Things We Lost in the Fire

Summary: Wanda and Pietro Maximoff get a new neighbor a year before the events of Age of Ultron.

Relationships: Harry/Pietro

AN: goes with mcu backstory for Wanda and Pietro. Pairing was reader requested. Story is mine.

"We have a new neighbor," Wanda remarked as she came in from the hall. She dropped the single bag of food on the counter in the kitchen then wandered through the apartment until she found her twin brother. It wasn't too hard to find him as their apartment was small, just one bathroom and one bedroom and a small kitchen. Pietro had insisted that she had taken the small twin bed that was already in the room; he took the couch.

"What's he or she look like?" Pietro asked, as he peered up at her. His black hair had grown out in the past few months and now it looked all shaggy. Newspaper clippings were spread out around him, most of where Stark Industries had headquarters. Some were about the battle in New York City that happened last month and how the Avengers had been formed.

"Cute, I think and definitely male," Wanda said quietly, sitting down next to him. "I'll leave him to you to introduce yourself if you want."

"Wanda, were you at least safe in returning home?" Pietro questioned wearily. "You know there are military officers looking for us, from the last riot."

"I was safe," Wanda retorted, wrinkling her nose. "I took route number five coming back. He looked ill."

"Ill? Ill as in he's got a cold or ill as in suffering from that latest batch of gas that the military forces shot off at us?"

"I wasn't really able to tell," Wanda answered, sighing and leaning her head on Pietro's shoulder. "He looked at me then fled into the apartment next door. He also didn't look like he was a native."

"He could be from the military," Pietro muttered. "Maybe we should move."

"Pietro, I don't want to move," Wanda argued. "We've already moved twice because the various military officers were almost onto us."

"Or he could be from SHIELD."

Wanda looked at him, a little bewildered. "You really think an outside organization would take interest in our little city? You said that we need to work together to get the foreign militias out of Sokovia. I doubt SHIELD or the Avengers would even take notice."

"Iron Man wouldn't," Pietro grumbled. "He just cares about the missiles he makes. I'll go introduce myself."

"Be careful?"

"Always. Besides, I'm the eldest here."

Wanda snorted, elbowed Pietro in the side. "By twelve minutes, Pietro. When are you going to stop thinking that that makes you even slightly better?"

"Uh, never?"

Pietro stood outside their new neighbor's apartment, knocked and waited. And waited. He was about to go back to grab something to eat when the door opened. A young man who looked like he could be the same age as Pietro came to the door. However, the guy's pale, clammy skin, hazy green eyes with bags under them, made him look older. The man looked haunted, like he had been through a certain kind of hell.

The scar on the guy's forehead caught Pietro's eyes. It looked like a lightning bolt.

"Hello?" the guy said tentatively, after a minute or two.

"You're British?" Pietro asked, liking the sound of the guy's accent. Though the guy, like his appearance, sounded sick.

"Yeah? What's it to you?"

"So you're not from the military," Pietro concluded, sighing in relief.

"No. I... Why the hell would you think I'm in the military?"

Pietro glanced to the end of the hallway and out of the last remaining real windows in the building. The other window like gaps in the walls were from missiles, not actual construction.

"Ah, right. Well, if that's all..." the guy trailed off, swayed in place then started to close the door.

"Did you get a whiff of the last gas they used?" Pietro asked, looking the guy over. "Or do you just have a fever?"

The guy sighed. "It's complicated but it's not contagious, if you're asking."

Pietro raised an eyebrow.

The guy stared at him. "If you're insisting on playing 20 questions, then you had better come inside. I'm tired. I'm Harry."

"I'm Pietro. My sister and I live in the apartment next to yours."

"Alright. Nice to meet you. Now I have to go... Excuse me."

Pietro watched as the guy hurriedly turned and ran back into his apartment, leaving the door open. The guy's skin had turned slightly green, like he had been about to hurl.

"You're not a serial killer, right?" Pietro called, hesitantly walking into the guy's apartment.

Puking noises made Pietro jump a little. He glanced around the apartment then followed the noises. Harry was in the small bathroom, kneeling at the toilet.

"Excuse me, sir."

Pietro startled even more at the tiny voice and turned around only to see a small... gnome?

"I am not a gnome."

