Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or Harry Potter. Unfortunately.
Chapter 12: Don't Touch My Stuff
It had been a week since Harry's birthday and Tony was still reeling from the events. The day after Harry's birthday Harry, Pepper, and Tony had packed up and headed off to his private island. Being on the island had gone a long way to relax him but he still felt a sliver of fear every time he looked at his son. He'd almost lost him. He never wanted that to happen again. It had been the single most terrifying moment of his life. His own almost death was nothing compared to Harry's. In that moment he'd truly understood how much Harry had come to mean to him. He would have given away everything that he owned if it meant that Harry would live to see another day.
Tony wasn't sure what he would have done if Loki hadn't saved him. As much as it galled him to say, the god had actually done a good job. He gave his all to save Harry. Apparently he'd been unconscious for two days after whatever he had done. Of course Harry would have never been in that position in the first place if it wasn't for the god. Tony wished he knew more about just what it was he had done. He talked a lot to Coulson's brother, Dr. Agent to Tony, about what had happened. Dr. Agent didn't seem to be entirely sure either. Asgard and the abilities of its people were just as new to wizarding world as it was to the non-magical world. But Tony wanted to know. Pepper said not to pry and just be happy that Harry was alive and healthy. Tony just wanted to make sure his son stayed that way. It was just too bad that Thor had taken Loki back to Asgard already. They had stayed just long enough to make sure that Harry remained stable before taking off. Fury had been angry by the turn of events but he couldn't exactly argue when the All-Father demanded to have his wayward son and his cosmic cube returned.
Pepper had released a press statement about Harry sooner rather than later. Tony had decided to stay on the island longer than they had originally planned and he wanted to take advantage of that time. If they released the news of Harry now than hopefully all the excitement would die down by the time they returned. Harry had been through too much already and Tony really wanted to give him as normal of a life as he possibly could. Well, his life would never be completely normal. He was a wizard and Tony was his father. The press could be vicious especially where Tony was concerned. Tony wanted to block Harry from their influence as much as he possibly could.
Tony had set up a workbench outside on the beach and that was where he sat. Harry's fully recovered owl was perched beside him seemingly observing everything that he did. Tony found himself chatting to the creature while he worked. He was building his first prototype for a phone that would work in the presence of magic. It was all about frequencies. Magic was a different type of than electrical energy and the two of them tended to cancel one another out. Tony just had to discover the correct wavelength so that the two would be able to work in tandem just like the arc reactor. His next step was building a suit that would work in the presence of magic. Once he'd managed it successfully he was planning on making Harry one as well. Not that he was going to tell Pepper about it. Harry was far too accident prone to not need the suit. Tony was terrified that he would be killed without having some sort of armor that he could have close at hand if he really needed it.
Harry was swimming in the ocean with Pepper. Tony smiled to see him so carefree as the two of them splashed each other. This was Harry's first vacation and Tony was determined to make it a memorable experience. So far the three of them had had a great time. Pepper was more relaxed then he ever remembered seeing her. It went to show that she had needed the time off just as badly as Harry and he did. Tony and Harry had really been testing the strength of her nerves these past couple of months. He was grateful that Harry and she got along so well. He never realized how good Pepper was with kids until now. Although, he shouldn't really be surprised, she had been dealing with him for years.
Tony was jolted from his reminiscing by the whirring blades of a helicopter. He looked up and saw his own personally designed Stark helicopter making its way towards the landing pad. Tony grinned at the way Harry burst out of the water.
"She's here!" he cried racing past Tony towards the launch pad.
"I'll beat you there," Tony challenged and took off sprinting after him.
Harry snorted glancing back at him. The look on his face told Tony that Harry didn't believe he was capable of the feat. And he was right. Harry beat him to the landing pad easily. Panting and feeling old Tony stood beside Harry as they watched a bushy haired girl followed by a harassed looking Dr. Banner exit the helicopter. Tony soon learned why Bruce looked so harassed when he heard Hermione's mouth going a mile a minute as she threw rapid-fire questions at the poor doctor.
Bruce had been really resistant to coming to the island. In fact he'd nearly managed to slip away from him all together after the party fiasco. But Tony wasn't about to let the man who saved his life get away from him. He caught up to Bruce before he could disappear to some third world country as penance for his transforming at Harry's birthday. Bruce was too hard on himself. Tony had every confidence in the man that he would have never hurt Harry at his party. He had seen the Hulk stop in his tracks when he realized Harry had been the cause of his transformation. Tony was positive that even if Thor hadn't thrown his hammer at him he wouldn't have attacked Harry. The good doctor wasn't as confident in himself. Tony was determined to help the man see the good in himself and in the Hulk.
"Hermione!" Harry cried.
"Harry!" the girl shouted back and soon she was running full tilt towards Harry bags forgotten.
She threw herself at Harry and the two stumbled by the force. Tony couldn't help but smile as he watched the reunion between the two friends. It was obvious that the two of them were extremely close.
Tony flashed a huge smile and threw out his arms as Bruce made his way over to their small group. The man was carrying his own small bag along with Hermione's.
"Bruce," Tony said as he caught the man in a tight hug.
"Tony," Bruce replied shifting uncomfortably, not used to people being happy to see him.
"Glad you could make it," Tony clapped him on the back before releasing him.
"Yeah, well the threats to have me gagged and bound, and dragged here against my will were great motivators," Bruce griped, but he was smiling.
Tony just grinned.
"Oh, thank you for carrying my bags, Dr. Banner," Hermione took her bags from the man, flushing slightly at her forgetfulness. Obviously Bruce had been about as successful as Tony about getting her to call him by his first name.
"My pleasure, Hermione," he assured the girl.
"Hi, Bruce," Harry greeted, with a bright grin that was identical to Tony's own.
"Hello, Harry," Bruce said giving Harry a warm smile.
