Capítulo 12: Chapter Twelve
When the quinjet arrived, Loki was carried out on a stretcher with Thor by his side. The 'Team' disembarked and were escorted to the briefing room. When they arrived, Fury was waiting with Coulson and a familiar face… mask by his side.
Everyone stopped. Even Romanoff, who suspected that Harry was part of SHIELD. Stark turned to Romanoff, "How did he get here so fast?" He turned back to Harry, "How did you get here so fast?"
Harry just smiled, not caring that nobody could see it.
Fury didn't smile. He looked at Harry and told him, "Go wake up sleeping beauty, I'll go down once you've brought Thor back."
"Yes, sir." Harry replied and walked off.
Stark was still speechless. His mind was trying to work out how the hell this was possible. Then the one possible answer came to him. "It's not the same guy is it? It couldn't be, he'd have to go faster than a quinjet and I know that I would have picked it up on my sensors." he smirked feeling much better now that he had figured it out.
"Oh, it's him. And thank you so much for telling the world about him, by the way." Fury said with contempt.
"Are you saying I did that? I have no idea what you are talking about." Stark lied, badly.
On Fury's middle finger, a gold ring with the Shield insignia on it heated up for a second. Fury smiled. It seemed the secrecy sensor was working as advertised. He suddenly decided to never take it off again, Potter's warnings be damned. "Of course you don't. Let me just tell you, I've been informed by a credible source that there will be a reckoning for that. I look forward to seeing it. I've been told it will be funny, for anyone but the one responsible."
Coulson had been right, Fury's smile was just not the same since he lost the eye. It seemed wrong somehow. Tony Stark saw this too and subconsciously gulped, but refused to rise to the bait. "So, where did teen angst go?" Tony asked, referring to the leather wearing hooded man.
"Agent Potter has gone to wake up Loki." Coulson said. They had decided to let the team in on some of Harry's secrets. If he was going to join the team, they needed to know. They saw Harry on the screen Fury was watching, walking into the glass cell where Loki was lying on the ground. Harry informed the technician to lock it up with him and Thor, who was still by Loki's side, inside.
Fury put a finger to his ear and said, "Do it."
Once the door was closed and sealed, Harry touched a single finger to Loki's forehead and he woke with a start. Thor's shoulders slumped with relief and he slapped Harry hard on the back with a large smile on his face. Apparently he had been worried.
"Hi there, princess, did you have a nice nap?" Harry asked with a humourless smile that no-one could see.
"You think this is over? I will laugh over your corpse before this is over!" Loki said, not making a move.
"Don't speak to Loki like he is a child. He is still a prince of Asgard and deserves some respect." Thor warned.
"He attacked me earlier tonight after telling me he'd torture me and make me kill my loved ones before killing me." Harry dead-panned.
"Not before cutting out your tongue!" Loki corrected.
"Oh, right, he did say that. Sorry Loki, I forgot." He said with the same smile under his mask.
"You did not! Loki, what has become of you?" Thor asked.
Loki was going to reply, but Harry beat him to it, "Sorry, friend Thor, but we must follow procedure in regard to questioning the man who threatened our world. If you would place your hand on my shoulder, I will take us to where the Director in charge of this ship awaits our return."
Thor looked at Harry and sagged. "As you say. It is your world. I'll let you follow your procedures, but once we are done, Loki will go to Asgard for judgement." He placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and he Apparated them directly to the briefing room.
Harry responded to Thor's statement as if nothing had just happened, ignoring the guns and shocked faces all around. "I will not presume to speak for my superiors on what is to become of Loki. But I don't think there will be a problem with that. We only want peace with your world."
Fury scowled for a second, but conceded the point. "Agent Potter is right. We want peace, but Loki brings war. We need to stop that first."
Tony suddenly spoke up, "Is nobody going to address the fact that someone just teleported into the room?" everyone else was silent, still staring at the man. "Nobody? Okay, let me do it then. What the HELL!" he exclaimed.
"Feeling better?" Harry asked seriously.
"A little bit." Stark replied.
Harry then spotted Doctor Banner. "Doctor Banner! Wow, I'm really a big fan of your brain!" Harry gushed as he walked forward and shook the reluctant doctor's hand.
"Do you follow my work?" the doctor asked uncertainly.
"Not in the slightest. Not nearly smart enough. I tried though. Wow, everything just flew right over my head. You must be a real genius." Harry continued.
"I wouldn't go that far…" he started, but Stark interrupted.
"I'm a genius and you never went on about it like that." Stark said, slightly affronted.
"Yeah, but you know it and brag about it and talk about it, it's really not flattering. Bruce here, though. He's modest and intelligent and he knows about chemicals and radiation. Such fascinating subjects." here, Bruce could see a smile in Harry's eyes, "How did my calming draught work for you?"
"You made that?" Bruce asked.
"Yes, he did, but we must get on task. Sorry, but we must find the Tesseract." Fury interrupted.
Bruce looked upset for a moment, but nodded. They discussed the stolen iridium the implications and decided on a plan. Bruce and Stark went off to the lab and Harry turned to Agent Romanoff once Fury and Coulson left. "I was sorry to hear about your partner." He said sincerely.
Natasha's face showed worry for a moment before it smoothed over. "He was… is a good friend."
"We'll get him back. I already have an idea of how to break the spell. I just need some time. If we can capture him, I promise you, I can bring him back." Harry promised.
She looked at him for a moment, before smirking at him. "You do that, and I might allow you to take me on a second date."
"Is that how you ask a bloke out? No wonder you're still single." Harry said a little over dramatically.
She just stared at him, before smiling. "I think I'm glad you're here. We need all the help we can get."
Harry just scoffed, waved his hand in her direction and said, "Oh relax. Everything will be fine." he subtly cast a cheering charm on her, seeing the need.
Natasha just sat back with a genuine smile on her face. "How do you do that?" she asked in wonder.
"Slight-of-hand," Harry replied.
"I thought you said it was…" she started to say before Harry put a finger on her lips.
"Exactly. Don't spoil the surprise for the others." Harry said. He then turned to the Captain. "Don't you hate these situations? What do they say in the army? Hurry up and wait?"
