It was a smaller airfield, out of the way of the public eye and therefore the perfect place for the Avengers quinjet to set down. It also helped that Tony had been able to pay for the privilege of using it while ensuring that their presence wasn't going to be widely publicised.
Thus, apart from a few workers off in the distance, the quinjet was met by a single person, his blue-grey cloak flapping in the breeze kicked up by the landing craft. Almost as soon as the engines had cut off, the rear ramp lowered.
Tony was standing front and centre, wearing his usual jeans, Black Sabbath t-shirt and a sports coat. In his hand, he carried a familiar-looking red and gold case. Beside him was Clint, a long duffle slung over his shoulder and a broad grin on his face. Flanking the two were a pair that Harry had not been expecting – Matt, his cane clutched vertically in both hands, his head cocked slightly as he obviously took in his surroundings using his other senses; and Peter, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet, his head craning every which way as if trying to see everything at once.
Harry stepped forward, a broad grin on his face.
"Thanks, for coming, guys," he said, shaking first Tony's hand and then Clint's.
"Our pleasure," Clint replied.
"Hope you don't mind us bringing the new recruits," Tony said, jerking a thumb at Matt and Peter. "Capsicle and Nat are on some deep secret assignment for S.H.I.E.L.D., I could find out what it is, but I just couldn't be bothered. And Bruce had some kind of family emergency. Something about a phone call from his uncle. "
"It's not a problem at all.," Harry replied. "Thanks for coming, Peter, Matt."
It was as he was greeting the two men that Harry noticed movement on the quinjet's ramp behind them. a shadowy figure was hesitantly coming into view.
"Doreen?" Hary asked surprised.
The girl shot Harry a nervous smile and a small wave.
"Hi, Harry. Hope it's okay that I tagged along?" she said uncertainly.
Harry shot Tony a look, but the billionaire simply shrugged.
"She heard and tried to sneak aboard. Who was I to say no?" he said.
Harry gave the man an exasperated look before smiling at the girl.
"It's good to see you, Doreen, but I thought that you'd still be in school," Harry said.
"Hey!" Doreen shot back. "Peter's skipping school, too. And I can help, you'll see."
"She's got the makings of a fine Avenger," Clint remarked.
"Well, the more the merrier," Harry said, hiding his misgivings.
"Besides, if you and Point Break could handle an alien invasion by yourselves, then I'd think a handful of aliens would be a piece of cake," Tony remarked, "especially against all of us."
"Some aliens combined with some wizards," Harry corrected. "But I'll go through all that with you when we get home."
"Home?" Peter perked up. "Are we staying at your place? Is it magical? Are we gonna get to see all kinds of strange things that'll turn us into frogs if we're not careful?"
Harry gave them a lop-sided grin. "Something like that."
Then, after pulling out a piece of rope from his pocket, he flicked it out.
"Everyone grab hold, take a deep breath and try not to throw up when we get there," he said.
ooo00ooo
"This is your place?" Tony asked after number twelve Grimmald Place had pushed its way into existence in front of him. "Bit of a fixer-upper, isn't it?"
Harry ignored the man. He knew exactly how bad the old Black ancestral townhouse was. And, really, there was nothing that he could say to defend it, even if he wanted to.
"Just be careful of what you touch in there," he said, "there's a lot of dark magical items that could hurt you."
Harry led the five of them across the street, up the stairs and into the foyer. The instant that the door was closed, Kreacher popped into existence. The fact that there was instantly a gun, a glowing gauntlet, a stick and two raised hands aimed at him didn't seem to faze the house elf in the slightest.
"Master. Miss Hermione and Master's other guest are in the parlour," Kreacher said before turning and shuffling away, muttering too quietly to himself for all but Matt to be able to hear.
"What was that?" Doreen asked, staring after him.
"That was Kreacher," Harry replied. "He's a house elf. Think 'Elves and the Shoemaker' and you're on the right track. They're bound to a wizarding family and get their magic that way and simply love to work."
"A symbiotic relationship," Matt said after a moment's thought.
"Sounds about right," Harry replied. "This way."
He led them through the hallway and into the front parlour where Thor and Hermione were sitting, chatting. The instant that Thor saw who entered behind Harry, he was up on his feet.
"Stark! Barton! It is pleasing to see you both again," Thor boomed as he gave each man a hearty slap on the shoulder.
"Easy there, Point Break," Tony smiled, having stumbled to the side somewhat at the force applied to him.
'Glad to see you back on Earth," Clint smiled.