Pietro watched dazedly as the little guy moved around him and... levitated himself up to the bathroom counter. "I said that out loud?"

The little... whatever it was grabbed the washcloth on the counter and wet it then placed it around Harry's neck. "I'm a house elf."

"He's my only friend now," Harry spoke after cleaning his mouth with the wet washcloth. "Thanks, Dobby. Could you get me a glass of water?"

"Right away, Master Harry."

"Dobby?"

The... house elf vanished, only a faint crack announcing its departure.

Harry peered up at Pietro, eyes wide. "Right... Um, this is going to sound really crazy but magic exists?"

Pietro stared, watched as the house elf reappeared with a glass of water in one of its hands. The elf handed the glass to Harry and stared at the other guy until he started to drink. It was like the elf was Harry's nursemaid or something.

"Wait. You mean... magic like Thor?"

Harry finished the glass of water, skin still pale. "Sort of. Except there are wizards and witches all over Earth, not just wherever Thor's from."

"How do you know this?" Pietro asked. "Are you a... wizard?"

Harry recoiled, skin paling even more.

"Does Master Harry need anything else?"

"Not right now, Dobby. Thanks."

Dobby nodded and disappeared.

"Where does he go?" Pietro hesitantly asked.

"He has his own room in the apartment," Harry explained quietly, starting to stand up. He trembled a little but stayed upright. "Come on. Let's go sit in what passes for a living room here."

"So he's what exactly?" Wanda asked as Pietro finally returned to their apartment. It was well after the time that they normally went to bed. Pietro had listened, more than a little spell-bound, as Harry had described the hidden community of wizards and witches around the globe. Though Pietro decided, maybe spell-bound wasn't such a good word after all. Or maybe it was. It wasn't just Pietro who had enjoyed the talk. He had noticed Harry's bright green eyes lighting up when he was describing the game of quidditch.

"He is... or was a wizard."

Wanda raised an eyebrow as Pietro got ready for sleep. "What does that mean?"

"His magic was bound," Pietro explained.

"Bound?" Wanda repeated, wrinkling her nose. "Why?"

"He... didn't really mention why. He just said that the illness that you had seen was due to that. It's also not contagious."

Wanda glanced up at him as he got into his single twin bed. "Pietro, you sound like you're interested in him."

"Maybe," Pietro muttered, eyes widening.

"Oooh-"

"Shut up," Pietro grumbled.

Wanda laughed quietly then turned off the light in the living room.

A few weeks later, Harry glanced up at the door when he heard the knock then glanced down at the couch where he was lying. He had just eaten dinner, in which he could have sworn that Dobby had placed a nutrition potion in the stew that he had made. But Harry wasn't about to stop eating even though it was pointless. His magic was bound. His friends were dead. He had been betrayed by the man who had been like a father to him.

"Does Master Harry want me to get the door?" Dobby asked, appearing before him.

"If it's one of the twins then sure. If not then don't. And stop calling me Master Harry. It's just- Dobby!"

The elf had just vanished, not even letting Harry know where he was going. A few seconds later, Dobby reappeared with both Wanda and Pietro by his side. The twins were startled, more than just Pietro had been when he had first seen Dobby.

"Pietro?" Harry asked curiously.

"The riot that you heard yesterday, that was led by us," Pietro said.

"The secret police are hunting for us," Wanda added, glancing back at the door worriedly.

"Dobby, if you wouldn't mind putting up the special wards?"

"Dobby will do that, Master Harry."

Harry sighed, broke into a coughing fit then gestured for the twins to make themselves at home. "Pietro, you didn't come around here in the evening. I was worried."

"We forgot," Wanda said as they heard booted footsteps walk down the hallway toward Harry's apartment. "I got attacked with some of the riot gas the army police use. Pietro was taking care of me."

"If I was capable of getting up right now, I would go get the first aid kit," Harry replied then smiled as Dobby came back into the room with the aforementioned kit.

A knock sounded on his door, loud and serious. If a knock could be called serious and threatening, this was it. "Open up. We're hunting down the agitators from yesterday's riot."

Harry stared over at the door then sighed. "I suppose it wouldn't end well if I opened the door?"

Wanda shook her head. "No."

"We've heard rumors," Pietro muttered, taking the first aid kit out of Harry's hands. He started a little when a spark of energy touched his fingers, coming from Harry's own fingers. It was warm, soothing almost but the energy felt like it was dying, just in that one touch. "What was that?"