Tony didn't miss the slight tension in his shoulders, and the guilt that sprung up in his eyes. Harry had apologized profusely for his part in causing Bruce to transform. Of course Bruce had assured him it wasn't his fault. No, the man insisted on putting all the blame squarely on his own shoulders.
"Hermione, allow me to officially introduce Tony Stark, my dad," Harry waved grandly to Tony. There was so much pride in his tone when introducing him as his dad that Tony teared up a bit. No, it was sand in his eye, goddamn it!
However, the sand in his eye didn't escape Bruce's observant gaze, and the man sent him a knowing look. Tony was pretty sure he would never live this down.
"Hello, Mr. Stark. It's nice to finally meet you in person. And thank so much for inviting me. I've never been to a private island before, and it's incredibly beautiful here," Hermione said, formal as ever.
"It's great to have you, champ," Tony assured her.
"Wait until you see the workshop! It's not as good as the R and D floors at the tower but its still amazing," Harry informed her.
"Why don't you go show her to her room, and then you can show her the workshop. As long as you don't touch anything until I get there of course," Tony warned knowing that Pepper would have his head if he let the two twelve year olds loose in his workshop.
"Okay," Harry grinned. "Come on, Hermione!"
The two of them grabbed her things, and then took off, running down the path to the house. Tony threw his arm around Bruce's shoulders and started to pull him along down the path with him.
"He seems better," Bruce commented as they walked.
"Yeah, he's doing great. No side effects from our friendly Norse God of Mischief's mumbo-jumbo so far," Tony agreed.
"And how about you? How are you adjusting to everything?"
"Me? I'm fine. I'm Tony Stark, Man of Tomorrow, adapting is what I do," Tony joked.
"You're still human, Tony. A human who saved the world by riding a nuclear missile into an inter-dimensional portal to stop an alien invasion and nearly died. You also happen to be the father of a boy who almost died and then was saved by the man who tried to take over the world," Bruce replied casually.
"You sound like Pepper. I'm doing okay. I'm over the whole New York thing, okay. I have more important issues to think about. I would love to know more about just what the God of Hair Gel did and how it will affect Harry in the long run. But I'm trying to move on, and not obsess over it. It's hard, though, I'm not used to restraining myself," Tony admitted.
"I can tell," Bruce snorted.
Tony laughed. "And how are you? Not gonna try to run away again are you?"
"No, I've learned my lesson, Tony, I promise I won't. Although, I really don't see how you can feel comfortable with me here," Bruce disparaged.
"I don't think there's a better place on the entire planet for you than on island in the middle of nowhere," Tony assured him.
"Yeah, with two children close by," Bruce muttered.
"How was your trip with Miss Granger by the way? She seems like a ball of never-ending questions."
"She's an intelligent girl, very curious… and persistent," Bruce chuckled.
"A good friend choice then?" Tony really did want to know. He always thought parents who wanted to know every aspect of their kid's lives were paranoid. But he now found himself wanting to know every little detail of Harry's. How else was he supposed to keep him safe?
"I think so," Bruce agreed.
"I think she's too much of a good influence. A rule follower, I'll have to make sure to teach them both how to break rules, and have a little fun every now and then," Tony mused.
"Just not too much fun," Pepper drawled.
She stood at the end of the path, and greeted Bruce warmly. Harry and Hermione were already inside having lunch. No doubt plotting how they were going to spend their week together.
"Ah, Pepper why do you always have to ruin my good ideas?" Tony whined.
"Because your 'good' ideas usually end with something being destroyed, and me having to clean up the mess," Pepper retorted.
"True, but we always end up having fun," Tony pointed out.
Pepper smiled and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before heading into the house.
"Now that you're here I would like your help with a few things. You're in on the whole wizarding world secret now not to mention that you're an expert in several different fields that I myself am a little fuzzy in. You might be able to shed some more light on this whole magic versus tech debacle. Especially with your knowledge on gamma radiation," Tony offered knowing that he couldn't ask for a better work partner than Bruce.
"I don't know how much I can help you with the magic part. But I'd be willing to try. To be honest I'd love to learn more about some of the magical animals and plants. Hermione was telling me all about various potions that things could be used for. It's really quite fascinating. I thought I might be able to use some of them in my own research," Bruce shrugged self-consciously.
"You're fine just the way you are, big man. And I mean that in an entirely platonic and friend-like way. Trust me I'm quite happy in my relationship with Pepper," Tony assured him.
Bruce rolled his eyes and headed up into the house. "So where's my room?"
Tony laughed and followed him inside.
Hermione stayed for the entire week. Harry and she thoroughly explored the whole island. They made a robot, and Tony and Bruce made a robot. The four of them then had a robot fight much to Pepper's exasperation. Of course she was really just amused by how much fun they all had. It was actually a pretty close fight but Bruce and Tony were victorious in the end. Harry had really improved in his mechanical engineering knowledge from all the time he had spent watching Tony working in his workshop. Hermione stayed for the entire week but at the end of the week Hermione had to return home much to Harry's disappointment. Pepper ended up flying back with her so that she could attend a meeting in London, and so that Hermione didn't have to fly back alone. That left Tony, Bruce, and Harry to their own devices.
Tony quickly set up an island wide laser tag fight consisting of robot animals and booby traps full of blue slime that turned your skin blue for several days afterwards if you fell in. The three of them went wild. Tony had honestly never had so much fun before. He was pretty sure that Bruce hadn't either. But what he was truly happy about was Harry's reaction. He'd never seen Harry be quite so carefree before in the days following their playful romps around the island. Tony didn't want to leave. Unfortunately real life called and there were projects he needed to get done. Projects he couldn't complete from the workshop on the island. He decided to fix that and he would have it updated for their next visit.
