26 Chapter Twenty-Six

Harry and Logan arrived at Harry's house. Then he heard, "Is that you Harry? You're missing dinner!" from Bruce.

Harry walked to the dining room, "Sorry for being late. I brought a friend. Is there going to be enough?"

"I already ate." Logan said following Harry in.

"James?" Steve asked suddenly, looking at Logan.

"Name's Logan. Do I know you?" Logan asked.

"I'm sure it's you! How are you here?" Steve asked getting up.

"I don't know? How are you?" Logan asked confused, but suspecting Steve knew him from somewhere.

"Hold on guys. Let's not ruin Bruce's dinner." Harry said looking at Bruce.

"There's more than enough if you want some?" Bruce said getting up. "I'll go get you a plate. Just leave what you can't finish. You too Harry. Sit down."

"Thanks." Logan said roughly.

"Thank you!" Harry called after him and sat down, indicating Clint's seat to Logan. He hardly ate at the house if he could have his wife's cooking. Then he turned to Logan and said, "Now I know where I recognised you from. You were in Steve's memories."

"Exactly!" Steve exclaimed.

"That explains it then. Logan lost some memories, so he won't remember you Steve. I'm going to see if I can help him a bit." Harry said.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Steve said.

"It's okay. I'll live." Logan said. 'Whether I want to or not.' he finished in his head.

Bruce brought them both a plate of curry. "I love curry!" Harry said and started digging in.

"So what happened to you?" Natasha asked. "Got stuck doing experiments with Tony again?"

"Nah, he figured it out. I just forgot to help the professor with that possessed guy, so I quickly went and took care of that." Harry said nonchalantly.

"More like destroyed the bastard." Logan said with an approving smile.

"You went on another mission without me?" Natasha asked dangerously.

"I was perfectly safe." Harry calmed her down.

"Going up against the second strongest telepath in the multiverse." Logan scoffed.

"You aren't helping." Harry stage whispered to Logan.

"I'm not trying, but to be fair, it looked like he had it under control the whole time." Logan relented.

"What did you get up to today? We didn't see you around much." Bruce asked.

"Let's see, we worked on the Island, making the enclosures. We healed a bunch of children. We tracked down Deadpool. We rescued the X-Men, I put the Institute under Fidelius, I gave Deadpool his face back, I went to Tony's where he showed me his success on both projects and I destroyed an ancient fear demon." Harry summed up. Then he continued eating.

The rest of the table just stared at him. "I was there for most of it." Natasha confirmed. "Why did you bring Wolverine with you?"

"New drinking buddy. Steve doesn't like hanging anymore, something about too much alcohol, like there is such a thing." Harry scoffed. To be fair, Harry only drank every now and then. Sometimes he wasn't in the mood and preferred tea or coffee, but when he was, he went all out. He was learning how to make cocktails and other mixes. His reasoned that if he was to be a bartender, he'd needed to be able to make the drinks. He'd even expanded his choices so he could experiment.

"Sounds reasonable." Natasha said with a shrug. "Just don't kill him with alcohol poisoning. There are people who would be annoyed that you killed an immortal with alcohol."

"Immortal?" Steve asked.

"Or close to it. His mutation makes him immune to aging and regenerates any wound. I don't know what else you would call it." Natasha said offhandedly.

"That explains why you look the same. We fought in World War Two together with the Howling Commandoes. You and your brother." He finished.

"Brother?" Logan asked.

"Victor Creed." Steve confirmed.

"Why does that name sound familiar." Logan asked.

"Sabretooth." supplied Natasha.

"Really?" Logan asked with a dangerous look.

"Sorry." Natasha said, unrepentantly.

"No wonder he hates me." Logan said, thinking about it. Then he shrugged, "I feel the same."

They finished dinner, with the rest asking questions about Harry's day. Harry was excited about Tony's projects soon becoming a reality, after all the extra planning that still needed to be made, anyway. This brought up the subject of the beach-house, which went back to the animals Harry wished to house there. Bruce and Sif would be attempting to capture a mated pair of unicorns the next day. This got Logan's attention.

"Unicorns?" he asked.

"We will be going to the realm of Alfheim tomorrow, to scout the area. When we have acquired their trail, we hope to track them down and capture them for Harry's enclosures. Next we'll be looking for death-mares in Vanaheim." Sif supplied.

