1,612AN: Ogremen: So…we got a whopper of a chapter for you guys and girls this time! We also hope you get plenty of laughs from all the amusing things that happened in this one! Anyway, we had some trouble since my comp had to be repaired (broken fans), I believe Oracle also had some work done on her PC for a similar reason too, if I recall correctly owo but anyway, should be a REALLY nice chapter (since its 9,956 words long, not including the ANs ;) ), but, I would say this is more of a 'happy' chapter that also helps set up some future plot points too! ;) Now, without further ado, a word from the Mistress of Mysteries herself, Oracle!
Oracle: My PC actually went down due to a power supply death, fortunately it was only down for like a week or so before I was able to get it fixed thanks to my uncle having a spare and compatible power supply at his place and his knowledge of PCs. Now I would like to take this opportunity to point something out to any Entitled people who have been reading up until this point, and yes I know there are people out there who feel entitled because I recently had to deal with one such person. This story is being written by Ogremen and myself, not you. We decide what details to keep same as in canon and what not to keep. If we want to change things like when it takes place, main characters genders, where it all takes place, etc then that is our choice. We do not have to do as you want. We might ask for people's thoughts about things, but that doesn't mean you get to demand we stick to canon details. This is fanfiction and up to the person or persons writing it. If you don't like that we chanced a detail, then take your mouse, click on either the little X button on your browser to close the story or hit whatever button that takes you out of our story and find something else to read. If you continue to come at us over that detail you can and will get reported for harassment. I don't like filing harassment reports on people, but I will not stand for people telling me what I can and can't do in a fanfiction. We write this for ourselves and share it with all of you. We do not write for you. So before you come at me over a detail being changed from canon stop and think, do you want that harassment claim filed against you on this site? I might not like filing them, but I will do so if you will not listen to reason and understand that Ogremen and I are not obligated to write this how you want it.
Sorry for that rant everyone, but twice now I have had to file a complaint about someone who felt entitled and would not accept that they have no real say when it comes to what happens in these stories. I shall not name them because I've already wasted enough time and attention on them. I simply wanted to address this matter now in the hopes that I won't have to later on, but I'm not holding my breath. I shall now stop talking and let the chapter start. Enjoy.
~w~
~Location: Auror Corp HQ., Street Entrance~
Harry smiled slightly as he looked up at Auror Corps HQ. Even if he left New York for some relaxation, Auror Corps.'s HQ building would always be his home, in a way Hogwarts had proven, time and again, to never be able to do so.
Danny gave a whistle looking at the building. While it had started as modern, Harry, and his company, had managed to get permits to make it a bit more unique by adding some gargoyle statues and the like, giving it a slightly modern gothic style. It had been troublesome to get the permits, but Harry had given designs for the statues to mostly be used for water run off.
Jazz, meanwhile, was giving the building a critical look and then seemed to find agreement with it and nodded to herself. "Cool building," she said simply, referring to the paint job it had, as it was not your standard grey stone building, but, had art paint all over it that went with the building, rather than work against it. Something that earned Harry's company bonus points with the local artist communities of New York, since he had gone to them directly for that job.
"Are you sure about introducing us all at once to your family and friends? I mean, wouldn't it be better to take this slow and let everyone adjust, especially the kids?" Maddie asked as she figured that meeting a fourth 'mommy' might confuse Harry's oldest daughter. To say nothing of how unsure she was about how Jazz and Danny would handle such things, or even how Dani might handle this change once it's made completely real in their minds by meeting the new additions to the family.
Harry sighed a bit, with a smile, "I would totally agree with you Maddie, but, knowing that Tony is involved, and how Lily Jr.'s mind works, and the fact they would work together on this…they don't know the meaning of 'small'…" Harry explained, "They only really know big, loud, 'true family' style," he added, mirth evident in his voice when he said 'true family'.
"How bad could they be?" Dani asked. "I mean the one's a bachelor with no kids and the other is a child. Besides, don't the other adults keep them in check if they get out of hand?" Dani asked, having not really paid too much attention to famous people like Tony Stark and really only having limited experience with children.
Harry actually snorted in amusement, loudly, as he thought of all the things he could say in response to Dani's words, like pointing out that Tony is a man child, but, instead, merely replied with, "Oh, you'll see…" he then gestured. "Shall we unload the RV and see what kind of party they arranged?" he asked with an amused smile on his face. Harry waved off the few Trickster members who'd been outside and about to help them, remembering how Jazz had disapproved of Harry's suggestion of getting a moving company to help move all the important stuff as she deemed the packing, loading, transportation, unloading, and unpacking of their belongings, to be a great chance to begin family bonding with their new step father, and when Harry had mentioned that once in the city he could get his staff to help with the unloading Jazz had given him a glare and lectured him on how it's important to promote self independence and honest work within young adults like her, Danny, and Dani, and that by having other people doing stuff like that would spoil them and ruin them for the future. Harry didn't want to go through that again as Jazz really reminded him of Natasha when she gets like that.
Harry then began helping lift some of the heavier stuff, thankful for his workout routine that Nat had encouraged him to get into, allowing him to move the heaviest stuff inside with only minor difficulty. Once everything was done, he gave the keys to the RV to one of the Trickster members who went to drive it into the building's underground parking lot. That was something he was really thankful for, given some of the rare cars he had won back when he had been in Vegas. Turning towards Maddie and her three children, he led them over to the elevator, mentally preparing himself for what was to come.
Dani, seeing Harry's nervousness smirked in a teasing manner. "You know, if you are that worried about this, Danny and I could go invisible and check out what's waiting for us at the top. You do after all have that advantage now if you're that scared of what we'll find."
Danny couldn't help but smirk a little to himself, finding it amusing how scared Harry seemed to be getting about this meeting. After all, it was Harry's own family they were meeting, how scary could they actually be?
