A/N: Most reviewers have been quick to jump on the fact that Harry let all those Death Eaters go – however, in his defence I would like to point out that he was badly wounded, and in slight shock. He needed to make a quick getaway in case someone came, and not to mention they were out of school, meaning they could have gotten into trouble. Harry was under-equipped to handle secretly giving the Death Eaters over to Aurors, his armour was badly damaged and only meant to be used in emergencies, and to be perfectly frank nothing would've been done about it. Lucius would have got off scot-free, and the Death Eaters would have been let go due to magical Britain's ignorance and Fudge's paranoia. Finally, he had to deal with his friends now knowing his identity.

Furthermore, reviewers have questioned why he did not kill. I'd like to point out in Iron Man 2 Tony Stark was dressed in a similar model which folded out from a briefcase when he fought Vanko for the first time, but did not kill him. The answer is simple; the armour simply does not possess that much physical strength. It is strong enough to vastly increase strength, break bones, throw grown men through the air, but it simply does not have the brute force of the real deal.

-IM x HP-

"Activating sensors. Recording started."

"Good." Harry clanked into the view of the receptors, wearing the chassis of the new, magic-driven armour. "This is Flight Test one, SAM, keep fire extinguishers and sound suppressors handy, though I don't think I'll need them." He adjusted one of his gauntlets, which had been completely changed to accompany the presence of magic – there was a focussing crystal embedded in each of them with traces of phoenix feather within, similar to his boots as well. It had cost him a fortune to buy four phoenix feathers but he knew it would be eventually worth it.

Harry took a deep breath as he pulled the helmet over his head, activating flight mode. "We'll start off slow."

The suit gave a quiet hum as blue energy coursed down the tubes, into his gauntlets. Slowly, as he pushed more power into them, he started to float, higher and higher until he was hovering over the ground at several feet.

Harry began laughing. "This is amazing! It's responding to my every thought!" He did a few test turns before doing a slow lap around the Chamber. "No sluggishness, perfect manoeuvrability, impossibly responsive... no noise or emission gases..." he dropped down, pulling off his helmet as he took the chassis off, piece by piece. "The flight system is flawless. I'm excited to really put it through its paces. Are we ready to armour it up SAM?"

"There are still terabytes of calculations to run Harry in order to cover all variables; it is far from an actual flight, not to mention finishing the scans of the actual power outage of the synthesised crystal."

"Well run them and let me know," he stated firmly. "But first…" quickly Harry sat back at his terminal, rapidly typing in some commands. "I want you to patch into the Stark Industries Skyhawk Tactical Satellite."

"Harry, that satellite is now defunct and does not broadcast any information to any military networks."

"Exactly. Use the override codes from the Stark mainframe; I want you to do a complete system takeover, reactivate the satellite and take it off any military networks it's still connected to." Harry watched through his terminal as SAM began establishing an uplink, rapidly sending the files needed. A minute later, the icon for Stark Industries appeared as a console came up. Harry activated the satellite sensors, and watched as a satellite image of Britain filtered into his holographic projector.

"Synchronisation complete, I now have complete control over the satellite and have isolated it from the network. It is now directly connected to our servers here."

"Sync it with the servers back home, but do it on an encrypted ghost drive. Have you updated the satellite software with the necessary files?"

"Yes, Harry. Activating Mage Vision protocols!"

Harry watched with a grin as multi-coloured clusters now appeared all over Britain, colour coded depending on type of magic and strength of magic. "Gees, Magical Britain's bigger than I thought."

"Mage Vision software is functioning perfectly. I have begun a connection process to your Iron Man suits."

"Isolate the group we encountered in Knockturn Alley."

Harry watched as the satellite began zooming into Britain, further and further until it hovered over a cluster of bright spots, with a blinking coming from one of them.

"The homing device you used is still active, Harry, however it is difficult to isolate the clusters."

"That's due to the presence of heavy wards, I hadn't compensated for high levels of magical saturation," Harry mused thoughtfully. "It's clearly a Death Eater recruiting camp of some sort though. Isolate the magic signatures won't you SAM?" As the AI did so, he raised a hand over the holographic screen, pulling the clusters apart into different strands. "Residual traces of strong dark magic. There's no doubt it's them. I'll get the bastards for what they did yet, and this time… they play by my rules."

-IM x HP-

"Mass breakout from Azkaban," Hermione read aloud. "Numerous Death Eaters who supported You-Know-Who in the first war have escaped, including Bellatrix Lestrange, notorious for her torture of renowned Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom..."

