"Sometimes I forget how much I've changed." Carol said.
Harry stirred from the post orgasm fog, tilting his head towards Carol, who was still nestled against him. "Huh?"
"When I run into people who know me from before, they're always surprised. I used to be… a cocky asshole. It used to bite me in the ass a lot."
"You're saying I keep you humble?" He teased. That was certainly true if their lovemaking was anything to go by. It always ended with him making her whimper and beg for it. Being made to submit had became a staple of Carol's sex life.
"You helped me become a better person." She said instead. "Thank you."
Harry kissed her forehead, relaxed and happy. "I love you."
Her lips met his and desire sparked again. His time was a valuable resource, and his lovers were quick to use it to its fullest. "I think you need to put me in my place again." Carol said coyly.
"Is that so?" Harry grinned. "Well-"
A noise crackled from the speaker, and they both paused. "Sorry." He grinned sheepishly. "Duty calls." Carol sighed, but didn't fight him as he rose and materialized robes around his body. With a thought, he summoned his staff- reforged at Thor's behest in Nidavellir- and flamed over to the nursery.
There, little Lily Potter lay in her cradle, fussing after her nap. Harry's heart melted at the sight, and he didn't hesitate to scoop her up. "Oh, sweetie, are you hungry?" He cooed, rocking her as she continued to fuss. "Mummy left you some milk in the fridge."
He loved being a father, more than anything. To the point where he'd taken a break from his 'career' with the Avengers. Lily would only be the first- T'Chone was due in a few months. Shuri was tinkering in her lab at the moment, deep in her latest project- recreating her vibranium nano-bots. Wanda was also set on children. They would have their hands full in no time.
Harry made his way to the kitchen, summoning a bottle from the fridge and warming it with a charm. Lily was still fussing, but quieted when the bottle was pressed to her lips. Harry smiled contentedly as she sucked the milk down.
"You're so good with her." Harry turned at Ginny's voice. There was a gleam in her eyes that told him that one day she'd want children too. Harry could see a very large family in his future, even bigger than the one that he'd seen in the Mirror of Erised all of those years ago. It was just as well that they had many hands willing to help.
"He is." Carol agreed, gliding into the room. There wasn't a hint in her voice that they'd been interrupted.
"Hey Gin." Harry said. "You're home early." She was training with the Hollyhead Harpies, and they usually kept her until sundown these days. It wouldn't be forever, but for the moment it meant he was seeing less of her than he'd like.
They kissed quickly. "The press interrupted us." She said. "Skeeter." Harry made a face. "So, Gwenog ended the practice early. Can't have anyone learning our plays. How's the little one doing?"
"She's been a little fussy today." Harry said. "Haven't you, sweetie?" He cooed, smiling down at Lily. "Maybe she misses her mummy."
It was the nature of hero work that you could never really get away from it. Natasha, despite being on maternity leave, had been called away on SHIELD business. She and Skye were working to purge SHIELD of Hydra, hopefully heading off the coup they knew was in the works. Harry knew that sooner or later he'd be called into action too. There were far too many threats out there for him to be complacent- Thanos, Hela, Demogorge, Dormamu, and countless others both known and unknown. Still, he would take all the peace that fate gave him. For now, he was happy living the quiet life... as quiet a life Harry Potter could ever have, at any rate.
One thing he did not miss about the wizarding world was the fame. It was different from the fame he had from being an Avenger, tied as it was to the grief and loss and neglect of his childhood. He found that he couldn't integrate fully back into the wizarding world, and he didn't want to. The wizarding world was an insulated little bubble, and there was so much more to see and experience. He intended to show Lily, T'Chone, and his other future children all of it. They would go to Hogwarts, of course, but he didn't want that to be their whole world. If they wanted, they'd learn from the Sorcerers, intern under Stark or in Wakanda, visit Asgard with Thor and travel the stars with Carol. Their children would have every option that Harry had to fight for, they would make sure of it.
"How's that going, anyway?" Ginny asked. "You think they'll need to call you in?"
"Probably not." Harry said. If there was any trouble, Wanda would let him know. "Hydra doesn't know what's hitting them." That was literally true, they had the information advantage over Hydra, for once.
"Good." Ginny smiled. "You deserve the break."
