The King and Queen of Asgard were set up with their own house for the time of their visit. For what they were used to, Odin and Frigga were happy to lend a hand when necessary. Of course, that didn't mean Harry and Natasha were useless as hosts either. They took their guests on a trip around the island, showing them the creatures that were in their enclosures and the ones wandering the island.
When asked, Harry would explain what parts of the animals were being used and how they either were, or were planning, on extracting the ingredients. So far everything had been done humanely. Not one animal had been killed either. Fawkes had volunteered to help heal the animals, where the parts they required would normally require the animal to be killed. Fortunately the majority of the parts they needed were external. Sometimes it was blood, but Logan proved capable of extracting that safely with a syringe. As long as he was given a salve to close the wound again.
For the most part the animals seemed to be quite peaceful. Realizing they were being kept safe and fed was all they really required. Frigga shocked him by sometimes walking over to them and running her hands over them, stating that she could feel their bonds. She was happy that they had been captured together and when Harry mentioned that Logan was in charge of choosing which animals were brought, she insisted on meeting him.
"Harry." Logan answered the mirror.
"Hi, Logan. Where are you right now?" Harry asked.
"Spending time with the dragon. Why?" Logan replied.
"I've got someone who wants to meet you." Harry said.
"Here on the island?" Logan seemed to think about it. "Okay. Bring them over." Logan said and ended the call.
"You'll have to excuse his manners. He was reborn in the wild and prefers nature. So he tends to be forward and direct." Harry apologised for the man. "Best person I could find for the job, though."
"Fear not. I will not take offense unless he means it." Frigga waved it off.
Harry took the Carpet they had been using, over the tree-line and flew directly to the dragon's cave, which was somewhat up the plateau. Logan reasoned it would be a useful vantage point especially if the dragon wanted to take off for a bit of a flight. When they landed, Frigga stepped off of the Carpet and walked directly into the cave, with Harry following right behind her.
She walked into the large enclosure and saw Logan brushing the dragon's scales with a brush. When he saw them he held up a hand for them to stop and finished what he was doing. Then he patted her gently and walked away. The dragon seemed to be contentedly napping. Logan walked up to them and looked at the Queen and then Harry. "This her?" he asked gruffly.
"I am Frigga. I wanted to meet the man who is responsible for all the life that has been brought to the island." Frigga said.
"You that Queen Harry invited to come visit?" Logan asked.
"I am." Frigga said with a smile.
"Should I bow or something?" Logan asked calmly, still wiping his hands down with a dirty cloth.
"Nothing like that is necessary. I just wanted to meet the man that protected so many bonded groups together. I can feel many of their connections to you." Frigga said.
"Connections?" Logan asked with a look of worry.
"Yes. It seems that, while Harry owns the island, you are master here. Most of the animals respect you as their leader. All of them know you are master here." Frigga informed him.
"I am no master. At best I'm a keeper. I bring them food and make sure they're happy. That's all." Logan said.
"Exactly. Like a good leader, you ensure they are fed and happy." Frigga said, then asked, "What were you doing with the dragon?"
"She's still injured and malnourished. She can't groom properly. I don't know enough to know why it's necessary, but the animal knows its own nature. Instinct keeps on driving her to try to groom. I don't want her to injure herself further so I'm helping." Logan explained.
"It is to prevent a build-up of bacteria." Harry said. "It's commonly referred to as scale-rot. If not groomed properly, the scales become brittle and can lead to other, more serious disorders."
"And you just knew to help her without knowing this?" Frigga asked amazed.
"Nature knows best." Logan explained with a shrug. "I'll start looking through those books tonight. I've been kind of busy." he apologised to Harry.
"Not a problem," Harry said. "I trust you."
"And so do the animals. I can sense the dragon trying to form a bond with you. A strong one. Was she abandoned?" Frigga asked.
"She was the runt and the others of her den were trying to keep her from hunting. What do you mean a strong bond?" Logan asked looking back.
"Like the one Harry has with Fawkes. She sees you as her only companion and wants to keep you." Frigga said. "You have probably cared more for her than she has ever experienced. Would you allow her this connection?" she asked.
"Does she need it?" Logan asked.
"No, but it would help her feel secure. When she is no longer a babe, she might even be able to speak to you through it." Frigga said.
"Wait, she wants to be his familiar?!" Harry asked incredulously.
"Indeed." Frigga said with a smile. "Though from her perspective it's just a form of friendship, much like you explained your connection to Fawkes."
"I don't see why we can't be friends." Logan said a soft look in his eyes as he looked back at her.
