fDisclaimer: I do not own anything from Harry Potter or Avengers...

Thank you all for the reviews! I didn't expect such a good reception for this fic so I hope you'll enjoy the second chapter just as much!

There was a bit of confusion on the timeline for this fic so I'll clear it up here. This story takes place several months before Loki arrives and it will be AU so the storyline won't completely follow the Avengers movie.

The general idea of the first two chapters are similar to that of criesofthefallen's Taking Chances. Check out their story if you have time; it's pretty good.

Chapter 2 – To Be A Friend

"Tony, we're going to be late."

Tony waved a hand to clear the smoke, trying to get a good look at the damage. "Yeah, don't I know it," He grumbled before pinning his driver with a long-suffering look. "Stevens, I pay you to get me to conferences on time, not to get us halfway there."

He expertly ignored Pepper's look of disapproval as well as his driver's mumbled apologies and frowned at his engine instead. If he had the proper tools for it, he could try to fix it himself, but he wasn't exactly in the habit of carrying around an entire toolkit in the back of his Audi.

A movement flickered in his peripheral vision and he glanced up, eyebrows rising when he caught sight of a pair of green eyes staring back at him. He shot a quick look at the sign above the large garage on the right – Marauders' Den: Auto Assembly and Repair – and grinned hopefully back at the man in the window. The garage was closed at the moment but surely no one would turn him away in a time of need.

Tony scowled petulantly when the man disappeared from sight without acknowledgement, but brightened again when the overhead garage door smoothly slid up a few minutes later. Bounding forward, he greeted the man that stepped outside, hand already extended.

"Good morning!" Tony shook the man's hand, hiding his surprise when he realized just how young he looked. The mechanic was almost a full head shorter than he was too. "Tony Stark, pleasure to meet you!"

The black-haired man – or teen, really – blinked back, looking bemused. "Harry Potter," He returned with a British accent. "Likewise. What seems to be the problem?"

Harry moved away, eyes focused on the steam pouring out of the hood. Tony had a feeling Harry already knew the problem and kept quiet instead, observing him curiously.

"Overheated engine," Harry muttered absently. "Blown head gasket; I'll have to replace that. How soon do you need this fixed up?"

"Soon as possible would be great," Tony glanced at his watch. It was seven-twenty. "We're in a bit of a hurry. Conference meeting at eight-thirty and we're still half an hour away." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "But if it's replacing the gasket, you'll need at least a few hours to repair it. Damn."

Tony expected Harry to nod in agreement but the mechanic only peered at the engine again before enquiring, "How important is this meeting?"

"Lose-a-few-million-dollars-if-we're-not-there important," Tony sighed.

Pepper jumped in, shooting a stern frown at Tony. "Do you have some way of patching it up just until we get there?"

Harry shook his head. "No, the gasket's completely crushed," He paused and then turned to make his way back into his garage.

"Here," He grabbed a set of keys off one of the hooks and tossed them at Tony before pointing at a velocity red Mazda3 parked inside his garage. "Take that. Return it in one piece after your conference and I'll have your car ready by the time you get back."

Tony gaped at him, staring wide-eyed from the keys in his hands to the Mazda in the garage. A small part of his brain was trying to figure out how he could've missed seeing the Mazda in the first place. "Wait, you're just gonna lend us your car? We just met!"

Harry shrugged. "Yeah, so return it without getting it scratched," He cocked an eyebrow. "I thought you were in a hurry?"

Tony gauged the mechanic's expression and found nothing but honesty there. He shook his head in disbelief but gestured for Pepper and Stevens to get in the Mazda. Pepper thanked Harry warmly before sliding into the passenger's seat. Tony approached the mechanic and did the same.

"Thanks," He said, opening the door on the driver's side. "We'll go for a round of drinks after this. To show my appreciation," He added with a smirk when Harry made to protest. Ducking into the car effectively cut off the rest of Harry's objections.

-.-FH-.-

"That was lucky," Pepper said as Tony pulled back on the road, feeling a rush of delight when he realized just how smoothly the Mazda could run. The speed was amazing and the engine literally made no noise at all.

"Yeah," Tony agreed, increasing the acceleration. "How much do you think I'd have to pay him to convince him to come work for me?"

Pepper rolled her eyes. "Really, Tony? He's already lent us a car. Don't harass him in return."

"I'm not going to harass him," Tony protested. "It's just a business proposition."

Pepper shook her head. "I don't think he'd agree. He seems comfortable where he is."

"You just wait," Tony said confidently. "Everyone wants to work for Stark Industries and, more importantly, me."