"Enough, Hermione, we get the picture," Harry interrupted, very aware of Neville's steadily paling face.

The girl shot up, annoyed at being interrupted before her face softened when she realised who was beside them. "Oh... sorry Neville..."
"It's fine," the boy said curtly before he upped and left.

"Look what you did now," Harry said, chastening her as he bit into another piece of toast. "Honestly Hermione for such a smart girl you'd think to be a little more considerate."

Said girl bristled at the comment before deflating, knowing he was right. Hermione shot an acid look at Ron when he sniggered, who quickly shut up. "I'm... sorry, Harry."

"It's fine," he said finishing up his toast, wincing slightly as he stood up.

"What's up mate?" Ron frowned. "You look like you've taken a nasty bludger hit!"

Considering those blasting curses I took that description's apt. "Uh... flying accident."

"Umbridge has banned Quidditch." Hermione stated flatly.

"Doesn't mean I can't fly," he shot back as he left.

Hermione stared at his retreating form thoughtfully, before sighing, her suspicion melting away in resignation. "Why do I bother?"

"Why do you bother what?" Ron asked between mouthfuls of food.

"For Merlin's sake!" Hermione stormed off, following her best friend and leaving her other best friend wondering what he had done now.

She sighed as she came across Harry in the corridor, sitting next to Neville, Ginny and Luna. "May I join you?"

He was laughing at something Luna said, before turning around. "Sure, why not?"

Hermione sat on Harry's other side quietly as they chatted amongst themselves, simply enjoying a little break before classes began.

"You know, I'm surprised you asked to join us," Harry commented in an off-handed manner.

Hermione turned to look up at him. "Why's that?"

"Because you haven't got a book out and you're not in the library."

Ginny and Neville glanced towards each other while Luna fiddled with one of the caps on her necklaces. They had both been aware of the friction from the very offset of the so-called golden trio's relationships, and it had often been a source of gossip amongst chatty Gryffindors. Although it was now clear who the real leader among the three was, some occasional, unresolved tension was always present, and with Harry's clear challenge he was bringing it up now.

She smiled. "Well, I'd just like to sit with my friends, that's all."

"And study?"

"It can wait. Spending time with friends is more important, isn't it?"

Harry looked at her, the unconscious approval clear. "You're right. It is more important. Don't you think guys?"

They chorused their approval, and as Ron came in, clueless as always, they headed for their classes together, splitting only at the last moment. It seemed, for the time being, that the golden trio was no more, and in its place was something bigger, something better.

None of the group, even Ginny, were extremely social people, preferring to stay inside their own fraternities. For some like Hermione, where tensions ran high between particular people who will go unnamed, it could be frustrating and sometimes lonely, and for some like Luna they were by themselves virtually all the time. Harry, now ever the perceptive one, had noticed this, and with the advent of private group lessons this had changed as their circle of friends expanded, something which he had been inching for in the weeks after the Death Eater attack.

Though they did not remembering it, they had all shared a traumatic event. Perhaps subconsciously, they had been brought together by this – nevertheless, Harry knew that it was better for all that they now had a closer, bigger group of friends (also making it easier to mask his frequent 'disappearances', as Hermione liked to call them, though she never pried).

Harry's maturity had changed things, for the better, in all of the people he closely associated with.

And he knew it would be sorely needed in the war to come.

-IM x HP-

"Now that the toad is High Inquisitor, I want you all to be careful," Harry warned to PA after yet another sweaty workout in the Room of Requirements. The students had long since adjusted to these sessions, and instead of their typical school robes most wore comfortable muggle clothing. "She may be a bitch but she's slimy and manipulative. Just like Snape. Don't forget the contract we signed. If one of you goes telling her... we'll know." He watched some of the more reluctant members fidgeting nervously at that pronouncement. "For the rest of you, don't forget to practise the new curse. Next week, we'll work on the Patronus charm a bit more, so read up on that, and keep the habit of having your wand in easy reach." He watched as the students left to go to their respective Common Rooms, while his friends remained behind. "So how was it?"

"Bloody good as usual mate," Ron complimented, wiping some sweat off his brow. "Nuts, but in a good kind of way."

"I can tell there's more to it than that," Harry commented, stepping down from the platform. "So what's up guys?"

Neville and the others shared a glance. "Harry, we've seen you practise," Ginny began. "We've noticed that the spells you're using... are a lot more advanced than the ones you're teaching us."

"Oh?" Harry raised an eyebrow. He had been expecting this for some time. "How so?"

