That evening Harry and Natasha arrived in the Marauder's Den. It was Natasha's first time there. Fury was there, waiting for him, and frowned when he saw her. "I'm assuming you're following procedure?" he asked. Harry nodded and walked up to Fury with a signed Contract, handing it to him. Fury looked it over and signed it as well. "Very well." He turned to Natasha and asked, "What do you know?"
"Nothing, sir. Harry wants me to be here and asked that I sign the Contract. He said nothing else. I only knew he was meeting you tonight and from the way the Contract is set up, it looks like this is some sort of safe haven where secrets can be discussed freely as the Contract enforces that they get kept." Natasha responded.
"That's not all of it but good enough for now." Fury said. He took out his pouch and pulled out a book, handing it to Harry, who started reading through the latest entry. "What do you think?" he asked.
"May I show her?" Harry asked indicating Natasha after reading through the information. Fury looked at him for a moment and, for a second, looked like he wanted to ask something, but thought about it again and then nodded. "Here," Harry said to Natasha, handing her the book and indicating what to read, "The book is obviously also protected in the room." Then he turned to Fury, "I'm assuming you've been going Mad-Eye on people and that's a list of everyone your foe-glass identified as an enemy?"
Fury nodded, "Yes. It would be great if there was a device that told us what they are planning, but I've identified more than half of SHIELD's active staff."
Harry nodded. He'd seen the list. It seemed to just go on and on. "Have you warned Coulson?" Harry asked.
"I can't. He's too close to one of them. I need to wait for him to come here before I can inform him." Fury said. "It would be best to have a plan as well."
Natasha had been looking through the list as well, "Are you sure these people don't just dislike you?"
Fury gave her a cold look, "I've had enemies for a long time. I know who they are and they were on the mirror too, just not as close as most of the names you have there."
Harry whistled as he made some coffee for them, "How close?"
"Close enough to start worrying. Whatever they are planning is happening soon. Project Insight only has a couple of months left before completion. Only the people on that list are on the project. If we don't do something before launch, we'll be in seriously deep shit." Fury stated.
"Project Insight?" Natasha asked.
Fury's face blanked over for a second, then he spoke, "That information is above your clearance level. Marauder's Den is the only reason Potter knows about it and the reason he'd not have been able to tell you about it before." he explained. "The idea is to put three, more highly advanced helicarriers in the air with enough turrets to make it an army unto itself. It has all the tech it needs to take out a terrorist cell of twenty in a crowd of a thousand people, with no innocent bystanders being hurt, from miles away."
Natasha looked between Fury and Harry, "And Harry just went with it?" she asked.
"He doesn't have a say. He's not involved in the project at all. Pierce is too heavily involved with Insight, and as you saw, Pierce is at the top of the list." Fury stated.
Harry put a hand on Natasha's shoulder, "Nat, you need to remember this is where we discuss things and offer advice. This isn't work as much as it is a safe place where we can find support and ideas. A new perspective without fear of consequences." Harry said before turning to Fury. "I don't like Insight myself, but I understand why Fury wanted it. Until now, that is. Do you still support it?"
Fury scowled, "It would be the best defence we have, a system that can protect the entire country…" he trailed off.
"Until it's taken over by an enemy before it even launches." Harry put in.
Fury just scowled. Natasha asked, "So, what's the contingency in case SHIELD gets infiltrated?"
Fury scowled again, "There is none. SHIELD was meant to be the last line of defence. We never planned for it to need to protect from itself."
Harry raised an eyebrow, "That doesn't sound like you. Your contingencies usually have contingencies."
Fury looked upset with himself, "I wanted to put one in place ten years ago, but Pierce told me to drop it. Told me that I would only cause mistrust if such a plan existed. I should have known that he had alternate reasons." he castigated himself.
"Don't blame yourself," Harry put in, "That reason is logical. No team can work if nobody trusts anyone."
"I agree with Harry. You could not have known." Natasha said. "Now that you do and you seem to have some time still, we should plan for when it inevitably does happen."
Harry had an idea, "What about Contracts?" he asked.
Fury thought about it for a moment and then shook his head, "We have too many people. No matter how we watch our movements, chances are we'll be discovered."
"What about Xavier?" Natasha asked. "I know you don't like reading people, but he could probably get all the information we need and then disable all of our enemies at once." she said.
"No. Our agents have too much classified information in their heads. I can't allow that." Fury said. "Speaking of which, how are you going to protect your mind, Agent Romanoff?" he asked with a raised brow again.
Natasha smirked, "It's not necessary. All of mine and Harry's secrets are protected by Contract. He's not allowed to enter or try to enter our minds or he'll lose any memory associated with us."
"It's true. Xavier and his kids are actually on the island right now. The kids haven't signed anything, but he can keep them in line." Harry added.
Fury seemed to accept this. "Which means Natasha is secure as you can make her. Any successes with adding mental shielding like you were going to?" he asked, opening his coat and pointing at his badge.
"Not yet." Harry said. "I've got a process ready, but there will be some mental effort involved from the person the shield is meant to protect. We'll have to have it tested and then probably set up a class for agents we can trust."
Fury got a look in his eyes as he had an idea. "That's actually perfect! It'll give us the opportunity to do something about these infiltrators."
When Harry said nothing, Natasha volunteered, "You intend to separate everyone and use that opportunity to put a contingency on place."
"Exactly." Fury smirked. He'd gone from what passed as worried for him, to determined (which meant he was scowling, but less than normal). "It would mean placing magic on everyone and probably tracking everyone's movements."
"You're asking me to start working full-time again." Harry said. It was not a question.
