Lavender studied the set-up with a critical eye, not that she could really do much about it now if she decided that it needed changing. No, her 'visitors' were due here at any minute.

Her seat, more of a high bar stool really with a low back, sat prominently beside the largest screen that she'd ever seen. The things that muggles could do quite astounded her. Growing up, she'd been amazed at the size of some of the wizarding portraits at Hogwarts. This, though, this dwarfed those portraits and did a lot more than simply hold the portrait of someone long dead who was more often than not a touch deaf and bordering on senile.

The screen was set to display a video that she, Pepper and Maria Hill had put together – with the assistance of Jarvis, of course. Well over an hours' worth of footage had been compiled of the Avengers doing what they did best to protect people and to save the world. The images had been compiled using S.H.I.E.L.D. resources, Jarvis' files and even video gathered from regular people and placed on the world wide web for everyone to see.

The vast majority of the screen time was taken up with the alien invasion of the Chitauri. It'd taken Lavender a long time to get her head around that entire concept, not to mention the correct words that went along with it. Only her years alongside Harry in Gryffindor and all of his outlandish exploits had helped her believe what she'd seen.

There were other sequences as well, covering every Avenger.

There was some grainy, black and white footage of Steve from World War Two fighting HYDRA which Lavender thought was most appropriate considering the circumstances. Clint and Natasha were shown doing their job for S.H.I.E.L.D. in various locations around the world. Bruce, in his Hulk form, was shown fighting something bigger, tougher and meaner on the very streets of Harlem in New York City. As for Tony, his rescue of President Ellis, who was strung up over an oil tanker, made a very positive statement.

The only one missing was Harry. Well, apart from his Battle of New York exploits, that was. Lavender had no doubts exactly what Harry was capable of. She'd even half-considered seeing if it was possible to take some footage from a memory from the War. But for that, she knew she'd need a penseive, something that she had no idea where to find, not to mention the fact that it would show Harry's face and not in his trademark blue-grey cloak, thus defeating the purpose of the hood and spells that he used.

There had been some discussion about whether or not to feature Peter and Matt as well. In the end, considering who one of the people coming today reported to, the idea was rejected.

This footage would be playing constantly throughout the interview allowing the Avenger's heroic exploits to be constantly facing the three reporters' chairs as they interviewed Lavender.

Hearing a sound behind her, Lavender quickly assured herself that her fringe was covering her scarred face before turning around, a welcoming smile on her face.

The woman first through the door wore a deep blue, mid-thigh length dress. Her blonde hair was cut just below her shoulders and looked as though she'd already had it professionally styled ready for the cameras. And cameras there would be – two of them, it seemed, as a pair of men carrying them and their tripods entered straight after the woman.

"Christine Everhart, I presume?" Lavender asked, her hand outstretched as she crossed the floor to meet her.

"That's right," the host of WHiH replied. "I'm guessing that you're Lavender Brown, Public Relations Officer for the Avengers?"

"That would be me," Lavender smiled, her eyes shifting to watch the cameramen wander past to begin setting up.

"So, which Avengers do we get to interview today?" Christine asked.

"Unfortunately, none of them," Lavender replied before quickly explaining. "It's not that they didn't want to, it's simply that the terms of the Congressional Hearing that they all have to attend forbids them from public statements or interviews until after the conclusion of the Hearing."

"In that case, I look forward to meeting with them then. Who do we get to interview instead?" Christine asked.

"That would be me. If you'll excuse me for a moment, it appears as though the other reporters are here," Lavender said.

Internally, Lavender was scowling. This wasn't who she was expecting. Well, Ben Urich from the New York Bulletin was. No, it was the other man. And there was the problem. The Daily Bugle had told her that they were sending Kat Farrell, one of their top reporters to this interview. Unfortunately, instead of her, the Editor-in-Chief appeared to have pulled rank.

"I'm guessing you're the PR lady, Brown?" J. Jonah Jameson asked in a gruff voice.

"I am. Welcome to Avengers Tower," Lavender replied, a smile plastered to her face.

"Good to be here," Jameson replied. "Just to be clear, that web-headed menace isn't hiding here somewhere is he?"