"Harry calls them Thestrals. Skeletal looking reptilian horses with wings. They are carnivorous, so we'll be starting a population of rabbits in another enclosure or two to feed them." Bruce said.

"You're starting a magical zoo?" Logan asked.

"We need the magical ingredients." Harry said.

"So a magical slaughterhouse?" Logan corrected.

"No, we don't intend to kill them needlessly. If at all possible we will save them pain and discomfort and release them back onto the compound good as new." Harry said.

"Good. I don't like animals being handled inhumanely." Logan grunted.

"If you want, you can join them on the trip. I hear you are a good tracker." Harry offered.

"I'll think about it." Logan said. "It does sound like fun, though." he added.

After dinner was completed (Logan did eat his whole plate happily) they all went for a couple of drinks. Logan scoffed at the idea of getting drunk. He'd never been able to achieve the feat and he'd tried. Then he was introduced to Firewhiskey. It was love at first taste. Harry had a feeling that his new drinking buddy would pull him to the bar more often than he'd like. Fortunately if it became too often he could simply hand him off to Steve. They were connecting really quickly, despite their character differences. Apparently Logan still had a lot of the same mannerisms and it resonated with Steve, who loved seeing someone from the old days.

They soon convinced Harry to go fetch his Pensieve. Logan for the opportunity to learn about himself and Steve for the possibility of helping an old friend and comrade. Steve showed him one of the better memories, where Logan's action saved a commando's life. In the process discovering that Logan had been a Mutant even then. He'd saved the commando at the cost of being hit instead, but healed too quickly for someone to notice the wound.

While they were in the memory, a though occurred to Harry and he cast his patronus again.

"What's that?" Natasha asked.

Harry looked at her and saw Bruce and Sif were also following the creature. "You can all see it?" Harry asked.

"Yes, what is it?" Bruce replied, noticing Sif looking at it as well.

"It is a patronus. Only magical people can see it, though. Or only they should be able to anyway." Harry said.

"Did you accidentally make us magical?" Natasha asked. She was reaching out to the Patronus, who walked closer for her to inspect. She tried touching it but her hand passed through, leaving her hand feeling slightly warm.

"I doubt it. Maybe it's the amount of magical alcohol, or the magic in the house's protections?" Harry mused.

"Maybe it's the fact that magical people don't exist in our world. Maybe only our enhanced can see them? It is possible that whatever caused magical people to exist in your world made mutants and super powered people on our side?" Bruce theorised.

"That actually makes a weird kind of sense. Power seeks a balance and all that. If there's a need, it will find a way out. In my world those born without magic in magical families could see a patronus too." Harry theorised too. "Either way, we have to test this. Which one of you wants to try the carpet?" Harry asked of Bruce and Natasha.

"Sorry, Harry. I already tried it." Bruce said apologetically. "It didn't do a thing."

"Damn!" Harry swore. "That would have been so cool."

"Don't worry, Harry. At least we found out that some things might work." Natasha put a hand on his knee, instantly cheering him up a bit.

"You must be magical. You can make me feel better with a couple of words and a touch." Harry smiled at her.

"That's a different kind of magic, Harry." Sif said from her chair. "Anybody has that sort of magic as long as you allow the connection."

"And you, missy, are getting wiser every day." Harry said looking at Sif with a genuine smile.

"I blame you." Sif replied with a smile of her own. Bruce was rubbing off on her. His wit seemed to be something she appreciated.

"Nah, that's all you." Harry replied.

Just then the other two exited the memory. Logan was holding his head with one hand. "I'm actually remembering some things. It's like the memories are there, but need something to connect with." He groaned, before smirking. "I like this. Alcohol and remembering. Works for me."

"Scientifically speaking, if your neural pathways were somehow interrupted, or broken, when you regenerate, they may regrow, but not necessarily activate. So when you see a memory, and your brain tries to process them and store them in the same way or location it had before, it opens the pathways again." Bruce suggested.

"So you're saying, my memories are there, just not active? I need to remember things by experiencing them? What's the point in that?" Logan asked.