"What you're using isn't in any books I've ever read," Hermione exclaimed. "We've seen you use everything from blasting hexes to cutting, piercing and shredding curses, even an organ hex once..."

"And when you transfigured that desk into glass shards, that was bloody brilliant," Ron added.

He sighed, gesturing for them to take a seat as chairs appeared around them. "That's because you're reading the wrong books. Some of those spells are from advanced duelling and battle tomes, most of which have been banned by the Ministry of Magic. I used them occasionally in our duels because I wanted you to be aware that Death Eaters will often know dark curses which you don't, and as such you need to be prepared to think on your feet."

"So you were using dark magic?" Ginny asked with a frown.

He laughed. "Don't give me that look, you know how paranoid the Ministry gets. They may be banned in Britain, but they aren't in any other countries."

"Wait, so you've..."

"I said I travelled, I didn't say where to," Harry stated cryptically. "So are there any other questions?"

"You didn't answer why you aren't teaching us those spells you learnt," Neville insisted.

"One: Your basics still aren't up to scratch. I'm laying the building blocks for you, giving you the skills you need to employ these curses effectively. What's the point of teaching you a powerful curse if you don't know when or where to use it? And two: none of you are ready for them."

"Ready for them?" Hermione demanded indignantly.

Harry's eyes bored into hers as she shrunk back, remembering her place. "Exactly, and this is growing into all-out war. Can any of you do it? Can any of you maim, dismember, cut, or spill the blood of living, breathing people? Are any of you ready to fight a war, not just because you think it's right, but because it's necessary? Are any of you prepared for the responsibility that comes from knowing these curses, and the readiness, to sacrifice your innocence in a fight to the death?"

At these electrifying words, many of them shrunk back, hesitantly.

He sighed. "I thought not. I've seen some pretty bad things. None of you are fully ready for the realities of a war. None of you are soldiers, and unlike many militaries, I'm not willing to train you to deaden your humanity to make you into one. Once I've taught you a bit more, fine, I'll begin teaching you those spells. You're all ready enough to disarm and defeat Death Eaters, but to really put them out of the fight?" Harry stood up, walking into the passage to their Common Room. "Have a think about it, but just remember that once you gaze into the abyss... the abyss gazes into you."

-IM x HP-

"How is the armour fabrication coming along?"

"It is currently at 40.6 percent, stage three of seven. The process is taxing on my systems, and I have been forced to redirect power from emergency backup systems to my primary CPU."

Harry watched in fascination as one of the shells, still red-hot from being melded, was dunked into a vat full of blue-green liquid, giving a hiss as it did so. "So the compound potion is working?"

The generators crackled as the liquid began bubbling, heated up by blue vents. "It is working to specification, in combination with neutron and energy bombardment; I estimate the shell's structural integrity will increase by 126 percent, spell resistance, 643 percent."

"Awesome," Harry grinned, setting the process back to AUTO on his terminal. "I'll leave it to you SAM, and use that new refractory coating that Tony sent to our server. Don't forget we're using the new armour configuration I specifically designed, not any of Tony's designs."

"How could I Harry? You specifically requested it at every stage."

"Uh-huh." He frowned as a beeping came from his terminal – typing in some commands, he watched as a holographic screen appeared showing the Department of Mysteries, with a very familiar snake... "Nagini!" he hissed, watching in horror as it attacked a very familiar form. "I need to get moving, SAM, open up the elevator!" He burst out of his seat, bolting towards the entrance.

Several minutes later Harry found himself being led to the Headmaster's office by a distressed-looking Professor McGonagall, and later after that he was sitting there, waiting while a concerned-looking Dumbledore stepped out of the fireplace, dusting some soot off his robes.

"Harry, listen to me, this is very important." He stated ominously, sitting in his large, upright chair that very much looked like a throne. "Did you see this happen through your scar?"

Having thought it through already, Harry nodded calmly. "I saw it... from the perspective of the snake."

Dumbledore sighed, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "It is as I thought, then. Your connection to Voldemort enables you to on occasion peer into his mind, and consequently the mind of his familiar Nagini since he can possess it. This is worse than I feared."
Harry narrowed his gaze. So he knew, and didn't tell me. Typical. "How is it bad though sir?" he asked, innocently wording his question. "I mean, we'll be able to see into his plans…"

"Indeed, though that is not necessarily a good thing," Dumbledore mused, popping a lemon drop. Figures he wouldn't say I had a revolving door to Voldemort in my brain. "Too much knowledge, after all, can be a bad thing." Was I really so idiotic that I'd believe everything he said? "And I fear the connection may be more of a curse than a blessing, though this will be revealed in time. Tell me, Harry, what do you know of Occlumency?"

