As the Night Falls

[A Harry Potter and Avengers Crossover]

Disclaimer: Ownership goes to their respective creators.

The author is not a doctor.

Warnings: Sick Harry in this chapter.

Mentions abuse.


Chapter Three: The Boy in the Room

His first thoughts were along the lines of that if he knew how bad he was going to feel upon waking, he wouldn't have spent so long outside in the rain.

His head was pounding, and his chest felt tight, both a tell-tale sign that he was sick. He knew better than complain or make a big deal out of it like Dudley always did, so instead of groaning like he wanted to, he gritted his teeth against the discomfort. This time would be like all the other times and he would have no other option but to suffer through this in silence and alone. Over the years he'd become rather good at that suffering silently out of necessity.

At least it wasn't too long until September 1st, meaning he wouldn't have to suffer too long, that is, if he hadn't shaken the cold by then he could always go to Madam Pomfrey and she'd give him something for it.

As he became more alert Harry could tell that he wasn't sleeping on the ground somewhere- far from it.

Stirring a bit more, Harry tried to get an idea of where he was at, without having to open his eyes. For as crappy, hot and sweaty as he felt, he was equally as comfortable. The bed he was laying on was almost as comfortable as the ones at Hogwarts, one could even argue that it, by some impossible feat and design, was more comfortable, if you could believe it.

He stretched a bit before fisting his eyes, only to stop short at a tug and a burning sting coming from his right hand. Snapping his eyes open he noticed immediately that he was lying on a bed in a room that was easily as big as the Dursley's own living room, if not slightly larger.

That meant he was definitely not in some hotel room somewhere, much less in the one the Dursley's were staying in.

So, it was left to be questioned that if he wasn't on the streets, in the lobby of whatever building he had happened upon last night (it had been last night right?) then where was he?
And no sooner than he thought that did a voice come from somewhere nearly causing him to jump out of his skin, the sudden movement sending him into a coughing fit leaving him to catch only bits and phrases of whatever or whoever said.

"You are in…... informed Doctor.…. Young sir."
Still, in the throws of a coughing fit, Harry missed hearing the door to the room open or the person walk up beside him and lean him forward a bit more than what the pillows offered him.

Even though the coughing, Harry felt himself tense involuntarily at the sudden contact.

Once it finally subsided Harry fell back gracelessly against the mounds of pillows and the hand that had been rubbing his back let him.

"Hello, Harry. I am Dr. Bruce Banner. We found you sleeping down in the lobby a few hours ago and brought you up here where I checked you out. I am sorry to say but you have developed Pneumonia." The doctor gave him a reassuring smile, "It was caught early so you should not have any complications but I will continue to monitor things closely for the next couple of days." Bruce noticed Harry's eyes drifting to the IV in his hand, no doubt questioning its necessity. "That is currently giving you the antibiotics you need to fight this thing, it's going to have to stay in for a bit."

Harry looked at Bruce questioningly. He didn't know a whole lot about IV's and muggle medicine (he really didn't know a lot about magical medicine) but he knew from the tv shows his cousin would occasionally watch, that it was primarily found in muggle hospitals. But he wasn't in the hospital, he was… somewhere. Hopefully, that meant that his pneumonia wasn't so bad that he warranted a trip to the hospital because there was no way his relatives were going to foot that bill.

"Only until you start feeling better," Bruce reassured him quickly at Harry's unsure look. "I will take it out when I feel you are well enough."
"Oh, uh, okay. Yeah, thanks." Harry rasped out. Where was he again? And who had been speaking to him when he first woke up. No one had been in the room with him, he was certain.

"Normally in cases like this, we'd call an ambulance and have you taken to the hospital and from there the police would be contacted along with Child Protective Services but in your case, providing your breathing is not compromised at any point, I figured that you might do better if you stayed here. I have everything I need to take care of you here, but if you would prefer to be in the hospital it can be arranged."

