First: a huge thank you to dolphin_rider for looking over this chapter

Second - with life/things slowly picking up in the UK (where I am) I will have less time to do as many updates as I had with the first 4 - not to mention trying to get the right voice/tone for each of the characters is no easy feat - but I definitely haven't abandoned any of my stories... Hopefully this definitely longer than usual chapter will make up for the wait...

To that: Thank you so much for all your comments, kudos, general support for this fic and I hope you like/approve of the direction it is going in

Some parts of the text in this chapter have been taken from HP& the Philosopher's Stone, HP& the Chamber of Secrets, HP& the Goblet of Fire, and the 'The Avengers' (2012) film

CHAPTER 5

'The Goblet of Fire now shone more brightly than anything in the whole Hall, the sparkling bright, bluey-whiteness of the flames almost painful on the eyes. Everyone watched, waiting...' - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Not long after Dr Banner left with the (very pretty) agent (the Hat convinced this was 'Agent Romanov', 'a' missing at the end of her name or not), a couple of agents entered the room.

Harry first thought he was in trouble, the men having come to bring him back to his room.

And yet, other than several not-so-discreet looks, mainly to Fawkes but also to himself, they didn't say anything to either. They went to the main desk where Dr Banner had been working, to place a box on top of it and open it—

'Loki's staff.

Fawkes fluttered his wings at the sight, while Harry was silently pleased he wasn't the only one unnerved by it.

It reminded him of Mr Ollivander's remark to Voldemort's wand being very powerful, and in the wrong hands...[1]

At least the staff didn't share any particularity with his wand.

'Indeed Harry. I think you will find little similarity between this staff and your wand...' the Hat agreed, 'On a side matter, I think you will be interested to know that your wand's core came from Fawkes.'

'My wand's feather came from Fawkes?' Harry thought, amazed; distracted from the agents setting up the staff on the centre of the work-space

'Indeed. Mr. Ollivander wrote to Professor Dumbledore after you had bought your wand. While usually the recipient of the wand is not revealed, it is customary to inform the owner and-or companion of the creature the core originated from, whether it be antler, feather, hair, heartstring, horn or whisker; A matter of pride if you will. Of course in your case I believe the fact that you had received the wand when Tom Riddle had the first was also a reason for the letter... and for Mr Ollivander's breach of the customary implied confidentiality.'[2]

Harry's thoughts went to his visit with the strange wandmaker —before his attention was diverted by several more agents entering the laboratory, carrying a second large box. Unlike the previous one though, the agents simply left it on one of the other desks unopened - that and it had written 'STARK' on its top and side rather than 'SHIELD'.

To which all the agents left the room (not without a last look to both Fawkes and Harry).

With a small frown, Harry wondered why they hadn't said anything about them being in the room, not to mention leaving them alone with the staff.

The Hat gave a chuckle, 'I believe they are curious to see what you will do.'

'Like when you thought Agent Romanov was testing me -testing my 'knowledge of this planet'?'

'Indeed. I think it is safe to assume they are trying to gather as much information about you; and what better way to do so but observe you while you think yourself alone and unobserved.'[3]

That was a valid point. Not that it reassured Harry any. In fact it made him all the more convinced to stay clear of the staff. Just as it made him all the more wary of the pretty agent - and even Agent Coulson. (Even if they were just doing their jobs.)

Harry wondered about Doctor Banner. The physicist had mentioned being outside of the United States when SHIELD had gotten in touch with him. While not to the linguistic knowledge the Hat had accumulated in a thousand years, the doctor probably also knew several languages, along with everything else he knew about. (The doctor did remind Harry some of Hermione and her ever-growing passion for knowledge.)

'Do you think Dr Banner is also reporting to them?'

'I wouldn't discount it — but the good doctor does stand out from the others.'

That was true; Doctor Banner definitely didn't look or act like the other people on the ship. Not to mention, while he could have lied, he had stated rather bluntly that he didn't work for SHIELD. They had only contacted him specifically for his knowledge of 'gamma radiation' and finding the Tesseract. - Not to mention he had looked dumbfounded at seeing Fawkes and Harry. While the SHIELD agents did give them looks, they didn't act as if Fawkes or Harry's presence was all that astonishing.

'I wouldn't be surprised if SHIELD is keeping as much an eye on him as they are on you.'

'Oh?'

'Fawkes -felt something in Doctor Banner. He seems to be afflicted with very high anxiety levels - so much more than found in humans.'

Harry frowned; the doctor had looked perfectly calm to him, if slightly excited when he had really started trying to explain nuclear physics to Harry (reminding all the more of Hermione).

