Thor closed the book, leant forward and gently placed it upon the small table before the set of chairs, one of which he was occupying. Almost reverently, he gave it a soft pat, contemplating its contents. While it was true that he was never one to pursue the wisdom gained through the written word – much to his mother's consternation and his brother's mockery – that did not mean that he did not appreciate a good tale, regardless of its medium.

Looking up, he found the Seidhr standing with his back to the room, looking out the great glass door at the city beyond.

"Your deeds are worthy enough to become legend," Thor stated.

Harry spun about, his arms remaining crossed over his chest. A singular raised eyebrow told that he begged to disagree.

"Any one of your feats – slaying such a monster as the King of Snakes, driving off a horde of foul demonic beasts, defeating in battle such an enemy as this Riddle character not once but more than half a dozen times – any one would be lauded in Asgard with feats, revels and songs," Thor stated, emphasising his points by throwing his arms wide.

"Songs?" Harry asked, looking like he was going to be sick before straightening and throwing out a pointing finger towards the Healer. "No. Don't even suggest it."

The Seidhr Healer, though, merely smirked at Harry.

"You know that there are songs about the Boy-Who-Lived," she said. "Although not as many as there are about the Man-Who-Conquered."

"Gah!" Harry growled, throwing up his hands.

Thor noticed that Barnes shifted slightly at the Seidhr's unexpected explosion, as though he was prepared to protect the Healer from potential harm, a wholely unneeded gesture; Thor was positive that the Seidhr would never hurt anyone without just cause and this definitely did not warrant such an action.

"I fail to understand why you do not accept the accolades that you are so obviously deserving of," Thor stated.

"Yeah, come on, Gandalf, if you're going to be a part of this team, you're gonna have to get used to the accolades and parties. Not to mention the awards and parades that are sure to be held in our honour," Stark agreed.

"I'm not like you two," Harry stated emphatically. "Thor, you were born a Prince of Asgard, destined to one day rule your people. Your parents have probably been grooming you for that role from the moment that you were born."

"That is true," Thor replied, a momentarily pain bursting in his heart at the thought of his mother.

"And you, Stark, you revel in being 'famous', in being the centre of attention," Harry continued. "But when did you gain that fame?"

Thor noted that Stark went very still, as though the Seidhr's question cut deep.

"I'm the son of Howard Stark, the CEO of Stark Industries," Stark replied, a little too flippantly, or so Thor thought. "I've always been in the limelight."

"You know that that's not true," Pepper countered. "You won that award when you were sixteen ..."

"The M.I.T. Robot Design," Stark interjected, buffing his nails on his shirt. "And still the youngest to ever win that award."

"But apart from that, you were sheltered from the public," Pepper continued before lowering her voice. "Until your parent's death, that is."

From the corner of his eye, Thor noted that Barnes jerked, only to still when the Healer placed a hand on his knee and began whispering to him.

"December ninety-one. I was twenty-one," Stark said quietly. "I took over the company not long after that."

"And that's when the media really began paying you far too much attention," Pepper said.

"My story's different," Harry said. "I've never liked my 'fame'. Especially because I got it for such a stupid reason! The-Boy-Who-Lived. That's what they've called me since I was one. Simply because I didn't die when my parents did."

"You did more than that," the Healer stated. "You defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named for the first time."

"I did? How?" Harry asked. When no answer was forthcoming, he continued. "No, I'd really like to know. I was fifteen months old! How in Merlin's name could a baby defeat a Dark Lord with decades of experience? What'd I do, throw my favourite chewed up toy at him and gross him out? No. Whatever happened that night had something to do with my parents."

Thor watched as the Seidhr began pacing, his hands gesturing wildly as he continued to rant. This was a side to the Seidhr that Thor had never seen and he found it extremely interesting, not the least because it would put some of the stories that he had read into context as well as help him to understand his teammate.

"And then what happened to me?" Harry continued. "Those books really don't tell the story; they're simply the glossed over versions that make the wizarding world happy. I was sent away. To my relatives. For ten long years I lived in an environment that was ... let's just say that my aunt and uncle make your dad, Tony, seem like Father of the Year. And on my very first introduction back into the wizarding world, I found myself mobbed by people I didn't know but who all knew me: The-Boy-Who-Lived, their saviour!

