Standard Disclaimer: I own nothing in regards to Harry Potter or Marvel. All properties therein are those of their creators. I am only a writer working on my skills with worlds and characters that I love.

Note: Now that I've finished The True Way of the Sith, I thought it was time to finally come back to this work. I was stuck between two branching paths for the longest time but I finally decided on which one to work with.

Note: Also publishing the first chapter of a new Harry Potter / Wednesday crossover too. I hope you enjoy it.

Note: Bit of a short chapter this time, but I'll be hitting the first task in the next one.

Part Ten - Wand Weighing Ceremony

It had been a couple months since Harry had taken on his interview about the exploits to Mars, and since then he had been dealing with the international aspects of his kingdom. Britain's sanctions had finally been lifted last week after his sources had confirmed that their army had fully occupied the magical districts of their country and enforced changes in their society. From what he understood, over two hundred dark wizards had been captured with the dark mark and/or evidence of muggle hunting. What was more, Azkaban prison had been emptied in preference for a more secure muggle location and all of the dementors had been locked inside, presumably to starve without the negative emotions of the inmates to keep them sustained. It seemed Queen Elizabeth and her parliament were taking a firm stance with their people, and genuinely trying to make amends in whatever way they could. It did him proud to see them owning up to their mistakes.

As he signed another approval for orbital practice drills with Yuriko standing vigil in her usual place behind him against the wall, one of his magical doors lit up in a rainbow colored outline and in walked Shuri…. with several bags being dragged on a floating cart behind her.

"Ah, Shuri, it's great to see you, but what is with all the baggage?"

"Oh?" The regal girl gave him a private smile, "I'm moving in of course."

"What!"

"My mother and I talked about it, and we both think it is time I get familiar with both your household and your life. Furthermore, I really can't allow myself to fall behind the other girls in your harem, Harry. They already all have a head start with years of friendship on me. They all have rooms here right? So they can stay when they want?"

"Well, yes-"

"Perfect, then I will pick one for myself. Preferably one close to yours. Yuriko, is there one such room available?"

The Japanese woman smirked at her adopted brother's clear shock at the turn of this situation. "Yes, I believe there is an open bedroom right next to Jean's."

"Then I will choose that one. Wait for me please." She took off with her baggage, no doubt to find someone to pass it off to, and Harry groaned, putting his face in his hands."

Yuriko frowned at that sight. "Harry, I'm surprised at you. That beautiful woman is only trying to get closer to her betrothed. I have seen the envious way she looks at how close you are to Jean, Luna, and Laura. How can you not see this?"

"I do, Yuriko, and I'm actually happy I'll get to see her more. What has me worried is the knowledge that when T'Challa finds out his little sister has moved in with me he's probably going to barge in here with claws at the ready to take my head off!"

The office door opened again and Shuri responded, "Oh please, my mother already saw to that. T'Challa has already received a good talking to about the freedom of a woman to do as she chooses. Besides, he's busy already with a Wakandan matter."

Harry blinked, "Alright, first, how did you get back here so fast? The White House is massive. Second, what Wakandan matter?"

Shuri, instead of moving to sit in the chair opposite his desk, sauntered around it, pulled his chair back, and sat in his lap as she answered. "I found a helpful butler to take my baggage, and thanks to you, we captured and successfully interrogated perhaps the greatest threat to our country and the world we've yet seen."

"I'm a bit confused here, Shuri."

"As per the terms of our engagement, you provided Wakanda with several boons. Two of those were enhanced wards to be placed around our border, and telepaths to aid in interrogations. Thanks to those two items we captured an American at the border named Erik Stevens, and the telepaths discovered his entire plan."

"Who was he?"

"A former special forces soldier turned radical." She looked down for a moment and he had to tilt her chin back up to get her to continue. "We learned a great deal, much of which I almost wish was still a mystery. His father was Wakandan, my uncle in fact, and my own father killed him to protect Wakandan secrecy. He left the boy behind and he grew angry, vengeful. Erik spent his life learning to kill in the most deadly and effective ways and trying to track down our country. He finally succeeded, and had he made it to the throne room and the council of elders he could have issued a challenge for the throne and been successful."

"What would he have done then?"

"According to your telepaths… he would have armed oppressed black people all over the world with vibranium weapons and led a crusade to take control of the planet. It would have been the bloodiest war in human history." Suddenly she leaned up and kissed him deeply, "Thanks to you, your people, and our relationship, that horror was averted."

As Shuri snuggled into him, a very pleasurable feeling to say the least, Harry asked, "What happened to the man?"

