Title: Masked Men and Where to Find Them

Author: tinyrose65

Summary: Harry Potter moved to Hell's Kitchen because she wanted a fresh start: time away from the spotlight, where she could focus on being the best Healer she could be. Trust the unconscious man in her dumpster to go and complicate things. (fem!Harry, AU!)

AN: Spoilers for Daredevil Season 2 episode 1. Proceed with caution!

Several months passed. Spring came and went, eventually leaving the tail end of summer in its wake. It was on one of these balmy summer nights that found Harry waiting to meet the rest of the group at Josie's. She found a table near the entrance, where she could watch the incoming patrons, and waited patiently, munching on some cashews Josie had so graciously provided.

Matt arrived first. She called him as she entered and went up to meet him the by door, pulling him along to the table. A quick kiss hello, and then they were both settled in, discussing their days, buying time until Foggy and Karen arrived.

"The firm is broke," Matt admitted reluctantly, after a bit of prodding from Harry. She'd noticed he'd seemed tenser than usual since arriving at the bar, but as always he was reluctant to share his problems. She considered the fact that he had finally relented a small victory.

Financial problems were always a weird topic for Harry— she never knew how to react to it. The Potter fortune had left her surprisingly well off. Years of living with the Dursleys meant that she was frugal by nature, and her job as a doctor allowed her to live comfortably within her means. She knew from past experience with Ron that direct offers to help were rarely taken well, but she had to try.

"I could spot you a loan," she began hesitantly, but Matt was shaking his head before the words had even fully emerged from her mouth.

"No, but thank you," he denied.

"I knew you'd say that," she grinned ruefully. She took his hands in hers and gave them a squeeze. "I'm sure you'll figure something out."

Matt didn't answer right away, distracted by something. Then he announced, "Karen and Foggy just got here. They're outside."

Sure enough, they walked through the door a few seconds later.

Despite the fact that fall was just around the corner, on this particular night, temperatures had topped close to 100 degrees, and Harry was sweltering in the crowded room. Matt, Karen, and Foggy all did not look much better: both Foggy and and Matt had shed their suit jackets (having come straight from the office) and Karen wore an airier, lighter dress, instead of the sleek cuts she usually favored. Harry herself had change into a loose romper after her shift— something that did not go unnoticed by Foggy when she all but yanked her sweater off.

"How do you use the bathroom in that thing?" he asked, as he prepped his cue stick. The four of them had snagged one of the pool tables towards the back of the bar and were preparing for a game. Guys against girls, naturally. Harry just shrugged.

"You pull the whole thing off," she explained. Karen nodded next to her and muttered, "They're so comfortable, though."

"That sounds like such a pain, though."

"It's not that bad," Harry assured him.

"I'll be sure to test that out later," Matt added, running a hand gently over her shoulder, stopping short at the nape of her neck. Despite the heat, she shivered.

"Ew," was all Foggy said as he pulled a face. Matt laughed and dropped his hand (Harry tried not to pout) and the four of them launched into their game, Foggy helping to guide Matt's shots (for Karen's benefit, since she was the only one who didn't know Matt didn't need it).

Towards the end of the game, Foggy left to use the bathroom, leaving Matt to wait until he returned before taking his shot. While they waited, Harry took a sip of her beer and let out a content sigh. Matt heard and tiled his head.

"Having fun?"

"Yes," she admitted. She took a step closer to him and leant her head against his chest. This— friends, hanging out, spending time together— was nice. Even after the war, she'd never been able to do things like this with Ron and Hermione, reporters being what they were and hounding her every second of the day. The fact that she got to experience this _now _was not something she'd take for granted.

"Foggy is loving it," Matt said, stating the obvious. "He'd do this— the four of us— every day for the rest of his life if he could, I think."

It warmed Harry's heart to hear that Foggy was so fond of her. In the relatively short amount of time she had come to know him and Karen and Matt, she already thought of them like family.

"Yet, he'd abandon you in the middle of a game of pool," Karen, who had been listening in, teased.

Matt straightened, as did Harry, both having forgotten— however momentarily— that they were not alone. "One's bladder waits for no man."

"I can help you out," Harry offered, winding her way behind Matt. She pressed a hand gently against his back, nudging him towards the table and urging him to prepare his shot. He went compliantly, and, after she had approached the table, she leaned in to reach for his arms so that she could help guide them. In the process, she made sure to press against him best she could. Karen, watching and understanding Harry's plan, let out a giggle. Matt no doubt knew what she was up to, too, but he went along with it, a small grin on his face.

"That's very noble of you Ms. Potter," he said.

"Oh, I'm a very noble person," she assured.

"A true Gryffindor," he parroted.

