Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the Avengers. Unfortunately.

Chapter 16: Battle of the Basilisk

Harry slid down into the darkness. The pipe twisted and turned, and Harry tried desperately to orient himself to release his suit. He had no idea what to expect at the end of this tunnel and he wanted to be as prepared as possible. He was thankful that he had brought his suit with him. He managed to deploy his suit just as he shot out of the opening of the pipe. The suit finished wrapping around him moments before he crashed onto the stone ground. He shook himself as he stood up and Jarvis greeted him in a warm but worried tone.

"Master Harry, why have deployed your suit? What sort of danger are you in? I am scanning the area now, sir, but I seem to be experiencing some difficulties. I cannot connect with the main database, and I am unable to notify Master Stark that your suit has been deployed," Jarvis informed him.

"It must be the tunnel we're in. It's so far under Hogwarts and it has to have some impressive magical shields around it if no ones been able to detect its existence for so long," Harry reasoned.

Harry explained to Jarvis why he had deployed the suit while he started walking through the large tunnel. It was littered with the bones of small animals, and disturbingly large shed snakeskin. It made Harry wish that Jarvis was able to connect with the main system back in the tower. Jarvis did suggest switching to heat vision if they caught sight of the basilisk. It did make Harry wonder why Justin and Penelope had just been petrified while the other girl had died. What had they done differently? Perhaps there were different strengths to its eyes? Or maybe a person needed to have direct eye contact with the basilisk. Harry was hoping for the latter because that was going to be the only thing that saved him if he came in contact with it.

Harry supposed he could have just flown back up but someone up there had pushed him down the tunnel. He wanted to find out who was behind all of this and just what they were up to. He continued walking through the tunnel until he came to a large open doorway. It led into a huge chamber with large ornate columns and a huge statue of a man with a long goatee. He assumed the man to be Salazar Slytherin, and decided that Slytherin looked rather ape-like.

Harry entered the large chamber cautiously. It appeared to be empty but Harry wasn't about to let his guard down

"Jarvis, can you scan the chamber?" Harry asked.

"I seem to be picking up two other life forms directly in front of you, sir. One appears to be human, while the other is decidedly… not. In fact it reminds me a great deal of the whale-like creatures that the Chitauri employed. However, not quite as large, thankfully," Jarvis reported.

"Well, at least that's one thing in my favor," Harry muttered.

Harry reached the middle of the chamber, and received the shock of his life. Little Ginny Weasley stepped out from behind one of the columns. The flash of bright orange he'd caught sight of before falling suddenly made sense to Harry now. But Ginny couldn't have been the one to push him. Why would she have done something like that? She was just a first year who was too shy to barely speak in his presence. She was just Ron's little sister. What could she possibly be doing down here?

Harry slid the faceplate on his suit up so Ginny would be able to see that it was him.

"Ginny? Are you all right? You shouldn't be down here. The monster in the school is a basilisk. I've followed it down here," Harry told her.

"I'm fine Harry. The basilisk won't come until it's called," Ginny replied sounding far too careless for Harry's liking.

As Harry drew closer to Ginny he realized that there was something off about her. Ginny didn't look well at all. She looked extremely tired and wane. She was very pale, her freckles stood out in stark relief against her waxy white skin. The deep circles under her eyes were like craters. In her hands she was clutching a dripping wet, black leather bound book.

"Ginny, what's wrong? You look sick," Harry worried.

A quick, fierce smile flashed across her otherwise expressionless face. The grin was completely alien to her normal, friendly features. It was rather eerie to witness.

"Stupid boy, don't you even realize your friend is gone?" Ginny hissed in a tone very unlike herself.

"What do you mean? And did you say something about calling the basilisk?" Harry questioned, frowning.

