Rewrite the Stars
Summary: "Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own." – Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land. FemHarry.
Just a warning: FemHarry, AU, Language, Clichés, Age Difference, Messed Time Line, More in the Future
Just so you know (Name): FemHarry's name is Charis Aster Potter. In Greek mythology, a Charis is one of the Charites or "Graces"; goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility. This name comes from an Ancient Greek word meaning "Grace", "Kindness" and "Life". Aster is an Ancient Greek word for "Star" while the meaning of the flower Aster can differ depending on the presentation, my favorites being "Elegance", "Patience" and "Daintiness". Also, the Ancient Greeks used to burn aster leaves to ward off both snakes and evil spirits.
I don't own anything related to Marvel or Harry Potter!
Chapter 18. Statute? What Statute?
It took only one hour for Tony to admit that he liked Charis. The kid brought him back to easier times, times when he and Rhodey could sit down and talk for hours; sharing stories, complaining about the idiots in their lives... He truly like her, she was a nice and genuine kid.
Nevertheless, as much as he liked her, Tony couldn't bring himself to relax completely. At least not until he learned the reason why her Uncle James had decided to look for him and how he had been successful when clearly others failed.
Tony pursued his lips, flipping the newspaper in his hands.
More than half of the articles about him, be it on newspapers or magazines seemed to have already declared him dead, doubting that his kidnappers would have kept him alive. Especially as no one seemed have called Pepper or Obadiah for ransom.
Speaking of Pepper – It looked like the red-haired woman and Rhodey had pulled a few strings and called a few favors to keep the search for him going; going so far as contacting a few international agencies to help.
It was nice, if not extremely relieving, to know that his friends still held hope in finding him alive… Although he was curious to know why no one seemed to know about his rescue. How had Charis' Uncle James brought him from Afghanistan to London without anyone recognizing him?
"Here!"
Tony blinked as a bowl of soup was placed in front of him, pulling the genius away from his thoughts. Raising his head, he stared at the emerald-eyed teen standing across him.
"You need to eat," Charis said, handing him a silver spoon.
His eyes flickered to the odd colored soup, "Uh – Can't I get a cheeseburger instead?"
Those green, green eyes narrowed dangerously as the small girl corrected herself, "You need to eat proper food." She huffed, "Besides, the doctor said that you need time before your stomach can handle something as heavy as a cheeseburger."
Tony sighed. He couldn't argue with that point. He was stubborn and annoying but he knew when he should or shouldn't keep his arguments at bay.
Besides, he hadn't eaten a home-cooked meal in years. So this was more than welcome.
Hum, Tony thought, pleased with the taste, Butternut Squash Soup…
His thoughts must have been written all over his face because Charis beamed with pride, turning around to grab a bowl for herself. The billionaire shook his head a little, wondering if everything she did had to be this cute. It was almost criminal.
"So," he said after a moment of silence, "when will your Uncle come back?"
Charis looked a little surprised by the question. She stared at him with thoughtful eyes before sighing, as if she knew exactly why he wanted to know that, and looking over her shoulder.
He followed her line of sight to see a clock. The funny thing was that the moment his whiskey-brown eyes landed on it, the clock seemed to blurry and shift, as if some kind of veil or mist over his eyes had been lifted, showing off words instead of numbers. He shook his head, rubbing his eyes before looking again.
Must have been my imagination, Tony thought, staring at the normal clock on the wall.
This conclusion, however, didn't stop the nagging feeling on the back of his mind that insisted that he wasn't seeing thing, that it hadn't been his imagination.
"He should be home soon," Charis said, turning to look at him.
Tony tore his eyes away from the clock and smiled charmingly at the kid.
"Great!" He said, "I want to talk to him."
Charis' face twisted slightly although he couldn't decipher her expression properly. It was like she was dreading to see what would happen when he was finally introduced to her mysterious Uncle.
"I'm sure you do," the small girl muttered, resuming to eat her soup.
Tony arched his eyebrow at this but she never elaborated. As much as he wanted he didn't pock her for answers; something told him that he would find out what was the problem soon enough.
Sighing, the man decided to change the subject. He couldn't look at that face for long. It was like he was staring at kicked puppy.
"Say kid, what do you do for fun around here?" Tony asked, finishing his soup.
Charis perked up, "Oh! Do you want to play a board game?"
A – A board game? The engineer gave her a look filled with amusement. Kids those days still played with those kind of things?
"Sure, why not?"
