man sending him flying into a nearby wall.
"I'm afraid," Harry said. "that I don't really have to do anything to draw attention."
"Why are they trying to kill a child?"
Harry licked his lips and spoke, knowing even as he did that he should really learn to shut up.
"I think it might be dick envy."
Thor boggled at him, his eyes wide and his jaw dropped. Harry was able to keep his face serious for about three seconds before he started to howl with laughter. He knew he was in the middle of a fight with Death Eaters and that he was soaking wet with water and his own blood, but he couldn't help it. Thor's face was just too funny.
"You should have seen your face!"
Thor frowned and pulled Harry over to his side, telling him very sternly to stay there. Harry continued to giggle but did as he was told. He also ignored Thor's frowns whenever he used magic to take pot shots at Death Eaters. Within fifteen minutes of intense fighting the Avengers had downed the last Death Eater, Loki had then used magic to tie them all up quite tightly so that they couldn't escape. At some point in the fighting the fire alarm had turned off and the water had stopped raining down everywhere. That didn't mean that everyone wasn't drenched anyway.
Once Loki finished hog-tying criminals, he turned and started making a bee line towards him and Thor. Harry just knew the man expected to have some sort of a conversation which he wasn't interested.
"Well Thor." Harry said. "This has been fun, but I really should be go-"
Thor grabbed his shoulder, keeping him in place. Harry sent a very heated glare towards the man that Thor ignored entirely.
"Harry." Loki said, his voice cracking. "Are you okay? I came as soon as I could."
Harry's bewilderment must have shown because Loki actually stopped trying to catalog his multiple injuries to look at him.
"I know you're angry with me right now, but you can't honestly expect I wouldn't be worried about you."
That was exactly what Harry had thought. He lifted up a disbelieving eyebrow while crossing his arms over his chest.
"Harry." Loki repeated sounding very lost. "I didn't just abandon you here. I thought you were-"
"Which makes everything else better yeah? I was dead so leaving everyone else behind was just fine?"
Now Loki looked even more confused.
"Who did I leave behind?" He asked. "Albus told me that you and the rest of the Marauders had been killed. Did you expect me to stay behind for my teachers? Or the other Order Members?"
Harry's brain whited out, he opened his mouth to speak but nothing could come out. He just stood there stupidly, his look of outrage still thinly painted on his face.
"Really Harry." Loki said. "I can't think of whose honor you are trying to defend. All of my friends were dead, my wife was dead, and you were missing. Who did I abandon?"
Slowly things started to start moving around in his mind. Dumbledore had told Loki that he was dead? That Sirius, Remus and Peter were dead? Why would he have done that? Dumbledore was the one who had hidden Harry at the Dursleys. Hagrid had told him so. But then…why would he lie about it? Why would he lie to the one person who could have gotten Sirius out of Azkaban, helped Remus, and taken care of him? And Dumbledore had known that his dad was alive this whole time? When Harry had begged to go someplace else other than the Dursleys…why had Dumbledore told him that there was nowhere else?
Harry forced his eyes, that were beginning to dry out, to blink. His dad was still talking, explaining to Harry that he had searched for him and his friends for weeks before going to Dumbledore for help. The words washed over him like water over a duck, not a single bit of sticking in his head.
Dumbledore was the one who had put him with the Dursleys. The cupboard under the stairs, the dirty and worn clothing, the starving nights, the beatings, all of it was because of his headmaster. He kept sending him back. Why? For the blood wards, to protect him from Voldemort. But his dad could have. His dad is a god. And Dumbledore knew that.
But Dumbledore also knew the prophecy.
Suddenly it all slapped him in the face. All of it. The reason Hermione had read that book about demi-gods and refused to share details. The years of suffering at the Dursleys. Dumbledore's lies. Sirius never getting a trial. Remus being isolated. Harry's limited visits to the Weasleys. The reason the stupid philosopher's stone was at the school. No one recognizing that Professor Moody was actually a Death Eater. The fucking sham that was the tri-wizard tournament.
It was the damn prophecy.
Harry's face twisted painfully as something cracked in him. All of the rage he'd been holding back, burying deep down inside of him, all of it from the first time his uncle had hit him to being told the prophecy in the worst possible way. All of that itching burning emotion that had been clawing at his soul for years. All of it just flooded out.