"If, like someone with amnesia, you suddenly remember parts of your memories, chances improve for you to regain all of them. The mind is a complicated machine and we don't understand all of it, but that much is certain. Get some memories back and you might unlock them all." Bruce said confidently.

"That makes some sense, I suppose." He looked up at Harry with a smirk. "This what you had in mind?"

"Nope. I was going to do magic, but if this works for you, let's try it first and then we can decide to try something else later if it's necessary. I like seeing Steve so happy, and think you'll fit right in, if you're interested in staying a while?" Harry offered. "Steve, you said something about going with Sif and Bruce?"

"Yes, I was thinking of joining them. I wouldn't mind another soldier at my back." Steve said with a smile at Logan. Logan grabbed his head again. "What, another memory?" Steve asked.

"No, you're just so cheesy." Logan replied with a sudden smile. "I suppose I can live with that."

Steve, Sif and Bruce all laughed at that. Natasha proposed a toast to good memories and they all got down to the serious business of drinking.

The following day Harry woke up next to Natasha again. She had been spending more and more time in his room, not that he was complaining. He decided to go down and help Bruce with breakfast, so slipped from the covers and then went downstairs. Just as he reached the bottom, he saw Bruce sneaking from Sif's room.

When he spotted Harry he froze. The look of a deer caught in the headlights on his face. Then he shook himself and said, "Not one word about this." He looked both scared and annoyed now. He couldn't even get angry at Harry and unleashed the Other Guy. They'd simply laugh about this at his expense.

"Done." Harry said easily. "You go clean up, I'll start breakfast."

There was a moment, and then, "Thanks."

Ten minutes later, Bruce joined him and they worked together on the food until Sif joined them, early as usual. "Good morning!" she said happily.

"Morning." Harry said with a smile.

"Morning." Bruce said kind of nervously.

"Are you suddenly scared of me?" Sif asked with a smirk. "You weren't scared last night."

"No, I'm just worried that I… took advantage." Bruce said, having looked at Harry and wishing they were alone. Harry wasn't leaving. This was too much fun.

"Oh, please. I took you to my chambers, not the other way around, remember?" Sif scoffed, then stilled. "Unless you are regretting it?" she asked hesitantly.

"No!" Bruce vehemently denied. "I'm just not comfortable talking about this in front of Harry." he explained.

"He is the head of the house and Odin has referred my safety and health to him. He should know what is happening, or my honour would be tarnished." Sif said. She then looked at Harry, "Do you disapprove of our conduct, my lord?"

Knowing this was somehow formal, he did not object to the title. "I do not. Bruce is a good man. He will not bring shame to you. I believe it is a match well made. And his power is such that he might protect you, where all others may fail."

"Thank you, my lord. Thank you for approving." Sif said.

"Do you accept responsibility for her happiness while you explore the possibilities of your relationship?" Harry asked of Bruce.

Bruce hesitated, then, "Yes." he said sincerely.

"Know this. If you hurt her, it will be my responsibility to defend her honour, so be open and speak honestly. If either of you hesitate to communicate properly, it can only lead to unhappiness." Harry finished. "Now that the formalities are out of the way, have fun. It's only ever once the beginning and that's where most of the fun starts." he grinned. "Just be safe." he said looking at Bruce.

"Of course we're safe. We're in your protected house." Sif said.

"He means, contraceptives. To make sure you don't end up pregnant." Bruce said with a furious blush.

"I am not receptive at this stage." Sif said. She did not elaborate. Harry was happy for it.

"Just speak to Natasha in private about it at some point. She'll tell you of everything you might need to know." Harry informed her. "People on Midgard aren't all that open about sexual matters. It's considered private."

"I know where babies come from, Harry." Sif smiled.

"Do you know what people on Midgard do to prevent unwanted pregnancies?" Harry countered.

"I suppose I could discuss it with her." Sif replied, thoughtfully.

"Please do. Now, let's stop talking about this before poor Bruce dies of embarrassment." Harry smirked, looking at the man in question. Bruce was trying to act like he didn't hear them and just added more bacon to the griddle.

Steve joined them next, looking a little worse for wear. "Morning." He said, then looked up when he saw Harry. "Could you do something? My head is killing me."

Harry chuckled and cast a spell getting rid of the after effects of the alcohol. "Just remember to get…"

"Plenty of water for the dehydration. Yes, I know. We've been through this a couple of times now. Thanks, by the way." Steve said feeling almost at one hundred percent again.