'Ah, but that is what is all the more intriguing; while Doctor Banner has a very high stress level, he is able to suppress it, for it to be near-unnoticeable. I believe there is quite a bit more to the doctor than meets the eye or his expertise of nuclear physics — and that SHIELD's interest in him goes beyond that of his highly-developed mind.'

Harry thought over the Hat's words, for his gaze to stray to the staff (his body staying firmly in his seat), 'Do you think the staff has gamma radiation?' all while wondering if SHIELD were going to study it like they had been the Tesseract in the underground laboratory.

'Perhaps, but I wouldn't be surprised if they first used it to try and locate the Tesseract.'

'You don't think they have found it?' They had found Loki after all.

'There is the possibility. However, I wouldn't discount Loki having sent the Tesseract elsewhere when SHIELD disembarked. He does have aid in the form of mind-controlled agents who would know SHIELD's tactical strategies after all.

'I also believe that Director Fury would want the Tesseract close-at-hand (and away from possible civilian casualties), especially after the breach, theft and subsequent destruction of their last base. There are only so many places to store the Tesseract on this ship, and given the impressive array of technology in this room - noted by yourself - it would be one of the more likely places to store it — and study it... Not to mention, Fawkes does not sense it on the ship, unlike Loki and the staff.'

Loki had definitely looked pleased when he had passed the lab; even in handcuffs, surrounded by guards. As if it was part of his plan to be captured.

'Indeed; while differing in several aspects, the situation does make one think - worryingly - on the tale of the Trojan Horse.'

Harry stared at the staff staring warily, all while remembering Ollivander's comment on the wand choosing the wizard. Had this staff had 'chosen' Loki? Had Loki done anything to it? - Maybe it was somehow also listening in, watching SHIELD - and Harry?

'I have never heard a staff acting in such a way, but you are right to be cautious. While neither Fawkes nor I can say much with regards to this staff - or its unfamiliar core - or if Loki has done anything in particular to it, staffs do tend to be more powerful than wands; they have more space for magic resonate... that, and the usually 'exposed' core is less restricted.'

'Then why don't wizards use staffs?'

'They used to, but staffs are far less practical. Most deemed the increased power didn't compensate enough for their bulk. Also, the shaft being longer, with the core exposed, makes it more vulnerable. Though the use of a metal shaft in this particular case circumvents this partially, I wouldn't recommend having a metal - especially gold - made-staff. While gold is stronger and more resistant, it is a lot heavier and requires more energy in handling than wood; Though this Loki fellow did more than prove his ability and agility to wield such a weapon.'

Remembering the 'fight' in the secret laboratory, Harry agreed.

From there, both Hat and Harry decided it best to wait in the room, as to see what SHIELD was going to use the staff, and if indeed to find the Tesseract, though Harry continued to hope that the Hat was wrong and the blue box had been found.

Given the Hat's warning about SHIELD watching him, Harry was reluctant to look too closely at any of the equipment. Nor did he dare pick anything up. The most he did was watch the different screens as their blue or green-lined graphs continually evolved, while trying to figure out what each represented ('G-ray levels' the easiest to figure out)...

… To wonder what was in the other box the agents had brought — and what 'STARK' stood for.

They ended up making a game of it, each taking turns of possible acronyms.

The Hat had just come up with 'Strategic Taskforce Advocating Research and Knowledge', after Harry's own 'Supreme Terrestrial Association of Reckless Kings' (Harry's tended to be more outlandish), when the soft hum of the door announced someone's arrival.

Both Fawkes and he looked to find Doctor Banner had returned, along with another man.

Harry jumped from his chair at the sight of the doctor, ready to ask how the meeting had went, and if they had found the Tesseract along with Loki (and him one step closer to returning to Hogwarts) —

What little hope dwindled at Doctor Banner's face...

-"Whoa! What's with the bird? Has Fury gone full-pirate and is using it to spy on us?"

Attention snapping to the second man currently staring at Fawkes, Harry couldn't help interject, "Fawkes isn't a parrot." Even Fawkes had puffed his feathers angrily, clearly affronted.

The man swerved to blink owlishly at him.

Harry knew instantly this was the sort of person Uncle Vernon grumbled about. His uncle would probably even criticise his oddly-shaped beard. But the man's true 'crime': he was wearing a t-shirt. Harry wasn't sure he had ever come across an adult wearing a t-shirt before; short-sleeved shirt on a warm day, yes - t-shirt, no.

"Umm... Had you brought your kid to Comic-Con and weren't able to drop him off at 'Monster Day-care' when they brought you in?-" the man's sharp stare going between Harry and Doctor Banner (who started blinking rapidly, face becoming paler), to look accusingly at Harry, -"Though feel kinda offended you didn't go as Iron Man."