The walls of the destroyed arcade began to tremble and groan. The ground shook as tiny localized earthquakes rocked from his feet. The water that had pooled everywhere started to ripple and violently bubble as Harry's magic ran away from his control. He felt hot, like he was burning from the inside out.
All of the Avengers were holding onto something to avoid falling from the tremors and quakes. Loki pushed Thor out of the way and placed both hands on Harry's shoulders. He was saying something, but Harry couldn't hear, not over the roaring in his ears. Harry felt as if he was choking on something, he couldn't breathe. The earth shook harder, to his left a glass window exploded outwards.
His hands were starting to glow and spark. Uncontrolled magic manifesting itself in anyway it could. It hurt, everything hurt. Over the tsunami waves of rage Harry started to panic. There wasn't enough air and he couldn't stop. He couldn't control anything. In front of him Loki was starting to look frantic. Harry stared at him with wide eyes, begging him for help. He couldn't do this. It just kept getting worse and worse.
Another huge tremor rocked the earth sending most everyone to the floor. Only Loki and Harry remained standing. Stop, stop, stop. He tried to grab onto the magic, pull it back, but it slipped through his control every single time. Loki grabbed his hands, Harry gripped right back, trying to ask for help, any help. He knew he was probably holding the man too tight, but Loki didn't flinch. Instead he pulled Harry to his chest.
Abruptly everything became quiet, almost as if Harry had gone deaf. Harry blinked and looked, he saw that Loki's hands were glow green, some sort of spell was keeping everything back.
"Harry." Loki said.
"I couldn't…I don't…"
"No. It's okay." Loki said, soothing. "This happens sometimes when you have a lot of magical power and you're put under a lot of stress."
"I just…I can't pull it back." Harry explained his voice cracking.
"Yes, you can." Loki insisted. "It's your magic, it's you. Just breathe, in and out. Follow me. Feel how I'm breathing, copy me and the magic will settle. Slow down your heart, feel my chest, my heart is steady and slow. Match me."
It took longer than Harry liked, trying and failing to copy Loki. The rage didn't settle, didn't want to. Now that it was out, it wanted to stay out. But eventually his heart stopped racing and his lungs stopped heaving. The magic began to follow his body's lead. Slowly it trickled back into him, flowing over the cracks and tears it had formed on its way out. It hurt, and it made Harry cringe a little, but Loki only soothed him more.
Harry's limbs felt like rubber, all of his weight was leaning onto Loki because he was pretty sure that if he tried to move, he'd just collapse.
"There." Loki said. "There you've done it. Good job. You did really well."
"Did I hurt anyone?"
"No. No it's alright." Loki soothed. "You did really well keeping anyone from getting hurt."
"What?"
"You might not have noticed but your magic protected everyone in here from falling debris." Loki said. "It's okay. You lost control but nothing terrible happened."
Harry nodded, he still felt way too weak. Not to mention sore. The wounds he'd gotten from the fight earlier were stinging, reminding Harry that he'd pushed himself way too far in the past few days. Loki didn't seem to mind holding him up.
"Could you tell me exactly what caused that?" Loki asked. "I'm not asking to judge I just need to understand to help it not happen again. We might not be so lucky next time."
Part of Harry didn't want to talk about it. The very thought of his realization made his magic rumble dangerously under his skin. Loki noticed and immediately started rubbing his back. It was odd. No one had ever done that and yet Harry recognized the touch.
"I…You said that Dumbledore told you that everyone was dead."
"Yes. He did." Loki confirmed. "I don't know how you survived out of everyone, but I am so grateful. I'm sure if Albus had known…"
"He was the one who hid me."
The hands on his back froze, the arms holding him up felt like stone. Harry swallowed and kept going.
"Everyone but mum survived that night. Sirius gave me to Dumbledore for my safety and he went after Peter to…to get revenge for revealing where you and mum were. Peter framed Sirius for his betrayal and went into hiding. Sirius went to Azkaban. No one would let Remus take care of me and so Dumbledore was my guardian. Dumbledore sent me someplace where no one could ever find me." Harry said, his voice almost a pained whine. "Dumbledore told you I was dead and…and he told me that I had to keep living where I was because no one else could take care of me."
Loki's entire posture was the epitome of tense. He couldn't even tell if the man holding him was breathing. Harry held himself still waiting for some sort of reaction. After what felt like a small eternity, Loki let out a breath and spoke.