Fury looked angrily at him, "You are probably the only person that could pull this off, Potter. I need to know how deep this goes, who they are, what they are doing. Not even SHIELD's Ghost Squad could be trusted with this." he said, referring to the five Ghost Gear operatives. Harry had expanded on their number when Fury had proven there was a need for it. More security had been put in place as well. "At least we know they are secure. The Contracts would have been voided otherwise."
Harry didn't look happy, "I can help, but I'm already quite busy." he said. He thought about it for a second and looked at Natasha. "I have an idea though."
Fury looked at Harry and asked, "What did you have in mind?"
Their discussion ran into the night and well into the morning. Agent Hill contacted Fury on his mirror to confirm he was fine, using coded phrases, just in case. When they were done planning, Harry took Natasha back and they went to rest. Harry had a tour to run in the late morning and then he'd need to start on his latest inventions.
The next morning, Harry woke up at an alarm he was no longer used to. He looked over only to find Natasha was already gone. A note on his bedside table stated that she had gone to train with Sensei. They had been on vacation for a week and she had not gone for training as regularly as she'd have liked.
He shrugged and went to the kitchen, to make some coffee, when he remembered the kids and decided to get started on their breakfast as well. Knowing Logan, they'd probably been up for an hour already and running laps around the Plateau. Harry grinned at the thought. Logan would take such pleasure in making them both love and hate camping trips to the island.
He went to the Bar and left a message at the counter to indicate where he'd be. Before he left, he saw Scott on the beach, jogging towards the houses. Harry smirked and turned a portal into being right in front of the startled X-man, who was unable to stop his movement in time and went through the portal and right into the swimming pool.
When he surfaced he glared at Harry, "Not cool!" he exclaimed.
"Would you prefer the hot-spring, next time?" Harry smirked.
"I'd prefer not being thrown in any kind of water, if you don't mind." he said getting out of the water. Looking down at his wet outfit. Harry chuckled and cast a drying charm on the man. "Thanks." he mumbled.
"Oh, come on. I know for a fact that the swimming pool's water is always at a comfortable temperature." Harry said.
"It's still cold water in the morning." Scott whined.
"Gotcha," Harry said, "Next time, I'll send you to the hot-spring." Scott scoffed, but Harry could see the twitch as he restrained a smile. "Tell you what, you can choose the next person to go into the water." Harry offered.
"Really?" Scott asked.
"Really." Harry confirmed.
"Okay." Scott nodded. "You, now." he smirked.
"Okay," Harry smirked and stepped into the pool. Then he got out and dried himself off as well. "If I were you, I'd have sent Natasha into the water. That might have actually inconvenienced me." Harry smirked.
Scott's smile vanished off his face, realising he had missed an opportunity. "You have practice with this kind of thing, don't you?"
"Prank war with the god of trickery." Harry stated easily.
"Who won?" Scott asked.
"Nobody. War's still going, but I think I'm in the lead. I did turn him into a woman at our last meeting." Harry said nonchalantly.
Scott laughed until he saw Harry's face. "You're serious? I didn't know you could do that."
Harry smirked and transfigured Scott's hands into talons. "There's much that I can do, that I don't go around advertising." Then he opened a portal to the kitchen of the children's camp, waving Scott after him.
Scott followed him through. When he noticed his hands, he was amazed. "If you can do this, why not just undo unwanted mutations?" he asked.
"Because it's natural." Harry said. "Birth-defects are one thing. Mutation is a whole other thing. There's also the fact that my magic is usually only temporary, unless I enchant something, but that is a whole other thing again." he said as he waved in Scott's direction, undoing the transfiguration. "I also have to know what I'm doing at all times. If I was a little off, or forgot things like blood-flow or muscular and bone structure, it could have hurt you. Imagine I fix one thing only to cause more problems?"
Scott thought about it and nodded. "I see what you mean." He said finally. "So that's why you focus on making enchanted items that make illusions?"
"I also add other things. People will still notice if things in an illusion and reality don't align correctly, so there are effects in place to help with that as well." Harry expanded. "What I do is in no way simple. I studied for years to be able to do what I do. Even so, I'm not a doctor and prefer to make temporary changes only, when I do at all. Other than that, I could and have healed people, but that makes the body what it's supposed to be, not what I want it to be."
"So your healing works like a mutant healing factor?" Scott asked.
"Not exactly. Magic is an external source that works on will-power. I want it to fix things and make them as they were or as they are meant to be and the magic does the rest." Harry explained.
"How does the magic know what things should be like?" Scott asked, confused.
Harry shrugged, "I don't know, though my one friend had a theory about that. Supposedly Magic is a source of universal energy, meaning it contains all energy forms. Some theoretical energy forms don't run in the same direction in time as us…" he was saying, before being interrupted.
"Tachyons," Scott interrupted. "A theoretical particle that moves faster than the speed of light and goes back in time."
Harry snapped his finger and nodded as he moved to the storage area and summoned some items to start breakfast with, "That's what she called it, yes. Anyway, apparently Magic knows what will and won't work or goes back to check and then makes it the way it should be. It's a big chicken and egg thing, where one theory can't be proven over the other due to similar limitations in our understanding of magic."
"Wait, are you saying Magic is sentient?" Scott asked.
Before Harry could answer, there was a gruff chuckle from the door, where Logan was standing unnoticed. He was not even looking at them. Instead he was looking out of the door, "Of course it is. How else do you explain why Harry was sent to our world and not to a random dead dimension? How does his enchantments adjust as necessary or know what people experience as sight or sound to make believable illusions?"
Harry smiled at Logan before asking, "How long until the kids need breakfast?"
"Give them ten more minutes. I took them out for a morning walk. They are currently cleaning up." Logan smirked. "You might want to do your thing, later. It was a bit nippy this morning, some of them might get sick."
