AU; Karl Heisenberg is barely in his thirties when Mother Miranda gifts him a powerful little boy to be his son. Luckily for him, Harry Potter is a decent enough kid.
CHAPTER ONE: Settling In
The factory had been a part of Karl since before he could remember. He could recall exploring it as a boy, training his powers with the metal parts left in the large factory.
Harry was not as keen on the factory as Karl had been.
The boy stayed where Karl could see him, often shying away from the soldats and other experiments, preferring to stay in Karl's living quarters. Harry's bedroom was a former office that Karl had quickly changed once they'd returned home. A large desk cluttered with metal bits was replaced by a small cot and any other furniture had been replaced with a dresser and side table.
Even so, the kid was good company. Harry was quiet and respectful, with a curious streak that remained hidden up until the second week he'd stayed with Karl.
Karl had kept up with the insistent updates Mother Miranda demanded. Honestly, the metal-wielding lord didn't understand why she was so obsessive about his new kid. Harry, while he was somewhat smart and resourceful, seemed perfectly normal. Karl couldn't even sense a cadou in the kid. It befuddled him.
Karl tapped an odd tune which a stray piece of metal thoughtfully. Per usual, the nightly phone call with Miranda had his stress level lit up to one hundred. Harry had took off as soon as he saw the twisted, angry curl on Karl's lips and Karl knew that before the night was done he'd have to hunt down the boy.
Karl rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance. It wasn't Harry's fault, of course. Karl wasn't quite so sure of the young man's past but throughout the week, he'd gotten a feeling that he'd been abused in the past.
And that pissed Karl off.
Waving his head, he swivelled his tvs towards him and began searching through the feeds to find his young charge. After a few moments, his lips pulled into a light tug of smile and he headed towards the elevator.
"Lord Heisenberg." Duke greeted with a smile. How the larger than life man had managed to squeeze into Karl's elevator, well he had no clue, but it was impressive nonetheless. "Searching for young Harry."
"As usual." Karl grunted. While the elevator headed towards the main level, he glanced across Duke's inventory. To his amusement, he noticed that it mainly consisted off Harry's age books, toys and clothes as well as different gears and parts.
"Feel free to peruse." Duke added, seeing his interest.
Karl was quick to snag a few schoolwork and fantasy books and a well-worn stag that seemed to call for him. He tossed a bag of lei on the table that Duke greedily took.
"Thank you for your patronage." Duke called as Karl walked out of the elevator with his coat feeling a touch heavier.
The door to their little apartment was creaky and in need of replacement, something that Karl noted immediately as he walked in the door. Harry was seated at the makeshift kitchen table, scrawling something on a piece of paper.
"Whatcha working on?" Karl asked, surprising the boy when he thumped his hat and glasses on a kitchen cabinent.
"My maths." Harry explained. "You said to keep up with it, I think."
"As demanded by Mother Mirandar." Karl's faint German accent came at heavily with the obvious disgust that came with her name but he shook it off when he began pulling his prizes from his coat.
"New books!" Harry said, his voice bright with excitement.
He dug through the fantasy book first, smiling widely when he flipped through the book. He moved onto the schoolbooks next, picking through the Maths and Science book and discarding the English and History.
Karl tugged his coat off but made sure to watch Harry's face as he gently touched the worn stag. He held it with such reverence that it nearly broke Karl's metal heart. He'd never seen a child so grateful for such an old toy.
"Thank you," Harry said finally, looking up at Karl with a solemn gaze. "Thank you, really."
"Well," Karl said gruffly, smoothing down his silver hair. "I'm your papa, aren't I?"
"Yeah," Harry said quietly, hugging the stag tightly.
"Yeah," Karl repeated. "Hungry?" Harry nodded quickly and Karl began another new daily occurence: cooking.
Meat and vegetables were easily sourced by the village and Duke; it was the actual cooking that had Karl spinning in circles.
Hunched over the stove, Karl watched the thick slices of sirloin sizzle. Carrots and broccoli bubbled in another pot. He'd have to drain it soon, Karl thought, and drizzle it with melted butter and cheese. Maybe not the healthiest, but it'd taste good.
"Need help?" Harry asked quietly from Karl's side.
"No," Karl replied gruffly, reaching down to ruffle his hair. "Why don't you start workin' on your books?"
"'Kay." Harry replied. Karl glanced back and watched he began pouring into the Maths book, glancing up worriedly every once in a while.
Even the kid knew that Karl couldn't cook for shit. Karl withheld his annoyed groan and cautiously flipped a piece of meat. It sizzled quietly, oil droplets flying off the pan just as he thought it would.
This was also something he hadn't planned on; stopping his work to cook his kid supper. He barely remembered his own parents cooking him supper. There were few memories; a woman singing in soft German, boistorous laughter, a stew bubbling over a fire.
"You're burning it." Harry said loudly, appearing at his side.
Karl spit out a German swear and anxiously flipped the meat again. The back of it was nearly scorched as Harry had said. He flipped the meat a few more times before setting a few pieces on each plate. The vegetables, drizzled with cheese, ended up on the plate as well with a hard piece of bread.
"Best I can do." Karl said gruffly, sitting across from Harry.
"It's okay," The boy reassured him, eagerly digging into the vegetables, dipping his bread in the melted cheese.
"Maybe I'll get Duke to make us something tomorrow." Karl added as an aftersecond.
"Is he a good cook?" Harry asked innocently.
"The best." Karl said, thinking longingly of one of Duke's red meat dishes. "Yeah, Duke's for tomorrow night." He'd have to finish up earlier than he'd wanted but, as he glanced over at the little boy, he figured that was gonna be his new norm.
Harry was quietly shoveling food in his mouth while poking through the fantasy book. Karl was glad he picked them up, and the stag. The stuffed forest animal was seated on Harry's lap, the top of its antlers peeking out. Karl dug his hand through his hair thoughtfully. Already, he'd had at least three calls from that big bitch demanding to see Harry, to "make sure the child is still alive".
"Are you gonna be working in the factory tomorrow?" Harry asked quietly, pulling Karl from his thoughts.
"Yeah -" Karl scratched his head thoughtfully. "How'd you like to take a trip tomorrow?"