"Is it even possible? He's not a magical." Harry asked.
"Normally, no. But since I am here, we can achieve it. This falls within my realm of expertise, and I think both Logan and the dragon deserve it." Frigga smiled warmly. Then she walked over to the dragon who just sniffed at her. She lay a hand on its head, patting it softly and then walked back to Logan and placed a single finger on his forehead. "You have my blessing too for your wonderful nature in caring for these creatures."
"Thanks." Logan said. Then he touched his head, "Is that? Whoa." Logan looked at the dragon. "Huh, what do you know? She's trying to say thanks. She really is just a baby, isn't she?"
"Quite so. But she will mature quickly as is the nature of her kind." Frigga said.
Odin had been standing on the side watching the proceedings. When they walked out, he asked Harry, "How many people on Midgard are ageless as you?"
"I don't honestly know. Natasha and Logan are the only ones I ever met. There may be more, though. As I understand it mankind is standing at the brink of an evolutionary leap. Some, like Logan gain a strong healing factor when their mutations first manifest. His is one of the strongest though, he heals so fast he's stopped aging." Harry explained.
"Fascinating. If it's happened before it was before my time. I'm glad to know that one of our allies might one day soon become a more powerful ally." Odin said.
"Mutants are still new to the world and people on Earth tend to fear what they don't understand. I think things will become violent before they are accepted." Harry said sadly. "On my world, people were so scared of magical people in the past, that they started burning them at the stake and called them devil worshipers. The whole magical world ended up going into hiding."
"And yet, you strive to help Midgardians with your magic in secret?" Odin asked.
"It is all I know. I can only provide that which I know. Tony has been very helpful in securing the processes for the help we do give." Harry said.
"Oh, yes. Heimdall has been telling us how you are providing basic necessities to people in less civilized portions of the world. When those corrupt few try to take their precious resources from them, you send a man named Wilson to dissuade them?" Odin asked with a smirk.
"I knew you had something to do with that!" Natasha laughed.
"I'm not proud of it, but without those resources many will die." Harry said looking down.
"Fair enough." Natasha dropped the subject. "Hey, wouldn't he count as ageless too?" she then asked.
"It's very likely. His healing factor is almost exactly like Logan's." Harry theorised. He then turned to Odin, "But you don't want to meet him. He's… strange." he said.
It was later that day, when he and Odin were at the bar and Frigga and Natasha were having a private discussion, while enjoying the swimming pool that Odin brought up the Asgardian magic. "It seems we have a moment to start your education. You were still interested in the instruction, were you not?"
"Definitely. There is so much I'd like to ask." Harry started.
"Let us focus on the basics first. Before we start on application, we should start with theory. Let me give you an example and you tell me what you think." Odin said. He picked up a shell from the bar counter, where it was placed for decoration and whispered something into it. Harry was standing right there, but couldn't hear a thing. Odin then put the shell down and looked at Harry. "What did I just do?"
Harry looked at Odin and said, "It looked like you were speaking to the shell. I couldn't hear you, so I don't know what you said."
"That is what you observed with your eyes and ears. But I didn't ask you what it looked or sounded like. I asked you what I did." Odin said. This was a test of sorts. He needed to know how the wizard learned. What he'd do.
Harry looked at Odin and shrugged. He picked up the shell and looked at it. Nothing seemed to have changed. Then he unleashed his magic to inspect the shell. "Wait a minute. This is a construct. It isn't real. When did you put it there?" Harry suddenly asked.
"You're on the right track. Tell me what I did." Odin encouraged.
Harry focussed his magic further. The shell seemed solid enough. His focus was so complete, he didn't realise his aura was growing. Inspecting the object in as minute a detail as it could. As his aura grew, it touched the bar counter and he felt something. It seemed there was a thread of power connected between the shell and the counter. Harry then inspected the thread and amazingly, it was like reading a mind. There was intent running between the counter and the shell. Harry looked at the shell and put it down on the counter, but a bit away from the location it had been. When he let go, the shell moved back to its starting location.
"You created the shell, somehow making me believe it was there all along. Then you enchanted it to be aware of its location, probably from the moment you set it down and then made it so that it wanted to return to that location. I think?" Harry said, uncertainly.
"You've got it mostly right. This is indeed a construct." Odin said as he picked it up. "But it is not a conjuration, like the ones you use. This one was given form by my will. I did not want you to know it was not there before, so you thought it had always been there. I wanted it to have a consciousness of its location, when I put it down, so it gained the required… intelligence, for the lack of a better word, to have that one function, much like a switch 'knows' it has the function to be up or down. It's not so much intelligence as it is a function that it was designed for."