Harry smiled sarcastically, "Just wait, trust me, last thing you want to do is use your powers in the elevator," he replied. No sooner had he spoken when they reached the floor, the doors opened, and an explosion of noise, cheers, and music hit them. Not to mention a literal wave of confetti that Harry knew was Tony's doing, probably because of the fact it was red and gold confetti.
As the confetti settled though, it revealed a room with a large number of balloons, a lot of people, definitely more than the three children of Maddie were expecting, and a huge banner that clearly bore multiple forms of greetings. From things like 'Welcome Home', to more bizarre but funny ones like, 'Welcome to the Madhouse'. One of the more unique ones was 'Welcome to the Horde!' written near the center of the banner.
Maddie and the kids stood stunned at the sight as they took in the people in the room. Maddie did a head count and wondered how many of the people she was seeing were family, friends of Harry, friends of the family, and how many were just staff that were high up enough to be deemed close enough to be friends. Jazz was a little more interested in how many faces she could place among the crowd, given that Harry has a large number of connections, thus she had a mental bingo card of people she had thought might be there to greet them and wanted to see if she guessed right. Dani had never seen so many people gathered in one place in her, technically short, life. She hadn't even known it was possible to know so many people in the span of only a few years. Danny's jaw was on its way through the floor and towards the center of the Earth with how shocked he was. All these people were there to greet Harry and them, to welcome them to the family? It was insane! There was no way someone like Harry had this many people actually in his life in more than a passing kind of way.
"Well it's about bloody time you got home Harry! Honestly, keeping the new family all to yourself for this long ought to be a crime," Nym teased with a playful grin.
Harry gave her a shrug with a smile. "There was a lot to pack, and the traffic back here wasn't light in some areas, and that's before we even reached the city," He explained. "Also, really? Welcome to 'The Bedroom'? I wonder who wrote that for who?" He asked teasingly Nym who was grinning more at the question.
Nym smirked and then glanced at Laura while facing Harry, "You'd actually be surprised it wasn't me, love," she said, giving him a kiss and then heading over to Maddie and giving her a big hug. "Welcome to the family Maddie, I'm Nym, it's nice to meet you!" she smiled.
Suddenly, Lily Jr. rushed forward, tackling Harry's legs in a surprisingly strong grip for her young age, small form, and the momentum she had. "Welcome home Daddy!" she said, stumbling a bit over her speech and pronunciation.
Harry smiled at his daughter and picked her up. "Hello Lily. Oh you've gotten heavier, has someone been growing again while I wasn't looking?" He asked her playfully, making her giggle.
Natasha walked over to Maddie with a smile. "Welcome to your new home everyone. Maddie, if you need anything let me know. I've also already got a lab prepped for you to move your work into when you are done settling into the penthouse." She then turned to the kids. "I figured you three would want rooms close together while you get settled in yet far enough away that you can have your privacy. All bedrooms are soundproofed, but have wall mounted comms so that we can page people for dinner if they are in their rooms. Please don't abuse the comms. Also I'll be needing to see your phones to input all the important numbers of the family and family friends so that you always have someone you can call if you need to get a pick up or if you get in trouble."
Loki, deciding it was time for him to meet his son's newest family members walked over with his most charming smile. "Welcome home son, and welcome to my newest daughter-in-law and to all my new grandchildren. My name is Loki," He greeted them all with a bow.
Dani was the first to react, surprisingly, "Aren't you that asshole that attacked New York City with that army?" she asked curiously, only to get a gasp from Jazz.
"Dani!" Jazz exclaimed, "For one thing, he clearly is different than how he was shown to be during the invasion, secondly, why would you call him that?!" she ranted.
Danny, meanwhile, was feeling conflicted, and confused, on the one hand, Jazz was right, on the other, Dani was kind of right too.
Maddie, meanwhile, was conflicted like her son, but, less so as she went over and slapped his face, "That is for those who died in the invasion," she then sighed, "Can you please share with us how you are here now, and not in cuffs, or prison, or whatever it is your people do with criminals?" she asked curiously.
Before Loki, who was already very used to such reactions could answer, Harry moved to stand between him and Maddie with a look on his face like he was trying not to get mad at Maddie.
"Maddie, perhaps before you go slapping people," He quickly turned his eyes to Dani, "And before you call people assholes, you should find out more about what happened. Like the fact that my father was being mind controlled by an alien force during the invasion and the time leading up to it. Thus he was not in control of any of his actions." He informed his new family. Harry then took a deep breath and looked Maddie in the eyes. "So tell me, do you still think he deserves to be punished and treated like trash when he was nothing but a puppet at the will of someone else's control?"
Maddie had the decency to blush in shame and apologize, "Sorry Loki, I let my lack of information, and my temper get the better of me," she apologised, "I am sorry to hear that you were at the control of another, it must have been horrible…" she paused as she realised something, "Wait, you must have been tortured then!" she finished, covering her mouth in horrified fashion as she realised that Loki must have gone through hell twice over because of whoever was controlling him. After all, not only had he attacked New York City, but Maddie also remembered footage on the news of Loki fighting the members of Trickster, and even the 'Avengers', the name given to Harry and some of the other heroes of note that had been in the forefront of the battle.
Dani looked away in shame. She knew what it was like to do the wrong thing because of other people. Vlad had lied and manipulated her for a time after creating her before Danny saved her from him.
Loki waved the apology off. "It's alright my dear, I fear the media hasn't been very forthcoming with that information regarding my part in the invasion. In any case I am in a much better place now, thanks to my son who was able to help me break free from the hold our enemy held over me, and I have since moved on to a better life." Loki told her before frowning a little, "As better as it can be with some of Asgard trying to demand I return to stand trial for many things that is."
"Let them try," Natasha spoke up. "They force you back then we'll come get you, and as I have studied the laws of Asgard, thanks to you and that book of them Thor was kind enough to bring me, I believe I can thoroughly destroy their arguments purely on the grounds that the people of Asgard were permitted to abuse you with the king knowing full well it was happening as well as his full support!" Natasha was very displeased with how things are done in Asgard and had some plans to invite over queen Frigga, the only good ruler of Asgard, to discuss how Odin needed to step down and allow Frigga to take over until one of the two princes proved worthy and ready to take over.
