Marvel/HP: A Third Path to the Future

Harry looked at Xavier and then back at the black woman. "The goddess looks perfect, but I didn't know they came with their own chaperones and bodyguards in real life."

Xavier looked a little amused at being so ignored, while Logan grunted in ill humor, the trip by plane had not been fun at all, and this punk's cheekiness was getting on his nerves. More there was something off about him, his words seemed lackadaisical, but the punk had taken one look at the three of them, especially at him, and seemed to tense for a moment before going back to normal. If the kid was older, I'd say he was a veteran, a soldier but with his age…

Storm on the other hand, despite being almost as irritated by the need to take a commercial airline to California as Logan (she much preferred flying under her own power, so much nicer that way) but her surprise at the comment overrode that. "How did you know I was once worshiped as a goddess?"

Harry's eyebrows rose in surprise. "I didn't actually, was that anything like being called the Chosen One, where you're applauded for something you didn't do and blamed whenever you don't meet their expectations? And what is the name of the goddess, if I might ask?"

Storm smiled a little at that. "Much like the latter yes, and my name is Ororo Munroe. But the Chosen One… A title like that makes me think you need to immediately look around for the hidden strings around you. But where did the goddess comment come from then?"

Harry stared at her blankly, then let his eyes rove down her body and then back up to her now slightly flushed face. He smirked but before she could take umbrage, he tossed the graphic novel he had been reading to her. "From that actually, you might want to figure out who is using your image, they should really be paying you for the privilege you know."

Ororo reflexively caught the book the emerald eyed young man tossed her then blinked in shock at the image of the woman on the front. Besides the clothing, which she would never be caught dead in, and the markings on her forehead and cheeks, the woman was her to a T. "Ah! My Goddess?" She opened the book and began to read, and soon enough was smiling a little at the story within. It was an interesting mix between humor, romance, and magic, somewhat childish but still funny. Her lips quirked a little in amusement at finding out her lookalike went around calling herself the goddess of love and using potions on unsuspecting people.

Xavier coughed, trying to bring the conversation back to why he and his friends were here. "Yes, well Mr. Potter, we are not in fact here as chaperones for you and Ms. Munroe, but to speak to you." Though I am surprised at how easily the two fell into a conversation, regardless of how silly it was. "Tell me, have you noticed anything odd happening around you lately?"

Susan rolled her eyes at the perfect opening Xavier had given their young guest. Harry smirked, and with a bare wave of his hand changed the nearest seat to a stuffed leather chair, and he sat down looking across at the surprised faces of the three newcomers. "No, not really, why do you ask?"

Xavier froze in shock. That looked almost like the reality altering abilities of Wanda Maximoff, but she had been driven insane by her powers and committed to the Vault maximum security prison, the section devoted to the terminally insane and dangerous. Is he suffering under the same affliction? Cautiously he sent out a mental probe, but was shocked to find nothing there. It was as if his mind wasn't even there.

Harry frowned as he felt the mental probe wash over the outside of his invisibility cloak protected mind. The trick was something he had thought up as a unique form of occlumency, and it had given every legelimancer that ran into it fits. What he did was imagine his family's invisibility cloak, enlarge it, then cover his mind, which itself was organized like a house, with it. So far no one had been able to figure out how to get in, but that didn't mean he liked getting mind probed. "You have two seconds to stop trying to probe my mind before I get angry, old man." Ororo looked up at that in surprise then askance at Xavier, while Logan merely raised an eyebrow and went back to drinking his beer, but he was tensed for action.

Reed stiffened angrily. "Charles, what do you…"

"I apologize." Xavier responded quickly. "I have run into someone else with similar powers before, and she is almost utterly insane, a danger to herself and others around her. I merely wanted to make certain that you were in control of your faculties."

Harry and Reed both subsided. "You've met another magic user who was insane?"

"Magic, um, no… that is your…"

Reed interrupted. "Actually, Charles it is magic. He and our nanny, Agatha, are both magic users. I understand Harry's ability in transfiguration is rather unusually advanced, but Agatha assures us that it is indeed a magical power rather than a mutant power."

