She kissed him, and Harry lost himself. Her lips claimed every bit of his focus and awareness. In a well-practiced move, he pulled her to him, and she reciprocated in kind, deepening the kiss, pressing in with her tongue.
God he'd missed this- missed her. He'd known he missed her, but since being dumped in this world he'd barely had a moment to ruminate on it. When he'd set his eyes on her- passionate and protective and wielding magic- the ache had hit him all at once. He wanted to fall into her forever. It was more than the mere physical sensation- her mouth against his, the press of her body feeling so right against him- it felt like coming home. Natasha pressed her pelvis against his and moaned. It had always taken very little for them to lose control with each other.
"Oh my god, stop!" Lily cried.
Reluctantly, Harry and Natasha parted, both panting for breath. He glanced down at her lips, and then her darkened eyes which stared right back up at him. "Hey." He said.
"Hey." Nat whispered back.
Lily made an indecipherable distressed noise, and Harry finally turned to his daughter.
He had a daughter. It felt like a miracle. It was all so much, and he couldn't even bring himself to be embarrassed about their lack of restraint. Harry's entire world was Natasha and their daughter. Natasha's room- which was as spartan and nondescript as they'd come, with bare walls and an unforgiving stone floor- might as well have disappeared. Even the Ancient One- watching on with a faint trace of amusement- barely merited a thought.
Lily was currently facing into the corner, hands clapped over her ears. Harry couldn't help but chuckle. Harry and Nat shared a look, silently communicating that she would take the lead. "Its okay Lily, you can turn around now." She said. Lily let her hands fall from her ears, but stubbornly refused to budge from her spot. "We'll do our best to avoid making out in your presence from now on." Nat vowed.
Lily let out an indignant sound. "From now on?" She whirled around "What, so that's just going to be a regular thing? How could you?"
"Now Lily, we've had that talk before…"
Lily made another distressed noise. "You've just met him, and you were just trying to kill him!"
"I wasn't trying to kill, exactly." Natasha winced, glancing apologetically at him. "But… well…"
Lily scoffed "Oh, is this something else you won't tell me. Typical." Harry hoped he hadn't sounded like that when he was her age. Even though he had no doubt her complaints were justified, there was a sizable injection of melodramatic teenage angst in her voice.
Natasha sighed "You're right, I have been keeping secrets from you. But not anymore, Lily the truth is… the truth is…" She was struggling, and Harry would always be there to save her.
"Lily, I'm your father."
Harry knew something of what she must be feeling right now. At her age, he would have given anything to see his parents again. He remembered meeting Sirius, and realizing he had a Godfather, and having the hope that he might be able to escape the Dursleys and live with him instead.
Lily was speechless, her eyes roving over Harry as if drinking him in. Finally, she spoke "D-dad?" Her voice was small, tremulous, filled with disbelief and hope.
Harry held her gaze "It's me. I'm sorry I couldn't be there sooner. I'm sorry-" With a sob, she latched onto him with a fierce hug. Several more sobs followed, and Natasha came up behind her. She leaned her forehead to Harry's as they cocooned their daughter in a collective embrace.
"Mom." Lily said eventually "You told me my dad was dead."
"I lied."
Lily wriggled away from them, looking offended. "You think I wouldn't like to know that my dad was alive?" She snapped, eyes still wet.
"That's not what I meant." Natasha said patiently "I lied about... knowing who your father was, knowing how you were born at all."
That took the wind out of Lily's sails, now she just looked lost "What do you mean?"
"Until today, I didn't know how you were conceived. I thought… I thought… well, it doesn't matter now what I thought." Nat shook her head.
"That doesn't make sense, how could you not know?"
"I believe I can help with that." The Ancient One made her presence known for the first time. "Please don't judge your mother too harshly, Lily. She did not know the full picture. In fact, neither did I." She turned her inscrutable gaze to Harry "But I suspect that you do, don't you Harry?"
"I can explain a lot." Harry allowed "But it'll sound unbelievable."
"If it helps, I know that the world is not what it seems. It is the unstable merger of two universes. I already knew this when Natasha came to me with Lily, and with the inexplicability of her pregnancy, I suspected that she had been conceived in one of the pre-merger timelines."
Lily looked completely lost, and Harry didn't blame her. "How do you know that?" Natasha asked "And why didn't you tell me?"
