AN; I had trouble with this chapter, I just couldn't get it right, still not sure if it, but best I could do. I hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Marvel.
Chapter 42: The Avengers Meet Walburga Black
At the moment, things were quiet on Grimmauld Place. The inhabitants of the homes on the street were, as usual in their houses, not usually seen unless going to work or to the grocery. Now and then, the lady in Number 6 would be spotted walking her small dog around the neighborhood. It wasn't much of a friendly neighborhood, but it wasn't a bad one either; people just tended to mostly keep to themselves, except for the neighborhood gospels, who have been going almost none stop about how, just a few days ago, the old abandoned Number 12 just disappeared, no one knows how or why, or where the house even went. Grimmauld Place just woke up a few days ago to find the house gone; later, some will claim the house was moved in the middle of the night, some claimed it burnt down, some claimed it was torn down years ago, and there were the few who claimed there was never a house there, to begin with.
Right now, Number 6 was walking her little dog across the road, about to pass Number 12, when a sudden sound got her attention. Her little dog barked, and Number 6 froze in place at the sight of six people who had suddenly appeared in the yard where Number 12 should be as if they had just been teleported there by some object; the six mysterious individuals were unaware they were being watched, as the visitors untangle themselves from each other, and try to claim to their feet, the noise they were making soon drew the attention of one of the neighborhood gospels, and she pulled aside the curtains in her bedroom that faced Number 12 and watched in shock as people she had seen on the news were gathered in the yard of the missing house next door.
"Next time, we are taking the jet," Tony Stark said as he tossed the old boot aside, a little scared if he held on to it, it'd suck him up and take him somewhere else.
"Well, Sirius was right. This way is faster," Bruce Banner said. Having already gotten to his feet, a moment later, Tony stood.
"Where are we?" Clint Barton said after helping his best friend Natasha Romanoff up, unlike her teammates, she noticed the lady across the road staring at them. "Did that boot even bring us to the right place?"
"I have no idea," Tony answered, frowning at the space before them. That thing was supposed to have brought them to an actual building. "Thor said he'd be here when we appeared; anyone see him?"
"Nope, " Clint answered, "I don't think he's here. He'd be pretty hard to miss, wouldn't he?"
"Guys," Natasha said.
"I don't think we are in the right place," Steve said, looking around.
"No, we're in the right place; Thor just isn't here yet," Bucky said. "Sirius knows what he's doing regarding this magic stuff."
"He's also with Loki." Clint pointed out, "We can't trust him; there's a possibility he would send us into a trap."
"I don't think he'd do that, not when he's desperate for our help because his son is in danger," Bucky said.
"Yeah, that poor kid. Could you imagine having Loki as a parent?" Tony asked.
"Harry seems like a good kid, though," Steve said.
"There's someone over in that window watching us," Clint warned. Tony looked in time to see someone duck out of the window and the curtains drop in place.
"She's not the only one," Natasha said. She was looking across the road, and they all turned to see a lady with a small dog staring at them.
"Sorry, honey, I don't do autographs," Tony called out to her.
"Tony," Steve chastised, while Bucky chuckled. Tony and Bucky have been hanging out more than usual lately, while Steve's been off doing missions for Fury, and recently, Tony has grown to appreciate the snarky attitude Bucky can have, and the fact he talks more now than he used to. He fit right in with the rest of the team.
"What?" Tony demanded, "She's just standing there staring."
As they watched, the woman's eyes grew large; she backed up, turned, picked up her dog, and ran down the street screaming something about ghosts and invisible houses.
"What the hell?" Clint asked as they watched her turn a corner and disappear.
"My friends!" someone suddenly cried behind them, making the Avengers turn around, ready to fight. Natasha pulled out her gun. Clint reached to his back for his bow, and Bucky's hand went to the large hunting knife on his side.
"Thor," Clint sighed, letting go of his bow and dropping it back down in his quiver. "Don't sneak up on us."