"He's in a private prison cell where he can do no more harm. T'Challa says he wants to try and reason with him, but I think a lot of Erik's arguments and pain are getting to him. In truth, my big brother wants to understand him. Help him if he can. I think it's a lost cause but he never really did listen to me."

Her eyes turned to some more of the papers on his desk and she lithely picked one up between her fingers. "Ah, paperwork, my father often called it the true bane of kingship. What is this one?"

Inspecting it closely, Harry said, "That is the formal request for my presence at the Wand Weighing Ceremony. Apparently it's one of the mandatory events for the tournament and I need to go whether I use a wand or not. Ridiculous."

"When is it?"

"Tomorrow. Would you like to come with me? Jean is busy with Grandmother and Kurt has a date with Wanda, but mom, Laura, and Luna will be coming."

"I would be delighted. Any chance to give these wizards the finger for dragging you into this mess." She leaned up and pressed her forehead to his own. "But that's for tomorrow. How about you call up that famous White House chef and make us both some dinner. We haven't had a good date in a while."

"Absolutely, dear."

An hour later the two of them were seated across from a lit fireplace and enjoying the fruits of being royalty, the best food in the world. The White House chefs had outdone themselves this time. Harry was enjoying the best chicken parmesan of his life while Shuri was savoring a tray of fresh sushi. And all the while they were snuggling on a couch, talking about their lives, and just enjoying being present with each other.

Once again the prince found himself marveling at how easy it was to just talk to Shuri. At how much they connected. They had much the same values, beliefs, and hopes for the future. The only thing that shocked him really was her insistence that she didn't want to bear children.

"I'm not judging you, Shuri, but why not?"

She waved a hand in the air, "Well, you have three other women that can provide you an heir, so that responsibility isn't really necessary for me. Really, though, I want to devote my life to science, creation, and the advancement of mankind. The distraction of raising a child would get in the way of that. I see the creations of my mind and hands as my children, and I plan to have more than enough to make up for the lack of the other. Can you understand that?"

In answer, Harry set his plate down and wrapped both of his arms around his betrothed. "Of course I can. I would never dream of making you do anything you don't want to, and if you don't want to have children then that is fine. Plus, with your complexion and mine any kids we did have would probably come out dark purple. Wouldn't that be something?"

The two of them laughed lightly at that, he kissed her on the cheek, and they returned to their meal. "My brother said you shared a pipe with him in England. You smoke?"

"A bit here and there. Is that a problem?"

"Not as long as you stay away from cigarettes. Pipes and cigars can smell good enough but cigarettes are just foul." She scrunched up her nose in that adorable way and Harry couldn't possibly stop himself from booping it with his finger to much scowling from his partner.

"I can honestly say my mother cured me of that bad habit before it could start. You're safe from those noxious fumes."

"Thank the gods." Shuri smirked, "Now we just need to free you from the bad habit of getting kidnapped."

"Agreed"

"True"

"Si."

Harry spun around and beheld his other girlfriends standing right behind their couch and smiling down at them. "When did you three get here?"

"A few minutes ago. We thought about letting you know, but the two of you were just so adorable all curled up like that."

As Shuri blushed at those words, Luna plopped down onto Harry's lap and snatched the fork from his hand.

"I'm more annoyed that you ordered chicken parm and didn't invite me." Luna groused, stabbing a tasty morsel and primly putting it in her mouth. "Ish my favrite." she muttered through her full mouth.

"Well seeing as we're all here, how about a group movie night?" Laura suggested, before leaning forward and placing a hand on the African princess's shoulder. "We can all watch together, cuddle up with our man, and grow closer as shield-sisters."

"Shield-sisters?" Shuri asked, confused.

Jean took up the explanation as she sat on Harry's right. "Queen Frigga shared Odin with her friends as you know. She called them her shield-sisters. Sisters in arms and love. We kind of took the name for our little group as well."

Luna finally swallowed her chicken and added, "It sounds more impressive just calling ourselves, 'Harry's Harem'."

"Hey," Harry interrupted, "I've never once called you that, or thought of you in that way."

"It's okay, mi corazon." Laura kissed his neck. "We only joke. We know well how much you love us."

"Well, what should we watch?"

"Alice in Wonderland?" Luna suggested.

"Machete?" Laura threw in.

"The Matrix?" Jean loved that movie.

"Scream?" Shuri had a secret love of horror movies.

Harry thought over the suggestion and decided to go with Shuri's. "I've never seen Scream before, it could be fun."

"Yay!" The princess cheered before hugging the Frost Giant's arm fondly. "You're going to love it. The film is so meta that even though it's a horror movie it's almost a comedy. Plus, it's the only horror movie I've ever seen where the killer gets the shit kicked out of them every time they go to kill someone."