"Thor, these are our newest recruits," Harry introduced. "This is Matt Murdock, otherwise known as Daredevil; Peter Parker, also called Spider-man; and Doreen Green."
"To be fair, the web-head and the squirrel are still underage and only on probation," Tony cut in.
"You hear that, Monkey Joe?" Doreen said to the sudden appearance of her friend's head popping out of her coat. "You're still on probation while I'm a fully-fledged Avenger."
"Hey! That's not what I meant," Tony protested.
"You have an affinity for animals?" Thor asked Doreen.
In answer, Doreen put her hands behind her and wiggled about until her bushy tail was freed from the confines of her pants.
"You could say that," she grinned.
Thor gave a hearty laugh, before bowing over her hand. "It is pleasing to meet you, Lady Doreen."
ʆ"I like him, Monkey Joe"ʆ she chittered.
"Don't mind her, she can speak to squirrels," Peter said, enthusiastically shaking Thor's hand. "It's awesome to meet you!"
Thor gave the boy a nod.
"Don't worry, Thor, we'll get you up to speed on everyone's abilities before we need to go deal with the bad guys," Clint said.
"Speaking of, how'd it go at the Ministry?" Harry asked Hermione.
"As well as can be expected," she sighed. "They listened to Thor, and really, why wouldn't they? He is a god after all. But how much they took in is hard to say. Susan, at least, took a lot of notes."
"I'm guessing that they're going to do their usual trick of burying their heads and letting others do the work for them?" Harry spat.
"Their forces were outmatched in the last battle; it is understandable that the seidhr Ministry will want those who can deal with the problem to do so," Thor remarked.
"Doesn't mean that I wasn't hoping for some help," Harry replied.
"And what are we? Chopped liver?" Tony asked.
Harry laughed. "No, Tony, you guys are exactly the back-up we need to deal with this problem quickly.
"Speaking of food ..." Clint trailed off hopefully.
"Come on, Kreacher should have lunch ready for us all in the kitchen by now," Harry said, leading the way.
ooo00ooo
It was over lunch that Thor finally pieced together what was different about the man known as Matt Murdock. It had been difficult, at first, as the man constantly wore dark glasses on his face.
"You are blind!" he said, and instantly regretted his words, imagining what his brother would have said about his tactlessness.
Matt paused, his knife and fork lowering back towards his plate.
"It's true that I cannot see with my eyes," he said, "but all of my other senses are heightened to the point where I can 'see' almost better than any sighted person."
Thor nodded his understanding. "Vision is indeed not everything. Heimdell is such a one who can see far beyond the norm. And my own brother had such a grasp of his magic that it was often not wise to trust one's normal sight when he was in a mischievous mood."
"How does that work with magic?" Hermione asked. "Are you able to sense spells?"
"Harry and I have practiced somewhat and while some magical effects are lost to me, I can sense enough," Matt replied. "I won't be a liability in battle."
"What about here?" Harry asked. "Can you sense which items you need to be careful of?"
Matt cocked his head, obviously taking in his surroundings. After a few seconds, he shifted his head slightly again as everyone paused in their eating to watch him.
"I can," Matt finally replied slowly. "Your house is ... strange. Normally, the world to me is as though everything's on fire, giving off a taste, a sound, a myriad of diverse sensations that allow me to know what is around me and where it all is. Here ... here the world has colour!
A single tear rolled down his face as he attempted to descirbe what he was sensing.
"I can 'see' some things that are yellow, others orange, both close enough to 'normal' as to not matter, but just different enough to tell me that they're magical. And then there's the ones that are blue or even purple, like those knives over there."
Harry took one look at where he'd nodded before identifying what would cause the difference.
"They're goblin made," he said. "Imbued with goblin magic to be ever sharp and nigh indestructible."
"I had ... forgotten, what so many different colours looked like," Matt said. "Thank you for bringing me here."
Harry and Hermione shared a look.
"I think a trip to Diagon Alley is in order," Harry smiled.
"What's that?" Tony asked.
"Magical shopping district," Hermione replied.
"Right, I'm done," Tony stated, pushing his plate away. "Let's go!"
ooo00ooo
"Welcome, Avengers, to Diagon Alley," Harry said as the arch fully formed in front of them.
A light slap to his arm had Harry whipping his head towards Hermione.
"If that was supposed to be an impression of Hagrid, you did a rather poor job," she told him.
Harry pouted at her before muttering, "don't spoil my fun, woman."
