The Affliction of War

Harry has a great job as head Auror, he has more money than he knows what to do with and yet he knows that something is missing in his life. His friends have moved on and created lives of their own beyond the war with Voldemort and yet Harry just feels lost. Until a new mission is given to him and he is sent to America but things are not as they first appear.

- Please note in this chapter reference is made to Fury founding Shield... I know that this is not the case, I'm not an idiot. This is what Kingsley believe's to be true! He would NOT know all the details about Shield.

Chapter One – The New Mission

Kingsley Shacklebolt was not in the best of moods as he headed out into muggle London for his impromptu evening meeting. His mind was fraught with concern as he went over the plan of action that he had spent days figuring out. It had required time and a high level of attention to detail as it involved someone of extreme import, not only to him but to the entire wizarding world. He hadn't had as much time to prepare as he would have wanted, this meeting wasn't supposed to be for another week but recent information had forced them to speed up their plans.

There was a whole new threat to deal with, it was a threat that they hadn't seen the likes of since the times of Voldemort. The grumblings of power had begun over a month ago and not willing to make the same mistakes as his predecessor's, Kingsley had sprung into action immediately. He wasn't willing to take any chances, not when it concerned the young man who had become a shining beacon of hope for the entire wizarding world.

When he had taken Harry Potter on as an Auror he had known that the position would put the boy in unnecessary danger but that had been what Harry had wanted. He had passed both the mental and physical evaluations required for the job and Kingsley had seen no reason not to employ him when he had already shown his worth when it came to fighting dark wizards. However what the Minister for Magic had not been expecting was for a new threat to arise against the young man.

He had promoted Harry to head Auror before his time to get him out of the field and therefore out of harm's way, a strategic move on his part and yet it still hadn't protected him. The Ministry wasn't safe any more, information was being leaked out to the enemy that didn't yet have a face. Kingsley could trust no one but he knew that he had to keep Harry safe.

The Minister knew better than to simply try and to protect Harry, he was headstrong, stubborn and wouldn't just hide away not even if it meant saving his life. The young man was undoubtedly a fighter, he had to be to have survived everything that he had. If he was told the truth about what was happening then he would want to be a part of the fight and Kingsley worried that he wouldn't survive this one or that he simply wouldn't want to.

Whatever was coming for him this time it was not Voldemort. It was something else entirely and it would stop at nothing to have him dead and buried whatever the cost and no matter how much collateral damage was done. This was why the Minister was going to enlist some help; he had a plan, a plan that would keep Harry safe and all he needed was for this meeting to go as he planned.

-x

Wandering the corridors of the Ministry of Magic where he worked, on his way to see the Minister for Magic himself, Harry Potter had allowed himself to become lost in thought as he allowed his feet to lead him to where he needed to be. His musings were a way of offering himself a distraction from the mess he had made of his life, though Harry hadn't found him wandering through pleasant thoughts however, instead he had found himself considering what Ron and Hermione were up to.

His two best friends had sent him a present and a card for his birthday, they had arrived by owl early that morning, which was nice of them seeing as they had at least remembered that it was his birthday but he hadn't seen them in a few months now.

He knew that it was partly his fault, he had allowed himself to become overwhelmed with his work and they had other things to worry about now other than him. Their first child, Rose had been born last year and they were still adjusting to life being parents as well as both of them working demanding jobs at the same time. They were still friends and probably always would be but they weren't as close now as they once had been.

Ron and Hermione had however asked him to be Godfather of Rose Weasley and that was why Harry had made the effort to go and see his little God-daughter several times since she had been born. The problem with visiting them however it was always a little awkward being there whenever Ginny was too. The romance between the two of them had died before it had ever really begun, the war having flung them together and torn them apart in very quick succession. She was now dating Justin Finch Fletchley of all people. Harry was happy for her though, she deserved someone normal in her life who could give her the life and the happiness that she wanted. Everyone knew that Harry wasn't exactly normal, he hadn't been the same since he had killed Voldemort.