"Would you have believed me?" The Ancient One returned "I know, because Steve Rogers had returned the Time Stone to me- or a version of me- just before the merger happened. 'I' was able to send a message to myself using the stone, which I received the day that Hydra launched its attacks on the cities of the world."
"Can we start at the beginning? Please." Lily asked, looking overwhelmed.
"It's a long story." Harry said.
"We have time." The Ancient One told him "And I am very interested in hearing it."
At this point, the story of Harry's life was long, convoluted, and frankly confusing. After some consideration, he decided to hold off on sharing certain secrets. While his encounter with Death was monumental, he couldn't bring himself to tell them about her. Something about it felt too big to share so casually. There was little to be done about her, regardless. Harry wasn't sure if there even was a way to escape her grasp forever, but even if there was, he had his priorities- fix the world and protect the people he loved.
Talking about his childhood had been difficult, and nothing moreso than the end- the horcruxes, the realization that he had been a horcrux, and his walk to his death. Natasha had been able to help once the narrative had turned to his time in their shared universe, and the two of them had started up a lighthearted banter about their adventures there. Lily looked enraptured by this, drinking in the story of how her parents had met and fallen in love with an earnest hunger. It was a far cry from her earlier disgust at her mother making out with a stranger.
Finally, the story wound to its conclusion- the sacrifice for the Soul Stone, his awakening back in his old world. His battle with Voldemort and Hela, and how the Time Stone had gotten trapped in a feedback loop. The Ancient One nodded in understanding as he explained how the world seemed to fall apart around him, and in a last-ditch effort to fix things, he'd summoned the stone to him.
"And then?" She asked.
"I woke up." Harry shrugged "I was in the middle of the Time Vortex in London, and some of my old friends from my world had found me." He briefly explained his short, eventful time in this world, including the battle with Tom Riddle and their narrow escape, though leaving out the detail that he was still a horcrux. If the Ancient One was clever enough, she'd figure it out on her own, but he wasn't in a hurry to spell out for everyone just how doomed he was.
"And your friends, do you think they're still trustworthy?"
Harry hesitated. "Peggy and Ginny, absolutely." He finally said "I've looked into Neville and Ron's minds. They're both good people. They've chosen to do the right thing over the easy thing. But they don't know me like they did in my time." Harry shrugged helplessly. He'd felt both of their intentions, and he knew neither was planning on betraying him. He'd been satisfied with that an hour ago, but now… "I don't know. The stakes are so high. It's one thing to trust my own safety to them, but…" His eyes drifted to Lily. "It's different now."
"Ginny, like Natasha, has recovered some of her old memories. That isn't true for your other friends?" The Ancient One probed.
"No." Harry shook his head "I don't know what makes Ginny and Nat special."
"Well, I can think of something." Natasha said, with a teasing note in her voice "Your relationship with the two of us is different than it was with your other school friends." Harry fought a blush, cognizant of his daughter's presence. "As for your friends… I think you should give them a chance."
"Really. You're the one telling me to trust people?" Harry asked skeptically.
"Yeah, and I know something about how keeping people at arm's length can ruin a relationship." She said meaningfully "If they're your friends, I'm sure they're worth trusting." She really was the Natasha he'd known at the end. That had been a lesson hard learned. Then she smiled wryly "And if they do try to betray us, we can always kick their asses."
-----
"He said he was just going for a walk! How can he be missing?" Neville barked. It was clear his nerves were fraying, and it wasn't like he didn't have good reason to be on edge. She didn't think Harry really appreciated the position he had them in. None of them had anything without Riddle. Hydra wanted them dead, they'd betrayed the Order already, and no non-magical group would trust a group of wizards as far as they could throw them. They all just had to hope that there was a method to Harry's madness, or else they were certainly dead.
For Ginny, her faith wasn't so blind. She knew how Harry had pulled victory- or at least survival- from the jaws of certain death time and time again. She had attempted to explain this to Neville and Ron, but she felt like they didn't really get it, not like they had when they'd really known him. It was sad, she thought. They didn't even know what they'd lost, though perhaps they were starting to, if they're quiet contemplative mood after exchanging memories with Harry was an indication.
