AN: Thank you to all of you who reviewed and favorited this story! It was so good to see how many people were still reading it that I felt inspired and wrote the next chapter in a day. Hopefully it won't disappoint. THANK YOU!

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters are property of their respective owners. I'm just playing in the sandbox. :)

Rating: T;

Beta: The wonderful llLethell, who came to my help even thought real life tried to drag her down.

Warning: mentions of swearing, alcohol consumption, fem!Harry and an Author who is still quite rusty. You have been warned.

Chapter 4

"Miss Pots, your eleven appointment is here to see you," the secretary snapped Pepper out of her uncharacteristic distracted mood. Being the CEO of the most powerful company in the country, she wasn't known for her lack of concentration, but she honestly couldn't recall what she had been reading for the last ten minutes.

Maybe she dreaded the upcoming conversation more than she had previously thought.

Clenching her hands to stop them from trembling, she asked her secretary to send the guest in.

"Harry," Pepper greeted standing up, but only partially went round her desk. Until now she wouldn't have hesitated to embrace the other woman, except that the last time they had seen each other had been two months ago, and everything that happened since stood between them like an invisible wall.

Harry almost rolled her eyes but stepped forward, her arms going readily around Pepper's stiff frame. It took Harry several moments of steady hugging to feel the other woman marginally relax, and only then she separated them. "Hullo, Pepper." Harry said as she took the seat in front of the office. Pepper looked undecided at the directorial seat she had behind the desk, but gingerly sat down on a chair next to Harry.

"You're not as angry as I would have thought you'd be," said Pepper, mostly looking at her nails.

"Oh, I'm mad, make no mistake about it. But," Harry raised her hand to stop the other woman from interrupting her, "I've decided not to pass any judgment before hearing what exactly happened."

Frowning a little, Pepper raised her head. "Didn't Tony tell you?"

"He did, at least his side of the story." Harry nodded and then she settled more comfortably on the chair. "You're my friend as well, the least I could do is to hear you out."

Pepper let out a sigh, and then went silent for a few moments. "Iron Man happened."

Harry straightened out, then leaned forward, "What do you mean?"

"Did you know he called me while flying to his death?" she asked, almost as if picking a different train of thought.

"The Chitauri invasion? No I didn't."

"He did, and I…didn't answer at the time because I didn't hear it." And then she had broken down crying when she had realized that she could have missed Tony's last call, but Pepper didn't say that part aloud, because there was no need to.

"How many other phone calls like that have been since?" Harry asked, with the air of figuring something out.

"Too many to count." Pepper said and then promptly got up and started pacing. "And you know what's the worst?" she asked and then rushed in before Harry could answer, "The calls when there's just an unknown number and a nameless agent telling me to come and get him out of Medical, because he hurt himself again."

"Some people would say that what he does is heroic."

"Some people don't live with him!" Pepper snapped and then she put her right hand over her mouth. "God, that sounded so selfish." She said and seemed to deflate a little.

"Have you tried to tell him that?" Harry prodded further but in a gentle tone.

"Tried. And failed. Multiple times. But he just doesn't listen, if it's not what he wants to hear. And when he told me that being Iron Man was his responsibility and his legacy, I knew he would never let it go." By then, Pepper had her arms around her middle, as if shielding herself from the world.

Harry finally got to her feet and stepped into touching distance of the other woman. "Pepper," she said while looking the redhead in the eyes, "you've known Tony for far longer than anyone else. You knew exactly what he was like when you agreed to become his girlfriend, Iron Man armor included. So what made you end things?"

"I just got so tired of being constantly afraid, and when I knew he was going to propose, I just…needed to make a decision."

"And you decided to take a step back. Was it worth it?" Harry asked as non-judgmental as possible. Sure, she wanted to shake the woman, because she thought Pepper was making a big mistake, but another part of her – the one where she buried her own selfish desires – couldn't help but feel a bit free.

"Lord help me, but it was. So, Harry," Pepper smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes, "what does that say about me?"

"I don't know, Pepper. I don't think I'm the most suitable judge. But I know this, even if you've decided to call it quits, not taking his calls personally for the last month has been a dick move."

