Magically Marvelous » by dasteiza
Living alone in NYC in a completely different world, Harry's boring world it turned inside out when the supernatural comes knocking on his shop door. Will he be dragged into a life of adventure and excitement once again? Of course! Harry/Natasha Harry/Multi
Harry Potter & Avengers, M, English, Adventure & Romance, chapters: 8, words: 25k+, favs: 2k+, follows: 3k+, updated: Jan 8, 2023 published: Jul 2, 2022, Harry P., Black Widow/Natasha R., Agent Maria Hill, Wanda M./Scarlet Witch
Chapter 1
Even though it was late at night, there was still plenty of light on the affluent streets of New York City. As such, Harry Potter didn't need to use his magic to add any extra. He drove down the street slowly, looking for anything that caught his interest. An old table … an antique, he corrected himself. Pulling over, he turned off the engine, removed the keys, and got out. Going to the table, he checked it over. It was in bad condition and had a leg missing. 'Easy enough for me,' he thought as he looked around. He could see people in the distance, but it was still dark enough that he wouldn't draw attention to himself. He held out his hand and levitated the heavy, oak table into the back of his nearly full van. Once secured, he closed the back and decided to call it a night.
"Whadya got there?" Harry heard as he placed his hands on the door. Closing his eyes, he sighed. There had been a string of robberies and carjackings in the area recently.
"None of your fucking business, mate. So fuck off," Harry told him, turning around to get a good look at him. It was then that he discovered that there were five of them. Each dressed in dark pants and hoodies with masks over their face. The only thing that he could definitively say was that they were male. One was holding a gun while others were holding baseball bats or pipes.
"Wanna say that again?" the thug asked, holding up the gun and aiming it at him.
"I said fuck off! I've got to get back to your mum's house. She must be missing me by now," Harry gladly told him. The other four burst out laughing at his friend's expense. They stopped laughing when a shot was fired and a spray of blood hit the side of Harry's van. Harry dropped down onto his back with a hole in his chest.
"Jesus Christ!" one of them shouted. "Are you out of your fucking mind?!" he panicked, not wanting to get charged with a first-degree murder charge. "Let's get out of here!"
"Not without the van," the leader said aggressively. "Check his pockets for his keys and money," he ordered. Not wanting to anger his friend who was still holding a gun, the man shakily went up to Harry and knelt down. He reached into his pocket and began feeling around. He didn't even have time to react before a knife pierced the side of his head. Letting out a choked gargle, he dropped to his side and spasmed a few times before he stopped moving. Harry pushed himself up to one knee before grabbing the baseball bat that the dead man had been carrying. Getting to his feet, Harry glared at the man with the gun.
"That wasn't very nice," Harry hissed before charging the man. Gunshots went off as Harry's chest was peppered with bullets. He swung the bat as hard as possible and connected with the would-be killer's skull. A sickening thunk, much like the sound of dropping a watermelon on pavement, filled the street as his head caved in and split open. The man dropped to the ground where his head started to pour blood out all over the street. The other three freaked out and began running. Harry grabbed the gun and fired it at the escaping robbers. Only one was hit. Harry saw him fall to the ground while screaming for help from his friends. They didn't even bother looking back. Harry held grim satisfaction as he watched the man drag himself down the street. Judging from the way that his legs refused to move, Harry guessed that the bullet had hit his spine. Jumping into his van, he tossed the gun on the passenger seat and placed his key in the ignition. As the van started, the headlights illuminated the crawling thug. Putting the van in gear, he floored it. His last sight of the man was when he turned and screamed in terror right before Harry's wheels ran him over.
Magically Marvelous
A pained grunt left his lips as he gave the pair of needle-nosed pliers a tug. He felt his meat and skin stretch until finally, the last bullet had pulled free. He sighed and examined the mushroomed and bloody bullet tip before dropping it in an empty tea cup with its half dozen brethren. He could have waited, and his body would have expelled them naturally. Sadly, it was a relatively slow and painful process. Conjuring a full-length mirror, Harry got up and stood in front of it. "God damn!" he hissed, looking at the bullet holes in his chest and belly. "Bastard was a pretty good shot," he mumbled. Harry's fingertip lit up with magic, and he slowly and carefully massaged each hole until they were all closed. Feeling lightheaded from the blood loss, he wished that he had a Blood-Replenishing Potion. Unfortunately, it had been quite a while since he had access to any magical potion, so he grabbed the next best thing. Removing the cap, Harry tilted his head back and chugged down a decent portion of the whiskey in his bottle. Once done, he placed the cap back on and put it back in the cabinet.
When he had first left his world and appeared in this one, Harry had nothing to his name. Hell, even his name meant nothing. There wasn't even a record of it. Still, he had his magic, so he was easily able to travel to New York City where he could easily blend in. Besides, the large, American city was a good place to begin again. There were ample opportunities for those who were willing and able. Not giving a shit about living in luxury, Harry searched out a place that he could actually use to his advantage. He eventually found an old mechanic's shop that was owned by a guy that liked underaged boys a little too much. Harry didn't shed a tear when he used his magic to take possession of the shop along with the man's meager savings. Harry tossed him out onto the streets without a single memory left in his disgusting head. He would be surprised if the man could function at all. Whatever happened to him, Harry couldn't care less.
The shop was located in Manhattan, which was some very pricey real estate. Harry had no idea why the guy didn't just sell the shop and retire to a tropical paradise, but he was glad that he didn't. Because of that, Harry now owned the shop which covered the bottom floor of an eight-story building. He also owned the second floor which was an apartment. The shop was run down when he got it, with only a front door with chipped paint and a heavy-duty garage door that had to be opened by pulling down on a chain from the inside. Thankfully, he was able to use his magic to clean up and repair both the shop and the apartment.
Harry cleaned himself up and put on a t-shirt. Leaving his apartment, he used the stairwell to go down to his shop. He shook his head when he saw his white van covered in blood. Even using magic, it took nearly half an hour to get his blood off as well as the blood of the man he ran over. Nodding when it was sparkling clean, he opened the backdoors and began pulling his finds out. Chairs, tables, electronics, practically anything that was broken, Harry wanted. He made a very good living by repairing stuff that he found on the streets and reselling them. He even had people bringing him stuff to repair … for a big, fat, juicy fee of course.
Harry opened the passenger door and grabbed the handgun from the seat. "Should have known. 45's always hurt the most," he said as he examined the high-caliber handgun. He closed the van door and walked over to the shop's small bathroom. Instead of opening the bathroom door, Harry reached up and touched a marking that was only a shade darker than the dark maroon paint on the walls. No one had ever noticed his blood rune before, and he hoped to keep it that way. Pumping magic into the rune, he waited for a second before opening the door. Instead of a bathroom, a spacious warehouse was open to him. Closing the door behind him, Harry walked straight over to what he called, "The Armoury" as a joke.
All the Armoury was, was a shelf where he kept the guns that he came across during his nightly activities. Sometimes he would take them from the gang members that he would inevitably come across, and sometimes he would find them tossed in dumpsters. There were a dozen or so handguns, a few shotguns, and even a couple of assault rifles. He released the clip and checked to make sure that it was empty. Once sure, he placed it with the others. The rest of the space was used for items that he had already repaired and was waiting to be sold or picked up. Still feeling dizzy from being shot so many times, Harry decided to call it a night and went to bed.
Magically Marvelous
While Harry slept, a report was delivered to a dark-skinned man with a black eyepatch. Using his one good eye, he read the report before tossing it onto his desk. He pressed a button on his intercom and waited.
"Yes, sir?" a voice crackled through.
"Get Barton down here," Director Fury ordered.
"Right away, sir," the voice replied.
Fury waited as patiently as possible for his operative to finally join him. When he did, Fury motioned for him to sit down. He tossed the report in front of Barton who picked it up and began reading it.
Another set of killings in New York City. That makes fourteen in the last three months," Fury told him.
"More gang members?" Barton asked as he finished the report.
"Most likely. Gangs have been getting out of control in the city over the last year."
"Looks like someone decided to take out the trash," Barton smirked.
"So it would seem," Fury replied, not showing any emotion. "I want to know who or what's causing this. It can't just be a coincidence that so many supposed criminals have been violently killed in such a short amount of time."
"What's causing this?" Barton raised an eyebrow, silently asking for clarification.
"We recovered a blood sample that doesn't belong to the dead men. It's human … only different," Fury filled him in.
"Metahuman or a possible enhanced?" Clint asked, already forming a plan.
"That's what I'm sending you to find out. A jet is being gassed up as we speak. Go get ready," he ordered. Barton nodded and left the room without another word. Within half an hour, he had left the Helicarrier and was headed for NYC.