He couldn't bring himself to visit Teddy, Remus and Tonk's beautiful son. He couldn't look that little boy in the eye knowing that he had been unable to save his parents. Teddy was another orphan of war, just like Harry had been and Harry knew to leave the child well enough alone. He was poison and he wouldn't inflict that on an innocent boy.

Work had taken the place of friends and any serious romantic relations in his life, his dedication to his job as an Auror at the Ministry of Magic had landed him the position of head of the department and also the title of youngest head Auror in over a century at just twenty-seven years old. Not that that mattered to Harry however, it was just another title to add to a very long list of titles that had been given to him over the years, titles that he cared very little for.

The job did have its perks though, he couldn't deny that even if it wasn't what he had wanted. While all the other Auror's had their own tiny cubicles to work in and spent the majority of their time out in the field rather than in the office, Harry had been given his very own and very large office and was thought of as rather important. Not that Harry felt it, now that he was rarely out in the field he felt his Auror training and life experience was wasted, sitting behind a desk, filing paperwork that related to what the other Aurors were doing.

Aside from a few brief sexual liaisons, which rarely lasted longer than a single night, his life was dominated by his work. He took comfort in it when his life lacked everything else. He had been trained for this, defeating Dark Wizards, capturing them, even killing them. Ever since he had destroyed Voldemort he had been floundering, trying to find a place in the new world, not really fitting anywhere and believing that he should have died. He felt as if he were drowning a lot of the time, so out of control of his own life, going through the motions and doing what was expected of him.

No one else really understood that, they all thought that he should have been happy, he had a safe job that paid well too. He was alive, when so many others weren't. He was a celebrated hero, beloved by so many and because of that he attended countless charity dinners, gala dinners and other Ministry of Magic functions that supplied him with an endless supply of witches and wizards to satisfy his more carnal desires, however brief the flings he had were.

He should have been content with what he had but of course he wasn't. He was downright bored with his life. It was empty, devoid of life, a constant stream of meaningless parties and even more meaningless sex. He had reached the top of his chosen career, received all the honours that he could have ever wanted and had more money then he knew what to do with, there was nowhere else to go for him. All he was missing was someone to love and care about, a family of his own but he couldn't even have a normal romantic relationship and build a family without it coming down to him being the great wizarding hero so in the end so he had simply given up.

He had spent so much of his life fighting to survive that it seemed he had forgotten to live. Everyone else had moved on, built homes, families, lives and were thriving and here he was, left behind, watching his friends grow up, get married and have children. He had made that possible for them and he was happy that they had managed to move on from the horrors they had all suffered through. However he wanted it for himself too and yet it always seemed so far out of his grasp. Harry had never come close to having a lasting relationship let alone having children of his own.

Instead of enjoying his twenty seventh birthday and celebrating his becoming another year older with a partner or children that he could have had if he hadn't focused so intently on his career, he was on his way to see the Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt. Harry had received an urgent summons moments before, just as he was considering going home for the day and instead of going back to his apartment in muggle London, his sanctuary and the only place he truly felt at ease, he was going to pay a visit to the Kingsley.

He and Kingsley were friends of sorts, they had been ever since the war had ended and Voldemort had been destroyed nine years previously. However it wasn't often that they got the chance to talk as they were both rather busy with their jobs and usually they only crossed paths at various functions that they were both forced to attend. In one year there would be a huge event to mark the anniversary of the end of the war, a full decade since the final battle had ended.

The last time that Harry had seen the Minister was at the memorial service more than a month previously and they had both agreed that they needed to have a catch up, however Harry knew that the Minister would never use an urgent summons just to have a chat. Whatever it was, that Kingsley had summoned him so urgently to discuss, it was serious.

He couldn't help but feel a little uneasy as he approached the Minister's office, unsure of what would be so important to have him be summoned at nearly five in the evening on a Friday night when most of the other staff had long since gone home for the night. He himself had been planning on drowning his sorrows of another birthday spent alone in a large bottle of fire whiskey. Though it seemed that his plans would have to wait for a while.

Harry, reaching the door to Kingsley's office, took a deep breath and knocked, calling out, "Kingsley," to let the man know that it was him on the other side of the door. When he heard the Minister bid him entrance he opened the door and went inside. "You wanted to see me?" he asked, entering the familiar office that always seemed to be a mass of papers and all sorts of odds and ends that were forever changing.