Harry just frowned at him (mostly due to having understood only about half of what he had said).

"-Not that your costume doesn't look great. Who are you going as? —No - Wait. Let me guess:..." Eyes narrowing, looking at the whole of Harry's outfit, he snapped his fingers together, to point straight at him, "... Gandalf? — Though you're missing the beard... Did it get too itchy?"

Harry got only more confused.

The Hat gave a chuckle, 'While I am befuddled by the previous terms, I believe 'Gandalf' refers to a character in a mundane literary series, deemed of the 'fantastical' genre. When the first book came out, there was a worry of a possible breach of the Statute: whether the author was a squib or if he had come across wizards who had participated in the mundane 'World War'. It was ultimately concluded that the tale was inspired by folklore rather than the wizarding world.'

"-Or maybe not..." having clearly picked up on Harry's confusion, to tap his chin, eyes still fixed on Harry, "Any ideas Jarv?"

Harry's frown deepened, wondering how he had gotten the nickname 'Jarv' from 'Bruce Banner'?

Speaking of - "Doctor Banner isn't my father."

The man looked far from convinced. His mouth and beard twitched as he looked from Doctor Banner (looking rather relieved) to Harry.

He even started pacing, slowly moving towards the desk with the 'STARK' box on it, glancing back at Harry —

"-Wait," He turned back, to snap his fingers and point to Harry, "Was it 'bring your kid to work day'? - You Coulson's kid? I mean, teen-pregnancies are definitely a thing, but really don't think you're Romanov's little bundle of joy. And you're not glary, pirate-y enough to be Fury's... And I didn't bother with any of the others' names. So - you 'Coulson Jr'?"

Harry blinked owlishly at the man, as he continued on, "Is he keeping you under wraps to not scare the cellist away? - You can tell us, it will be our little secret; you - me - Brucie here... and dear old dad. - Scouts' honour."

Harry very much doubted he had been in the scouts.

"-He-Heck, I'll even throw in a brand new, top-of-the-line Stark phone… and tablet..."

When Harry didn't answer (though more curious as to what a 'STARK' phone and tablet entailed) the man gave him a nod of approval, "principles - I respect that. It's good to have them. Though, it's just convincing me more that you're 'Mini-Agent Coulson'..."

He gave Harry another lingering look, like he was a puzzle he was trying to figure out - Harry wasn't sure what the look meant but didn't really like it aimed at him - for the man to give him a final shake of the head. - "Right, enough 'chit-chat' - let's find this Cube and learn what SHIELD are really using it for," as he completed his walk to the box, and tapped a code to open it.

Gaze not having left him, Harry couldn't help but ask, "What does STARK stand for?"

For him to pull back as not only the man jolted right back up and blink wildly - but Doctor Banner was right there along with him, staring at Harry as if he just asked something very foolish.

"Y-...w-..." for the first time since his entrance, the man was speechless; doing nothing for Harry's growing unease.

So much so that Doctor Banner interjected, "Salazar... - do you mean to say, you don't recognise the name 'Stark'?"

"Umm... no...?"

The doctor looked - oddly - amused by this.

Before he could respond though, the other man had finally found his voice, "-why do you wanna know what it means?"

"Well..." Harry shifted, to ultimately reveal, "I had no idea, so made a game trying to guess while waiting for Doctor Banner to return…"

"Oh?... And what did you come up with?"

"Well... I figured it was probably something like 'Strategic Tactical Advancement of Research and Knowledge'... but my personal favourite is 'Super Team Army of Robot Killers'."

The man looked pleased by these, even giving Harry a nod of approval, for him to move from behind the desk and step closer to Harry, offering him his hand, "Tony Stark - pleasure to meet you..."

Harry blinked, for his whole face to heat up; great, he had definitely put his foot in it. Even the Hat let a soft chuckle.

Fully embarrassed, Harry was barely able to look at the man - Mr Stark - as he shook the offered hand and gulped out, "S-Salazar Slytherin."

"Salazar?" letting go of Harry's hand.

"uh... yeah..."

"And I thought I had it bad at school..." giving Harry a commiserating look.

He stared at Harry for several beats but didn't say anything else, opting to return to the box.

Box open, along with Doctor Banner confirming the Hat's theory that Loki had indeed not revealed where the Tesseract was, an understated buzz took hold of the room. The two men fluttered between the various machines and the staff; it was as if Loki's withholding had only spurred them on.

Doctor Banner moved around the staff with one of the detectors, scanning it from every angle…

…

… To look to the closest screen…

...

"The Gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig's reports on the Tesseract. But it's gonna take weeks to process."

Harry felt his stomach drop; any kind of hope dwindling that much faster.

He didn't have weeks.