"I've never heard of it sir." He lied.

"I did not think so. It is the art of shielding your mind from outside, mental intrusions, and I believe that if you learn it then it will aid you greatly in managing this connection."
"Will you be teaching me sir?"

"Alas, dear Harry, I have little time these days." Now that's absolute bull. "Fortunately however, Professor Snape is a master of the subject."

He shot up out of his seat indignantly. "No!"

The Headmaster looked at him, a strong warning in his crystal blue eyes. "Harry, I must ask that for your sake you put aside your childish grudge…"

"As you are so quick to remind me, I am a child," Harry countered coolly. All thoughts of playing it safe around the Headmaster had vanished from the very offset of his suggestion. No way in hell was he going to let that greasy git go poking around in his mind! "Professor Snape however has no excuse."

"Harry, please…"

"I'll remotely consider it when he apologises to me for verbally attacking, belittling and insulting me and what my parents stood for from the very moment I set foot in his class. As that is unlikely, I believe our business is concluded for the evening, since as you have told me, Mr Weasley will be fine." With that, Harry left the Headmaster to his thoughts.

Dumbledore contemplated the boy once he left, sighing. "What am I going to do with you, Harry?" He needed the boy's respect and loyalty should they defeat Voldemort. He had been grooming him to be the perfect replacement, as he knew the time drew near for his role in the chess game to be finished. It had taken him years of planning to get to this point, and without Harry, defeating Voldemort would be all but impossible.

Something had changed in Harry. That much was evident. Young Granger had not reported to him in weeks, and he was beginning to fear the worst. There was no possibility of Harry turning, that much was certain, but without faith in him his plans would be useless. He needed the boy's trust.

The consequences would be dire if Harry decided to do things on his own.

-IM x HP-

"JARVIS, are you there?"

"Yes, sir, you are now within my broadcast proximity. What can I do for you?"

"I need you to upload all relevant files on the project Tony developed for SHIELD to my HUD."

"Sir, those files are classified for…"
"I know they are, damn it JARVIS, I need them now!"

"As you wish… accessing Stark Archives, uploading now.

Harry watched as hundreds of files labelled 'TOP SECRET' filtered in through his HUD. "Good, thanks JARVIS." He brought his arms closer and increased thrust as he streaked through the air, doing well beyond Mach 5. Quickly he deleted all unnecessary blueprints and documents, they weren't what he was looking for, until he was left with what he needed to find. Hmm, there we are… so it's based on Arc design 5.1? "SAM, activate sensors, maximum range, filter for other Arc Reactor units of a similar wavelength." A radar appeared on his HUD and Harry corkscrewed upwards, bursting through the clouds. "Looks like there's a weak signal towards the South East," he mused as he pushed his repulsors harder, boosting towards his target. Steadily, the blip on his radar began growing bigger. "Arc Reactor signature off the charts. This must be it." As he soared further and higher, then he saw it.

It looked like an aircraft carrier, but no aircraft carrier was buoyed up by thousands of turbines, with large numbers of jets streaking around it, and certainly no aircraft carrier could match it in size. It wasn't meant to officially exist, and had Harry not known beforehand, he would never know of its existence either.

"SHIELD HQ," he thought aloud. "A heli-carrier, only one of its type, and it looks like they've got a welcoming committee." Harry deployed his flaps, braking sharply, he twisted towards the heli-carrier as the squad of F-22s moved to intercept him.

"Unidentified vehicle, you are ordered to stand down. You are in restricted airspace, accompany us to the nearest US base or you will be treated as a hostile target."

Harry's lip curled in a slight smirk. "Insistent aren't they?" He activated his comm. "I'm here to see Director Fury, take me to him."

"You do not have clearance to be here. Stand down or we will fire."

He sighed, fully confident in the capabilities of his revamped Mark III. "Too bad because that wasn't a request." With that, he accelerated straight to Mach 5, slamming into the landing pad before charging forward, bullets bouncing off his armour as he grabbed the sealed door and wrenched it open. "Hey! Anyone in this rust bucket? Oh, hi..." he watched as several squads of soldiers rushed in, aiming their rifles at him. "Don't you love goons?" Harry adjusted his strength and repulsor limiters; he didn't want to kill any of them after all, before charging forward and bowling them over.