"And every day since then until I left Britain, they've been continuing to hound me, never giving me a moment of peace, staring at me and my stupid scar. The only time those people changed their tune was if they decided that I was better off being their villain instead of their hero, and some days it seemed that I was supposed to be both!"

"That's the nature of being a celebrity," Tony shrugged.

Harry spun towards him and Thor was certain that he could see the Seidhr's power shining in his eyes.

"If you say that 'fame's a fickle friend,' I will hex you into oblivion!" Harry growled, waving a finger at him.

Unexpectedly, Stark laughed which seemed to diffuse the tension in the room somewhat.

"Wherever did you hear that?" Stark laughed. "Not that it's wrong, mind you, it's just that it's such a pompous way of describing it."

"Teacher," Harry sighed. "And I use that term extremely loosely."

"Lockhart?" the Healer asked, her head cocked and a small smile on her lips.

Harry gave her a single nod.

"Midgard does seem to have a fascination with finding all that is good along with looking for as many faults as possible in those that they look up to, unlike Asgard," Thor commented.

"Does Asgard even have journalists?" Stark asked.

"We do not," Thor replied. "But then, we are a much older civilization."

"Maybe I should emigrate there," Harry muttered.

"You would be most welcome," Thor smiled.

"Hey! You can't do that!" Stark protested. "You'd miss us! Besides, who'd make my coffee the way I like it? And don't say 'Pepper'!"

"You don't have to worry, Tony, I'm not going anywhere. At least as long as I can keep Mage's true identity away from the media. I left Britain to get away from all the stares, whispers and everything that those books represent; I have no intention of letting it start up again," Harry said. "Besides, there's no way that I'd leave Teddy or the Den or the rest of you."

"Perhaps a visit?" Thor suggested. "My father would be most welcoming of you on Asgard."

Harry looked across with a smile.

"I might take you up on that one day," he said, to which Thor beamed with delight.

ooo00ooo

Once the call came, it didn't take long for the Avengers to gather. And while the original seven were closer to the fore, most of the others in attendance in the Tower weren't far away.

At the ding of the elevator arriving on the floor, all there stood that little bit straighter or brought their attention up a notch.

"Quite the reception," Phil Coulson remarked as he stepped from the elevator first.

"Phil! It's so good to see you again," Pepper remarked, brushing her way forward to give him a brief hug.

Movement beside Harry caught his attention and he had to repress a snort at the way the ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were all nodding to each other – Clint, Nat, Bobbi and Maria on one side and May and the two scientists emerging from the elevator on the other.

"Nice to see that you're still alive," Bruce said, stepping forward to shake Coulson's hand.

A figure slipping from behind the arriving S.H.I.E.L.D. team held Harry's eyes and he watched her almost sidle around the others before coming to stand beside him.

"Hey, you," Skye said, putting her arm around him and giving him a hug which in Harry's mind seemed to linger longer than he would have thought was normal.

"Hey, yourself," Harry smiled. "Been keeping out of trouble?"

"Me? I'm the epitome of good sense," Skye smirked.

Harry stared at her.

"That bad, huh?" he asked.

Whatever Skye's answer was going to be evaporated as Nat marched up to Coulson, her face completely blank.

"You let us think you were dead," she stated. "Why?"

"Not my call," Phil simply replied.

"You know how it works, Romanoff," May interjected.

"Worked," Natasha corrected.

The new arrivals seemed to smile amongst themselves at that answer.

"We'll cover that later," Phil said. "Firstly, though, there's an introduction that I think needs to be made. Captain?"

"Agent Coulson," Steve nodded.

"I'd like you to meet the newest member of my team," Phil said, causing Harry to raise his eyebrows at Skye.

Team? he asked.

A shrug accompanied her mouthing 'later' in reply.

"Captain Rogers, this is Agent Antoine Triplett," Phil said. "I think you knew his grandfather: Gabe Jones."

Steve's eyes widened at the name and Harry knew that it meant something to him.