"Can do." Harry nodded. "And just so you know, most of what you just described doesn't take into account for Magic's sentience. All of that was done by design and with the wielder's intent. What does need sentience is intent based wards, where a ward needs to understand dark or evil intent before doing something to the person approaching it."
"Wards?" Scott asked.
"Imagine you want to protect a national monument with magic. I cast the spell keeping those that wish to deface it away by making them think they have something more important to do." Harry said. "Now, a teenage boy might remember a date that he's late for and an older man might remember he parked his car in a handicapped space. How does the ward know what would make the people turn and leave?"
"Could it be reading their minds?" Scott offered.
"Possibly. The fact is we're not sure," Harry said. "We only know that the effect is affected by the person casting the spell. A malicious person's ward might have that same boy think he's set his parents' house on fire. The man might think he ran someone over and he needs to clean up the evidence. The effects of such a ward could permanently affect someone's life, causing mental scars or lead to harsher side-effects, like murder, suicide, or mental breakdowns, which is why it would be considered dark magic."
Logan and Scott just looked at him, before Logan asked, "What would your magic do?"
Harry smirked, "The last time I had to set up one of those, the person that was affected thought he had messed his pants. It was quite funny to watch him trying to cover up nothing as he ran away." He chuckled. "That ward was something special, though. It was set up to affect a person in a similar way to what they had in mind to do wrong. Apparently the guy had intended to pee on my porch. That was in the days before I knew how to completely hide my property."
Logan chuckled. "Sounds like something you would do." He said, before pushing away from the door as he saw Harry finish some of the food and took the platter from him to take to the serving area.
"Do you need help?" Scott asked, suddenly realising he was just standing there, being useless.
"Nah, let Logan handle this part. He's been looking forward to the kids coming to visit for weeks now." Harry said.
"Logan? Really?" Scott asked.
"Yes, really." Harry said emphatically. "You might not know this, but he's almost got all his memories back. He remembers who he was at least and wants to help out the kids, because he was once also a confused kid with powers and nobody to explain what was going on with him."
Scott didn't say anything as he looked at where Logan was standing a short while ago. Then he cleared his throat, "I suppose that makes sense."
"I thought you should know. I heard you guys don't always get along." Harry said. "I like Logan. If you look past his gruff exterior, you might find a gruff interior, but it's all honest. He doesn't lie or manipulate. He's a real man, one that was born in a different era. His situation is much like Steve's, except Steve hasn't learned about the pain of outliving your loved ones."
Scott reeled in realisation. "You mean…"
"Yes. And we don't talk about it." Harry said with a pointed look as Logan entered and took another two trays away.
Scott nodded his head sombrely. "I understand." he said. He knew the pain of loss, of course, but he could not imagine looking back and seeing everyone he cared for withering away with time and being unable to join them even if you wanted. It would definitely explain a lot of Logan's personality. "Can you do anything for him?"
"Like what?" Harry asked. "I offered him a place here on the island and he seems to love it. I might also have another use for him here on the island, which will see his quality of life increase a bit. You might understand a bit later this week, when we go to some of our latest creatures." Harry smirked. "Are you going to hike with the kids or will you fly with me and the rest?"
"I think I'll go with them when they leave." Scott said. "I'd like to see the sights with the kids. I suspect most of the team would like that, too. This is a beautiful island." he explained.
"Thank you." Harry said as he finished another platter, finishing off the last of the ones he was filling with food. He quickly levitated the porridge into a serving tub and put it on a trolley with one of the other platters loaded underneath it. "That's it for the kids' food." Harry said. Logan arrived and rolled the trolley out with a nod of his head. Harry just smiled at him and followed him out.
What they saw had Harry smiling. The kids were smiling, even if a couple of them looked tired already. Logan must have decided to have them work up an appetite. They were apparently waiting for Logan before they dished up. After Logan loaded the last of the food, he turned to the kids. "Okay, you know the rules. You go by year group. Youngest first." That was all he said. He then clapped his hands and the youngest ones instantly got up and started dishing up.
Darcy arrived just then on her broom. "Where have you been?" Logan asked.
"I was asleep. When nobody answered at Harry's door I came here." Darcy said. She looked at Harry, "You could have woken me." she complained.
"You could have set your alarm." Harry returned.
"I did," Darcy retorted, "Look how early I am up! Now, point out the coffee." She said imperiously.
Logan smirked at her and pointed at the horizon. "Back at the resort." he said.
"When did people start calling it that?" Harry wondered aloud. Then he turned to Darcy, "No coffee for the kids. They have tea or juice." he said.
"What?!" Darcy exclaimed. "You can't expect me to function without a cup of java first!"
Harry smirked and said, "See you back at the house then." Then Harry quickly opened a portal and pulled Scott through it with him, before closing it. Then he laughed.
"What's so funny?" Scott asked.
Harry was still laughing, but finally responded, "She'll have to fly back out through the mist. Didn't you see her outfit was damp? By the time she gets here, she'll be completely wet!" he laughed again.
"That's not very nice." came a voice from behind them. They turned to see the professor in his chair, smirking at them.
Scott looked at him strangely, "Did you put on some weight?" he asked, not sure that it made sense.
Charles smiled more openly, "Indeed. It seems that Harry has decided to fix my physique even if he has not decided to fix my spine, yet." Now that Scott knew what to look for, he saw it too. The professor's legs seemed thicker and his upper body seemed to have gained some form.
"What did you do?" Scott asked Harry.
Harry smiled and said, "Bruce has been working on a potion for restoring muscle-mass that was lost due to muscular dystrophy. It's not perfected yet and the side effect would be a painful regrowth at this point, but…" he trailed off.
"Since I can't feel it, I'm a perfect guinea pig." Charles said, nodding.
