Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In the brisk September air of London, Tony Stark stepped out of the vehicle, feeling the chill seeping through his suit. He was attending another event that was a necessity. An obligation as the heir to Howard Stark’s legacy. However, this legacy, damned as it may be, required more of him, than just escaping into a haze of alcohol and fleeting encounters that he would often seek.

Tony was not looking forward to the evening, spending time around pretentious people who believed themselves superior. He especially dreaded the company of those who expected him to be his father or the people who thought he should find a good woman, settle down, and start a family. Just so he could be a screw-up of a father like his own.

After entering the building, Tony shrugged off his outer coat, revealing a three-piece black suit with a red handkerchief peeking out his breast pocket. He quickly noticed admiring glances from younger women and the few older married ones. However, he wanted nothing to do with them. He was just here to make a few substantial donations to the various charities, and then he planned on quickly getting drunk before catching his flight home.

It was later in the evening, that Tony found himself approaching the bar after signing off a few checks and doing the bare minimum of socializing required at these events. He noticed a pretty red-headed woman sitting at the bar, who seemed to be ‘enjoying’ the evening as much as he was. Deciding he might as well have some fun this evening, he takes the open seat next to her and orders a drink. With a not-so-subtle turn, he began to strike up a conversation with her. After spending the remainder of the night talking to the beautiful redhead, Lily, Tony felt a strong connection and wanted to invite her over. The conversation had been pleasant, and Tony thought they had really hit it off, wanting to leave with her. Suddenly, Lily turned and motioned for a man to come over. Tony’s curiosity piqued as he watched the man approach. Lily turned back to Tony, gave him a once over, and smiled. Which left him intrigued and a little uncertain about what might come next.

The man walked up behind Lily and placed a hand on her shoulder, his eyes full of promise. Lily then proceeded to introduce the man, James, as her husband. Tony's heart sank at the realization that this beautiful woman was already taken and that the couple wanted something he wasn't interested in. Not that Tony didn't go both ways. He just drew the line at a threesome, and he didn't like to do both genders at the same time. He decided to wait and see if his assumptions were correct; it wouldn't be the first time someone had asked something absurd of him.

Lily looked almost hesitant before speaking again to Tony. Summoning up her courage, she explained that she and James had been married for the last year and a half, but they were unable to have any children due to an incident James had had in his last years of high school. She had then gone on about how James was from an old lordship family, and if they had a child that didn't resemble him, their child would not have an easy life, or an inheritance. Pausing, Lily realized that she had been telling him the whole story, James had remained silent the whole time besides nodding in agreement. She looked over at James, realizing the gravity of what she was asking for, and the two shared a moment. With desperation, James mustered up the courage, his pride be damned, to ask Tony if he would be willing to donate his genetic material. Because of the similar features the two men shared, they hoped that this would be a solution to their predicament.

Tony was ready to decline their request, not wanting a child of his own running around. However, the desperation and hope in the couple's eyes made it impossible for him to refuse. Tony agreed to donate his sperm and ensured the process would be purely scientific, with no physical conception involved. He had a few conditions before agreeing, such as sending him a photo of the child and the child's name once born. He also asked that when the child turns 21, and if he had no children, he wanted the option to meet this child and potentially offer a role in his company, assuming he had no one else he could trust to take over. Even if Tony did have his own children, he still wished to meet the child on their 21st birthday, but only as an old family friend.

While the couple seemed reluctant about the prospect of the child potentially taking over Tony's company. He reassured them that it wouldn't be forced upon the child and that he would likely have someone to take over anyway. Despite their initial hesitation, the couple agreed to Tony's terms.

After that evening, Tony and the Potters, as he later discovered, only met up one other time. It was when Tony came to hand over the infamous cup to them, wishing them well and the best of luck with the pregnancy. Unknowingly to him, the Potters had written in their wills, once their ball of sunshine was born, Harry James Anthony Potter, should anything happen to them, that Tony was to be contacted and Harry to be put into his care. A week after Harry's birth, Tony received an image of Lily and James holding a tiny baby in their arms, on the back read Harry's name and his date of birth, July 31st, 2000.

Sadly, after the tragic events of Halloween in 2001, Lily and James’s wills remained unopened due to a certain someone's interference. Harry was sent off to live with Lily’s remaining family. He found himself in a household where he was unwelcome and unloved. Growing up with the Dursleys, Harry had to endure verbal, mental, and emotional abuse, and he was occasionally faced with physical abuse. He grew up being bullied by his own cousin and was forced to live in a cupboard under the stairs at 4 Privet Drive.

At the age of 11, Harry discovered that he was a wizard and received an invitation to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There, he was sorted into Gryffindor's house. Harry spent his first year facing many challenges, like battling trolls and possessed teachers, hiding dragons, forging friendships with Ron and Hermione, and developing a rivalry with Draco Malfoy.

For the last 11 years, Tony had been wasting away in a haze of alcohol and casual encounters when he wasn't stuck in his workshop, inventing weapons or other things. However, that all changed when he was kidnapped and forced into building his own weapons for terrorists. With shrapnel threatening his heart and kept alive with a makeshift contraption involving a car battery, his life changed forever.

Upon freeing himself from captivity, Tony vowed to cease all weapon production at his company. Instead, he pushed forward with a new purpose, dedicating himself to becoming the hero known as Iron Man.

The year that Harry entered his second year of schooling, marked a significant year for both him and Tony. Across the Atlantic in America, Tony alongside The Avengers, dealt with the threat of Loki, and the Chitauri’s invasion of New York. Following the attack, Tony realised that he needed to get his priorities in order. He instructed Jarvis to monitor for any mentions of Lily, James, and Harry, or any other individuals connected to them.

Meanwhile, Harry embarked on his second year of school. He continued to face challenges, like confronting a basilisk, and rescuing Ron’s younger sister, Ginny, from dying at the hands of the manifestation of Tom Riddle, otherwise known as Voldemort.

Returning to Kings Cross station, at the end of his second year, Harry felt sick throughout the train ride, he was not looking forward to spending the summer with the Dursleys. It was all for the greater good, as he had once heard Dumbledore say to McGonagall one day in passing.

Upon being collected by his so-called family. He was surprised to see them all in the car, however, any shock he had, dissipated when he noticed the abundance of shopping bags loaded in the back seat next to Dudley. He was made to sit in the trunk of the car with his oversized school trunk.

It was on this trip home, that they were T-boned by a drunk driver and rushed to the hospital. It would be considered a tragedy by most, however, to Harry it wasn't. Vernon had died on impact, and Petunia was rushed into operation. She was eventually put in the ICU ward. Dudley had been lucky to only be left with a broken arm and leg, and a few fractured ribs. As he had been saved from the worst due to Harry’s magic.

Harry himself was covered in bruises and had cracked a good rib or two, as well as a broken arm, from being smashed into the side of his school trunk, his magic had protected him from death. The two boys had been admitted into a General Hospital room, but Aunt Marge had been quick to fetch Dudley and leave Harry behind. She hadn't spoken to him besides claiming he was to blame him for the accident or tell him he deserved every injury he had. It was not one day later that Jarvis notified Tony of a hit on Harry had come up in his search.

Chapter Text

“Sir” Jarvis’s voice cut off the music that filled Tony’s lab in the Avengers tower. However, Tony remained engrossed in his work for the company, oblivious to the interruption. “Sir?” Jarvis persisted, knowing that Tony would be listening regardless of his lack of response. “I seem to have a hit on one of the names you asked me to monitor last year.”

Tony paused what he was doing, turning to give Jarvis his full attention. He gestured for the AI to display the information he had uncovered. A holographic screen materialized before Tony, with a newspaper article about a recent car crash. The headline had Tony feeling anxious before he even read the first line, but as he started to read the article, he felt a sense of relief wash over him. The only fatality so far was an older man.

As Tony read on, he felt empathy for the wife, who was unaware of her husband’s passing, as she was in a coma in the ICU ward. He was wondering why Jarvis was showing him this, he said he had flagged something about the Potters. It wasn’t until his eyes landed on a crucial piece of information that he understood. One of the two boys that were in the crash, and one shared a name with Tony’s biological son, Harry Potter.

“Jarvis! What about Harry’s parents? Why was he with other people? Is he the son of James and Lily?” Tony fired off his questions to Jarvis in a moment of panic, fearing the worst. That both James and Lily had passed away and he had never known. He would have been able to help the kid back then.

“In an article from 2001, it details the home murder of a James and Lily Potter, and that their one-year-old son was sent to live with a close relative, Lily’s biological sister, Petunia Dursley, Sir,” Jarvis responded. Another article appeared before Tony, this one looking like it had been scanned before being uploaded online, as some words weren’t clearly visible. Tony skimmed over the content of the article, noting that not much detail was given about the incident other than the couple being found dead in their house on the morning of November first, 2001. It was presumed to be a murder despite the lack of any wounds, and their one-year-old had been put into the care of his aunt.

This was THE Lily and James he had helped all those years ago.

Tony stepped back in shock. He knows that the three of them had never explicitly discussed about what would happen to Harry if anything happened to them. And it probably never came out that Harry was his son, but he should have known, this was his son. He might not have been father material, and he probably still isn’t, but he never wanted to just leave his child be. It was already 2013, their deaths had happened almost 12 years ago, and he had no clue.

Tony’s brain was already starting to turn on how to get the kid into his care, but first, he needed to ensure Harry received the best treatment possible.

“Jarvis, I want you to contact the hospital where Harry is staying and get him into a private room, the best one available. Also, make sure all of Harry’s medical fees are paid by me personally, not the company. I don’t want anyone, especially Pepper, to get wind of this. She might make things more complicated than they need to be,” Tony instructed as he made his way out of his lab and headed to the elevator to take him to his private floor. “Jarvis, make sure you arrange for a DNA test at the same hospital Harry is currently at. Make sure to get samples from both Harry and me, I want them done quickly. And make sure the London apartment is ready for us to stay in. How long is the quickest flight to London?”

“The quickest flight to London is approximately seven hours, Sir?” Jarvis replied, “Must I ready the private jet?”

“No, I want this flight to be incognito, and I know the company tracks my jet, make sure you book first class.”

“I will begin making all the necessary arrangements immediately. I have notified the hospital of the changes, and they are to be made immediately.”

Tony nodded his head; his mind was racing. He had to get to London as soon as possible, and make sure Harry was taken care of. This was his responsibility, and he wouldn’t fail his son again.

The elevator came to a halt, and before Tony could step out, he realized it wasn’t his floor. The doors dinged open, and a sweaty Steve Rogers walked in, who had clearly just finished working out in the training area situated above the labs and below the living quarters.

“You look like you’re thawing out there, Capsicle. Careful, otherwise you might just melt!” Tony commented as Steve entered.

“I’m not so sure it’s me who should be worried. You’re not looking so good yourself, Tony. Anything the team should be concerned about?” Steve asked, noticing the unusual tension in Tony’s demeanour.

“Nothing that needs the Avengers’ help, just some personal problems I need to deal with." Tony paused for a moment, contemplating whether to confide in Steve. He normally kept his secrets close, as he had learnt not to trust others. However, this was Captain America he was speaking to, and if anyone could keep a secret it was Steve Rogers, as long as it didn’t go against the law.

“I have a kid in London, and before you anything, I’ve known about him since before he was born. I helped out a couple, about 13 years ago, who couldn’t have kids because the guy was in some kind of accident in school.” Tony clarified, expecting Steve to question the legitimacy of his child. “The kid was in a car accident the other day, and his parents have been dead for a few years now, and I don’t know why I was never notified of their death.

“I’ve had Jarvis looking for them since the invasion last, and I finally know where my kid is. I’m heading to London as soon as I can to go see him and get custody. I might be gone for a while. Might be a few weeks to a couple of months.”

“Are you going with Pepper?” Steve asked.

“She’d only make things more difficult than they need to be. She’d want to do a press release immediately, and I think the kid and I are going to need some time to get to know each other. Plus, she’s here to run the business not to micromanage my life.”

“Tony, I don’t think this is something you should be doing alone.” Oh, Tony knew damn well he shouldn’t be doing this alone, but Pepper was off the list, and he didn’t really have anyone else on the list besides Rhodey, and he was probably busy.

“I know, Cap, but I’m just going to have to.” Tony sighed.

“I’ll go with you,” Steve said, concerned for his teammate. “I’m not going to leave you with a kid who’s just been in an accident, let alone the two of you trying to figure out how to move forward. Let me come with you,” Steve pleaded. “I can help out when needed, and on the bonus, I can learn more about this world.” He said firmly, he definitely wasn’t going to let Tony handle this on his own.

“Okay,” Tony sighed, “I’m not going to argue on this, because honestly, I need someone to do this with me. Jarvis will let you know when we are leaving, so pack your bags, and make sure your saggy bottom is there.” Tony joked as the elevator came to a stop and Steve got off.

“Will do Tony, and I’ll let you know my bottom isn’t saggy. I’ve heard it’s America’s ass.” Steve chuckled, leaving a stunned Tony by himself as the door to the elevator closed.

Tony chuckled, and continued going up to his floor before continuing his list of things to do with Jarvis as he exited the elevator. He could have sworn it had slowed down when Cap got on.

“Jarvis inform Pepper that I won’t be available for the next few weeks due to personal issues, and that I’ll be in London. Let her know that I’ll explain everything as soon as I can. And if you haven’t already, book another seat for the flight tomorrow.” Tony entered his room, getting ready to pack the essentials, everything else could be brought there.

“Jarvis, also, arrange for someone to redo one of the guest rooms on my floor, in some neutral colours, Harry can decide on colours later. And make sure it’s more child-friendly, no naked portraits or anything like that. Make sure they sign a non-disclosure agreement.” He would hold back on the ideas he had for the room; it wasn’t going to be his anyways.

“Will do, sir. Would you like me to arrange a full wardrobe for everyone, so you don’t have to worry about packing clothes?”

“Good thinking J, I knew that there was a reason that you’re my favourite A.I.”

“Sir, I am your only A.I.” Jarvis replied with a hint of sarcasm.

Tony quickly packed up any tech he might need to take with him, and some things that could not be brought there. He created a list of things he would need to work on over there and any documents he could go over on the plane, he wanted to avoid a lecture from Pepper about work ethics again.

He would also need to start researching schools over here and build a strong case for Harry to move to America with him, he didn’t know what life his child had. He didn’t know how difficult that might be, but he was determined to make it work.

Tony knew he needed to get some sleep. It was already nearing eleven PM, and he would be losing about half a day on the plane. If the plane was to take off around 11 AM, they would arrive nearing 6 PM. Meaning he would have to wait until the next day to visit the hospital.

The next morning, Tony met Steve in the elevator, both heading to the same destination. They shared a silent car ride to the airport. He had elected not to get Happy to take him, too many questions.

Tony was half-awake, not having had his morning coffee yet, and had yet to become a functioning human being. Steve sat silently reading a book, glancing at Tony occasionally to check on him. At the airport, there was a brief argument from Steve about flying first class, but Tony’s glare quickly ended that discussion.

They boarded their plane just shy of 11 AM and settled into their respective seats, keeping themselves busy. Tony only started talking after his morning coffee, despite it almost being the afternoon, and much to Steve’s amusement. They still had to be up early with New York traffic. Once they were in the air, they didn’t talk much.

After landing just after 6 PM, they grabbed some takeaways from one of the many places at the airport and headed to Tony’s apartment. They arrived feeling a bit sticky from the flight, it was summer, even if it was London. The apartment was spotless, and the kitchen was stocked with food, despite the fact that neither of them really cooked.

“Tony, isn’t this a bit much? The grandness of your home is overwhelming, especially for something you don’t use often.” Steve remarked, feeling a bit out of place from the amount of luxury.

“Ole fellow, I’ve had this apartment for a long time. This is where I stay if I have to be in the UK for some reason.” Tony shrugged it off. They both went their separate ways after that, bidding each other good night. They agreed that Steve would stay behind while Tony went to the hospital the next day.

Chapter Text

Harry sat alone in the hospital room feeling a mix of relief and anxiety. Dudley had left with Aunt Marge this morning, as soon as visiting hours began. As usual, Marge had made him feel even more like a freak and failure, blaming him for the accident and damning him to hell and back for Uncle Vernon’s death.

Harry couldn’t help but think, ‘Good riddance.’ Uncle Vernon had caused him nothing but pain for as long as he could remember. He knew it was not right to think that way, but after living in fear for so long, it was relieving to not have to worry about being thrown into a cupboard without food or being hit with a belt.

Despite everything, Harry was a bit worried about Aunt Petunia. He didn’t like her, at all, but she was his mother’s sister. Dumbledore had said he needed to stay with her for the protection he gets from the blood wards from his mother’s death, though Harry had doubts about that. After overhearing Dumbledore talk to McGonagall, he wasn’t sure how much of it was true.

He couldn’t understand why Dumbledore had refused his begging to stay at Hogwarts over the summer, especially with him knowing about the abuse. So, forgive him for being resentful of the old coot, with everything being labelled “for the greater good.” Hogwarts was supposed to be the safest place on Earth, but his first two years had been spent battling or figuring out some danger. Even as a twelve-year-old, he could see that it wasn’t right.

Going back to what was happening around him, he was confused, to say the least. A nurse had come in a few minutes ago to tell him he was being moved to a new, private ward. He was baffled as to why. Who would do something like that, especially for a “freak” like him.

He was glad to be moving, though. The only other person in the room was an old man, who kept asking intrusive questions, on why Marge had said what she did. Not that he answered those questions. He had never liked talking to strangers; they always said weird things. Mostly from people he hadn’t known were wizards before Hogwarts. Always thanking him for things he couldn’t remember about the night his parents died. He only knew that it had landed him with the Dursleys.

“Harry Potter?” A nurse called as she walked into the room. Harry hadn’t seen her before and wondered why the friendly nurse from earlier hadn’t come again.

“That’s me,” He responded softly.

“I’m here to move you to your new room. You’ll be moved to one of our private wards, and I’ll be your personal nurse for however long you are here. You may call me Nurse Laura or simply Laura.” She explained.

“Also, on Monday, a man will be coming to see you, as well as another doctor you haven’t met yet, and a few tests will be done.” She kindly informed him.

“Now, in the report of your injuries, nothing indicated that you couldn’t walk, but you have signs of being severely malnourished, and we don’t want to take any chances. So, a wheelchair is on its way over so I can move you without the concern of injuring yourself further.”

“Ah, okay.” Harry replied, though he knew he could walk perfectly okay. He had navigated Hogwarts without any problems, although he often got tired. However, he didn’t want to argue with the nurse. They were supposed to know what was best for his health, probably better than Dumbledore ever could.

“Tomorrow, someone from the childcare services will come around. They’ll be here to ask you a few questions about your home situation and any possible negligence. I’ve heard that your uncle has already passed away. If there are any signs of negligence, then we will do our best to make sure you don’t have to go back.

“Although, I don’t think there will be any problems with that, especially with that certain man coming on Monday, and the tests we have been asked to do.” The nurse told him.

“Who is coming over, and what tests are being done?” He sure hoped it wasn’t Dumbledore.

“I would love to tell you who is coming over, but I have signed an NDA.” Laura sighed, “Don’t worry no one bad, just a lot of press around him, and I can understand why he doesn’t want this to get out if the tests are positive or false.

“As for the tests, I am allowed to share that they are simple DNA tests for you and himself. I think the results will be quite pleasing, considering how confident the man is about the outcome.” Laura finished just as someone rolled in an empty wheelchair. “Alright, your ride is here.”

Harry nodded his head, carefully getting out of the bed with Laura’s help and settled into the wheelchair. As they journeyed up the hospital, into a more secure and private section, a few floors up, he noticed the difference immediately. The area was more homier looking than the sterile white and blue room he had come from.

“The nurses had a good laugh when the mysterious man said he would pay for everything. Americans always seem to forget that we have free health care. However, our private suites are not free. They are for high-status patients or for those willing to pay and wanting added luxuries while getting treatment.” She told him as they made their way into one of the rooms.

As they entered the room, his breath was taken away, by a hospital room no less. He could fit the Dursley’s entire lounge and maybe even their kitchen in there. There was a window on the opposite side of the room from where they had come from, that reached both the floor and ceiling. The wall cut across diagonally before cutting back to the wall; there was a door there, leading into a bathroom.

There was a bit of space after that, where there was a shelf built into the wall with a vase of yellow tulips. The hospital bed was close to the wooden area where the shelf sat, it was shaped like an upside-down L, the pattern flowed through onto the ceiling. Some curtains ran around the edge of the wood but were drawn open at the moment. The bed lay in the middle of that space.

The frame of the bed was like that of all hospital beds, but was of better quality, the mattress looked thicker and way softer than the bed he had just been on. The sheets on it looked so warm. There was a carpeted area under the bed, but the rest of the floor was wooden. A sink sat in a granite counter on the same wall that led outside the room, with a painting of a sunny beach above it. Opposite the bed was a sitting area with two armchairs and a coffee table.

The room was modern, done in monochromatic themes of beiges, a completely different style from what Harry was used to. He was used to the old-fashioned traditional furniture at Hogwarts or the second-hand run-me-downs that were just broken from Dudley. However, he most certainly liked the clean, open feeling that the modern design offered. If only he knew what his future held for him, he would know this wasn’t even a taste of what was to come.

Once he was situated in his new room and left to his own thoughts, he didn’t know what to think of the situation. Who could be paying for the room? He doubted it would be out of the Dursleys’ money, and he doubted that Dumbledore even knew he had been in the accident yesterday. Heck, he didn’t think any wizard would know about him being in a hospital, let alone one that would let him stay here and put him in a private room. They would have moved him to St Mungo’s where they could have fixed him in a few minutes.

Harry wasn’t going to deny that he liked his new room, it made him feel like someone cared for him for once. Even with what the nurse had said about DNA tests with some man she couldn’t name, he doubted that anyone could be related to him outside of the Dursleys and his parents.

He knew that it couldn’t be his grandparents because he had already tried to find his dad’s parents when he got to Hogwarts. He had contacted the Goblins through a letter, only to receive a response that, sadly, his grandparents had died shortly before he was born, of dragon pox.

He had also been informed that he had no living relatives of the Potters that were close enough in blood to take care of him. As well as that his mom’s parents had been killed by Death Eaters shortly after Voldemort’s defeat.

So, he was stuck living with the Dursleys, and there was no possible way someone could take custody of him through blood relation. Unless there was something else that he hadn’t been told about, not that that wasn’t the normal case for him. Always out of the loop.

When nurse Laura came back later to get his lunch order, he asked about his trunk that had been in the car crash with him. He asked if he would be able to get some books to read while he was here, he wasn’t sure if there was anything worthwhile to watch.

Laura told him that she would look into getting his trunk for him, saying that it had likely gone with the car in the tow truck, and she would try and retrieve it for him. Considering it had his initials “H.P.” on it, it should be rather easy. When she came back with his lunch, she brought him a few books, including the first book in the Percy Jackson series, that he had seen some of the muggle-borns read.

Harry spent the rest of the day engrossed in the book, that he had heard so much about, outside of taking breaks to eat and shower, and obviously sleep. It would have been a shame not to enjoy the comfortable bed while he was here.

The following day, after having finished the book, and starting another from the pile he had been given, a kind-looking man, that looked to be at least 1.7 meters tall, with salt-and-pepper hair and brown eyes knocked on his open door.

“Hi Harry, may I come in?” the man asked.

“Uhh, yeah, sure,” Harry replied, he was feeling awkward about meeting so many new people he would probably never see again.

“My name is John Green, and I’m from the child-care services. I’m just going to ask you a few questions. Is it alright if I sit?” Harry nodded, and the man moved one of the chairs to the side of his bed and sat down.

“I wanted to talk to you about your household environment. The doctors have alerted me to some concerning signs, and I would like to know what caused them. Do you think you can answer the questions I am going to ask you?”

“I..I’ll try my best, sir.”

“That’s all I can ask for, and please call me John.” The man, John, said softly, noticing that Harry was fidgeting. It was clear that he was uncomfortable and would rather not talk about it.

“Okay… John.” Harry knew he could do this. All he had to do was tell the truth, but now that the opportunity had presented itself, someone who would actually rescue him, he wasn’t so sure he could. Not after he had been let down by other adults.

“Harry, can you tell me about any time that you felt threatened at home?” All it took was that one question to set Harry off. He told his life story, of living with his aunt and uncle, being bullied by his own cousin, minus all the magical stuff.

By the time John left, he was in shock. He had seen worse cases, in terms of physical abuse, but the amount of emotional, verbal, and mental abuse that twelve-year-old boy had faced was not something he often came across. It was the most difficult to find in abused children, with no physical scars to alert them.

Vernon Dursley could be glad he was dead, otherwise, John would have ensured he didn’t live the rest of his life in peace. He didn’t know what to do about Harry’s aunt, Petunia. She was a tricky case, especially being in a coma, but in all his life, he never thought he would be wishing someone dead. He needed to find the other boy, Dudley, so he could be placed in a better environment, where the people would care about his health and not how his parents had.

Harry was exhausted after having spoken so much. After eating lunch a little later due to John’s visit, a doctor came to swab his cheek for a DNA sample. He had started to dose off while they got what they needed for the tests, once they had left, he fell asleep. He woke up in the early hours of Monday morning, he quickly went to the toilet, then settled back into bed with the book he had started reading the day before, waiting for the day’s events to unfold.

