AN: This chapter was probably a bit overdue, but I've been bombarded with fests so it got put on hold for a bit. I am already working on chapter 10 as well.

With fests ending soon, I will be able to work more on my WIPs. But I have 2 Announcements.

One of them is if you are on Facebook, I have just made a group called "NicoDiAngeloLover7 Stories" it is a private group. But there I will be posting on updates schedules, what I'm working on, new ideas, discussions, and even posting snippets. It would be a really good way in keeping up to day what I'm working on. And you can also get sneak peeks what I'm about to post for future stuff.

Second Announcement...

An another fanfic of mine... I made a note that for when I hit fanfic #75, that fic will be of your choosing. I'll be doing a vote. A vote for your favorite ship and give any prompts you want to see it for. You can also give ideas for maybe a one shot based on an NCIS episode of Tony and Harry's relationship as father and son. I have a few planned in mind, though.

Marcus Flint/Harry Potter
Terence Higgs/Harry Potter
Graham Montague/Harry Potter
Dean Thomas/Harry Potter
Percy Weasley/Harry Potter
Viktor Krum/Harry Potter
Desmond Miles (AC)/Harry Potter

Let me know in the reviews, I honestly look forward to this! And on with the new chapter!

~NicoDiAngeloLover7

Shifting Directions – Chapter 9 (New News)

It was after a long weekend with Harry that Tony had forgotten all about the worry from his current case at work. Maybe that was a good thing, he didn't want the worry from work to be brought back home. His home with Harry was supposed to be a place where he didn't have to worry about work. A place to relax without signs of stress. Which was probably a good thing, because he didn't want Harry worry about what he had going on at work.

It was once he stepped through the door that he remembered everything was going on. It was a very solemn mood. And despite the instant dislike for these victims, he still had a job to do. And that was the first priority. Well… maybe second priority…

The first thing that Tony noticed was that the top of his desk was empty. Usually that wouldn't be unusual for a Monday morning, except they were in the middle of a case. Typically, Tony would have some type of copy on his desk. Depending on what part of the investigation they were in and evidence he got. It could be the copy of an autopsy report or the results from Forensics.

Considering that Tony had already seen the copy of the Autopsy report, that had been last week, this was strange. He should have had the copy of what Forensics found, considering the evidence that was bagged and tagged. Especially the casings that were found and the bullets that had been collected from the inside of the car. And there was no way that they wouldn't have them back by now. Even Forensics wasn't that slow, especially when this involved a murder case. There were certain protocols that had to be followed when it concerned priority of evidence.

But perhaps Tony's musings would be answered when he heard his name being called.

"DiNozzo!"

Tony had looked up once he heard the Captain's voice, along with a beckoning gesture. Obviously, he wanted to speak to him privately in his office. This couldn't be good…

His feet almost felt heavier as he took those steps inside the Captain's office, that was before the door slammed shut. Or maybe it just clicked shut and that was his nerves talking.

"Take a seat, DiNozzo," the Captain gestured to the chair in front of his desk.

Tony had a frown on his face as he slowly sat down.

"Something wrong, Captain?"

"There are two things that I wish to speak to you about," the Captain started to say.

Tony didn't protest about where his question had practically been ignored.

"First, I am taking you off the case," the words were said calmed.

Tony froze in his chair, shocked and unsure. Had he messed up somewhere that he didn't know about?

"Any particular reason why, Captain?"

"DiNozzo, you are too involved with the case," he elaborated.

"Sir?"

"You have a personal connection to this case, and I feel you may feel biased because of that reason. It is not a penalty against you or your record here at the department. Quite the opposite really. I have also received an offer on your behalf and may be in your best interest to look over it. You will have till the end of the week to make a decision."

The file that had been sitting on the Captain's desk was slid closer to him. Though Tony did have to admit that the words spoken was true. It was quite easy to have a bias when you had a case that was more personal to an officer. Though it was usually up to the Captain to decide if he would allow you to stay or be removed from the case. He knew that the Captain trusted his judgement, but maybe he was a bit wary this time around.

"Will I be kept in the loop?" Tony asked, not touching the folder yet.