"You thought I'd left Remus and Sirius to suffer." Loki said. "That's why you confronted me."
"Remus was alone for so long. I didn't even know he existed until I was 13. It wasn't right you'd left him but…but it wasn't your fault. I thought it was. And Sirius was in jail for being the secret keeper only he wasn't and you knew that but you left him in Azkaban. Except you didn't you thought he'd died. Because Dumbledore lied."
"I don't understand why he did all of this." Loki admitted. "He was my friend, my leader."
"It was to keep me." Harry said. "Dumbledore knew that Voldemort wasn't dead. He knew the war wasn't over. There was this prophecy that he heard, and everyone thinks it's about me. Dumbledore is certain that I'm the key to ending the war. Because I survived that day, because I have this stupid scar on my forehead. He couldn't risk you taking me away."
Loki stiffened again but not for as long this time. Harry had a feeling he was trying to keep himself under control. At the very least he was probably trying not to lose it like Harry did. Slowly the man forced himself to breathe in and out until his body lost some of its stiffness.
"I see."
There was something very dangerous in his voice then. Something that reminded him of Tom Riddle. The way a smooth undercurrent of threat threaded itself into his voice. Harry swallowed.
"Harry, dear." Loki spoke again this time in a different tone entirely. "Would you mind going back to the tower with the Avengers? Dr. Banner can look at your injuries and make sure there's nothing broken. Then you're going to eat as much food as you can possibly stomach. After that I'd like you to get some sleep. You've used up too much of your magic, if we're not careful you could get sick."
"What about you?"
"I'm going to call the American aurors and have them clean up this mess so that the statute isn't broken. I'm also going to work out the details so that no one gets obliviated." Loki said.
"Then you'll come back?" Harry asked.
"I…"
"Because I'd like to be there when you beat the snot out of Dumbledore."
Harry could feel the man smile.
"Alright, I'll come right back to the tower once this place is cleaned up. I promise. I'll need your help planning a proper revenge anyway."
"Okay." Harry agreed.
"Good. Thor! Get over here."
From behind him he heard some footsteps. It occurred to him that the others might have heard that entire conversation. He couldn't bring himself to be bothered by that.
"I'll take him back to the tower." Thor said, stopping right behind them. "He'll be safe with me."
"Make sure he eats." Loki said. "A lot of food. Not the pitiful amount humans call a meal. He needs rest too. Magical Exhaustion isn't a joke."
"I know brother. I'm not an idiot."
"Debatable." Loki said while gently pushing Harry away from him and into Thor's waiting arms. Harry just went with it, he didn't even know if he could hold up his head anymore. Thor held him up with a surprisingly gentle touch.
"Is the kid okay?" Tony Stark asked.
"He used too much magic." Loki said. "It can be very dangerous if left untreated, but he should be alright as long as we're careful for the next few days."
"Bruce is waiting for us." Captain America said. "He's ready to look over Harry."
"Good. Go, I've got to call the magical authorities."
"Come on. There's a car waiting for us."
Harry didn't really take in the trip from the arcade, now completely destroyed, to Avengers Tower. Mostly he just let himself be practically carried around until he ended up sitting on a table with Bruce Banner carefully trying to check to see if his ribs were bruised or broken. Around him he listened as Tony and Thor ordered a mountain of food from various different places. They might have, at one point, asked him what he liked since most of the food they were ordering were his favorites, but he couldn't remember it. Captain America and the Black Widow were talking to each other to his left, they were, unsurprisingly, talking about Dumbledore and the war. Harry wanted to answer some of their questions, but his tongue felt like it was glued to the bottom of his mouth.
"No broken bones, which is really great news I think. You're going to have some terrible bruises but those'll pass. You've got a pretty deep cut on your arm. I'm going to clean it and bandage it up. I don't think it'll need stitches. Okay Harry?" Bruce told him.
He forced himself to nod even though it made his head swim. Bruce smiled, and Harry let his mind start to wander into exhausted numbness. The next time he was aware of anything, he was seated at another table with literal piles of food surrounding him. Thor was placing a pile of pizza slices right in front of him, telling him to start eating up. The other Avengers were eating too but it was pretty obvious most of the food was meant for him.