The three of them finally headed back to New York. They were greeted by the newly redecorated Avengers Tower and the other Avengers. Thor was still in Asgard but Steve, Natasha, and Clint had all moved in already. Clint and Natasha needed a secure place to stay when they weren't off on missions, and he was fairly certain that Steve was lonely in his apartment without knowing anyone from the current time period. Despite all of their initial hesitations about moving in Tony knew that they were all grateful to have a place to go. Tony had even put their names on the tower to make sure that they didn't feel like they were only staying on Tony's good will. He wanted to make them feel welcome. All of the Avengers now owned an equal share of the tower.
When Bruce, Tony, and Harry finally arrived home to the tower Steve was the only one there at the moment. Natasha and Clint were off doing whatever they did. Whether it was a mission or just a vacation, Tony didn't know. Steve only knew that they would be back in about a week.
The weeks spent on the island had caused the frenzy of Harry's existence to die down a bit, not to mention all of the Avenger stuff. There were still reporters camped out on the sidewalk of the tower but there were always reporters outside Tony's residences and there probably always would be. Tony was just hoping that they would leave Harry alone. Pepper thought it would be a good idea to pick a news station that they could trust and just do an interview with the two of them. It would go a long way in further keeping the media hounds off their backs. However, he knew that Harry strongly disliked media attention, and he didn't think that he would be comfortable in doing one. Tony would worry more about it later.
Now he was focused on building his magic resistant suit. Between Bruce and Tony the two of them had come up with the right frequency to keep the suit powered in the presence of magic. Tony's next step was to build a compact and easily manageable suit for Harry to carry around with him. Bruce and Tony were also working on developing technology that not only worked in the presence of magic but that would actually repel it. It was the middle of August, and Harry still thought he was going to return to Hogwarts. Not that Tony had even talked with him about the possibility of not going. But Tony was certain that he still wanted to go back to Hogwarts. His desire to return was only reaffirmed after his visit with Hermione. Tony on the other hand wasn't overly sold on the idea. But he didn't want to tell Harry no, and cause a fight between the two of them. Harry seemed to really love the place. He had friends there. He was familiar with it and enjoyed his time there. Tony wanted him to go to a school of his choice, and be happy there. He just needed more facts about Hogwarts before he sent him off.
According to Coulson Hogwarts was one of the best magical schools around and the headmaster was one of the best they had had in years. This seemed to be contradictory to what Harry had told him about the school. What with Voldemort's possessing a teacher, and attacking Harry. The fact that Dumbledore had been the one to place Harry with the Dursleys was also a mark against the headmaster in Tony's book. He wanted to get in contact with Hogwarts, and learn a little bit more about them. Tony wanted to tour the grounds, get to know the teachers, and learn more about their curriculum. He wanted to be reassured that his son was going to be safe if he was going to be sending him away to school for a couple of months at a time.
Tony decided to take steps to get in contact with Albus Dumbledore. He asked Coulson if he could contact the headmaster to see if he would be willing to come and speak with him about Harry. Coulson assured him that he would get a message to him, and get back to Tony as soon as possible.
A few days later he was in his workshop with Bruce. Harry was hanging out with Steve. Steve was teaching Harry basic fighting techniques. Tony was more than happy to have Captain America teaching his son how to defend himself. He couldn't deny the fact that he had been a little jealous after their first lesson. Harry had come back singing the praises of the super soldier, and Tony felt a little insecure about it. But he was working on that. Harry would really benefit having some basic training on how to defend himself. Not to mention that Steve was also a really nice guy who would never intentionally try to steal his son's affections from him. Tony did feel a little intimidated. After all he may have been Tony Stark and Iron Man but even he would have trouble living up to the wholesome image of Captain America.
Tony was nearly finished making his suit for Harry. He'd been working on it nonstop since they returned from the island. He just needed to decide on an appropriate color scheme for it. It couldn't be the same as his obviously but he wanted it to be sort of matching. Bruce complained that he was spending too much time worrying about the colors when he should have been more focused on the magical properties of things.
"Tony, you know that you can sleep every so often. It's not like there's some sort of deadline for you to finish this suit," Bruce noted casually.
Tony blinked thrown from his concentration. He looked up at Bruce. "I don't know what you mean by that."
"Really? The circles under your eyes are huge. You always stay here even after I've gone to bed, and you've been drinking copious amounts of coffee. You look like you're ready to pass out, and it's only your sheer stubbornness that's keeping you awake right now," Bruce commented mildly.
If it had been anyone else Tony might have snapped at them to mind their own business. But Bruce hardly ever commented on Tony's more destructive behavior. That's how Tony knew that the man was really worried about his health.
"I can't sleep. Not until I know that Harry's safe," Tony whispered simply.
He couldn't admit to the nightmares that he had every night. Not even to Bruce or Pepper. Tony had had horrible dreams about Harry being ripped away from him in various different scenarios since Harry's birthday. Not to mention the ones about falling through the portal before that. It was eating away at him. He'd been trying to hide these struggles from everyone. He thought he had been fairly successful so far. At least he knew where Harry had gotten his avoidance issues from.
"Harry is safe, Tony," Bruce said gently.
"I told you about that wizard right? The one who killed his mom and is now after Harry?" Bruce nodded. "How can I just sit around, and wait for him to try and attack my kid again without doing anything about it? I need to do whatever I can to protect him because I'm pretty sure that he's not just going to give up. Crazed wackos like that never just give up."
"Working yourself into the ground isn't going to help Harry. In the long run you're just going to be worn out, and you'll start making mistakes. And you know that you'll only worry Harry if you don't take care of yourself. You need to sleep, and you need to relax. Trust me I know what happens when you let yourself get too worked up," Bruce flashed him a sardonic smile.
Tony flashed a reluctant smile in return. He wasn't quite ready to admit that what he was doing was wrong, however. He was doing the best that he could with the skills that he possessed to protect his son from forces he really didn't know that much about.
"I'll keep it in mind," Tony murmured.