Something was very wrong here. This wasn't Ginny. It looked like her but she wasn't under her own control. It reminded him of Loki's staff, and the people who had been under its control. Ginny certainly seemed to be possessed in some way. Harry tried hard to remember all that he could about possession. He never got the chance to. All at once Ginny's entire body seized up, and she collapsed onto the stone floor. Harry would have run to her side but just then the book she had been holding shuddered and flew open. A black swirling mist rose up from the blank pages and formed itself into the shape of a young man. He was tall with strong, classically handsome features, dark hair, and dark eyes.

"Who are you?" Harry asked, wearily eyeing the… man? Spirit? He really wasn't sure.

"Harry Potter or Stark now I suppose, it is so nice to finally stand face to face with you. Ginny has told me so much about the famous Harry Stark, and his incredible defeat of the Dark Lord Voldemort," the young man said as he stepped closer to Harry.

Harry noted that he wore Hogwarts school robes with a Slytherin tie. The robes were the same older style as Moaning Myrtle's had been.

"Are you some sort of ghost?" Harry asked.

"Oh no, I am so much more than that. I am a memory of Tom Riddle, preserved in the diary all these long years. Ginny here gave me the chance to free myself from its pages by pouring out her inner most thoughts and feelings to me," the spirit, Tom Riddle apparently, gloated.

"Will it kill her? What you're doing, will it kill her if you don't stop now and reverse it?" Harry demanded glancing to where Ginny lay at Riddle's feet. She looked almost translucent she was so pale while Riddle continued to grow more substantial by the moment.

"Yes, the trusting little fool will die so that I may live once more. She should have known better than to put her trust in such an object, and in a stranger so willing to listen to her problems. She served her purpose, however, and in the end turned out to be quite useful. She told me all about you. Couldn't shut up about your accomplishments and your hero muggle father with his flying metal suits," he spat in disgust glaring at the suit Harry now wore. "But what I want to know is how a baby. The child of a muggle and a mudblood, could have defeated the greatest dark lord in centuries."

"Why do care about that? Voldemort must have come far after your time in Hogwarts judging by your robes," Harry said in confusion.

"Voldemort is my past, present, and future," Riddle pulled out Ginny's wand.

In the air he wrote out Tom Marvolo Riddle. With another wave of the wand the letters rearranged themselves to spell out I am Lord Voldemort.

"That's a nifty little trick," Harry murmured feeling fear slide through him. This wasn't some angry spirit of an old Hogwarts student out for some petty revenge. This was a young Voldemort trying to get a body back, and if his indifference towards using Ginny was any indication he seemed to be just as cruel as older self.

"Yes, well I could hardly keep my filthy muggle father's name," Riddle replied not catching Harry's sarcasm.

"It was you wasn't it? You released the basilisk when you were here at school, and then you created the memory in the diary so that you could possess someone to do it again," Harry pondered aloud.

A smirk flitted across Riddle's lips. "Not a complete idiot I see. Yes, I discovered I was the Heir of Slytherin, and I went searching for my ancestor's chamber so that I may continue his noble work. But then they were going to close Hogwarts after that stupid girl died. I couldn't let that happen. It was all too easy to frame the half giant and his pet for my deeds. For all their talk of equality they were still so quick to judge the half creature. They even gave me a medal for it."

"You won't get away with it this time. I won't let you," Harry growled.

"Do you really think your muggle weapons can really stand up to the might of the great Salazar Slytherin?" Riddle demanded.

"Yes, I do," Harry challenged.

"We shall see," then Riddle turned and a series of hissing sounds issued from his mouth.

The mouth of Slytherin's statue opened and Harry could hear the coils of the basilisk sliding together. Harry immediately had Jarvis switch to heat vision. He knew that he needed to get to the diary before Riddle completely stole Ginny's life force. The diary seemed to be the source of Riddle, and hopefully if he destroyed it before whatever transfer he was doing was complete it would stop him. But first he needed to avoid being eaten by the basilisk.

Harry shot into the air; deploying all the maneuvers Tony had taught him to outrun the basilisk. With the heat vision the basilisk stood out in shades of cool blues and greens. Luckily the change in vision seemed to be working. But just in case Harry avoiding looking directly into the basilisk's eyes or in the vicinity of its face.