Looking up from the handful of parchment that he had been scanning he gave his visitor a small smile, "Ah, yes, I did, come in, Harry," The tall black wizard said in his usual deep voice. Harry never ceased to be amazed at how impressive a man he was. His familiar single gold hooped earring glinted in the light, his presence dominating the room with very little effort. "Close the door, what I'm about to tell you needs to stay between the two of us."

Harry nodded, though not liking the ominous tone that the Minister was using he understood the need to maintain a certain level of privacy. Doing as he had been instructed he began to feel increasingly nervous about what was to come. It felt as if there were a lead weight in his stomach, he hated this feeling of uncertainty. Whatever the Minister had called him here to talk about it wasn't anything good. However along with the anxiety of not knowing there was a hint of excitement, this was what he lived for.

They both settled in the only available seats in the room, Kingsley taking his position behind his desk and Harry taking up residence in the comfortable arm chair in front of him, waiting for the inevitable. There was an uneasy atmosphere between them as silence descended and Harry thought he saw a glimmer of something in the Minister's eyes, though Harry couldn't be sure what it was or what it meant.

"Harry, I'm sorry to summon you here but a matter has come to my attention and it calls for only the best at my disposal to deal with it, my best being you." The Minister began, an obvious strain showing on his aging face, the job he was doing seemed to be draining him of life. He was not the man that Harry had once known. Harry nodded his understanding, remaining silent, taking in what the Minister was saying. Harry already knew that he was good at his job, he didn't need to be told this nor did he need to be praised. If he wasn't the best he wouldn't be head of the Auror office at only twenty seven even if he was the boy-who-lived and the man who had destroyed Voldemort. "Have you ever heard of an organisation called S.H.I.E.L.D?" Kingsley asked, his eyes trained on the young man in front of him.

Harry furrowed his brow at the unexpected question, trying to think if he had ever come across the name of the organisation before but he couldn't think of a time when he had, it didn't even sound familiar to him at all "No, I don't believe I have," he responded honestly with a shake of his head.

"I didn't expect that you would have," Kingsley said honestly with a nod of his head, still not looking overly happy. "It stands for the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division," he explained and his tone expressed exactly how he felt about this particular organisation.

"I'm not sure I understand, why are you telling me this?" Harry queried curiously. After the war as he was growing up and his many years of being an Auror since, Harry knew to be sceptical and suspicious of everything. He might have been the boy-who-lived and the one to destroy the Dark Lord but that didn't mean he didn't still have enemies. He wasn't quite as paranoid as Alastor Moody had once been when he had been alive but give it a few more years of being alone and he knew that he would be. It wasn't a thought that boded well in his mind.

"S.H.I.E.L.D is a counter-terrorism and intelligence agency based in America, however they have offices all over the world. The agency itself was founded by a man, a muggle, called Nick Fury," Kingsley went on, leaking the information to Harry slowly and carefully. It gave Harry the impression that the Minister wasn't exactly telling him everything. However he remained quiet, listening and giving the occasional nod to show that he understood. "Earlier this evening he contacted me and asked for my help."

"They asked for help?" Harry asked with confusion, mulling this over for a moment before carrying on, "But if they're muggles, how do they know about us?"

"The statute of secrecy allows us to be in contact with a number of muggle government agencies across the world to ensure that they are well warned of any potential threats that may cross the boundaries and vice versa," Kingsley explained. Harry had of course known that the Minister of Magic and the Prime Minister were on speaking terms, however Harry had had no idea exactly how far the statute of secrecy went. Apparently it went pretty far if it stretched to organisations such as S.H.I.E.L.D.

"So there is a threat that they're facing and they want our help?" Harry asked, just to clarify and Kingsley nodded his head. It was clear by the expression on his worn and weathered face that he wasn't thrilled with this call for aid. "You don't trust them?"

"Their motives are… unclear," Kingsley admitted. He seemed happy that Harry had picked up on this and was rather impressed that he had deducted that the situation they were now in was a somewhat precarious one.