"If we bypass their mainframe and direct route to the Homer cluster we can clock this at around six hundred teraflops," Mr Stark called out from his box-turned-into-computer.

Harry suppressed a sigh; while he had no idea what 'teraflops' were, they definitely sounded far more promising.

"All I packed was a toothbrush."

Mr Stark chuckled - "You know, you should come by Stark Tower some time. Top ten floors all R and D. You'd love it, it's a candy land."

"Thanks but...last time I was in New York I kind of broke... Harlem."

Harry frowned, unsure what that was supposed to mean. He could only assume it had something to do with the doctor's supposed high anxiety levels. But how did that have anything to do with 'breaking' part of a city? - Fawkes must have sensed something though, as he let a series of soft trills.

"Well, I promise a stress free environment. No tension, no surprises" —He poked Doctor Banner in the side.

Fawkes squawked, his wings flapping angrily - Harry jumped out of his chair - as Doctor Banner cried out - "Ow!"

"Hey!"

Frowning - glaring at Mr Stark, Harry's head couldn't help but snap at the call: another man had entered the laboratory wearing an impressive scowl of his own.

"Nothing?" — Harry turned back to Mr Stark; the man only gave Fawkes - still trilling heatedly - a brief glance, to completely ignore the new man in favour of eyeing Doctor Banner.

"Are you nuts?"

Mr Stark gave the man a brief look, "Jury's out!-" to focus back on the doctor "-You really have got a lid on it, haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz, bongo drums, huge bag of w—?"

The last word swallowed back in his throat, as his eyes looked to Harry, as if just remembering he was also in the room;

"You know kid, you've got dear old Coulson's immovable scowl down to a pat... another point in his favor."

The statement brought the new man's attention to Harry, his frown now aimed at him - though (hopefully) more out of confusion and anger.

Mr Stark clicked his fingers together, pointing to Harry, "Actually — that's a kinda posh-Brit' accent... — Hey Cap, wasn't your lost-lady-love British...?"

Though he barely gave 'Cap' a glance before his finger was back on Harry, "Any chance one of your grandmas is a 'Peggy Carter'?"

Surprisingly, whatever protests 'Cap' had been about to say died at his throat then. Instead the new man paused to look at Harry with renewed interest, along with Doctor Banner, while Mr Stark continue to grin down at him,

"- Grandma Peggy — Granny P? —Granny M? —Grandma Marge—"

Harry blinked.

"Oh! Do we have a winner?"

"Oh! No - no - no... it's just I have an Aunt Marge - well, she isn't really my aunt. I just have to call her that. Besides, her last name isn't even 'Carter'."

'Cap' pulled back exhaling, while Mr Stark's sharp gaze stuck on, as if to gauge if Harry was lying… "You sure? Promise I'll let you in on what I find on SHIELD "

For 'Cap' to turn to Mr Stark the next moment, his glare returning full-force - "Is everything a joke to you?"

"Funny things are."

"You need to focus on the problem, Mister Stark."

"You think I'm not? Why did Fury call us in? Why now, why not before? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables.

"You think Fury's hiding something?

"He's a spy. Captain, he's the spy. His secrets have secrets.

He gestured to Doctor Banner, "-It's bugging him to, isn't it?

The doctor waved his hands - "Uhh, Aah, I just wanna finish my work here and-"

"-Doctor?"

Doctor Banner deflated with a long sigh... to remove his glasses, "'A warm light for all mankind'... Loki's jab at Fury about the Cube."

"I heard it."

"Well, I think that was meant for you," gesturing Mr Stark, who offered him the container full of blueberries in return.

"Even if Barton didn't tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news."

"Stark Tower? That big ugly"-

Harry blinked - Stark Tower? - As Mr Stark gave 'Cap' a look.

"-building in New York?"

"It's powered by an arc reactor, self-sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for, what, a year?"

"It's just the prototype-" Stark turned to the captain, "-I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now, that's what he's getting at," talking as if he was explaining basic math.

"So, why didn't SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract project? What are they even doing in the energy business in the first place?"

Harry frowned, "Isn't it a door—portal?" -It had, after all, somehow brought Fawkes and him from another universe.

Three pairs of eyes snapped to him.

Harry's ear warmed, "Well... I know it has Gamma radiation," glancing to Doctor Banner, "-and generates power, but Loki was able to... to use it to arrive on Earth—"

"- and is going to use it to bring the Chitauri army," Mr Stark added, snapping his fingers.

Harry's eyes widened - an army?

The captain's frown turned sceptical, "so... SHIELD is also planning to use the Tesseract as a - what — teleportation device?"