"It is. Did you serve?" Rogers asked. He was not sure he followed what had just happened, but it seemed like Harry had put her mind at ease with just a few words after turning her down for a date.
"I was part of a special program. Comparatively speaking, I was in special operations. Our mission statement was to uproot domestic terrorist cells and expose them or take them out. We lost a lot of good men, but it was the good fight. And somebody had to do it." Harry said with a sad smile looking lost for a moment.
"I'm sorry." Rogers said. "I know what it's like."
"Let's go for a walk Captain. You don't seem the type to like sitting still." Harry said getting up. He looked at Natasha. "If the lady would excuse us?"
She smiled and said, "Go ahead. I suddenly feel hungry. I can't remember the last time I ate."
"Now don't go ruining that figure of yours." Harry said playfully.
"I could eat more than you without picking up a pound." she stated seriously.
"Then why did you eat a salad at that Italian Restaurant?" Harry asked.
"Because it was delicious!" Natasha called after them as they left the room.
Harry just chuckled. Rogers looked at him strangely and asked, "Why do you flirt with her when you said no to a date?"
"Because flirting is fun." Harry said. "It's a bit of a game between us at this point. When I met her, she told me her name was Natalie, because she was trying to get close to me for a mission. I was new in town, you see. When I found out she wasn't who she said she was and called her out, that made me the winner, but she doesn't like losing, so the day I give in to her, she'll have won and I don't intend to make it easy on her."
"So your saying 'no', is actually keeping her interest?" Rogers asked.
"To a degree. It's normally called 'playing hard to get'. Neither of us are really serious about it. She's a busy girl. She's career driven. So am I, to a degree. We have similar goals though, so it could work if we had the time. Until that changes for either of us, we can flirt and play our game, because it is fun and since both of us know it's a game." Harry explained.
"Why are you taking the time to explain all this?" Rogers asked.
"Because you asked." Harry said. "Okay hold on a moment, I've got to do something. Just stand still." Harry moved his hand, Rogers didn't see anything happening. "Okay it's set. We'll now not be bothered by anyone. Put your hand on my shoulder, please?" Rogers hesitated for a moment, suspecting what was going to happen, but put his hand on his shoulder anyway. They disappeared.
When they re-appeared they were on a beach. "Where are we?" Rogers asked, seemingly immune to the side-effects of apparition.
"We're at the beach. I need to share some things with you and I find a visual aid helps me." Harry flipped his hood back and removed his mask. "It gets warm in there. I'm going to get me an ice-cream. Can I buy you one?" Harry said.
"I'm fine, thank you." Rogers replied immediately.
"Okay, we're going to try this again and this time I want you to be honest with me and not just say the polite thing. Do you want an ice-cream?" Harry asked again.
Rogers smiled ruefully. "Yes please. That would be nice, thank you."
"You're too nice. Nobody does that anymore, where you decline politely the first time and they offer again. Just be honest the first time. Honesty is never rude." Harry said.
Steve actually liked this man. He was straight forward and seemed world-wise. "You wanted to talk about something?" he asked.
Harry got them each an ice-cream. He got Rogers the biggest one they had when he refused to ask for anything more than a small cone. Rogers was smiling from ear-to-ear, so Harry knew he did the right thing. He led them on the familiar path to the dune where he had first arrived. He climbed up the dune and sat at the top. It was a warm summer's day and he cast a cooling charm on both of them.
"I'm going to tell you a story and you will sit there and eat your ice-cream and listen. No interruptions. This is going to be difficult for me. You may nod your head to tell me you understand now." Harry said seriously, more so than Steve had seen before. He nodded.
And so Harry told his story. He started with his earliest memories of cooking before he was old enough to see over the counter without a chair. The unfair way he was treated. His room under the stairs. The owl post arriving and then Hagrid. The train station. The school. The highlights of every year. The friends he made. The things he learned. The prophecy. The losses he suffered. The things he was forced to do. Arriving here.
Steve sat there looking at Harry. He'd watched as Harry's heart raced in excitement at times and tears that fell at the losses at other times. When Harry had finished he asked, "Why tell me all this, Harry?"
Harry was looking out over the sea again, relaxing after all the emotions he had relived faded away with the sounds of the ocean. "Because everybody knows your story and you're alone. Because now you know my whole story and I'm alone. We're both the last of our people. Now we have a chance to not be alone anymore. I've told you everything. Nobody in this world knows me like you do now. But more than that, I needed you to trust me. There are battles coming that we will have to face together and you can't fight alongside people you don't trust. And I believe I can trust you with my secrets." Harry explained.
"Of course, Harry. I'd be honoured to fight beside you." Steve said vehemently.
Harry gave a wry smile, "Now we just need a way to get the rest of the team to work together."
Steve winced.
They arrived back on the helicarrier. Harry heading for the lab and Steve off to go find Romanoff.
Harry arrived at the door to find Stark poking at Banner with a sharp implement. "You guys are getting along well." Harry said standing with a shoulder against the doorframe.
"Good evening, Agent Potter." Banner said.
"Please, you can call me Harry." He said as he pulled his hood back and lowered his mask.
"Well hello then, Harry." Stark said.
"You can call me Agent Potter, until I get you back for uploading that video to the internet." Harry said crossly.
"Oh yeah, what are you going to do?" Stark asked poking the lion.
Harry just smiled and made a gesture with his hand. "Oh I don't know. A little of this, a little of that."
Tony stood there smirking until he noticed Bruce staring down at something. He looked down, lifting his hands up to see if there was something on him. When he found nothing, he looked back up at Bruce who was now staring next to his head. He looked where Bruce was looking and saw his hand. More precisely, his fingers. He had none. They were all thumbs! "What the HELL!" as he said it he dropped the pointy object he had been poking Bruce with.
"Careful you don't drop something." He said sarcastically. "Honestly Stark, you're all thumbs today."
At this Banner snorted. He looked like he was going to explode with laughter.
Harry waved his hand again and Stark's digits went back to normal. "I hope they have that on video. Coulson will be so disappointed with me that he missed it otherwise."
Tony was staring at his hands again. Then he rounded on Harry. "What the hell are you?"
"Unique." was Harry's answer.