"You're Gabe's grandson?" Steve asked. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The honour's mine, Sir. And please, call me 'Trip'. My grandfather had some amazing stories to tell about you and the rest of the Howling Commandos," Trip beamed.

"Is that right? Well, if we're going to have a Commandos reunion of sorts ..." here Steve turned searching for the man who still preferred to stay in the shadows. "Bucky? Come on over here."

This time there were a number of shocked expressions in the newly arrived group.

"I thought that Serjeant Barnes died back in Forty-Four," the female S.H.I.E.L.D. scientist, Simmons, whispered to her constant companion.

"Perhaps what we thought we knew isn't entirely accurate," Fitz replied.

"Phil," Maria said as Agent Coulson stepped away from Steve, Bucky and Trip.

"Agent Hill," Phil smiled.

"I'm not an agent any more," Maria replied.

"You could be," Phil stated. "If you want to."

"Oi! No stealing our Operations Controller away," Tony interjected. "Besides, there is no S.H.I.E.L.D. for her to be an agent of."

The way that Skye beside him was smirking as well as the small, knowing smile on Phil's face told Harry that what they thought wasn't entirely accurate.

"Unless there still is," Harry said slowly.

"Got it in one, Magic Man," Skye beamed, bumping her hip against his.

That statement caught everyone's attention and caused conversations around the room to stop so that everyone could focus on that one piece of information.

"I wanted to tell them," Phil almost seemed to pout.

"You still can," Skye said. "But I'd get on with it if I was you, A.C. before Jemma tells them everything. You know how bad she is at keeping secrets."

"I am not!" Jemma protested. "At least, I'm getting better at any rate."

"Phil, do as Skye says," May sighed.

"What I'm about to say is highly classified," Phil began, looking around at the couple of dozen people in the room doubtfully.

"If they're here, then they can be trusted," Steve stated firmly.

"Well, alright then," Phil nodded. "After the little dust-up we had at Cybertek taking down a HYDRA operation, I had a ... visitor."

"Fury," Natasha stated.

"You know he's alive?" Phil asked, surprise clear in his voice.

"We've known for a while," Steve assured him.

"That man sure loves his fake death routines," Skye muttered to which Harry's snort earned him a poke in the side.

"After I'd finished having a ... discussion with him about what happened with me ... " Phil continued.

This time it was Fitz's turn to snort.

"Discussion? We could hear you from clear the other end of the Bus," he interjected.

Phil pierced him with a glance that immediately sobered his agent.

"As I was saying," Phil said. "After our discussion, he gave me some 'toys' and asked me to rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Clint repeated. "What does that mean exactly?"

"It means that it's going to be done right. Without HYDRA getting inside it," Phil replied. "It'll take time but it'll be done the way that Howard Stark and Peggy Carter envisioned it to be."

"You're the new Director?" Natasha more stated than asked.

Harry straightened as it was confirmed. He'd been tasked with a small mission from the ICW which directed related to that information.

"No Fury?" Tony asked. "I didn't think he knew how to exist without having his fingers in every pie."

"Fury'd know that he doesn't have to be Director to still be keeping an eye on things from the shadows, especially if he knew that he could trust the guy in charge," Bobbi stated.

"What do you need? An upgrade on your new helicarrier?" Tony asked.

Phil almost looked embarrassed by that question.

"Actually, we don't have any helicarriers," he said.

"What do you have?" Nat asked, her eyes slightly narrowed.

"We have the Bus," Phil replied happily. "And a base and a few good Agents. But that's about it."

"You really are rebuilding from the ground up," Bruce commented.

"So, what do you need from the Avengers?" Steve asked.

"Nothing more than a simple partnership, more of a friendship, really," Phil replied. "S.H.I.E.L.D. will be working in the shadows, especially with HYDRA still out there. That's one mess that we aim to clean up."

"We're looking at doing the same," Steve agreed.

"I'd like us to be able to work together, to share information and missions as appropriate but still be separate entities," Phil said.

"Oh, that's my cue," Skye said, jerking forward.

Harry watched as she pulled something out her jacket pocket and crossed the room to hand it to Tony.

