Congratulations, it's a boy! - darkest_ambition - Harry Potter (2024)

Chapter 1: I want to stay

Chapter Text

•°•CHAPTER 1°•°

I want my parents, Harry thought with an intense childish need to be taken care of and loved, for once in his stupid horrible life. Especially as the ghosts of James and Lily dangled in front of his face like a very appealing bait. I want to stay with them, Harry begged. Please, let me stay with my parents.

"Grab the portkey, Harry. It will take you away, to safety," Lily's spirit urged him and Harry furiously shook his head, despite knowing he was being stupid.

Knowing that he had to go, or this connection will break and Voldemort will kill him. It was his only chance to escape.

"I want to stay with you," Harry pleaded. Please, let me stay with you. Don't tell me to go.

He wouldn't survive seeing his parents for such a brief moment and then never seeing them again. Losing them, again.

Not even having the time to ask them anything. Not even goodbye.

"You cannot, Harry." James smiled sadly at him. "You must go. We cannot hold this up much longer. You can do it, son. We believe in you."

"But-"

"Go, darling," Lily urged. "And live long. Now!"

With his heart breaking, Harry extended his hand towards the portkey, summoning it to him, even though he wished he could stay with his parents wholeheartedly, and he broke the connection.

"Harry, bri-"

He didn't hear what Cedric had to say over Voldemort's screaming, his parents cheering him on.

His fingers clasped around the cup, and Harry felt the familiar feeling of a hook pulling at his navel, and Harry was gone.

Only he didn't know that magic would listen to his pleas and in turn, change the portkey's coordinates into one's no one could have foreseen.

Harry landed on a hard surface. Which was weird, because it didn't feel like the front of the maze where he was supposed to land.

Not only that, it was so bloody bright and it made Harry reluctant to even open his eyes, in fear of hurling.

His body was one big throbbing wound.

His head was spinning. He wanted to pass out.

But he had to see where the f*ck he was.

"Who the hell are you and how did you get in here?" An angry male voice shouted at him, and Harry jumped, scrambling back, pointing his wand at the man that was pointing... something at him.

"Who- who are you? Where am I?" Harry managed to get out, ignoring just how bad his hand was shaking.

sh*t.

His adrenaline fueled energy will eventually run out and then he'll be in deep sh*t. He has to get out of here, and fast.

"Are you one of his?" Harry accused, sneering. "What? One kidnapping wasn't enough? Wanted to get me somewhere private to kill me?! That's not f*cking happening!"

Harry blindly shot a stupefy, turning to run somewhere, when he noticed a view out of the window.

A skyline.

Sun still high in the sky, when it was a bloody night when he touched the portkey. What was going on?

Oh, and he was in a f*cking skyscraper. He'll have to run a sh*tton of stairs to get out. Just great.

"Hey! Wait, kid, I'm not going to hurt you!"

Harry shot another spell at the man, hearing him cursing as he ran towards what seemed to be an elevator.

Well, ran as much as he could, considering his leg hurt like hell and he was leaving splotches of blood on the man's pristine floor.

Whoops.

"Kid!"

Harry turned to see that none of his spells hit the man, unfortunately. He raised his wand and shot another stupefy, when he rammed painfully into something solid.

Or someone.

"What the hell, Stark? You're beating up kids now?" A voice asked, and Harry's panic shot to unseen levels.

There were two of them and one of him.

He scrambled back, but the man caught him in an unrelenting grip, and Harry couldn't move.

This was bad.

Really f*cking bad.

Like being tied to a tombstone and being bled dry, bad.

"Let go of me, you filthy Death Eater," Harry snarled, stomping hard on the man's leg.

The man's grip relented only slightly, but it was good enough for Harry to get some leverage and blast the stranger off.

He needed to get out. Now.

This place wasn't safe.

He was trapped.

"Listen, kid, why don't you calm down-"

"Get the f*ck out of my way," Harry pointed his wand at the first man, and continued on his way to the elevator. He was irked to see the other man coming up as well, seemingly completely fine.

f*ck, his magic should've kept him away for longer.

But he didn't dare risk any illegal spells. His wand could easily be checked and he'd be in for it.

"What's your name, kid?" The second man asked.

Harry snorted. "As if you don't know. Or what? Did your Master forget to supply the names of people you're kidnapping? Not important enough to share the details, huh? What a shame. Tell him to go f*ck himself when he shows up, because I'm not bloody staying."

As if on cue, the lift dinged and opened.

However, Harry wasn't expecting anyone to be inside the bloody thing, and he certainly didn't expect to be suddenly grabbed and held down, as something was stabbed into his neck.

Oh sh*t-

"Wha- let go of me- you filthy- nno-"

Harry tried to fight, he tried to curse those bastards, and stay awake, but the darkness was unforgiving and all-consuming.

He was gone within seconds.

The last thing Harry felt was strong arms catching him as he fell.

Chapter 2: Magical DNA, anyone?

Chapter Text

°•°CHAPTER 2•°•

Tony Stark's life was full of surprises and nasty shocks, but never in his entire life had a teenager just teleported inside of his own f*cking house and proclaimed him the kidnapping party.

The audacity-

To be frank, the kid looked like sh*t.

His clothes torn, he was bloody all over and probably had a concussion, considering just how unsteady he was.

However, his whole posture screamed I'm under attack and you are a threat!

The kid looked like a hurt caged animal.

He was frantic.

Panicked.

Looking for any way to escape, and no matter what Tony had said, the kid wasn't listening.

He was clearly in a fight or flight mode, and he was doing both, while continuously insulting him.

Tony was pretty sure, even if half the things didn't make much sense.

He quickly shot Bruce a message to come up immediately and bring up a syringe with a sedative. That it was an emergency.

And it was, considering the kid had some sort of stick in his hand and kept shooting laser beams at him.

He even managed to blast Cap off of him, which was something, considering how scrawny the boy was and that Cap was more than capable to withstand sh*t that most people could only dream of. He was a human terminator.

Thankfully, Bruce was already on his way, and the boy was clearly too out of it to notice when Banner came up behind him and jabbed a needle into his neck.

"Why the f*ck a bloody teenager is an emergency, Tony?" Banner asked while Cap caught the now unconscious kid, lifting him up with no strain.

"He literally appeared in the middle of my room, looking like that - no, I didn't beat him up - but someone else did. We need to find out what's going on."

"He needs medical attention, Stark. Like, immediately."

Tony nodded.

"And I need answers. This whole thing doesn't make any sense."

"And you can figure it out once we're sure the kid stays breathing," Cap, the good samaritan, said with a slight urgency in his voice.

"Fine," Tony snapped. "Bring him in."

They walked hastily to the medical wing, as others dubbed it, but really, it was just one of his labs that happened to have more medical equipment than others.

Cap laid the boy down onto the examination table, and winced.

"Good god, what happened to him?" Even Bruce looked shocked.

"No idea. Jarvis?"

"Scanning, sir."

Tony grabbed the scissors, cutting off the boy's sleeve, then moved to the leg-

"Shouldn't we be calling an actual doctor?" Bruce asked. "I'm not that kind of doctor, Tony. I know some basic first aid, not how to- to put back together a kid who seems to be bleeding all over. "

Tony rolled his eyes. "She's on her way. But I doubt there's anything we cannot fix."

"The child seems to have some abrasions on the back of his head, but I cannot determine whether it will result in concussion or not," Jarvis spoke up. "There are various contusions, but the most serious injuries seem to be on his left forearm: the cut requires sterilization and stitches, but doesn't seem to have hit any arteries. His leg is in more dire condition. Sprained and swollen ankle, which I recommend cooling. However, the wound on his leg seems almost like a bite. It pertains to bone and I sense since fractures on tibia and fibula, which requires medical intervention. I would heavily suggest a tetanus shot and antibiotics as well."

"In other words, Tony, a doctor."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's stop the bleeding and get an IV in first. Perhaps a blood test wouldn't hurt either, if that's really a bite."

The men set off to work until Tony's team could arrive and take over, discussing what transpired at the same time.

"He was certain that we kidnapped him. I sense a story behind this."

"We'll ask him once he's awake and more... sane. He was clearly in pain and scared," Captain said, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Do you think someone kidnapped him and he somehow got here?"

Tony snorted. "No one can just get into my tower, Cap. And he quite literally teleported into the room. Maybe he's from Asgard?"

"Should we try to get ahold of Thor?" Bruce suggested.

"I don't see why not. Wouldn't hurt. Oh, the team's here."

Tony graciously allowed his medical team to take over, telling Jarvis to share all of the findings, and vacated the room. He wouldn't be much help there anyway.

"What's that?"

Cap picked up a trophy.

"Kid brought it with him. So sorry, didn't have time to examine it while that lunatic child started shooting laser beams at me."

"Harry Potter, the Tri-Wizarding Tournament Champion," Captain read out loud with a confused frown on his face.

"The what champion?"

"Tri-Wizarding Tournament."

"What the hell does that mean? Jarvis?"

"... I've got nothing, sir."

"Run the name Harry Potter."

The AI was silent for a long moment.

"Sir, the only results of Harry Potter that match the boy's description I found were from Surrey, England."

"England? How did the kid get here? Was he truly kidnapped?" Bruce asked worriedly.

"We should contact Director Fury," Captain said firmly. "I feel that this is more complicated that we thought."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Shut up. Jarvis? What else?"

"Harry Potter, 14 years old. Living with his maternal aunt and uncle, Petunia and Vernon Dursley after his parents were killed in an accident when he was one year old. There are primary school records going up until the age 11. After that, there's nothing."

Tony startled. "What do you mean, nothing? No other school listed?"

"No, sir. It's like he simply vanished."

Tony was left disturbed.

Was Harry a victim? Truly kidnapped by some psycho? Held captive until he escaped and somehow got into his tower?

There's absolutely no way a child his age wouldn't be enrolled in school. And that would leave a trace, even if the boy was homeschooled.

Something shady was going on. Especially with that weird tournament thing.

And the kid clearly was terrified, in full belief someone out there was going to kill him.

Tony was many things, but even he knew that wasn't a normal fear for a child to have.

"Sir? Doctor Cheilang is asking for your assistance."

"What could it be for them to need you there?" Cap asked, but Tony simply hurried off back into the medical wing.

He winced once he saw the boy - Harry - hooked up on all of the medical equipment. He was never a fan of children or hospitals and seeing a child like this left Tony with an uncomfortable feeling in his chest.

"What's wrong?"

"We found unidentified venom in his bloodstream. We've never seen anything like it before, especially considering the size of the bite."

"What is it doing?"

"We're unsure, but it's likely preventing blood from clotting. We've noticed the boy's blood is having a hard time doing it by itself, and if it were a clotting disorder, he'd be dead by now. Since he's not awake, we can't tell much else."

"Give me his blood. We can try to match a venom or make an antidote if possible. If not, it's better to know what it does anyway."

With a vial of blood in his hands, Tony told Jarvis to send Bruce to his lab immediately.

"We'll try to make antivenom if we can't find a match. The kid was poisoned by something they've never seen."

Bruce looked properly horrified. "Good god. And I thought it couldn't get any worse."

"Yeah, yeah. First, let's see what the f*ck does it even do. Come on, Banner, this will be fun."

In the end, there was nothing they could do.

It was nothing they've ever seen before. The closest thing would be a spider bite, but it was simply ridiculous. The gash on Harry's leg was huge and the amount of venom in his system… it couldn't have been a spider.

At least they knew some of the venom's properties now and could help alleviate any symptoms that may arise.

"Makes the victim disoriented. Slows down blood clotting. That's all we noticed. There might be long term effects, but that's all we could gather in such a short time." At least it wasn't lethal. Yet. "How's the boy?"

The doctor nodded. "Good. He'll be fine. We're still giving him blood transfusion and oxygen, but he shouldn't need those by tomorrow. He'll need some painkillers and antibiotics, and if he's careful not to get his wounds infected, he'll be back to normal in a few weeks. Maybe a month. Depending on how he heals and if there aren't any lingering effects from the poison or concussion. We can't do anything for his leg until the wound is healed. His right fibula and tibia are fractured, but don't require a surgery, just a cast. We've left it in a temporal open cast for now, it would be best if the boy didn't move and aggravate his leg further," doctor Cheilang continued on, while Tony was meticulously taking notes… in his head. If he forgot something, there was always Jarvis to remind him of stuff. "And... well, we didn't notice anything that could be causing it, perhaps the head injury, but the boy seems to have constant tremors. Something to be looked into if it doesn't pass. I'd say nerve or muscle damage, but there's no way to know for sure now. At first I thought it was the beginning of a seizure, but his levels were normal."

"Perhaps poison?" But that didn't make sense, the rats they tested it on had no such effect.

"Perhaps. We cannot tell."

"That's great. That you, doc. Your payment is already wired."

Even with all the answers, Tony Stark was left even more confused.

He had no idea what happened to this boy, but it certainly wasn't anything normal or ordinary.

Good thing he loved mysteries.

Harry woke up disoriented.

He woke up feeling like sh*t.

His body felt stiff, his head was filled with cotton, and he could feel some distant uncomfortable pain that meant he was on some heavy painkillers.

Madam Pomfrey never shied away from drugging him.

But what has he done to feel so utterly terrible?

Harry tried to remember.

Why was his head so fuzzy?

Hopefully not a concussion. He hated those.

Harry groaned and forced his eyes open, seeing nothing but a blur.

f*cking hell, he needed to fix his eyesight. Somehow.

There surely must be a potion. They were magical, for f*cks sake. Even muggles had surgeries to fix sh*tty eyesight.

If Malfoy knew just how behind some things wizards were, he'd drop dead.

Harry blindly reached out and cast a wandless accio, his glasses zooming into his hand immediately.

He put them on, frowning as he felt something pinch inside of his arm.

Harry looked around, shocked to see unfamiliar surroundings. Unfamiliar medical room.

The… bed, or whatever this was, might be comfortable, but where the f*ck was he?!

And why- why the f*ck were there muggle medical devices on him?!

Harry's eyes widened at the IV inside of his arm. And something under his nose.

Oxygen tube?

What the f*ck.

What the f*ck!?

"Ah, finally, you're awake."

Harry jumped, startled, jarring his injuries. He didn't quite manage to subdue the painful whimper that escaped his lips.

"Whoa, whoa! Calm down. We just patched you up, don't go undoing all our hard work now, kid. Doctor Cheilang will not be merciful."

"Wh-where am I? Who are you?"

"Tony Stark at your service."

Harry blinked at the man, frowning at the clear expectation on the stranger's face.

"What, doesn't ring any bells?"

Harry shook his head, making the room spin. "Should it?" He narrowed his eyes. "How did I-" Harry froze as his fuzzy head started comprehending memories. Somewhat. "You kidnapped me!"

"I did no such thing!" Tony shrieked, then snorted, seemingly pulling himself back together, realizing a bit too late that he was the adult in this situation, and should probably act like it. "You appeared in the middle of my living room, all bloody, hurt and out of your mind, and started fighting me!"

Harry's eyes widened.

Did he?

His memories were rather fuzzy.

He... he met his parents. He wanted to stay with them. He didn't want to let them go, even if he knew they were mere specters and not a real thing. But he was so sick of being all alone all the time, with no one to stand by him and protect him.

He just wanted a parent.

And then he grabbed the portkey... and appeared in this man's house? And not back in Hogwarts?

It didn't make any sense.

"Are you a Death Eater?" he accused, watching the man closely to decipher his reaction, but the stranger seemed confused. Not deceitful.

"I enjoy many cuisines, kid, but death isn't one of them."

Harry stared.

"So you... you don't work for Voldemort?" He just had to make sure, because even though everything seemed muggle, this could all just be an illusion. A trick for him to feel safe and spill all of his secrets. Merlin knows people would go great lengths to get rid of him.

And one thing that never failed to pinpoint a wizard in a crowd was the mention of Voldemort’s name. So bloody useful.

"Volde- who? Are you concussed? f*ck, I should've checked earlier-"

"I'm fine!" Harry shouted, backing away when the man started approaching. Not that he could actually get anywhere; he was in this man's- Tony Stark's - house. And his leg was in some joke of a cast; he could barely move it.

The man thankfully froze and didn't come any closer.

"You are not fine, kid. You look like you've been attacked. Mind telling me what happened?"

Harry calmed down slightly when the muggle stayed away. He didn't want anyone to touch him.

Harry carefully considered his situation, trying to stomp away the panic that was making him irrational.

He was being given medical attention.

The man didn't hurt him. In fact, was trying to appear as non-threatening as possible.

He wasn't served on a platter to Voldemort or any other lunatic wizard… so far.

The man didn't seem to know him.

He... he felt safe.

And Harry trusted his magic to warn him of a threat.

Currently it was saying that this Tony Stark was a safe person. His magic was calm.

It was weird.

Harry was never truly safe anywhere. Ever. Not even at Hogwarts, where he was supposed to be protected and was constantly attacked by everyone. Even teachers.

Quite frankly, considering all the sh*t he had to survive at Hogwarts, he was much safer at the Dursleys. At least they couldn't just burn him into a crisp or- or force him to be around soul sucking demons, werewolves or bloody basilisks.

How f*cking ironic he'd be safer in a house he always felt like dying in than a place he loved.

But how did he get here?

Where was here?

"Tell me where am I first."

Tony nodded. "You're in New York." Harry's eyes bulged out. "In the Stark Tower. Just popped out of nowhere in my living room. Quite a skill you got there, kid."

New York.

He somehow managed to f*ck up bad enough to end up on the other side of the ocean.

What the f*ck.

How?

Perhaps he was dreaming or hallucinating, because quite frankly, Harry wasn't sure this was real.

Or perhaps Voldemort did manage to land a killing curse and he was living in a very confusing afterlife.

"Are you from Asgard?"

"What?" That was the most absurd question Harry’s ever heard. Maybe whatever drugs Stark gave him caused him to have auditory hallucinations. He's heard it could happen.

"Asgard." Tony stated again, waiting for Harry to react to the name, getting increasingly more frustrated when the kid's gaze remained blank. "You know? The place Thor and Loki keep popping up from?"

"Are you suggesting that Norse mythology gods just keep popping up on Earth? Yeah right."

The man was giving him a very weird look.

Harry felt like an idiot for some reason. This was bizarre, even for him.

"Have you been living under a rock, kid? You haven't heard anything about them?" Harry shook his head. "And me?"

"What about you?"

"You've never heard my name?"

Harry shook his head, confused beyond reason.

It sounded familiar, perhaps something he overheard on the telly during the summer, but it's not like he was allowed to watch anything.

Despite growing up in the muggle world, Harry was almost completely ignorant of it.

"Do you never watch TV? Jesus. Most kids can't stay away from that thing."

"No? So sorry, my relatives preferred me as far away from them as possible. Watching telly was never on the list of things I was allowed to do, you see. Merlin forbid I feel the slightest bit of joy."

Tony looked at him sharply.

"Oh? Should we contact your relatives to come get you?"

Harry's heart rate picked up instantly, panic overtaking him before he could control himself.

"No!"

"They must be worried."

"Trust me, they're not."

"Hm... what was that about kidnapping then?"

Harry clamped up.

He felt like he was walking into a trap.

He... this man must be a muggle. Even though he knew of literal Norse Gods, if he was to be believed, he had no idea who Harry was and everyone has heard of him. Everyone.

And he was asking weird questions. Harry didn't like it.

He should get in touch with MACUSA.

They'd help him.

Question was, how?

He had no way to send a letter.

They didn't use phones, not that he'd know their numbers if they did.

He was f*cking trapped.

Harry didn't know what to do.

And why did he appear in Tony's house? Wasn't he supposed to go back to Hogwarts?

His mom said 'it will take you to safety'.

Was this place safe?

Did they influence the portkey?

Everything was so confusing...

"Hey, kid. Don't worry too much, okay? You're still healing."

"Why did you mention the Norse gods before?"

Tony shifted uncomfortably.

"Well... you did kind of teleport right in and... shoot some laser beams at me. Managed to blast off Captain without even touching him. Say whatever you want, kid, but it sounds like magic to me."

Harry's face lost all remaining colour and his throat suddenly closed up.

He vaguely heard the machine next to him going crazy, the man shouting something, but Harry couldn't get any air into his lungsband his ears were ringing.

Everything was a little bit fuzzy after that.

Harry closed his eyes, wondering if he'll be thrown into Azkaban for exposing magic to muggles, when something was forced onto his face and he felt the cold air hit him.

His arm became abnormally cold, too, but Harry couldn't care less at the moment.

His heart started slowing down and instead of buzzing, Harry could finally make out a shushing, albeit frantic voice of Stark, telling him to breathe in and out, slowly, while he was certain a hand was running through his hair.

It was weird.

But nice.

It was comforting.

No one had ever comforted him.

"Just like that. Deep breaths, alright? You're doing good, kiddo."

Harry was doing terrible.

What was wrong with him?!

He blinked his eyes open, hating that they were teary and the man saw him like this.

Weak.

Vulnerable.

Harry hated this.

"Hey, I'm sorry for whatever I said that made you freak out. Was it… magic?" Tony hesitated, searching out Harry's face for a reaction. "It was jarring to learn about it for me too, as a man of science. It doesn't make any sense or follow the laws of physics, which is annoying. But it's there, and there are sorcerers and gods, and f*ck knows what else, so… it's nothing to freak out about, kid, even if it may seem scary."

Harry gulped.

He stared.

This man already knew about magic.

Harry wasn't going to be arrested.

Thank f*ck.

Question was, how much did Stark know? Could he get in contact with the MACUSA and get him back to England?

Although… Harry frowned, school was over, right? He'd be forced directly back to Dursleys for the summer if he went back.

Harry would do anything to avoid those filthy, good for nothing, bigoted fools.

Maybe this Tony could help him.

Harry may have been sorted into Gryffindor upon his own insistence, but Harry was slytherin at heart.

Even if his own ambition was his survival and getting as far away from the Dursleys as possible.

And now that he had a chance to miss a summer of suffering and slavery..? He'd be an idiot not to use it.

"I'm fine," he rasped out, lifting his hand to pull away the mask from his face that Tony put on while he was busy freaking out, but Tony held it firmly in place.

"You're a picture of health, kid. Leave that be. It's there to help you."

Harry rolled his eyes.