Bruce had finally gained control of himself. "Do you have some form of hypnotic power? Making us think you teleported around and making Stark and I believe his fingers were all thumbs?"
"Do you want to play the guessing game or do you want me to tell you?" Harry asked.
"Tell us." Stark said.
"Not you. I'd tell him when you were gone, or we could leave and I could tell him. I already told Steve. We kind of bonded over ice-cream. It was a nice moment." Harry explained with a small smile.
Banner seemed to like Stark a little riled up. He was finding it very amusing, but he didn't want to stir the pot. "You can tell me when you tell Stark."
"You're no fun." Harry pouted.
"I just don't want him bothering me even more and I know he'd become insufferable." Bruce explained with another smile as Stark just glared at him.
"Okay, okay. Stark, if you want to hear, please disable the video feed in the room. I don't want this out there." Harry said offhandedly.
"How would I do that?" Stark asked.
"Oh come off it! I saw you place that device on the terminal." Harry exclaimed.
"Shhh! Hold on a second, jeez." Stark went to his personal device and typed in some commands. "There, were safe."
Harry stepped into the room and closed the door. "It's simple. I do magic. I came from another reality accidentally and now I'm stuck here." He pointed sharply at Stark, then. "Don't make me punish you."
"I'm sorry, Harry, but even I know that there are too many other things that could explain your abilities. Perhaps you just think its magic." Banner replied.
"Okay, how to prove it to you, then?" Harry asked, pondering. He had an idea. He sent a stinging jinx at Starks left foot, just above the shoe.
"Ow! Why are you hurting me?" Stark asked as he bent down to examine his foot, not finding anything.
"Because it is fun and we both know if I had done it to Banner, you'd not believe him when he told you it hurt." Harry replied.
Stark actually conceded the point. "Okay fine. A little warning next time, though?"
Harry just shrugged and smiled. "Look, I'd give you an enchanted item, but you'll want to test it and Fury hates it when I wreck his machines. Magic and technology don't work well together. In fact technology likes to die around magic."
"Wait, hold on. You're doing something to me that might affect my arc reactor?" Stark asked incredulously, all serious for the first time. "I don't appreciate you playing with my life like that!"
"Oh! I'm sorry for worrying you!" Harry said honestly. "Let me explain. I'd have to do the magic much closer to your chest to actually affect it. See, when magic is applied directly to a device, it is affected by the wide range of energy fields that magic produces. If I 'teleported' with your cell-phone, for example, it would be directly affected by the magic, and it would die, but if I changed your hair colour, while you were on the phone, there would be a much lower chance of it affecting your phone. If your phone was in your pocket, there'd be almost no chance." Harry explained.
"At least you had the forethought to keep that in mind." Stark said in relief.
"Honestly, though. It is a shame. I don't know how arc reactor technology would react to magic." Harry had an idea, this would be fun. "I'll be right back," Harry said as he disappeared. When he came back he was holding a bottle of Firewhiskey. "Care for a drink, Doctor Banner?"
"I don't think that's a good idea." Banner declined.
"Trust me, you'll want a sip of this." Harry assured him making two glasses appear on the table in front of him.
"Did you just teleport those in?" Stark asked walking over. It had been a while since he'd had a drink.
"Conjured, actually. Magical constructs that disappear in a couple of hours." he replied. He turned back to Bruce, "Plus, if you're a light-weight, I can simply cast a sobering charm on you. It removes any excess alcohol from your system." As Harry said this, he un-stoppered the bottle and poured two singles. He handed one glass to Bruce and took the other for himself.
"If you're sure. Maybe just a sip." Bruce said dubiously.
"Hey, what about me?" Stark asked.
"Are you sure you want to try it. It's a magical alcohol." Harry said with a smirk.
"All the more reason for me to try it. You know I'm not going to believe Bruce here anyway. No offence Bruce." Stark said.
"None taken." Banner murmured. "Are you sure you want to risk it, though?"
"I doubt the arc reactor runs that deep, Doctor Banner." Harry said.
"Call me Bruce." Banner said for the first time. Harry seemed a good sort to him, if strange, and at least with him around Stark left him alone for a bit.
Harry conjured another glass, and poured another shot. Harry held his glass up and said "Cheers" and downed his drink.
Stark, not wanting to be out-done by Harry, downed his own glass, before the fire burned down his throat. He was able to keep himself from coughing and after a moment, seemed to relax a bit. "Okay, I'm starting to become a believer. That drink is magic. Can I have another?"
"Maybe on another occasion. This is a demonstration. If you're good, when this is over, I might consider selling you a bottle."
Bruce, seeing there were no seeming ill effects, decided to take a small sip. It burned down his throat and when the sensation passed, he felt a shudder run up his spine. He let out a sigh of contentment and then looked at the liquid. "How is that possible? I feel better than I have any right to feel. The 'Other Guy' even seems calmer." He looked at Harry.
"Magic," is all Harry said.
"Are you going to have the rest of that?" Stark said reaching for Bruce's glass, who quickly lifted it away with an annoyed look.
"You had your own." Bruce said with a smile.
"Oh come on!" Stark said.
Harry laughed. He poured himself another single, before putting the bottle in one of his expanded inner pockets. He clinked glasses with Bruce and said "To partnership." He then took a small sip into his mouth, kept it there, and blew out through his mouth with the drink staying in his mouth. A gout of flame came forth.
"How did you do that?" Bruce asked.
"Well, it is called Firewhiskey for a reason, you know." Harry answered sincerely. "The trick is blowing out the right amount of air otherwise you just get smoke."
Bruce tried it with his next sip and was able to produce a small flame, before it turned into a bunch of smoke. "Cool." He said contentedly as the smoke vanished.
There was a beep from Stark's device and he went to go look at it, still scowling and thinking that he'd like to play too. His eyes bulged and he said, "Harry, what's in that Firewhiskey?"
"Nobody knows. As far as I can tell it's just enchanted alcohol. It was one of the Ogden family secrets. Why?" Harry asked, suddenly feeling a little worried.
"Because the charge on my arc reactor just went up." Stark said.
"You mean to tell me the magic is charging your reactor?" Harry asked.