"Umm, Point Break, where did you come from?" Tony demanded. Thor grinned and pointed to the empty yard behind him. They all looked, but like when they first arrived, nothing was there.
"So, you flew in?" Bruce asked. Thor's grin widened as he shook his head while pulling a piece of black parchment paper out of his pocket.
"Thor, buddy, is the meeting in an empty field?" Tony asked.
"Here, read this to yourself, then pass it to the others," Thor said, handing Tony the paper.
"What's this?" Tony asked.
"Read to yourself, then think about what you read," Thor said. Tony gave him a confused look. "Sirius put his house under the Fidelus Charm. You have to read the note from the Secret Keeper to see it."
"The what charm?" Bucky asked.
"Fidelus, it makes the place invisible except for those the Secret Keeper gives the location to," Thor said, "Read the paper to yourself, and you'll see the house."
"So, if I read this piece of paper, a building will appear," Tony asked. Thor nodded. "I don't see how, but okay."
Tony unfolded the slip of parchment paper. He saw gold letters, written in fancy handwriting, were the words.
The Headquarters of The Order Of The Pheonix can be found at Number 12 Grimmauld Place London, England.
Tony looked up from the paper to the empty space they were standing in front of; after a second, a building suddenly appeared as if it had been there all along.
"Holy shit," Tony said, stepping back, and Thor laughed as Tony stared at the house that wasn't there a second ago. It was a large manor with the look of a once beautiful home that had been left to decay over time.
"I told you," Thor said, patting Tony on the shoulder, as Bucky took the note out of his hand and read it, then looked up.
"That's awesome." Bucky grinned, "The place is a bit creeping looking, though."
"What?" Bruce asked. Bucky handed him the paper and told him to read; he did, and a moment later, his eyes grew big. "That…that defies all laws of physics."
"Let me see that," Clint said, taking the note from Bruce; he read it, and a moment later, he stared in shock at the building in front of him, then handed the letter to Natasha, and she read and passed it to Steve.
"Let's go in, my friends," Thor said. Steve handed the note back to him, and Thor ripped it up as he turned around and started walking towards the large house.
"I don't know if I want to go inside a house that wasn't there a moment ago," Tony said.
"I do," Bucky said and jogged to catch up to Thor; while the rest stayed back, Thor turned around and motioned for them to follow.
"Come on, my friends, everyone is inside waiting," Thor said. They all looked at one another, then Bruce, Natasha, and Clint headed toward Thor, and Tony looked at Steve, who shrugged and followed. A moment later, Tony did too.
"Isn't this how horror movies begin?" Tony asked, trying to joke to calm his nerves; he didn't like the thought of going into a run-down mansion that just appeared out of nowhere. This magic shit didn't make sense, and when something didn't make sense to Tony, he didn't trust it.
"I don't know what horror movies you've been watching, but I've never seen one where a house appears after reading its address. " Clint said. Tony looked at the door. It needed a paint job; the black paint was piling, and the sliver serpent-shaped door handle was rusted and weird. Tony had never seen a snake door handle before.
"We are going in now," Thor said in an almost whisper, "Try to enter as quietly as you can. You don't want to wake anything up, especially Sirius's mother."
"Now, that sounds like something said in a horror movie," Clint said. Thor turned around and slowly opened the front door. He put his finger to his lips as he carefully entered the house.
"I thought Sirius said his mom was dead," Bruce said as Natasha quietly followed Thor, then Clint, Steve, and Bucky. Tony shrugged at Bruce's question. He had no idea what Thor was talking about; Sirius did say his mother was dead.
Tony entered a long hall that smelled like rotting wood and dust; he looked around the eerie place to see old-fashioned gas lamps lining the walls, giving very little light, and the silver and green pattern wallpaper was pilling, and covered in dust, cobwebs lined the ceiling, and the floor was covered in such thick dust, Tony could see footprints from where people had walked, and when they moved their feet it stirred up puffs of dust, covering their shoes.