The basilisk was fast despite its size but Harry could turn on a dime, and was an excellent flyer. He was far too swift as he darted around tall columns to avoid the creature's massive jaws. Harry's plan was to lead it away from where Riddle stood shouting at it to get Harry. He needed to trap the thing to give him enough time to go back and destroy the diary. Without the basilisk he thought he had a good chance of defeating Riddle especially with his suit. Harry hoped that destroying the diary would destroy Riddle and cause the basilisk to return to whatever dormant state it had been in before this all started. If it was still alive after Harry was finished with it.

"Jarvis are all of the repulsors in effect now?" Harry asked.

"Yes sir, I would say you are in sufficient danger to unlock the security measures put in place on the suit," Jarvis agreed.

"Perfect."

Harry flew through the opening of the chamber, and back into the tunnel. Jarvis had warned him earlier about the rocks in the tunnel being unstable. Harry was hoping that one good blast would cause the tunnel roof to cave in and bury the basilisk. Unfortunately, the basilisk was gaining on him in the relatively straight path of the tunnel. The creature could really move when it wanted to, and without room to maneuver around, Harry was stuck.

"Jarvis full power to—" The basilisk's sudden lunge caught Harry by surprise.

He narrowly avoided being swallowed whole by performing a quick barrel role but he didn't manage to avoid it completely. The side of the giant snake's head hit him, and sent him crashing into the wall. The force of the hit caused the wall to shudder ominously. In a daze Harry picked himself up at Jarvis's forceful urgings.

Harry was standing right beside the basilisk's middle. The creature itself was a little dazed from slamming its head into Harry and the wall, and seemed to be trying to orient itself. Harry knew that now would be the perfect time to trap the basilisk. This section of the tunnel was narrow enough that the basilisk couldn't easily turn itself around to snap at him. Harry took aim of the already weakened cave wall, and fired. The blast was loud and the shockwave trembled through the tunnel. Harry shot out from under the crumbling rock as it came crashing down. The basilisk's shrieking hiss of rage and pain reverberated through the tunnel.

Harry took a moment to look back. The tunnel was completely caved in. The only piece of the basilisk that he could see was the tip of the tail and it wasn't so much as twitching. The basilisk was out of the way but now his only means of escape was also cut off. He would have to find his own way out. If he made it out.

Harry made his way back towards the chamber.

"Jarvis, report," Harry commanded.

"We are at 73% capacity, sir. Some damage was sustained to the left arm and chest plate from the hit but it isn't anything too concerning at the moment," Jarvis reassured him.

"All right let's go kick Riddle's butt," Harry growled, sounding more confident than he actually felt.

"Of course, sir," Jarvis agreed.

Harry swiftly made his way back to the chamber. Tom Riddle was no longer standing underneath Slytherin's statue. Ginny was still lying there, and Harry was relieved to see that the diary was as well. Harry rushed to Ginny's side. She looked so still that Harry worried that he was already too late to save her. He checked and was utterly relieved to discover that she was still breathing. But Harry wasn't sure for how much longer. He turned his gaze to the diary.

Harry grinned, and aimed at the diary. He sent the most powerful blast he could at the diary. When the blast subsided Harry gaped to see that the diary was completely unharmed. The stone around it was blackened but the diary itself looked just as it had before. Confusion swam through Harry. Why hadn't the diary been destroyed?

"Didn't I warn you that your muggle weapons stood no chance against my power?" Came the mocking voice of Tom Riddle.

He appeared from around a column looking more substantial than he had before. Harry was beginning to panic now. He had gotten rid of the basilisk but how was he supposed to save Ginny? If he couldn't destroy the diary would he have to destroy Tom Riddle instead?

"You did, but you've been in the diary for a while and you haven't seen some of the things my dad is capable of," Harry taunted.