Stark better not be a male embodiment of Madam Pomfrey.

"Is there anyone I could call for you?" Tony offered again.

Harry shook his head.

"Your parents must be worried sick."

"They're dead."

"Oh? What happened?"

"An insane murder. Wanted to kill me, but my parents wouldn't move out of his way. They died protecting me."

Tony's eyes shone with pain and Harry couldn't bear to look at him.

It's like the man was relating to him, which was ridiculous.

"I'm sorry that happened. What about your guardians?"

"I already said no. Trust me, they'll be glad I'm not… coming back for the summer."

He should find out where Gringotts is, convert a sh*tton of galleons to dollars and disappear into the muggle world. Perhaps he could pay Stark to keep him here.

He doubted wizards would go near anyone who supposedly knew Norse Gods.

And who in their right mind would start looking for him in the States?

"What, they don't like you, kid?"

"Oh, they love me and all the work I do for them. It's like I'm a bloody house elf."

"A what?"

Harry faltered. f*ck.

"Uh… it's a slang. Nevermind. When can I leave?"

Tony stared incredulously.

"Leave? No, kid, you're staying here until I make sure you're healthy again."

…what?

"Why? I'm not your problem. I'm not just going to stay here and be a burden."

Tony sighed.

"You're not a burden. You're simply a kid, most likely running from a bad situation, and need some help. That's it."

Harry was dumbfounded. Was this man serious?

"Fine. But I'll pay you. When I can get to a bank and uh… convert some money."

Tony started laughing, and Harry found himself out of his depth again.

"You truly have no idea who I am, huh?" Harry raised a brow, clearly asking Tony if he was insane and if he was supposed to know every damn muggle that roams this earth. "I'm Tony Stark, kid, and I'm loaded. Probably the richest person you're ever going to meet, and I'm not about to take money from an injured teenager. Relax. I spend more on lunch than I did on you."

Harry felt breathless again.

It did ease his guilt to know Tony was loaded, but he still couldn't believe just how agreeable Tony seemed to be.

Anyone else would be hauling his ass not only to his relatives, but to the authorities too. Especially considering Tony was an adult and adults seemed to either mistrust him or hate him on default.

Did he just… luck out?

For once in his life?

What an odd concept.

Certainly not one Harry’s overly familiar with.

The kid was too exhausted to stay awake after their chat, which was fine by Tony.

He had a lot of information to digest and compare, and things weren't adding up.

For example, the supposed murder of Harry's parents.

Jarvis said it was a car crash. Harry insisted on it being a murder.

And he was certain the kid wasn't lying.

And how the hell he could have no idea who Tony is was a mystery. Everyone and their dog knew about him, even if vaguely.

I mean, the kid offered him money.

It was simply ridiculous.

But why did he freak out when Tony mentioned magic?

Was he threatened badly by someone because of magic? It wasn't like it was news: Thor and Loki were magical and had their own fanbase going nuts awaiting their return to Earth. Another kid with magic shouldn't be that much of a difference.

However… Loki was the most prominent magic user Tony knew of.

Did he have something to do with the kid? They did look quite similar… both had black hair and unusually green eyes.

Tony's eyes widened. That better not be Loki's son.

Jesus f*cking Christ, it better not be-

"JARVIS!" Tony bellowed. "We need to get in contact with Thor. This is a bloody emergency. Tell- tell Bruce to try and get a hold of him. In fact-"

Tony felt like an idiot for doing this, but this was an emergency.

"HEIMDAL! ALL SEEING DUDE! YOU PROBABLY CAN SEE ME AND SEE THIS, AND I'M PRETTY SURE THIS BOY IS LOKI'S SON, SEND THOR HERE! WE NEED TO KNOW FOR SURE!"

Because Tony wasn't equipped to deal with a kid of that megalomaniac, even if Harry was alright for a teenager. But that could be because he was hurt and basically bedridden in a stranger's house.

Besides, Tony wouldn't mind having God's DNA to study at his leisure, once the time came to compare the samples. He had no idea if a normal DNA kit would even work. Was Asgardians DNA the same as humans or different? For all he knew this whole thing of being magical would ruin the tests. It's not like he was an expert on such things or had anything to compare to, really.

Good god, what a mess.

But no less intriguing. Good thing Tony liked puzzles and this one was looking more and more promising.

Chapter 3: Venom

Chapter Text

°•°CHAPTER 3•°•

Harry woke up again hours later, feeling much clearer.

His mind wasn't as fuzzy as before and he still remembered freaking out on Stark and him being so calm about it.

Reassuring.

It was weird.

No adult had ever done this before, and he wasn't sure if it wasn't the calm before the storm. Uncle Vernon did love tricking him before Harry finally realized that he's only doing it to be cruel.

His uncle would suddenly become calm and act all concerned, then proceed to ask Harry if he's doing okay, if something was wrong. And if Harry dared to voice his sorrows he'd be punished for being ungrateful.

He hoped he wasn't in the same situation right now, but Harry learned a long time ago that hope was for fools only, and it only hurts worse to have it ripped away from you again.

"Ah, you're awake."

Harry jumped and cursed himself for not realizing that not only he wasn't alone, but his wand wasn't there.

Where was it?!

No matter, he can still do wandless magic if the need arises, but the man didn't look like he was about to attack him.

Harry wasn't taking any chances though. Tom Riddle didn't look threatening either, and look what that bastard had done: set a basilisk on him! And this was the same f*cker that tried to restrain him earlier.

"Who are you?" Harry demanded.

"Steve Rogers. Everyone knows me as Captain America."

Harry snorted. "Not everyone. Never heard of you, and that's a stupid f*cking name to give yourself. What's next, Captain Britain? Any chance you're best mates with Captain Mexico?"

The man was frowning at him in a disapproving manner.

What a prick.

Standing there and judging him, acting all high and mighty, when the bastard attacked him first.

"Never heard of me? At minimum you should've been shown my videos during PE classes."

Major Lockhart vibes from this one.

Never heard of me? Nonsense! My teeth are blinding everyone from the three thousand posters I hung of myself in the Alley! I'm the best! Everyone knows and loves me!

Ew.

"We don't have PE classes." And thank Merlin for that. Besides, quidditch definitely counted as a sport.

"What kind of school do you go to that doesn't have PE?" The man looked confused, and sounded just accusing enough that it sounded like he was blaming Harry for the lack of PE classes at Hogwarts.

Harry glared. "The one that has a million f*cking stairs. Pretty sure that counts as sport and if it doesn't, then it's a bloody crime."

"You shouldn't curse so much."

"And you should mind your own f*cking business, but here we are."

They continued to stare at each other, until the man sighed and raised his hands in surrender.

"Let me out of here."

"No can do. Your leg is messed up, and we need to observe you in case the venom we found in your bloodstream has any long lasting side effects. What bit you? We couldn't find anything alike on our records."

Harry froze and looked at his leg.

No wonder it hurt.

These f*cking muggles tried healing an acromantula bite with muggle medicine. It might not be lethal, but he really needed a f*cking healer and some actual potions.

He had no idea what would happen if it was left untreated, but he didn't want to lose his leg.

sh*t.

Why is it always Harry that ends up in these situations?

But these muggles knew about magic, right? Then maybe… maybe he could talk them into taking him to a wizarding establishment. For some potions and a team of obliviators.

He had no idea if the healing charms would even work against a bite.

f*ck.

He was in such a mess.

"No idea. Must've tripped and fell. Right into your kidnapping arms."

The man looked exasperated, but he was holding onto his composure well.

Shame.

"We didn't kidnap you. You… Stark says you teleported into his house. And then we patched you up."

"Great. Means I can go now, right?"

"No."

"Then this is a kidnapping."

Captain looked ready to strangle him, and Harry grinned. Oh, how he loved pissing people off.

It was extremely easy to rile up any gryffindor. They were so quick to anger and hot headed, the most innocent things push them over the edge… but slytherins? That's were the real fun lied. Bickering with Malfoy was one of the best times of his day, and he was pretty sure Malfoy knew it, too.

Certainly not the gryffindors. Ron was convinced that Harry hated Malfoy and Slytherin, and probably everything with even the barest hint of green and silver, but it wasn't his fault his friend was so blind and didn't look further than the surface.

Ron didn't know he had a secret slytherin by heart as a friend.

But it was better for Harry in the long run. If he was truly sorted into Slytherin, he would've been named a dark wizard immediately.

He didn't want to be scrutinized by Dumbledore more than he already had been.

He hoped that old bastard was being f*cked over for losing him.

Harry now knew he could've pulled strings and gotten him out of the Tournament altogether, but he didn't. He stayed silent and passive, for some f*cking reason, and allowed Harry to risk his life for nothing.

And not once did anyone listen to Harry’s complaints when he said he didn't want to participate.

A little too late for that now.

"I doubt you could even walk, kid. Your ankle is sprained to hell, not to mention your cracked bones and God knows what else. You'll be staying here until you're better and we find out what happened."

"For all I know you sprained my ankle so I couldn't leave. Sounds like kidnapping to me."

He liked Stark better. This 'Captain' couldn't even give him a good comeback. Just gritted his teeth and glared.

So boring.

"You're an impossible child."

"Feel free to leave."

And he did.

Thankfully.

Dramatically.

Harry yanked away the blanket, wincing when he saw his leg and signs of muggle medicine.

"Well, f*ck."

His ankle was swollen.

Hopefully not broken, but…

Harry closed his eyes and called forth his magic, smiling when he felt his fingers buzzing with energy.

He concentrated on his ankle and felt a pressure increase to the point of bursting before it subsided, swelling going down with a cool brush of magic.

He watched how his ankle became normal sized again, yet it was still sore.

Probably needed some balm and another day of rest.

Now, for the more difficult part, Harry carefully took off the bandages from his acromantula bite wound and winced. It looked bad and if not for the muggle drugs in his system, he'd probably hurl.

"Brackium emendo," he whispered, focusing on his leg and could barely muffle his screams as bones and ligaments snapped back into place. It wasn't too bad, which meant doctors clearly tried to fix his leg and the cast was doing it's job, but it wasn't done perfectly either.

f*cking hell, his leg throbbedsomething fierce.

Harry had to take a moment and just breathe before continuing on with casting healing charms and everything else he learned for the tournament.

He quite literally devoured a few medical texts, just in case. After all, someone was out there to kill him and Harry hated being left helpless and at the complete mercy of others.

He was sick of relying on people who didn't give a sh*t: self sufficiency was the way to go. And Harry was exceptionally glad and thanking his past self for being thoughtful and learning something actually useful. For once.0

Now the acromantula bite itself was more of an issue.

Healing charms worked, but not as well as they would on a regular wound. He needed a potion to fix it completely, or even better: a competent healer.

He had neither of those things, so until he does, Harry was going to improvise.

He couldn't just leave it like that.

"Vulnus sanandum. Sanguinem emunda," Harry hissed quietly in parseltongue, putting his intent behind his words, imagining his wound healing, the venom leaving his body.

He continued repeating the words, willing his magic to heal and to cleanse, and it must've been working since he felt something seeping from his wound.

Harry opened his eyes to see something black seeping out. It burned.

Ew.

"Vulnus sanandum-" Harry continued on, shaking from concentration and the strain his body was going through.

It bloody hurt and Harry couldn't stop. He wasn't sure if he'll be able to do this again.

That's why it was best for another person to heal you if it was something more serious than a broken nose. Losing concentration meant the job would be done halfway or not done at all. And if you didn't possess a sufficient enough control over your magic, you could make your injuries indefinitely worse.

It felt like hours, but Harry felt like he got the venom out, or at least most of it.

Somehow. By sheer will and a wonderful gift that was parseltongue.

It might be considered a branch of dark magic, but Harry didn't give a sh*t, as long as it kept him alive. It was just another language anyway.

He thanked his past self for not being a slob and practicing some spells beforehand. He'd be f*cked otherwise.

Exhaustion hit him like a train when he was done and Harry fell back into the bed, breathing heavily.

His head was spinning.

He must've overdone it.

"I hate my life," Harry groaned. "And I'm suing everyone."

He definitely should.

What would even happen if he filed a lawsuit against Tom Riddle? Would he be obligated to show up?

Would be f*cking hilarious if he hired Lucius Malfoy to defend him against his own Master.

He should do it.

After he crucios the bastard himself, for laughing at Harry when he was being cruciod by his Lord.

He's gonna f*ck them all up. Harry had a whole year to plan his revenge, when no one was talking to him. He had dozens of wonderful ideas swirling around his head, and none of them were merciful.

But first, he had to find out where he was, why he was here, and how he was going to proceed from here.

These guys seemed friendly, but Harry wasn't about to trust them easily.

His parents trusted Pettigrew and look where that got them? Dead.

Good thing Harry was used to being on his own.

He just needed to take a nap… replenish his magic.

And then he'll see.

"Sir, you must see this."

Tony trusted Jarvis but he didn't trust his own eyes after what he saw.

The kid just… did some magic.

He was sure of it, even if it sounded hysterical.

But the proof was right there: Harry's ankle was no longer thrice its size. The wound no longer looked as infected. In fact, that black goo was on the linen - ew - and it looked… better.

What the f*ck.

"Jarvis, a scan, now."

What would he do without his AI?

"Sir, I sense no more fractures. His bones seem to be healed and the sprain looks to be weeks old. I'm afraid I cannot explain this."

"Magic," Tony whispered. "Holy mother of God. Or whatever. Any sightings of our favourite gods?"

"No, sir."

Damn it.

What was he supposed to do with a clearly traumatized and cagey magical kid?

He'd call SHIELD if he didn't think they'd start running experiments on the vulnerable hurt child.

"Heimdal? Pretty please, get your princes down here. Magic is so out of my realm of capability. I'm kind of stuck, just don't tell anyone I said that."

And that's not mentioning he could find no records of this Harry Potter anywhere, not even a visit at a doctor's office. Other than a birth certificate that didn't look legit and some shady records of primary school attendance, Harry was a ghost. And after that - poof. Gone.

Children don't just disappear. Unless they're kidnapped, but Harry insisted on attending some sort of school to Cap.

And he loved what a little sh*t he was to Rogers. It was so delightful. And not like Cap could just step over his overly high morals and curse the kid out.

Beautiful.

And according to the boy, presuming he wasn't lying, his school had a sh*tton of stairs.

Which meant, what? A high building? Dungeons? Castle? Could be anything, especially if he was from England.

Tony hated just how out of depth he was. That even with all of his technology, he couldn't find the answers he wanted. Was it that hard for people in England to digitalise everything so he could hack it?

Nothing made sense.

And what the hell was a Tri-Wizarding Tournament?!?

Panic ensued at Hogwarts when neither of the Hogwarts Champions returned from the maze.

Fleur Delacour and Victor Krum were waiting in the medical wing, having been rescued by professors circling the maze after they saw red sparks being shot into the sky.

Hogwarts victory was imminent, but as the night went on with no sign of either champions, everyone was starting to become worried.

Were they lost? Hurt?

After an hour of waiting, Albus Dumbledore ventured into the maze himself, along with Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall, followed closely by Ludo Bagman and Cornelius Fudge, who insisted on waiting.

Dumbledore was extremely worried.

He just knew something to be wrong, especially as they came to the clearing and found the Goblet gone.

"They must've grabbed it on our way here," Bagman announced. "Hogwarts wins, either way."

Dumbledore shook his head. "I would've been informed if either of the boys showed up with the goblet while we're here. Something isn't right."

"Oh, nonsense, Dumbledore. The portkey was supposed to land in front of the maze. We aren't idiots, you know," Fudge chuckled, even though he, too, felt uneasy. "Let's get out of here."

"Should we search the maze?" Minerva asked as the Ministry's employees departed, lying to themselves that they would find the boys waiting.

"It would be best. However-"

"Albus," Severus hissed, eyes squeezed in pain as he yanked his sleeve up and the Dark Mark became visible to all. "He's back."

Albus' face lost all remaining colour while Minerva gasped, gripping her chest.

"Are you certain, my boy?"

Severus hissed. "Yes. He- he must have Potter. Somehow. I can tell he's furious."

Albus seemed to age in front of their eyes.

"The cup must've been a portkey. The one who entered the boy's name must've altered the coordinates."

"Albus, what are we going to do?" Minerva was incredibly worried for her students.

"We must tell the others. We've already wasted precious time and Voldemort will not wait either. We must hurry if we wish to find them alive." Albus paused. "Severus? You're the only one with access to his location. Could you apparate where the Mark leads you with a passenger?"

Severus nodded. "Yes. But the moment I appear not alone, both of us will be killed on sight. I'm not sure it wouldn't happen either way, considering I didn't show up the moment I was summoned."

Albus sighed.

He was at a loss of what to do.

It was a lose-lose situation, and he couldn't afford to lose Severus as a spy.

"Albus, we must inform the Ministry. Two of our students are missing. This isn't the time to keep this quiet and hope for the best," Minerva stated fiercely. She wasn't about to be led astray by her employer's schemes. She was going to protect her students by any means necessary.

"Fine. I doubt the Diggorys would've stayed silent either way."

Minerva turned to him furiously. "What, so if it was only Harry that's missing, you would've kept it quiet because he has no family?!"

Albus winced. That's not what he meant necessarily…

"I'm sure the boys will turn up. Harry always finds a way out in difficult situations."

At least he hoped he would.

Harry couldn't die before he completed the prophecy.

It was simply not feasible and Albus had no other Chosen One.

Perhaps… if Harry isn't found, he should finally invest some time in teaching Neville Longbottom. Merlin knows the boy isn't bright, but if Harry fell at Voldemort's hand already… Albus has no other choice.

The war has to be won. One way or another.

Chapter 4: Everyone likes pizza

Chapter Text

°•°CHAPTER 4•°•

Harry woke up feeling refreshed; he shuddered to think just how bad off he was before if he thought he felt great now.

Thankfully, his magical core was replenished and his leg… well, his ankle was just fine, if slightly tender. The bite still throbbed, but it was bearable and he didn't feel like hurling every time he moved his leg. Certainly not as bad as before, but could be better. He'll just try healing it more later.

Hopefully a healer will be able to get rid of whatever lasting effects there might be; he certainly didn't feel like living with permanent damage just because he got into a yet another ridiculous situation.

The medical muggle equipment was no longer attached to him either, in fact, he wasn't even in the same room as before.

Harry looked around properly for the first time.

He was in a spacious room with tall windows going from floor to ceiling, opening up to a brilliant view of the city.

The bed was massive and the most comfortable thing Harry has ever had the pleasure to lay on.

It looked expensive. It felt expensive.

But didn't the man say he was filthy rich?

If only Malfoy was here.

Hell, if only the Dursleys were here; those bastards had never allowed him on their precious furniture, because freaks do not deserve such comforts in life.

Filthy bastards. Harry wished them luck in doing all of the chores by themselves this summer, without Harry being there to slave for them. He just knew it wouldn't work out well. They never had to lift a finger when Harry was there.

Slowly, minding his injuries, Harry sat up and groaned, his muscles aching from the abuse he experienced and the disuse.

f*cking Voldemort and his torturous ways. His crucio truly made one wish for death.

Harry found his legs shaking with strain when he finally stood up, but Harry simply allowed his magic to soothe it.

He spent his whole life being hurt; his magic knew to heal him as fast as possible.

Now was no exception, but it was obvious his magic was working overtime to minimize the shock, venom and cruciatus he endured in a short amount of time.

Harry walked to the table where a pair of sweatpants, t-shirt and a hoodie were laid out for him with a note in big capital letters shouting 'WEAR ME'. Harry snorted and thanked whoever was considerate enough to leave him clothes, because the ones he came here with must've been torn to shreds, not to mention all bloody, and he didn't fancy wearing this… hospital gown, or whatever the f*ck it was, while he made his escape. It was way too breezy for his liking.

Harry did a quick job of slipping into surprisingly soft clothes, although he had to be careful not to disturb his newly bandaged leg, which also meant someone touched him without him noticing. Again.

Merlin, what else had he missed while being unconscious? How long had he been here? The past few… days? Hours? Felt like a blur.

Everyone at Hogwarts must be going nuts with his disappearance.

Harry really didn't fancy dealing with the mess he left behind and hoped to postpone that nightmare for as long as possible. He just knew Rita Skeeter will eat him alive and make him out as some deranged psycho.

Oh well.

And now… now he needed to face the music. Whatever people that were waiting behind the closed door. The ones who helped him.

He opened the door, peeking out cautiously, but the somewhat familiar room was completely empty.

He must've landed here.

Portkey must've been messed up… where was it? Perhaps if Harry touched it again, he could leave.

"Glad to see you up, kid."

Harry jumped, startled at the voice and cursed himself for never having heard the approaching footsteps.

He turned to see Tony Stark walking towards the table, acting way too casual for someone who had a kid pop up out of nowhere in his own home.

"Glad to be up."

"You must be hungry. Come, I've ordered pizza. You like pizza, right?"

Harry shrugged. "Never had any."

The man gaped. "Never had any pizza?!" Harry shook his head. "It's a f*cking crime. I'm suing your guardians."

Harry smiled reluctantly, amused by Tony's indignance. It was funny, seeing someone else be mad on his behalf.

Even if it was over a pizza.

It always smelled delicious but he was never allowed to try any.

"Well, you can eat a whole pizza if you want to. Or, if you don't like this one - it's pepperoni by the way - we can order something else. No biggie."

"Thank you, sir," Harry said. "There's no need to order anything else. This is more than enough, Mr Stark."

The man groaned. "Call me Tony, for f*cks sake. No sirs either. Reminds me too much of my father and makes me feel old."

Harry stared at the man for a long moment, gouging his sincerity.

Eventually, Harry didn't find Tony full of sh*t and nodded, reaching out for a slice, finding it still warm and took a careful bite.

Oh my god. It was so-

"Good, huh?" Tony was smirking, gouging his reaction and looking a little too pleased with himself. "Well, eat up. There are some things we need to discuss."

Harry froze, but he saw no malice in Tony's eyes. Nothing threatening.

Just… worry. And curiosity.

So weird.

"And I'd greatly appreciate it if you didn't lie… I know about magic." Harry subdued the instinct to run. "I know you healed yourself, somewhat. And I'm not about to hurt you or do anything bad, ok, kid? Just here to help you out."