Harry turned back to stare at Pietro, at Pietro's hand that hadn't left his. "That was a spark of my magic. One of the last ones though."

"You said it was bound," Pietro replied.

"What did it feel like?" Wanda asked as Pietro let go of Harry's hand and opened the first aid kit. Wanda had gotten a few bruises from where a few of the soldiers had gotten their hands on her.

"It felt... alive," Pietro commented.

Harry winced and sighed as they all heard more soldiers coming into the hallway. "If only."

Pietro glanced at the other guy then pulled out something for the bruises. There was a glass container that said 'bruise balm' on it that wasn't even remotely familiar to him. He raised an eyebrow and Harry grinned, green eyes lighting up at the handwriting on the glass. Pietro grinned too, enjoying Harry's look of delight.

"That was Hermione's, my best friend. She made that," Harry explained quietly, glancing over at Wanda. "Do you have bruises from something?"

"One of the soldiers got me yesterday," Wanda replied, wincing when Pietro started to rub some of the 'bruise balm' on one of her injuries.

Harry narrowed his eyes, coughed once or twice. Dobby appeared to bring him a glass of water and Pietro could see the elf's sorrowful expression from here. "Are you getting worse?"

"No, of course not. This is just... a temporary side effect from having my magic bound," Harry replied. The soldiers outside were yelling at each other, calling for a more experienced person of rank to come in. "What the hell did you guys do yesterday?"

Pietro snorted. "One of the locals got a rocket launcher."

Harry's eyes widened. "And you thought that was a good idea? You know the thing where you retaliate for something then the other side will do worse? That's what's happening here. And I don't want to see you guys get injured... or worse killed."

"We won't," Wanda said, nodding. "We're being careful."

"I know that," Harry commented, glancing at Pietro. "Just... if you get into trouble or danger, do me a favor and call Dobby?"

"We will," Pietro agreed. "Now let me fix us dinner."

"Us?" Harry repeated incredulously.

"You can't get up off the couch," Pietro retorted.

"You guys can't go back to your own apartment," Harry argued. "It doesn't mean you have to cook dinner for me. Besides, I have Dobby here."

"You need human company," Wanda agreed, standing up with her brother. "I'll go fix it. Pietro, you can stay. Dobby?"

"Yes, Miss Maximoff?"

Dobby appeared and glanced up at the twins expectantly.

"Traitor," Harry grumbled.

Pietro grinned and went to sit next to Harry on the couch, as the other guy reluctantly sat up.

"Just you wait until my magic gets unbound," Harry muttered as Pietro encouraged him to lay with his head in his lap. Harry coughed again, shuddered then lay still.

"You'll kill us?" Pietro teased, looking down into Harry's eyes.

Harry glared up at him, flipped him off.

Pietro started to run his fingers through Harry's sweaty hair, causing the wizard to sigh in relief and relax.

"Thanks."

Harry glanced at Wanda and nodded. "You're welcome. Anytime you want to hide, come join me."

Wanda grinned and stepped out through the door. The soldiers had gone a few hours ago and now it was late at night. The twins were going to go sleep in their own apartment, still cautious but relieved that the soldiers had left.

Pietro stood just in the doorway, rocking back on his heels as if he was anxious about something. Harry had noticed that about him, that Pietro never stopped moving when he was standing up.

"What's wrong now?" Harry asked worriedly, looking into the hallway before returning to look at Pietro. Dobby was standing by, prepared to catch Harry if he started to fall.

"Can I do something?" Pietro questioned, looking him straight in the eyes.

"Uh, what exactly does that mean?" Harry inquired, narrowing his eyes. He caught the slight change when Pietro's eyes quickly flitted to his own mouth then quickly back up and that was when he realized... "Yeah, you can. I don't know if you want to get all sweaty though. I haven't showered yet today."

"Doesn't matter," Pietro grumbled then stepped into Harry's space.

Harry grinned then reached out an arm to slip around Pietro's neck to reel him in. Pietro's lips brushed against his tentatively then Harry returned the kiss.

Pietro groaned when Harry deepened it after a minute, tongue darting out to to tease his own mouth open. Harry kissed like he was a drowning man who had just found land, desperately and heatedly. Pietro could feel Harry shudder and he pulled back, asking a question with his eyes.