Mr Stark actually gave him an approving nod, "Something else to definitely look into SHIELD about. —Blueberry?"[4]

Yet the captain only scowled at him, ignoring the offered container, "Yet you're confused about why they didn't want you around."

"An intelligence organization that fears intelligence? Historically, not awesome."

The remark reminded Harry of Professor Dumbledore at the end of last year, about 'the truth' being a 'beautiful and terrible thing' that should be 'treated with great caution', and that he would tell Harry when he was older - when he was 'ready'.

"I think Director Fury probably thought you weren't — "well he was old enough "—ready to be included with such intelligence."

The captain interjected before Mr Stark could respond, "-I think Loki's trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war and if we don't stay focused he'll succeed. We have orders, we should follow them."

"Following's not really my style."

"And you're all about style, aren't you?"

"Out of the people in this room, which one is "A" wearing a spangly outfit and "B" not of use?"

"Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you?"

"Just find the Cube -" For 'Captain Steve' to head for the door in a huff.

Harry watched him as he paused just outside the laboratory, for him to turn and walk in the opposite direction.

"—kept him on ice."

Blinking, Harry looked back to the remaining two men, Doctor Banner sighing, "Guy's not wrong about Loki; he does have the jump on us."

Mr Stark looked far from convinced, "What he's got is an ACME dynamite kit. It's gonna blow up in his face, and I'm gonna be there when it does.

Harry frown returned, "If he really is Loki, he's over a thousand years old and the god of mischief. He's probably been planning this for longer than you — and even SHIELD even knew about the Tesseract. Do you really think between him and you, he's the one who didn't plan things out?" Not to mention, he actually had magic.

Both men blinked owlishly at Harry.

For Mr Stark to tilt his head, "Y'know... no reason to be —species-ist... — human-ist(?)," pointing the container to Harry, "You seem pretty fan-boy-ing on Loki — not to mention, you sound quite a bit like Point Break and Reindeer Games — and you kinda look like him... Did SHIELD somehow kidnap Loki's mini-me? Are they using you as leverage in hopes that Loki tells them where the Cube is?"

To be fair to Harry, during the Magical Theory lessons centred on Nordic Magical Mythology, while a definite favourite of Slytherin students, the rest of the students approved of the legends of how Loki used magic. - Given their prominent use of magic, the Vanir were met with great endorsement. (The Æsir on other hand... students tended to be of two minds about them; the more sympathetic were the Hufflepuff, followed by the Gryffindor as they share several similar traits.)

Still, it didn't stop Harry from glaring at the man once more -to notice Doctor Banner, also staring at him with a certain level of intrigue. The doctor shrugged embarrassedly, "well, you... do have a certain resemblance—"

Mr Stark to cut in, "— and that scar-mark on your forehead; kinda looks like Nordic writing... Not to mention the whole air of mystery surrounding you. While chicks might dig it, Jarvis is getting frustrated in not finding any trace of you. I mean, what - human - kid doesn't have a Facebook page?[5] —Ha! - You see! You don't even know what that is! Which leaves two options:

"One: super-spy kid whose dad hid his identity beyond what could be construed as 'normal parental behaviour', and who gave you over-the-top presents - such as tropical birds - as apologies for all the times he missed out on father-son bonding time to go deal with bad guys.

"—Or, option two: space-alien kid - with his own alien bird, gifted for all the years Daddy-alien made up for being away, invading other planets."

He raised his hands in surrender at Harry's growing scowl, "alright - alright... Word to the wise though: during those teenage-alien rebellious years, make sure to not get so drunk as to pass-out while behind the wheel of your spaceship - and don't get a green space-girl pregnant. —Hey, you might be scrunching your nose at me now, but in a few years, those three-breasted alien chicks will be most of what your will be thinking about—"

Doctor Banner gave a cough, to give Mr Stark a look.

"-But that won't be for a few more years... Actually, being a space-kid means you've missed out on loads of things; namely: the best music in the universe..."

Mr Stark tapped on one of the screens a couple times, for music Harry was certain Aunt Petunia would never have approved of.

It reminded Harry of the Weird Sisters — but edgier.

"Umm, its - it's nice."

"'Nice'? - No - no - no, The Beatles are 'nice'; This is Black Sabbath — more specifically Black Sabbath's 'End of the beginning'."[6]

Harry was in the Chamber, with Tom Riddle telling him how alike they were. Harry shook his head, they were nothing alike. The Basilisk started encircling them; he tried to fight it or even climb over it, but its scales proved slippery; the ring slowly becoming smaller and smaller as Riddle laughed — then Riddle turned into Loki, sneering down at him, his laugh becoming high and cold — there was a burst of green light and Harry woke shaking.

'—Harry - Mr Potter! -Are you alright?'

Harry held back a groan, his head feeling as if it had been hit by a bludger.