He was disturbed from his reading by a knock on his door. Turning to face, whoever had decided to visit him now. He was met with the face of a man, that looked like the older version of himself, only the man’s eyes were brown, and his chest seemed to glow faintly.

~~~~~

At exactly six a.m., Tony Stark walked into the hospital to have his DNA taken and tested alongside Harry’s. By 6:45, he was standing outside Harry’s door. Through the small window in the door, he could see Harry was absorbed in whatever book he was reading. The boy looked like a miniature version of him, although his hair was longer and more of an untamed mess, a trait Tony knew as a recognizable feature of Stark men.

Tony took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves. He had faced life-threatening situations, fought and won many battles. But now, standing outside this door, about to meet this boy who is his son. This was unlike anything he had ever faced before.

Finally building up the courage to knock, he nudged the door open, knocking on it lightly, with the DNA results in his hand. Tony was frozen were he stood as bright emerald-green eyes stared straight into his soul.

Chapter Text

Tony was stuck in the doorway to Harry’s hospital room. The vivid greenness of Harry’s eyes held him in place, a striking reminder of Lily Potter from all those years ago. This was his son. He had known that for a long time, but now he had undeniable proof in his hands that HE was Harry’s biological father. No one could deny him that. No one could take Harry away from him.

Something had shifted inside of him, looking into Harry’s eyes. He felt a sense of completeness, a realization that his life had just gained a new meaning. This child was his, and he honestly had no clue that it would spark such a profound emotion within him. He felt that Harry and himself could face the world together and come out on top. All he could think about were the years he had missed out on because he had never been told about the death of the Potters.

Tony was hesitant, unsure of what to say, where to even start. ‘Hi, I know this sounds crazy, but I’m your real dad.’ Nope, he couldn’t start off like that.

“Um,” Harry said unsurely, “are you going to just stand there?” he called out softly. He didn’t want to be rude, but the man who looked oddly like him had been staring for the last five minutes and it was making him anxious. He really wanted to know if it was just a coincidence that they looked alike, in all but age, or if there was yet again something he hadn’t been told.

“No. Sorry. I just got stuck in my thoughts there. You’re Harry Potter, right? Is it alright if I call you Harry?” Tony was a nervous wreck. This shouldn’t be that difficult, but just seeing the kid sitting there with those big eyes, with a glimmer of hope in them, had him feeling like he was about to sweat an entire river.

“Yeah, you can call me Harry. Uh, do you want to have a seat?” Harry felt very awkward at the moment. He honestly had no idea what to say to this man he didn’t even know. “Uh, if you don’t mind me asking, but who are you?”

“Right, should have told you that from the start. I’m Tony Stark.” Tony said, trying to steady his nerves. “And I honestly think,” Tony sighed, “the best way to go about this is to just give you the test results.” He handed over the DNA results to Harry, then pulled up a chair next to the bed.

Harry took the paper from the man named Tony, his heart pounding. The top of the page read, ‘DNA Results’. This was going to be interesting, especially given the information he had received from the Goblins. The results contained a bunch of data that he didn’t understand; numbers and letters mixed together, comparisons between his and Tony’s DNA. There were various sections circled and ticked. However, it was the conclusion at the bottom of the paper that caught his eye. It read:

“The results of the test done, on the inquiry of one, Stark, Anthony Edward, shows that there is a 99.98% Paternal match between one Potter, Harry James Anthony, and one Stark, Anthony Edward. This can be concluded to Stark, Anthony Edward being the biological father of Potter, Harry James Anthony.”

Harry was at a loss for words, to say the least. His dad wasn’t his dad, but rather this man in front of him. Everyone had always said he looked like a mini-James Potter, but if James wasn’t even his father, then what did that mean? Harry sat there feeling lost; his whole life was a lie. Tears of frustration were welling up in the corner of his eyes.

Tony sat there watching the kid, he could see he was frustrated, anxious even. He hadn’t stopped watching him since he handed over the results. He saw the confusion give way to a realization and a stillness as he processed the last part. He didn’t understand the frustration though. He knew he should explain everything, but it was probably best to let Harry come to terms with the knowledge first. Damnit, he didn’t know what to do, he could screw this all up before it even began.

“So,” Harry paused. “You’re my father?” He asked after what felt like an eternity of being lost in his own thoughts.

“Yes, I am.” Tony replied. He was determined to answer the questions directly, and not skirt around the truth. That might lead to issues further down the line.

“You knew I was your kid?” Harry’s voice was void, dreading the answer to his question.

“Yes, I’ve known you were my kid since before you were born. I-”

“Then why didn’t you take care of me after they died!” Harry half shouted, his voice filled with anger and hurt.

Tony was stunned. He should have expected this, but it hadn’t fully registered in his brain that Harry might be upset over the same thing that had been haunting him.

“I-” For once in his life, Tony was speechless. He took a deep breath and decided to tell Harry the full story. “Can I tell you the story of how you came to be, without me ever being involved in your life first, and then I can answer your questions?”

“Fine,” Harry bit out, he couldn’t understand, how there could be any excuses, especially for not being there for him.

“Back in 1999, I met Lily and James Potter at some charity event,” Tony began, his voice steady, despite how he was feeling. “I couldn’t remember the name of the event when it happened. I spent most of the night talking to Lily; I thought we had really hit it off. Later, she introduced me to her husband, James. They were having trouble with getting pregnant.

“They said James had been in an accident in high school that had left him unable to have children. Since James and I looked similar, they asked if I could help them out, so I did. It was all done scientifically, IVF, nothing physical, never had that type of relationship with either of them.

“I only saw your parents twice in my life, when I met them and the day at the clinic.” Tony told the kid. Harry looked like he was contemplating everything, trying to process the information. “Your parents and I decided that you would only meet me when you turned twenty-one and everything would then be explained to you,” Tony continued.

“We even decided that you would be given the option to take over my business if I didn’t have someone else to. A few days after your birth, I received a photo of you in Lily’s arms with James beside her. It was a shock when they gave you my name as one of your names. I honestly wasn’t expecting it. I guess they never told anyone about what happened.” Tony paused, giving Harry time to digest it all.

“So, you were never meant to be in my life? Did you not care when they died?” Harry shot back, still a little angry but starting to understand why the results said what they did.

“Harry, I might have never meant to be in your life until you were older. I thought that James and Lily would make excellent parents, but I wasn’t a family man back then. I couldn’t look after myself, let alone a child. As far as I knew, I was just helping out a desperate family.” Tony needed to put that out there before continuing on.

“Now, I don’t know what went into your parents’ will, if they even mentioned me in it, but I wasn’t aware that they had passed away. Last year, after the New York invasion. I started searching for you and your family, I’ve been trying to get my priorities straight. It wasn’t until a few days ago, when the car crash made the news, that I learned of your parents’ tragic death, and that you had been living with your mother’s relatives.”

Harry’s anger had turned from Tony to all the things that had gone wrong in his life. He could have had a better life, being raised by his own father, maybe he could have even avoided thinking he was a freak. His anger built up, as his thoughts spiralled, filling the room with a static charge. His magic built up around the room, the lights flickered, before they burst.

Tony quickly moved to shield Harry from any falling sparks or glass, as they rained down from above. The nurses quickly rushed in to check on them. Once they were deemed okay, they moved Harry into a new room. Tony trailed after them. Harry was in a state of panic, he had seemed okay when the nurses were here, but now that they were alone, the panic seemed to set in.

Watching Harry, Tony knew that it had been his anger that had caused the sudden electrical disturbance. His gut had guided him through countless situations before, and it was telling him the same thing now.

He felt helpless, not knowing exactly how to comfort Harry, but he needed to. He wrapped his arms around his vulnerable child, pulling him closer as he sat on the bed next to him. He gently rubbed Harry’s back, whispering soothing words, telling him that he was safe now and that he wasn’t going anywhere. Tony felt a wetness develop on his chest, realizing that Harry had started to cry softly into it.

It took ten long minutes before Harry calmed down, and Tony couldn’t help but wonder what kind of life this kid had had, to cause such powerful emotions. He had a newfound determination to protect his kid.

“Harry, I’m here. I’ve got you, and I’m never going to leave you,” Tony said softly. “I should’ve stayed in contact with your parents, but I didn’t see it as my right to. Now, though, I want to be your dad, but I don’t want to replace James. I don’t know what you’ve been through, but I promise you, I won’t let it go unnoticed anymore. I’ll do my best to protect you. When you’re ready, I’ll be here to listen to everything you have to say.”

Harry gave a weak laugh at Tony’s words, a small but significant sound that gave Tony hope.

“I’ve never been able to trust adults,” Harry said barely above a whisper. “They have never seemed to care or believe me. But, Tony, I honestly hope that I can finally have someone I can go to.” He said with a waver in his voice.

“Maybe one day, I’ll call you Dad, but I don’t feel comfortable with that yet. I have something I need to tell you, but I’m not sure if I can. It’s not just my secret to tell, and it might change the way you see me,” Harry was feeling impossibly overwhelmed. Being in an unfamiliar place wasn’t helping his anxiety.

Tony loosened his hold and gave Harry a reassuring smile. “Why don’t we get out of here and get to know each other better? I’m sure you don’t need to be in a hospital this long for a broken arm.”

“Laura said they still wanted to do some tests on me today,” Harry told Tony. “Not sure for what though.”

“Well then, let me go check what tests they still want to do. And if it’s not too important we can maybe get out of here. Tony said, getting up off of the bed, Harry nodding in agreement. As Tony headed out of the room, Harry’s mind raced with concerns about the Ministry of Magic potentially showing up, like they did when Dobby did magic in the Dursley’s house.

He wondered if he could tell Tony about magic. If Tony was his father, then surely, he’d have the right to know, surely? His thoughts drifted to Hedwig. He had sent her to the Weasleys’ house, but knowing her, she had probably sensed that he was hurt, and would have come looking for him. At least he knew that his trunk was safe, despite not being with him. He should ask Tony if they could fetch it when they left the hospital.

While Harry was lost in his thoughts, Tony approached the small reception area in the private ward. He inquired about the remaining tests that they wanted to run on Harry. They assured him that it was nothing serious or health-related; they merely wanted to study why he was healing so quickly. Tony quickly shot that down, asserting that Harry would not be treated as a lab rat, and that they would all be hearing from his attorney.

He quickly signed Harry out of the hospital and settled the expenses. Asking why it wasn’t higher, the nurse sighed at him, muttering under her breath. Explaining that healthcare was free. Walking back to the room, he realized he didn’t have any clothes for Harry to wear. He didn’t know the state of the clothes Harry would have been wearing during the accident. He shrugged off his jacket, intending for Harry to wear it. They would only be heading back to his apartment, after all.

When Tony got back to the room, he saw that his son was deep in thought. Taking a closer look, Tony noticed how much Harry resembled him when he was younger. He was shorter and skinner than he had been, but they shared the same nose and lips. Harry’s lips were on the plumper side, was it kissable lips that people liked to call them? Dang, that was something he was going to have to deal with when Harry got older. His son, dating, that was a whole other can of worms he didn’t want to open.

His nose, while being more button-like, had the same sharp angle as his own. His eyes were entirely his mother’s, big and round, unlike his sharp brown ones. Though his eyes seemed brighter than what he remembered as Lily’s being. Harry’s longer and curly hair reminded him of when he used to let it grow out. He realized that with a haircut, they would look even more alike.

He could tell that once Harry grew older and lost the baby fat on his face, his jawline would resemble his own sharp one. Although he had nothing on Cap, and the beard made it look sharper than it was.

“Hey,” Tony called out softly, getting Harry’s attention. “Good news. The tests they wanted to run weren’t necessary, so I’ve signed you out. I’m ready to go when you are.”

“Really! That’s great. But, uh, do you think we could go and fetch my school trunk? Laura says it’s at the impound nearby. It has all my things in it.” He was relieved, to say the least, he didn’t want to be in the hospital any longer.

“Of course,” Tony reassured him. “We can go get your school trunk. And here, I don’t know if you’ll need it, but you can wear my jacket. It’s going to be rather large on you, but it’ll do for now. As long as you stay in the car.”

“Thanks,” Harry said taking the jacket from Tony as he got out of bed. His clothes were in the cupboard, but it would be nice to cover himself up. Getting dressed, the jacket was large on him, but the gesture made him feel warmer inside. Standing next to Tony he felt more secure.

“So, I’m not going to ask how it’s possible that all your stuff fits inside one school trunk, surely you have more?” Tony asked puzzled.

Harry shook his head. “My aunt and uncle never liked me. I only got hand-me-downs from my cousin,” he said. He hoped another adult might believe him, like the man from yesterday.

“Harry,” Tony said gently, “did they do anything to you, things that an adult shouldn’t do to a child?” Harry looked away at his questioning, Tony feared the worst. If his kid had been touched inappropriately… what he would do to those people.

“I… There was a man here yesterday, from childcare services, that I spoke to. He, um, knows everything that happened. Nothing too bad, I swear…” Harry trailed off. “I- I’ll tell you, what happened, but please not right now. I’m not feeling up to it right now.” Harry knew he could trust Tony, but after the emotions he had gone through earlier, he just wasn’t up to it today.

“Hey, kid, that’s perfectly fine.” Tony said, giving him a small smile, his fears calming a little. “I’m not going to rush you into anything. All in your own time, okay? Just know that when you’re ready to talk, I’ll be there.” Harry smiled back, nodding his head.

“Okay then,” Tony said. “Why don’t we go fetch that trunk of yours and head back to my place? I have a friend of sorts, who came with me from America. Don’t even know if you could call him a friend; we work together, and he lives in the building I own. But hey, he offered to come along.” Tony rambled as they made their way out of the hospital.

Once they were in the elevator, Tony looked down, to notice Harry had socks on but no shoes on. “Hey kid, what happened to your shoes?”

“Uh,” Harry looked down at his feet feeling embarrassed. “They must have got lost or destroyed during the accident.” His cheeks flushed.

“Do you want a piggy-back ride to my car? Don’t need you slipping or getting your socks dirty on the way there.” Tony said crouching down to Harry’s height. He realized that Harry was rather small for his age.

Harry was taken aback, sure, he had never ridden on the back of a parent, and he was way too old for one. But for some reason, he couldn’t find himself saying no. “Really? I’ve never had one before.” His inner child, which was screaming to do something fun, had him saying yes.

“Of course, kid. I wasn’t going to offer if I wasn’t serious.” Tony said in all seriousness.

Harry took a moment before getting onto Tony’s back. As Tony stood up, he looped his arms under Harry’s legs. Grateful that he worked out regularly and was used to the heavy Ironman suit. Although Harry weighed nothing in comparison to his suit.

Once out of the elevator, Tony walked them to his car. It was parked on the far side of the lot, despite being here so early. He had already messaged his driver that they were on the way. Once at the car, Tony placed Harry into the back seat, before sliding in next to him. Surprising the driver who worked for the London branch of Stark Industries. There was another NDA that was going to be needed. Jarvis should be handling those already.

Tony instructed the driver to go to the nearest impound lot. Despite the lot being only about 20 minutes away, the lunchtime traffic made the trip longer. They had been in the hospital longer than expected. It didn’t take long before Harry started to dose off in the back, exhausted from the emotional day.

Retrieving Harry’s school trunk didn’t take long. It had been removed from the car when the car had been taken to a repair shop by the insurance company covering Harry’s relatives. There was some blood on the trunk, but the old man running the place said they hadn’t been able to open it. Tony had to pay extra to get the trunk back and keep it off the books. And then a bit more on top of it to keep his presence in London a secret. The old coot knew how to get money out of him.

Harry was still asleep when Tony got back into the car, surprised he hadn’t been woken by the noise. When they made it back to Tony’s apartment. Tony had the driver bring the trunk into the elevator before he left. Cap could bring it into the apartment, since it was a private lift. Tony carried Harry in his arms, as they rode the elevator up. When the doors opened, he saw Steve standing there.

Steve smiled at the sight of the little boy in Tony’s arms, before grabbing the trunk that was beside them. Tony carried Harry into his room, placing him under the sheets carefully, not wanting to disturb his sleep. He found Harry’s trunk by the door, before making his way to the kitchen.

“Thanks,” Tony said to Steve when he saw him standing there.

“No problem,” Steve said softly with a goofy smile on his face. “Let me know if you need me to do anything, otherwise I’ll be around.”

“Will do Capsicle. I don’t want to leave Harry by himself, so if I’m needed. I’ll be in my room.” Steve nodded in response, his smile lingering. So, Tony made his way back to his room. He got in on the other side of the bed, it would be better if Harry didn’t wake up in a strange environment by himself.

Just as Tony got comfortable, Harry turned and cuddled into Tony’s lap. Preferring to use it as a pillow than the actual one. Tony smiled softly at his son, running his fingers through Harry’s messy hair. He pulled out his StarkPad from the bedside table and started on some work, replying to emails and reassuring Pepper that everything was alright.

This moment, even one of peace, felt like the first of many for Tony. He had already missed so much and wanted to savour the little bubble of comfort and security he was in, hoping it would never go away.

Chapter Text

Harry woke to the feeling of fingers running through his hair and his name being called softly. His eyes fluttered open, squinting at the brightness of the room. The persistent calling of his name wouldn’t allow him to rest. Finally opening his eyes, he gazed up to see Tony, his father, watching him with a soft smile.

Harry’s head rested in Tony’s lap, and as he watched Harry join the waking world, he couldn’t help but think affectionately of his son. Tony had only been able to do so much work before he got bored of reviewing drafts. His fingers itched to create, so instead of working, he had made lists; lists of all the possible ways in which he could spoil Harry. He knew he shouldn’t go overboard, no one ever seemed to appreciate his gifts. But this was his son, and he was Tony Stark, so they could all be damned. He would do what he wanted.

As much as he had wanted to let Harry sleep, the sun was starting to dip down. And there didn’t need to be two people with bad sleeping habits in the family. Tony was disturbed from his thoughts by Harry reaching towards him.

“What’s this?” Harry asked softly, reaching out to touch the light emanating from Tony’s chest.

“It’s an arc reactor,” Tony explained. “It’s keeping tiny pieces of shrapnel from reaching my heart, and most likely killing me.” He could see the worry creep into Harry’s eyes. “Fear not, my child, for I am in good health, and you have nothing to worry about.” Tony boomed playfully before he started to tickle Harry’s sides.

Harry burst into giggles, wriggling around as Tony tickled him, being careful of Harry’s broken arm. The sound of laughter filled the room, and Tony found the sound more precious than anything he owned. As he eased up on the tickling, Harry continued to laugh, a happy smile on his face. Looking like the child he was despite his short stature.

His mind raced with numbers and formulas that could help Harry restore the nutrition he had lost during his childhood, potentially aiding his growth. Thanking the time and effort he had put into studying nutrition after he had returned from Afghanistan, despite never using it. When it came to Harry’s health, he would never go as far as something like the super-soldier serum Cap had taken. However, he would try his hardest to give Harry the best future possible.

As Harry’s laughter died, Tony spoke gently, “Why don’t we get something to eat? You must be hungry after sleeping so long,” he suggested. He hoped to introduce Harry to Cap if he was around. He didn’t want to put introductions off for too long. It was better for Harry to meet Cap now rather than by being startled by a stranger in the place. Cap had already seen the kid, and he knew he was staying here, but Harry not so much. He didn’t want a repeat of the hospital room.

“Sure, I’m fine with whatever you want.” Harry knew that his situation had changed, that he wasn’t stuck in an abusive situation anymore. However, it was hard for him to express his desires. Even with having been to Hogwarts and the Weasleys’ home, he had never been able to express his desires. At least not in terms of food. He was used to his wants being overlooked anyways.

“You sure, 'cause we can get whatever you want?” Tony asked. He could see Harry was waging a war in his own mind. “We can get Chinese, Italian, although my Italian food would be better. There is also pizza, burgers, you name it. I can get it. And that doesn’t just go for food, if you ever want or need anything, just let me know. There’s very little that I can’t get for you.” He said, trying to assure Harry about his doubts.

“Uh, pizza sounds good, and…” Harry took a reassuring breath. “Um, maybe we can get some treacle tart? It’s a favourite of mine.”

“Sure, kid. I can’t say I’ve ever had treacle tart, but I’m not afraid to try something new. Jarvis, get us the regular order of plus and extra cheese pizza with…” Tony looked at Harry, raising an eyebrow.

“Um, pepperoni, please.”

“And another pepperoni pizza, along with a good helping of treacle tart, and a few slices of apple pie.”

“Yes, sir. I would also recommend that young sir put on some clean clothing. There is children's clothing in your wardrobe sir. However, it may be rather large on young sir, as I assumed him to be a typical twelve-year-old size. Given his smaller stature, I would advise that you go shopping sooner rather than later.”

“Thanks J. I’ll do that as soon as I can.” Tony paused for a moment before continuing. “Harry that is Jarvis. It stands for Just a Rather Very Intelligent System. He’s an AI that I built. If you’re ever lost in the house, need anything, or just want to talk, he’s there. When I get you a new phone, he will also be built into that. I’ve integrated his infrastructure into all my main residences.”

“Hello, younger sir. It is nice to formally meet you.”

“Um, hello, Jarvis. It’s nice to meet you as well. You can just call me Harry, no need to call me sir.” Harry answered, looking around in awe.

“Will do young Harry.”

“Jarvis has a habit of calling people what he wants, so don’t mind him. I’ve been trying to get him to call me Tony for years. Isn’t that right, J?”

“Yes, sir.”

With that, Tony got out of bed and walked over to his wardrobe area. Harry stayed in bed, so Tony motioned for him to follow. Harry got out of bed with a big yawn and sleepily made his way to Tony’s side. Tony pushed open the door, and Harry stared in amazement. Tony couldn’t help but smile at his kid, but Harry’s next comment took that smile away.

“This is bigger than any of the rooms I have lived in. I mean, of course, it’s bigger than a cupboard under the stairs, but then I got to stay in the smallest bedroom in the house. I think it’s just bigger than the dorm room, but that was a circle so it’s difficult to judge. This is like three times bigger than anything the Dursleys gave me.”

“Harry, you won’t ever be living in a small room again. I can promise you that your next bedroom is going to be even bigger than this walk-in closet.” Tony said as he crouched down beside Harry, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“Do I have to sleep somewhere else? I mean, it was nice sleeping here. It made me feel… safe.” Tony’s heart melted at the spoken words.

“Kid, of course, you can stay with me. I just thought you might want your own room.” Harry shook his head and hugged Tony, almost knocking him over from his crouched position. Tony, a bit shaken at first, quickly returned the hug, feeling Harry tighten his grip even more.

Tony and Harry hugged for a few minutes before Jarvis informed them that Steve had left the house. Jarvis had sent him on a mission to get ice cream from a nearby parlour. He had hinted to the Captain that he might get onto Harry’s good books by doing so. Jarvis then went on to inform him that the food would be arriving shortly. With some reluctance, they both let go of the hug. Tony would be lying if he said he didn’t shed a tear over the moment they had just shared.

They quickly set about getting dressed. Every time Tony suggested something in his classic red and gold, Harry shot it down. He explained that they were his schoolhouse colours, and he didn’t want to wear them all the time. Tony felt a bit hurt, wondering if Harry didn’t like Iron Man. But surprising Harry hadn’t shown any recognition of his name. There was a possibility that he didn’t know about Iron Man, however strange it may be. Harry eventually settled on a plain green T-shirt, the colour oddly reminding Tony of Loki and Harry of Slytherin, along with a pair of jeans.

By the time the pizza had arrived, they were both sitting in the kitchen. Tony couldn’t get over the amazement on Harry’s face whenever they entered a new room, especially when they got to the kitchen. Sometimes, he forgot that others didn’t grow up with the same luxuries.

“Tony?” Harry asked as his father, wasn’t that a mind boggler, opened up the pizza boxes.

“Yeah, kid?” Tony answered looking up to see Harry looking anxious.

“Just, uh, thanks. You didn’t have to find me or even go looking. So, yeah uh thanks for taking me in.” Harry blushed looking away, feeling embarrassed.

“Kid, I would fight a thousand battles, if it meant I could have you in my life. So don’t stress, I’m just glad I found you before anything terrible happened.” Tony said reaching across to ruffle Harry’s hair.

“Tony,” Harry said in a more casual tone, “would I be able to bake in here?” He asked while grabbing a few slices of pizza to put on his plate.

“Sure kiddo,” he didn’t pay any mind to the question. “Just make sure there’s an adult with you. Jarvis can keep an eye on you, but he can’t do much if something goes wrong. But feel free to.” He replied. “I’ve got my nonna’s old recipe book. I think the original copy is in Malibu. But J’s got a copy.” Tony smiled.

“Thanks. I’ve always enjoyed baking, even though my aunt made me cook. I don’t mind cooking, just not alone.” Tony crumpled the napkin in his hand. “I liked helping my friend’s mom in the kitchen when I was over though,” Harry said, smiling warmly at Tony.

As Harry shared personal details of his life, even though they were still new to know each other. Tony sensed there were deeper, potentially darker stories Harry might share in time. He didn’t even want to think of Harry’s relatives as human, Harry would tell him it all in due time. It tugged at his heart. He realised he was growing to love his son quickly and wished he had looked for him sooner.

“No problem!” Tony said trying not to let his emotions show, he didn’t want to get into a fit, just as Harry was opening up to him. “Let’s eat!” As they dug into their meal, Tony observed Harry’s delighted expression as he took his first bite of pizza. Harry glanced at Tony with wide eyes before devouring the rest of his pizza without another word. Not realising this was the first time Harry was having it. Tony took another bite of pizza before getting up to grab water for both of them.

While Tony’s back was turned, occupied with gathering drinks. Steve walked in behind, setting a bucket of ice cream on the table. Proudly announcing he had found the best ice cream in the area. Harry having been oblivious, was so startled that everything went dark momentarily when the power tripped.

After a few seconds, Jarvis rebooted the power systems. “Sir, there seemed to be a large fluctuation of energy in the room. Power has been restored and all systems are busy rebooting. Estimated time for full restoration is around 30 minutes.”

“Thanks J.” Tony said, now standing with empty glasses in his hands and a puddle of water beneath him.

“Whoops,” Harry said sheepishly, his heart still beating a mile a minute, while Steve just stared at him in surprise.

“Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time this has happened today,” Tony said to Steve, who looked at him questioningly. “Do you have anything to say, Harry? Seeing as though this is a repeat event. The first time is chance, the second time is a pattern kiddo, and at three, well, I don’t want to study my own kid.” He threw a towel down to clean up the mess and refilled the glasses, grabbing one for Steve in the process.

“Uh…” Harry went quiet, thinking about what to do. He knew he could tell Tony, he wanted to. But he wasn’t so sure about the other man, and Steve could see by the looks he was being sent by the kid that he was reluctant.

“I’m Steve Rogers. I work with Tony. You could probably call us friends.” Steve said, trying to ease the tension.

“I’m Harry,” he replied softly.

“Nice to meet you, Harry.”

“Okay, no more pleasantries, Cap. Harry?” Tony said trying to bring the conversation back on topic. He didn’t want to interrogate his son, but he didn’t want his electronics frying every day. Not with his hobbies.

“I don’t know if I can tell Mr Rogers,” Harry said, his voice wavering. Steve noticed that Harry had more manners than his father, but he was going to shelve those thoughts away for later.

“It’s okay, Steve can keep a secret,” Tony reassured him.

“Um, okay.” Harry could do this, he took down a basilisk this year, but this was nothing. He just didn’t want to be thought of as a freak by his own father. He needs to rip the band-aid off. “I’m a wizard.”

A wizard. Tony thought, his eyebrows raising. “Like Loki type of magic, flying around on a broomstick wizard, a double double toil and trouble kinda wizard or like Merlin?” Tony fired off. He was curious but surprisingly open-minded, Harry was grateful.

“Um, I’ve heard that some traditionalists pray to different gods, but no, not like Loki, at least I don’t think so. Broomsticks are usually only used in sports, not really for travelling. Potions are a yes, but my teacher is horrible. And Merlin is a historical and actual person. He’s one of the founding members of the wizarding society here in Europe, or so I’ve read.”

Steve was impressed by Harry’s ability to keep up with Tony, but then again, they were related. Tony, on the other hand, was uncharacteristically speechless, even if only momentarily.

“I knew a few wizards back in my day,” Steve said, breaking the silence. “They joined in our battle against HYDRA. Apparently, HYDRA had teamed up with an evil wizard or something. Landed up fighting alongside a few wizards every now and then.

“That’s so cool, but how old are you? 'Cause the last dark wizard was Voldemort, and that was mainly aimed at a certain group of wizards. The one before him was Grindelwald, and you look way too young to have fought him, or Voldemort really.”

“Considering I was frozen in ice for 70-odd years, and because the name sounds familiar. I’d say it was this Grindelwald guy.”

“You were frozen in ice? That’s… well, kinda creepy.” Steve chuckled at that, astonished that Harry didn’t know who he was.

“Harry, can you tell us anything about being a wizard? Better yet, can you show me?” Tony asked, finally finding his voice after coming out of his thoughts.

“Uhh, I can’t really show you because I’m not seventeen yet. I haven’t even finished my schooling and I really don’t want to get in trouble with the ministry again.”

“Trouble with the Ministry?” Steve echoed, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, they don’t take too kindly to underage magic outside of school. But there are books we can get from our magical district, Diagon Alley. It’s kind of like a hidden part of London. I also need to go to the bank to see about a few things. And probably get my arm healed,” Harry said, glancing at his broken arm.

Tony’s mind was already racing with possibilities. “Alright, you can tell me later about getting in trouble with this ministry. You probably got that trait from me. I’m known for pissing the government off.”

“Language Tony,” Steve said, giving him a pointed look.

“And Diagon Alley you say.” Tony continued, ignoring Steve’s comment. “Jarvis, start gathering information on the place. I want to know everything you can find.”

“Already on it, sir.”

“A hidden magical district sounds fascinating. If you wouldn’t mind, can I tag along?” Steve asked.

Tony nodded. “We’ll get whatever you need from Diagon Alley. We can head out tomorrow. Get everything sorted out. Cap can you believe it,” Tony turned to Steve. “I’m the father of mini-Gandalf, how cool.” He said jumping around like a little kid.

Harry smiled, feeling a warmth he hadn’t felt since Hagrid had taken him shopping. “Thanks, Tony. It means a lot. And… if you’re interested, I can tell you what I know so long about magic. It’s just patchy cause our history teacher is a literal ghost and only teaches one subject."

“I’d love that,” Tony grinned. “And afterwards we can make our plans for tomorrow.”

Harry started sharing the limited knowledge he had, outside of goblin wars. Yes Tony, real goblins. The different subjects he took, as well as the magical creatures he had encountered. Minus the basilisk. Tony and Steve listened intently, amazed by the world that was right under their noses. For the first time in a long time, Harry felt like he belonged.

As this was happening a white shape appeared in the window. She squawked loudly, before peaking at the invisible wall that stood between her and her owner. All three heads turned towards her direction. One she recognized, the other looked like her boy, but much older, and the other she had no recollection of.

Harry turned to see a snowy owl sitting on the ledge outside the kitchen window. “Hedwig!” He shouted running to the window to let her in. Letting his fingers glide over her feathers as she stood on the kitchen counter.

Chapter Text

Tony’s life was turning around on itself, and he feels like the rest of his life is going to be lived in amazement, if how his day gone so far. First, he learns that his son has been abused by his own family after the Potters died, that Harry can do magic, and most of all his son is currently sitting with an owl on his shoulder as he starts on his treacle tart. He had been shocked to say the least, when Harry recognised the owl at the window, and then even asked for it to be allowed in. Steve was being a little shit, although he wasn’t little, had just been sitting eating, with a smug look on his face. Which came about after promptly telling Tony that he knew something that he didn’t. Tony had honestly never been so speechless in his life, let alone one day.

Harry kept feeding parts of his pizza to the owl, who he had guessed was called Hedwig, he didn’t think the pizza is the best thing for the owl to eat.

“J, what do owls normally eat? And can you order at least one of everything from a pet store that would be suitable for owls?” Tony called out breaking the silence in the room.

“Certainly sir. Owls are most likely to be found eating small rodents, but generally eat animals, they are not known to eat plant-based foods, as they are birds of prey. I have sent in an order for live and frozen rodents from a pet shop of high quality and well-recommended.”

“Thanks J.”

“You didn’t have to do that for me,” Harry said with wide eyes. “I’m used to sharing my food with her, with what little I was allowed.”

“Harry, now that you are with me, you will never have to suffer as you did before, I really think we need to have a discussion on what your relatives actually did to you. You will be loved and looked after from now on, you can ask for anything, if you need help, I’ll drop whatever I’m doing and help you, you are my son Harry, and I’ll do anything in my power to always be there for you and give you the best of what you deserve. No questions asked.” Hedwig seemed to hoot in agreement with Tony. While Harry just nodded, tears on the edge of his eyes. “Hey, you don’t need to cry, I’m only doing what is right.”

“I… I.. know that what you are doing is how any child should be treated, but after what I’ve been through, it just overwhelms me.” And with those few words, Harry went on to tell Tony and Steve what had happened to him while he had been living at the Dursleys.

Harry told them all about how he had been starved constantly, only getting scraps every now and then, but having to cook all the meals in the house. He told them he was constantly bullied by his cousin and the game called Harry Hunting, and even the bruises and the occasional broken bone that came from that game. He spoke about how Petunia once hit him over the head with a frying-pan but would otherwise only use her hand. He mentioned how they would call him a freak, a waste of space, and many other colourful words that made feel like a waste of space, and he had believed that for the majority of his life until he had gone to Hogwarts. Harry was going to tell them everything but getting to what Vernon had done to him over the years was hard. When Harry did finally manage to get to that part, he let it all out, telling Tony and Steve about the beatings he received if he wasn’t quite when his clients came around, about being hit with the buckle of a belt on his back so many times, and about the time Vernon broke his fingers when he did better then Dudley in a test. He spoke about everything small and everything that had greatly affected him.

It took a long time for Harry to speak about everything, by the time he had finished talking they had finished the pizza and even their dessert. However, Harry wanted, needed, to get everything off of his chest, some things he hadn’t even told the social worker.

“Harry,” Tony called out quietly, “Thank you for sharing everything with us, I know it mustn’t have been easy.”

“There’s still more, but it doesn’t relate to living with them, it’s more of what has happened while I’ve been at Hogwarts, the school I go to, to learn magic. After some things I heard just before we broke up, I’m not too sure if my school life should have been the way it was.”

“Harry, you can tell us anything you want, you don’t have to force yourself,” It was Steve who spoke up this time, wanting Harry to not push himself more then he needed to. After hearing what Harry had been through, both Steve and Tony didn’t want him to push himself more than needed.

“It’s okay, I want to talk about this, and I feel like now is the right time. Best to just get it out in the air, rather than to keep it in.” Hedwig gave a soft hoot in reply to Harry.

“Okay kid, tell us anything you want to.”

Harry began to speak of the time even before his first year, the leading up to it, the mountains of letters, of Hagrid, of meeting everyone on the train, even Draco Malfoy, of how his friends acted around him, and everyone else for that matter. He spoke of potions and Snape, of the mirror and Fluffy, of the Philosopher’s stone and the traps to get to it. He even spoke of Voldemort and their intertwined story, and of how he possessed a teacher. He went on to speak about his second year and the basilisk, the chamber of secrets and being able to talk to snakes. He spoke of everything that had happened, and then spoke more about what he had heard from Dumbledore in passing, of what he had spoken to the Goblins about, and briefly explaining what the Goblins did for wizards. He then began to speak on his theories that he had started to develop not long after he had heard Dumbledore. Harry spoke about how he believes that Dumbledore, or Fumbleworth in Tony’s words, is training him to be a weapon, a pawn in his chess game against Voldemort. He told them about his suspicions of Hagrid telling him about the wizarding world, and how he continued to badmouth the Slytherins, and how he didn’t understand why the Weasleys had gone to the train the muggle way his first year, and not the next, and how all too convenient it all had been. Tony and Steve were outraged, to say the least.

By the time he had finished it had fallen dark again, still full from their late lunch, they decided to all head to bed, agreeing to go visit the goblins the next day and get everything sorted out. Hedwig had settled in on a chair in Tony’s room, now also Harry’s, while Steve had gone off to a room further down. Though Harry suspected that there were only about four bedrooms in total, he was ready to head to bed. Tony, however, stopped him before he crashed into bed and held him close. Harry felt the tears escape as he grabbed onto Tony. They stood there in silence as Tony petted his head and continued to tell him that he was safe and would never be living like that ever again.

Tony’s heart had never wept as much as it did then when Harry had told his life story. He was only twelve and had already faced so much in his life. He felt proud of Harry to have gone through all of that and not have complained, and also proud of the fact that he had noticed that not everything seemed right. He was going to hand it to this Dumb-as-a-door person if Steve didn’t do it first, and that was based on looks alone. Tony was going to get back at that man, even if he never knew about it until it was too late.

Tony eventually ushered Harry into his bathroom and set about helping him run a bath, helping him wash so his cast wouldn’t get wet. Even though it was embarrassing for the two of them, more so for Harry, they didn’t say anything about it. Feeling like it was building up the bond between them. Tony eventually got Harry into some PJ’s and got him tucked into bed, and then proceeded to wash up himself before climbing in beside Harry. Harry immediately curled into his side, Tony laid a soft kiss on his forehead, before wishing him goodnight and getting a grunt in reply. Tony for once in his life didn’t battle to fall asleep, feeling content with his child in his own arms, knowing he had him, and he was safe from harm.

----------------------------

Tony woke in the early hours of the morning to Harry kicking about in bed. He had a thin layer of sweat all over him, and an extremely uncomfortable look across his face. Tony has had many experiences with bad dreams, knew his kid must have been having a bad one. Tony held him in his arms, calling out his name and words of safety while stroking his back. Harry eventually calmed down and snuggled into Tony’s chest, broken arm tightly tucked into his chest. Despite Harry having calmed down, Tony continued to rub his back.

Tony didn’t know how long he lay there for, but Harry slowly woke up. He glanced up at Tony and realised that he was in Tony’s arms and snuggled in closer. He still remembered what had happened in his dream.

“Harry, it’s okay, I’ve got you. You're save now. I’m not ever going to let anything hurt you.” Harry nodded his head into Tony’s chest. “Do you want to tell me what happened in your dream?”

“I... they wanted to take me away from you… and lock me up with my uncle to watch over… he uh… he started to beat with his belt… but then it turned into a frying pan… and then I heard your voice, and you were rescuing me from it all. That bastard still haunts me from his grave.” Harry laughed bitterly.

“Hey, I would never let something like that happen, I may not have magic like you, but I have methods of protecting you. I am a superhero you know, you ever heard of Ironman before?” Harry gave him a confused look.

“Ironman? I heard that name on the TV before I went to Hogwarts, I think I’ve heard muggle-borns say that before. The person who flies around in a metal suit or something.”

“You really don’t know?” Harry shook his head. “Well, I am that Ironman, and it’s not just a metal suit for flying, I didn’t bring it with me, but I’ll show you it when we get back to America, otherwise I’ll show you clips of it, and what I have on Jarvis.”

“That would be nice.” Harry choose to ask about going to America at a later time, he didn’t really want to ask now anyway.

“J, What’s the time?”

“It is currently 6:30 am sir. Mr Rogers has been up for the last hour and has been preparing breakfast for everyone.”

“Thanks J, tell him we will be there shortly.”

“Will do sir.”

“What do you say for some breakfast and then we can head out to that mystical alley you were telling me about?”

“Ah, sure.”

----------------------------

Tony and Harry greeted Steve a good morning as they walked into the kitchen. Steve was busy cooking up a storm of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages and even had a nice pile of toast going on. Steve looked at them sheepishly, he wanted to make sure that was enough food for everyone, even with his large appetite Steve knew he had cooked more than needed. After hearing Harry’s story yesterday, he wanted to make sure the boy had enough food.

“Sure, you cooked enough food there Capsicle?” Tony teased. Steve was rocking the casual sweater jeans look. Steve just shot him a stunning pearly white smile, before finishing up the last of the eggs and placing them with the others.

“You’ve got a growing boy and a super-soldier under one roof. Let’s hope there is enough.” Steve looked Tony up and down, noticing they were wearing similar outfits, but unlike Steve’s baby blue sweater Tony wore a maroon sweater, and Harry rocked a brown sweater over a plain T-shirt. Steve thought they looked like a family, and that thought had him blushing. He quickly turned around so he could grab some plates for the breakfast nook where he had placed all the food.

“Thanks Steve, no one’s ever really cooked food for me, so thank you.”

“You are more than welcome Harry.” Steve smiled at him before dishing out food for himself and passing around all the food. Tony probably had the smallest amount of all of them, but Harry didn’t have too much more than Tony, while Steve probably had a small mountain starting on his plate.

“Tony, do you think I’ll be able to contact my friend Hermione? She has muggle parents, so they should have phones.”

“Sure, no problem kid. Do you have their numbers?”

“Ah, no, but I know that they are both dentists and that their last names are Ganger!”

“You hear that J?”

“Yes sir, I’ll start looking for two dentists by the surname Granger and with a daughter named Hermione.”

“Thank you, Jarvis!”

“It’s no problem, young Harry.” Harry beamed up to nowhere in particular. Tony felt so proud, both of his children were interacting and getting along with each other.

“Harry, what are your friends like?” Steve asked which led to Harry telling them about Hermione and that she is the brightest witch of their age, and how Draco Malfoy, his rival, is a close second behind her. He even told them about how he is unsure about his friendship with Ron Weasley, and how his younger sister won’t leave him alone, and what she had done last year on Valentine’s day.

By the time he has finished speaking, they had all finished breakfast. Harry help Steve takes all the plates to sink, but Tony told them not to worry about cleaning up as a cleaner would be coming in later. The three of them then headed down to the parking area. Tony went over to one of his cars, unlocked and got into the driver’s seat, Steve slid into the passenger seat while Harry got into the back.

“Where is this alley anyways?” Tony asked

“We have to go to Charing Cross Road, and go to the Leakey Cauldron, and then from there we can get into Diagon Alley.”
Why do we have to go into one place to get to the other?”

“Ah, the Leakey Cauldron is a magical pub that acts as a barrier between the Alley and the muggle world. Ah, Tom, the bartender can help us get through.”

“They really don’t want us, non-magical people, to not know about the magical people living right under our noses?” Tony asked

“Yep, there are a lot of laws about doing magic around mugg... non-magical people. We can’t tell anyone about magic unless they are family, or somehow close to us and they would need to know about us having magic. We also aren’t allowed to do magic in a public area unless it’s a magical area. So yeah, I guess so.”

They spent the next 30-minute drive just talking, Tony about his suit, and Steve about how he became like he is now. Although it was nothing in too much detail. Just the brief story about it all. Harry had to stop Tony from driving right past the Leaky Cauldron, and when pointed out the two finally saw it. Harry explained that it most-likely mad muggle-repellent charms on it.

Tony parked his car a few stores in front of the pub, people already looking at his car, and its number plate. SI-I 03, short for Stark Industries International, car number 3. People probably knew what it meant, or they were staring at the luxury car that they drove. They quickly walked the distance to the pub before they had to stop Steve from now walking past it. Making Tony laugh at him and Steve blushing in return. They walked in, and Tony was not impressed, but he guessed the interior suited the name.

“Hello Harry, been a while since I saw ya. How was ya school year?”

“Hi Tom, it was an okay year.” Tony snorted at that, Harry’s year had been far from okay, it was a horrible year, to say the least.

“You need some help getting through to the alley?”

“Yes please, that would be helpful.” Tom just grinned at Harry and lead him to the back with Tony and Steve trailing behind. Tom took out his wand tapped the pattern into the brick wall. Harry watching closely to remember the pattern before the wall started to disappear to Tony and Steve fascination. Before them, the alley came into view with people going about their day. Harry continued and waved at the two to follow them.

They followed Harry past many shops that had them rethinking what they already knew of the world. They passed cauldron shops, apothecaries, quidditch supplies whatever that was, and many other mystical shops, but the one that made the most sense was the book shop, and Tony was definitely stopping there on their way out. Harry came to a stop in front of a tall white building that seemed to be defying gravity as each story tilted in a different direction. The sheer whiteness of the building made it stand out from the ones surrounding it, it was the only building that didn’t seem to be covered in dirt or falling apart. Shining in gold above the door read Gringotts Bank and as they walked up to the door Tony saw engraved on the wall ‘Fortius Quo Fidelius’. If Tony knew his Latin correctly, then that little engraving meant ‘Strength Through Loyalty’. There was another long engraving that he just caught sight of as they entered the doors, but all he caught was ‘Enter, stranger, but take heed of wait awaits the sin of greed-.’ Tony was rather glad that he didn’t catch the rest of that threat.

On either side of the open doors stood two small creatures, that Harry said was Goblins, in full armour and given indifferent looks as they passed by them. Upon entering the building, they were might with two long rows of bank stations flowing down the length of the room. Harry walked up to the first open teller.

“Good day Arrast, I was hoping if you would see if Goblin Griphook is available to see to Heir Potter about an inheritance test and the state of his accounts.”

“Of course, Heir Potter.” The Goblin grinned at him before leaving his spot and heading further down the long hall.

“Just be polite to the Goblins, greet them by their names which should either be on their desks or otherwise they will give them. Do that, and they will treat you kindly and fairly.”

“They seem like someone I would trust my money with. Maybe I should start investing with them instead, get SI into the magical world. All the possibilities that await Harry.”

“Griphook will see to you now Heir Potter. May your coffers be ever full.”

“And your enemies tremble at your knees.” The Goblin grinned at him before motioning him to follow.

“There is no actual right response to that, but whatever you think will work say it, and if the Goblin likes, they’ll probably get a good chuckle at it.”

The Goblin stopped them in front of a door before knocking, a “come in” was heard before the door open and the other Goblin left as they enter. With the door closing behind them, Harry sat in front of a desk that held a Goblin, Griphook, sitting behind it. Tony sat down next to Harry while Steve remained standing as there wasn’t another chair. The Goblin watch Steve for a moment, as waiting for something to be said. When nothing was said he grinned, and a chair appeared on the other side of Harry at a flick of his hand. Steve thanked him before taking a seat.

“What brings you here today Heir Potter, and what fascinating guests you bring with you.”

"Hello Griphook, I’m here to take an inheritance and check over my affairs, and maybe a few other things that may take place after the results of said test.”

“Is there anything to make you doubt your own family Heir Potter?”

“I have had some recent news come alight, and please call me Harry.” The Goblin gave off a throaty laugh at Harry’s cheeky grin.

