Harry was sitting in his office one day, when Tony got an alert from Friday, who's personality he had ended up putting on Two-Point-Oh, to save himself the effort of naming it. Apparently there was a break-in at one of his warehouses and an item had been stolen. Since the warehouse was just a storage space for old equipment, he wasn't too stressed about it, but he decided to at least check out what was taken.
"Signal Decoy invented by Doctor Henry "Hank" Pym." Friday said after checking.
"Wow, we're talking old school SHIELD." Tony said. "Haven't heard that name in many years."
"Do we know what the device does?" Harry asked.
"Allows you to counteract signal blocking and jamming." Tony said. "Hank Pym invented it years before wireless communications was even a thing. Quite ingenious. Too bad he dropped off the map when his wife disappeared."
"What happened to her?" Harry asked.
"I don't know." Tony said. "Apparently the only person that thought they knew was Pym and he was ranting about other realms…" he trailed off, only now having realised the man might not have been lying. "Son of a bitch."
"Do you think he's behind the theft?" Harry asked.
"We can't know for certain. SHIELD knew about the device, so that means Hydra did too." Tony said, still in thought.
"Should we act on this?" Harry asked.
"While the device is impressive, it's no doomsday weapon." Tony said. "Friday, please set aside some resources to monitor for anything out of the ordinary that might benefit from such a device."
"Of course, Mister Stark." Friday said, before she went silent. Tony saw a couple of windows pop up where he could monitor her progress and the status of the search.
"What do we do when Friday finds us a lead?" Harry asked.
"It's stolen tech. We let the police handle it, or, worst case scenario, we contact Fury and they send in SHIELD." Tony shrugged.
Harry knew better than to argue tech with Tony, so he shrugged and let it go. If something came up, they'd respond as necessary.
---
Something came up the very next day, when there was a mention of Hank Pym by a detective in San Francisco. Apparently he'd helped a suspect escape custody and was suspected of harbouring him from the law. Something strange was going on, though as it seems the suspect, Scott Lang, was only caught because of a tip by Pym's daughter, Hope van Dyne.
Tony reported what was happening and Fury sent a Ghost Squad to go monitor and see what was going on. The Squad informed Fury of their findings and he told them to hold off on arresting anyone until the buyers were in the room with them. It was a golden opportunity to get to some previously unknown players.
The next day, Harry received a report that Scott Lang had been taken into SHIELD custody along with a group of common criminals, who Scott had recruited to help in the heist and a formerly unknown group of members of Hydra. A couple of questions under Veritaserum led them to the conclusion that Lang was just trying to help and stop Hydra from getting their hands on shrinking technology.
Harry decided to take a personal interest in this one at that point. He arranged for a surprise and then went to see the man. Lang was being well taken care of, and Harry found him in a guest suite enjoying a beer and watching something on the big-screen.
"Good Evening." Harry said politely after he knocked and entered.
Scott got up, put the beer down and walked to Harry, who looked like an intern to him, since he had decided to stick with smart casual, since he knew Scott would not be dressed to impress with the clothes handed to him while his suit was in lock-up. "Hi." Scott said as he held his hand out to shake. "I'm Scott. Are you here to tell me when I'm being released?"
Harry smiled and shook his hand. "My name is Harry Potter, and no, I'm here to tell you that you're not under arrest to begin with." he said. "We tend to treat heroes with a bit of common courtesy around here. You're free to go whenever you want. Your friends have already been given a lift to your… apartment. They have also been fairly compensated for their part in helping stop Darren Cross."
Scott smiled, "You know, you have the same name as that billionaire who keeps on spending money on helping third-world countries."
"Do I?" Harry smiled along. "I hadn't realised." Harry beckoned Scott to the door and started leading him, "We arranged another lift for you, unless you would like to stay here for a while? We are willing to offer you the standard fee, or we could consider giving you a job?"
Scott was confused, "A standard fee for stopping terrorists?"
"We pay a consultation and danger fee for people who work with or for us." Harry said, making it up as he went. He knew the man had financial issues and a criminal record for doing what he felt was right by exposing a company for overcharging their clients millions. Had Harry known, he'd have arranged something for the man. "We can get you paperwork if you are interested?"
Scott looked uncomfortable. "I kind of already have a job." he said. "I don't know how long I'll be working with them or if there's even still a job, but I have to find out from them first."
"Completely understandable." Harry nodded as he continued walking, taking them to a portal door, through a series of elevators and hallways, so that they could take Scott back home. "I appreciate your honesty and loyalty. Those are qualities we value, here at EPI." As they walked someone brought a cardboard box, which they handed to Harry. Harry in turn handed it to Scott. "Here's your suite back."
Scott was surprised, "You're just giving it back? You're not going to try and reverse engineer it first?"
"We already have shrinking tech, so we don't need to steal Doctor Pym's patented technology." Harry lied easily. Technically they had things that shrunk, even though Harry had never tried it on a living being except to change proportions on a person as a joke, like the time Loki's hands were enlarged to the point where he could barely lift them.
"You do?" Scott asked.
"Would I lie to you?" Harry asked with a devious smile.
"I don't know, would you?" Scott asked, also smiling. He didn't know why, but he liked the kid. It might have been the mention of being paid, though. He really needed to set things right so that he could see his little girl.
They walked through the door and Scott was surprised at who he saw. His ex, her fiancé and his daughter. His little girl ran to him and he hugged her, "Hi there, Peanut!" he said happily as he hugged her.
"Daddy!" Cassie exclaimed. "Is it true that you saved the world?"
"Your dad sure did, but you have to keep it secret, right?" Harry said over his shoulder as he looked around for any eavesdroppers.
Cassie nodded like she was in on the worlds' best secret. "I promise!" she said.
Scott looked up at Harry and noted his outfit had changed to a beautifully tailored business suit. Harry winked at him and held a hand out to Scott and shook his, "Scott Lang, on behalf of myself, EPI and the rest of the world, I'd like to thank you for your service and keeping everything secret, while you were under cover. As a small reward for your efforts, we have taken the liberty of arranging to have your records expunged, as well as a modest payment that will help you get on your feet." Harry handed him a business card. "This is my personal number. Please call me if you ever need a job. We could use people with your skills, values and strength of character."
Scott was stunned and almost asked what was going on, when he realised that Harry was doing him a huge favour. "No problem." he said instead. "You have my details. Feel free to call me if you need me or my strength of character again." he joked.
Harry laughed and clapped him on the back. "Thanks, Scott. I'll definitely keep you in mind." Then Harry turned to the family and approached Maggie. "I apologise for having Scott deceive you. It was integral that the people we were after still approached him when they did, so we had to swear him to secrecy."
Maggie just nodded, astounded. One of the most powerful people on the planet just thanked her ex-husband, shook his hand, laughed with him and apologised to her on his behalf. It was a little much to take in. Had it not been for the limo, which was sent to come pick them up, and a promise of a nice evening out by an agent beforehand, she might have thought it was some kind of trick.
Her fiancé, Jim, was not so impressed it seemed, "Just who are you, exactly? You can't just have people's records expunged. Scott Lang is a criminal and-"
"Scott Lang is a hero," Harry interrupted, "and was under contract with EPI to perform a duty for the sake of national security." He looked the cop in the eyes, before relaxing a bit, "Look, I checked into you and you are a good man. I have not known Scott long, but he put his life on the line to protect innocents and that makes him a hero in my book." Harry looked at Scott while he continued to talk to Jim, "He didn't even know he was getting paid. If you find out he's gone off the straight and narrow, feel free to do your duty, but until he does, could you not just allow a man some time with his daughter?"