"I don't foresee that being an issue."

That was when Tony finally grabbed the file and flipped it open. He was surprised by what met his eyes.

"A Promotion?" Tony looked up at his Captain.

"Philadelphia is searching for competent officers to join their force. They asked for personal recommendations from several of the departments since we have worked with them in the past. You have been with us for almost three years, DiNozzo. They want an officer that can potentially become a detective. Give it some thought and let me know, preferably soon."

Tony nodded, "I will, Sir."

Tony had been having an internal debate on whether he should tell Harry about the Dursleys' deaths or not. Though apparently the side that had won was telling Harry. Though he had noticed that Harry had seemed much lighter since he told him. It made him wonder how long Harry had been holding in the doubt that he would be forced back with them. He had thought that after the adoption on both the muggle and magical side, it would reconfirm to Harry that he was here to stay. Especially since Harry was no longer a citizen of England.

So, if there was anything that Tony was glad for, it was the decision to tell Harry about their deaths. He didn't go into any details; he wouldn't have given any even if he had asked. It was one thing to tell a child about someone who had died, it was another entirely to go into detail about it. They were gone, that was all that mattered. Maybe there could be a day far in the future of revisiting that topic, but Tony doubted it unless Harry brought it back up.

And so, Tony planned for the upcoming holiday and as the days grew closer, the more excited he became. He couldn't really remember the last thing he had celebrated Christmas and knew he wanted to bring an old tradition that his mother had done. He didn't know much about his mother's side of the family, just that they had all died before he was born. But one thing that his mother had kept alive when he was a kid was tradition. She would always prepare a meal that was meatless the day before Christmas and then make a feast on the day of. The decorations were always put up on the eighth of December, something that Tony had done this year.

Tony even planned that they could do takeout on Christmas Eve and he could cook on the actual day of.

It was during the planning of everything that Tony had brought up the subject of his promotion. He knew that he couldn't just make this major decision without telling Harry what was going on. This affected his life too. Because wherever Tony was moving, Harry was coming with. And it hadn't even been a month since the adoption was final. But Tony didn't think that was going to be a problem anyways, it could have been if he was still in the process of the adoption. Because any major changes had to be documented and adjusted accordingly. Now it would just have to be registered as a new state of address. But Tony couldn't just move and expect Harry to go along with it, he knew that he would want to know why. He knew that he did want to accept the position, because he had a lot more opportunities for advancement. And he could still be an officer till he got his required experience and move up. Which is probably what the Captain was expecting, since he would have to take the required written exam as well.

Then there were the issues with the officers that he worked with, he didn't really trust any of them. Not to count the person that always wanted to argue with him, even if he wasn't in the conversation. Though lately he hadn't seen him since the crime scene. So, maybe this offer was a good idea.

Tony expected the first question he would get from Harry.

Why?

He knew there would be some curiosity on why he was decided to move from a place that Harry had been getting used to for six months. Though he had to quickly backtrack, so Harry didn't think they were moving that day, just wanted to know what he thought.

Harry looked stunned by that.

That annoyed Tony, had those caretakers never asked for an opinion from Harry? But since he didn't really know much about them except for a few things, he doubted he would ever know that answer.

Though Tony had expected maybe a few more questions. Though he had gotten a heartbreaking one… Harry's voice broke as he asked if Tony was going to leave him.

Tony immediately wrapped him in a hug before quickly reassuring that he would be coming with him if they were to move. That he definitely would not be leaving him behind and was here to stay, no matter where they would be living at.

After that, all he got was a shrug of the shoulders and quiet okay. Maybe that should have alerted Tony for later, but he figured that was because of the news he just delivered. Since Harry did seem to cheer up after comforting him. If it took him till his dying day to show Harry that he wanted him, he would do it.

So, while Tony was at work revealing his decision to the Captain, Steve decided to take Harry out for some Christmas shopping. He had gotten permission from Tony of course. Given that Christmas was just in a week, that was probably a good idea. It wasn't like Tony could take Harry Christmas shopping, that would defeat the point and he trusted Steve enough to keep an eye out on Harry.