“You sure are an interesting one.” Griphook opened a draw on his side of the desk and pulled out a piece of parchment with a small dagger. “Place three droplets of blood onto the paper for your family up to three generations before you and your closest claimable titles. Or use four drops of blood, for branches of relative alive and all claimable titles, and if you have any of your inherited family magics or magics cast on you, that will be an additional cost of 2 Galleons to the already 5 Galleons, because of the use of a potion alongside it.”

“I think I rather not take any chances, I’ll pay the two extra Galleons, and place four drops of blood.” Harry said taking hold of the dagger as Griphook produced a potion vile from somewhere. The potion had a deep purple colour to it that allowed little light to flow through it. Griphook poured the potion into a bowl.

“Now place the drops of blood into the bowl.” Harry cut the tip of his finger allowing four drops to land into the bowl. Griphook handed him cloth for his finger, and upon wiping the blood off his finger the cut healed and blood disappeared from it. Griphook proceeded to tip the liquid onto a piece of parchment, that absorbed the liquid without becoming damp. Griphook eyes widen as words started to appear on the parchment. “Very interesting indeed.” Griphook handed over the parchment that read:

Name: Harry James Anthony Potter
Mother: Lily Jane Potter, nee Evans (Deceased)
Living Sister: Petunia Ann Dursley nee Evans (Status: Critical Condition)
Father: Anthony Edward Stark
No Siblings
Blood Adopted Father: James Fleamont Potter (Deceased)
Maternal Grandmother: Elizabeth Rose Evans nee Arbuckle (Deceased)
No Living siblings
Maternal Grandfather: Johnathon Roy Evans (Deceased)
No Living siblings
Paternal Grandmother: Maria Collins Stark nee Carbonell (Deceased)
No Living Relatives
Paternal Grandfather: Howard Anthony Walter Stark (Deceased)
No Siblings
Maternal, Maternal Great-Grandmother: Daphne Jane Arbuckle nee Smith (Deceased)
No Living Siblings
Maternal, Maternal Great-Grandfather: Andrew Arbuckle (Deceased)
No Living Siblings
Maternal, Paternal Great-Grandmother: Rebecca Evans nee Barnes (Deceased)
Living Brother: James Buchanan Barnes (Status: Frozen in stasis)
Maternal, Paternal Great-Grandfather: Matthew Andrew Evans (Deceased)
No Living Siblings
Paternal, Maternal Great-Grandmother: Lavinia Sophia Carbonell nee Jamerson (Deceased)
No Siblings
Paternal, Maternal Great-Grandfather: Peter Caronell (Deceased)
No Siblings
Paternal, Paternal Great-Grandmother: Catherine Stark nee Bertling
No living Siblings
Paternal, Paternal Great-Grandfather: Walter Howard Stark
No Living Siblings
Claimable titles:
Stark Heir (available) paternal legacy
Lord Potter (age Seventeen) through Blood Adoption
Heir Potter (available) through Blood Adoption
Lord Black (age Seventeen) through Godfather’s claim
Heir Black (available) through Godfather’s claim
Lord Peverell (age Seventeen) through Blood Adoption
Heir Peverell (available) through Blood Adoption
Lord Slytherin (age Seventeen) through Right of Conquest
Heir Slytherin (available) through Right of Conquest
Family Magics:
Stark Blood Line – None, however, is inclined to understand the world around than and develop/invent technology and seems to be more inclined to retain knowledge and learn faster than average.
Evans Blood Line – Inclined to master Charms easier than most.
Potter Blood Line – Inclined to a be a natural flyer on broom or through charms. Inclined to achieve an Animagus form.
Peverell Blood Line – Invisibility cloak (already owned)
Slytherin Blood Line – Parselmouth and Parselmagic
Magic on Person:
Magic core block 50% - will release upon majority – placed by Lily and James Potter
Parselmouth block 50% - Broken
Parselmagic block 100% - placed by Albus Dumbledore
Horcrux placed by Tom Marvolo Riddle Jr. – Destroyed by Basilisk Venom.

After reading through the parchment, Harry was confused over a few of the things and wasn’t quite surprised about others. Tony was busy planning how to get away with the murder of one Albus Dumbledore and Steve was shocked when he saw that Bucky might still be alive, or that Bucky’s little sister had become the great-grandmother to Harry Potter, who knew that her going off to boarding school would have led to her actually marrying the Evans champ.

“Does Harry have to inherit all of those titles? Otherwise, he is going to have a lot on his plate.” Tony exclaimed

“I presume you are Mr Stark then?” Griphook asked.

“It’s Doctor Stark, not that I’ve ever used the title, but maybe I’m going to have to, to even compare to your title Harry.” Both Harry and Tony chuckled at that.

“My Apologies Dr Stark. Harry does not have to claim all the titles. Draco Malfoy is also in line to inherit the title of Lord Black. The Gaunt Line has little to no wealth in it after the previous Lord removed all the funds and sold off all of their lands, there would be little to nothing to claim besides the title. The Peverell Title comes from the Potter Line, and is similar to that of the Gaunt, it holds little wealth, for it has been merged into the Potter line, you would, however, gain an extra seat through the Peverell line. The Slytherin line is an old line that has barely been touched even by the previous Lord, there are a few vaults under the line, however only two are for money and the rest are all books, research, paintings jewellery and such. One of the vaults is not allowed to be touched for it is funding for the upkeeping of the school and comes from the students in the Slytherin House. So, while you do not have to claim all the titles, only a few hold any weight in this world.”

“Do any of the titles hold any weight in the non-magical world?” Tony asked.

“In the old days the Peverell line would have been a proper Lordship, but it no longer is because the monarchy it came from no longer exists. So while Harry may claim his titles, they hold no weight outside of the magical world, they are simply another way to say that he would be head of the house.”

“Okay because Harry’s already got a lot on his plate if he ever decides to take over Stark Industries from me.”

“You are the owner of Stark Industries? We have even heard of your success in the Goblin brotherhood, some of us wish you had been a wizard.”

“Oh don’t worry about that, I fully intend on expanding Stark Industries into the magical world now, and I definitely know who will be dealing with my accounts on the magical side.”

“You are a wild one Dr Stark; you might one day just be a friend of the Goblin Brotherhood.” Tony shot him a cheeky grin.

“On another note. Would I be able to get a copy of all of Harry’s banking since the Potter's passed away? I think it’s high time I start investing his money, so he has even more when he is older, not that he won’t be getting anything from me.”

“Of course, but only when Harry has chosen which titles and affairs he is going to claim.”

“I don’t have to claim them all right now do I? I can a later stage claim the others if I wish to.”

“Almost certainly.”

“Then I’ll claim the heirship for the Potter Line, as it was my adopted Father’s wish, and I think I’ll claim the Slytherin Line, it seems it may have things of interest in it for me to read.”

“Then I will get someone to fetch the rings, as well as all the documents requested by Dr Stark.”

“Oh please call me Tony, I feel like my Father when someone calls me like that" The room settled into silence for a few seconds before Steve finally spoke up, having remained quiet during everything.

“Master Goblin Griphook, would there be any way of locating a relative of Harry’s on this list. Mainly the one who is in stasis.”

“Call me Griphook, and you are?”

“Captain Steve Rogers, but Rogers is just fine.”

“Mr Rogers, sadly it is easier to track someone who is conscious and about, or even track the remains of a person. It is, however, possible, it will only take a great amount of time, and only the best in business.

“Thank you, Griphook.”

“Tony was it, I would just like to have a mental and physical health test done for you before we can change Harry’s guardianship over to you, I suspect you will have it done in the non-magical world, but for the magical world, the non-magical way will not convince the ministry here. We can gladly do it for you here and have all the papers filled out as well.”

“Thanks that would be helpful, didn’t even cross my mind that the wizarding ministry would consider the laws of the rest of the world.”

There was a knock on the door before a goblin entered, carry two small boxes, as well as a binder full of paper. The gobbling placed everything in front of Griphook before leaving again.

“The heir rings only hold protective spells on them and a non-theft charm on it, you simply have to place the ring on your finger, wait for it to fit your finger before you place the other one on. When you come of age, your lordship rings will, however, hold more of a challenge when deciding to claim the title. They have to deem you worthy before you can claim the title.”

Harry placed to Potter ring on first, it was a simple golden band with the Potter crest engraved on it. It took the size of his finger quickly. Harry grabbed the Slytherin ring which was a thin Platinum that was shaped like a snake, where the tail curled under the head of the snake at the top. There was also a small flicker of green where the snake’s eye was. This ring took a little longer to fit his finger, but it eventually did.

“Tony if you would allow our healers to check over you, and then we can finish up here for today.” Tony nodded his head before a few healers stepped in, Two wizards and a goblin. The wizard waved their wands about mutter Latin words in a hushed whisper, while the goblin chanted in a foreign tongue of Gobbledegook. When they all stopped scrolls appear before them. They were passed to Griphook who read through them.

“It seems that just about everything is all right in your mind, some minor PTSD. However, your physical health is confusing, while you are healthy, there are problems in your body, it says that you are near death.”

“Ah PTSD, my good old friend from when I was captured in Afghanistan. The other one comes from the same place. I have pieces of shrapnel in me that are heading towards my heart, but because of this good old thing in my chest, it keeps them from getting any closer.”

“Okay, while I don’t see any problem with that then, we will finish up on the papers, I would recommend that you see a wizard healer about getting it removed from your system.” With that Tony filled out the forms for Guardianship to be transferred to him. It took no less then half an hour for them to be finished. Griphook passed him the folder along with a pouch connected to Harry’s vault so he can be taken care of, not that it was needed, but seeing as Tony didn’t have any wizard currency, he guessed he would use it for Harry in the wizarding world.

“It was good to finally meet you, Heir Potter, your letters are always an interesting read. Mr Rogers, we will send Harry information on tracking that relative of his on a later date. Dr Stark, it was interesting to meet a man of such accomplishments. May your gold ever flow.” Griphook raised his eyebrow at Tony as if waiting to see how he would respond.

“And may your enemies shit their pants when they hear your name.” Griphook burst out laughing.

“You are an interesting one indeed Dr Stark.”

With that the three of them left the bank, it was nearing midday when they left. Tony insisted that they stop off at the bookshop. He wanted to get anything and everything possible that might help him, help Harry, as well as anything the boy wanted.

Chapter Text

After leaving Gringotts, the three of them headed into Flourish and Blotts, the only bookshop in sight. Upon entering the store, Tony immediately grabbed a basket and get to exploring the shelves. Harry trailed off after him, making sure he didn’t purchase every book in the store, while Steve followed the signs that lead him to the ‘muggle’ section. He thought that it would have been books from the non-magical world, but rather they were books for parents with magical children. Deciding to help Tony out he read along all the spines and picked out a few that he thought would actually be helpful. He picked out 4 of the 15 available books. The titles read, ‘The Magic Gene: What you need to know’, ‘Why your tech won’t work around your kid’, ‘All magic and no sense’, and ‘Wizarding Laws for the Muggle-born parent's.’

While Steve had gone off by himself, Tony and Harry zigzagged between all the different rows of bookshelves. Tony wanted to get every book available, but Harry told him no on some, as they weren’t going to be much help. He didn’t even recognise half the books that were being placed inside the basket. He did see a few well-known ones, or ones he even had himself, such as ‘A History of Magic’ and ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.’ Harry promptly steered Tony away from any of Lockhart’s books, saying they were a bunch of rubbish and full of false tales.

Steve eventually found the two and added his few books to the pill. Tony gave him a slap on the back and a big grin while saying thanks. I guess the old man can still read. They spent at least an hour and a half in the shop before Steve and Harry forced Tony to the counter. The person behind the counter had wide eyes at the contents, but that quickly turned to greed, at the price that would have to be paid. Tony not caring about the price, despite Harry’s insistence that they maybe didn’t need so many books, shot him a cheeky grin before paying the full amount. Tony was handed a small package and told that when opened it would return to normal size and weight.

When the three of them finally left, they stopped at a café on the way back to the apartment block. They enjoyed their food there, but Tony wouldn’t stop complaining about the coffee and how weak the taste was. Steve was mocking him whenever he complained and told him to suck it up, which lead to a heavily sexual comment on Tony’s behave. Meanwhile, Harry was in a fit of giggles the whole time, Tony and Steve would have normally stopped bickering with each other, but seeing him so happy, they kept it up.

By the time they got back, it was starting to sink into Harry’s head that Tony was now, officially going to be looking after him. He knew that Tony had told him that when they first met. However, it had never really sunk in. He was still expecting to go back and live with the Dursley’s, despite Petunia being in a coma and Vernon being dead. He was free from the abuse; had even trusted three different adults with his abuse. He felt that his life was finally turning around for the better.

“Welcome back sirs.” Jarvis greeted them once they stepped foot into their temporary home. “I have found a home phone number belonging to the Ganger's with a daughter of the name Hermione.”

“Thank you Jarvis! Tony, can I please call Hermione?” Harry asked, basically jumping onto Tony, but unable to because of the cast around his arm.

“Sure kid, you can use my phone, and while you do that, I can start on those books,” Tony said as Steve placed the package full of books on the coffee table in the lounge that over-looked the city below. Tony gave Harry his phone, unlocking it as he handed it over. Harry not really knowing how to work a phone fumbled around on it a bit before Jarvis spoke up.

“Young Harry, would you like me to place a call through to the number?”

“Yes please.” Harry placed the phone to his ear as he heard a ringing sound start. Meanwhile, Tony made his way over into the lounge and watched as Steve opened up the package. Steve was immediately covered in a pile of books as they poured out of the bag that had been sitting on the table. Tony had a good chuckle at him before he plonked himself onto the couch and started to organise the books based on their titles.

“Hello, this is Dr Jean Granger speaking.” Hermione’s mom answered Harry phone call.

“Hello Mrs, I mean Dr Granger, is Hermione there? I’m Harry Potter, a friend of hers from school.”

“She is here, let me just call her.” Harry heard a faint call for Hermione to come downstairs before her mother continued talking. “I’ve heard lots about you from Hermione, it’s nice to know that she has finally made some friends. Ah, here she is.”

“Hello?” Hermione asked into the phone.

“Hi ‘Mione.”

“Harry! How are you? Why are you calling, I thought your family didn’t allow you around any of their things? How did you even get my number?”

“I’m good Hermione, despite the fact that we were in a car crash on the way back to the house from the train. Uh, my uncle died in the crash and my aunt is in a coma in ICU at the moment. Dudley has gone to stay with his aunt.”

“If you need somewhere to stay, I’m sure my parents won’t mind.” Hermione cut in.

“It’s all good Hermione, you won’t believe what has happened since then, and it will probably answer your other questions.”

“Go on, I’m listening, but I swear Harry James Potter, if you have gotten into trouble, you will be hearing it from me!”

“Jeez ‘Mione, have a little faith in me.” Harry took a deep breath, as he sat down next Tony on the couch. “So, apparently my dad isn’t my dad, well he kind of is but isn’t, and my real father heard about the car accident, and came to get me. We just got back from the Goblins, he is now officially my father in the magical world, we still have to do the papers in the Muggle world.”

“Harry…” Hermione said in a gasped breath. “ Don’t tell me that James was actually your mother, I know wizards can get pregnant with certain spells, it never happens on the off chance.”

“No, he’s not. Merlin, I didn’t even know wizards could get pregnant, but no. Apparently, James wasn’t able to have children, so one night mom and dad were at some event where they met my Father and asked him to help because apparently, he looks similar to my Dad. James even went and blood adopted me to make sure that I became his heir. You won’t believe the houses that I am heir to, but most of them are just empty names.”

“Harry?”

“Yes?”

“Who is your biological father?”

“His name is Tony Stark,” Harry heard Hermione gasp at that.

“Harry, do you know who he is?”

“Apparently, he some kind of superhero.”

“Harry, Tony Stark is one of the richest people on this planet, and he is a genius. He saved the world last year from an alien invasion.”

“Really?”

“Yes, Really!”

“Well, at least he can protect me from Voldemort then.”

“Honestly Harry, he and his team can protect you from anything!”

“Cool. Hermione? Do you want to come over this weekend? I think I can finally have friends over!”

“Sure Harry, let me ask my parents first. Phone me again tomorrow and I’ll have an answer for you.”

“Okay, talk with you tomorrow! Bye ‘Mione”

“Bye Harry.” The called ended and Harry turned to Tony with a beaming grin.

“Tony, can Hermione come over this weekend?”

“Sure she can kiddo, I should be able to make some phones for the two of you before then,” Tony said, briefly looking up from all the books he was arranging according to what he thought was important.

“You don’t have to do that for us!” Harry exclaimed.

“Just because I don’t have to, doesn’t mean I don’t want to. Plus, I need to fiddle with stuff.”

“Okay” With that Harry helped Tony sort the books, and tried to input as much as he could. Once the books had all been sorted out, Tony grabbed a book that was deemed important and started reading it. He at some point went into his zone and when both Steve and Harry couldn’t get a reaction out of him, the two of them headed to the kitchen. They sat there in silence for a while, before Steve spoke up, asking about any good things he experienced and even asked about the Voldemort guy. Harry eagerly answered all of Steve's questions and told him of his good memories from Hogwarts. They spent the rest of the day in the kitchen just talking, and once the conversation drifted from Harry and onto Steve and his life before he was Captain America. Harry also got to hear about Bucky, who was somehow related to him, and still alive, though none of them knew why he should have died. They eventually ordered some Thai for dinner and got Tony to eat a little bit before he went back to reading. Tony being the speed reader that he was, had already finished two books by the time they all went to bed. Whatever the future held for them was yet to be seen, Fate, however, was in a good mood and thought they all deserved their happiness and was going to leave them alone for now.

Chapter Text

The following days were spent in a calm environment. If Tony wasn’t busy reading, he was tinkering in his lab with Harry. He was starting to see Harry gets interested in what he was doing. If he wasn’t with Tony then he was with Steve, trying to digitise all the books they had, but they had barely even made a dent. Tony told them to get all the information onto Jarvis, so that if it’s needed in the future, it would be easier to access. Tony wanted to understand why magical blocks would have been placed on Harry, but so far, he hadn’t found anything that was noteworthy. He had typed out a letter to the British Wizarding Hospital, he wanted to set up a check-up appointment for both him and his son. He was intrigued by what the Goblins had said about the possibility of the shrapnel being removed, and he was concerned about Harry. It took a bit of correspondence from the hospital, but Tony had gotten an appointment for the two of them for Monday morning. He just hoped it wasn’t going to disappoint.

Steve’s Birthday had also passed during the week, but he hadn’t said anything, Tony had wished him a happy birthday, but Harry had been unaware of it. Steve was rather glad that the attention wasn’t on him, as his birthday hadn’t been his for a long time, maybe next year he would do something. Plus, it was more than enough of a gift to have spent his birthday inside, especially considering Harry had been with him for a good part of the day. That boy was a gem, even if he didn’t know it. He could light up the whole room with just his smile alone.

Hermione was coming over later today, as it was a Saturday, and her parents didn’t work on the weekends. Harry had called her at least once a day, he had learnt how to put her on speaker, and while he and Steve loaded the books onto Jarvis, they would talk. It was also through this that Hermione learnt about Jarvis and about Steve Rogers, a.k.a Captain America being there. She may have squealed a little bit at that revelation. Tony planned on talking to her parents when they come around, he was more than happy to meet the parents of his son’s friend. He was more than sure that the two parents didn’t know what had happened at the school for the last two years that their children had been there. He wanted to get their opinion on something, something that he didn’t know how to bring up with Harry yet.

Tony got a call mid-morning from the reception downstairs to say that the Grangers were here to see him. He allowed them access and went with Harry and Steve to meet them at the elevator doors. The doors opened and a bush of curly hair at once surrounded Harry.

“Harry!” Hermione exclaimed as wrapped herself around Harry’s uninjured side.

“Hermione, it hasn’t even been that long!” Harry laughed at her antics.

“I know, but I’ve been so worried about you ever since you called me.”

“I didn’t mean to make you worry.”

“I know you didn’t, but I can’t help worry about you. Trouble always just seems to find you. Tell me about everything that has happened since we got on holiday.” Hermione all but demanded.

“Okay, okay, let’s go to the lounge.” Harry led Hermione off into the nearby lounge.

“I’ll keep an eye on them,” Steve said and left behind them. Tony was left standing alone with the Grangers.

“Ah, welcome to my home, Dr Ganger and Dr Granger.”

“Please call me Jean.” Hermione’s mom said.

“And please call me Paul.”

“Well, then you must call me Tony. Would you like something to drink?”

“Some tea would be good thanks.” Tony led them to the kitchen, they sat down in the breakfast nook, while Tony made tea for them and coffee for himself. He placed their cups down in front of them.

“Has Hermione ever told you about what goes on at Hogwarts?” Tony asked, getting straight to the point on why he wanted to speak to them.

“She has told us about her subjects, what classes are like, and her excitement over learning magic. However, we both have felt that she hasn’t told us everything that has been going on at that school of theirs. We, however, haven’t pushed her to tell us, have never seen her so happy before, she finally has friends.” Jean answered his question.

“While I can see your point about not pushing, what Harry has told me in this last week, had left me concerned. He has even told me of your daughter, another friend, and himself, and their ‘adventures’ that they have been on the last two years.”

“Adventures? What are you talking about?” Paul asked.

“In their first year, they made their way through a maze-like course, which was set up by the teachers to keep an evil wizard from a priceless object. I hear that their friend was knocked unconscious in a giant chess match, which put all their lives at risk. And when they came to a wall of fire only one could pass through after solving a potions riddle, if they guessed wrong, they could have died. Harry then passed through the flames, leaving Hermione there. He was met with their Defence against Dark arts (DADA) teacher, who was being possessed by the evil wizard, Voldemort, whom the maze was intended to keep away from the object he was standing in the same room with. I don’t really know what happened afterwards, as Harry doesn’t recall much after that, and I don’t blame him, it must have been traumatic.”

“Hermione has never said a word about this!” Jean exclaimed with fear for her daughter.

“That’s only their first year. Their second year was much worse. I heard Hermione was even petrified, and not the fear type of petrified, for a good portion of the year, as she was trying to help Harry figure out what was happening in the school. Something the teachers and headmaster should have done themselves.” Both Grangers were in shock, they had agreed to sending their daughter to this magical school, they had been told that it was the safest place on earth, yet it didn’t seem like it.

“Hermione Jean Granger! Come here right now!” Paul bellowed. Shuffling was heard before Hemione and Harry appeared, Steve, trailing in behind them. “Hermione how could you not have told us about the dangers you faced while at this new school of yours!”

“I- We were always fine afterwards.”

“That is no excuse, you were in danger, you were petrified, and we didn’t even know about it, do you even learn anything that isn’t from your own personal reading!” Hermione hung her head in shame.

“I’m sorry Mom and Dad, but I knew that if you knew everything that had happened you wouldn’t have allowed me to return. I finally have friends and feel like I belong somewhere. I didn’t mean to make you worry,” Hermione cried out.

“It’s alright Hermione, but why don’t you look at some other magical schools, there are probably other ones, we have yet to pay the fees for your third year, so you can still change your mind.” Hermione nodded her head to her mother’s pleading. “Tony, it was lovely of you to have us over, sorry to cut this so short, but what you have said was very enlightening and concerning. I think we need to go do some research on schools before we can feel that our daughter will be safe, wherever she goes."

“It was no problem and if I find anything myself, I’ll let you know. I also have a gift for Hermione so Harry and she can stay in touch.” Tony said and pulled out the phone he had made for her and handing it over.

“Thank you so much!” Hermione squealed out. She hugged Tony, her parents both saying their thanks before they all walked over to the elevator.

“Sorry about that Harry, I just wanted to air a few concerns with parents in a similar situation. But what I said only holds truth. I don’t feel comfortable with you returning to that school, so I will be keeping my options open. I only want what’s best for you. Okay, kiddo?”

“Okay D-Tony” Tony smiled at his son before he excused himself to do some more reading. Harry was left standing with Steve, who was watching him closely. It looked like he was going to be having a talk with Harry soon. It hadn't been the first time in the last week that Harry had almost called Tony dad, and it wasn't going to be the last. He didn't know what was holding the boy back, but he was going to ask and help him.

Chapter Text

Monday came sooner than expected as Tony and Harry stood outside the doctor’s office. There was a sign on the door that read Dr Irène Gotts. They both waited there for a while. Tony was still amazed at how the building he was currently in couldn’t be seen by him until Harry had taken his hand and the building materialised. Filling up the empty space that had been there, not moments before. The door opened and they were met by a witch in her middle 40’s. She wore a doctor’s coat over a long dress, and had her brown, going grey hair up in a bun. She peered over her glasses to look at a file in her hand.

“Are you Tony Stark and child?” The doctor asked.

“Yes, we are,” Tony said standing and Harry following his lead.

“I am Dr Gotts, why don’t you come in so we can start this appointment.” She said before turning around and disappearing into the room again. They followed her in and sat on the opposite side of the desk she was sat at. “So, what brings a muggle and his wizard son in today. It would also be nice to know the name of your son, but it is not required.”

“I’d rather keep my child’s name a secret if you don’t mind, but if you must call him something, one of his names is Anthony. We are here today because I learned some interesting information at Gringotts. You see, I’ve only had custody of my son for about a week. Before then I didn’t know his mother had died, as we weren’t in a relationship when he was born, I agreed not to be in his life. But his caretakers, his Aunt and Uncle, were recently in a car accident, and from the news, I learned my son no longer had a place to go. However, if I had known beforehand that his mother had passed, I would have taken him in. Now while we were at Gringotts doing all the custody paperwork, I had a health check done to see if I was fit to take care of him. However, I am constantly on the verge of death, if it wasn’t for the arc-reactor sitting in my chest, I would be dead right now. It acts as a magnet to keep shrapnel shards from entering my heart. I was advised to see a magical doctor as no normal doctor can remove them. As for my son, he has a few magical blocks placed on him. One on his magical core from his mother and adoptive father, which is blocked by 50%, as well as a few placed by another, one has broken, which was placed on his parselmouth abilities, and the other was a 100% block on his parselmagic. He also sustained a broken arm when he was in the accident with his relatives.” The doctor stared at Tony and then Harry for a while before clearing her throat.

“The broken arm is easy to fix, the block placed by his mother is nothing to be concerned about. Parents will often place blocks on their child’s core if it is large. Typically, if a child has a large core, which doesn’t have a block on it, they often will experience setbacks, if its emotional outburst or failure to cast spells, however, with the block they are able to learn to control their magic and once they reach their majority, they won’t face any problems. As for the other two blocks, we get cases like this sometimes, but not often. I will have to do a check to see if the broken block has done any damage, and for the other block, in my personal opinion, I would need to get in contact with a curse breaker that specialises in the medical field and have them remove it. As for you Mr Stark, I am not medically equipped to deal with that, however, I can give you recommendations of who to see, sadly there is no doctor in the U.K. that can help you. The doctors equipped to deal with this are either in the United States or in Japan.”

“That’s fine, I’m from America in the first place. How long do you think it will take before my son can get the block removed from his self, or can I get it done when we return to the U.S. later on?”

“You can get it done in America; however, I would advise you to do it before his majority, otherwise the block will be permanent. Now if you would allow me to fix his arm, we can continue on with the discussions.”

Harry’s arm was fixed, and the cast removed. Tony continued to talk with Dr Gotts, as Harry sat there quietly listening to what they had to say. Tony was given a list of names and locations of doctors in America that would be able to help him. Tony also got her to agree to have Harry remove the block in America, as Tony didn’t plan on staying in London much longer. Maybe one or two more visits with the Grangers and then they would be off. Tony didn’t want to be away from his business any more than he needed to be.
They left the hospital with their future looking bright. They returned back to the apartment, to find Steve in the lounge surrounded by the books they had been sorting. Tony had to admit that Steve looked good in relaxed clothing and surrounded by books.

“You know, if you didn’t just stare at him, and actually asked him out, I’m sure you two would work out together,” Harry said while grinning up at Tony. Tony just gave him a raised eyebrow.

“I would have to agree with young Harry on this one sir,” Jarvis called out.

“Traitors the two of you.”

“I’ve also seen him looking at you, so I don’t think it’s one-sided.”

“Where does a 12-year-old get these ideas from? You shouldn’t even know about this stuff.” Tony felt like a hypocrite saying that, but he didn’t want Harry to already be thinking about that.”

“When you spend almost all the year at a boarding school, as well as around the biggest prankster twins… you learn… things.” Harry grinned up at him before he ran off into the lounge and jumped onto Steve, who caught him and prevented him from falling off the couch. The two settled into the couch as Steve pointed out his fixed arm, before he went back to reading, with Harry reading with him. Tony shook his head as he continued on to his lab. He was able to record a few samples of magical signatures while they were out. He wanted to run some tests and see if he could create a device to find magical people and beings, maybe even see if a few magical people worked for him back in the States. Tony was interrupted by his thoughts by his phone ringing.

“Sir, Ms Potts is calling.”

“Patch her through.”

“Hello, Tony.”

“Morning Pepper, shouldn’t you still be asleep.”

“Tony, how can I be asleep, when I have just been notified of pictures being taken with you and a child, who looks oddly like you.”

“Pepper, I was going to tell you but-”

“So, you’re telling me that he is your kid?!”

“Pep, I’ve known about him since he was conceived.”

“Tony, what do you mean by that?”

“It’s a long story, I will tell you the whole thing when I’m back, but for now let me give you the shorter version. Basically, about 13 years back, I met this couple at a gala, and they couldn’t have a child because of the husband, so they asked for my help, which I did. We all agreed that I would only meet the child when he was 21, however unknowingly to me, they both passed away when the boy was one, so he went to go live with his mother’s sister, not more than 2 weeks ago, they were in a car accident, the uncle passed away, and the aunt is in ICU. They were abusive bastards, but regardless Harry was without his parents, so it should have fallen to me to look after him. For some reason, I wasn’t even notified about their death. I’m going to look into that, but I’ve just gotten custody of my child and in the next few weeks we will be coming back to the tower. I’ve got Steve with me, so I do have some help.”

“Tony, I don’t know what to say, I’m angry that you kept this from me, but I’m also so happy for you. You finally have someone in your life that is proper family, and this kid is going to be good for you.” While Tony and Pepper continued talking Steve and Harry had been talking ever since Tony had been out of hearing range.
“Harry, I know you haven’t known about your dad for long, and I know you are probably scared. I’ve seen you start to call Tony dad. You don’t have anything to fear, even if it has only been a week, there’s that bond between the two of you. He fully thinks of you as his son and would never be angry at you for calling him, dad.” Steve said while the kid rested against his shoulder.

“I… I want to call him dad, but I’ve never really had one. I don’t care that’s it’s only been a week; he has been more of a parent than any adult has been in my life. I just don’t want this to feel like everything is being rushed, and I’m scared that I would just wake up from a dream. I don’t know what to do, I want to call him dad, he is my father, but I don’t want this to end.” Harry said starting to panic.

“Harry, I’m not saying you have to do it right away, but you don’t need to be afraid. Now that Tony has you in his arms, I don’t think he is ever going to let you go. Don’t rush, but just think about it, alright?”

“Okay.” With that, Harry turned back into Steve’s chest as the two continued to read the book about magical fairytales in front of them. Tony finished up his conversation with Pepper, sent off a message to the Grangers about meeting up again before he turned his attention towards the data he had collected. Tony proceeded to spend the rest of the day in his workshop, while the other two occupants of the apartment continued about their day. Harry was also starting to converse more and more with Jarvis and felt as if the AI was more like a brother than a butler. Jarvis would also be there to give a helping hand, but he also joked with Harry, and even agreed to help him get his dad and Steve together. Steve’s thoughts were still brewing on the fact that Bucky was alive, and that Harry was even related to him, though distantly. He wanted to find Bucky right away, but there were no leads, and the Goblins, said they could locate him, eventually.

Not so far away from the apartment, a grim hound growled as it saw the front page of a newspaper. Why was his godson hanging around this stranger of a man, and why would it lead them to be in the news? He had to move, quickly, before anyone caught onto him, not that they knew to look for a dog. He needed to find the rat and Harry, he needed to set things right, fix his mistakes. Yes, that’s what he needed to do, and if the Weasley’s had the rat, he knew exactly where to go to fix everything.

Chapter Text

Sirius travelled day and night, not keeping track of time, and often getting distracted by the simplest thing´s and having to take a detour once his mind homed in on his goal again. He hadn’t found Harry where he was meant to be, so now he was starting the second part of his plan prematurely. Oh, he was going to wait until everyone was back at Hogwarts before he fetched that thing, but now he was going directly for it, would take it in the night when no one was looking, yes, that’s what the insane man thought, as he travelled all over. Eventually coming to a stop and looking up at the misshapen house in front of him. The house that defied all logic because of one simple thing, magic. Sirius gave out a cackle in his form, as half plans started to form in his mind, revenge right at the front. Not even thinking of where his godson might be, or if he was even safe. No, he was going to get back at that rat, even if it killed him, he would be a free man, and have the means to get what he wanted afterwards anyways.

The week had passed quite pleasantly. If Tony wasn’t in his lab, then he was with Harry and Steve. While they would read books together Harry would try and question Steve about his dad, to see if there was anything between them. If the blush that appeared on Steve’s face when Harry asked him things was anything to go by, then there definitely was something between the two. Nothing big, but certainly some sort of feelings between them.

Hermione had come around that Friday, the two had just spoken with each other, despite talking over the phones they had been given, it was different when talking in person. Harry told her all about what he had learnt from reading with Steve, and Hermione was happy he was reading more. She told him how her parents were giving her one more shot with going to Hogwarts after she begged them to stay there. They had told her that if anything more than the normal happens, they are pulling her out and finding a different option for her. Harry said that all he knew he wasn’t going back to Hogwarts, and that he was going to be living in America. After Hermione left with her parents, Steve disappeared somewhere, and Tony sat him down.

His dad told him that he had a few options when it came to school, they were leaving for America on Sunday, and while nothing needed to happen right away, he wanted to know what he should be looking at when it came to schooling him. Harry was given the options of outright not learning magic anymore and just going into a muggle school, but neither his dad nor he were for that idea. Tony said he had to offer it because he rather nothing be left unknown. His second option was for them to find what other magical schools there were because Hogwarts couldn’t be the only one and there was probably one in America, maybe even more. Harry’s other option was to do both but through home-schooling, Tony would teach him all the science stuff, and he would rope the other avengers in to help with any muggle study, and if there was a subject that was missing, they would get someone in, and when it came to magic, they would find magical tutors to help out, but they were going to starting on a blank page with magic in America. So, he would probably only start with his magical learning later on.

Harry straight away knew that he wanted to go with the home-schooling option as he didn’t want to be away from his dad, not that Tony knew that. Harry even put forth the idea of maybe eventually going into a muggle school, while being tutored in magic studies at home. He was excited for what the future held for him.

Saturday was spent packing up the house and figuring out what to do with all the boxes, Tony eventually had some people come in and pack them all into boxes and take them away to be sent back to the United States. He called Pepper, telling her about the incoming shipment, and that he was going to be flying back tomorrow and for his plane to be sent up, which she told him had been sent up when she learnt of his whereabouts. Although she hadn’t expected it to be there that long.

Sunday morning came around and Harry woke up to a noise coming from the kitchen. When he went through the door it was to find Steve holding his dad in a headlock. Steve was covered in flour and looked like a mess, while his dad was laughing non-stop. He watched as Steve grabbed a handful of flour and dropped it in his dad’s hair before wiping it all over his face, sporting a huge grin himself. Harry was giggling so hard at the sight in front of him. The two still hadn’t even noticed him as they continued to play around and shove flour at each other.

“Jarvis? You are recording this right? And please send it to me.” Harry called out, which got the attention of the other two humans in the room.

“Most certainly young Harry.”

“Kid, what did you ask J to do?”

“Nothing!” Tony looked over at Steve and he looked back grinning.

“Grab him Cap!” Steve rushed forward grabbing Harry around his waist, as Tony grabbed the flour. He came up to the two and dumped the flour all over the squirming child. Harry was trying to wiggle out of Steve’s grip but was laughing too much to notice his dad releasing the flour all over him. Tony took Harry from Steve and started to tickle him. Harry wriggled and laughed as Steve laughed on at the two.

“Da... dad stop,” Harry laughed out, causing Tony to stop as the words reached his ears. He looked down at his child and then at Steve who was grinning. Steve nodded at him. He pulled Harry close to his chest and started to laugh, Harry wrapped his arms around his dad’s neck as said person buried their face into his neck. Beard tickling him as he laughed. Tony will admit that he let a few tears loose at that moment, as he laughed into his son’s shoulder, he had just called him dad. It was the best moment he had experienced in his life. Not even the first cheeseburger he had after returning from his abduction could come close to this moment.

After everyone calmed down, things returned to normal in the Stark household. Harry found that the two had been trying to make pancakes, but neither knew what they were doing, and it ended with flour going everywhere. Harry took over and made breakfast for everyone while the “adults” cleaned up the kitchen and themselves. When they left for the plane, Harry battled to get Hedwig in her cage, knowing they would be flying he thought she should be in her cage, but Tony waved it off saying it wasn’t needed. So, there he was, standing in an area he didn’t even know you could get into at an airport with Hedwig on his shoulder.

They were standing in front of a thin, slender plane, with no one else around. The steps were down and a man that must be the captain came down to greet them all. Harry ignored this all. He was too stunned to believe that this was a private plane they would be flying in. Yes, he knew his dad had money, but he didn’t realise it was enough to have a private plane. As they reached the inside of the plane, Hedwig flew off of his shoulder onto the back of a seat. It wasn’t a big jet, but there was a decent-sized area they were in, and what looked to be a separate room off to the back. Steve sat down in one of the single seats that had a table in front of it, with a double seat on the other side of said table. Tony sat there and motioned for Harry to sit next to him which he did. It wasn’t long before the captain came through again, saying there was no air hostess available, so if anything were needed, he could point out what to do. Tony again waved it off, and soon they were in the air.

It was a 6-hour flight in total, Tony said there was no rush and to take it slow. He just didn’t want to deal with everything that was to come when they landed. The time was filled with Tony and Steve telling Harry about the team they were in and the people they worked with. They mainly shared the stories they had of the rest of the Avengers and some information they had on them. Tony was able to rattle on about Bruce and his beautiful mind, as he had put it. Steve talked about the encounters he had with Natasha and Clint. Neither could say much about Thor. Tony also spoke a bit about Pepper but not as much as he thought he would. Harry fell asleep at one point from the motion of the plane. Head falling onto Tony’s shoulder. Tony moved him around, so Harry’s head was on his lap. The two men then sat in silence as they both went on to do their own things not wanting to disturb the boy.

Tony woke up Harry as the plane was starting to descend, he was still half asleep as they got out. But very quickly woke up when spotted a mob of people on the other side of the fencing. They had cameras in their hands and were screaming something, but they were so far away it was hard to hear them. Tony turned around placing his hand in his son´s hair and ruffling it.

“Don’t worry kiddo I’ve got this; you don’t need to say anything. Plus, I’m not really going to be telling them anything just yet. They can wait till a press conference is held.” Tony walked up to the fence while Harry and Steve got into the waiting car. The driver stayed quiet but nodded at the two of them. Tony hopped into the car once they were close. Questions on when the press conference being throw around. Tony visible deflated as he got settled in the car. “Happy, take us home.” The man again nodded, watching Tony from the mirror.

The ride was mainly silent as they drove to the newly named Avenger’s tower. Harry was in awe as he gazed at the world outside the car. Once they reached their destination and the car slowed down, Harry’s eyes went wide at the sight of the tower they were stopped in front of. When they started moving, Harry couldn’t keep his eyes off the building until they eventually went inside the parking area and he could no longer see the outside of the building.

“You live here!” Harry exclaimed.

“Harry, I own the building.” Harry gapped at his dad.

“Merlin’s beard, that’s so awesome.”

“Merlin’s beard?” Steve asked.

“Ah, it’s an expression, I think, I’m not sure. I’ve heard other things with the use of his name that doesn’t sound very nice.”

“Wait, Merlin is real?” Steve asked shocked, they hadn’t read anything that even mentioned Merlin.

“Yeah, but a long time ago, and there’s something called the Order of Merlin, I think it goes to witches and wizards that have done many great things.”

“Okay, we can get back to this topic later, but now, it’s time to introduce you to all the others, kiddo,” Tony said pausing the conversation, otherwise they might be there for a while. Happy was giving him a questioning look through the mirror, he motioned to “I´ll tell you later”, and the man nodded in response. “Come on kid let's go to the elevator. Jarvis! Oh, how it feels so good to have you everywhere again and not limiting you to such a small space. Jarvis, tell the others to meet us on the party deck, there’s someone I want to introduce them to. Make sure Pepper knows as well.”

“Will do sir, Miss Potts is already waiting for you, sir. It’s good to have you back.”

Once inside the elevator, Tony was visibly bouncing both out of the excitement of having his son home and introducing him to the team, as well as nerves as to how they might all react. Harry grabbed onto his dad’s hand and squeezed it. Tony looked at him and smiled while patting his head. The doors opened and Tony could hear the team speaking, Steve stepped out first and walked ahead of them to go and greet everyone, while both Tony and Harry stood just outside the door. Tony took a deep breath and pulled Harry into a hug. It wasn’t a long hug but was enough for him to get through this. He grabbed Harry’s hand, before looking at his boy and walking forward. As he rounded the corner, he saw all heads turn to him and then his kid, Steve giving him encouraging looks. Pepper looked ready to chew his head off from keeping information from her. Natasha looked indifferent to what was happening. Clint looked confused and Tony could see the gears turning in Bruce’s head.

“Hey, guys. I want you to meet my son Harry, he is going to be living with us from now.”

Chapter Text

Previously in A longing for family:
“Hey, guys. I want you to meet my son Harry, he is going to be living with us from now.”

Tony said to the quiet room in front of him. He nudged Harry slightly, begging him to talk and break the silence and confusion that had fallen upon his team.

“Hello, I’m Harry. It’s nice to meet you all.” Everyone looked at him.

“Wait, your child’s British, you never go there, how is it that when a child does pop up, it’s British,” Clint exclaimed breaking the silence. Tony sighed; this was going to be harder than he thought.

“Birdbrain, I was always careful in past endeavours. Harry was…….., how do I put this? Harry was me helping out a genuinely nice couple, who were battling to have a child. He hasn’t just “popped up” as you said it. Some things have happened and now he is in my custody, should’ve been a lot sooner, but I’ll look into that.”

“What ‘things’ happened Tony?” Natasha spoke up from her spot on the couch.

“While I would love to tell you, I think that it is Harry’s choice if he wants to tell you or not.” Tony quipped back. Which got him a look from her. Pepper was just looking on at everything, not saying anything, but starting right at Tony. “Now, Harry, let me introduce you to everyone. The lovely redhead standing in the back is Pepper. The other lovely redhead sitting over there is Natasha, a.k.a. Black Widow. Birdbrain, over there is Clint, a.k.a. Hawkeye. And the only other persons with brains on the team is Bruce over there, and his other half is Hulk. And you already know Cap over there.”

“Tony is it really a good idea letting me stay here, especially now that your kid is going to be living here, at least I assume so,” Bruce said stepping forward a bit.

“What do you mean Mr Bruce, sir?”

“Bruce’s other half only comes out when he is really angry, and he turns into a big green being, who calls himself The Hulk.”

“I don’t see anything to be afraid of Mr Bruce, I’ve defeated a troll and basilisk before, I’m not afraid.” The others started to laugh, Bruce chuckling a little, as everyone assumed he was joking, thinking that those creatures were nothing but myths and fairytale. Tony and Steve were the only ones not laughing, and as the others started to realise that they weren’t laughing they sobered up and were starting to look alarmed.

“You’re not joking, are you kid?” Clint asked.

“No, he isn’t, but it’s not the time for that discussion, as we have to figure out things before, he might even be allowed to tell you, some Statute of secrecy or something, but being his father, I’ve bypassed it all,” Tony told them all. “Now I would love for everyone to continue getting to know each other, I think Harry and I should go settle in, and maybe we can all meet for dinner later today and continue to get to know each other. So, for now, goodbye, go with what information you have, and if you even try and search for info on my son, you have been warned. And if anyone of you thinks of informing Furry or S.H.I.E.L.D of Harry, oh you can call the streets your new home.”

With that Tony lead Harry to the spiral staircase that led up onto the first floor of the penthouse area, they went around onto the floor above that which held Tony’s bedroom, a mini lab/office, and a spare room which Pepper normally stayed in when she visits. That would now become Harry’s room, even if he thought the room was too small for his own kid.

“Now Harry, there is a spare room that you can call your own, but if you still want to stay with me in my room that is completely okay.” Hell, he would only kick the kid out when puberty hit him if the kid really wanted to stay with him, he wasn’t complaining, it was nice being able to hold his own blood in his arms and know they were safe.

“Ah... I... can I still stay with you? But um… maybe I should start sleeping in another room, I don’t want to invade your own space.”

“Don’t worry about it Harry, it doesn’t bother me, but if you want to start sleeping in your own room, then that is also okay. If you want to stay in your own room but come hop into my bed when you feel like it, that’s also fine by me.”

“Thanks.. dad. I think I might take you up on that last offer.”

“No problem mini-me.” Tony ruffled Harry’s head. “Now let me show you your new room, and you can tell me if there is anything you want to change about it.” Tony led Harry into his new bedroom. There wasn’t much in it, a queen-sized bed with matching side tables. Built-in wardrobes along the wall that you entered the room in. There was a desk in front of wall-length windows. There was a TV that sat opposite the bed. The room had its own bathroom, which stuck out in a square shape, and created a nook, where the desk sat. In the bathroom, there was a shower, toilet and sink which held a mirror above it. It wasn’t anything fancy to Tony’s standards, but to Harry, this was the best thing ever, it may not have been as big and lavish as the room he and his dad stayed in, in London. But is bigger than any room that the Dursley’s had given him, smaller than the shared dorm at Hogwarts, but still big for the small 12-year-old he was.

“Is there anything you might want or want to change kiddo?” Tony asked.

“Ah, not really, it’s so amazing in here. But maybe, uh, can we change the colours, so it isn’t so grey in here? Not that it isn’t nice, but I would prefer to have some colours in my room.”