Before Riddle could open his mouth again Harry fired off shot at Riddle. The teenaged specter of Voldemort was able to dodge the blast at the last moment.

"You can't stop me," Riddle hissed whipping out Ginny's wand.

He fired off a curse. Harry darted out of the way of it. He took to the air, the only place he would have the true advantage. Riddle snarled and fired off several more curses in rapid succession. Memory or not Riddle was fast, and seemed to know an endless amount of painful spells. Harry was able to fire off a couple of missiles but Riddle had a great shield charm. The suit was actually slowing him down with his greater speed. But he was grateful for it when one of the curses finally connected. It sliced through the left leg of the suit. Harry cried out as he felt the sharp bite of the magic and was tossed across the chamber floor. Luckily the suit had protected him from most of it. Looking down he saw that it hadn't protected him completely. There was a large cut in the suit and Harry could see some of his blood dripping down.

"The cut is not fatal, sir, but if it is not taken care of soon you could pass out from blood loss," Jarvis explained, a hint of worry to his computerized voice.

"I should be fine. I've been healing faster than normal," Harry commented refocusing his attention onto Riddle.

"Just give up now, Harry, and I will give you a quick death," Riddle offered, gloating.

He thought that he had beaten Harry, that Harry could be so easily cowed. But he didn't know Harry or the things that he had seen. Harry was made of stronger stuff than that. He wouldn't give up. He'd learned that from Tony.

"Not a chance," Harry snapped.

He fired off a repulsor beam at Riddle while he wasn't expecting it. He managed to throw up a shield before the blast hit him but it still sent him flying off his feet. Harry didn't give Riddle a chance to recover. He pulled out the skills Natasha and Steve had taught him over the summer. Harry sent a swift hit to Riddle's chest as he tried to stand knocking him back onto his back. Before he could get another chance to orient himself Harry kicked away Ginny's wand. He then restrained him, holding him down with a knee to his back and yanking his arms together.

"How do I destroy the diary?" Harry demanded. His leg ached where it had been hit, and unlike his other wounds it didn't seem to be healing any time soon. The blood was still seeping from the wound in a steady stream. He was tired, and he knew he needed to find a way to stop Riddle quickly. He didn't have time to get help now. If he did Riddle was likely to get away, and Ginny might die.

"Do you honestly think that I would tell you that when it would destroy me?" Riddle gasped out.

"Yes, because I'll find a way to destroy you anyway. You'll just be saving yourself a lot of trouble by telling me now," Harry was attempting to sound intimidating and confident.

He wasn't sure it was working since Riddle just looked amused by him.

"I think you'll find the task of destroying me a difficult one," Riddle wore a large grin now, his dark eyes locked on something behind Harry.

Harry heard something sizzle and looked to his shoulder. A piece of the shoulder plating looked like it had melted. He looked up and his heart dropped into his stomach.

"This isn't good," Harry murmured.

"Agreed, sir," Jarvis chimed in worry.

The basilisk, looking a little worse for the wear, as it hovered above where Harry held Riddle pinned to the ground. The venom from its fangs were dripping down from its open jaws and melting the layer of paint from the suit. Harry launched himself into the air. He was too slow. The basilisk's jaws closed around him. The metal shrieked as it halted the basilisk's bite enough to protect Harry's skin from being pierced but several large holes were punctured in the suit. The suit shuddered with the damage and Harry could feel the cool air through the open holes. Harry managed to grab ahold of couple of its teeth, and hoped the suit would hold together long enough to get him out of this situation. He shoved with all his strength to pry open the jaws to keep them from slowly crushing him to death.

"Jarvis, fire the repulsor beam straight from the arc reactor," Harry demanded.

"The suit won't be able to function if you do this, sir. We are already losing power rapidly. Doing this will drain it completely," Jarvis cautioned.

"Just do it!" Harry shouted as the basilisk thrashed its head trying to swallow him, and his grip began to slip.