Harry shook his head, "No. We know it works and we know the side-effects. You're just the first person to benefit from a full dose at once. You'll be tired for the rest of the day as your body takes the energy it needs from your stores. I would suggest that you eat a full breakfast and then drink protein shakes for the rest of the day, until your body stops needing the supplements. Nothing from my taps either. You need real energy and loads of protein-rich food."
Harry led them back to the bar and started preparing breakfast for the adults. Shortly after starting, Darcy showed up, shivering and drenched. She walked to the opening for the bar counter and tried to walk in, but was stopped by Harry's magic. "Get over here so I can hit you!" she exclaimed.
Harry sniggered and waved at her twice, the first one dried her off and the second sent a steaming cup of coffee to her. She contemplated throwing it at him, until her shivering stopped and she took her first sip. "Lord, that's good coffee." She said as the cup took all of her attention and she sat down at the counter.
"Now, if you're nice to me, I might set you up with a charm that lets you bypass the mist entirely." Harry said.
"I've been nothing but nice to you!" Darcy said.
"I have to disagree. You were just threatening bodily violence on me." Harry stated.
"That's because you left me and you knew I'd have to go through that fog again." she said, then she looked around. "Why is there no fog here?"
"That's because my brother controls the weather and apparently the time of day on his island." a voice said from the side.
Harry looked around and saw Loki standing there. Damn, he knew he'd forgotten something. Loki had access to his parents who had access to the portkey to the island. "What are you doing here Loki?" Harry asked. "You left just yesterday."
"I've come to be of assistance." Loki informed him. "Thor is off fighting an army that was attempting to invade one of our people's lands and there is only so much to do in Asgard." Harry straightened at this, but Loki continued, "No need to worry. Our musclebound brother will not be in any danger from them. If he's smart about it he'll have some fun before taking out their strongest and breaking their spirit."
Scott spoke up, "Harry, why is the guy who tried to take over our world calling you his brother?" Harry looked at him and saw his finger poised on the button on the side of his visor.
"That's because I was adopted into their family." Harry said. "Don't worry, though. He's under magical Contract."
"And that excuses him?!" Scott exclaimed.
Harry stepped out from the bar and blocked Scott's line-of-sight. "It does not. Nothing ever will. What I will say, though, is that he was not in his right mind and someone manipulated him."
Loki shocked Harry by moving him aside and stating, "He is right to be upset with me. Do not put yourself in danger on my behalf."
"But," Harry started.
"No buts. He is right to be angry at me. I attacked your people with the intent to conquer them. The fact that I was being used as a means to an end doesn't matter." Loki said. Then he addressed the seething mutant. "Attack me and I can forgive you. If you hurt my brother, I swear to you, that you will be made to regret it for the rest of your life." he said with a calm tone.
"Scott, let it go. Harry is in control here." Charles said.
Scott thought about it for a second before his hand moved from his visor. "You betray Harry or us and the same goes for you." he threatened back before sitting down and patently ignoring Loki.
Loki walked up to the Bar and sat down a couple of seats down. "We need to talk, when you are available, brother. I hear there is some intrigue afoot and your schedule is filling up." Loki stated.
"Has Heimdall been looking in on private conversations and speaking of them?" Harry asked with a raised brow as he went back to preparing breakfast.
Loki chuckled, "Strangely, he keeps private information, private. No, this time he alluded to his inability to see exactly what was going on, but that he could follow the signs left by your comrades that there is something afoot."
Harry wondered about that for a bit as he put plate after plate in front of the assembling adults. "You're saying that there is the possibility that Heimdall can't see where my meeting was last night?" he asked.
"He would never admit it, but he mentioned something about secrets you tell nobody. I think it has to do with when you reveal hidden locations to people." Loki said after he thanked Harry for the plate he put in front of him.
"That doesn't make any… wait!" Harry suddenly had an idea. "He can't see through a Fidelius until I tell the secret to someone and he hears or sees it!" he laughed at finally unravelling that little mystery. "He must hate being kept in the dark!" he laughed and looked up into the sky, "I'm on to you, Heimdall."
Loki was nodding and offered/asked, "So you had a meeting in a place that nobody but you knows about?"
Harry's face blanked and he said, "I'm not at liberty to discuss that information." before going back to pouring coffee, tea and juice. Then he started making a couple of bottles of protein shake and casting preserving spells on them for Charles before handing them over to him. "Here you go, Charles." he said.
"Thank you, Harry." Charles accepted the bottles before he continued his conversation with Hank, while Jean and Ororo listened in, having been interested in why Charles seemed different today. Hank had brought it up. "As I was saying; imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning and found my legs were heavier than when I went to sleep! It took a while longer to get dressed and I suspect it will be even harder tomorrow." he said.
"A cure for muscular dystrophy. How remarkable." Hank said before looking at Harry. "And Bruce Banner is the one that made this 'Potion'?" he asked.
"Yup. I introduced him to the art when we found a calming draught kept his alter ego in line. He wanted to know how it worked and I showed him. He's been doing research and creating new, more scientific processes to create the potions. He's currently working on recreating a very cool potion that makes the drinker extraordinarily lucky." Harry gushed over his friend.
"Lucky? There's a potion that affects personal probability? That sounds fantastic!" Hank stated. "How does it work?"
Harry shrugged, "You'd have to ask him. I'm no potions master. He's told me to not contact him for a couple of days though, while he works on that. As I understand it Felix Felicis is one of the most difficult potions to brew, ever. So I suggest you wait a couple of days before contacting him." he instructed.
Hank's spirits seemed to fall as he sat there looking at his mountain of food. "Perhaps my brother can give us an introductory class on the subject, or leave us with his Pensieve and a memory or two?" Loki offered. "I've been meaning to look into this potions craft myself. That and the possibility of using that miraculous artefact again."
