21 Chapter Twenty-One

The next day arrived and Harry informed Natasha at breakfast that he would not be joining them for training that day. Natasha looked between him and Clint, who nodded slightly and said, "I suppose we can skip today. I'll come with." Then she looked at Sif, "I'm sorry Sif, there's something personal we have to take care of. We'll have to go shopping tomorrow. Would you mind accompanying Bruce, while we go take care of it?"

"Of course not! I find Bruce's gentle company refreshing, so unlike the warriors of Asgard. It feels like I am conversing with a healer." Sif stated.

"Well, technically, he is a doctor and even though his field is science, he helped a lot of sick people on his travels." Harry stated. "Bruce, did you know Sif here is aware of the location of magical creatures in the nine realms? So far I've confirmed Ashwinders and Unicorns."

"Really?!" Bruce exclaimed excitedly. "We may have more to talk about than I thought." He said interestedly. He would be able to describe some of the creatures he wants and show her pictures. Who knew, he may even be able to use other creatures as replacements for potions ingredients!

"Indeed, but we use different names for them, so describing them will help. Why do you seek the whereabouts of these creatures?" Sif asked.

"Harry has instructed me in the creation of potions and I am trying to recreate ones that require magical creatures for their unique properties, though I will try not to harm the creatures to do so. We would someday need to capture some of them to setup a place where they can live freely and we can gather from them as needed." Bruce explained.

"You do not wish them killed?" Sif asked.

"Not necessarily. Some parts we may need will call for their lives, but we will ensure they don't suffer and we won't threaten an entire species just for the sake of potions." Bruce assured her.

"You are truly a kind man, to consider such things. Back on Asgard, not many would stop from killing the prey just because they wanted a trophy." Sif said thoughtfully.

Harry smiled at the blossoming friendship. Steve interrupted his thoughts, "Hey, Harry, mind if I use the Room today? I'd like to try a few things."

"No problem Steve. I won't be gone all day though and I suspect we'll still use it for training later." Harry said.

"That's fine. I liked the dojo. Its good exercise and the instructors are just as good. I'll join you from now on, if that's okay?" Steve asked.

"Of course! The room is for the Avengers to use. I did make it so we could relax, but also for its usefulness as a training ground." Harry said.

"Can you imagine going through another invasion scenario, but in controlled circumstances?" Natasha asked him.

"That is a good idea. We could improve our efficiency and try different tactics on the same scenario and never have to worry about collateral damage. We could even run drills in pairs and find out who works best together if the team needs to split up." Steve was getting into the idea of controlled emulations. If he had any say about it, the team would become an unstoppable force for good.

"Have at it Steve. The room is yours to experiment with." Harry said.

"Thanks Harry." Steve said as he got up to start clearing away dishes.

Steve had decided that he would be the dishwasher as Bruce did the cooking. He was the sort that believed in doing his part. Bruce wasn't complaining. Harry would have just used magic, but somehow felt Steve needed routine and left it up to him.

When Clint, Natasha and Harry were ready, they took the Carpet, since Harry didn't know where they were going. Natasha could have told him but she liked the Carpet and decided to enjoy the trip.

Clint's reaction to the Carpet was refreshing. He didn't seem surprised at all and didn't blink once it appeared. He simply got on and sat down at the front, when Harry and Natasha sat down looking in one direction. He'd point out their route.

Clint was impressed with the speed they were travelling at. They'd be home soon and he couldn't wait to see his wife and children and their reaction to the carpet. Maybe he could get Harry to give them a ride. It seemed safe enough.

They arrived soon and Clint had him land in the back yard where the children were playing and Laura were watching them. The moment they appeared, Laura called her children to her, but the moment she saw who was on the carpet, she let them go as they squealed and ran to the obvious magic means of conveyance.

Clint got up when they almost landed and jumped off greeting his children with hugs. When his wife approached he kissed her with a smile on his face. "I've brought company." He informed her.

She just smiled at him. "I can see that." The children had run onto the Carpet to greet their Aunt Nat. Their dirty shoes dragging mud onto the carpet. "Cooper, Lila, get off the Carpet with those muddy shoes." She said as she approached.

Harry got up and said, "Hi, I'm Harry. Nice to meet you. Don't worry about the mud." He waved his hand and the carpet was pristine again along with the children's shoes. "My fault for landing in the back yard with children at play." He smiled tolerantly.

"Harry likes children." Natasha informed her. "Hi Laura, how are things?"