The blast shot from the arc reactor. It turned Harry's world into a bright explosion, and for a moment he couldn't see a thing. Once the reactor's power had been completely depleted Harry was able to get a clear view of the roof of the chamber, which was odd because he was still inside the basilisk's mouth. He didn't really get a chance to process it more because in the next instance he was crashing. The basilisk's head dropped to the stone chamber floor with a reverberating thud. The basilisk was dead with a huge hole in its head and was no longer able to support itself. Harry came tumbling out of its ruined mouth.

He sluggishly yanked off the pieces of his suit. It was no longer functioning and it would just be dead weight on him. Harry didn't like the fact that he no longer had Jarvis with him. He hoped that he would be able to get himself out of this mess on his own. Harry staggered to his feet and discovered Riddle standing there in stunned silence. Riddle was gaping at the utterly destroyed head of the basilisk in shock and slowly growing rage.

"You killed her," Riddle hissed once more wielding Ginny's wand. "You killed her with your filthy muggle weapons."

"Well, she did try to eat me first," Harry offered.

Riddle advanced on him. Harry backed up a few steps favoring the leg that had been previously sliced open. As Riddle drew closer Harry couldn't help but notice that Riddle looked like he had been burned on the side of his neck. The pattern of the burn reminded him a great deal of the way the basilisk venom had melted his suit. Had Riddle been splashed with the venom when Harry made the basilisk's head explode? At least Harry knew that Riddle was capable of being physically harmed.

"I will destroy you, Harry. It's such a shame we are so alike. Both raised by muggles who hated us, both of us have useless muggle fathers, and we even look something alike. You could have joined me, and been a part of my new order. Now, you will be nothing more than a memory."

"We're nothing alike. I have a father who loves me and cares about me. I could never be like you," Harry shouted back.

A part of him was terrified by the similarities between Riddle and himself. But Harry had Tony and Pepper. He had a family and Harry wouldn't ever do anything to jeopardize that family. Harry had learned from his interaction with Loki that it was a person's actions that truly mattered not their pasts. After all Loki had spoke of their similar pasts as well.

Riddle glared at him and raised his wand to cast a spell. Harry summoned his magic. At that moment he was thankful for all the changes happening within him. It gave him faster reflexes, and allowed him to fire off a blast of magic without needing a wand. He shot a blast of blue flames at Riddle. Riddle was able to shield from the flames and fired off several blasting hexes Harry's way. Harry managed to avoid a couple of them but with his injured leg one hit its mark. He flew backwards across the floor coming to a stop beside Ginny and the diary.

Harry glanced at Ginny and noted that he didn't have long. She was look more translucent by the moment. Harry then glanced at the diary. Harry was struck by the burn mark on the diary. Harry had sent one of the strongest repulsor blasts he could at the diary and it hadn't damaged it a bit. But here it was with a newly created burn mark. Harry took note of a basilisk fang lying near the diary. Could the venom be harmful to it? There was only one way to find out. Riddle was gaining on him and he had to act fast. He thought he'd beaten Harry for good this time and was taking his time to stroll over to where he lay, apparently defeated. Harry grabbed up the fang.

"What are you doing?" Riddle demanded his face contorted in rage.

"Stopping you," Harry said simply.

He stabbed the diary with the fang. Harry was rewarded with a scream of agony from Riddle, and the diary immediately started to gush black ink. Harry stabbed it again, and again. Holes began to appear in Riddle. In one last shriek of rage Riddle attempted to lunge at Harry. He didn't make it far before he exploded into nothing. Harry glanced at Ginny, and smiled when he saw that she was quickly becoming more substantial. At that moment he wanted nothing more than to just pass out but he knew he had to find a way out of the chamber.

As if in answer to his thoughts a beautiful song filled the chamber. Harry felt relief wash over him as the brilliant form of Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, swooped into the chamber. The beautiful bird knelt beside him, and tilted its head as it cooed at him.