Hank seemed to rally a bit. "That does sound like something I might enjoy. What is a Pensieve, though?" he asked.
Harry let Loki answer. He had not realised Loki had wanted access to it again. "The Pensieve is a bowl, into which a memory can be placed and viewed by any who wishes to experience what the owner of the memory had. It is quite marvellous, as it can show you details you don't even remember seeing. If there were any more than the one my brother has, I'd have procured it already." Loki smirked.
"You mean steal." Harry scoffed as he dug into his own breakfast, snagging a piece of bacon from Hank's plate, when the man had stopped eating.
"I was going to save that for last!" Hank objected.
"You snooze you lose." Harry said as he bit into the bacon. "You were right to save this piece though. It's perfectly crispy." Then he smirked and put another couple of pieces of bacon to cooking with a wave of his hand. A couple of seconds later Hank had a few more pieces in his plate and he started digging in, not wanting Harry to take his food again.
After the meal was complete, Harry informed them of the plans for the rest of the day. They had a couple of hours to do what they wanted before they would be flying to the enclosures to which Logan was taking the children. Logan planned on stopping in a couple of places to teach the kids about some of the magical plants Harry had planted around the island. Scott and a few of the others would go along for the hike.
The kids would be occupied with their team-building exercises in the meanwhile, before they started the hike to the first enclosure. After the last creature of the day, the kids would be given time to swim and play. Harry had his own plans for the next couple of hours. He intended on setting up a Room of Requirement on the Island. He wasn't setting it up only for Natasha… not that he would admit anyway.
After the informal meeting, Harry went to fetch the Pensieve. He returned to find most of the X-Men waiting for him. "You're all interested in potions?" he asked.
Charles spoke up for them. "We have time and Potions promises to be an interesting and useful part of our future, if what you told us is correct." he said.
Harry nodded as he conjured some comfortable furniture and placed the Pensieve in the middle on a small platform. "Okay, sit down, people. Make sure you are in a comfortable position, since you'll be in that position for two hours."
When everyone was seated, he continued. "I'll be giving you the memory of teaching Bruce how to harvest certain magical plants correctly and then the process of making a calming draught." He said as he used his Occlumency to remove the memory quickly and placing it into the Pensieve. "There is something fun at the end as a surprise. Enjoy."
"What do we do when the memory is done? Should I store the Pensieve away?" Loki asked, looking between the Pensieve and the Bar. Harry noticed that nobody was sitting close to him. He could understand that. Loki had a lot to make up for. It was heartening, though, that they chose to go with him anyway, even if they didn't like him.
"Oh, right. Give me your left hand." Harry said. When Loki did, Harry cast a spell on his index finger. "When you want to remove it, touch that finger to the memory and it will cling to it. Then you can deposit it into this vial. You'll need to learn to do this on your own if you ever want to use a Pensieve on your own." Harry said handing him an empty vial. Then he turned to the rest. "Okay, have fun. Hopefully I'll be back before the lesson ends."
At this Harry walked off and to the space he had decided to set up the new Room of Requirement. He summoned the required building supplies and started work. About two hours later, the building was complete and he started enlarging the inside of the single room building. It was about the same size as his house, on the outside, which meant it was huge on the inside. Harry had discussed the idea of a Room of Requirements on the Island with Tony and Bruce one day, and they had made a couple of suggestions based on popular sci-fi. Now, with his intent based magic, the room could emulate near infinite space as long as those in the room stay within a certain distance from each other.
The intent laced enchantment would allow the exit to appear when someone decides to leave. For all intents and purposes the moment you enter, the exit disappears and you are in a world of your own making. In theory. That's why Harry was putting off the actual enchantment until Natasha arrived. Just in case he got stuck inside and he needed someone to open the door for him.
While he waited he went back to the Pensieve. He noted everyone was still in the same position they were in when he left. He watched them for a while before shrugging and turning to leave. Just as he took his first step, he heard the sound of movement. He turned around and saw a couple of people looking at him. One or two stretching.
Scott was the first to speak. "Dude! You've got a room full of gold!"
Harry was dumbfounded for a while, before he realised what he was hearing. "Damn! I knew I was forgetting something!" he cursed as he chastised himself. He looked at Loki and asked quickly, "Where did the memory begin?"
"Just after you entered the hallway with all the rooms." Loki said. "I'm assuming it is a hidden location like New Atlantis and your home?"
Harry nodded in relief. He had used his occlumency to take the memory, without needing to remember the whole thing himself. Let that be a lesson to him. No sharing memories without viewing them. "Sorry about that. I have some things I keep secret, for obvious reasons." he explained.
"Like a library of magical knowledge," Loki said, a look of wonder in his eyes.
"A self-contained ecosystem with plants and animals," Ororo said.
"A room full of magical artefacts," Charles said.
"A potions lab stocked with unique ingredients," Hank said.
"Greenhouses suspended in time," Jean said.
"Magical windows to fantasy castles," Marie said.
Scott simply re-iterated, but with more emphasis, "Dude! You've got a room… full of gold!"
Harry rubbed the back of his neck and nodded, "Yeah, I do. That wasn't the point though. Did you enjoy the lesson?"
As everyone seemed to get themselves under control, Hank was the first to speak up, "This Potions Mastery you spoke of with Doctor Banner, would I be correct in stating anyone could, with the right ingredients and tuition, pursue this field of study?"
Harry was not shocked at the interest he heard in Hank's voice. "I don't know what to tell you. Bruce is the one that knows the most about the subject at this point. If anyone wanted to become a Potions Master, he'd be the one to speak to. All I can say is that if anyone decided to study the subject, we'd need a full-time teacher that has worked their way through to the mastery and probably a Magical Contract protecting the information. Magic is a responsibility, not a right. We could only allow people to study it if we knew for certain they would not abuse the power."