He rubbed his eyes, straightening slowly. 'What time is it?'

'Just before daybreak. — Are you well?'

Harry gave a slow nod, though making sure to not shake his head too much. Mind still throbbing, he tried to remember his dream... for nothing to come up...

At least Mr Stark's music was playing much softer than earlier; the humming noises from the various machines and Mr Stark's soft tapping at the computer even discernible.

He was also reassured that he wasn't the only one to have dozed off. Fawkes' head was under its wing, soft coos occasionally being heard. Even Doctor Banner, eyes closed, was leaning against the large window.

Letting out a sigh, Harry's eyes lowered... to land on the staff…

Harry blinked slowly at it...

He wasn't sure if it was the last of the sleep leaving him, but it seemed... brighter than before...

It definitely had a similar colour and glow to the Tesseract...

Doctor Banner and Mr Stark seemed to think it was powered by the Tesseract...

Could...

Could the staff help them get back...

If Harry used it...

Surely it would... —

"—Y'alright there kid?"

Harry blinked, to jolt back; he was not only standing, but had moved towards the staff. His right hand was even slightly raised... as if he had been reaching for it.

"Don't think I've ever had anyone fall asleep to Black Sabbath before; The Betrayal!... Worse: Brucie and Long John Silver's lost parrot followed your bad example; -You proud of yourself Kal-El?"

Still frowning, Harry shook his head, forcing himself to turn from the staff, "It's Harry, not 'Kal-El'."

"Harry —really? Doesn't sound very alien-y."

Harry's head snapped, eyes wide. He felt his face heat as he looked at Mr Stark.

Mr Stark raised an eyebrow, staring straight back at him, "Is that your 'Earth name' for when you 'hide among us'?... Guess it's better than 'Clark Kent'."

Harry blinked - to frown once more, "are you talking about Superboy?"

"Super-man," Mr Stark corrected him automatically, to pull back the next moment with an unimpressed look, "—Y'know Superman - comic books - but you don't know me, a real life superhero, really?"

What Harry remembered was Aunt Petunia, for the first time ever, furious with Dudley, when finding him watching 'Superboy'. Neither she nor Uncle Vernon had been moved by his tears or yelling; he was not allowed to watch it. Dudley had only been calmed when promised that he could watch the newest James Bond. - He had had nightmares for ages afterwards... — and had continued to watch 'Superboy' at Piers' house, to later taunt Harry about it.[7]

Rubbing his forehead, Harry decided he was not yet awake enough to talk with Mr Stark - and possibly risk saying more. Giving Mr Stark a tight smile, "I'm gonna go get an early breakfast... — would you like anything?"

"I'm good, thanks Harry."

Harry didn't bother glaring back, instead he paused at the door to look to the still-sleeping Fawkes, unsure—

"— don't worry kid, we'll look after your space-bird."

'That is no ordinary staff.'

The walk to the cafeteria had been done in silent reflection. It was only after reaching the cafeteria, Harry loading his tray (making sure to take a container full of strawberries for Fawkes - and an apple for Doctor Banner) and had started eating that the Hat spoke of his unease.

Unease shared by Harry.

There was definitely something - off about the staff. While the fresh cup of tea and a fuller stomach definitely helped, he was certain the staff not being close-by was also behind his head feeling a lot less muddled.

'Aye - I'm assuming its effect is gradual, from prolonged exposure; just as water warming, for the frog to realise too late it's being cooked...'

Harry took a heavy gulp, unsure what to take from that particular metaphor.

'Unfortunately, I doubt its intent is anything beneficial - resembles a compulsion of some sort; To be perfectly honest it reminds of Mr Riddle's Diary-'

Harry's apprehension only grew, 'Will the others be alright with it in there with them?' already rising from his seat.

'I'm uncertain. While Fawkes' presence should ease some of the effect, both are mundane - and there are both their underlying issues to consider.'

Harry nearly tripped, 'What underlying issues?'

'While you slept, Doctor Banner and Mr Stark alluded to the doctor's high anxiety. While I'm uncertain as to what happened exactly, they did infer a laboratory accident - involving Gamma radiation - to which the doctor should have died. And yet, Doctor Banner somehow survived. Though, instead of receiving a scar, he was afflicted with... some sort of temporary metamorphosis. From what they said, along with Mr Stark's... actions, it could be inferred to be directly connected with Doctor Banner's excitement and-or irritation levels.

'Mr Stark also had a — 'near-death experience'; an altercation which resulted in a certain amount of 'shrapnel' - tiny pieces of metal - landing very close to his heart. I'm assuming they were too close —too risky to be removed, as he fashioned himself a device placed into his chest, stopping the pieces from moving any closer.'