Pepper refrained from slapping him upside the head. Judging by the lack of reaction when Tony had introduced himself, she had a sneaking suspicion that Harry didn't even know who Tony Stark was.

Which was a good thing, she mused. Harry didn't seem like the type to be tempted by money and if Tony wasn't too much of a bastard to the mechanic, the arrogant idiot might just gain an actual friend.

-.-FH-.-

Fixing the Audi was easy enough, and mornings were always slower than afternoons on Saturdays, which left Harry some time to think. He knew who Tony Stark was, of course; half the world probably knew. Harry had been surprised when he had dug into New York's history and come up with actual superheroes in this day and age. It wasn't something he expected and he made sure to look into everything he could find on them. He had come up with Iron Man, Captain America, and even zones of destruction where whispers of someone called the Hulk was rumoured to have passed through.

But Harry had never expected to actually meet any one of them, especially someone as high up in the American hierarchy as Tony Stark. A billionaire industrialist and inventor, he would've thought that his modest garage would be the last place someone like Stark would show up at.

The spark of magic Harry had placed in his Mazda thrummed against his own magic and he looked up to see his car in the distance.

"Great car!" were Stark's first words as he pulled up in front of the garage without so much as a whisper from the breaks. "I don't know how you did it. Not even my cars run like this."

Harry shrugged and caught the keys Stark tossed back at him. "I'm good at what I do," He replied vaguely before waving at the Audi parked neatly in his driveway. "It's good to go. Where are the other two?"

Stark waved a dismissive hand as he hurried over to his car. "They hitched a ride with someone else while I drove back here and is my engine quieter or what?"

Stark had started his car and was listening intently to the low growl it produced. Harry nodded. "I had time so I thought I'd give it a tune-up. I hope you don't mind. I couldn't resist. I've never worked with an Audi R8 before."

"Mind? Are you kidding?" Stark asked incredulously. "I'd like to bring all my cars over here. Oh, which brings us to a very important question I've been meaning to ask you since this morning."

Harry arched an eyebrow when Stark paused dramatically.

"How would you like to come work for me?"

Harry blinked and replied without missing a beat. "No thanks."

Stark looked taken aback. "Why not? You do know I run Stark Industries, right? And just name your price; I can pay-"

"I earn enough on my own, Mr. Stark," Harry interrupted, feeling slightly annoyed. "I neither want nor need any more money."

The usual playful careless look on Stark's face abruptly sharpened into something more intent, as if he was trying to solve a particularly difficult puzzle, and Harry wondered why he would choose to hide this side of him behind his usual facade.

"Are you sure?" Stark pressed, though Harry had a feeling that he was simply carrying on the conversation now. "You'd have state-of-the-art parts to work with, and more Audi R8s than you'd know what to do with."

"I'm sure," Harry said, stuffing his hands into his jean pockets. "Thanks for the offer though."

Stark nodded thoughtfully before the teasing glint reappeared in his eyes. "Don't call me 'Mr. Stark'. It sounds ridiculous. Tony is fine."

Harry shrugged again. He didn't want to seem too friendly. He hadn't come to New York to make friends and seeing how he would have to leave either at a moment's notice or in around five years' time, or both, it was better to simply keep to himself.

"Stark then," He said as a compromise and ignored Stark's loud complaint.

"So how much do I owe you?" Stark asked after it was clear Harry wasn't going to indulge him.

"Six hundred dollars," Harry replied and Stark almost dropped his wallet.

"What?" He exclaimed dubiously. "Replacing a head gasket on an average car alone costs seven hundred, much less mine, and you gave it a tune-up."

"Tune-up's free because I didn't ask first," Harry explained. "And I don't charge much. I already upped the price for your car. Usually, I'd charge four hundred for replacing a head gasket."

Stark eyed him as if he was wondering just how crazy Harry was. "Are you sure? I mean money's no problem for me-"

"And money's no problem for me either," Harry said firmly. "Now pay and leave. I still have a Honda to finish tuning by the end of the day."

Stark handed over the money without further prompting but he made no move to leave. "So what kind of Honda are you working on?"

"An Insight," Harry answered warily.

"Great! I've worked on one before. I'll give you a hand."

And before Harry could say anything else, Stark strolled past him into the garage, whistling cheerfully as he rolled up his sleeves.

Harry stared for a full five seconds before heaving a resigned sigh. He had expected Tony Stark to be arrogant and he had heard of the man's reputation as a playboy, but he had not expected the billionaire to be very hard to get rid of.

-.-FH-.-

Over the next few months, Harry found out just how difficult it was to remove Tony Stark from his home. The billionaire literally came over at anytime he wanted. The first time his doorbell rang at three in the morning on a Sunday was a month after Harry met Stark. He had been all for kicking the man off his doorstep but the dark bags under his eyes and the frazzled air Stark brought with him was enough for Harry to allow his uninvited guest a chance to explain.