Harry just looked at the man questioningly. And exactly why would it be better if he stayed here? Not that he was overly eager to go back to the Dursley's or anything, but it wasn't like he really had anywhere else to go at the moment. And given a choice between going back to the Dursley's, going to a muggle hospital or staying here in this room, in this bed he would probably choose this bed. It was very soft and comfortable.

"Here's okay, I guess."

The man looked relieved for a moment before he shuffled a bit as if he suddenly became unsure of himself.

This lasted for a couple of seconds before Harry felt himself growing anxious. It was clear that the man wanted to say something but he probably didn't know how to word it.

The doctor must have sensed Harry's anxiety because he smiled sadly at Harry for a brief moment before biting the figurative bullet and pulled up a chair that had been somewhere in the room.

"Harry, it is okay if I call you that, right? Steve Rogers, found your Passport. We will return it to you when you leave, whenever that may be."
"Yeah." Harry croaked trying to suppress a cough but failing miserably in doing so.

"Don't hold it in," Bruce warned kindly while patting his back carefully, "I can give you some cough medicine now that you're awake if you want it."

Harry couldn't answer over the coughing but wished that it was Madam Pomfrey taking care of him, for at least she would have given him a Pepper Up potion. Plus it was all levels of uncomfortable to have a complete stranger take you into his own apartment (he was in an apartment, right?) and care for you. And who was Steve Rogers? The man had said the name as if he expected Harry to pick up on it. He hadn't. But it didn't matter, he'd probably take a cough suppressant offered to him by Voldemort himself if that would ease his coughing and lessen the pain in his chest.

Eventually, without the help of Voldemort or any of his Death Eaters, the cough died down.

"I know you're feeling tired and sleep is probably the best thing for you, but I would like your permission to do something real quick. It would only take a couple of moments, I promise. It's entirely up to you, you can always stop me or tell me, no, but I was wondering if you wouldn't mind if I took a small blood sample or a Buccal Swab."
Harry's face must have told Bruce what he wanted to know because the doctor wrung his hands together.

"It doesn't have to be now if you'd rather think about and give me an answer."

But Harry wasn't listening. Could the man even take a blood sample here? It wasn't like he was a doctor's office or at a hospital somewhere. But he had given him an IV so it was possible that the man could take a blood sample from him. And what was a Buccal Swab?

"A what?"

"I just want to check your DNA. You don't have to lie to me and tell me everything's okay. I can clearly see that it isn't. I wanted to wait until you were awake so that I could get your consent, before doing it though. Basically, I'd prick your finger to get a blood sample or I could swab the inside of your cheek." Bruce said while looking at Harry. There was no pity in his eyes, just well-meaning concern.
Harry knew now what the doctor wanted to do but Harry shook his head, which made his head swim a bit.

"My parents are dead." He confessed as his vision cleared.

"I know. JARVIS looked you up and we found records of your parents' death certificates." A note of pity crept into Bruce's voice here as he went about explaining how he had found this bit of information out. "I am sorry for your loss. I am sure they were good people." Maybe Harry was just imagining things but he could have sworn that there was something left unspoken in that comment.

"Thanks. They- they died a hero." Harry said with conviction. No matter what lies the Dursley's tried to spread, he knew the truth. And he would spread that truth just as sure as the Dursley would spread their lies.

Bruce looked long at Harry before sighing.

"We can always do this later if you decided you want to do this." He said again trying to give Harry a chance to back out. "You won't be up and moving around much until I take that IV out in a few days yet so you have plenty of time to think it over."
But Harry was curious. He didn't know much about DNA testing but he thought he recalled hearing from somewhere that it was able to determine who a child's parent was. Why would a stranger want to run a DNA test on him?

Okay, so the man had admitted to knowing that Harry's home life sucked but Harry had just told him that his parents were dead. Which he supposed was proof enough for some people to get the idea that he needed a new living situation but he was a stranger and from England at that. It was highly doubtful the man could make any permanent arrangements for him, particularly when the only living next-of-kin he had were the Dursley's.