"And should that somehow fail, just send Ms. Muncher to Asgard for the weekend!" Tony joked as he pointed to Lily Jr., who grinned eagerly at the thought of new munchies.
Lily Jr. smiled, having heard how Asgard is full of munchies. "Munchies!" She cheered, getting laughs and chuckles from everyone who knew about her appetite.
Dani and Danny were both confused by Lily's cheer, but were sure they would be informed in a while. Suddenly, everyone stopped as loud music suddenly started playing from the speakers of the living room area, where a dance floor had been set up, well, a temporary one at least.
Maddie listened for a moment and smiled, "I believe that's Get The Party Started by P!nk," she commented, then blushed from the weird looks her children were giving her, "Hey, I do like to dance you know!" she defended awkwardly.
Nat sighed, it was a good thing her room had soundproofing otherwise she would have to deal with three tired and angry babies who were already a handful, she also had a baby monitor set up so that if they woke up, she would be notified.
Loki, meanwhile, was intrigued by the song, not having heard a song like it before.
Harry sighed and looked over to Tony. "Not home less than five minute and already you've taken over my sound system. Are we sure you aren't a teenage girl in disguise Tony?" he asked wryly.
"I take offense to that, I'm way more sassy than any teenage girl can hope to be!" Tony grinned.
"He also is a total drama queen when he doesn't get his way," Nym teased loudly.
"Oh? Did I miss any new Tony drama?" Harry questioned.
"Yes, but if you want all the details you better be willing to take over looking after Gregory for the rest of the year!" Tony called over the music.
Harry grinned at that. "Oh? Having problems with your older brother from another dimension? I can't wait to hear his stories about having lived with you then!" Harry said and then laughed as he saw Tony start to internally debate which was worse, keeping Gregory, or letting Harry hear all the stories Gregory now had about Tony, including the ones from Rhodey and Pepper.
Danny and Dani were both confused by the comment of 'brother from another dimension', but were unsure how to ask about it at the moment so let it drop and filed it away for later.
Cain, meanwhile, sidled up to Harry's spot with a happy Jennifer next to him. "Hey boss," he grinned, "Welcome back by the way, got some news to share with you later," he said with a wink to Harry.
Harry groaned. "Knowing my luck this most likely includes paperwork, talking to people who think they are better than me because they are older and have been in the business longer, and most likely a few matters with groups or organizations that I have to smooth over," He sighed.
Loki, glancing back at someone in one of the far corners of the room, decided to add to that 'news' by stating, "There is also someone waiting to meet with you. Someone very important."
Harry raised a brow at how that one word was stressed. Normally that would mean huge problems that would take weeks to sort out, but Loki's tone suggested this wasn't really a problem but something that was just extremely important. Looking between Cain and Loki for a moment Harry tried to figure out just what all had happened while he was away before turning to Natasha. "Put me out of my misery. How much of this will be paperwork and meetings?" He asked her.
Natasha smiled sympathetically, "Not so much paperwork, as heachaches dear," she then turned to Cain, "Though I have no idea what you wish to discuss with Harry, that can wait till later, I am sure," she said pointedly, and Cain smirked, nodded, and tipped his imaginary hat to Harry and Nat before escorting Jennifer away.
Meanwhile, in the corner, Hera was, for the first time in a long time, feeling anxious. She was going to meet her son, the one she had thought lost, and inform him that she was his long thought dead mother. Oh boy this was going to be messy, 'How do you even start a conversation like that?' she kept questioning herself, causing her to go round and round in circles wondering what to do, what to say.
Suddenly, Lily Jr., after getting Harry to put her down after noticing Hera had yet to greet Harry, ran over to Hera and, hugging said goddess's legs, smiled up at her grandmother, "Gram gram ok?" she asked worriedly while trying to be adorable with her words.
Hera smiled down at Lily Jr. "I'm alright my dear. Just, trying to ready myself to meet your father since it's been a very long time since I last saw him," Hera explained before smiling to herself. "In fact he was much younger than you are when I last saw him. Such an adorable baby boy."
Harry, who had watched Lily Jr. run off, frowned at the sight of a new face in the room. Since the woman in the corner was on the penthouse floor and being involved in the welcome home party she had to be at least someone important to the family as well as trustworthy. However, something in his guts seemed to tense at the sight of her. As if his instincts were trying to alert him to something but he couldn't figure out what that was. "Nat, who is that with Lily?" He asked Natasha while nodding to the woman in question.
Nat looked where Harry indicated, and smiled sadly at Harry, nudging him forwards slightly as she whispered in his ear, "Someone who has a story to tell you, a story that is her secret to tell, but, is important to all of us here," she said, "Just, promise to hear her out, like myself, her life has been a tragic one," she finished in a sympathetic tone.
That last part gave Harry mixed feelings. On the one hand he knew about having a tragic life, and even knew lots of people who also have tragic lives that he cares a great deal for. But on the other hand, a lot of the people who seem to enjoy causing pain and suffering to others seem to have tragic pasts and they end up being his enemies. Still, if Natasha was encouraging him to go talk to that woman, and give her a chance, then she had to be a good person at heart. Turning to look at Loki, he gave a small, hopeful look, trying to will his father to slip a little information to him.
Loki, however, shook his head. "She should be the one to explain herself to you, not I or anyone else here. Now," Loki placed his hand on Harry's back and gave him a gentle push towards the woman, "You go, and talk to her. Do not worry about your new family over here, I'm certain the lovely Lady Natasha and I can keep them entertained, and shielded, from the more…childish like people in the room," Loki chuckled and shooed Harry away.
Harry gave a frown at the fact his father said that he would help shield the others from whatever happened, but, let it be for now. He took a deep breath and approached the woman, who Lily Jr. was still hugging with one arm, while nibbling on a piece of metal she somehow acquired or pulled from somewhere.