“Sure kid, got any in mind?”

“Maybe some reds, like your suit?” Tony laughed at Harry’s response.

“Harry, just because I wear those colours doesn’t mean you have to like them but don’t tell Cap I said that. I’m still trying to get him to try on the red and gold suit I designed for him.”

“I still want to, red was my house colour at Hogwarts, and it kind of grew on me. I also like the red of your suit, just no gold, please. That’s a bit much.”

“Sure kid, we can get that sorted over the next week.” It was a Sunday and Tony doubted anyone would be willing to paint it, he would get people in tomorrow to do it. He sat on the bed and patted the space next to him for Harry to come and join him. “This is completely up to you, but if you want to tell the rest about how you are my child and how you came into my custody, then we can do it together, but if you would rather not that is also fine. They are my team, friends even, and I trust them with my life, and we try not to keep things from each other, so I’m okay with telling them. However, it isn’t only my story to tell, so if you don’t want to, then that’s alright. It doesn’t even have to be today, it can be whenever, okay maybe not whenever, I’m sure they wouldn’t appreciate it if you woke them up just to tell them. Sleep is a precious thing here. But the decision is up to you.”

“I mean, I don’t mind telling them, if you have such trust in your team, I should be able to trust them as well, I just don’t know how I feel about giving all the details. I don’t really want them to know that my parents were murdered by a mad dark lord who was trying to kill me, a one-year-old baby. Some things I would rather be left alone for now, especially when it comes to magic, at least until we have everything figured out.”

“Okay that’s perfectly fine, we can do this together, and if there is anything I start saying that you don’t want me to, you can just tell me to stop.” Harry nodded at Tony’s suggestion. Tony pulled Harry into his lap and switched the TV on. They watched movies for what was left of the day until dinner time rolled around and when they would tell their story to the others. When dinner eventually came around, Jarvis announced that the others were waiting for them in the dining area and that pizza had been ordered for dinner. Tony had briefly forgotten that none of them really knew how to cook, sure they could feed themselves, but not others unless it was toast. When they got to the dining area, everyone was already sitting and talking, pizza on their plates, and some still in the boxes. When they entered, everyone but Pepper looked at them briefly before nodding and continuing on with whatever they had been talking about. Pepper just continued to stare right at Tony, clearly annoyed with him, but she didn’t have any right to be. His child was more important than anything in the world, he would put aside his business for Harry. He shot a slight glare at her to say “What?” before sitting down at the open spot next to Steve and Harry next to him and Nat on Harry’s other side.

“So kid, where're you from?” Clint asked breaking the silence.

“I’m from Surrey, sir.”

“None of that sir stuff, I’ve got kids younger than you, call me Clint, okay?”

“Ah okay… Clint”

“Wait, birdbrain, you have children?”

“Tony, you have to have noticed that Clint doesn’t permanently stay in the tower, it’s only when he has short periods of times between missions.”

“Okay, this is definitely a conversation for another day. Tony, why didn’t you tell any of us when you left, or for a matter of sakes, why the hell you would leave.” Pepper spat out.

“Jesus Pepper am I not allowed to live my own life? Some things are more important than the business. If you had a kid that suddenly needed your help, I’m sure you would drop everything to help them.”

“If I had a child, then it would be with me in the first place, I wouldn’t have to fly across the globe to help it.”

“Pepper, don’t say things like that, you don’t know about the conditions around Harry’s birth!”

“Then enlighten me!”

“No, I don’t think I will, especially when you are acting like you are,” Tony said in a sulky tone. Pepper glared at him, before pushing herself out of her chair and leaving the room without a word.

“Not that she wasn’t in the wrong Tony, but how did Harry come about if you say you are careful,” Bruce asked after a moment of silence.

“It’s actually not that amazing of a story. One night about 14 years ago I met this couple at some function in London. After a while of chatting with Lilly, Harry’s mother, she called her husband over, and they both asked if I would be willing to help them, because James, Harry’s adoptive father, couldn’t have children. They came from a very uptight and strict background, so they couldn’t just get anyone to help them, but I looked similar enough to James, that no one would notice that he wasn’t the father. We made an agreement, and I was only meant to meet Harry when he turns 21, well, unless something happened to either Lilly or James. And something did, about a year after Harry was born, both Lilly and James died. Harry was shipped off to live with Lilly’s sister and her family. I don’t know why I wasn’t notified, I have some suspicions, but that’s not for today. When the attack happened last year, I got Jarvis to notify me if anything relating to Harry happened, and about 2 weeks ago, Jarvis notified me that Harry had been in a car accident. His uncle died, and his aunt is still in the ICU, although the lot deserve a worse fate. Harry’s cousin went with his dad’s sister. So as soon as I got there, I had DNA tests done for the two of us to prove he was my blood and get him into my custody. Still waiting for his aunt to wake up so she can be charged with child neglect and endangerment. No one hurts a Stark and gets away with it. But that’s the gist of things, really. Anything you want to add Harry?”

“Not really, you got about everything. I rather not have to go into the details of their abuse again, and so soon, so yeah, I’m good with that.”

“Oh, sweet child, come here.” Natasha held her arms open, wanting to give Harry a hug, he gladly took it. Her hug felt motherly, and he melted into her as she stroked his back. Natasha shot a glare at the others as they all gave her questioning looks. It wasn’t every day you see Nat willing to give people hugs. After that dinner was eaten in a peaceful lull of conversation as Harry listened to the others talking with each other, speaking every now and then when he was asked something or wanted to input in the conversation. When it was finally over, Tony and Harry headed back up to the penthouse, while the others got off onto their room’s floor. Tony put Harry to bed, and while he was going through work on his bed, Harry crept into the room and got in the bed on the other side of him. Tony put his work away and pulled Harry into his arms. Jarvis dimmed the lights, and that’s how those two fell asleep that night.

Chapter Text

It was noon, and Clint had been waiting for Tony to come down from his room for 2 hours now. He wanted to finish talking to the man about the arrow designs and features they had started talking about before he left. He was tired of waiting so he crept all the way into Tony’s bedroom, only to find Tony being octofied by his own son. It was an interesting sight to see. Clint snapped a few photos of the two before retreating out of the room. He sent the photos to Nat, she replied with a bunch of full stops, clearly not impressed with him.

When Clint made his way down to the rec area, he found Nat already there and joined her with whatever she was watching on TV, it was some survival show that she always watched. Said it would help if something ever happened, but he knew she secretly enjoyed watching the idiots suffer, not knowing how to survive in the wilderness.
“What do you think of Harry?” Clint asked her.

“I think he is a child that has seen a lot for his age, you can tell by his eyes, and how he jumps slightly at loud noises. But he seems to have a good heart. Probably been deprived of his own childhood, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t always act his age, whether that be older or younger than his age I’m not sure. One thing I do know is he doesn’t look his age, he is smaller than most 12-year-olds, but that might work to his benefit if he ever learns some defence.”

“You want to train him, don’t you?”

“Only a little bit, he is the son of an Avenger, he will be at risk, so he needs to know how to defend himself.”

“True, if my kids were at his age, they would already know how to shoot with bow and arrow, well, if they wanted to.”

“How is your family doing?”

“Laura is doing a fantastic job with the kids while I’m not there, she has been doing good, not as stressed as she normally is for me, but that’s because we haven’t really had any life-or-death missions. Cooper and Lila had a fight the other day, but they patched things up when I offered to let them both fix up some old bows lying around, and little Nathanial’s is starting to eat solids, glad I’m not there for those diaper changes.”

“As I would expect, little Natasha is growing up strong and healthy.”

“I’m starting to regret naming my child after you, it’s Nathanial, Nat” Clint groaned out. After the two fell into silence again, watching whatever show was playing, Natasha tucked her feet under Clint’s leg, as she got comfortable on the couch. Steve came in not much later, not even batting an eyelid at the two. He joined them on the same couch, sitting on the other side of Natasha, who now leaned up against him. “So, Cap, what’s the kid like, you’re the only one besides Tony who has spent time around him?”

“He’s not a bad kid, very kind-hearted, and is amazing in the kitchen, but do try to keep him out, otherwise he might start doubting himself and his place here. This is the only thing I’m going to share about him from his past, the rest is up to him. His relatives had been making him cook all the meals in the house. So, while Tony has been allowing him to cook sometimes, but only when he wants to. If he hears that you are hungry, he might go make food for you. Otherwise, he’s full of curiosity, and probably has brains that could rival Tony´s. I’ve never seen someone that easily keep up with him.”

“Cap, what’s with the owl in Tony’s lounge?”

“Ah, that would be Hedwig, she is Harry’s pet, or for a lack of better words, his first friend, so don’t do anything to her, she might peck your eyes out before you can try anything funny with her.” They all talked for a while longer before they went their separate ways. Natasha heading off to the training floor, Clint went to his room to skype with his family, and Steve headed to the kitchen to grab some food. Meanwhile, in Tony’s room, Jarvis had woken the two up.

“Sir, Mr Barton has just left your room after taking some images on his device.”

“Thanks, J, make sure you get a copy of those photos for me, and that they don’t somehow found their way into the press, not that Birdbrain would do that, but still.”

“Will do sir.” Tony turned to his sleeping child and gently shook him.

“Harry, I think it’s time to wake up. We need to get you used to the new time zone, can’t have you sleeping all day long.”

“I don’t want to get up,” Harry mumbled into the pillow beneath him.

“Come on mini-me, we got to get that letter written and sent to the goblins today, we can’t delay it.”

“Fine, I’ll get up.”

“That’s my boy!” Tony hopped out of bed, grabbing some clothes before going to take a shower. Harry eventually got out of bed when he heard the water turn on. He made his way back to his room, checking to see if there were any clothes in the cupboard, and to his surprise, the clothes his dad had gotten him in London were there. He didn’t know when that had even happened. He grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of jeans for himself before jumped into the shower like his dad. He was sure he smelled.

Once he was finished in the bathroom, he headed down into the living area of the penthouse, where he greeted Hedwig, who was resting on the new perch they had gotten for her. Harry headed into the kitchen and opened the fridge, only finding the basic of basics in there. He was taking his dad grocery shopping whether he liked it or not. He pulled out the eggs that were in there, and the single pack of bacon hiding in the back of the freezer. He put the bacon into a bowl of lukewarm water, allowing it to defrost, while he got a cup of coffee ready for his dad. When he turned to place the coffee on the counter, it was to find his dad standing there watching him.

“Harry, you don’t always have to cook, you know this right? It’s my job as your parent to look after you, even if that means I need to learn how to cook.”

“I know dad. You’ve told me multiple times, but I’ve come to enjoy cooking when I’m not being forced to do it, but I promise, that if I don’t feel like cooking then I won’t, okay?”

“I just don’t want you to think that you’re only staying with me now to cook for me.”

“I know that though. In the short time, I’ve been with you, I’ve never felt so loved before.” Tony smiled at Harry and pulled him into a quick hug before ruffling his hair.

“Okay then mini-me, what are you making, and how can I help.”

“Seeing as the fridge is empty, we’re doing bacon and eggs, no toast though. We are going grocery shopping today.”

“Okay, normally get other people to do it for me, but sure, you know what works, but we can only go after we get that letter written up. And I’m slightly offended you haven’t told me how I can help. I would like to inform you that I am a very smart man, genius even,” Tony teased.

“Yeah, but even if you’re smart you can’t cook.” Harry shoot right back at him, causing Tony to laugh.

“You got me there, you’re just going to have to teach me.” Tony drowned his coffee, before he made himself another one, and drank it slowly, talking with Harry as he cooked. They two ate breakfast quickly before they started on the letter. Jarvis would record everything they wanted to put in the letter and suggest against a few things. They eventually had a complete letter, and Jarvis printed it out. Tony read over it once more, before rolling it up and giving it to Hedwig. “Okay girl, can you take this to the closest goblin run bank?” Hedwig hooted before she took off through the door that led to the balcony.

After that, they headed out, to go get groceries for Harry’s peace of mind over his dad’s health. Tony wasn’t just going to go to any old grocery store, they went to the high-end places, and not just one store. Tony said if they were doing this, they were doing it the right way. Harry honestly didn’t know what the difference was between the normal places and the places Tony was taking him. The owners of the stores even came out to greet Tony whenever they stepped into a new place. Harry wasn’t going to argue, it was a fun experience. When the car was full-loaded and deals made for weekly deliveries made for the fresh foods as well as best meats, they headed back to the tower.

Tony got people to come help take everything up to the penthouse. The two of them headed to the rec room. It was empty when they got there, so while Harry turned on the TV, Tony made some calls, to get someone to come to paint Harry’s room the next day, as well as to arrange for a press conference on that Friday. He also called into a few clothing places, to tell them that he would be coming in with a child the next day, and to be prepared. It wasn’t all the places he planned to take Harry, but the ones that needed booking beforehand, normally a week, but he was Tony Stark. Tony eventually joined Harry on the couch to find him watching some cartoons.

“Dad?”

“Yes?” Tony’s heart melted every time Harry called him dad.

“What’s going to happen to Petunia. I know you said she is still in ICU, but what happens when she gets better?”

“Well, because of abusing you as she did, she will be tried by the court for child neglect and endangerment. And while I probably can’t get the maximum of 10 years for her, because her abuse was more mental and emotional. I’m going to push for as much as I can, hopefully with the best attorney’s and my name, things will work out. I wish I could have also gotten that slime of an uncle of yours tried. But from what I’ve been told from the lawyers, his assets are frozen, and any benefits his family would have gotten are also frozen. They are going to be sold and with the money he already had, it is all going into a charity system that helps abused children. Your cousin is going to stay with his aunt. That’s about all I was willing to listen to.”

“Oh, okay. Whatever happens to them I´m sure will be what they deserve.” Harry said leaning on his dad’s shoulder. Mentioning his relatives had been putting him into a sombre mood. Clint walked in not long after the two had fallen silent, sitting in one of the armchairs looking at Tony. Who raised an eyebrow at him.

“So Tony, I was looking for you this morning. I wanted to talk to you about the arrows we had been discussing before you left. Also, fair warning, Nat wants to train Harry.”

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” Tony said questioning himself.

“What? The arrows or me being trained?” Harry asked.

“Both really, but more along the lines of Natasha giving you lessons. It won’t help any less if you know how to defend yourself. I also had to learn as a child to defend myself. One of the perks of being a Stark, and probably the child of an Avenger. J, where is Natasha?”

“Miss Romanoff, is still on the training deck, sir.”

“Harry why don’t you go talk to her about some exercises you can start doing, while I talk tech with Birdbrain over here.” Harry nodded at his dad, heading off to the elevator that went down a few floors before it opened, and Harry was met with a gym area.

“Young Harry, if you continue through the gym and find the door on the far-left side, you will find miss Romanoff in there.”

“Thank you, Jarvis!”

“No problem young Harry.” Harry headed through the gym before standing in front of the door Jarvis said miss Romanoff would be in. He knocked twice on the door waiting for a response.

“You can come in.” Harry heard her call out, he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. She looked surprised to see him here. “What can I do for you, Harry?”

“Um, hi miss Romanoff, my dad said you wanted to teach me something, and I should come get and some exercises from you to start off with.”

“Please Harry, call me Nat or Natasha, miss Romanoff is purely for business. And sure, I can get you started on some things, but why don’t you join me in my warm down right now, nothing hard, just stretching.”

“Uh okay, I don’t know if what I’m wearing is okay though?”

“You should be fine for just this once, just be sure that whenever Tony takes you shopping that you get some stuff to work out in.” Harry nodded going to her side, mainly watching what she did and trying to copy her, he wasn’t as flexible as she was, so he couldn’t do half the things properly. But his limited Quidditch experience definitely helped. Afterwards, she sat with him on the floor while she made a list of the things he could do and planned for some days where he could join her, and they could start working on his defence.

It was the first of many days to come, where Harry felt as if he was part of a big family, it wasn’t just his dad and Steve with him, he now had more people around him willing to help and care for him. Harry felt content that night as he fell asleep in his own room, looking forward to all the exciting adventures to come.

Chapter Text

Harry was sitting in the kitchen eating a bowl of cereal, while his dad sipped at his coffee, Stark-pad in hand. Hedwig flew through the window into the room and landed next to Harry, a letter attached to her leg. He put his spoon down before removing the letter and gave her a piece of his cereal before she flew off into the lounge. The letter was from the New York City branch of the American Goblins.

Dear Dr Stark and Heir Potter-Slytherin

We have received your letter and have an available timeslot for you to visit on the 17th of July 2013, at 12:30 pm. Be advised to arrive earlier than the given time.

We await your arrival.

Gringotts New York City Branch

"Well, I guess we know what we are doing tomorrow," Tony said as he read the letter over Harry's shoulder, having gotten up when the kid had rolled out the letter.

"I don't know if I should have claimed the heirship to the Slytherin line, I know I did it for the knowledge, but who knows what the books are about," Harry said with a frown as he read his name over.

"Harry, it's not like you have to claim it completely, perhaps after seeing the books available to you, you could return the title, although that does sound strange and not possible. Maybe when you are old enough, you can give away a few of the titles you don't want, just how that Godfather's claim allowed you to have a claim over that title, but we can ask tomorrow when we see the goblins." Harry nodded his head still frowning a bit.

After the two had finished eating and were dressed they headed out, the painters were coming today, to repaint Harry's room and Harry needed clothes. The first store they walked into Harry thought it had a weird name, it was called "an.mé" but after walking in he somehow knew it was going to be his favourite shop of the day. They hadn't been in there very long before Tony brought one of everything in his size. He was shocked a bit, no one had ever thought to spend that much on him, Harry thought it was also a little wasteful as he properly wouldn't wear everything from the store, his dad said that he can always donate stuff if he isn't going to wear it, so with that in mind, he didn't say anything.

The cashier was a different story though, they didn't seem to be functioning anymore, and he didn't know if it was because of his dad or because of what he had said. Harry spotted a jersey in the mix of everything as clothes were being brought together by the conduction of his dad. It looked like watercolours had split all over, and it had a brush stroke style of a painted smiley face without the circle around it. Harry really liked it, and could see himself wearing it all the time, he was a bit surprised when he saw 2 more of the exact same jerseys join the pile, he turned to his dad who just gave him a cheeky wink. After half an hour of entering it, they left the store, bags to be sent to the Tower later that day.

They arrived at a bigger store after a bit of a drive, and Harry could tell there would be a lot more clothing for his size in there, he wondered if his dad would pull the same stunt again. There was a big sign hanging over the door reading "Couture Kids," at least it didn't have a weird name. As they walked in, they grabbed a trolley, but it wasn't long before one of the shop assistants at the store came up to them and offered to take care of pushing it. As they walked down the aisles, Tony would pick up anything in Harry's size, and sometimes Tony would grab multiple of the same thing if it was something simple enough to be worn every day. The trolley was fill and Harry thought something was going to fall over, when Tony passed by some shirts without picking them up Harry had to see why, and to his surprise, it was Iron-man T-shirts, and Harry had to have them, so while everything was being rung up Harry slipped some of them in, but his dad caught him, and he blushed.

Tony hadn't thought that Harry would not want to wear anything with him on it so he had skipped those, but to see his son go out of the way to pick them up, had made him embarrassed and the blush that spread across Harry's face was something he had never experienced before, something warm and fuzzy was glowing deep inside and it wasn't the arc reactor. 'Was this what a family was?' Tony thought.

Their next stop was "Abercrombie kids" where the same thing repeated itself, of Tony buying everything in Harry's size, and they were able to get some clothing here for Harry to workout in with the others. Harry was also noticing that all the stores they went to were more expensive, and when he asked his dad, Tony told him that today wouldn't even make a dent in the fortune he had, plus he liked to spend his money on others that weren't him. They went to a few more stores that specialised in certain things, so Harry was able to get winter wear and anything that they hadn't been able to get, mainly underwear, socks and shoes.

They had also stopped off at an eyewear store that had an optometrist in it as well to buy Harry an abundance of glasses and sunglasses in the right prescription for him, who would be doing a check-up later on. There was one more stop that Tony wanted to make before heading back to the Tower, and he had already phoned in so the store would be prepared. They didn't normally make clothing for children, but they would for a Stark. Pulling up in front of a small and antique-looking boutique, they were met by the store owner at the front door.

"Good afternoon Mr Stark. It is good to see you again. Is this the young boy that we will be fitting today?"

"Hello Allen, it's always a good day when I get to see you, and yes this is the one who is getting fitted today," Tony said before they all went into the store. Once inside Harry's eyes widened at all the different suits hanging against the walls and the few that were also on display. It wasn't long before he was standing with his arms spread wide as the man was taking his measurements. It reminded him of when he was getting his first school uniform for Hogwarts, minus Malfoy, and Magic. The man was writing down everything as he went, and he would be lying if he said he didn't get embarrassed when some of the measurements were done. When he finished all the measuring, he brought out books that were made up of pages of different fabrics instead of paper.

"If you would go through these and tell me about your preferences for suits, I can then start making them." He said handing a book to his dad and one to himself. Tony motioned for Harry to sit down next to him on the only seating in the room. As they went through the books Tony told Allen the different fabrics, mainly sticking to blacks and different shades of beiges and browns, and one white fabric is thrown in there. Harry only wanted to add one extra colour of fabric which was a deep maroon colour. Allen made note of everything, knowing the order was for six suits. Two black suits, one as a backup one, he would do one maroon suit for the boy, he would skip the white one, it would wash the boy out, but a beige would look good on him, he would also do one of the charcoal blacks, and a blue-black one, patterned suits could come later down the line when the kid will be older.

"Everything should be ready in a month's time Mr Stark and thank you for your continued support of my store. With the right hair cut the boy would look just like you Mr Stark." Tony chuckled at the man.

"Well, it's a good thing that I'm not my father then. Harry is his own person, and I don't ever expect him to be like me."

"Indeed, it is Mr Stark. I shall have everything sent to you once it is complete, and you shall expect nothing but the finest material and craftsmanship in the suits."

"Thank you, Allen, I expect nothing but the best from you," Tony said standing with Harry at the door, the final goodbyes were said before the two headed back to the Tower. Driving in the late afternoon sun and traffic.

The place was quiet when they got back, Tony assumed everyone was off doing their own thing. They headed up to the penthouse when they couldn't find anyone and were greeted by a mountain of shopping bags taking over the entrance and the lounge area.

"Huh, I didn't think I had bought that much, well I guess we should take everything to your room and start unpacking it," Tony said looking at the pile, they definitely would not be finished by night time. Just as Tony was about to grab a bunch of bags his phone rang.

"Sir, I would advise you to pick up the call, it has tried to call you multiple times today, and I am to believe it is the child-care service person who has been dealing with Harry's case." Tony groaned before picking up the phone.

"Hello Mr Stark, you are a very difficult person to get hold of." The man on the other side said.

"Hello Mr Green, I hope that everything is going well." Harry was watching Tony as he realised who he was talking to. Tony smiled at him and the two went into the kitchen.

"I'm calling to tell you that the case has been through court and both Mr and Mrs Dursley were found guilty in the case of child abuse, neglect and endangerment of both Harry and his cousin Dudley."

"That good news, what's going to happen now?"

"All of Mr Dursleys assets will be sold or auctioned off, and all the money coming in from insurance claims will be gathered together. The money will then be split in half, the one half will be going to charity for abused children. The other half will be split into thirds, two thirds will be going to Dudley and the other third to Harry."

"The money can just go to charity, it's not like he will ever need it, but I'll check with him later," Tony said, as he watched Harry grab things out of the cupboards and fridge to make dinner for them, it looked like they would be having pasta tonight.

"Okay, you can discuss that with your lawyer at a later date, he has been amazing with these cases, I've never seen them happen so quickly."

"That's what happens when you hire the best lawyer in the country."

"It sure is. Oh, Mrs Dursley case is finished, but the sentencing has not been decided. When she is awake and stable enough, they will see if she shows any remorse before deciding the length of the sentence, and because she has been found guilty with the two children, your lawyer is pushing for a double sentence, which is most likely going to happen, so her sentence will be a maximum of 20 years.

And in regards to Dudley, it has been decided that he will continue to live with his aunt for the time being, with regular check-ins from the child-care services, as well as having to go through rehabilitation to lower his weight and fix and prevent any damages to his health from his high weight."

"The poor child, hopefully, his attitude is also corrected in that time, if the things Harry has told me are anything to go by."

"And lastly Mr Stark. There will be a check-up on Harry sometime in the future by the American CPS (Child protective service) to make sure his living conditions have improved and that he is developing properly in your care. He may be on the verge of being a teenager, but at this age, he will be very sensitive to what is happening around him, and I wouldn't be surprised if he sometimes reverts back to a younger mental age, as such can be the case with some abused children."

"Thank you, Mr Green, I will keep that in mind, it must be either very late or very early for you, so I won't keep you any longer. Thank you for informing me of the outcomes of the trials."

"You're welcome Mr Stark and have a good evening." The line went dead as the call was ended.

"What was that about?" Harry asked, looking up from the pan he was cooking in.

"It was the guy from the child-care services that has been dealing with your case and it's all good news!" Tony said before he went into telling Harry what had happened and what was going to be happening in the near future and agreeing with giving the money to charity. He didn't want to have anything that used to be the Dursley's, he had enough hand-me-downs from them that made him feel like a freak.

After eating dinner, they lugged all the shopping bags upstairs and into Harry's room, trying to put as much away as they could, and Harry was surprised when he walked into his newly painted room, not knowing that his dad was actually going to do it. There was still a small mountain of bags that needed to be packed and a similar-sized pile next to it of clothes that Harry knew he was never going to wear and would be going to charity. The day had been good, and Harry was excited for the visit to the Goblins the next day.

Chapter Text

Harry woke up late in the morning after the long night of unpacking, even though it was finished. He went through his morning routine of showering and getting dressed, once he was finished in the bathroom, he looked at the pile of bags that was still there and decided to get tuck into it and finish unpacking everything. Half an hour after he had started there was a knock at his door.

“Harry, come down and eat something for breakfast!” Tony called from the other side of the door. He had been up early planning for a press conference for later that day and had to go through proposals from the R&D department. He had realized that Harry hadn’t come to eat yet but had heard him up and about in his room.

“Sir, Miss Potts is trying to reach you again.” Pepper had phoned him once in the morning after making the company aware of the conference, but he was happy to continue ignoring her if her reaction and attitude from the other day was anything to go by.

“Leave her J, I’m not in the mood.”

“As you wish sir.” Tony headed down to the kitchen, seeing the mess of papers across the table, and his empty cup next to it. Sighing he went to the coffee machine to get another cup. Harry came bouncing down the stairs and grabbed himself a bowl of cereal, smiling at his dad.

“When are we going to leave for the bank?” Harry asked. Tony looked at his watch before answering.

“In about an hour. It shouldn’t take us long to get there, but we should leave a little earlier just in case.” Tony said going back to the table and looking at the remaining proposals he still had to go through. Harry quickly ate his cereal before disappearing upstairs to tidy up his room and pack up the clothes he was going to give away. Tony had to disapprove of the majority of the proposals as they were either not suitable to be mass-producing or were a sneaky chance of trying to develop weapons again, and he would never develop them again.

When things start to calm, Tony was hoping that Harry would allow him to test his magic and its frequency to see if he could produce things for the wizarding world. From what he had observed so far, was that some technology wasn’t affected by magic, but others were, and it mainly came down to how technology developed they were and the emotions of Harry. Otherwise, anything electric was fine, besides the lights, they just seemed to pop whenever, and he couldn’t find any consistent variable as to why. But he was playing a guessing game here, he hadn’t done any proper tests so to say, but until he asked and got confirmation from his child everything would stay hypothetical.

It was half an hour later when Harry came down again, smiling widely. Tony watching him as he spoke with Hedwig and petted her. The elevator door dinged open, and Natasha walked in, she ruffled Harry’s hair before coming to and stand near Tony.

“Pepper is in the common area looking for you, she looks angry.” Tony sighed, this was why he didn’t enjoy avoiding her because she would do stuff like this. But he didn’t want to see her. He might be acting a little childish, but she shouldn’t have said what she did.

“Tell her I’m not here, Harry and I are going to be leaving soon anyways.” Natasha smiled softly at him before nodding and heading out. Harry was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Tony gave him a strained smile. “Come on kiddo, let’s get going.”

“Okay dad,” Harry said bouncing over to Tony who was walking to the exit. The Goblins hadn’t told them where they should go, but Tony had Jarvis looking for any weird energy signals that were similar to what Harry unknowingly gave off, and there was an area to the west of Central Park that he thought was the spot. They kept the letter on them just in case it would be needed.

Harry noticed a hidden entrance next to the store that was labelled as the entrance, but people seemed to be walking in through the door next to it. When they eventually walked through the door and into the building they were transported into a world of marble and gold. The walls, floors and pillars were made of marble and the veins within the marble were gold. Goblins sat behind desks that had a protective shield around them and the master teller stood in the middle.

Walking up to the centre, Tony inquired about the appointed meeting. Another goblin was called to the centre before leading them through a door and into a hallway of doors. They stopped at the third door within, and the goblin knocked on the door before leaving. The door opened and the two walked in to find an older looking goblin sitting behind a mahogany desk and reading over papers. When they sat down, the goblin put down the papers in his hand and looked up at them.

“Good day Dr Stark and Heir Potter-Slytherin. I am Master Lagraff. To what pleasure do I have of having you here today.”

“I want to have an account set up for Harry under the Stark name and want to also use that account to invest in the wizarding world, spread the Stark name there too a bit, so one day Harry won’t have to worry about money and credibility in the future. And possible also have it linked up with the non-magical world, so we don’t have to constantly come back to exchange money, did it once in London and don’t want to have to do it again.”

“That can certainly be done Dr Stark, papers will need to be drawn up, and looked over, and if you would also like a personal storage then that can also be arranged. Unlike our counterpart in London, we don’t use vaults because of the subway system and most of our clients don’t need storage, it is a separate option.”

“I don’t think that would be necessary at the moment but might be an option in the future.”

“Alright, and Heir Potter-Slytherin, is there anything you need?” Lagraff said turning to look at Harry.”

“Master Lagraff, I was wondering, if I could move the contents but not the money of the Slytherin vault to New York. And you can call me Harry.”

“It is possible to move the contents of the vault there, it might take some time and cost some, but it certainly is possible, we would also have to set up a storage area,” Lagraff said, fiddling with some papers off to the side before bringing some forward. “I would like to ask if Harry has been registered as an American wizard now or is still a British wizard, and if not, it would be worthwhile. As a non-magical person Dr Stark, I fear the British Minister would try and use that fact to their advantage to get him back over there. They are possessive of him because of his past.”

“How would we go about doing that, changing his wizarding nationality?”

“I can get in contact with the Magical Congress of the United States of America, or MACUSA, for you, so they can be aware of Harry being here and take the proper steps. Normally this wouldn’t happen, but everyone knows of what happened that night and what the British wizards are like, and with the celebrity status, this might need to be a private affair.”
“Thank you that would be helpful, would you also happen to help with finding magical tutors?”

“Unfortunately no, but when you visit the MACUSA they should everything that you need or might want to know.” The rest of the appointment went fairly quickly, and an hour after entering the building the two were finished with their business with the goblins. The Stark account had been set up and orders to move the contents of the Slytherin vault were in place, and it was going to take at most a month to move everything, considering the amount in the vault.

Tony and Harry escaped into Central park, Tony not wanting to go back to the tower just yet in fear of coming across Pepper, and Harry was happy to just enjoy the time in the sun that he wasn’t used to.

-------------------

Across the ocean in the British counterpart of Gringotts stood Albus Dumbledore, who was fuming at the Master teller.

“What do you mean, I cannot see the account manager for the Potter account, I saw him last month.” Dumbledore fumed.

“Professor Dumbledore, you would assume that I would know. Griphook has refused to see you on such short notice. You shall have to make an appointment before seeing him, but he is not your account manager, he is not complied to see you.” The goblin replied calmly.

“But I must speak to him, it is about Harry. I need to get funds out for his living expenses. If I don’t get the money for him then his aunt and uncle cannot pay for him.”

“As I said, Mr Dumbledore! You can arrange to see Heir Potter’s account manager, otherwise, he will not be seeing you.” The goblin was starting to get irritated at the senile man.
“What do you mean Heir Potter. Harry has never claimed his titles or let alone know about them!” Dumbledore roared causing the rest of the hall who hadn’t been listening in on them already to turn and look at them.

“Mister Dumbledore, are you saying that as the previous magical guardian you failed to inform your charge of his future responsibilities as the lord to his estates?” The goblin said peering down menacingly from his stand.

“No…. I am not, I was simply saying that with everything on his plate, I didn’t find it right to say anything.” He replied coyly, withholding his previous plans.

“And what, Mister Dumbledore, is so important that you could not tell Heir Potter about his legacy and responsibilities. Because from the public’s knowledge, nothing has happened to Heir Potter that would outweigh the importance of his inheritance. So, Mister Dumbledore, could you please enlighten us what was so important to Heir Potter that would warrant you not telling him?”

“Why do you even care so much for your client, you goblins are never this protective over your clients, only their vaults,” Dumbledore said avoiding their questioning.

“We simply prefer Heir Potter's new guardian; we know of his wealth and what he can achieve if he decides to bank with us.”

“What do you mean new Guardian!”

“You can find this information within the Ministry for magic Mister Dumbledore.”

“No, tell me now, you greedy bastard!” Dumbledore was starting to lose it, and the other participants looked on with sad eyes, thinking he was going old, not knowing this was how he truly is.”

“Good day Mister Dumbledore, please leave before we forcefully remove you.”

“No, I demand to see Harry Potter’s account manager!” trying to sound calmer but failing.

“We warned you Dumbledore.” The goblin said before looking over to the guards who moved on cue and came forward to forcefully remove Dumbledore from the bank. A fine would be sent to him shortly for the disturbance he caused, purely for the amusement of the goblins. They didn’t like the old wizard, they may have helped the cause, but never stood alongside him. With information placed in the right hands, it wouldn’t take long to see the downfall of the old senile man. But they wouldn’t involve themselves in the wizarding world. Unless it was for the right price, of course.

Chapter Text

Harry was a nervous mess as he waited behind closed doors. He could hear the murmur of people on the other side. When they had gotten home earlier, it hadn’t left them with much time to get ready for the press conference that was being held that evening. He was wearing some black jeans and a short-sleeved button-up. Tony was wearing his usual for a press conference, he was in a dark blue suit, with a matching tie and white button-up.

Harry looked over to his dad who was busy ignoring Miss Potts by looking at his watch. Deciding the time was right Tony pushed open the doors with Harry following after him. Cameras flashed as the two walked up to the podium. Harry stopped next to the podium while Tony stood behind it.

“I know lots of you have heard rumours and some have even taken pictures of me with a child, which resembles me. I am here to tell you the truth today. You would be correct in assuming that the child is mine, and his name is Harry. And before you, all go asking if he is the result of playboy ways. The answer is no, he is not. Harry has not just recently popped up in my life. I have always known about his existence. In 1999 I met a married couple at a charity event, and the husband oddly resembled me in a way. They, unfortunately, could not conceive a child because of some accident that happened to the husband during high school. After getting to know them, they asked if I would be willing to help them out, with a sperm donation. Their community would be suspicious of the wife if she gave birth to a baby that didn’t look like them.

“I agreed to help them out, on the clause that when Harry turned 21, I would get to meet him, either as an uncle or his real father, depending on certain situations. However, if anything were to happen to them, I would take Harry in and raise him. Sadly, Harry’s parents passed away when he was just a year old. I did not know of this, for some reason someone failed to inform me of this, as it should have been stipulated in their wills. So, Harry went to go stay with his mother’s sister, his aunt.

Regretfully, his stay there was not a happy one. Regretfully, there had been an accident a few weeks back that informed me of Harry’s whereabouts, and I have been able to correct what was meant to happen years ago. Harry and I have been spending the last few weeks together to get to know each other.” Tony finished up taking a breath, he still had one more thing to say.

“Now this will be your only warning. For years I have let you, the press, say whatever you wanted about me. However, if you do, as much as write about Harry without getting permission from me to post the article, and God help you if it is something that is not from a formal event. I will hunt that bastard down and take any and all related people to court for defamation of character and illegally writing about a minor. Do not come for my child because of my own mistakes.” Tony left the podium and Harry followed him, briefly glancing at the press as he walked out. He was happy with what had been said and didn’t think he could do any more of a perfect job.

Tony thought the press conference had gone well, he had given them just enough information for them to tell a story, but not enough for them to create rumours out of it. Well, at least he hoped so. If the looks Pepper shot him as he passed her were anything to go by, she didn’t believe his story. He was going to have to show her the baby picture of Harry at this point. He wanted everything to be okay between the two of them, but Pepper needed to calm down before he would do that. He was glad that their relationship never evolved past friends, they wouldn’t have made it work without lots of fighting.

Harry was happy, he didn’t know why but he was. Somehow his dad telling all those people that he was his child and wasn’t going to hide it, really made him happy. Although Harry didn’t realise the aftermath that would come with the world now knowing. He hadn’t had many interactions with media in person before. Only articles and people randomly greeting him.

The following day, every tabloid, news station and newspaper had something to release about the press conference the day before. For now, they were all taking Tony’s warning to heart and not mentioning anything outside of the conference. It would probably take a day or two for the rest of the world to have caught up with what was going on, as the conference hadn’t been live, and no video recordings had been allowed.

Tony and Harry stayed inside that day, as news reporters camped outside the tower. Harry spent a good portion of the day in his room talking to Hermione before he headed down to the gym to try out his new workout gear with Natasha. Tony spent most of his day in his workshop working on a few ideas he had for the Iron-man suit before he forced himself to join the rest of the group for dinner and a late movie.

The next day Clint and Natasha left for a mission, and when Harry went down to say goodbye to them, he saw his dad and Steve blushing and looking away from each other. He wondered what happened but was going to keep quiet. For now. He spent the morning watching the British news and saw his dad’s face plastered across the screen and his own picture appeared briefly. He hoped no wizards or witches watched the news, or that they didn’t recognise him. His scar hadn’t been visible, and his dad had never mentioned his surname, so he thought he would be good for now. He wasn’t ready for whatever was going to come when they found out he wasn’t going back.

Harry didn’t know that the British wizarding world was too focused on the escape of convict Sirius Black, the mass-murder and Potter betrayer, that they wouldn’t even bother with other news. Not like they followed the muggle news in the first place.

Harry eventually stole Steve away from his room later, just before lunch. He doesn´t need an extra hand in the kitchen, more of someone to watch over him, and his dad was too busy being and he quote “doing science bro stuff” with Mr Bruce.” After he had finished with lunch, he had called the other two to join them, when he saw the visible tension between his dad and Steve. He stole Steve once again to go down into the gym to be taught some basic defence.

It was the next day when Harry was eating breakfast and by the sounds of it, his dad was having a heated argument over the phone with that Pepper lady. Apparently, he had missed too many meetings. As he was eating his cheerios a bald eagle swooped in through the open window for Hedwig and landed in front of him, holding out its leg to him. Harry carefully removed the letter attached to it, before the eagle flew off through the window again. As Harry opened the letter, Tony put the phone down and moved to stand behind Harry.

Dear Heir Potter-Slytherin and Guardian Dr Stark

It has been brought to our attention that you are currently residing within the United States of America. Under the authority of the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA), we urge you to visit our Immigration offices and apply for all necessary documentation.

As Heir Potter has unique circumstances the following dates we will have someone set aside to help, if you are unable to come within this period of time, you will go about the ordeal like everyone else. The dates set aside are Monday the 22nd of July, Tuesday the 23rd of July, and Wednesday the 24th of July.

Given the status of your guardian, we would also ask that you inform us of the people who are in the know and others who might need to be as well when you come to visit the offices. If we find the reasoning of why inadequate we will withhold or erase the knowledge of magic from them.

If you require any other assistant or information, you can inquire at the information desk in the front of the building. You can locate our building in the Woolworth Building, New York City, New York.

Regards

Catriona Wolfs

Head of the immigration office

It took the two a minute to go over the letter, Tony honestly hadn’t thought that they would be this quick. He was starting to understand that in the wizarding world Harry might even be more of a celebrity than himself.

“I can’t do Tuesday. Pepper is forcing me to go to a meeting, and it will probably be a long one. I’m free Monday and Wednesday though.” Tony said.

“Can we go on Monday?” Harry asked, “I want to get it done sooner rather than later. What was said at the goblins the other day has kept me on edge.”

“Yeah, sure, we can go Monday.” Tony was silent for a moment before speaking up again. “Harry, I just want to double-check with you before we go in. But are you certain that you want to go down the route of being home-schooled in both magical and normal schooling systems? I don’t know what the schools here offer, and I don’t want you to miss out on making friends.” Tony asked concerned.

“Dad, I am certain, this is the path I want to go. I don’t feel safe going away to another magical school, after my experience with the last one. I told you that the minute I change my mind I would tell you if it’s going to be to a normal school or a magical one.”

“I’m just making sure; I don’t want you to regret it,” Tony said petting Harry’s head before his phone started ringing again.

“Sir, Miss Potts is trying to reach you again,” Jarvis said.

“Why don’t you just talk to her about what the issue is between you two?” Harry questioned.

“I agree with young Harry sir.”

“Gang up on me, why don’t you. My two children are bullying me.” Tony pouted at the thought of the two-plotting stuff behind his back.

“You’re changing the topic dad.” Harry scolded him.

“She hurt me Harry, she doesn’t believe me. She thinks I’m hiding stuff and coming up with false facts, and it’s about you, which makes it even worse.” Tony said, struggling to talk about anything emotional.

“The longer you leave it the more she is going to get angry and misunderstand sir.”

“I know J, but she really hurt me. I was excited to introduce her to Harry and then she blows it off.” Tony hung his head; he sat down next to Harry.

“Hey, it’s okay dad, you don’t have to do anything, but have you tried telling her that you´re hurt, or giving her proof that she is wrong?”

“Even if I gave her evidence that I was right, she would just think I made it up. It’s a downside of being a genius.” He chuckled weakly.

“Maybe, she isn’t a good friend then?” Harry questioned.

“She has been through a lot with me Harry.”

“So, just because she has been through a lot with you, doesn’t mean she is a good friend,” Harry said. “There was this one kid from school, I have a lot of memories of him, he tried to be my friend but insulted the ones I already had, so I turned him down on the offer. He continued to tease my friends through the years, trying to make me regret my decision. But despite him being there in moments that might have changed my life, he would have been a bad friend. I know it’s not the same, but some people just shouldn’t be friends. Even my friend Ron isn’t the greatest of friends, but he was my first friend.”

“Thanks, kiddo, maybe she should just be the Interim CEO for a couple more years before I take it over again, and not be in my life like she used to be.”

“Dad, talk to her first.”

“I will, just not today.”

“J, tell Pepper that I need to speak with her sometime next week about everything.”

“Will do, sir.”

The weekend passed peacefully, although they still had to stay inside, as the crowds were still outside. They had at least calmed down, but hopefully with the week starting the crowds would settle and most would head off to work. On Sunday Tony asked Harry if he wanted to tell the rest of the team about magic.

“Harry, I have to ask, do you want the rest of the team to know about magic. I trust them to keep it a secret, but at the same time Nat and Birdbrain work for S.H.I.E.L.D, and I don’t know if they have any instructions to report back if they learn of information that could possibly aid them, or for something they have to be on the lookout for.” Tony said with Harry tucked into his side as they watched a movie in the penthouse living area. They were having a movie marathon of ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks.’

“I don’t think I want them to know, at least not at the moment, but maybe in the future, or when something happens, and it can’t be explained. Then maybe we should tell them, but right now, I’m not ready to. I just want to be known as Harry for now, and not Harry the wizard.”

“That’s okay, I’m still going to see if I can get clearance for them to know, just in case,” Tony said before the two returned back to watching the movies. Steve eventually came and joined them halfway through the second movie and was confused about what was going on. Bruce caught the end of the last movie before they all moved to the common floor to eat some takeout.

Monday morning had come around and Tony had asked Bruce to take one of his cars as a diversion while Harry and he went out in one of the plain, everyday cars they used for these kinds of situations. They left just after 9 in the morning, Bruce slipping out a few minutes before them. They went towards the Woolworth building, once there, they parked the car at a nearby parking area. Near the entrance, they were stopped by a tall man in a grey suit.