Magically Marvelous
Harry's eyes fluttered open. He laid there for a moment before yawning deeply and stretching his aching muscles. Getting shot always made him sore the following day. He winced at the achiness of his chest. Getting up, he hopped into the shower and turned the hot water up to its max. The hot water did wonders to soothe his sore muscles. After showering, he ate a quick breakfast before his early morning deliveries.
Using his magic, he pulled items from his secret warehouse and loaded them in the back of his van. Once full, he jumped in and drove out into the city. As always, he kept his eyes open for anything being thrown away. He would take anything that he could make money on.
Harry, of course, could use his magic and get whatever he wanted. He didn't need to work. Harry, however, had grown tired of the magical way of doing things. The magical world had caused him nothing but trouble. When he came to this world, he promised himself that he would only use his magic when needed or for convenience. He was done playing the hero. Heroes always suffer, as do the people they love, he thought. In his opinion, he was better off without it. Besides, even if it didn't sometimes seem like it, Harry liked his normal life. He felt as if he had some resemblance of control, even if he really didn't.
He spent the morning dropping off furniture that he had rescued from going into a landfill and turned it into cash. After getting back to the shop, he turned on the "OPEN" sign and went to work. All of his stuff was listed and could be purchased from his website that he had paid an NYU student to create for him. That's where most of his business came from. He pulled out the table that he had scrounged the previous night and examined it closer. The top was pretty scratched up. Thankfully, he had learned how to repair furniture without damaging the patina. It just took a lot of patience and a mastery of magic. By then, though, he already had it down, so he could do it much faster than he used to. He went over the top multiple times until all of the major scratches and dings were repaired. Harry made sure to leave a few light scratches or scuffs so that people wouldn't question the authenticity of the piece. He then conjured a new leg and replaced the missing one. Nodding in satisfaction, he moved it into his warehouse, and he would add it to his website later that night. Harry then moved on to the next piece.
Magically Marvelous
Clint "Hawkeye" Barton was stooped on the edge of a fairly tall building. It wasn't so tall that he would have to use his night vision goggles just to see down onto the dark New York streets, but it was definitely high enough to avoid being seen. The info packet that he received for his mission said that most of the killings had happened at night. That was perfect for him. He did some of his best work at night … at least that was what his wife claimed. He had already been in the city for four days, and he had found nothing. No dead bodies had shown up on his watch, so he couldn't be accused of sleeping on the job, which he was thankful for. He would just have to be patient and wait.
As Hawkeye looked down on the street, Harry went through his nightly routine of dumpster diving to look for anything valuable to him. Already he had found a heap of old copper wire that he could easily turn into ingots to be sold later. He had a pile of scrap copper in his warehouse waiting to be broken down. As he pulled up to the next dumpster, he was just about to use his magic to search through the pile of refuse when he heard a scream from further down the street. Clearly, it was a female crying in distress. His instincts were to immediately charge in like an idiotic hero, but his brain was telling him to stand pat and mind his business. Sadly, not even a second had gone by before he sighed and cursed softly. Apparating closer to the sound, Harry pulled out a creation of his. It was nearly an identical copy of something that his old Headmaster had invented so many years ago. He held it up and clicked the button.
Hawkeye slightly jumped when he heard a crack down on the street. At first, he rightfully thought that it was a gunshot, but he was proved wrong. When he looked down, he saw a man standing under a bright streetlight. He wasn't holding any type of firearm. Instead, it appeared that he was holding a cigarette lighter. Hawkeye pointed his recorder at him just as every light in a fifty-foot radius seemed to be pulled into the item that he was holding.
"What the fuck?" Hawkeye whispered to himself as he watched on, fascinated by what he was witnessing. Funnily enough, the would-be rapist said the same thing when the lights suddenly went out on him.
Now that he was in the dark, Harry pushed his magic into his eyes. He had learned this long ago. It was the reason why he never had to wear his old glasses anymore. Instantly, his eyes blazed green with a spooky light. He slowly walked up to the alley and looked around the corner. At the end, he found a foul-looking man holding a knife to a panicking girl's neck. The girl couldn't have been older than twenty.
"What the fuck is going on here?!" he cried out, panicking right along with his victim. The girl began hyperventilating and making so much noise that he pressed the knife blade harder against her throat. "Quiet! Shut the fuck up!" he hissed. He thought that he heard something. When a shadowy figure with burning green eyes stepped around the corner, he nearly shit himself. He opened his mouth to make a threat, but he suddenly found that no sound would come out. He tried to scream, but nothing. The crotch of his dirty jeans became wet and warm as piss ran down his legs. Through all of this, the figure continued to close in. When he was only a few steps away, his hand was trembling so badly that he could barely hang onto the knife.
Perhaps that was why Harry found it so easy to disarm him. The knife flew up into the air just before Harry summoned it. "Go home, girl," Harry hissed. She just stood there, too scared to even move. When he grabbed her by the arm and guided her away from the man, she seemed to come to her senses. She gasped and began running for the alley's entrance. After watching her go for a second, Harry wasn't in the mood to make any threats or clever quips. He just pushed the knife deep into the man's belly. Harry watched with satisfaction as his eyes bulged out when the blade went hilt deep. Giving him a violent shove, the man fell back and hit the hard ground. His quivering hand reached for the protruding blade, but he didn't dare pull it out.
High up above, Hawkeye was still waiting.
Chapter 2
Fury raised his one good eye as he watched the recording provided by Agent Barton. The part where the lights were suddenly sucked into a small device was what really caught his attention.
"I switched on the night vision mode, but they were hidden at the end of the alley. There was no way that I could get a good view without getting made," Barton defended himself when nothing more could be seen until a figure of a woman ran out of the alley and down the street. After that, the lights suddenly turned back on which immediately washed out the recording. The screen went white until the night vision mode was turned off. After a moment, the figure came out of the alley and walked toward a white van. The camera shook and Barton explained.
"I hit the van with one of our mini magnetic trackers." Fury nodded. Not long after, the recording stopped. Fury got up and began pacing back and forth through the SHIELD-owned apartment. Fury had moved the Helicarrier off of the east coast to be closer to the investigation. When Barton filled him in, Fury high-tailed it to the city to hear it for himself.
"One of our junior agents tracked the woman and picked her up. She wasn't much help," Barton told him.
"What about the guy in the alley? The one attacking her," Fury clarified.
"I got to him in time. He's facing several surgeries and a long, painful recovery."
"And a long prison sentence once that's done," Fury smiled to himself. Putting scum in prison always brightened his days. Before he could even ask, Barton held up a piece of paper. Fury snatched and read the address. Already knowing who's address it was, he instead asked, "Is someone keeping an eye on it?"
"Of course," Barton responded. "Agent Miller."
"Good. I'll contact him myself," Fury told him. Now that his job was done, Barton followed Fury back to the Helicarrier to await his next mission.
Magically Marvelous
Harry leaned over and grabbed his beer. He scowled when he felt that it wasn't ice cold anymore. He funneled his magic through his palm and smiled when the condensation on the outside of the glass bottle began to frost. He took a long pull from the half-empty bottle and burped when he placed it down. He then went back to work.
He had recently purchased the fastest motorcycle that he could find. His new Kawasaki ZX-14R had cost a pretty penny, but he really didn't have anything else to spend his savings on. Being fast was great and all, but Harry thought that the bike deserved so much more. Plus, Harry was a man that loved to fix things and tinker with stuff that didn't need fixing. Once he brought it home, he placed it in his warehouse and immediately began to add enchantments to it. The first thing he did was change the horrid Slytherin green color to jet black. After that, he began by adding everything that the old Knight Bus had had. That had taken a while. After all, Harry was just one man working from memory, and the Knight Bus had likely been created by a team of Masters over several years. When he had gotten those to work, Harry started adding the things that Sirius's old bike used to have. This was certainly tricky.
Harry tapped his wand and the Dragonfire Booster immediately let out a belch of billowing, putrid black smoke before sputtering dead. Harry waved his hand in front of his face as he coughed violently. This was going to take some time, he thought to himself. In his previous world, he took possession of his former godfather's motorcycle after it had been wrecked. Arthur Weasley had taught him a great deal about enchanting muggle artifacts. Harry often wondered why he didn't get a job with an enchanting firm. He could have made way more money than working at the Ministry. Harry guessed that he just really loved muggle junk. Some of that certainly rubbed off on Harry. He always tried to figure out if something he owned could be upgraded in some way. Over the years, he branched out and began making his own magical items, like his copy of Dumbledore's deluminator or Put-Outer if you will. Ron owned the original and even passed it down the line, turning it into a Weasley family heirloom, much like Harry's invisibility cloak. Sometimes he missed his old cloak. He had had some good times with that thing.