Bruce just nodded. He didn't look convinced but he at least seemed to understand that he couldn't force Tony to do something that he didn't want to. Tony was grateful for that. The two of them went back to focusing on their individual projects. Over the past week Bruce had been looking through Harry's beginner potion textbook and some other texts that Coulson was able to get from his brother. He was really hopeful that there might be something to tame the beast inside him. Tony was determined to convince the man that there was nothing wrong with the Hulk before he was able to find a cure for himself.
"Sir, Agent Coulson is on the line. He says that he has a Mr. Albus Dumbledore here to see you," Jarvis suddenly chimed.
"Really? It's about time I met the man. Send 'em up, Jarvis," he commanded. He would have liked to have known they were coming by sooner in advance but he was just glad that he would finally be able to confront Dumbledore.
"Right away, sir."'
"Albus Dumbledore, isn't that the wizard that Steve worked with in World War II?" Bruce questioned.
"He's also the headmaster of Harry's school, and the one who placed him with his dear, sweet relatives," Tony fiddled with a screwdriver. He had to admit he was feeling a little anxious about this confrontation. He wanted some damn good reasons for why the hell his son had been with the Dursleys, and why no one had ever noticed just how poorly he'd been treated.
"Oh, do you want me to leave so that the two of you can speak alone?" Bruce asked.
"Nah, stick around, big man. I might need you if things turn south," Tony shrugged.
"Are you anticipating that this meeting is going to turn out badly that you would need the Hulk?" Bruce grinned.
"You never know. It's always nice to have big green around just in case," Tony grinned back. "No, but honestly I have no idea what to expect from this meeting. From Steve's stories he seems like an upstanding guy. I just don't know if I can forgive the man for leaving my son with people who hurt him like the Dursleys did," Tony said.
"I don't believe that I will ever forgive myself, Mr. Stark," came a weary voice from the doorway.
Standing there with Coulson were three people. Tony was still trying to get used to the whole robe thing, and the older man's brightly colored robes really didn't endear them to him more. The older man looked like Merlin, plain and simple. He had a long white beard and hair, and looked as old as Harry and Steve claimed him to be. He wore half moon glasses in front of sorrowful blue eyes that gazed at Tony with a deep bone weary, sadness. The other two people that had accompanied him were an older, severe looking woman with gray robes, and a sour faced man with greasy black hair and a sharply hooked nose. The woman appeared to be upset while the younger man wore the pinched look of someone who had just caught sight of something that disgusted him. Tony couldn't help but wonder what his problem was.
"Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Albus Dumbledore. These are my associates Professors Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape. They are two of Harry's teachers at Hogwarts. They agreed to accompany me when Mr. Coulson here apprised us of the situation between Harry and yourself, and that you wanted to talk me about Harry's life at Hogwarts," Dumbledore greeted.
Tony just nodded. "I do. There are some inconsistencies that I want to get to the bottom of. Why don't you all take a seat?"
"Of course, I too have several things I would like to discuss with you as well," Dumbledore said as he moved to take a seat in one of the workbenches. The others followed suit, taking seats near Dumbledore while Coulson commandeered a seat in the middle. He was no doubt prepared to step in if things started getting heated.
"I would like to know what gives you the authority to question us about what happens with Potter and Hogwarts," the black haired man, Snape, questioned.
"Maybe I should introduce myself. I'm Tony Stark, I'm Harry's father. His biological father. And this is my friend, Dr. Bruce Banner."
He heard the woman draw in a sharp breath before releasing it slowly.
"So it is true? You are claiming to be Potter's father?" Snape sneered.
"Uh, not claiming. I am Harry's father. I have a DNA test that proves it along with Lily's own testimonial to back up the fact that I am his father. So that means its Stark not Potter," Tony said glaring at the man.
If it was even possible the man's expression grew even more pinched.
"I won't believe it until I complete the tests for myself," Snape said in a clipped tone.
"Sorry, but I don't see why I need to prove anything to you. You're just a professor," Tony glared.
"Of course you need to prove yourself. We need concrete proof that you are who you claim you are. Not just the word of some muggle doctor and yourself," Snape snarled back.
"Severus please, we aren't here to fight. We are all here for a common goal. We are all here to make sure that Harry is all right," Dumbledore chastened.
"Oh, I can assure you, he's more than all right with me," Tony informed them stiffly.
"You'll have to forgive us, Mr. Stark but for the past few weeks we've had no idea where Harry was and it has been quite distressing. We were under the impression that Harry was safely with his relatives. When we discovered that he wasn't with them, and that no one knew where he was we were very worried. Mr. Coulson has informed us that you are aware of the threats that are posed to Harry so as you could imagine our minds immediately jumped to the worst possible conclusions. We thought perhaps he had been kidnapped or worse. We had no idea what had happened to him, and you could say that we were a bit panicked."
"Yeah, I can see how worried you were the first ten years of his life leaving him with people who abused him," Tony said sarcastically.
Dumbledore's whole frame seemed to sag. "I take full responsibility for what happened with the Dursleys. I thought it was what was best for him at the time. I never once thought that they would treat him in such a manner."
"Explain to me how it was even your job to place Harry with the Dursleys," Tony wanted to know. There had to be someone else before those people.
"There was a great deal of chaos in the Ministry during that time. Harry's placement fell to me because of the position I held in the Ministry and my relationship with the Potters. And frankly, there was no one else available to take care of the matter at the time. Voldemort's followers were running scared after the defeat of their lord, and they needed all available wizards to help take them into custody. I acted quickly because I wanted to get Harry in a protected place as soon as could be arranged. I knew that Voldemort's followers would seek to retaliate against the boy, and that was last thing that I wanted to happen. The man named as Harry's guardian in James and Lily's will was not… in a position that would allow him to take custody of him at the time nor would he have been able to anytime in the near future."
Snape snorted at Dumbledore's words, and Tony sensed that there was more to the story that he wasn't telling him. Tony was determined to get all of the answers he wanted until he was satisfied with the reasons behind his son's treatment. Dumbledore shouldn't even bother trying to hide things from him. No one could hide things from Tony Stark.