"If you are referring to Spider-man, then, no," Lavender replied.

"Thank you for inviting me," Ben Urich interjected in his soft voice.

"It's a pleasure to have you here," Lavender replied, shaking the man's hand. "Shall we get set up?"

The three walked across the room to where Christine had already taken the centre of the three seats facing Lavender's stool and the currently-empty screen. One camera had been placed off to the side where facing Lavender and the screen, while the other was focussed on Christine's face.

The two newspaper men took a lot less time to set up – Jameson seemingly content with simply a notebook and pen, while Urich set up a tape recorder in addition to the pad that he sat upon his knee.

"Miss Everhart, gentlemen, welcome to Avengers Tower. I'm pleased that you accepted our invitation here today," Lavender began proceedings.

Behind her, she knew, the screen, courtesy of Jarvis, would have just come to life showing the Avengers' logo slowly revolving.

"The Avengers themselves would have liked to have been a part of this interview," Lavender continued, repeating what she'd already said to Christine to the two men, "however the laws governing the Congressional Hearing stipulate that they are unable to talk about the events that occurred at the Triskelion until after the Hearing is completed."

"What do you say to the assertion that the Avengers should be put on trial for what they've done, not simply attend a 'Hearing' to talk about it?" Jameson asked, leaning forward eagerly.

"None of the Avengers have broken any laws. If they had, then I'm certain that the authorities would have charged them with something," Lavender replied calmly.

"I can think of half a dozen off the top of my head," Jameson countered. "Break and enter; wilful damage; manslaughter; attempted murder; treason; need I go on?"

"Once again, all I can say is that the authorities would have charged the Avengers if they believed that any of those accusations were warranted," Lavender replied. "The Avengers worked together to safeguard the population, not just of the United States but of the World. HYDRA's goals have not changed since Captain America first battled them back in World War Two."

The flick of the reporter's eyes to the screen attested to the images of Steve that she now knew were playing.

"It is the Avenger's belief that they were working towards safe-guarding the world?" Christine asked.

"Yes," Lavender replied simply.

"Against S.H.I.E.L.D., the premier spy agency in the world?" Christine persisted sounding sceptical.

"No. Not against S.H.I.E.L.D.," Lavender replied with a shake of her head. "Against the HYDRA agents that had secreted themselves within S.H.I.E.L.D. and subverted it for their own ends."

"What gave them the right to do so, to take up arms and to kill so many people?" Jameson asked.

"The notion of doing the right thing. Human decency taken to extreme, where a small group of people act together against those that want to cause harm, to bully the rest of the world for their own gain," Lavender replied.

"You claim that the Avengers see S.H.I.E.L.D. as a 'bully'?" Urich asked, his pencil poised.

"Not at all," Lavender replied. "The Avengers have always had a good working relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D. No, the 'bully' is HYDRA. You will find that Captain Rogers has used that term for them in the past, going all the way back to World War Two. He has stated on numerous occasions that he hates bullies and will always stand up to them. Mage is exactly the same. He has always put others before himself, done what is right over what is easy. And none of the others are shy about doing what is right, either."

Lavender couldn't help but smile slightly at the thought of when she'd first heard that phrase and realised that it applied to people like Harry more than anyone else.

"'Always', Miss Brown?" Christine pounced. "It sounds as though you know Mage a lot better than the rest of us."

"I've known Mage for a long time," Lavender said with a small smile.

"You make an interesting argument for Captain America and Mage's actions," Jameson said. "But aren't you simply being paid to say that? What are your real thoughts on what these costumes thugs get up to?"

"Even if I wasn't being paid, my answers would not change, Mister Jameson," Lavender replied, barely managing to rein in her temper. "I may not have been in New York when these extraordinary people joined together to fight back an alien invasion, but I've seen the footage and I applaud them for what they did. I may not vote for your president, but the fact that Iron Man risked his very life to save him and to put an end to an extreme group that was waging a terrorist war against the country doesn't make me any less grateful. Knowing that the Hulk can stand between me and something like the Abomination makes me feel safer. And when it comes to Mage, I've seen him lay down his very life to protect an entire society and I know that he'd do it again in a heartbeat."