Shaking his head to snap himself out of the daze that he was in, he went back to work on his bike. He wanted it ready by the following month. It was just ending summer, and Harry wanted to take a drive up to Maine before winter hit. He was planning to stop at as many antique shops as possible to stock up on items that he could repair and resell. His stock was beginning to dwindle. That was both a blessing and a curse. It was bad because he had fewer things to sell, but it was good because that meant that he was selling stuff almost as fast as he put it online. People raved about his ability to find antiques that were in near-perfect shape. Of course, he charged a premium for such quality. If people only knew, he thought to himself as he drank the rest of his beer and began weaving more spells into the booster pack. Another hour had passed before he heard a loud knocking on his shop's door. This surprised him.
Since the shop was closed for the night, he didn't expect anyone to turn up. This had only happened a handful of times in the past. All of them were because someone needed something repaired right away. Thinking that this was what it was, Harry stepped out of the warehouse and touched the blood rune, turning it back into a bathroom. Walking up to the front door, he opened it and saw the face of a very pretty redheaded woman. Her eyes were big and beautiful, and her lips were full and very kissable in his opinion. She bore an innocent expression on her face. Still, Harry wasn't swayed by a pretty face. He was way too old for that. "Can I help you, miss?"
A slight smile played on her soft-looking lips. "I very much hope so," she replied in a voice that was somewhat deep for a female. Even so, it was smokey and pleasant to the ear. "I'm sorry to come knocking when you're closed, but I'm in a bit of a jam," she told him. She walked right past him and into his shop without even being invited in. Harry held back a snort of amusement. 'Perhaps she's a girl who always gets what she wants,' Harry thought as her heels clacked against the smooth concrete floor.
"I just moved into an apartment down the street earlier today, and the furniture store called at the last minute saying the mattress that I ordered won't be delivered until next week. Obviously, I can't sleep on the floor!" she declared.
"Obviously," Harry smiled and crossed his arms, waiting for her to finish.
"I saw online that you have a brand new king-sized mattress and box spring for sale," she said, walking up closer to him. He noticed that she smelled really good. Harry nodded.
"Still has the plastic on it." Harry had bought a selection of mattresses from a shop that went out of business down in Jersey. He got them for dirt cheap since he had to go down there and pick them up. It was nothing that a Confundus and a few Shrinking Charms didn't fix. He had one last King mattress set left.
"I was hoping that you could deliver it to my place tonight," she bit her lower lip sexily and gave him a sultry look. It was clear that she wasn't above using her good looks and raw sexuality to get what she wanted. Far be it from him to be the first to deny her. Besides, he wasn't busy and was glad to get rid of the last of the mattresses.
"I suppose I can," he smirked. She smiled and pulled her wallet from her expensive purse. She handed him the money along with a piece of paper with her address, name, and phone number.
"I'll deliver it within the hour, Miss … Rushman," he said, reading the note.
"You can call me Natalie," she smiled saucily as she walked to the door. "I'll see you in a bit. Thanks a lot!" she called out happily and walked out of his shop. Harry wasn't too proud to admit that he checked her ass out as she walked to the door. She was wearing a tight, white blouse and a gray pencil skirt that ended right above the knee. The skirt was tight enough to accentuate her wide hips. The way that those hips swayed when she walked easily drew his attention. Her sheer sexiness reminded him that it had been a while since he had taken a woman to bed. He would need to remedy that soon, he deliberated as the door shut behind her. Once she was gone, Harry went back into his warehouse, pulled the mattress set out, and packed it in his van.
Magically Marvelous
She was correct when she said that it was just down the road. It was only two blocks until he pulled up to her building. He knew it well. It was a building that he had passed hundreds of times. He knew for a fact that the apartments there were priced higher than others in the area due to the building being more modern. He parked as close to the front entrance as he could and pulled out his smartphone. Dialing her number, he sat there and waited as it rang a few times before she answered.
"Hello?"
"Natalie? This is Harry Potter. I'm downstairs with your mattress," he told her.
"Wonderful! I'll be right down!"
"Thanks. Bye," Harry replied.
"Bye," she said before hanging up. Harry got out of the van and went around back. He opened the double doors and pulled out the pillow-top mattress. He added magic to it so that it was feather-light. There was no way that he'd be able to get it up to her apartment without the Lightening Charm. It was large, awkward-shaped, and weighed over one hundred and fifty pounds. Leaving the box spring inside of the van, he closed the door and locked it. He only had to wait another minute before she came down and met him.
"That's really big," she said, eyeing the size of the mattress. "It should fit in the elevator though," she told him.
"That's good," Harry grunted as if the mattress was heavy. "Lead the way!"
"Do you need help?" she asked, eyeing the size of it. Harry shook his head.
"Nope. Just point me in the right direction."
Natalie led the way and held the front door open for him. When they reached the large service elevator, Harry easily wrestled it in. Natalie joined him and pressed the button for the top floor. 'She definitely has money,' he told himself. Top floors were almost always the most expensive to stay on.
"You must be really strong," Natalie said, eyeing him up. "You barely even struggled to lift this thing," she said, giving the side a soft kick with her high-heeled foot.
"I work out," he teased playfully as she chuckled.
"That's good to know," she replied as the elevator binged and stopped. The doors slid open, and Harry let her get out first. He walked after her, holding the large bed. She walked up to her door and inserted the key. As the door opened, she led him inside and to her bedroom. Just as she said, there was barely anything in the apartment. It still had the smell of being industrially cleaned by a professional company. "You can put it on the floor right there," she pointed at the ground in the middle of the room. "The bed frame and headboard should arrive tomorrow."
Instead of placing it on the floor, he rested it against the wall and removed his magic from it. "I have to bring up the box spring," he told her.
"Oh, yeah! I almost forgot," she said smoothly. They went back outside, and he quickly brought it up like the other. Once inside, he removed the plastic protective covering and set it on the floor. He did the same with the mattress, placing it on top of the box spring. Natalie sat down on the mattress and bounced on her butt a few times to test the softness. She smiled at him. "Perfect!" she chirped happily.
"Glad you like it. Well … I need to get going so …"
Natalie stood up. "You know, if you came over tomorrow and helped me set up the frame, I'd be very grateful. I might even offer something that's hot and steamy," she seductively said while her fingers gently played with the side of her own neck.
"Oh? And what might that be, Miss Rushman?" Harry smiled, amused at her behavior.
"Pizza, of course," she smiled innocently. Harry chuckled.
"Give me a call when you need some help. I'll see what I can do," he told her while looking over his shoulder as he walked away. She gave him a little wave as he left her apartment and went home.
Natasha waited around ten minutes to make sure that he wouldn't be coming back. When he didn't, she used her second smartphone with layers of encryption to call her boss.
"Tell me something good," Fury said in place of a proper greeting.
"The plan worked perfectly. I bought the mattress and convinced him to deliver it," she explained. "I tried lifting it myself. It's very heavy, but he was able to move it with ease," Natasha reported.
"Enhanced strength?" Fury asked.
"Possibly. I'm not sure yet. He's pleasant enough to talk to. He didn't flirt or act overly sexual, and he didn't try to overstay his welcome."
"Description," Fury ordered.
"Six foot three … give or take an inch. Dark black hair and piercing green eyes. In fact, they're the greenest eyes that I've ever seen, almost like high-quality emeralds. He looked well built without being bulky …"
"Like a fighter?" Fury asked her opinion. Natasha nodded even though he couldn't see her gesture.
"Fighter or an athlete."
"Anything else?"
"He has a British accent," Natasha said. "I'm supposed to see him again tomorrow, so hopefully I'll have more to report."
"Very well. Keep me informed," he said before the phone cut off. Natasha rolled her eyes, not even expecting a "goodnight" from him. She went to her bedroom and flopped back onto her new bed. She needed to plan for the next day.
Magically Marvelous
"Move it, Asshole!" Harry yelled as he stuck his head out of the window of his van. The cab in front of him was taking its sweet time after picking up a fare. He was probably juicing the meter without wasting gas to do so. Annoying cabbies were just one of the things that he had to deal with when going on his nightly drives while looking for discarded treasures.
"Make me, Cocksucker!" Harry heard the man yell out from his cab. This made Harry's eye twitch. A younger man would have probably looked the other way and just laughed it off. Harry, however, was old and tired of dealing with other people's shit. He was trying hard not to go over there to show him the error of his ways. Instead, Harry politely pressed his horn and let it blare loudly and annoyingly. When the cabbie got out of the car and began walking toward him, Harry actually felt excited.
"Listen here, assho…"
His insult was cut off as Harry reached through the window and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. The cabbie's shirt must have been too tight because instantly, his eyes began to bulge.
"GEEEUGGGGH!" he choked out.
"I'm sorry. I didn't catch that. Did you say you'd like to go for a ride? Well, okay then," Harry smiled and let his foot off of the break. The van began to roll. The man was choking and panicking as he walked along the side of the van. Harry swerved around the back of the cab and aimed right for the cab's open door. He didn't bother stopping as the front of his van hit the door and began to bend it backward. A loud metallic ripping sound told him that the door had likely been torn clean off.