"And who was next in line for custody? It can't have been Petunia. Even I knew they didn't get along that well," Tony demanded.
"It was war time and there were many casualties. The family that was next in line for custody was attacked shortly after the Potters were, and were left incapable of caring for their own son let alone Harry. That only left the Dursleys, as they were his own living relatives. I knew Lily wasn't close to her sister and her husband but I never once believed that they would treat him the way that they did. I don't think even Lily would have believed her sister would have been capable of allowing her son to grow up the way that he did," Dumbledore explained looking upset.
"So you were aware of what they were doing?" Tony growled.
"No, Mr. Stark. I knew that there was minimal affection between them. But I comforted myself with the knowledge that the blood wards built on their familial connection was the safest place in the world for him. Please believe me when I say that I was not aware that they kept him locked in a cupboard under the stairs or used him for manual labor. I would have removed him if I had known," Dumbledore said all but pleading for forgiveness.
"And why didn't you know about it? If you placed him with them shouldn't you have been keeping a closer eye on him? Wasn't there anyone keeping tabs on him? Don't you wizards have anything like social services keeping track of things like this?" Tony questioned.
"We do not I'm afraid, and muggle child services never got involved with the Dursleys either. I would have been alerted to such a report if one was filed against them, and taken appropriate action to remove Harry from their care. A friend of the Potters and mine was supposed to be watching over him in the event that any of Voldemort's followers discovered his location," Dumbledore said carefully.
"Obviously they weren't doing a very good job if they let it happen," Tony snapped.
"I admit that in hindsight Arabella wasn't the best choice. I thought that she would have alerted me if she noticed anything that was amiss in the slightest. She is an older woman and she didn't recognize that anything was wrong. I didn't recognize the signs nor did any of Harry's muggle teachers. Harry is very adept at hiding the things he doesn't want people to know about."
Tony had to concede to that, considering what had happened on Harry's birthday. Harry was really good at hiding things. That was something the two of them both needed to work on. They needed to be more open and honest with one another. They both hid things from the world that would cause others to worry or make them look weak. What it really came down to was trust. And Tony and Harry both had trouble trusting other people. This was something that Tony himself would need to overcome before he would be able to help Harry.
"Okay, that makes sense. Harry's good at hiding things, and managed to hide what was going form everyone. But that doesn't excuse the fact that no one noticed that something was wrong. It's completely unacceptable that it was allowed to happen. He's a kid and we can't have expected him to solve this problem on his own. Someone should have been there for him. And when he didn't want to go back there this summer, you had to have questioned why he didn't want to go back? I mean it's not normal for a kid not to want to go home after being away for so long," Tony couldn't help but think of his own experiences. He had even wanted to go home after months away at his various boarding schools. Or at least he had when he'd been younger. By the time he was a teen he'd gotten over his desire for his parent's affection when he realized that it was never going to happen.
"As I said before I speculated there must have been some discontent in the relationship between them. I never thought it was to such a negative degree. I know now that I should have spent more time checking in on him. The truth of the matter is that I had other concerns that required my attention. I hold many different leadership positions in the wizarding world, and they often keep me very busy. I put other matters before him and delegated my role to someone whom I believed that I could trust, and for that there is no excuse," Dumbledore said solemnly. The old man did seem to be truly repentant but Tony couldn't just forgive him so easily for putting Harry through the things that he went through.
"No, there isn't," Tony agreed.
"As if you are one to judge him. You were not exactly there for Potter either," Snape spoke up.
"Excuse me, who are you again to criticize me? I didn't even know that I had a son," Tony argued.
"Would you have even stepped up, and taken care of him at that time? You hardly seemed like the type," Snape glared.
"Oh and you know all about what type of man I am?" Tony couldn't help but feel attacked because to be honest if they had come to him a few years earlier with Harry he had no idea what he would have done. Even now he had been reluctant to take him in, there was no telling what it would have been like a few years ago. There was a huge chance that he might have tried to push him off on someone else, or just hired someone to take care of Harry for him. He would like to think that he would have done the right thing but there was honestly no telling what he would have done at that point in his life. But it didn't mean he liked being attacked by this person who didn't even know anything about him.
"I've read enough about you to know that you're an arrogant child. You're a narcissistic playboy with little regard for anyone else. Let alone a child you had with another man's wife. I now know where Potter, excuse me, Stark got his own arrogance from."
"That's enough you greasy bastard. You can insult me all you want but the moment you start in on my kid, that's when I stop being nice," Tony said in a deceivingly calm voice.
"Tony is a wonderful father. There isn't a child more loved than Harry is by Tony," Bruce suddenly hissed.
Tony looked over to the doctor to see his eyes briefly flash a bright green. Coulson reached over to calmly place his hand on the doctor's shoulder, and gave Bruce a gentle smile. Bruce started in surprise. He gave a quick apology before excusing himself. Tony was glad to have the man's support. It was almost a compliment that the man got riled up enough to almost transform on Tony's behalf.
"Gentlemen please remember we are here to talk about Mr. … about Harry. Mr. Stark you wanted to learn more about Hogwarts, and Albus and Severus you wanted to learn more about how Harry came to be here. Do you think you all can be a little more civil to one another so that we can get those answers?" demanded the older woman, McGonagall, speaking up for the first time. She sent them all sharp glares, and Tony found himself straightening up unconsciously at the reprimand. She reminded him a bit of Pepper but somehow even stricter.
Tony agreed as did Snape, albeit more reluctantly. The two of them continued to glare at one another. Tony didn't know what the man's problem was but he was having serious doubts about his ability to teach his son. McGonagall asked him about the order of events from his perspective. Coulson had given them a brief overview when he got in touch with them, and realized how upset they were over Harry's disappearance. Tony was more than happy to tell them about how the Dursleys stormed the tower, and handed Harry over to him.