Charles frowned at this, and asked, "Do you intend to hold a monopoly on this knowledge? Only those who agree with you may have it?"
Harry smirked, "Those with the power to affect other's lives often abuse it. Power is a responsibility. Right now, I have a lot of both and can choose who to share it with. Fortunately, I only have one requirement; intend no harm. The fact that I can enforce it is just a bonus."
Charles thought about it for a moment, before asking, "What harm could potions do?" When Harry raised an eyebrow, he continued, "We've only heard of healing, calming and restorative potions. Maybe telling us what else potions could do would help us understand?"
Harry looked at Loki and nodded at him. Loki accepted and took this question, "Imagine you are drinking your morning tea and the next person you saw became the love of your life. Your tea had love potion in it. Imagine you were swimming and suddenly you forgot how to float. Your pool had a forgetfulness potion in it. Imagine you are caring for an infant…" Loki was saying.
"Stop!" Harry quickly interjected. "I'm sure they get the point." He looked Loki directly in the eyes, "Never go that far. It's not cool."
Loki shrugged, "The best examples that people learn from, always has an element of fear." he stated unrepentantly. "I was making your point. That being that for every good use for a potion there is, there is also a bad one. Someone with emotional issues that wish to reawaken their love for their spouse, might use love potion on themselves to see their paramour in the light of love once more, to help fix what was broken. A person with mental scars might choose to forget his troubles for a while, so that they can once again see that there are reasons to live. These would be some of the correct uses for those potions."
Harry saw that there were nods all around. "Loki is right. There are always ways to abuse the powers we are given. I don't intend to allow people who might abuse these powers to gain them in the first place. Potter Innovations is the only company with access to magical ingredients anyway. Anyone that wishes to learn would basically gain a skill they could only use working for or with me and my people. Bruce would probably be the department head for potions anyway."
Harry then turned to Hank, "That being said, I can tell you are interested in the field of study and that you and Bruce would get along. If you want, I don't see why you can't partner up with him. You would just need to sign the same Contract he has and follow the rules, like he and Tony had to when they started. No experimenting until you've reached a full fifth-year education status."
Hank thought about it, "I'm assuming that that was the minimum for you at your old school?"
Harry nodded, "After fifth year, potions was not mandatory, and you had to get what amounts to at least a 'B+' in the last exam to continue into the last two years of advanced school study. That doesn't even begin to start you on your Mastery..."
Hank thought about it, then asked, "How long did it take Bruce to reach that level?"
Harry smiled, "He did it in under a month of dedicated study. If I were speaking comparatively to normal people, he's probably at a level now, where he's surpassed Mastery and spent another ten to twenty years in private research. The fact that we have access to technology here that we did not in my old world helps a lot."
Hank looked dumbfounded, "And he's only been at it for how long?"
"A little over a year." Harry supplied.
Hank nodded as if making a decision on the spot, "I'd need to speak to him about it, but it sounds like his research will change the world one day. I would love to be a part of that."
Harry smirked again, "Imagine what will happen once we figure out how to sell the cure to the common cold, let alone that Bruce intends to start focussing on a cure for cancer in the next year still."
There were dropped jaws all around. Harry looked at his bare forearm and said, "Will you look at the time? I need to be somewhere. Who's joining the hike and who'd like another memory to view?" he asked, turning a portal into being.
Scott, Jean, Hank and Marie went through the portal. Ororo looked like she wanted to do both. She looked at him and asked, "What's the memory?"
"It's a surprise." Harry smirked.
Ororo thought about it and sat back down, deciding to keep Xavier, company. Loki was also staying after all.
Harry extracted a vial from his pocket and put the contents into the Pensieve after closing the portal. Then he apparated to the house, in search of Natasha. When he found her in the living room, reading a report of some kind, he was still sporting a huge smile.
"Good morning. What's got you in such a good mood, Harry?" Natasha asked. Harry hugged her and kissed her before informing her of his progress on the Room and what memories he had decided to show the X-Men and why. "You've had a busy morning. I wish I could see Loki's face when he realises that your second 'memory' is actually a compilation of your prank war highlights."
Harry snickered as he picked up a picnic basket and added a couple of items for Natasha, for when she accompanied him. "I'm actually hoping he'll react a certain way. If we're lucky the X-Men will stop being openly hostile to him. He's a long way from being the perfect prince, but he's really trying and I'd like to avoid situations where it's made more difficult for him. His showing up and being useful might also work in his favour."
"I hope you're right," Natasha said noncommittally. Changing the subject, she asked, "When do you think you'll have the items ready for me?"
"I'm starting on them this afternoon after today's tour. I'll also need to go look in on the Nymphs. Once they are ready we can take the kids there." Harry said.
Natasha looked at him through narrowed eyes, and asked, "You're actually hoping one of the boys go looking for them before the week is out, aren't you?"
"Maybe a little." Harry confessed. "But, come on, it's the perfect setup!"
Natasha just laughed and hugged him. "Never change." she said. She secretly wanted to see who in the group would be the first, and last, to try.
They were soon on their way to the Room, taking a short stroll, while chatting, around the houses before ending at the location Harry had chosen for the room, which was just a short bit away from the 'Resort'. Harry wanted to keep it away from any guests that might not be privy to it.
It was completely within view of the pool, Bar and hot spring, but would be magically protected from sight. Natasha kissed him good luck before settling in to wait for the long enchantment process to complete.
An hour later, Harry was dripping with sweat as he walked out of the room, with a huge smile on his face. Natasha handed him a towel to dry himself off and he took it gratefully. "How did it go?" she asked anyway.