"Then why are we agreeing to help them?" Harry asked. He was starting to understand why it was that he had been summoned here and the idea was making his blood run a little hotter, his pulse race a little faster. This really was what he lived for.

"There are a few reasons," The Minister said, "What you need to know is that they wanted the best agent that I had, so I'm recommending that I send you," the Minister said, looking at Harry imploringly. "You are the only one I can trust with this. You are the only one with enough past experience that I know can handle this."

"I'm guessing that I won't be taking anyone with me on this then," Harry said with a sigh. All his past assignments he had had a partner. He was infamous amongst the other Auror's, even with his good name his reputation proceeded him. He never kept a partner for more than one assignment. If they survived the dangerous missions then they would quickly seek out a partner who wasn't quite as much as a danger magnet of sorts.

"That is correct and as long as you are agreeable of course you'll be leaving tomorrow morning. This assignment would mean field work and working in a team of rather… unique non-magical individuals. It would also mean concealing what you were. Nick Fury knows the extent of the wizarding world but the team you will be working with do not. There will be limited to no contact with the wizarding world for the duration of the assignment, it would be too dangerous to allow."

"I'm agreeable," Harry said with a sigh. The thought of a mission as drastic and as dangerous as this made him feel alive for the first time in months. Turning this down didn't even cross his mind, he wanted this more than he wanted anything else in his life. He had come to terms to never living a normal life, getting married, having children. Dangerous missions was all that he had.

Kingsley smiled, he had known that Harry would agree to this, though he didn't exactly like the reasons behind why he had agreed so readily. He swore to himself though that if Harry survived this solo assignment then he was going to make sure the poor young man retired and found a decent life for himself that didn't involve death or destruction and was of course void of Dark Wizards.

"Here are the files of the individuals you'll be working with," Kingsley said, taking up and handing over six files from his desk to Harry, who accepted them. "I suggest you study them carefully, they are certainly an interesting bunch. You'll have to be careful with the amount of magic you use around the man, Tony Stark, he seems to be something of a developer of computer software and weapons, items that will interfere with our magic and vice versa."

"Fantastic," Harry muttered sarcastically, "Though if they can't know what I am I don't suppose it will make much difference."

"I have something that might help," Kingsley said, "These muggles are fans of their gadgets and it would do no one any good to have members of the team disabled during a fight." As he spoke the Minister brought out a long, rectangular box, which he opened to show the contents. Inside were two silver bracelets which glimmered with a pearlescent shine that was definitely nothing from the muggle world. These were undoubtedly magical items and Harry stared at them curiously as he took the box in hand, the files resting on his lap. "I advise that these never come off, they are the only set in existence and it took a lot to acquire them on time."

"What are they?" Harry asked curiously as he ran his fingertips over the cool metal that seemed to glimmer beneath his touch.

"The two bracelets allow the wearer to more directly channel and control their magic, make it usable around muggle technology. They aren't infallible I'm afraid and there may still be interference, flickering lights and such but they will make a significant impact, though you should still use your magic sparingly." Kingsley looked to Harry as he admired the jewellery, feeling sorry for the young man and everything he had dealt with in his life time, only to have more thrust upon him.

"Do we know what threat they're facing that they need help with?" Harry asked, snapping the box closed and looking back at the Minister imploringly. He wanted as many of the facts as he could before he left this office because after tomorrow he would be in the field for an indefinite amount of time, unable to contact anyone or ask for help. He would be on his own. He couldn't wait.

"I believe you will be briefed when you arrive in New York, I'm afraid they insisted that you fly on an aeroplane rather than apperate. I have a file here with everything you'll need to know before you leave tomorrow morning, it includes your flight information too," Kingsley explained handing Harry yet another file, which was accepted.

"You still have the letters I wrote on file I assume," Harry asked, referring of course to the letters that every Auror wrote when he took up field work. Letters that were written for the loved ones left behind if anything was to happen in the line of duty. He knew that he wouldn't have time to talk to either of his friends before he left, if something happened to him while he was gone he needed to be sure they got those letters.