Jim looked thoughtful, but nodded reluctantly. He loved Cassie himself. He could not imagine being kept from her. "I'm not a monster. I'm just trying to protect my family."
"And that's how it should be, right?" Harry asked. "I imagine he feels exactly the same. Something you two have in common, perhaps?" Jim didn't like the comparison, but had to agree.
Soon Harry walked them to the waiting Limo, which would take them to a family friendly, but upper-class restaurant, where they would be seated in the best seats in the house and given anything they wanted on EPI's tab.
Scott waited outside, while everyone else got in. He looked in the box and saw a letter and a stack of bills that made his eyes bulge on top of the suit. "What's this?" he asked.
"We couldn't find your bank details, so we paid you in cash. I hope you don't mind." Harry apologised. "As for the letter, please give it to Doctor Pym when you see him again."
Scott leaned in and whispered, "Thanks for doing this. You have no idea what it means."
"I think I do, Scott. I have loved ones too." Harry assured him. "And I may have needed to do things in my past, that weren't strictly legal, to help those who couldn't help themselves, as well." He slapped Scott on the shoulder again, "Do me a favour and don't give that ass a reason to keep you from your little girl, okay? And call me if you ever find some big wigs stepping on the little guy. I can help you set things right."
Scott smiled and mock-saluted, "Yes, sir!" Then he turned and got in the Limo as well.
They were soon off and Harry smiled after the car. He hoped to hear from both Scott and Hank Pym in the near future.
When Harry got to his office, his mirror vibrated. "Ancient One?" he asked seeing Yao on the other side, knowing Stark's mirror had a listening AI in it.
"Master Potter." Yao responded with a nod.
"How can I help you today?" Harry asked with a smile.
"I'm calling because I can help you." Yao said. "If you'd please join me?" she turned the mirror so that he knew where to put a portal.
When Harry arrived, Yao greeted him with a smile. "Your recent involvement with Scott Lang has created a divergence in the timeline."
"And you're happy about it?" Harry asked. "Usually you want me to change what I'm doing, because diverging is bad…"
Yao simply smiled and put a sling ring on. She turned her hand and a sling-portal formed. "Through there is a place you will very soon become familiar with. It is called the Quantum Realm. Because of its nature, I've not been able to enter it physically, since one needs protections from the elements there."
"And you want me to know where it is, because?" Harry asked.
"Because I need to inform you of a couple of factors you will need to know." Yao informed him. "While my portals are able to open a rift to this realm, it does not affect its probability. The Quantum realm is always in flux in both time and space. It is a fascinating realm, where everywhere is accessible at once but also not. The dimensions of time and space operate differently there. All except for one factor."
Harry sighed, "Its magic, right?"
Yao smiled that infuriating smile of hers. "Magic is the one factor that's universal, because it permeates all energy spectrums and all dimensions." she confirmed. "When you open one of your portals to the Quantum Realm, however, the consequences would be devastating, as it would spill into our realm."
"I'll just not go there then." Harry said. "Why show me a place I shouldn't ever open a portal to?"
"Because you are kind and you will definitely go there. I'm giving you this warning to prevent a catastrophe." Yao warned, before smiling again. "Fortunately you have another form of travel which will take you there easily and without consequence."
"Portkeys?" Harry asked.
"No, the other one." Yao said.
"Apparition?" Harry asked. When he thought about it he realised something Fitz and Simmons had said. "Wormhole…"
"Indeed. The quantum realm is accessible via three methods. Magical, like you use, Mystical, like I use and a more recently discovered method." Yao confirmed. "Discovered by a certain Doctor Pym?"
Harry slapped his head, "Of course! His wife, she's still stuck in the Quantum Realm!"
Yao nodded. "My opening this portal and showing you this has affected the timeline for her rescue. The Doctor will not have time to build a device and a safe form of transport. Fortunately you already have one. A vehicle that can traverse space will be able to traverse the quantum realm, but be careful. The quantum realm can affect the mind of those who go there. Your minds' protections should protect you, but anyone you take with you might struggle to function, so be aware of their movements at all times."
Harry nodded. "Thanks, Yao. Can you give me a deadline?"
"You should have two days, even though the chances that you'll need that is very small. Doctor Pym will contact you tomorrow morning with an urgent need." Yao said.
Harry nodded and decided to leave as soon as possible to go prepare. "Thanks again. You know, I like it when you give me straight answers. You should do that more often." Harry said.
Yao smiled sadly, "The chances that this is the last time I help you is large. My time is soon approaching."
Harry stopped, mid movement to summon his portal again. Then he turned, "Are you saying…?"
Yao nodded, "The events that lead to the new Sorcerer Supreme is coming up in the next couple of months."
Harry sighed, knowing he couldn't discuss his plans with her or she'd know and it would change everything she sees from now until the event, so he nodded at her sadly, before stepping to her and hugging her. "I'll miss you, my friend." he said.
"You have been a good friend, these last three years." Yao said, hugging him back. "Maybe you will surprise me with a visit before my time has come?"
Harry smirked, "Is that your way of saying you haven't seen me visiting you again?"
"I will want to introduce you to my replacement. For anything besides that, you would know better than me, I suspect." Yao smiled back, trying for mysterious, though she knew Harry was the one hiding things this time. What, though, she didn't know.
Harry just gave her another squeeze, before he let go and summoned his portal. "I'll see you next week." he joked, knowing that he would likely have her watched. Then he stepped through and let the portal close behind him without a backward glance. "Heimdall," he called into his mirror. When Heimdall's face appeared, he continued without waiting for a greeting, "I need you to keep an eye on her. You know what she does and sees. She is important. If you see her coming to any kind of life-threatening harm, I need you to call me on the mirror immediately."
"Of course, my prince." Heimdall said. "You can rely on me. The Sorcerer Supreme is a large factor in the forces that protects not only Midgard, but our entire dimension. Losing her would be a great loss."
"Thanks Heimdall." Harry said. "I owe you one."
Heimdall smiled, "You owe me nothing, my prince. It is both my duty and an honour to be of service."
"Doesn't change the fact that you're doing me a favour." Harry argued. "I'll make sure to have something put together for you at my office."
"To surprise me, yes. You know you could always just reveal the location of the building?" he offered.
"Even if I did that, you'd still not be able to see me." Harry said.
"A secret within a secret? You are a devious one, Prince Harry." Heimdall joked.
"I have you to thank for that." Harry said honestly. "Anyway, I have to get prepared for my next mission. Cheers!" he ended the connection and glanced across the room. Tony was not in his office and neither was Bruce. He walked through to Tony's side and walked into the penthouse of Stark Tower.
Harry found Tony and Pepper sitting on the couch, with a full bowl of popcorn. Harry smirked and went to lounge in one of the other couches. "What are we watching?" he asked.
"Harry, can't you see we're taking some alone time?" Tony asked.
Harry didn't budge, but glanced at them. "Huh. Okay. You two have fun with that." Then he turned back to the TV. "I'm just going to wait and see what you're watching then, before I go off to prepare for going to the Quantum Realm tomorrow."
Tony was quiet, but Harry knew he got his attention, when the intro scene of the movie paused. "Explain." he said.