Hera, meanwhile, took a deep breath to steady herself as her son approached. "Hi, I'm Hera," she said clumsily as she awkwardly offered a hand to shake.
Funnily, at the exact same time, a nervous Harry Potter also offered his arm to shake and said, "Hello, I'm Harry Potter."
Lily Jr. giggled at the fact that they spoke at the exact same time, and did the exact same motion, causing both to turn and glare at her unheatedly as her giggle had broken the ice, so to speak.
Harry cleared his throat and turned back to the woman. "Hera, I've heard that name before. The Olympus Group, if I'm not mistaken. You're their 'impossible to arrange a meeting with' CEO." Harry smiled, a little proud of himself for remembering those details as Natasha and Tony had spoken about the Olympus Group back when Lily Jr. was still just a newborn. "What brings you to my little business and home?" He questioned.
Hera instantly turned pensive when her reputation was mentioned, and even more so when Harry asked her why she was here, "Well, you see, I only found this out relatively recently mind," she began to ramble, "So, bear in mind, its as much a shock to me as it will be for you…" she continued, when suddenly, Lily Jr. added her two cents, so to speak.
"Gram gram nervous?" she asked while looking up at Hera concernedly.
Harry frowned down at his daughter. "Gram gram?" He asked in complete confusion as Hera didn't look that much older than Nat. Lily Jr. didn't just call people things unless she had adopted them into the family, so with that in mind Harry chuckled. "Oh I get it." He then turned his smile to Hera. "She's done her little adopting people into the family thing again. Strange how she picked gram gram for you when she normally just adopts everyone as aunts and uncles."
Hera's face went from nervous to conflicted, "No, she didn't adopt me, per say, she more…accepted me? I guess you could say…" Hera said, rambling still, "Keep in mind, for a long time, we have both had certain misconceptions…"
"Oi! You wanted to tell him yourself so stop tiptoeing around the bleeding subject. Where's that queen of Olympus fire?" Loki called, while channeling his past life as James Potter, from across the room before getting smacked upside the head with a pillow and told to 'shut it' by Laura.
Hera, meanwhile face palmed with both her hands after glaring, without heat, at Loki for his comment, and quietly asking herself, "Hades help me, how did I ever fall for that man?" though she was smiling as her hands lowered and then froze as she saw a look of shock on Harry's face as he had clearly heard her words and seen her look at his father.
"Fallen for my father?" Harry asked in shock. While he'd heard the stories about his father's long list of lovers, 'thanks but still hate you for that uncle Thor', he hadn't expected his father to hook up with someone so quickly. But then again, he also hadn't expected to ever have four wives, four kids, three step children, and an extended family like what he currently has. "Please tell me uncle Thor didn't come by, get my father drunk, and took him to Vegas." Harry pleaded while plotting to find that magical Elvis and hex him to the other side of the Nine Realms if that's what happened.
Hera glared at Harry amusedly, "No, I fell for your father back when we were both in school," she said, then facepalmed when she realised how that sounded without context. "Ok, I am going to try and introduce myself properly now," she said embarrassedly, but determined at the same time. "I am Hera, goddess and queen of Olympus, and also your mother, I fell for your father when I spent time as a mortal, growing up as a mortal, and attending Hogwarts as a student," she tried. "Sadly, I have spent the last two decades mourning you, as I had been led to believe, most likely by a certain old goat no doubt, that you were dead," she continued, hoping to get it all out before she lost her nerve. "I was unable to find you because of whatever Dumblefudger did to hide you, and it wasn't until I saw you butting heads with Antler Boy over there," she added, igoning the shouted, 'Oi!', from Loki as she finished, "That I realised you might still be alive, and came to investigate," she then let out a breath as she finished. "Merlin, that feels good to get off my chest…" she added more to herself.
Harry stared at her as he processed what she had just said, what she had just admitted to. This woman, Hera, was a goddess and queen, and his mother. She had lived a mortal life, like Loki, only she seems to have done so willingly, unlike Loki. This was his mother. His very much alive mother. His goddess and queen, alive, mother…
Harry waved Lily Jr. over to Coulson, who, after seeing Harry's strained expression, lured Lily Jr. to the other side of the room with some mega bloks. Once Lily Jr. was away Harry mumbled to himself who Hera was to him a few times before taking a deep breath.
"Oh in the name of Merlin's left bollocks! Can whatever force is controlling my life stop with these bloody surprises and just let me have one blasted normal day?!" He shouted in exasperation before hanging his head in his hands.
"Feel better?" Nym called over to him after a minute of silence, not counting the music that was still playing.
"No, but it was a nice attempt…" Harry grumbled, not that Nym could hear him, before he covered his face with his hands again.
Hera, meanwhile, smiled sadly, "I understand this can be a lot to take in, especially since, for a long time, Asgard and Olympus were in a cold war against one another as bitter enemies," she said, "What's more, I believe I can relate, since for you, its finding out two decades into life that your mother is, in fact, alive, where as for me, I had to live life knowing my beloved son died at a year old, only to find out two decades later, he is, in fact, still alive, and that's he's married with children!" she chuckled ruefully. Shaking her head a bit, she sighed, "Anyway, I…I will give you some time, if you need to contact m-me, please tell Loki to get in contact with Hermes," she said, trying to hold in her emotions and tears from how awkward this must be for everyone, something she, by no means, ever intended really, after all, one of her chief domains as a goddess, is Family, and now, she feels like she tore her's apart.
It took Harry a moment of deep breathing, and some forced thinking on his part, before he pulled his hands from his face and gave her a flat look. "No, no, you are not about to walk out of this penthouse and back to wherever it is you've been this whole time. No, I damn refuse to let that happen, and I am not going to go wallow in self pity over fate once again messing with my blasted life just when things had seemed to settle down! You are going to stay here, you will explain the full story to me, and we, as in you, me, and my father, are going to deal with this insanity once and for all and both of you had better not be hiding any other family from me by the time we are done talking," Harry was honestly extremely sick of all these damned surprises and sneaky sucker punches that fate or whatever higher power controls his life, had been throwing at him. He was going to force himself and his parents to sit down and go over every bleeding thing they must to get all the fresh surprises out of the way and get them all over this chaos, and if they tried to get out of it then so help him he was going to get all of Trickster on their arses. Seriously though, can he not catch a damn break?
