They made 'camp', such as it was, in a subway tunnel. Neville, Ron, and Ginny had entered the vortex with several weeks of rations and supplies, fully prepared for a thorough search of the ministry, Diagon Alley, and Gringotts. It would have been a miserable experience. No matter how powerful a cushioning charm you placed on a bedroll, you were still sleeping in a bedroll in the middle of a hellscape. For better or worse, the latter two targets had been frozen in the midst of the explosion's shockwave, rendering them nigh unreachable. None of them wanted to sleep here of all places, but after a day of walking and climbing, Neville Ron and Ginny needed it.
Peggy stared down the gloomy tunnel, her eyes distant. Explaining their situation had been difficult enough when it came to Harry and his friends, but at least they all had some context. Harry knew well just how hard waking up in another time had been for Steve, and the world Steve had found was much kinder than the one that was waiting for them. Still, Carter bore it all with a steely determination. He admired her fortitude, but he knew that it must be taking a toll on her.
"You should get some rest, Harry." She said.
Harry shrugged. He had no way of figuring the last time he'd slept. He thought back, waking up here… the fight with Voldemort and Hela… meeting Death… sacrificing himself at Vormir… saying his farewells to the other Avengers as they all set out to retrieve the Infinity Stones… he remembered dozing in bed, sandwiched between Nat and Carol. His and Nat's relationship, spanning the better part of a decade, was so familiar to him that waking up with her felt natural. And while he and Carol had never cemented their relationship, there was something there, and it was so easy to take comfort in each other's physical presence.
Were they okay? Were they even alive? Had they been wiped from existence entirely? He couldn't know, and that last pleasant morning felt like a lifetime ago. "I can't, my mind's too busy." He settled on. There was just too much for him to process, he didn't even want to stop, he wanted to keep going until he could piece everything together and find a way to fix it.
He already had the beginnings of a plan for that. 'Reuniting the Infinity Stones' was far easier said than done, but it was good to have a goal, even if he knew he'd be improvising most of it.
Harry sat beside her, joining her in staring ahead. After a few minutes of silence, she said "Can you tell me about him?" Though Peggy, and not Steve, had been the one to receive the serum in this world, she had still known him and befriended him- if not more.
Harry smiled bittersweetly as he cast his mind back. What could he say about Steve Rogers? "He was brave. I mean, you knew that." He chuckled "He was stronger and more adaptable than he'd ever admit. He always picked himself up, even after waking up in another time and losing all his friends."
"That sounds like him." She said, a curling fondness in her voice.
"He was… lonely."
"Oh." Peggy breathed sadly, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"He always kept a picture of you, inside a compass." Harry continued "He never dated, even though he had women- and some men- throwing themselves at him. As long as I knew him, he was about the mission, about helping people, but he never thought about himself. But… at least he found Bucky eventually."
"He did? What, did he travel through time as well?" It was a reasonable guess, given… everything.
"No, it was bloody Hydra. They brainwashed him and kept him on ice." Harry shook his head "We had a hell of a time freeing him of the conditioning. Shuri- err, a brilliant scientist- managed it."
"You know, for every detail you mention, the crazier all of it sounds." Peggy shook her head. "I would have called you insane if it weren't for the fact that London is frozen around us."
"I can imagine."
"Just yesterday, all I had to worry about was fighting Hydra." She said "Then, the world turns upside down."
"The bombs?"
"The wizards." She shook her head "They launched a coup, against His Majesties Government, and every other nation in the world." She looked at him curiously "You didn't know this?"
"I'm just as new here as you are." Harry said. Neville had mentioned that the statute of secrecy had been broken, but he hadn't realized he meant this. Dumbledore and Grindelwald had actually done it, they'd tried to take over the muggle world, and it had backfired on them spectacularly.
"Then, the bombs dropped. And now I'm here." She shrugged helplessly.
What could he say? Harry hesitantly put a hand on her shoulder "I'm sorry." The quieter, almost to himself. "We're going to fix this."
-----
Hydra saw them coming, despite their best efforts. They took care to take a different path out than they had come in and had disillusioned themselves. Disillusionment charms, however, only colored and textured the user identically to the environment. It wasn't true invisibility, and so Hydra would be able to spot them with infrared.
They had talked strategy for their inevitable confrontation, with Ron suggesting an aggressive strategy of cutting through the Hydra forces 'like a knife through butter'. "Shouldn't we just apparate out?" Harry had asked the group at large as their surroundings transitioned from burning rubble to inert rubble.
"We need to be clear of the vortex. And if Hydra is waiting for us, they'll probably have set up anti-apparation wards." Ron answered.
"They have anti-apparation wards?"