"That's a copy of the data that we were able to get off of the HYDRA server at Cybertek," Skye said. "There's about eight gigabytes of data on it. Most of it's encrypted or redacted. And unfortunately, as good as I am, it's simply too much for me to get through all by myself, especially with the other stuff that A.C. has for all of us to do."

"We're hoping that you'd be willing to share anything of interest that you find on it with us, just as we'll do the same for you," Phil continued.

"I'll put Jarvis on it," Tony replied, looking interestedly at the drive in his hand.

"The Avengers would be honoured to work with this new version of S.H.I.E.L.D., with you being the Director" Steve said, reaching out to shake Phil's hand.

"I'm delighted to hear that," Phil smiled.

Seeing that the conversations were beginning to start up again after that formal-ish declaration, Harry approached the new Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Director Coulson, may I have a moment of your time?" Harry asked, subtly weaving a bit of magic around the two them.

"It's Phil, remember?" he smiled.

"At any other time, yes," Harry replied. "But right now, I am the designated representative of the International Confederation of Wizardry asking the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. what his stance is on the secrecy of the Wizarding World."

"Is this the sort of conversation that should be had behind closed doors?" Phil asked.

"Ordinarily, yes, however you forget that you're dealing with a wizard; I've taken measures to ensure that our conversation is private," Harry replied.

"In that case, what is it that you, or more accurately, the ICW, wants to know?" Phil asked.

"How much about our world are you aware of?" Harry asked.

Phil shrugged. "I know that there are enclaves of magicals all around the world. I know that you have your own system of government and laws, with one of the strictest being the one that keeps you hidden from the rest of us."

"The Statute of Secrecy, yes," Harry replied. "What we want to know is, who do you intend on telling about us and to know whether we can trust you to keep our existence secret."

"From what I understand, when Fury was the Director, the only ones that knew about your people were himself, the World Security Council and the Level Nine Agents and they were only as a failsafe in case something happened to him," Phil replied. "With the rise of HYDRA and the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., the number in the know has dropped dramatically. HYDRA killed every member of the Council and the only Level Nine Agent left is Hill. I was thinking of adding May to that list for the same reason that Fury did, just in case something happens to me."

Harry nodded his head slowly. With that small number of people in the know – a number much smaller than it once was – and the fact that Harry himself was willing to vouch for every one of the three, he felt that the ICW would be happy with that answer.

"Thank you, Director," Harry began, only to be interrupted by Phil's raised hand.

"Just a piece of advice for your government," he said. At Harry's raised eyebrow, he continued. "The world is getting smaller every day, especially with the number of satellites and technology being developed. I'll do my best to keep eyes and ears away from your people but there is going to come a day when your society's existence will be nigh on impossible to hide."

Harry nodded grimly.

"I've had the exact same thoughts," he said. "I just hope that my people can survive when that day finally arrives."

ooo00ooo

Mage stood as still as he could, trusting in his spells to allow him to appear calm, collected and in control. His eyes, if one could see them, would have shown a different story. Even after all the experience that he'd had over the years he was still uneasy in front of crowds. And especially in front of crowds carrying notebooks, recorders, microphones and video cameras. Thankfully, though, he wasn't the one that the reporters were focussed on.

No, that honour went to Captain America. And as confident as the soldier appeared, Mage knew that even he had butterflies in this sort of situation. The team had practiced for this, including the speech that Cap would give. During it, he'd mentioned that, while he'd been given plenty of practice at that sort of thing back when he was a poster boy for the Army, nerves still got him every time. Apparently going into battle was much less stressful than standing talking to a crowd.

The Avengers were arranged so that Mage, Bruce and Thor stood on one side of the lectern that Cap was using and Iron Man, Black Widow and Hawkeye were on the other. They'd also made sure that they were back a couple of steps to allow room for what was to come.

"Good morning," Cap said after receiving the nod from Lavender off to the side.

Instantly, the gaggle of journalists settled, their attention focussed.

"Thank you all for coming," Cap continued. "You've heard a lot about us, about the Avengers, since the Battle for New York. You've all read articles, seen television specials covering us. Maybe you've