"Why?" Harry demanded instantly, because no adult ever did anything for him out of pure selflessness. There was always a catch. "What's in it for you?"

Tony shrugged nonchalantly.

"Answers to my questions. I'm an incredibly curious pal and it's not like I have anything better to do."

Harry didn't sense any lies.

It was completely and utterly bizarre experience and he had no idea what to make of it.

First time for everything, huh?

"Yes, I have magic." It was harder to admit than he thought it'd be. Perhaps because Harry expected the usual you are a freak insults to start.

Dursleys called him abnormal.

A freak of nature.

But magic was nature in its purest form and they were the freaks, having none of her gifts.

"Yes, obviously. Why did you come to my house?"

Harry frowned.

"I… I don't know. I came here by a portkey - it's that… trophy I must've had with me?" Harry looked at the man in question.

"Yes, yes, we have it. What do you mean by 'portkey'?"

"It's a… thing that could be charmed to become a portkey," Merlin, he sounded like an idiot, "which means it takes you to a place it was charmed to take you, from point A to point B. This one was supposed to take me to the front of the maze, but it took me to a graveyard." Harry gulped, forcing down the memories of yet another day in his life he desperately wanted to forget. "And when I touched it again, instead of going back, it sent me here."

Tony looked astounded. "This thing teleported you here?"

"Yes. It wasn't supposed to."

"So… you were supposed to appear in front of a maze, which, I'm guessing, was a task of the Tournament?"

Harry paled.

How did Tony know?

The man rolled his eyes. "Relax, kid. I saw your trophy and it said 'Harry Potter, the Tri-Wizarding Tournament Champion'. I'm not an idiot and can read, you see."

Harry tried to extinguish his panic. Tony knew about this stuff already.

He was in the clear.

"Congratulations are in order, I guess. You won some magical Tournament," Tony grinned. "Even if it went a bit awry. Oh well. Happens to the best of us. So, you're from England?"

"How the f*ck do you know that?"

Tony raised an unimpressed brow.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but you've got a bit of an accent there, kiddo. Dead giveaway, that one."

Harry felt blood rushing to his cheeks and he ducked his head in embarrassment.

He was an idiot, obviously. He's going to blame it on whatever muggle drugs they forced on him, though.

"So, you're a wizard, and since it was a tournament, there are more people like you." Harry nodded. Tony was way too smart for his own good. "Why didn't you just say so? Why this whole secrecy?"

Harry snorted. "Oh, I don't know? Perhaps because it's f*cking illegal to go blabbering about magic to random people?"

Tony raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, I'm not random. I'm the Iron Man!"

"The what?"

"Iron Man?" Tony was looking at him in shock. "You never heard of me? Seriously?"

"Have you heard of me?"

"No."

"What a shame. I'm terribly popular. So much that people are out to kill me."

"I can't tell if you're joking or not, kid, but same here."

Harry glared.

Tony smirked.

"Who was that self absorbed idiot who came to see me before? Calling himself Captain America? Couldn't come up with a lamer name? No originality or anything. Bloody arrogant too, calling himself a captain of a country."

Tony roared with laughter. He clearly liked Harry’s humour just fine; Hermione must've been simply too stuck up to understand it, because she'd always call Harry immature and tell him to stop being an arse.

At least there were a few people who appreciated his wit.

"Ah, yes, he can be a self righteous ass. Don't mind him."

Harry rolled his eyes. He didn't particularly care as long as that man stayed away from him.

And did all of the people in New York tend to give themselves ridiculous nicknames? Should Harry make one up too?

Maybe he should become the Dark Lord Harry and take over America, see how Voldemort likes that.

"Anything else you'd like to tell me, kid? Someone I should call for you?"

"We don't use telephones." Tony looked scandalized enough that it made Harry chuckle. "Electricity doesn't work well with magic. In fact, it doesn't work at all."

"How do you communicate then?"

"Letters."

"They take forever. So morbid."

Harry shrugged. "They're carried by owls."

Tony gaped, his eyes narrowing. "You're pulling my leg."

"Am not."

"You are. It's ridiculous. What else, you're gonna tell me you wave wands, have cauldrons and fly on broomsticks?"

Harry's face turned into a delighted grin.

"It's like you lived there all along."

Tony was horrified. "I was joking!"

"Well, I wasn't Where's my wand?"

"Your wand?"

"Yes. I had it with me before you-" his eyes narrowed dangerously, recalling what happened. "f*cking knocked me out."

Ton raised his hands in surrender. "Chill. You were out of your mind and spiraling. Your stick is right there and I refuse to call it a wand."

Harry turned to see it placed safely- thank Merlin - on the shelf where Tony was pointing at, and summoned his wand, feeling much more relaxed now that it was on his person.

Wandless magic took much more effort than the one with a wand, especially when he was hurt and needed his magic to keep him going.

Harry smirked, enjoying the weariness that entered Tony's eyes when Harry started grinning, and flicked it at the man.

Tony looked confused.

"Sorry to disappoint, kid, but you sound a bit delusional. Pretty sure your stick is nothing more than one of those prank things you can buy in a store."

"Oh yeah?" Harry continued smirking, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Nice haircut."

Tony's eyes widened in panic, hands flying up to check his hair. "I don't feel-"

"Sir, your hair seems to have become bright orange."

Tony shrieked, jumped up and turned on a phone or whatever the f*ck that device was, since it was acting as a mirror.

And what the f*ck was that voice?!

"You made me ugly!" He screamed at Harry, eyes comically wide. "Fix it! I can't be seen like this!"

Harry's face lit up with delight and he started giggling at the exaggerated way Tony was acting. Even pretending to swoon.

He knew it was mostly for his sake, but it was nice for someone to try and not be all serious all the time, like most adults around him seemed to be.

Tony seemed fun.

Kind of like Sirius.

Except Sirius was always Dumbledore this, Dumbledore that, and it was driving Harry insane.

Sirius probably didn't dare to take a sh*t without Dumbledore's permission, and it was more bizarre than him ending up in New York.

He was a grown man, a Lord to the Black Estate, and still ran to the headmaster for everything. It was disturbing.

"Wizard-boy, take this hair back or else-"

"You should've told me you prefer to be bold. My mistake." Harry raised his wand again, having no intention of using it, but Tony didn't know that.

The man ducked under the counter, while Harry burst into laughter again, and unbeknown to him, Tony was patting himself on the back for the job well done.

"If you make me bald I will send Fury after you."

"Who?"

"Bald guy, an eye patch. Looks like a pirate. Nasty personality, you'd like him."

Harry snorted. "Doubtful. Who's he?"

"Spy."

"No, really?"

"I'm serious. He's The spy. He might even help you get back to wherever you came from. He probably knows about your super secret wizard thing as well. I mean, he works for a secret organization who trains spies. Come on."

Harry had no idea who this man was, but he sounded dangerous. And he knew for a fact that the most important people of the muggle world were made aware of the magical one, so, it wouldn't be too far off the mark for this Fury to know something, if he was really that important.

And if he could be trusted.

He didn't want to be dragged back down to Dursleys once people in power realized where he was.

It would be a sh*tshow.

Especially with Cedric dead, Voldemort alive and him just gone.

They'd probably pin Diggory's murder on him and make up a story about how Harry didn't want to share the first place so he murdered a fellow champion. Nobody would ever believe him if he said Voldemort was back. There was no proof and Harry was already dubbed a liar and attention seeker. It would definitely be a sh*tshow.

Oh! He should change his name and move to America.

That sounded like the best case scenario with him staying alive and healthy. And away from the press, murderers, meddling headmaster's and Dark Lords.

"Well… what if I… school is over now, yeah? It's officially a holiday. How about you don't tell anyone you've seen me and I'll just be on my way? I'll spend some time in New York and will go back for the next school year, yeah?"

Tony looked worried.

Harry didn't like it.

He said too much.

And Tony was smart. He might figure things out.

"You don't want to go back to your guardians?"

Harry was pretty sure they've had this conversation already. "No. And you can't force me either." He crossed his arms, glaring defiantly. "I'm not going."

"Do they hurt you?"

Harry flinched.

"None of your business now, is it? Now, do you have a map?"

Tony was still frowning at him, but nodded, not bringing up the subject again. "Plenty. What kind of map do you need?"

"New York's."

The next moment, Harry had a digital version of the map in front of him, which was cool, but not what he needed. He sighed and shook his head. "No, I mean, a paper map."

"Sorry, kid. Just tell me where you need to go and I'll show you where it is."

Harry was becoming frustrated. "I've no idea where I need to go! That's why I need a map for!" To use a bloody location spell to find entrance to the magical world.

It's not like he could use Point-Me and wander the streets for hours. New York was enormous.

"Ah, I'll have someone buy it and bring it up, then, I guess. What ab-"

"Sir, Mr Banner is bringing up guests."

Tony frowned. "What guests?"

"The Asgardians, sir."

Tony's eyes widened. "Seriously? We got a hold of them already? f*cking hell-"

"What's going on?" Harry was already on his feet, wand ready and he was prepared to either fight or flee. "And what the f*ck is that voice?!"

Tony took in his stance and shook his head. "Nothing dangerous, I promise. You can relax. You're in my home and I'm not going to allow anyone to hurt you, okay, kid? And that voice is Jarvis."

It explained nothing on who this Jarvis voice was and Harry didn't trust any of those pretty promises.

Dumbledore said that he's safe at Hogwarts and look where that got him.

In a murderous tournament against his will.

The only difference was that this Tony bloke hasn't lied to him yet.

And was direct as f*ck.

He liked that. It was tons better than evasive bullsh*t and non-answers Dumbledore kept spewing if Harry dared to ask a question.

"They're… the gods I mentioned before. The ones from Asgard. Thor and Loki."

Harry’s eyes widened.

He was going to meet the Norse Gods?!?

f*ck it, perhaps this tournament was worth it. He didn't think they were anything else but a myth, another pretty story to tell kids before sleep, but if they were real… what else was real?

The elevator dinged and Harry heard footsteps approaching, low voices arguing.

He felt exceedingly giddy. And excited.

And nervous.

Holy sh*t, how could this be his life?

"Tony- what the hell happened to you?!" A man that Harry was pretty sure he'd seen before, said, laughing at Tony's hair.

"Man of Iron! New haircut!” a burly man shouted, and despite his build, he reminded Harry of an over-excited puppy. “And who’s this?”

Tony froze at the mention of his new 'haircut', hands flying towards his hair as he shrieked: “Fix it! I can’t stay like this!”

Harry chuckled, drawing everyone else’s attention towards himself.

Especially the dark-haired god's, who’s eyes narrowed at the sight of him immediately.

…whoops?

“That’s Harry, who, apparently, can do magic, and he’s f*cking evil! Look at what he’s done to me! I can never show my face in public again!”

“Ah, it suits you,” Banner coughed, hiding his laughter, and took out his phone to snap a picture while shooting Harry a mischievous wink. “Harry, I’m not sure if you remember me, but I’m Bruce Banner, you may know me as Hulk-”

“Not bloody likely.”

“And these gentlemen beside me-”

“We can introduce ourselves, Bruce,” Loki said, his eyes still completely trained on the boy.

“Ah, yes." Thor coughed and walked up to Harry. Slowly, as if not to scare him. "I’m Thor, son of Odin, God of Thunder.” Thor, surprisingly, bowed his head, and then took Harry’s hand into his own, but instead of shaking it, he just put his other hand over Harry's and smiled.

It was weird, but Harry still returned the gesture and bowed his head.

The god finally let go of Harry’s hand and he felt a weird tingling sensation.

It wasn't unpleasant.

“And that is my brother Loki Odinson, God of Mischief.”

“I can speak for myself, brother,” Loki sneered with no real malice. “Cease your whining, Stark. Your hair will eventually return back to its original colour. It’s not permanent.”

“You should’ve led with that!” Tony shouted, relaxing immediately. “How soon?”

Loki smirked. “A week or so.”

“A WEEK?!” Tony shrieked. “I have to look like this for a week?!”

“Or you can get me a map, and get the f*ck out of my way when I leave, and I’ll turn it back to normal immediately,” Harry checked his nails out nanchallantly, feigning apathy while he was more than slightly nervous to meet f*cking Gods. Oh, and he didn’t introduce himself yet

“Harry James Potter. Heir to the Ancient and Noble Houses of Potter and Black. The Boy-Who-Lived, your resident wizard who can’t wait to leave after having no idea how he got here in the first place. An absolute pleasure to meet you both.” Harry bowed, because for f*cks sake, that’s not only the proper ettiquette, but they’re Gods. Capital letters and all that.

He didn't wish to be obliterated just because he lacked manners.

Who knows, perhaps they’re as bonkers as Voldemort. You can never be too careful these days.

“Ah, this is the first person with manners in your vicinity, Stark,” Loki looked pleased, for once. “Well met Harry, son of Potter. Or, are you?”

Harry frowned, confused. “What do you mean?”

Thor hit Loki. “Ah, just some… rather vague messages we’ve received, young seiðr. You truly can wield magic?”

Was that a trick question? “Yes?”

“Have you not been taught the art of wielding a fine weapon? I find it much more satisfying on the battlefield, and Stark did say you came here after a… fight?”

Harry scowled at all of them, his temper rising.

“First of all, I didn’t choose to fight, I was forced to, and second of all, loads of good a bloody weapon will do for me the next time someone shoots a killing curse at me. I’ll just ask them to wait a bit while I throw a f*cking hammer at them, won’t I? Maybe ask them nicely not to curse me while I’m at it. See how that goes.”

Loki was outright staring at him with obvious intrigue in his eyes. Harry couldn't help but feel that those sharp eyes were gazing through him. “Someone out there is trying to kill you, child?”

“Wait, what?” Tony asked, startled. “Who’s trying to kill you?”

“None of your damn business, is it? Just because I showed up here for some unfathomable reason, it doesn’t give you any right to pick at my life.”

“This one’s feisty,” Banner muttered, eyes darting between Harry’s furious scowl, Loki's downright intrigue, Tony's worry and Thor's confusion. “Uh… I’ll be heading out, in case the big guy wants to play. He feels threatened, for some reason. I’d rather not risk it.”

“It's because of the boy’s magic,” Loki stated, looking Harry up and down appreciatively. “You’re a powerful one, aren’t you, little sorcerer?” He stepped closer, and not a moment later Harry’s wand was pointed at the God. “I’m not going to hurt you, child.”

“Not if I blast you off, you’re not,” Harry quipped, taking a step back. He wanted to follow Banner and leave. He felt ambushed.

“Why are you here anyway?”

“Ah, the Man of Iron called us!” Thor boasted, completely ignoring that Harry had his wand trained on his sibling. Probably didn't think Harry could do any real damage to his brother. “We didn’t know Midgard had any sorcerers left, thus, it was brought to our attention that you might be… an accident.”

Harry snorted, even though he felt incredibly confused.

“You didn’t know about wizards because - get this - we don’t want to be f*cking found. It’s hard to stay a secret society if there’s no secret.”

“There's a whole society that can wield magic?” Tony’s eyes were wide. He figured there were some people like Harry, not a whole hidden society. Kind of like Avengers, just a few people with random skills gathering together.

Harry arched his brow. “Duh? What, do you think one random kid that popped into your house is the only one on the planet? Or just a few wizards who gather about to participate in tournaments? That’s ridiculous. And no, I won’t be telling you anything about it. I’d rather not get arrested for spewing state secrets around. No need to repeat witch trials, hm?” Harry paused, making his tone a tad bit more respectful when he addressed Thor: “You didn’t really answer why Tony called you, though. Hurry up, especially since I’m leaving.”

“Kid, you just told me someone’s trying to kill you, that you were kidnapped. You came here looking like you were tortured. You’re not going back wherever you came from until I’m sure I’m not sending a teenager to his death.” Tony was actually serious, for once.

Thor and Loki's eyes widened, snapping to Harry with uncomfortable intensity. They looked enraged at Tony's words.

“You only need to tell us their names, little seiðr. None of them shall hurt you again. Hurting a child is an unspeakable crime.” It didn't look like Thor was exaggerating either. Harry could practically taste static in the air from the god; the mere thought of someone hurting a kid made his magic go haywire.

Huh.

These people were weird.

Perhaps he landed in an alternative universe, because he just won a tournament in which kids were made to participate and were killed for others' amusem*nt. For a mere thousand galleons, and these people were mad about all of it. About a kid being hurt.

Was it just the Wizarding World that didn't give a sh*t about children?

“And I called Thor and Loki, because they know more about magic than I do, obviously," Tony interjected. "In fact, it's completely out of my league."

Thor grinned. “And because the Man of Iron was completely convinced and panicking that one of us was your father!”

Harry’s ears started ringing.

Did Thor just say-

“What?!"he shouted. He must've heard it wrong. It was the only explanation for such a ridiculous statement.

Thor started nodding enthusiastically. “It’s rather obvious how he came to such a conclusion, considering you and… my brother do look alike, and you are a wielder of magic. Loki must be the only other magical wielder Tony knew of for him to shout at Heimdal at all hours of the day. Rude, by the way.”

Harry was sure he wasn’t breathing.

What-

“What the f*ck!” he turned his rage and disbelief onto Tony. “I’ll have you know, that my father was James f*cking Potter!” Harry thrust up his hand into the air for all to see, and all of a sudden, rings that weren’t there before appeared on his hand. “See this f*cking ring?” he pointed at a silver ring with a small sapphire in the middle. “It’s the heir ring of the Potter family. If he wasn’t my father, if I wasn’t Potter by blood? This ring would’ve never accepted me.”

“But- but your eyes are so like Loki’s…” Tony looked uncertain for the first time and almost backed away, not fancying being at the center of Harry's rage. Teenagers were terrifying.

And magical teenagers who could f*ck you up with a flick of their wand - and seriously, a wand? - not something Tony wanted to face. Ever.

“Yes, they're like my mother’s! Lily Potter's! Do you go calling the gods every time a kid with similar features shows up at your doorstep?! Are you nuts?!”

All of a sudden, Tony Stark’s face lost all the remaining colour as recognition filled his eyes, going unseen by everyone other than Loki, who, suddenly, became suspicious.

“I am well aware you are not my child, since I haven’t laid with anyone in Midgard for a very long time, despite that we look alike and your similar magic,” Loki said diplomatically, even though his eyes were sparkling with mischief. “But there is always a very easy way to check one’s parentage.” He learned that particular spell after learning he was adopted and wanted to make sure he wasn't being lied to again. It only required blood.

“I know who my parents are, considering they died for me,” Harry hissed, insulted. “I don’t need a f*cking test.”

“Humour me?” Loki asked, extending his hand palm up and waiting for Harry to make up his mind. “I only require a few drops of your blood.”

Harry eyed the god suspiciously, but his magic couldn't find anything malicious in Loki's intentions.

Loki also seemed to be aware of what his magic was doing and seemed amused by it. A little impressed, even.

“You better not resurrect a Dark Lord with it," Harry snapped. "Fine.” As long as they leave him alone afterwards.

Questioning his parentage.

The most absurd thing to happen to him these days. Tony was clearly bonkers.

It would be just his luck to land in a home of a nutter.

Harry thrust his hand out to the God, waiting for pain, but was surprised at just how gentle Loki was being.

He took Harry’s arm and led him to the nearest table where he proceeded to summon a dagger.

A very pretty dagger Harry would definitely steal if he didn't think Loki would kill him with a flick of his finger.

“This will hurt for only a moment.”

To Harry’s surprise, he could barely feel it as the blade nicked him and Loki’s magic healed the cut immediately after. It felt…. familiar. Warm.

Harry couldn't explain it.

But to be frank, he couldn't explain anything these days, and rolling with the punches seemed like an excellent idea until his sane mind could catch up with what's happening.

Harry was certain he'll be properly horrified at everything in the upcoming days.

Then Loki started casting magic Harry’s never seen before. The god didn't require any focus subject like a wand or a staff, moulding magic into reality with his bare hands. Not long after, a piece of paper was summoned and Loki instructed them to wait. “Your family will show up on the paper soon, starting with you. It’s just to show who your parents are. A more indepth family tree takes more than this, unfortunately, and takes time.”

Harry nodded, watching mesmerized how bloody letters started appearing on the blank sheet of paper, slowly taking the shape of words.

It eerily reminded him of Riddle's diary.

And he was itching to ask Loki how the f*ck did he do it.

The man must've sensed his curiosity and sent him a smug knowing smirk.

Harry sneered.

Nevermind. He'll figure it out by himself.

And finally, the results were done. Harry leaned over to read what he knew was there and froze.

•

Harry James Potter

Mother: Lily Rose Potter nee Evans

Father: Anthony Howard Stark

Blood adopted father: James Charlus Potter

•

Harry stared at the results in shock while static filled his brain, until he couldn’t take it anymore and his eyes rolled back into his head. He fell into the waiting arms of a god.

The last conscious thought Harry had was 'what the f*ck'.

Chapter 5

Chapter Text

°•°CHAPTER 5•°•

“You have some explaining to do, Stark.”

Tony himself was not fairing all that well himself and felt faint.

He hoped this wasn’t the case after James' name rang a bell, but once Harry said Lily’s name…

Everything added up.

After all, he had quite a wonderful week with that couple fifteen or so years back. They were newlyweds, celebrating in the bar with their friends, and Tony was just lucky enough to have caught both of their attention and was invited along.

The whole week was a blur of bliss, alcohol and celebration, and there was no way Tony could forget either of them.

Hell, he even tried looking for them later on, but was never able to find anything. He didn't even know their last name, until now.

And apparently, he now had a son.

A son that fainted upon learning this.

He wasn't the only one in shock, Tony thought hysterically as he glanced at the couch where Loki had gently laid the boy down.

Jesus f*cking Christ.

“What does it mean, blood adopted?” Tony’s voice was monotone as he was trying to shake off the shock of having a son.

He, Tony Stark, had a child.

And he didn't think this was one of Loki's tricks either. And he thought Harry was Loki's. f*cking hell, he miscalculated by a f*cking planet.

Loki hummed. “The boy is a wizard, Stark, so was his family. I don’t know their history, but I assume James Potter used some form of blood adoption, which means that Harry essentially has three biological parents.”

"How is that possible?” Because it shouldn't be. Magic was insane.