"We've been trying to get to know one another ever sense. It's been going fairly well, all things considered. He even calls me dad now," Tony couldn't help but proudly tell Minerva, as she insisted he call her.
"You must know this is a very big shock to all of us, on several levels. We all personally knew the Potters. Albus and I both taught them, and Severus went to school with them. We never for a moment believed that Harry was anything other than James's son. It is a huge shock to us. Nor were we aware of the treatment Harry received at the hands of those horrid muggles. I always knew they were the worst sort," she said choking up a bit.
"Couldn't agree more. Now there are a few other things I wanted to talk you all about. I'd like to hear more about Hogwarts. There were a few… incidents that had me concerned about sending Harry back there," Tony told them.
"I assure you that Hogwarts is one of the safest places in the wizarding world," Dumbledore assured, bristling a little bit.
"Then explain to me how the man that's already tried to kill Harry once was able to get a teaching position there, and almost finish the job," Tony leaned back in his chair giving him a pointed look. He was curious as to what explanation they could possibly have.
Dumbledore nodded looking uncomfortable. "I was aware that it might still be possible for Voldemort to still be alive. I was made aware that he was going to try and take the Philosopher's Stone, something that would be able to restore him to his full power. I made arrangements to protect it within the school. For as I mentioned Hogwarts has some of the strongest wards in the world, and I thought it would be the safest place for it. I had no idea that Voldemort was able to possess a staff member that I both knew and trusted. Again I can only blame myself for the oversight."
"You aren't the only one Albus. The rest of us were fooled by Quirinus as well," Minerva pointed out.
"Okay so he tricked you. But why the hell would you put something like that in a school with children? I mean yeah you said it was one of the safest places but you were making a target out of a school full children, for a mad man. There had to be other options," Tony remarked.
"I overestimated my own power. I thought that it would be better to have the stone as close to me as possible. I also put too much trust in the fact that I would be able to keep the stone's location a secret," Dumbledore replied calmly.
"So you really screwed up. How can I be assured that this sort of thing isn't going to happen again? What steps are you going to take to protect Harry from this Voldemort guy?" Tony questioned.
"Yes, SHIELD would also like to know more about what steps are going to be taken to ensure the removal of the dark wizard known as Voldemort. We would also like to know how it is that he is still alive yet the British Ministry didn't think to inform the American Wizarding Government of such a monumental threat," Coulson said in his mildest yet most dangerous tone of voice.
"Unfortunately our ministry is unwilling to even listen to the possibility that Voldemort might still be alive. If your organization is willing to help us look into the matter, then it would be quite helpful," Dumbledore replied. "As for Harry's safety. I want nothing more than for him to return to Hogwarts, and you have my complete assurance that I will do everything within my power to ensure that Harry and the rest of my students are safe from Voldemort."
"I want specifics. I want to see the school. I want to meet the teachers, and learn more about Hogwarts before I can fully trust you with my son," Tony informed him.
"Yes, of course. You're more than welcome to. We would also like to meet with Harry, and see how he is adjusting to all of this," Dumbledore commented.
"I think we can do that," Tony agreed. "In fact I think there might be another familiar face here for you to see. Come on let's all go up to the penthouse. It's almost time for lunch, and we can all sit down in a more comfortable setting to continue this conversation."
The five of them took the elevator up in silence. It gave Tony time to think about the conversation they had just has. While it went a long way in reassuring him that Dumbledore and Hogwarts weren't all bad it hadn't completely reassured him. The wizarding world seemed like a really dangerous place for Harry, especially the British wizarding world. Of course he couldn't be too judgmental considering the danger he had put his own son in within just a month and a half of knowing him. But Tony was terrified of sending him back across the ocean where he wouldn't be close by to step in if something went wrong. He would have to talk to Harry about it. If Harry was really set on going back Tony was less reluctant to send him after speaking with Dumbledore and Minerva. Snape seemed like an ass but he figured that it might have something to do with the fact that he had gone to school with James and Lily. They must have been friends, and he wasn't too thrilled to discover that Tony had had an affair with Lily.
Tony shook away the guilt that surged up, and had Jarvis get in touch with Steve and Harry. Jarvis assured him that they would be up shortly after their most recent sparing session. Tony was looking forward to both Steve's and Dumbledore's reaction to seeing each other. He thought it would do the Cap a lot of good to talk with someone he had actually known before becoming a Capsicle.
Tony waved them towards the couches, and let them all get settled comfortably in the living room before starting to ask some rapid-fire questions of Dumbledore. The man did his best to keep up but Tony was pleased to see that he was more than a little flustered by Tony's in-depth and persistent questioning. Tony learned quite a bit about Lily, Voldemort, and the war that had gone on in Britain. He learned about Sirius Black who had betrayed Lily and James to Voldemort, which gave Voldemort the window of opportunity to go and kill them. He'd been James's best friend and their so-called Secret Keeper for the spell protecting them called the Fidelis. Dumbledore also told him a bit more about Voldemort's agenda and his Death Eaters. He also told him about his own organization called the Order of the Phoenix. It was a secret organization apparently since the Ministry of Magic had been pathetic in their attempts to stop Voldemort.
"I want to know more about just why Voldemort was after the Potters," Tony observed. "I mean from what you've said, it seems like they were deliberately hiding from him and that he was determined to kill them. Why?"
Snape and Minerva both glanced at Dumbledore looking curious about how he would respond. Dumbledore himself appeared pensive while Coulson looked politely attentive but Tony knew the agent had to be as interested in his answer as Tony was.
"There was a prophecy that Voldemort heard that led him to believe he must kill Harry," Dumbledore finally admitted. Snape drew in a sharp breath and his normal dour expression actually seemed a bit uncomfortable with the turn in the conversation.
"A prophecy? Really?" Tony questioned in disbelief.
"Prophecies are quite a common thing in the wizarding world. If made by a credible seer you can almost guarantee that it will come to pass," Coulson spoke up.