"One for Ronald Weasley and another for Hermione Granger," Kingsley confirmed with a nod of his head. He understood the need for Harry to confirm this but it didn't make him happy about it. It was almost as if he expected not to be coming back.

"Thank you," Harry said, standing up, taking the files and the box containing the bracelets with him, holding them in one arm as he offered out his other for the Minister to shake. Kingsley did just that, holding on to the young man's hand longer than was needed but they both understood.

"Good luck," the Minister said with finality. Harry nodded his head and turned to leave, stopping only when Kingsley spoke again, "Oh and Harry," he said.

"Yes," Harry asked, turning to face his old friend.

"Happy Birthday," he said with a sad smile. Harry said nothing in response, giving a small nod and leaving the Minister's office, he had a few more things to organise before heading for home, a few lose ends to tie up seeing as he wouldn't be back for a while.

-x

"He has agreed," Kingsley said as he took a seat in the small office that looked very sparse compared to his own. His brother sat across from him behind a large desk that was clear apart from a large computer monitor that Kingsley knew better than to go near.

"He will be on the flight arranged?" Nick Fury said in his heavy American accent. The two brothers could not have been more different. They shared a mother and little else, Kingsley's father had been a wizard and he had inherited that from him. Nick's father however had been a muggle, the two of them had grown up together in America with just their mother but Kingsley had wanted to travel the world and had left as soon as he had turned eighteen.

"Yes," Kingsley said with a sigh. He still didn't feel right sending Harry away, even though the intentions were good. Not telling Harry about the danger that he and the rest of the wizarding world was facing was a decision that the Minister for Magic had had to take very seriously and he still wasn't sure that he was doing the right thing.

"Then my team will be there to meet him," Nick said with a curt nod of his head.

"You will take care of him, he is... precious to our world," Kingsley said. He didn't want for his half brother to think Harry undeserving of the protection that he was asking for him. However he needed for Nick to understand just how important the young man was and despite his accomplishments, how fragile he was.

"I understand," Fury said, inclining his head, knowing how concerned his brother was about the boy. The two of them might not have been close, however Nick Fury liked to keep tabs on the goings on in his brothers world, if for no other reason than to monitor how likely it was to spill over into his world.

"How is our mother?" Kingsley asked, thinking that he ought to ask while he was here, it wasn't often that he travelled this far but the port key had been necessary. He would have to remove all traces of it when he returned to the Ministry later this evening to cover his tracks but he'd do a lot to keep Harry safe.

"As well as can be expected," Nick said somewhat tersely. There mother was suffering quite badly from dementia and lived in a home in America that her two son's paid a lot of money to keep her in so that she would be comfortable.

"I will be in contact to ensure of Harry's safe arrival," Kingsley said as he got to his feet, knowing that the meeting was over. They were both extremely busy men and they had very little to discuss, the small pleasantries already over and done with.

Nick Fury gave a nod of his head and got to his feet so that he could shake his brothers hand. They might not have been the closest of brothers but they respected one another greatly. "Harry Potter will be taken care of," Fury said as he reached forward and shook his brothers hand.

"This is much appreciated," Kingsley said earnestly, he truly did appreciate what his brother was doing for him. Keeping Harry away from the brewing war in England was something that he was going to be grateful for, for a long time. This was not a fight that Harry needed to throw himself in head first.

"The boy means something to you," Nick returned as a way of an explanation as to why he was doing this, however he wouldn't be himself if he didn't have some form of ulterior motive behind it as well.

The Avengers were a strong group of passionate fighters, however adding a wizard, especially one as powerful as Harry Potter was supposed to be, could only benefit the Avengers Initiative. Since New York, Fury had been fighting to prove that the Avengers were not a group of vigilantes. Protecting Potter was the best way to get them all together and working as a team, not causing mass destruction of public property.

"Yes, he does," Kingsley confirmed as he brought out the port key from within his robes, holding it in his hand ready for when it would activate in a few moments time.

The two impressive men stood staring at each other for a few moments more before the port key activated, pulling Kingsley by the navel and taking him back to his office in the Ministry of Magic and leaving Nick Fury alone to contemplate the arrival of Harry Potter.