"What are you doing, Tony? You're watching a movie with your fiancée." Harry said. "Don't interrupt it on my count." When Tony refused to play the movie again, Harry got up and waved at Pepper, who was smiling despite knowing what Harry was doing, "Sorry to have interrupted. We'll chat again soon, okay?" Then he walked back into Tony's office to go look for Bruce through his office.
He found Bruce reading through a musty old volume on alchemy, which he obviously took from Harry's library, in his favourite chair in front of a fire in his quarters. Sif was probably off-world, as Bruce tended to spend time with her after work, but he liked to read and learn after hours, when she wasn't around. Harry had entered after knocking, when he was told to come in. "Hey Bruce." he said.
"Hi Harry." Bruce said. "I'm sorry, but the kitchen is closed." he joked. Bruce still cooked for anyone that was in residence at Avengers Mansion. Harry and Natasha tended to join for breakfast, but Harry cooked for the two of them at night, usually. He'd begged off that night, so he could help Scott.
"I'm not here for food." Harry said. "I'm here to plan."
"What's the plan?" came Tony's voice from the door. He was scowling, but Harry could see the twinkle of curiosity in his eyes.
"Nice of you to join us." Harry mocked. "But weren't you on a date?"
Tony glared at Harry, "Pepper isn't too happy right now. You know that, right?"
"Don't look at me. I asked you what you were watching and you decided to be snide with me." Harry defended. "It's not my fault your curiosity can't be sated."
"That doesn't matter, because Pepper knows that you knew what you were doing." Tony defended.
"But does she know that I knew that she'd know what I was doing?" Harry asked, with a smile.
"Please don't." Bruce said. "Either tell me what's going on or allow me to continue reading. This Flamel guy sounds insane until you figure out the reason for his doing things the way he did."
"I didn't know Flamel wrote a book!" Harry said, walking closer to inspect the tome.
"He didn't." Bruce said. "From what I can tell someone named Pernelle was documenting the search for something called the prima materia. To complete the Magnum Opus, or Great Work."
"Are you telling me Nicolas Flamel's wife, Perenelle Flamel, kept a journal of their discovery of the first matter of the universe?" Harry asked. Even he had heard of how Nicholas Flamel had been trying to use alchemy to discover the soul of the world. The first building blocks of the universe.
"How do you know that, but you don't know about the book? I'm needing to translate this," he indicated the tome, "from thirteenth century French to try and understand it." Bruce said exasperatedly.
"It's something I heard in conversation. People were discussing Nicholas Flamel's death, shortly after his six-hundred and seventy-fifth birthday." Harry shrugged. "I always thought it was interesting, but amounted to old wives' tales."
"Well according to the book, Nicolas was using alchemy to try and isolate the building blocks of creation. They were trying to understand the universe to enrich themselves using chrysopoeia." Bruce said.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Transmutation of one substance into another, specifically gold." Bruce said.
"Oh, yeah." Harry said. "The philosopher's stone was said to produce the elixir and make gold from metal, right? Maybe the stone is composed of this 'Prima Materia'?"
Bruce had a thoughtful look, but shook himself. "That's not what you came here for." he reminded Harry.
Harry clapped his hands together, "That's right! We've got preparations to make."
---
The next morning Harry's phone rang, as expected. "Okay, guys, quiet down." he told Bruce and Tony, who had been excitedly talking about the possibilities and ramifications of quantum energy. He answered the phone, "Good morning, Doctor Pym. How can I help you?"
"How did you know who was calling, this is a brand new burner phone." Pym said suspiciously. "Did Scott call you?" Harry heard the sound of someone, who sounded like Scott, objecting in the background.
"He did not, which I suppose means he trusts you more than he trusts me." Harry said. "I've got certain sources that informed me to expect your call and make certain preparations, which you would probably want to discuss with me in person rather than over a phone line."
There was silence from the other side, but only for a couple of seconds. "Are you in contact with her as well?" Pym asked.
"I'm assuming you're referring to your wife, Janet?" Harry asked.
"You are?!" Pym asked incredulously.
"I'm afraid you are misunderstanding something." Harry apologised. "Our source is here on Earth, not in the Quantum Realm. We had been wondering how you would know. Can you tell me?"
There was more silence, before Pym responded, "Scott."
"Did he make contact?" Harry asked.
"Yes, though he didn't know it, apparently." Pym said sceptically. "Listen, in your letter you said that you had resources and you'd be willing to fund any research I have, no strings attached. Would that include a workforce of hundreds over the next two days? We really need to get to the quantum realm before the probability fields shift and Janet is lost to us again." Hank would not normally trust anyone, but even he'd seen the work PI and EPI did. They didn't need his research, they were already saving the world, one distribution centre at a time. Also, he didn't have a choice. He couldn't think of any other way to save his wife.
"Sure thing, but you don't need that." Harry said. "We're all set for an expedition. All we need is a way to find your wife and we're all set."
"What do you mean?" Pym asked. They couldn't already have a tunnel, could they? Scott said something about them having shrinking tech already. Maybe this was part of their technology?
"I mean, I can get you there and back, but you need to point the way once we get there, okay?" Harry asked.
"We can do that." Pym said instantly. "Where do we meet you?"
"Send me your current location." Harry said. "I'll come to you."
Pym hung up and sent a message instantly. Five minutes later his doorbell rang. "Mister Potter?" he said answering the door. "Were you on your way or something?"
"Let's just say transportation is something I'm really good at, okay?" Harry said with a smile. "And call me Harry."
Hank nodded and opened the door to allow Harry in. "Please, come in."
"Thank you, Doctor Pym." Harry replied as he was seen to the sitting room, where Scott was waiting with Hope. He was introduced, offered some tea and then they got down to business.
"What do you mean, 'wormhole'?" Pym asked. "Have you been experimenting with quantum singularities? Do you have any idea-?"
"I mean, we have a way to access the quantum realm. And no, we've not been experimenting with singularities." Harry interrupted. "The problem will be your technology. Unless it is shielded in a very specific way, it won't survive the journey."
"What kind of shielding? I can build a housing that will isolate it completely from the outside world, if that will work?" Hank offered.
"That might work, but we'll still need to add something to insulate it from electromagnetics and radiation." Harry said. This was taking forever. "Hold on, let's start again. Hi, my name is Harry Potter. I can help you rescue your wife. Can we please get going?" Then he opened a portal, much to all of their shock, and beckoned for them to follow. "Oh, and please bring whatever tools you need to track Janet." Then he walked through and went to sit down at his desk to look out his window at the stars. He was in his lunar base and it was almost full moon, so he had a perfect view. Tony, Bruce and Jarvis were waiting in one of the hangers, where the 'vehicle' they'd be using was getting a new set of rune protections, just in case. None of these vehicles were made to be apparated and they knew Harry would end up being the power source after the apparition. They were fairly certain everything that needed to, would keep working, though.
A moment later, Scott came through first, followed shortly by Hope. "Hi," Harry said, "and welcome to EPI's secret lunar base."
Scott walked to the window and looked down at the surface of the moon. "Are we in a skyscraper?!" he asked incredulously.
"Nah, the building isn't that tall. It does look that way, though, doesn't it?" Harry laughed. He'd used the same enchantments as on the guest house on New Atlantis.
Hope was standing next to Scott. "We can't be on the moon." she objected. She was thinking of what would be involved with setting up something like that, not to mention the fact that it felt like normal Earth gravity. "Is this some sort of virtual rendering?" she asked.