Harry shook his head, breathing heavily and smiling. "No, that's not... I'm okay. That was just... Uh-huh, I know that look... Fine, yes, that was you."

Pietro snorted, also breathing heavily. "Can we do that again?"

"Sure, but aren't you tired? It's past midnight," Harry said, leaning his forehead against Pietro's. "I'm tired."

"I'll do all the work?" Pietro offered, grinning mischievously.

"You sure you're up to the challenge?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow. He slumped further into Pietro's arms, which had come around him earlier, and grinned when he could feel the other man's arousal. Harry moaned when both of their bodies were aligned and touching.

"Yep."

"Cocky, are you?"

Pietro stared at him.

"I know. Bad pun."

"Have you ever thought about getting out of here?" Harry asked nearly a month later. They were together in bed, with Pietro on his back and Harry mostly on top of him. The twins had come home, dirty and tired, from a local protest earlier today and the military police of the current regime had attempted to track them down. Harry didn't exactly know much about the small town of Sokovia but he thought it was rather unusual for this many different countries to take over a certain town. There had been five different militaries ever since he had arrived here.

Pietro grimaced and helped Harry up as he started coughing. Dobby appeared with a glass of water and looked up at Harry worriedly.

"Not so much. Our parents lived here and died here," Pietro answered as they lay back down.

"You told me that it was a missile from Stark Industries that killed your parents?" Harry asked, slowly turning over to look Pietro in the eyes.

Pietro looked Harry over, at his wet hair and grinned at the memory that brought up. They still hadn't had sex but they found other ways to pleasure each other. Hand jobs in the shower were quite efficient. Pietro frowned when Harry winced and he reached up to run fingers through the former wizard's hair, knowing that would relax him enough. "Yeah. What about your parents?"

Harry sighed and melted further into Pietro's chest. "Murdered. When I was two. You know that dark wizard I told you about?"

"The man that you killed with the killing curse?" Pietro asked, raising an eyebrow as an owl hooted outside. It was nighttime and usually the sounds of troops marching outside dwindled, making it quieter. "This killing curse that caused your scar?"

"Yeah, same one. He killed my parents because he thought they were a threat."

"Your people are very dangerous," Pietro commented.

"They can be," Harry agreed, nodding. He yawned before adding something else. "But magic can also be a wonderful thing too. It can heal, protect. Before my magic was bound, I learned how to shape shift."

"Shape shift?" Pietro repeated. "Like into something else?"

"Into an animal," Harry answered then looked up into Pietro's eyes. He grinned mischievously and started to lay kisses on his throat.

Pietro groaned.

"Captive audience," Harry muttered, smiling widely then returned to kiss Pietro's cheek and wrapping his arms more tightly around Pietro's waist.

Pietro snorted before tugging Harry up into a kiss.

One week later, they were snuggled up on the couch, with Wanda on Pietro's other side, watching the small television in Harry's room. Wanda had her head on Pietro's shoulder and Harry was tucked into Pietro's side, curled into the natural heat that was coming from Pietro.

"Is this normal?" Harry asked, sniffling a little from fever that he had gotten. Pietro had noticed that ever since the moment that they had met, Harry had never not been sick. And this fever was worse than normal. Harry couldn't get up without help and his skin had grown more pale. "Or does this seem like a soap opera?"

Wanda snorted. "Have you ever watched muggle television before?"

"Yeah, but it really didn't interest me. I just got this television for you guys," Harry replied, coughing. Pietro watched as the other man brought up a cloth and coughed into it. "I figured you would like it."

"Did you get up off the couch?" Wanda asked, turning to look at Harry before glancing at Pietro. "You know you aren't suppose to."

"I know that. I had Dobby go get it," Harry retorted, tucking the cloth into the pocket of his sweatpants before Pietro could see it. Pietro had also noticed that the man had lost weight. It hadn't been alarmingly fast but Harry had lost a lot over the past few months. Harry had explained that it was natural, when wizards loose their magic or it gets bound, then there was usually a period of illness. When Pietro had asked Dobby about it, the house elf had clammed up and hadn't spoken to Pietro or Wanda for a few days. "There have been some sightings of a weird new military out and about. I don't want you guys to be caught."