"Hi Natasha. Things are fine here. I just didn't expect to see anyone today. Anything I should be worried about?" she asked, a hint of a frown on her face.

"No actually. I've made a new friend who has decided I don't get to see my wife nearly often enough. He's going to arrange it so I can see you more often. And add some protections." Clint said.

"Maybe we should get that out of the way." Harry said. "Everybody on the carpet, please. I need you to show me the boundaries of your property."

The children were still on the carpet with Nat and she sat down telling them to do the same. Laura and Clint sat on the other end. They rose up and Harry asked Clint to point them at the edges. It was a farm after all. They took it slowly, so that the children could enjoy the trip. When they reached one corner, Harry conjured an arrow, concentrated some magic into it as a beacon and asked Clint to put it in as exact a corner as he could.

Clint took the arrow and shot it into the ground. They did this process three more times and then they went to the centre of the property. Then Harry paused, "What is the address of this property? I need it for the protections." Clint told him and Harry continued. He first made the property unplottable and then he cast the Fidelius.

He flew them off of Clint's property and turned around. "Clint, where do you stay?"

"I… I… I don't know. Do I have a house?" he asked. There was something bothering him. He just didn't know what.

Harry pointed next to them and asked, "What do you see there?"

"A farm belonging to some friendly people I've met once or twice." Clint replied. Still something was bothering him.

Harry whispered the secret into Clint's ear and his farm slid into view, the surrounding farmland moving out of the way for it. "Harry, you son…" he stopped himself, looking at his children. "That wasn't very nice." he ground out.

"And how would you have believed me when I told you the entire world now sees this stretch of land like you did?" Harry asked. "For that matter, try to tell someone about where you live."

He turned to Laura and said, "Laura we live in… we live in… I can't say it! Why can't I say it?!" Clint panicked slightly.

Harry then said where they lived aloud and Laura looked around, a look of relief crossing her face.

"Now you can say it, because everyone here knows the secret. That's the beauty of it. Nobody can reveal the secret except the secret keeper. Me in this case. It has to be a magical, unfortunately." at this Harry took a pad out of his pocket and wrote the secret down. "You can show someone this and reveal the secret that way, though. I suggest you keep it in your bag." Harry tore the note off and gave it to Clint. "Congratulations, your family now lives in one of the most secret locations on the planet. A secret known only to those here."

Clint was suddenly smiling, realizing what Harry had actually done for him. "Thank you." He said sincerely.

"Yes, thank you!" Laura said standing up and giving Harry a hug.

"It's nothing. I always look out for my friends." Harry said modestly.

"This is not nothing, Harry. You just made a huge difference in their lives. Clint can now rest easily knowing his family is safe, no matter what." Natasha said.

"Oh, that reminds me. If you have a wedding band, you can now wear it. Nobody can get the location of your family out of you, not even mind readers and I can turn the ring into your way home." Harry said as he flew them back to Clint's house.

Clint took a chain from around his neck and removed a wedding band from it handing it to Harry as they landed. Harry walked up to their porch and concentrated for a minute with the band in his hand. When he was done he handed it to Clint. "I added something extra."

Clint put it on and the band went invisible. "That's cool." He took it off and it became visible again. "Really cool."

"Go stand by the carpet and say 'No place like home'." Harry instructed. Clint did so and disappeared to instantly appear where Harry had been while he made the portkey. "'Back to base' takes you to your starting location." Harry explained. Clint didn't need to, but tested it anyway. He reappeared by the Carpet.

"Daddy, you disappeared!" Lila exclaimed excitedly running up to her dad.

"Yes I did, honey. Aunt Nat's new boyfriend is a real life magic wizard. It's his carpet we rode and his magic that will let me see you guys more." Clint explained.

"Really?! Can he make rabbit's appear from a hat?" she asked disbelievingly.

"He probably could, but chances are he'd rather turn the hat into a dragon." He then leaned to her ear and whispered, "If you ask him real nice, he might show you a unicorn."

The little girl's eyes bulged and she turned and ran to the wizard. Harry just scowled until the happy little girl asked if he could show her a unicorn. He couldn't resist. He turned a stone into a miniature replica of a unicorn and animated it so that it could run around with a squealing little girl running after it. The boy wasn't much older and soon he was running after his own dragon, who was flying low to the ground and not very quickly. Breathing cold fire, that couldn't burn.