"We're also known to be quite bold," she added, as one of her hands snaked downward to cop a feel of his bum. He laughed, but it came out slightly strained. Good to know she had an effect on him, she supposed, filing away that information for later use.

"I'm sensing that."

Harry said nothing and just finished guiding Matt into position, making sure that he was lined up to hit the wrong ball.

"You're all set," she assured. Matt gave the ball a hit and, sure enough, sent the wrong ball flying perfectly into the hole. Harry backed away and spun on her heel to meet Karen's proud high-five, just in time to hear Foggy (recently returned from the restroom) let out a wail of anguish.

"No!" he cried.

Matt pulled himself together and pulled slightly at his collar. "That bad?"

"How could you, Matt?" Foggy demanded. "I was gone for two minutes!"

"I got distracted!"

"Pay up, Foggy," Karen teased, holding out her hand. "Next round's on you."

Foggy grumbled as he pulled out his wallet, but it was halfhearted. He gave Karen her cash, so she and Harry could go grab their drinks at the bar. As the two women sauntered off, Harry couldn't help but overhear Foggy say to Matt:

"Careful, Matty."

"What?"

"Keep going on like this, and you might actually end up happy."

Harry couldn't keep the pleased smile from her face and Karen must have noticed. As they waited at the bar for Josie to get their order ready, she called Harry out on it.

"You and Matt seem to be doing well."

"Yeah," Harry agreed, not even bothering to hide it. "It's been a while since I've been in a properly functioning relationship. I forgot how nice it is."

"And how are you handling Matt's— you know—" she made a vague gesture with her hands, leaving Harry completely confused as to what she was talking about. Both she and Foggy had been advocates for having Matt tell Karen the truth about his nighttime activities, but he kept refusing, insisting that it wasn't the right time. Despite her frustration with this attitude, there wasn't much Harry could do about it. It wasn't her secret, after all.

"I don't know what you mean," Harry demurred.

Karen let out a slightly frustrated laugh of embarrassment. "HIs drinking problem."

"Drinking problem?" Harry deadpanned. That's unexpected.

"Foggy told me," Karen explained. She looked sorry to have brought it up.

"Oh, right," Harry said, catching herself. She made a mental note to kill Foggy later. "We're, uh, working through things. One day at a time and all that."

Thankfully, Karen seemed satisfied with this answer and Josie took that moment to bring the their drinks. Karen and Harry each grabbed what they could carry and made their way back over to the pool table. On their way back, Matt passed by them, but didn't even acknowledge their presence. He seemed hyper-focused on something behind them. Harry turned just in time to see Matt approach a relatively raggedy looking man near the bar.

"Where's Matt off to?" Karen asked Foggy as she handed him his beer. Foggy shrugged.

"I'm not sure." He took a swig of his drink, then gestured to where Matt was. "But I'm pretty sure we're about to find out."

Again, Harry turned to look, and this time saw Matt gesturing for them to follow him and his new acquaintance to a table off in the corner. Upon a closer inspection of the strange man, Harry noticed that aside from sweating profusely (and in that coat, of course he was), he had a large gash on his forehead. It had stopped bleeding, but was crusted over with blood and clearly hadn't been taken care of properly.

"I'm going to see if Josie has a first aid kit," she said, excusing herself.

When she returned, it was just in time to hear the newcomer introduce himself as Grotto and explain that he was once part of the Irish mob, and that there was somebody out there trying to kill him. Then he fainted due to a larger wound that Harry had missed.

And here she was thinking that she'd get a normal night off.

Since Harry obviously couldn't magically heal the man in the middle of a crowded bar, it was off to the hospital. with Karen pretending to be his fiancee and Harry acting as a cousin, they were both allowed on the ambulance and into Grotto's room. Harry had been slightly worried that somebody at Metro General would recognize her from her occasional stints shadowing there, but thankfully they were sent to a different place closer by. Meanwhile, Matt and Foggy went off to do some investigating of their own.

When Grotto woke up, he was not pleased. He remained convinced that somebody would be after him— it took a large amount of cajoling from Karen to get him to concede to stay. Eventually, though, he fell back into a fitful sleep, leaving Karen and Harry alone to talk.

Harry called Matt, but go no answer. The same occurred when she called Foggy.

"I'm sure they're fine," Harry assured Karen as she hung up her cellphone.

Karen raised an eyebrow. "I'd be more inclined to believe you if you weren't pacing so much."

Harry stopped the activity in question and smiled sheepishly as she finally sat down next to Karen. "Sorry. I guess Grotto's story has me a bit nervous."

"Don't be," Karen assured. "We've changed his name. Nobody but us knows he's here. It'll be fine."

"If you say so," Harry muttered, stealing a glance at the clock. It was well past midnight at this point, and she wasn't relishing her early shift in the morning. Karen noticed where she was looking and frowned.