The amazement on the faces of the others at the sight before them was enough to ensure that Hermione's second slap, this one slightly harder, didn't dampen his enjoyment at introducing the others to this part of the magical world.
And then the six visitors rushed forward, as eager as any eleven-year-old to explore. Tony, Peter and Doreen were the worst, practically racing towards the nearest shop. Clint slunk into a nearby shadow, the spy's habit of being unseen currently warring with his need to see it all. And while Matt confidently moved forward, his cane tapping in front of him, Thor kept a careful arm's length from the other man, in case of trouble.
"Are these really bat's wings?" Tony asked, staring into a basket set outside the apothecary.
"Of course," Hermione replied. "Useful in any number of potions, as is all of the ingredients that you'll find in there."
With a scrunched-up nose, Tony moved on, joining Peter to stare in the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies.
"Those brooms don't look like yours, Harry," Peter remarked.
"There's a whole range of different brooms, depending on what you want to do," Harry replied. "Speed, sports, leisure, even ones specifically to learn to fly on or for little kids."
"Can I get one?" Peter asked.
"Sorry, mate," Harry said, giving his shoulder a squeeze. "You need some magic yourself in order to fly one."
"Monkey Joe! Stop that!" Doreen exclaimed exasperatedly as she tried to fish the squirrel out from inside her shirt where he was burying himself deeper and deeper.
Noting where she was standing, Hermione came over to try to reassure the two of them.
"Those owls are highly trained," she said, indicating the parliament of owls visible in the Owl Post Office. "They won't hurt anyone's pet; they can tell the difference."
"I believe you," Doreen replied. "Somehow, though, I don't think Monkey Joe does."
All of Doreen's squirming, though, had the side-effect of making her tail pop out from her pants.
"Oh, my dear, I'm sure that the healers at St. Mungo's can help you with that problem," an older witch said, intently looking into Doreen's eyes, one hand on her shoulder before nodding at Doreen's tail.
"What?" a confused Doreen asked.
"That tail, dear," the old witch replied. "Was it a transfiguration gone wrong or a curse?"
"It's alright, thank you," Hermione butted in, "there's no need for my companion to go to St. Mungo's."
The old witch gave her a dubious look. "If you're sure, dear."
On the opposite side of the street, Clint had stopped dead, his hands itching to pull a weapon.
"Harry?" he called.
When Harry came closer, Clint simply raised a pointed eyebrow at the large white marble building down the alley, or more specifically, at the two beings standing guard to either side of the door, large halberds in their hands.
"They're goblins, Clint," Harry said quietly. "Incredible warriors and the guardians of the wizarding bank. You don't want to get on the wrong side of them."
"Good to know," Clint replied before moving further down the street, although making sure to keep at least half an eye on the goblins at all times.
"Now that is some advertising," Tony stated, standing dead still in the middle of the street, staring up at the garish orange two story building. "Someone's got some serious balls to pull that off – it doesn't match anything else here on the street, even with their weird magic items in the windows and outside the doors."
Harry had to grin at that, especially as Tony's eyes only grew bigger when the great prankster attached to the top of the building took off its hat, and a flock of bright green pigeons flew out.
"Would it help if I said that I'm a part owner of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?" Harry asked.
Tony tore his eyes from the shop to stare at Harry.
"You? You're a part owner?" he asked incredulously.
"Silent, but yeah," Harry replied. "My friend George is the brains behind it all."
"You've got to introduce us," Tony pleaded.
"Please?" Peter added.
Letting Hermione know where he was going, Harry led his fellow Avengers through the door, snickering at the multiple fart noises that announced their entrance.
"Harrikins!" George exclaimed, bounding over as they entered.
"Hey, George," Harry replied. "I wanted to introduce you to some friends of mine. This is Tony, Peter and Clint."
"Nice to meet ya," George said, vigorously pumping each of their hands up and down. "Any friend of Harry's is a friend of mine."
"Harrikins?" Tony asked, looking across at Harry. "You been holding out on us, Sparrowhawk?"
Harry's head whipped around, a look a relief quickly passing his face as he realised that Tony was just being his usual self.
"I've known George and his family since I was eleven," Harry replied.
"What is all of this?" a wide-eyed Peter asked, looking around.
"These, dear friend of Harry's, are pranks," George stated proudly.
"Really?" Clint asked excitedly, his eyes gleaming, before promptly disappearing into the shelves.