"That was very nice of you, but now they won't want to see me anymore!" Natasha pouted.

"What can I say? Children love magic, and I like children. If you want to blame someone, blame Clint. He set them up to it." Harry shrugged with a half-smile.

Clint just looked at Harry like he had betrayed him, when Natasha's eyes settled on him. Natasha loved the kids. "Come on Nat, they love their aunt. Chances are they will love you more now that you brought the magic." Clint tried to plead.

"Refer to me as 'The Magic' again and you'll wake up having forgotten how to use your right hand tomorrow." Harry threatened.

Laura just laughed. "You're being ridiculous Nat. The kids won't forget about you. We should actually thank Harry. The kids will sleep well tonight." she said as she watched the kids running and playing with the animated dolls. "The creatures don't need feeding or anything right? And did that dragon just breathe fire?" she suddenly looked slightly worried.

"They are animated, so no food. The fire is cold, so don't worry. It literally couldn't hurt a fly. I could set it up so they become active during the day and turn to stone at night, if you want?" Harry asked.

"That would be nice, thanks." Laura smiled at him.

They stayed for lunch at Laura's insistence. Despite her worry the children still vied for Natasha's attention, though now with magical dolls in hand or following them around. She introduced Harry as Uncle Harry, and they promised not to tell anyone about his magic, serious looks on their little faces. When lunch was over, Harry conjured them some ice-cream.

"You do realize this will just give them more energy for me to handle later, right?" Laura asked with humour.

Natasha handled this one, "Harry conjured the ice-cream. It will disappear in a while and they won't get any sustenance from it."

"That's useful. Wish I had more of that around." Laura said.

"I'll come visit again sometime, with Clint. Now that it's an easy trip for him, I'm sure he'll be here more often than not. The rest of the time, he'll be training with the other Avengers at my house or working." Harry said.

"Wait, does that mean you're Ghost?" Laura suddenly realised.

Harry put his finger to his lips and looked at the children. "I don't like that spread around, let's keep that between us." For their own dessert, Harry made them some Butterbeer.

"Can I try some?" Cooper, the boy, asked when he saw the drinks.

"I'm sorry kiddo. This is for us older people." Clint said ruffling the kid's hair. It was technically water, but he didn't want his children developing a taste for alcoholic drinks.

The boy pouted, but noticed his ice-cream bowl suddenly had an extra scoop and fell into it again.

"You're good with children." Laura said. "Speaking of which, do you intend to make an honest woman of our Nat?" she smiled.

"Not you too! Why is everyone pressing for that? We only just went official!" Harry complained.

"I'm not talking about right now, but you do seem closer than I've see Nat to anyone. I do have to look out for my closest friend." Laura said.

"We are still exploring the possibilities," Natasha said. "But between you and me, Harry told the Queen of Asgard, Frigga, that if she continued pushing him, he'd stop going to Asgard until we're engaged." she said with a stage whisper and a smile on her face.

"If you start pushing me, too, I'm cutting you off." Harry made a hollow threat. He knew she was joking.

"Oh please, like you could resist me." Natasha scoffed, punching his arm. "If I become serious about it, you'll know. There is no rush, we have time on our side." she finished.

"Yes we do." Harry smiled in satisfaction.

"It's good to see you so happy." Laura said, then looked at her children and some sadness crossed her face.

"Don't worry about that anymore. It's been resolved." Natasha said mysteriously, having caught the look.

"Really!?" Laura asked, shock in her face.

"Really." Natasha smiled at her.

The next moment Laura was around the table and Natasha was caught in a death lock of a hug. Clint just sat there smiling, then he looked at Harry.

"Don't look at me, she's got Frigga to thank for that." Harry said.

"And who introduced them?" Clint asked.

"Well, I may have had a hand in that, but the rest was all up to her." Harry said honestly.

"He's being modest." Natasha said. "He basically told Frigga that we're going somewhere and she decided to open up some possibilities."

She was suddenly in another hug, this one from Clint. "I'm really happy for you, Nat."

Harry was in a hug as well. "You take good care of her, you hear!" Laura said as a couple of tears fell on Harry's shoulder.

"I intend to." Harry said again, just as he had Clint. Natasha had some good friends here and he liked them. Especially the little ones. He'd have to do something special for them. He'd think about it. Maybe a swimming pool, or a magical waterpark in the back yard? Children liked those. Hell, Harry liked those. He'd have to put some water slides in at his pool. Hulk sized.