It helped that Harry had warmed up to Steve a lot ever since Tony told him about his friend's younger sister. Something that even Steve noticed. He was appreciative of it, he didn't even mind that Tony had shared part of the story of his sister. Steve had been curious if Harry had started showing signs of it. And laughed when he heard that Tony's favorite mug almost shattered if Harry didn't freeze it.

But Tony didn't mention a word of the breakdown that Harry had when it happened. For one, that had been months ago, and he didn't think that was information that Steve needed to know. Feeling that, this was his responsibility and he wasn't sure if Harry trusted Steve enough to know that. He may trust him more because of the relation that Steve had… but he didn't think it went any further than that.

Which brought the question of his own Christmas shopping. He still needed to get something for Harry. It had been a constant question on his mind. Though he knew that Harry could do with more clothes since he had grown a little taller, not by much to warrant that he would no longer fit what he had bought him. But it would be something he probably would need eventually. Though maybe it would be a good idea to get him more art supplies. He had noticed that the sketchbook he had bought was almost full. Not to mention the pencils and markers were nearly out if not already.

When Tony had originally bought that, he had figured it was something to keep him busy. He hadn't realized that maybe Harry actually liked art and drawing. Maybe he could add some coloring books to the mix and see if Harry would like them.

If you asked Tony, the days he spent off from work for Christmas felt way too short. Though he was a bit glad there hadn't been any major cases that would require them to work over the Christmas holiday and miss the time he spent with Harry. Last thing he wanted was to spend more time at work if it could be spent elsewhere.

To say that Harry was excited over what he had gotten him was understatement. The small child had been full of nerves before opening the paper, he grinned as his eyes lit up after. Tony had lost track the amount of times that Harry had said thank you.

Though one day, Tony wanted to find out if there was a magical set thing to art supplies. He could see Harry liking something like that. But he had no idea where to start looking for something like that. So, he stuck to what he knew best, the muggle version of them. Though there were several coloring books, Tony hadn't really paid much attention to what they were. One was filled with animals and other was filled with places.

What Tony hadn't expected Harry to get excited over about was getting clothes. He remembered never been very happy about getting clothes for his birthdays or Christmas, though he definitely appreciated them later. He did recall the types of rags that he had found Harry in on that fatal day… was there a reason for that?

Tony had been surprised by what Harry had picked out. One of which was an apron that said, "World's Best Chef." He figured he was a decent cook, but it was a nice feeling. Though the second item made him choke. It was a picture frame, with a picture of him and Harry in front of the tree.

"Steve said it would be a good idea… do you like it?" Harry's voice was small.

Tony had wrapped Harry in a hug, placing a gentle kiss to his forehead, "I love it." Tony even placed it on the cabinet near the tv and DVD player. That way it would be in clear view.

The rest of the day had been spent the evening with watching every Christmas movie imaginable. Harry getting hooked on every one as they watched them. They had eaten at the table of the meal that Tony had cooked, it was a version of Pasta in broth. Or called, Pasta in brood, the same meaning applied. There were several other foods on the table, a type of sweet bread that was typically for holidays such as this, it was called Pandoro. It had been after the meal that the movie marathon started, topped with a cup of hot chocolate with whipped crème. It was definitely a moment to add to the scrapbook, Tony's first Christmas with his son.

So, after Christmas and Tony was back to work, he was thankful to know the results of the case, the same case he had gotten pulled from. Tony had gotten the news from the Captain. They had found the murderer for all four victims. Though it originally had thought to be just the murderer of one victim until he took the plea deal on who murdered the Dursleys.

Just like Tony thought, they had been there at the wrong time. Once the murderer saw he had witnesses to his original murder, he cut the loose strings. He just didn't expect for him to be caught. Everything had come out at the trial and sentencing.

Tony was sure there were more details than what he was being told, but it wasn't like he was privy to those details. But at least he had the knowledge of how and why they died if Harry ever asked him. Which he knew was going to happen one of these days after the news finally sunk in. Plus, it helped him for his sake of mind as he finished out the month at Peoria.