For that Pepper had the grace to look ashamed. "I know," she said, once again looking anywhere but at Harry. "I will call him."

"Do that," Harry pressed the point. "Before you were his girlfriend, you were one of his oldest friends and supported him for years. Don't forget that."

"I know, you don't have to tell me twice." Pepper responded a bit more brusque than warranted and then she made an effort to calm down. Harry didn't comment, they both knew that it had been Pepper's guilt that had caused it.

"Alright then, my job here seems to be done," Harry said, and then leaned in to give the other woman a quick hug. "Bye," she whispered and then went for the exit.

The whole thing had gone far better that she had expected and it seemed that for once things hadn't degenerated too far, thought Harry while leaving. She was two steps away from the door, when Pepper stopped her with just one question. "Harry, what do you intend to do now?" The woman was already seated at her desk, but her entire body was taut as if bracing herself for a blow.

Harry considered pretending that she hadn't understood the question and offering some general assurances, but one look at Pepper's determined look stopped the platitudes. They both knew what this was really about. "Remember Pepper, when we had that talk in Paris two years ago? What I told you then?"

"That you would never make a move, as long as I was his, and he was mine." Pepper said the words, grimacing as if they caused her pain.

"Yes," nodded Harry, remembering the same conversation perfectly. "And now you've let him go." She added a touch of challenge in her tone.

Pepper seemed ready to say something, but stopped herself at the last moment. She didn't look exactly pleased, and then her rigid shoulders slumped and then her lips curled into a half-bitter, half-amused smile. "I see. Take care of him," she conceded.

"I will," said Harry and then stepped out of the door.

Behind her, Pepper murmured. "Good luck. You're going to need it." And then she took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and grabbing the papers neatly stacked on the desk she started to review them with a vengeance. And if sometimes her signature wasn't as steady as usual, there was no one in the office to notice it.

xXx

Alone in his office, Nick Fury stopped what he was doing and got out his gun from his belt just in time for his unwelcome guest to settle on the chair in front of him with a soft 'pop'. Amused emerald eyes met his wary one and in a tone she must have copied from Stark, Harry Potter purred, "My, aren't you glad to see me?"

Only by force of will, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. stopped himself from sighing. "What do you want, Potter?"

"World peace, a better nail polish that doesn't chip when I brew potions and you getting your restriction off my back."

"Why would I do that? Those restrictions were put there for several reasons." Replied Fury, while lowering the gun. He had seen the woman in action, and had she wanted him dead, he would have never seen it coming.

"Really? Name one." Harry pouted while slouching in her seat, "here I thought I was such a good girl."

"The Tesseract." Fury deadpanned.

"I never got it out of the bunker, I just wanted to have a look," Harry waved dismissively, "besides, I did warn you that those who made would one day come for it."

Fury narrowed his one good eye, trying to step on his annoyance. She was acting like a Goddamned brat just to rile him up, a tactic he was sure she had picked up from Stark as well.

"The hospital," he continued, slowly grinding his teeth.

"Now, Commander, you wake up after being imprisoned for Merlin knows how long, and the first thing you hear is containment." Harry had straightened up, leaving out some of the attitude. "And in the one no one was seriously hurt."

"Budapest." He pulled out the big guns.

"I wasn't even there when the mess started." she said, raising her voice a little, then realizing she was playing right into his hands. Sure the Budapest fiasco had been a sore point between the witch and S.H.I.E.L.D. for a long time, but, "Did your pet spies tell you that I also saved their lives?" she challenged, leaving the nonchalance behind.

Fury managed not to seem too smug, but just barely. "I can assure you I read all the relevant reports. And you still haven't convinced me to let you run free and then go and join the Avengers. That's what you're really here about, aren't you?"

"Yes, you read me completely." Harry smiled, but it lacked humor, with just a hint of a tooth showing. "But what you should be asking yourself Director is, why now?"

Why then, indeed, thought Fury while considering the woman watching him with eyes far older and wiser than he was used of seeing. Bringing Stark's newly bachelor status into the discussion might have been a good diversion tactic, but he was keen enough to know that the playtime and banter was over.