"It took more effort than last time, but I like the result. I was able to do a couple of things I had wanted to try out for a while." Harry informed her as he sat down and fell back onto the soft grass. "It should be safe. Try going to see Sensei quick. Just remember, you have to will the exit into place, otherwise your subconscious mind will just supply what should be behind every door. If you don't know how to, you could still get stuck in there." he warned.
Natasha nodded and stepped to the empty wall before pacing in front of it. A moment later the familiar door appeared and Natasha opened it. Behind the door stood Sensei, apparently waiting for Natasha to open the door. He looked at Harry and pointed, "You have been absent for too long!" he said. "When you next come to train, I will take you on personally, and you will be taught to respect the training time you have squandered." He then turned and walked back into the Dojo.
Natasha was shocked. "Was he just waiting for me?" she asked.
Harry shook his head. "It's a reflection of your requirements, love. I'll join you tomorrow, I promise. But that's not what worries me…" he said. "His hand was outside the door and it didn't dissipate."
"What does that mean?" Natasha asked as she watched the door disappear.
"I'm not certain, but I think it requires testing." Harry said. "Let's not start using this just yet."
He placed a ward as they started walking back to the house. Natasha would soon be on mission again, so they had decided to spend a bit of extra bonding time together over the next couple of days. They were on their way to go take a leisurely ride on the carpet before the tour, when Harry looked up with a smile. "Looks like the memory ended." He said.
Natasha cocked her head and heard it herself. It was the sound of laughter out by the Bar, where Harry had set up the Pensieve. Without discussion, they both turned and went to investigate. What they found, made Harry smile.
Loki was laughing with them, in his new female form. "I know. And now I'm stuck like this for the next month. Thank Odin, I can hide it most of the time with an illusion, but mother insisted I wear a dress as a proper princess should." He was saying in his feminine voice, showing off the frilly gown he was suddenly wearing.
Charles and Ororo seemed to be enjoying the spectacle and Loki knew how to work people to his favour. It seemed he had capitalised on the opportunity and come out on top, as Harry had hoped. Perhaps having him in a different form would help too. "I'm glad you enjoyed the memory." Harry said from where he stood, with a smile on his face.
Loki scowled, "That wasn't a memory, those were many memories. All showing only the tricks you did to me!" Loki exclaimed.
"Yes, I tried showing only the good ones and that's what I came up with." Harry said while buffing the nails of one hand on his chest.
"All of the ones I did were far funnier." Loki objected.
"Oh, really? Why don't you show us?" Harry offered. He twitched a finger and replaced the Pensieve with a fruit bowl from his kitchen.
Loki noticed the magic and looked down at the bowl. "That's not fair!" he objected.
Harry just smirked. "That's another one for me, then."
"You broke the rules, you did two in a row now!" Loki exclaimed victoriously.
"Did I?" Harry asked.
"You showed them your pranks and made it so I couldn't retaliate. That's two." Loki insisted.
"Where in the rules did we state that showing people the memories of tricks was going to be considered a trick? I specifically recall stating that having an audience was far more preferable and you agreeing." Harry pointed out.
Loki growled, but then calmed his features. "Fine, it's my turn next. And you won't see it coming." He stated.
Harry smirked, "Bring it on." he said.
Charles and Ororo had enjoyed the show and went to their respective pastimes until the time would come for the first tour of the week. Harry and Logan had worked out a schedule and planned to get to all of the creatures at some point during the week. Harry had a couple of other plans for the week, so he needed to be able to trust these people to be left to their own devices when he wasn't around.
He had decided to take Loki up on his offer and have him play bartender when he wasn't around. Loki had easily agreed, and Harry had made him promise not to trick any of the X-Men.
"Of course I wouldn't, not after you put in the effort to try and ingratiate me with them by showing them all those tricks you pulled on me." Loki said with a smirk. When Harry gave him a look, he asked, "What, did you think I didn't understand what you were doing? Who do you think you are talking to?" he scoffed.
Harry nodded and said, "Fair enough. Just, be careful. They might not look it but many of the people here are more powerful than you. I'd rather not have to explain to Odin that you insulted the wrong person and got yourself killed."
Loki's eyebrows rose at that as he looked to where Kurt was chatting to some of the other X-Men who had tagged along, but were content to be left to their own devices. "Truly? Who's the most powerful here?"
"Besides me?" Harry asked, considering it. "Jean Grey has an extra-dimensional being of pure energy living in her that could destroy you and any planet you are standing on with a little effort. Charles Xavier is a telepath of such power he could disable a person's mental functions and probably stop their heart from miles away. Anywhere on the planet if he's allowed to use a device he has at his institute. Kurt could probably teleport you into a wall if he was so inclined." he spoke aloud as he considered it.
"And these people just hang around on your island for holiday?!"Loki asked, incredulously.
"It's not like they are inclined to do these things. Kurt would rather pray for you than attack you. Charles would probably have difficulty entering your mind undetected if you've got any sort of rudimentary magical mental shielding." Harry said. "The only person even I would avoid pissing off is Jean. She's scarily powerful. I don't know if I'd be able to take her out and somehow doubt it."
Loki's eyebrows attempted to rise into his hairline. "How do I avoid attracting her ire?"
"Just be friendly and whatever you do, don't flirt with or attack her or her husband." Harry said honestly.
"Why would I do that?" Loki asked.
"Why would you attack Earth?" came a voice from behind them. When they turned around they saw Charles rolling up behind them. "I've been monitoring his mind since he arrived." When Harry made to object, he raised a hand. "I can see he's not entirely to blame for his actions, but I wouldn't allow an enemy of all mankind to walk around my children without keeping tabs on him or investigating." He turned back to Loki. "You are not human, but psychology is psychology. If you want to speak to someone who can be impartial, I'll be here all week." he said with a slight smile, before turning and rolling away again.