Loki glared at him. “It’s magic, Stark. Takes a little blood, some potions, I assume, perhaps a ritual, and the child becomes biologically theirs. Not that complicated of a concept, is it?”

Tony was still in disbelief.

“But… this is crazy. Why is he here, now?”

Loki frowned. “How did he arrive here?”

Tony retold the story, about something Harry called 'Portkey', which Loki took interest in immediately.

He waved his hand around the trophy Tony brought forward, eyes widening at what he could make out.

“This is a traveling device. You touch it, it takes you to whatever place it was spelled to go, however… I sense interference.” Loki had a look of concentration on his face as he wielded his magic, trying to find out an answer to how the young wizard had gotten here. “Ah.”

“Ah? What does that mean, your highness?”

Loki smirked. “It means you have an extremely powerful son, Tony Stark.The boy’s magic itself had altered his destination. I assume he wanted to see his parents and since they are dead…. his magic recognized you, knew about you, and brought him directly to you. The last living parent.”

Tony gulped and wordlessly walked behind the bar to pour himself a strong drink.

He needed it.

Badly.

He had a son.

"Congratulations, Tony Stark," Thor came up to him and clapped him on the shoulder hard enough for Tony to stumble. "You have a strong and worthy fighter of a son. It's an honor to have."

"You sure this isn't some mistake?" Tony asked, hopeful and dreading to hear the answer at the same time.

Loki shook his head. "The test is accurate. Congratulations, it's a boy."

Tony gulped down a whole double shot of whiskey at once, pouring another one immediately.

"Is this not a happy occasion, Stark?" Thor looked worried at Tony's silence. He'd be overjoyed to have a child: children were considered a blessing in Asgard as most asgardians had a trouble conceiving one, but it didn't seem the case in Midgard. Tony Stark looked terrified.

He better not reject the boy, Thor thought darkly. If that happened… perhaps he could talk his father to take the boy in until he matures, and his mother could teach him magic as she did with Loki.

His brother wouldn't mind doing that either, Thor was certain. Loki loved magic.

"I don't know. Never had a son before. Especially not one that has magic, has someone after him and showed up on my doorstep hurt." His eyes snapped to Loki. "Could you- would you be able to heal him? Now that I'm aware of this 'magical society' and considering he was in a magical Tournament, some of his injuries must've been magical too. Like that bite… nothing really worked on it and we still have no idea what it is."

"Of course." Loki immediately stepped over to Harry, who was still in the land of nod.

"You needn't worry. My brother would never hurt a child, especially not one he clearly admires."

"Admires?" Tony's tone turned sharp.

"Oh, yes. Loki rarely gets an opportunity to speak with someone who wields magic apart from our mother. In Asgard, it's mostly women who do so, men preferring the art of sword. Loki must be feeling lonely. And the child-" Thor frowned. "Is dripping with it. My brother is beyond intrigued, I can tell. I would be surprised if he doesn't offer to teach the young Harry by the end of the day. You just wait."

Ah.

It made sense.

While Thor and Tony continued to observe, Loki didn't waste any time and spread his magic over the child.

He could feel the lingering wounds and venom, the almost healed ankle, the general weakness. The still lingering after effects of a curse that tortured this child of magic.

Sacrilege.

There was also something dark that was hiding from his probing magic, but Loki didn't press further and concentrated on the current obvious injuries the child had.

It wasn't much of a strain to heal the boy, whose magic was already healing him.

Such a potent magic, too.

Sentient, almost.

And in a child.

No wonder Stark thought the boy to be his son. Their magic was complimentary and they had some similar features, but that's where the similarities ended.

Loki was finished in mere minutes, soothing the wounds and torture inflicted tremors, obliterating the leftovers of venom within seconds.

It was no match for his magic.

There was only one thing left, something that made his blood boil.

"Who was young Harry living with before, Stark?" Loki could barely keep the murder out of his voice.

"His aunt and uncle, why?"

Loki gritted his teeth, only the images of those disgusting beings being obliterated by him easing his rage.

"Because I'm sure you'll put away your high and mighty morals for a few filthy pigs that abused your son."

There was only silence after such a statement and the sound of shattering glass.

Tony's face was stark white.

"What do you mean?" Even his voice sounded hoarse.

"I mean that my magic detected abuse on the boy in seconds, Stark. If he's been in a magical society, why has nobody noticed? That's the real question you should be asking."

"Harry didn't want to go back to his guardians," Tony whispered absentmindedly. "He told me he'll stay in New York for the summer and go back to school after. He said- that they wouldn't give a sh*t. I thought it was shady and something I'll look into later, so I let it be until he's more comfortable- f*cking hell. I thought it was more of a teenage rebellion, not this."

"T1hen we shall bring those people to justice at once!" Thor boomed, furious, his fingers releasing small bouts of lightning in response to his emotions.

"We're not doing sh*t until Harry gives me the full story. And-" Tony pointed a warning finger at both gods, "-their punishment will include Harry’s wishes. Not to mention I'd rather deal with them legally and make them suffer for years than just allow them an easy way out."

"My, Stark, for once, I like you," Loki chuckled darkly. "He will be fine and will wake soon. I doubt the boy would be happy if you took the decision out of his hands." Loki paused. "He's biologically your son, but as of now, you could still let him go and have no ties to him. Will you seriously take custody?"

It wasn't even a question. "Of course I will. I already missed his whole life."

Both asgardians seemed to be pleased with his answer. Tony's eyes narrowed; was this a test?

He voiced his suspicions.

"You must understand: children are cherished above anything in Asgard. It's a blessing to have a child. Giving one up is… an inconceivable notion. Hurting one? It's unheard of."

Tony nodded.

He was still in shock over finding out that the boy who just appeared inside of his private floor was not only his son, but was abused.

It was a bit too much for him.

Aliens? Sure. A son? A whole 'nother story.

Tony felt wholly unprepared and was more than slightly panicking.

f*ck.

Solutions.

His mind was a problem solving machine.

He needed solutions now and he can freak out in private later.

"Jarvis!"

"Yes, Sir?"

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, find everything you can about Harry’s guardians. Everything. Pull whatever little dirt you can on them, perhaps check the neighbors too. I want to know it all. Harry too. Also whatever you can find of Lily and James Potter."

"Right away, Sir."

"We should-" a groan interrupted what Thor was about to say and they all turned to the waking boy on the sopha.

His eyes opened and he groaned, covering his eyes. "Merlin’s saggy balls, I hoped that to be a nightmare. Or are you all just some f*cked up hallucination?"

Thor chuckled.

"We're real, young Harry. Are you well?"

The boy shifted and sat up, glaring at the people in the room.

"I'm wonde-" the boy frowned, flexing his leg. The next moment, Harry was staring at the God clad in green. "You healed me." It didn't sound like a thank you, more like an accusation.

Tony snorted.

"A thank you would suffice, young wizard," Loki said airily, smirking at yet another glare he received. It was adorable.

"My name is Harry. Just five letters, I'm sure such powerful gods as yourselves should be able to manage it."

Thor roared with laughter, delighted by the boy. "Ah, this one has snark! Our apologies, Harry. We meant to harm."

Harry pursed his lips and nodded, the fire in his eyes deflating like a balloon. "Thank you," he whispered to Loki. "At least now I won't need a healer; that venom was a bit tricky."

"Healer?" Tony piped up and Harry’s face went blank when he glanced at the man and nodded. "We have healers and medi-witches or wizards. I did what I could, but there was no way to get rid of the Acromantula venom without an anti-dote. I would've been fine, eventually, but… there might've been some complications. I don't know."

"You fought an acromantula?" Thor's voice was full of wonder and awe. "Did you win?"

Harry grinned. "Sliced its head off."

Loki groaned.

"You're a true warrior, despite your young age, Harry James Potter. What a great honour it is to meet you."

"And where exactly did you stumble upon such a beast?" Loki's voice was full of annoyance at his brother. Of course he would be thrilled at the prospect of fighting more beasts.

And he didn't need to encourage such recless behaviour in Harry, the boy clearly had enough to deal with already.

"Would anyone mind telling me what an acromantula is? Hello?" Tony waved his arms around, annoyed at being the only one not in the know.

"It's a huge venomous spider that has a tendency to kill and eat everything it comes across," Loki explained, frowning. "Harry?"

The boy rolled his eyes.

"It was one of the creatures I had to get through in the maze. The third task of that damned Tournament. It caught me by accident; I thought I killed it."

"Oh, we have tournaments in Asgard too! I love those things, I usua-"

"Now is not the time, brother," Loki snapped, his serious expression bringing a semblance of sobriety to Thor.

He turned to the boy, who was now clearly in a defensive mode and was looking anywhere but at Tony.

Ah.

The boy was fearful of rejection.

Loki wasn't surprised, not with what his magic detected on the boy's body. Years of mistreatment.

Even he was appalled.

He will find out about who did this to the young mage and they will suffer, but for now, he had higher priorities.

"You were brought here by what you call a portkey," Loki started, pleased when those unnaturally green eyes landed on him and Harry gave him his full attention. "However, its coordinates had been tampered with, altered by your own magic."

"What?!"

Loki nodded. "Magic is sentient. You must've wished to be with your parents. You may not know or remember that Stark was your third parent, but your magic knows. It remembers. It heeded your wish and brought you here, to the only living parent you have."

Harry’s face drained of colour, his eyes scared for the first time as he glanced at Stark.

Loki exhaled slowly, sending a wave of calming magic towards the boy.

He just had to be the one the child trusted, didn't he?

Harry was clearly afraid of being rejected by his own father. Loki couldn't comfort him, but he could distract.

"Would you mind telling us what happened?"

It was clearly a wrong thing to say as Harry clammed up and shook his head.

Loki would've pushed if he was an idiot but he could sense magic; Harry's was poised and ready to attack at the slightest probe, while dutifully protecting its master.

Truly, what a gift this young man holds…

Such power.

He wondered if other mortals were as gifted or was Harry just a special case.

"There's nothing I can do to help currently," Thor said suddenly, drawing attention to himself. "I will be going home. I'm only a call away and I'm certain my brother will stick around and lend a hand, yes?"

"Certainly," Loki agreed quickly, even if he shot an annoying glare at Thor. Bloody idiot, always interfering.

And looking so smug about it, too.

After Thor said his farewells, promising Harry to teach him the fine art of wielding a weapon if he so wished, he departed, leaving an awkward silence in his wake.

Loki shot Stark a look that clearly said speak with your son, but Tony was clearly an idiot and continued pressing buttons on his device, clearly tempting Loki to just blow it up.

After yet another pointed look Loki shot him, motioning to Harry, Tony seemed to finally realize what the god was getting at.

Oh, yes.

His son.

His actual, alive and breathing son, who looked scared, and was looking anywhere but at Tony.

"I know this is more than a little fast and quite a bizarre situation, but… would you like to live with me, Harry?"

For the briefest moment Tony could swear he saw desperation on the youngling's face, but it was quickly replaced by cold indifference.

Tony quickly recognized it as one of the things his own father tried to teach him: to never show others your true emotions for it may leave you vulnerable to vultures. Seems like Harry already perfected this one thing that took Tony ages and Howard was left disappointed.

"I can take care of myself just fine and don't need charity."

Loki's eyes were screaming fix it or else and Tony was at a loss on what to do.

That's why he didn't want any kids in the first place: he had no idea how not to be crude and take care of them properly.

He had no patience for them.

However, Harry was already almost grown with seemingly hefty baggage.

At least he missed the diaper phase.

"Well, I don't care if you can or can't take care of yourself. You shouldn't have to. You're only a teen, and I, as your father, owe you sh*tton of everything for not being there for you in the first place."

"You don't owe me anything," Harry said fiercely. "I-"

"That's where you're wrong, kiddo," Tony shot back, just as fiercely. "You're underage. You're what? Thirteen?"

"Fourteen," Harry replied drily.

Tony waved his hand dismissively. "Yes, which means a minor. Don't know how it is over the ocean, kid, but here, a parent is legally obliged to take care of their child until they're eighteen." Harry stiffened. "But considering that you're my long lost son and I've already lost fourteen years of your life, don't think you're getting away from me for at least another fourteen. Fair warning."

It sounded too good to be true for Harry. A lot like something Sirius had said before f*cking off and abandoning him again.

Tony looked uncomfortable when Harry stayed silent.

"So… wanna move in?"

Harry stared at Tony incredulously and wished he could just apparate out of here.

He turned to Loki.

"You sure this isn't one of your pranks? Because, quite frankly, I'm still unsure if I'm not stuck in some nightmare. Or alternate reality."

Loki smirked, but shook his head. "I'm afraid everything is true, little one. Tony Stark is your father and I believe it would be in your best interest to stay here."

Harry snorted.

"What, do you think no one's going to look for me?" Harry's lips formed into a mean little smile. "I'm their chosen one. A f*cking teenager they hide behind to defeat the Dark Lord. I disappeared from the school grounds; I'm certain there's already a country wide search going on right now. There's not a chance in hell they would let you keep me here. Who else would be their saviour?"

"You're a child," Tony could barely suppress the rage he felt at some f*ckers over the ocean forcing his kid into some child soldier role. "My child. They have no right to tell us what to do."

"The Ministry does what it wants," Harry shrugged. "You don't have magic. You can't stop them."

"Well, they never fought the Iron Man before."

"And I have magic," Loki piped up helpfully. "They couldn't stand against me, little one. I am a god."

"Besides, you mentioned a Ministry. Which means there should be one here, too, right?" Tony was watching Harry carefully.

The boy nodded. "There's MACUSA. Magical Congress of the United States of America."

Tony nodded. "Great. We'll contact them, then. I'm an American citizen, we'll get you a citizenship as well, and those f*ckers in Britain can kiss my shiny ass."

Harry’s eyes widened and he blushed at such a colorful language, but he was also sort of flattered that Tony's fury was on his behalf.

It was weird and not a feeling he ever thought he'd have a pleasure to feel, but here he was: his newfound father who wanted him and didn't call him a freak due to having magic.

Hell, he didn't even have the shock and denial phase. Went straight to acceptance.

It was so bloody bizarre.

"So, what do you say? Staying here, getting to know your old man? You don't sound too eager to get back to England, and I don't see any reason to send you there either."

Harry contemplated his options.

If Tony truly wanted him, he wouldn't have to see Dursleys ever again.

And if he truly took his custody, Harry will have options.

He wouldn't have to run or hide.

He'd have someone to stand behind him. He would no longer be so terribly alone.

It sounded too good to be true. But what did he have to lose?

"Okay."

He only had everything to gain.

Chapter 6: Who knows? Certainly not-

Chapter Text

•°•CHAPTER 6°•°

"Sir, Miss Potts is on her way."

"sh*t."

This was the first time Harry witnessed Tony panic.

He was so self-assured and confident before this. What happened? Who was this Miss Potts to instill such a fear in his… father? Merlin, that was such a weird thing to say.

"Oh man. She's gonna kill me. No, not literally," Tony was quick to reassure Harry after seeing panic entering the kid's eyes. "Although, who knows? She just might."

"Who's Miss Potts?"

Ding.

The elevator door opened and a beautiful woman hastly walked in, pausing just for a moment when her eyes landed on Loki and Harry, before she continued on.

"Why do you have a child and mass murderer in your apartment?"

Harry's eyes snapped to Loki, who simply shrugged, smiling sheepishly.

"And why in god's name is your hair bright orange?!"

Tony's hands flew to his hair, but he had no way of covering it.

"Oh, it's a very interesting tale, Pepper. I'm sure you'll love it, perhaps over dinner or we could just-"

"Harry is Stark's son," Loki quipped helpfully, earning a shocked expression from Pepper, which was tons better than the glare Tony received.

"How long have you known and didn't deign to tell me?!"

Tony started backing away from the seemingly furious blonde.

"Uh, just found out today, really, it's not a big deal-"

"Not a big deal?! You having a child is a big deal, Anthony Howard Stark!"

"Well, now you know! Harry, meet Pepper! She's a force of nature so don't anger her."

Pepper glared at Tony one more time before offering a genuine warm smile to Harry, who was, quite frankly, more than a little shell-shocked and wanted to flee.

"Hello, Harry, my name is Pepper and I'm sure you're a charming young man, but Tony is an impulsive idiot. I assume you have the DNA results, so we can get the paperwork started?"

Harry was dumbfounded. "Uh… what paperwork?"

"I performed a spell to determine one's paternity. Trust me, Miss Potts, the results were a shock to everyone in this room." Loki offered graciously.

Pepper wasn't so easily placated. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Tony sighed heavily and offered her some coffee while he filled Pepper in on what transpired during the last few days.

"Magic," Pepper whispered. "You're magical."

"Yes. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't go telling that to anyone else. I'd rather not get in trouble for breaking the Statue of Secrecy." Harry glared menacingly at Tony, because if that idiot will keep telling every single person that Harry has magical powers, it will get him into a serious f*cking trouble.

Harry wasn't keen on going down in history as a man who exposed the magical world and restarted witch trials. No thank you, being known for not dying was bad enough.

"The what?"

Harry closed his eyes in despair. Maybe this was a mistake.

"Laws prohibiting us from speaking a word about magic to anyone muggle, as in, those who aren't part of the Magical World. They could easily throw someone into prison for doing such things, and oh, there's also people called obliviators who will wipe your memory clean of what you learned. Fair warning."

"Can they do that?" Pepper looked worried.

"Hey, but I'm your dad! I have rights!" Tony argued, pursing his lips and looking more like a petulant child than an adult. "And there's also Jarvis who recorded everything so even if they make me forget, I'll just watch the videos. No biggie."

Pepper was nodding along. "Which reminds me, we have to get Harry’s custody transferred. I'll contact your lawyers."

Harry was silent.

Too silent, Tony noticed.

"Is something wrong?"

Harry shook his head, but he still looked worried. "Why would you want to take on custody?" He asked, a small tremble in his voice being the only thing that betrayed his true feelings. "I only have two more years until I'm of age and can never see Dursleys again. It's just more hassle for you and it's obvious you've got other things to worry about than some random kid popping into your house."

"You're not just some random kid. You're my son," Tony said with so much conviction that it left Harry reeling. "I've already lost over a decade of time with you and I refuse to lose more."

"Besides, if you're worried about your aunt and uncle, you don't have to: our lawyers will take care of everything quickly and quietly," Pepper added gently.

Harry smiled bitterly. "I have no problem with them, rather with Dumbledore - the headmaster- who's hell bent on forcing me back there for some bloody reason." Which was shady as f*ck. Dumbledore claimed its because of the wards, but what f*cking wards could a muggle house have that the ones in the Magical World didn't? It was stupid. Dumbledore was hiding something, and Harry had no idea what.

And when he asked he received no answers.

It was frustrating, nobody telling him anything.

"What does a headmaster have to do with you and your living arrangements?" Tony asked, genuinely confused.

Harry shrugged. "No clue, to be honest. He just pretty much orders everyone around." But seriously, why did a f*cking headmaster of a school have so much power?

There were hundreds of students at Hogwarts and Harry didn't see Dumbledore telling them where to stay over the summer. So what made him so special? Dead parents? Dumbledore never told Susan Bones what to do.

"What did your parents wills say?" Pepper asked, hiding her concern well.

"I-" Harry frowned. "As far as I know, they were never read. I was shipped off to Dursleys the same night they were killed."

"Killed by who?"

Ah, and here comes the question that will change everything.

Who would want to be saddled with Harry who had a giant red target on his back that put everyone around him in danger?

"The Dark Lord," he whispered.

Tony laughed with a slight edge of hysteria in his voice. "You can't be serious."

"No, that's my godfather." Harry shook his head at the questioning looks. "Nevermind. Yes, I'm serious. There's a Dark Lord who wants me dead, personally. Actually, before popping into your house, I was trying to get away from him and his minions. So-" Harry smiled ruefully. "I'm sure you understand I have a target on my back and I'm well aware that this isn't something you'd want or need in your life, which means we can all forget this custody nonsense and I'll just f*ck off and leave you be, yeah? Great." Harry started to stand up, taking the silence as an agreement, and was planning the best way to get to Gringotts when Tony stopped him.

"Kid, wait! Where are you going?"

Harry frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You don't actually think that you can just drop a bomb of some nutjob trying to kill you and then think we'd let you leave, would you?" Harry shrugged. That's usually how it went. "Jesus, kid. Sit down."

Harry wearily sat back down, wondering what else could they want.

"Listen," Tony spoke up. "I'm not sure what sh*t you've been fed your whole life, but you don't have to deal with any Dark Lords or whatever other nonsense there is alone. Or at all. You're a child. You're fourteen. It's the adults job to take care of serial killers, okay? It's not your responsibility, and if that nutjob shows up here, well…" Tony smirked smugly. "He'll be shipped off in body parts."

Harry wasn't convinced.

"Everyone says it's my job to kill him. You don't know my history, Tony, and this isn't something that I would burden you with."

"I don't need to know," Tony cut him off. "And this is the biggest pile of bullsh*t I've ever heard. Who in their right mind can expect a child to kill someone?" Which was a good question, in Harry’s humble opinion. "Well, that's not happening. I've heard enough and I don't like it. You're staying here and it's final."

"You can't force me," Harry snarled. "And I refuse to be responsible for putting all of you in danger."

"Kid," Tony leaned forward and Pepper was amused to see two identical stubborn expressions on their faces. The resemblance was staggering. "I'm an adult. You are not. This isn't your responsibility to deal with. In fact, you mentioned law enforcement. Where are they in this?"

Harry shrugged. He had no idea.

"Well, you said you need a map. Then we can get in contact with these MACUSA people and sort it out, because one thing is clear to me: you are not fighting some murderous nutjob and you are not going back to your relatives or even England before we sort this out."

"You can't-"

"You will find that I can." Tony snapped. "I'm not about to let my kid that I just found out about to be forced into some savior role while everyone else sits on their asses doing nothing." Harry’s jaw snapped shut, eyes wide at just how angry Tony looked. But not at him. At the adults who failed him. "You will be in my custody by the end of tomorrow the latest, which will grant you an immediate American citizenship. And-" Tony raised his hand when Harry was about to argue again. "I'm the Iron Man. There's a literal God sitting in the next room, pretending he's not eavesdropping. I have a whole team of Avengers to back me up and trust me, Dark Lord or not, he doesn't stand a chance against all of us."