Hera was shocked by Harry's words and even more so the threats. Sure she had expected some anger, maybe even a few curses thrown her way, but this was completely different. However as she turned over his words she realized that he was basically telling her that he didn't want her to leave, that he wanted her to tell him the full story since that fateful night when their family was ripped apart. He was telling her to tell him everything about herself, her side of the family, everything. She smiled tearfully at that realization, "Thank you, son, I was honestly sure you would hold a grudge against me, or that you would be angry enough to want nothing to do with me anymore, or, hell, even need some time to digest everything…" when she saw his questioning look, she smiled embarrassedly, "Let's just say that, I have been known to hold grudges, get intensely angry over little things, and the few demigods I have had over the millenia, have all been known for their terrible tempers, and their inability to give forgiveness to those who have wronged them…" she explained.
Harry gave a small chuckle at the bit about having a temper. "Oh I have a temper, but life has beaten it into me to keep it in check for so long, that the most I explode on people, is a few swears, some threats to hex them, and lately, I ruin the lives of jerks by putting people that will actually not let their shite fly, in places of power over them." Harry shrugged, "But I'm working to get my anger out more as I've been told it's not healthy to keep it bottled up."
Hera winced at the last part, "Yeah, your father was the one who taught me that lesson, back when he was in his mortal form, of course," she blushed in embarrassment, as she had never admitted that to anyone, not even Loki, either when he returned to who he is, or when he had been James. "Anyway, I will tell you everything, but, as it would kill the mood, let's just enjoy the party…would it be alright to give you a mother's hug as a welcome back?" she asked with a small smile.
Though the request surprised him, Harry decided that he was ok with getting a hug from her right now. After all, he had his own little bonding moment with Loki, his father, after Loki had been freed of the mind control and the invasion had been stopped. To deny his mother this little thing wouldn't be fair as she had pretty much been in the same boat as Loki in thinking the rest of the family was dead. "Sure, mum," He nodded, though calling her mum did give him mixed feelings.
Hera smiled tearfully when Harry called her mum, and as a result, hugged him, a little harder and stronger than she intended, but, well, it had been an emotional reunion of sorts. Hera, when she realised she was hugging him a bit too long, and strongly, immediately let him go and blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry, just, it's just, the last time I got to hug you, Voldemort was on his way to our house thanks to a disgusting rat," she explained with a blush.
Harry's eyes widened a little at the mention of Pettigrew. "Oh thanks for reminding me about him! I have to check with some contacts to see if he's been found and caught yet. If not," Harry then grinned a little. "Perhaps the family should pool our resources to track down that rat once and for all…" He suggested.
Hera smirked, "Your welcome then, for now though, how about we enjoy the party, and after you can introduce me to my newest daughter in law?" she asked slyly.
Harry turned to look for his new family members. "That depends if everyone else will let you have a turn to meet them," Harry joked. "Don't know if you've noticed, but family here, both blood and adopted by my oldest daughter, tend to hog each other's time, as well as that of newcomers," Harry chuckled before seeing a group of people he had missed before. "Hermione! Sirius! Bella! When did all of you get here?" He asked before spotting Draco. "And you're here too. Does that mean…?" He glanced around again and spotted Logan and Narcissa talking with Bruce about something or other. "Well, that really is the whole family then. Well, mom's side isn't here at the moment, but still," He shrugged.
Hera actually grimaced, "Be thankful for that, Ares would pick a fight with just about anyone here simply because of his domains, and because, I will admit, he can be a real asshole," she replied, finishing on a droll tone, "As for some of the others, if you think this party could be crazy, imagine adding a bunch of clowns and party lovers who don't know the meaning of 'enough!' unless you were to slap them in the face with a dead fish so that they are caught off guard by the shock value," she added in a flat tone.
Harry laughed at the mental imagine and then grinned as a mischievous idea hit him. "Oh I sooo know who I'm bringing to Tony's next party now," He laughed.
Hermione, meanwhile, came over, looking at Harry, "It's good to see you again Harry," she said, giving him one of her patented HermyHugs, making Harry's eyes bulge a bit from how strong she seemed to be, which somehow seemed stronger then he remembered. "We got here earlier, anyway, so, gotten married again have you?" she asked rhetorically with an arched eyebrow and a knowing smile, "And this time to a woman with kids of her own!" she added while shaking her head and smiling, "Only you Harry!" she finished, she then looked towards the various attendees and adopted family members, "It's just what you always wanted, isn't it Harry?" she asked knowingly, looking at him.
Harry chuckled a little. "I know in the past I've said about how I wished I had a big loving family like what Ron seemed to have, but this wasn't exactly what I meant, and I'm pretty sure my younger self would have a heart attack to know this awaits him in the future," Harry said with a slight flush. "And yes, only me," He laughed.
Hermione laughed as well, "Well, to be fair, it's mostly your first born going around adopting everyone, Uncle Harry," she said teasingly getting a groan out of Harry for the bad recurring joke between them, "Anyway, uncle," she continued, "You will be happy to know that Draco has fallen for one of your Trickster members, not that he will come right out and say it," she said with a shit eating grin, "As for your father in law, he has fallen for Draco's mother, or is it the other way around, or both?" she said in a seemingly questioning tone, "Either way, soon, Draco will be family to you Harry, through law as well as distant blood," she finished with a teasing grin.
Harry was a little shocked at that, having not expected a man like Logan to fall for someone like Draco's mother or vice versa. But thinking about it he realized it kind of made some level of sense for Narcissa to end up with someone like Logan. After all, Logan was a rough yet good looking guy, good with kids, and most of all, he just screamed power in a way that Narcissa's ex could never even come close to touching. Then he realized something. "You do realize that means Draco will be related to you as well, after all, Logan is your grandfather," He pointed out to her. "That will make Draco after the marriage your uncle in law I think."