Loki scowled after him. "Does he think me a child that needs a shoulder to cry on?" Then he turned on Harry, "How do you protect your mind? I couldn't even tell he was in there."
"He's all about the mind and psyche. He could probably tell if a person is gay by talking to them about the weather and taking notes on their reactions to the movement of clouds, all without entering any minds." Harry said. "As for the mental protection, I'm afraid you'll have to wait. There are many reasons for it, but you'll have to trust me that they will do you no good this week. Either that or you could go home, I suppose…"
Loki thought about it for a bit, but decided he'd rather stay. "I'd take a mind rapist over boredom any day." Both he and Harry were looking at Charles when he said it. The wince and the guilty look made Loki laugh. "I could even have some fun with this."
"Just leave me out of it. I don't want to know what sick thoughts you put him through." Harry said as he started instructing Loki on the processes involved in running his bar. He told him where to find everything and what the children were allowed to have. By the time his instruction was complete, it was time to start the tour.
Harry loaded the X-Men up, those that had preferred not to go on the hike, and took them to where the children were just arriving at the first enclosure. It seemed Logan was not pushing them too hard after the early morning session. Nobody seemed rushed or out of breath this time. Harry landed the carpet and shrunk and pocketed it and then started telling the kids about the Hippogriffs. There were five standing outside the cave today.
Harry approached one, bowed to show the children how it was done and then talked about the physiology, habits and diet of the creature. It was a school trip after all. When that part of the job was done, Harry asked the children who would like to approach and he was not shocked that the same two Japanese girls were the first to volunteer. After Hisako bowed and the Hippogriff bowed back, Harry showed her how to scratch the animal how they liked and when they seemed comfortable enough with each other, Harry asked her if she wanted to fly on him.
"Could I?" she asked in awe.
Harry smiled and levitated her onto the animal, giving her instruction as he went, making certain not to surprise it. It took off and was soon flying around the plateau on its usual path. That seemed to open the floodgates as most of the kids suddenly wanted to meet the animals. Harry started with the youngest ones first and worked his way up. When Hisako returned, Harry and Logan helped the other kids to mount and soon the Hippogriffs were flying in formation, with kids screaming with delight, which just made the animals enjoy the flight all the more.
After that, they saw three more animals, including a couple of unicorns and a quick visit to the Manticores' Lair. It was not an intelligent animal and was kept in a secure enclosure. After the tour was complete, Harry opened a portal to the campsite for the kids to get their beach things and then everyone went to the beach again. Apparently the first half of the day was dedicated to study and exercise and the second was for fun.
Harry made food again, while Loki handled the drinks this time. Natasha was enjoying a chat with Ororo. He had been correct in his guess that he'd be making more burgers. The cheeky kid did not order something ridiculous this time.
Once lunch was served and the kids started playing games on the beach (volleyball, and sand-castle competitions being chief amongst them), Harry left Loki with one of his new devices. It was a soft serve machine that used the same enchantment he used on water taps, but for Ice-cream. He had to demonstrate the use and how to change the flavour of ice-cream as well. After that he left to go work on the first device Natasha would need. The ice-cream was enjoyed by all, including one diabetic kid, who had never had the opportunity before.
Harry then went to his new workshop, which was built into a hidden room in a secure location. Nobody knew where it was or how to look for it, which was done by design. Harry always referred to it simply as "Workshop". This is where he did his tinkering and playing with the possibilities of magic. It was by far one of his favourite pastimes.
He spent a good couple of hours in there that day, but was unable to complete anything by the time he felt his mirror vibrate.
He answered to see Natasha smiling at him. "Are you about ready to come cook dinner? Some of these kids are starting to look at each other like food." she joked. She turned the mirror so he could see the kids. On average, they were smiling, but there were a couple that kept on sending furtive glances at Natasha, hoping she was calling Harry. When they saw his face, they broke out in smiles.
Harry chuckled and after noting the time of day, he replied, "Yeah, I suppose I can. Sorry I'm not there yet, I was busy…"
"… working on a difficult piece of magic. Like always." Natasha finished for him with a roll of her eyes and a tolerant smile. "Just get your butt over here."
"Yes dear." Harry said with a smile back at her. He closed the connection and finished up what he was doing, before apparating back to the beach. Harry's arrival was met with cheers as the hungry kids started gathering by the Bar area, having apparently been told that he was coming back soon.
"Okay, okay. I've given tonight's meal a bit of thought and while Logan wanted you to go out and scavenge for a meal," here he paused for effect as Logan just smirked, "I was thinking more along the lines of a summer salad with some steamed fish." There was silence, until Harry quickly finished, "Which I will turn into Pizzas for you."
There was a large cheer and Harry just laughed as he started the process from earlier that day again, except with the older kids first this time. He would ask the kids what they wanted on their Pizza and prepare for them exactly what they wanted. Because it was getting dark, Harry conjured round tables, which would seat eight people at a time, and suspended some magical lights above them.
Natasha had not been idle. She had had an idea and asked Tony to help her. They had mounted a large TV above the Bar and it was showing what Harry was currently working on, and who he was making it for. This had the added benefit of having the older years showing the younger ones what was good so they could choose from what they had seen. Harry had given Natasha a kiss, right in front of the camera to some good-natured cat-calling and whistles.
Harry had not lied. He had transfigured everything from healthy food and nobody could complain. There were even a few who wanted fish and salad, which Harry was more than happy to serve as well. When everybody was done eating, Logan and Darcy took charge again and the kids were escorted to the camp-site.
Once everyone was sorted, Harry left Loki in charge of the bar. He had a quick word with Hank and left with Natasha to go visit the Nymphs.