Harry had no idea who these Avengers were, but Tony seemed convinced.

"You can't fight against magic," he whispered, feeling more than slightly hysterical. He wanted this so bad, but he knew this would never work. Voldemort will follow him anywhere.

And no matter how good, rich, or well connected Tony is, he stands no chance against the killing curse.

"Kid, we already did."

"Your Dark Lord will be mo match for me either!" Loki shouted from the other room. "My magic is more advanced than yours."

Harry still wasn't convinced and was mortified to find his eyes teary.

Merlin, the last few days were too much from him.

The maze, then witnessing Voldemort’s return, fighting him… seeing his parents. Meeting his last living surprise parent. It was all too much.

"We can speak more about this tomorrow, yes?" Pepper intervened, noticing that Harry was beginning to spiral immediately. "Let's go grab some… ice cream, hm? Do you like ice cream, Harry?" The boy nodded, not trusting his voice at the moment. "Wonderful! Come, let's go to the ice cream parlor. It's just at the end of the block. What do you say?"

"Go ahead, kid," Tony urged after a pointed look that Pepper shot him. "Bring me some as well. Mint chocolate, preferably."

"We will. Come on." Pepper stood up, motioning Harry over, who looked even more unsure than before. "We'll be back soon."

"Take Happy with you!"

Pepper frowned. "I think we got it. Come, Harry. Let's show you a little bit of New York."

Harry nodded, following the happily chattering Pepper into an elevator, confused on how he got to this point.

Perhaps Voldemort landed a curse and he's deep in a coma, living up some bizarre dream where he has people who act like they care for him.

Or maybe he was portkeyed to another universe.

Who knows?

Certainly not Harry.

"That boy is a flight risk," Loki drawled, coming to drape himself in Harry’s place. "And you just let him go."

"No I didn't." Tony looked at the God as if he was stupid. "His shoes and sweatpants have a GPS tracker each. Just in case he teleports somewhere else. I don't feel like losing him if he decides to ditch at a moment's notice."

"Smart move." Loki paused. "Tell me, Stark, what is your plan here?"

The Iron Man shrugged.

"Get custody of my kid, get to know him, sue everyone who thinks it's okay to force a child to compete in tournaments full of deadly huge spiders and fight Dark Lords? Yep. Sounds about right."

Loki stared at the ceiling, asking Allfather to grant him strength.

"Actually, Jarvis! Get my lawyers here ASAP."

"Right away, sir. Should I point them to the Meeting Room for Dummies?"

"Yes."

"Good choice, Sir."

Tony nodded. "I may have never wanted children, but since I have one, there's no way in hell I'm giving him up. Lily wou- actually, both, Lily and James would kill me if I did."

"It's weird how you still remember them. Its been a long time and you're not exactly… celebate."

Tony snorted. "They're hard to forget. I looked for them before, but considering they were a part of a secret f*cking society, it's no wonder I couldn't find any records. They probably had to lie to me as well."

"What I find interesting is that they knew you were a father and yet, the boy was dumped with his filthy relatives." Loki couldn't wait to get his hands on them. To hurt a helpless child… it was unforgivable. "This Dumbledore character the boy mentioned seems to be at the center of it all. A headmaster who does whatever he wants…"

"Shady, isn't it? I'll need to get Harry to tell me everything first, before I go suing everyone." He looked at Loki sharply. "Will you be staying here?"

"Sure. Not like I have anything better going on right now."

"Don't go corrupting my kid, Reindeer Games. And no mind games. I mean it."

Loki threw his hands up in the air and grinned. "I wouldn't dare it. I swear."

"Good. You can stay in the apartment a few floors down, the one where Thor stays when he's here, but there's an extra room you can stay in."

"Thank you. Your hospitality is much appreciated."

"Oh, shut up. You're only here because you can wield magic and I don't fancy dozens of wizards descending upon me and trying to wipe my mind clean."

"Whatever you say, Stark."

"Yes. Now kindly get out. I need to research some sh*t before Harry and Pepper get back."

"What about ice cream?"

"You're not getting any."

"Rude." Loki pouted and strolled towards the elevator. "This is why I will not help with your hair situation. Tell the boy he can speak to me if he wishes."

"Yeah, yeah. You're not that important, Loki Bear. Now get out."

Loki was about to retort something nasty when the elevator door shut in his face and he was gone.

Tony sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Father.

He was a father.

And now he has an enormous responsibility not to f*ck it up and not turn out like his own dad.

Which starts with research.

"Jarvis, I need a… parental guide. Yes. Send me everything on how not to traumatize your own kid and- help them with recent trauma. I mean, kid will clearly need help if he has a psychopath after his head. That messes people up. Just… send everything."

"I will be uploading files to your cloud, Sir, under the name 'parental guidelines'. Would that be all?"

"Yes, for now."

The files started pouring in moments later and Tony spent the rest of his time skimming through most of it so he'd have some idea on what he was doing.

He should probably just ask Pepper. She seemed to be born with answers for every single instance of life going wrong.

Perhaps she'll even be able to convince his son to give him his dashing looks back.

Who knows? Certainly not Tony.

Chapter 7: Pepper

Chapter Text

•°•CHAPTER 7°•°

Albus sighed heavily, flicking his wand at a yet another Howler he received this morning.

They were never ending.

Since Harry and Cedric had disappeared with absolutely no trace, Albus was getting slammed from all sides to find them.

Thankfully, he wasn't the only one since the Ministry was overseeing the last task, but he was the one everyone expected to dish out answers.

Except, he didn't have any.

He tried to tell Cornelius that Voldemort was back and that the boys were taken by him, but the man proclaimed him a liar and a deluded, senile old man.

He might be old, but he knew that the only reason Harry was even entered into the tournament was to get the boy away from school. Which they succeeded in doing.

It soon became clear that his friend Moody was being impersonated by a Death Eater all year long, they just didn't know who it was: the bastard managed to escape.

Alastor was still recovering at St Mungos and didn't remember much. Nobody would believe him if he did either, since Alastor was considered half-sane due to his extreme paranoia.

But the fact remained that the imposter helped to abduct the boys and now they had no leads.

The Diggorys were furious, demanding search parties to be made to find their only son.

People were enraged, and the more time had passed, the wilder the theories have become.

Some were even accusing Harry of murdering Cedric to win the Tournament, then hiding his body and fleeing.

It was absurd.

And yet, no locator spell could find either of the boys. His only hope was retrieving some information from Severus, who was about to be back from the meeting with Tom at any minute.

As if on cue, the flames flared and the wizard stumbled out, looking more than a little ragged.

"What news do you bring me, Severus?"

The man shook his head.

"I'm afraid the Dark Lord wasn't in a chatty mood, Albus. He's… he's furious. It's obvious the brat had escaped somehow, somewhere, otherwise the Dark Lord would be overjoyed and parading his corpse around."

"Severus-"

"Don't 'Severus' me, Albus. I don't know anything else and I didn't dare irritate the Dark Lord when he was quite keen on ending my existence for defying him and not showing up the night of his return. Be glad I'm here at all."

Albus nodded, feeling old and helpless.

"We'll continue to look. I've called the old crowd back. We must find Harry. He's vital in this war."

"Why? What is it about that boy that you're so fixated on?"

"You know of the prophecy, Severus." The wizard flinched. "He's the one who must deliver the final blow."

"You know my thoughts about prophecies well, Albus," Severus sneered, but didn't argue the point. He's heard about it enough times to know it would be futile. "I will see if my old crowd has anything to divulge about the boy. Perhaps Lucius will. He disappeared the moment the Mark started burning."

Albus nodded. "Very well, my boy. Do contact me immediately if you have news."

Severus nodded curtly and left without further ado, leaving the headmaster to ponder about which road to take.

None of them seemed appealing.

People were in the uproar, the Ministry dragging its heels. Things weren't looking up.

He hoped that Harry would reach out to him for help, send a message, somehow. But for some reason the boy chose to stay silent. Unless, of course, he's being held against his own will, which would make the situation that much more dire. Albus wouldn't be surprised if Tom simply chose to lie to his followers and keep Harry hidden somewhere, if only to make his life miserable.

Tom would absolutely love to tarnish his reputation as a headmaster who lost two of his students.

Yes… Harry being held captive could very well be an option.

The headmaster sighed, flicking his wand at a yet another howler flying his way.

Sirius Black will not be happy that Albus wasn't even a step closer to finding his godson.

Harry genuinely considered just f*cking off, but Pepper, for looking unassuming, was a sharp woman and not one to be messed with, it seemed.

She chatted his ear off while not letting him out of sight for even a minute, trying to keep him engaged.

But Harry was having a total culture shock after exiting the tower. The last time he's seen so many people in the streets was when Lockhart was signing autographs.

Not to mention the size of the buildings.

And the noise.

Merlin gracious, and for a moment he honestly believed he'd be able to navigate the city on his own.

"Too much?" Pepper asked gently, nodding with an understanding smile, making Harry feel like an ass for not answering. "Yes, New York has that effect on people. I take it you're not used to such… commotion?"

Harry shook his head.

There were too many people. He'd never be able to see a threat even if it was right in front of him. A wizard could easily blend in into the masses.

He was completely and utterly exposed.

Some of the panic must've shown on his face, because Pepper gently took him by the arm and started leading him somewhere.

"You're safe with me, Harry, don't worry. And if anything, Tony's… bodyguard is also following us. You can meet him later, okay? Oh, and see?" She pointed at the small shop with a glowing ice cream cone sign. "We're already here. Told you it's just around the corner."

Harry wasn't so sure.

They couldn't even shield against magic, even though no wizard would be stupid enough to expose magic to so many muggles at once.

Unless they were insane. Like Voldemort.

"I'll have a strawberry sorbet and a chocolate mint ice cream to go for later… what do you want, Harry?"

Harry startled, hearing his name.

"I…" he blushed. "Didn't bring any money," he muttered, embarrassed.

Pepper laughed, but it didn't sound like she was mocking him. "Oh honey. The adults are paying. Just pick whatever tickles your fancy and don't worry about it."

Harry still felt uncomfortable, but did as he was told. Pepper had the exact same expression as Mrs Weasley when she put a second serving of food in front of Harry. Declining wasn't even an option in such times. He knew from experience.

Eventually, he picked lemon sorbet, begrudgingly sitting down at the small table next to Pepper, who looked happy as you please.

It was unnerving.

How could she be so okay with him? He dropped out of nowhere. Like a nasty surprise of even more responsibilities, and instead of being mad or annoyed, she took him to get ice cream.

Maybe American muggles were simply different and more chill? Or just f*cking cut off from reality.

"So, Harry, what can you tell me about yourself?"

Harry shrugged. "Not much to tell here." And not so in the open where anyone could overhear them.

Pepper, thankfully, nodded in understanding.

"Well, is there anything I can tell you?"

Harry frowned, pondering, eventually blurring out the one thing that still didn't sit right with him:

"Why would Tony want to take me in? He doesn't have to. He has no obligations towards me and owes me nothing. It's just… bizarre to think he'd willingly take on such a burden when he can walk away with no consequence."

Pepper's face turned into something a lot like pity and Harry winced.

"Harry…" the blonde reached out to squeeze his arm. "You aren't a burden," she said firmly, holding Harry’s gaze. "And Tony wants you not out of some misguided sense of obligation, but because you are his son and he wants to get to know you. Catch up on all of the years he missed. He does act like an impulsive child more times than not, but usually, he gets what he wants. And right now he wants your custody and to spend time with his child. Is that too hard to understand?"

Harry swallowed.

He understood this in theory; he's seen other parents spending time with their kids; even uncle Vernon loved to spend time with Dudley, but he never thought himself included in that category. He was always the one on the sidelines. Always.

It felt weird to be wanted now, after such a long time of being by himself.

"I wasn't lying when I said I come with a baggage… uh…"

"Pepper, dear. Call me Pepper."

His cheeks flushed, but the boy nodded. "Pepper. I have people who want me dead, others who want to control my life. I come from a place where a-" Harry leaned in closer and whispered: "-magical war is taking place and I'm expected to lead it."

"You are a fourteen year old boy, Harry," Pepper snapped, and Harry was taken aback by pure anger in her eyes. "You will not step a foot close to any war, am I understood? War is the act of men - let them fight it."

He sighed. "I'm already involved. They will come after me regardless of my age."

Pepper huffed. "With who your father is, I doubt anyone will dare to point a finger at you, dear."

Harry looked at the woman confused.

"I… have no idea what that means," he confessed.

"You-" Pepper frowned. "You don't know what Tony does?"

"Never heard of him in my life."

Pepper's face turned into one of shock. "But… well, I suppose your… world doesn't follow ours then, does it?" Harry shook his head. "Well then. I suppose I should enlighten you, before you inevitably find out on your own." Oh no, was Harry going to regret saying anything? Was Tony a criminal or something? "Your dad and his dad before him, created a multi-billion dollar company, darling. Tony's a weapon manufacturer, or he was, before turning around and getting into clean energy and becoming the Iron Man."

Harry blinked. "Sorry, becoming a what?"

"The Iron Man? You haven't hea- never mind that. Yes, he's the Iron Man. Which means he invented a… suit, let's call it that, in which he can fight in and do all sorts of reckless things in order to give me gray hair. Tony's a hero, really. I'm sure he'll be delighted to show you what I mean. But he's well known internationally and when you say you have people after you… well, your dad is the same." Harry was dumbfounded. "See? You already fit in, dear. Now eat your sorbet before it melts."

Pepper's explanation left him even more confused. And shocked.

How the f*ck could Pepper just drop this kind of stuff on him and then calmly tell him to finish his ice cream?

"What I meant to say, Harry, is that Tony can protect you and protect himself really well. You don't have to worry. I'm sure you'll understand what I mean later on, and you can watch some videos. Now, how about we grab Tony's ice cream and get back? You have a lot of new things to process."

Harry nodded. His head was still reeling from everything that happened and all the new information he couldn't seem to process.

He allowed Pepper to take the lead and get them back into Stark Tower. He could now see the enormous sign and Merlin, it felt surreal.

He didn't even complain when Pepper immediately ushered him to bed.

"Do you think he's alright?"

Ron shrugged his shoulders, glaring at the dirty wallpaper his mom instructed him to scrub. By hand.

"Aren't you worried?" Ginny persisted, kicking his ankle when Ron stayed silent.

"Oy! Piss off, Ginny."

"Then answer me. All you're doing is sulking around."

"Yeah, I'm sure you're delighted to be cleaning this absolutely filthy room, Ginny. I'm in heaven."

"You know damn well I was talking about Harry, you pillock."

Ron shrugged again. "Harry’s always fine, isn't he? He probably didn't want to be stuck with his relatives and f*cked off."

"And Diggory? Decided to take Harry on a road trip, didn't he?"

"So Merlin help me, Ginny, if you don't back off-"

"What?" The witch glared furiously. "What are you going to do? Run away to cry to mummy? Your best friend is missing and you don't seem to give a sh*t!"

Ron sighed.

"What am I supposed to do, huh? We know nothing. No one is telling us anything. And who knows, Harry probably planned it like that- ouch! What the hell, Ginny!"

She glared at Ron, looking ready to strangle him. "You think he planned to be probably kidnapped?" Ginny hissed. "You know he didn't even want to be in the Tournament!"

Ron huffed. "That's what he said, but we don't know that, do we? Come on, Harry always sticks his nose into everything. First year it's the Stone, then the heir of Slytherin, last year it was Sirius and dementors - it's a pattern. It's like he can't stay away from danger for a whole year, so…"

"So you think Harry did this far a thrill?!" Ginny shrieked. "I can't f*cking believe you. What's wrong with you?!" She threw a dirty rug at Ron again, who barely managed to duck out of the way. "Are you seriously still jealous?" Ron's silence said it all, and Ginny was mad. "Unbe-f*cking-lievable. Harry didn't want to participate! He loathed the attention, the task - even I could see that, and we barely even spoke!"

"Yeah, Ronniekins, me thinks you want the glory-"

"-and none of the work."

Ron's cheeks flared, and turned to see his twin brothers smirking at him.

"Bugger off, all of you!"

"Why? All of the fun is in this room."

Ron sneered. "You're all acting as if Harry did all of the heroic sh*t and I wasn't even there! I'll have you know that I was dragged along every single time he rushed into danger! I deserve some recognition too!"

Fred and George's expression softened into one of understanding, and they started nodding.

"Oh, we remember," said Fred.

"Yes, especially when you were sleeping-"

"-and snoring hard enough to make waves in the Black Lake-"

"-while Harrykins was risking his life saving your ungrateful ass."

"Yep. You were there."

"And!" George shut Ron up with his wand. "How you ventured against the dragon with him."

"Truly, it was magnificent."

"And let's not forget how you bet three galleons that Krum would be in the first place." Fred shook his head disappointedly. "Your faith in your best friend was staggering."

"We are still shocked how he took you back in after you treated him like sh*t and led the whole Gryffindor house against him."

"We would've flayed you alive."

"Or left you hanging naked from the dining hall ceiling."

"Or locked you in a room with Peeves."

"Or with Myrtle."

""Or both,"" the twins said in unison.

"The point is," Fred said, while his twin and Ginny were nodding along, "that you were acting sh*tty then and you're acting sh*tty now. And we don't like it."

"Then don't f*cking interfere with my life, yeah?" Ron snapped, embarrassed and angry at everything his brothers had said. "Harry forgave me."

"Oh? Did he?" Fred asked. "Wonder what he'll think if we tell him what you've done."

"Because Merlin help me, Harry can be oblivious," George sighed. "But he sure won't be so forgiving if he finds out it was you who made his life so miserable when he was already probably scared out of his mind."

"And when he realizes you don't even care if he's alive!" Ginny finally joined the twins, having heard enough. "What's wrong with you?!"

Ron's had enough of this. "Lay off, will ya? I'm telling you, Harry will turn up eventually. And for other things…" Ron shrugged. "It was a long time ago, he's not going to care."

"We'll see," Ginny muttered darkly, slapping the wet dirty rag directly on her brother's face, hoping that it may help slapping some sense into Ron. "Try growing some empathy until that time, or I'll hex you."

Ron shivered at the threat, knowing damn well just how viscous his sister could be.

But he still couldn't see what the big deal was.

So what if he was jealous? Harry had everything he ever wanted: the recognition, the fame, the money.

All Ron had was second-hand clothes and nothing else to show.

He didn't have many friends, his grades were average, his magical ability wasn't all that great… he was good at chess, but that was it.

None of it was his fault.

And sure, having the Harry Potter as a friend paid off if you counted off all of the dangerous situations it got him in.

And Harry thrived in such situations. Ron could see that.

He may not have liked the attention - which was a waste, in his opinion - but Harry was seen. And with him, Ron was seen too, if for a little while.

So no, Ron wasn't worried about Harry. He'll turn up, eventually.

He probably is just lost, or hiding somewhere.

And all this nonsense about You-Know-Who? Ron didn't believe any of it for a second.

There was no proof.

And just because professor Moody wasn't actually Moody didn't prove anything, no matter what the headmaster said.

His siblings can happily piss off as well.

Chapter 8

Chapter Text

•°•CHAPTER 8°•°

"He's asleep."

Tony let out a sigh of relief.

"This is-"

"I know."

"Insane."

"Absolutely."

"It's magic, Tony. You have a magical son."

Tony nodded again, feeling completely out of his depth.

He didn't know what he'd do if he didn't have Pepper.

Drown, probably.

Unfortunately, whatever information he managed to read on parenting didn't mention anything about facing life threatening danger or kids performing magic, or even, hell, ways to deal with secret societies.

It was a lot to take in. But Tony's taken in worse.

"What will you do?"

"What do you expect me to do, Pepper?"

The blonde pursed her lips in a way that told Tony he was about to walk into a trap.

"I expect you to be better than your father."

"That's a low bar, Peps. And I have no idea how to deal with this."

"So what, you'll abandon him?" She hissed. "Tony Stark, I expe-"

"Of course I won't abandon him, it's just… I have no idea how to be a father!"

"You're a genius, Tony. I'm sure you'll figure it out. And hey," she walked over to where Tony was having an existential crisis and squeezed his shoulder in a show of support. "You need to remember Harry’s never been a son either. It's a new experience for you both."

Tony nodded, somewhat reassured by Pepper's words.

He might not know what he's doing, but Harry didn’t either.

And Tony was used to rolling with the punches and improvising.

"So, how will you play this, Tony?"

"I'm getting his custody transferred. Next up I'll let the kid decorate the room, feed him, because God, he needs it, get him some clothes-" Tony looked sharply at her. "No, you can do that. I hate shopping."

"You love shopping."

"Yeah, not as much as you do. You're better at it. Anyway, after that I will have to get any and all information I could get from him, especially blackmail in case we need to sue everyone back in England."

"Sue?! Who are you going to sue?"

Tony shrugged. "His guardians. That freaky headmaster. The Dark Lord, the Ministry, who knows? I've got money and I've got time, Peps, England is my oyster and I intend on devouring it."

"What aren't you telling me, Tony?" Pepper was concerned. Really concerned, because Tony was many things, but he wasn't like this.

"His aunt and uncle? Abused him."

It was a shock to hear and Pepper's heart went out for the young boy in the next room, but things didn't add up. Harry was… closed off. He wouldn't just admit to being hurt to strangers, even if they were related. Pepper was certain of it, even after the short amount of time they spent together.

"And he told you all of this, just like that?" She snapped her fingers.

"You wish," Tony snorted, getting up to pour himself another glass of fine whiskey. "No, no… when Loki healed his wounds he noticed abnormalities. He was the one to inform me of the treatment Harry went through. Harry doesn't know we know. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell him either."

"I'm not stupid, Tony, " Pepper said, affronted. She knew better than to confront a teenager with something so sensitive. Harry was a flight risk. "And if that's the case, you need to get his custody yesterday. And those monsters get nothing from you."

They won't be getting anything other than their life's ruined by Tony himself.

He'll garner intel about that family and use it against them in the worst way possible.

Why kill someone if you can make their life hell?

"I'm not an idiot, Pepper. NDA's are already coming up nicely."

"Good... Good God, Tony. Magical society. Why did Fury or others never told us about it?"