"GUUUUUGGGFF!" the unpleasant man forced out as his face turned redder and redder.
"Go faster? Strange request, but I'm nothing if not accommodating," Harry chuckled and pressed the accelerator just a tad. The engine roared, and the van began to move faster. The cabbie was really panicking now. He reached up and tried to wrestle Harry's hand away from his collar. His legs were struggling to keep up as Harry's van accelerated. After another few seconds, he was running alongside the van. Harry could see the sweat beading on his semi-bald head.
"Have you learned your lesson yet?" Harry asked as he drove down the backstreet. The cabbie nodded furiously. "Good. Have a wonderful night," Harry said as he stomped on the gas right before letting go of his collar. Harry smiled happily as he looked in his side mirror and saw the man rolling along the street. He sighed as he moved to another location to avoid the law. Harry knew himself all too well. Even though he didn't act like a hero anymore, the want and need for excitement were still there. There were times when he would try and subtly pick a fight with some nasty person just to feel that thrill again. No matter how old or jaded he got, that need for adventure never went away. He just hoped that it wouldn't lead to him doing something stupid in the future.
Chapter 3
That night, Harry went to sleep with a smile on his face while thinking about the road rage cab driver that he had taken on a ride. The following day was more of the same. He made his deliveries in the morning and worked until the late afternoon. It was around six when Natalie called him.
"This doesn't look too bad," Harry said as he looked it over. "Just the frame, sideboards, and headboard. I should get this done in no time," he told her confidently. She rewarded his confidence with a pretty smile.
"Then I'll just order our pizza," she told him as she walked out of the bedroom. Harry saw that some of her new furniture had come during the day. There was still plenty that she needed, but she would have enough to live comfortably until the rest was filled out. Opening the boxes, Harry got to work.
Magically Marvelous
"You're a handy man to have around," Natalie told him as she tossed her half-eaten piece of pizza into the box. They were both sitting on the floor in the living room since her couch or kitchen table hadn't been delivered yet. She lifted her arms behind her head and arched her back, moaning as she stretched. Harry's eyes glanced downward as the hem of her t-shirt lifted, exposing her smooth belly. She was wearing a short pair of shorts that offered a great view of her sexy legs.
"I live to serve," Harry replied, checking the time. "I need to head out. Gotta make my nightly run," he told her. He had explained about going out every night to search for stuff to fix. She had told him that she was a consultant for a security firm. Judging by the way that she carried herself, he believed it. She was in great physical shape. They both stood up, and she walked him to the door.
"Thanks for helping me out," she smiled at him when they stopped at the door.
"Thanks for the pizza," he smiled back.
"How about we hang out again sometime soon? It'll be nice to have a friend in the area," she tilted her head cutely.
"Sure thing. Just call or stop by whenever you want," he told her as she opened the door for him.
"Will do," he heard her say as he walked out of the apartment. "Goodnight, Harry."
"Goodnight, Natalie," he said as the door closed. He heard her lock the door before fixing the door chain. Harry didn't bother waiting around like some lovestruck teenager. As soon as the door was secured, he was on his way out. Even though he wasn't the type to develop crushes anymore, he still liked the girl well enough. And like she stated, it would be nice to have a friend nearby. It had been a long time since Harry considered anyone a real friend.
Later that night, his drive was interrupted when he spotted several men beating the shit out of another man. The victim was on the ground as the group repeatedly kicked him. "What the fuck is up with this town?" Harry asked as he pulled over. He didn't even get out of his van. Instead, he held out his hand and fired a Repelling Charm through the open passenger side window. The group of idiots were blasted back and slammed into the side of a building. Groaning, they picked themselves up and hobbled away. Sighing, Harry got out of the van to check if the guy was okay.
"You alright there?" Harry asked as he knelt down to check the man. Much to his surprise, the man shapeshifted into what he could only describe as the Devil. He smiled back wickedly.
"I certainly am," he said in a sing-song voice and swung his hand. Lights flashed behind Harry's eyes as the hand connected with his face. Harry flew backward and slammed into his van so hard that the entire side was caved in. He dropped to the ground like a sack of dirt. He was barely coming to when he was lifted up. Harry blinked away the daze.
"What the fuck are you?" he asked, clearly in pain.
"Mephisto, the Master of Magic. It's nice to finally meet you, Harry Potter," he said politely. He swung his mighty fist only for it to meet the side of Harry's van. Harry reappeared behind him. Holding out his hand, Harry shot golden flames at the red-skinned being's unprotected back. Harry was shocked when his back morphed into his front, and he was able to block the flames with a powerful shield. Once Harry stopped shooting flames at him, he had no time to react when Mephisto's arm stretched as if it was made of rubber. It closed the distance in the blink of an eye and slammed into Harry's face. Again, Harry was on his back in a daze.
"I've been fascinated by you, Harry. I've been watching you for a long time … in both of your worlds," he happily dropped the bombshell on him. For Harry's part, he had other things to worry about. "However, lately, you've been a bit of a bore. That's why I've been ramping up the violent tendencies of the people around here. I've been trying to get you back into your old ways … but you've been so resistant!" he cried out and stomped on Harry's leg, snapping the bone. Harry screamed in pain.
"I have so little fun in my life! Your life has been my favorite soap opera since my creation, and YOU'RE TAKING IT AWAY FROM ME!" his voice boomed as he picked Harry up and threw him against the wall. "What's it going to take to turn you back into the hero you once were? Perhaps I'll burn down an orphanage," he said smoothly as he grabbed Harry by the collar and picked him up to eye level. Mephisto shapeshifted into an exact replica of Harry's mother.
"Perhaps I'll travel to another reality and violate your mother over and over again," he giggled as Harry stiffened and clenched his hands into fists. He stopped giggling when several gunshots ripped into his back. Dropping a rage-induced Harry onto the ground, Mephisto turned and saw a pretty, redheaded human pointing a gun at him. "How cute."
Magically Marvelous
"Turn right," Natasha heard over her earpiece as she zipped along the road on her electric motorcycle. Staying silent was the key. She was being guided by a colleague that was tracking Harry's van. "Turn your lights off and turn left. He's parked just down the road."
Natasha did what she was told. Turning off her headlight, she turned left down a side street and spotted Harry's van. She saw several people running away and another man on the ground in pain. Parking some distance away so as to not get seen, she watched and waited. Harry walked up to the man only to get slammed into the side of his van. Natasha actually gasped in shock from the brutality of it. His body hit the side of the van so hard that it was rocking back and forth. The sound was as loud as a gunshot. In fact, she was so shocked that she didn't take action until Harry was already getting pummeled.
She had no idea what she was looking at as she got off her bike and ran at them. The being was tall and muscular with blood-red skin and a ragged black cape. She couldn't believe her eyes when his body morphed into that of a pretty woman. Deciding to shoot first and ask questions later, she pulled her gun and began firing into its back. She wasn't expecting him to turn around as if the gunshots didn't bother him. "How cute," he said in slight annoyance. Within the blink of an eye, he was back into his devilish form and was standing right in front of her. He snatched the gun from her hands with such force that Natasha fell back onto her bottom. She tried scooting back as fast as possible, but it was too late. He was already pointing her own gun at her. "Now it's my turn," he smiled wickedly.
Natasha shivered violently … but it wasn't out of fear. She had been in life or death situations a hundred times over. No, she was shivering from the unworldly freeze that had just descended on them. Her skin goosebumped and her breath turned to fog. The ground beneath them began to freeze over. The red being turned to see a black-cloaked figure growing in front of him. It didn't stop until it was at least nine feet tall. She couldn't see what it looked like because of the hood it was wearing and the shadow covering its face. His long black cloak was tattered and torn and was billowing even though there was very little wind. Natasha trembled violently when it let out the unearthly clacking of a death rattle. It lifted up its hand and showed them its palm. It was a maelstrom of black energy somehow giving off white light.
"Impossible!" she heard the red being whisper. That was all he said before he was grabbed by the throat. Natasha winced when she heard the cracking of bones while the red man thrashed around, kicking his feet. When a lance made of the same black energy ripped through the red man's back, she came to her senses and scrambled backward before getting to her feet. Suddenly, the devilish man disappeared, leaving only the cloaked figure. Natasha saw her gun hit the ground, and for a moment, she thought about diving for it. Sadly, it was right at the cloaked man's feet. As if her day wasn't strange enough, the cloaked figure began to shrink and morphed into none other than Harry Potter. Natasha wanted to kick herself for forgetting about him during the chaos. He was her prime objective after all. Once back in his human form, he dropped down to his knees, holding his arm. The black energy suddenly snuffed itself out, leaving his arm fried all the way up to the elbow. Harry cried out in severe pain as Natasha ran over to him. She nearly gagged when she saw that his flesh was bubbling in some places and completely crispy in others. Harry passed out from the pain.