"Right so what was this prophecy about?" Tony drawled not really sure if he believed that someone was capable of telling the future.
"It foretold that a child would be born at the end of July to a couple that had thrice defied him who would be able to defeat him," explained Dumbledore.
"And Harry was the only who fit that description?" Tony raised one eyebrow feeling skeptical.
"Voldemort believed that he did even though there was another boy who fit the prophecy. Of course with the revelation of Harry's parentage it complicates matters," Dumbledore frowned.
"So Harry might not even be the child of the prophecy?" Coulson questioned.
"I believe that he is. There was more to the prophecy and Harry fits those requirements," Dumbledore explained.
"Perhaps you should tell us the whole prophecy," Coulson suggested even though Tony knew it was more of a command and less of a suggestion.
Dumbledore hesitated.
"He'd my son. I have a right to know about the things that might be a threat to him," Tony growled.
Dumbledore sighed and dutifully began to repeat the prophecy, "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… and wither must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"
Tony mulled it over. "The scar on his forehead, you think that's the 'mark him as his equal' part?"
"I do," Dumbledore nodded.
"I don't want my son fighting some dark wizard," Tony said firmly.
"I'm afraid Voldemort won't leave Harry alone until either he or Harry is dead," Dumbledore murmured.
"Well then, I guess I'll have to take care of him then. Harry just turned twelve. It shouldn't be his responsibility to defeat this guy," Tony argued.
"Prophecy is a tricky thing, Mr. Stark, Harry might not be able to avoid it the confrontation," Dumbledore cautioned.
"We'll see about that," Tony replied not in the least bit deterred.
"You seem like a man capable of anything you put your mind to Mr. Stark," Dumbledore smiled, a twinkle lighting his blue eyes.
"Dad! Natasha and Clint are back! Steve and Natasha were sparring, it was brilliant," Harry exclaimed as he rushed out of the elevator, completely ignoring their company.
"Who won?" Tony asked curiously.
"Natasha," Steve answered rubbing his back and wincing.
"Ha! Jarvis please tell me you got that on video."
"Of course, sir," Jarvis replied sounding insulted that Tony would even think otherwise. Or at least as insulted as an AI was capable of being insulted.
"Now, that that's covered, maybe now you can notice the fact that we have some company," Tony pointed out.
"Professors! What are you doing here?" Harry gaped, looking a tad nervous.
"Your father asked us to come for a visit to discuss your return to school," Dumbledore replied calmly, smiling at Harry.
"I don't have to go back to the Dursleys do I? I mean they're in prison now so I can't really go back anyway," Harry said sounding nervous and glancing at Tony.
Tony pulled him down to sit beside him to reassure him. "You're not going anywhere, kiddo."
"Yes, Harry, I would never dream of sending you back even for the protection the blood wards provided. I apologize for not heeding your concerns more carefully," Dumbledore said solemnly.
Harry shrugged. "S'okay."
"No, Harry it's not. And I am deeply sorry for not listening to you either," said Minerva, looking upset.
Harry smiled. Minerva smiled back looking relieved that Harry seemed happy.
"Albus, you really are alive," Steve breathed looking stunned as he stared at the older man.
Dumbledore turned to glance at Steve and the older wizard looked as stunned as Steve did.
"Steve? It can't really be you," Dumbledore gasped.
"Yeah, it's a long story," Steve murmured, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously.
"I would love to hear it. For so long I mourned your death, and wished there was something that I could have done. You were a truly heroic young man. We could not have won the war against Gellert without your help in defeating Hydra," Dumbledore praised.
Steve blushed but he sat down, and told them all about what had happened to him, and how he managed to survive. Tony took that moment to talk with Harry.
"So you want to go back to Hogwarts?" Tony asked him.
"Yeah," said Harry sending him a confused glance, which Tony interpreted to mean: 'Of course I do you idiot'.
"I just wanted to know what with the whole Voldemort thing. You don't have to go. You can go to a school close by," Tony offered hopefully.
"I always just assumed that I was going to go back. I told you how much I love Hogwarts, and I want to go back. My mum went there and I have friends there. Do you not want me to go back?" Harry asked, examining him closely.
"No, I just want to make sure that it's what you want," Tony shrugged dismissively. There was no way he was going to let on just how he nervous he was to send Harry away. He figured that it was something that all parents suffered from, letting their children go.
"It is," Harry assured him. "Although, I'll miss being at the tower. There's no telling what kind of trouble you'll get up to without me around."
Tony laughed. It looked like Harry would be going back to Hogwarts.
"Can we go shopping in Diagon Alley? I can show you and Pepper all around. And maybe you can all come to one of my Quidditch matches," Harry said eagerly.
"Sounds great," Tony agreed.
Harry really did love Hogwarts, and Tony couldn't bear to pull him out of it. Maybe it would even be good for Harry to get away from all the craziness that had become Tony's life. Dumbledore and the other professors had reassured him about Harry's safety at Hogwarts, and it wasn't like Tony's life was exactly safe with his numerous enemies. Tony tried to relax. If anything did happen then all he had to do was bring Harry home. It wouldn't hurt to give them another chance.
Tony invited the British wizards to dinner. It gave them the chance to meet Pepper, Natasha, and Clint. Bruce also returned looking more relaxed. Steve and Dumbledore kept up with their stories from the war. Tony hadn't seen Steve quite so animated as he was speaking with Dumbledore. It was probably great therapy for the man to talk about it. After all to him the war must have seemed like it happened just last week. Not almost seventy years ago.
While everyone seemed to be having a great time, Tony couldn't help but notice that Snape went off to be by himself. Tony decided to go and confront the man. He had observed the man's obvious dislike of himself and of Harry. Harry likewise didn't seem to like the man, and Harry liked almost everyone. The kid had even felt somewhat guilty for Loki.
"So what's your deal?" Tony drawled as he approached the man.