"How many of these movies are there?"

"Four."

"Well then, how about a movie marathon?"

The cheers of all his girls were answer enough.

The Next Day

The wand weighing ceremony was remarkably packed compared to previous events. Present in the magical tent equivalent of a meeting hall on the Hogwarts grounds were the heads of all three schools and their representatives, the champions, professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and for some reason Snape. Standing at a table with a quill recorder set to reveal his findings was Garrick Ollivander. Watching all of this and waiting were the news crews of eight different countries. That last irked at the three headmasters (one of which was a headmistress and one was an old man there by contractual right if not a continuing school headship) but much like the British, the other two were given clear marching orders by their home countries and they were marching to them.

The only one not present so far was the fourth champion. A fact that was starting to annoy the others.

"Where 'es ze boy, Albus?" Headmistress Maxime demanded, pulling an oversized pocket-watch out of her felt coat pocket. "Ze appointed time es almost 'ere."

Instead of Dumbledore answering, however, Queen Elizabeth butted in. "Prince Harry will arrive when he arrives, and we will wait as long as he deigns to hold off. We owe him far more than our patience." Her eyes turned hard as she glared at Maxime. "In your case, you owe the lack of an Asgardian invasion of your lands to him."

Properly cowed by that reminder, the Frenchwoman said, "Perhaps I misspoke."

"Indeed."

They stayed waiting patiently for five more minutes before a tube of rainbow light erupted into being on the other side of the room, clearing to reveal a rather eclectic group of people. Prince Harry stood proudly before them all in the same outfit he'd worn to the British State Dinner. Beside him stood Shuri, Luna, and Laura, each in perfectly tailored pantsuits. Behind him, towering over the group and staring daggers at the entirety of the British contingent was Peggy Carter, in her full Captain Carter regalia. Sword and shield ready for action. Yuriko moved to the far wall where she could see everyone at once, her sheathed sword openly displayed and ready for action. It wasn't any more deadly than her claws, but the weapon made her message of intent a bit more obvious.

"I didn't keep you waiting long, did I?" Harry asked sarcastically as he moved further into the room, his walking stick tapping eerily on the stone floor as he moved and eventually rested both hands on its head. "We were rather busy, what with ruling a country, organizing an orbital defense force, and oh yeah, trying to plan for a multi-school deathmatch I was entered into against my will."

His gaze turned to the former headmaster and his eyes turned predatory. "How's the educational year going without a school, you bearded fuck?"

Swallowing the reply he wanted to give about such disrespect, Albus merely said, "It has proven… challenging, but Minerva is more than up to the task of continuing the year for our students." He hoped this show of trust would earn him some points, but still everyone present looked on him with nothing but hate.

Taking charge, McGonagall said, "Perhaps we should get the show started. Would everyone please place their wands on the table for Mr. Ollivander to inspect." The three champions did as directed, but Harry noticeably stayed still where he was. "Mr. Potter?"

"My name is Carter, headmistress. Harry Carter. Use the correct name or do not speak to me at all. As for a wand, I do not use one. Asgardian magic has no need for such… limiting tools." A bit of angry muttering came forth at that statement, but as the actual wizards were the technical minority of people present no one really took them seriously.

Ollivander inspected the first wand with a critical eye, "9 ½ inches, Rosewood, with a Veela hair core… the same as your elder sister, yes?"

"The blond girl nodded emphatically. "Oui, ze core es mi grandmama's as well."

"Beautiful." Garric smiled and handed it back to her. "This wand has not been tampered with or enhanced in any way. I clear it now for use in the tournament."

He moved on to the next wand and ran his fingers over it. "This is Gregorovitch's work if I'm not mistaken."

"Yes," the surly Bulgarian answered, "it vas his last commission before he died."

"Hm. 10 ¼ inches in length, hornbeam wood, with a dragon heartstring core. A powerfully offensive wand. It has not been tampered with or enhanced in any way. I clear it now for use in the tournament."

Then he came to the third and last one. "This is most definitely my work. Eleven inches, ashwood, unicorn hair core. It has been lovingly maintained and I applaud you for that, miss. I clear it now for use in the tournament."

He handed it back to the Indian girl and all eyes and cameras turned to Harry. In turn, he raised a hand and summoned a tiny blister in his palm. "As I said, I have no need of a wand, and nor will I be using one."

"I-I guess there is technically not any rule against entering the tournament without a wand." Ollivander noted to the audience. "The contestants are merely not allowed to bring anything else with them."

"Then is that it? We're done?" Harry demanded.