Bruce was the last to enter, and Thor very carefully closed the creaking front door, another thing Tony didn't like: creaking doors are never a good sign. Tony looked around, and as he took a closer look, he could see places on the walls that were less dusty, and the wallpaper was clean as if pictures had recently been removed.
Over their heads hung a large chandelier covered in cobwebs, and there was an old rotting table sitting to the side; on it was a serpent-shaped candelabra, also covered in thick dust and cobwebs, and straight in front of them hung green velvet curtains that were dusty and moth-eaten with a giant spider web hanging above it, with a decent size spider feeding on some weird-looking bug. Turning his head from it, Tony spotted what he assumed was an umbrella stand that looked to be made out of one of Hulk's legs; he fought the urge to glance at Bruce to make sure the man still had both legs.
"Does this place have electricity?" Clint asked, looking at the lamps on the wall.
"I don't think anyone has lived here since before electricity was a thing," Natasha said.
"Hey, Thor, where the hell are we?" Tony demanded. Thor quickly put his finger to his lips, glancing at the large curtains before returning to them.
"It's Sirius's ancestral home," Thor whispered, "keep your voices down until we get downstairs. You'll wake her."
Thor nodded his head to the curtains, then pointed to a door off to the side of the curtains, then started walking slowly towards the door. The other Avengers glanced at one another again and then slowly started to follow. Bruce glanced back at the front door as he took a step forward and bumped into the Hulk leg umbrella stand; before he could catch the thing, it fell to the floor with a loud bang, and the curtains flew open, revealing the life-size portrait of the ugliest woman Tony has ever seen. To his utter bewilderment, she moved, raised claw-like hands, and started yelling.
"Muggle filth, how dare you enter the house of my forefathers." She yelled, "You do not belong in our world, you swine, you vermin-"
Tony cringed at the woman's voice, and then Clint stepped forward with his bow raised, arrow in place. He let it go, and the arrow struck the woman between the eyes; her rant stopped as she tumbled over out of sight, popped back up a moment later, and then turned and ran until she faded into the background, leaving nothing but a black canvas.
"What the hell was that?" Bruce demanded.
Before anyone else could say anything, a bark of laughter rang out, and Tony looked over to see Sirius standing in the doorway, laughing so hard he was holding his stomach. When he calmed down enough, he pointed at Clint, then the portrait.
"That's the best way I've seen someone shut her up," Sirius said, "I think you're my new favorite Avenger, Barton." He glanced at Natasha. "Well, second favorite, Hi, Natty."
"Hi," Natasha said, giving Sirius an amused look. "What's with the screaming portrait?"
Just a few days ago, Sirius and Thor had showed up in Avengers Tower to give them that old boot. Sirius had called a portkey and told them what time to be around the thing, and touching it, said it would bring them to the meeting place. After Sirius had explained that, Natasha grabbed his arm and dragged him off to have words with him, and the usually calm-spoken ex-assassin yelled at Sirius so loud Tony wondered if the people walking past on the street could hear. In the end, Natasha decided she understood Sirius's reasonings for not telling them he knew where Loki was and that they could be friends, though it would take him a while to get her trust back.
"Some magic users, when they die, leave behind portraits of themselves that are bewitched to talk and move, they take on the personality of how the person was in real life, and of course, that bitch had a portrait of herself made, probably just to torment me," Sirius said.
"Who's the woman in the picture?" Steve asked.
"Avengers, you just met Walburga Black," Sirius said
"That's your mother?" Tony demanded, pointing at the still-blank portrait."
"Lovely, isn't she?" Sirius asked, making a face. "It would seem I lied to you, Banner; you did have to meet my dear old Mum. I had no idea we'd end up using this place as headquarters, we've been trying to get it down, but the old bitch put a permanent sticking charm on it. I got the others down, though. Kreacher cried for a week after I burned them all but the portrait of my uncle Alphard."