The CEOs of other companies had come for a business party held at Stark Industries, Stark had explained, and some of the guests hadn't left until only an hour ago. The place was a mess and he couldn't stand looking at all the proposed contracts and paperwork left in his home by said CEOs for another minute and Pepper was on leave visiting her parents so he had driven all the way down to Harry's place and could he please just spend the night.

Harry hadn't had the heart to say no and had allowed Stark entry, hastily shoving some boxes he had still yet to unpack away from his sofa-bed. Unfortunately, this one time admission into his home somehow became an open invitation and within the space of another two months, half a dozen midnight visits, and quite a few daytime appearances on Stark's off days, Harry had finally thrown in the towel and given the irritating man a key of his own.

The smug look Harry had caught on the billionaire's face when said key was handed over told Harry that this was the outcome Stark had been aiming for all along.

-.-FH-.-

"Stark, have you ever heard of common courtesy?" Harry glared at the billionaire currently studying a closet with a disturbing amount of interest.

Stark barely spared him a glance before returning to his careful examination. "Of course I have," He said airily. "And I have plenty of it. I just save it for when I need it."

Harry rolled his eyes. "What are you doing?"

Stark hmm'ed thoughtfully before waving a hand around the living room. "I've always wondered: why is this place smaller on the inside? And," Stark raised a hand to silence Harry's reply. "Before you deny it, I've measured this place. It's definitely bigger on the outside. And I looked up the floor plans for this place; there should be a basement. Most of it's underground but the stairs leading down to it should be right here."

Harry felt a spike of real frustration that he wasn't quite able to hide and Stark hastily backtracked. "I know, I know, I shouldn't have looked, but I was curious and I couldn't help myself. Sorry?"

Harry sighed considered his next move. He knew if he denied Stark's claim, the man would never bring it up again. While Stark was curious enough to get himself killed ten times over, he also respected Harry enough to respect his privacy.

On the other hand, if Harry showed Stark just how many pet projects he had on the side, he had a feeling the man would only find even more reason to stick around. Not that Harry understood why the billionaire wanted to befriend him in the first place. Harry was not delusional in the least. He knew he wasn't the easiest person to get along with. He often preferred to stay silent as opposed to talking and he wasn't exactly all that friendly to other people anymore. He was polite, yes; that was a must when dealing with customers six days a week, but he never went out of his way to try to make friends with them either. The regulars knew him well enough to keep their visits almost completely on business.

"Fine," Harry snorted at the pleased look he received; Stark always wore it when he got his way. Surreptitiously, he used some of his magic to unveil the panel near the back of the closet, tapped in the code, and stepped aside as the back of the closet slid open to reveal a set of stairs leading downwards. "Knock yourself out."

Stark's face literally lit up with childish glee when his eyes landed on the six vehicles Harry had stored in the basement. "Those two are hybrids! And you have a motorcycle! And that's an Audi R8; I thought you said you didn't have one?"

Harry sat down on a chair. "I didn't. I bought it recently."

Stark glanced back at him for a moment. Harry knew the billionaire had always wondered why the prices Harry charged were never very high. Stark had never asked and Harry had never said, but he supposed it was now a confirmed fact that Harry was just as rich as Stark.

"And what are these two?" Stark peered curiously at the two vehicles on the far right.

"They're mine," Harry replied with a tinge of pride colouring his words. "They're not finished yet but I've been building my own cars."

"Ah, inventor," Stark nodded sagely, gaze already taking in the different parts that made up his two creations. "You never said."

"You never asked," Harry countered.

"True," Stark acknowledged. "You must be quite the genius to be doing this at your age. Exactly how old are you anyway? Seventeen? Eighteen?"

Harry made a noncommittal sound. "About, yeah."

Stark didn't seem very put out by the non-answer, turning instead to take in the basement. "How did you get everything in here?"

Already expecting the question, Harry drew out a remote and a moment later, the far part of the basement's ceiling opened, a ramp extended downwards, and cold sunlight splashed the floor of the room.

"It opens out to the backyard," Harry clarified.

Stark just grinned happily, enthusiasm almost visible around him. "Harry, you and I are going to be the best of friends."

Harry scoffed quietly as Stark bounded over to one of the hybrids. He supposed he could call Stark a friend, but there wouldn't be time for them to become best of anything. He had already stayed here for over a year. Another four years or so and it would be time to pack up and leave again.

Finished! Review, review, review!

What did you think of Tony? Hope he wasn't completely out of character or anything.