Harry just shook his head and said nothing as they waited for Hank. When he arrived with his tools, Hank had the same response as Hope. He looked at his phone and said, "My phone says we're in Malibu."
"Yeah, we've been thinking of changing it so that it says we're on the moon, but I'm told that would be an issue, so we've just left the connection as it is." Harry said. "Did you bring what you'll need?"
"I did. We'll have to assemble the isolation enclosure, but we can have that done in a couple of minutes." Hank confirmed.
"Awesome. Let's get to the hanger, then." Harry said as he went to the door and opened it for them. "It's not far. I just need to run a quick errand on the way." He led them to an elevator, which went down three floors to the ground floor. "See, I told you we weren't in a skyscraper."
"What, did you run out of money bringing an office building to the moon?" Scott joked as they exited the lift.
There were a lot of people walking around and as soon as they appeared, they were approached by a portly man in a suit. "Mister Potter." he greeted before turning to the guests. "You must be our code orange guests." he said, before proceeding to hand out blank laminated orange nametags to them. Then he took out a clipboard and looked at it. "Please attach the nametags to your person and state your name for the record."
"Are you sure this is necessary Erik?" Harry asked.
"Fury's orders, Mister Potter." Agent Erik Koenig said. He was previously stationed at an unnamed secret base he liked to call 'Providence'. Harry had convinced Fury that he could simply automate the base, since anybody that went there now, needed to be let in on the secret anyway.
"We've got somewhere to be-" Harry started.
"Best to follow procedure quickly then." Eric interrupted, with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. Koenig was Fury's man and he made sure Harry knew it. Harry didn't mind.
Harry just shook his head bemusedly as the guests attached the nametags, stated their names and Koenig asked them some standard questions, before thanking them and leaving. He had a Call of Duty game to get back to. His brother wasn't above shooting him in his absence.
When Hope pointed out that their names were suddenly on the nametags, along with their professions, Harry just smiled and continued leading them to the hanger.
There was one moment, when they walked between the buildings, when the guests all stopped and looked up to see more stars than many humans could claim to have seen. The dome of the base was actually made from concrete and steel, but Harry had taken the time to enchant the whole thing completely see-through. Only up close, could you tell there was something there, much like freshly washed clear glass.
"Are we really on the moon?" Hank asked.
"Why would I bring you here, through a portal just to lie to you?" Harry replied, before he continued to lead them to the first Hanger. The path was well trodden, but Harry still wanted to plant grass on the entire base. It would add something, he thought.
"How did you change the gravity here? And how are we breathing?" Hope asked.
"I'd tell you, but you wouldn't believe me, not until you've seen the standard demonstration, but we're in a hurry, so let's get to it." Harry said as he finally opened the door to the hanger, which was located at the edge of the dome and had access to the outside.
Inside, Bruce, Jarvis, Fitz, Simmons and Tony were all waiting. Upon seeing Tony, Hank stopped dead. "I'm not letting Stark near any of my technology."
"That's fine." Tony said with a smile. He knew Pym had issues with his father, so he'd try to ignore the blatant hatred in his eyes. "We can just let Jarvis handle the shielding. He usually does that anyway."
"How will your AI add shielding?" Hank asked. "Is there a fabrications facility here?"
"Excuse me, Doctor Pym, but I think you are misunderstanding something." Jarvis spoke up. "I am Jarvis."
"Oh, okay then. I thought Stark was talking about his AI." Hank apologised. He still didn't want Stark near his tech.
"I used to be an AI, but now I'm a person. It's wonderful what ma-" Jarvis started.
"Stop!" Harry interrupted. "For purposes of speeding things along, I've not told them anything about that. Let's just get this going. Anybody with sufficient mental protection that wants to go, are allowed to. Provided they strap in, of course. I'm not losing any of you because you forget who, what or where you are." Harry turned to Doctor Pym, "You will need to show at least one other person how to use your tech to get to your wife."
"As long as it's not Stark, I don't mind." Hank said.
"What's your problem with me?" Tony asked. "I know you hated my father, but I haven't so much as sniffed in your general direction and you're treating me like I kicked your puppy."
"I'll tell you what my problem is!" Hank answered, but Harry interrupted.
"Children! Please behave or we're not going on the family trip." Harry turned to Hope, "He does realise we're all here to save your mum, right?"
Both Pym and Tony shut up. Hope was glaring at her father. "I can use the device as well. Would that work?" she offered.
"The Quantum realm can affect the mind, or so I'm told." Harry said. "There is a technique for preventing external influences from affecting the mind and I'd like someone with those skills to be your backup." He pointed at Tony and Bruce. "Tony Stark and Bruce Banner are your two options here. I don't know if their minds are strong enough, or even if the technique works for them the way it does for me, but I know mine are strong enough and that's why I'm driving."
"Piloting." Tony said automatically.
"Flying." Harry countered.
"Whatever." Tony said sullenly. Harry was right. There were more important things to worry about.
Jarvis approached Pym, who reluctantly handed him the machine and a remote. "You need a bit of space. The device is shrunk." Jarvis nodded and moved away a bit before unshrinking the device, which turned out to have been quite large.
"Interesting." Was all Jarvis said, before he started working. The fabricators were taking the measurements and starting to produce a plastic casing that could be put around the unit. Jarvis started inscribing the parts that would be exposed with the microscopic runes they would need to protect the circuitry.
"Okay, so here's what's going to happen." Harry started. Harry then proceeded to explain their plan step-by step, glossing over the how and sticking with the 'what' and 'when'. When he was done, Pym lifted his hand. Harry thought he was acting like a child because he had treated him like one earlier.
"I have a couple of questions." Pym started, as he looked over to Jarvis who was busy inscribing runes with a handheld rune scribe laser. It was one of Tony's designs and worked wonderfully. You program what you wanted the laser to do and it did it with a small display on the back to show you the progress before you could move the device.
"And you don't have clearance for any of the answers." Harry said easily. "If you want to go with, you have to accept that you don't have the rights to this technology, just like I don't have the rights to yours."
Pym deflated. Hope actually smiled at this. Hank Pym was not used to being left in the dark. "How safe is this? How many times have you been to the Quantum Realm?" Pym asked then.
"Those are good questions." Then Harry clapped his hands together and said, "Everybody ready?"
"I'm all done on my side." Jarvis said as the automated assembly arms retracted into the ground again. The device now had a stylish black cover, which covered it all the way around except for the buttons and display. He pressed the button and the device shrunk down. "It's quite ingenious how you used a small device, enlarged it and added functions, before shrinking it again. I imagine it makes life much easier for you?"
"It does." was all Hank said as he took the device and looked at it to see if he could note any differences. He saw nothing except the cover. "Are you sure that's all you needed to do?"
"That device could probably sit at the centre of an EMP blast that takes out all the electronics in New York, the state, not the city, and it would still work with what we put on it now." Tony bragged.
"How?" Hank was starting to get frustrated. There was so much here he wanted to know, but he kept on getting smiling faces and no answers.
"We can discuss that later." Harry said. "Let's go to the Quantum Realm." He quickly took some energy from the ring into himself, just in case, and then he removed the ring. He didn't want to chance anything happening to it, while in the Quantum Realm. Then he led the party to the Humvee, which was standing close-by. He opened the rear passenger door for Hank, but he looked at Harry like he was insane.