"We'll have to invite you to lunch sometime. You and the kids can meet the Avengers and be back home by dinner." Natasha said. "Now that Clint has an instant form of travel between two of the most secure places imaginable, you can safely travel between them."

"You should otherwise be able to carry on as normal, just don't expect your neighbours to be too accommodating should you need to borrow a cup of sugar." Harry chuckled. "We'll also have to set you up with a PMG soon, as the power company will soon realize power is going somewhere and they have no reference to it."

"PMG?" Clint asked.

"Tony and I invented a form of free electricity. The Perpetual Motion Generator, or PMG, runs on magic, without causing magical interference, so your electronics will be safe." Harry said.

"What about the Fidelius?" Natasha asked.

"It doesn't permeate, as much as surround. That's why I can take people to our house without them knowing the secret." Harry answered.

"That's useful. It will also take us completely off the grid." Laura said. "Besides gas and internet anyway."

"Clint and I will go shopping tomorrow while Sif and Natasha are out. We can replace anything that runs on gas with electricity. I'll stop by Tony this evening and see if he's gotten anywhere with the PMG's otherwise we'll make you one. Come tomorrow night, we'll have everything sorted, but the internet. You'll have to stick to cellular until we can come up with something else. My auction is coming up soon. So I have to start looking for an island to purchase." Harry said.

"You've been busy." Natasha said to him.

"Why do you think I needed the time and arranged what I did for the director?" Harry said.

They were soon ready to leave and said goodbye to the kids, who hugged both aunt Nat and uncle Harry. Clint was staying. He promised to be at the house after breakfast for training. Harry and Natasha apparated away.

When they arrived back at the house, Harry and Natasha went in search of Bruce and Sif. They found them in Bruce's lab, going over some books on magical creatures. They were talking happily, Sif explaining where she had encountered one creature or another, many of which the books didn't have. Bruce was explaining to her how he theorized the way they lived their lives affected their magical properties in potions.

"Hi, guys. How are things going?" Harry asked.

"Greetings, Harry. Bruce has been explaining his theories on magical creatures and their influence on potions based on their habits and living conditions. It is most interesting. If his theories prove true, I should be able to procure, if not the exact creatures, at least something that lives in similar circumstances with similar properties." Sif said happily. Apparently she had decided to help Bruce with his projects.

"Sif has been helping narrow down some items we will need going forward. I can't wait to see what I can do when I receive some new ingredients!" Bruce enthused. "We may need to find a way to compensate her once she sets us up with enough creatures. If they work, her contribution would have proven incalculable." Bruce said thinking of all the people they could help.

"I would do it for my friends because I want to help, friend Bruce. You don't need to think of payment." Sif said.

"You would be wrong," Harry said, "If you can do what Bruce thinks, you'll be contributing to us saving thousands if not millions of lives. That is worth a lot to us. I'll think about it in the meanwhile." Harry said. "The only problem would be getting to the other realms. I have a theory on that, but I'll need to test it first. We can do that tomorrow. Right now I'm going to Tony's. We need to set something up for Clint." Harry said.

"I'll go to the Dojo. I don't feel right without my exercise." Natasha smiled at Harry.

"I understand. I'll see you guys later." Harry waved goodbye to Bruce and Sif. He was already thinking of how to solve their world travel issue. He gave Natasha a quick peck on the cheek and then Apparated away to Tony's balcony.

"Good evening, Harry." Jarvis said.

"Hi, Jarvis. How are things here?" Harry asked.

"Well, thank you. Tony is in his lab. He has been informed of your arrival and asked that you join him." Jarvis replied.

"Thanks." Harry said and moved through the house.

When he got to the lab, Tony called, "Come look, I think I got the self-destructing rune cluster all set up!"

Harry hurried over and looked at the screen where Tony was inscribing runes with a laser inside what looked like a bottle. "What is this?" Harry asked.

"A vacuum sealed unit. I kept on getting failures, in simulation, when the scheme would self-destruct before I could put the units together. So I decided to go with a rune scheme that would activate when exposed to air." Tony explained.

As Harry watched, the laser head stopped moving and a bar of metal started glowing with the word 'TEST'. The head then extracted itself from the bottle and a mechanical arm sealed the bottle with a cap of some sort. The word could still be seen glowing inside. "Is that right so far?" Harry asked.