Hermione stopped smiling for a moment as she processed that statement, and then did a very unHermione like thing, she cursed, badly, "Merlin's left hairy testicle and mole infested arse cheek!" This of course, caused Harry to blink in shock, then start laughing, "Oh, bullocks to you Harry!" she snapped with a smile, "I'm just going to force him to dote on his same age niece then, after all, his place in the family does kinda hinge on it, what with the Malfoy line being dead due to the fact that Narcissa's marriage was nullified making Draco a Black," she finished with an evil grin and an even more evil gleam in her eyes.
Harry couldn't help it, he snorted at the thought of Draco doting on Hermione. "Unless that git's become a whole other person while I've not been around, I highly doubt that's ever gonna happen," He laughed.
"I'm right bloody here you two!" Draco growled. "And there is no way my mother is going to actually marry that muggle. She may be lonely but she hasn't taken complete leave of her senses!" He protested, still being very much in denial about his mother's relationship with Logan. "And those claims about me being interested in that pointy eared winged muggle girl are beyond stupid. I'd rather marry a troll than her!" He lied through his teeth while trying not to picture Megan in his head. Yes, he was close enough with Pixie lately that she had started letting him use her real name.
Hermione and Harry looked at one another, then at Draco, and said in unison, "Uhuh, suuure…" before bursting into a fit of giggles and chuckling respectively. Draco, feeling irritated left to go to a corner to brood or something while Hermione looked at Harry and said, "Alright, I best go see what my 'cousin' Lily is up to, maybe I can teach her what to eat and what not to eat," she said, missing Harry's amused grin.
"You can try, but if someone like Natasha can't get her to give up her 'munchies' then what hope is there for those of us who don't have her skills?" He asked with a shrug, having long since given up on trying to change his eldest daughter's eating habits. So long as Lily Jr. eats normal foods along with everything else he won't complain too much.
Hermione just huffed and then walked towards Lily Jr., while giving a parting comment to Harry, "Yeah well, I have to be her mature cousin and give her some useful advice," she said with a mysterious smile.
"Advice? On what?" Harry asked but Hermione was already too far for the question to be heard.
Bella smirked along with Sirius. "Well, it's good to see that my cousin's godson at least is thinking ahead and continuing the family line," Bella said, and then smiled when she saw Harry's look turn questioning, "Please, while I might not believe in blood purity, like my controlled self did, I do believe that a family should continue, after all, there is no future without children," She finished, "I just need to meet mr right myself," she sighed in addition.
Sirius, meanwhile, barked out a laugh at Harry, clapping him on the back, "Bagged yourself a milf pup, gotta say, I'm impressed!" he exclaimed proudly while wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Then, turning to Bella, he added, "And you should be proud, you actually have quite a few of the males here eyeing you up out of the corners of their eyes as they try to sneak a look at you without full on ogling!" he said with a laugh while earning a blush from Bellatrix.
Harry sighed heavily at the mention of 'children'. "Natasha had triplets not that long ago, Lily Jr. can barely be contained, let alone be made to listen when told 'no', and I just found out my mother is alive and the queen of Olympus. The last thing I need right now is more children," He told Bella. "At the very least can I wait until Lily Jr. is nearing the end of middle school, the triplets are about to start middle school, and Maddie's three are either in college or finishing? I swear, I'm not asking for much, just not to go either completely gray, or bald, from the stress of all the kids."
Bella smiled in sympathy, and patted Harry on the shoulder, "If it's any consolation, I can understand being overwhelmed, even if for different reasons in my case," she said with a sad smile. "By the way, who's that hunk with the dark hair and roughed up suit talking with that vivacious girl over there?" she asked, pointing at Bruce Banner and Darcy.
Sirius couldn't hide his smirk at Bella's words, but, wisely, kept his mouth shut, "I meanwhile, will be seeking out the Captain for a drinking contest!" he said before taking off with a mad grin.
Harry frowned and looked over to where Bella was pointing before his eyes widened. "Oh! That's Bruce. He's Jennifer's cousin. You've met Jennifer right? Very tall, green woman who's dating my head of security, and also one of the best lawyers in the city?" Harry wasn't sure if Bella and Bruce would be good together, but he wasn't going to deny that the two would at the very least be good friends as both had backgrounds in people wanting to use them just because of what they are. In Bella's case it was because she was a pure blood, and a bloody good dualist, while in Bruce's case it was the Hulk.
Bella smiled and nodded, "I remember, I'm going to go over and start a conversation with him…" Bella said, smiling as she left a smiling Harry who was shaking his head in amusement at her antics.
As Hera watched the various people partying and celebrating the return of Harry, and the introduction of Maddie and her three children, she couldn't help but smile at the precious moments the various people were having.
Tony was currently chatting up some of the female members of Trickster, most of whom were aware of what Tony was doing, and were just waiting for a good moment to tell him 'no' while being amused, and flattered, by his attempts to flirt with them. Nym was on the other side of the room, her daughter on her lap, as she tried to get what appeared to be a Tony Stark action figure out of her daughter's hands, one that had half its head missing, and various bite marks in its body.
Sirius was currently having a drinking contest with Cap, so far Cap had gotten some mixed news in that Bucky could be helped, but that it would be a while as they had to go in, look for the subconscious commands that Hydra had implanted, then they had to 'destroy' those commands slowly, which of course, would all take time. Then there was also the fact they had to help introduce Bucky into the modern era, since, for the last few decades, he had been on ice, and thus unaware of the passage of time for the most part, as such, he would have to be gradually introduced to a normal life again, not to mention receive counseling for everything Hydra forced him to go through and do. Cap was, happily, sharing a bottle of Fire Whiskey with Sirius. Sirius had gotten a good laugh when Cap freaked out after breathing fire when he had finished his first gulp of Fire Whiskey, like an amateur.