Xavier looked nonplussed and glanced at his old friend for confirmation and Reed nodded. Harry laughed. "Is that what you're here for? I assure you my magic has nothing to do with any strangeness in my genes. Well, it does, but not in the way you're thinking." he added judiciously. "Magic may be in my blood but not in my genes as you think of it. Indeed having a magical core where I come from is only the beginning. Magic users have to go to school for years to learn most of the spells I use." Or… something happens, what was it? Hmm, better think about that later, it could explain this insane magic user baldy mentioned.

Xavier recovered his poise and shook his head. The magic was interesting, and something he might pursue later to help young Wanda, but not right now. "Nevertheless, that isn't what I meant. We, my friends and I, have a computer which allows us to detect mutants throughout the world, and it alerted us to your presence. This magic ability notwithstanding, have you noticed anything else odd?"

Harry shook his head. "No sorry, I think you've got the wrong guy."

"Would you be able to tell if he was a mutant by a DNA scan?" Reed asked. He had, of course, scanned their newest ally when he moved in with them, just to check for any diseases or anything else. Harry had a surprisingly low amount of radiation after spending five years in the Negative Zone, but that was merely surprising, not something to be cause for alarm, especially given the abilities of his crisis suit.

"Yes, although we wouldn't be able to say what his powers are from something like that." Reed nodded and led Xavier to his lab to look over Harry's DNA scan.

Ororo, seeing everyone had calmed down, went back to what she was reading. Harry smirked. After a moment Hedwig came in, carrying the next graphic novel in the series.

She landed on the table and everyone looked at her. Ororo looked at the magnificent creature, then at the graphic novel it was holding carefully in its claws, and smiled. "Thank you, my dear." She raised a hand, and after the bird did not immediately move away, began to stroke the snowy owl's plumage gently. "You are truly beautiful. I take it you have something to do with Mr. Potter?"

The owl nodded imperiously nipping at her fingers for a moment as if saying 'He has something to do with me, get it right' before simply sitting there and enjoying the attention. Harry laughed. "Her name's Hedwig, and yes, she's my familiar, and yes, she is beautiful, and yes, she knows it too." Hedwig clacked her beak at him and Ororo chuckled.

Harry smiled surprisingly as Hedwig leaned into the black woman's fingers. "She likes you, she doesn't normally let other people touch her like that." Hedwig precked at him for a moment, then he went on. "She says you smell like wind, rain, and crisp morning air for some reason. Care to share with the class why that is?"

Ororo smirked a little. "I think I'll keep that a surprise for now, Mr. Potter. Every girl needs some secrets after all." Logan's eyebrows rose in surprise at the slightly flirtatious tone, but he went back to his beer quietly. If he was going to have to get back onto a commercial plane, by god, he was going to be buzzed before doing it.

At this point Reed and Xavier came back. "Well Mr. Potter, as I expected you do indeed carry the mutant gene, I can even show it to you on the scan if you like." Harry nodded at this. Reed and Xavier spent several minutes explaining the DNA scan to him and pointing out the relevant parts. After he understood that, yes something odd was there, Harry leaned back, looking at Xavier shrewdly. "Alright, now that we have ascertained that you actually do have a reason for being here, make your spiel, Professor Baldy."

Logan stirred angrily at that, and Ororo looked up from absently stroking Hedwig's chest and reading her graphic novel. "Hey kid, treat Chuck with respect, he's here to help you."

Harry was unmoved by this, his eyes and face remaining calm, emerald eyes as cool as the stone they resembled. "Respect is earned, and I've learned in my life to never give it blindly. So as I said, say your piece."

Xavier however, merely smiled. This young man may be opinionated, untrusting, and defensive, but there was no hint of malice in him. "Very well, Mr. Potter. Have you heard about the growing 'mutant problem'?" Harry nodded impatiently and Xavier went on. "More mutants are appearing all the time. Many people, both normal humans and mutants, think we are the next step in the evolution of our race. I really have no idea about that concept, but I want relations between mutants and humans to be peaceful, to protect both sides from the more antagonistic groups of the other. To that end, I lead a small group of young mutants who I have brought together train in their powers to help defend themselves, other mutants, and normal humans, if necessary, from those who would prey on them. I would like you to join us in our endeavor to ensure that peace between mutant kind and humanity comes about."