"Not done yet." Tony said. On the screen the room the bottle was in recompressed and what looked like gas filled in the chamber before it settled. "Recompressed. Now, if my plan is correct, we need to simply remove the cap and the light runes will be destroyed." Tony said. The same arm that placed it, removed the cap and a second later there was a flash and the light went out. "YES!" Tony crowed. He typed in another command and the disc was removed from the bottle and place under a microscope. The image appeared of a scorched surface with not one line visible. "Perfect! We now have a way to manufacture PMG's without the risk of our method getting out!"

"That's awesome, Tony! Well done!" Harry said.

"Yes, congratulations on your success, sir." Jarvis intoned.

"I couldn't have done it without science!" Tony said, pointing at Harry. "I told you there was place for science in magic!"

"And I never argued as you'll recall." Harry said. "In fact, I asked Bruce to start trying to investigate if potions brewing methods could be upgraded with science on that first day even."

"But this is runes!" Tony said triumphantly. "I'm pioneering the path for future advancements and I don't have any competition! Well, except maybe for you, but that won't be for much longer. I'm on my second mastery book already."

"Really?! That's truly impressive. And puts you far ahead of me." Harry said shocked. Just how much of a genius was Tony, really? "How long would it take for you to construct our first PMG if you started making one now?" Harry asked.

Tony grinned. "I'll just need you to power the runes, inside the vacuum."

"Um, Tony. I can't survive in a vacuum." Harry said disappointedly.

"Not a problem! I was able to procure some adamantite, at expense I might add, and made a wire with a mechanical arm. All you need to do is power the first generator's runes and then we've got a magic generator, ready to power future runes including ones in a vacuum!" Tony was really excited. He had modified some runes to extract the magical power build-up and direct it. Harry just needed to power the generator the first time. After that it could be switched off with the runes still active for when he needed it again.

Ten minutes later, the world's first magic generator was up and running. Jarvis was in charge of manufacturing the PMG, so Harry and Tony went for a drink.

"So Sif and Bruce are planning on getting ingredients, Pepper is setting up the Auction for next week, we're starting up PMG production and producing Firewhiskey and you're making friends with monarchs of foreign worlds. Does that about sum it up?" Tony asked.

"More or less. I still need that island and set up a couple of greenhouses for crops. I'll need to set up environments that the creatures would like living in. Then there's one or two more projects I'm currently working on." Harry said offhandedly.

"Tell me about these projects." Tony said, intrigued.

"One thing I think you can start on if you want is something that condenses water out of the air like I do. Water shortage is also a problem a lot of rural settlements suffer from."

"That is a useful idea. I'll look into it. Anything else?" Tony asked, eyes gleaming with interest.

Just then Jarvis informed them that the first of the Stark Industries and Potter Innovations Perpetual Motion Generators was completed and tested as working optimally.

"Next time, maybe I'll tell you more. I'm almost late for dinner. I also need that generator for a friend. I'd tell you, but I'm keeping someone secret and off the grid for a friend." Harry apologised.

"That's fine. I've got enough I'm working on anyway. I'm thinking of starting to produce flying cars, but haven't figured out the runes for it yet." Tony said.

Harry just smirked and said, "My friend's dad once enchanted their Ford Anglia to fly and turn invisible. We took it to school once. We got in a lot of trouble."

"A Ford? Why not something cool at least, like a DeLorean?" Tony asked.

"They were not a rich family and all magical. Arthur had a thing for all things mundane. He had a plug collection he was really proud of." Harry said reminiscing fondly.

"Wizards." Tony scoffed.

"Okay, I'm going. Congratulations again on the success. Thanks for the PMG." Harry said and apparated away.

Once he was back home with the PMG, he stashed it in his room before going for dinner. He just made it. Everyone was sitting and about to tuck in when Harry showed up. "Sorry for being late." Harry said as he walked in. Bruce was about to get up to go dish up for Harry, when he said, "Sit down, Bruce. I'm not an invalid."

He quickly dished up and came back to sit with the rest.

"And, were you able to make one?" Natasha asked.

"Yes actually. I've got one upstairs. PMG production will be starting from today. We were able to secure our interests as well, so we can start selling them and providing power to people in need." Harry said proudly.

"That is amazing news, Harry!" Bruce enthused, thinking of all the suffering that can be avoided once power issues becomes a thing of the past.

"I've also asked Tony to start on a way to condense water from the air. That will probably take some time, but will be infinitely more useful." Harry said.