Wanda and Pietro looked at each other before Pietro pulled Harry into a kiss. "We're being careful."

"Yeah. Just be more careful, okay?"

"Harry, what's wrong?" Pietro asked two nights later. The wizard was thin and had fallen when he had gone to the bathroom the night before. Wanda and Pietro had taken to sleeping in the same room as him, to make sure that never happened again. Harry had of course waved off their concern, saying that he had Dobby to take care of him.

Harry sleepily opened his eyes and turned to look at him. His eyes were bloodshot now, from not getting enough sleep. The night before they had heard troop movements in the same apartment building they were in and had turned off all the lights tonight. "Do you really want to know?"

Pietro nodded, yawned.

"I should have told you earlier, much earlier," Harry whispered, sounding lost.

"What is it?"

"I'm dying."

Pietro's eyes widened and he shook off the sleepiness that was left. "Repeat that."

"I'm not going to live much longer," Harry repeated, pulling away from him. Pietro was about to reply when the door was kicked open. Soldiers ran in, covered in all black armor. They had big guns, rifles and shotguns that looked very advanced.

Pietro and Wanda instantly got up off the bed and floor, respectively. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"You need warrants before you do this," Wanda exclaimed as the anonymous soldiers ran in. Pietro pushed Harry gently off of the bed and he fell with a thunk. He hit the floor dazedly, stars circling his head. Black spots floated into his vision and the last thing he saw was Pietro's small grin.

"Dobby?"

"Sir?"

Harry groaned and cautiously sat up with the elf's aid. He glanced around the room and saw no sign of either Pietro or Wanda. "Dobby, come help me stand up."

Dobby moved over to him, sorrow in his eyes, before helping him up.

"What happened..."

"They were taken," Dobby replied quietly as Harry walked through the apartment.

Harry stopped and glanced down at the elf. "Taken?"

Dobby nodded.

"Where? Why didn't we see or hear them coming?" Harry exclaimed, starting to cough. He brought out the cloth that he always carried around and ignored the old blood that was on it. "Dobby? Why didn't you stop the soldiers?"

"Master Pietro made Dobby stay with you," Dobby replied, fidgeting. "Dobby wanted to help, master Harry."

"Dobby, I..." Harry trailed off, feeling tears in his eyes. He felt his knees buckle and Dobby caught him and transported him to the couch before he fell. "I loved him."

"Dobby is sorry, Master Harry. Dobby's orders are to stay and take care of you."

Harry choked on something within his throat and Dobby vanished only to reappear with a bucket. His dinner from last night, the dinner that Pietro had made because it was his turn, came up. Dobby brought a cup of water as soon as he was done and made him drink it.

"Dobby, did you see anything abnormal about the soldiers?"

"Abnormal, sir?"

"Anything on their armor? Anything that would indicate where they were from?"

"Dobby did see something. The soldiers did have a patch on their armor that looked like the Hogwarts squid."

"A squid?" Harry repeated, tears still racing down his cheeks. "Dobby, I can't do anything to help them."

"Dobby knows that. Dobby is very sorry."

"Pietro... Wanda..."

Seven Months Later

"Sir, we could send the twins out."

"No, they're not ready. Hold them here."

"But what if they want to go out? To go face the Avengers?"

"Their conditioning will hold," Baron von Strucker replied. "They will follow my orders."

"Yes, sir."

"Wanda?" Pietro whispered, hiding his face from Ultron as his sister shuddered in his arms. "What is it?"

"He's planning on destroying the human race," Wanda answered, shivering. "Pietro, we can't follow him anymore. Even if he said..."

Pietro took off his coat and held it out to her. "HYDRA doesn't have a hold on us anymore either. Where would we go?"

"Back to Harry," Wanda murmured, glancing at him. "If he's..."

"...Still alive," Pietro finished, recoiling at the thought that his boyfriend was already gone.

Wanda nodded, wincing. "Let's get out of here."

Pietro picked up Wanda and sped them out of there, away from Ultron and the android in the casket. Away from HYDRA and whatever poisonous thoughts that Ultron had. Pietro ran and ran, thinking about the past few months. HYDRA had made them like this, had kidnapped them from their home. Had taken him from Harry. Harry, who had tried his best to protect them.