His answer came with a bunch of waving hands and flashing cameras from the reporters. He sighed and waved to the first person he saw. "I'll answer a few questions only, and only then if the other contestants receive equal attention." When the reporters shouted their agreement he waved the others to come closer so they weren't shouting across the room.

The indicated reporter asked, "Do you really plan to not compete in the challenges seriously, Prince Harry? And for the rest of you, do you already have strategies lined up?"

Harry said, "I've made my position on this tournament very clear so far. These three students are the real champions. I'm just here because the bearded fuck over there entered me to kill me and he still refuses to say why." That statement sent Dumbledore running from the room before any of the reporters could ask him about that point. An action that seriously pissed off his contemporaries.

While that was happening, the other students spoke up. The general gist of their statements was that they had not been given any definite details about what they would face or how to prepare, but each was reading up on attack and defensive magics and all manner of other things that could be involved just in case.

After that a garishly dressed blonde with horn rimmed glasses pushed her way through the other reporters rather violently with a floating quill and notepad hovering over her shoulder. "I have a question. Rita Skeeter of the Daily Prophet. Harry, how do you think your parents would feel about your entry into such a dangerous tournament?"

At that name everyone in Harry's group felt their hackles raise. "Yes," Harry began, "I remember you. You wrote that article about how my eyes were glistening with the pain of my past when I was sucked through that portal into Hogwarts castle. I'm really not sure how you would know that or be able to corroborate it seeing as you were not present. Furthermore, I have been made aware of several 'quotes' you have published from me in the Daily Prophet, which is also strange considering this is the first I've ever seen or spoken to you."

"W-Well, the news goes where it does, you know." Rita stammered out, not liking being called out for her shady practices in front of a bunch of second rate international reporters.

Harry's eyes turned to the floating quill, which had been writing non-stop since Rita started talking. On a whim he summoned it to his hands and perused its contents. "This notepad is quoting me as giving a long winded and heavily detailed monologue about how much I'm trying to live up to the example of my 'noble' and oh so 'desperately' missed parents. Ms. Skeeter you can expect a lawsuit for libel and misrepresentation in your immediate future."

"I-I…T-That was…." Skeeter cut her losses and ran from the room with all the haste she could muster.

As everyone began to laugh, Harry decided to answer the question anyway. "My birth parents are dead and gone but I know they love me no matter what. As for the parents who raised me, they are both pissed as hell about this situation. We all are."

He picked another reporter, a representative of CNN, and he asked, "Do you and the other contestants already have dates for the Yule Ball?"

The prince of Asgard answered, "You all know about my girlfriends and betrothed already so it should not be a surprise to any of you that I'll be taking them."

Gabrielle said, "I am taking my boyfriend, Henry." (Just a boy from her school).

Viktor commented, "I have been too focused on my training to pick a date just yet."

Padma blushed and stammered out, "T-T-There is still a lot of time between now and then. I'll worry about that when the first task is over and done with."

"A wise mentality." McGonagall noted proudly.

There were about ten more minutes of questions after that before Harry finally said enough and made his way out of the tent. He was all set to call Heimdall for the bifrost when he was waylaid by a call of "Harry!"

He turned and saw two people he believed were named McGonagall and Flitwick making their way to him. "Yes?"

"Can we speak to you for a moment?"

Peggy moved to stand between them but Harry halted her with a look. "Say what you have to say."

McGonagall drew herself up straight, "I was very close to your parents, we both were. In fact, we were named in their will as guardians for you should the worst happen."

"Then why was I placed in hell with the Dursleys instead?"

Pure fury came to the faces of the two faculty members. "Dumbledore happened. He refused to execute your parents' will and thus he maintained sole custody of you until it was enacted."

At that Peggy exploded. "And actions such as those were allowed!?"

Flitwick raised his hands for peace, "Please understand, until recently there were no outside avenues to go to for help or legal aid. We only had the ministry of magic and the ICW, both of which Dumbledore held high positions of authority in. By the time his position had weakened enough that we could potentially have tried to request help, you had already disappeared from your home. There was nothing we could do, and we tried."

The Frost Giant stared the teachers down for a few moments, internalizing their words, before coming to a decision. "I believe you. But what do you expect to come from this revelation?"

"We just want the chance to get to know you. James and Lily were the very best of us and when we weren't able to get you we failed them."

Yoriko tapped Harry on the shoulder and gestured to her watch. "Sorry, but we are on a bit of a schedule. If you seriously want to talk more, we can meet at the end of the first task."

Minerva smiled at last. "We will be waiting anxiously."

Having said their piece, the teachers backed away and the bifrost descended from the heavens to pull Harry's group away.