The people stirring must have woken Logan, because he grumbled as he walked in.

"Good morning Logan." Steve said happily.

"What's so good about it?" Logan said grumpily.

"If you want, Harry could fix the hangover?" Steve offered.

"No. I'll wear it like a badge of honour. It's something I've never been able to experience. Makes me feel more human. What do normal people do for hangovers?" he asked.

"Pain killers, plenty of water, more rest, greasy food, or hair of the dog." Harry provided.

"More drink sounds stupid now that I know what a hangover feels like." Logan muttered.

"Suit yourself." Harry said and left the room to go wake up Natasha.

"Have some coffee. That sometimes helps, even if it's also counter-intuitive." Bruce supplied and handed him a cup, pointing at the coffee machine.

Soon everyone was gathered and decided to skip training for the day, since everyone had something to do.

Steve and Logan were joining Sif and Bruce for their first capture mission, shrinking-and-expanding cage in hand. Sif could activate the enchantments.

Harry and Natasha were off to Tony's place to pick up Tony and the building supplies. When they got there, he was standing with Pepper. She smiled at Natasha and they hugged. "Glad you could come. Without you, Harry will just get angry at Tony when he decides to build secret basements and stuff." Natasha said.

"Don't mock the man-cave! Every self-respecting man owns one at some point." Tony argued. Apparently he had been planning on changes.

"You know what? That lab we have in the plans is starting to look better as a place for my personal gym." Pepper threatened sweetly.

"I'll be good." Tony said immediately.

"Everybody ready? You know it's still a couple of hours before sunrise there, right?" Harry asked as he shrunk the supplies and deposited them in his bag along with the devices Tony had ready for him.

"Make a stop at the safe site. Our personal water tank is ready for pickup. This is one for us, so no extra parts needed. The IN is also already setup here. All we need is power and we're online." Tony said.

Harry shrugged and transported them to the secure site. While Harry was shrinking the tank, Tony quickly picked up four short, staff-like items and put them in a pocket. When Harry looked at him he winked. Harry let it go. He then transported them to New Atlantis. They had a lot to do today.

Once Harry created some light for them, and conjured a table, Pepper took out the plans and they started discussing exactly where the houses would be and how deep they'd have to dig. Bedrock would be preferable, but if that was too deep, Harry assured them he could ensure the houses didn't sink or shift with the sand.

He soon had the cement mixed and the ground excavated, with moulds for the cement in place. Harry had simply transfigured the sand into rock. Even if it was temporary, it would last long enough for the cement to set some. Harry moved the cement into place for the first foundation and was about to move on to the next, when Tony started moving around the edges placing the rods into the sand at the corners of the foundation.

"What's that?" Harry asked.

"This is a rune induced field generator. The bars work together to apply a specific kind of magic in a specified area. You cast something on one of them, and add enough power. The runes do the rest. In this case it will work on your time dilation charm. Basically, you make time pass for the cement to settle and then you continue to build. Each time you put down the layers you need and activate the charms. That's just under six days per minute, under the charm you have set up at the distillery." Tony finished proudly.

"This is going to make things so much quicker!" Pepper said. "Can you do that?" she asked Harry.

"Let's see shall we?" Harry said as he lifted his hand and concentrated on one of the bars. A minute later, Harry dropped the charm. It was much easier than concentrating on the dimensions of the field he wanted. "Did it work?" Harry asked to Tony who was leaning down to touch the cement.

Instead of answering, Tony got up and stepped onto the cement. "Solid as a rock!" he exclaimed.

From there they decided to focus on one building at a time. They weren't going for too big, since Harry would be expanding them anyway. If this was going to be a magical get-away for them, Harry would bring the magic. Having taken this into consideration, they decided to go for two stories and none of the interior was done besides the floors. Once the expansion was done they'd start on the insides. Harry would need to open spaces for piping and ducting, but that would be quick and easy considering what he could do.