Half an hour and three board games later, Tony found himself staring at a staggering JENGA tower, fingers twitching as he tried to calculate which block could be taken off without making the whole tower come apart.
Charis, the cute little brat, was staring at him with a grin on her face, chanting under her breath.
"Fall, fall, fall, fall!"
Tony's eyebrow twitched but he refused to move. He was the adult there so he needed to keep his mind and ignore her childish taunts.
Taking a deep breath and straightening his back, the genius started pulling a block slowly. He could feel a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead and his muscles tense – He was going do it! He –
"Charis."
Both Tony and the aforementioned girl jumped at the voice, staring as the tower fell apart.
"No!" Tony roared.
Charis started laughing, clapping her hands and cheering like the annoyingly cute thirteen years troll she was, "I win! I win!"
"No! I reject!" Tony refused to accept it, shaking the block in his hand, "I demand another round!"
The raven-haired girl smirked, "Don't be a sore loser, Mr. Stark!"
"Why you –"
Someone cleared their throat. Immediately, the duo recalled that there was someone else in the room with them and turned around to see a tall, ice-blue eyed man standing behind the couch, staring at them with an raised eyebrow.
To his surprise, Charis beamed and jumped over the couch so she could tackle the man in a hug, "Uncle James!"
Tony paused, looking – truly looking – at the stoic, blue-eyed man dressed in all black. Much like Charis, there was something familiar about him but then again the two of them were related so it wasn't too surprisingly for them to share a few similar features. But that didn't explain why
"Did you eat?" The man asked and that voice, Tony noted, was the same Brooklyn accented one from the desert. Although there was no hint of Russian accent this time.
Charis nodded, looking up at ice-blue eyed man with concern, "I made a soup for us, do you want me to heat a bowl for you?"
Tony blinked as the stoic man smiled fondly down at her, shaking his head, "No, doll. I'm fine."
The small girl gave him a dubious look but didn't have time to say anything while the brown-haired genius watching their interaction.
So this was the famous Uncle James?
He – Tony's thoughts came to a abruptly halt, stepping back as he felt like someone had just punched all air out of him as those ice-blue eyes looked in direction and allowed the whiskey-eyed engineer to see his face properly and finally remember where he had seen it.
"James?" Tony blinked, numbly letting go of the block in his hands, "James Barnes?"
C.P
Harry looked from James to Mr. Stark and then back again, trying to decide if she should panic or merely sit down and watch the whole identity reveal unfold without her unwanted and definitely not needed intervention.
At the end, she decided to collect all JENGA blocks from the living floor, looking over the couch a few times to check what James and Mr. Stark were doing. She didn't think that her Great-Uncle was going to reveal the whole Stark, I killed your parents thing now but nothing stopped him from explaining to Mr. Stark why he looked so young instead of an old man.
And, oh look, he just did, Harry thought with a hint of dark humor as the expression on Mr. Stark's face twisted as he seemed to pale a shade or two.
The small girl sighed, hoping that Mr. Stark won't be terrified enough to run away from them. She liked the man, he was fun in a way that she imagined the twins' eldest brothers were, and the raven-haired witch didn't want to see him go yet.
Harry closed the JENGA box, standing up to make her way towards her room. Half-way to the stairs though, James called her, having stood up from the table and walking in her direction alongside a dazzled looking Mr. Stark.
She gave the man a concerned look but he didn't seem to have noticed it.
"I'll talk to you tomorrow," her Great-Uncle said gently, kissing her forehead before muttering a low good night and walking away.
He must have been tired. Not that it surprised her. James had stayed out of the house the whole day trying to learn more about Mr. Stark's kidnapping as well looking for a way to help the other man go back home safely without anyone attacking him (Be it those behind his kidnapping or the paparazzi). She hoped that he had found what he was looking for.
"Are you alright, Mr. Stark?" Harry asked as they reached the third floor, noticing that he staring ahead with unfocused eyes.
He blinked, looking at her. A second later, the engineer smiled what she was starting to call his public smile.
"I'm fine! Don't worry about it, kid," Mr. Stark waved his hand. "I merely learned about… Well, a few surprising news."
Noticing that he was holding something, her eyes flickered to the tick yellow folder. Harry thought about it for a moment before nodding her head. It was none of her business – If Mr. Stark wanted to talk then she would be there to listen. Otherwise, Harry won't ask him about it.