"You really are intent on saving as many people as possible aren't you?" Sif asked, wonder in her eyes. This man was a true hero unlike any other she had heard of. She would need to step up her game if she wanted to be part of it. Bruce had offered her part of something that could be equally as great.

Steve just listened as his teammates talked. It sounded like they were trying to eliminate one need after the other. He knew that's not where his strengths lay, but he was proud to be associated with them. These were the real heroes. The ones that saved lives every day. Maybe he'd see if they could use him somewhere too.

The next day Harry joined Natasha, Sif, Clint, Steve and Bruce in the dojo. Once done, they showered and Harry disillusioned them before apparating to a nearby mall. Harry took Clint to get the required kitchenware, and purchased one better than Clint asked at every turn. Clint would be rerouting the power for the house.

They went back home, picked up the PMG and apparated to Clint's house. Harry helped him install the hardware and removed the old stuff and then left him there with the rest. It was only fair.

Next Harry had to test his theory, but didn't want people there to worry about him, so he was glad Natasha was out. He created a portkey to Asgard. This was a dangerous proposition. He had a separate return Portkey, just in case, but if the trip took too long there would be a moment where he was in space after tossing the portkey, before he could activate the other to take him home, so he donned his armour, added every protection he could, layered multiple bubblehead charms over his head, till it went over his shoulders and prayed for success.

Checking everything twice, he activated the portkey. There was the normal rush, as the portkey took him up, which gradually became less bumpy, until he reached space and then in an instant, the rush was back and he was descending to where Heimdall stood waiting.

"Congratulations, Harry Potter, on your first inter-galactic portkey." Heimdall smiled at him.

Harry took a moment do dispel his protections. "Inter-galactic?!" Harry exclaimed.

"Yes, I followed your travel carefully. It took but a moment when you reached the void, where there was no resistance. It seems your magic compensated for much too." Heimdall said. "I suspect you won't need protection, as the magic of the form of travel involved protected you."

"That's so COOL!" Harry said. "Let me try this. Oh, and hello and bye."

"Goodbye, Harry Potter." Heimdall said.

Harry activated the return portkey without his protections and felt much the same as he did on the first. Perhaps a bit more in the beginning and end, where he left and entered the atmosphere, but he had no trouble breathing and never felt the cold of the void. 'Cool' he thought to himself.

Having had such a huge success, Harry went back to the mall. He found Natasha and Sif in the food court with many bags around them. Sif was wearing skinny jeans and a tank top. Natasha had added some mascara to her eyes, but besides that she didn't need make-up. Her natural beauty was such that make-up would only detract from it. They seemed to be eating some burgers and fries. Sif was enjoying it very much.

Harry joined them and shrunk their purchases for Natasha to keep in her bag after a quick notice-me-not. They had apparently not finished, so Harry begged off, having been through the hell that was shopping with women. He was tempted to stay when Natasha alluded to lingerie, but decided to have her keep her surprises and went to a book store. He bought everything that showed how to bake and cook on a stove and in an oven. From foreign delicacies to mac and cheese.

Then he went and purchased every kitchen convenience that did not run on power. He then looked up local spice merchants apparated and purchased bags of every spice imaginable. Lastly he went looking for seeds of every herb and spice he could lay his hands on. Frigga would not be disappointed.

Still Harry thought it was not enough for what she had done for Natasha. So he placed two orders of every type of food at restaurants all over the city, travelled there and picked them up. Drinks and sauces included. Everything was shrunk and preserved in stasis so that it would come out fresh as if just cooked. When that was done he felt he had done enough for today. He was shocked to note the time. He picked up his phone and called Natasha.

"Hi Harry," She answered. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I was just wondering when and where I should come pick you up." Harry said.

"We're already home. We took the Avengers portkey." She replied.

"Oh, okay." Harry said. "I'm heading home now. See you now." He hung up the phone and apparated home.

"Hi," Harry said when he saw her. "I was running around doing some stuff for a friend when I realized the time. When did you get home?"

"About an hour ago. Are you arranging a surprise again?" Natasha asked.

"For Frigga, yes." he said. "Don't spoil it Heimdall!" he then suddenly said looking at the ceiling.

"If it's a good surprise, I doubt he'd tell her." Natasha laughed.

"It is. But let's have dinner first and then we're going to Asgard." Harry said.

During dinner Harry asked Sif, "We're going to visit Asgard tonight if you're interested."

She thought about it and shook her head. "No, thank you. Bruce is going to teach me how to make a potion to calm nerves."