Tony shrugged. "They might not know. Harry was adamant about the secrecy part and if the whole wiping memory thing is real? Who's to say you, me or anyone else haven't been made to forget?"

Which was a terrifying thought. However, Tony trusted Jarvis to inform him of any discrepancies and really, if wizards used owls as a means of communication, they had no idea how to work an AI and delete data.

That put him at ease, somewhat.

"What will you be telling others?" Pepper asked.

Tony frowned. "I'm not hiding the kid if that's what you're getting at. None of them are aware of the word boundaries and march in here whenever. It's annoying. So they'll all see the kid sooner or later. Bruce and Cap already know."

Pepper nodded.

"Besides, Harry doesn't seem to like Icicle. You should've heard him, Peps, the kid's got balls."

"I'm not surprised, Tony. He's yours."

"Yeah, yeah, which is also why he probably has the Stark's Magnet for Troubles."

"I'm not worried about that either, since you always seem to figure things out," Pepper smiled. "Enough chatter, mister. I know that you know, that your lawyers have been waiting for you for the last twenty minutes or so."

"Are they?" Tony's eyes widened. "I had no idea. Probably should go see what they want."

Pepper chuckled. "Yes. Let's."

Sirius Black wasn't a happy man.

His godson was missing and nobody was doing anything about it.

He already screamed himself hoarse when shouting at Albus, at where his reckless machinations have gotten them.

He screamed at him for not pulling Harry out of that deathtrap of a tournament altogether. For letting his terrified godson to compete with no help, while other headmasters were clearly cheating and helping their champions, while Harry was left to flounder it alone.

And now, he was missing.

Kidnapped. A runaway. Nobody could tell, because nobody knew what happened.

Albus was hiding something, Sirius was sure of it.

Snape, that arrogant, good for nothing Death Eater, swore that Voldemort didn't have his godson. That he was hiding, like a coward, which earned him a quick sharp hook into that big ugly nose of his.

Sirius wished he'd done more, because Snivellius was f*cking useless.

Voldemort could have Harry hidden and not say a word to someone as untrustworthy as Snape. His godson could be out there, being tortured while they were sitting on their asses.

But if he ran away… where would he go?

Sirius knew Harry hated being at the Dursleys. It didn't take a genius to find out those pigs mistreated his godson. Sirius would run too. And he has, straight to the Potter Manor, but Harry had nowhere to go.

And he was certain Harry would send him a message, contact him in some way if he could. Unless… unless he was afraid Sirius would tell everyone and would bring him back to Dursleys. Which Albus definitely would do. He heard the headmaster talking about needing to find Harry before the blood wards fell.

Sirius felt like he could trust no one.

Albus only wanted Harry for some wards and for war. His friends missed him, sure, but Harry already told him about their falling out and that things didn't feel the same, but he had to pretend they were.

He also confided to Sirius how Ron would get jealous if he spoke to anyone else and he found it hard to make other connections.

Which put Ronal Weasley into a very unfavourable light for Sirius. He even felt vindicated for breaking the boy's leg a year before.

But now that the whole Weasley brood plus Hermione moved into his house… Sirius found himself growing annoyed and resentful.

Albus put it under the guise of everyone gathering together to find Harry, but there was nothing even remotely close happening to finding his godson. Just Molly ordering everyone around, in his home, which was starting to drive him nuts.

So Sirius, as the Lord of this House, did the only reasonable thing he could and sealed his floor off, so nobody could get into it. He did the same with the library, Reggie's room and one of the better rooms that he believed Harry would like. Also the entire basem*nt and storage room.

He might resent his family, he might hate the house he grew up in, but it was his and Molly has no right to go snooping around his property.

They wanted a place to meet, they can do that in the bloody kitchen or the drawing room. Sirius never agreed to hand his house over to strangers.

Harry needed a quiet place to stay when he comes to live with him. So Sirius will make him a home.

One where he can be comfortable in and isn't pestered by Molly Weasley. Somewhere he would want to return to.

Sirius pulled out his wand.

He'll do some remodeling and then will try his family books. He was certain he'll find a spell to find Harry.

He didn't care if it wasn't legal magic.

He had a godson to find.

Harry woke up to an unnerving feeling of someone staring at him.

He opened his eyes, only seeing a blur of a silhouette; it was still partially dark outside.

"Go away," he said, voice muffled by the pillow, not ready to deal with whoever came in to bother him.

"Is this the way to greet your guest, Harry?" A melodious voice of Loki startled the boy.

"Yes. When they're intruding on my sleep."

Loki snorted.

"You're telling me you didn't ask for a map so you can find your beloved wizards? Shame. I guess I'll just get rid of it then."

Harry extended his hand and summoned the map before the god could do anything to it. Except…

"What the f*ck," Harry asked, as his hand was still empty while that god was smirking at him. He was certain that was the expression on Loki's face, because he still couldn't bloody see, and instead, summoned his glasses.

Yep. Smirking.

"So sorry. I'm not actually here. I'm astral projecting."

Harry pouted. "Well, I'm not leaving this bed."

"Shame."

"I'll get my own map later."

"Oh? With what money?"

Harry instantly felt guilty.

f*ck. He had nothing here. And he really didn't feel like leeching off Tony more than he already has, no matter what the man had said.

He just needed to get to Gringotts, and he'll be set. Or to a wizarding store, where he can pay with his rings.

"I'm sure I'll manage," he managed to grit out, dropping back into bed.

"Aw, don't be like that. Just come to my floor and we can go find your magical land."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"What's in it for you?"

Loki shrugged, a mischievous smile on his face. "What? I'm curious. I've never met magical folk on this planet and considering you're a wielder, I don't think it's discriminatory here."

Harry snorted. "You have no idea."

"Oh? Because in Asgard it's frowned upon if men choose to wield magic instead of a weapon. I was always looked down upon for doing so."

"That's horrible," Harry said, his eyes widening. "No, it's nothing like that here. Witches and wizards are equal, but it's more about… blood. There are muggles, those who have not an ounce of magic. There are muggleborns, who are considered anomalies; they come from two muggle parents and are considered by some to be of dirty blood due to their muggle ancestry. Then there are half bloods, like me. One parent a pureblood, the other of mixed blood. And finally - purebloods, whose families have never mingled with anyone of unsure blood. It's a whole mess and obviously a discriminatory system, but quite frankly, I haven't delved too deep into it to know if there's any merit. Not like anyone told me anything."

"Well," Loki was both, disturbed and fascinated. "That's a new take. Not that I'm surprised. You were adamant about the importance of Secrecy before, and if those muggleborns still have ties to their muggle parents and muggle families… they pose a great risk for exposure. What is being done about that?"

Harry's mind came to a screeching halt.

He… had no idea.

Hermione told her parents about magic all the time and they… what was stopping them from telling others? Or from going to the authorities if they don't like what they hear?

f*cking hell, why was no one worried about it?!?

"I don't know," he answered eventually.

Is that why the Ministry of Magic kept bending backwards towards muggleborns' whims? So they wouldn't expose the Magical World?

It would make so much sense-

"Well, we can find out later. Come on, young sorcerer. Let's go see your world. Oh, I'm two floors down, by the way." And the god disappeared, leaving Harry completely and utterly confused.

With a loud groan and great difficulty, Harry got himself out of the bed, and straight to his own, private bathroom. Which was another new thing for him.

He never really had much privacy, or stayed anywhere this fancy. Quite frankly, it still felt like a surreal dream he could wake up any minute from.

To his surprise, a yet another set of muggle clothes awaited for him too, which Harry felt incredibly grateful for and also guilty.

His parents left him money, he could provide for himself just fine.

His parents.

Merlin's saggy balls, he had three biological parents.

It was still a bit too bizarre to think about, let alone to process.

And he still wasn't sure what blood adoption entailed. Was he still James' son? He must be, since he wore the Potter heir ring.

But then why didn't he know about any of it? Why did no one tell him? Not even the goblins. Not even Sirius, who should've known… Sirius. Harry wanted to contact his godfather, to tell him he's alright, but he was terrified to be tracked down.

Letters could be intercepted and they will be on high alert due to what happened anyway.

It wasn't safe. Not yet.

Harry got ready, and walked to the elevator, pressing down a hopefully right floor.

He still couldn't get over the fact he was in a skyscraper. Merlin.

He'd love to fly off of it one day.

Ding.

The door opened and before Harry could walk out of the elevator, he was pushed back in by Loki.

"Hey!"

"Sush. Here's your map."

Harry rolled his eyes and grabbed the thing from the god's hands.

Conceited bastard.

Harry couldn't believe he was afraid to meet him at one point; Loki was bloody annoying.

Harry tapped the map with his wand, smiling when the entrance to the Wizarding World lit up brightly, and so did the path to get there. Actually… there were two entrances, but one was really f*cking far and Harry couldn't waste all day to get there, so he chose the closer one.

It wasn't that far, but it would take at least an hour to get there. Probably more.

sh*t.

"Problems, little sorcerer?"

"It's a bit far…"

"Show me." Harry did. "Ah… well, I'm sure you know how to use public transport."

"No idea. We don't have such things." Apart from a Knightbus, but even if New York had one, how was Harry supposed to pay for it?

Loki frowned. "Well then, I suppose we can walk-"

"May I suggest a driver, Young Sir?"

Harry jumped in surprise, letting out a startled squeak. "What the f*ck!" He shouted.

"So sorry to disturb you, young Sir, it was not my intention."

"Just who are you?!" Harry demanded.

"I am Jarvis, personal AI assistant of Mister Stark."

That still didn't make any f*cking sense.

"Listen up, Jarves. Maybe stop listening to my private conversations and go take a break, or a nap, or something. I've got business to take care of and you… you stay out of it."

"Understood, young Sir. When are you planning to be back?"

"I don't know, and none of your bloody business!"

"You know, we wouldn't be walking right now if you accepted his offer," said Loki after they've been walking for twenty minutes. Thankfully, it was still criminally early which meant the streets were practically empty, apart from a few joggers and people who were hurrying to their too early jobs.

"Feel free to go back," Harry snapped at the God, and froze for a moment.

He was an idiot.

He pulled Loki into an empty alleyway, and pulled out his wand.

"I don't want to be recognized," he said before casting a few glamours on himself; nothing much, just changed his hair colour to blond, made his hair curly. And a handy Notice-Me-Not charm that would go a long way for someone with Harry’s fame.

Loki shook his head when Harry trained his wand on the man, instantly transforming into a random blond bloke who sent a smug conceited grin at Harry. The audacity-

"Seriously? You could've just done that to me as well!"

"You never asked." Loki smirked.

"I had no idea you could do that!"

"Not my fault, is it? Now let's go, my darling, just as dashing teenager of a son. We need to find the world of magic."

Harry scowled, hiding his wand, but that didn't stop him from sending a mild stinging jinx at Loki, who yelped in surprise.

Harry continued to walk with an innocent look on his face that Loki didn't believe for a second.

What a pair they made.

"Good morning, Sir. It's currently exactly eight in the morning. The current weather in Manhattan is sunny and is expected to be all day. Current temperature is 57°F and is looking to be as high as 75°F at the highest. I've already ordered you breakfast and it's bound to arrive at any moment."

"Great. Good. Thanks, Jarvis." Tony stretched around in bed, feeling exceptionally well rested.

The meeting with his lawyers went well into the night, but Tony was glad at the results it brought.

Harry's custody was as good as his.

Considering the abuse Harry went through, even if he still had no evidence of it - which reminded him to get Harry to see a physician - and Dursleys dubious care… a simple fact that Harry didn't even have medically necessary papers…

That alone should've brought Child Protective Services on their doorstep, but for some reason, it didn't. It was shady.

He could understand if the Dursleys were poor, but not only was medical care free in England, but they were living very comfortably.

And Tony was about to ruin it all for the sake of his kid.

He wasn't above forging some papers that make it seem they knew he was the father all along and chose to keep it quiet.

However, something in Tony told him that Harry wouldn't like his life exposed like that, so, Tony will get his custody first and then ruin the Dursleys lives.

Someone will be going to their house in the morning - or whenever- to force them to sign transfer papers, along with some ironclad NDA's. If they refuse to sign, well… It was obvious from the numerous awards Petunia Dursley got every year that she was exceptionally proud of her standing in society. But one nasty rumor about her being an abuser, and her whole perfect life would crumble.

People in the suburbs were vicious, especially housewives.

Tony was certain they will bend. He wasn't giving up his son.

Hell, he already had papers for citizenship drawn up. He wasn't messing around.

"Hey Jarvis, where's Harry's breakfast? Teenagers get hungry, I'm pretty sure."

"Young Sir has left the Tower and is yet to come back, sir."

Tony choked on his food. "What?! Left where?!"

"Young Sir and Mister Loki had the map of New York on them, but didn't say their location out loud."

"Loki… f*cking batsard, he stole my son!" Tony pushed down the panic thinking a f*cking norse god and his son wandering the streets, all alone. With no supervision.

It didn't sound like something that would go overly well.

"Jarvis, Harry's shoes have a tracker in them. Track it, now!"

"Yes, Sir." There was a pause. "Sir… the trackers seem to be disabled."

"What?!" Tony shouted. "How is that possible! The kid is clueless about these things!"

"I wouldn't know, Sir. They seem to just have stopped working at one point."

Tony frowned. "Where is the last place the tracker was still active? Wait, how long has it been disabled?"

"It's been disabled for one hour and seventeen minutes, Sir, and I've already sent you the location."

Tony groaned.

His kid just had to have disappeared in a f*cking alleyway. Someone probably snatched him.

Someone so young and vulnerable would be an easy target for the scum of New York City.

Unless Loki had something to do with it, which Tony didn't doubt for a second.

Loki was shady and always planning nefarious things; it would make sense that he got Harry wrapped up in his schemes already.

"Did they mention anything? Where they were going?"

"Loki provided Young Sir with a map and I believe they were going to visit the magical world."

Tony cursed.

"Why didn't you wake me up!"

"Sir, you specifically instructed me not to wake you up before 8am under any circ*mstances, bar an attack on the world or this tower."

"Loki kidnapped my son! It is an attack, Jarvis!"

"My apologies, Sir, I was under the impression Young Sir went willingly."

God damn it.

Harry went to find his people with a f*cking lunatic and he had no idea.

Loki probably was already making plans on taking over the Magical World. Tony was certain of it.

It would be like a shiny new toy for Loki to admire and then break.

And why didn't Harry wake him? Why did he slip away like he- like he didn't want Tony to get involved?

Was this Harry’s way of running away?

Did Tony say something he shouldn't have?

f*cking hell, he was so out of his depth. He's known about his son for a day and already lost him.

Tony quickly ran to the garage and drove off to the location Harry’s GPS tracker went out.

Harry mentioned that electricity and magic don't work together, so maybe his kid stepped into the faerie land and now Tony had to wait for him to leave it.

Naturally, the alleyway was empty. The diner next to it was buzzing with life, and the abandoned building next to it looked suspicious, but Tony didn't see his kid anywhere. In fact, his instincts were screaming at him to leave.

Instead of being smart and listening to those instincts that saved his life so many times, Tony walked into the diner and ordered himself some light breakfast and coffee.

The waiter looked at him weirdly, but didn't say a word. Probably recognized him and was courteous enough to leave him be, thankfully.

However, as the time passed, Tony didn't see even a glimpse of messy black hair.

Which really should've been a dead giveaway of who the boy was - that hair was exactly like James's had been. He remembered James saying it was a curse Potter men had battled for generations, and he found it hilarious.

Even if it made the whole 'Harry has three bio parents' a f*cking bizarre concept. He had no idea if it would affect the DNA results and prevent him from proving his relation to Harry, but Tony could always just fake them in case it turns into an issue.

After an hour of waiting, Tony just ordered another coffee to go and proceeded to park his car in a clear view of the alleyway and wait, as the streets filled with more and more people as the morning went by.

"Anything suspicious, Jarvis?"

"There seems to be more people coming in from the diner and the alleyway than originally went in. Some I haven't seen entering at all. The alleyway is closed off and only has backaway entrances to the abandoned pet store and the diner itself."

"Entrance must be somewhere there, then," Tony concluded. "Anything on the tracker?"

"Not yet, Sir, it is inaccessible."

"Waiting it is, then." Tony sighed and leaned back, making himself comfortable.

Never in a million years he thought to be waiting for his child to come out of some secret world he wasn't permitted to see.

Absolutely ridiculous.

His phone rang.

"Yellow?"

"Tony, where are you? You're supposed to be in a meeting as of ten minutes ago!" came Pepper's annoyed voice that indicated the trouble Tony was in yet again.

"Gonna have to postpone, Peps. I'm hunting down my runaway kid who went on a magical trip with Loki without letting me know."

"What?! Tony, what happened!?"

"Don't worry, I'm handling it. Just don't tell anyone anything."

"Well… call me if you get news."

"You got it, Peps."

He hung up, and while waiting for his kid to show up decided to do more research on parenting, because he was pretty sure losing your own kid on the first day wasn't it.

Chapter 9

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 9

•▪︎•

Harry was in awe of the Magical New York shopping district.

It was nothing like the Diagon Alley and held no you're in a different century coziness to it, but it was still magnificent and magical.

"This place is wonderful," Loki breathed out, looking around with wonder in his eyes.

"Well, don't stare like that or they'll think you're suspicious or a muggle who wandered in by an accident. Come on. I need to find a bank."

Loki's expression immediately cleared to one of boredom. "Of course. Perhaps you could just ask someone."

Harry glared, but didn't say anything else.

"Excuse me," he stopped an elderly witch that was too preoccupied with her possible grandkids to give Harry her full attention. "Could you please point me to Gringotts, ma'am?"

"Of course, dear. Just continue walking this road and turn right when you reach the bookstore. It's bright red, you can't miss it. Then just continue on and I'm sure you'll notice the bank, it's quite hard to miss," she chuckled.

"Thank you."

"Oh, not a pro- get back here Charlie, before I stick you to the ground and leave you here for your father to find! Do you think he'll be happy to-"

"Do you think your father will be happy to find out you're gone?" Loki whispered controversially in his ear.

Harry turned around and glared, something he's been doing quite a lot these days, but then thought better of it and gave Loki a charming sweet smile.

"I'm sure he wouldn't care, and if he does, I'll tell Tony you blackmailed me. I don't think he likes you all that much, but I'm sure he'll be delighted to hear of your machinations." Harry shrugged. "Just saying."

Loki's eye twitched.

"You are a devious child."

"That better be a compliment."

"And if it isn't?"

Harry grinned. "You'll have the pleasure of explaining to Tony how you lost me after getting me to this world. Hm… I don't think he'd be overly happy with you then."

"You are a menace."

"Thanks, I try."

"You know, you should treat me with more respect. I'm a god- a prince of Asgard-"

"Should've stayed in Asgard then, your majesty. Still not quite sure why you stayed here when you could've went home with Thor."

Loki sighed, exasperated. He was having fun bantering with Harry, but sometimes the brat got onto his nerves because he was just too inquisitive.

"He volunteered me to watch over you."

"You could've said no. I don't need a babysitter. I've been fine on my own until now. "

"Your medical scan says otherwise."

Harry turned sharply and sent Loki a withering glare. "Stop invading my privacy. I could've been beaten to death every night and even then it would've been none of your bloody business."

"Such fierceness in one so young… it's admirable, really. You'd think you never-"

"Oh my god, do you ever shut up?!" Harry shouted, receiving quite a few weirded out looks that he ignored. "No wonder your brother pawned you off so easily. He was probably sick of your never ending chatter! Now be quiet or f*ck off!!" Harry shouted and started walking off. "Merlin, I can't believe I wanted to meet you and now I'm stuck with a Norse God who's more annoying than Hermione on her worst day! Unbe-f*cking-lievable-"

Loki was too stunned to speak, being told to f*ck off by a teenager he was essentially babysitting.

The disrespect alone-

He couldn't believe he was fooled by the boy's manners when they met. The boy even bowed, showed proper etiquette, and then turned around and started cursing everyone around him with absolutely no regard to anything. He should've seen the monster that was hiding behind that innocent visage.

And the boy was walking away from him- and as much as he wanted to, Loki wasn't about to lose the child. Stark would skin him alive and that's not to say what his own brother would do to him once he found out, and he would find out.

Heimdal alone was a bloody snitch.

And Thor wouldn't take kindly to him leaving Harry vulnerable and alone, considering what they knew of him and his history.

By the Allfather, he should've just stayed in Asgard. Not even this hidden magical world was worth living through teenage tantrums.

Harry was absolutely delighted to be speaking with goblins.

Because goblins were wonderful and didn't stick their ugly long noses into wizards' business. Unless it involved money, of course.

But they didn't care if you were an escaped convict, someone who faked their death or a runaway teenager as long as you a) didn't steal from them and b) continued doing business with them.

They would never snitch to the Ministry about anything, and if someone did, Harry was pretty sure they'd be beheaded, or something just as horrible. They didn't like the Ministry personnel since they believed themselves to be above goblins and acted as if they could order them around.

Which was stupid and just asking for trouble.

So when Harry waltzed into their building and proclaimed who he was, they didn't even blink, took him into private rooms and giving Harry more than he came here for.

They gave him a card that worked in the muggle world (Harry didn't ask how) connected to one of his vaults, just like his ring seemed to be. That was for a hefty fee, of course, but it was easier than carrying cash around.

He took out some galleons as well, worried that shop patrons would start to gossip of someone paid in their store with the Potter heir ring, especially as the news of his disappearance already seemed to have reached America.

But…

"My magical guardian," Harry frowned. "Will he be notified if I'm spending money here? Wait, can I get emancipated?"

"A wizard can get emancipated if he meets the criteria by the age of fourteen. Considering you partook in the Tri-Wizarding Tournament where only wizards and witches of age could participate in, you could argue that it makes you eligible for emancipation, since you were treated as an adult. However, you must file necessary papers."

Harry groaned.

More paperwork.

And his 'guardian'-

"Is there a way to change my magical guardian until then?"

Because he didn't want Dumbledore finding him. In fact, what business did Dumbledore have being his magical guardian? They weren't bloody related - ew - and he wasn't appointed by his parents. He just… appointed himself one.

"Especially since my current magical guardian neglected all his duties as a guardian and I didn't even know he was one until last year?"

The goblin growled.