"Huh. Seems like it might. So, can I have another?" Stark asked with an excited smile.
"Not so fast, let me think about this. How does the arc reactor work?" at Stark's incredulous look, Harry clarified, "Don't give me specifics, just the general drift."
"Well, in laymen's terms," he scowled at Harry, "It has a reaction that takes residual energy out of the atmosphere and converts, stores and produces electricity." Harry just stared at him, then started laughing, suddenly. "What?" Stark asked, miffed at this man laughing at his greatest work.
"I'm not laughing at you." Harry said as he started gaining control of himself. "It's just so funny. My magic is the same. It takes energy from the environment and converts, stores and produces magic." Harry was still smiling.
"Are you telling me you're an arc reactor?" Stark asked flabbergasted.
"No, I'm saying I'm a magic reactor. Electricity is a form of energy of one specific type. Magic is an energy that encompasses all types. Your arc reactor is doing what it always does, but because there's more energy available, there's more being converted." Harry said with a happy smile.
"That actually sounded scientific. Are you sure you're not smarter than you think?" Bruce asked Harry.
"I had a friend who was considered the brightest of our generation. She's the one that researched it and told me what her findings were. She would have been able to answer all your questions in terms you can understand." Harry said sadly.
"I'm sorry, Harry." Bruce said sincerely, only now realizing that Harry was stuck in a world he was unfamiliar with separated from all his friends and family. "Maybe one day, we can figure out a way for you to go back?"
"No, there's nothing to go back to. My world was destroyed by a madman. I was the only survivor when I got sent here." Harry said, not looking in their eyes.
Even Stark was able to see the loss, but not knowing what to say and trying to get Harry's mind off his issues asked, "So, about that drink? I've never had such a good excuse to drink!" He smiled roguishly.
"I have another idea," Harry said, having been successfully distracted.
He conjured a tall glass and then filled it with water, which he then turned into butterbeer. "This is another drink from my world. The water is real, and completely clean, I then used magic to change it to Butterbeer. Once it heats up, it will turn back into water, so it's a fun way to not get drunk or fat and enjoy a drink. The test here is to see if, when you drink a bit, it affects you the same way as the firewhiskey did. This way I don't get Fury on me about getting you drunk while you're supposed to be working."
"That was amazing." Bruce said. "You just created something from nothing, and then changed it into another substance entirely! Could you make gold?"
"I could, potentially, but the process unravels after a while and the gold would disappear. It was considered illegal as well where I am from and I was in law enforcement, so I dislike doing things like that." Harry stated.
"You were a magic cop?" Stark asked as he first examined the glass and contents. "And why can you produce real water, but not real gold? That doesn't make any sense."
"Mr Stark, as I'm sure you know, science follows a set of rules that cannot be broken. Just as science has rules, so does magic. I spent seven years studying magic in school and three more for my chosen career. I'd prefer it if you don't question my education, just as I won't question yours." Harry said a little defensively. "And besides, the water isn't really conjured as much as it takes hydrogen and oxygen molecules out of the atmosphere and turns them into water. My friend hypothesized that temporary transfigurations of one substance to another uses magic as a substitute for the molecules needed to change one thing into another."
"That makes sense I suppose, to a degree. It doesn't explain how, though. And call me Tony. Mr Stark makes me feel old." He picked up the glass having sniffed at it, looked and Bruce, shrugged and took a sip. "It's not bad. It doesn't have the same effect as that whiskey though. Still it's better than plain old water." He put the glass down and went back to his device to monitor what was happening. After a couple of minutes, his eyes lit up and then he scowled. "Damn."
"What's it say Tony," Bruce asked.
"It works even better than the whiskey. There goes my excuse to get drunk." Tony scowled.
"Oh, I'm so sorry I gave you a fast, effective and delicious way of charging your arc reactor, Tony. Here, let me get rid of this for you." he pointed at the glass Tony had left on the table and it disappeared.
"Hey, I was going to drink that!" Tony complained.
Harry turned to Bruce, "So how is the search going?"
"Everything is set. We're scanning and we'll get results as soon as there are any to find." Bruce said as he took the last sip of the firewhiskey. Harry took the glass and vanished it. "Is that 'calming draught' of yours like this? An enchanted liquid?"
"No," Harry said as he reached inside a pocket and pulled out another calming draught, "This is a bona fide magic potion. It is made using plants and other ingredients, some of which need to be magical. You are lucky in that I have crops of ingredients that I maintain for potions." He handed the potion to Bruce. "Why did you drink the other one so fast, I thought you'd keep it for an emergency?"
"Well," Bruce looked sheepish, "I thought it was a hoax or trick to get my assistance. I also partially wanted to know if it worked. Sorry if it's expensive."
"It's not really, we just need to control use. My greenhouse is stocked with ingredients, but if word gets out that I can cure basically anything including the common cold, I'd be inundated with requests and my stores would suffer." Harry said.
"Hold on a second," Tony interjected. "You can cure the common cold?! That would be worth millions, no, billions if you could market it!" He seemed excited at the prospect.
"I'm afraid you are mistaken. I don't have the time, patience or, quite frankly, the knowledge to pull something like that off. I just want to help people, I don't care about the money." Here he looked at Bruce, "If, however, I had access to a large brain like Dr Banner over here, we could cure more than the common cold. We could cure cancer."
Bruce stood there watching Harry with open-mouthed amazement, before finally asking, "Are you asking me to work with you researching potions?"
"The school I went to used pewter cauldrons and no scientific method. There are some things that are intrinsically necessary, like the direction of stirring, because of how magic works, but if I was smart enough to use maths and science to figure out why they are necessary, I could concoct potions that would change the world." Harry said passionately. "That is, if you're interested…"
"YES! Yes I'm interested!" Bruce all but shouted. This could change his life, he could be at the forefront of a new class of medicine and it was being offered freely. How could he not want to be part of it?
"Great!" Harry said, while reaching into a pocket. He pulled out a book he had taken from his library and handed it to Bruce. "Please be careful with that. It's my only copy."
Bruce read the cover 'Basics in the Preparation of Magical Reagents and Primers. A guide for Beginners in the art of Brewing Potions'. "Thank you, Harry. You don't know what this opportunity means to me." he said sincerely, a tear forming in one eye. He had hope.