"I'm all right. It's Ginny we need to worry about it. I think she almost died. Do you know a way out? We should really get her to the hospital wing," Harry told Fawkes in a rush.

In answer the phoenix turned and held out its leg. Harry glanced at Fawkes skeptically but grabbed hold of his leg, and then got a firm hold on Ginny and the diary. He felt guilty about leaving the pieces of the suit in the chamber. Tony had spent time to make it especially for him. But it was utterly destroyed and there was no hope of repairing it. It was better to just make a new one. Besides there was no way he could carry all of the pieces, and Ginny. Fawkes swept quickly into the air. Harry's surroundings blurred as Fawkes flew faster.

The next thing he knew he was in Dumbledore's office. McGonagall was already there looking panicked. Apparently they had found a bloody message on the wall about a body lying in the Chamber of Secrets forever. The students had all immediately been accounted for, and it was discovered that Harry and Ginny were the only two missing. A search had started, and Fawkes had been sent to search as well, leading to their discovery.

He told Dumbledore everything that had happened to lead him to the Chamber while Ginny and he were taken to the hospital wing. McGonagall went to contact the Weasleys and Tony. Harry was actually more terrified of facing Tony than he was about facing the basilisk.

When Harry got to the part about the diary, Dumbledore frowned. He asked Harry if he had been able to understand the basilisk. Harry told him that he hadn't been. He hadn't been able to have a conversation with snakes since the one he'd had in the pet store at the beginning of summer. While researching the Chamber of Secrets Harry had learned that speaking to snakes was called Parseltongue and was primarily an ability from Salazar Slytherin's line. Harry had no idea where his ability had come from or why it had suddenly gone away. Harry blamed Loki but he didn't tell Dumbledore of his suspicions. Dumbledore seemed almost relieved to know that Harry couldn't speak Parseltongue.

Madam Pomfrey cleaned up both of them. She checked Ginny over and assured him that she was fine. She just needed sleep. Harry on the other hand needed a blood-replenishing potion and Madam Pomfrey had to use a healing spell to finally close the wound on his leg, which was probably going to leave a scar. She then gave him strict commands to sleep. She would wake him up when his father arrived. Harry decided he might as well get as much sleep as he could. He was definitely going to need it when he faced Tony.

/

Tony was used to being on his own. He'd spent most of his childhood alone. But he couldn't deny the fact that he had been feeling lonely ever since Harry had gone back to school. He never once thought that he would miss Harry's presence this much. The kid had only been in his life for a few short months, he shouldn't feel this sense of absence so strongly. But now he wasn't even sleeping. Nightmares about New York, and now about Sirius Black finding Harry plagued any attempts he made at sleep. His newest worry was the effects that Loki's meddling had had on Harry. He'd tried to get in contact with Thor but it wasn't exactly easy getting in touch with another realm.

He did his best to keep himself busy with projects. It was difficult though with the other Avengers off doing their own things, and Pepper was busy with the Stark Industries. Tony had a lot of free time on his hands now. He almost wished for a national catastrophe so that he would have something to do with himself, and take his mind off his problems. He could only tinker with his suits so many times before even that became boring. He had almost been thinking about going back to Malibu but he didn't want to leave the only place where Harry had actually lived with him. He liked going into his room and looking through some of the projects they had done together when he was feeling particularly sorry for himself.

So it came as something of a relief to him when Thor turned up on his roof one fine November day.

"Master Stark, Thor seems to have appeared on your roof," Jarvis informed.

Tony popped up from his workbench with a huge grin.

"Let him in, Jarvis," Tony practically skipped up to the penthouse.

Tony was relieved that Thor was here. He wondered if any of the messages he had attempted to send had worked or if the god was here on another matter entirely. Either way Tony was just glad that he was here.

Thor in his full armor, and red cape was standing in the middle of his living room when he arrived up in the penthouse. Things were looking more promising by the moment.

"Hey Point Break, what brings you to my humble abode?" Tony asked as he approached the God of Thunder.