He remembered being in shock when Harry had finally divulged that he was dying. Pietro had been so in shock that he had allowed the soldiers to grab both him and his sister. He had admitted to himself that there had been nothing he could do then. But now... Now he could run at the speed of light. Now he was stronger, able to pick up Wanda and carry them anywhere.

He finally slowed down in the city that Wanda had said to him that might be the Avengers next move.

Wanda slid down from his arms and looked around at the people going to and from a busy train station. They could both hear one of Ultron's robots harassing the Captain inside one of the trains.

They exchanged looks, both uncertain but ready to switch sides.

"After this, we go get Harry out of Sokovia," Pietro murmured steadily. "Maybe the Avengers could do something to help."

Wanda nodded and the two of them strode into the train, watching as Captain Rogers fought Ultron.

"If Ultron's in Sokovia, we need to do something before the fight," Pietro spoke, glancing around at the jet that they were in. The Avengers were spread out in the quinjet, plenty of room for each person. Even though they were one person short, the Widow was still missing, each Avenger was ready for battle. They had dropped Banner off near where Clint had said Romanoff was earlier.

"What?" Captain Rogers asked, looking between the two of them.

"Our friend," Wanda said, glancing at Vision before turning back to look at Steve. "We can't leave him in Sokovia during the battle."

"We're going to evacuate everyone before the battle," Tony spoke, exchanging glances with Rogers.. "He'll be one of the evacuees."

"He..." Pietro trailed off before starting again. "He's sick."

Steve, Thor and Clint all looked at him.

"Is your friend dying?" Thor asked, staring at Pietro then at Wanda. "We can help."

"We hope not," Wanda answered.

"Get him out of there before the battle then," Steve said, nodding.

As soon as the quinjet touched down a minute out of Sokovia, Pietro picked up Wanda and sped toward their old apartment.

If you get hurt, hurt them back. If you get killed, walk it off.

Roger's words rang in Pietro's mind as he ran to the apartment building and up to their floor. He hoped... It had been seven long months since he had seen Harry and the other man hadn't been in good condition when they had gotten kidnapped.

He ran along the hallway of the building then slowed to a stop right outside their apartment. Wanda looked at him wearily then she opened the door with her new magic.

"I can feel something," Wanda murmured.

Pietro raised an eyebrow.

"I think it's those wards that Harry spoke of," Wanda answered. "The ones that Dobby put up."

They opened the door and weren't prepared to get knocked on their backs, falling on the floor.

"Master Pietro? Mistress Wanda?"

They sat up and stared at Dobby, who had a big smile on his face. The house elf jumped up and down briefly then frowned.

"Master Harry is almost..."

"Dobby, where is he?" Pietro asked, frowning.

"He's in your bedroom," Dobby answered. "Come on."

They followed Dobby into their bedroom and saw Harry on the bed. Pietro's heart stopped when he couldn't see Harry breathe for a moment.

"Dobby, is he..."

Harry moved, slowly and not very easily but he moved onto his back. Dobby instantly moved to help Harry sit up.

Pietro could see Harry's green eyes widen in surprise.

"Pietro? Wanda? What..." Harry's voice was hoarse even though Pietro suspected that Dobby had taken good care of him.

"We're back," Pietro answered, going to the side of the bed. Harry was wearing one of his old shirts and he had sweat all over his body, sweating through his clothes. There were tissues beside the bed, bloody and used up.

Harry stared at him then at Wanda. "How... What happened to you two? I thought you were never coming back."

"HYDRA took us," Wanda replied, glancing back at the doorway.

"HYDRA?" Harry repeated, reaching out for Pietro.

Pietro immediately shuffled onto the bed and slid around Harry, lifting him onto his lap. "You're..."

"I'm dying right now," Harry replied, voice a little muffled from being tucked into Pietro's arms. "You're back."

"We're back," Pietro agreed, wincing when he could feel each of Harry's ribs.

"Mistress Wanda?" Dobby interrupted.

"Yes, Dobby?" Wanda said, glancing back at the house elf.

"You can unbind his magic," Dobby spoke, crossing his little arms.

Pietro's eyes widened and Wanda started, looking between Dobby and Harry. Harry stared at her, raised an eyebrow.