Lily finished up her bottle. Harry set it aside and held her up in his arms, she giggled and reached for his face, and he couldn't help but beam at her in adoration. He already knew the clever and kind person she'd grow up into, but he'd missed out on this- on seeing her grow up, on being there for her. He vowed that this time, he'd be there every step of the way.
-----
The city burned, and Thanos smiled. The planet's defenses had been nothing, all that was left was the halving of the population, a procedure that he'd systematized down to a science. At this very moment processing camps were being set up, where it would be randomly and fairly determined who would live and who would die. It was satisfying to see his army work like a well-oiled machine, a perfect instrument of his will. Though he still hungered for more, he had far greater plans, though-
Gold streaked through the sky like a meteor, plunging through one of his capital ships. The golden streak emerged from the other side, trailing fire as the ship began to list. Then it claimed the next ship and the next, impervious to both their weapons and shields.
"It's a shame." A voice said from behind him. Thanos turned and was confronted with a man he was familiar with. He knew of Earth, and its 'heroes'. The planet held several Infinity Stones, and he had agents on the world. He knew who Harry Potter was.
But he hadn't realized that Harry Potter knew of him.
"What?" Thanos asked, hoisting his blade cautiously.
"We were late." He said. Potter's stance was guarded, but he didn't display fear. His confidence unnerved him. Perhaps it was his fleet dying around him, but Thanos got the sense that he did not hold all the cards. "I'd hoped to end this before you reached the planet."
"Hm." Thanos grunted, sizing his opponent up. Light erupted around them, and Thanos reeled back just in time to dodge the swing of an axe. He sent a blind punch, impacting flesh and sending Thor flying back. He wheeled back on Potter, slashing his blade at him, but he danced out of range. Thanos tried to pursue, but found his feet rooted to the ground. He looked down, and with horror he realized what Potter had done. His feet had turned to stone, and the magic was rolling up his legs.
"No." He gasped. Trying to think of some way to fight this, but there was nothing. It couldn't end like this! He had so much left to do, so many plans, a destiny to fulfill! He was meant to restore balance to the universe, it couldn't end like this! His torso and chest were next- he could no longer breathe. The magic began creeping down his arms- he could no longer move them.
He was doomed.
With that final realization, his awareness was snuffed out. His death was painless and quick. All that was left of him was a statue, a bitter monument on this devastated planet.
"Well, that was easy." Thor remarked breezily. Harry snorted. Thor did not have memories of their last fight with him, and so didn't share in the wave of relief that was crashing over Harry.
Carol landed in front of the statue, and it exploded with a burst of plasma. She scowled down at the remains. Sending another burst at its disembodied head to vaporize it. "I'm not taking any chances." She said. Harry chuckled, wrapping his arms around her.
"Come on, lets save the planet."
-----
Sometimes Harry wished he could be in two places at once. It was hard to be there for everyone like he wanted, to be a good partner to all of his lovers, a good father to all of his children, and still contribute to the world as an Avenger.
He sometimes wished he still had the Time Stone, or a time turner at least, but he knew down that path lay madness. He'd come to accept the tradeoffs, and usually it was his sex life that had to be sacrificed.
Wanda had other ideas.
"The… Dreamweaver spell?" Harry asked, something in him thrilled at the eagerness in her eyes. The twins had been twin terrors to rival Fred and George. On top of that Lily and T'Chone had become thick as thieves just like they had before. Harry had a new respect for Molly and Arthur's parenting abilities. Harry also didn't have the privilege of ignoring the outside world, even if he wanted to. Wanda's father had stepped into the center of events, as the leader of a mutant insurgency. The prejudice against mutants brought a whole new dimension of conflict and politics that they hadn't had in the previous timeline, and it was creating tensions Harry hadn't expected. Then there was Latveria, and their new king…
No, taking out Thanos and Voldemort didn't magically make the world a perfect place. "See, this is exactly why we need this." Wanda scolded. "In dreams, we don't have to worry about the world."
"I guess you're right." Harry allowed. "So you figured out how to control dreams. We're going to use it to have sex, I assume?" He said cheekily.
"I'm in." Luna chimed. "I'm sure Rogue would appreciate it." Luna slid into bed beside Rogue, who had been silently cuddling against Harry, a blissful expression on her face. "And oh! We could roleplay!" She was on a roll now. "I've always had this fantasy of you giving me private defense lessons after the DA, and you seducing me."
"Frankly I'll just be happy to get laid every night." Ginny said, coming in from the bathroom.