About lunch-time, Malibu time, Tony had hooked up the first ever IRDR, the first house was almost complete and a carpet appeared with a smiling Bruce, Sif and Steve. Logan looked smug. They all got on the carpet and flew to the enclosures. Harry had been given the instructions on how to set up the enclosure. Fields, sunshine, trees, grass and bushes. A stream would be put in later, using Tony's newest gadget, to filter the water and cycle it. Keeping it topped up automatically with a hidden valve system.

When they arrived at the enclosure everybody disembarked and Sif enlarged the cage. Two pure white unicorns were staying as far away from the humans as possible. Logan spoke up, "They were being hunted by other predators. Strange things, looked like a cross between a lion and a goat with a snake for a tail."

"Sounds like a chimera. Probably their natural predators." Harry said. "Fawkes!" he called. The phoenix appeared and landed on Harry's shoulder. "We need them calm. They were being hunted. The enclosure there is a safe space, where they will be cared for." Harry said pointing. The phoenix's mere presence already seemed to calm the animals. Harry moved in slowly. The male moved in front of its partner protectively, but smelled Harry's offered hand.

"We're not going to hurt you. This will be where you sleep." Harry said pointing at the enclosure, not knowing if the creature understood, but hoping so anyway. "If you want you can roam the island and nobody will hunt you again."

Surprising Harry, Logan walked right up to the beast and stroked its neck. "He doesn't understand you, but if the door is open, he'll know. The mare is pregnant, so they'll want privacy for a while, but once the foal is born they will come out to explore with it. We might need to consider rescuing more of them. The predators in the area are overpopulated. We could probably help with that too."

"You sure seem to understand them well." Harry said, impressed.

"It's an animal thing. He understands body language. Posture and movement. Confidence is key to working with any animal." Logan explained.

"Can you look after them until the foal is born? I'll give you a way to get here and everything. I'd just rather not spook them while they settle in." Harry asked. "I can even pay you."

"I don't mind. I get along with nature. There's a reason they call me feral." Logan smirked.

"Thank you Logan. If you're as good with animals as you say, I might have a job for you. You know what we intend to do here. This is both a sanctuary and a place where magical animals will be brought together. Those that can live in harmony on the island with us, will be free to roam. For the others, we'll be creating specialised enclosures." Harry said.

"You mentioned something like that." Logan said. "I'll think about it, okay? Provided there's access to that bar of yours."

"That's all that I ask. And you already have access. I'll set you up with a two-way portkey, too." Harry confirmed. Never had he thought he'd find a man with a connection to animals as strong as Hagrids.

"I stayed at the school to help train the kids and as protection. Now that they are safe, they won't need me as much. I was getting tired of just sitting on my ass anyway." Logan smirked. "I'll give it a trial run, so long as I can get where I need to go."

"I'll set up portkeys for you to the house, the island and the institute. Just no unauthorised visitors, okay?" Harry asked.

"Sure thing, but once this place is up and running, I'd like to bring the kids here for a field trip. They'd get a kick out of it." Logan smiled, shaking Harry's hand.

"That sounds good to me." Harry said.

Harry completed the houses exteriors the next day and started working on the internal designs. That was a lot more effort than the exteriors and would probably take a week at the least. The expansions didn't take too long, but Pepper had specific sized interiors in mind, for what the architects came up with.

The week was spent working on that and helping Tony plan for the roll-out of the first deliveries of Perpetual Motion Generators(PMG), Water Production Tanks(WPT) and Instant Remote Data Relays(IRDR). They were starting in Africa. There were a lot of people in need of basic necessities. Of course there had to be a press conference. It was going to be Harry's first ever public appearance as himself.

Fury had not been happy, but he couldn't deny that what they were doing was going to help the world in a big way. Harry always wanted to help and pressing for him to remain anonymous was only going to damage his efforts. Fury had asked Clint to start spending more time with Harry. He was a resource they could not afford to ever lose. He wasn't a bodyguard per-se, but he was told that it was his top priority to ensure Harry's safety.

Laura and the kids could not be happier. They started coming to the house and Laura would help Bruce in the kitchen. The kids would sometimes be allowed in the Room of Requirements. Harry would make it into a waterpark or a theme park, with properly animated characters to add to the effect. Hundreds of people would be about, having fun and adding to the atmosphere. To their regret, sometimes Harry would have it turn into a classroom for them as well, with teachers and other kids to encourage them to concentrate or play with.