So, Harry ate. And he ate. And he ate. Every time he cleared his plate, Thor was there to put more food on it. Harry was sure at some point his stomach was supposed to tell him to stop but the sign never came. He just kept eating. Had he been a little more aware he would have known that his magic was nearly instantly turning most of the food he ate into magical energy because he was so dangerously low. He wasn't aware enough for that, he wasn't even aware enough to realize just how much food he ate.
Eventually the table was cleared of food. Harry sat there, feeling very heavy and lethargic. He considered just laying his right down on the dirty plate. No one would mind that would they? But Thor seemed to have a different idea. Despite the fact that Harry was totally out of energy at this point, Thor still thought it was a good idea to get him clean.
So, Thor carried Harry, yes carried, like he was some sort of baby or swooning bride, to a bathroom. Harry didn't even have the energy to complain more than once about the manhandling and Thor took his clothes off and rinsed all the blood off of him in the shower.
"Trust me nephew, it's better to get the blood out now before it mats in your hair."
So, Harry let the man clean him up. Thor was gentle and thorough without making it weird. Other than the sheer embarrassment he felt that he couldn't stand up in the shower by himself, his uncle made the whole thing as bearable as possible.
For most of the time Harry compared the way Thor helped him clean up and the various ways Aunt Petunia had done the same. From the boiling hot water, she'd forcibly held him in the bath tub to the terribly scratchy sponge she'd used that had left red marks in his skin for days afterword. When he'd gotten older, she'd tended to just start the hose on him if she thought he wasn't clean. Then she'd make him wait outside until he'd dried so that he wouldn't drip in her nice clean kitchen.
Thor was totally different. He didn't hold Harry tightly, just enough to keep him upright. He never tugged on his hair like Aunt Petunia used to do making him tear up with pain. Instead the man was patient as he carefully worked blood and debris out of the knots in his hair. To keep it from getting too awkward Thor told Harry about the multiple times in his younger years when he'd had to do this for Loki when the man had over done it with magic. Apparently, it ran in the family.
"The first time was when we'd finished a hunt, he was so magically exhausted he couldn't even ride his horse. He had to ride with me, so I could hold him up. I didn't know what the problem was, I thought he'd been poisoned. He was too exhausted to explain so I just raced through the woods like there were dragons chasing us." Thor told him. "Imagine it, two princes of Asgard riding through a dark forest on one horse. One of them looking green enough to vomit and the other worried enough to faint."
It was a funny image and it made Harry giggle even as Thor put his head under the stream of water to wash out the shampoo. Once all of the blood was gone, Thor carefully dried him off and dressed him in some sweatpants and an over large t-shirt. Harry found himself being tucked in by a god. Which was just bizarre. Harry had never once been tucked in. He wasn't sure if he liked it.
"Now." Thor said. "You've had a great feast, worthy of a warrior such as yourself."
"Ha." Thor continued as if he hadn't heard Harry's sarcastic noise.
"You're clean of the blood of your enemies."
"It was my blood."
"Now." Thor said, his voice raising just a little. "It's time to sleep. It's as all the greatest warriors in Asgard do. Fight, Eat, and Sleep."
"This the part where you tell me a bed time story?"
"Is that what you need?"
"I need you to make sure Loki actually comes back here." Harry said seriously, more alert than he'd been in some time. "A lot's happened in the wizarding world since he left. I don't want him…want him getting hurt or anything until I can tell him everything."
Thor gave him a gentle smile and nodded.
"I'll keep him in the tower until you wake up. I promise. It might be difficult, but I promise it will be done."
"If you've got to, to tell him I'm scared." Harry told him, making a face at the very idea. "I'm not but tell him I'm right terrified of Death Eaters and I don't think I can handle being by myself."
"Very manipulative. That should work perfectly." Thor told him. "Now get some rest. If you need help just call out. Tony has an excellent servant in his house called Jarvis. He's a computer and he'll hear you."
"A computer?"
"You can get an explanation later."
"Right. Yeah…"
Harry yawned and let his eyes fall shut. Exhaustion pulled at his limbs keeping them pinned to the bed beneath him. Everything seemed designed to make him fall asleep. From the fluffiness of the pillows to the weight of the comforter on top of him. The last thing he felt was Thor pulled the blankets over him just a little more before he was totally gone to the world.