"What do you mean 'lay down his very life'?" Urich asked. "When was this? And, if true, are you saying that he's undead?"

"No, of course not," Lavender laughed. "Mage had something ... special going on that meant that what I thought I saw wasn't what was reality. That doesn't mean that that wasn't his intent."

"When was this?" Christine asked. "Was it during the Battle of New York?"

"No," Lavender replied and instantly knew that any hesitation, any thought of fabricating something would be instantly seen through by this eagle-eyed group. No, only the truth would work here; she just hoped that Harry would forgive her.

"No," Lavender repeated. "This happened long before that; we were only eighteen at the time, fighting in what at the time felt like a war but to the world would have been nothing more than a simple terrorist skirmish, albeit one that went on for years."

"Eighteen? Are you claiming that you've known Mage since you were eighteen?" Urich asked.

"Actually, I've known Mage since I was eleven. And before you ask, no, I will not tell you any more about Mage's life before the Battle of New York. His teammates know, as well as a select few others. But these are his secrets and he guards them jealously," Lavender replied in a hard tone.

Urich looked up from his notebook where he'd been furiously scribbling, his head tilted slightly to the side.

"It almost seems to me that you believe that the Avengers should be acknowledged even more for what they've done than they already have been," he said.

"I'm not saying that at all," Lavender replied. "New York City gave the Avengers a ticket-tape parade after all the rebuilding had been redone. Even that was more than they were expecting. The Avengers don't do what they do for parades or awards or medals; they do it because it's right."

"Medals?" Jameson scoffed. "For what they've done, they should be handed a bill! In fact, I have sources within the government that agree with me."

"What do you and the Avengers say to that? That they should be expected to clean up the mess that they've created or to at the very least pay for the damage that they've caused?" Christine asked.

"I'd say that the Avengers would probably be amenable to that," Lavender said before holding up one hand to stop any interruptions. "Providing that the government also gave a bill to the others involved in the damages. That means that the Chitauri pay their half of the costs to rebuild New York City. The Abomination pays his half for rebuilding Harlem. HYDRA pays their half for the damages to the Triskelion. I'm sure that you see where I'm going with this?"

"Can't see it being too easy for the government to collect from a bunch of aliens," Urich chuckled.

"No, neither can I," Lavender agreed. "But as much as the end damage is seen and lamented over, just imagine what things would be like without the Avengers. More than likely, there would have been no world left for the Avengers to be involved in the incident at the Triskelion in the first place. There has to be a balance, an understanding, that what the Avengers do, they do for the good of all. They will always strive to minimise any casualties and damage, but when the choice comes down to the world or a few buildings, I for one, am glad that its them doing what they do best: protecting us all."

ooo00ooo

The vibration of Harry's phone had him pulling it out of his pocket. The fact that the display had 'UNKNOWN' on it made him pause. His curiosity, though, not to mention a seed of hope, had him answering it.

"Hello?" he asked cautiously.

"Hey, you."

"Skye?" Harry asked eagerly, recognising the voice that he'd been worried about. "Are you okay? You sound tired."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good," Skye replied.

"Who is that? Who's she calling? She's not authorised to make calls from this location," an anxious-sounding male voice insisted in the background.

"Who's that?" Harry asked.

"That's just Eric, don't mind him," Skye stated.

"Don't use my name! You're not authorised to give out any information about either me or this base," the now-named Eric stated.

"Eric, chill!" Skye replied and her voice was slightly quieter as though she'd moved her head away from the phone. "I'm just talking to Mage."

"Mage? As in the Avenger? Cool. We're all good then," Eric said, doing a complete one-eighty.

"Sorry about that," Skye said, once more clear in Harry's ear.

"What was all that?" Harry asked.

"That was Eric. Agent Koenig. He's in charge of this base that we're at. But I can't tell you where it is. It's all classified and stuff," Skye replied.

"I think I got that," Harry deadpanned. "So, you are alright?"

"Yeah, we're good," Skye replied. "It was a bit dicey for a while there but it all worked out in the end."