"Kreacher?" Bruce asked.
"The family house-elf." Sirius said, "He's gone around the bind a bit now, though. He never was all there, to begin with, always been a nasty little thing. Anyway, the meeting is just through the door here and down the stairs to the kitchen. The order is already here, and we should go on down before she returns." He nodded towards the portrait.
Natasha was the first to go down the stairs, followed by Bruce, then Bucky, Thor, and Clint, who walked up to the portrait to take the arrow back, but Sirius stopped him.
"I swear if you leave it there, I'll make you a hundred arrows to replace it," Sirius said. Clint agreed before heading down the stairs. Tony stopped by his side and patted his shoulder.
"Now I know why you have Mommy issues," Tony said. Before Sirius could reply, he headed down the stairs into the kitchen, where he was met by the oddest group of people he had ever seen, all in robes.
"What's with the choir?" Tony asked.
"This is how they dress," Thor said, quietly.
Tony looked around. The room was packed full of people, some standing around, some sitting, all of various ages, from what looked to be their early twenties to possibly over a hundred. There were two redhead men, one an older guy, thin and bold. He was standing off to the side, talking real low to another redhead, who Tony guessed was his son. He was a little taller than the other guy, had a long red ponytail, and a fang of some kind dangling from his ear. Next, Tony spotted a younger woman who wasn't wearing choir robes but ripped jeans, along with some rock band t-shirt called the Weird Sisters. She was talking to a woman, who was also tall, with long black hair and dark eyes; she had the same aristocratic features that Sirius had, so he guessed she was somehow related to him.
At the end of the table sat the two oddest people in the room, an old guy with waist-length hair and a beard, wearing brightly colored robes and a pointy wizard hat. He was talking to a man with a long hook nose, black hair that needed a wash, and wearing black robes.
"You see them too, right?" Bucky asked. "I haven't finally cracked, have I?"
"If you mean Gandalf having a deep discussion with Dracula, then no, you haven't finally cracked. I see them too," Tony said, Bucky snorted.
"I was thinking more like The Wicked Witch with that honker," Bucky replied, which surprised Tony so much that he burst out laughing, causing everyone to turn and look their way. Dracula narrowed his eyes at them, and Tony waved, then looked away and spotted Remus Lupin sitting at the table reading a book. He hadn't even looked up when they came in, and Sirius sat in a chair to his left, at the end of the table, opposite from Gandalf and propped his feet on the table.
Tony's eyes then went to the woman behind Remus, over by a stove, making tea and talking to an older woman wearing green robes and a witch hat. She was standing in a way her side view was facing him, and Tony was okay with that. It gave him a chance to check out both her front and back. She was one of the hottest women Tony has ever laid eyes on. She had a slightly curvy figure that fit nicely in a dark green jumpsuit with a snakeskin pattern, her breast was a perfect size and shape, and her face was gorgeous. Tony leaned a little to look at her backside, which was just as lovely as her front; her long black hair hung just above her ass, a nice one she had too.
The older woman said one last thing before walking away with a cup of tea, and then the gorgeous lady picked up her tea and turned to head towards the table and paused, noticing Tony staring at her, she made a look of disgust, before narrowing her eyes.
"Would you stop ogling me, Stark?" the woman demanded. Tony's face turned red as everyone stopped talking and turned to him.
"Hey," Sirius snapped, giving Tony a murderous look. He put his feet down and was about to stand, but Remus grabbed his arm and held him back. Tony realized then just who he had been practically drooling over.
"Loki?" Tony demanded, his mouth dropping open. He might have joked about what Loki's female form looked like, but he didn't think he would find her so attractive, at least not to the extent that he would stare at her. If Pepper was here, she'd have already killed him.
"Who exactly did you believe you were ogling?" Loki demanded.