"There is," he spat. Goblins, apparently, weren't too fond of neglect either. They'd double cross you for gold on any day, but someone neglecting their duties? Instant bloodthirsty urges.

Harry could respect that.

"If the new magical guardian has higher claim on you and Magic herself agrees, the usual proceedings aren't necessary," the goblins shot a nasty grin at him, "since I'm sure you'd like to stay undetected." Harry blushed. "Who is that person that would claim your most likely temporary guardianship?"

Harry's eyes twinkled with mischief when he asked the goblins to bring in Loki, who, hopefully, was still staying put and not waging war on goblins.

"Oh, before he gets here, does my family have any estate in the States?" Harry asked, thinking back on how Malfoy boasted about their no longer so secret lake house somewhere in the mountains of Colorado.

The goblins grunted, probably annoyed at all the back and forth they were having to do between the British branch of Gringotts and this one.

"Yes. There are a few." He dropped a piece of parchment in front of Harry.

○ The Potter family Townhouse 'Hillcrest', New York

○ The Black family Cottage 'Blackwood', Oregon

○ The Black family Villa 'Driftwood', Colorado

Oh, right. Sirius named Harry his heir, which- no pressure, right?

It did put Harry a little at ease that he has somewhere to run off to in case things with Tony went awry. But the properties haven't been visited by anyone in decades, supposedly. They're probably in need of some major repairs or at least a very thorough deep clean.

"Is there a way for me to send a message to a person in Britain undetected? Perhaps through you? For a fee, of course."

The goblin grinned, bearing his teeth.

"A PO box could be set and all mail sent and checked for anything nefarious in Gringotts."

"Great, I want it. How much?"

"Annual fee of 75 galleons."

Harry scoffed. "Ridiculous. 40 galleons."

"70 galleons."

"45." Harry grinned, knowing that the goblin enjoyed that he was attempting to bargain. They loved that sh*t, except most wizards were either too afraid to, or didn't think that was even an option. It's not like goblins looked welcoming.

"60 galleons and it's my final offer."

"Make it 55 and you got yourself a deal," Harry said firmly, staring the creature down.

There was a long pause before the goblins laughed - a disturbing and guttural sound - and nodded.

"You drive a hard bargain, heir Potter. 58 galleons and it's done." Harry rolled his eyes, but nodded. It was certainly better than the original price. "I believe you'll go far."

Harry grinned. He hoped so.

All of a sudden, the door opened and a very surprised Loki came in, clearly annoyed at being treated like sh*t by the goblins.

Harry hoped the god wouldn't try to retaliate. He didn't fancy being in the center when the goblins waged war against wizards again.

"Want to be my magical guardian before I'm emancipated?" Harry asked before the asgardian could even sit down, grinning at the deer-in-the-headlights look Loki acquired. "I don't want Dumbledore to find me."

"That man is your magical guardian?" Loki asked, and Harry nodded in confirmation. "That's downright criminal. He neglected you and his duties. If he were in Asgard, he'd be killed."

Silence reigned.

Harry never knew goblins to be silent and he turned to see the creature staring at Loki with wide eyes.

"Oh, how rude of me," the man said. "I'm Loki Odinson, Prince of Asgard."

Goblin blinked.

"I think you broke him," Harry said, nudging Loki. "Shame. I liked him."

That seemed to snap the goblin out of whatever funk he was in, and he bowed his head.

"Greetings Odinson, the goblin nation is honoured to meet you."

Harry no longer liked him.

f*cking bastard, giving Loki all the awe and none of the attitude. Double standards all around.

Loki smiled like a cat that caught a canary, shooting Harry a smug, self-satisfied look.

"Likewise. Now, how do we proceed on making me the magical guardian of Harry here?"

Harry was glad to be virtually free, but it came with a cost of Loki gloating and smirking smugly at him, making it harder and harder to stomp down his violent urges and just smack that infuriating grin off of Loki's face.

"We'll see if you'll still be so smug once Tony learns of this," Harry smiled sweetly. "I mean, it doesn't look like he likes you all that much and now you're basically sharing guardianship. Do you think there'll be a fight till death to see which one of you comes out on top? To be my supreme guardian?"

Loki’s eyes widened momentarily before he got himself together.

“There isn’t even a question: I’d win and you’d weep, then seek revenge on me for killing your only living parent.” Loki paused, grimacing. “Or maybe not. I mean, it’s Stark.”

Harry elbowed Loki, feeling at least a little bit of satisfaction at the painted groan.

“Is this any way to treat your new and shiny magical guardian?”

“Don’t know.” Harry shrugged, smiling impsighly. “Never had one.” And wasn’t that depressing. “Well, come on. I need to buy some clothes and- well, some other stuff. Like books. Let’s go, I can’t go missing all day.”

Harry offered Loki a brilliant smile and skipped down the street, for once feeling like he was truly, terrifically free.

However, Harry didn’t expect to be grabbed and yanked to the nearest building and being shouted at while walking back to the Stark Tower.

“Where did you get these clothes! Answer me!” shouted an angry voice, and Harry froze for a brief, terrifying moment before the voice registered in his head.

Tony. It was Tony.

With a baseball hat and a hood over his head, as well as sunglasses, but it was unmistakably him.

“Um… you left them in my room?”

The grip on him wavered.

“Your- I left them for my son. Who are you?! Where’s Harry?”

“I am Harry!” The boy pushed at Tony, but the man was built like a brick wall and didn’t move an inch. “Oh, for f*cks sake, I’m wearing a f*cking glamour! Loki, tell him!”

The still blond man next to Harry shrugged, checking out his nails nonchalantly. “You said you can take care of yourself.”

Harry was furious.

“Loki?”Tony instantly looked warily at the stranger, as if sizing him up. “Are you under disguise?”

“Obviously," Loki drawled. "But please, do continue.”

At that moment Harry’s had enough and kicked Tony near the shins, making the man groan and stumble.

He wasn't above playing dirty.

“First of all, it’s weird you think it’s me just because of some clothes; probably hundreds of people have the same outfit as me and I'm not stupid enough to be out looking like myself, walking around New York, and especially the Magical World when everyone is aware of my disappearance. I’m not an idiot, Tony.”

The man looked startled and scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

“...right. So, uh…”

“How did you know where I was going to be?” Harry asked again in a deceptively sweet voice, hoping that Tony didn’t find out where the entrance to the Magical Alley was.

“I put a tracker on you, although it stopped working when you entered the diner. I've been waiting here for hours."

Harry didn't know whether to feel warm that someone cared enough to do that for him or be mad that someone dared to do that to him.

"You put a tracker on me?" He asked in an accusatory tone, unsure if he should feel betrayed.

"Duh. You're my kid who has magic and has the ability to teleport. I'm not an idiot."

For the sake of Merlin-

"And you did disappear. Without telling me where you're going, and you've been gone for hours." Tony glared furiously at Loki. "You kidnapped my son."

Loki raised his hands in surrender, clearly startled that Stark's attention was now on him. "I did not. He agreed to go on this journey on his own free will."

"You're a filthy traitor, Loki. You woke me up and wanted to go see the Magical World. The plan was all yours, thus, your fault." Harry wanted to look down at Loki as he said that, but Merlin, Loki was f*cking tall. So unfair. "And-" Harry turned to Tony. "I'm sorry I took so long, I thought I'll be back in an hour or two."

"That's not the point!" Tony shouted, brushing off the pedestrians who turned to glare at a man shouting at a kid. "You're supposed to ask for permission before going anywhere."

Harry frowned. "Why?"

Tony faltered. "I… don't know. Nevermind, scratch that, you're supposed to tell me where you're going so I know where you are, if you're safe and that you're not going to be f*cking kidnapped." Harry’s eyes widened with shock, and Tony's softened. "Come on, kid, let's get you back and we can talk this out. You're probably hungry too."

Tony led Harry to his car, which looked bloody expensive, in Harry’s humble non-existing opinion, and it was a two seater.

"Sorry Reindeer Games, it looks like you're going to have to walk back," Tony shrugged unapologetically when Loki stood in front of the car, frowning at the seats. "That's what you get for essentially kidnapping a minor."

Tony quickly jumped into his own seat, shutting the door in the god's face with a wink, and took off.

Chapter 10

Chapter Text

Chapter 10

"All I'm saying, kid, is just let me know your plans. New York is a dangerous place and I have a sh*tton of enemies, and I'd rather not be responsible for something happening to you, especially if it's something I could've prevented."

Harry sighed.

"Fine."

Tom sighed as well. "I'm not doing this to be mean, kid. It's a legitimate safety concern and- why the hell did you walk all the way there? Jarvis could've called a taxi, at least."

Harry shrugged.

"Didn't want to cause any trouble." Plus he had no money at that time. "And I don't mind walking, you know. You didn't have to come and get me."

Tony scoffed, making a sharp turn at the same time. Harry didn't think muggles were supposed to drive like that.

"Of course I did. That and I was going to skin Loki alive."

"He didn't actually kidnap me, you know."

"Close enough in my book." Tony shot him a mischievous smirk. "Let him walk back alone, yeah? So, what do you want to do? Get some clothes, maybe? Food? Xbox? What do teenagers like these days?"

Harry had no idea. Joining Death Eaters sounded like something some people would find a great thing to do.

Plus he wasn't a normal teenager. He was never allowed to have anything in the muggle world and in the Magical one, he couldn't do much either.

He was pretty… sheltered, really.

The only real thing he liked was quidditch, and that wasn't an option.

Other than that… well, Harry seemed to be in a desperate need of hobbies.

"No clue," he answered eventually. "I already bought clothes and um… I mean, you can stop to eat somewhere if you want."

Tony looked at him sharply.

"You bought clothes?" He asked, and Harry nodded. "Well, where are they? Where did you buy them?"

Harry smirked. "Shrunken down in my pocket so I don't have to carry dozens of bags, and I found this store called Madam Allard's Boutique for all occasions and, well, I got robes for all occasions." They could even tailor Hogwarts robes for him. He asked.

"Sorry, robes?" Tony asked incredulously, swerving into another lane for a moment, receiving angry honks from other cars.

Harry smiled sheepishly. "Uh… yeah. Wizarding fashion is a little… well, completely different than the one in this world. You have no idea how many weird looks I got because of what I was wearing."

"What's wrong with what you're wearing?!"

"Nothing," Harry frowned. "It's fine in the muggle world but uh… not to be offensive, but wizards consider that wearing sweatpants is equal to being a peasant. Or something worse." Pretty much.

Not even Ron ventured out with sweatpants anymore. He did once in his first year, and that was the only time he got so much attention from the student body, and not the good kind of attention.

Fred and George made fun of him for weeks after that. They were the ones to suggest it to Ron, after all.

It was a good thing Harry didn't own any at all, or he would've been in the same position as Ron. Hell, that's why Harry preferred to wear school uniform as much as he could; because the only other clothes he had were Dudley's cast off's and… well, he liked wearing clothes that fit him and didn't make him look like a street urchin, like Petunia liked to call him. As if she wasn't the one responsible for it.

But now Harry was aware he had money, that his family left him more than one trust fund, so he splurged a bit.

Sue him.

Well, actually, Loki was the one who insisted he buy so much, lording his new status as Harry’s magical guardian, making Harry doubt his otherwise brilliant decision.

"That's stupid. I wear sweatpants all the time and I'm the farthest thing from a peasant," Tony retorted, sounding more baffled than insulted. Thankfully.

"Well, they are comfortable, but um… I'll stick to them in the muggle world, okay?"

"Do whatever you want, kid. You can wear a bathrobe all day for all I care, but then Pepper will call me a neglectful father and will take you away from me. Sorry, can't risk it. I'll guess you'll have to go on another shopping spree with Pepper though, just to appease that insidious woman."

"What?!" Harry screeched. "I don't need more clothes!"

"Sorry, kid. Consider this your punishment for running away."

Harry groaned. "Just great." He just knew it'd be awful. He didn't like people poking him with needles. "So uh.. where are we going?"

"No clue. I've been just driving around until you decide where you want to go."

Harry’s eyes bulged out in sheer shock.

"Why would you do that?!" Petrol was expensive. Vernon complained about taking him to and from King's Cross Station the whole way, even when he's only had to pick Harry up the last few years, considering Harry escaped that hell hole way before September 1st.

And even then Harry would get slammed with chores for wasting his precious time and he had to deep clean the car every single damn time.

And Tony was just… driving around for no reason?

That seemed not only excessive, but insane.

Tony didn't seem bothered though.

"Because I can? I do that a lot, kid; driving around is fun." Then his eyes lit up. "But flying? Just wait till I show you that. You're gonna love it."

"You can… fly?" Harry asked with so much skepticism in his voice that Tony started laughing.

"Oh yeah. Well, not me personally, but my suit."

"Your suit," Harry deadpanned. Pepper mentioned some sort of a suit, but really, Harry had no idea what she meant.

"Yeah? I'm the Iron Man, kid."

As if that was supposed to explain anything.

"I still have no idea what that is," Harry crossed his arms in frustration. It felt like he was dropped off on another planet where he knew none of the terms and he felt really dumb. Kind of like when he stepped into the Magical World where everyone just expected him to know things and he looked like a complete idiot the whole time.

The car swerved before Tony got it under control again. He was staring at Harry.

"Can you look at the road instead of me? And um, if you really want to take me somewhere, you're going to have to choose because I simply have no idea what even is there." Harry grimaced, especially when Tony was still silent. "Sorry."

The silence stretched, making Harry fidget. Did he say something wrong?

Was Tony mad at him?

Oh no. He probably f*cked it up already. Way to go, Harry.

"You don't know anything about the Iron Man?" Tony asked him.

"No? I mean, Pepper said some things but uh…" he was a bit too overwhelmed at that moment and probably forgot half of it already. "No, I don't know."

"Oh boy, you're in for a ride."

To Harry it felt like a warning. "What do you mean?"

"I'll show you when we get home. Now." Tony stopped the car and turned to Harry, regarding him with the most serious expression Harry’s seen so far on him. "Can you do something about this atrocious hair? Because if not, I'm afraid I'll have to take you to the salon and turn you into a ginger too. It's only fair that my son takes after me in the looks department."

Harry started snigg*ring.

No wonder Tony was all covered up.

"I thought you liked your hair."

Tony smirked. "Jarvis, where is the closest hair salon?"

"Wait!" Harry shouted, because he didn't want to change his hair, if that was even possible. They always returned to their current messy state, no matter how Petunia tried to butcher it. And muggles would definitely notice something wrong, like, his hair growing back or refusing to change colour. "I'll fix it!"

"Atta boy." Tony smiled widely, reaching over to pet Harry’s hair. "I knew you'd do it."

Harry scowled.

"Now I'm not gonna."

"Jarvis! Salon-"

"Okay, fine!” Harry didn't even need his wand for this; one flick of his wrist was enough to cancel the charm, but… he made a horrified expression.

"What? What's wrong?!" Tony asked immediately.

"I- it's not working,” Harry wobbled. “I think- I think I made it permanent."

Tony's horrified expression was worth it, and Harry gave himself up too early when he started snigg*ring.

That utter shock and devastation… no wonder Fred and George never stopped their pranks.

Tony's eyes narrowed, and Harry shut up immediately. Oh boy, he hoped he didn't make a mistake-

"Very funny," Tony drawled, but he took off the hood and his cap, relieved to see his own hair. "I can't believe you have magic. I'm at a disadvantage here!"

"You're not… mad, are you?" Harry asked quietly.

"Mad?" Tony scoffed. "Kid, I'm bloody jealous. Magic is wonderful and while I think it's insane how the laws of physics just don't seem to exist for you, it's wonderful."

A warm feeling surged in Harry’s chest, forcing some horrible emotion that wanted to make him cry.

How disgusting.

And how utterly bizarre his magic wasn't hated.

"And Harry," Tony brought his attention to himself again. "You think your magic is insane? Just wait till I tell you about my world. You'll be the one who wants to run, I promise you that."

Harry was skeptical.

What could be worse than megalomaniacs with too much power after you?

It seemed like neither Tony nor Harry knew much about each other's worlds.

"I bet you five galleons you won't be able to shock me."

"Five… gallons?"

Harry sighed. "Galleons. Magical World has its own currency. It's gold, by the way." Harry pulled out his new pouch that goblins insisted he get and pulled out a galleon, flipping it to Tony who caught it with surprisingly good reflexes.

It made Harry miss quidditch again.

"Well sh*t, kid." Tony flipped the coin back and forth, looking begrudgingly impressed. "All we've got is paper money. Totally worthless by itself."

"There are also silver sickles and bronze knuts."

Tony whistled.

“No wonder gold is so expensive. Y'all are hoarding it."

Harry snorted, but Tony had a point, really. Were they hoarding it? It's not like it was convenient, carrying coins around, especially if you didn't have a pouch like Harry’s. This one, apparently, had a direct link to his vault, or something like that.

"So, how do these work?"

Harry quickly explained the monetary system of the Wizarding World, finding it a bit ridiculous, just as the other man seemed to, but it's not like they could do anything about it. Harry was used to it by now, really.

"So, how do those muggleborns get galleons? I assume you can convert the money. Or do they bring their own gold?"

"Oh, you can convert at the bank. It's like, £5 for one galleon."

"Five pounds!" Tony shouted. "Kid, this piece of gold is worth at least three hundred bucks. How has nobody gotten filthy rich due to this?"

Harry smirked. "Goblins aren't stupid, you know. They are the ones who lowered the rates so muggleborns could afford anything, but you see, there are enchantments on wizarding money. You try and take it somewhere other than our world, try to sell it as gold, and muggles would see it as nothing more than a worthless piece of junk. No idea how that works, but it's goblin magic."

"Jesus f*cking Christ," Tony muttered. "You're gonna have to take me there sometime."

"Not today though."

"Not today."

They eventually got out of the car and headed into an Italian restaurant. Harry cast some more glamours on himself and Tony, since neither of them wanted to be swamped by people and would rather have a peaceful lunch.

Harry allowed Tony to order for him, since none of the names sounded familiar to him and he felt rather lost.

"So, Harry. Tell me about your world."

With a heavy sigh Harry began to tell the tale of the Boy-Who-Lived.

Tony was livid.

Harry may have glossed over the details, excited to tell him all about a magical wonderland, but Tony could look at it from the perspective of an adult.

The things that seemed so cool and like an adventure to Harry sounded like lawsuits for endangering a minor to Tony.

Why was his son put through all of those adventures to save somebody else? Where were his professors? Law enforcement? Literally anyone else but his small teenager of a son?

How come all of those powerful wizards didn't see a bloody Dark Lord possessing a professor? Nobody?

And why were all these trials that first years could pass through easily were set up in school? To Tony it seemed very much like the headmaster was baiting this Voldemort with the come and get me kind of deal.

If the Philosopher's Stone was real - which really shouldn't be possible, but Tony had given up at this point about things that shouldn't be possible - then why would the old man hide it in a school full of children? Why advertise it?

Tony smelled something fishy.

And then that thing with a basilisk? Talking diaries? Tony needed a drink.

Now, he's heard about Sirius Black, vaguely, when he was in Britain that year for a week or so. Serial killer or whatever.

Tony wondered if that man - even if Harry’s godfather - had brainwashed the boy.

He could see it happening: a boy who desperately wanted a family and a place to belong being offered all that and more - why wouldn't Harry say yes?

And that's not mentioning the sheer insanity of time travel or men being able to turn into animals - Tony was going to ignore all of that for the time being, in order to preserve his questionable sanity.

It was no wonder nobody believed Harry about Black being innocent. Tony was having a hard time believing it himself.

But a few things stuck out again. Why would the headmaster of a school assign two teenagers to save and release an escaped convict? Wrongfully convicted or not, they were just kids. If he wanted Black out so badly, why couldn't Dumbledore let the man out himself?

And what the f*ck was up with the soul sucking monsters? And werewolves?

Tony really needed a drink after that one.

Oh, and if an escaped convict could enter the school so easily, as well as all of these monsters and Dark Lords, then what else could just slip in without anyone noticing? That sounded like yet another lawsuit waiting to happen due to nonexistent student safety at that horrendous school.

Tony really hoped Harry didn't harbor any hope of wanting to go back. There were plenty of private schools Tony could send him to or- or probably other magical ones Harry would like.

Because despite all of the magic, Hogwarts sounded like a death trap.

And that had nothing on what happened this year.

He was seething inside, having a hard time not getting up and setting the whole team of Avengers on the Wizarding Britain.

He didn't know what kind of dumpster fire the overseas government was, how they could be so corrupt to sicc themselves on a f*cking teenager, but Tony wasn't going to stand for it.

He had enough time and money to sue every single one of them.

Harry had no one to stand up for him, which infuriated Tony more than anything else. But no matter. Harry wasn't going anywhere now that Tony knows about him.

He'll make sure of it.

"Picture? What for?!"

"Harry, be reasonable. For your passport!"

"What do I need a muggle passport for? I never had one!"

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose, reminding himself to breathe deeply.

The day was going so well. He and his son bonded, had an awesome lunch, drove all around New York, watched Godfather in the theater, laughed at Loki who they found still cursing after having to walk all the way back - currently sulking a few floors below since Tony kicked him out - and now the whole lighthearted mood was ruined. Because of this.

"You're my son. And yes, mine, a lowly magicless muggle who requires a legal passport to travel. You need one as well."

Harry crossed his arms and pouted. Lord gracious, what did Tony do to deserve this?

"I can travel by magical means."

"Uh, not here you can't. Don't you want a drivers license?"

Harry blanched. "Me? Driving?!" He sounded hysterical, enough that Tony wondered if there was some story behind it. "I'll stick to flying, thanks."

"But Harryyy… driving is awesome, and I've got loads of cars you could pick from. Even got a few bikes." That perked Harry up, but he still stayed stubbornly silent.

Huh, so Harry was partial to bikes. Noted.

"Fine. You're too young anyway. But what's the big deal? I'm getting your custody transferred, making you my legal son, who needs to have legal paperwork. Otherwise people are going to think I kidnapped you."

And they would. If only to sell more copies.

"I don't like people taking my pictures," Harry muttered eventually, still looking like an adorable pouting kitten. Tony wanted to ruffle his hair, but he didn't want to be turned into a ginger again.

"Eh, I'm sure Jarvis could do it. We'll just send it in or something."