Magically Marvelous
Harry's eyes fluttered open. It took a moment to remember what had happened. An ugly red guy … threats to his mother … and then blinding rage.
"Goddammit," he mumbled. Looking at his bandaged hand only verified it for him. He had changed again. Sighing, he closed his eyes for a moment to re-center himself. He only changed during periods of incredible anger or stress. Thankfully, those moments were few and far between. The last time he had changed was before he even came to this world. He looked around confused.
He was in Natalie's apartment … but he didn't remember a hospital bed being in there. There definitely wasn't medical machinery used to keep track of a patient's vital signs. Pulling wires and tubes from his arms, he began ripping off the bandage on his arm.
"Hey! Stop!" someone cried out. He looked over and saw someone dressed in a doctor's coat coming toward him. "Your arm is in … perfect shape?" he finished confused when Harry held up his arm and showed him perfectly smooth skin underneath the torn, medicated gauze.
"Who are you and where is Natalie?" Harry asked, getting to his feet unsteadily. He blinked rapidly as the blood rush made his head a bit dizzy. He also noticed that things were a bit breezy in the backyard. Looking down, he saw that he was wearing a hospital gown. "And where the fuck are my pants?" he glowered at the man.
"Well … I … um …" the man stuttered.
"Nice ass," a voice from behind startled him. Harry jumped in surprise and turned around, only to see Natalie smirking at him.
"Thanks, but it has a crack in it," Harry replied, unable to stop himself despite the serious situation.
"For god's sake!" she huffed and rolled her eyes. She grabbed Harry by the hand and began pulling him to her room. "That will be all, Doctor!" she called out over her shoulder. When the door shut behind him, she turned to face him.
"Would you mind telling me what the hell happened last night?" she raised an eyebrow at him while crossing her arms over her ample chest.
"Why don't you first tell me who the hell you really are and what I'm doing here?" he countered, not in the mood for games.
"Her name is Natasha … and she's an operative of SHIELD. My name's Fury, Director of SHIELD," a voice rang out as the door opened. In came a dark-skinned man wearing a black, leather coat and an eyepatch. "We brought you back here to patch you up."
Harry looked at Natasha who didn't look even the slightest bit repentant that she had been duping him. "SHIELD?"
"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division," he explained.
When Harry looked at Natasha and raised his own eyebrow, she said, "We catch bad guys."
"And as Natasha said, you've got some explaining to do," Fury said as he sat in a chair and crossed his leg.
"What exactly do I have to explain?" Harry asked, wondering how much they saw.
"For starters … Who was the devil-looking guy that was fully intent on beating you senseless?"
"I honestly don't know. He said that his name was Mephisto. This is the first I've ever seen or heard of him," Harry answered truthfully. "Have you been looking for him or something?"
"We've never heard of him either," Natasha told him.
"Now … would you mind explaining how you turned into a giant ass grim reaper-looking mother-fucker?" Fury asked as he rested his hands on his knee. Harry sighed.
"You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"I would if it's the truth," Fury replied. Harry decided to just lay it out. They had already seen everything anyway. If he really wanted or needed to in the future, he could always remove their memories of the entire situation. They both sat there and listened to Harry tell an abridged story of how he came to be there. He certainly wasn't going to tell them about the tragic details of his life. The less they knew the better. But who knew? Maybe he could end up with people with whom he didn't have to hide what he really was.
"So you can do magic?" Fury asked.
"Yes."
"And you're nearing three hundred years old?"
"Yes."
"And you came to this world through a gateway activated by a magic stone?"
"Yes."
"And the stone is also the reason why you sometimes change into the big reaper thing?"
"Dementor … Yes," Harry corrected him.
"Is it also why your hand was glowing, and why your arm was injured?" Natasha asked.
"Yeah. It possesses a lot of power. Too much for my body to safely withstand. If I use too much … Well, you've seen what it did to my arm," Harry explained.
"Can we see this stone?" Fury asked. Harry shrugged. They watched as he held up his hand, palm up. It began glowing with the same light as last night. Harry reached into his palm and pulled out the small, black stone. Once out, he nonchalantly tossed it to Fury. He caught it and held it up to his good eye. "These scratch marks … Are they the symbol you were talking about?"
"Deathly Hallow. Yeah," Harry answered. "Frankly, I don't believe in those old children's tales. I'm not sure what the stone actually is, but I'm sure that it was never meant for humans to play with."
"Would you mind if we run some tests on it? Try and detect what kind of energy it's giving off and such?" Natasha asked.
"I'd have to be there," Harry told her. She smiled saucily at him.
"Afraid we might steal it?" she teased. Harry chuckled.
"It wouldn't matter if you did. It always appears back inside of my hand within a few hours of removing it. I can't count the number of times that I've thrown it into a lake or ocean. I even threw it into an active volcano once," Harry shook his head. The damn thing had caused him nothing but trouble.
"Interesting," Fury rubbed his chin. "How would you like a job?"
"I already have a job," Harry reminded him.
"Ah yes. Digging through garbage," Fury nodded. "As rewarding as that sounds, I'm offering you a better job."
"I happen to enjoy my job," Harry snorted. "What's so good about this one?"
"I'm sure it pays better for one. I can also get you some legal IDs and an actual citizenship," Fury went on.
"And what would I have to do?" Harry asked, crossing his arms.
"Right now? Not a whole lot. You're not trained to be an operative. I'm sure we can find some uses for you, and if you decide that you want to do something a bit more exciting … well then, we can get you trained for that kind of stuff."
"What do you think about the job?" Harry asked Natasha who was standing there waiting.
"It has its ups and downs. Personally, I like the excitement," she told him truthfully. Harry sighed.
"Very well. I guess I can still do my normal work on the side."
In truth, Harry was actually more jazzed up than he looked. The fight with the crazy red guy brought back a whole lot of memories of more exciting times. He still wasn't sure about trying to be some kind of hero, but beating the shit out of bad guys was something that he had grown to enjoy. The thought of being paid to do it was enough to catch his attention. If he didn't like it, he could always tell them to fuck off.
"Excellent!" Fury said, standing up. "Got any questions?"
"Yeah," Harry replied. "Where are my pants?"
Chapter 4
Harry sniffed the air and nodded in satisfaction. A successful placement of an enchantment always smelled like ozone to him. He was back in his shop, hiding away in the warehouse section while finishing his newest toy. Seeing as how people were starting to figure out what he was, he figured that it would be a good idea to be able to remove their memories properly.
Harry technically could do this himself, but in truth, he had always been crap at mind magic. His skills were barely passable at Occlumency. His skills in Legilimency were beyond pathetic, and he was mediocre at Obliviation. He could remove memories in a pinch, but he wouldn't trust himself doing it to someone he cared about. Holding up his newest item and examining it, he hoped that this would solve his problem.
It was a metal object about the size and shape of a pen, only a little fatter. It was made from the purest silver that Harry could find since silver was good at holding enchantments. On the front were two buttons. Above the top button was a small window that hid a dial. The dial held three different numbers … ten, twenty, and thirty. These were the number of minutes that would be Obliviated from the target's mind. Pressing the top button would cause the dial to spin to the next number. Pressing and holding the bottom button would cause two thin and straight arms to flip up from the sides, creating a T-shape. Holding the button would siphon ambient magic from the environment into the two arms and charge the enchantments. It would take about three seconds from the moment the button was held before the charge went off. It probably wouldn't be useful in battle, Harry thought to himself. He pressed the top button multiple times, hearing a clicking sound each time. He watched as the numbers continuously changed from ten to twenty to thirty with every click of the button. Satisfied that that part worked properly, he next needed to test the rest of it. For that, he needed a guinea pig.
There was no way that he would test this on himself. The reasons were obvious. Harry didn't want to toot his own horn, but he considered himself too important to risk. Besides, there was a whole city full of scumbags right outside his front door. He smiled to himself and grabbed his keys.
The good news for him was that by living in a city the size of New York, Harry could quickly find someone doing something that they shouldn't have been. As he slowly drove down one of the many side streets, he spotted what he was looking for.
"Perfect," he said out loud when he spotted multiple crackheads going in and out of a particular darkened alley. After going in, they left with much more exuberance … like they were in a rush to get home. Focusing his magic into his eyes, they burned green as his vision cut through the dark night. Peering into the alley, he saw a man hiding in the shadows, dealing small bags of crack rocks to anyone willing to pay. He cut the magic flow to his eyes and smiled deviously. "Bingo," Harry happily said as he got out of his van. Walking into the alley, he patiently waited in line behind a very skinny, middle-aged man who was either tweaking or was just a very itchy person. After receiving his purchase, the man bolted for the alley exit. Harry stepped up.