A cold shiver swept down Harry's back. For some reason, he wasn't sure that bringing this lot here was such a good idea after all.
ooo00ooo
Feeling the buzz of his phone in his pocket, Harry slipped away from the mayhem that was Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and into the back room. The instant that he stepped past the curtains, a silencing ward cut off the noise of the customers, the fireworks whizzing about and exploding, not to mention all of the other products that were being tested and the laughter that ensued.
Harry had no doubt that his absence was noted by the others, but he was confident that they'd give him his space. And besides, Hermione was there to keep an eye on them; he just hoped that her level-headedness was a match for Tony's flamboyance and unnatural curiosity – he'd already expressed an interest in recreating most of the magical prank items using 'normal' means.
"Hello?" he said, having hit the 'accept' button.
Instantly, the screen on his phone lit up to show a group of four people facing him. Agent Coulson was expected, even hoped for. The science pair – Simmons and Fitz, he thought their names were – were needed, considering the nature of the call. Skye, was simply a bonus.
"Mister Potter," Phil nodded. "I understand that you wanted to talk to us?"
"I did," Harry confirmed. "Thanks for getting back to me."
The two scientists gave him a smile; Skye a friendly wave from where she sat cross-legged on the desk at the side of the image.
"What's the nature of the problem?" Phil asked.
"A number of the Dark Elves that invaded London managed to either escape or were captured by ... um," Harry paused, suddenly realising that he had a problem.
"I am aware of the nature of the other party involved," Phil said and Harry nodded at the implied message: the other three weren't and he needed to choose his words carefully in order to protect the Statute of Secrecy.
"I understand that your team deals with the extraordinary," Harry said, glossing over the magical aspect of the problem. "And, as such, I was wondering if you had any way of tracking the Dark Elves?"
"An interesting idea," Simmons said, her eyes blazing to life.
"Not one that we've considered before," Fitz added, rubbing his chin, "tracking extra-terrestrial lifeforms."
"But possible; after all, we've encountered a number of Asgardian artefacts now," Simmons countered.
"Not that the Dark Elves are from Asgard," Fitz pointed out.
It seemed that the two had all but forgotten that there were others involved in the conversation.
"No. Still, the principle should still be useful, considering that we can get a sample to work with," Simmons stated.
"The pieces of the alien ship that we've analysed! It'll have all of the data that we need," Fitz exclaimed, snapping his fingers.
Harry stared at the two as they bounced back and forth. It was very disconcerting and dragged up a whole host of memories; he was incredibly glad that George wasn't in the room for that conversation.
"So, you're saying that it's possible?" Coulson broke in.
"Possible, yes; probable, though, that could be a whole other kettle of fish," Simmons stated.
"How long would it take to make?" Harry asked.
Fitz and Simmons shared a look, a look that seemed to convey an entire conversation.
"Weeks, possibly months," Fitz stated after the two faced the screen once more.
Harry shook his head. "Unfortunately, we don't have that long. Thanks, anyway."
"Sorry that we couldn't be of any help," Coulson said. "You're sure that there's nothing else that we could do? Provide some back-up perhaps?"
"A group of Avengers arrived today," Harry informed them. "Between us, we should be able to handle the situation."
His eyes drifted to Skye then, and he had a thought.
"Actually, though, if you're in the neighbourhood, I'd love to get together with Skye, if that's alright," he said.
"It's fine with me," Skye said quickly, a brilliant smile on her face.
Phil, he noted, frowned, causing Harry to elaborate.
"I'd like to conduct a few magic tests with Skye, to try to work out what happened the last time in Greenwich Library."
"I think that we can arrange something," Phil smiled.
"Brilliant! Thanks, Agent Coulson," Harry said.
Then, after a nod from Phil, Simmons and Fitz, and a wave from Skye, the screen blanked out.
Harry made sure to store the phone number that Coulson had rung from before turning off the phone, after all, it might prove to be useful to have.
ooo00ooo
"Those are thoughts in there?" Doreen asked, disgust written all over her face as she stared at the rune-lined stone bowl on the table.
"There's gotta be some health violation or something about that," Tony added.
"Tony's right," Clint added. "You pulled that stuff out of your head! And now you want us to touch it?"
"For once, I'm glad that I'm blind," Matt commented from the side of the room where he sat comfortably in a lounge chair.
"Are you sure that it's safe for the rest of us?" Peter asked apprehensively. "None of us are magical, like you."
Harry sighed. They'd been over this.
"Yes, it's perfectly safe," he said. "You'll be drawn into the memory and be able to see and hear everything that I experienced. And yes, unfortunately, I don't think it'd translate into Matt's way of experiencing the world. Just remember, there's nothing in there that can hurt you, nor can you interact with any of it; you'll simply be observers."