"HYDRA did something to each of you, I can feel it," Harry replied, coughing between words. Blood dribbled out of his mouth and he raised a tissue to wipe it away. "Even without my magic, I can feel it."

"I can unbind your magic?" Wanda repeated, exchanging a glance with Pietro. Her brother had a hopeful look on his face, eyes bright.

"Would that stop you from dying?" Pietro asked, running fingers through Harry's hair.

Harry closed his eyes contentedly briefly before reopening them. "Maybe. I don't know. Dobby?"

"Dobby can direct Mistress Wanda," Dobby explained, jumping up onto the bed.

"We don't have a lot of time," Pietro said. "Ultron's army is here."

"Ultron?" Harry echoed, turning his head up to look at Pietro.

"It's a long story," Wanda said, lips twitching up into a tentative smile. "Alright, I'll do it. Where do I start?"

"Wanda, we need physical contact," Harry spoke, holding out his hand, palm up. "Then do exactly what Dobby says. Pietro, I may twitch a little."

"I'll hold you," Pietro replied, leaning down to place a kiss on Harry's forehead.

Harry grinned.

Wanda placed her hand in Harry's and her magic instantly reacted. Things went flying in the apartment or floated up into the air.

"Mistress Wanda?"

"Here," Dobby said, snapping his fingers. Everything floated downward and stayed down. Wanda heard Dobby start to explain what she should do, everything falling away.

"Wanda! Dobby! He's shuddering!" Pietro exclaimed, watching Harry move about. Harry had started to glow a few minutes in and Pietro didn't know what to do other than to hold him between his legs. It had been nearly twenty minutes since Wanda had closed her eyes, a red glow flaring around her.

"Master Pietro, he is okay."

"But Dobby..."

"Master Harry is fine. This is his magic opening up again."

Pietro nodded, unsure but knowing that Dobby knew better.

Harry's eyes opened suddenly and started to glow too.

"Pietro, Dobby thinks we need to get out of here," the house elf muttered, one of his little hands going to Wanda's shoulder. "Master Harry is going to need space."

"Is he still dying?!" Pietro exclaimed, as he saw Wanda open her eyes again. Wanda was looking at Harry with an awed expression, almost like she had seen his magic.

"Master Harry is not dying anymore. Dobby wouldn't leave him if he were."

"We can't just leave him here," Pietro argued.

"We can," Wanda remarked, blinking her eyes. "Dobby knows what he's doing."

"Thank you, young mistress."

Wanda and Pietro both moved away from the bed reluctantly. "Dobby, are you coming too?"

"Dobby is coming too. I will take you two outside of the building."

During the battle, Wanda could feel the growing nearness of Harry's magic. As soon as the battle had really started, she had realized that no one else could feel it except Vision and Thor. Both of whom had remarked upon it. It had been amazing to see Harry's magic. He was so powerful...

Pietro watched as the helicarrier rose up into the air, right alongside the floating city. "This is SHIELD?"

Rogers nodded, grinning. "This is what SHIELD is suppose to be."

"This is not so bad," Pietro replied as he saw and heard more flying carriers rise up. The people of Sokovia raced over to board them, aided by SHIELD agents. He grinned and turned to look at their old apartment building, still able to somewhat feel Harry's magic. It was flowing around the whole city now, wrapping around him. It was ten times as powerful as the spark he had felt more than a year ago, warm and intoxicating. Last he had checked in with Dobby, the house elf had told him it wouldn't take more than a few more minutes for Harry to recharge.

"We need to go," Vision called out over the noise of battle. The main, big robot that Ultron had settled himself in had fled but there were roughly a hundred smaller robots left. "Someone needs to stay to protect the core."

"I will," Wanda replied, looking at Clint, Pietro, Natasha, Captain Rogers, Thor, Tony and the Hulk. "I'll stay and protect it."

Rogers looked at her then at the incoming Ultron robots and nodded. "Alright. See you on the carriers then."

"Wanda, be careful," Pietro said as he walked towards the carrier. "I'll go get Harry."

"Pietro, I'll be careful. You be careful."

Pietro snorted and he could have sworn that he heard Clint snort too before running off. "I am the older twin here."

"By twelve minutes, Pietro. Go," Wanda teasingly replied.