Bruce was currently being chatted to by Darcy, who was apparently eager to pick his brain on something. Though, considering that Bruce was blushing, Darcy was also probably saying some lewd jokes as they talked, as was her style.
Natasha was currently talking with Maddie over by the kitchen nook of the living room. Probably exchanging cooking recipes, and other things.
Jazz was currently chatting with Queeny, with Jacob seeming bemused, or amused, by whatever it was they were talking about. Though given both were smiling and laughing, it was clearly something they were both interested, and amused by.
Jubilee was entertaining some of the other party attendees by using her powers to perform some small size light show tricks.
Danny and Dani were currently playing who's who regarding the members of Trickster that were present, as Danny was a fan of Trickster, and thus Danny was trying to introduce Dani and most of all himself, to those that were at the party, all while naturally trying not to appear as a total fanboy that is.
As Hera enjoyed the moments before her, she failed to notice Loki walking up to her, standing beside her, and smiling at her. "To think, without us, our son has done so much to unite people, in a way, he even united the two pantheons we represent that have been in a cold war for milenia," he said with a smirk.
Hera shook her head. "As I recall it, we got together before he was born. So that last one hardly counts outside him acting as a bridge that will help keep our people connected," She pointed out to him. "But yes. He's come so far without the two of us in his life. Almost makes me wonder how far he would've fared had we remained out of it," She then shook her head. "But I will not be letting go so easily of my son again. I will personally comb through every realm of the dead before I ever accept he's gone again. And you," she turned to Loki with a glare. "Had best do the same and be sure to contact Olympus before you write the family off again!"
Loki gave a slightly nervous smile. "I assure you I have no wish to repeat the past. I let my grief get the best of me once before and it cost me so much of our son's life. Never again shall I simply accept the claim my family is gone," Loki promised her.
Hera smiled, "Good boy," she said, patting him on the head, ignoring the fact that, in their mortal lives, neither had really known the other was anything more than a mortal in disguise. "Now, Loki, what are you doing next thursday?" Hera suddenly asked Loki out of the blue.
Loki stared at her in surprise at that for a second. "Well, nothing as far as I'm aware. Truth be told I haven't had much of anything to do since coming to live here outside of helping with the grandchildren," He admitted before giving her a raised brow. "What do you have in mind?" He asked her.
Hera smiled mysteriously, pulled out a piece of paper, and then wrote down a quick address for him, "Be here next thursday then, and I expect you to wear something… fancy…by mortal standards, of course," she said, before handing him the note and walking away with a satisfied look on her face as she swayed her hips suggestively at him.
Loki stared after her as Hera walked away from him in shock. Since being reunited she hadn't shown much sign that she was still interested in him, causing him to think that Lily was just a part of her that was currently repressed by Hera herself. But if he was reading the signs, along with the place she wrote on the note, then she was still interested in him and totally giving him a way back in. Only now he needed to impress Hera, rather than Lily. "Oh boy. I may be in trouble…" He mumbled before glancing around the room. "So, which person shall be the one to bring my dating skills up to date?" He asked himself, instantly ruling out Tony because he wanted to impress Hera, not become the victim of her wrath.
~w~
~Omake 1: Adjusting Attitudes~
~Location: Auror Corp. HQ~
James Rogers sighed as he thought about Harry Potter, who, in a messed up way, was both his step father, and not his step father. One the one hand, in James's timeline, his parents were married. Yet here, they never were, and yet, Harry also had acquired a fourth wife, and three children from said wife to boot. Needless to say, he was having trouble coming to terms whenever he thought of what to call Harry, and he was honestly thinking of taking the issue to his mother to discuss it with her.
He then sighed as he thought of what he had been up to lately. He had been integrating well with some of the other supers that he had met here, and he was developing a crush on the one girl, Blink, who he had been hanging out with more and more often. Truth be told, he had been charmed by her elfin appearance. And her personality was endearing too. He was also coming to terms, gradually, that everyone he used to know might no longer exist, and while it still hurt, it wasn't as constantly on his mind as it used to be, plus he still had his timeline's father's shield, making there be two Captain America shields in this timeline now.
He was also curious about one Bucky Barnes, as his Tony had told them nothing about the old friend of his fathers. So, in essence, he was one of the few that were completely unaware of Bucky Barnes, or what he meant to Cap.
Sighing, he thought about where he wanted to take Blink once he worked up the nerve to finally ask her out for a date.
~w~
~Omake 2: Girls Night Out (MIS)Adventure 2~
With Harry back, the girls had been able to plan another night out, though, this time, there were more women involved then there was the first one, something Pepper was thankful for, as hopefully, it wouldn't leave them all flustered and unable to form words this time.
In attendance, were Rachel Summers, who had been dragged along by Darcy. There was also Pepper, Natasha, Nymphadora, Laura, Maddie, who had been dragged along by Nym under the excuse of getting to know the other girls better. There was also Jennifer Walters, Megan Gwynn, Clarice Ferguson, Hera who had decided to tag along on her own to see what they were up to, and curious to find out what they were going to do. And finally, rounding out the group, was Kitty Pryde.
"So," Nym began, as she finished ordering drinks for everyone, though Maddie seemed to have mixed feelings on the drink that Nym had ordered for her, and Clarice was feeling shy but welcomed to be here, "What's the big news Green Law," she said, shooting a grin at Jennifer.
Jennifer smiled, knowing that there were going to be some amusing reactions when she makes her big announcement, not just to the girls but throughout the whole building once word spreads to everyone at the company. "Well, I should probably start by asking Natasha how long it will take to reinforce the building, inside and out," She said while looking at said woman with a grin.
Natasha narrowed her eyes as she sipped her drink, then, set her drink down slowly, she looked up and pierced Jennifer with a questioning glare, "Depends," she began, "On what type of reinforcement we're going to need," she finished in reply.
Jennifer chuckled a little. "Well, for safety's sake, let's say for something along the lines of…oh…my being pregnant and Cain's the father," She answered casually and then waited for the chaos that was about to be unleashed, and she wasn't disappointed.