But Ginny's experience with Harry also informed her that he attracted trouble like a magnet. Sometimes all it took was for Harry to take a walk to get accosted by dementors, or meet his convicted felon godfather, stumble across some ancient artifact. Knowing him, it had happened again, and she'd missed it… again.
She groaned, partially worried, but mostly frustrated. Harry could take care of himself, she knew, she just wished she could have helped him. Neville, Peggy, and Ron were planning a rescue expedition – but to where? From who? She knew that any of them could die at any day, she knew that intimately well. That wasn't what kept her up at night. It was the uncertainty, the powerlessness. She'd been completely powerless while her family had been picked off one by one. She never wanted to be left sitting on the sidelines when someone she loved died, not again.
All discussion halted when a portal opened. Instantly, everyone snapped into combat position- diving behind tents and raising their wands (or for Peggy, her pistol). Then Harry stepped through, and the tension was released as quickly as it had come. Ginny was the first out, throwing Harry into a fierce hug. Harry laughed and spun her around. He was happy, very happy. "What happened?" She asked.
"I found a friend." He said.
Behind him, a woman stepped through. She was a redhead, but a deeper auburn than the Weasleys' distinctive color. She looked strong and capable, with a precision in how she handled herself and an alertness in her eyes. Like Ginny, she was a warrior. The woman stepped up to Harry's side "A friend?" She teased, and Harry blushed.
"Family." He corrected, a warmth in his voice.
Oh.
Ginny stepped back and surveyed the couple. Harry had lived another life without her, ten years to meet new people, fall in love… and maybe, start a family. She shouldn't have been surprised. He was so lovable, and he had so much capacity to love people. Of course he would find someone who made him happy. This must have been that lucky woman. Across universes and timelines, they'd found each other again.
Ginny had thought that maybe, that would have been their story. Only when that fantasy had been ripped away did Ginny realize how dearly she'd been holding it, how bereft she felt without it. Harry seemed aware of Ginny's inner turmoil, and he shot her a regretful look. "I'm Natasha Romanoff. Harry's told me a lot about you." Natasha looked at Ginny first, before glancing at Ron and Neville "All of you. Welcome to Kamar-taj."
Ginny ruminated as Natasha led the group into the home of the legendary sorcerers. Much like centers of wizarding society, it consisted of a confusing network of corridors with an archaic style and no logical underpinning to their design. The circuitous route they took gave Ginny plenty of time to think while Ron, Peggy, and Neville peppered Natasha and Harry with questions.
Because of the deaths of wizards in the war, the gender ratio of wizarding society was incredibly skewed. In the Order, it left witches playing the roles of concubines to whichever men were influential, rich, talented, or powerful enough to survive (or earn exemption to military service). Even in Riddle's more egalitarian vision of wizarding society, women would still have had to share men. It was simple math.
Ginny could share Harry, she could even accept not being his primary partner. She'd long accepted that whoever she ended up with, that might be the case. Hell, if it was the right woman, Ginny could more than just accept it. She and Luna sharing a wizard and each other would have been the dream. She didn't know Natasha Romanoff, or love her the way she loved Luna. Still, Ginny couldn't deny she was attractive, incredibly attractive. And this was Harry, she knew that he'd never let her feel neglected or unloved. He had enough love in his heart for two and wouldn't begrudge if his partners found love with each other. Frankly, she'd take whatever she could have with him. Even if it meant playing second fiddle to a woman she barely knew.
But that was the problem. She didn't know Natasha Romanoff, and what were the chances that she'd be willing to share Harry with a woman she didn't even know? Muggle society was different than the wizarding one. Ginny confessed she never paid that much attention to muggle standards and traditions. She knew that muggle women were much more exposed to the war than most witches were- along with disease, famine, and the dangers of childbirth. While muggle men still played the role of soldiers, the gender ratios weren't quite so skewed.
Ginny had to accept that probably, Natasha wouldn't want to share Harry with her. Perhaps even Harry wouldn't be willing to have multiple partners. She'd have to live with being his friend and nothing more. It was a role she'd played once, and if it made him happy, she could do it again.
But despite her attempts to convince herself otherwise, there was something about the way that Natasha kept glancing at her, her eyes sparkling with playful mischief… that gave her hope.
-----
"I think we just hurt Ginny." Harry said regretfully, as soon as they returned to her room, which would also be serving as Harry's room for the time being.