"What do you know?" he asked, completely serious.

"There's someone coming. Someone so terrible that his forces would make Loki's attack of New York seem like the tantrum thrown by a toddler with a big brother complex and father issues that it was. And when he comes, you'll need all your allies with you." Harry responded, equally serious. There was nothing left in her from the previous playfulness.

"How certain are you of this?"

"Very certain. It's the same source that had given you all those previous warnings." Fury felt himself go tense; everything that Harry Potter had warned them about over the time, had come to pass, with deadly results when they had refused to act accordingly.

"When?" he asked, already making calculations and dividing resources. Harry hesitated for a bit, then she grudgingly admitted, "Not this year, at least. But in the next three years, definitely."

Fury stopped clenching his fists so hard, the somewhat good news releasing some of the tension. They still had time to prepare. "This source of yours," he asked finally, fishing for information as usual, "are we ever going to meet it?" because he very much wanted to put it under his control, totally or at least partially.

Harry grinned, more than a little amused at his audacity. "Oh, you will, have no worry about it. Sooner or later everyone does." And with that she got up from the chair. "Now, Director Fury, do we have a deal?"

"Fine. But move just a little out of the line and I'll make sure you'll never see the light of day." He promised, matter-of-factly.

"Oh, I know that, Director," she said, waving her hand lazily and then disappearing from his office as if she's never been there.

For a moment, Fury kept staring to where she had been, and then he pushed an invisible button on his desk. "Stand down, Hill. I'm unharmed."

"Yes, Sir." Came the prompt reply and the comm was filled with the sound of several rifles powering down. The door opened soundlessly and his second-in-command came into the room and stopped at parade rest. "Should I also change Harry Potter's status from potential threat, to ally?"

"Yes, but put her in the dangerous category next to Dr. Banner. We still don't know what her motivations are. And send me someone from R&D here, because their so-called impenetrable shielding is worth shit. How the hell did she get into my office?" Fury asked, anger lacing his every word.

Agent Hill had a fleeting smidgen of sympathy for the hapless scientist who was going to receive the Director's wrath. It was times like these when they missed Tony Stark working for them, and not just giving them scraps.

On the other side of the Town, Harry apparated on the platform put at the top of the Avenger's Tower, formerly known as Stark Tower, and sitting casually on the side she watched the city below. The day had gone better than she had anticipated, so she let herself relax for a bit. Just then, there was a 'whoosh' from her right and Tony Stark landed on the special runway he had installed for his suit. While robotic arms moved around him in a deceptively easy ballet, he strode casually inside the Tower, and then, several moments later he reappeared outside, carrying two glasses of something suitably alcoholic.

Harry took the glass he handed her and sipped slowly, while watching the billionaire frown at where she was sitting, and then with a shrug, taking a similar position on the roof.

"So, did you have a good day?" he asked, casually as you please, as if they weren't two lunatics sharing a drink on the edge of a building fifty stories high.

"I was productive," Harry acknowledged and then took another sip.

"Want to tell me about it?" The inventor said, then he drank the entire content of his glass. "But tell you what. Let's go inside, where I have a perfectly good sofa where we can sit."

"And abandon this beautiful view? Tsk," Harry pretended to scold him, even as she was getting up.

"I resent that," Tony said, striking a dramatic pose with his hand on his reactor and all. "I have an excellent view from inside. Now get." He shooed her inside, hand pushing her lightly on the small of her back.

"Alright, already." She said, even though she made no move to dislodge his arm. "Hey, Tony." Harry smiled and turned her head until they were face to face. "Do you remember, when we first physically met?"

The inventor snorted, "As if I could forget. The damage to the Malibu house had Pepper ranting for days."

"Good times," Harry smiled, remembering as well.

TBC.

AN: Now, I think it's fair to warn you that the next chapter might take a little longer than this one. For one thing I'm doing NaNoWriMo this year as well, and this was all written while I was trying to shake the blocks for my other projects. But I'd still love to hear your opinions on it.- Paralelsky