His eyes widened as she told him so, smiling softly. The way M. Stark stared at her was a little sad, as he couldn't believe that someone like her existed, as if no one had ever offered their support in such manner.
"I… Thanks, kid," Mr. Stark licked his dry lips, blinking his eyes.
There was a moment of silence as they reached the door of Mr. Stark's temporary room. Reaching out for the doorknob, the whiskey-eyed man paused, eyes flickering as if he was planning something.
"Hey, kid."
Harry stopped by her own door, turning to look at the genius with curiosity, "Yes?"
"Barnes explained that it would be better for me to stay inside the house for a week or so. To allow my body to heal completely," Mr. Stark explained, fingers tapping the doorknob. "And I agree with it. But, if I give him a list… Do you think your… Uncle would be able to find a few things out for me?"
The small witch gave him a confused look at the odd request but nodded, "Sure. Although I can't promise that Uncle James will find everything that you want."
"Nah, that's ok," he said with a smirk. There was a pause before he called her again, "And kid?"
Harry peered at him curiously, "Huh?"
"Call me Tony."
She smiled sweetly, "Sure Tony! And welcome to the family! I hope you'll like your short stay with us!"
The green-eyed thirteen years old stepped into her room, closing the door behind her. She never noticed the way his eyes widened in surprise at her words, whiskey-brown orbs glimmering.
Placing a hand over his eyes, the engineer inhaled deeply. He tried to ignore the feelings those words invoked, tried to ignore how he couldn't remember the last time he was part of a family…
As the days passed by, Mr. Star – Tony started to look healthier. He gained weight and his complexion was as pale and sickly as before. Honestly, it was a good thing, but Harry couldn't bring herself to feel too excited about it. Especially not when she knew that he would be leaving soon.
Her Great-Uncle didn't say anything but she knew that he was having the same problem. She didn't think he noticed, but having a friend close to his age was helping in a way that the sessions with Healer Summers couldn't.
When the two men weren't playing a few board games with her or just telling her a few stories when she asked, they were sitting by the fire in the study and plotting something and sharing experiences, be it good or bad. They understood each other in a way that only brothers could, or at least that was what she thought.
It would be weird to see Tony leave. Although she hoped he could visit them sometimes…
The green-eyed girl grimaced, recalling that it would be a little difficult for a non-magical to find Rosewood's Mews. Well, she could always introduce the man to magic, maybe even stop him from tearing his hair in frustration over magical candy (Although it pretty funny to see him freak out over it), but Tony was a man of science and Harry didn't want to see him looking at her as if she was some kind of freak.
Sighing, Harry closed her book, standing up from her seat.
Thinking about it won't help. What happened, happened. The raven-haired witch would have to wait and see how Tony reacted to magic if he learned about it.
Walking out of the library, she found the genius standing in the corridor, staring at one of the pictures hanging on the wall with narrowed eyes as if the genius was trying to resolve some kind of puzzle.
Discretely, Harry checked if the Notice Me Not Charm was working, knowing very well that all pictures in the house were magical ones. Thankfully, it was.
"What's wrong?" She asked curiously, stopping beside him.
Tony blinked, looking at the green-eyed witch before grinning, "Oh, nothing. I was just curious about this picture."
Harry looked at the picture, noticing that it was one of her, Neville and the twins playing in the snow. Collin had taken the picture after she asked him too, although she was pretty sure that he would have done so even if she hadn't.
"Oh, those are my friends from school!" The small thirteen years old told him brightly, "That's Neville. And that's Fred," Harry pointed them out as she spoke, "and George."
Tony smiled, "And which one is your Rhodey?" He gave her serious look, "Everyone needs a Rhodey in their life."
Having been told about his friends, Harry grinned.
"I think Neville is my Rhodey and my Pepper," his expression twisted with something akin to fear at the mere thought, making her laugh. "I think the twins are more similar to you."
The brown-haired man arched his eyebrows, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Smiling, Harry wiggled her finger at him.
"There – Now you even look like them."
"You need to introduce me to those kids," Tony said. "I'm curious now."
The green-eyed witch snorted, already imagining all the chaos those three would cause. The world certainly wasn't ready for an alliance between the Weasley Twins and Tony Stark.
"We'll see," Harry said dryly. "Anyway, how was your check-up?" She asked as they started making their way down the corridor.
The billionaire gave her a look. It was a look that she knew well, one that she had seen several times in the mirror whenever the small witch knew that she would have to visit the Hospital Wing at some point.
"What check-up?" He asked slowly.