"Like watching a three-D TV, only from the inside," Peter said, staring into the swirling silver liquid.
"Essentially," Harry replied after a moment's thought.
Harry reached out, his finger hovering just above the surface of the pensieve. Unfortunately, he was the only one to do so; not a muscle had moved on any of the others.
"I thought you lot were Avengers, able to face even the most terrifying situations without flinching," Harry goaded.
"Yeah, but that stuff came out of your head," Tony repeated.
"Head, not nose or mouth," Harry emphasised. "It's simply two memories – the battle of Greenwich and then the skirmish in Hogsmeade, barely an hour's worth of memories between them."
"The Son of Odin is afraid of nothing. And seeing and understanding how the enemy operates in battle is an immensely useful tool," Thor boasted before thrusting his hand forward, touching the silvery liquid and going instantly still as he was drawn into the memories.
"Nat's never going to let me live this down," Clint muttered, before he became the second to reach forward.
Then, one by one, each of the others joined them until, Harry too, joined his comrades in reviewing the memories of battling the Dark Elves, with and without magical support.
ooo00ooo
The racket of someone bounding down the stairs like a herd of hippogriffs had Harry staring at the loungeroom door in interest. The fact that the rest of the males currently staying at Grimmauld Place and also currently in the same room did the same, spoke volumes as to who was responsible for the noise.
The fact that Doreen appeared in the doorway, her legs slightly apart, hands balled on her hips and her head cocked to the side and slightly upwards caused all the men to look at each other and snicker slightly.
"If you're expecting pictures, you've come to the wrong place," Clint commented.
"And just out of interest's sake, exactly what are you wearing?" Tony asked, leaning forward.
"My costume, of course," an affronted-sounding Doreen replied.
"Costume?" Harry repeated flatly, looking the girl over.
For the most part, what Doreen had chosen as her costume was rather normal-looking. Her old, dark brown bomber jacket with the fur lining was something that she wore quite often, as were the black, fingerless gloves. The grey cargo pants were new, although modified to allow her large, bushy tail to be seen, and the light brown shirt wasn't one that Harry remembered seeing her wearing before. Her leather boots topped with fur that laced up to mid-calf also looked new. No, the most unexpected part of her 'costume' was the dark brown domino mask that she wore around her eyes and over her nose.
"What's with the mask?" Tony asked.
"I thought that it'd help me keep my secret identity," she replied, then, seeing the smirks, she forcefully continued. "What? Peter wears a full cowl. And Matt covers his face. Not to mention Harry has a hood with a bunch of spells on it to keep his identity secret."
"She's got you there," Clint remarked.
"Fine, fine," Tony waved the previous comment away. "I'm guessing you've got a bunch of useful gadgets in the pockets of your belt, too?"
Doreen looked down at the black belt with half a dozen bags tied to it.
"Oh, them. They're my nut sacks," she said.
"WHAT!" Peter blurted.
"My nut sacks," Doreen repeated. "Sacks. Full of nuts. For Monkey Joe and any other squirrels I happen to meet."
"Of course, why didn't I think of that," Tony muttered, with a shake of his head.
"Lady Doreen, you seem to have given this much thought," Thor commented. "Have you acquired a new name to go along with your suit?"
Once again, Doreen struck her 'heroic' pose.
"You can call me ... Squirrel Girl!"
"Squirrel Girl! What sort of name is that?" Tony mocked.
Doreen scowled at him. "You call yourself 'Iron Man'. He calls himself 'Spider-man'. Why can't I be 'Squirrel Girl'?"
"She makes a compelling argument," Matt commented.
"Stay out of this, lawyer-boy," Tony said offhandedly. "I'm sure that we can come up with a better name than that."
"No!" Doreen said, stamping her foot. "I've thought about it a lot, and I want to be 'Squirrel Girl'."
"Fine. Fine. Have it your way," Tony conceded.
With a nod, Doreen looked around at the guys still seated in their chairs.
"Well, are we going or not?" she asked.
Harry glanced at his watch before nodding and standing.
"Come on, if we go now, we can get there just after the last class finishes. And we won't stay long at Hogwarts, just long enough so that Teddy can meet you all – I'd never hear the end of it if he didn't. Besides we don't want to interrupt the school too much, my old Headmistress isn't particularly fond of the unexpected," Harry stated.
"Are we supposed to be wearing our suits, too?" Peter asked, half-raising his hand.