Harry smiled wryly. "The idea sounds nice and all, but how exactly do you do this? And how old are your child soldiers?"

That got through to Xavier who started angrily but Harry waved his anger away. "Don't bother, oh bald one, I don't really have a problem with child soldiers, I was one after all." That made all three of the guests look at him in surprise, although Logan merely looked at him, then nodded grimly, and looked away. The kid looked like a soldier and his eyes told the tale better than any words. Harry then briefly described his time in the magical world, and how he had led a counter terrorist team against a supremacist terrorist group.

Xavier smiled, though inside he was worried. This sounded perfect, Harry had experience in precisely the kind of cause they were fighting, but the methods he described, killing his enemies rather than capturing them… "Well then you know precisely what kind of cause the X-Men stand for, and my X-Men range from seventeen to nineteen."

Harry nodded. "Well, that makes them older than I was when I had to make a stand. Still, I don't know if I want to sign up full time with you, even if it does turn out I have a mutant power. I was the leader of my little group, so taking orders is something I'm not certain I ever want to do again. Then too, I have plans I want to follow on my own. I want to continue educating myself on the tech of this world and its history. I'm still looking into why there isn't any uniform magical government in this world and what that could mean in the long run, as well as recent world history."

"All of the X-men go to the local high school, Bayville High, and we could easily enroll you there to continue your education."

"Hell, no!" Harry growled holding his hands up in an X shape. "I had enough of schools at Hogwarts and before. Besides, when I was in school before going to Hogwarts, I always learned too quickly for main stream schooling to be much help anyway."

Charles sighed. His idea to foster friendships between Harry and his children through a shared curriculum wouldn't work, obviously. Ah well, at least he wasn't rejecting Xavier's dream outright. "Very well, you can stay with us in the mansion so long as you can do some work around the place to pay for lodging and food." If he wasn't going to school then Xavier would treat him like an adult.

Harry smirked and shared an amused glance with Reed, who knew about the monstrous amount of gold coins he had in his luggage. But for now he would wait and see if he could trust Xavier enough to tell him about that. Frankly, the bald guy is giving me a little too many Dumbledork vibes for me to be happy about it. Still, we'll see his methods and how his kids act before making any decisions about that. Idealists are fantastic, but not if they sacrifice their own people to those ideals, like 'don't kill the enemy who's trying to kill you'. Sometimes that isn't necessary, but sometimes it is, if he can tell the difference, or has trained his troops to do it, then I might join up in full.

Still for now he replied. "Well I could be a cook. I can cook pretty well, just ask Mr. and Mrs. Richards." Both of them nodded. Harry really was a good cook, and this made Ororo smile. She and Jean were the only ones who could cook in the mansion, although Jean was still learning. Kitty could only make cookies and was uninterested in learning how to do more, while their newest female addition, Rogue couldn't cook at all without nearly burning the house down. And as for her nephew and the other boys they were just hopeless. "I can also teach tactics and strategy. I assume the lovely Ms. Munroe and the hairy one are teachers?"

Ororo's lips twitched at the compliment and she nodded. "Yes, I teach history and languages. Every X-man needs to learn to speak a different language every year they stay with us."

Logan smirked at the boy. Most of his earlier irritation gone with the knowledge the punk had been in a war, which explained his attitude. "Phys-ed and hand to hand combat, green eyes, as well as maintenance on the mansion and the vehicles we use too. And my name's Logan, not hairy one."

Harry smirked at him, already seeing his next target for his pranks, but he would wait until he moved in to start up on that. "Well, when do you want to leave, if I do have a mutant power, I should learn what it is and how to control it as quickly as possible."

Xavier smiled. "Excellent, we have tickets home this evening." Logan and Ororo both groaned internally at the idea of getting back on the damn plane, but Harry nodded and left, with Hedwig on his shoulder, to go pack.

Susan followed him. She and Ben stood in the doorway, watching him pack the clothing she had gotten him into his trunk. "Are you sure about this Harry, I thought you said you didn't want to be a hero."