"Whatchoo need?"
"Hmmm," Harry hummed, tapping his chin in deep thought. Behind him, a line of impatient crackheads was forming.
"Man, hurry your ass up. I ain't got all day," the dealer replied in an annoyed voice.
"Fine!" Harry huffed, annoyed at being rushed. "I would like to purchase one marijuana cigarette, my good man."
"Oooohhh!" a high-pitched, warbling, male voice from behind him cried out. "He's a narc, baby!"
"What the fu…" the dealer yelped as he reached for his piece. Harry snatched the gun from his hand and punched him hard in the gut. As the dealer folded over while struggling to breathe, Harry reached into the man's pocket and pulled out a handful of crack bags. He tossed them up in the air.
"Free crack for one and all! Merry Christmas!" Harry cheered as the crackheads dove to the ground, snatching up every bag that they could reach.
"And a Happy New Year to you, baby!" the crackhead with the high-pitched voice called back as he scampered off with as much crack as he could get his hands on. Meanwhile, Harry dragged the gasping dealer out of the alley and tossed him into the back of his van. Harry stunned him before hopping into the driver's seat.
"Is there a reason why you decided to resort to kidnapping?" the sensuous voice of Natasha hit his ears, making him jump and yelp. He saw her smirking at him from the passenger seat.
"You nearly gave me a heart attack, for fuck's sake!" Harry cried out, trying to steady his breathing. Natasha didn't seem to mind.
"What's with the dealer?" she asked, looking at the unconscious man in the back.
"I needed a test subject. Don't worry, he won't be harmed," Harry said, starting the van and relocating to a different part of the city.
"For what?" she asked. He looked over and saw flashes of the city's lights continuously lighting up her pretty face.
"A new magical object that I created," he explained. He went on to tell her all about the small object resting in his pocket.
"That sounds very impressive," she said, thinking of how it would be useful to people like her.
"I ran it by Fury. He was impressed as well. In fact, he was so impressed that he obviously wanted some for SHIELD's use," Harry smiled.
"And you agreed?" she wondered. Dealing with Harry could be hit or miss when it came to his magic. There were some things that he outright refused to do.
"The price was steep, but in the end, I agreed. They'll be restricted to only the top agents in SHIELD," Harry told her.
"And what did you get out of it?" she asked him, curious.
"You remember telling me about that little beachside cottage in Tahiti that you loved going to so much during your vacation time? The one that was previously owned by SHIELD?" Harry smirked. Her eyes widened. Harry nodded.
"I also agreed to make Fury one for his personal use, along with a Deluminator. You know how he loves his toys …" Harry stopped when he saw her glaring. "Relax, Red. Fury told me that you'd be pissed, so I agreed to continue letting you use it as much as you want."
"Smart boy," she said in a slightly threatening voice. No one came between Natasha and her tropical beaches. "Back into that alley," she told him. Harry immediately put on the brakes. Stopping in the road, he threw it in reverse and backed into the alley as much as he could. Once he was in, he got out of the van and added some magical protections to the mouth of the alley to avoid being interrupted. Both he and Natasha crawled into the back of the van. Waking the man up, they spent the next ten minutes talking to the guy. At nine and a half minutes, Harry pushed and held the button.
Natasha watched as two metal rods flipped out from the sides and created a metal, capital T shape. She heard a high-pitched whining sound that was nearly missed by her ears. After a few seconds of waiting, a flash of light had her blinking away the spots in her eyes.
"What the … Who the fuck are you?" the man asked angrily as he fought against his restraints. Harry and Natasha smiled at each other. They then tested it for twenty minutes, then for thirty. Both worked as he had hoped.
"Excellent!" he cheered as the man slumped over unconscious. Harry put it back in his pocket.
"What about this guy?" she asked. Harry opened the door and hit him with a Rennervate spell. As the guy began to come to, Harry booted him out of the door. He ignored his indignant cry and pulled the rolling side door shut. He removed the protections from the mouth of the alley and drove off, leaving the drug dealer to make his own way back home.
"Did you have a reason for sneaking into my van … other than annoying me, of course?" Harry asked the red-haired temptress.
"I'm leaving on a mission tonight. I thought that you might want to tag along and learn a few things." Harry turned to look at her.
"Fury okayed it?" Harry asked. Fury wasn't keen on sending him on any SHIELD-sanctioned missions until he thought that Harry was ready. Harry didn't mind. It wasn't like he was itching to go. Even so, it would be good to learn a few things. Eventually, Harry would get bored, and taking a mission might just be the thing to get him out of his funk.
"Yep. Just cleared it with him."
"I thought that he didn't want me to learn during a high-level mission?"
"It's not a high-level mission," she corrected him. "Barely mid-level."
"You only take high-level missions," he replied suspiciously.
"Most of the time, though not always," she corrected him again.
"Are you taking a mid-level mission just so you can be the one to teach me and thereby continue to annoy me?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You know me so well," she chuckled happily as she kicked her feet up onto his dashboard. Harry huffed.
"Will the mission be exciting, at least?" he asked with exasperation.
"We're to investigate a potential arms smuggler. There's definitely potential for a shootout," she smirked. Harry sighed. He was a sucker for a good shootout.
"Fine. I'm in," he told her.
"Good. Drop me off at the apartment near yours then sort yourself out. Don't be long though … our flight leaves soon. And don't pack anything. Everything will be provided."
Harry did just that. Once back home, he dropped his van off and made sure that all his appliances were shut off. He grabbed his Deluminator and stuck it in his pocket next to his memory eraser. With that done, Harry made his way back to "Natalie's" apartment. He knocked on the door and waited while she unlocked the multiple locks.
"No clothes huh?" he asked in lieu of a greeting. "Please tell me that we'll be staying at a nudist colony," he joked as he walked in.
"Can't wait to see me naked, huh?" she joked back. "No such luck," she told him and gently kicked a suitcase that was on the floor next to a second, matching suitcase. "That one's yours. It has clothes, toiletries, money, a passport, everything that you'll need."
Harry grabbed it and hefted it onto the table. He unzipped it and pulled out his passport, which was obviously a perfect fake. He then grabbed the three, thick stacks of colorful cash and fanned one stack with his thumb. "Mexican Pesos," he said. "I guess I know where we're going." He pressed a button on his watch and the entire face flipped up, exposing a dark hole. Natasha watched as he took the stacks of cash and stuffed them into a hole that was way too small. In fact, the watch expanded to make room for the money and his entire hand. When he pulled his hand out, it was empty.
"That's pretty cool," Natasha told him, feeling more than a little jealous of his cool toys. "Any chance I can convince you to make me something similar?" she asked while opening her own suitcase.
"Anything's possible," he smiled and caught the stacks of cash from her suitcase. He stuffed those into his watch as well. He continued looking through his suitcase until he found a wallet. Looking inside, it was filled with all the normal things that a person would have. All of them were fake. It was also filled with cash. Natasha had a large handbag with her own wallet inside. He could tell that their wallets, bags, and clothes were all very expensive.
"Where exactly in Mexico are we going?" he wondered.
"Mazatlan," she said, pulling out an outfit from her suitcase. "Change into one of your new outfits and leave your normal clothes here," she told him, taking her clothes into the bedroom. Harry began stripping down.
"Never heard of it," he called out, pulling on a pair of nice, black dress pants.
"It's on the west coast of Mexico. It's a resort town with a lot of tourists. We'll blend in nicely," she called back. Thankfully, it was just past summer and was still warm enough to enjoy a trip to the beach.
Magically Marvelous
"When you said we were going to a tourist town, I figured that we'd be hitting up the beach," Harry complained as they sat on top of a skyrise hotel with a pair of binoculars. The sun was beaming down and baking his head. Harry wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"That's because you're an idiot," she responded and handed him the binoculars. "Look at the very top of that hill over there. His house is the closest to the top … the yellow one."
Harry held the binoculars to his eyes. Sure enough, he could see the house that she was talking about. He pressed a button on the side and zoomed in. "One, two, three security cameras that I can see from here."
"That means that there's probably many more," she said, taking the binoculars back and looking again.
"So what do we do? It would be easy if I used my magic, but apparently, that's cheating according to you," he snorted.
"You won't learn anything if you always use a shortcut," she wisely told him. "The first thing we need to do is go over there as tourists. We'll get a better idea of the situation." Harry nodded in agreement. They went downstairs and got a taxi. The tourist taxis in Mazatlan were these weird, pimped-out golf carts that were almost the size of a small car. The pair hopped in, and Natasha told the man where to go in Spanish. The good news was that it was a short drive to pretty much anywhere you wanted to go. As such, it didn't take long before they were driving up the winding streets of the hill. Once they were most of the way up the hill, Natasha told the man that we were getting out. Harry paid him with a handsome tip before the man happily drove away.