He was out on the refurbished balcony that had originally been destroyed by Loki and Thor's little brotherly spat. Everyone else was still inside enjoying dinner, and conversation. Snape turned to fix him with a dark expression.
"I have no idea what you are talking about," Snape sneered.
"Right, so I'm just imagining your hostile attitude?"
"I came out here to be alone, if you are incapable of noticing. I have no desire to be bothered with your presence," Snape replied.
"Yeah, well this is my house so you don't really have a choice," Tony informed him.
"And here I thought that no one could be more insufferable than James Potter," Snape muttered.
That caused Tony to pause in thought. Then it all clicked in his wonderfully brilliant mind. He felt like Sherlock Holmes after just solving a difficult case.
"Oh, I get it," Tony told him.
Snape just glared at him, unwilling to fall for the bait.
"You liked her. Schoolboy crush but she fell for someone else so you take it out on the son of the man who you think stole her from you," Tony observed out loud.
"What are you blathering on about?" Snape demanded angrily.
"You. You liked Lily; more than liked considering you're still being an ass about losing her. And you're taking it out on me and Harry," Tony explained.
"You know nothing! I'm sure you hardly even knew her. You used her and left her. You didn't deserve the affection of someone like Lily," Snape snarled.
"Well, Lily thought differently. And I may not have been the most shining example of someone you'd want to get involved with but I never forced Lily into anything she didn't want to do. There's no one to blame about what happened but Lily and myself. So be as nasty as you want to me. Harry's the only one who's truly innocent in this whole. So I don't want to see you continuing to treat Harry the way you have been," Tony warned.
"I will treat your son the way that I see fit," Snape scowled.
"Yeah, that's not going to work for me, Snape. Harry's a good kid and if I hear you're being intentionally cruel to him, you won't like what will happen," Tony informed him.
"Mr. Stark, your arrogance is truly astounding. Your son is a pampered prince whom the entire wizarding world adores. If my treatment of him helps to deflate his ego a bit than I am glad to do it. And I do not take threats to my person lightly," Snape drawled darkly.
Tony chuckled. "Wow, you are unbelievable. You can't see beyond your own bitter disappointment to realize what is right in front of you. Harry is an incredible kid and you're letting your hatred keep you from seeing that. It's not his fault that Lily chose someone else, and you can't keep blaming him for your own mistakes. I mean it about Harry. Leave him alone. I really don't react well when other people touch my stuff and you really don't want to answer to me," Tony turned and went back into the house.
If he heard any more out of Snape he might end up doing something rash and cause some sort wizard-human war. He was done with the man, and if he heard anything about him from Harry he was going to find a way to exact revenge on the hateful man.
Dumbledore arranged a day for him and Pepper to come and visit Hogwarts before Harry had to go back. Steve had also been invited. Once the schedule had been worked out the three wizards took their leave. Tony spoke briefly with Coulson before he too departed. He wanted to make sure that he would have his support when dealing with the Ministry of Magic. Their government seemed truly corrupted, and he didn't want any problems from them. Coulson of course assured his and SHIELD's full support.
"That was an eventful day," Tony mused.
"You're not going to sleep tonight, are you?" Bruce muttered.
"I'm not sleeping until Harry goes back to school," Tony replied. "Probably not even then."
"I'll make some coffee," Bruce sighed.
Tony flashed him a bright grin. There would be time for more work tonight after everyone else went to sleep. For now he gathered everyone up, and sat them down to watch a movie. He did his best to try and enjoy the movie. But all his fears for Harry's safety kept nagging at him. Whatever time he spent worrying would be worth it however, to see Harry happy. Tony snorted at the thought of how far he had come in such a short amount of time. Even just a year ago he would have never believed himself capable of looking out for someone else beside himself. Now he had himself a pretty good-sized family. Pepper was his significant other. Harry was his magic wielding son. Bruce was his brother with anger management issues. Steve was of course the doddering old grandpa while Clint and Natasha were the crazy aunt and uncle who were secretly assassins. Coulson was the scary, overprotective uncle who worked for the government.
Tony smiled. He wouldn't have traded any of it for anything.
Sorry for the long wait. Holiday celebrations got in the way. So Harry may be going back to Hogwarts for the time being but I won't be following the second book closely and Harry won't end up staying there for those worried about the plot just blithely following canon. Also while I'm trying to be as realistic as possible with this fanfiction I am giving it some leeway because Harry Potter, especially the first one, is a children's book, and many children's books have fantastical adventures that are of course very unrealistic for young children to go on and are often done without adult supervision to make the story relatable to children. I just kept that in mind while writing this chapter and so I wasn't as harsh on Dumbledore as I probably could have been. I hope that that makes sense. Dumbledore isn't deliberately manipulative in this story but he does overlook things in favor of making the big picture work.
Also several people questioned the Horcrux's involvement in the change in Harry's magical core. In chapter 10 the 'dark energy' that helps Harry fight back against the power of the staff is the Horcrux. It recognizes the staff as a threat to its host which means it is a threat to it, and helps Harry fight off the staff's power but it is destroyed in the process. The staff is an otherworldly power and that's what made it possible for it to destroy the horcrux. So Harry is no longer a Horcrux. A couple people also questioned the pairing of this story for Harry. My plans for this story have it wrapping up some time after Harry turns fifteen. So to be honest I haven't really even considered having him being in any romantic relationship and I don't think I will. I will make an epilogue with Harry as an adult but he wouldn't be married or paired with anyone for those that were concerned about a pairing. Lastly I've had several concerns about Harry using spells that he wasn't taught in first year in canon. Harry has more of an interest to learn spells than he does in canon, and in the first chapter I mention that he has spent a lot of time with Hermione in the library. His use of Accio in Chapter 7 was the most advanced spell that he knows. He was trying to impress Tony and we don't see his point of view of it but he was barely able to complete it. Anyway I hope that clears some things up for everyone.
Thanks for reading and all the reviews, favorites and follows. Sorry for the long note!