"Is this your transport into the Quantum Realm?" Hank asked.
Scott rolled his eyes and got in, "No way!" he said as his head stuck out again, "Really?! This is so cool!" then he was gone again.
Confused and intrigued, Hank walked to the door to look into what appeared to be the bridge of a science-fiction inspired star ship. "How?" he repeated as he climbed in.
"Let's call this my shrinking tech." Harry said.
"But this is manipulation of dimensions, not the space between molecules!" Hank argued.
"So this is how you do what you do?" Hope asked. "You can manipulate dimensions, which would explain the portal we arrived here through."
"Nope." Harry said. "But it is related to how I made the portal, in a manner of speaking."
"There is a large difference, Harry." Bruce spoke up. "You are comparing bending space and making holes in it."
"I know, but for the purposes of this conversation, all things are connected to the one central subject." Harry said alluding to magic making everything they were doing today possible.
"Fair enough." Bruce conceded. He didn't really agree, but decided to let it go for the purpose of stopping the impending argument.
Harry said goodbye to Fitz and Simmons, who would be their ground control, seeing what they saw from a workstation in a control room attached to the Hanger. Harry then led Hank, Hope, Scott and Bruce to a workstation, where there were seats around a table. Both the table and the seats had heavy straps and the table-top could be spun, so that whatever was on top of it could go to whomever was most capable.
Harry helped strap everyone in and then subtly cast sticking charms on their seats to keep them in place. "So, Scott," he asked over his shoulder, where Jarvis was helping Scott get strapped in. "How did you get in contact with Janet?"
"I didn't." Scott said. "She connected with me. I got a memory that wasn't mine and Hank and Hope figured out it was a message."
"How did you know it wasn't just a dream?" Harry asked.
"I wasn't sleeping at the time." Scott said evasively.
Harry smirked, when he noted Hope looking away and her cheeks developing a very slight amount of colour. "I got you." he said. Then he looked at Pym. "So how does your machine work?"
"It narrows in on the connection between Scott and Janet. As long as they are entangled, we should be able to track her." Hank said.
Jarvis, who had recently looked at the machine, extracted two electrodes from the device after strapping it down on the table and brought them to where Scott was strapped. "Where do I attach these?" he asked Hank. Hank indicated his temples and Jarvis nodded while connecting the cables to Scott.
Bruce had strapped himself most of the way in, when Harry finished with Hope and Hank and went to assist him. Tony was at another station, which would have a very good view of what was happening behind and all around them. Jarvis, who was going to be Harry's official co-pilot, would have the same view, but he'd have access to the spare controls. Harry would be strapping him in too, just in case his physiology wasn't as immune as they hoped.
When everyone except for Harry was strapped in, he went to the Captain's chair, which had the controls for the ship and sat down. He didn't buckle up, as it was completely unnecessary. The entire car had been inlaid with adamantite wiring, since apparition was not strictly used the way they were about to.
"Jarvis, how is everything?" Harry asked after he lifted them up off the floor of the hanger.
"Life-support, inertial dampening and propulsion are all looking normal. I don't think anything is getting past the shielding either. If anything goes wrong, you'll need to do your part to seal and support." Jarvis reported looking at the screen with the monitoring systems.
"Everything looks good from our side as well." Simmons reported from mission control.
"First priority if anything goes wrong, will be to return immediately. We still have time to adapt our strategy." Tony said.
"If we make it there, the chances of things going wrong next time are just as large." Hank argued. "If we can spend one hour extra there, we should do that, rather than return."
Tony looked at Hank with a hard glare. "Doctor Pym, you have no idea what you are talking about. The power-source for this trip is singular past your capability to comprehend at this point. If there is even the slightest chance of losing it, we're returning, do you understand?"
"What is your power-source?" Hope asked intrigued.
"I'm afraid that that information is also not something we are at liberty to discuss without certain protections, Miss van Dyne. Suffice it to say, I agree with Tony." Jarvis said. Bruce nodded along.
"We're talking about a human life!" Hank argued angrily. What could be more important than that?
Tony looked like he was about to answer, but a look from everyone in the know silenced him. Harry replied for him, "We understand your urgency. If you'll acknowledge the preparations we made for this trip, you'll understand how seriously we're taking this."
"Not to mention the millions in precious resources we used to outfit this vehicle for the trip." Jarvis said, referring to the adamantite.
"Either way, Hank isn't in charge here. Harry is." Tony said. "If it wasn't for him, we'd not be offering you this chance. We wouldn't even be able to."
"Okay, people. Let's all calm down." Harry said calmly. "We're all here with the same goal. Let's get going so that we can bring her home, shall we?"
There were nods all around and Harry pressed a button. A rod extended on both sides of his seat and he took hold of them. Then he closed his eyes as he started remembering the blank space Yao had pointed out to him inside the quantum realm. He started concentrating and feeding his magic into the rods, which were lined with adamantite, which in turn went through the entire car. Every part of the car was monitored for leaks and intrusions as well. "We're going in three, two, one… Now!"
Harry forced the apparition to spread through the car and a new sensation overcame him. Usually apparition had a squeezing sensation, like you were being sucked through a straw, which was explained to him as the expected sensation of going through a wormhole. This time, when he released his magic, he felt connected to the car as it was squeezed into a pinprick. Strangely though, the inside of the car didn't feel like it had changed at all and there was a much longer sense of movement.
"What's happening?" someone asked, but Harry was too busy concentrating. He could tell they were still travelling, but he couldn't open his eyes or lose his concentration. He was worried that if he dropped his concentration, they'd be splinched and losing part of the car with some of the passengers would be a horrible thing to happen just then. He didn't even know what would be between Earth and the quantum realm, especially when travelling by magical wormhole.
A couple of seconds later, the sense of movement ended and Harry could feel the squeezing sensation end on the car. He quickly looked over at Jarvis, "How are we doing?" he asked.
"The ship is still intact." Jarvis said, "But my PMMG has stopped supplying me with power."
"What!?" Harry, Tony and Bruce all exclaimed.
"I suspect we just need to give it a couple of seconds to build up its resource." Jarvis said calmly. A tense couple of seconds passed, until Jarvis smiled. "It's back online."
"What just happened?" Hank asked.
"Jarvis's heart stopped working for a bit." Harry said with a breath of relief.
"How are you doing Harry?" Tony asked with concern.
Harry smiled, they hadn't even started moving yet. "I'm doing well actually." he said as he looked out the large monitor in front of them which worked like a window, even though it was actually just a large mirror. "Welcome to the Quantum Realm." he said as he looked at Hank. "Your turn, Doctor Pym."
Hank nodded after taking a look at something he never thought he'd see out the large window. "Right." he said as he started tapping away at the device. After a minute he said, "We need to go straight ahead."
Harry nodded and started moving them forward. As they approached what looked like glass shards all moving and melding in and out of each other, both connected and not, Harry asked, "You'll have to explain to me what I'm seeing Hank. Should I go through this or try to find a way around?"
"We'll have to punch through." Hank said. "After this we may travel through some sort of distortion, before we get to where Janet is, hopefully."
"What do you mean hopefully?" Tony asked.
"Nobody's ever been to the quantum realm and returned with memories of the event." Hank defended himself. "I'm working off what my research was able to provide me. I spent ten years working on finding a way to the Quantum Realm and even I don't know everything." He turned to Harry, "How long have you been working on this? Shouldn't you know more than me, considering you're the one who figured it out?"
