Heroes Assemble!

It's Strange But Who Am I To Judge?

The building was obviously old, but then, a lot of buildings in New York City were, the Den and Harry's own building, among them. This one in the middle of Greenwich Village definitely qualified not only as old but also as something ... else. There was an air to it that, unless one was looking, really looking for it, would be missed. Even by magicals.

But it was there. Harry could almost taste it. Or perhaps feel it. Something like a prickling under his skin perhaps, or more accurately, his magic recognising something ancient, something powerful, resonating with it. Hogwarts gave off a similar vibe; the castle, however, was over a thousand years old. This place was no where near that age. Still ...

From across the street, it wasn't so much the brownstone walls or the green slate roof that caught the eyes. No, it was the large convex window set into the middle of the second floor. It was easily at least seven feet across and was decorated with four black lines set in two pairs of somewhat parallel lines. It was a symbol; Harry'd seen enough of them over the years to recognise that much, even if he wasn't sure what the symbol itself meant.

Tearing his eyes away, he quickly crossed the street, mounted the three steps and, not seeing a bell, knocked firmly on the door.

Harry's eyebrow rose at the style of clothing that the bald, serious-looking Asian man that opened the door wore. The long, dark-red tunic and wide tan cloth belt that looked like it wrapped around him at least three times simply screamed to Harry that he was in the right place.

"Hi, I'm looking for the Sorcerer Supreme of Kamar-Taj."

While Harry hadn't been expecting to be welcomed, turning up on their doorstep the way he was, he hadn't been expecting ... nothing. But that's precisely what he was getting from the man standing in front of him. Not a change of facial expression, not a tightening of the eyes, not a tic, nothing.

"The Sorcerer Supreme of Kamar-Taj," Harry repeated. "I understand she is known as the Ancient One."

This time there was something. It wasn't much, just a slight pursing of his lips. Enough, though, to tell Harry that the man at least understood English.

A dark shadow that appeared over the man's shoulder resolved itself into a taller, Caucasian man with a moustache and goatee that Harry thought Tony would be proud of. The hand that this new man laid on the Asian man's shoulder was enough to have him turning sidewards, giving Harry a good view of him.

If Harry's own 'Mage' uniform – not that he was wearing it today, being in simple, 'civvies' – told the world that he was a wizard, then this man's outfit screamed 'sorcerer'. His tunic was a mixture of dark blues accented by the numerous leather belts around his waist, cloth strips that would around his forearms, dark pants and sturdy boots. And then there was his cloak. It was red with a high collar that curved up around his neck and seemed to have an interesting movement to it that shouldn't be there considering that there was no real breeze at all that day.

"This one is looking for the Sorcerer Supreme," the Asian guardian of the door stated with an inflection that Harry couldn't quite identify.

"Why are you asking to see the Sorcerer Supreme?" the new man asked with a distinctively British accent. "Have you been to Kamar-Taj in the past?"

"No, I haven't," Harry replied. "Look, can we discuss this inside ... Mister?"

"Doctor," the man said before squeezing his eyes closed and raising a hand. "My name is Doctor Stephen Strange. And you are?"

"Harry Potter."

Doctor Strange and his companion shared a look, a look that told Harry that his name was known.