-x

Harry had been home for two hours, he had showered and ensured that his suitcase was packed for the flight the next morning and of course everything that could give him away as a wizard had been left behind. He had stowed it all away, concealing it in secret compartments around his home that were heavily warded so that they would be safe in his absence. His London apartment felt strange without the personal reminders of his life scattered all over the place. It was now as empty and devoid of life as he felt since the end of the Great Battle of Hogwarts.

His mind whirled with information about his latest mission, going over all the facts, all the details in his mind. There was something different about this one, something that wasn't quite right. Harry was sure that there had been something that Kingsley had purposefully concealed from him, he had seen it in the older man's eyes. It was only that he trusted the man explicitly that he was agreeing to go at all. He knew that the Minister for Magic would never put him directly in harm's way just for the sake of it.

One thing was for sure though, whatever was to come from this mission, it would certainly be an adventure and he always did crave adventures. Harry had high hopes for this mission supplying him with the adrenaline rush and the danger that he craved as part of his life ever since he had defeated Voldemort. It was an added bonus that these were new people to him, a new country even, completely apart from the wizarding world and no contact with it either. No one would know who he was, no one would judge him or want to be near him just because of the Dark Witches and Wizards he had killed and captured and that thought was freeing.

Having poured himself a rather large tumbler of fire whiskey, Harry settled himself in his favourite armchair. Normally the fire would be on but seeing as it was the middle of summer it wasn't needed tonight. He had the files that Kingsley had given him in hand and he had ensured the bottle of his favourite potent alcoholic beverage was within reaching distance on the coffee table in front of him, the bracelets that he had yet to put on beside it.

Opening the first folder he took in the several photographs of a beautiful young woman who had a fierce edge to her looks, as if she had been through hell in her life time and come out the other side triumphant. Natasha Romanoff, code name Black Widow. She had an impressive list of skills and talents that was for sure. They included excellent marksmanship and martial arts, though the fact that seductress was listed amongst her skill-set told Harry that she was not a woman to be trifled with. He scanned over her history, digesting it all before moving on to the next one.

The second folder contained information regarding a rather ruggedly handsome young man called Clint Barton, code name Hawk-eye. Harry took a slow sip of his fire whiskey, relishing the burn as it slid down his throat as he surveyed the single photograph that had been included. He seemed less inclined to have his picture taken than Natasha Romanoff it seemed. He was a muggle, just like Natasha, though just like her he also had an impressive list of skills. Whoever these muggles were they didn't appear to be your standard, everyday muggles, they were just so much more.

Reading over the information provided about Clint Barton, Harry realised that both of the Avengers he had read about so far would have a solid bond that would make a great fighting team that was for sure. Those kinds of bonds were key when it came to fighting as a team. It was perhaps why none of his partnerships with other Auror's had worked out once he got to the Ministry. He had never had that bond with them, not like he had had with Ron and Hermione during the war.

Ron had been considering a career as an Auror and Harry was all for it, thinking that the two of them would have made excellent and unstoppable partners during field work. However since the birth of Rose, Ron had been less inclined to life threatening idiocy and even though Hermione understood the need for Auror's she didn't really want her husband joining the ranks of the dark wizard catchers, putting his life in danger every time he went to work.

Ron had gone through all the necessary stages of becoming an Auror and Harry had thought that finally the two of them would have had the chance to work together. Ron had even got so far as to write the required letters to loved ones that the Ministry recommended any new Auror write in case something went wrong in the field. Hermione it seemed had talked him out of joining at the last minute, much to Harry's disappointment, though he could understand why she had done it. Just in case Ron had changed his mind however, Harry had ensured that all his files and even his personal letters were kept on file at the Ministry so that he could just pick up the application process where he left off or if he ever changed his mind or managed to convincer Hermione to change hers.

Shaking these thoughts from his head, Harry refocused his attention back on his work. He had a mission to prepare for, he couldn't allow himself to wander so freely down memory lane, which had become a dangerous path to tread of late. It was painful there and he couldn't be distracted when he had so much to prepare for the following day. Thinking about his friends, the friends who he had somehow distanced himself from over the months and years since the final battle. Nothing had been the same after that, too much had changed, they had been through too much together. Time had severed the once strong bond they had once had.