"Actually, a friend of mine kind of gave me a hint." Harry said. "I don't know the first thing about this place."
Tony snorted from his spot, "Harry's no scientist. If anything, he's the opposite."
"Hey!" Harry objected.
"No offense, Harry, but you know I'm right." Tony said as he closed his eyes and shook his head. "Is anyone else feeling this?"
Scott had been strangely quiet, as he stared out the window with a dull look on his face. "Can't… focus…" he said.
"We'd better hurry." Hank said. "I don't know if this will work if he loses consciousness."
Harry punched it and they soon entered some sort of prismatic area, before breaking though to a location of strangeness Harry could not explain. It was chaotic, but also with a strange form and function. They soon arrived in an area where a large interconnected mass of multi-coloured… something stretched as far as the eye could see. Hank was still pointing their direction, but Harry could tell he was fading fast.
Bruce still had a look of concentration on his face, as did Tony. Hope was also hanging in there, but barely. If Hank became unable to focus, it would have to be Bruce to take over. It seemed that the occlumency was helping though. Tony, who hadn't been such a strict follower of the mental art was struggling a bit, but he was holding himself together with a small amount of effort.
Jarvis seemed as calm as ever and Harry nodded at him when he noted him checking the others as well. He continued on until they found a place where Harry thought he could at least have them hover if not put the ship down.
Hank was looking at the device. "She's here somewhere. We just have to find her."
Harry nodded and got up out of his seat. He spread his hands and willed the entirety of the ship to become see-through and started looking around them. The strangeness of the place was beyond description. Where moving objects touched each other, spikes of reaction shot up out of the 'ground', like the opposite of impacts.
Everything in this place moved and seemed alive and constantly changing. Harry wondered how a person could have survived in such a chaotic seeming place. He could feel the effect of the realm trying and failing to enter his mind. It seemed to be random too, so he ignored it. And continued to look around.
It took him a moment to realise something. "She won't know we're here. We need to send a message." Harry went back to his seat and lowered them until they made rather solid contact with the structure of the construct. Harry lifted them and dropped them over and over in a strict repeating pattern, watching as wave after wave of spikes flew out in cascading waves from their point of origin.
"Good idea." Jarvis said. "If Miss van Dyne knows what is abnormal here, she'll see the measured beats of our contact and know to look."
"Can you hit the horn?" Bruce asked.
Harry thought about it for only a second before he pressed a button and the hooter went off. Then he turned to Jarvis. "Take over the hooter, while I fly."
Jarvis nodded and started honking three short honks followed by three long ones, over and over. "SOS in Morse code." Hank nodded in appreciation. "Come on Janet. We're right here! Where are you?" he whispered to himself.
Another minute passed and then Tony suddenly shouted, "There!" pointing at one of the monitors, which was showing behind them. Sure enough, there was a figure approaching. Harry turned around and saw the figure as it approached. Harry didn't have a doubt even though the person was covered in some sort of rags. He lifted a hand when they were close enough and formed a bubble around the person and then levitated them, and some of the substance of the ground, to the door.
Once the door was completely covered by the bubble, Harry opened it and brought the person inside, while simultaneously putting the quantum matter into a storage unit that was runed and enchanted seven ways from Sunday and inlaid with Vibranium, just in case. Then he took them a bit away from any moving structures and had the ship hover in place.
Janet had seen many strange things in the Quantum Realm over the years, but the strangest was when she went to check a strange occurrence and saw a car, bouncing up and down and honking SOS. She knew Hank would be along at some point, but didn't think he could have received her message yet or arranged for a way to get to her so quickly.
She had been feeling the connection get stronger and had wondered if the young man she had briefly seen had gotten himself stuck in the Quantum Realm again. When she approached the car, it stopped bouncing, spun around and approached her. She did not know what to think when suddenly she was surrounded by a bubble of force energy of some sort and then she was lifted and being brought to the car.
She considered escaping, but didn't know if she'd be able. This was all new to her. When the door opened and she saw a much larger room on the inside with Hank and a couple of other people inside, she finally relaxed and allowed the force to deposit her gently on the floor. Then she approached her husband and took off her protection, so that he could see her too.
"Janet van Dyne, I presume?" Harry asked with a smile.
"I am her." Janet responded.
"Good. Could you please take a seat?" Harry asked. "We're about to get out of here."
Janet nodded and sat in the nearest chair, which just so happen to be next to Hank.
Harry took off and pointed them back to the void, where they had started. He had to avoid some strange outcroppings that seemed to follow them and then broke through the same barrier through which they had entered. Once they were in the void again, he decided to move them to outside the hanger, just in case they had any strange matter on the ship still. He didn't want to bring anything harmful into the base. The scientists would have to study and confirm that first.
"Hold on! We're going in three, two, one… Now!" Harry said as he performed the same function as before. The process was much the same, if slightly faster. When they stopped, Harry was feeling slightly faint. "That took a bit more out of me than I thought it would."
"Jarvis?" Tony asked after shaking his head. "How you doing, buddy?"
"I had much the same occurrence." Jarvis confirmed. "We should have known, though. We knew this form of transport leaves certain energies behind."
"Do I need to worry about my soul?" Scott asked, having apparently recovered from his mild stupor of before.
"Nah. It's not like we deconstructed and reconstructed you." Tony said. "Teleportation is the one you need to worry about."
"Excuse me?" came the voice of the new arrival. "Could someone tell me what's going on?"
"Oh, sorry about that." Harry said. "We sometimes get distracted." He got up and held out his hand to her, "My name is Harry Potter. These are my friends and colleagues, Bruce Banner, Tony Stark and Jarvis… We really need to get you a surname." He said turning to Jarvis.
"Stark." Tony said. "His full name is Jarvis Stark. My long lost cousin."
Harry smiled, "Fine. Jarvis Stark. Then we have Jenna Simmons and Leo Fitz at mission control." Harry said pointing at one of the displays where their faces could still be seen. "Guys, please say 'hi' to Janet van Dyne."
They greeted her and Harry continued. "This is our ship, affectionately called TARDIS. Don't worry about it, it's a popular culture reference." he explained. "We just travelled through a wormhole to come fetch you."
Janet looked around at the smiling faces and nodded, before saying, "Okay."
"Just like that?" Tony asked. "Okay? Like this happens every day?"
"Who would I be to argue? You showed up and got me out." Janet said.
Harry started walking around and releasing people from their bindings, and Hank jumped up the moment he could to embrace his wife. Hope soon followed.
"Well, this is touching, but we really need to get to decontamination." Harry said as he dug in a pocket for the elastic bands he had turned to portkeys earlier. He started handing them out. "We're leaving the ship out here, please put the bands around your wrists." He waited until everyone had their bands secured before he activated all of them at once.
There was no procedure for going to realms of chaos and probability, but when they mentioned it to Fury, he had people on it immediately. They needed to go through a slew of tests, all at the moon base, before they'd be allowed back on the planet. Hank made his objections known, but when everyone else just went with it, it didn't leave a lot of room for him to complain.
After the tests all came back clean, even on Janet who had been exposed for twenty-seven years, it was deemed safe for people who returned to go directly to Earth, as long as any hazardous materials were left behind and a mental status was confirmed beforehand.