"And Phil and everyone else is okay?" Harry asked.

"Yup. Well, May got shot but we patched her up. And Jemma was stuck behind enemy lines for a bit but we got her out," Skye replied.

Harry shook his head at the phone.

"I think you'd better tell me everything," Harry insisted.

"Well, you know about HYDRA? What am I saying? Of course, you know about HYDRA, I saw you on the news report. Very cool by the way. You have some seriously badass moves there, my friend," Sky said. "Anyway. When HYDRA went down, the Bus was reprogrammed to take us back to The Hub. But that was good in a way, 'cause that's where Jemma was. We didn't know who we were fighting – whether it was S.H.I.E.L.D. thinking we were HYDRA or the other way around. Anyway, by the time the dust settled, The Hub was once more in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hands. We think that AC and Agent Hand are the last high-ranking agents still alive."

"Maria Hill made it through," Harry said.

"I'll let the boss know. I haven't met her yet," Skye replied. "Anyway, we were working on finding out what was still ours and what HYDRA had taken over when General Talbot from the army called to say that they were coming in to secure the base."

"That doesn't surprise me," Harry replied. "From what Maria was saying, the army's scrambling to secure as many S.H.I.E.L.D. assets, bases and personnel as it can."

"Huh, well, it's a good thing that we got out of there when we did, then," Skye said. "We ended up, well, wherever we are. AC's working on a plan. At least, he better be."

"I'm guessing that he's thinking of using whatever S.H.I.E.L.D. resources are left to fight HYDRA?" Harry asked.

"Well, he hasn't come out and said it yet, but that'd be my guess," Skye replied.

"Good. Tell him that the Avengers are ready to help. Steve especially is chomping at the bit like a hippogriff ready to fly out and fight some bad guys," Harry stated.

"Hippogriff? Magic Man, you know some really weird sayings. But if they're real, then I wanna see one," Skye said.

"They're real alright. I've even flown one. Next time we're both on vacation, I'll take you to some places that you simply won't believe," Harry smiled.

"I'll hold you to that," Skye replied and Harry could hear the smile in her voice. "And I'll tell AC, too."

"Good. The sooner we can get the world to settle down, the sooner we can go on that vacation. It's been a while since I've been on one and I miss it. And it'd be nice to have someone to share it with for a change," Harry said.

"I'm looking forward to it," Skye replied. "Listen, I've got to go. AC wants me to check in on Ward."

"Ward's not with you?" Harry frowned.

"Nah. He went with Agent Hand to take Garrett – big, bad HYDRA agent; long story – to The Fridge for safekeeping," Skye explained.

"Okay. Keep me updated. And Skye?"

"Yeah, H?" she asked.

"Stay safe," Harry said.

"I will. You too," she said. "Talk to you later."

"Bye, Skye," Harry said.

ooo00ooo

Harry knew that he was going into this with a bad attitude. Really, how could he not be? He and any sort of Ministry or government simply did not get on at all.

It'd started all the way back before fifth year with that mockery of a trial of his. But then, thinking about it, Harry realised that his poor views on the government had started long before that – way back in third year when he'd found out that Sirius had been thrown in prison without a trial and left there to rot for the next dozen years.

The Ministry of Magic's role in the War hadn't helped matters in the slightest. Kingsley, Arthur and Hermione had marginally improved his attitude after that. Marginally. And then, after 'saving the world from an alien invasion', he'd been put on trial by the ICW of all things. At least that one had turned out alright and even got him the special dispensation that he needed to operate as 'Mage'.

But to, once again, be summoned to a Ministerial Inquiry after once again saving millions of lives grated on Harry something shocking.

As Harry strode through the doors to the United States Congressional Hearing, in conjunction with the Department of Defence, looking into the Incident at the Triskelion, he couldn't help but scowl. Only the fact that he had his hood up and his usual charms in place hid his true feelings from those around him.

A pair of Marines stepped out in front of him, their guns held across their chest, even as a third Marine stood between them at attention.

"I'm sorry, sir, but no weapons are allowed past this point," the Marine Sergeant stated.

Harry