"Asgardian magic." Neville shrugged "Go figure." And Harry did. Runes probably, but engraved in what? Vibranium was an option, but Asgardians normally used Uru, the metal that Mjolnir, Stormbreaker, and the Infinity Gauntlet were crafted from. It was incredibly durable, but its most potent property was its ability to channel magic. It was a go to for Asgardian magical defenses, and for their most deadly weapons. Mjolnir had been an incredibly powerful focus for Harry's magic, far better than even the Elder Wand when used for its preferred element- lightning. From what Thor had explained, the Asgardians had an entire star system dedicated to its production. He had no idea what the situation up there was like- if Hela was restricted to Earth or if she'd taken over Asgard itself. He didn't know a lot of things.
At first, it seemed to go well, and once they were a respectable distance from the vortex, Neville tried to apparate. If he could make it, they would follow him to a safehouse- Ginny side-alonging Harry and Ron taking Peggy. It was not to be, as Neville merely flickered in place. "Shite." He muttered "We're going to have to fight our way out."
It was then that the trap sprung. Multiple groups of men teleported in with flashes of blue light. Harry didn't need to think, he was running on pure instinct and adrenaline. He lunged towards the group of a dozen that had dropped in directly in front of them, using a burst of magic to push himself off with sudden speed.
They were not prepared for such a sudden move, nor for the blasting curse that he flung into their midst, but they were clearly experienced and hadn't been caught completely flatfooted. Most were able to dive out of the radius of the blast, and some fired haphazardly at Harry as he closed on them. Harry was able to dodge and deflect the incoming fire, leaping over a final desperate shot from one of the men and landing on the patch of ground his blasting curse had cleared. Coming out of his roll, he threw out a pair of stunners that downed their targets.
Hydra weapons were deadly at range but tended to be unwieldy and dangerous to use up close. Any of his opponents' attacks could easily hit one of their own, instantly killing them. Of course, they could hit Harry as well, but he was prepared. The soldiers were off balance still, and Harry was going to take full advantage. Though he was confident that his shields could deflect their attacks, it was key in these situations to be aggressive. He needed to keep moving, relying on evasion and offensive power rather than letting his opponents take the initiative.
He sidestepped another hastily shot beam, rushing the shooter and stunning him point blank. He'd had two comrades at his side, and one lunged at Harry with a knife. Harry blocked him with his arm, summoned the knife, kicked out his leg, and leveraged the man into an incoming beam, all while stunning the other nearby soldier with his off hand. A Hydra officer correctly gauged that shooting was getting them nowhere and activated a grenade. Harry severed his wrist before it even left the man's hand. The grenade landed at his feet, and he had just enough time to register his shock before it killed him and four nearby soldiers gruesomely. Harry's companions had explained to him what sort of weapons Hydra used, but it was different, seeing these 'compression grenades' in action.
Peggy had charged in right behind him. He could see a lot of Steve's fighting style in her, and he remembered that she'd had a hand in training him. It made it easy for him to adjust to working with her, and the two quickly mopped up the latecomers that trickled into range. Harry looked back at his companions- they had followed him as well, putting up a careful rearguard defense. Hydra's numbers were overwhelming, and his friends were unable to mount an aggressive attack without having their heads blown off. This was fine. They didn't need to take out every Hydra soldier, they just needed to get out alive. This was Ron's 'a knife through butter' strategy in action- cut quickly and effectively through whoever got in their way and avoid everything that didn't.
"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Neville asked.
From Nat. She'd gone through great pains to drill combat strategy into his head after a close call in Mexico City. She'd taught him situational awareness, tactics, physical combat, all things that none of his Defense Against the Dark Arts professors had even hinted at. Those lessons had never stopped being useful. "It's quite a story." He said, instead of answering. "On the signal, make a run for it." Before they could ask what the signal was, he stretched his hands out and cast a pair of overpowered lumos charms to their flanks. The burst of light dazzled the Hydra soldiers, and the brief lull in their attacks allowed them to pull away unmolested.
They'd only been running for perhaps a minute when Neville grabbed Harry's shoulder. "We have company ahead. It's the Order." He said. "We must be close to the edge of the wards."
"Good." Ginny said decisively "They'll fight each other, and we'll sneak out."
"Sounds like a plan." Harry agreed. Applying disillusionment charms, they slipped behind cover and crept forwards. Around them, fighting erupted with colored lights, explosions, shouts and screams. Drones hovered overhead, firing from distance to avoid spellfire. Occasionally, one would veer downward sharply- probably summoned by a wizard- and then be taken out by a spell. It was pure chaos, but it worked to their advantage, as it seemed everyone was too preoccupied with fighting each other to worry about them. From what Harry could see, though, the Order had the decisive advantage. While Hydra had firepower, magic was just too versatile. Once wizards appeared in force, Hydra was outmatched.