"Oh, I think I do. I will help wherever I can, but Potions was never my strong suite. I do have seven years of education on the subject though, so I won't be useless!" Harry said. "But do me a favour and keep the book for later. If Fury thought I was distracting you, he'd have my head."
"Of course, Harry." Bruce said, as he opened the book and started reading. "Once we see anything happen, I'll stop reading. At this point we're just waiting anyway." He moved off to his workstation.
"What about me?" Tony asked with a cross look. "I was going to get him to come work for me!"
"Who says he can't do both? What he does with his time is up to him. I'm not his boss." Harry said.
"Actually, Harry, you kind of just hired me." Bruce said from his corner, eyes not leaving the text.
"Oh, I didn't realize. I was looking for a partner, not an employee." Harry said. "Well, in that case," he turned back to Stark, "First come, first served. We can discuss how much you are willing to pay to rent him from me."
"Ah, on second thought, partnership sounds better to me suddenly." Bruce said.
"Jeez, make up your mind." Harry said. "See, he's his own boss. Speak to him. As for what you can do, would you be interested in building machines that, once Bruce has figured it out, can mass produce potions?" Harry then asked.
"I don't see why not." Tony said considering it.
"What about working on a way to proof devices from magic? I also had an idea about using magic to enchant devices to produce cheap energy. What about instant communications without any delays no matter the distances? Would those be things you would be interested in?" Harry asked.
"Okay, now we're talking!" Stark said. This could be the conversation that leads to an end in world hunger, illness and power-shortages. "You're willing for partnership? I've got a suspicion that we could be bitter enemies or the best of friends, economically speaking, of course."
"Just, don't put massive mark-ups on things. I'm interested in helping people, like I said. Not making money." Harry warned.
"Yeah, yeah. Not everything I do is about making money, you know." Tony said.
"I know, Tony. You're actually a good person, but until you stop acting like an arrogant ass, I'll be knocking you down for your efforts." Harry said sincerely. "Did I ever tell you I can construct a self-sustained pocket dimension? Or that I know a spell that could remove the shrapnel from your chest right now. Painlessly. Or that there is a potion that can regrow bones in the human body overnight, even if they were completely removed?" Harry asked with a new look in his eyes.
Tony's eyes bulged. "No, I don't believe you did." he deadpanned. "Can you do that now, the shrapnel I mean?" he asked with a little hope.
"I suppose I could, but I would suggest you wait until I can brew a potion or two. There's a small chance it could cause internal bleeding as the shrapnel is no longer there. I'd rather have a blood replenishing potion and some essence of dittany at the ready. And we'd probably want to take the arc reactor out before the potions take effect. Not doing that, would hurt like hell." Harry informed him.
Tony blanched. "Yeah, let's rather just leave it for another time." He said as he rubbed his chest.
"One last item for you. I have a whole field of study in magic that I could use both you and Bruce for. Have you ever heard of magical runes?" Harry asked, thinking of Hermione's research.
"In stories, is suppose. You mean that's real too?" Tony asked in wonder.
"My friend was conducting research with runes. She called their workings 'the circuitry of the magical world'. I know nothing about the concept and have only a working knowledge of Ancient runes that she taught me. I'm not sure, but I think she was trying to build a magical calculator or a way to give access to magic to the non-magical." Harry said. "Her dying wish was for me to take her research and finish it." Harry said sadly.
"If she was, she was taking the first steps to making the world's first magic computer!" Tony's brain started working overtime. "Do you have her research?"
"Tony! Show some respect, can't you see he's in pain?" Bruce suddenly got up, he had heard the tone in Harry's voice.
"Relax, Bruce. He's just excited. The idea of a whole new form computing probably has him all revved up. Tony here, loves a challenge." Harry said with a wry smile. "And yes, I have her research, but that can wait for later."
"Oh, come on! You gave Bruce a book. Don't you have some books on understanding runes or something?" Tony pleaded.
That had worked better than he had thought. He pretended to think about it, before recovering a book from his pocket again. Giving the book to Tony, he said sincerely, "Don't lose or damage this and don't try any rune words or clusters you think might work. It takes three years of study to know how to not make a rune-word explode in your face. If you accidentally create a loop, it could build exponentially and take down the Helicarrier." Harry said seriously.
"I suppose I could make sure he stays out of trouble." Bruce said.
"Oh, come on! It's no fun if there's no chance of it exploding in your face!" Tony whined.
"Buck up, old man!" Harry said as he pointed at the table and cancelled the invisibility on the butterbeer. "Your Butterbeer isn't going to drink itself!" Harry smiled as he left the Lab.
As he left, he heard Bruce ask Tony if he could have a taste and Tony's response that it was his and that he needed it for his arc reactor. It seemed they were getting along better already. One more common thread to pull them all together.
Time to go speak to Thor. He found him on the command deck, staring out into the night. "Prince Thor, if I may intrude on your evening?" Harry asked respectfully.
"Please do. All this waiting bores me. I have no patience for it. I'd rather be out there doing something." He said indicating out, into the world.
"If you wish, I can entertain you for an hour or two. There is much I would like to show you." Harry said.
"I don't see why not. Anything is better than just waiting here." Thor said.
As they made it out of the command deck, Harry made eye-contact with Fury and nodded slightly. Fury just looked at him as he went.
"Do you mind if we invited Captain Rogers to come with us? He is alone in this world much like myself and he will like what we are about to do." Harry asked.
"Feel free to. I have no qualms with the Captain." Thor said.
They asked around and were directed to a training room, where Natasha and Steve were busy sparring. They watched as Steve and Natasha held the upper hand on multiple occasions, until finally, Natasha got Steve with a dirty trick and got him to submit.
"You fight too dirty." Steve said with a smile as he shook the arm she had manipulated for the submission.
"You don't fight dirty enough." she replied. She then looked up and noticed Harry. Smirking, she asked, "Do you think you can handle me?"
Harry looked up at Thor, "Do you mind? This will only take a minute."
"Go ahead, but watch out. She looks poisonous." Thor laughed.
"That's fine, I'm immune." Harry said as he put his heavy armour in storage with a flick of a finger.