"The Hea – doctor –" she corrected herself quickly, hoping that he hadn't noticed her slip up and avoiding his eyes as she continued, "– who took care of you when Uncle James brought you home wanted to see how you were doing. And maybe talk to you about your nightlight."
Tony chortled, "Nightlight?"
Harry made a motion to the Arc Reactor in his chest. He had tried to explain how it worked but only James understood part of the explanation. Harry, on other hand, didn't understand a single word aside from the fact that it was keeping him alive.
"What does he want to talk about?" He asked. His face didn't show much but something told her that Tony didn't want to talk about his Arc Reactor with a stranger.
The raven-haired girl shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe he wants to speak to you about taking it off or something. Or getting another one."
One never knew with a wizard. She knew how unpredictable magicals could be sometimes.
"If he didn't come to see you this morning then I think that he'll show up soon," Harry mused.
Tony hummed, opening his mouth to speak only to cut himself off when they noticed James and an old, grey haired wizard dressed in lime-green robes. The whiskey-eyed engineer arched his eyebrows at the robes while Harry mirrored the expression of disbelief and exasperation on her Great-Uncle's face.
International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy? What International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy? The witch thought sarcastically. I don't think that exists in Britain…
"Mr. Stark! I see you're awake!" The Healer said exuberantly, walking up to them and shaking the now shell shocked Tony's hand, "The name's Taylor, Jack Taylor. Head of the Department of Non-Magical Injuries of St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries! I was the one called when Mr. Barnes brought you to his home! How're you feeling today? You certainly look much better than the last time I saw you!"
James facepalmed as Harry gaped, emerald green eyes widening with pure horror as she processed the Healer's words. The thirteen years old felt like crying, not believing that this was how Tony learned about the existence of magic.
Tony blinked one, two, three times, staring at Healer Taylor as if the man was an alien (Harry hated to be mean, but at the moment he was more like a bloody idiot than an alien). The wizard either didn't notice the current mental state of his patient or he was ignoring it.
Harry won't have been surprised if it was the latter.
The small witch wondered if she should say or do something as Healer Taylor pulled a tongue depressor from the sleeve of his robes, pitting it inside Tony's mouth as the American tried to speak.
"So, Mr. Barnes didn't tell me much about you!" Healer Taylor said, making a motion to James, "Where're you from?" Tony grunted something inaudible, unable to talk properly, but the exuberant Healer nodded, "Really? I have family there! Beautiful country – Say, you do any fishing? That's something Muggles still do, right? British wizards stopped fishing during the eighteenth century when this nice fella by the name of Olly decided to create a spell that would do the fishing for us and…" He started to tell the tale.
Dazzled, Harry stared as the Healer babbled, doing several things at the same time; from putting the depressor away to taking Tony's pulse, then pulling two empty vials from the pocket of his lime-green robes.
"Here," he handed the vials to the brown-haired genius, "I'm gonna need you to fill these up."
Poor Tony wasn't the only one who gave him a look at that.
"Now where's my – Oh, silly me, I forgot my bag downstairs!" Healer Taylor laughed, "I'll be right back to continue with your check-up!"
With a wave and a grin, Hurricane Taylor ran downstairs, leaving the others stunned and staring at his restraining back with wide eyes.
There was a moment of silence before Tony turned to stare at Harry and James.
"I… I don't need to fill those do I?" He asked, blinking his eyes as if he was still trying to understand what had just happened.
Harry gave him a sympathetic look. Internally, though, she was hoping that he was so shocked that he didn't pay attention to any mention of –
"Sooo, magic?"
This time, Harry was the one who facepalmed.
I thought I had published it before but I think I fell asleep before sending the chapter and then I woke up the next the morning all sad that no one had sent a single review. *Facepalm* I should have checked. Well, I'm publishing it for real now and won't be going to sleep for a while. XD
Anyway… Hope you liked it and please, don't forget to:
Review, Favorite or Follow and if you have questions/suggestions, just send me a PM.
-Cissnei.
TIMELINE!
June 20, 2009 – Hogwarts Express back to London.
July 19, 2009 – Tony Stark finds his way out.
*James and Sirius (Plus the uninvited Lupin) leave by Portkey to rescue Tony Stark
July 21, 2009 – Tony wakes up in Harry's and James' house.
July 26, 2009 – Tony learns about the existence of magic.
*Healer Taylor of the Department of Non-Magical Injuries of St. Mungos comes to check on Tony.