Silence reigned in the wake of Jennifer's words, before suddenly, it was like the crashing of a tidal wave against the shore as all the girls began sharing their exclamations of surprise, shock, and congratulations.
Nym was already getting an idea for some teasing jokes in her head, and as such smiled. Maddie, meanwhile, was giving Jennifer her heartfelt congratulations at the news.
Kitty suddenly spoke up though, "Does that mean Cain is going to pop the question soon?" she asked in genuine curiosity.
Jennifer laughed, "Me and Cain are in love, and going to have a child, while marriage is a nice thought, why would we need to get married?" she replied with a smile, "We're in love, and going to have a child together, why do we need marriage too?" she finished with a smirk.
"There is also a matter of getting the government to allow it given the strength that both of them have," Natasha pointed out. "I'll have to inform Fury about your baby so that we can start brainstorming how to keep the government from trying to prevent you two from having children, and trying to take your child. After all, Cain's powers came from a unique source, while you're a more stable version of the Hulk. A child born from such parents could be highly desired by the wrong sort," Natasha warned.
"So then we keep news of the pregnancy in house," Laura said before shrugging. "Good thing the company is so good at keeping secrets." She was, of course, referring to the Wizarding side of things, as everyone that comes to work for the company does end up learning about such things.
Natasha smiled to herself. "I wonder if MACUSA will be needing to be informed of this. Think I'll have word passed on to them just to be sure. I don't pity the person who has to deal with that paper work," She chuckled.
"Thanks girls," Jennifer said, feeling touched that they were all supporting her.
While everyone was celebrating, no one noticed the little drone that had been watching Jennifer from the shadows of the room, hidden by some active camouflage tech. But if one had looked carefully, they would have been able to make out its outline had they been looking for it. It then transmitted what it had recorded before flying off out of the club to spy on its main target for a bit.
~w~
~Omake 3: AA Check Up~
Tony, Pepper, and Rhodey were still a little confused about living in a space that shouldn't technically exist, while the twins they were traveling with seemed to be handling it without a care for it being unordinary. In fact, Wanda was currently enjoying the hot tub that was in the bathroom, while Peitro was currently watching a television he had found that was powered by an outlet that, like the room's space, shouldn't exist.
"This is so not normal…" Tony said, still in denial that this could be real, even as he was forced to accept it was.
"I know Tony," Pepper said, "Maybe we're in another universe, dimension, or timeline thingy!" she said, ignoring the glare that Tony shot her for her actually saying 'Timeline thingy'. "I mean, there are older versions of us out there, the twins told us about you at least having a version of you here!" she added in her excited state.
Rhody, meanwhile, was staying silent, still wondering exactly what happened to them.
Suddenly, a knock came from the door to their 'cabin' and the voice of the captain called out. "Oi, if you want, we're in international waters now, so ya can come out and stretch your sea legs for a bit if ya want!" he called before returning to steering the boat across the Atlantic.
Rhody sighed before going outside for some fresh air, as spacious and nice as their 'quarters' were, it was still kinda claustrophobic in there due to no windows, not to mention two of his cabin mates were driving him crazy with their 'theories'.
~w~
~Omake 4: Delayed Arrival~
~Location: Asgard~
Heimdal raised an eyebrow as the Bifrost activated, although, it wasn't how it normally looked, it was still a rainbow bridge, but, it had lots of streaks of blue light that it had never had before, it was also shooting out sparks randomly like one of Midgard's malfunctioning electronics, before it seemed to, for lack of a better description, 'spit out', a blonde girl in golden armor, with a child/teen sized greatsword, and had an appearance to her that screamed 'Thor'.
As the girl got up, looking around in a panic, she spotted Heimdall and spoke with a clearly Midgardian accent. "Who are you?" she asked.
Heimdall arched an eyebrow in curiosity, as the girl was clearly Asgardian, and yet carried herself more like a Midgardian. "I am Heimdall, young Asgardian," he replied.
"Heimdall is white," the girl told him, clearly confused.
Heimdall now raised his other eyebrow, "I have always had dark skin, young Asgardian," he replied, slightly amused, "Might I enquire as to who you are?" he asked with a smile.
The girl huffed and then, using her sword to stand up declared, "I am Torunn Thorsdóttir, my mother is Sif, queen of Asgard, while my father is king Thor!"
Now Heimdall was surprised, "I believe you are confused, young Torunn, Odin is King of Asgard, and Thor is betrothed to Sif, they have yet to marry," Heimdall finished.
Now Torunn was confused, "Odin, my grandfather is still alive?" she replied in confusion, her words also confusing Heimdall. "But, he died years before the rise of Ultron on Earth!" she said, confusion evident in her voice, "Infact, I was on my way, from Midgard to Asgard, with the blessing of my father, to request aid in the search for my brother, James!" she finished, some fear evident in her tone now.
"I believe you should speak with king Odin and queen Frigga, young one, they may be able to answer your questions and aid you better than I can." Heimdall replied before sending off a message to Odin to have some guards come to escort the young princess who was starting to show signs of distress.
~w~
AN: Oracle: And that's a wrap for now. Sorry about all the delays uptil now. Life can be such a pain sometimes when you just want to sit down and get some writing done. Still, here we are, the end of the last chapter. We are still working through our list of things to do while trying to keep things flowing and interesting. We hope very much that you enjoyed at least some of this chapter and can forgive the long wait. Stay safe and healthy everyone. We'll see you next time.
Ogremen: Now, I am sure that many of you are wondering why Torunn didn't appear around the same time James did, and, in simple terms, its cause she was traversing space via the Wormhole that is the Bifrost Bridge, as such, it interfered with the process, hence, a late arrival XD Anyway, we hope you enjoyed the chapter, and hopefully you go wild with theories, thoughts, wonderings, and the like trying to figure out what happens next! ^w^ anyway we hope you enjoyed the chapter, but till next time then! ;P