Disclaimer: Tony Stark and the rest of the characters are the property of Stan Lee and Marvel Studios/Disney. Harry Potter and all associated characters and settings remain the intellectual property of JK Rowling and her associates. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Warning: This fic is un-betaed and will most likely stay un-betaed. There will be mistakes and misspellings. There will be things that don't match up with what I wrote before (feel free to point out those mistakes). This is called writing by the seat of my pants. I lost myself as a writer, I think, by participating in fest after fest – it's time I wrote for myself again.

Notes: Had it pointed out to me that Howard specifically mentioned Stane in the prologue. Yes, I know that. Please remember that Howard was dying and dying people aren't all that coherent – especially when their mind goes a mile a minute. I know it wasn't shown, but Harry remembered the name, and then thought Howard was just worried for a friend when he met Obi later - I already had a plan involving all that mess.

Also, I'm back to working on four projects (two of which are due early September, one is another possible lengthy Avengers!fic... and I have three plot bunnies in the planning stages for HP/Avengers crossover). Sorry if this takes more time because of them!

Chapter 13

"You did a remarkable job on the reactor, sir," Jarvis told him a few days after he came back. "Howard, and Tony would have been proud that someone understood the engineering behind it."

"I was going to die if I didn't, so I didn't really think about it." Harry shrugged, scrolling through the digitized database of forgotten designs. "I appreciate it, though. Thank you."

"My pleasure."

The second day Jarvis was at the house, he had done almost a complete overhaul of the kitchen area. The pantry was suddenly stocked, the fridge full, and a roast duck in the over for dinner. Harry's mouth had watered and he swore that he would do whatever it took to keep Jarvis. The old man smiled and pointed at the reactor before telling Harry he had already done enough.

Harry had been touched and had no idea how to make it up to Jarvis.

The third day Jarvis was at the house, he seemed to settle back into a routine of sorts. He would be up before anyone else, make breakfast, and then go about keeping the house (both inside and out) clean. The AI version of the man (and god, that was going to get confusing) kept Harry up to date with what he was doing while Harry kept to the lab. He went between designs and watching Jarvis on a feed before heading off to get some sleep.

On the fourth day, Jarvis came with him to the lab and they got down to business. Jarvis had looked over the reactor in Harry's chest as well as the old one (Hermione had given it to him despite Harry wanting her to destroy it, the traitor). Harry let him do as he liked and found no reason to

"Were there any other projects you took on yourself?"

Harry shook his head. "No, not really. There were three robot-looking things down here, but I put them in storage after realizing I had no idea what to do to get them working. I think I might take them back out… Just to see if I can do it now."

"Have you gained knowledge in ten years, sir?"

"Not really." Harry grinned and motioned toward the bookcase. "That's all of Howard and Tony's work, though. I'm reading through it to see if I can self-learn. See if I can build something on my own that's bigger than my fist."

Jarvis tapped the reactor. "My counterpart told me you did well with following blueprints."

"Speaking of that… I should rename him. It'll get confusing."

"He responds well enough to 'Jarvis.' Call me Edwin."

Harry arched an eyebrow. "Edwin?"

"My name, sir." Jarvis –Edwin- smiled. "Calling me Jarvis reminds me too much of Howard."

"Yeah, I get that." Harry leaned back on the stool, stretching his arms above his head. "Thank you, by the way. Ah, thanks for coming back."

"My duty to the Stark family is strong." Edwin smiled and settled the old reactor back onto a shelf. "Perhaps I can help you with the bots. What did you plan on doing with them?"

"Besides seeing if I could do it?" Harry shrugged. "I don't know."

"Let me ask you this, then." Jarvis stood on the opposite side of the work desk and leaned in. "What do you plan on doing if you can do it?"

Harry glanced toward the door to make sure Hermione wasn't about to come in before looking back to Edwin. "This stays between us?"

"If I don't find it reckless and particularly stupid… yes."

Harry laughed. "Well, damn. Go tell the world, then." He lifted his chin a bit. "Jarvis, open file sixteen. You know the one."

The flat surface of the desk flashed up with a list of schematics and designs. Edwin tilted his head to get a better look.

"I remember when Tony came up with this," he murmured, scrolling through a few notes. "It was right before Howard died. He never did get his opinion on it."

"I always thought it looked cool. Behind the reactor, it was the one I looked at the most. Something I could have used where I came from." Harry rubbed at the reactor in his chest. "It's how I got out."

"You built this?"

"A very bad version of it. It barely got me out of there alive." Harry pushed at the screen so the designs shows up around the room. It was easier to work with like this. "I got a lot of it wrong and I had help, but it did do the job."

Edwin looked over the images. "What do you plan on doing with it?"

Harry stared at his hands, not really sure himself. "Protect myself, I guess? I hadn't put much thought into it."

"Hm." Edwin wandered around the room. "This is quite reckless."