"You think?" Natasha quipped "I'm not sure if I've ever seen someone so smitten with you, and that's saying something."
"Pot, meet kettle." Harry teased.
Natasha rolled her eyes, but she couldn't deny his point or contain the beaming smile spreading across her lips "Yeah. So, want to invite her in?" Nat proposed.
Harry huffed, amused. "You move fast."
"I just don't want her to wallow in her misery any more than she has to. It just seems cruel."
"You don't even know her." He pointed out "Maybe you'll hate her."
"You love her." She countered "That counts as a character reference. Besides, I can't wait to see you wreck her."
"You're forgetting one thing." Harry said "You're assuming she'd be okay with sharing me." He was quite sure she wouldn't be interested. The notion of sharing him would have been an affront to her in his original world. She'd want him to make a choice, and as much as it pained him, it was an easy one. Ginny was his first love and would always have a place in his heart. He'd always treasure the time they had together. But Natasha was his partner and the mother of his child. He'd spent years with her, he knew her as well as he knew himself.
"We'll see." Natasha smirked, telling him she knew something he didn't. Then she kissed him. Harry's friends were settling in (under a discrete watch by the sorcerers), and Lily had excused herself to 'think'. That meant that they finally had privacy and could pick up where they left off.
She was ravenous, and Harry had a hard time keeping up. She feasted on him like a starving wolf. She plundered his mouth, but before Harry could properly respond, her lips were attached to his jaw, then she was nibbling at his ear, and licking down his neck. "Fuuuuck!" She moaned, eyes wild. Harry took that brief window of opportunity and seized the initiative, kissing her soundly. She moaned again and wrapped a leg around his waist. He realized what she was about to do the moment before he found himself flat on his back in her bed. Then she pounced, tugging and tearing at his clothes. They were still his summoned robes- fairly cheap and flimsy- and they stood no chance.
"You're normally not this… enthusiastic." He managed while she lavished his chest with her mouth.
"Do you know how many times I've had even decent sex in this body?" She asked "Never. Its like I've had a decades long drought and its hitting me all at once how thirsty I am."
"Fuck." Harry breathed, then she palmed his crotch, and he repeated the sentiment more enthusiastically.
"I missed you so much, even though I didn't know it." She said, no longer talking just about sex. "For you it was a few days. For me it was a lifetime. There was always something missing, a piece of my soul. I'm never letting you go again."
His trousers were the next casualty, and his boxers lasted only seconds longer. "Fuck I missed this." She breathed, gazing at his cock with pure lust. "Vanish my clothes."
"What?" Harry uttered.
"I can't fucking wait anymore, just vanish them!" She said, a note of desperation in her voice. Harry did as he was told, and Natasha was already mounting him. Her body was different than he remembered. Less curves and more muscle and scars. Harry didn't care in the slightest. She was incredible, every bit as sexy as he remembered.
She sheathed him and gaped like a gutted fish. He felt her flex around him, something he associated with her climax, or when she was trying particularly hard to get him to cum. "Oh, fuck!" She whimpered, grinding her hips minutely against him. He thrusted upwards dutifully, knowing exactly the spot she wanted him to hit, and she came apart. She whimpered and moaned as she collapsed against him. It wasn't so much the strength of her orgasm that was remarkable (with the help of Wanda, Skye, and Shuri's vibrators, he'd given her some spectacular orgasms), it was how quickly she'd had cum- just one thrust. She was right, for him it had been a few days, for her it had been decades.
If she was anywhere close to as pent up as that implied, he had his work cut out for him. He flipped them over. "Harry." Natasha moaned "What-ooooh." Without missing a beat, he buried his head between her thighs. It was a position he'd taken many times before, and it felt comfortably familiar.
"I'm going to spoil you, Nat." He told her. "You've had one hell of a dry spell, so I'm going to make you cum until you can't stand it anymore."
Her body spoke for her. He felt the quiver in her thighs as they parted wider for him. Her sex was dripping, he'd never seen her so wet. He kissed up her thigh teasingly, but Natasha intervened. Her hand wove into his unkempt hair and pulled him up insistently, until he was right against her slit. She moaned again, and Harry was enthralled by her expression- blown out eyes stared down at him with blatant desire, her cheeks were beautifully flushed, and her teeth were clamped firmly on her lower lip.
That wasn't enough, he decided. He wanted to make her scream.