Fury was frowning, not because he was angry or even upset, but because he was deep in thought. He was sat behind his desk in his office with his fingers steepled and pressed against his mouth. The only sign of movement from him was blinking and the occasional twitch in the right corner of his lips. The reason for Fury's deep thinking was one 'Harry Potter'.
All of the research into the man confirmed that Agent Romanoff was right when she said that things did not add up. An orphan boy found outside an orphanage with tattoos but no known relatives yet is somehow able to become rich enough to move to America and live comfortably without any job at all. Then Barton, despite being Shield's best tracker, managed to lose Mr Potter.
According to Barton it was probably because of the hostage situation but Barton also admitted that he never saw Potter leave the bathroom that he had entered, which sounded weird to Fury because Barton was not some low level agent that could easily be avoided. Though from Barton's reports Fury learned that he had seen one person during the hostage situation and that he suspected the person to have more than likely been the one responsible for taking out the hostiles.
And when they had learned that there was one unconscious hostage left in the bathroom that Mr Potter was supposed to be in but no sign of Mr Potter then naturally their curiosity had increased. After some digging they discovered a hideout that the hostiles were using. A large amount of Shield agents came to the hide out, Barton included, only to find twenty or so men unconscious.
Some with broken bones, others with no signs of injury at all. Some time was spent looking through their phones, computers, files and any other information they might have had, at the end of it Shield had realized that David Price had taken the serum that his father had given him and shared the rest of it with those men. When they decided he was no longer useful they tried to get rid of him. The men still needed to be interrogated but that was the best theory they had at the moment.
Which made things more worrying, if these men were enhanced then that meant that they were all taken out by a skilled and powerful group or perhaps a single skilled and powerful person if Barton's report about the figure in the shadows was to be believed and it was simply because it was Barton who had said it.
The fact that this person could possibly be Harry Potter had not escaped Fury's mind, if it was Potter then he either was ridiculously trained or an enhanced as well or maybe even both. It was possible that Potter could be from another planet, many people would scoff at the idea of aliens but Nick Fury was not one of them, he did not rule anything out.
It would make sense if Potter was an alien, Fury had originally brushed the knowledge of Potter's white hair off as a simple genetic problem but it was possibly normal if he was an alien, and if Potter had extra capabilities beyond the average human then maybe he was born with those abilities. Admittedly Fury did not believe nor did he think that Harry Potter was an alien, however he was not going to rule it out immediately.
Another thought that Fury had was what to do if Potter really was the one responsible for defeating all these enhanced, if he was then Fury did not know if he would thank him or be worried about him. Probably both. One important question was how Potter did it, as it advanced tech or enhanced abilities? If Potter was responsible for single handedly defeating all of those enhanced then Fury wanted him on his side, or at the very least to know all of his abilities so he could come up with plans to deal with Potter should he ever decide that killing and murdering whoever he wanted was fun.
"Shut it," Harry said to Padfoot the next day as he flopped down onto his sofa, Padfoot barked before he climbed up and placed his head in Harry's lap and allowed Harry to pet him. "I don't know why but I feel like all that I just did is going to result in a big headache." Harry sighed as he ran his other hand through his hair, Padfoot gave him a soft bark. "I know," Harry said in agreement. "personally I blame nargles." Harry added, Padfoot have a small huff in response. "No, I am pretty sure it was nargles." Harry replied.
Harry was currently thinking about his actions at the mall, he didn't really mean to get involved but the assholes had ruined his day and he had gone into 'fight or flight' mode the second the gun was aimed on him, and Harry nearly always chose 'fight'. Of course Harry also knew when to run, probably not as well as he should have when he was younger but that is besides the point. Taking out the first bad guy lead to taking out the others which lead to Harry going to their hide out and finishing the job, Harry had returned home and fell asleep after he was sure that the job was finished.
That was one thing Harry made sure to do, always finish the job, quite frankly it had been very tempting to just end their lives and leave it at that but Harry figured that since he was no longer in a war he should probably not kill each and every bad guy he meets, though it was still tempting. He realized that it was possible for him to get another chance at it if they escaped but hopefully they wouldn't.
Harry was glad he remembered to remove their knowledge of him out of their minds, it could make things really awkward and difficult for him if he didn't. Harry also realized that if he wanted to then he could probably just go out and spend his nights fighting crime like a hero out of a comic book, but Harry didn't really know if he wanted to do that.
On the one hand it would be fun to fight criminals and it would feel nice to keep people safe. But on the other hand it can be argued that Harry had already done more than his fair share of that. Harry wasn't one to brag, mostly because he didn't talk to many people, but also because he didn't really think much on or of his achievements. But even if Harry was the humblest person in the world he would still admit that he had saved quite a lot of lives.
One other thing that Harry remembered was the thanks he got for saving lives. At first it was great, it always was, it was nice to have people be appreciative. Make him feel like all the blood, sweat and tears were worth it. Though of course it would not last because sooner or later something else would happen and if he did not go and fix it then his past work was completely forgotten, it didn't help that even the people he saved were ungrateful.