Harry actually stopped and stared wide eyed into nothing, unable to imagine what the Hat was describing. Though, incidentally, he did remember noticing a slight glow beneath the man's t-shirt.

The next moment, he was moving down the hallways once more; his pace only quickening - worried the staff would not only somehow affect Doctor Banner's 'affliction' but Mr Stark's device.

The sound of raised voices as they drew near did nothing to alleviate it.

'Do you think it's the staff?'

Finally reaching the right hallway, he looked through the window to notice the laboratory was a lot more crowded than before.

The door near-silently slid open; "...-from this environment, doctor?"

So silently that none of the several occupants noticed. Doctor Banner was glaring accusingly at the red-haired agent, letting out a harsh chuckle, "I was in Calcutta; I was pretty well removed."

"Loki's manipulating you," she retorted as the rest looked on; Mr Stark next to the doctor, Director Fury by the agent's side - along with two other men-

"And you've been doing what exactly?"

-Harry quickly recognised 'Captain Steve' standing back to him - mostly from his outfit - standing next to a huge muggle gun that had definitely not been on the table when Harry had left-

"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you."

-As for the other: a huge, burly man. While he also had long blonde hair, he couldn't have been more different to Mr Malfoy. If anything he looked like what Godric Gryffindor might have looked like-

"Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy-"

-'Godric had bright flaming-red hair' the Hat chuckled-

"-I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction," Doctor Banner exclaimed all the more loudly, calling Harry's full attention, pointing to what looked like a huge cannon on one of the screens.

Harry moved slightly closer, tilting his head slightly to try and get a better look—

"-Because of him," the director shifted, to point at the large man Harry had just been eyeing.

The man frowned - Harry right along with him - him?

"Me?"

- What had he done?-

"Last year earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that levelled a small town.-"

Harry's frown only deepened with each word-

"-We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are h—"

"-That's not true."

Fury swerved - along with everyone else - to face Harry head on, making him realise he had spoken out loud... and quite loudly.

The director blinked - to open his mouth - clearly ready to retort - or tell him off, but Harry didn't give him the chance, "I mean - I'm not saying that a small town wasn't destroyed, but you knew about outsiders before then... - before him," - pointing to the muscled man, "When you asked me all those questions -interrogated me, you mentioned others. I didn't notice at the time, but then Agent Coulson mentioned them as well: Krees - Skrulls - Flerkens... - I think they have also already come to Earth, -and probably before he destroyed a small town."

Several opened their mouths, ready to interject - about interrogating Harry - about Krees and Skrulls - about their involvement in the destruction of a town - he wasn't sure; but Harry was on a roll. He could feel the Hat spurring him on - and was that Fawkes? The phoenix let out a soft, quavering note, and Harry felt as though a drop of hot liquid had slipped down his throat into his stomach, warming him, and strengthening him.

His voice all that much firmer, he pushed through, his gaze going to the large weapon on the screen -"these plans - these weapons — you've been studying the Tesseract in your secret laboratory for more than a year, haven't you? Was it the Krees - the Skrulls - the Flerkens? - Did they attack you... all try and take it?"

To which the room broke into a discord of people yelling; The large man crying out "Krees and Skrulls have been here?!" - 'Captain Steve' exclaiming, "What exactly have you been doing with the Cube since finding it in the ocean?!"- Doctor Banner saying something accusingly to Agent Romanov, while Mr Stark nodded him along — the director going between glaring at Harry and trying to explain himself to the blonde man…

To the point where Harry wasn't sure who was saying what, or what they were saying —

"—SKAWW! SKAWWW!" - Fawkes spread his large wings out and flapping them, all while letting out a series of loud angry cries;

Only then did the room return to a small amount of order.

While still visibly agitated, the large man made visible effort to lower his voice, "the Hábrók[8] speaks true! Acting like squeakers[9] squabbling over the first worm of the morning will bring us nowhere!...-"

"-Passing over the whole being called a 'squeaker' -b-t-dubs, kid, Point Break here totally spilled the beans on your bird being the bee's knees of-"

"-Hábróks are no mere bee! They are creatures of great intelligence and power! They are as rare as they are wondrous; an ever-beacon of light!" for the large man to turn directly on Harry, "For this noble bird to have given this youth his allegiance is a rare thing indeed; tis a mark of great honour!-" leaving Fawkes (and maybe also Harry) preening at his words.

The man straightened - to puff out to Harry, "I am Thor, son of Odin."

Harry blinked - several times - while somehow hearing Mr Stark's voice somewhere in the distance, "Yeah, that's what I said! I would like to also point out: I totally called it on the whole Space-kid SHIELD kidnapped..."