Concentrating more fully on the task at hand, Harry opened the third folder, which contained details about a man called Bruce Banner who seemed to have spectacular anger management issues if the information provided was anything to go by. His code name was the Hulk and judging by the first picture of him provided in the file Harry could see why.

The creature that Bruce Banner turned into was truly horrific and the destruction that he could cause was absolutely astonishing. It was the man behind the giant green rage monster that fascinated Harry the most however. He was desperate to talk to Bruce, it was only a shame that they couldn't talk potions as he was sure he would have been able to help the poor man control the monster inside of him better. He had never been the best when it came to potions but he was still sure that they would have been able to help him.

Though Bruce Banner was not going to be the only one of the Avengers team that Harry wanted to have a meeting of minds with. Tony Stark was another of them that he was looking forward to meeting when the time came. Any man who could survive what he did and build and invent what he had was a man Harry was keen to meet. He understood why he needed the bracelets to more concentrate and control his magic when he read about the man whose codename was Ironman.

As he flicked through the reports and documentation he was beginning to realise that these were not simply just muggles, they were so much more, it was clear why S.H.I.E.L.D had recruited them. That was before he even got to the file on Thor. Thor was something else entirely. To deal with his file, Harry needed a second drink. Refilling his tumbler with more fire whiskey after downing what was left of the first he continued to read.

Thor Odinson wasn't even from earth it seemed, something which blew Harry's mind a little. He was used to magic now and even the eccentricities of the wizarding world that he had never known before he was eleven. However to discover that there were other worlds, Aliens even, it was astounding, even to him. He certainly wasn't complaining however, Harry would have gladly accepted the existence of Alien's just for the chance to ogle Thor who was an attractive man by anyone's standards.

The single photograph in his file showed that he was a pure Adonis of a man, it wasn't surprising that he was literally a God. The God of Thunder to be precise. He won a load of brownie points with Harry just because he had declared himself the protector of the earth.

It took a while to move on to the final file as he really appreciated the rather handsome God of Thunder, taking his time to read his file as he downed his second and poured his third tumbler of fire whiskey. He had become particularly enthralled with the thought of the magic hammer, the name of which had confused him and he didn't even want to attempt to pronounce it. Though he had to admit that he was keen to see it in action.

The final file was the one that really caught Harry's interest though. Out of all the others where there were mentions of Aliens and transformations from human to giant green rage monsters, they were handsome, smart and Harry had found himself captivated by the information he had been given about them. However it was Steve Rogers, code name Captain America, that captured Harry's attention so aptly now.

He was by no means the strongest or the smartest, he wasn't even the most handsome of the group, however, from the moment he opened the file and he saw the undoubtedly strong, muscular and handsome man with blond hair and sky blue eyes, Harry was completely transfixed by him. Maybe it was because he was a little drunk from the copious amounts of fire whiskey he was drinking but there seemed to be something about Steve Rodgers and his endearingly impish smile and boyishly good looks that drew Harry in and made Harry's stomach tingle in a way that it hadn't in years.

The man who was code named Captain America had been through a war just as he, himself had and would undoubtedly hold the same emotional and physical scars from it. A shiver went through Harry's body as he read over the file for Steve Rodgers. He truly was a man out of his time and Harry found himself utterly transfixed by him as he read over everything he had done in his life time. The things that had happened to him, everything he had survived, Harry truly admired him.

A combination of re-reading the report on Steve several times and the fifth tumbler of fire whiskey saw Harry falling into bed at almost three in the morning, the files on the Avengers on his bedside table, the one on Captain America sitting open on the top of the pile. Harry's head was full of new information, the faces of the Avengers haunted his dreams that night. A blissful release from the nightmares that usually plagued him.

This is my first ever cross over fanfiction so I really hope that you enjoy it. I will be updating as regularly as I can but I have a few other fics on the go at the moment as please be patient. For the moment please take a moment to leave a review and let me know what you think.