At this point, Hank was grumpy, but elated. Scott and Hope were openly holding hands and Bruce and Tony had gone off to continue their own work. Fitz and Simmons had a lot of information to go through including the full footage of the Quantum Realm to sift through. Harry had even left a memory for them to put in the records. Jarvis was standing with Harry, knowing what was coming next.
"So, who needs a vacation?" Harry asked. At this point it came as no surprise to anyone that Harry wanted to take them to the island. It didn't take a lot of effort even. Scott seemed keen immediately and there was a lot of trust coming his way, even from Pym, after Stark left anyway.
"I suppose we should make time to catch up." Hank admitted.
"I'd like that." Hope confirmed.
"You have something in mind I presume?" Janet asked.
"I do." Harry said as he turned a portal into being. His ring was on his finger again and his power was restored, so he was feeling good as new. Dragging the ship though apparition, while less painful was infinitely more draining than doing it normally would have been.
Janet wasn't shocked in the least, and walked through before even Harry could. "Your power is impressive, and well hidden." she said. "I didn't even realise you were the source until just now."
"How do you know that?" Harry asked as he walked through after her, followed shortly by the rest of the group.
"I'm not who I once was. I'm more connected, now, to the constant flow of power and change that happens around me." Janet said. "Not like you though. I'm like a conduit, while you are like a nuclear power plant."
"I don't know that that's how I would classify it." Harry said.
"Yes, that description doesn't do him justice." a female voice said from off to the side. Wanda was walking up to them.
Jarvis smiled and walked to her to give her a hug. "Hello Wanda." he said. "How goes the hunt for a wand?"
Wanda scowled, "Not great." Ever since the chaotic energy of Cthon had been driven from her and replaced with Harry's magic, she had found channelling her power was, not more difficult, but different. She had been practicing at it for a while now, after all. The problem was that she was trying to learn from the books and a lot of what they taught she'd need a wand for. She could still perform pretty much all the same things she did before, but learning the magic from Harry's world, would require a focus. They had tried all the wands Harry had collected over the years, but with no success.
Harry knew what he'd have to do, but was loathe to do it. When it came to wands, there was only one expert to be trusted, but that meant that Harry would have to bring him from the other side. In the meanwhile, the Nymphs, who had decided she was one of them because of Harry's magic being so integrated in her, had been trying to sus out what kind of wood would work for her by having her try to channel magic through the trees on the island, while they 'felt' for anything from the tree. Nothing had worked so far. If they didn't have any success in the near future, Harry would just have to suck it up and bring in the expert.
"You'll get there. If you don't, we can do that other thing we discussed." Harry said. "Jarvis, if you would please handle the introductions?" Then he walked to the bar, to pour a couple of drinks for the guests. A shot of Iced Vodka and a tumbler with a bit of Firewhiskey on the rocks for everyone. The weather on the island was always comfortable, but when the Iced Vodka became available, the magic of the island adjusted the temperature in the resort to be slightly warmer.
Jarvis handled the introductions for Wanda and then led them to the bar, where he accepted the glass of Butterbeer, which Harry had poured for him. "Cheers!" Harry said as he lifted the shot glass.
The others toasted and downed their own shots. Janet had looked at her shot in contemplation before drinking it and had closed her eyes as if inspecting the resulting reaction. "Fascinating." She said. "It tests and then lowers the body's temperature by exactly two degrees."
Harry nodded with a smile, "You are very perceptive. Did you note that it maintains the effect for a while?"
"At the current rate, it should last about fifteen minutes?" Janet waged.
"Just about." Harry confirmed.
Hank, who had been watching the exchange and listening the whole time decided to speak up. "You were the source Stark was talking about?"
Harry nodded, "Tony's not the man he used to be. He's honestly trying to better the world. That's why he helped found PI."
"He's part of PI?" Hank asked. "I know you claimed that you were working together on projects, but you always identified him as being from Stark Industries."
"A ruse." Wanda said. She had been hard to convince, but even she had started seeing the man as nothing of the monster she had seen him as while growing up. "As I understand it, Harry has a lot of ideas. Tony helps make them come true."
"And Bruce and Hank." Harry said, then turned to Pym, "McCoy, not you. Although, that might change in the future, hopefully?"
"We'll have to see." Hank said as he lifted the drink to his lips. He took a small sip and his eyes widened as the burning sensation was replaced by a feeling of calm he had not known in years. "This… is really good whiskey."
The others, having not tasted it yet, tasted it as well. Scott, trying to show off downed his and immediately started coughing up balls of smoke and fire, before calming down. "Is that normal?" he wheezed.
Harry smiled at him and took a sip from his own drink before producing the stream of fire he usually did, when trying to impress guests. "Firewhiskey." he said simply.
"Okay, I think we've waited long enough." Hank said. "Can you please just tell us how you're doing this? How is any of what happened today possible? You can't simply be an enhanced, you've shown too much variation in your abilities." Harry pulled out four contracts and handed them to the people. "What is this? Non-disclosure?" Hank started, but Harry just poured another glass for Scott and started chatting with Wanda. "So, how have you been fairing?"
"I'm doing better. Pietro has been spending more time with the X-Men, but he comes to the island every night. I think someone has caught his eye there, so I don't push." Wanda said.
"Our memories?!" Hope exclaimed from her seat.
"I can't tell you how," Harry said as he turned to them, "but yes, it is something that we can do."
"It sounds worse than it is." Wanda said. "Once you sign, you can discuss what you know with others who know, but not anyone else. It is simply to keep the knowledge from the wrong hands."
"You'd know all about that, wouldn't you, Doctor Pym?" Harry said with a smile. "On the bright side, if you sign this contract, your secrets will be covered by the contract as well. Imagine people finding out about your particle, but not being able to use the knowledge without your permission, or simply losing any memories thereof."
Hank had to agree that that did sound like a good deal. Harry was shocked when Scott handed his signed contract back first. Instead of going over it, over and over, he'd read, comprehended and signed the contract quickly. He was no scientist, but he wasn't stupid either. "Thanks for helping us, Harry." he said honestly. "I trust you not to screw us, especially with the help you've already given us and me specifically. I'm being allowed visitation with Cassie now."
Harry smiled as he shook the man's hand after taking the contract, "It was my genuine pleasure to help you, Scott. You're a good man."
The rest soon signed their contracts and Harry looked through them before making them vanish with a snap of his fingers. He had noticed the Nymphs lurking behind the treeline, waiting for the visitors to sign the contracts. Xera had been the one to recognise what they were doing upon approach and had made them hide first.
Then he spread his arms wide and smiled while saying, "Welcome to New Atlantis." The Nymphs took this as their cue to emerge from the foliage and Harry stepped out of the bar dutifully to greet them. "These are my Nymphs. They take care of the island's plants as well as adding a lovely view for when I'm in the bar."
"You are most welcome." Xera said with a bow that may have been aimed at having her lord look down her cleavage.
"The island functions as a sanctuary for magical creatures." Harry said. "If any creature here is hurt during your stay, you get to face its' caretaker, Logan. Otherwise known as Wolverine of the X-Men."
"Magical?" Scott asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Magical." Harry confirmed, snapping his fingers and having everybody's drinks refill themselves instantly.
"So what? You're a m-" Hope started.
"Say 'magician' and I'm turning you into a donkey." Harry warned, interrupting her. "I'm a wizard, damnit!"
"Magician." Scott finished for her. Suddenly he was replaced by a very bewildered looking donkey.
"Don't test him." Wanda said, matter-of-factly. "I once saw him turn Stark into a desk lamp, on a dare."