“Harry Potter?” The man asked in a light voice.

“Yes, sir,” Harry said to the man, his dad grabbing hold of his hand.

“I am Daniel Trolinski, and I will be helping you and your guardian in the immigrant department today. You must be Tony Stark. Now if you will follow me, we can get started shortly.” The two followed the man through a revolving door that little seemed to enter through. Both father and son were amazed when they walked in, Tony marvelled at all the things flying around in the air and the giant clock hanging from the ceiling that definitely didn’t tell the time. He watched as the images on the newspaper moved and as statues moved to watch something new. He was also amazed by the small creatures that were polishing what he assumed other people’s wands.

Daniel pulled the two off to the side where they entered an elevator, they headed down and Tony wondered where the top of it was, as the tracks disappeared off to the sky. Their journey downwards didn’t last long, and the doors dinged open. They walked through a hallway of dark blue panelling before coming to a stop in front of a door that read “Immigration offices.” Once inside, the room seemed to expand, multiple people of different backgrounds seemed to be sitting in the waiting room. They walked past everyone and passed the front desk before reaching a room with Daniel’s name on it.

“Please, step into my office,” Daniel said, holding open the door for the two. The room held deep blue walls, with a dark wooden floor. There were two tubes that came from the ceiling and stop just above the desk, along with a button in front of the one tube. “Please have a seat,” Daniel said as he sat opposite the two. Once they were all seated the man spoke up again. “Now, am I correct in saying, that because Harry is your child and you reside in the United States, you want Harry to have citizenship as an American wizard rather than British, as it will also offer you protection from the British ministry itself. Or so I heard from the head of the department.”

“Yes, that would be correct, I will also eventually be getting Harry his normal citizenship when the time comes for it. However, I heard from the goblins here that the British wizards are something else, and if they aren’t obsessed with Harry, well then, I’m not Iron-man and that having Harry registered as an American wizard will help fend them off.” Tony said
“You would be correct in that statement Dr Stark.”

“Also, there was a matter of who knows about magic and who might need to know in the future, and some questions from the two of us.”

“I will help to the best of my ability, and if I can’t answer, I will point you in the right direction,” Daniel said as a capsule shot down the tube and stopped just before the opening, it only dropped when his hand was under the tube ready for it. He released the documentation from the capsule and laid it before Tony. “Here is everything, regarding the changing of a minor wizard’s citizenship into a minor American wizard citizen, with the prospect of becoming an adult American wizard.”

Tony read over the documentation, making sure nothing was out of place, it looked like what he had expected everything to be in any normal case, but with mentioning of magic in some places. Once he had finished going through it, he returned it to Daniel.

“Do you have any questions before we proceed?” The man asked

“Yes, I want to know what will happen to any titles that Harry has claim over, and about him doing magic outside of school?” Tony asked.

“The first one is easy, any titles that wizards or witches have, with regards to lordships and ladyships remain universal throughout the entire wizarding world, unless otherwise specified. Meaning Harry can keep and claim any titles he has. The second question, underage witches and wizards are allowed to perform magic as long as there is another older magical being that has finished their school, this excludes the cases of accidental magic and magical outbursts as those cannot be controlled. There needs to be no relation between the underage and legal magic-user, as long as they are living under the same roof, the underage person will be allowed to perform magic.”

“Then I see no problem with moving forward. Harry, what about you?” Tony said turning to Harry.

“Am I required to go to a magical school, or can I learn through tutors,” Harry asked.

“It does not matter how you learn, as long as it is through legal means and that you pass the tests put forward by MACUSA at the correct age. You can find more information about schooling in America at the front desks, it is not my speciality.”

“Then I am happy to proceed with becoming an American wizard,” Harry said with a smile on his face.

“Right, can I ask you to sign at the allocated points in red Dr Stark and Heir Potter can you sign at the allocated points in green?” Once the two had finished signing everything the man spoke again. “Now Harry, would you please stand, place your right hand over your left breast and repeat after me.” Harry stood and followed his instructions.

“I hereby declare,”

“I hereby declare,”

“On oath,”

“On oath,”

“That I (full name)-”

“That I Harry James Anthony Potter-”

“Absolutely and entirely-”

“Absolutely and entirely-”

“Renounce and abjure-”

“Renounce and abjure-”

“All allegiance and fidelity-”

“All allegiance and fidelity-”

“To any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty-”

“To any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty-”

“Of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen;”

“Of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen;”

“That I will support and defend-”

“That I will support and defend-”

“The Constitution and laws of the Magical Congress of the United States of America-”

“The Constitution and laws of the Magical Congress of the United States of America-”

“Against all enemies, foreign and domestic;”

“Against all enemies, foreign and domestic;”

“That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;”

“That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;”

“That I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law;”

“That I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law;”

“That I will perform work of national importance-”

“That I will perform work of national importance-”

“Under civilian direction when required by the law;”

“Under civilian direction when required by the law;”

“And that I take this obligation freely,”

“And that I take this obligation freely,”

“Without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me Lady Magic.”

“Without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me Lady Magic.”

“You are now a magical citizen of the Magical Congress of the United States of America. May you please be seated.”

“You are now a magical citizen of the Magical Congress of the United States of America. May you please be seated.” Harry took a seat next to his dad, who had a small frown on his face. “I can tell what you are thinking Dr Stark, but every Magical person looking to become a citizen of America has to say this, and it’s better than the one no-Maj’s use. We at least don’t make people fight for us when something goes wrong, yes, they can volunteer if they want to, but it isn’t mandatory. Now onto who is in the know and who might need to know.”

“My aunt and cousin know, as well my uncle before he passed, but that was only because I was living with them, they hate anything not normal, and magic isn’t that. My dad knows because the lights kept popping around me, so I told him. I also told Steve Rogers at the same time because he was also there, but he said he already knew witches and wizards existed because he fought alongside a few during his fight against HYDRA, because apparently, Grindelwald was working with HYDRA.” Harry said, running out of breath.

“That’s every non-magical person that knows?”

“Yes,” Tony answered this time.

“I don’t see any problem with those people knowing, but we might need to look into the other side of your family to see their intentions, but only if they ever reside in America. Now, who might need to know.”

“The rest of my team might need to know at some point, as we all live under the same roof, and it might get difficult if they see Harry doing magic when they shouldn’t.”
“I can understand the reasoning, but can you say that they won’t ever tell anyone else.”

“I can, if they are asked for the information to go no further than the room, I have faith in them to not tell. I trust they won’t betray me.” Tony elected to not say anything about Clint and Nat. If he asked nicely enough, he was sure that the duo would keep a secret.

“Alright, and who would these people be?” Daniel, having already started noting down everything being said.

“There would be Dr Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, and I’m not sure if Thor would need to be among that list, as he is Asgardian and not from Earth.”

“Any species that does not come from Earth are not held under the same laws, and Thor has a magical brother anyways. Otherwise, I see no problem with the people on the list, and your reasoning is sound. If there is any change to the list of people, whether it be new people that know or people that need to forget, please either write to the Department of information containment or visit them personally. Now, I think everything that needed to be done is finished. I will take you back up to the entrance floor and point you in the direction of the information area, before departing from you. Is there anything else you might need to know?”

“I’ve been advised by a magical doctor to seek help with the removal of shrapnel in my chest here in America,” Tony said standing as Daniel got out of his chair, and Harry following shortly.

“Ah, yes, you will also find information on doctors where I am taking you. At the information desk you can find all about magical New York, and the rest of America, as well as any information on festivals and events, schooling options, medical needs, well-known businesses and anything else that might be there.” Daniel spoke as he led them back through the waiting room, down the hallway and into the elevator. When he had them a few meters from the information he left them and went back to his office.

The information desk had a woman behind it and looked like any other one you find. Although Tony suspected it wasn’t going to behave like a normal one if the moving racks were anything to go by.

“Hello, how can I help you?” The lady behind the desk said.

“We are looking for all information on schools and tutors for any forms of magic, as well as any doctors in America, also all the magical areas in New York. You know what, it might be easy to get one of everything instead.” Tony said.

“New to the magical world?”

“You could say that, but my son isn’t.” The lady looked to Harry, eyes widening before looking back to Tony, realising who the two were.

“Right, I’ll get you one of everything available at the information desk, and anything that might be found at the other departments. If you would just give me a moment to gather everything.” Tony and Harry watched as all the racks and drawers opened, and all shapes and sizes of information booklets flew out, and some even came from behind the women as they came from different areas of the building. Everything gathered itself together before fitting into two paper bags with expansion enchantments on them. “That should be everything, have a good day.”

“You too. Come on let’s go Harry, we should be finished now.” Tony said as he grabbed hold of Harry’s hand and followed directions to the building's exit. Once outside Tony realised, they had spent a good two hours in the building, reading the document had taken some time. “Want to get some food on the way back?”

“Can we get some muffins?”

“We sure can kiddo and get some doughnuts for Brucie-bear as well.”

The two stopped at a nearby bakery, grabbing a couple dozen of muffins for everyone, and a half dozen doughnuts for Bruce, as thanks for this morning. They were spotted by a few people, and Tony was expecting a few emails tomorrow to either accept or reject articles. They were definitely noticed driving into the tower, as Tony had to drive slow enough to not knock anyone over. Tony could only imagine the headache he was going to get at the meeting tomorrow, but for now, he would enjoy the rest of the day with his kid and the few team members that were in the tower.

Chapter Text

The days were starting to pass quickly as everyone settled into their new lifestyle. When Tony headed off to a board meeting the day after going to MACUSA, Harry spent a few hours with Steve and Bruce ticking off things on Steve’s list. It had been difficult to get Bruce to join but Harry had promised that he wasn’t scared of him, even after seeing the videos of what The Hulk could do, he also promised to call him Bruce instead of Mr Bruce.

Clint and Natasha would be returning on Friday, and Harry couldn’t wait to spend more time with her, while Clint was going to go home to his family for a while, but he promised to be there for Harry’s birthday. Before the two had left Clint had given Harry a number to connect him through if he ever needed help.

Tony was bored during the meeting and didn’t see the point in being there, but it was required of him, being the owner of the company. He sat and fiddled on his StarkPad, working on a few upgrades on his suit. He was working on a way on how to call the suit to him, no matter how far away he was, also he had started upon a few designs for a suit for Harry. It was mainly going to be there to protect him, not allow him to fight.

He also needed to find a witch or wizard that he could employ to handle digitalising everything that he had on magic. Sure they had done a lot in London, but he needed someone dedicated to it, so whenever he needed something he could call on JARVIS to search through everything. He was sure how to go about it though, the simplest route will be sending out application forms to MACUSA but then he was also aware that there was a wizarding newspaper, but he wasn’t sure how to contact them. He would need to sift through everything he had gotten yesterday before he proceeded.

The meeting had taken five hours and had had an hour break halfway through. The company really did try and squeeze as much as they could into the one meeting where Tony was guaranteed to show up. Heading out the office room and to the elevator to head up to the penthouse, the perks of having the office spaces on the lower levels of the building you live in, Pepper cornered him.

“Tony, we need to talk,” Pepper said biting out the words in frustration. Tony looked at her as if she was an alien, and he had met some before.

“We need to talk!” Tony was shocked, to say the least.

“Yes.” Pepper said smugly, crossing her arms over her chest and slightly lifting her chin.

“There is nothing we need to talk about, you don’t want to believe the truth then so be it, I won’t feed you lies so you can keep the image you have of me in your head. There was a reason why we didn’t last long, I saw through your gold-digging ways early enough, and got rid of you. You do make a good CEO, I will admit that, but if you so much as try and sabotage my company or me and my child, you can say goodbye to your position and ever working for Stark Industries again. So you wrap your head around that, I’m going home to my son, that I care about, and who trusts me.” Tony said angrily pushing past her before she could say anything.

He was right to have left her the previous year, she had only ever been happy when he was spending money on her, and only when it was branded items. Tony headed up to his labs instead of the living areas, not wanting to be angry around Harry, and potentially say something bad. Tony drowned out his anger as he blared ACDC at max volume. It took a few hours before JARVIS cut the music and informed him that Steve was coming in. Tony ignored the two as he continued working.

“Tony?” Steve called out softly. Tony turned to look at him, trying to hide his anger but failing. “What happened?” Tony took a deep breath, trying to arrange his thoughts.

“I don’t know Cap. Why can’t Pepper just believe me, where did the side of her go that I once fell in love with? Everything went downhill after we started dating, I’m glad it ended, I truly am, but I don’t know whether she just hates me now, or if she resents me. Although there isn’t much difference between the two. But I feel like it’s my fault, and then today when she cornered me and continues to insist that I am lying about Harry, well the story behind how he came to exist. I just snapped at her, and I’m too angry to be around others and I don’t want Harry to see me like this.” He was stressing and starting to pull at his hair.

“Hey Tones, it’s alright, you don’t need her validation for anything. If she doesn’t want to believe you, then she isn’t worth your time.” Steve said coming forward and pulling Tony into his arms. The man just broke down, shivering but not crying. “JARVIS, could you tell the others that I’m handling everything?”

“Will do Mr Rogers.”

“Tony, you are amazing, and I’m not just talking about your brain. I know how nervous you were about being a father to Harry, but the boy loves you. You are doing an amazing job, and the rest of us in the tower also knows. So what if she questions you, she clearly doesn’t know who the real you are. As long as the people who are closest to you believe in you then, why give a flying fuck about what others think.” Tony gasp, he had been listening to him, but humour was how he dealt with things.

“You swore!” Tony said pushing out of Steve’s arms to look at him

“Tony, I’m a Brooklyn boy, born and raised, of course, I swear. I might not all the time after the army but trust me, I do.”

“Still the stars and stripes of this country just swore.” They both laughed a bit.

“Come up in a bit why don’t you, Harry is busy cooking up a storm and I promised to make some good old American apple pie, so you better show up. And don’t worry about Harry, he is perfectly fine.” Steve turned to walk out the door but paused to turn around. “You’ll be up soon, right?”

“Yeah sure. I’ll be there. Let me just finish up on this one thing and I’ll be there.” Steve left after that, and true to Tony’s words, he finished up on the piece he had in front of him before heading up to watch the two in the kitchen. He sat next to Bruce and the two went into science bro mode, talking about any recent advancements in any noticeable field.
The next few days passed quickly and the group of three was welcoming home Natasha from the mission she had been on. She stayed around them for a while before disappearing off into her room. They decided to move the monthly movie session from Friday until Saturday when Nat didn’t show up. In the meantime, Tony started flipping through the leaflets of information. When he came across the New York and Nation-wide magical newspaper, he knew he hit gold.

He drafted out an application form, saying that Stark Industries was looking at hiring someone to help with the digitalisation of magical knowledge on private servers for people in the know. Tony had thought with all the effort he was going through to digitalise everything, he might as well make it available to the rest of the wizarding world, well at least to the American wizards in the beginning. He borrowed Hedwig, to send out the letters, grateful that both offices were in New York. He had got a reply from the New York newspaper, the MANY Daily Times, that his request would be posted in the next issue, due to come out the next day.

Tony had also spent the last few days, sourcing teachers for Harry’s normal education. He definitely wouldn’t be teaching some subjects the American way because American schooling had gone down over the years. Harry would be learning English and would have to catch up on the two years that he had missed. He also wasn’t going to make Harry start learning the American equivalent of English, he was hoping to find a teacher from the U.K.

Harry would also learn mathematics as a whole and not how the American schools split it, yes, he would learn in sections, but as a whole, all the different parts would come together quicker than what most learnt in the country. In a sense, it was mathematics core, what they learnt in the U.K and other parts of the world.

He would also learn physical science, or physics, as well as chemistry, and what was called natural sciences, but is really biology. There was also social sciences on the list, which was History and Geography combined, as the two went hand in hand. And lastly, he would be learning Latin, which would also tie in with his magical studies, whenever they went over the lists and decided what Harry wanted to learn. Harry had left his normal education up to Tony, and he had appointments the next Monday with teachers. Tony also wanted Harry to learn Italian as he had learnt it growing up, mainly because his mother was Italian, but he had learnt to love the language.

Tony was also thinking of doing a two-week timetable, where one week focused on normal subjects and then the other would be on magical subjects. Sure, it was going to be a lot, but children the same age as Harry, did the same number of subjects thinking it was normal, and Harry knew what he was signing up for when he said he wanted to do home-schooling with both of the educations. Plus, he wouldn’t allow his child not to have a basic understanding of everything.

Harry’s birthday is next Wednesday, and Tony didn’t know how to spoil him. He had thought of renting out somewhere fun for the day, but that wouldn’t be Harry’s first choice. He had also thought of taking him sightseeing with the team, as his boy hadn’t really seen New York for what it was. He already had a mountain of gifts for Harry sitting in a warehouse, ready to be brought in the night before his birthday. He vaguely knew that the others had gotten him stuff, he knew his friends were getting Harry interested in some of their own extracurricular activities that they like to call their hobbies. What else could he expect from his team?

Birdbrain had informed him that he would also be bringing his family along, he was still trying to wrap that around his head. How the featherless chicken had hidden something like this from him so well. Tony said he was more than welcome to, even if the kids had a massive age gap, he was sure they would get along.

Saturday came and went quickly; Harry has spent most of the morning with Natasha and Tony choose to not notice that she was starting to teach his kid how to throw knives after they went through a workout routine. Tony continued to work in his lab feeling safe enough to leave Harry with the rest of the team, and safe enough that Harry wouldn’t be hurt by them not spending time together. After being with each other for almost a month, there was trust between the two of them.

-----

Sunday came around and sitting in his office that overlooked the grounds below, Dumbledore felt the wards weaken around the Dursleys home. He may have lied about them being blood wards, but there were still wards around the house that needed to be recharged every year Harry went home for his and the household’s protection. Oblivious to the treatment Harry faced in the house, he assumed that they had all gone on a family holiday. Albus was still angry about being kicked out of Gringotts and was being denied a meeting with the Potter account manager.

Given his current mood, he wrote a not so polite letter to the Dursleys, telling them to return to their home soon, before the wards collapsed, and they no longer had protection. He wasn’t going to put in that the wards would last until the beginning of November when he originally put up the wards all those years ago. Dumbledore did not know what was happening, and it was annoying him.

First Sirius Black escapes from Azkaban, he knew that Peter was still safe with the Weasleys, the last thing he needed was Sirius proving his innocence and taking in Harry, it would not do, even if the man agreed with his views, it would prevent Harry from being moulded into his weapon against Voldemort.

Secondly, he had been kicked from Gringotts, he should have been allowed, being the magical guardian of Harry, but now he was also questioning if the Ministry wasn’t involved, and lastly, he had to deal with the weakened wards. He was not looking forward to the year ahead, he had at least somehow convinced Remus Lupin to come and teach The Defence Against Dark Arts for the next school year.

Chapter Text

A new week had started, and Tony was ready to interrogate all the teachers who were coming in today for interviews. Harry was also going to be present for them, but he wanted only the best for his son. Even if it meant he had to sit in on many interviews. The first one was coming at nine, and he still had half an hour to get ready for it. Harry was busy talking to Hermione in his room, she had gone over to see Ron and he wasn’t too happy that Harry had left but was waiting for him to send a letter.

Tony didn’t know what to do about Harry’s gap of knowledge from not being at a regular school for the past two years. He was hoping that the teachers that stood out would know what to do, even if it meant doing crash courses in the subjects or, having longer ‘school’ hours to catch up on everything.

He also wanted to get the interviews out of the way so he could focus on Harry’s birthday that were in a few days. He still had a few places to call and make sure everything was underway. He wasn’t going too overboard, but he had some plans.

Harry came down to find his dad drinking coffee and reading on his Starkpad. He was excited to be meeting all his potential teachers, he hoped they wouldn’t have any expectations of him, like the teachers from Hogwarts had. If it was being the chosen one, or because of who his parents were. Actually, it would just be his mom and adoptive father, but then he never knew them in the first place. Shaking the thoughts out of his head, he grabbed a piece of fruit before going back to his room to wait.

Time passed quickly and the two sat in the tenth interview for the day, they had only come across one promising teacher so far, and that was only for maths. It was a man by the name of Lloyd Binion he had been a tall dark-skinned man in his late 50’s, who had recently left his previous school because they didn’t allow for any independence among the students. The interviews were lasting about 20 minutes each, and after this one, they were going to take a break, before they saw ten more people and calling it a day.

If they don’t find enough teachers today, and Tony didn’t think they would, then he would do more interviews the following Monday. They finished up the interviews after three, he was hoping that 4 out of the twenty people today would become teachers for Harry. The other three he had interviewed had been a British lady in her late 40’s and would be teaching English, her name was Janice Bennetts. There was a young Asian man, Hwang Soen-Hwan who would be teaching Physics. The last person had been a Spanish lady in her 30’s, Estela Linde, who would be teaching Latin.

Tony spent the last few remaining hours of the day calling into different places, making sure everything was perfect for Harry’s birthday. Meanwhile said child had run-off and hang out with Natasha, where she told him the joys of knife throwing.

The next day Clint showed up, apologizing that his family hadn’t been able to come with him, but they sent their best wishes and would come in the future. Harry spent the morning with Natasha again, who was showing him how to grip a knife properly.

“Hold it a little further down, otherwise it won’t release from your hand properly.” She told him. He followed her instructions. “Good, now watch me.” She stood with her one foot behind the other, hold the knife above her before she brought her arm done quickly while releasing the knife. It struck into the padded walling and Harry was amazed. “Now you try.”

Harry copied her stance, while she adjusted it slightly, when he was ready, he let the knife fly free from his hand, but the hilt bounced off the wall and fell on the floor. “That was good for your first try, but if you waited a little bit to let the knife loose, the blade would have hit the wall.”

“I thought you would at least wait for me to be here before you started throwing knives with the kid,” Clint said leaning up against the doorframe. Natasha clicked her tongue at him.

“It wasn’t like you weren’t watching from vents, you just chose to come down now.”

“How mean.” Clint pouted. The two continued to bicker with each other, and Harry just laughed at them. They had calmed down and Harry was getting ready to throw the knife again when his dad appeared.

“Nuh-uh. We aren’t teaching the kid knife throwing until he is at least thirteen.” Tony said glaring playfully at the three of them.

“I’m thirteen tomorrow, what difference does it make.”

“What difference does a day make! A day makes a huge difference. In a day I could completely invent something new.” Tony said with his hands on his hips but the grin on his face gave away his true emotions. “Clint, Nat, promise me you’ll at least wait until after his birthday to start teaching him deadly skills”

He received playful smirks from the two of them before groaning. “We will wait for Harry’s birthday till we start teaching him to protect himself, and next year I’ll teach him something new.”

“Okay I can deal with that, you can teach him something new every year, at least until he is sixteen. I don’t want a mini-assassin running around the tower just yet.” Harry slipped out the assassin duo around lunchtime to find Steve, who was going to help him bake some goods for the team.

--

Harry woke up Wednesday morning when there was a tapping at his bedroom windows, the window wall was a better word to describe it. There was a tired looking owl outside flapping its wings with no place to perch on. Rushing out of his room, and downstairs to the living area he opened the balcony door. The owl flew in, landing on the owl perch standing nearby. Harry got out some treats and made sure it had enough clean water before taking the letter from its leg. It was his letter from Hogwarts.

“What’s all the fuss about,” Tony said coming down the stairs.

“It’s my Hogwarts letter”

“Well, there go all my plans for this morning. I even set an alarm.” Harry chuckled at his dad’s antics. Harry gave the letter to his dad. He looked over it briefly, before penning out one himself.

Dear Professor McGonagall

It has come to my attention that my son Harry has had his life in danger for both the years he has been attending your school. Therefore, I´m pulling him out of Hogwarts to give him a better education and a safer school experience.
With regards,

Dr Anthony Stark.

“Here, you can send it back after you rested up, it must have been a long flight for you,” Tony said tying the letter to the owl’s leg. “Come along squirt, I am trying to stick to a plan today.” Tony marched into the kitchen. He smiled when he saw the food prepared by a chef on the counter. He turned to look at Harry and couldn’t help but smile at his wide eyes. “Dig in kid, it’s your birthday.”

“Thank you!” Harry filled his plate with waffles, fruits, and anything else he enjoyed that was available. His dad joined in next to him and the two ate breakfast together.
“I hope you're ready for today kiddo. I’ve got lots planned.”

“You didn’t have to do anything for my birthday.”

“I’m not having any of that today. You’re a Stark and most importantly, you’re my son, and I’ll be damned if I don’t spoil you. You’re my son Harry, and to be honest, I never thought you would be a part of my life. But now you are, and I’m going to spoil you all I want, and extra to make up for the years I missed.”

After finishing breakfast Tony lead Harry down to the common area. They noticed the owl had already left, while Hedwig had arrived back from her nightly adventures. Heading into the common area Harry could hear all the other occupants of the tower in the room chatting about. Walking in they turned to face the two.

“Happy birthday Harry!” They all said, in somewhat of a form of unison. Grins spreading across their faces.

“Happy birthday son!”

“Thanks everyone,” Harry said smiling so widely his cheeks just about hurt.

“Come on kid, there’s a pile of presents with your name on it.” Clint gestured for him to sit amongst them all.

Harry had never been given so many presents before, but he suspected most were from his dad. He didn’t rush to open them, rather he spent his time neatly opening each and every present, it caused Clint to groan and tell him to rip them open. He got some rather questionable presents from the assassin duo. He had received a bow and arrows from Clint in a similar shade of green that his eyes were, he also received a book on finding the best hiding locations from the man. He thought that Nat had a bit more since until he opened the last present from her. He had gotten a leather journal and a book on lock-picking, as well as a case of throwing knives that matched the colour of his bow. Bruce had gotten a cooking book on Spanish cuisine and a baking book specialised in making sweets.

He had laughed at the iron-man socks that slipped out of Steve’s present but was happy to find that he hadn’t gone overboard, and along with the socks was some candy and tickets to see a theatre production in Broadway with the man. His dad had gone way overboard

His dad had gotten Harry all available gaming stations as well as many games to go along with them. Harry was surprised when he came across a computer, that Tony had made for himself, for all his future projects and schoolwork.

“Thank you, everyone, it really means a lot to me.” He said with tears gathering around the corners of his eyes.

“You’re one of us now kid, and we’re one big family,” Natasha said petting his head.

“Come on, let’s go get dressed, we have a long day ahead of us.” The two got dressed quickly and met up with the rest of the team in the parking area, where they all stood around a van.

“Where are we going, dad?” Harry asked trailing behind him.

“You’ve been in New York for just over two weeks and have yet to be sightseeing or experience the joy that is New York City. So today is a trip around the city to the best spots known to the team and the famous ones.”

Hoping into the van alongside The Avengers, Tony drove them out to the beginning of their adventure. Their first stop was the Statue of Liberty, as the boat ride would take some time, and it was the best thing to get done first. Harry had been amazed when they arrived at the island and continued to stare at the giant green lady in front of him. Once they finished up there Tony packed them into the car again before stopping off at a small bookstore turn café, one of Bruce’s hid-away locations. They had a light lunch there before they went around again, stopping at tourist hotspots.

Come evening Tony had parked the van a block up from their final place for the day. Walking down the street, few people stopped to look at the famous group, and a few females were awed at the sight of Tony and Harry walking hand-in-hand. They were at an old Italian family restaurant.

“Anthony, it’s good to see you again.” The greying man behind the bar said with a slight Italian accent.

“It’s good to see you too Roberto, how is Maria doing?” Tony said ushering the rest of the team, as the man, Roberto, came to greet them all.

“She is well, she is busy helping Juliet with their new baby.” The man got out menus as he sat them down at the largest booth available in the almost empty restaurant.

“Juliet had another kid with Mark?”

“Sí, and I see you also have a child on your hands.” Tony laughed at the old man.

“Harry this is Roberto, an old-time family friend of the Stark's, Roberto this is my son Harry, and today’s it’s his birthday.”

“So that is why you made sure we had the special item in-store.”

“Yes, it wouldn’t be a birthday without it.”

“Good, good, I will leave you and your friends alone for the time being.”

The group sat talking with each other and Harry had never felt so at home before. Sure, the Weasleys had treated him like family, but he still had felt like an outsider. Smiling softly to himself he joined in on the conversations around him. They were left alone by the other groups in the restaurant for the most part. After having eaten supper, Roberto appeared with a large chocolate cake being pushed out on a trolley.

“Happy birthday Harry, we hope that you will spend many more with us at the restaurant. This was Tony’s favourite cake as a child, my own children also love it, so please enjoy my wife’s famous chocolate cake.” He said placing the cake on the table before disappearing. This was Harry’s best birthday yet, and he couldn’t wait for what was to come in the future.

Chapter Text

Minerva McGonagall sat in her office going through all the Hogwarts replies, not that it was a difficult task mind you, when she came across a letter she doesn’t often receive. A withdrawal letter. Reading through the letter she could understand the parent's concern, she didn’t remember a student with the surname of Stark, but she assumed it was a muggle-born student. Slotting the letter into the withdrawal slot that would take the student off the register. She didn’t even think to check who the student was, not knowing she had just taken Harry Potter off the register, but that discovery would come in due time.

Moving onto the other letters, she was glad to see that almost all students had a letter sent back, although she hadn’t seen a letter from Harry, she had just assumed that it was the regular problem that seemed to be his relatives. She assumed he would be there at the beginning of the year.

----

Harry’s birthday had come and gone, and the tower was oddly silent as Steve, Clint and Natasha had been called out for a mission the next day. Bruce was nowhere to be seen so Tony took this as the perfect opportunity to look at all the magical subjects that Harry had an option to do and see what he wanted to do.

He also knew there would be more interviews happening the following week for the few subjects that he hadn’t found a tutor yet. And he was honestly getting anxious about finding someone for each subject. He thought of lowering his standards and laughed at that thought as a Stark would never lower their standards when it came to education.
Tony dumped a pile of booklets in front of Harry, who looked up unimpressed to be disturbed from eating his breakfast.

“Come on Harry, once you finish you can help me out.” He said starting to go through the different ones and organise them by the different subjects. Harry finished his breakfast slowly, not wanting to sort through everything. He even took his time cleaning up and received the stink eye from his dad. “So much enthusiasm……… hey, come on help your old man out over here. Did I just call myself old? Yes, I did. Am I old? Never. I’m still a spring chicken.” Harry laughed at his dad but helped him nonetheless.

“What are my options looking like?” Harry asked.

“There are quite a few subjects, and sometimes some are joined, some people offer different options of later focuses of an area of the subject. But the larger piles are the subject itself and the ones that are smaller and lie between the two are joint subjects. Some seem to make sense being together and others don’t like History and Herbology, there’s no proper connection between the two so that one is out.”

“Can I start going through them?”

“Go for it. It’s your education, you should do what you want. Although I would at least like you to do all the standard subjects. Although I found there are some good combinations of the standard subjects, you can find those in the pile on the edge over there.” Tony said pointing out the pile that just wasn’t together with the rest.”

That was how the morning was spent. Tony sorted out everything and Harry read through the things, although Tony was paying attention to everything Harry was putting aside and when Harry made a choice that wouldn’t benefit him, he asked him if he was sure about his choice and Harry would change his choice half the time. They eventually had a much smaller tower of every subject and teacher that they were leaning towards. They went late into the afternoon discussing everything, the pros and cons, was it manageable, did Harry want to do it, and whatever else was brought up.

They eventually decided on 9 different subjects. A combination of potions and herbology, the two made sense to go together. Spellwork, which was charms and transfigurations, Magical theory that would later focus on Runes, Arithmancy, Illusions and Enchanting, Harry was excited for that one. There was also Defence against the dark arts and the Dark arts together, as and convincing argument was made that you can’t defend yourself properly if you don’t know what you’re defending against. Magical History, Law, and politics were another subject that made sense seeing as Harry had titles. Foreign magics and cultures had intrigued the two of them because Harry had believed there was only one type of magic and Tony wanted to be a sponge to the information.

The last subject was the Care of magical creatures, Harry had been insistent on it, despite there not being a decent teacher. They decided that 2 weeks of the summer holiday would be dedicated to the subject, and Tony was going to try and get Newt Scamander as a teacher. Harry had said he had written the best book on the subject, so Tony was going to do the best for his son. He was sure the man would enjoy any offer he could make.

They had also already decided on the teachers, and Tony would be sending letters and a few emails to them all in the next few days. Now all they had to do was create a timetable, for both normal and magical studies, but he would leave that up to J.A.R.V.I.S.

The following week passed smoothly, and Friday had already come around. Tony successfully found tutors for the rest of Harry’s subjects and had met with all the teachers for the magical subjects, besides the Care of magical creatures. Tony didn’t know how to get in contact with Mr Scamander, but he had his ways. He was confident he could get this man to teach Harry.

Clint had returned from his mission, but the other two had not, he had a feeling it had something to do with Harry’s lineage test. Clint had been teaching Harry how to shoot with the bow and arrow. Tony didn’t mind too much, it’s not like he wasn’t building a non-lethal suit for him. He just didn’t want a mini assassin to be made of his son.

It was Friday and Tony had a handful of interviews to do. He had thought more people would turn out for it, but Tony was starting to see how closed off the magical community was. He had had a few pleasant interviews, but he had enjoyed the one with a wizard who had moved over from Africa to the USA to study psychology. He was a kind man by the name of Jericho Drumm and would start working for Tony, part-time, which was all that was needed, in the coming weeks.

While Tony had been busy the whole day, Harry had been with Clint down in the training room. Clint was teaching him “the ways of the bow and arrow,” but all Harry could think of was the possibilities of adding spells onto the arrows.

“Okay kid, I know we got the basics down yesterday, so today, we are going to be aiming to shoot the arrow at the target.”

Harry pulled the arrow back and allowed Clint to adjust his grip slightly before the man gave him the okay sign to shoot. Harry watched the arrow fly and land a good meter in front of the target. Clint watched as the kid’s face fell into disappointment.

“Don’t be upset kid, I also couldn’t hit a target when I first tried. Just don’t tell your dad that.” He may have lied about that statement, but he didn’t need to know that. “You’ll be hitting the target in no time.” It took Harry another two tries before the arrow landed on the target. It may have been the edge of the target, but he was getting better.

“Look uncle Clint, I hit the target!” Harry said smiling up at the man. He was taken aback by what Harry had said, not expecting it, but chuckled nonetheless and ruffled the boy’s hair.

“You sure did kiddo, and with time you’ll be hitting the bullseye every time!” The two spent the rest of the day in the training room until Tony came down to call them up for dinner. They ate pizza in the common area and Bruce even joined in.

As Tony sat there watching everyone, he realised he needed to get that shrapnel removed asap if he wanted to be around to see his kid grow up and see the future of the team. He decided that he would start his search for a doctor, whether it was through magical means or normal means, he was going to get it done.

He had made plans with Harry for the weekend already, so he would have to start the search on Monday. Tony was anxious just thinking about it, but it was time for it to happen. He didn’t want to miss out on something because of his own stubbornness.

Harry looked at his dad as he looked lost in thought, he poked him in the ribs, which got the man to turn and look at him. He smiled and ruffled Harry’s hair before joining in on the conversation like he hadn’t just been lost in thought a moment ago.

Harry was excited for the weekend as his dad had promised to take him to the beach this weekend. Harry had never been to the beach before, and he was extremely excited about it, and afterwards, dad had offered to take him on a ride. On what he didn’t know, but he was happy nonetheless to be spending time with the man.

Saturday came around and Harry was jumping onto his dad’s bed to wake him up, already in his swim shorts. He laughed as dad faked dying and played dead underneath the blankets when he had knocked the air out of him.

“Give me some warning next time kiddo.” Tony laughed as he sat up ruffling Harry’s hair. Harry groaned and tried fixing the mess of his hair, but his dad continued to mess it up whenever he fixed it. Sighing in defeat Harry flopped backwards.

“When are we going to go?”

“We can go after we had breakfast and I’m ready.”

“Can’t we just go now?”

“No Harry, otherwise, you’re the one who’s going to complain about being hungry not long after we get there.”

“Fine, I’ll go eat breakfast,” Harry said before moping out of Tony’s room and down into the kitchen. Tony shook his head while smiling to himself before getting dressed. He couldn’t believe he missed out on so many years of being a father. He didn’t regret what he had done, only wished he could have been in his son’s life sooner. While it was horrible that the Potter’s had been killed, he couldn’t believe how blessed he was, maybe he could do this whole parenting thing.

Heading downstairs and into the kitchen, Tony saw Harry gobbling down a plate of bacon and eggs and saw a plate nearby for himself. He was happy to see his child becoming more comfortable. He hoped that Harry felt safe with him, with all of them, and would see them all as one big? family.

Leaving for the beach Tony took his Audi R8 Spyder, he hadn’t driven that car in a while but thought that Harry would enjoy it. The journey wasn’t too long before they arrived at a more private beach. Part of the beach experience was being around others, Tony just hoped they wouldn’t notice. Harry had enjoyed the trip if the big smile on his face was anything to go by. It wasn’t long before Tony had to run after the child, barely getting everything out of the car in time to go chasing after the child. Dumping everything in a spot Tony swopped up Harry over his shoulder just before he reached the water carrying him back to the pile of items.

“Dad!” Harry whined at him as he tried to get out of the tight grip his dad had on him.

“Not until your British self is covered in sunblock, cause I’m going to be the one taking care of the sunburn otherwise,” Tony said digging out the bottle of sunscreen and handing it over to Harry who reluctantly put on the sunblock.

“I’m done,” Harry said giving it back. Tony chuckled as Harry looked like a ghost with all the sunblock.

“Alright kiddo, I trust you know how to swim?”

“Yup, I learnt how to before Hogwarts.”

“Then you’re good to go, don’t go out too far and stay where I can see you. I’ll join you just want to set everything up.”

“Thanks dad,” Harry said running off.

“J, keep an eye on him when I’m not looking,” Tony said speaking to the speaker he had brought with. It was the best way to bring J.A.R.V.I.S. to a public space, especially when it could transform into a mini robot when needed.

“Will do sir.” Tony quickly set about putting up the umbrella and getting the towels ready. He had already placed the thin sheet over the arc reactor that would keep it airtight and waterproof. The thing was already resistant to water, but he still didn’t feel like taking chances. Making sure J.A.R.V.I.S. was in a good spot to monitor everything, he then went off to join his son in the waves, grabbing the kid on the way in and going a little further.

Tony understood the childlike wonder that came when visiting the sea and wanted to give Harry the full experience of it. The two spent their time splashing each other and Harry would try to ride the waves or try and jump on his dad to try and drown him. Not that it worked, Harry would soon realise it required great strength to wear the Iron man suit.

It was mid-day, and the two were drying up when people were starting to look at them and a few people were pointing their way. Tony realising what was happening start rushing which made Harry look up. He also knew what was happening and started to rush too. The last thing they needed was the paparazzi showing up. They made it to the car when the people start to gather and drove out as the paparazzi vans started showing up.

They two were both laughing at the situation as they drove off. Arriving back at the tower an eagle was waiting for them on the balcony. Tony took the thick package from the bird before it flew off. Tony dropped it off in his room planning to go over the contest later when he had some time. Right now, he had a surprise for Harry.

“Why don’t you go wash off all the seawater and put on some comfortable clothing,” Tony said popping into Harry’s room, who had just laid down on his bed.

“Sure dad, what are we doing? Are we going to ride whatever it is you promised to do?” He said getting up and grabbing clothes from the wardrobe.

“You could say that,” Tony said mysteriously before disappearing into his own room to do the same thing. When he reappeared downstairs Harry was waiting for him in the lounge “Come on, we’re going to my lab.”

“I thought we were going for a ride?” Harry asked confused but followed anyways.

“We are.” Tony gave him a mischievous smile as they took the elevator down.

Arriving in the lab, Harry was wondering what was going on. His dad had stopped in front of one of the glass showcases that normally displayed his Iron man suits, except this time the glass had been blackened out.

“Are you ready to go on a ride kiddo?” Tony asked excitement clear in his voice.

“Yes?” Harry was confused, to say the least.

“J, dim the lights,” he did so, “Drum roll please,” J.A.R.V.I.S. was happy to cater to his master’s whims. “And now for the grand reveal of one new Iron man suit, kid-sized and non-lethal!” The tint in the glass disappeared to reveal a smaller Iron man suit in the classic gold and red colours.

“Dad you couldn’t have.”

“Oh, but I did mini-me.” Harry rushed to hug his dad and Tony returned the hug just as hard. “Come on kiddo, let me show you the ropes so we can go flying together. And don’t worry I’ll be there if you need any help.” This meant a lot to Harry; he couldn’t have wished for a better dad.

Tony helped Harry suit up, it could be nerve-wracking having pieces of metal flying at you trying to fit together, but it had been his latest upgrade to his suits. Both son and father suited up in the famous red and gold. Tony got J.A.R.V.I.S. to put up? the nearby hatch for them to fly out. Harry was nervous to start with but to him, it wasn’t too different to flying on a broom, well at least trying to take off.

Tony was there giving advice and encouraging Harry as he got used to it. It was not long before the two were flying across the sky at a comfortable pace. Many people below stop to stare at Iron Man and the smaller figure beside him. There were even multiple posts on social media about the two.

Picking up some speed, Harry followed along and the two were speeding at speeds Harry could only dream to reach on his broom. They flew around for good while sharing some conversation between them but not much was said as they were both enjoying the time together. Harry wasn’t ashamed to admit that he let loose a few cries of enjoyment.
When they got back it was nearing the evening and the two were both tired and hungry. Neither felt like cooking let alone moving too much. It wasn’t long before they got back home that Bruce came up to the penthouse to see them.

“Brucie-bear, what brings you to my humble abode,” Tony said slumped like a sack of potatoes on the couch.

“Just checking up on you two, seeing as how you were both out flying for a while,” Bruce said amused at the two lying about. Harry was on the floor with a wide grin across his face.

“You’re not mad I haven’t made a suit for you to fly yet, are you Brucie-bear?”

“No Tony, I have no desire to go flying in a metal suit. I see enough action trying to stay calm. But I’m here to tell you that there’s food in the common area. Clint cooked up a bit of a storm downstairs.”

“We will be down in a few, just got to rest for a bit.”

“Alright see you two in a bit.”

They lounged around for a while longer until Harry’s stomach started growling and the knowledge of food pulled them to their feet and into the elevator. They joined the two other men in the common area and had a relaxed dinner before passing out in their own rooms.

Chapter Text

Tony woke up in the early hours of the morning despite having passed out the night before. His brain had an itch that needed to be scratched. He knew that if he didn’t get the shrapnel inside of him out any time soon, then the future was going to be bleak.

While the rest of the tower was still asleep, Tony began formulating an email draft to be sent to any doctors that had a possibility of helping. He also drew up a letter to be sent to wizarding doctors within New York that could help. He had received a list of healers in the area. Even sent a more personal email to Doctor Stephen Strange, in the hopes that the man would be able to create a team to remove it.

He had already sent all the emails and had a pile of letters waiting to be sent. He didn’t want to use Hedwig to send all the letters, but when he came downstairs to head out she watched the pile of letters he was holding, it almost looked like her eyes were gleaming. Sighing Tony knew that if he didn’t allow her to deliver the letters, she was going to start something.

“Hi girl, do you want to deliver these for me. There’s quite a pile here, so you might have to take a few trips.” The owl chirped as he petted her head a bit. He had 13 letters in total and divided them into two groups of five and one of there, before sending her off with the first five.

Remembering the package that had arrived the other day, Tony had brought it down with him and into the kitchen to see what was in it. Making himself a cup of coffee, he emptied the contents of the package onto the table and saw it was the bank statements that he had asked for, all neatly arranged from the year that the Potters had passed away until now.

He didn’t think it would take a long time to go through, because nothing should have been going out, it should only be bank fees and interest that would be recorded. However, Tony was wrong with that statement. He went through the first year quickly, nothing out of the ordinary, although there had been more money coming in than he had suspected.