"I didn't know." Tony said," I wasn't expecting you to be….to look like that when we arrived. I didn't think you'd ever show us…you're lady side or that you'd me so…." Tony closed his mouth as Bucky started laughing at him, and Sirius looked more and more like he wanted to curse him.
"Just don't do it again, or I'll rip out your eyes," Loki said, walking over to the table. Remus moved over a chair so Loki could sit by Sirius, She reached over and squeezed his hand, and he turned to her and smiled, the anger leaving his face.
"Ah, the Avengers," Gandalf said as he stood and opened his arms. "I have been wanting a reason to meet you great heroes. I am Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
"That's a lot of names," Bucky said.
"Indeed it is, Mr. Barnes, but I long have accepted that my mother couldn't decide what to name me, so she just named me everything she liked," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling.
"You know who I am?" Bucky asked.
"Thor was kind enough to fill me in." Dumbledore said, "Now, you must be wondering who everyone else is." he put his hand on Dracula's shoulder. "This is Severus Snape."
Snape slightly noded his head and Dumbledore introduced everyone else, and their names were just as weird as how they dressed. Minerva McGonagall, Bill, Arthur, and Molly Weasley, Mad-Eye Moody, Sturgis Podmore, Hestia Jones, Emmeline Vance, Kingsley Shacklblot, Mundungus Fletcher, Dedalus Diggle, Elphias Doge, and Nymphadora and Andromeda Tonks Dumbledore ended the introductions and asked them to sit, and the meeting began.
For a meeting about all-powerful siblings trying to take over the world, it was somehow boring. Apparently, some people were denying Voldemort's return and dismissed the claim of him having a twin sister altogether just because the Minister of Magic said it was a lie. Still, thanks to a mysterious Newspaper and the members of the order spreading the word, there were also a lot of people who believed it. Dumbledore then talked about tightening the school's security for the next school year, and Kingsley Shackleblot said he would speak with Amelia Bones about getting tighter security at the Ministry. Andromeda Tonks mentioned her husband Ted was requesting to get better security at St. Mungo's and was slipping fliers into patients' release papers that warned of Voldemort's return and gave tips on keeping their homes and families safe, According to Andromeda, he was risking his job if someone complained, but he thought warning the world of Voldemort's return was more important.
After that, Severus Snape, whom Tony discovered was a spy, gave no information about Voldemort. He said it was still early; Voldemort hadn't even been back a month yet, and he was lying low at the moment, but he did hear rumors among the Death Eaters that he was going to allow them to do a few attacks soon, but did not know if that was true or the Death Eaters were just boasting. Tony glanced Sirius's way to see the man giving Snape a lot of loathing during his talk, which surprised Tony a little. He had Sirius locked in a cell for almost half a year, and he never looked at any of them like that. It was a little frightening.
"Let me guess," Sirius said, "You'll be a part of these raids if they happen, won't you, Snape."
"The Dark Lord has not instructed me to, so no, I will not," Snape said, looking down at Sirius with the same look of loathing. So, it wasn't a one-sided hatred then. Snape hated Sirius as much as he hated him.
"What are you hiding?" Sirius asked, "If you're not a part of the raids, then what special assignment did your master give to his little lap dog?"
"Me a lap dog?" Snape asked his upper lip curling. "I'm not the one who became a dog to chase a werewolf around." Lupin's face turned red in embarrassment, and a look of rage flashed across Sirius's face; he opened his mouth to say something, but someone talked over him.
"Remus didn't say anything to you," Natasha said, "Don't bring him into your childish argument with Sirius."
Everyone turned to look at Natasha in surprise. Sirius grinned, and Snape stared for a moment, then smirked.
"What's this?" Snape asked, "Does the Black Willow have feelings for Lupin? Think you can tame the werewolf, perhaps?"
"Hey," Remus said, "Don't -"
"We are all on the same side here," Dumbledore said, "Let's not fight among ourselves." He turned to Snape. "Has Voldemort spoken of the prophecy any?"