"Friend Tony, I'm afraid I am not here for a social visit," Thor said looking uncharacteristically grave.

"Well, hey, do you need some help fighting trolls or something? I'd be willing to help but there's something I wanted to talk to you about first," Tony rubbed his hands together in anticipation of a fight.

"No, I am here about your son. Is he here?" Thor looked around expectantly.

"Harry? No, he's not. So you did get my messages?"

Thor frowned in confusion and such his head.

"I tried to send you some messages about Harry. I need some information and wanted to ask you some questions. So why do you want him?" Tony questioned. All of his earlier excitement had been replaced by uncertainty.

"My father has given me orders to bring Harry to Asgard as quickly as could be arranged."

"What! No, you can't just take my son!" Tony exploded, ready to do battle against the god. He was actually glad that Harry was at Hogwarts maybe the magical school would hide his son from the Asgardians.

"No, Tony, no we do not mean to take him forever. On this I give you my word. We want to help him and you. You would, of course, come with him," Thor placed a calming hand on Tony's shoulder.

Tony shrugged him off, "Explain."

"I told my father of what Loki had done to heal your son. He questioned Loki on what he had done as well. However, Loki refused to provide him all of the details. My father is concerned about what was done, and what Loki's intentions were in healing your son. He would like the chance to look Harry over himself," Thor explained.

"This was actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Harry told me a little bit about what happened when Loki healed him. Apparently Loki wasn't being completely honest about what he was doing. Shocker I know. I just wasn't expecting to have to travel to another world to do it. Does your dad think what Loki did was harmful?" Tony wanted to know.

"Not immediately, but it could have long lasting effects if it is not taken care of. My father does not wish for this to happen. Both he and my mother are very knowledgeable about such magicks. We also have many expert healers. They will be able to determine if what Loki has done to Harry is harmful or not. They do not think it is, but Loki may not have fully understood what he was doing and he may have accidentally made a mistake," Thor assured.

Tony sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He knew that Loki couldn't have been trusted. Any mistakes that were made were probably intentional knowing the little snake. But at the time he had been desperate. There had been no other immediate options. Harry would have died if he hadn't let Loki do what he did. Thor wasn't saying that what Loki had done was harmful but they just wanted to know for certain. How could Tony not agree to that? The King and Queen of Asgard were the best people he could hope for to help him figure out what was going on. It would be better to know and take care of it now rather than later.

"Right, fine, let's do this," Tony agreed.

"Do not worry, Man of Iron, we will make sure Harry is all right. He is wonderful boy. I would not want anything to happen to him," Thor reassured.

"He's at school so I'll just get in touch with them, and let them know I have to take him out of school for a bit. Any idea how long this is going to take?" Tony fired off a text to Coulson who was his contact in the magical world.

"I am not sure. It depends—"

Tony cut Thor off when he saw Coulson calling him.

"Stark," Tony answered.

"Mr. Stark, I was just about to call you," Coulson said.

"What's up?" Tony asked immediately not liking Coulson's cautious tone.

"There's been an… incident," Coulson replied carefully.

"What kind of incident?" Tony demanded his mind instantly going to Sirius Black.

"The kind with a giant snake attacking the school, a secret chamber, and Harry saving someone's life while fighting the giant snake," Coulson informed him.

"Right, well, you are going to give me all the details, now. And then you're going to get me one of those portal key things to get me to Hogwarts as soon as possible," Tony said tightly, trying and failing to remain calm.

"It'll be there in five minutes," Coulson told him before giving him the details of the situation. Tony listened as calmly as possible wondering how he hadn't been informed about a monster loose in the school and students being attacked. And why hadn't Harry told him about any of this?

"Tony?" Thor questioned looking concerned once he had hung up with Coulson.

"We're going to pick up Harry. Apparently he got into a fight with a basilisk. Ever heard of them?"

