I was trolling through the Loki/Harry Potter pairing tag on Ao3 out of sheer boredom and ran across a story I read years ago (that seems to have been since abandoned) called Betrayal by molmcmahon. If youāve read it before, than you know what itās about. If you havenāt, the gist of it is along the lines of a typical betrayed!Harry plot with a lot of interesting extras thrown in, including bogus proof that Harry is evil incarnate, Fury buying into the WWās BS and the Avengers being like, āwtf, heās just a kid!!?!ā and ending up springing him from gaol. I dunno, itās been a while. Edit: So I just realized thatās not exactly how it goes?? And my memory is kinda shit?? I need to reread it...
Anyway, it got me thinking of how Iād put my own spin on it, so I came up with this short little thing that Iām never going to actually write, because to be honest, I was never a huge fan of Marvel and stopped paying attention after Avengers. Mostly because the plotline just kinda made me go wtf, which has only grown stronger after hearing about how Endgame... well, ended.
Setting: A super top secret SHIELD bunker created for the sole purpose of being a prison for a single person. A man who was betrayed by his government, handed over to SHIELD in an effort to get rid of him out of fear of the magical and political power he holds. Held prisoner for his ācrimesā, carefully crafted to show his actions in a twisted and sinister light. āProofā so indomitable and masterfully created that even Nick Fury canāt see it for anything but the absolute truth. But Fury sees this man as not just a prisoner but as an opportunity to add to his collection of powers to protect the earth with; a possible boon to his agency if only he can get this man on his side. The problem, however, lays in the fact that Harry Potter is fed up playing to tune of other people and couldnāt give a rats ass about what anyone wants or thinks of him.
My only thoughts about this is that it would either go in a dramatic/angsty/actiony kind of direction (which Iām honestly not good at); or, my preference, (because I like me a good plotty crackfic) Harry just stays a prisoner and kind of trolls SHIELD in the meantime. He magics his ācellā into a garden (confusing the shit out SHIELDās scientists, like, how the hell is there ten acres of woods and fields and flowers in an 8x8 jail cell?? where did that cottage come from?? why are there so many fucking animals where did it all come from??!?). Complains about everything from the food to entertainment, can someone at least get him some books or something, heās bored as fuck, or at least a radio, something. Clintās not allowed there anymore, they get along too well. Same for Natasha, cuz their weirdass brotp thing is starting to traumatize the guards, they canāt afford to keep sending them to therapy, Natasha, please stop sneaking in. Tony they just stopped bothering with, you just canāt reason with that guy once heās on a Mission of Science. Seriously, Bruce, no, the weirdest ācriminalā on the planet just finds the Hulk amusing, do you have any idea how many soldiers either quit or transferred or tried to fake their death to get off Wizard Watching Duty after watching him and the Hulk play football/soccer/baseball/hockey/tetherball/poker, enough already, jfc. Heās not a licensed therapist, Steve, and honestly a horrible influence, since when did you even know what a prank was?? And where the fuck do Loki and Thor keep coming from, shouldnāt they be stuck on Asgard, isnāt the Bifrost broken?? isnāt Loki supposed to be in jail too?? why? are? they? here? all? the? fucking? time???
I may have thought about this more than I realized...
āYouāre not even going to try to defend yourself? Tell us your side of things?ā
āShould I? What difference would it make in the end? Youāve already made your mind up as to what the truth is, so I really donāt see the point. Iāve no doubt the people who brought me here have already shown you any number of things; elegantly crafted lies, or stories with just enough of a grain of truth to them that they could be twisted in a multitude of ways to make then seem more sinister than they truly are.
āAnd on the other side, no doubt anything I would say to my defense or to explain things would seem, to you, an attempt at manipulation, a way to subvert your thinking to my favor to win my freedom, and perhaps work my dastardly plots in the shadows. You would analyze any proof I may be able to show you with a magnifying glass, picking it apart with a fine toothed comb until it coincides with your theories, take my words with a grain of salt. You would match them up to whatever proof theyāve shown you to see how correct they were, to justify the picture of my character that youāve surely already formed in your mind, and be satisfied with your own certainty.
āThe irony of it all, is theyāve no idea that all that freedom Iāve supposedly had up until now is nothing more than a carefully contrived illusion. Iāve spent my entire life from the age of fifteen months old in an invisible prison. A masterpiece of duty and expectations meant to keep me biddable and controllable, created by a man so masterful in the art of subtle manipulation that even a decade after his death, it holds the power to keep me in its thrall.
āAnd even if, in the end, you should decide to release me for whatever reason, it would never be true freedom. You would have my every move watched and monitored and reported on. I would be followed for the rest of my life, walking upon a razor thin edge of control so that if, in the event I act in some way you see to be a threat to you and yours, you would have the means to put me down in the most efficient way possible. It would be nothing more than yet another carefully crafted prison, this time one your own making.
āWhat they and yourself donāt seem to realize, Mr, Fury, and never shall, is that I care nothing for freedom. It is a meaningless word to me, an abstract concept, and holds no power of desire or enticement. You could recite itās dictionary definition or scientific and psychological theory of meaning at me until youāre blue in the face, and I would still never understand.
āAnd it certainly isnāt something I wish for or miss, because thatās just the thing, isnāt it? You canāt miss something youāve never had, after all.ā