Harry smiled. That was proceeding rather nicely, he thought. "That's fine. I just thought I'd ask."

"Thank you. Send King Odin and Queen Frigga my regards?" she asked.

"Will do." Harry said. And that was that. She continued her discussion with Bruce about ingredients and cutting methods. Clint was at his home, really enjoying the convenience of his ring portkey. Steve was asking questions here and there, seeming interested in Bruce and Sif's discussions. Natasha and he were talking about purchases and he informed her about his gifts to Frigga. He asked her to deliver them as the reason for the gifts was as thank you for what Frigga had done for her.

After dinner, Natasha went to don the armour Harry had given her for the purpose, Harry took her to his room and donned his own. He set up the return portkey and then said, "To Asgard!"

The portkey activated and soon they were standing next to Heimdall.

"Did you just portkey us to Asgard?" Natasha asked incredulous.

"Yes I did. Tried it out earlier today and it worked fine." Harry said with a smile.

"Wasn't that dangerous?" she scowled at him.

"I had a backup plan and redundant protections in place. Ask Heimdall." Harry said.

"I know better than to step into this conversation." Heimdall said. Also smiling, but Harry could see a glimmer of humour in his features.

"Oh, you're so becoming a goat one of these days." Harry said to Heimdall. He then turned to Natasha, "I promise I was as safe as possible. I just needed to know if it would work. Now we can travel to the other worlds with Sif's memories of them. With the Bifrost still not up, it was our only chance."

She stood there looking at him angrily. "I'm not happy about this, but I know it is important to you. Just promise me you won't do stuff like that without informing me in the future. I'm your girlfriend, not your babysitter. I understand risks are sometimes needed, but if we could discuss contingencies, I might think of something you did not, like wearing a space-suit, in case you get stuck in space." she demanded. "We can get those you know."

"You have a good point. Sorry." he said with downcast eyes.

"Don't be sorry, be careful." she instructed. She then turned to Heimdall, "Are the King and Queen ready to receive us?"

"You may go to the citadel. Someone will be waiting to take you to them. I informed them it would be a private discussion and who would be in attendance, but nothing else." Heimdall said.

"Thank you." Harry said and picked Natasha up before flying to the citadel. A servant was waiting for them and led them to a private counsel table. They were announced and entered.

"Greetings Harry Potter and Natasha Romanoff. Welcome back to Asgard." King Odin said.

"Greetings." they intoned back.

"We were informed that you have a private matter to discuss." Odin said. "You have my ear and that of my Queen."

"Thank you King Odin." Natasha said. "We are here to thank you for the kindness you showed me when I first visited, Queen Frigga. For giving my future infinite more possibilities and hope, we present you with these humble gifts."

Harry took out his pouch and waved his hand. First the books were presented, "These are the books you requested on making dishes from Midgard." Harry said. He waved his hand again and out flew the bags of spices, "These are all the dried herbs and spices we acquired for you." Again he waved his hand and out came the bags of seeds, "These are seeds for fresh herbs and spices that you can plant and grow." One last time, he waved his hand and hundreds of dishes flew out and un-shrunk themselves, "These are but some of the foods I acquired and put in stasis for you. There are two of each, so that you and the King may enjoy them at your leisure." Harry finished his presentation. The long table was stacked.

"This is a worthy gift. Too much even. Why do you give so much?" Frigga asked, standing up and looking at the plates of food covered with glass containers, so she could see inside.

"There is no price too high for a brighter future," Harry said solemnly.

"You bring my Queen much joy with your gifts and words, Harry. I thank you." Odin said. "But why did you want this done in private? We know you do not seek favour or fame, which to my estimation means you deserve both."

"I have two reasons, Majesty. First, this is a private matter between us and you. People would ask the reason and it is not for everyone to know. Secondly, Volstagg." Harry finished with a smile.

Odin actually laughed, "Indeed you speak with your customary wisdom and whit. For your gifts you will receive no reward, but for your candour and the happiness you brought to my Queen, I, King Odin Borson of Asgard, recognize you Harry Potter and Natasha Romanoff as Lord and Lady in my realm. There will be a banquet in your honour one week hence and you will sit by our sides, so that those who come may know your importance to the Crown." Odin said in his Royal voice. Then, "Do show up a bit early, though, as a Lord and Lady must be dressed as such and I suspect my Queen will want to help with that." he finished with a bit of a smile.