"That's all he does talk about," Snape said. "He is desperate to hear the rest."
"We'll have to set up some guards in the Department of Mysteries in case he tries to get ahold of it," Dumbledore said.
"I'm sorry, but a prophecy?" Steve asked.
"There was a prophecy made years ago about Voldemort's downfall; he only knows part of it, and now that he's been defeated once, he wishes to hear it all," Dumbledore explained. "Fear not, my friends. The only people who can remove a prophecy from the Department of Mysteries are those for whom the prophecy is made. I do not believe Voldemort is ready to try and invade the Ministry and the other person the prophecy speaks of doesn't know it exists. The guard is just a precaution."
Tony saw Sirius and Loki give each other a look at Dumbledore's words, which told him the second person of the prophecy knew of it, and they had something to do with said person finding out.
"Thank Merlin, he doesn't," Molly said. "Could you imagine how frightened the poor boy would be?" At those words, Loki rolled her eyes so hard Tony thought they might disappear into the back of her head.
There wasn't much more to report on, and Dumbledore assigned a schedule for certain people to take turns guarding the prophecy. Then he told The Avengers he didn't have anything for them at the moment but asked them to keep their eyes and hears open for any signs of Hydra, then left, along with Severus Snape, who told Dumbledore he needed to speak to him about something after they left, most of the Order of the Phoenix followed all but just over a handful stayed.
"I bet Voldemort gave him a secret task and he's hiding it," Sirius said.
"You don't know that, Padfoot," Remus said.
"More like he wants to back out of being a spy," Loki said, taking the last drink of her tea.
"I'm going to go get the children so we can head home," Molly said, standing and leaving the room.
"Speaking of children," Clint said, "Where is Harry?"
"Upstairs," Sirius answered, "With the Weasley kids, he'll likely come down with them."
"What was all that about a prophecy?" Steve asked. "You guys can't believe in those, do you?"
"Honestly, I always found prophecies to be a load of rubbish. I have never known of one coming true," Sirius said. "But Voldemort believes in them enough; he killed my two best friends and tried to kill Harry when he wasn't even two years old."
"There is part in the prophecy that says Voldemort will mark him as his equal," Thor said, tapping his forehead. "Going after Harry Voldemort unknowingly set the prophecy in motion."
"You don't mean when he attacked him in the cemetery, do you?" Clint asked, "Wait, you're talking about Harry's scar. Did he get that from Voldemort? Is the other person in the prophecy Harry?"
"Voldemort has been after my son ever since he heard that prophecy and decided it meant Harry." Loki said. "Halloween night fourteen years ago, some one Sirius thought of as a friend, betrayed him, he told Voldemort where Harry was, and sent him after him. Our true friends James and Lily tried to protect Harry, and Voldemort killed them, Lily stood between Voldemort and Harry, dying for him set protection around him so when Voldemort tried to kill him, the spell bounced off and struck him instead, weak he fled into hiding."
"But how did it not kill Voldemort?" Bruce asked.
"That was something we wanted to talk to you about." Thor said. "We have a couple of favors to ask you before you leave."
Before they could ask what they wanted, the door opened, and in walked Molly, followed by four red-headed teenagers, three boys, including twins, and one girl. The last one to walk into the room was Harry, he was smiling at the youngest redhaired boy, who looked a little annoyed.
"Hey, Oz," Tony said. Harry looked at him, still smiling, though Tony saw sadness in the kid's eyes. He seemed genuinely happy at that moment despite the dark rings beginning to form under his eyes, indicating the kid wasn't getting enough sleep.
"Hello, Mr. Stark," Harry replied.
"Call me Tony." Tony said, "How have you been, kid?"
"Alright," Harry replied.
"What are you smiling about?" Sirius asked. Harry turned to him, and his smile grew.
"I finally beat Ron in Wizard Chess," Harry said.