"Do I mean nothing to you?" Luna pouted and Ginny rolled her eyes.
One by one, Harry was joined by his other lovers in a display that he had to believe Wanda orchestrated. "I'm with Ginny." Skye said. "The rotation system works, but it kinda ruins the spontaneity."
"And its not nearly enough sex for you." Wanda inserted.
"I wasn't going to put it like that." Skye pouted. "Its not Harry's fault. He's only one man."
"And we all respect his dedication to the kids." Wanda added. "And we all have duties and jobs. Which is why we should do this."
"You're all going to run me ragged." Harry realized, to giggles.
"Only in your dreams." Wanda chimed.
-----
Septimius knew he wasn't normal. There was a tendency for odd things to happen around him, especially when he was upset. It had become a classic pattern- his foster parents would at first laugh off the odd incidents, but as they continued to happen they'd become unnerved, and then suspicious. Finally, he'd go back to social services and be consigned to a new foster family. The constant movement meant that he had no friends, and he had no family that he knew of.
His current foster home was still at the first stage, he was trying not to get attached, to remain safely aloof. The more emotionally invested he got… the more things went wrong. Books would fly into his hands, and bullies would be launched away from him. One time he'd dropped a plate, and he cringed so hard at his clumsiness that at first, he didn't realize that it was floating in the air, inches above the floor.
He didn't know why he was like this, he dared not ask anyone. But he wondered. He wondered if it was why he'd never known his parents, maybe they'd known he was abnormal, and decided he was more trouble than he was worth.
The doorbell rang. He let Tom and Erica- his foster parents- get it. He wasn't likely to know anyone who visited the house anyway, unless it was a social worker. "Hey, my name is Jean Grey." A woman with an American accent said to them. "I'm here on behalf of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, is Septimius at home?"
Septimius watched in a daze as the redheaded woman was invited in, bearing an official looking letter with the name of the school on the front. She handed it to him. "I'm not good at school." He said.
She scrutinized him for a moment. "You've been moving around all your life; you've never had the opportunity to be good at school." She declared.
"Tea?" Erica asked. Jean Grey nodded, thanking her as Erica poured her a cup.
"So, what's this school about?" Tom asked, adjusting his glasses. "Is this for foster kids?"
"Not quite." Jean said, the cup of tea flew into her hands, miraculously not spilling a drop of the drink. Septimius' eyes went wide.
"Oh my god." He breathed. "You're like me."
He'd thought he was on his own, a lone freak with no family. But there were people out there like him, a whole school for people like him. Not freaks, but 'gifted'.
You're not alone. Jean's voice said in his head, making him jump. And you do have family out there, they're quite excited to meet you.
-----
Harry watched the Hogwarts express chug away, his first time being the one seeing it off rather than aboard. "So, what do you think?" Natasha asked.
Their kids had walked off, arguing about which houses they'd get sorted into. "Lily's a Slytherin for sure." Harry said. "That house won't know what hit it. And I'd bet that T'Chone will be a Gryffindor again."
"No, I mean, do you think they'll like Hogwarts?"
"They'll be wowed at first, but…" Harry said. It was impossible not to be impressed by Hogwarts- the view across the lake, the great hall and the enchanted ceiling, the talking portraits and moving stairs. Perhaps he was biased, with so many childhood memories wrapped up in the school. At the same time, he knew his kids.
"It'll be too stuffy for them." Shuri said.
"Agreed." Natasha instantly seconded. "We'll get letters about how boring it is, how easy all the magic is, how everyone is so close-minded."
"Yeah…" Harry sighed. "We'll have to work something out with Minerva. They're both so talented."
"Strange is always an option." Natasha nodded. "Hell, Thor would probably take them for a summer." The God of Thunder had been charmed by T'Chone's 'warrior spirit'.
Harry agreed. Still, he felt he owed it to them to let them experience Hogwarts. They'd been so enamored with the idea of the school, even though the world that had happened in no longer existed, those memories still tugged at him.
His phone buzzed, pulling him from his thoughts. It was a text from Ginny. "Looks like Piper's gotten into Fred and George's pastries."
"That kid. I swear she's worse than the twins." Shuri groaned. Billy and Tommy were menaces, but little Piper Potter had an insatiable curiosity, which in toddlerhood meant that she got into everything.
His life was chaotic, and a mess at times, but he wouldn't have it any other way. Harry chuckled. "Let's go."
The End