"That's a neat trick. Can you do that with all your clothes?" Natasha asked as they squared off.
"I can do it with any clothes. I don't even need to be the one wearing them." Harry replied with a smirk.
"Kinky." She replied as she lunged at him. She was very quick, but Harry's reflexes saved him as he blocked the jab.
"You don't know half of it," he said as he returned a punch, aimed at her face, which she dodged, grabbing his arm and trying to twist it with her movement. Had Harry not done combat training, it might have worked on him. He stepped forward and used his other arm to grab her waist as she turned. He put one foot behind hers, and gently dipped her.
When he brought her back up, she aimed an elbow for his throat, which he also caught handily, turning her as if twirling in the same dance, before jumping away. He knew he was taking advantage of her taking things slowly, getting used to how he moved, but he couldn't help himself. He knew if she went all out, he'd not stand a chance. It seemed like she was enjoying the dance.
Time to spice things up. He watched her eyes, reading any intention he could from her without actually entering her mind. When she punched, so did he. When she kicked, so did he. She started going faster and faster until it was all Harry could do to keep up. And then, she faked a kick, when she connected with his leg however, she twisted her leg around his, gripped his foot in her hands and twisted it. He fell to the floor and she locked his leg in a submission hold while putting stress on his spine.
He tapped out, conceding defeat. She helped him up and he smiled at her. "You are as beautiful as you are deadly, Natalie, my dear."
"You're no slouch yourself, but you need to stop telegraphing your attacks. You'd be able to recover faster and then you'd have been the one on top of me." she smiled at him.
"Oh be still, my aching heart." Harry exclaimed theatrically.
"Want to go for another round?" she asked him.
"I'm afraid I came for Steve. I have an interesting excursion planned for Thor, him and myself." Harry said.
"Don't be a stranger." Natasha said.
"Any more than I already am? Impossible." he said as he walked out followed by Steve and Thor.
"Okay, we need to be alone for this next part." He led them around the command deck. He cast a privacy ward, then conjured a carpet on the floor. He switched it with one of the ones he had in the artefacts room. He had them get on the reasonably sized carpet and sat down. As they did, there was a sense of movement and the Helicarrier seemed to fall away below them. Harry conjured some torches that floated around them for light and a small table that he placed a bottle on. Some cushions appeared and then a shield against the wind.
"Okay, so the mood is set." Harry said. "We are alone and there is nobody to hear us. We're going to get to know each other with the help of two things. The first being this," he pointed at the alcohol, "and the other being this," he conjured a bowl and switched it with his Pensieve. "I'll even show you how they both work." he conjured three tumblers and filled them half up with the firewhiskey.
"Harry, are you sure this is a good idea? We're supposed to be ready at any moment." Steve asked. He was still looking around him in wonder. He was sitting on a flying carpet, about to have a drink under the moonlight.
"I thought you trusted me? They know I'm busy with something and they have a way to get in contact." Harry said. "As for the alcohol. I don't think any of us has a problem with that."
"I could do with a drink. Although I hope you are going to explain in further detail why we are doing it here." Thor asked.
"First, we drink." he picked up his glass and said, "To the battles we have yet to face and overcome."
"Cheers!" Steve said.
"To the battles!" Thor boomed.
They all drank.
Steve coughed and there was a gout of fire. He had never been much of a drinker and this stuff was strong! Harry loved the look in his eyes at the fire.
Thor didn't cough. He just looked at the glass like it contained a treasure. "This is fine drink! Where did you come by it, sorcerer?"
"Please, could you call me Harry?" Harry asked.
"Of course, Harry." Thor said.
"Thanks. The drink comes from my home, so stocks are limited." Harry said.
"It's a shame! I would have loved to take my father a bottle of this. He'd see it as a wonderful gift. Though honesty does compel me to admit, I would be tempted to keep it for myself." Thor said.
"I might be persuaded to part with a bottle or two." Harry said slyly, "I said stocks were limited. Not that they were limited to a little."
"This is really good, Harry. Thank you." Steve said realizing this was something Harry probably held dear.
"It's not a problem, Steve." Harry responded. "Anyway, on to the big event." Harry put a finger to his head and pulled it away with a look of concentration. A strand of memory attached to his finger.
Harry dropped it in the bowl and said, "Okay I want each of you to put a finger in the bowl."
They both did it without question and Harry joined them. "This is my first quiddich game." Thor and Steve were looking around seeing a young Harry speak to his teammates and flushing right before taking off and flying into the sky. His companions were shocked and amazed by some of the things they were seeing. By the time the memory ended, his companions had speculative looks.
"You wish for us to bond by sharing our experiences?" Thor asked.
"That is correct, Prince Thor. We have no bonds, no reference to what we can do for one another. Our actions will gain us the respect of our companions over time, but that is not a luxury we have." Harry confirmed and explained.
"I see your point Harry. And this is an amazing opportunity. I just wish the rest of the team could be here." Steve said.
"It's not that simple. We are the only ones that can share this time as all the others have jobs to do. And Prince Thor here, has his own priorities, which he has every right to have." Harry said quickly, before Thor could interrupt. "He has duty, a love for his brother he must abide by and a friend under mind-control he wishes to save. I'm not going to try and change his mind or duty. I just want us to know each other. Weaknesses, strengths, passions, goals. In those we will find our common ground."
When they both nodded, Harry winked, "They also don't have our tolerance for good alcohol." They both laughed as Harry poured another drink. "Steve, if you would, please concentrate on something you wish to share."
Steve nodded and thought and then he said, "I'm ready." Harry touched his finger to Steve's head and pulled the memory out. He put it in the bowl and they followed the same procedure, seeing his fight with the Red Skull and when he had to put the plane in the water. He was commentating as the memory went. When the memory was over, he just sat there saddened by the memory of his missed chance with a lovely young lady.
"It is a shame that war so rips the lives of people apart. You have a lot of heart, friend Steve. To do what you did took courage and dedication." Thor intoned.
"Thank you, Prince Thor." Steve said.
"You may both call me Thor. It is customary here. If we are to be a team, let us not be divided by ranks or circumstance of birth." Thor said.