"So that's why I feel intent when I examine the thread. It has a limited desire to return to its starting location." Harry said. "But how?"
"That is what I intend to teach you." Odin said with a smile. "Everything in the universe has a set of rules that control its existence. How much light it reflects, how gravity affects it, how many dimensions it exists in and even if it can be touched by someone. Pick up the shell again." Odin instructed.
Harry complied and his hand moved through it, unable to grasp it. He thought about it. If what Odin had just said was true, then it might just be him that was excluded from touching the shell. He took his glass and clinked it against the shell. It was solid. "That's so cool!" Harry enthused.
"It is indeed. What I performed here would be considered temporary. It requires my being here to enforce its function. My will is actively on the construct even now. It requires focus and intent. If I wanted to make it permanent, that would be possible as well, but it takes more effort and sometimes time. It is easier on something that wasn't created, though." Odin said.
And so Harry's education started. He found that it functioned a lot like his own magic, but where his magic was taught to him using incantations and certain movements to shape the magic, until he was intimately familiar with the feel of the magic anyway, this was all about intent. The intent itself applying the function, rather than the magic. It was much like how he had cast the shielding charm on the walls and layered it with happy memories to stop the Shadow King from escaping.
Having an idea, Harry produced a Patronus to show to Odin. "You have a spell that uses the concept already? That will be useful. Was it a difficult task to accomplish the first time?" Odin asked.
"It was one of the more difficult spells I ever had to learn. That and Fiendfyre. It is a magical fire that has only one purpose, to consume. One needs a lot of focus to ensure it does only what it is meant to and not continue eating everything. It feeds itself and so could basically continue indefinitely if not cast by someone with a lot of skill." Harry explained.
"You can control it?" Odin asked.
"I can. It seems a lot of the magics I learned that was considered dark magic, was all about intent and using emotions to power them." Harry said, thinking about it.
"Asgardian magic can use emotion, but it is usually important to keep one's mind calm and not include emotion at all. The stronger the will of the caster, the more powerful the enchantment. If too much emotion is involved, the enchantment could become unstable and fail." Odin explained.
"That could explain why some of my own enchantment work sometimes fails actually. I was trying to enchant an item that shows the faces of ones enemies more clearly as they drew closer to you, but needed it to work for a mortal without any innate magic. I've found that connecting an item to their blood, gives it the ability to work for them, but every time I tried to enchant the functions of the mirror after the blood binding enchantment is added, it would fail. For the blood binding enchantment, I need to focus a lot of protective feelings into the enchantment. That's how it functions, by bonding and trying to protect its owner in whatever way the next enchantments allow." Harry explained.
"That does sound like it could be the cause of the failure. If you succeed in what I teach you, you might be able to bind people with intent to the items you create, rather than blood. It would make for just as strong a bond, and would allow you to know when items you create are used against its intended purpose, if you added that as part of its creation." Odin said.
And just like that, Harry's education continued. They worked late into the night even after dinner, when they decided to go for another drink. Harry had been able to create a block by focussing his will and Odin informed him it was good progress, and then instructed him on why the block's existence ended so soon. He had not taken into account all the factors that define its existence and as such it unravelled.
Harry marvelled at the idea that Odin could keep his focus on something so complicated as the shell, but Odin assured him that it only takes practice, much like a spell that you get used to after a while. It starts becoming second nature to include all the required mental steps until it becomes as easy as lifting a finger. Harry would need to practise though.
Odin and Frigga very much enjoyed their stay at the beach and promised to do so again sometime, at the end of their second day. Odin had been in communication with his people constantly, to assure them he was fine and to confirm everything in Asgard was continuing as normal. When the time they had set aside for their first vacation in many years came to an end, Harry was sad to see them go, but happy for the time he had spent with them.
Odin said his farewells to Harry in private, "Continue your training and one day soon, I suspect you'll be able to achieve feats not even I thought was possible. Your magic is in some ways more pliable than our sort, but in other ways so limited. I suspect, with the two of them working in harmony, you'll be the strongest Sorcerer in any realm even if you are already the strongest spell caster." Odin said.
Odin then looked over at Natasha, who was talking to Frigga, "Take care of your intended. Frigga believes that you are ready for the next step but won't force your hand. Just yet anyway." he chuckled. "If you do end up getting betrothed soon, please come and visit so that we may celebrate. The people of Asgard are excited for your pairing and would like nothing more than to celebrate it with you."