Harry felt a frantic tapping on his shoulder. "Finite." Their camouflage melted away, revealing that the warning had come- too late- from Neville. "Thought I saw something." The voice crowed. He sounded so familiar, Harry could almost place him…
"Good job Wood." Another wizard said, his eyes lighting in recognition as he took a look at them. "Well! Looks like we caught some deserters." He sneered. "Thought you three had died."
Oliver Wood and Marcus Flint. Harry had known them as bitter quidditch rivals and seeing them working together felt unholy. Harry remembered Fred and George cracking jokes during practice until even Oliver was forced to laugh. He remembered him launching golf balls to help Harry train in his first year. He remembered the older boy hugging each of his teammates after they'd won the cup in Harry's third year. He could only just see that boy in the man before him. His features were scarred and hardened, and all of the Order men were all dressed in uniform sleek grey that seemed to minimize their individuality. The only notable detail on their clothing was an armband that showed the symbol of the Deathly Hallows- Grindelwald's symbol, and perhaps now Dumbledore's too.
With the pair were four other wizards, who had fanned out to hem them in "Now, you can go with us quietly or-" As one, Harry, Ron, Neville and Ginny struck. One of the wizards crumpled to the ground, but Oliver and Flint both remained standing. Peggy was slightly out of synch, firing with an acquired Hydra pistol after a few seconds of delay.
"Crucio!" Flint spat. Ron leapt out of the curses' path but landed awkwardly. Harry stepped in front of him while he recovered, batting away a series of stunners. When those spells were followed by a killing curse he intercepted it with a levitated rock. He formed a shield to deflect the shrapnel back at the caster, who went down clutching his arm. Ron surged back to his feet, but neither would get the chance to go on the attack.
A streak of golden light arced down from the sky, landing in the center of their brawl- hard enough to indent the concrete and send cracks outward. The figure was wreathed in golden energy that coursed and pulsed around her body in shimmering streams and currents.
"Fuck!" Flint cursed.
"Fuck!" Ginny echoed vociferously.
Harry was dumbstruck. He'd wanted to find his friends, but he'd never wanted to find them like this. She was wearing a black suit with the red of Hydra's insignia on her chest instead of her usual red, blue, and gold, but it was undeniably her. "Carol?" He breathed.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" An Order wizard screeched, undone by panic. It wouldn't work, Harry knew that Carol was too fast to be hit by traditional spells. Hell, most basic spells would glance off of her, and she surely knew to avoid unforgivables. She leapt into the air, almost too fast to see, easily maneuvering past the volley of spells sent her way. There was a sound like a thunderclap as she unleashed a plasma bolt. The man who'd cast the curse at her ceased to be. Neville was her next target, but Peggy stepped in that path of the bolt. Her shield held, but she was sent flying back. Harry cast a cushioning charm to soften her impact.
None of them could take her on. Hell, if he was going to fight her, he'd need one hell of a magical focus. Mjolnir or the Elder Wand was clearly too much to ask for, but he'd take any wand at this point. "GET OUT OF HERE!" Oliver shouted, waving his men back. Harry had his target.
Oliver didn't see him coming, logically thinking that everyone would be concerned with the far greater threat. In rapid succession he stunned him and disarmed him. With wand in hand, Harry could tell that it wasn't a great fit. It would probably slow him down when spellcasting speed was required, but it would still help him with power. After a moment's hesitation, he disillusioned Oliver's body. It was foolishly sentimental, but Harry didn't want to be responsible for his death.
"Run!" Neville shouted, and they all made a break for it. The Order's propensity for unforgivables seemed to make them higher priority on Carol's radar. Each searing crackle heralded another death as she eliminated them with merciless efficiency.
Ahead, Harry spotted a wizard disapparating. In moments, the Order had gone from confident advance to full retreat. They put on a burst of speed to cross the threshold, but they were intercepted at the last moment, as Carol landed in front of them.
"You two go, we'll distract her." Neville hissed, gesturing to Harry and Ginny, who gripped Harry's arm, intent on dragging him away. He resisted her pull and her pleading gaze. Like hell, Harry thought.
"That name." Carol asked unexpectedly "Why did you say it?"
"It's your name." Harry said, a flicker of hope igniting in his chest. He had no doubt that she was a victim of Hydra's conditioning, and Steve had gotten through to Bucky, hadn't he? "Carol. Carol Danvers."
Carol shook her head "No. You're wrong. I am Binary." She lifted up her first, it glowed golden.
