Author's note.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or The Avengers.

Chapter 1: The Adoption

Almost Twelve year old, Harry James Potter, sat in the alleyway in shock. He had just been abandoned. They hadn't said anything, they had just left him in an alleyway after picking him up.

He couldn't help it, he began to cry. He had wanted for so long for them to actually like him, to at least approve of him. He expected them to at least keep him. But they hadn't. They had left him. He was alone.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of footsteps and he shrank back to the wall in fear.

"Hey kid, what are you doing back here?" A voice with an American accent asked and Harry turned to see a man looking at him in surprise.

He tried to scramble backwards but the man suddenly caught his wrist. He looked up at the man with wide, terrified eyes. The man's eyes were soft as he asked. "What are you doing here? Where are your parents?"

He looked down, he didn't have a choice. He finally whispered. "They're dead, sir."

Anthony 'Tony' Stark froze the minute he heard those words. He was shocked. He should have expected it considering the fact that the kid was alone in an alleyway but he hadn't though that the kid's parents were dead.

"What happened, kid?" Tony asked and the kid looked down and said. "They've been dead for years, sir."

Now Tony was very shocked. Was the kid a runaway or something? He turned his attention back to kid and asked. "Where are your guardians then? You should probably get back to them."

The kid looked down once again before he said. "They left me here."

"They what!" Tony yelled. So not only was this kid an orphan, but his guardians abandoned him too! Even his father had not been that bad. He may not have spent much time with him as a kid but he had never just abandoned him out of nowhere.

The kid winced and Tony instantly softened.

"What's your name, kid?"

The kid hesitated for a second before he said. "Harry Potter."

"Good to meet you, Harry, I'm Tony Stark." Tony told him but Harry didn't even react to his name. It was understandable, someone who had just dropped Harry off probably wouldn't let him have the luxuries of TV or the internet. Ignoring that, Tony helped him up and then he asked. "Mind coming with me, Harry? We can swing by a diner and get you something to eat."

"I don't have any money, sir." Harry replied looking down.

"Don't sweat it, I'll pay." Tony told him and his head snapped up, eyes wide. "Why would you do that for me? You don't even know me."

"Yeah I don't but I'm not as heartless as to leave a child alone in an alley with no one who's going to come looking for him." Tony said gently. Harry scrutinized him for a second before he decided that Tony was sincere and sighed. "Fine."

They started walking out of the alleyway but before they were all the way out, Harry asked him. "You're going to turn me in to social services, aren't you?"

"Maybe, it depends." Tony replied and Harry's eyes narrowed. "On what?"

"You'll just have to wait and see." Tony said with a smirk before he continued walking with Harry at his side, who was looking very confused for the most part.

*Line Break*

Harry was confused. Tony Stark was… nice to him for no reason at all. It puzzled him even as he ate the hamburger that Mr. Stark had bought for him while Tony was discussing something on his phone several feet away, most likely so he wouldn't hear.

"-I don't care, he was literally left in an alley. His parents are dead and the moment he said that his guardians had left him, I knew that they at least disliked him, more than likely they hated him. I want the adoption papers drawn up and executed by tomorrow morning at the latest." Meanwhile, Tony was talking to one of his lawyers.

In the short time that Tony had known Harry, he had liked him and considering that the kid was an orphan with possibly unloving guardians just hardened his resolve. He was going to adopt Harry.

Maybe it was a rash decision, he was known for making those. But somehow, adopting Harry felt right to him. He knew that he had to do it.

His lawyer finally conceded to his will and promised to have the papers drawn up in record time with the help of JARVIS. Tony quickly approved JARVIS helping before he ended the call and walked back over to Harry.

Harry was just finishing his hamburger when he had sat beside the kid. He let him finish eating before he asked.

"Hey Harry?"

"Yes, sir?" Harry asked curiously.

"You know how I said that I would call social services but it depended on something." He asked and when Harry nodded, he said. "Well, I have a question for you that will determine that."

"What is it?" Harry asked, even more curious than he had been before.

"Um couldIadoptyou?" He asked really fast. But not fast enough that Harry didn't catch it, causing him to nearly fall out of his seat in shock. When Harry finally recovered, he managed to sputter. "You want to adopt me?"

Tony nodded with a smile, making Harry ask. "Why would you want to adopt me?"

"I don't know the exact reason myself, but this feels right, if you know what I mean." He replied, shocking Harry deeply.

Harry was silent for a moment before he asked. "You won't get rid of me? You won't leave me?"

Tony took one of Harry's hand in his and squeezed it gently while saying. "Trust me, I would never do that. Once I adopt you, you'll be my adopted son for life."

"And you don't need to talk to social services to do that?" Harry asked.

"When you're a billionaire and a genius, you can do pretty much anything except kill somebody." Tony replied and Harry's jaw dropped.

"You're a billionaire." Harry said flatly. Tony nodded shyly for the first time in a while and Harry asked. "And you want to adopt me?"

"Yes, I do." Tony told him and he squeezed Harry's hand, saying. "I know that it might be hard to adjust once I adopt you but I do want to adopt you, Harry. There's something about you that makes me want to adopt you. I can't guarantee that you'll get used to everything right away but I can guarantee that I will treat you as my own son. So what do you say? Would you like to become Harry Stark?"

Harry had tears in his eyes as he said. "Yes."

Tony let go of his hand and hugged his soon-to-be son. They stayed like that for a moment before Harry pulled away and asked.

"Can I make a request though?"

"Go for it, Harry." Tony told him with a soft smile.

"Can I be Harry Potter-Stark? I kind of want to honor my parents by keeping at least their last name." Harry explained looking down at his lap.

Tony lifted Harry's chin so that they were eye-level and told him. "I don't mind. If you want to keep your old last name, then that's fine with me."

Harry stared at him for a moment before he hugged him, saying thank you. Tony just smiled at him before he said. "The papers to adopt you should be ready by tomorrow morning at the latest and then we'll have everything in order."

"How were you able to do it so fast? We've only each other for an hour." Harry asked him curiously.

"I have some great lawyers and an AI who's prepared to help get things done as quickly as possible." Tony replied and when Harry looked at him blankly, he explained. "An AI is an Artificial Intelligence unit. Basically a super computer that's sentient."

"Really?" Harry asked impressed that someone without magic was able to make a computer sentient.

"Yeah, I made JARVIS all by myself. He's helpful if not… sarcastic." Tony replied proudly even if sarcastic was not the word to describe JARVIS.

Harry took one look and then he asked.

"Did I just join a crazy family?"

"It's better than a normal one, right?" Tony replied cheekily and Harry laughed conceding that Tony was probably right about that.