"Thank you Odin. For your instruction and advice. I don't think that that will happen anytime soon, though. I'm not opposed to it, I just don't think we're ready." Harry said.
"My Frigga is seldom wrong. But if you wish to take your time, that is up to you. Just make sure it's what your lady wants." Odin said.
"I'll be sure to ask her. Thank you for the visit. I do like the time we spend with you. It's what I think visiting relatives you actually like would feel like." Harry said with a smile.
"We also enjoy your company. The warriors of Asgard seldom have extended discussions on the substance of the universe. It is very liberating to know that there are those who take to the ideas we can impart and learn from them so willingly. Especially the esoteric subjects such as magic." Odin stated with a sad smile. "Loki once learned from myself and Frigga with such devotion. I wonder sometimes what happened to that happy, intelligent young man."
"I hate to say it, but I suspect he was kept in his brother's shadow for so long that he wished to see the sun again and found no other way out of his shadow than to leave it completely behind. That's what I got from our bits of conversation anyway. Maybe one day I should come visit and I can spend some time discussing what you have taught me. He may enjoy the company of someone who has the ability to talk to him about such things." Harry offered.
"And maybe he will be able to discuss things with someone he sees as an equal, that he will not discuss with those he feels betrayed him." Odin said, nodding. "I would appreciate it if you tried."
They joined Frigga and Natasha who were standing in front of their guest house. "Are we ready to depart, my Queen?" Odin asked.
"We are." Frigga turned to Harry. "You were a very gracious host and your lady a wonderful hostess. We will definitely visit again. Perhaps we could attend your wedding, here on the island?" she said with an upturned brow.
"When we decide to wed, I will personally deliver your invitations and I don't see why the island could not host such an event. As long as all Asgard don't wish to join." Harry said noncommittally.
"When you get married, you'll have to simply have two ceremonies. The people of Asgard will not settle for less. You are a Lord and Lady of the realm. If you do otherwise it will be seen as an insult to the people who support you, which I'm told is nearly everybody." Frigga smiled.
"Do not argue with her on this." Odin chuckled. "Frigga has probably already started planning your wedding as it is."
"Why is it always with the marriage talk?" Harry asked the heavens.
"I will not be denied, young man." Frigga said sternly and then hugged Harry, much to his surprise. He did not stay shocked for long, and hugged her back. "You have a bright, troubled destiny and your lady will want to be there with you every step she can. Do not make her wait too long to stake her claim. Your love might yet save you one day." she whispered in his ear.
"She already has." Harry whispered back. "And she can claim me whenever she wants."
Frigga let go of him and hugged Natasha and then Odin clasped forearms with Harry and patted him on the shoulder, before hugging Natasha as well, much to her shock. "You take good care of Harry. He's going to need your strength one of these days." he whispered in her ear.
"I will." she promised.
Odin and Frigga soon left. Leaving Harry and Natasha with two days on their own.
"What were you two discussing with all the time you spent alone?" Harry asked her as they started walking back to their house.
"Oh, this and that. She kept on giving me advice on how to get you to propose. I kept on telling her that you'll do it when you're ready." Natasha smirked at him. "She suggested I get pregnant at one point. Care to explain how I am not, given that we have yet to be 'safe'?"
"Is that something you want? Should I start planning for it?" Harry asked with a smile of his own. "There's a charm in place on me to prevent any accidents."
"I would not say we're ready, even though I don't see myself marrying anyone but you. But I'm enjoying what we have right now." Natasha assured him. "As for accidents, I think we can wait for one of those too."
"I agree. Why change what works for us. Maybe when we both decide we need a change of pace?" Harry asked. "Or have time to start a family."
"I think that sounds great." Natasha said as she took his hand and led him into their house. They did not leave for many hours. They were distracted for the last couple of days and Natasha intended to catch up. Magic did many a wonderful thing that added to their fun and she loved exploring all of them.
They enjoyed their time away, but as with all good things, it came to an end. Harry went back to his lab, the institute, SHIELD and the island's growing population. Natasha was always right beside him. He did slow down some, though. There was always time for Natasha and him to spend alone. They sometimes went to other countries for dates. Sometimes they'd stay in and watch a movie with Bruce, Sif and Steve. Sif and Steve still preferred romances. Bruce did not complain, when the movie ended and Sif dragged him to her room.
Steve was still not ready to see anyone. Harry had offered to give him a false appearance so he could be anonymous or not attracts fan girls, but he didn't like the idea. Apparently it was like lying and Steve did not do one-night stands. Harry understood, but kept on inviting him to come out on the town anyway. Sometimes he'd join and actually have some fun, but the rest of the time he was focussed on his own passions and the missions, either with SHIELD or with Bruce, Sif and Logan.