It wasn’t until 2004, when Harry turned 4, that things started to get strange. An item had been removed, something by the name of the cloak of invisibility. Then a few months later books were being taken out. It wasn’t until 2006 that money started being taken out, not a lot at first but the amount steadily grew each and every time money was being taken out. And it all linked back to one person, Albus Dumbledore.

Harry came down to see his dad staring intently at the pieces of paper in front of him, and it looked like steam was about to blow out his ears at any given moment. He continued getting himself breakfast knowing that his dad wasn’t angry at him and considering he had rarely seen him get angry he knew it must be for a good reason.

“What’s wrong dad?” Harry asked eating his bowl of cereal at the opposite side of the counter. He waited a few seconds and when his dad didn’t respond he wondered if the man had even heard him. “Dad?” He repeated trying to get his attention.

“Hmm?” Tony answered looking at Harry and smiling slightly.

“What’s wrong?” Tony’s face fell into a scowl, and he looked down again before sighing and looking to Harry.

“Albus Dumbledore is the problem!”

“What has he done this time?”

“He has been taking money out of your vaults since 2006 and other items since 2004.”

“Why would he do that?” Harry asked honestly confused as to why his ex-headmaster would be taking money and other stuff from his vaults since he was a little child.”

“No clue kiddo, and it doesn’t seem like he has ever returned any of the money or items. And some of the things he has taken look valuable.”

“Like what?” Tony went back to the first page of removed items before reading out loud.

“A cloak of invisibility, the Potter grimoire, the Peverell grimoire and Lady Potter’s sword just to name a few.”

“I have the invisibility cloak, but I’ve never heard of the other things. He gave it to me in my first year.” Harry shrugged eating his cereal.

“So, he has returned one of the countless items.” Giving Harry a stern look who raised his arms in defence, spoon in his mouth. “I’m going to be sending a letter to the goblins about this, I want everything returned and all the money I want back, and with interest that was lost from it not being in the vaults.”

“You know more about money than I do, so do what you deem necessary.”

“Yes, and that should be changing when your lessons start,” Tony said before going back to the papers and finishing them. Harry left his dad in silence to meet Clint. The man had said he would start his run later in the day so Harry could join him for his last lap.

“Clint!” Harry called out to the man as he came running past the garage area. The man waved him over with his hand to join him and Harry automatically started running with him. Clint kept the lap short, considering the kid had only just turned thirteen. Although he didn’t know that Harry had been on the quidditch team for the last 2 years and was used to intense training.

The two had a pleasant time and then both of them disappeared into the training room to finish up the exercising before Clint continued to teach him the way of the bow and arrow. Clint could tell that Harry had potential if he wanted to start competing professionally, but he would keep that thought to himself until he was older and also until after Nat had her go with teaching the boy.

Meanwhile, Tony had finished going over everything, and was busy drafting out a letter, before he started compiling all the information, so he could easily show everything to the Goblins when he meets them again. Tony finally had a letter drawn up, when he remembered all the other letters that he had written earlier in the day, going through he noticed that the unsent letters weren’t there but there was a small note left on the table.

Gave the rest of the letters to Hedwig :)
-Harry

Hedwig wasn’t back so Tony left the letter there to be sent later. Tony went to check his emails, and nothing had come through, so he went down to his lab to work on whatever could keep his mind busy.

“J, tell me when Hedwig gets back.”

“Will do sir.” Tony lost himself in his work when Jarvis had notified him that Hedwig was back. He was close to finishing up the newest upgrade to his suits. He just had a few more things to fix so the different pieces wouldn’t come flying at dangerous speeds to his sensitive areas. Sending the letter off with her, Tony went down to see that Clint and Harry were finishing up in the training room. The three had lunch together before they all went their separate ways. Tony back to his lab and Harry to his room to read a book he had picked out in London.

---

The next day came quickly, and Tony was flooded with owls and emails while eating breakfast. Harry laughed as Tony tried to save the letters from falling in his cereal. Jarvis had promptly informed him that Dr Strange had even replied to his email. Freeing his Starkpad from the letters atop it, he read the email from the famous doctor.

Dr Stark,

your case is interesting and unheard of. I have my assumptions about how the injury was caused, but seeing how this is a private case, I will keep those thoughts to myself. I will build the team for you and have already been informed that you have contacted Dr Cecilia Reyes. She is someone who I would put my trust in for any surgery that involves trauma wounds. There are many other´s that I have in mind, and a few that have ongoing research going on, that will be beneficial.
I shall keep in contact with you in the following days The operation to remove the shrapnel from the area around your heart should take place in the following week.

With regards
Stephen Strange, M.D.

Tony was excited to see that Dr Strange had accepted, but he had been confused when the man has mentioned Dr Reyes. He had sent her a letter because she had been listed as a magical healer. He was happy to have a mixture of doctors and healers on the team.

He gave Harry the good news about the operation, and while Harry was anxious for his dad to be operated on, he was happy that he was no longer going to be on death’s doorstep every moment of his life.

The day passed quietly as Tony continued working on the Iron-man armour and Harry watched him work for a while before meeting up with Clint once again to learn how to use the bow and arrow. The man was going to be leaving in the weekend to go on another mission out of the country and he didn’t know when he was going to be back.

Tony would stop working every once in a while, to continue exchanging emails with Dr Strange, and he promptly ignored the email from Pepper saying that they needed to talk. Satisfied with his work on the suit, Tony worked on other inventions that he created and used at home but could be sold to the general public with a few modifications.

In the late afternoon, JARVIS informed Tony that Harry and Clint were leaving the tower to go get ice cream. Tony wasn’t sure what to make of the duo, all he knew was that lots of mischiefs were going to happen in the future, especially when Harry get older. He just didn’t need two people that hung out in the air vents for fun.

He was glad that Harry was getting along with the others, he was worried that they were all way older than him. And in the future enrolling the boy into a high school wouldn’t be a bad idea. The kid needed friends his own age, and he wasn’t about to bring some snotty brats around that belonged to his rich acquaintances. However, he would worry about that later along the line, he wanted Harry to enjoy himself for now, and as far as he knew he was still in contact with Hermione, and they call at least once a week.

Tony for once set about making some dinner in the kitchen. He was going to show off his Italian roots and cook something his mother would be proud of, minus the alcohol. He couldn’t help but think how he had never cooked for the rest of the team. He couldn’t help but think of the shocked faces they all would have if they knew he knew how to cook. He especially wanted to see how Steve would react, considering what the man’s first impressions of him had been, or at least that’s what he tried to tell himself.

---

Meanwhile, in dark corners of the London streets, a large black dog ran down them as people chased after him, thinking he was a stray dog. Sirius had waited around the house where Harry was supposed to be, but no one had shown. The house had been empty and when he had snuck in the other night there had been white fabric sheets placed over all the furniture, and half the house even looked like it was missing things.

Confused he had waited longer than he had wanted to, and some nosy neighbour had called the RSPCA on him and now they had been chasing him for the last 10 minutes. Ducking down the street, he thought he had lost them when they all ran past but just as he was leaving, he felt a net fall around him. And the only thought that ran through his head was ‘Oh shit’.

Chapter Text

Sirius was sitting in the dark, stuck inside a cage that was just big enough for him. He was in a moving vehicle; he knew that much he just didn’t know where he was heading. He presumed it was some animal shelter that was his final destination.

Sirius didn’t know how long he had been sitting in the darkness. He had lost any sense of time years ago. He felt a wave of magic wash over him as the vehicle slowed down, that scared him as he didn’t want to be captured and sent back to that godawful place again. The vehicle came to stop and after waiting for a while the darkness he sat in was invaded with light that blinded him.

“You weren’t lying when you said you had a big dog in the back of the van.” A short preppy woman said next to the man who had caught him.

“The thing needs a bath, maybe three. I’ve never caught such a dirty thing before.” Sirius was about to get the flee bath that his friends had always said he needed. Trying to get away at the thought of being bathed, Sirius squished himself into the corner of the cage.

Half an hour later, and on his third bath, the water was starting to run clear instead of brown as he was washed. He was being dried off when there was a lot of rustling and footsteps coming towards the area he was in.

“Mr Scamander, you can’t just walk into the back area!” A man in his later years walked in with a grin as another person rushed after him. Sirius knew exactly who this man was.

“My word, I haven’t seen a grim in such a long time.”

“A grim?”

“The type of dog you have there.” The others seemed to step away from him at that information, considering all the folk tales surrounding grim dogs Sirius wasn’t surprised. “Now if you don’t mind me.”

Newt Scamander pulled out his wand from his cloak and waved it around in a pattern that Sirius did not recognise. The people in the room went misty-eyed and some pieces of paper started to float into the air before turning to dust. Sirius was lifted up from the bathing area, he was floating above the ground and all the water seemed to leave his body as his fur puffed up. He saw the other wizard place a case on the floor before it was opened, and he was floating into it. He passed by many other animals before he was placed in a separate area, the spell was cancelled and he landed softly on his paws.

---

The rest of the week passed smoothly, and they were enjoying their weekend. Harry had one more week before he started up with his classes and they had just finished up setting his timetable. They had worked out that it would be best to do magic one week than regular studies the next week.

Harry was excited to start school again, but Steve and Natasha still hadn’t returned from whatever mission they were on, and it was worrying him. His dad told him not to worry, saying they were the two least likely to get themselves hurt.

Harry tried his best to put his worry aside, and have faith in the others, but he had only experienced Clint and Natasha going off on missions, and they weren’t gone for long, a week at most. But it was now going on 2 weeks since they had left, and they hadn’t heard a word from them.

Harry’s fears were put to rest when they returned on Sunday in the afternoon, although the looks on their faces said otherwise. They seemed to be physically fine, but something emotional had happened. He held his tongue on asking what was wrong, because they likely wouldn’t tell him, he had asked before on different missions, and they had told him it was classified or sensitive information.

It wasn’t until later when Steve had returned from his room, after freshening up that he called Tony into a more secure room to tell him some difficult news.

“What’s up Capsicle?” Tony said with a questioning face, as he leaned against the workspace of an unused lab in the tower.

“Tony, I’m not sure how to say this.” Steve said standing in front of the door, not having moved since they had walked in.

“Oh, this is something serious then?” At the inclination of Steve’s head, Tony became serious. “Then start from the beginning.”

“We were following a lead, and it led to something else, and when we followed it further, well it wasn’t what we were expecting.”

“Steve you can just tell, leave being cryptic to the spies.” Tony said crossing his arms across his chest, a concerned look on his face.

“We found a lead on Bucky, while investigating some other leads. Well, rather we found a lead on the Winter Soldier who turned out to be Bucky when we caught a glimpse of his face in some footage.”

“What else did you find?” Tony could see Steve was battling to say the last part of whatever they had found.

“The Winter Soldier killed your parents.” There was a deafening silence that followed what Steve had just said. Tony went blank. Steve uncomfortably spoke up again. “I saw the video, of it happening. I don’t know why there’s a video on it, but it’s something I saw with Nat.” Tony was still silent. “I know Bucky would never do something like this, so I don’t know, Tony, I thought Hydra was dead, but it looks like they aren’t, and they had… have… still are experimenting on people trying to recreate what your father did, and it looks like Bucky got mixed up in all of this and I just don’t know Tony. I just knew I had to tell you.”

“Steve, take a breath.” Tony had said placing a hand on the other’s shoulder. He had stood up when Steve had started rambling, he never did that.

“Tony, your parents didn’t die in a car accident, they were murdered.”

“I know Steve, I heard you the first time.”

“Why aren’t you getting angry then?”

“Do you want me to be? Because I can be.”

“No, I don’t want you to be… I just thought you would be.” Tony sighed at Steve.

“While I am utterly shocked and running thousands of things through my head right now as to how it happened. It looks like you need more comforting than me. Your best friend who we thought was dead was said to be alive when we were with Harry, and now it seems like he is a highly trained assassin with super soldier serum, but you don’t actually know if it’s him, or something else. I’m not okay Steve, but you seem worse off.”

“It looks like they brainwashed him Tony, and I don’t know where he is or what mental state he is in!” Steve cried out.

“Steve, hey it’s okay, remember we have the goblins trying to locate him, and I’m sure they will find him soon, and heal him. So, take a breath, we will figure this out, as a team, don’t go rushing into something that we can all solve together.”

“Thank you, Tony.” Steve gave Tony a genuine smile of gratitude.

“Now come on, the kid has been worrying his arse off about you and Nat, we can discuss what to do later, you need to rest for a bit.”

Tony left the room, leaving Steve to gather his thoughts, and joined the rest in the common area, as they seemed to have ordered pizza again and were all lounging about. Clint and Nat had broken out the beers, but he could see Bruce and Harry enjoying their apple juice together. He would definitely be teaching Harry how to party, but not at the ripe age of 13, it had missed him up partying so much at the same age, and that was around college students, not the world’s mightiest heroes, or whatever the news had called them.

---

Sirius wasn’t sure how long he sat surrounded by other animals, but he was eventually greeted by the sight of Newt Scamander again. The man tinkered about in a shed for a while before coming out with a bucket in one hand.

“Now what’s a grim like you are doing in London? The last I knew was that you were all in a magical preserve in Northern Scandinavia.” Sirius tilted his head at that, he honestly had not known that. Newt looked at the dog, he looked deep into the dog’s eyes before sliding his wand out its holster and into his hand. “Unless you’re not actually a dog.” He said before a flash of bright blue light washed over Sirius.

His body was forced from its current shape of a dog and into that of Sirius’s own body, the man lay on the ground grunting from the aches in his bones. Newt cast another nonverbal spell that had the man tied up and dangling feet down in the air.

“Now, what’s a wanted criminal doing around the streets on London in his animagus form.”

“Please…” Sirius spoke with a hoarse voice. “Please… let me explain!” Sirius pleaded knowing this was his only chance.

“Who’s to say what you speak is the truth?”

“You can use veritaserum if you want. But please I need someone to know the truth.” Newt gave a long look in the younger man’s eyes, before sighing and lowering him to the ground and releasing the bindings, but not releasing him from the locked enclosure. The look in the man’s eyes was anything but a guilty man’s eyes.

“You’ve got yourself a deal Sirius Black, but you are to stay here until I can question you under veritaserum.” Newt said leaving the area and leaving Sirius to be alone again.

Chapter Text

Sirius lay back on the soft grass that was underneath him, even though he was in a magically created space he felt the freest he had been in the last 12 years of his life. He didn’t know how long he lay there feeling the grass on his bare skin, a light breeze in the air and the warmth that surrounded him.

Newt came back, a bottle of veritaserum in hand, although he wouldn’t ever say where he got it from, to find the supposed mass murderer Sirius Black enjoying the artificial environment he had created. Walking up to the man he slipped his wand into the other hand, not knowing if he was being played with or not. The man in question sat up and smiled at him when he got closer.

“Are you ready to be questioned?” Newt said while lifting the bottle.

“If it means one person at least knows the truth, yup!” Sirius said crossing his legs.

“3 drops,” Newt said handing over the bottle and watched the man intake more than 3 drops, this was bound to be interesting. Sirius went still and his eyes glazed over.

“What is your name?”

“Sirius Orion Black.”

“What year were you born in?”

“1976.”

“Are you a Death Eater?”

“NO! Never!” the man exclaimed as much as the potion allowed.

“Did you ever follow, serve or agree with the Dark Lord known as Voldemort?

“No, moldyshorts can suck it.” Newt laughed at that. The potion affected each drinker differently with how they answered.

“Did you betray James and Lilly Potter to Lord Voldemort?”

“No, Jamie was like a brother to me, but that sneaky rat did!”

“Then what lead to the death of James and Lilly?”

“I was meant to be the secret keeper for them, but I thought it was too obvious. So, I convinced them to use the rat Peter instead. Who knew that rat animagus would run off to old Voldie telling him where James, Lilly and Harry were!” Newt could see that Grim animagus was frustrated, but the potion wasn’t allowing him to fully show it.

“And what happened after that?”

“I rushed to their house to find Harry crying in his crib, I had just gotten outside when Hagrid showed up and said I must hand Harry over to him on Dumbledore´s order. All I could think of was going after Peter when Harry was no longer in my arms. I went to his apartment expected it to be trashed but it wasn’t, so I tracked him down before he started spewing nonsense about me then he cast a spell to blow up the area, cut his finger and escaped in his rat form.”

“Why was this not brought up in your trial then?” Newt was confused as to why the man had gone to prison.

“I never had a trial,” Sirius said bluntly.

“So why escape now of all times?"

“I saw a picture of the rat in the Prophet when the minister came to visit. That thing is busy living the life of luxury with the Weasley family.”

“As far as I know the Weasleys don’t live anywhere near the area where you were captured.”

“I’ve been to the Weasley house, but there were too many wards for me to go unnoticed, but I heard those twins talking about Harry living with his aunt. I once visited Petunia with Lilly when she got married, a horrible woman. But they weren’t there, but their stuff was there, and then the neighbours spotted me and I was running again.”

Sirius went quiet after that, not having anything else to say, while Newt thought everything over. He wanted to help the man, but he knew what long term exposure from dementors did to people. The best way to help Sirius was to first get his mind right again and then work from there. But he knew the man wouldn’t agree to any help unless it was for revenge.

“I’ll help you out, you can stay with me, I have a larger enclosed space that isn’t in a bag. The person who normally helps me recently retired so I am in need of help and while you stay with me, we can work on a solid plan to capture Pettigrew and free your name.”

“Really you’ll do that for me?”

“Yes, you clearly need someone on your side,” Newt said helping the man up and giving him the antidote to the potion. Sirius’s luck was starting to look up again.

---

Despite the stressful news that had arrived with Steve and Nat, Tony had put off doing anything about it until after his surgery, which was happening soon. He was more than satisfied with the team that was taking care of him, knowing that Strange and a magical healer were going to be there, as well as other doctors that were held in high esteem. Despite not being worried about the operation, it hadn’t stopped Harry from being worried, even the rest of the team seemed concerned.

Tony was already in hospital robes and on a bed, in the VIP section. He would have come last minute but they need to monitor him before or something. He sat on the bed with Harry as they played a card game. Harry had expressed interest in playing something called exploding snap but said there was a better time and place for it. So, he was busy teaching his son how to play poker, one can never start too early, but the disapproving looks from Steve said otherwise.

The room was tense, Pepper had shown up a few minutes ago, she hadn’t said much before she left again, just wishing him luck through the operation, and that she was happy that he was finally looking after himself. Tony had been glad that they had already ended their relationship a few months back, he just wished she would come around again, and get over herself. He trusted her and was one of his closest friends. He actually needed to get in contact with Rhodey, but he would do that when he had recovered.

Their game of poker was interrupted by someone coming in through the door. In stepped Stephen Strange, and the team of surgeons, who seemed to go wide-eyed at all the people in the room before Strange’s face returned to neutral.

“Dr Stark we will do one last check on your vitals before we take you into theatre.” Tony allowed the doctors to do their thing before he was being wheeled off from his family. The operation was going to take a few hours so, the others got comfortable in the room. Harry pulled out a handheld game console that Tony had made for him and had games from multiple different companies on it. He didn’t know how legal the console was, but this was his dad he was talking about, and he needed a distraction.

Time seemed to slow down as they waited, Harry and Steve were the most restless, and while Natasha was good at hiding her emotions Clint could tell she was also worried, his own leg hadn’t stopped bouncing an hour into the surgery. Harry’s mind was running a mile per minute with everything that could go wrong, knowing his luck. But his dad had assured him that the doctors operating on him were the best of the best.

Harry did not even think that at the end of his second year at Hogwarts he would have the family he does now, he assumed he would be an outsider to the Weasley family for the rest of his life, but now he really had his own family, even though his dad was the only person who he was related to. Everyone was an extended family to him, like they hadn’t had a choice to be together, but they made it work and became a family through it. And now he was also a part of it.

Everyone released the breath they didn’t know they had been holding when Dr Strange came back to tell them that the surgery had been a success with little to no complications, and they would be bringing Tony shortly, he would still be under anaesthetics but would wake soon.

The next two days Tony stayed in the hospital despite his wishes not to, but when he was free to go home, he had to continue to stay on bed rest. Dr Reyes offered to heal him completely with magic once in the safety of the tower, and after not even an hour he was walking about freely. Although those not in the know of magic at the tower doubted that he should be walking about but when Steve insisted that Tony was fine, they relented on constantly asking if the man was all right. Tony just wanted to spend the weekend resting with his son and possible working on the whole magic and technology don’t go together, considering the kid had fried his game console when he had awoken from surgery.

---

It was a Saturday, and the two Starks had slipped down into one of Tony’s labs working on magi tech as Harry had started calling it, they hadn’t gotten anywhere yet, but Tony had remembered how the arc reactor had stopped Loki from taking control of his brain and luckily his suit was made from the same stuff, so he had plenty of gold-titanium alloy lying around.

It wasn’t until late into the afternoon that there was a loud rumbling in the sky before a single strike of lightning that was deafening. Tony only knew of one thing, one person that followed one single strike of lightning on a sunny day.

“Sir, Thor, as well as Loki had arrived on the roof of the tower.”

Well shit, Tony thought to himself. “Let them into the penthouse and don’t let the others know that Loki is here yet. Let me speak to them first.”

“Will do sir.” Tony looked at Harry who was staring at him, expecting an answer of some sort from him.

“Well kiddo it’s about time you met the last member of the rag-tag team of mine, as well as his brother who tried to take over the world last year.” Tony gulped not knowing what could possibly lead to Loki being back on Earth. “Thor and Loki.”

“The Norse Gods?”

“Yes, but they’re actually aliens,” Tony said.

“Is that the scientific explanation?”

“Yes?” Tony didn’t know where this was going.

“Because for us magical folk, they are very much a part of the community, although from what the history books say, they haven’t “graced” us with their presence in the last few hundred years.”

“They’re still aliens, they’re not from Earth,” Tony said defensively to which Harry snorted at.

The two headed upstairs to be greeted by the sight of Thor in a staring contest with Hedwig while Loki lounged across the sofa in all his glory. He reminded Harry of Professor Snape, who looked at everything with disinterest, but the second he saw Harry his eyes locked onto him and saw amusement flicker to life in Loki’s eyes. Thor looked up at them when they came close enough.

“Man of Iron it is good to see you again,” Thor said lifting Tony into a bone-crushing hug. “And who is the small mage that you have brought with you?” He said after releasing him.

“This is my son Harry; due to recent events he has come into my care.”

“You have a magical child Stark? That is interesting.”

“You touch my son, and I will set the MACUSA and the goblins on you.” Tony had more than enough money to get the two on his side.

“I mean no harm Stark. Magical children are a blessing and should not be harmed, but from what you have said, it seems that the magical community is thriving more than I had thought.” Tony glared at the man placing a steady hand on Harry’s shoulder.

“Why did you bring your brother with you, Thor?” Tony said keeping his gaze on Loki.

“Odin has decided it will be a fitting punishment to let Loki live amongst the people of Midgard under my watch and with his powers locked away.” Harry heard the god of mischief mumble under his breath how it wasn’t all his magic that had been sealed. He watched the interactions between the three, Thor was carefree while his dad was on guard because of the man who seem to be studying him. Throwing caution to the wind, he stepped out of his dad’s grip and walked to the dark-haired god.

“You’re the god of mischief, right?” Harry said taking a seat on the chair next to him. Feeling two sets of eyes on the back of his head.

“Yes.” Loki drawled out, watching the child.

“So did you really give birth to an eight-legged horse?” Thor burst out laughing as Loki’s eyes went wide with amusement.

“Look where that damned awful story has gotten me brother!” Loki exclaimed at Thor. “No, I did not birth Sleipnir, although I was a part of his existence into this universe. Please do not mention the tales of my other children.” Loki gave him a look of warning, and if any of the stories of Loki’s other children were real, he didn’t want to hear about them. Changing the subject Harry brought up the twins.

“I know some twins that would love to tell you their tales of mischief and mayhem, I’m sure they would start doing everything in your name.” Loki let out a laugh that was smooth like silk surprising the rest of the people in the room.

“You have an interesting son Stark. I would be delighted to meet any troublemakers you know little mage.”

It was at that point that the rest of The Avengers walked into the room, Clint on edge and the others seemed like the calm before a storm.

“What do you mean by ‘little mage’?” Clint asked, knife it hand.

“Ummmm, I can do magic, surprise!” Harry said with some jazz hand, he had stood up when the others had entered.

“Yeah, kiddo they going to need more of an explanation than that.” His dad said. “What Harry means to say is that he is a part of a whole magical community that doesn’t give a shit about his wellbeing because some mad man is after him and when I took him into my custody and found out about magic, I swore to myself that I would never allow my kid to be in harms path again.

“And trust me if any of you have a problem with Harry being a wizard. Let me tell you that he isn’t the only one out there, and he is kind of a celebrity to them, but he also has the Magical Congress of the United States of America on his side and if they deem you a threat to the magical community, they will wipe your mind of any magical knowledge.

“Now we were going to tell you soon, especially considering Harry is going to be learning magic every other week, but we all have a history with it. So does anyone have a problem?” No one spoke up, “good, Harry is just a kid, be angry at Loki because he fucked with our minds, and it seems we are going to be “graced” with his presence for a while so you can get all the revenge you want.” They all stood silent, but they understood what Tony had said, Harry and Loki aren’t the same, and apparently, there was a whole other community out there that no one knew about.

Things were going to get interesting with the new inhabitants of the tower, but Tony was glad that Harry was starting school in the next week, so hopefully, some structure would come from it. Tony caught Steve’s eye and the man looked proud. After the Bucky thing, Steve was really starting to see that Tony had changed for the better.

“So why is Loki here?” Clint asks.

Chapter Text

“Why is Loki here?” Natasha repeated after Clint. “You can explain the stuff you just glossed over later.” She said looking Tony dead in the eyes.

“Thor?” Tony said turning to the man who knew best how to explain.

“It has been decided by the All-father that locking Loki away in a cell is not enough of a punishment for him. He has decided to strip almost all of Loki’s powers away and send him to Midgard to prove that he isn’t going to start any more wars, try to dominate another world and learn some humility in the process. He is to help fix his wrongs and partake in community service as you call it here.

“And if this punishment proves to be futile Loki will be sent to an abandoned planet and be locked away there for the next millennium” Thor exclaimed, his loud voice echoing around the room.

“Yes, and the All-Father believes that I shall fail on Midgard and is already preparing my cell,” Loki remarked from his lazed position on the couch.

“I’m sure we will find something for you to do.” Tony quipped. “I just don’t know how happy the rest of the world is going to be to see you.”

“Loki is magical right?” Harry asked from his perched position on the chair opposite said man.

“Yes, I am, or should be.” Loki snarled.

“I’m sure the magical community could use help in some way. I mean Voldemort is clearly still alive and after me. Loki can help take down a dark lord, while doing community work, like food drives or something.” Harry said, hoping to have a magical person on his side when it comes to Voldemort. His dad had told him what Dumbledore had essentially done in his first year, and he wasn’t going to be anyone’s weapon.

Tony thought about what Harry had said. Voldemort was a problem that hadn’t really been mentioned outside of their talks about what happened to Harry in the past, but he did pose a threat. And he didn’t know much about magic still, let alone the man that is after his child. But with Loki here, he could prove to be useful in hunting down the mad man, even if he didn’t have all his powers.

“That’s a good idea. But I don’t want your life to be centred around that monster, you also start school next week. It can be something that we work on in the background. Otherwise, I think it would be best for Loki to help those he hurt the most and the people who need it the most. But I’m sure he will be helpful in capturing old Moldyshorts.”

“I will help with whatever Thor deems worthy, as per the All-Fathers orders,” Loki said but he looked interested in the prospect of helping, that was good at least. Although none of them could ever have predicted how Loki would come to help them in the future.

Tony sighed before ushering everyone out of his living area, setting up Loki in a room opposite Thor’s. Not wanting to deal with the headache that was forming around the two. He found Steve in his living room, although he clearly remembered the man leaving. He was sitting with Harry talking about something. Smiling he took the spot next to his son and didn’t stop him from leaning into his side. Steve smiled at the two of them.

“That was something else,” Steve said.

“You could say that again.” Tony chuckled.

“Dad was that really the Loki and the Thor.”

“Somehow I feel like you´re amazed by those two more than by your old man being Ironman.” Harry blushed slightly and looked away.

“It’s not that you aren’t awesome… It’s just that in our history books, it mentions the Norse gods a lot. Especially when they still heavily influenced the old ways, but when the witch hunts became what they were and then the magical community hid itself away, we lost contact with the gods. And it’s just cool that the books were right about the immense power that hangs around them, and how it makes the hair on your body stand up.”

“Alright kiddo I get it. It was like meeting Cap over there. All these amazing stories about him in the books and then you get to meet the man in person, and he is just as great as the books say, if not more.”

“Tony-” Steve started.

“It’s true Steve. Especially with the way my own father spoke of you, it was like you were his son and I wasn’t.” Tony watched a few different emotions run over the other man´s face. “It wasn’t your fault.” Steve gave a weak smile.

“Dad, do you think Loki would teach me some of his own magic?” Harry interrupted.

“You never know with him; you would have to ask him. But not now.” Tony added when he saw Harry was about to jump up from his spot. Steve smiled again before standing up.

“I’m going to go, I have a few things that need to be done.” He said.

“See you later Spangles.”

“And Tony, I’m sorry about your father.”

“It’s alright Steve.”

“I originally was on my way here to tell you that Pepper contacted me. I think the two of you need to talk.” Tony sighed; he knew that as well, but he didn’t want to.

“I’ll speak with her.” Steve smiled once more before leaving the two of them. Tony watched him leave and kept staring at the doors to the elevator.

“Dad?” Harry spoke up

“Yeah, kiddo?”

“What were my grandparents like?”

“Your granddad was someone who expected only the best out of people and sometimes forget he had his own family, but that didn’t mean he loved us any less. But your grandmother she was something else.” Tony spent the next hour talking about his parents, mainly his own mother before he got JARVIS to bring up the photos, he had digitalised of his family, even Edwin Jarvis.

---

A new day had come, and Tony found himself staring at his phone. He had just returned from the shopping with Harry to get everything he needed to start school the next day. He had offered to get it all delivered but the kid had wanted to do it himself. And now he was debating if he should just call Pepper and get it over with.

“Sir, if I may. I believe it would be best to speak to her now instead of letting it draw out any longer than it already has.”

“Thanks J,” Tony said before picking up the phone and pressing the call button.

“Tony?” He heard the voice he once used to love, come through the speaker.

“Hey Pep. I think we need to talk.”

“God, Tony, I’ve been waiting for you to say that. I’m close to the tower, we can meet there or at that café, we used to go to?”

“I’ll meet you at the café.”

“I’ll see you there Tony.” Tony sighed as he ended the call. He told Harry he was going off and left him to do whatever he was doing with his school things.

Tony took his time getting to the café and when he got there, he saw Pepper sitting at the back table where they would get the most privacy. Walking through the café he caught the eye of the waitress whose eyes widened. He sat across from Pepper and not moments later said the waitress was taking his order.

“Hey, Tony.” Pepper smiled softly. “I’m sorry.” She said looking away from him. Tony stayed silent waiting for what was to come next. But Pepper didn’t say anything else. Sighing he spoke up.

“Pepper, you honestly hurt me. Harry is my son and I’ve known about him since before he was born, but your assumption that he was a consequence of my younger more reckless days dug deep. I might have been someone who slept around with a lot of different people, but I was always careful when doing so. Hell Pepper, I didn’t even physically sleep with Harry’s mother, I was a sperm donor at most, and I wasn’t meant to meet him until he was of age, but shit happened, and I should have had him since he was a baby. And not having you by my side in this has stung, that you would rather believe the image of me than my own words.

“I loved you once Pepper, and I still kind of do but in a different way now, and sometimes I’m glad we ended things. We don’t work out and you proved my point that we can’t be more than friends. I was looking forward to having you in mine and Harry’s life but, have you even said a word to him? What has he ever done to you?” Pepper was crying silently, and while Tony felt bad, she needed to hear this. Tony’s coffee had awkwardly arrived during this, and thankfully the waitress had placed it in a to-go cup.
“Tony I really am sorry.”

“Yeah, and I was really hurt. It’s going to take us a while to get where we were if we ever get back to that point. But Pep, Harry is my life now, and I’ll be damned if I ever let anything else come between that.” Tony grabbed his coffee taking a sip before standing up. “I’m going to go now, I left Harry on his own and I don’t need one of the assassins teaching him anything new.”

He placed a hand on her shoulder, nodding to her. His heart was broken watching her cry, but he wasn’t about to get to his knees and beg for forgiveness for something he hadn’t done. He had gotten past that point with her and realised how bad it had been for the two of them. He was going to go and spend the rest of the day with his son before he started his schooling the next day.

Chapter Text

Tony got out of bed early the last Monday of August, wanting to be up for Harry’s first day of school. He had thought of starting on the first of September, next Monday, but he had decided to stick to the term dates of the rest of the US schools. His first week of school would be all the non-magical subjects, and then the next week would be his magical studies and then the weeks would continue changing back and forth.

Harry’s first subject would be at 7:30 today, and considering the classes were going to be in the tower, Tony wouldn’t have to deal with the morning school rush. At least for now until Harry decided what he wanted to do with his schooling in the future.

Getting a few different pans, he got started on making breakfast for both of them. Normally he wouldn’t be found in the kitchen this early in the morning, but he thought that it was the right occasion. He cooked up some bacon and eggs, as well as some pancakes, as he knew Harry enjoyed them, although he refused to call them pancakes, saying they were too small and fat to be one. Just before seven, he went to go wake up Harry to find said child already up and getting dressed.

Harry was excited, and even though his dad had said he would wake him, he was up before then, but not by choice. He was even more excited than his first leaving for Hogwarts. Probably because he knew what was going to be happening, also he was excited to be learning other subjects, new and old ones.

He did some placement tests a couple of weeks back, so they knew what level he was on for all his subjects. He was behind in just about everything, even his magical subjects, America clearly had a higher standard than Britain. But he was ready for the challenge. He wanted to be caught on everything by the third quarter, and now he didn’t have to hold himself back as there was no reason to.

At first, he hadn’t been allowed to do better than Dudley, he remembered the first and last time he had gotten better marks than his cousin. He still had the scars on his back, although they were faint. And later when he had gone to Hogwarts he didn’t want to do well and lose his only friend at the time, and then Hermione came along, and she seemed so smart compared to him.

But Harry was going to do his best and show his dad that he was smart. Although his dad told him multiple times that his marks wouldn’t change anything when it came to their relationship. He wanted to make his dad proud. He was also glad that he no longer had to wear a uniform, and he had a whole closet full of clothes that fit him and that he had chosen. Following his dad downstairs and into the kitchen, he filled up his plate before taking his seat.

“Are you ready for your first day of school?” Tony asked when he sat next to Harry.

“Yup,” Harry said popping the ‘p’. “I’m really excited about my first lesson. Chemistry is kinda similar to potions, in some sense, so I can’t wait until I have my first practical lesson. Biology also sounds fun, the little I learnt before Hogwarts was really simple, like things around bugs and plants, but it all seems interesting. And I’m looking forward to Italian, we can practice it every night when I get the basics down. I really want to be able to speak the language.” He said in what seemed to be one breath, but Tony knew he was the same.

“Glad to hear it kiddo.” Tony smiled.

When Harry was finished with his breakfast, they headed to a lower level. They didn’t want the lessons to happen on any of the floors dedicated for the team, and Tony had purposefully left a floor or two empty, on the off chance that there will be any new additions to the team.

One part of the floor, the floor above the training floor, had been converted into Harry’s different classes rooms. Most lessons would take place in one room, but when there was a practical lesson there were a few rooms that had been modified for the subjects. And Tony was hoping that when the magical tutors came around they would help finish up some of the rooms. Tony left Harry to his lessons when the first tutor arrived.

Harry started his day off with chemistry, and it was as interesting as he hoped it was going to be. The way his tutor had spoken of the different elements, how they reacted to each other, and how the reactions were also dependent on the different forms they took on definitely reminded him of potions.

His next lesson continued into Latin, and while he had an extremely simple understanding of the language, they still started from the basics of simple phrases and the structure of the language. It was enjoyable but it wasn’t ever going to be his favourite subject or language. He then had physics which also seemed interesting and was probably the subject that related most to what his dad does, and he already understood the basics thanks to spending time with his dad in the lab and the many questions he had asked.

He had a short half-hour break after his first three lessons, with each lesson being an hour long. It was already 11 am and he was seeping up the knowledge like a sponge. His break was followed by an hour of biology and then maths before he headed upstairs for his half-hour lunch break where he joined Steve and Bruce for some leftovers.

He had his last three lessons in social sciences, Italian and English, in that order. Italian was definitely going to be his favourite language, as his dad spoke fluently and so had his grandmother. His English teacher was a little shocked by his level of the language, as he was a few years behind where he should be and some of the words Harry used were extremely odd, to a muggle at least.

He finished at 4 pm and went in search of his dad. “JARVIS, where can I find my dad?”

“Sir is currently in lab 004 with Dr Banner.”

“Thank you!” Harry beamed, making his way to the elevator.

“You are most welcome young Harry.” There was affection hidden behind the AI’s words.

Harry headed to the lab and found his dad and Bruce hovering over something on the table. They looked as if they were waiting for something to happen but nothing was going on. The two looked disappointed that nothing had happened but as they moved back whatever they had stood over exploded and a cloud of pink smoke wafted through the air.

“Dad!” Harry exclaimed moving fully into the room. “Are you alright?” he asked concerned when the two waved away the cloud of pink.

“We’re alright. Nothing harmful, I think.” Tony frowned looking over at Bruce.

“No nothing harmful,” Bruce said dusting off the top of his lab coat that had gotten dirty.

“What were you doing?” Harry asked looking down into the container that now held a brittle substance within.

“We were trying to make an adhesive, that allowed some movement but still remained intact, similar to chewing gum whilst being chewed.” Bruce said sighing, already clearing the working space and moving over to the hologram to work on the formula.

“How was your first day of school kiddo?” Tony asked ruffling Harry’s hair.

“It was amazing! All my teachers were so much fun, and all the subjects are super interesting. And with tomorrow’s double lessons some of the teachers said that we could do some basic practice if we had enough time. But there should be plenty of time considering all of my subjects besides English and Italian are going to be 2 hours long. And I really want to see what Mrs Dube was talking about with how the different types of elements and their compounds react with each other. Although she said that I might only ever work with some if decide to be a scientist when I’m older because some compounds are dangerous to work with.” Harry took a deep breath in, “Sorry I was rambling.” Harry said looking down.

“Don’t be sorry Harry, I do the same thing, and everyone loves me for it. Right, Brucie bear?” Tony said crouching slightly to be eye level with Harry.

“Sure Tony,” Bruce said not even looking over at him.

“See, I still love you for it. Sometimes you just have a lot to say, and your brain is working quicker than your mouth can move. Whenever I get excited about something no one can stop me from talking about it. Don’t you ever be sorry for being you or talking about whatever excites you or makes you happy.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?” Tony repeated back. To which Harry nodded. “Great then why don’t we head upstairs, and I can start on dinner, and you can tell me all about what you learnt today.”

The two headed up to the penthouse, Harry talking a mile a minute and Tony happily listening along. He had wished for moments like this with his father, and he never wanted to deny Harry of the moments he had longed for. He was going to do everything in his power for him, but he would make sure to always be there for him.

Chapter Text

While Harry was sitting in his lessons on Wednesday morning, Tony was dragged out of his lab by Steve because the rest of the team had waited and were wanting their explanation of magic. The Avengers plus Loki were waiting in the common area. Natasha was the first to speak up.

“Tony, we’ve been patient, but you said you would explain about Harry having magic.”

Tony took a deep breath sitting on the edge of one of the couches they had occupied. Thinking of what to say to them all.

“What I’m going to tell you doesn’t go further than this room. I’ve already got permission to tell you about magic, but if you tell others that aren’t in the know. I can’t guarantee what will happen to you or the people you told, besides your memory being wiped of the knowledge of magic.” Tony started.

“Well, that’s not concerning in the least.” Clint chipped in sarcastically. Given his own experience with Loki, Tony wasn’t surprised.

“From what I’ve learnt so far, magic has always existed here on Earth, but when witch hunts hit an all-time high the magical community decided to hide themselves away from everything that wasn’t magic. And for the magical creatures of the community, they dedicated entire areas of land for them, making it so no non-magical being could find it.

“I won’t tell you Harry’s personal story as it is his to share, but it is not one of complete joy. Over the centuries there have been many magical wars because one wizard would decide that ancestry was more important than the fact that a person was magical. And the last war which ended the night of Harry’s parents’ death was bad, worse than the previous war that overlapped with the last world war, and with Steve’s fight against Hydra.

“But the magical communities are entirely independent of whatever country they reside in, and almost always have their own magical government. Their own shopping districts, law enforcement, school, and so on, and they are all hidden away with spells so only those in the know would see everything.

“And just like the rest of the world, there is good and bad magic, evil wizards set on world domination and those willing to stop them.” Tony finished trying to show the others that the magical community should and shouldn’t be feared. “I just hope you don’t start to see Harry differently now.”

“Tony,” Natasha said softly, “Harry is like family to all of us, despite our past interactions with magic so to say. That would never stop us from loving the boy who wiggled his way into all of our lives.”

“She’s right Tony. Harry is like one of my own kids and him being a wizard won’t change that. I love him all the same. And just like you’re the glue that keeps the team together, Harry is very much the joy keeping us going when the days get tough. We might not have known him for very long, but he is the light and joy of this tower, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.” Tony could feel his eyes watering around the corners at Clint’s words, it meant a lot to him. But Loki had to ruin the moment.

“As much as this is all very touching, when will be the child learning magic, I wish to watch.”

“Next week, and then every other week from then on.” Tony sighed knowing he wouldn’t be able to stop the god from doing what he wanted.

---

Harry’s week had been amazing, he was currently sitting on a video call with Hermione in his room as he told her all about his first week of school. The girl had a smile on her face the entire time listening to her friend speak with such enthusiasm that she had never seen before.

“But anyway, are you ready to go back to Hogwarts? I’m going to miss not having our weekly video calls.” Harry asked once he was finished telling her about his week.

“Yup, we went and got all my things for the year last Sunday. It looks like we might have a good defence teacher this year, but I’ll have to wait and see until the first lesson. Ron’s been telling me more frequently how upset he is about you not coming back but has kept his promise to not tell anyone. Although he doesn’t know why.”

“You’ll tell Ron that I also miss him and that when you send a letter to me, he can also send one if needed. You still sure your parents are fine with sending the letters over email.”

“Harry they honestly don’t mind, plus I wouldn’t want some poor owl having to fly from Scotland to New York just to deliver a letter of mine. I normally write letters to my parents weekly anyways.”

The two went to talk on, and Hermione enthused over all the different subjects she was taking. Harry was concerned for her, but she said she had it all under control. Harry ended the call when JARVIS told him that Clint was looking for him, wondering if Harry wanted to continue his bow and arrow lessons. Much to the envious look Hermione shot him, he ended the call and headed to the training room in some more workout friendly clothes with his bow and arrow in hand.

Loki was also there when he arrived, he hadn’t seen much of the god since the day he arrived. Clint didn’t look happy about it but kept quiet anyway. Harry had been practising for half an hour with Clint helping him every now and then, when Loki stood and watched his movements closely.

“You could add some magic behind each arrow when releasing it.” Loki said like it was nothing, but Harry stared at him, shocked.

“I can?” Harry had never even heard of doing something like that.

“Yes, I can teach you how.” Harry didn’t notice the glare Clint shot Loki, but the god did. “I could teach you the magic that I have learnt over the years, although I might not be able to show the different types of magic to their full capacity. Given my current situation.”

“Really? That would be awesome.” Harry said, eyes full of wonder about the different types of magic Loki, the god of mischief, could probably do. The god was known for his magic within the magical community, and that he was neither good nor evil, he just liked to cause mischief. “Although it will have to be on the weekends or when I’m finished with the school for the day.”

“That is fine, little mage. I can teach you whenever you want. Magic is a precious gift, and to be able to wield it to its full capacity is something that takes time and dedication but is worth it all.” Loki was very much trying to piss the archer off, but he also meant what he was saying.

“That would be great, but can we start another time. I want to get better with the bow and arrow before I try anything else with it.” Harry said earnestly.

“Of course, little mage.” Loki was a tiny bit upset but he wouldn’t tell a soul that. “I will be seeing you around then.” He said before turning to leave but stopped before he left the room. “Clint, it was nice catching up.”