"I know."

"Though not that stupid. Protecting yourself would be high on your list." He hesitated. "Tony would have done the same thing." He moved a hand out, making the image of the suit bigger. "Jarvis?

The AI hesitated before answering. "Sir?"

"Let's open a new project file." Edwin turned to Harry. He wasn't smiling, but there was an amused glint in his eyes. "Store it on the private server. We don't want people to see just how bad Mister Stark has become at this, do we?"

"Of course not, sir. Storing on the private server now. What shall it be indexed under?"

"Mark Two," Harry said, standing from the stool. "Thank you, Edwin."

"In the wrong hands, this could be destructive. I'm trusting that in yours, it won't." Edwin pulled the image of the suit apart. "Now, let's take a look at what you managed to create."

Harry grinned and moved himself to stand directly next to Edwin. They took apart the suit piece by piece, Edwin –and Jarvis- being patient to explain the hows and whys on when things didn't work. Harry kept up with most of the mechanical talk (you didn't live as Tony Stark for ten years and not know some things), only needing clarification on a few things along the way.

The third day into tackling a new suit, Edwin brought three machines out from the storage garage Harry had stuffed them in. They looked like junk and he felt horrible, but Edwin insisted that they could be saved. He fondly stroked over the arms of them, telling Harry about when Tony designed and built each one. The first, simply named "You," was built by both Howard and Tony, so it was more stable and had stronger programming. "Butterfingers" was Tony's first single attempt and, sadly, "Dummy" hadn't been completed by the time Tony went overseas. Edwin insisted they work on it together, so Harry could get the feel of programming a bit better.

Harry wondered at the names and while Edwin offered up all sorts of information on how the robots worked, he never went into details further than mechanical. Harry figured it was hard to be doing this, but he still wanted to know. He was still curious. During a break from both boots and non-working robots, Harry decided to just jump for it.

"What's with the names?"

Edwin took a long, slow drink of the tea Hermione brought to them. Harry itched to ask again as the man set the cup down, but he thankfully didn't have to wait long. Edwin leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, and spoke to the floor.

"They hadn't intended on naming them, but the first was a bit tricky in how it took verbal commands. Tony kept saying 'You, go do this' or 'You, go do that.' Eventually, the robot seemed to respond to it."

"Like the AI system in the house?" Harry leaned back a bit at Edwin's look. "I found his notes on a sophisticated and learning AI system, which is how Jarvis really came about. I asked a group of engineers at the company to install a simple one in my office and watched them do it on the security feeds. Then I came here and tinkered until I got it right."

"You asked someone else to do what now?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably. "I feigned a busy schedule? Nobody brought it up and Jarvis has been in there since I got him working here. If they noticed, I'm sure they assumed I redid the system because I wasn't happy with what they did."

"That was still dangerous." Edwin stood to take their dirty cups and plates to the nearby sink. Harry was glad Tony installed one down here. "I shouldn't have left."

"I've been doing okay…"

"Okay isn't good enough." Edwin returned and settled back on the seat across from Harry. "Even as a teenager, Tony was always arrogant and harsh. He didn't let anyone push him over. You've done okay with that, but it won't be enough. Now that you've pulled out of making weapons, they're going to attack you more."

That wasn't something Harry really wanted to think about, even if Edwin had a point. He sighed. "What about Butterfingers and Dummy?"

Edwin watched him for a moment before continuing as if nothing happened. "When Tony made Butterfingers, he tried to do better than what he did with You and his father. He created a specialized hand, but it didn't grip as well and he kept dropping what he held. Dummy, well, Tony had been going through a rough time." He grew quiet and, for some reason, Harry felt guilty. "He kept calling it a Dummy for not being put together fast enough or with minimal effort."

"He gives them odd names," Harry decided.

"You tend to do that when machines are the only people that seem to understand you. Don't get me wrong, Tony was a wonderful person once you got to know him. However, he was difficult to get to that point. He picked fights instead of compromising."

Harry winced. "Something I didn't keep up with."

"You had Howard's death as an excuse, but yes. You didn't keep up with it. You need to be arrogant about this, not passive."

"I'll keep that in mind." Harry glanced at the clock. "Think we have time to check the stabilizers on the boots before Hermione chases us out to eat?"

"You're Tony Stark. The world makes time for you."

Harry laughed and the two got up so they could wrestle the boots on Harry's feet. The end result had him slamming into a wall of the lab, but it had been worth it to know that he could do this. He could build it and it would work so much better than the pile of junk he made in Afghanistan.

Yes, more of the script will come into play the more science-y stuff comes in. I'm terrible at science, terrified of pulling BS science out of my ass, thus the script. Which I'm sure that's not 100% accurate either, but there you go.

Also, I've already written the epilogue. There's so much to cover before it, but the scene was itching at me! And I love me a badass Fury.