Steve and Logan's friendship grew stronger as they reconnected. Logan's memories were coming back faster and faster. Harry hoped he'd not have to enter the man's mind, so he encouraged their use of the Pensieve while he and Nat sat nearby or played pool.
Harry would also dedicate some time every day to practice his intent based magic, controlling his emotions strictly so he could focus on only the intent. He was working on more and more difficult constructs. Odin had been right in that some parts of it would become second-nature to him, like considering the different aspects of the item's existence. He found that after a while he could add those without thinking, since everything in the physical realm has to follow the same rules. When he felt he had mastered the creation of objects based solely on intent, he started trying to make his creations permanent, which did take time, but he had moderate success with smaller things.
Bruce had finally finished his mastery books and was currently working on creating new potions. He was excited, when one day he called Harry in to come see something.
"What do you have?" Harry asked walking in the door. Bruce's lab had grown, out of necessity. Harry had complied and it was now twice as large as it had once been. Tony had gifted him a super-computer, which was built into another part of the house, but it was helping Bruce run simulations.
"Look here." Bruce showed him a screen showing cells of some sort. "These are the cells of a recently atrophied muscle." He tapped a couple of keys and something on the screen changed. "This is after application of a new potion I'm running simulations on. See how the cells are larger here and here," he pointed out the affected portions, "If my calculations are correct, we've almost come to a solution to muscular dystrophy."
"You know that I don't understand the finer details of this right?" Harry asked.
"That's not the point. Look at this." he typed another command and a new screen popped up. It showed a video of something similar. "This is what happened when I made the potion and tried it on a sample." Harry watched with more interest now. The results were very similar. "The results were the same as the simulation!" Bruce exclaimed.
"You mean to tell me that you've gathered enough data that you can speculate on a potion recipe on a computer and come up with viable results?" Harry asked, thinking he had gotten it.
"Yes! It means we can save ingredients while I plan a potion and have a reasonable comparison that allows us to create custom potions with no side-effects!" Bruce said happily. "We no longer need test subjects. We can run a simulation and test the results on the machine before needing to use the potion. Then we can have the computer look into all the possible ways to create the potion and come up with the cheapest or fastest viable method! Then we just need to set up a machine that is programmed with the use of the ingredients and we can do what Tony does with Jarvis. We can start looking into automatic brewing, like he does automatic assembly!"
"That's amazing Bruce!" Harry crowed. Never in a million years did he think Bruce would take things so far. What a world they lived in where a computer could test and produce magic potions. "I take it you'll be speaking to Tony about building something like this for you?" Harry asked with a huge smile on his face.
"That's my next step. I just wanted to share my results with you. This isn't at one hundred percent, yet, but give me a couple of months and we'll have the first ever potion brewing computer. We're not even done yet. With the results I'm getting, we'll be able to look for viable potions ingredients from new species of creatures, simply by having the machine analyse it.
"Imagine bringing in a couple of hairs from a new species we discover and having it tested while you sleep. The next day the computer tells you if there's a use for it, what aspects of what potions it could enhance or affect or what new potions possibilities it may contain. Our options will become nearly limitless! Every test we run, we just get closer to curing one more disease and at some point in the future it could very well all be automated. No chance of human error!" Bruce exclaimed.
Harry had never seen Bruce so happy. That's why it pained him to say the next. "I'm sorry, Bruce, but it won't be that simple. Potions aren't a science. There will always be the requirement for instincts and the human component in potions. No computer can see all the variables and react in time when something goes wrong. Your idea is noble, but when I introduced you to potions I warned you that only some parts of it could be brought up to scientific standards. Adding half a turn, while stirring, because you can see a reaction hasn't finished completing, or the quality of the ingredient will always be a factor a computer cannot take into account."
Bruce's face dropped. He had known somehow that it couldn't be that simple. "I suppose you're right, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop trying to make it better and easier for us to get better results." He said stubbornly. "And I know for a fact that some of the easier potions will not suffer from being automated."
"That's the spirit. Who knows, one day you might invent a machine that can measure magical reactions properly and in real-time and then your dream can come true." Harry said, glad he hadn't broken Bruce's stride too much.
"That is a good idea. I'll speak to Tony about that rather. Maybe we can work together and come up with something." Bruce had that hopeful look again. Harry was happy for him. Bruce would one day cure cancer, he was certain of it. From the sounds of it he had already started down the path to resolving some medical issues already.