Even witches and wizards were unable to bring back the dead, so there was no way this doctor would be able to magically bring back his parents just to get him away from the Dursley's.

"What is it that you want to know?…" Harry questioned, careful not to give an answer just yet.

"As I have said before, I know your life with your Aunt and Uncle is not the best. The marks and bruises on your body…" Bruce trailed off, and Harry would swear that the man's eyes changed color a bit before he took a calming breath and continued. "I should have reported this the CPS the moment I suspected it, however considering that you're from England and we're in America, things would get complicated and messy very quickly. The only solid way for us to get you away from your relatives is if we find another living relative that could take you in. I could not, in good conscience, send you back with your relatives. I'd rather exhaust every other resource and try to get you out of there than send you back or into foster care."
"But, I don't have any other living relative. My grandparents are dead and my dad was the only child."

"Never say never, Harry," Bruce said simply. "Strange things have been known to happen and DNA doesn't lie."

There were times where DNA could lie, like if you were under a Polyjuice potion, but Harry didn't feel like it was an appropriate time to mention that. So he consented with an, "Okay."
"What?"
"I said okay, I'll do it," Harry said heavily. If there was the slightest chance he didn't have to stay with the Dursley's he'd take it. But it wasn't like he had any other relatives around so there really wasn't any harm being done. Harry was just humoring the man, simply because the man had been so kind as to take him in and care for him while he was sick.

He'd be fine, a few more days of this and then he'd be at Hogwarts and out of the Dursleys hair for another ten-months

"Excellent!" Bruce said. "Give me just a few minutes to run down to my lab and gather the supplies I need okay? I promise I won't be gone long and then we can get this show on the road so that way you can rest."
"All right," Harry answered despondently, sinking further back into the pillows.

Bruce smiled encouragingly, "I'll be right back," and with that final promise, he left the room.

Leaving Harry alone to take care of any personal needs that might need to be tended to.

Ten minutes later found Harry wincing as a needle pricked his finger. He was so glad needles weren't necessary in the magical community.

"So, uh, what are you looking for exactly?" He asked once Bruce had plastered his finger.

"A match."

"Yeah, I got that, but you must have someone in mind. I might be thirteen, but I know that random strangers just don't offer DNA test to other strangers without some motive. No one's without a motive." Harry said resolutely. "And you have to have a record of someone's else's DNA on file in order to find a match. So you must have an idea."

Bruce wasn't willing to let Harry in on his suspicions that he suspected he knew who the boy's father was. Not without proof and unfortunately looks alone wasn't solid indisputable proof that this boy was Tony's. There was something about the boy's attitude and comments made Bruce deeply concerned. The boy didn't seem to have a lot of hope in finding another relative who would be willing to take him in. Even if Tony wasn't a match Bruce would try to find someone else.

"You're right Harry. I do have a motive for doing this. As motives go, it is a rather simple one: as long as you are staying here I will try my hardest to get you away from your relatives." He continued to try to persuade and reassure the boy before him.
"Why me though? I am a stranger, who, for all you know, deserves it. By the end of the week, I will be back with my relatives and back in England and out of your life. A distant memory. I am sorry but you're wasting your time. There's nothing you can do. Believe me, I have tried." Harry said thinking back to all the times he had tried to tell a teacher or even his Professors at Hogwarts.

"No child deserves to go through what you are going through. Please believe me on this. I want to help you. At least let me try. I promise that everything I do will be in your best interest and try to keep you abreast of everything. If your pneumonia was to become worse there might be a time in the upcoming days where I would have to make some executive decisions. Otherwise, no matter what happens, I will inform you."

"Fine," was the response Bruce got, but he couldn't tell if Harry was really agreeing with him because he accepted the help or if it was his exhaustion speaking.

"I will leave you for now so that I can test the samples, but I will be back to check on you. If you need anything just ask JARVIS. JARVIS will get you anything you need, well, JARVIS will alert one of us and we will bring it to you." Bruce amended, before casting one last look at the boy before leaving the child's room.