"He cheated," Ron said, and Harry laughed.
"Your Uncle Aphard's portrait kept telling me what moves to make and warning me of what Ron's next move would be," Harry explained, and Sirius started laughing.
"Uncle Alphard was always good at chess," Andromeda said, smiling. "And he always had a soft spot for Sirius. It isn't surprising he'd take a liking to his son."
"Ron has vowed never to play chess in the parlor again," Harry said.
"What's wrong with your voice?" Bruce asked. "You sound different, almost as if you have a cold." Harry's eyes went to Sirius, who winked at him.
"You do sound a little off, Harry, dear. If you're sick, you should have let us know," Molly said, walking over and taking a closer look at Harry. "Have you been staying up all night? You shouldn't do that you need rest."
All humor on Harry's face fell, and he stepped back away from Molly and mumbled he was fine.
"He's fine, Molly," Sirius said, his voice full of annoyance. "He doesn't sound sick, more like he has something stuck under his tongue." Sirius and Harry smirked at each other. Tony felt they were in on some inside joke only the two of them knew.
"Molly, we should get the children home," Arthur said, standing. "It's getting late, and The kids haven't even had dinner yet."
And with that, Arthur and Molly, along with their four children, left the kitchen, followed by Remus, who had volunteered to lock the door after they left. No one spoke until Remus was back and seated at the table.
"So, what did you guys want to talk about?" Steve asked.
"Horcruxes," Loki said, "Voldemort has made some, and we'd like you guys to help us search for them since Dumbledore doesn't seem to be planning any hunt at the moment."
"What are Horcruxes?" Bucky asked.
"They are objects a wizard has put part of their soul into." Harry said, "They think Voldemort has made some."
"That's how we think Voldemort survived the Killing Curse rebounding on him," Andromeda said.
"That's right," Sirius said, "We do not know how many or where and what they are, only that Voldemort made some."
"And he can't be killed unless they are all destroyed," Loki said.
"We would like for you to search for them," Sirius said, "I know it'll be damn near impossible, but we will gather what information we have on Voldemort. Anything we can to give you, you can study it and hopefully at least guess as to where and what the Horcruxes are."
"And I have a spy; if he hears anything or finds out anything, he will tell me," Loki said. "And we will let you know."
"And if by any chance we find one of these…Horcruxes, how do we destroy it?" Tony asked. "Something tells me my laser blast won't do the job."
"No, it will not," Andromeda said, "According to the book I read, there are only a few ways to destroy one, and it requires magic. You won't be able to do it."
"You just find them and bring them to us," Loki said, making a large book appear in her hand. "We'll do the destroying. Which one of you is the book guy?"
"I am," Bruce said, raising his hand; Loki sat the large book in front of him.
"I marked the chapter about Horcruxes. You won't be able to destroy them, but read about them and tell the others what you read. You should understand what you're searching for." Loki said.
"And if they have some sort of magical traps or enchantments on them, how can we get past them?" Steve asked.
"That's where I come in," Bill said, "I'll be coming along with you."
"Bill's a Curse Breaker for Gringots Bank. He knows how to find and break any enchantment or curse you can think of and what to look for," Sirius explained.
"And how will we even know where to look?" Clint asked.
"I'll give you a list of possible places you can search," Loki said.
"What do you think, guys?" Steve asked, "Think we should try and help find these soul things?"
"If it brings us one step closer to taking out Grandpa Munster, I'm all for it," Tony said; the others agreed.
"There's one more thing," Sirius said, "Bill isn't the only one that'll be coming with you."
"We figured if you run into trouble, you'd have better luck with two magic users," Loki said. "Nymphadora here has volunteered to be the second one accompanying you."
"Tonks," Tonks said, "Please call me Tonks, and I'm a Metamorphmagus, which means I can change my appearance at well." She closed her eyes and made a weird face, and then suddenly, her hair grew long and dark.