Harry planned on building them their own Room back home, under protections so only Laura could activate it, but kept putting it off. He loved children around and every member of the team treated them like family. Bruce was especially happy to have children around. Hulk would sometimes also join them in their play. He was quite gentle with them, as the big man loved children too. Especially those who didn't fear him.

Tony had insisted that Harry be the majority shareholder of the devices, claiming that his board would otherwise press for more profit. So Harry was made majority shareholder and sold only ten percent of the shares to Stark Intustries once they went public. Secretly, Stark himself owned another twenty percent of the shares, not allowing Stark Industries to purchase anymore. Fury had also acquired ten percent, but intended the profits to help the relief efforts.

The day after the first deliveries and installations started being made, and they went public, there was a call for the expected press conference. They put it off for a couple of days so that the hype could build. Coverage on the TV was showing impoverished settlements bringing water containers to a tap with crystal clear water coming out. Families celebrating and parties happening right by the distribution centres. Town leaders were put in charge to ensure everybody got a chance. They were warned that tampering would end up stopping the devices from functioning and soon every distribution centre had militia set up to protect their valuable resources.

Reporters were going on about clean energy and people no longer having to fear crops dying. Free communications were being made available to the people and the world grew just a little bit smaller as information became available to everyone within reach.

The day of the press conference arrived. Tony walked out of Stark Industries HQ to where the hundreds of reporters had gathered. Harry following behind him in a tailored suit. Tony stepped up to the mic and said, "Hello, to everybody of the world."

There was a roar of shouts as everybody started asking questions, but Tony held up his hand and waited for silence. "This is not a Q and A. We'll be making a statement."

When everybody had settled down, he continued, "My associate, Harry Potter of Potter Innovations and I have striven to start helping the world with our inventions. We are not trying to take business away from anyone. We are simply helping those who cannot help themselves. The steps we have taken in Africa are only the first steps in our goal to rid the world of hunger and thirst for both food and water, and knowledge. We believe electricity, water and communications to be the first step towards a better tomorrow.

"Our goals are much greater though. Potter Innovations is constantly looking for better ways to help people, as is their company mandate. They will not be taking requests, but will continue to send help to countries in need, with the help of Stark Industries. They will also be focussing on better medicines. Along with Stark Industries, they are planning expansion into Transport and Commerce. The world will, in the coming years, enter a golden era, where people are joined in the bounty of the world rather than divided by greed.

"And we owe all of this to Harry Potter and his drive for bettering the world for those that cannot fend for themselves or whose circumstances never allowed them to thrive. He is a great man, and I am proud to call him a friend." He looked at Harry with a smile, then turned back to the people. "I give you, Harry Potter, CEO and founder of Potter Innovations."

There was applause then as the people waited for Harry to step up to the mic. Harry had never really gotten over his fright of public speaking. It wasn't crippling, but knowing what he said now will be seen all over the world, added a pressure he hadn't felt before. "Um, hi." There were some chuckles and that somehow helped. "Thank you, Tony. I never was one for the limelight, but I was told it would be better to speak now, before people started banging down my doors wanting to speak to me."

There were some more chuckles and Harry continued, "When I started my company, it was so that I could start helping people with my knowledge. Through my years of study and experience I have come up with a couple of ideas, that I thought might be useful to people. Tony was a big part of seeing its potential and dragged me into making it bigger than I had hoped for. As you all know, he's a hero, but when I got to know him, I realized he's more than just the Iron Man. He's also a true hero, in his desire to better the world.

"Our plans for the future grew steadily, to the point where we are now even considering steps beyond saving the people of Earth, but also the planet itself from the damage we, as humans, have caused. I cannot go into details, but let me say this: the future looks bright." Harry said. "Thank you." he finished.

There was a rousing applause and then people started screaming questions. Tony stepped up to the mic, "Our goal today was to inform you of our motivations and plans for the future. Any queries or questions may be directed to my public relations department. Thank you." Then they left into the building.

They planned on a vacation next. Harry was almost done with the guest house. Both of their houses had guest rooms and everything was furnished, but they liked their privacy too. Harry had plans to build Bruce his own house too and allowing him to plan it's interior, but that was a surprise.

As the world celebrated, militant groups in Africa started planning on taking away these new devices from those it was supplied to.