Almost immediately he was confronted by both Steve and Clint who had been hanging around outside the door no doubt waiting to hear any news about their guest, Bruce was mildly surprised that Pepper, at least, hadn't joined them but figured she must have gone with Tony to the Stark Expo.

"Has he woken?" Clint asked while Steve relaxed and leaned against the frame of the room across the hall from the one Bruce had just exited with his arms crossed tightly in front of his chest.
"Yes." Bruce didn't immediately offer anything more making sure the door was closed securely behind him.

"And did he say what he was doing down in the Lobby?" Clint asked.

"No, and I did not ask. The child has a lung infection, it's expected he would be exhausted and sleep is recommended in these cases. There were other things I needed to address."
"Like what?" Steve demanded.

"About the chances of there being someone more suited to take care of him besides his current guardians."
Steve looked at Bruce hard for a long second. "You can't just go and try to find a better set of guardians for the boy."
"The child is abused and neglected, Steve. I might not be a medical doctor, but I am an adult. It is our job, as such, to help children get out of situations as they cannot do it themselves."
"But where would he go? Tony isn't keen on the idea of letting the child stay here. The only reason why he's letting the boy stay here instead of shipping him off to some hospital is because Pepper thinks that it will cause bad publicity once it gets out and all. Nevermind what will happen when the boy gets feeling better. There's no telling what the boy could get into, the trouble he could cause." Clint argued siding with Steve.
"You two and Tony are worried about the wrong things. The child is sick, he's going to spend most of the next couple days sleeping or resting not wandering around getting into things he shouldn't be." Bruce tried to explain again. "Besides, by the time he is feeling well enough, I should hopefully found someone more suited to take him in. I can promise though, that Harry won't cause any problems nor get into anything he shouldn't."
"Why don't you get the police involved or S.H.I.E.L.D.? They could probably help him out more than you could, and that way you don't have to worry about it. Alerting them would mean that you have done your part." Clint spoke up.
"I made a promise to Harry that I would help him and I intend to keep that promise," Bruce said firmly.

"Oh great. The boy's been awake for all of what ten-twenty minutes? And you go and start making promises you don't even know if you can keep." Steve said a bit harsher than he intended to. But Bruce needed to understand that they couldn't always be the hero and save everyone. This boy was going to be one of those times. He was from England whereas they were in America. Even if they had gotten S.H.I.E.L.D. involved the moment they got the boy from the lobby, both Clint and Steve doubted a week would be enough time to get the child moved into a new home and declare his relatives unfit.

And while they would like to save everyone, it just was not possible to save everyone. They would save as many as they could but the truth was someone, somewhere was going to fall through the cracks and under the radar.

This boy was, unfortunately, going to be one of those cases.

"What's going to happen when the boy's relatives eventually come for him? Will you be able to look into his eyes and tell him you failed?" Clint said softly. "Tell me Bruce- I saw the evidence myself. It's been going on for years- how many times over those years do you think that someone has made a similar promise. A promise to get him out of that home and failed." There was a slight raw quality to the Archer's voice.

Almost immediately Steve jumped at his chance to try to further persuade Bruce to just focus on getting the boy feeling better and then wiping his hands clean of the whole ordeal.

"Do you really think that Harry's going to just accept our help? You know how these things go Bruce and were strangers, not some trusted adult. Harry's probably going to insist that everything's fine- if he hasn't already. There's no way he's going to trust us enough to open up and tell us anything. If we are going to get him away from his relatives we would need a statement from him. And I am sorry," Steve said shaking his head "but I don't think simply taking a child off the streets and nursing him back to health is the way to get that."

"Maybe I have already thought about all this and found a fail-proof way to get Harry away from his relatives," Bruce said while fingering the small vial of blood he had tucked away in his pocket for testing. "I will be down in the lab if you need anything. I will be up in two hours' time to check on Harry. Excuse me."

And with that, a more than slightly harrassed Bruce turned his back on curious Steve and a confused Clint.