"It was only for a couple of minutes." Harry defended himself. "Human to inanimate object transfiguration was considered a form of torture back in my own world. Imagine trying to breathe only to discover you don't have lungs?"
Wanda winced and the Donkey started hyperventilating, until Harry reverted the change. "YOU'RE A WIZARD!" he screamed, like it would undo the fact that he had said differently earlier.
"Next time you won't do that." Jarvis said easily. "I remember being a desk appliance. It's not pleasant to think about these days, though I didn't know better then."
"So, magic is real?" Hank asked.
Harry wasn't looking at him though. He was looking at Janet, who still wore the same smile as before. "You knew?" he asked.
"I wouldn't have called it magic, but it amounts to the same thing." Janet replied.
"What would you have called it?" Harry asked.
"Energy manipulation." Janet replied.
"What kind, though?" Harry asked with a smile. For a second there he thought she was going to say he uses quantum forces.
"I can't honestly say. There's definitely some quantum energy in there, but that's only part of it." Janet conceded.
"Magic encompasses the entire energy spectrum." Jarvis said. "Apparently it functions like a wave and a particle. We have been able to work with and confirm those facts, when Harry manifests something by using Magic to create matter, even though conjuration is considered a temporary thing."
"Can you show us?" Scott asked excitedly.
Harry waved his hand and a bowl of fries appeared in front of Scott. When Scott just looked at it, Harry said, "Go ahead. They're fresh." Then he winked at the man, who laughed and took a fry and stuck it in his mouth.
"It's real!" Scott said, offering the bowl to the rest, who tasted the conjured food. "And this is only temporary?"
"Yup." Harry said.
"As I understand it, by eating that, you're burning calories, because your body spends energy trying to ingest the food." Jarvis said.
"But it can't sustain you, so I usually only use that for snacking." Harry said. Then he turned to Hank, "So, are you interested in making the world a better place?"
That evening a lot of subjects were discussed, with Hank Pym deciding to come out of retirement to investigate the possibilities between his research and what Harry brought to the table. Magically augmenting his process might see much better results in both shrinking and growing. Besides that, there were so many possibilities if they could find a way to enter the quantum realm and not have to be strapped in. Jarvis, who was in charge of tracking which of Harry's books were where, had taken the liberty of adding Hank to the waiting list for the Occlumency book.
Jarvis had wanted to digitise the entire collection, but Harry couldn't see that ending well, so he allowed physical copies to be made only. Something he could enchant to be kept safe. They had yet to find a way to enchant data and, until Tony's new computing technology became more wide-spread, would not be adding that to his list of priorities. It would be years before the HG CPU and Stark Quantum OS became available commercially.
Stark had the base operating system up and running, but was constantly fiddling with it to improve performance. Said performance was currently outstripping all known computing technology many times over. Tony had said something about being able to decrypt the toughest encryption in days, rather than years. Harry believed him even if he didn't understand it.
Suffice it to say, Friday was the first AI to be loaded on a Quantum Server and she had started outperforming her previous iteration instantly. That didn't affect the amount of work available to her, but it left her with more time to focus her attention on predictive algorithms to predict market trends and as a result, Stark Industries was making a hefty sum in the stock trade.
Wanda had contacted Harry a couple of days later when she had struck out in the search for a wand and Harry decided that he needed to summon the spirit of Ollivander himself.
Harry had gone to his house and asked Wanda to wait outside while he contacted someone. Once inside, Harry reinforced his occlumency, before calling for Ollivander.
"Greetings, Mister Potter." the voice said from right behind him, making him jump, again.
"Why do you insist on scaring people?" Harry complained before looking at the man warily.
"What other fun do you think an old man like myself had, spending his retirement years sitting in a dusty wand shop, waiting for an influx of children every year, only to spend the rest of the year making new wands that I had no idea if they would find their wizard?" Ollivander said.
"Good point I suppose." Harry conceded. "It's good to see you, Mister Ollivander. How's the afterlife treating you?"
"Fairly." Ollivander said cryptically.
Harry knew better than to expect more. "Fine. The reason I summoned you-" he started.
"You need my expertise with wandlore, correct?" Ollivander smirked at Harry, when he looked up in surprise. "Come now, you didn't expect me to think you summoned me for anything else, did you? Or were you interested in my family pancake recipe?"
"Good point." Harry said again. "Fine. Follow me." Then he led the spirit from his house and to the bar where Wanda was waiting, sipping from a glass of butterbeer. "Wanda, this is Mister Ollivander. Ollivander, this is Wanda Maximoff. She's the only true witch I know of in this realm and she needs a focus for learning our kind of magic. Do you think the two of you could spend a couple of hours on that?"
Ollivander nodded, "If she is the first witch of the kind we knew of, then she is surely the start of a movement towards the magical. I will instruct her in my craft, so that she can pass the knowledge on to the next generation."
"Thanks, Mister Ollivander." Harry said.
"You may call me Garrick, Mister Potter. You earned that right many years ago, when you rescued me from Voldemort." Ollivander said. "Indeed, it's for that reason that I will impart my knowledge to this young witch." Then he started walking to where he saw the greenhouses, "Come, Miss Maximoff. We shall need to spend some time among the plants and trees, where you can open your mind and feel the pull of nature as it communes."
"I'll be here when you are ready to go." Harry said. Ollivander nodded at him and led Wanda off.
---Wanda POV---
When they were out of earshot of Harry, Ollivander dropped the mysterious act. "Sorry about that, my dear. People expect a certain amount of mystery from their wandmakers." he smiled at her. "The fact of the matter is, there is quite a bit to know about wands, but the important bit to know is that it's all quite logical. Every magical being has a frequency to them. Be it a plant or a creature or a person."
"Frequency? Like radio or something?" Wanda asked.
"Radio? Oh that's right, you'd be muggle-raised! Even better." Ollivander enthused. "If you were magically raised it may have been more difficult to teach you this." Then he nodded as he continued, "That's right. Much like radio, everything magical has a frequency. The job of a wandmaker is to find the parts that have similar frequencies and to see if you can have them work together. You know of the subjects in the study of magic, right?"
"Like transfiguration and enchanting?" Wanda asked.
"Each kind of magic has its own frequency as well. That's why some people are better at one kind of magic over another. Enchanting is a combination of fields and would therefore have multiple frequencies, so there would be no one wand that lends itself to that field specifically." Ollivander explained. "What you need to know is how to feel the frequency. I tended to sneak up behind potential customers so that I may sample their frequency before proceeding to match them with something that was similar. It gave me a bit of a reputation as a scary old man, but it was all done with a purpose, I assure you."
"So I need to find something that has close to my frequency?" Wanda asked.
"Not necessarily." Ollivander said with a sparkle in his eyes. "There is one bit of wandlore that nobody but we wandmakers know." He looked around as if to check if they'd be overheard. "When you successfully make a wand, and its frequencies work together well, it accepts its creator first and then only someone it finds worthy after that."
"Wands are alive?" Wanda asked.
"Magic, Miss Maximoff. Magic is alive. The wand has a bit of a personality because of the resulting frequency after it is made, but besides that, it's as alive as a rock." Ollivander said. "Now, let's start with how to feel frequencies."
And just like that Wanda started on the journey to becoming that world's first wandmaker. She'd eventually figure out how to make wands to specification, but that would happen only years later when the need arose.