'This might come across as a little rude,' Harry began, 'but I was under the impression you didn't exist.'

Thor chuckled good-naturedly. 'We are not the gods your people think us. We simply live longer, and so have appeared to many generations without much thought.'

Longer lives. Harry immediately jumped to wizards' longevity; their tendency to stick around for an extra fifty years. He began to reconcile himself with the idea before he caught up with the concept of generations as well as the fact that Thor was Thor and had therefore been waltzing to and from Earth since the Dark Ages.

Harry's teeth ground together for a second or two. 'Okay,' he replied in a smaller voice than he was happy with. 'I've come to another world where you exist. That's fine. Any — any others of you? Is Poseidon going to ambush me outside the door?'

'That man!' Thor exclaimed dubiously, ignoring Harry's look of alarm. 'Not that I know of!' He looked to be enjoying the — to him — hilarious conversation. Harry wished he shared the same sentiment. 'Of course, the rest of the Aesir are present too — the Allfather and Loki, the Warriors Three — I am not alone in the realms.'

'Um, I don't know who they are.' Offended and surprised, Thor's foot nudged the umbrella which rolled an inch with a screech against the linoleum as he grimaced.

'Not to worry,' he replied, 'you are from another world. You could not know. They must not teach of great legends in your home.'

Harry's mind sped back to his tumultuous time in Primary School. 'Oh, no, they do,' he began eagerly, 'I just didn't really listen — I mean, I was only young I suppose —' Harry petered off as he realised his attempt at redemption was failing miserably. The conversation lulled into an awkward silence. Harry rubbed his hands glumly on his jeans. He took a sip of his cold coffee, trying desperately to think of something to say.

'Is there any reason why you're here to greet me? Do you usually welcome whoever comes through the veil?'

'I do not usually welcome people to this realm, no,' Thor replied with a hint of aversion, apparently slightly bitter that not only did Harry know nothing of his friends and family, but also that he assumed Thor spent his time chatting with mortals in sticky cafes. 'But Heimdall requested I meet you on account of your past deeds.'

'You know of me — there?' Harry gestured vaguely above him, in the only direction he thought Thor's home might be.

'Of course.'

'But isn't this a different dimension to yours? How does that work?'

'Every world is simply a branch stretching from the Great Tree.' Thor nodded sagely. 'And Heimdall sees them all.'

'Heimdall ... the voice?' Thor nodded as Harry decided he didn't particularly want to delve into whatever the Great Tree was. There was enough for him to tackle without considering his entire existence was teetering on the tip of a metaphysical twig.

He stared into his cup, the granules staring back at him. If Professor Trelawney were here now, she would tell him it looked like a spider. Harry thought it was more of a squiggle after more consideration.

He had gathered more questions than answers. Thor had truly baffled him. Were there countless mythical beings up there, watching Harry's life? Why did the Veil spit him out here? Was it always at this location or did it move? Why didn't Thor visit his world — or had he? What other madness could he expect in this whirlwind of a planet? Was New York where London was and vice versa?

'So,' Harry started, wringing his hands, 'did you have a plan past meeting me here? What's the next step?'

'Ah, yes!' A thunderous clap of hands that neared too closely to size of Hagrid's. 'We are to go to Stark's — you will have heard of the Iron Man.' From the blank look on Harry's face, he laughed uproariously. 'This will be a conversation to enjoy!'

'Are we close?' Harry didn't have it in him for a trans-Atlantic flight. The thought of sitting in close proximity to any kind of person made him feel as sick as Ron in second year.

'Very,' Thor replied. 'Just a small walk.' With that, he immediately rose and strode for the door with unprecedented purpose. The umbrella swung menacingly as Harry watched him go in disbelief. I suppose he wants me to follow.

The road outside was bustling, bright and comparably overwhelming to the darkness of the cafe. People loitered and walked everywhere. Fumes from cars filled Harry's nostrils. A stray dog was urinating on a lamp post nearby.

Thor wandered across the road; somehow in the midst of the traffic a perfect pause emerged for him to comfortably stroll. Harry was not so lucky. In mindlessly following Thor he was subject to more than a few near death experiences. Harry preferred to blame it on the different direction of the cars but he knew in his heart he was just a blind idiot.

Luckily for him, he had a saviour. When a motorcycle came thundering towards him, the very moment Harry anticipated a shattering impact saw his back lurching up into the air in a blur of wind and whiplash instead.

Swearing, he was quickly deposited on the pavement next to a bemused Thor. Harry stumbled into the display window of the shop behind him, shocked that he had found something less pleasant than magical travel.

'Hey man, watch where you're going!' Harry looked up to see the guy who was judging him was, in fact, not just a guy, but a guy in eye-watering red and blue with sharp white eyes like streaks across his head. Before Harry could reply, they were around the corner of the next building.

What the fuck? Where was he?