"Thank you, Thor." Harry said.
Thor went next and they saw his battle on Jotunheim. He shared his personal shame and the reason for his banishment to Earth. And so on it went. The more they talked and shared and drank, the more they started seeing each other's value. And the more they drank the more entertaining the memories became. Until they were laughing at something the twins had done, or Loki's propensity to get Thor into trouble and the good humour he took it with. By the time they had to go back to the Helicarrier, they were all quite drunk.
Steve stumbled as he got up and shook his head, "Harry, am I drunk?" he asked incredulously.
"You've been drunk for an hour Steve. Didn't you notice?" Harry asked, also not steady on his feet.
"But I thought that was impossible!?" He stumbled again and went to go sit against the wall of the command deck they had landed next to.
Thor, meanwhile was a little steadier on his feet, but he was also visibly swaying.
"Normally that might be true, but wizarding whiskey is made for wizards. We can drink enough to kill five normal people and go to work the next day. One of the perks!" Harry exclaimed happily.
"Well, Asgardians can drink enough ale to kill ten humans!" Thor said with a victorious smile.
"You win! I can't compete with that," Harry said. "Are you guys ready to sober up?" he asked.
"Do we need to go swim in the arctic or something? Because if that's so, I'd rather just stay drunk. It's not such a bad feeling. I kind of like it." Steve said.
"Nah. It's a spell. Hold on." Harry concentrated for a second and then ice cold water fell on them.
"I thought you said we didn't need to go swimming!" Steve said just slightly upset. Thor was just laughing.
"SHHHSHH! I need to concentrate." This time he got it right and the alcohol immediately left their systems.
"Wow, that's cold." Steve suddenly said dead sober.
"Sorry about that. In my own defence, you brought up the arctic water." Harry said.
"Don't blame friend Steve for your miscasting of a spell. He's not the wizard here." Thor rebuked.
"Yeah, okay. You're right. Sorry Steve. It was all my fault I thought of arctic water while casting a spell." He said with good humour.
Steve just laughed, "We must do that again sometime. It was fun!"
"Why, Captain America, I never thought I'd see the day that you advocate the use of alcohol!" Harry joked again. He cast a quick drying charm on all three of them.
"When you can sober right up it's hardly the same thing!" Steve said back. "And, wow, there really is a spell for just about anything, isn't there?"
"Pretty much, which is why there was law enforcement for wizards. When there's a spell for anything, people inevitably do bad things with them." Harry responded.
"You made a fine officer, Harry. It's just unfortunate that the wrong people noticed." Thor said. He had really warmed up to the wizard. After they had convinced Harry to show them some of his battles, so they could measure his skills, they were amazed at the sheer abundance of spells he could have in the air at any given time.
"How is it that you could cast so many spells without a focus, when your opponents used wands and they are so slow?" Thor asked.
"It's a gift. I wasn't born with it, but somewhere along the line I earned it. It used to be a wand. It was called the Elder Wand. One day it fused with my being. Now, instead of owning the most powerful wand in existence, I am one." Harry explained.
"Those kinds of things don't happen often, do they?" Steve asked.
"With me, they happen all the time. It's a curse, or a blessing. I don't know anymore." Harry answered solemnly.
"How many times have you been quickened thusly, Harry?" Thor asked, suddenly having a suspicion that it had not just been the once.
"A total of three times, actually. Four if you count the scar." Harry had told them the story of the Horcrux.
"What were the other two?" Steve asked.
"My cloak of invisibility did the same thing." Harry made himself invisible and then visible again.
"A useful skill that one. More often than not used for mischief, I presume?" Thor smiled.
"Maybe once or twice." Harry said noncommittally.
"And the last one?" Steve asked.
"Keep this one to yourself, okay?" Harry looked at Thor and Steve who both nodded. "I can summon and communicate with the spirits of the dead."
"Really?" Steve asked.
"Necromancy!" Thor exclaimed, suddenly wary. "It is a forbidden art! Why do you have such a skill?"
Harry told them the story of the deathly hallows, leaving out the part about the Master of Death. "So you see, it cannot be forbidden if Death himself allowed its use."
"Herself," Thor interrupted. "On Asgard, death is always referred to as female."
"Who would I be to argue with those far wiser than myself." Harry replied humbly. "Anyway, it's a skill I don't like using. I heard that the dead feel pain after being summoned for too long."
"That is best, I think. A skill you may use, but sparingly, is the course of a wise man in this regard." Thor said.
"That's too bad. I'd have loved to say goodbye to a couple of my old friends." Steve said sadly.
"Don't worry Steve. We can still get you in contact with them. We just need to wait for the veil between the living and the dead to be at its thinnest on Halloween and then their discomfort will be minimized. I doubt they'd mind waiting that long." Harry said. Turning to Thor he asked, "Do you think that will be okay?"
"I think that by respecting them, and treating them kindly, you show that you have a good heart." Thor said noncommittally.
"I'm afraid our evening has come to an end. I need to get some rest. I have expended a lot of energy today." Harry said.
They thanked Harry again for an enlightening, fun evening and bid him goodnight. Harry made his way to the command deck and found Fury there. When he approached, Fury indicated that they go to his office, but not before speaking to Maria. "Hill, we're going to have a meeting. You know how to contact me."
Maria Hill, Fury's second in command, nodded. Harry noticed that this normally beautiful woman looked very tired, but resigned. He walked over, took her hand and said, "Thank you for working so hard." then he whispered, "Drink this in private, it will give you a couple of hours of extra energy." leaving a pepper-up potion in her hand.
She smiled at him and said, "Thank you, Agent Potter."
As they walked Fury asked, "You don't happen to have any more of those do you?"
"Yes, sir. Pepper-up Potions are easier to make in large quantities, so I've got about 19 more vials." Harry replied.
Fury just held his hand out. It was easy to forget that this man was human sometimes. Harry handed him a vial. Fury didn't even wait till he was back at his office, he just uncorked it and downed it. One agent's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head at seeing steam shoot out of Fury's ears. Fury ignored him. Nobody would believe him anyway. Or they'd start thinking he's a machine. Either way works.