"So, you're like Loki?" Steve asked as Tonks put her hair back to the way it was.
"No, Loki is a shape-shifter. I can only change my appearance. Loki can shift his whole body into something else," Tonks explained. "But it'll come in handy if we need to ask directions or something and don't want to be recognized. Helped me become an Auror."
"An Auror?" Bruce asked.
"A Dark Wizard catcher," Tonks explained, "Or something like the Muggle police."
"So, you're a witch cop?" Bucky asked, "That's cool."
"Nymphadora has Black blood running through her vines, which means she's quite gifted in magic," Andromeda said. "Most of our family may be evil bastards, but if there is one thing you can say about them, our family has produced some of the most talented witches and wizards throughout history."
"So, when did you want us to start searching for these Horcruxes?" Bruce asked.
"September." Sirius said, "It'll give you guys time to plan, and Bill and Tonks can arrive at your tower a few weeks before. after Hogwarts starts, there'll be fewer Order meetings, only during Holiday breaks and emergencies. We like to keep this from Albus."
"Why?" Steve asked.
"Albus is a good man, but he likes to keep secrets, thinking it's keeping people safe. He may seem like this all-powerful wizard, but he makes mistakes just like the rest of us," Sirius explained, "and he often leaves important things to the last minute because he's too busy focusing on what he believes is more important at that moment."
"By then it's often too late," Loki said, "So, we would just like to keep this between those of us in this room for now."
"We might have to tell Fury a little of it, but we can do that," Steve said.
"But what if there is an attack or something while we are searching for these things," Bucky asked.
"You need not worry about that. I am working on some communicators so you can be informed quickly if you are needed elsewhere, you can do whatever needs done, then go back to the search afterward."
"I'll bring some spell books when I come so you can read up on some of the spells and enchantments we might run into," Bill said. "We might even figure out some way you can detect and avoid them."
"If you are willing to help me, I might be able to come up with some kind of device that can detect magic," Tony said.
"Okay, I'll come a little earlier than planned, and we'll see what we can do," Bill said.
"I have a request," Thor said, " I must ask for the tesseract back. I wish to return it to Asgard to fix the Bifrost."
"Sure, take it," Tony said. "I prefer that thing out of my tower and off this planet."
"Thank you, my friend." Thor nodded, "I'll pick it up after Harry's birthday, his birthday wish from me is a storm, I promised I'd give him one, It'll be the first birthday I get to celebrate with him, and I do not know how long I'll be gone. I wish not to go, but with the Bifrost fixed, Asgard can help if needed."
"That's a good idea," Bruce said.
"Alright, it's settled then," Tony said, standing, "Sometime in September the Avengers, one witch, and one wizard are going Horcrux hunting. Wish us luck."
"Yeah, I have a feeling we'll need it," Clint said.
AN: If anyone is curious Remus was reading a book on animagus, mostly on what to do if the transformation goes wrong. Snape hasn't been told of Voldemort's plan to break Death Eaters out of Azkaban, or Voldemort and Sinthea's plan to take super soldier serum. So far Voldemort has only told him about wanting him to raid the prison and kill the super soldier there, which is what he wanted to talk to Dumbledore, in private about it, and Voldemort has mentioned the prophecy, that's all. Right now he's keeping his plans between himself, Sinthea and those he requires to do the task, he's not telling every Death Eater or Hydra member every plan he's making.
Right now since Voldemort isn't doing anything, Dumbledore is focused on alerting people to his return and keeping people safe, he doesn't feel anything else is needed since Voldemort isn't doing anything.
Lucius is stalling with the Azkaban breakout using the excuse of planning it until he can talk to Loki. So, it hasn't happened yet.
About the woman with the dog, when she thought she saw a ghost, she saw Thor suddenly appear out of Grimmauld Place, and could see a little in the house, though she couldn't see it or the door, the reason for saying something about an invisible house.