"FYI, never give a large tip unless there's a specific reason to. It tends to get you remembered by the workers," she instructed him as they walked hand in hand, playing the role of a couple.
"Makes sense," Harry replied. Natasha was really good at all of this stuff. After a few minutes of walking, Harry placed a Cooling Charm on them both. Natasha squeezed his hand slightly, silently thanking him. They kept on going upward, with Harry's leg muscles burning the entire way. Walking uphill was quite taxing. The hill was covered with trees and any place that wasn't was filled with a colorful house. That was one thing that Harry liked about this town. Every building was a different bright color. The houses they were passing were all made in the Spanish style. Each one was fairly large. They weren't big compared to the mansions in the United States, but they were big compared to the other houses in the city. Once they got to the highest house, she told him to push the button on the side of his sunglasses to start recording. She did the same.
They were wearing expensive-looking sunglasses that held hidden cameras. As they stood there recording the entire front of the house, they gestured and talked about the lovely architecture of the old house. When she had seen enough, they started walking back downhill. Seeing a large bush along the way, Harry pulled her into it and apparated them both back to their hotel room. Immediately, Natasha went for her laptop. She opened it up and turned it on. Removing the micro memory cards from their sunglasses, she plugged them into the computer and started going over the footage.
"Five security cameras in front. There will definitely be others in the back and sides."
At some point, they spotted someone sneakily peeking between the side of the window and the curtain. "Is that the guy?" Harry asked. Natasha hit rewind and stopped it on the correct frame.
"It doesn't look like it. He might be security. SHIELD thinks that he's getting ready to meet up with some serious buyers in the coming days."
"Any idea who's buying?" Harry asked as she hit play.
"None. That's the next part of our mission. We're to stay until the meeting has occurred. We need to keep the area under constant surveillance. A second, larger team is in town keeping track of the airports and the town in general. Of course, SHIELD is doing its best to find out any scrap of information. If they find anything, it'll be passed on to us," Natasha told him. Harry nodded and grabbed a large bag that SHIELD had placed in their room. He opened it up to see a slew of wireless surveillance cameras and other high-tech toys that they could use to their advantage. Harry thought that the first step should be to lace the hillside with as many of these cameras as possible.
"I know what you're thinking … and you're right," Natasha smiled. "That will have to wait until we're under the cover of darkness though.
I guess that gives us some free time," he said.
"I'm not putting on a bikini and going to the beach with you," she said with no emotion as she continued studying the tape.
"Goddamnit!"
Natasha smiled when he cursed.
Chapter 5
"No beach, no bikini, no titties …" he mumbled as beads of sweat rolled from his hairline, down his cheeks, and onto his neck. Even past midnight, it was hot and humid. "What's the point of being the real-life James Bond if you're not allowed to chase women?"
When Harry had been a kid and watched the old James Bond movies, he always imagined himself doing what the famous spy did. He laid on his little mattress in the cramped confines of the cupboard under the stairs and dreamed of going on dangerous and exciting missions. He dreamed that it was him walking on the beach when a bikini-clad woman accidentally water skied into his arms. He dreamed of shootouts and high-tech toys that could get him out of any sticky situation. The movies promised him a life of high-stakes international intrigue with tons of women desperate to sleep with him.
"Well that was a fucking lie," he mumbled quietly as he gripped the trunk of a palm tree with his legs while he attached a wireless camera high up in the air. To make matters worse, there was a sea breeze blowing in from the Pacific which was making the thin-trunked trees sway back and forth dangerously. "Probably why she gave me this particular job," he grumbled.
It was his job to place cameras high up in the trees to get a good top-down view of the streets surrounding the yellow house on the top of the hill. Natasha was finding suitable places to place them down on the ground. "I never saw James Bond doing this!" he grunted as he relaxed his grip and slid down the trunk. He winced as his crotch and thighs took a beating from the harsh friction.
"Sorry, Harry, but there's no Pussy Galore in your future," Natasha's teasing voice crackled over his earpiece. Harry glared.
"Have you been listening in this whole time?" he asked.
"Of course. It's been very amusing listening to you complain like a little girl," she answered.
"I'm not complaining! But is it too much to ask for one evil, sexy woman to seduce me for vital information?" he asked incredulously.
"News flash, but James Bond isn't real," she chuckled. "Are you done placing them?" she asked over their highly encoded communication device.
"Yeah. Just finished," he responded.
"Good. Meet me at the foot of the hill," she told him without saying anything more. Harry sighed and snuck down the hill. Wearing all black in the middle of the night kept him from being spotted. Once he was back at their meeting area, they went back behind a large bush where their bag was hidden. They quickly removed their black clothes in the darkness of the night and put on their normal clothes. When they were done, they kicked the bag further into the bush. It would be retrieved soon after by their backup team. Side by side they walked away from the hill. Harry pulled out a device from his pocket and clicked the button. A ball of light flew from his Deluminator and relit the darkened streetlight.
"You really need to make me one of those," she told him as she threaded her arm through his, playing the part of a couple on vacation.
Magically Marvelous
Harry's eyes fluttered open, and he yawned. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he looked to the side and saw that the spot next to him was empty. Just then, Natasha came out of the bathroom wearing her normal sleep attire during their time together. Harry had to admit, she looked incredible. The panties she wore were small enough to accentuate her womanly curves, but not so small as to show everything she had to offer. She turned around to dig inside the dresser drawer, and Harry saw that the back of her panties was riding up her ass, showing most of her jutting cheeks. When she turned back around, he got a good view of her front. She was wearing her very thin camisole top which looked to be made of silk. It was loose enough to show a decent amount of cleavage when she leaned forward. The best part, in Harry's horny opinion, was that it did nothing to hide the fact that her nipples were hard. She liked having the AC on full blast at night to which Harry wholeheartedly agreed. It was much more comfortable to be cold and wrap yourself in a blanket rather than be too hot. The mornings were always a bit chilly.
Not bothering to hand out a perverted comment about her lovely form, instead, Harry got out of bed and went into the bathroom to pee and brush his teeth. "Have you heard anything from the other team?" he called out loudly through the door.
"Not yet," he heard Natasha answer. "They've been watching the camera feeds all night and haven't seen anything suspicious."
Harry nodded even though there was no one there to see him. "Looks like we have some time off," she added. Harry smiled.
"The beach?" he called out.
"Fine," she huffed.
"Yes!" He pumped his fist in a Billy Idol-esque fashion.
Just as he suspected, Natasha looked amazing in a teeny bikini. She looked even better when she was rubbing sunblock all over herself. There were quite a few people enjoying the sun and surf. It was the waning days of tourist season for the city, but enough were still there to keep things exciting. Natasha's curvy body certainly was keeping things exciting enough. Harry noticed that most male eyes in the area were pointed in her direction. Harry rolled his eyes. Yes, Natasha was very attractive, but it wasn't like she was the only woman around. These men were acting like horny schoolchildren.
"Rub this on my back, love," Natasha smiled sexily at him while laying on her front. Harry nearly tripped over his feet while trying to grab the bottle from her. At the moment, he was very happy to play the part of her boyfriend. She had explained to him that sometimes, while on an undercover mission, you needed to be seen acting in a way that supported your cover story. She and Harry were supposed to be a couple on vacation. It only made sense that they should be seen out and about doing the things that couples would normally do.
Suddenly, a wicked idea came to him. Smiling deviously, he squirted a big glob of the sunblock onto his palm and started to work it into the soft, smooth skin of her back. He concentrated and used a small portion of the power of the stone in his hand. He molded and shaped that power in a way that only he had ever been able to do. He still remembered when Hermione had talked to him about it.
A Very Long Time Ago
"So there's nothing we can do about the changing?" Harry asked his best friend desperately. Despite Harry appearing to be in his early to mid-thirties, Hermione appeared to be in her late forties.
"I only have a hypothesis," she told him. Harry always viewed her intelligence in the same light as he did Dumbledore's. Their guesses were probably better than most people's facts. As such, he was eager to hear it.
"Anything to help fix what this damn Resurrection Stone is doing to me!" he ground out, rubbing his palm with his thumb.
"I've told you a hundred times … It's not a Resurrection Stone. I've studied it for years now. I've done research in every magical library in the world. From what I could gather, scholars think that during the creation of our universe, a number of stones were created … remnants from the earliest primeval forces. Resurrection is not a fundamental aspect of existence. Instead, I would call it the Death Stone, which would cover resurrection as well."
"I don't care what it's called, Hermione. I just care about what it's doing to me," Harry told her.
"Your stone … all of the stones really … they demand a price. The more you take, the more you must give. Remember the Tale of the Three Brothers?"
"You always said it was just a fairytale used to scare children," Harry reminded her.