Harry nodded. "You gentlemen don't need my help here, but these kids of baldy's, they will need help, help to figure out this isn't a game and help surviving. I can teach them that, regardless if I have a mutant power or not." He smirked. "Besides both of those guys are just screaming 'prank me, prank me Harry' to my Marauder senses."

Ben guffawed and Susan rolled her eyes. "Fine, but you need to say goodbye to Wyatt, Johnny, and Franklin before you can leave. And you have to promise to stay in touch." Susan was going to miss the young man. His quirky sense of humor had lightened up the atmosphere considerably, as had his insistence on getting Reed out of his labs, something she was incredibly thankful for.

Harry twitched a little at the mention of Franklin. The little mite had really saved his bacon, albeit accidentally, and the two had become close friends. Saying goodbye was going to be a wrench but Harry felt this was something he just had to do. "Yeah, I'll do it. Oh and don't worry about Mr. Rubber-Band going back to his workaholic ways. The pranks I've placed in his labs won't disappear for months, well not unless… nah, won't jinx it."

Susan nodded and Ben gripped the younger man's shoulder. "I'll miss ya kid, you take the ego out of flame-head so well, ya saved Frankie, and ya gave my girl Alicia that amulet. Ain't no way I'll forget that."

Harry reached up and gripped the rocky man's arm. "Heh, don't worry about me Ben, I'm too tricky to kill. But if you ever need my help, don't hesitate to call, alright?"

Susan nodded and led the way to the baby's room, where Harry tried to explain to Franklin that he was going away. This caused a bit of blubbering but Agatha adroitly drew her charges attention to a few new toys before Franklin could really get going. Harry bussed her cheek in reply and left quickly.

Johnny and Wyatt had come home by that time and the three young men spent a few minutes talking over some beers while Ben and Logan did the same with some harder liqueur. After about an hour, though, Ororo came and got them both. With one last firm handshake with Wyatt and Johnny, and promising to call if he ever came upon a girl named Crystal in his travels, they parted.

Reed waited by the doorway with his old friend. The two of them and Ben had met a few years ago at a convention about the changing global economy and what it meant for world peace. He wasn't exactly happy with how Charles had tried to use his power on Harry, but after the situation with Wanda was explained to him, he understood. He also realized that Harry could do more good with the X-men than he could here with them. And if they ever needed his help, well, that was one of the things Reed was standing there to give him. "Harry, we'll all miss you but I think this is something you need to do. Yet before you go, I have a few going away presents for you."

He handed the young man a small laptop of his own design in a travel case, which included several things that wouldn't be out on the market to the general public for several months yet. Though, as he had helped with the programming, Tony Stark already had some of them. "First a laptop, I think you'll find it up to anything you want to do with a computer for a long time." Then he passed a strange looking card over to him. "And this is an emergency communication card. If we ever need your help, the corners of this will start glowing red, and the whole thing will start vibrating." Harry opened his mouth, looked at Ms. Munroe, and then shut it. Reed rolled his eyes. Thank goodness for small mercies. "If you ever need help, press the little sphere in the center and our own cards will react similarly."

Harry nodded and gripped the older man's hand firmly. "Thanks for everything, Mr. Richards. I'll keep in touch, don't worry, and I hope if you ever need my help you won't hesitate to call." Reed nodded, while Xavier, who still had only the vaguest idea of what Harry was capable of, raised an eyebrow in surprise.

With that the quartet was off. Logan looked at Hedwig, who was perched easily on Harry's shoulder. "You got a cage for your bird Harry?"

Hedwig hissed angrily, hunching forward, intent on launching herself at the hairy man and gauging his eyeballs out for that suggestion, but her Harry's fingers stilled her, gently stroking her plumage. "Sorry Logan, I don't ever put Hedwig into a cage if I've got a choice. I'll just let my lovely girl find her own way to wherever the hell we're going?" He ended the sentence as a question, eyebrow cocked inquiringly.

Xavier shrugged, wondering how intelligent the bird really was, and if it too had some magic powers to let it fly across the entire country. "We're going to upstate New York, near Bayville, if that means anything."

"It doesn't," Harry said happily, "but I'm certain Hedwig will find me there easily enough." Hedwig precked affirmatively and launched herself from his shoulder as they exited the Baxter Building. "Well that's that, shall we go?" Logan shrugged and led the way to their car.