“You don’t like him, do you?” Harry asked when the god had left.

“Not particularly given our history, but I can tolerate him.”

---

Harry had sent off a message to Hermione Saturday evening as he knew he wouldn’t be up in time to send her one in the morning. Happy that he didn’t have to be awake as early as she did for her first day of lessons, he headed downstairs for breakfast. Today he was going to start with his magical lessons, and he was over the moon with excitement.

His first 2 lessons were going to be on the subjects he already knew and from then on, he would be getting to experience all the new subjects, besides DADA which was later in the day, but it also was about the Dark Arts, so that was new. He would definitely be having a lot to tell Hermione when he sent a letter out to her. He was upset that she couldn’t take her phone with her, maybe he and his dad could make something that worked with magic. If Mr Weasley could make a car fly, he was sure they could make a phone work with magic.

His dad had told him that Loki would also be sitting in on his lessons as he wanted to see what they were about. He was sure the god would find them boring as the first part of his lessons would be his tutors seeing what he knew. Nonetheless, he was ready to start learning.

---

Dumbledore was watching the crowd of students enter with twinkling eyes, but a frown formed on his face when the prophecy child was nowhere in sight. Ms Granger and Mr Weasley didn’t look concerned either, so they must have known that Harry wasn’t going to be at the feast. Perhaps he had an upset stomach and decided to head to the loo.
With that in mind, Dumbledore watched on as the first years got sorted. Remus Lupin also looked concerned, but he reassured the man that Harry was alright and most likely feeling unwell. Although as the night went on, he wasn’t too sure about his assumption and after the feast went in search of Minnie to ask about Harry.

When she had told him that the boy wasn’t in the dorms nor were his trunk and belongings, he headed straight to the dungeons to ask Snape if he knew what had happened. The man had sneered at the mention of the young Potter but had said he knew nothing of the boy’s whereabouts and there was no mention of any plans among his “friends.”
He sat in his office pondering what could have happened to the Potter heir. Maybe it would be a repeat of last year’s events, and the boy’s family hadn’t let him come. The boy would definitely send a letter out the first chance he had gotten. If Harry didn’t send a letter in the next two days, Albus would pay a visit to the Dursleys.

His mind at peace, he put on his polka dot pyjamas and climbed into bed. Dreaming of socks that spoke of changing times, he pushed those dreams away and labelled them as nonsense. Everything would be right in the next few days, but oh how wrong one man could be.

Chapter Text

Dumbledore was pacing in his office. It was Tuesday and there had been no sign of Harry trying to contact him. He had called Ms Granger and Mr Weasley up to his office after dinner, and the two had said nothing of the boy’s whereabouts. They clearly knew something, but they refused to say what. He had tried entering their minds but neither of them had looked into his eyes. They were clearly nervous to be in his presence.

Calling on a house elf he asked for Severus and Minerva to come to his office. It wasn’t a moment later that Minerva appeared, she had probably already been on her way. It took Severus a decent amount of time to arrive, the man clearly didn’t want to be there.

“Do either of you know where Mr Potter might be?” He tried asking calmly but his frustration slipped through into his words.

“The brat is probably trying to get attention as if his fame isn’t enough.” Severus spat.

“Albus, I told you not to place Harry with those awful muggles. What if they have done something to poor Harry!” Severus’s eyes widened with that statement.

“Don’t tell me you’ve placed the boy with his horrid aunt.” When Dumbledore kept quiet, Severus knew that his statement was true. “You foolish man, if you wanted the boy to be safe, you wouldn’t have placed him with that woman. He is as good as dead with her.”

“Now, Severus. Let us calm down, I’m sure Harry is fine. That house is the safest place he can be with the blood wards around it.” Dumbledore said trying to regain the authority in the room. “I called you two here so we could all go to the house and sort this all out. Everything will be right by tomorrow.”

Nothing would be as Dumbledore hoped the next day. Upon arriving at no. 4 Privet Drive, the house was deadly silent. There was no car in the driveway either. With a quick unlocking charm, the three stood inside the house to find it dusty and void of life. The only thing that hinted to people once living there was the different footprints in the dust and the few pieces of furniture scatted around the house that were covered in white sheets.

“Albus,” Minerva said wearily. “Please tell me you knew about this?”

Dumbledore was shocked, and that was putting it mildly. He was supposed to know everything, and here he was clearly out of the loop. His pawn, his weapon to stopping Voldemort was gone and he had no clue where. The boy was alive, he knew that for sure, the instruments in his office told him as much. They raced over to Ms Figg’s place, only to have the women scream her lungs out that she had been trying to contact him for the entire summer holidays.

They had been in a car accident. Vernon had passed away. Petunia had just woken up from ICU and was facing charges for child endangerment. Dudley had gone to live with his aunt, and no, not a single soul knew where Harry was.

If anyone had bothered to use the internet, they would have easily found the article about Harry being Tony’s son, but despite Dumbledore being a muggle lover, it was only in saying, he thought them inferior and their technology even more so.

Dumbledore was going to have to resort to other methods of finding Harry, and when he found the boy, he was never letting him out of his sight again.

---

Harry had had another amazing week in school. His magical studies were far more fun than what Hogwarts had ever taught him, and he had just sent a letter to the Grangers so they could print it and send it off when Hermione sent her first letter to them.

He was currently sitting in the common area with the Avengers and Loki. They were starting up their once-a-month Saturday movie marathon for both Steve and him to catch up on pop culture. Or that’s at least what his dad said. Everyone was in comfy clothes and almost everyone was seated. Steve and Bruce were bringing in the snacks and Loki refused to sit near the Avengers, opting to lean against the back of the couch where he sat for the moment.

Harry was pulled out of his thoughts when two loud pops announced the arrival of his old headmaster and Snape. Within a second, Natasha had a gun and knife in each hand pointed at the two. Clint had two knives in his hands, Steve looked ready to throw a punch, while Thor had his hand outstretched which soon had his hammer in it. Loki stayed calm although he already had magic dancing at the tip of his fingers.

Harry himself had a metal fist form around his hand from the bracelet his dad had made him in case of emergencies and could fire small bursts of power. It was nowhere near as powerful as the Iron Man suit but could save his life. JARVIS had even lowered a sniper’s gun from the ceiling. Tony looked to be the only one not ready for a fight, but he knew better.

“Harry, my boy. What are you doing in America?” Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes, once he had seen Harry.

“Who the fuck is your boy!” Tony yelled at the man his hand ready to shoot an energy beam. “Harry come here, away from the old paedophile,” Tony said.

Dumbledore’s eyes filled with anger. “Now listen here I am not a paedophile. I am his guardian.” He said to Tony. “Harry you must come with us so we can take you to Hogwarts.”

“No,” Harry said firmly.

“You stupid boy!” Snape burst. “Don’t you know you are unprotected here with these muggles! But no. You decided you needed more attention!” Snape yelled at him.

Taking what he had learnt from Natasha, Harry let the metal gauntlet fly from his hand and watched as it launched right into his ex-professor's private parts. The man grunted before kneeling over onto the ground while Dumbledore watched on with shock. The gauntlet came flying back onto his hand.

“Harry!” Dumbledore seethed, wand shooting into his. Loki’s green magic wrapped around the man before he could do anything.

“I wouldn’t even think of touching the young mage if I was you,” Loki said calmly from behind the corner.

Tony stepped forward and moved to stand in between the old man and his son. “What business do you have with my son.” Tony said emphasising his last two words.

“Harry is the son of Lilly and James Potter!” Dumbledore exclaimed.

“Not biologically,” Tony said smugly. “He is the product of myself and a family who couldn’t get pregnant because of James being infertile.” Dumbledore looked shocked but he quickly returned to his calm grandfatherly demeanour.

“Then you must be unaware that Harry is a wizard and must go back to Hogwarts to complete his education.”

“I am completely in the know of magic as the rest of the people in the room. I pulled Harry out of your crazy school, and he will finish his magical schooling here in the United States.”

“That is preposterous. Harry, you must come with us, it is clearly not safe for you here.”

“No.” He said simply.

“You heard the kid.” Tony said, “You are not welcome here.”

“I would suggest you do not return. Otherwise, you will face the wrath of gods and heroes.” Loki said, his magic swirling to encompass the two men before they disappeared from the building. Loki’s magic continued to grow and encompassed the entire Avengers building. The god placed any and all protective magic and intention behind his magic. Making it so no one who wished to harm Harry could enter the building.

The magic having settled, Loki stood there out of breath, he wasn’t used to his magic being limited. “I have banished the two from the building and made it so they can never enter again, or anyone else looking to harm Harry.”

“Thank you, Loki,” Tony said earnestly.

The shocked god didn’t know what to say, no one had thanked him before. “You are welcome, Stark.”

“Please call me Tony, you have more than shown that you are a different man,” Tony said turning his attention away from the god and checking over his child to see if he was alright. Harry eventually swatted his hands away when he continued to check on him.

“I’m fine dad, I just didn’t expect to see Dumbledore and Snape so soon.”

“That was Dumbledore? Huh, didn’t expect him to look like Gandalf. Also, nice shot.” Tony saw the rest of The Avengers relax and the assassins hide their weapons away, where they put them, he would never know.

The group remained tense for a while, but they eventually returned to their original plans and were all seated watching movies. If Loki sat on the edge of the couch with Harry on it no one mentioned it, nor did they mention how Harry clearly sat closer to his dad. Shocked over what had happened and what he had done. Hermione was definitely getting told about this in his next letter.

---

After the event with Dumbledore, Harry went in search of Loki the next day, with his dad’s approval. Knocking on the man’s door he waited a few seconds before it opened. Loki was out of his normal Asgardian attire and was wearing sweatpants and a loose shirt, he hadn’t even worn something that casual for the movies. So, it shocked Harry to see the man in anything casual.

“Ah, little mage, to what do I owe the pleasure.”

“I was hoping that you would be free to teach me some magic. I know you offered and after yesterday, what you had done, I thought it was really cool and that if you can teach me your type of magic?” Harry said nervously.

“Of course, I can, although you might not be able to do what I did yesterday from the start, but we will get there in due time.”

“Awesome, thank you, Uncle Loki. Let’s go to the training floor.” Harry said before rushing off and leaving Loki behind. The god was stunned, from what he knew Harry hadn’t called any of The Avengers’ uncle or aunt. He only called Tony, dad. And considering he hadn’t known the child for long he couldn’t understand why. Feeling the warmth spread throughout he followed after Harry, a smile on his face. He was so going to teach this child everything he knew.

---

Tony was busy helping Steve, while Harry had run off to Loki. JARVIS had sorted through all the information that they had on Bucky, and they were busy going through it. He had sent off his magical assistant to see if any magical ways could help them and to see if the goblins had anything new. Although it was the weekend, so he didn’t expect the man to be doing anything outside of his hours.

Both he and Steve were hunched over one of the displays that referred to the Winter soldier in Hydra reports. Tony could feel the man’s breath against his skin, and he was going to ignore where his brain was taking him. If Harry had another living relative out there, he was going to find them, even if he had killed Tony´s parents. And Steve didn’t seem to be bothered by their closeness.

Steve, however, was bothered by said closeness, but he as well was going to ignore his thoughts. He knew what being gay was, and that it was accepted now, but he definitely wasn’t, so he was going to ignore whatever was going on between the two of them. He was a straight man, he was attracted to women, definitely not to the look that Tony got when he was concentrating. The way he would pout slightly when things weren’t going his way or the way his hair fell into his face when it was wet. He definitely wasn’t attracted to Tony. For crying out loud he had been friends with the man’s father!

Sighing Tony turned to Steve, who had a slight blush on his cheeks. “All these records are old, and there is no mention of the Winter soldier after the early two-thousands, when Hydra worked with the Red room. We will have to wait until my assistant gets back to me. We’ll find him Steve.”

“I know we will, I just can’t even imagine what he’s been through.”

“Then don’t. Steve, focus on the now. The goblins said he was in stasis. He will be fine. And when we find him, we have all the medical knowledge available to help us, magical or not.” Tony said grabbing his shoulder.

“Thanks, Tones.” Steve said softly. Tony smiled at him, trying to calm his heart.

“Come on, let’s see if we can rope the assassin twins into seeing what Harry and Loki are up to.”

Chapter Text

Steve was out running on Tuesday morning, lost in his own thoughts. He was thinking back on the conversation he had with Tony about Bucky. He wasn’t, so to say, thinking about what Tony had said but more about Tony himself. It was confusing for him; he knew what he was feeling was an attraction towards the other man.

He liked women, he had his Peggy, and a man liking other men just wasn’t something he could get his head around. He knew that in the 21st century you were free to love who you wanted. He didn’t believe that that mindset applied to him, so he was going to do his best to understand what was going on in his mind and get rid of those feelings at the same time. Tony was a good friend, and he was going to keep it that way.

Despite being lost in his thoughts, he was somewhat alert to his surroundings, so when his instinct was telling him something was wrong, he went on alert. Continuing with his run, he picked up his pace not wanting any trouble, despite not seeing anything wrong within his immediate view. He stopped in his tracks when the old wizard from the previous day appeared in front of him.

“Dumbledore.” Steve said wearily remembering the man’s name. “You’ve aged,” he remembered him from the war with Hydra. He hadn’t known him well, but his opinion of the older wizard was in the gutters after what had happened with Harry.

“Steven, my boy, can we talk for a moment,” Dumbledore said in a grandfather tone. But Steve wasn’t falling for it, the man may not have been a literal paedophile, however, his obsession with Harry was not healthy.

“It’s Captain Rogers, and there is nothing for us to talk about.” He was trying not to let the anger he felt affect him, but it was. Here was this ‘all-powerful’ wizard that was trying to use one of the sweetest kids he had ever met as a weapon.

“I only worry for Harry. He would be safer at Hogwarts where magic can protect him.”

“And so, you can get to him and use him as you wish. He is a child Dumbledore, not a weapon for you to use as you please.” Steve spat at the man.

“Harry must be the one to defeat Voldemort!”

“Harry will not put his life on the line to solve your problem of one power-hungry wizard, we will protect him, so he doesn’t have to see a battle ever again!” The two were now having a full-blown argument on the side of the street and as people noticed that it was Captain America arguing with someone they stopped to watch, even dragging their phones out to record.

“The prophecy demands that Harry is the one who will fight Voldemort! The man will not be defeated otherwise.”

“You of all people should know that prophecy’s only hold power if you believe in them, otherwise they are just mumbled words spoken that may or may not come to pass.”

“This one is different; the words are too accurate from them to gibberish nonsense. The Dark Lord declared this prophecy true when he went after Harry and marked him as his equal with the killing curse.” There was now a crowd around them whispering about what the two were talking about.

“Dumbledore, you are fucking lunatic! Do you not see how deranged you have become? You put magical blocks on a child, that inhibited him from using his own powers. A baby, you could have done permanent damage to him!”

“It was that or have another evil wizard running around my school, I made my choice for the better! Hogwarts would not teach another Dark Lord!”

“Magic is only dark if you make it dark! Do not put your failures onto others-” Steve was about to continue but was stopped but loud pops surrounding them and the crowd froze in time. Men and women appeared, clad in red and black uniforms, around them. They nodded towards Steve before focusing their attention on Dumbledore.

“Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, you are hereby under arrest for breaking The Statute of secrecy, you openly displayed magic and continued to talk about magic for all to hear. You have a right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.” An auror said.

“What about Mr Rogers he was also openly talking about magic.” Dumbledore spat as magic suppression cuffs were placed on him.

“Captain Rogers did not start the conversation and is a war hero, he might be called in for questioning, but he is by no means the one guilty. I will tell you again, that you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”

“You are free to leave Captain, otherwise you will be affected by the charms.” Another auror said.

Steve went on his way, going back to the tower, not finishing his run. He was going to tell Tony and Harry what had just happened to him.

---

Harry heard about Steve’s encounter with Dumbledore after he had finished his lessons for the day. He shut himself in his room afterwards, he wasn’t angry, he was just… he didn’t know, he felt broken. The man he used to look up to, had placed blocks onto his magic out of his own fear of Harry becoming evil. He felt wetness build up around his eyes and pulled himself further into a ball on his bed.

Silent sobs left him, his promise to never cry again was broken, as he lay there silently. He hadn’t heard his door opening and was only aware of another person in the room when his bed dipped, and he was pulled into his dad’s arms.

“It’s alright Harry. I’ll make sure that that man can never get to you again.” His dad said rubbing his back. His tears broke out in full force as he let out a loud sob, the events of the past few days hitting him.

Tony sat there silently comforting his child, it hurt him to see his child crying like he was. But to some extent, he understood that this was hard on Harry, and he was going to be there for him. He was going to make Dumbledore regret what he did to his family, the man would regret the day he tried to use a Stark. Harry eventually stopped crying after a while, feeling too weak to continue crying, he hugged his dad tightly, thanking whatever deity had allowed him to have a family, to have a dad that cared for him as he did. He was done with Dumbledore, and he wasn’t going to allow anyone else to take over his life and turn him into a weapon.

---

With Harry’s new mindset, he quickly became focused on his learning, so he was surprised when on Friday, he found a man he had never met standing in the lounge after his lesson. The man wasn’t a part of the Avengers, that was for sure. The man was staring him down and seemed to also be trying to figure out who he was. Curiosity led him to move towards the man and figure him out, they both entered a game of staring.

Tony walked into his lounge to find his son and best friend having a staring match, and he knew that the two of them could stare a fly off the wall. Clearing his throat both of them turned to look at him. Harry’s face broke into a smile as the boy rushed towards him.

“Dad!” Harry said hiding behind him and glaring at Rhodey.

“Dad?” Rhodey asked, giving a questioning look to him.

“Platypus, Honey bear… How have you been? I’ve... uh been meaning to contact you... This is my son Harry. Harry this is my best friend Rhodey.” Tony said nervously, he had been meaning to tell Rhodey about the recent events in his life, but he hadn’t and now he was going to have to deal with a disappointed Platypus.

“Tony-” Rhodey started.

“I thought Steve was your best friend?” Harry asked with the most innocent voice ever, but Tony just saw mischief in those eyes. He couldn’t be prouder of him, but not at the timing.

“Tony… I… Has it really been that long?.” Rhodey looked disappointed.

“Rhodey no, I can promise you that you are still my best friend, Steve has just… he came with me to fetch Harry. Shit no that’s worse, no one could ever replace you Sour Patch. I had been meaning to contact you, but then with the surgery and everything else. I-”

“Tony, it’s alright. I’m feeling left out, but gods did something bad happen that you needed surgery?”

“No, God no. It was to remove the shrapnel. With Harry now in my life, I can’t be a ticking time bomb. Why don’t we sit and catch up?”

“Yeah, that might be a good idea.”

“It’s good to see you again Rhodey.” Tony smiled leading the group into the kitchen. “And you, you’ve been hanging around the assassin twins and Loki too much.” He said pointedly to Harry, who just smiled at him.

“You sure it’s not because I’m your kid?” Harry stuck his tongue out at him.

They settled into the kitchen and Tony made them all something to drink as they got caught up, Harry mainly stayed silent, giving his input every now and then. All was well between the two friends, Rhodey was in town for the weekend, and made Tony promise to send him regular updates about what was going on in the tower. Meanwhile, Harry was excited for his lessons with Clint and Loki this weekend. The two had come to an agreement that they would each have one day of the weekend to teach him.

Chapter Text

Sirius was currently stuck in Newt Scamander’s house if it could be called that. There was a tiny area dedicated to living, and the rest had been continuously expanded upon to house different animals. He helped the man with chores, mainly feeding the animals that weren’t extremely dangerous and he was allowed to stay in the house and live in the guest room.

He was eating his breakfast when an owl came through the window with the latest Daily Prophet. Sirius didn’t pay much attention to it, Newt, however, picked it up as he was finishing his cup of tea and almost dropped the paper at the headline. Sirius looked over in confusion, but he saw the headline that left him in shock.

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE – ARRESTED BY MACUSA FOR BREACHING THE STATUTE OF SECRECY

Albus Dumbledore, Grand Sorcerer, Supreme Mugwump, Chief Warlock and Headmaster was arrested earlier this week when he was found talking to a muggle about magic in a public space, where nearby muggles over-heard their conversation. The headmaster was swiftly taken into custody and the memory of the incident was taken from the muggles.

Sirius had to stop reading, had the headmaster gone senile or something? He had always respected the older man, but he wasn’t so sure if he could fully respect him now, maybe the man he had once been, but not the current one. His age was clearly catching up. Sirius turned to look at Newt when the man sighed.
“You know Dumbledore, don’t you?” Sirius asked.

“Yes, he was my professor at Hogwarts and tried to get me to fight his war for him before he eventually got enough pressure put on him to do it himself. He prefers for others to do his dirty work and then step in for the glory or when there is no other option.” Newt had a moment of silence before he continued, “I’m not surprised with what’s happened, it was bound to at some point. He has always believed himself above the law because of all the titles he holds.”

Sirius turned his attention back to his breakfast, lost in his thoughts, maybe he shouldn’t try and get in contact with Dumbledore, it could only go downhill for him.

---

The weekend passed quickly for the Stark family and Rhodey had already left late in the afternoon. Rhodey had not been too impressed with the miniature Iron-man suit but was happy to hear it was more for defence than action. Tony was horrified about his child seeing any more action than he already had.

They had held off about telling Rhodey about magic, it wasn’t Tony’s secret to tell and unlike the Avengers Harry didn’t know the man, besides the fact that he was his best friend. The two had got along, but nowhere near how Harry got along with the rest of the Avengers and Loki. Although Harry had been rather quiet after the events with Dumbledore.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for Harry to bounce back to his normal self, but Tony was worried about how focused he was on his schooling, even if that wasn’t something he should be complaining about.

While on Harry’s side of things, he had become fully absorbed in his lessons, soaking up all the knowledge like a sponge. He was more than welcome to his busy schedule as he was determined to catch up with everything he had missed out on while being at Hogwarts.

As the weeks passed by, September came to an end, and they were entering the spooky season, as Tony had called it. While Harry did know what Halloween was, and had celebrated it to some extent at Hogwarts, it wasn’t a day he was looking forward to. He was dreading the day when it came, but it was still the beginning of the month.

The teachers were impressed with his progress, and they wouldn’t be surprised if he completely caught up by the end of the year and even go on to higher grades before the school year was finished. Harry was just as smart as his dad, even more so with magic involved in his learning. Tony was proud, to say the least, he had high hopes for his child.

Pepper had also started to make small appearances around The tower, Tony’s words had made her think a lot, and she had been in the wrong. She had finally spoken to Harry, although just in passing, and she wouldn’t have been terribly surprised if she never had a close relationship with him like the others. She had realised just how foolish she had been when she learnt that Harry was so similar to his dad, especially when he spoke about the things he loved.

---

Tony was busy working with Natasha to try and find Bucky, Steve had been sent out to do the groundwork, but otherwise was also heavily involved in the process of finding the man. The goblins had done their best to find the man, but they said magic was interfering with their search. There was a high possibility that what had ever happened to Bucky, wizards were also involved in the task.

They had very little evidence of the Winter Soldier, and JARVIS was busy decrypting the most recent data they had collected. They had followed a lead from an old Hydra bunk, which had led them to an out of commission, base of operations for the Red Room. Natasha had been surprised but had led the information retrieval team through the base.

“Sir the information is ready to be viewed,” JARVIS said as the projections in front of them changed and multiple photos and videos popped up with documents attached to each of them. Natasha had a strange look on her face as she seemed to recognise the face in the photos.

“Nat, what do you know?” Steve asked as he picked up on her posture.

“I, he was one of my trainers, back when I was in the Red Room. We also had a close relationship with each other.”

“Nat?” Tony asked seeing Natasha look conflicted with herself, which was a rare sight. She seemed to pause and collect herself before continuing.

“We were involved with each other romantically, but it came to an end when his handler took him away. I was in the later stages of my training at the time, it’s been a long time since then.”

“Did he ever tell you about the missions he had been on, or where he had been?” Steve asked. He was shocked by the news that his best friend had been in a relationship with Natasha.

“No, even if he wanted to, he couldn’t, he said that they would lock away his memories after each mission, or whenever he travelled between the bases. He couldn’t even remember who he was before The organisation.”

“Well, at least we´ve got a lead now. We can go from there. We can search for any similarities between the documents, search from the last known location and so on. Team we’ve got this.” Tony said trying to lighten the mood.

“Tony’s right it’s only a matter of time before we find him,” Natasha said looking determined to put the past conversation behind her.

---

Harry was busy practising his magic with Loki as a supervisor. The god would try and give him pointers when he wasn’t getting a spell right. While Loki had admitted that the magic that Harry practised was foreign to him, he noticed that it was similar to some magic he had learnt. He had also decided to learn magic along with Harry but in his own time.

Loki was busy reading a book on magic in a language Harry didn’t recognise. So, he didn’t pay much attention to it, but his head whipped around to face the god when he heard him hissing at different pitches. Harry watched as Loki continued to hiss at different pitches and tones until the hiss became recognisable and he could hear words in-between the hiss, but it wasn’t proper Parseltongue.

“You’re a Parselmouth?” Harry asked shocked.

“A what now?” Loki was unsure what Harry had meant. He had been reading about the rare languages of magic and there had been a passage on the secret magic of snake language.

“You can speak Parseltongue, you speak to snakes?”

“Ah no, but I can shapeshift, so I morphed my tongue, throat and vocal cords to be able to speak like a snake.”

“Oh.” Harry was a bit upset with that knowledge, he thought he had finally met someone who was nice and could speak the language.

“Can you speak this language of serpents?” Loki asked seeing the disappointment across the child’s face.

“Yes, I can although, I don’t know how it works. It just kind of happens.”

“Are you able to do magic through this language?” Loki asked, the book he had been reading had hinted at the possibility, but he wasn’t sure.

“I should be able to, but the headmaster placed a block on me, that doesn’t allow me to perform Parselmagic. I have been told that I can break it by casting Parselmagic spells, but I haven’t been able to collect the books on the magic from one of the vaults in my name.”

“Hmm, if I were to take you would you retrieve them?”

“Sure, I would have to ask my dad first but sure I don’t mind.”

With plans set to retrieve the books, Loki was ecstatic. He enjoyed learning, especially when it came to magic. He was going to make the most out of his time on Midgard, and he had already become attached to the little wizard. He hoped to take Harry in as an apprentice one day, teach him everything he knew. But first, he had to finish his schooling, and Loki wanted to learn as much as he could as well.

Chapter Text

Harry had persuaded his dad to let him, and Loki, go to the bank to retrieve the parselmagic books. It had been a quick trip, and Loki quickly picked up on the goblins' customs. While the goblins themselves had been shocked to have a god within the halls of their bank, however, they had quickly gotten over it and helped them out as they would any other customer.

There now sat a pile of five books before them on the floor of the training room. Neither of them knew what to do now that they had the books, though. They sat there staring at each other, silently daring the other to go first, however, Loki had a brother that was constantly testing his patience and he wasn’t going to give in. While Harry’s less-than-ideal background had taught him to restrain any urge he had.

Steve walked in on the two sitting around the book pile, they had been in the training room for almost half an hour, and he didn’t want to think that this was all they had done. They hadn’t even noticed him coming into the room. Clearing his throat, they both turned to look at him.

“So, uh anything interesting happening in your circle over there?” he tried to joke with them. Loki rolled his eyes at the captain before speaking up.

“We were in an intense battle of staring before you ruined it. We have yet to decide who will open the first book.”

Steve gave them a weird look. “You’re the all-powerful god, why don’t you open the book.” He said sarcastically. Loki let out a disgruntled sound before grabbing the book from the top of the pile and opening it. He was greeted by scribbles; it took a moment before the lines started to make sense and his all speak allowed him to read the book's contents.

It was overwhelmingly boring, speaking about how the language was a language of purity. Checking the title of the book, he realised it was going to be a useless book as it was quite literally called “Understanding the Purity of Parseltounge to Understand Blood Purity.” It would be an amusing book to read but wouldn’t help them in the long run.

Harry had already picked up the next book, he had seen the title of the first book, and was glad he didn’t have to take it because the book he picked up was an introduction to Parselmagic. Loki looked sour when he saw that Harry was reading a better book than him. Not wanting to be left out he shuffled across the floor to sit next to the boy and read the book with him.

Steve was amused to see the god bum shuffle across the floor like a little kid. But then again, Harry had brought out the more playful side of the god instead of the arrogant prince he normally was. Steve left the two alone but heard some hissing coming from them before there was a loud pop and the sound of a thick glass shattering. A sound he would equate to something he has only heard in movies.

He turned around to find a snake sitting in front of Loki and Harry lying on the floor dazed. Rushing over he checked on the teen, Loki also looked concerned but also as he had expected it.

“What happened?” Steve asked once he knew Harry was all right, just a bit dazed.

“I am assuming he broke the block on his magic that didn’t allow him to perform a certain branch of magic,” Loki said, his own magic was monitoring the boy, his magic was just re-adjusting itself to the way it should have been if there hadn’t been a block on his magic. “You might want to get Anthony though; he would want to know,” Loki said off-handed magically trapping the snake in a glass cage, he knew Harry would want to see what he had conjured later. It wasn’t any known snake that he knew of but maybe the others would know although he doubted it.

Not wanting to risk using magic directly on Harry, he moved him, so his head was in his lap, he proceeded to run his hands through Harry’s hair, just like his mother had done when he had magically exhausted himself as a child.

---

Steve made his way to Tony’s lab knowing the man would be in there. He wasn’t in a rush to get to Tony, but he also needed to tell him that his son was currently lying dazed, possibly passed out by now, on the floor due to his magic.

Steve was right in where Tony would be. The man was hunched over something tweaking at whatever was beneath him. He also found Tony adorable whenever he found him like this. He stood there watching Tony work for a while before clearing his throat to get the other's attention. Tony looked up, not having expected anyone to come to visit him in his lab today.

“Hey Cap, anything I can help you with?” Tony gave a cheeky grin. Steve was a bit distracted by the smudge on the man’s face and the messy hair Tony had that he wasn’t used to seeing. Before he realised it, he was in front of Tony who was frowning in confusion, Steve reached forward to wipe the smudge away. Tony was red as a tomato as Steve pulled his hand back and realised what he had done.

“Ah, sorry about that, you had a… ah smudge on your face,” Steve said after having taken a step back, also having turned red.

“It's… alright,” Tony stuttered out, not having expected that to have happened, clearing his throat he tried to act natural, but his ears were still red. “So, what brings you up here?”

“Right, uh Harry and Loki were doing magic, when uh Harry did something that, I’m not really sure what. But Loki mentioned a block break on his magic and his magic having to re-align itself. But Harry was lying on the floor.” Tony looked worried and immediately made a move to leave the lab.

“Right thanks. They’re in the training room I suppose?” Tony asked almost out the door.

“Yeah.”

He heard Tony mumbling about how he needs to magic-proof JARVIS, so he doesn’t have to go offline whenever Harry is doing magic. Steve stood alone in the lab for a moment, still shocked at what he had done. Maybe he was allowed to have these feelings, if others could, so should he.

---

Tony made his way down as quickly as he could but let out the breath he had been holding when he saw Loki comforting his child. Making his way over, Loki looked up to him and motioned for him to join him on the floor.

“Don’t worry, he is all right, his magic is just sorting itself out after breaking the block that was on his magic. Considering the block was there for more than ten years his magic has some catching up to do.”

“Do you know which block broke?”

“He has more than one?” Loki asked. It was a strange thing that there was even one block on him let alone more.

“Yes, well there was more but they are already gone. There’s the one his mother placed on him because his core was too large for a toddler to handle, and the other was placed by Dumbledore against Harry’s natural ability to perform Parselmagic, he already broke the block on his ability to speak Parselmouth this past year.”

“What were the other blocks if you don’t mind me asking?” Loki asked, there was going to be retribution to those who had harmfully placed blocks on this child.

“There was a Horcrux inside of Harry, but it is no longer, it was destroyed by basilisk venom, and that was neutralised by the tear of a phoenix.” Loki was shocked, he knew what a Horcrux was, he had briefly read about it, and it was a vile piece of magic. He had thought a Horcrux could only be placed inside an inanimate object though.

“Who placed a Horcrux inside Harry?” Loki said darkly.

“Voldemort,” Tony said and as an afterthought added, “And Dumbledore placed the rest.” Loki hissed, his eyes going dark. He was going to kill those two men if it was the last thing he did. He knew of the prophecy but that was nothing in the face of gods, fate could kiss his behind for all he cared. He is going to be having a word with the Norns when he gets the chance. “How long do you think he will be out for?” Tony asked.

“I would say a few hours to a day at most. You probably would want to take him to his room, and let him rest in a comfortable environment.” Loki said moving Harry over to Tony so the man could lift his child.

“Thanks, I’m going to do that now. I’ll watch over him, and if I’m needed can I trust you to watch him.” Tony asked. He knew Harry trusted the god; he was also willing to give Loki a chance.

“I would be honoured to look after Harry whenever needed.”

“Thanks,” Tony said before taking Harry to his room. His child was definitely heavier than when they first met, which was good, he had been skin and bones then. He informed JARVIS not to disturb him unless it was an emergency. He settled Harry into his bed and grabbed the Stark-Pad to do some work while he waits for his son to wake.

Chapter Text

Tony was starting to get worried, Harry had been out for 12 hours now and wasn’t showing any signs of waking up. The sun had set a few hours ago, and both Steve and Loki had come to check up on the two of them. Loki more so came to check on Harry and how he was doing, while Steve came up to see the both of them.

Tony also was glad to be away from the others, as he allowed himself to replay the events of this morning with Steve. He wasn’t sure what had happened to allow the moment, and sue him for calling it that, because it was clearly one. He didn’t know what was going on with the man, but he was certainly enjoying the attention he was getting. Steve clearly needed to sort out what was going on because he looked like he was about to break at any moment.

Tony was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t notice his son stirring in his bed. Harry was confused, it was dark outside, and he was in his room, the last he remembered was that he was in the training room with Loki. He looked around and found his dad sitting in a chair, that had been dragged in from somewhere, staring off into nothing.

“Dad?” Harry called out which immediately got Tony’s attention. The man rushed from his chair to Harry’s side, grabbing his face to check him over. Nothing seemed to be wrong with Harry besides the fact that his eyes seemed even greener than before, they even seemed to glow a bit. But Tony thought he was going crazy because the next moment the glowing was gone.

“How are you feeling kiddo?”

“I’m okay. I just feel tired, and hungry.”

“Well, I’m not surprised about the hungry part you’ve been out for 12 hours.”

“What happened to me?” Harry asked with a frown on his face, he really couldn't understand what had caused him to pass out.

“When you and Loki were reading those Parselmouth books, you landed up performing Parselmagic. The rebound from the bond breaking and your magical core having to reconfigure itself lead to you passing out.”

“Oh, well at least the block is gone now.”

“Yes, at least the block is gone,” Tony said dryly, his kid had no self-preservation instincts, he himself also lacked it at times, especially after becoming Ironman. This kind of lack was not from him, this was from what Dumbledore had done to his son. Sighing, he made a move to get up to get Harry something to eat.
“What do you want to eat kiddo?”

“Pizza!” Harry said with a giant grin not really realising that he could have been in serious danger.

“Your usual?”

“Yes please.”

“Alright, why don’t you jump in the shower quickly and the pizza should be here by the time you get down.” Tony left Harry to his own devices while JARVIS had already placed an order for pizza for not just Harry but the rest of the tower as well.

Loki was waiting in the lounge, book in hand and with a cage besides him. “I assume Harry is awake?” Loki said without looking up.

“Yes he is, he should be down shortly. Care to join us for dinner?” Tony said walking past him, he had gotten used to the God hanging around Harry, he was like that one relative that never wanted to leave when they visited. “What’s with the cage?”

“I would be delighted to. Is the snake that Harry summoned earlier?” Loki followed Tony into the kitchen, cage in hand, when he realised the man would not be joining him in the lounge.

“Yes, it is.”

“It hasn’t disappeared yet? Coffee?” Tony already knew the answer to that and was getting the tea leaves out.

“I suspect that it is not a temporary summon, but rather a permanent one, at least until the snake has been banished by Harry or another Parselmouth, and I’ll have tea please.”

“So Parselmagic is a stronger form of magic than what Harry is learning?” Tony asked.

“No, the two magics have the same, or similar amount of power behind it, depending on what spells are being performed. It is the fact that Parseltounge is very rare amongst wizards, and therefore less know what is being said or how to counter it.”

“How many wizards can speak the language then?” Tony asked handing over Loki’s tea.

“Outside of Harry and the Dark Lord that brought out the ability in Harry, there are a few within the Asian continent, most being in India where the language can be taught but to very few and is used amongst even less because of the English view towards the language.”

“Can you understand it?”

“I can, it has taken me a day, but I can finally understand the language. I assume that because it is a magical language, even with my ability to speak Allspeak took a while to understand the language. Now speaking it, I think I have got it down, but I shall only know once I speak to Harry in the language.”

“And Thor, would he be able to understand the language?”

“I’m sure if he tried, he could, but I doubt he would have any interest in it. He has some ability when it comes to magic, thanks to our mother, but he doesn’t use it.”

Harry came downstairs in a new pair of pyjamas, having just washed up. He saw a snake sitting next to look to Loki, The snake raised its head up when Harry started to come closer.

“Speaker, is there a reason you have summoned me so I can be placed in a cage? I am not a mere garden snake and don’t take lightly to being trapped.” The snaked hissed at Harry gaining the attention of the others in the room.

“You won’t harm us if I let you out?.” Harry asked.

“I wouldn’t dare in the presence of Jormungand’s father.” Harry looked over to Loki, wondering if that myth was also true.

“Loki won’t you let our friend out, he promises not to bite on Jörmungandr’s father’s honour. Something you want to say?”

“Jormungand is a child of mine from my past wife, it is a shame that the All-father banished them from a loving home and banned me from ever seeing them, but it is a pain that I have learnt to deal with,” Loki said before releasing the serpent from the cage. It slithered its way to Harry. He crouched with an outstretched arm which the snake slithered up before draping its body along Harry’s shoulders.

“What is your name?” Harry asked

“I have no name, only my scent to go by.”

“What type of serpent are you?” Loki asked is his shaky Parsletounge.

“I am a botis snake. I come from the deserts of Africa.”

“Can I call you Apollo as we cannot identify you by scent?” Harry asked.

“Tell me about the meaning behind the name and I shall see.”

“Apollo was the name of a Greek god; he was the sun god. Apollo was also the name of the program to send people to the moon. The way the light reflects off of your scales reminds me of the shimmering sun, but the paleness of them also reminds me of the moon.”

“Hmm, it is an acceptable name with good reasons, you may call me by that name. The non-speaker looks a little lost among us. I shall rest for now.” Apollo said before resting his head downwards and closing his eyes.

Harry turned to his dad who stood there awkwardly with his mug in hand. Loki also looked at Tony and had to laugh as the man finally felt what it was like to be left out of a conversation.

“So this is Apollo, I seemed to have summoned him from somewhere in Africa, he says he is a botis snake although I haven’t heard of that snake before, but he is magical though. He seems to be happy here for the moment.”

“Right. J won’t you order some snake food and whatever equipment we might need to house a snake?”

“Right away sir.”

“So, what’s a botis snake?” Tony asked.

“No clue,” Harry shrugged. They both turned to Loki like he would have an answer.

“I am unsure myself, I have heard of it, but I have never researched it. All I know is that the scales of the snake can on occasion reflect the world around it.”

“J, anything in the archives?”

“Not currently sir, I will ask Mr Drumm if he knows of any books that would be helpful.”

“Thanks J.”

Loki checked Harry over with his magic and was pleased to see that Harry’s magic had righted itself, it was strained. However, some rest and food would put it back to normal in a few days. Harry just had to be careful with what magic he performed, fortunately, his next week of schooling wasn’t a magical week, as well as he has the weekend to recover.

Their food was delivered not much later and the three of them ate together, Harry wasn’t feeling up to seeing the others. He would have preferred having Steve there but he thought it would be rude to ask him to join them and not the rest of the team and Loki was already there. Apollo had picked his head up at the smell of food and had kindly requested some raw meat. He was definitely the politest snake Harry had ever met, not that it was a long list.

Loki left shortly after they had finished eating, telling Harry to rest and not practice any straining magic. Harry was left with his dad and a new potential friend that was still on his shoulders.

“Anymore snakes you want to summon and keep here?” Tony asked jokingly.

“I’m good, I didn’t realise that spell actually had you summoning a snake from somewhere in the world, and I don’t know what the cancelling spell does to the snake. I would rather not risk it, plus Apollo seems alright here, now that he’s not in a cage.”

“He sure does look comfortable on your shoulders. Is he venomous?”

“I’m not sure, I can ask him if you want?”

“As long as he is a friend, I’m not concerned.” Tony watched as a sudden sleepiness came over Harry, as the boy yawned, and his eyes drooped. “Why don’t you head back to bed kid.”

“Alright, I’ll see you in the morning,” Harry said yawning once again before heading off.

“Night kiddo.”

“Night dad.” Tony was left to himself, he never knew being a father would be so stressful, but he at least wasn’t doing it alone. He had Clint who already had a family of his own, Natasha was the cool aunt, he was basically co-parenting with Loki at this point, and Bruce was being, well Bruce, and Steve was his emotional support.

There was something going on between the two of them, Tony knew he himself wasn’t straight, bisexual at minimum, he just tended to like women more, but there had been a few men mixed in all of his playboy ways. Steve just seemed to be struggling with it, he would wait and see what would happen, he wasn’t going out to look for love but if it came to him, he didn’t mind.

Walking past Harry’s room, he wasn’t surprised to see the light still on, he would just let him sleep in tomorrow, they didn’t have any plans for the weekend anyways. Harry had started talking with Apollo ever since he had stepped foot into his room.

“Is this your nest, young one?” Apollo asked when Harry had closed his door.

“If you mean the place where I sleep, then yes.”

“Yes, it is. It is nice and warm here. Where can I claim a nest amongst yours?”

“Uh, I should have stuff for you by tomorrow, but if you don’t mind, you can sleep next to me, or I can create a bundle for you?”

“A bundle should be acceptable.” Apollo started to move around so Harry lay him down on the bed. He wasn’t a big snake, maybe smaller than 70 cm, and rather slim.

“Are you perhaps venomous?” Harry asked. Apollo lift himself up to watch Harry as he grabbed a few blankets to make a bundle.

“I am, but my venom is not deadly.”

“What would happen if you were to bite someone?”

“It would slowly paralyse their limbs as my venom passed through them, after a while they would be able to move again. They might be sick for a while, but my venom has magical properties that doesn’t allow others to die. I cannot say the same for other snakes of my species as some have been mistreated by humans and don’t infuse magic into their venom.” Harry had placed the bundle on the side of the bed he didn’t sleep, he never used the whole bed anyways.

“I’ve never met such an intelligent snake before,” Harry said lying down on the bed, watching Apollo slither over to the bundle and get comfortable.

“Thank you, my species prides themselves on intelligence.” Harry laughed at Apollo as he never thought a snake could sound so smug.

“Do you have any siblings?”

“I did have nest mates but as we grew older, we drifted from where we hatched. We occasionally come across each other and talk for a bit.” Apollo watched the boy in front of him, curious about the power that radiated off of him and that had summoned him, “Let us sleep now young one.”

“J, won’t you switch off the lights please?”

“Of course, Young Harry. Sleep well.” JARVIS said before switching the lights off in Harry’s room.

“Night J.”

Chapter Text

Apollo was happy with what had been ordered for him and had his own habitat set up in Harry’s room and various other places in the top floors of the tower. Everyone was glad to see that Harry was alright the next day, well besides being tired despite having slept for so long. Harry was watching how Steve seemed to be avoiding his dad, and how his dad seemed to be enjoying annoying Steve. At least one of them seemed to be aware of the other’s feelings.

Harry was trying to think of something to get the two of them to bond, when JARVIS pitched in. JARVIS had been thinking the same as Harry and judging by the actions of his Creator it was the perfect opportunity to intervene with the duo.

“Sir, it has come to my attention, that as the new inhabitant of the house is a snake, he is a magical one and might need different equipment that I cannot purchase online. I would suggest you go today before stores close.”

“Thanks J. Harry you up for a trip?”

“Yup. Uncle Steve, won’t you come with us?” Harry asked with what he hoped were puppy eyes. Steve looked over at Harry and took a few seconds to reply.

“Sure kid, but don’t you think Loki would be better suited for the job?” Steve asked. Harry looked over to Loki who had a knowing look.

“While I would be delighted to join Harry on his endeavours to own a snake, was it not a little over a year ago that I tried to take over the world?” Loki asked brow raised in a questioning remark.

“Alright point taken. Let me get dressed and we can head out.”

“Sure, thing Spangles. See you at the parking lot.” Tony winked at Loki on the way out. Tony had to laugh at both of his children, more at the fact that Harry had roped JARVIS into whatever the two were up to. It didn’t take long for Steve to join them and after having Harry insist that Steve sits in the front with Tony, they left for the wizarding district with Steve acting like a cat that had been dropped into water.

It didn´t take long before they were at the Woolworth building, it was the only entrance they knew of to get to the magical district. There was a more public entrance but since none of them had used it, they were going the long way round. Although Harry found it weird that the goblins also didn’t have their bank in the shopping district, there was probably a reason for that.

They quickly made their way to the district entrance and while both Steve and Tony were wide-eyed, Harry couldn’t help but compare it to Diagon Alley. Although the area seemed to be entirely underground with a few skylights which seemed to come from fountains. It didn’t take him long to realise they were underground beneath the nearby park. If he had to think of Diagon Alley, he thought of old whimsical buildings that somehow fit together. While here, Salamander Alley, there had been a sign as they walked in, seemed more modern, there was a misshapenness to the alley, but it didn’t look like it would topple over.