"I'm not a citizen, though."

"Oh, didn't I tell you? My faithful lawyers visited your… well, I ain't gonna call them family. Under some threats and heavy NDA clauses, they willingly signed away your custody, not that they had any legal right to question it."

They didn't want to at first. They managed to hide that it was Tony Stark who was demanding custody, and those idiots were stupid enough or didn't care enough to demand who was interested to have Harry. They signed happily, but they also tried to demand compensation. Which not only had Tony denied, but he threatened them with lawsuits of child abuse.

Apparently, that enraged that walrus of a man, but essentially, there was nothing they could do. They didn't want their neighbors to find out what they'd done to their nephew.

They signed.

It was done.

"They… they signed it?" Harry asked hesitantly. "When? I've only been here a few days."

"Just now," Tony shrugged, unconcerned. "Will it make you feel better if I told you they were visited in the middle of the night? I mean, I could've waited till it was morning there - time difference and all that - but where's the fun in that?" And convincing half asleep people of something was much easier, Tony found.

"So… you're officially my guardian?" Harry’s voice was timid. "Just like that?"

Tony didn't like that.

"Yep!" Tony clapped his hands. "Well, there are just a few more things that need to be confirmed, but I'm pushing it through as fast as possible. No need to worry, Harry. It's just…" Tony grinned. "Is it too late to do a gender reveal party?"

Harry spluttered, never having expected something like this to come out of Tony's mouth, who was grinning unapologetically.

"To whom? Yourself? I mean… I'm glad you finally figured out your gender-"

Tony groaned loudly. Figures his son would be a sarcastic little sh*t. Just like his father.

"Keep it up, champ, and I'll get Pepper to dress you up for it. She loves parties. I'm sure she wouldn't mind organising-"

"No!" Harry shouted, throwing his hands. "No party! Plus, I don't know anyone here!"

"You know me. And Pepper. And Loki." Tony paused. "Thor is gone, Banner is hiding, but I'm sure Cap would show up." He grinned when Harry scowled at the mention of Rogers. "Not a fan?"

"Of who? The walking flag that everyone must bow to? Arrogant much?"

Tony laughed. Harry was a riot. "You know, he's supposed to be a symbol of American values and whatnot. And now, since you're about to receive dual citizenship… would you be interested in lessons?"

The mortified look on Harry’s face was worth it. "I'll run off to Peru. You'd never find me."

"I'd follow you. I'm fast."

"I'm faster."

"Nah. Have you seen me fly? Nothing can catch me."

"Nothing can catch me either when I'm flying."

They both continued glaring at each other, neither backing down.

Tony huffed, realizing that he should show more maturity than a teenager.

"Wait, you can actually fly? You weren't pulling my leg?"

Harry’s face brightened up so quickly Tony got a whiplash.

He nodded excitedly, the moody teenager disappearing in a blink of a moment.

"Yes! I even got the fastest broom on the market. Sirius got it for me after my last one got smashed into bits by the whomping willow during the game. It can reach 150m/h and-"

"Excuse me, did you say your broom reaches the speed of 150m/s?!" Tony asked incredulously. "A broom?"

"Yes!" Harry bounced on his legs. "And there's a game called quidditch, played on brooms. I'm a seeker - youngest in century, actually." Good god, the kid looked the most lively since appearing in Tony's house. And it was about flying brooms out of all things. Why couldn't it be Xbox?

"You play a flying game?"

Harry nodded, grinning.

"What about safety measures?"

The teenager had the gall to look confused. "Safety… measures? For what?"

"Ugh… you just told me you play a game, in the air flying at neck breaking speed. Surely there are some sort of measures taken so you don't end up dead?"

Harry blushed, a deep frown appearing on his face. "Well, professors always watch in the stands in case something happens. I mean, I fell off the broom last year and Dumbledore stopped my fall - didn't even break anything that time, although I don't remember much; kind of passed out mid air. That's when my Nimbus, ah… last broom got broken. But, well… nobody's really died from quidditch, at least not recently. That's what spells are for. And bones are easy to heal, so…" Harry shrugged, having the audacity to look completely nonchalantly and apologetic after giving Tony a speech worthy of a heart attack.

His pressure was already spiked and kept rising with every word.

"You- you fell off a broom?" He asked through clenched teeth. How was Harry even alive?

A sudden terrifying thought pierced Tony's mind: Harry could've died. And he would've never known he had a son. All because of negligence of some British assholes who will feel the full wrath of one Anthony Howard Stark. They just wait.

"Yeah," Harry scratched his neck sheepishly. "The dementors- they're soul sucking creatures that guard our prison, they were patrolling around Hogwarts last year and- well, for some reason they kept targeting me. And they- they suck the happiness out of you, bringing out the worst moments of your life and- and they showed up during the match. It was during a storm and nobody saw them coming until it was too late, and when they come too close I pass out and-"

"Alright, that's enough," Tony snapped harshly, instantly regretting it when Harry flinched. "I'm suing your school."

"What? Why?!" Harry cried out, panicked suddenly.

How could the boy sound so indignant after what he just told Tony?

"Everything you've told me about that school sounds like a deathtrap. You're supposed to be safe in school and not face mortal danger all the f*cking time! The most traumatic thing that should happen to you in school should be being dumped in front of everybody, not- not soul sucking monsters or Dark Lords!" Tony ranted on, feeling overwhelmed with anger and fear of losing his newly found son to that- that school.

No.

He didn't care if the wizards will come after him. Let them.

Tony has more than enough arsenal to blow anything up.

But none of them will be taking his son back there. Over his dead and rotting body.

"You and I will be going back to that magical Alley of yours, and you will show me directly to the best lawyers they have."

Harry squirmed.

"So uh… there's one more thing you need to know?"

Oh, he knew that tone. It was the I did something and you're gonna hate it tone.

"Well, go on, kid. I promise, I'm not gonna be mad at you."

"So… in a magical world a child must have a magical guardian."

"Okay. Go on." He didn't like where this was going.

"So, I just found out that until now my guardian was Dumbledore and- well, goblins didn't like that he neglected his duties. So, until I'm emancipated, for which I've already filed the papers and have a strong claim… I had to get a new temporary guardian."

Dread started to pool in Tony's gut.

Harry’s face was bright red. Kid looked ready to flee.

"Well, and Loki was conveniently just right there, so…"

God damn it.

Tony knew he should've shot the bastard while he had the chance.

He looked at his son, who looked sheepish despite the slight guilt Tony could detect.

"Stay here," he said suddenly and started walking towards the elevator. "I'll be back in a mo', just after I obliterate a child stealing asgardian from my home."

"What? No!" Harry sprung after him, but Tony was determined.

"I only got your custody and he snatched it away from me!" Tony cried. "He shall face justice."

"I didn't have anyone else to ask!" Harry shouted. "It has to be a person with magic, and, well, Loki is a literal God. I like the odds better if he's my guardian than someone Dumbledore appoints, who will no doubt drag me back to Dursleys. And no, pretty sure your word wouldn't matter."

"That's it. I'm lawyering up with magical lawyers. What did you call government here? Mac users or something?"

"MACUSA."

"Splendid. The moment I have your passport in my hand as a proof, we're contacting the most cutthroat law people out there. But until then, you still need to take a picture."

Harry groaned loudly.

"Can't we just obliterate Loki instead?"

Chapter 11

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 11

The next day, even after a good night's sleep and promising not to sneak out anywhere again to Tony while he was asleep - which Harry argued wasn't sneaking out at all since he simply walked out, no sneaking required - Tony still seemed to hold a grudge against Loki.

That manifested while Harry was sharing breakfast with the man and having a pleasant chat when Loki strode in, only to be hit in the face with a boiled egg of all things.

He looked so scandalized that Harry couldn't help it and burst out laughing.

"What is wrong with you, Stark?!" Loki demanded, clearly trying to figure out which unfortunate life choices had led him to this.

Fearlessly, Tony stood up and marched up to the God, then took a swing that Loki barely missed. "You're a child stealing piece of sh*t, Loki! I had my son for one f*cking day - one, and you're already his guardian?!"

Loki shot a panicked look at a snigg*ring teenager but received no support. He raised his hands in surrender.

"Hey, don't blame me! Your son was the one to suggest it to me! And while I admit that there isn't a better choice than I, it's still not my fault!"

Tony growled and looked like he was going to hit him again, but held himself back. "You're the adult. You get the blame."

"Preposterous. I'm innocent."

"You gloated all the way through the appointment," Harry pointed out loudly, beyond intrigued to watch two people arguing over his guardianship. He was under the belief that people wanted to get rid of him, not get ahold of him.

Tony looked ready to punch the god again and Loki took a cautious step back. "Not helping, Harrison," he hissed.

The boy shrugged.

"I don't see why you're fighting. Magical guardian has different… responsibilities, per se, and like I said, it's temporary."

"What other responsibilities?" Tony demanded to know.

"Making sure I finish and have adequate magical education, making sure I integrate into the world properly, that I know how to manage my estates and finances, am aware of laws and such. That kind of thing."

"How is Loki, who had no idea about your world existing before now, is supposed to help with all that?"

Harry shrugged. "Like I said, it's temporary. Entering the tournament gave me a viable cause to become emancipated, but I must be fifteen at least. So, it's a waiting game."

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. God help him.

"You," he pointed at the God who still had some egg in his hair. "You know where this magical district is?"

Loki nodded.

"You will take me there."

"Oy! What for?" Harry shouted. "What about me?"

"We need lawyers, kid. I'm telling you, you get the best ones and it's like, all of your problems disappear."

"Is that how you run your life, Stark?"

"You can bet your ass that I do."

"You can't actually sue people!" Harry screamed. "Nobody knows you're my father! Nobody even knows I'm here! I've been essentially pronounced missing and I- I don't want to- I don't bloody want people to find out I'm here, because I will be dragged back to England and locked up again!"

Harry was panting when he finished his rant, feeling slightly nauseous. He shouldn't have let Tony con him into eating so much food.

"Harry," Tony walked up to him as he spoke in a soft voice. "Do you honestly think I'll allow anyone to just take you? You were pretty sleepy, but I told you yesterday: you're in my legal custody. And as much as I want to smash that idiot's behind me face for being your extra, super unnecessary magical guardian, that also means they have no legal right to you."

"Didn't stop them before," Harry lowered his eyes, feeling ashamed all of a sudden. He was so powerless before. Why could Dumbledore dictate where he spent his summers? He should've had no say in it at all.

They weren't related.

Tony snorted. "Well, anyone is welcome to try, kid, but I'm telling you: they're going back home in pieces. I'll show you later some of the stuff that I've made, what it can do. You'll love it."

That forced a reluctant smile on Harry’s face. Tony sounded so enthusiastic about this 'stuff', that Harry couldn't help but feel excited as well.

"Now, you're going to have to brief me -us," Tony corrected himself after Loki pointedly cleared his throat, "-on what happened. With the whole kidnapping thing and all."

Harry sighed deeply, reaching out for the cup of coffee Tony's ordered for him. He preferred tea, but this will do just fine. He wasn't one to complain about food.

"The Tri-Wizarding Tournament happened in my school. It was supposed to be students of age only, but someone entered my name and I was forced to compete. That's not the point - the point is, someone did it with a plan in mind, to kidnap me at the end of the third task. I touched that trophy - a portkey - and was transported to a graveyard. But I wasn't alone. Another champion touched it as well and - he was killed immediately upon arrival."

Harry couldn't look them in the eye, afraid to see disgust that he didn't manage to save Cedric. Didn't even try.

"A man named Pettigrew tied me to the tombstone and took blood from me. Blood from an enemy, forcibly taken. For a ritual to restore the Dark Lord's body. He was resurrected that night. We fought, I escaped through a fluke that shouldn't have been possible and ended up here. You know the rest, but…" Harry gulped, forcing his head up to meet the horrified eyes of Tony. His father. "There's a world wide search going for me. And… how the f*ck am I supposed to show up days later, healthy, not kidnapped, while Cedric is probably still lying in that graveyard, dead?"

"Can't you tell them the truth, about the Darth Vader and all?" Tony asked, and Harry offered a small smile at his naivety. He used to be like that too before he was hit in the face with the fact that people believed what they wanted to believe. Truth rarely mattered.

"No one worried, believe me. I- I saw some papers while in the Magical Alley. They are calling Dumbledore senile for suggesting it was the work of the Dark Lord. If I told someone he's back with no proof other than my word? They'd lynch me."

"Then lie," Loki shrugged. "You were kidnapped by his follower, which is true. You escaped, but your transportation device was flawed. You were hurt. You needed time to recover, couldn't contact anyone earlier. Mostly true. Just evade some things and you'll be fine."

"Pretty sure people need to know about the Big Bad, dude," Tony said, glaring at Loki. "Harry?"

The boy shook his head.

"You don't know the people there. Nobody believed me about not entering my name into the tournament, and when I insisted on it being true, my name was dragged through the mud in papers. I'm not going through it again, especially not with something like this. I'd be lynched."

"Fine. Then how do you want to play it?" Asked Loki. "I mean, I don't mind you hiding here forever, and neither does Stark, but I doubt that's what you want."

Harry paused, then shook his head.

"No, but… not yet. I'd rather have a few days of peace first. Those are… exceedingly rare."

Tony snorted. "Ain't that right. Well, if you're not storming the Magical World, mind coming down with me to the lab? I think it's time to introduce you to my babies. Hm… could I call them your other siblings?"

Harry stared. "You have children in the lab?"

"Come on down and you'll see, mini-me. It's your right of passage. Not you," Tony stabbed a finger into Loki's chest. "You're not welcome in my lab. Actually, don't even go near it. I'll make something that throws eggs at you if you're within fifteen feet of it. Fair warning."

"Rude. Fine. I know when I'm not wanted," Loki huffed, turned on his heel and left, his clock fluttering behind him.

"Dramatic, isn't he?" Harry muttered.

Tony couldn't help but laugh, reaching out to ruffle Harry’s hair which startled the boy a little. "Kid, you have no idea. I mean, I guess it's expected since he's a god, but not even Thor is so dramatic, and trust me, he is. All that Shakespearian language and sh*t. You'll see."

"The- what language?"

"Shakespeare?" Harry shrugged, having no idea who or what that was. "Do you… what do you read in that school of yours? Do you not have an English class or something?"

Harry shook his head.

"No? What for? We're there to learn magic and not whatever that was." Harry scrunched up his nose.

"What? No wizarding primary school? How do you learn how to write?" Tony looked almost scandalized.

Harry shook his head. "No? As far as I know, magical children are tutored privately, either by their parents or tutors. I went to primary school since I had no idea I was a wizard, though, as did all muggleborns. Which…" was a bit f*cked up. Why wasn't there any formal education for kids?

But was it necessary? Harry hated primary school, but that was mostly due to Dudley alienating everyone. Harry enjoyed learning.

"Weird. Not gonna lie." Tony shrugged it off easily. "Can't say you missed much, though. Hm… did you have a PE class?"

Harry shook his head. "We have quidditch?" He smirked. "Although, with all those stairs it wasn't necessary, I'm sure."

Ah, so that's what Harry meant earlier.

"Cap was so insulted when you told him you not only have no idea who he is, but don't have sports at your school. He takes it suuuper seriously. Probably because his face is plastered over every single video. Arrogant little sh*t."

"I… have no idea what you mean," Harry admitted, getting more and more frustrated with just how much he didn't understand.

"You're not missing much." Tony stood up. "Come on. My lab is this way."

Having a panic attack would've been right on par.

Harry felt just as the day he stepped into the Diagon Alley for the first time. Awed and completely overwhelmed.

Tony's lab looked like a movie. Harry was afraid to touch anything.

Apparently, his father was a bloody genius, because Harry had no idea what any of that stuff was, not to mention moving robots that understood what Tony was saying.

He had to pinch himself several times just to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

And then Tony showed him his 'suit'. Ir reminded Harry of some old Dudley's toys he was never allowed to touch.

"You're going to have to elaborate, because I'm completely lost," Harry admitted with slightly tinted cheeks and head bowed in shame. He really should've taken a few Muggle Studies classes, but he was pretty sure they didn't teach anything like this. Harry was lost.

"Ah, this suit?" Tony knocked on the metal. "I made it. It's tuned to my body, so if I do this," Tony flicked his wrist, and the hand part of the suit just flew over and attached itself to Tony, like some glove, "it comes to me. Super convenient, especially in sticky situations. The whole suit is like that, and with it, I can fly."

"How did you even think to make this?" Harry asked, because he didn't think normal muggles were going around creating things like these. Harry certainly never even thought about it. Why would he?

"Ah, you see…" Tony looked downright uncomfortable as he put his hand on Harry’s shoulder and led him over to one of the tables where he was pushed to sit down. "A while ago I was… kidnapped." Harry’s eyes widened. "While there, I was instructed to build a weapon, but instead… I built something very similar to my suit so I could escape. It was sh*t and fell apart faster than I'd like, but it did its job and I escaped. After that, I decided to build a proper one. Took some time and a lot of trial and error, but I got it right, eventually."

"Merlin’s balls," Harry cursed, shocked at what he was hearing. "Is getting kidnapped a family trait?"

"Brat," Tony ruffled his hair playfully, earning himself a smile. "But probably. Should probably check our DNA for some weird mutation that would explain all the trouble we attract."

"Might be a curse," Harry nodded solemnly. "I know for a fact some families carry curses throughout generations."

"Really?"

Harry nodded. "Yep."

"Jesus, kid. I feel completely out of my depth with the whole magic thing." Harry winced, guilt flashing over his face but Tony shook his head. "No. You're not allowed to feel guilty, Harry. Hey, look at me." Harry slowly lifted his eyes to look at his father, still not over the fact that someone wanted him, magic and a murderer after him, and all. "I'm glad to be part of your magical life. It'll just take both of us time to adjust to what each of us consider normal, yeah?" The boy nodded slowly, and Tony grinned. "Atta boy. Come on. Let me show you some more of my trinkets before someone comes to steal you away."

Writing a letter to Sirius shouldn't have been that hard.

Just a 'hey, I'm not dead. Want to come meet my new dad?' should've done the trick, but things weren't that easy.

He didn't want to tip anyone off as to where he was. People would get suspicious if Sirius was the one getting letters. They'd snoop and find Harry.

And he wasn't willing to risk it. At least not until he can figure out something cryptic enough that couldn't be deciphered.

The underlying fear that he'll be forced to go back to the Dursleys never went away. He'd hear some bullsh*t about wards, about necessity of sacrifices, and then goodbye Harry. C'est la vie.

That's not to mention… Voldemort. Harry shuddered.

So far he completely ignored that it happened. That Cedric was killed in front of him, that that filthy traitor Pettigrew tied him up and used him. That Voldemort-

Voldemort was back.

It felt more like a dream than a memory. Did anyone even know he's back? Would anyone even care?

Would anyone believe him if he told them?

Harry had a distinct feeling that the Wizarding Britain preferred to remain ignorant and just prefered to keep going as if nothing was happening.

And Harry had a track record of people not believing him about important things. Nobody believed him about the Dursleys. McGonagall didn't believe him when Harry warned her about the Philosopher's Stone. Nobody believed him about him hearing Basilisk, or not being the culprit. Bloody Minister of Magic brushed him off after he insisted on Sirius' innocence. No one stood by him when he said he didn't put his damned name into the Goblet of Fire. Not even his best friend, which Harry was still salty about.

He was going in circles and always ended up in the same place: not being believed. Why would this time be different?

He'd be called a liar again, portrayed as someone who was trying to instill fear into the masses. Merlin knows what Rita Skeeter would write, considering all those disgusting articles that called him an attention seeking twelve year old.

The things they were calling Dumbledore right now were enough to put Harry off from opening his big fat mouth, unless he was given veritaserum. But even then… they'd probably call him delusional.

Loki was right in suggesting telling half truths. And he will, he just… Harry just needs to find out what those are and write the damn letter to Sirius. He must be freaking out, thinking Harry must be dead.

Padfoot, Harry began and-

Now what?

He must be smart with this. What if death eaters intercept this letter?

I'm well, Harry writes, gripping the pen with more force than usual. His writing was all shaky - it's been years since he's held a muggle pen in his hand. It felt so weird to write with it now.

I'm with family. A long story you're a part of. I feel cheated: I was led to believe my parents weren't fond of attending muggle parties in secret, yet, here I am. Want to come meet someone certain from one of those parties?

I hear goblins honor secrecy above all.

Be safe,

Mini Prongs

Harry nodded.

Sounded vague enough. A complete nonsense if you didn't know what the sender was implying.

Now, Harry just needed to go back to Gringotts and have them send this letter. Perhaps they could add a portkey for Sirius to it or something; he had no idea how to make one. Yet.

He should've bought books instead of clothes. Harry groaned. He really was in desperate need of learning more spells.

At least Hermione would be proud.

Sleep had become a rare guest for the Lord of the Black family.

The Blacks had always been a family that honoured familial ties above all else, and if you slighted one family member, you slighted them all.

Or at least that was how it was in the past; now the family had been broken apart, serving Lords who didn't give one sh*t about them or their families. Most were dead.

But Harry was his family. His pup. His heir.

Sirius promised to both, Lily and James to take care of him for the rest of his life. And he would.

Not because of that promise, but because he could still recall how the small baby Harry looked at him with those bright green eyes full of joy when he came to visit, squealed, and demanded to be picked up. How that day Harry spoke his first word, and it was Paddy.

How Sirius, who never wanted to have kids in his life, felt like a proud father at that moment, and promised that little boy to protect him from everything bad in this world.

And how he failed that promise.

Sirius would rather crucio himself than abandon his godson again.

He promised Harry a family, and a family he shall get.

And the Blacks… people have forgotten the reason why their family has always given their children the names of the stars, of constellations. People tend to forget just what kind of power this family wielded before war broke them apart, after they lost their faith in the stars, in each other. Forgot their path.

If you ever met a centaur, they'd tell you they can see the future written in the stars.

But so can the Blacks.

Divination has always been a powerful tool and Blacks had been blessed by it, blessed and led by the stars for centuries.

It's a shame his family had abandoned their gift, but Sirius hasn't. He hasn't forgotten the tales his uncle - the last Lord Black - had told him.

He was certain they will guide him and he'll be reunited with his godson once more.

No matter the price.