Clint was about to run onto the carrier when he heard a woman shouting about her kid. He sighed, feeling his muscles aching and his quiver out of arrows, before turning to look back at the still floating city. He ran off in the direction of the small figure that he had seen, dodging debris. It took him a minute or two to reach the boy and just as he did, an Ultron robot flew over to him and took aim. Clint winced and folded the boy into his arms, shielding him.

He braced himself for bullets, for his spine to be shot all to hell. Only for nothing to come. He turned, feeling the boy squirm in his arms, to see Pietro, the new kid standing before him. The ultron robot was lying on the ground, destroyed. Pietro's chest was shot full of holes, bullet holes.

Clint watched as Pietro's eyes widened.

"You didn't see that coming?!"

Clint flinched and took a step forward when Pietro fell to the ground. The next thing he heard was a scream of pure pain from Wanda then a loud boom and then finally, a crack. A young man, roughly about Pietro's age, was standing right next to Pietro. The guy was glowing and Clint watched him as he knelt before Pietro, shuddered then waved his hand.

Pietro's body started to glow too, green magic flowing over his body. The strange young man glanced up at Clint then at the boy that the archer had shielded. Clint could see that there were dark bags under the man's eyes and that he was thin, maybe too thin to be healthy.

"Could I get some help over here?" the guy asked before falling across Pietro's body. The body that was still breathing. The body that, as Clint watched, had three bullets rise up into the air and roll over onto the concrete. Blood started to sluggishly run out of the wounds before the strange young man placed a weak looking hand over one of Pietro's wounds.

"THOR!"

The first thing that Pietro saw when he woke up were Harry's delighted green eyes.

"He's awake!" Harry shouted over to someone else, wrapping his arms around Pietro. Pietro groaned at the sound and then heard another tell tale sound. Dobby appeared next to him, glaring down at Pietro.

"Master Pietro should never do that again," Dobby said reproachfully.

"Agreed," Wanda replied as she walked over to them. She glared at him. He glared back and started to cough.

"Double agreed," Harry said, glaring at him too, reaching for something next to Pietro. He brought over a glass of water and helped him sip. "You scared us."

Pietro started to sit up only for Harry to reach out a hand and stop him. "Don't move. You're still healing."

"What happened?" Pietro asked, laying back down. He watched as Harry moved to scoot around his body while Dobby moved, the house elf taking the glass of water temporarily. Harry lifted Pietro's head and shuffled under him, encouraging Pietro to lay back down on his lap. "I shielded Clint then..."

"He's going to have words with you," Wanda commented, still glaring at him. "I'm going to have words with you. Cap's going to have words with you."

Fingers started to run through Pietro's hair and he glanced up into Harry's joyful look. "Looks like you're going to have to put up with me playing nursemaid now. We're on the SHIELD helicarrier that appeared."

"Your magic?" Pietro asked, watching as Harry helped him finish the glass of water.

"It's all back," Harry replied, smiling widely. "All thanks to you two."

"You're both suppose to stay in bed."

Pietro looked over to see Clint walk over. The archer was out of his battle armor and now down to casual clothes. Captain Rogers was beside Clint, watching the four of them apprehensively.

"I don't think we're acquainted," Rogers started, holding out a hand toward Harry.

Harry, who was still sitting on the bed, glanced down at Pietro, who would have shrugged if he could. He only raised an eyebrow.

Harry glanced back up at Rogers then held out his own hand. "Harry Potter. You would be Captain America, then?"

Pietro was too busy drinking in every inch of Harry's healthy looking skin to notice Clint's eyes widening.

"Thank you for helping Pietro," Rogers replied, nodding. "And yes, I'm Steve Rogers."

"Oh, it's no problem. I'm going to have words with him later," Harry remarked, glancing down at Pietro, smoothed some hair away from his eyes and placed a kiss on his forehead.

"Words..." Pietro grumbled.

"Master Dobby will too," Dobby spoke up, causing Steve and Clint to start.

Wanda snorted. "Dobby, I think Harry means an entirely different thing."

"I should hope so," Pietro grinned, already itching to get out of bed. He tugged Harry down by his shoulders and pulled him into a kiss. The various SHIELD agents around them stared at the four of them. A few of them smiled.

"Come on, cap. Let's let them have some privacy," Clint remarked. "Words, kid."

"Welcome to the Avengers," Steve remarked, smiling too.