Harry fought his way through the ranks, knocking them over one by one as he headed deeper and deeper into the heli-carrier, breaking down every obstacle in his way.

"You know, you're not making this hard for me," he commented as several turrets rose up from the floor – Harry leapt over them with the assistance of his repulsors, tearing one apart before throwing it towards another, activating his shoulder pods as he fired several missiles that destroyed the final two.

He spun around, watching as another large group of soldiers moved towards him, circling him, with the assistance of several tanks and turrets. "Bring it on."

"WAIT!"

The soldiers snapped to attention, raising a salute as they let the man pass through the ranks, a man very familiar.

"Finally, you show your face," Harry smirked as his faceplate retracted. "I thought I'd have to blow this thing apart to find you."

However Director Fury simply scowled at him before turning to one of his aides. "Why was I not informed that the so-called 'intruder' was wearing a blue and silver Iron Man suit?" he demanded. "DON'T REPLY!" He thundered, as his aide whimpered. "Now go and cancel the alert, and next time when something as BIG as an Iron Man attacks make sure I'M THE FIRST TO KNOW!" He growled, turning to his soldiers. "Well what are you waiting for? GET BACK TO YOUR POSTS!"

Harry watched with amusement as the soldiers began scurrying off, carrying the wounded away on their shoulders.

"And you," Director Fury snapped. "What the hell were you thinking? If you had killed any of my men..."

"All of my suits are built with physical limiters, it's a safety precaution to prevent excessive force," Harry stated. "Now I believe you know why I'm here."

He raised an eyebrow. "Do I?" he asked mockingly.

Harry sneered, pointing an armoured finger at him. "Don't lie. You know. You know what I am, and you know who I am, from the very moment I set foot on your country."

Fury smirked. "Not bad kid, we could use someone like you. Let's talk in my office."

-IM x HP-

"SHIELD works closely with the American Ministry of Magic to avoid any... unpleasant circumstances," Fury explained. "There's a specific department in the Ministry of Magic which we have strong ties with. You could say they're our sister organisation."

"You weren't sure whether Tony knew," Harry stated. "That's why you acted like I had just appeared out of nowhere. You needed to be sure."

Fury nodded as he poured himself a glass of whiskey, drinking it in one gulp. "You know the moment our friends in the Ministry of Magic realised that Harry goddamn boy-who-lived Potter had set foot in America they were already scrambling to try and get you out without your knowledge. They're more than aware of the particular situation and getting involved in an internal overseas dispute is not good publicity."

Harry resisted slamming his fist on the table, knowing full well he would easily split it in half. "Are you serious? Voldemort is back!"

"The ambassador from the British Ministry of Magic gives us strong assurances..."

"That's absolute bull, and you know it," Harry growled.

Fury sighed, downing another glass of whiskey. "Look. I'd like to help ya. But it's not within my jurisdiction to get involved in a conflict that hasn't happened..."

"Yet. And you know it. You are SHIELD after all," Harry stated.

"It's not in America's interests to go hunting for some megalomaniac in some allied country when said country's official stance is that he does not exists!"

Harry growled, knowing that this was a lost cause. "Well fine, fat load of good this did." He turned around, preparing to get back.

"Hold up kid." Fury said thoughtfully. "Just because I can't help you doesn't mean that I can't lend a hand."

Harry frowned. "And what exactly do you mean by 'lend a hand'? If you can't give us any support..."

"Trust me I'd like to, because it's the same old song and dance," Fury smirked. "And we might have to, eventually. But for now we can give you a few... pointers."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Pointers?"

"I'm talking about training. Supplies. A few favours. Trust me, I've got plenty of them floating around."
"Training?"

"Yeah. We have a few wizards who do black ops who'll be more than happy to train you. Trust me, by the end of it, you'll be fit enough to fight off an army without that Iron Man suit."

"Hmm..." It was a good offer. He could use all the help he could get, not to mention top-secret military and magical training. However, he wasn't an idiot. "I'm interested; however, I know you're the kind of guy who doesn't give away freebies. So what's the catch?"

"It's simple, really. I suppose you've heard of the Avengers Initiative?"

Harry looked at him incredulously. "You serious?"

"Do I look like a guy who jokes?"

"I'm just a teenager."

"Don't give me that bull, we both know you're more than just a teenager, most teenagers don't exactly have genius level IQs, use magic or fight off armies in a robotic suit on a day-to-day basis!"

Harry smirked. "I don't think I'm much of a team player, though thanks for the offer. However, I suppose I could lend you my expertise in making some gear for SHIELD operatives..."