When he reached his office. Coulson was sitting in a chair with his eyes closed. Fury just looked and him and then Harry. Harry knew what to do. Soon Coulson was up and seemingly recovered.
"We don't all have the luxury of sleep at this stage. We need a debriefing." Fury took out his badge, and used his activation phrase, "Where secrets dwell in the light." and was ported away.
Coulson took out his and said his activation phrase, "No Marauder without his pack." Harry suspected Coulson set that activation phrase for him.
Harry just apparated to the Marauders' Den. He didn't need an activation phrase, but he still thought it was cool. They used words they would not normally use together or in a sentence.
"Agent Potter, report." Fury said as soon as he arrived.
They were sitting at the coffee table, so Harry started his report as he started making coffee at the newly installed machine. It was a big monstrosity, and it had taken work, but Harry had finally gotten it to work. "I've done as requested. Steve knows my whole story, more than even you. Emphasis on details that he would appreciate to know and about my personal interactions and problems with past superiors. He is much like myself in that he appreciates honesty, so I was.
"Stark was indeed patched into your systems. I don't know how much he's uncovered, but I suspect he'll come across Phase Two by tomorrow. Try to have Steve there for the discovery. I'll make sure he understands beforehand that you sometimes take orders you don't like. In the meanwhile I've asked Steve to get to know Romanoff. He understands teamwork and last I checked they were making good progress. Hopefully the work I put in with him and Stark will have them finding some common ground." Harry took them their coffees.
"And Banner?" Fury asked.
"When I met him I think he thought I was just an oddity. Since our discussion this afternoon, he's wholeheartedly taken to the concept of becoming a master brewer. I suspect he'll want to join me as soon as this is over. Once I show him his rooms, I think he'll elect to stay with me. We'll need land that I can secure and make unplottable for our planned expansion of the Greenhouses. I'll need to show him how to do everything, from seedlings to harvesting, before we start 'Contracting' hired help for upkeep. I don't think he'd enjoy working in the fields. Besides that he's as focussed on a future working with me as I imagine I can make him."
"What about Stark? Did you struggle to get him to see reason?"
"In the beginning he scoffed at the idea of magic. I think the real turning point was when I started quoting some of Hermione's findings, when we discovered that his arc reactor works a lot like magic. We even discovered that the arc reactor can extract energy from magic that has reached entropy. After that, I told him about a couple of projects that I have eyes on for the long run and mentioned the possibility of him working with Banner on a couple of them and he was on-board. I wouldn't be surprised if he's planning on his future kids marrying with Bruce's. He's got a real 'broner' for Banner." Harry chuckled.
Phil just smirked and said, "He wants to spend time with Banner as he sees him as an intellectual equal."
"How did it go with Thor?" Fury said, ignoring the witticisms.
"I decided to take Steve with us," here he smiled at Coulson, "we took one of my carpets up and shared drink and memories."
"Come on! I thought you said you didn't like them?!" Coulson exclaimed.
"I never said that. I said they were illegal in Europe and that I preferred brooms. Anyway," he said ignoring Coulson's cold gaze, "we were able to see eye-to-eye once I expressed my understanding of his duties and desire to save a friend. He REALLY liked the Firewhiskey.
"I really should start working out its enchantments soon. Between you guys using it as an emotional surrogate and my needing to use it to make my teammates happy, it won't last the year. Maybe I'll make getting the formula right part of Banner's Potions education.
"If I can't figure it out, I'm sure he can. Between him and my challenge to Stark to start making magic resistant equipment, we're going to start seeing some wonders coming out of Potter Innovations."
"You made a company?" Fury asked worried.
"Not yet. I'm thinking that if I don't though, I won't be able to put my foot down when Stark starts going overboard with our shared research. I don't want the discoveries we make to be under the control of his share-holders either."
"That's actually a good idea. I'll get a team started registering everything under a dummy company, so nobody can track it back to you just yet." Fury said with an approving nod.
"To get back to Thor though. I think it will be a good idea if you quietly speak to him and tell him very specifically that Loki will be allowed to go back with him. He won't trust us fully until you do. As for our meeting tonight, taking Steve with us was a good idea. I can see Thor allowing him to be team-leader after we viewed a couple of memories of him in battle with the commandos. Thor is a prince and a warrior, not a soldier. He's not used to taking orders, but he realised that Steve is a leader and has the right head and experience for it."
"What about Romanoff? You haven't said anything about her." Fury asked.
"Well, the thing is, we've not really had the opportunity. I'm struggling to get a read on her as well. Besides her worry for Barton, I know next to nothing about her. I don't know what makes her tick." Harry said.
"Sir, if I may?" Coulson asked.
"Go ahead." Fury said.
"Natasha is complicated. She was an assassin working for the KGB. There was an order out for her termination and Barton went to put a toe-tag on her. To hear him tell it, she was being used by her government. When he found that out, he asked for permission to bring her into the fold. Before she came in she took her time with her handlers. It wasn't pretty.
"Apparently they were using her as a party favour, for statesmen and government officials in the know, when she wasn't on missions. Whatever they had on her… I think she found out that they had already acted on the intel. She was not in a good place. A lot like you, there is no trust. Even after years of working for us we don't know everything. And she's always got her head on a swivel." Coulson finished sadly.
Harry was just sitting there, his gaze a million miles away. He was remembering the things Death Eaters would do when they found a pretty plaything. They'd hold her family hostage and force her to do depraved things to save their lives, until they had their fun and killed the family anyway, only to leave her alive so she could suffer. Most of those young ladies, and sometimes boys, did not survive the night, by their own hands.
Harry's eyes did not flash this time. They started to glow. Then the room started to shake. Coulson and Fury both jumped up and started to yell at Harry to calm down, but he could not hear them. The sound of blood rushing through his ears was far too loud and his anger far too much. He saw a little red-headed girl on the floor below a statue, he saw Hermione's tortured and defiled body, he saw countless dead children in a mass grave. He saw red.
Suddenly he looked up, a strange smile on his face and then, he disappeared.
Fury and Coulson were worried. They knew some of Harry's past and always had a small fear that some of that past would come back to bite them. For that reason, they decided to come check the Marauder's Den every hour, just in case Harry came back. They needn't have worried.
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