"Go!" Neville shouted. Harry reached for his friend's chest, grabbing the time turner and banishing it at Carol's feet. Her instincts were sharp, and she veered back. The time turner broke on impact, and just as in the Department of Mysteries battle, the result was… chaotic. A car, a crudely built section of wall, and several trees appeared at the site of impact and exploded violently. Carol was thrown back, and the group dashed out of the wards. Ginny looped her arm through his and whisked him away.
-----
They touched down at the safe-house, and Ginny breathed deeply, calming the pounding of her heart.
"That was close." She said. Binary was a legend, the kind that she'd first hear in frightened whispers in the halls of Hogwarts. The rumors somehow failed to live up to seeing one of Hydra's most terrifying creations in action. She had been fast and powerful, burning through wizards like straw. When she'd confronted them at the ward line, Ginny saw that her eyes were locked on Harry, and her heart had frozen. She was nearly taken by the impulse to place herself between them, even though all that would do was get them both killed.
"Yeah, it was." Harry agreed, wrapping an arm around her waist. It was only then that she realized that she'd been leaning into him. After a moment of indecision, she relaxed back into him. It just felt so… right. "So what is this place?"
"Safehouse." Neville said. "We'll stay here for a day to make sure no one's tracking us." It was one of several safehouses that they used as a checkpoint after missions. The nature of their work required absolute secrecy. If anyone knew who they worked for or what they were doing, it'd be the end of them all. They didn't have the resources or the people to take on Hydra or the Order head on. The Professor's plan was to work in the shadows, to gather strength slowly while their enemies weakened themselves on each other. The fact that Flint and Wood had identified them would have seriously undermined that plan, if it were not nearly certain that Binary had killed them.
"It seems… nice." Harry said.
"It is." Ginny agreed. It was nothing more than a quaint cottage in the forest, far away from war zones or people. That simplicity is what appealed to her- the war and everything that came with it never felt more distant than it did here.
"So, what happens tomorrow?" Peggy asked. "And who do you work for, exactly?"
"Good question." Harry seconded.
Ginny, Neville, and Ron shared awkward looks. "Here's the thing about that…"
-----
"What do you mean you can't tell us?" Harry asked, a hint of challenge in his voice as he took a step back. He instantly missed the contact with Ginny, but there would be time later to sort things out between them.
"We literally can't." Ginny said, pouting slightly. It was adorable. "It's protected by a fidelius charm."
"A what?" Peggy asked.
Harry frowned thoughtfully "It's a charm used to protect a location. Only people told the address by one person- the secret keeper- can access the protected place. But it's only supposed to work on places. Not names."
"_________ modified it." Neville said. Ah, that was the charm at work, obscuring identifying information. "It doesn't protect his name, per se, but his involvement with the Organization."
"But why this level of secrecy. What happens if someone finds out this guy's name?" Harry asked. Whoever this person was, he was powerful. He'd modified both a time turner and a fidelius charm, and that was something Harry reckoned was on Dumbledore's caliber. Harry was drawing a blank on who he could be, but it wasn't necessary that he'd even recognize him.
"Its hard to explain, without invoking the fidelius." Neville smiled sheepishly "But lets just say that the fact that _________ doesn't need to hide in the shadows like we do has its advantages."
"Okay, so what can you tell us?" Peggy asked practically.
Neville shrugged "Honestly, a lot, we could be here all day."
"We will be here all day, mate." Ron said.
Neville rolled his enchanted eye "So what would you like to know about… anything really- us, the world, magic the Organization. If we can, we'll answer."
"The Organization?" Harry queried dryly.
"It's a shite name." Ginny admitted "But the blandness is the point, we're trying to be under the radar."
"She had about a dozen suggestions." Ron snickered "But _________ shot them all down, hard."
Harry chuckled, remembering Ginny's unfortunate naming of Ron's owl 'Pig', and her rather brilliant naming of 'Dumbledore's Army'. He was sure whatever she came up with was creative, if nothing else.
"Okay, then." Harry said "I have a question." It was one that weighed heavily on his mind, but he didn't see a reason why they wouldn't be able to answer it, if they knew.
"Shoot."
"Do you know Hermione Granger, or Luna Lovegood?" They were the notable absences from their little group. Harry had hoped that they were involved, maybe on a different mission or working on some project. Those hopes were dashed as the three exchanged pained looks. Harry's heart dropped. "Just tell me. Are they dead?" Maybe if he ripped the band-aid off fast, it wouldn't be so devastating.
Who was he kidding? He was waiting on pins and needles for an answer, with every moment of silence from them dragging out longer than the last.
"Harry." Ginny finally said, her voice thick. There was a well-worn grief in her eyes. "We don't know."