"Don't you have work tomorrow morning?"

"I'll be okay," Harry said. The last thing she wanted was to leave Karen alone in a hospital with a potential murderer on the loose.

Karen didn't seem to have any such cares, though, because she adamantly shook her head. "Go, Harry. We'll be fine. You need to get some sleep!"

Harry tried protesting, really, she did, but Karen pulled her up out of her chair and more or less pushed her out of the room, ignoring all of Harry's arguments. In the end, there wasn't much Harry could do about it other than leave. In the elevator, she did her best to ignore the tense feeling in her gut and overall sense of foreboding that pricked at her skin. It had been a long time since she'd been on edge this way— not since the war. Even working with Matt hadn't brought these feelings back, this feeling of having to hide, of being hunted.

As the elevator doors opened, Harry shook the feelings off and crossed the lobby. For all her arguments against it, Harry really was looking forward to getting some sleep. It had been a stressful few hours and the adrenaline rush was wearing off. However, it all came rushing back as she took a step out into the hospital corridor.

Something was very, very wrong.

The hall, once filled with busy nurses, distracted doctors, and patients walking slowly about, was completely deserted. A cot had been knocked over in what looked like some sort of rush. Harry immediately flicked her wand out of the holster and advanced cautiously. Now that she was closer, she could see that the doors to several rooms had been shut and— judging by the shadows on their windows— barricaded.

Heart pounding, Harry cursed and ran to Grotto's room. To her surprise, it was still occupied, but Karen seemed to have realized what was happening and was helping Grotto climb out of his bed. She seemed surprised to see Harry, but instead just said, "We need to get him out of here."

"He's here. Oh, god. He's here." Grotto muttered to himself as he stood. Harry resisted the urge to slap him. Instead, she joined Karen in supporting him and together the three shuffled out of the room and made a beeline for the stairs. In fact, it looked like they were going to make it— the stairs were right there— until—

Harry wasn't sure what made her turn around. Maybe she heard a thump of boots on tile or saw the flicker of a shadow against the wall and didn't realize it. Or maybe it was the instincts of somebody who had seen battle and lived to tell the tale. Either way, she turned. Instead of an empty hallway, she saw a man— tall and dressed in dark clothes and carrying a large gun. He had a grim look on his face and Harry felt her heart grow cold.

Karen turned to see what Harry was looking at and gasped, freezing on the spot. At that moment, the man across the hall took aim. Harry watched his finger touch the trigger as though in slow motion and reacted immediately: she tossed up a shield spell at the exact moment the gun was fired. The bullet hit the shield and stopped, like a fly caught in amber. Harry let the shield fall, and the bullet clattered harmless to the floor.

Karen was looking at Harry with a look on her face that Harry couldn't identify (or maybe didn't want to identify).

"Go— quickly, now. I'll be right behind you!" she ushered, transferring the majority of Grotto's weight onto Karen, who staggered slightly for a moment before picking herself up.

Grotto had also stood rooted to the spot at Harry's actions. "You're— you're one of them."

Thankfully, Karen pulled him along quickly into the stairwell. Satisfied that they were safe, Harry turned again to the man.

Until this moment, he too had been frozen in place, surprised at the shield Harry had conjured up. However, upon realize that his quarry was getting away, he lunged forward, making a mad dash for the stairs. Again, Harry raised her wand, this time firing off a lone stunning spell— not powerful enough to do any permanent damage, but enough to subdue him until the police arrived.

The stunner hit the man full force, and the man flew backwards, ultimately collapsing on the ground. Harry watched for a second to make sure he'd stay down and, once she was satisfied that the man was not getting back up, she began to turn in place, picturing the entrance of the hospital in her mind and preparing to apparate. She could've taken the stairs, of course, but this way (she figured), she'd beat Karen and Grotto to the bottom and have time to haul them all a cab. It'd be faster.

As she spun, Harry didn't notice the man get to his feet, recovering easily from a spell that would've rendered a lesser man unconscious. She didn't see him aim his gun. She certainly didn't see him pull the trigger.

However, she heard it. And almost immediately after, she felt a pain tear through her stomach with all impact of a freight train against a wall. The wind was knocked out of her as she fell. She had only the time to think of her hospital, where she worked, and its emergency wing before the apparition took her.

Then, she knew no more.

AN: Oh my gosh, guys! Look! Another chapter! I'm so sorry this took so long- I don't really have any good excuses, since this has been outlined for forever. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Just to reiterate: the rest of this story (another four chapters or so) will follow Daredevil season 2 (THERE WILL BE SPOILERS). For non-linear one-shots in 'verse, I'll be posted to my other story, Hell's Kitchen: A History.

Enjoy!

tinyrose65