It was then that 'Thor Odinson' let out a great holler (as if to prove he was indeed the god of thunder — and got Harry out of his stupor), "Kidnapped!" — While Director Fury glared at Mr Stark, "No one kidnapped Mr Slytherin!"

Mr Stark scoffed, "-Harry — and sure, just keeping him close by? Doesn't explain why you didn't mention he came through the portal just before Loki?" — While Thor studied Harry all the more, even crouching slightly, though Harry still had to tilt his head upwards to see the whole of him.

His eyes landed on Harry's forehead. Before Harry could do more than attempt taking a step back (and several of the others take a step forward), the -god(?) raised his hand to gently nudge the Hat slightly back.

His eyes widened, for him to straighten and serve furiously once more towards the director, "Who has dared harm this child!"

Harry took several steps back, while the others tried to calm the man, "Whoa Big guy! No one has done anything to the kid!"

"No-one hurt me!"

Fawkes let out several trills, as if to confirm Harry's exclamation.

Thor looked from Harry to Fawkes, to give them a nod — though not without sending another glare to Director Fury.

"So why is there a powerful galdr[10] carved on your forehead?"

There was a mix of frowns, stares and enquiries of "galdr?" But Harry ignored them, running his finger along his scar, to look up to Thor, "My scar? - I got it when I was a baby..."

Thor's stare became all the more serious, "Tis a bind rune[11] , one comprised of the marks of Balrd and Ullr, calling on great power and protection."

Harry's hand dropped, as he stared, mouth open - his scar wasn't from Voldemort... but from his parents?

As if reading his thoughts, the stare turned sorrowful, Thor hesitant, "For the bind rune to complete and the galdr to activate... a — sacrificial vow needs to be met..."

Harry shivered-

—For the world to explode.

[1] "Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do..." - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

[2] Part of me has a theory that Ollivander told Dumbledore when someone (Riddle) had bought a wand with Fawkes' feather as core, but not who. But given that Dumbledore could assume it was one of the first years, either he figured it out on his own, or Ollivander told him later on, when Riddle had become Voldemort, or Dumbles checked the Trace/Ministry Registry to find out it was Riddle… all which only increased Dumbles interest in Riddle

[3] Somewhat 'inspired' by how, in 'Thor', Coulson lets 'Dr Blake' go with Selvig even though knowing his ID was fake

[4] Some of you will have picked up on the few changes in the film's dialogue: it always somewhat bugged me that SHIELD wasn't listening keeping an eye on Banner (aka the guy who turns into the HULK) and Tony (who is known for having to be watched over) and not over-hear Stark mention hacking into their systems, especially given Steve making such a big deal out of it… and it this case, feel they would be doubly keeping an eye out, with Harry also there - so yeah: no direct mention of Stark/JARVIS hacking into SHIELD

[5] Obviously changed since then but I even looked this up to have an 'accurate' comment; in 2012 two-thirds (68%) of teens had Facebook as their main social media site (and others probably still had an account even if not their main). (In 2018, only 15%.)

[6] I don't know enough about the comic books or about Black Sabbath - so don't know if intentional (i assume so?) but found several of Tony's favourite band Black Sabbath's songs rather relevant to the MCU… and this fic; so felt it was rather fitting to have a mention/hint to things to come…

[7] This small bit with Superman was inspired by one of my favourite Harry Potter-Avengers Crossovers: 'Cupboards and Cryogenics' by YodelingProspector on AO3 (not sure if also on FF) which I would definitely recommend for those interested in a child!Harry (though a lot younger than the one in this fic) meeting/interacting with the Avengers

Superboy was a TV series that started in 1988 in the US - going to assume it showed a year later in the UK / The James Bond film would most likely be 'Licence to Kill' (1989) when it was released on VHS near the end of the year… For both Superman and LotR, I really do not see Vernon+Petunia allowing any sort of fiction/films/books which deal with anything not 'normal'/ 'ordinary' into their home.

[8] According to Wiki: In Norse mythology, the Hábrók is the "best of hawks", the term found in a list containing various other names which represent the best of things. / I'm going with it being the Norse version of the various versions/depictions of phoenix from diff cultures... or something very similar to in the MCU/on Asgard.

[9] Baby doves are apparently called 'squabs' or 'squeakers' - hesitated between using 'squeakers' and 'fledglings' but ultimately thought it fun for Thor to call the human-ppls in the room (and himself) 'squeakers'

[10] Wiki: Galdr (plural galdrar) is one Old Norse word for "spell, incantation"; these were usually performed in combination with certain rites. For more info: wiki / Galdr

[11] Wiki: A bind rune (Icelandic: bandrún) is a ligature of two or more runes. More info: wiki / Bind_rune