"The supposed origin of the objects is ridiculous, of course, but the story itself could be seen as a warning. The brother with the stone used it excessively, and things didn't end well for him. I have a theory that instead of killing himself, the stone actually twisted him into a Dementor … the first Dementor. As the stone changed hands, others used it as well. Eventually, there were enough of them that they started breeding."
"So you're saying that every time I use it, it's sucking up power from my soul or something?" Harry asked, incredulous. She nodded. Harry felt sick to his stomach.
"I know you blame yourself for what happened," she said kindly, moving next to him and placing her hand on his. Harry threaded his fingers through hers. "But you have to stop using the stone to see them. You can't ever use it again," she warned him. With tearful eyes, Harry nodded in agreement. Hermione sighed in relief. A part of her thought that Harry wouldn't care and would continue to use the stone.
"Good. Now, I've studied your situation. You change when you get frightened or particularly worked up. Obviously, this is a problem. Your body is nearly saturated in the power of the stone, and you need to drain it. That won't make you stop changing all of the sudden, but it will slow it down. Over time, if you keep draining the power from your body and stop using the true power of the stone, then I think you'll stop changing. Or at least you won't change unless the circumstances are severe," she told him smartly.
"Okay. How do I drain the power?" Harry asked, wondering if she even knew.
"Remember how you said that you can feel the difference between your magic and the stone's power?" she asked. Harry nodded, and Hermione smiled. "Try to mix the two into one. That should continually drain the stone's power safely while giving a boost to your natural magic." Still holding his hand, she continued to try and teach him.
That had been so long ago that even Harry had trouble remembering it. He owed everything to his greatest friend, and he missed her dearly. He wouldn't lie, there were times when he really wanted to use the Death Stone again to talk to her. He never would, of course, and she forced him to promise not to on her deathbed. He would never break his final promise to her. Throughout the years, Harry learned how to mix his magic with the residual power of the stone. It made his magic incredibly potent. Sometimes, he wondered if it had a mind of its own. It would often do what he wanted with only a brief thought. So when Harry's hands glided over Natasha's gorgeous skin, and he wanted to make her feel good, he wasn't surprised when he felt her body jump.
Magically Marvelous
Natasha held in a yelp as the most pleasurable sensation that she had ever felt washed over her body. Not being ready, it completely shocked her. It was only through her years of intense training, both in the Red Room and later with SHIELD, that she didn't show an outward indication of what she was experiencing. Of course, she knew that Harry could feel her surprise … the bastard. He must have known what he was doing to her body. As his fingertips traced her spine, she was forced to use all of her willpower to not open her mouth and moan. It was impossible to describe the sensation that she was feeling. It was as if every nerve-ending in her body was being torturously teased in the naughtiest ways possible. Again, a pulse of his power washed over her. The only sign that she gave was the clenching of her hands into fists. She had never felt a full-body orgasm before. Her breathing intensified as she began to tingle from the top of her head, down to the tip of her toes. She was just about to start rubbing her thighs together when Harry mercifully stopped. Had they been alone, she probably would have smacked him before throwing him on the bed and fucking his brains out. Thankfully, they were out in public which helped her keep a cool head. "There you go, honey," she heard the bastard say in a teasing voice. Clearing her throat, she decided not to dignify his stupidity with a response. Instead, he leaned in and kissed her shoulder. "I'm going in for a swim. Join me if you want."
As much as she wanted to tell him to stuff it, she decided that a dip in the cool water might help her calm down and get her back on track. Unfortunately, now she had to walk through a sea of staring men with a bikini top that did nothing to hide her level of arousal. She was going to make Potter pay.
Magically Marvelous
"I said I was sorry! Jeez!" Harry winced as he rubbed his sore shin. They were back in their room after spending a few hours down at the beach. Natasha "hmmmph'ed" him before turning her back and going into the bathroom.
"I'm taking a shower first. A very loooooooong shower!" she threatened as the door closed. She made it clear that Harry would have to sit there all sandy, salty, and gross while he thought about his actions. Harry was just about to roll his eyes when a crackling sound came through his earpiece.
"Suspect has joined another in a black SUV. Facial recognition identifies him as Aleksei Sytsevich, a mid-level thug from the Russian Mafia … only …" the voice said, sounding unsure.
"Only what?" Harry asked.
"Only he's bigger, and grayer, and more rhinoey," the voice described him as best as he could. "Orders sir?"
"Keep tracking their movements. Continuously report their position," he told them.
"Yes, sir," the voice said before cutting out.
"NATASHA!" Harry called out loudly. A few seconds later, the redhead came out of the bathroom wearing only a towel and an annoyed expression. Before she could threaten him, he filled her in. She quickly put her earpiece back in and talked to the other team. After a few quick seconds, she barked her orders which were similar to his.
"Looks like our showers will have to wait. We need to follow them," she told him. Harry waved his hand at her which caused her long, red hair to flutter as if it was caught in a breeze. She shuddered and looked at him questioningly.
"Cleaning Charm," he answered her unasked question. "It's not as good as a shower, but it'll do in a pinch," he told her as he did the same to himself.
"Thanks," she replied as she quickly got dressed in the bathroom. Harry changed as well, and within moments, both were ready to go. They grabbed their emergency bags and high-tailed it down to the parking garage where a car had been stashed for them just in case they needed it. Natasha reached underneath the car and removed the hidden keys from its magnetic holder. She unlocked the doors and jumped in the driver's seat. Harry barely had time to close the door before she was tearing out of the garage. Pressing a few buttons on her phone, they were then connected to the other team over the car's speakers.
"Suspects are heading south on State Highway 15," they told them. Natasha drove as fast as possible while trying to avoid raising suspicions. They were sure that the Sinaloa Cartel had spies and lookouts in every town and city in their Mexican State. Once they were on the highway, she was able to floor it. "We've just passed El Castillo," the team told them.
Harry opened his emergency bag and pulled out his SHIELD-issued handgun and extra mags. He then opened Natasha's and handed her gun to her. She took the gun and secured it at her side. It didn't take long before they were coming up on the backup team. They saw their car, and Natasha called them off.
"We see you. Break away and we'll take over," she ordered. The other car turned down a side road where they would hang back. They would stay close in case backup was needed. They continued to follow the SUV and were a bit surprised when they passed by the Mazatlán International Airport. Instead, they drove until they reached Villa Union and took Highway 40 toward Durango. The journey was both boring and intense at the same time. All they did was follow the black SUV at a far distance, but both knew that things could pop off at any moment. Harry's heart began to beat a little bit faster when they reached Malpica and turned off on a dirt, mountain road.
The area around the small town was made up of large hills and low mountains and was completely deserted. Harry and Natasha had to hang far back and use instructions from a mini drone that was flying high overhead. When they finally reached a secluded spot, the black SUV stopped. The drone operator led them to a hill where they could watch from a distance. They pulled the binoculars from their bags and got out of the car. Hiding behind a large rock, they peeked their heads out and watched what was happening.
What the other team had described was indeed true. The Russian didn't appear human anymore. He was massive with big, hulking muscles, but the strangest thing about him was his skin. It was completely gray with rhinoceros horns sticking out of the top of his head. The only thing that remained human was his face. They turned on the recording features and streamed the footage back to Fury who had just joined them over their earpieces. Harry zoomed in as the arms dealer walked over to some shrubbery and pulled it aside, revealing that it was fake.
"We need to see what it was hiding," Fury told them. They zoomed in as far as possible but found it difficult to see. The dealer and Sytsevich looked down into the shallow pit before the dealer knelt down and picked something up. It appeared to be a high-tech rifle of some sort. They walked back toward the SUV. They talked for a few minutes when suddenly Sytsevich slammed his open palm into the side of the SUV angrily. The dealer took a few steps back while the SUV rocked violently from side to side. They watched with bated breath while they continued to make a deal. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, the dealer placed his hand on his ear.
"What's he doing?" Harry asked. Natasha didn't get a chance to answer before the Rhino snatched the weapon from the dealer's grasp and swung it around. A flash of light blasted from the end of the barrel. Harry was barely able to grab Natasha's arm before a bolt of plasma ripped into their car, sending it head over heels in a fiery cartwheel.
Natasha gasped for breath when they reappeared on an adjacent hill. Their binoculars were fried from the sudden Apparation. Thankfully, SHIELD had been able to protect their earpieces knowing that it would be incredibly important for him to remain in contact when doing his thing. A crackle was followed by Fury's surprised voice. "Chopper … incoming …" was all they heard. It took a moment for the earpieces to recalibrate after all.
They looked up in time to see a military-style helicopter swoop down low and hover in place. Ropes dropped down from the chopper and cartel-controlled militants descended down in military gear while holding assault rifles. Harry and Natasha looked at each other.
"I did say there might be a shootout," she reminded him while checking her handgun. All Harry could do was chuckle as he checked his own.