OOOOOOO

The Fantastic Four was the world's first super hero team and were widely acclaimed as heroes throughout the world, but that didn't mean everyone in the American government or the United Nations trusted them. The fact was, they had powers and abilities that made them dangerous and as such they were under observation. The organization that was doing the observing had been created to deal with super-powered, extra dimensional, and extra solar dangers. While they were barely up and running yet, they had some of the best spies in the world already working for them. One of whom, Natasha Romanova, had been assigned to keep tabs on the Fantastic Four. She kept an alias in San Francisco of an upscale party girl living off her parent's money, just the kind of girl that could party with Johnny Storm and not raise any suspicions. As such, she was well aware of Harry Potter, but hadn't discovered anything unusual about him, except for his lack of interest in her and other party girls, his emerald green eyes, and that she had no clue where he came from or why he was so friendly so quickly with Johnny and the rest of the FF.

Now, however, she saw him leave the Baxter Building with two people she had read about and one she knew personally. Logan had been many things in his time; soldier and spy were among them. They had crossed paths more than once, before and after she defected from Russia. Xavier too was known as a psychologist who specialized in trying to diagnose and treat mental problems in super powered individuals. And Ororo Munroe, with her monstrously powerful mutant ability to control the weather, was known to SHIELD as well. So it stands to reason that Emerald Eyes is a mutant too. I wonder what his power is. Better radio this in. If they're going to that school of Xavier's, we'll need an operative in place to watch Mr. Potter, just in case.

However, the Russian native wasn't the only one watching them.

OOOOOOO

Mystique hated two things in her life. One was the fact she had her son stolen from her because of her association with her cause, that of mutant survival and supremacy. The second was failure, and in this mission she had failed to get close to the new mutant, failed to figure out what his power was, and she was now looking at a woman who reminded her of an earlier failure. She routinely took the form of a crow or pigeon on spy missions like this and she was perched on a rooftop two buildings away from where the target of her ire was standing in a window watching the entrance to the Baxter Building. She and Natasha had crossed paths before, when Mystique was trying to find where the mutant Omega Red was kept in suspended animation. Natasha had foiled her attempts though thankfully had never realized that Mystique was a mutant, but the loss to a normal homo sapien stuck in her craw.

More, her inability to figure out what this Harry Potter's power was irritated her. He never seemed to do anything odd outside the Baxter building (which was one of the few places in the world where her abilities could not gain her access, the security was programmed to recognize mutants) except maybe his ability to sober Johnny Storm up enough to get him home. There had also been one time where he seemed immune to the fire users power, but that could have been her imagination as it only lasted a second before Johnny powered down. And of course, there was his pet owl, who frankly was beyond bizarre, she was far too intelligent and quick to be a normal bird. The young man too, had insane reflexes and the eyes of a soldier; someone who had killed and been in life and death situations, but that was all she had been able to find out. It seems as if I'll have to let Charles do the leg work on this one. She briefly thought of doing something permanent to the Russian bitch, but after a moment decided not to. Instead she took to the sky and was nearly plucked out of the air by Hedwig, who flew right before her beak, her talons slashing at her.

Mystique cawed loudly in shock, banking away and into an alleyway below them. Hedwig circled for a moment then flew up into the air disappearing against the backdrop of the sun. Mystique changed forms first to her natural form and then to a nondescript businessman but stayed put watching the sky warily. Yes that bird is definitely strange, and very dangerous. That would have been embarrassing as hell, losing an eye to a bird! After a moment, she calmed down and made her way out of the alley to hail a passing taxi.

OOOOOOO

High above her, well out of a normal human's range of vision Hedwig circled lazily watching the strange shapeshifter below her. She hadn't really been aiming to kill the crow of course; crows did not make good eating and she had learned to never eat any bird that lived in a city; they were flying cesspits of disease. But she had noticed its odd behavior and wanted to see what would happen, though watching the creature transform into a blue two-leg was very odd. After the two leg got into one of those yellow moving things, she swooped away. Her Harry would want to know about this.

If you want to help me financially, you can do it on https://www.patreon.com/NeverluckySMILE