Sure they would say 'thank you' when he did good and 'sorry' after they wronged him but needed him back, after a while it all became meaningless to Harry. He had given his blood, his sweat, his skin, his tears, years of his life and it wasn't enough for them. He had played the hero, but after the way they treated him he was amazed that he had not become the villain. Though he realized that he probably was depending on who you asked.
Harry was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of knocking on his door, he groaned as he hoped it was not Alexis, he could do without the drama right now. Harry stood up and Padfoot let out a small whine due to losing his pillow.
"Just give me a sec." Harry whispered to Padfoot before he walked over to the door, Harry stopped just in front of the door and waved his wand, making it so that the door was transparent, it was a rather useful spell that meant that he could see the other side without anyone on the other side being able to see him. It was at this point that Harry realized it was probably a good thing that he was not a pervert.
Harry saw who was standing on the other side of the door, his eyes widened slightly in realization. It was the same redhead who asked him earlier about that 'David Price' asshole. She was currently wearing black shoes, blue jeans, and a red sleeveless shirt, Harry knew it was possible that she could have something to do with the assholes he had just dealt with even though he saw no mention of her in any of their memories. Harry removed the spell and got rid of his wand before he slowly opened the door, he was ready to summon his wand into his hand if needs be.
"Oh hi, it's you!" She said in a cheery and surprised voice as she looked at him, she looked at him and saw that he was wearing slippers on his feet, grey tracksuit bottoms and a grey shirt, her sea green eyes met his grey ones. "You live here?" She asked in amazement.
"I do," Harry nodded. "what are you doing here?" Harry asked though he kept his tone to one belonging to somebody who was simply curious.
"Oh I got a job near here and I am staying in there," She said as she gestured to the apartment opposite Harry's. "for the time being anyway." She added. "I was just hoping to talk to everyone and just find out if there was anything I should know or any problems with the building." She said.
"Not that I am aware of," Harry shook his head. "how's your friend?" Harry asked.
"From what I have been told he is in hospital," She replied in a sad voice. "but hopefully he will get better. I haven't really had a chance to talk with him yet. Anyway thanks I guess and just do me a favor and tell me if I make too much noise or disturb you."
"Ok, thanks I guess." Harry nodded before he closed the door. "Fuck." Harry said, not worrying about being overheard as he had a silencing ward around the apartment, it was harder to make the ward able to let him hear sounds from the outside then it was to make it stop all sound from leaving the apartment.
When she was talking Harry had half heartedly listened, his real focus was on reading her mind. Not something he tried to make a habit of but he did when he felt like he had a good enough reason to do so. Needless to say he had felt like he had a good enough reason to do so.
Reading the woman's mind allowed Harry to learn her name was Natasha Romanoff and that she was an agent of Shield, an organization that he had apparently caught the attention of. Harry did not spend much time looking into information on Natasha as he knew he was on limited time and had placed his focus on learning about Shield.
Apparently they though he was an 'enhanced', which he supposed he was. Natasha had been sent to spy on him as she was one of their better agents and did not think that it would be a good idea to send one of the lesser agents in to deal with an enhanced, and they were right. Part of Harry wanted him to take everything he could and run away and hide before coming up with a new identity and living the rest of his life on the run.
Another part of him realized that running instantly would let them know that he was on to them and simply cause them to increase their efforts. The question now was what to do? For now at least he was going to act normal until he had come up with a new plan. He would not make any changes to his daily routine either as that could throw them off and make them put more effort into following him.
Which meant that later he would have to go for a drive like he usually did, if this agent was half as good as she was supposed to be then she would be ready to go at a moment's notice or already know his routine which likely meant that she would either attempt to enter his apartment after he left, do nothing or come with him. Harry thought that first was unlikely as she had only just arrived and would probably wait a bit before doing that.
The second was also unlikely, which meant that she was more than likely to come with him.
Harry exited his apartment while wearing black trainers, blue jeans, a grey shirt and a black jacket, he had a helmet in his hand and was about to close his door when the door opposite opened to reveal Natasha who was wearing black knee high boots, blue jeans, a red shirt under a brown jacket and had her hair in a ponytail.
"Oh hi." She smiled at him.
"Hi, going somewhere?" He asked while masterfully keeping his face blank.
"Yeah, I'm just going to go to look around the local shops. Though...I don't really know where they are." She said awkwardly as she pulled her phone out, "good thing I can just use this to find out." She added as she gestured to her phone. "what about you?" She asked.
"I'm just going out for a drive." Harry replied. "If I don't force myself to go out then I would probably stay in my apartment for the rest of my life." He added with a small shrug.
"Well if you don't have a specific destination then maybe you can drop me off." She suggested. "I'll pay for fuel or whatever if you need it, and I only plan to pick up a few things. I mean...if it's no bother." She said with a hopeful look. Harry paused, he would usually make some excuse but he stopped himself, letting her think things would go her way would probably beneficial to him and if he learnt more about her at the same time then even better.
"Fine, I'll just go in and get another helmet." Harry said before he went back into his apartment, he summoned his wand into his hand and conjured another helmet before his wand disappeared. Harry took the helmet and walked back and tossed it to Natasha who caught it easily. Harry closed and locked the door, he was not really that worried about someone entering the apartment after he left, his magical defenses would stop that.