“Alright to the pet store and then we are going home,” Tony said, not wanting Harry to be out for too long. The pet shop was easy enough to find, and once inside Harry purposefully disappeared from the two, finding someone that could help him.

“So, Stevie, you ever been to a magical district in America before?” Tony asked as he watched the man awkwardly stand in the store.

“No, I haven’t Tony, I've only been with the two of you. You should know this.” Steve chuckled a little.

“That is true," Tony was just trying to make conversation. "Had any revelations recently?” Tony asked leaning against the counter in the store.

“I don’t know what you mean, everything is perfectly okay with me.”

“You sure about that Steve?” Steve gulped and looked away from Tony who was definitely looking him up and down. “Now Steve there’s nothing wrong with checking me out, it wouldn’t be the first time a man has.”

“I wouldn’t do that Tony, I’m into women, I have my Peggy.”

“Stevie boy, there’s no shame in liking men, and Peggy´s not into you anymore. She got married a few years after you went missing. And we both know you also got over her.”

“I…”

“Steve, stop trying to deny things,” Tony said pushing off from the counter and walking past Steve to look for his son and to let Steve think. He wasn’t going to chase but that didn’t mean he couldn’t poke around.

There wasn’t much for Harry to get that he didn’t already have, so he got a few things that were magical but had a muggle equivalent and set up a weekly delivery of food for Apollo. He met with his dad and they both found Steve waiting outside the store with a dumbfounded expression on his face. He was deep in thought but quietly followed the two.

---

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic Ocean, Sirius was busy helping Newt tend to the animals in his treatment centre. Sirius had been enjoying the work and being around the different animals had helped calm his mind and nerves. He was starting to see that he was lucky to have been found by Newt otherwise he didn’t know what would have happened by now. Newt also liked having an extra set of hands to help him out, especially considering he didn’t have to pay Sirius, he was feeding him and hiding him from the law.

“You ever consider working with animals, before everything happened?” Newt asked going over to check on what Sirius was doing.

“No, all I wanted to do was become an auror and be the last thing my parents ever wanted me to be, and of course work with James. Why?”

“You seem to have a knack for the animals.”

“I mean now I would, I definitely enjoy it. It might help because of my animagus form or maybe from spending so many full moons with a werewolf.”

“Ah yes, Remus Lupin. It amazes me that Dumbledore allowed it and that a group of teenagers figured out what a werewolf really needed over a full moon, unlike those damn potion masters.” Newt went quiet for a moment waiting for Sirius to finish chopping up the food. “I have an upcoming trip to the United States. There are a few animals that are ready to be released into one of the sanctuaries. If all goes well, I might be able to pull a few stings, call in a favour and get you a fair trial over there. And if all goes well I might ask of you to look after my New York branch as I recently had to sack some employees.”

“Are you being serious!” Sirius said in shock. A man he barely knew was trying to do more for him than Dumbledore ever did.

“I thought that was your job.” Newt laughed. “But yes, I can see that you are a job man Sirius and I trust you. It is also only right that you actually have a trial and a fair one at that. You might just be stuck in America if your name gets cleared over there. As far as I know, the two governments don’t like each other.”

“When do we leave?” Sirius was over the moon. He finally had a fighting chance.

“We leave Monday morning, although I just need to inform the auror department over there, you will most likely be detained on arrival, but I can hopefully get you a trial as soon as we arrive.”

“I look forward to it, I’ll owe you a life debt if all goes well.”

---

Monday came far slower than Sirius could have expected. He was happy to hide in Newt's trunk during the trip, although it’s not like the inside was affected from the movement outside. A lot of work went into making the case. Sirius was just waiting for the knock from Newt, the plan was that they would arrive in America and be taken to a side room, so as to not alert the public, where he would be detained and taken to trial an hour later.

Sirius heard the knock from above and climbed out of the case. He was able to stand up straight before an auror came forward with handcuffs in hand.

“Sirius Black you are under arrest for the murder of one wizard and twelve muggles, as well as having escaped from prison. You have a right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.” The auror said, before tapping a coin and placing it in his hand, he felt the familiar tug at his navel, and he was standing inside a cell.

“Sirius Black,” someone called, and he turned to face the outside of the cell. “Welcome to the United States and to MACUSA, your trial will be in an hour, and I hope Mr Scamander is right about you. I am your lawyer Lauren Appelman, shall we discuss what is going to happen in the court?.” She was a short woman, and young too, but she had a fire in her eyes.

---

Newt was sitting on the defendant’s side as he was going to play witness, if need be, when the newly elected President walked up to him.
“I hope the reason you called in this favour wasn’t because of Harry Potter.” President Quahog said in a hushed whisper.

“No, isn’t mister Potter meant to be in the U.K?” Quahog looked thoughtful for a few seconds. It was common knowledge to the Americans that Harry had changed his tune and was now an American. He was glad to see that the information hadn’t been leaked yet, despite it being in the muggle news. Good thing their British counterparts were too snobbish to pick up a muggle newspaper.

“This information doesn’t leave America, but Mister Potter has been a citizen of the United States of America and the Magical congress since late July. He is living with his biological father so there is no chance that Black will get custody of his godson if his name is cleared. You think you can handle him?”

“I don’t have to tell him just yet, do I?”

“No, no you don’t,” the president said before walking off to take his seat. The trial was semi-closed with only chosen reporters being allowed inside and limited spectators, mainly those in power were here. The hall quieted down as Sirius walked in with guards on either side of him and his lawyer leading them. It took a few minutes before the trial was on its way.

Sirius was too nervous to pay attention to the proceedings, he was just waiting for his turn to speak. Not that there was much to get through besides the accusations, as there wasn’t anyone that could speak against him.

“Sirius Black, do you consent to the use of veritaserum for questioning during this trial?” The judge asked.

“Yes, I do.” The judge motioned someone forward as Sirius was led to a chair in the centre of the round courtroom, and the potion was given to him, 3 drops almost four, but the vial was pulled back in time.

“What is your name?” his lawyer asked.

“Sirius Orion Black the third.”

“What year were you born and where?”

“1976 in the Black family townhouse, London, Great Britain.”

“The potion is working.” The other lawyer confirmed.

“Were you a Death eater at some point in time?”

“No, I have never been one.”

“Where were you on the night of the Potter’s murders?”

“I was home alone when I heard my alarms go off, and rushed to the Potter’s house to check on them.”

“What happened when you got to the Potter’s house?”

“I went inside to see what was wrong. I saw James dead on the floor, so I rushed upstairs where Lilly was on the floor of the nursery and Harry was crying in his cot.”

“What happened after that?”

“I went outside to have Rubeus Hagrid arrive and say that I had to hand Harry over on Dumbledore’s order. He told me that He wanted to check over Harry and have him placed in a secure location. I didn’t try to argue with Hagrid as he never saw anything wrong with Dumbledore’s orders and I trusted them both to look after Harry. I then left afterwards to find Peter Pettigrew.”

“Why did you want to find Mr. Pettigrew.”

“I wanted to find that rat because he was James´s secret keeper and had clearly betrayed them.”

“Were you not the secret Keeper?”

“I was in the beginning, but I thought it was too obvious as James was like a brother to me, so I convinced them to get Dumbledore to change it to Peter as no one would expect him.”

“So, you went after Mr Pettigrew because it was clear he had betrayed the Potters?”

“Yes.”

“What happened?”

“I found him several days later amongst the Muggles when he started shouting that I had killed the Potters, that I had betrayed them, then he cut his little finger off, threw a bombarda maxima curse behind his back before transforming into a rat and slipping into the sewers below. I was caught shortly afterwards.”

“How do you know that Mr Pettigrew transformed into a rat?”

“Because he is an animagus like myself and James was.”

“When did you become an animagus?”

“During my time at Hogwarts along with my other friends so we could keep our mutual friend company during the full moon.”

“So, your group of friends never registered your animagus forms?”

“No, we didn’t. James and I were going to register once we became aurors.”

“Why was this never brought up in your previous trial?”

“Because I never had a trail before this one.” Gasps rang throughout the room as people started to whisper amongst themselves.

“Quiet in the gallery. So, you are saying you were imprisoned without a trial?”

“Yes, I was.”

“You did however escape from Azkaban?”

“Yes, I did.”

“How did you do it?”

“I spent most of my time in my animagus form, which is a grim dog. One day I saw the cover of the newspaper with Peter Pettigrew in rat form being held by one of the Wesley boys. In the dead of the night, I slipped through the bars in my dog form because I was bone and nothing else. I made my way to the ground floor and outside to the water where I swam across the cold water, my fur kept me insulated.”

“No more questions, administer the antidote.” Sirius was given the antidote and came back to his senses, he saw Newt grinning at him, and he hoped it was for a good reason.

Sirius picked at his fingers as he waited for the jury to get back to them on the verdict of the trial. It wasn’t a long wait, thirty minutes at most when they came back.

“The Jury finds the defendant not guilty. He is to register his animagus form, within a month from today, and is to receive physical and mental treatment until he is in a healthy condition.”

He was free, he jumped up and ran to hug Newt, but the older man squeezed back just as hard. Excited that his new friend was finally getting what was long overdue, he would wait until Sirius was mentally healthy before he told him about Harry.

Chapter Text

Tony was down in his lab working on integrating technology with magic. So far he had discovered that the arc reactor and anything directly powered by it was safe from magic, as long as it wasn’t directly charmed. The items could exist amongst the magic, but the second it was hit by magic they would stop working. Besides the arc reactor itself, he couldn’t be putting mini arc reactors into just about anything and selling it to the world. Well not with a good conscience at least.

He had also found, with the help of Harry, that, if the technology that was powered by the arc reactor had a protective shield placed around it, it was completely functional, even when apparating. He needed to increase Mr Drumm’s salary, the man was helping him test out the limits of everything. The only problem with the charm was that it didn’t last forever, it lasted two weeks at most before it started to weaken. He suspected that it was the different waves interfering with the magic.

Even though Tony was reading through the theory of Magic, it didn’t make much sense. Theoretically, he could understand but could barely understand it practically. He was going to stick to what he was good at. He might not be able to make anything for the consumer market, but he could make things for Harry, himself and maybe the rest of the team. He didn’t trust Loki with access to the internet.

He at least hadn’t to worry about his heart anymore, not for a while now. But perhaps he should look at potentially getting his chest reconstructed and rather having an external arc reactor. So, he didn’t have to carry around a potential bomb around in his chest. It was a good thing that his surgery had stayed a secret, no one was the wiser.

Tony had already finished re-engineering a multitude of Stark items for Harry, but most importantly a phone. It meant that no matter what happened to his son, he knew that Harry could contact him, or he could at least track his location. But only in an emergency, he had promised.

Tony was interrupted from his thoughts by Drumm walking into his lab. They had been working together, but an owl had arrived, so the man had left to fetch whatever the bird had brought with it. Drumm handed him the letter, it had come from one of Harry’s teachers.

Dear Dr Stark,
I am writing this on behalf of all of Harry’s teachers. We recently all met to discuss the potential that your son has. We have noticed how quick of a learner he is and how he achieves perfection almost instantly. He has a deeper understanding of the magic around him than most wizards do. He is ready to sit his O.W.L.s and will very well be ready to sit his N.E.W.T.s. The downside is that they both only happen twice a year and at the same time.

We would suggest he sits his O.W.L.s in November, you’ll find the necessary forms within the letter, and then he takes his N.E.W.T.s next year in late May or early June. The dates have yet to be set for next year.

We will continue to teach Harry to our best abilities for the N.E.W.T.s while going over everything that will be needed for his O.W.L.s. We believe that once Harry has completed his N.E.W.T.s he should look into getting his Masters in the areas that he is most interested in. He is the most remarkable student I have had the pleasure to teach, and I can also say that on behalf of the others.

He has a bright future ahead of him. His brilliance would have been a waste at Hogwarts, you made the right choice to change his schooling.

Regards
Ralph Siegel
Spellwork Teacher

Tony would tell Harry when he was finished with his studies for the day. He could join a high school for his next year if he wanted to at this point. He had a little more to catch up with his non-magical education, but he was bulldozing through it. He was a very proud father.

Tony was about to continue experimenting with magic and electricity when the avenger's alarm went off. “What’s the problem J?” Tony asked rushing out of the lab and into his personal one where all his suits were stored.

“There seems to be multiple people with extraordinary heat signatures that are continuing to rise as we speak on their way to the Tower.”

“Where’s Harry?”

“Harry is currently in his Maths class.”

“Alright, alert them that there is trouble on the way, get the teachers out of the tower, if possible, if not send them with Harry to the bunker under the tower.”

“Right away Sir.”

“Oh, and make sure Loki goes with them.” Tony had created a bunker under the tower after Loki’s attack, it was made from pre-existing rooms, but they had been reinforced and made to hold people for long periods of time. Tony was suited up in a matter of seconds having perfected his suit that would meet with him and attach itself to him as he moved. He met with the rest of the Avengers on the landing pad, glad to see that Harry wasn’t anywhere nearby or Loki for that matter.

“Anyone know what’s going on?” Tony asked.

“It seems to be the group of people that SHIELD has been tracking for the last couple of months once we realised the connection between them and the terrorist attacks across the country that were being claimed by the Ten Rings,” Clint said.

“We have been following their movements, and they have decided to strike. At you Tony.” Natasha pitched in.

“Why? Did I invent something before they did?”

“No, Aldrich Killian is the person behind this all.”

“Who’s he?”

“He is a man that asked for your support in his project, and you never pitched when you said you would listen to his idea.”

“And now he wants me dead?”

“Yes,” Natasha said curtly.

“So, let me get this right. He wants me dead because I basically said no to him. Someone raised a spoilt brat.” Tony sighed. “Alright, what’s the plan of action?”

“Considering that the people are genetically modified, they run at a higher temperature and can melt certain metals and other low-heat items. The only known way to get them to stop attacking is either to get their temperature up high enough that they combust or get them into extremely cold temperatures so that they freeze.” Clint explained.

“So, there’s no way to save them?” Steve asked.

“Not one that we have found, however considering that they have been purposefully combusting and essentially bombing places don’t put it past them to explode while fighting them.”

“Alright, Avengers assemble and head out,” Steve said.

---

Harry was halfway through his Maths class when the emergency alarm went off. JARVIS informed them that danger was on the way. His teacher took off from the tower not wanting to be stuck there while Harry was joined by Loki in the elevator on the way down to the bunker.

“Do you know what’s happening?” Harry asked Loki.

“No, I do not. I was with Thor when the avengers were called to gather. JARVIS informed me not long after that I´m supposed to stay with you in the bunker.”
The ride down to the bunker was silent as Harry was lost in his thoughts about what could be going on. He was used to running headfirst into trouble, but his dad and the others were real heroes who had saved the world before. He also knew his dad would be upset if he tried to see what was happening. At least he now seemed to have adults in his life that cared about his well-being.

Their arrival was announced by the ding of the elevator, and Loki ushered Harry to the bunker before placing his own wards on the room.

“What about Apollo and Hedwig?” Harry asked concerned about his familiars.

“I will go fetch them now, you must stay here.” Loki, travelling through the shadows, reached the penthouse in seconds. He could see some of the Avengers in the distance, flying off to battle. He quickly grabbed the two animals before travelling back to the bunker where Harry was pacing. His shoulder’s sagged a little when he saw that Loki held his familiars, but he was still a nervous wreck on the inside. He hoped his dad stayed safe, as well as the others.

Loki could feel the worry seeping out of Harry and suggested they cover some magical theory. Harry was still not allowed to perform any magic for the time being. It distracted him, but not fully, as his mind would wander over to his dad and his safety. The hours seemed to roll on with JARVIS giving updates every half hour.

Loki made them something to eat seeing as how neither of them had had lunch before they had locked themselves in the bunker. Although Harry mostly pushed the food around on his plate, he was grateful that Loki was with him and keeping him entertained. He was definitely his favourite uncle.

They had been in the bunker for just over five hours when Jarvis informed them the Avengers had been victorious and were on their way back to the tower with minimal injuries. Harry raced as quickly as the elevator could move to the penthouse to see his dad flying in, he tackled him in a hug as soon as the suit was off, and Tony had moved away from the landing platform.

“It’s okay son. I’m home now.” Tony said as he returned the hug and felt a wetness where Harry’s face was buried into his chest. The rest of the team gave the pair concerning looks but left them alone. Tony was glad he hadn’t pulled any crazy stunts that he had wanted to, and he was going to be more careful in the future as well.

Chapter Text

Dumbledore was sitting in his office, pondering over what his next move would be. He had been stripped of all his titles but that of headmaster and even then, the school board was not looking at renewing his position in the following year. Things were spiralling out of control. He was not allowed to step foot onto American soil, Snape wasn’t going to get his hands dirty when it came to Harry. If anything, the man seemed more pissed off with him rather than the boy.

He needed to re-assess the assets he had. He could possibly train the Longbottom child to be Harry’s replacement, but the boy had no courage in him. He also needed someone in America to be on his side. He had tried to contact Newt, but all his letters returned unopened. He assumed the man was saving some animal or other, as that was normally the case.

For now, he would just worry about the Dementors circling the school, despite there having been no signs of Sirius Black anywhere. It was like he had vanished into thin air after escaping Azkaban. He had never had so many of his pawns out of his reach, he was frustrated, to say the least.

---

Meanwhile, over at the Avengers tower, everything was back to its normal pace after the battle. Harry had been shaken for a few days after the fight, but he eventually was back to his daily routines. He was going through his work at a faster rate, wanting to learn all that he could to be able to help protect his dad and everyone else.

Harry’s O.W.L.s came around and he breezed through them. They were just waiting for his marks, and his teachers all expected them to be O’s or E’s. He had taken 12 exams as some of his subjects were combined in teaching but still were separate in exams.

His non-magical teachers had also gotten him to agree to take his placement exams in the new year, as he was well caught up with his year group, and even beyond. However, they wanted him to take the exams while everything was still fresh in his mind, and he hadn’t learnt more complicated formulas that would make his exams feel like they were 3rd-grade subjects. Luckily, he could take these exams at any time as long as the request had enough time to go through the government.

Tony and Steve continued to dance around each other, Tony wasn’t going to push Steve so much that the man runs away. However, Steve ever so slowly seemed to be getting it in his head that it was okay to like Tony. There wasn’t any rush for the two.

The search for Bucky was still going on, even with the help of the magical world. The only conclusion that they could come to, was that there was also wizards working with Hydra to keep them concealed. Every time they made a breakthrough with which base they might be hidden at, they would arrive at the base for it to be empty of all life and a mess of the equipment there. They were making progress with Hydra however, with every base raided they found little bits of information of what was going on in their operations. And every base raided was one step closer to finding Bucky.

---

It was now a week into December and the tower had been decorated for Christmas. Harry was amazed with how magical the place felt, yet there hadn’t been any magic involved. It was far more impressive than what Hogwarts did for Christmas. Clint was planning on bringing his family over for the holidays, so he was happy to finally be around children, even if they were younger than him.

He had been keeping up with his training with both Natasha and Clint. He had started to spar with Nat, although with training weapons, as there was no need for blood to be spilt, just the occasional bruise, well there was a lot of bruises. He was lucky if he lasted a minute against the woman, thank Merlin sparing only happened once a week.

Tony was afraid of Harry becoming a little soldier, but Nat had promised him that she would not allow that to happen to her nephew, she was teaching him how to defend himself if anything were to happen. And considering who Harry knew he needed to know how to keep himself safe.

He was stuck on what to get Harry for Christmas, not that he hadn’t already got a room full of presents but none of them were meaningful. Steve had given him the idea of putting a photo album together for him of The Avengers, Tony’s childhood and many photos they now had with Harry.

He was watching Harry and Loki practice magic through one of the cameras in the training room and was amazed by how Loki had taught himself how to speak the snake language just to teach his son magic. So, villains could be reformed, you just had to give them something to focus on that was good for them. Although at times he felt like he was co-parenting with Loki.

He heard someone enter his lab and turned to see Steve standing there. “Spangles you need anything?” Tony asked going back to watch Harry, if it were anyone else, he would have closed the monitor.

Steve moved to stand behind Tony, looking over his shoulder. “Watching Harry again?” Steve said hooking his chin on Tony’s shoulder and turning to look at him. Tony´s face flushed crimson

“Just making sure they aren’t blowing things up again.” Tony stood still. Steve hmmed in response, his eyes not leaving Tony. “So.. Cap-”

“Steve.”

“S-Steve, what’s up?” Tony stuttered. Steve leaned in forward, his cheek flush with Tony’s.

“Just wanted to see what you were doing. Couldn’t get you out of my mind.”

“Not that I’m not loving this newfound confidence, but where’s it come from Spangles?” Tony asked, turning around so he was facing Steve which put his face right in line with his. He could smell Steve, with him being so close.

“Hmm, as scared as I am, I don’t want to miss out on loving someone again. I lost someone once due to my own sacrifice. And face it Tony we’re both self-sacrificing idiots, and I don’t want either of us to regret anything.” Steve said wrapping his arms around Tony’s waist. Their foreheads pressed together.

“So, are you going to kiss me?” Tony placed his arms around Steve’s neck.

“I thought you would never ask,” Steve said before he closed the gap. Their lips pressed together and finally, they could share their feelings with each other. It wasn’t heavy or long. It was gentle and soft, something new, something uncertain, but wanted. Both were smiling into the kiss as their lips softly moved together. There were no fireworks, but it felt right.

Steve pulled away, smiling down at Tony as he smiled back. “Glad you finally grew a pair,” Tony said with a cheeky grin, getting a chuckle out of Steve.

“Do you want to give us a try?”

“You know, I never thought I would date someone who was much older than me, but I have to say I do have daddy issues.”

“Tony!” Steve laughed, “Be serious for a second.”

“Of course Stevie, let’s give us a try, but Harry is my first priority.”

“Don’t worry I wouldn’t expect him to be anything else,” Steve said leaning in again. He was stopped by a bang coming from the monitor behind them.

“I hate to interrupt sir, but Master Harry and Loki seemed to have caused another explosion.

“Thanks J, we’re heading there now.”

Steve watched Tony stumble and all but run out of the lab, he wasn’t far behind, but the elevator was already gone so he took the stairs to the training floor. He got there to see Harry and Loki laughing and Tony out of breath.

“Steve!” Harry said when he spotted the man. “You should have seen it. I never thought a spell for silence would create so much noise.

“That is because you put too much power behind the spell.” Loki scowled.

“I was hoping that if I put more power into it, it would go further.” Harry laughed picking up Apollo who had been sleeping on a pillow.

“Loki?” Tony said as Harry started to have a conversation with Apollo.

“Don’t fret, what he said is true, I was teaching him one of my own spells, a spell to create a barrier around yourself that cancels out any sound. He had it down but tried putting too much power behind it without fully understanding the structure of the spell. It caused no harm besides ringing eardrums, and yes, I have checked him over already.” Tony deflated knowing everything was alright. “I know you watch us, but I didn’t know that the righteous Captain America does as well?”

“I don’t, I was with Tony.” Steve spluttered out.

“Hmmm, doing what? Do I need to be setting up silencing spells around your bedrooms?”

“No, not yet, but we’ll take you up on that offer later,” Tony said hooking an arm around Loki’s shoulder watching the god blush. “Don’t get all shy now, you’re the one who brought it up.” Tony teased Loki.

§“What are they talking about?”§ Harry asked Apollo as his dad was laughing as both Steve and Loki were blushing like little schoolgirls.

§“You do not need to know hatchling, when you reach your maturity, you may know.”§ Apollo said, not wanting to ruin the innocence of his hatchling.

---

“Newt! The Hippogriffs are in heat… Again!” Sirius shouted as he quickly made work through his chores in the Hippogriff paddock. Newt popped his head inside the section the animals were in.

“Indeed, they are, the potions they were being fed must still be in their system. Be quick you don’t want to be chewed by them.”

Sirius was extremely grateful to the older man, but sometimes he questioned sanity of both of them, his own less since he had been getting some help. Sirius quickly left the area and found Newt reading through his letters with a frown on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Sirius asked placing the equipment away.

“Nothing, Dumbledore is trying to contact me again; he still seems unaware that you are a free man.” Newt stopped talking and read another letter. “Uh, I had forgotten to tell you something. I will be taking on a student over the course of the summer.”

“You, taking on a student, that’s unheard of.”

“Yes, but they were insistent, the student is homeschooled in magic, and cannot take care of magical creatures throughout the year. However, he loves the subject and will take his OWL´s after the summer with me.”

“The whole summer? That’s a long time.”

“No only about 4 weeks, it will be the practical applications, anything the boy cannot learn from a book.”

“So, who’s the kid? He must be extremely important for you to take them on.”

“Harry Stark.”

“Huh, no clue who that is. A muggleborn?”

“I am unaware of their blood status.” Newt knew exactly who was going to be his student, he kept up with the muggle news at least, unlike Sirius. But he wasn’t about to let him know that. He wasn’t going to say anything more on the subject until closer to the time, get Sirius’s mental health better. The surprise should also be good for Sirius, maybe for both his student and ward. Mr Stark was aware of Sirius working for him and the relation between Sirius and Harry, as well as the trial that had taken place. He was unaware if Harry knew, but time would tell, he was going to act like a meddlesome grandfather every now and then if he could. It’s not like he had had any children of his own.

---

The next morning Steve and Tony were in the kitchen, drinking coffee. They were still a little awkward around each other, as any new couple would be, especially when one was a single parent. It was still too early for Harry to be awake, and Tony should probably start making breakfast, but he was concerned about his son and Steve could see that.

“What’s the matter?” Steve said leaning on the counter in front of Tony. He was worried that Tony would be regretting the two of them.

“It’s Harry,” Tony said looking into his mug hoping it would give him the answer. Realising he hadn’t fully explained what he meant to Steve when he saw the man had a confused look on his face. “He doesn’t really have any friends his age. I know he has Hermione, but they can’t really talk outside of the holidays, at least not until we can find a way to make technology work around magic all the time. It’s not like here, where the magical items we have we confine them into a tech-free zone. I’m worried that Harry, spending so much time around us old folks and people who have seen too many horrors to last many lifetimes over. That he isn’t developing socially and emotionally like a normal teenager would.” Tony sighed, who knew being a parent would make him question his own life decisions.

“Why not ask him if he wants to join a school next year?” Steve questioned.

“He wants to finish his magical education before he goes into school, and he has about a year left of that, plus I think even within that year, he might overtake the American educational system and not even need to go to school.”

“What about Midtown High, they take in the geniuses of their generation and teach them far beyond any school would?”

“That is probably where he will go, considering we live in here as well. But that is still at least a year away!” Steve took Tony’s mug out of his hands and pulled him into a hug, soothing his back.

“What about a club or sports team or even lessons in a group setting, something that he could do in the afternoons or over the weekend. That would help him make friends his age.” Steve suggested. Tony thought about it for a little while, he had thought about all the wealthy people he knew and if they had any children, but he had scraped that from his mind as soon as he thought of it. He wasn’t going to make Harry suffer through what he had to as a child.

“That’s not a bad idea, I’ll talk to him about it.” Tony grinned up at Steve, who placed a kiss on his forehead.

“Morning,” Harry yawned, walking into the kitchen. The two adults froze, Harry shouldn’t be up already. “You two finally work out your feelings for each other?” Harry grinned at them grabbing a bowl and some cereal, the milk already on the counter. He sat down in the chair he normally sat in, staring at the two as they looked like they had been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

Harry munched away waiting for an answer. When Tony’s brain finally restarted, he broke free from Steve’s grip a slight flush to his face. “You don’t mind us being together?” Tony asked, if Harry didn’t like them together, he would end the relationship.

“As long as you´re happy. I don’t really mind.” Harry said unphased.

“Even about us being men?” Steve asked.

“Steve-io, wizards and witches often date others of the same sex. It helps that you can adopt children and use a potion to make them genetically yours. So be feel free to date who you want to.” Harry would be a hypocrite if he was against it, considering he was pretty sure he was bisexual. “Just don’t hurt my dad and I won’t hurt you.” He said seriously.

“I would never.”

“Good.” Harry went back to eating his now slightly soggy cereal. He just added more into the bowl.

Steve and Tony made some more nutritious breakfast, but Harry was content to just eat the sugar disguised as food in front of him. It wasn’t long before they had all finished and Steve had left to go train, or whatever the excuse had been.

“So kid,” Tony got Harry’s attention. “I’m a little worried about you not having any friends your age.”

“I have Hermione as a friend.” Harry pointed out.

“I know you do, but you can’t really talk or see her while she is at school.”

“But I don’t need any other friends I have everyone here at the tower.”

“I love the fact that you get along with everyone here, but it’s not healthy, we have all seen war and may put our own traumas onto you. I would like you to have friends around your own age who haven’t seen bloodshed like us. That you can hang out with, go waste the weekend away at the mall or something. Not just training here at the tower.”

Harry thought about what his dad had said, and maybe he did have a point. “So what do you suggest then?”

“Well, you could join a sports team, or I could sign you up for a club that does classes or something like karate. Or whatever, I don’t know what is available here for your age group.” There was something Harry wanted to try, he and Nat had spoken about it a lot.

“Could I sign up for dance classes, especially ballet?” Harry really wanted to learn how to fight through dance, and if he could make friends while doing it, why not. He was already too good at archery to want to do actual classes.

“You sure, it’s a tough activity for males to do?” Tony just wanted to be sure.

“Yup, but only after I write my exams next year, I want to make sure I study hard this month.” He was going to make sure he got A plus for all his subjects. He still hadn’t gotten his O.W.L.s back, but they should be in soon.

“Sure, I’ll ask around and find the best place to make friends that aren’t snobs and learn how to dance in multiple styles,” Tony said. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with Nat knowing how to fight in dance style, right?”

“It might…”

“As long as you make some friends, honestly what else can I expect with the assassin twins teaching you.” Tony grinned while he messed Harry’s hair up. “What do you think of my boyfriend?” Tony teased.

“I don’t know, think he could have done better.” Harry teased back, trying to dart away, from his dad. Tony caught him however and Harry squealed as he was thrown over his dad's shoulder like a sack of potatoes, he couldn’t control himself from laughing.

“You want to say that again!” Tony laughed, “You think your old man isn’t all that huh.” Harry was laughing as Tony bounced him around on his shoulder. “I’ll have you know, this old man of yours, still works out and keeps in shape.”

Harry was breathless from all the laughing “I give up.” He eventually got out, Tony placed him back on his feet grabbing him in a headlock and ruffling his hair. “You win, I give up.” Harry laughed. Tony let him go grinning. “Still think Steve could have done better,” Harry pulled tongue at his dad before running to the safety of the elevator, which closed quicker than normal.

“You’re a traitor J!” Tony said grinning to where he knew one of the main cameras sat in the ceiling.

“I must protect my younger brother sir. It is what you programmed me for.” Tony was almost certain that AI of his was laughing.

“Yeah, yeah gang up on the old man.”

“If we are going by date of birth, sir, Captain Rogers would be the oldest in the tower.”

“My own creation and my son, against me, never would I have imagined,” Tony sulked.

“You’ll get over it sir.”

Chapter Text

It was the day before Christmas. Tony and Harry were attending a charity gala in the evening. It would be Harry’s first gala as well. Tony knew he would do well, but he wasn’t so sure about all the tabloids and people there, they were never on their best behaviour. He wished Steve could go with him, but their relationship was still a secret to the outside world. That was definitely going to be a shit show when it got out.

That was for later though, Natasha was giving a rundown on what to do if someone approached Harry with bad intentions. He knew there would be at least three people after whomever wronged Harry, himself included. The stylist would be by soon to fix them up. Harry needed it more than him, his hair was worse than his, it was at an awkward stage of being long but not long enough that the curls sorted themselves out, give it another month and his hair would be sitting above his shoulders by a good inch or two and would be manageable.

“So, if an old man, or anyone for that matter, tries to touch me down there, I pull my knife out or knee them where the sun doesn’t shine?” Harry confirmed with Nat.

“Yup, and you let Tony know so we can take care of the person.”

“What does you taking care of a person imply?”

“Some blood, maybe a little maiming and putting them behind bars, eventually,” Natasha said with a wicked grin on her face.

“What if someone tries something on dad?”

“Then you pull the knife out and threaten them if Tony can’t take care of them.”

“Kiddo I have enough hidden… items on me that people don’t try anything unless I’m drunk, and I haven’t had a sip of alcohol since the attack on New York. So you don’t have to worry about me, but if anyone touches you without your consent outside of a handshake or says anything inappropriate or something you don’t understand you let me know, alright?”

“Okay.”

“Go and have a shower, the stylist will be here soon,” Tony said, trying to get Harry out of the room so he could discuss with Natasha who was going to be following along and keeping watch on Harry. Harry quickly left to take a shower. Tony waited a minute before he turned to Natasha. “Who’s following behind?”

“I will and Clint will be on standby.”

“Good, don’t let anything happen to my kid,” Tony said seriously.

“I won’t. You have my word.”

---

The stylist was busy fussing with Harry’s hair as Tony was getting ready in his room, Natasha was watching over him, when Steve came into his room. Tony finished with his tie as Steve walked up to him straightening it for him. He was dressed in his usual tailored black suit with gold accessories and a red button-up, Iron Man colours. Steve placed a quick kiss on his lips before pulling back.

“You’ll be safe right?” Steve asked.

“Of course.”

“I mean it Tony don’t let anyone take advantage of you or Harry.”

“I’ll have Nat watching us the whole night, but I promise, I won’t let anyone have their way with me. That right is reserved for you.” Tony liked it when Steve blushed.

“Good, and I’ll take you up on that offer in the future but-”

“Yeah, yeah, ‘I’m an old man from the old times and my purity must withstand time.’ I know Spangles, we aren’t rushing into anything. Plus, you haven’t even taken me out on a date yet.” Tony teased, going to leave the room, “But I’m always game to explore our… relationship, if you change your mind.”

“Tony!” Steve went after Tony but didn’t press any further around the stylist who was busy packing up. Harry gave them a side eye as he knew they had been up to something. “You ready for your first gala Harry?” Steve asked.

“As excited as a niffler with no gold.” He said flatly. “But sure, maybe I can terrorise a few old men who think the sun shines from their ar-”

“I’m sure you will have a great time,” Tony cut him off seeing the expression on the stylist. “And thank you for your hard work, J.A.R.V.I.S will pay.”

“Already done sir.”

“Thanks J.” The stylist thanked them before rushing out.

“As I was trying to say, I might try to get a few laughs out of myself talking to some old farts with nothing better to do.” Harry said. “what’s wrong with the word arse?” He asked his dad.

“Don’t need her going to the tabloids saying how horrible a father I am for letting my kid have a potty mouth, can I? I never heard the end of it from my old man.”

“So what, I just can’t say anything remotely rude?” It was going to be a very boring evening if he couldn’t.

“You can, just not where someone with a camera, a dictaphone, or a notepad is standing. Or at least do it in a way that doesn’t seem offensive to the average Joe.”

“Gotcha. Are we ready to go, I rather get this thing over and done with.”

“You and me both kid, but yes, Happy should have our car ready.” Harry headed towards the elevator, waiting for his dad who quickly kissed Steve goodbye and gave Natasha a look that probably meant, ‘You better do what you said,’ or at least that is what he guessed the look meant.

---

Harry was dressed in a matching black suit but had a green button-up on instead of red. Although he would have been fine in red, he also didn’t want to completely match his dad either. So, he had let Loki pick out his shirt. He was standing around the food table as Tony had left him 10 minutes ago to talk science with whoever had introduced themselves. There had been so many people he had spoken to; he was not enjoying it. He was texting Hermione, who bless her soul was staying up to listen to his complete and utter nonsense. Someone cleared their throat in front of him, he looked up to see another teenager.

“Uh hi, I’m uh Harry.” The stranger said. He had dirty blonde hair that fell across one of his eyes, which were an ice blue with grey around the edges. He was taller than Harry, maybe a year or two older. He stuck his hand out in greeting.

“Nice to meet ya Harry, I’m Harry.” He grinned, shaking the others hand, “Harry Stark to be accurate.

“Harry Osborn, nice to meet you too Harry. Mind if I call you Stark? Otherwise, this might get a bit confusing.”

“Only if I can call you Osborn.”

“You’ve got yourself a deal,” Osborn said. “You also get dragged to this gala?”

“Yup, my dad said it was better for my first gala to be a charity one on Christmas Eve. I think he just didn’t have anyone else to bring with him.”

“You're lucky, my first gala was the annual brag fest that takes place in July, it’s supposed to be about raising funds for the poor, but they all aim for the top spot of biggest donation. And I’m not just talking about money. I hear half the time, the charities have to sell the donations because they are of no use to them.

“It’s really that bad?” Harry asked.

“Yup, rich people love to show their wealth, no matter who it is. Your dad’s one of the nice ones, might throw his money around a bit, but he actually cares about the people. My dad’s on the other end of the spectrum though.” Osborn sighed.

“We’re you from Osborn?” Harry asked.

“I used to live in New York, but we moved to Florida a few years back. Still got a place up here. You’re from the UK, right?”

“Yeah, lived there my whole life until a few months ago. Don’t miss the weather that’s for sure.”

“Hmm, I got to go,” Osborn said looking over at a man who looked sickly, calling him over. It was nice meeting you Stark, let me know if you ever want to hang out.” He said slipping him a piece of paper he had written his number on before heading off.

Harry thought he was alone again before he saw his dad rushing over, a flat look on his face. Although he brightened up when he got near. He glanced upwards at the old skylight to see Natasha creeping along it with what looked to be a gun in her hand, it was too high up to be sure.

“Harry,” Tony said as his dad placed his arm around him. “Hope you enjoyed yourself, I know I surely didn’t. Let’s get going why don’t we? We’ve said enough pleasantries, and dropped a few thousand into the donation bin.” Tony rambled off as a man waltzed up to them, outside of his dad’s view.

“Tony, so good to see you here. Thought you weren’t coming after the last gala.” The man said placing an arm around his dad’s shoulder. He watched his dad visibly tense up.

“Hammer, I thought it was you who wasn’t going to show your face after the last time you paid your way out of prison.”

“Tony, Tony, it’s not my fault that my company does things without me knowing.” Harry could tell the man was lying, it was obvious. “Now, who is this here, this isn’t your bastard son is it?”

Harry watched as the muscles in his dad’s hand strained and he forced himself not to act. “Don’t know where that rumour is coming from, but my son is not a bastard, unlike you. You don’t get to talk to my kid Hammer, not unless he speaks to you first.” His dad said placing himself in front of him to protect him. Harry’s phone buzzed in his pocket, and he fished it out to see a message from Nat telling him to get his dad out of there before things got ugly.

Tony felt a tug at his sleeve and turned his head slightly to see Harry with a worried expression. He let out a breath of air, putting on his business smile “Hammer as much as this has been… pleasant, we were on our way home. So, if you don´t mind, we’ll be excusing ourselves.” He grabbed Harry’s arm and loosely led them out of the venue and to where Happy had the car ready and waiting.

It had already been a stressful evening introducing Harry to everyone, and despite all Harry’s complaining, he had been on his best behaviour. He was worried when Norman’s child had gone over to Harry, but they had seemed to get along, so he was fine with that. The kid was much better than his father.
“What’s wrong dad?” Harry asked as they slid into the car.

“Hammer, he’s not a nice guy. He is trying to fill the space I left in the weapons market, but he is doing more harm than good. When I saw him, I had to leave, he does bad things and pays his way out of it. Avoid him if you can.” Tony explained as Happy drove a block down before stopping to let Natasha in.

Tony was mostly silent on the way back, as he was too tense to make conversation, but Harry and Nat chatted. She was telling Harry what she had seen while spying on them. Harry spoke about all the boring old people, but he had met one interesting person, Norman’s son. Maybe Harry would surprise him and make a lot of friends, he had assumed that he didn’t know how to make friends, from the stories he had heard. He could be wrong. He had hoped it was more situational circumstances than Harry. Time will tell.

---

Tony marched into Harry’s room, Jingle bells blaring in the background. He had a Santa hat on and was ready to wake up the Tower. He was surprised Harry was still asleep as he remembered getting up early on Christmas morning. He has never been a man of religion and probably never will be, but the Stark family had always celebrated Christmas at a commercial level.

Harry was not impressed to be woken up by his dad bouncing around and singing along to jingle bells in his room. He glanced at his clock and saw it was barely six in the morning, he enjoyed Christmas, he really did, ever since he had gone to Hogwarts, he had started to like the holiday, but he also liked his sleep. Although he would laugh at it later seeing his dad in such high spirits.

“Merry Christmas!” His dad said when he spotted him awake, a wild grin on his face. Before marching out of his room and the loud music following him.

“Good morning, Harry. It would seem sir is on a war path this morning, and there was nothing I could do to stop him.” J.A.R.V.I.S said.

“It’s alright J, just up a little earlier than expected.” Harry sighed, not wanting to get out of the warmth of his bed. There was a cold nip in the air despite the heaters being on.

“You’ll find that there is breakfast ready and waiting, and I have been requested to delay melting the frost and snow off from the building. Something about the Christmas spirit.”

“Thanks J, I’ll head down in a few minutes.” Harry willed himself to get out of bed, but he wasn’t getting out of his pj’s for this. He slipped into slippers and headed downstairs. His dad wasn’t anywhere to be heard, so he assumed the man was waking up the rest of the inhabitants in the Tower. Harry made himself some hot chocolate allowing himself a moment of silence as he ate in peace before he heard the music coming from the elevators and a group of half-awake or ready-to-kill Avengers stepping out.

Harry followed the group into the lounge where they all took up various places on the couches or on the floor. Harry was sitting next to Steve who looked about ready to fall asleep, while his dad played present fairy handing out all the gifts. And at least there weren’t as many presents then there had been his birthday.

He got the customary clothes with the different Avenger’s logo’s, and new games he hadn’t gotten for his different gaming stations before. Lots of chocolate and some other miscellaneous items. He had received a book from Hermione about all known heroes and their stories. He was surprised when he saw a gift from Neville. It contained a letter saying they must keep in touch and a plant he was going to have to research later. He had gotten a box of chocolates from the twins and a knitted jersey from Mrs Wesley that was red with a gold H. He hadn’t gotten anything from Ron, he hoped their friendship would be alright in the future.

“And finally, a gift from all of us,” Tony said handing over the last present. Harry carefully peeled the wrapping paper away, as he had with all his presents. What he saw was a rather large and full photo album. He paged through it slowly, smiling as he saw it contained photographs of him and his makeshift family he now had. He hadn’t realised any of the photos had been taken. He also saw some photos of people he didn’t recognise. “Those are your grandparents, and that’s Jarvis and me. He was the family butler.” Tony explained.

“Thank you,” Harry said placing the book down and hugging his dad. “Thank you, everyone, it really means a lot.” He was still hugging his dad when he felt Steve shift behind him and join in on the hug. It didn’t take long before it turned into a group hug involving everyone in the room, even if it was a bit awkward with all the different angles everyone was at.

They were soon huddled around the kitchen island, all eating breakfast. Harry sent off a message to Hermione, he hoped she liked her present. He sent Osborn a message as well, they had texted a little last night, and the other boy was 2 years older than him. Tony seemed to have calmed down from his Christmas high and was now enjoying his second cup of coffee since they had all sat down. Harry definitely wasn’t complaining about having breakfast again, it was not like he ate much the first time around.

Chapter Text

So, I am planning on starting to write again, my first semester is almost finished, just have an exam left in June. And I should start work soon, it had taken forever to find a job, but I shall be teaching online.

But the problem is, I can't actually remember the whole story, so I am going to go through the chapters, maybe fix grammar, update some things, or change things depending on if it fits with the direction of this story. The good news is, that I will start updating again, updates will probably be slow just with all the responsibilities I have. But my heart is longing to write again, and not another academic essay on education philosophy or research methods.

When my editing gets up to the author's notes I will remove them, so you might want to reread from the beginning, but I will leave a note if I make huge changes that affect the story.

Have a great rest of the week everyone!

Chapter Text

Hey, everyone. So I have been busy updating the chapters. I think I got up to chapter 4, busy with the next one. I just started working so I don't have as much free time as I used to, especially with teaching, any teacher will know all the extra hours that are needed.

I don't know if you receive an update when I edit a chapter, I'm not adding a new chapter so I'm not sure. So my question for you is, I can either remove all the chapters I have edited and add them as I edit or add the edited chapters after the old chapters and delete the corresponding chapter as I upload. Or I can continue with what I've been doing.

Or if you have other suggestions let me know, cause as I have been writing, there are some things I want to change.

Chapter Text

Okay, so after reading the comments, and doing some testing on my side, sorry to the people who are following me as an author and not just the work.
For the time being, I'm going to leave the original chapters up and then when I get to the updated chapter, I will add it as a new chapter, and remove the previous version. Because sometimes it is just simple grammar changes and other times I change things around, but I'm not trying to change the overall plot. It's just that when I'm reading through, that I want to add or remove some minor things (or things don't make sense... to me at least).
So this way you'll get the updates, the other chapters that are yet to be updated will be up, and I don't have to turn this into a series, because I don't want to.... at least not yet.

Also on that note, I'm almost finished with the next chapter, which I have changed somewhat, just moved some things around. And one very minor plot change, that probably won't even be noticed.

Chapter Text

The comments were loud and clear, I'm turning this into a series.
The first 5 parts are up, the next chapter should be up shortly, just need to read through it and edit it.