Once he locked it he nodded to Natasha and began walking with her following after him.
"Thanks." Natasha said. "By the way I don't think I have actually given you my name."
"You haven't." Harry nodded.
"Well I am Natalie," She replied. "Natalie Rushman." She said.
"Hmm." Harry hummed as he tried to think up a response before he eventually just decided to not say anything. The two walked in silence until they were out the building with Harry remembering that part of the reason he didn't talk to other people was because he had no idea how to.
"Nice bike." She said when they arrived at Harry's bike. "How much did it cost?" She asked as she put her helmet on.
"A few hundred, it was second hand." Harry answered. When Harry had actually gotten the bike it was heavily damaged and the original owner didn't want to pay for it to be repaired, not a problem for a wizard who could repair it with a wave of a wand so Harry brought it. Once it was ready to go Natasha sat behind him. She wrapped her arms around his middle as she sat closer than necessary with her front pressed against his back.
"I am ready to go if you are." She whispered in a slightly husky voice.
Harry didn't respond but instead just drove off, as he drove he could not help but notice the small shivers that went through her body every couple of minutes, he probably only noticed thanks to how close they were, he also could not help but notice how her hands would stay perfectly still but occasionally slide slightly higher or lower.
Harry was well aware of what she was doing, it wasn't the first time a beautiful girl had used her body and seduction to get him to lower his guard. He was tempted to call her out on it but decided to let her continue to play her games, he would stay vigilant.
As he drove Harry felt a tingle from one of his wards at his apartment, it was an alert ward which told him that someone was trying to get in his apartment. At this point Harry's first few magical activated, nothing too extreme but it would keep anyone from getting into his apartment. Harry wanted to go back and deal with it but it he knew that he did not need to do anything unless another ward activated and it would take a strong magic user or destroying the entire wall to get past the first ward.
Eventually Harry arrived at the local shops, he had parked his bike and allowed Natalie/Natasha to get off.
"Thanks," She smiled after she took her helmet off, she took out her phone and checked the time. "hey um...it's twelve...do you want to come with me to go get some chips or something? My treat." She offered.
Since Harry was already playing along he decided to accept and followed her into a local chip shop where the two sat and began eating, both had ordered a burger meal.
"Hmm, that is not bad." Natasha commented between bites. "you come here often?" She asked.
"I've only come to this specific shop about three or four times." Harry answered. "I usually just order food from home." He added.
"Lazy." Natasha said with mock disapproval. "By the way, you're British right?" She asked.
"Let me guess, the accent?"
"The accent." She nodded.
"Well yeah, I am British." Harry replied. "And before you ask, the hair is natural."
"Wasn't going to ask but thanks for letting me know. Common question I am guessing."
"More than I'd like." Harry admitted. "What about you?" Harry asked. "Born in America?"
"Russia actually." She replied. "But raised in America."
"You speak Russian?" Harry asked.
"A little." She said in Russian before going back to English. "what about you? Speak any other languages besides English?"
"No, not really." Harry fibbed. The two continued talking as they ate, while they were eating Harry looked through her mind and learned as much as he could about Shield plus her current plan which was to distract him while a Shield agent tried to get into his apartment and look around. It was a good plan he supposed as he couldn't have blamed her if she was with him. Harry also learned a little bit about her, he didn't try to learn as much as he possibly could since he had limited time and decided to instead focus on her knowledge about Shield plus she not really a 'bad guy'. All he learnt about Natasha herself was her abilities and glimpses of what sort of training she went through.
After looking at the training she had gone through and the age she started at Harry could not help but gain some respect for her.
"I am going to go back to my bike," Harry replied. "I'll pick you up here in about an hour, is that alright with you?" Harry asked as his wand came appeared in his hand while he was under the table, he cast a listening charm on her before quickly getting rid of his wand.
"It's fine," Natasha agreed. "I only came today to look around anyway."
"See you in an hour then." Harry said before he got on his bike and drove off. Harry made sure he was a short distance away before he stopped, he entered the closest shop which happened to be a game shop. He went into a corner and summoned his wand again, he quickly performed a spell to make his wand look like a phone to anyone else who happened to look at him. Harry placed the tip of the wand against his ear and listened into his listening charm.
"What do you mean?" He heard Natasha quietly hiss, he was guessing that she was speaking into her phone. "How can you not get in? It's a simple door. No he is out of my sight, he told me that he was going to drive around for an hour before coming back to pick me up. Abort the mission, he might return and we don't need him finding you there. If you can't get in then there's no point, go back and make a report about what happened, I'll speak to you about it later." She said before Harry heard a sound which he believed was her ending the call. "Goddamn." She said softly under her breath but Harry heard it. Harry listened for a few more minutes but when she was no longer speaking he decided to stop listening.
Later after picking up Natasha and dropping her off back at home, Harry had entered his apartment to find Padfoot watching TV. Padfoot noticed him enter and barked at him.
"Yes, I know." Harry rolled his eyes as he closed his door. "I felt the ward."
"Woof." Padfoot barked again before tilting his head to the side.
"No but to answer your question I think it's time I take a closer look at Shield."