"They are a most dangerous beast. The older they are the powerful they become. Their eyes cause instant death to mortals and even cause Asgardians to fall into deep sleeps, which they can die from if not treated quickly. Young Harry came into contact with one?" Thor sounded impressed.

"He killed one," Tony said.

"What a great accomplishment for one so young. This is cause for celebration," Thor praised.

"Yeah, it's a celebration that he's alive. Not that he went after the thing in the first place," Tony growled.

"Young boys often want to prove their strength to their friends and to their fathers. I myself slew a dragon in my youth to prove my strength," Thor boasted.

"Harry should know that he doesn't have to prove anything to me."

"It takes many lessons before children find their way. It did for me. But then I would have never come to Midgard or met the Lady Jane," Thor flashed a sardonic grin.

Tony just ran his hand through his hair again. At this rate he'd be bald in no time. On the other hand he probably deserved a kid who was always in some sort of danger considering his own wild youth. He was just grateful when the portkey arrived. Thor seemed a little suspicious of it but didn't protest using it. That changed after they actually used it. Thor proclaimed that it was worse than using the Bifrost, and that he would not be doing it again under any circumstances. Tony supposed he had something to look forward to when they actually traveled to Asgard. If wizarding travel was worse than Asgardian he would be able to tolerate it.

Thor and Tony rode up to the castle in the carriages pulled by the skeletal horses. It was a little cramped in the carriage with the very large God of Thunder but he was too anxious to get to Harry to really feel too uncomfortable about being squished. It was really late or really early depending on the point of view. Not that it mattered since Tony hadn't been sleeping anyway. Minerva McGonagall met them at the front entrance to lead them to the infirmary. Her only reaction to Thor was to give him a quick double look. Other than that the stern witch was able to withhold her thoughts about the large Asgardian's presence. Thor was actually quite impressed with Hogwarts, and was almost childishly delighted by the moving staircases. Tony would have found it more hilarious if he wasn't here to check on his injured son.

Upon arrival to the infirmary Poppy Pomfrey, the school nurse, greeted Tony with a warm, reassuring smile. She gave him a rundown of Harry's condition to assure him that Harry was fine just tired. He'd had a nasty cut but she had taken care of it. She mentioned that Harry seemed to be healing quite quickly on his own. Tony caught Thor tensing up at that news. Tony would have to explain the rest of Harry's changes to him later. He hadn't had the chance to tell Thor anything before having to rush here. Thor gave him some space as he followed Madam Pomfrey over to the bed where Harry slept. Tony felt relief wash over him as he saw Harry sleeping peacefully on the bed and all in one piece. He couldn't help but notice that Harry had been right his hair was darker. It was black where before it had been a dark brown. To have proof of the actual changes was unnerving to witness.

Tony reached out to stroke his hair.

"Dad?" Harry murmured eyes fluttering open at the contact.

"Hey, kiddo," Tony whispered back.

"So you know," Harry said glumly.

"About you and the giant snake? Yeah, I know and I can't say that I'm too happy about it," Tony stated as he settled in the chair beside Harry's bed.

"Dad, I had to do something. I couldn't just leave Ginny. She—"

"You didn't have to go after it alone, Harry," Tony cut him off.

"I didn't, I was going to get help when I found it, I promise. But then Ginny or I guess Riddle possessing Ginny shoved me down the pipe. I tried to call you but Jarvis couldn't connect with the tower from under all the wards in the chamber," Harry defended in a rush.

"Slow down, just tell me the whole story. From start to finish don't leave anything out," Tony demanded.

Harry reluctantly told him the story of the writing on the wall, which led to the search for information on the Chamber of Secrets and the monster it was supposed to contain. Tony had to admit he was impressed with the way Harry had handled himself against the possessed diary spirit thing of Voldemort's but it didn't make up for the fact that he had been in danger to begin with.

"Don't ever do something that stupid again. You're going to turn me gray before my time. Then what will people say? They'll start calling me old," Tony shuddered.

"I can take care of myself," Harry jutted his chin out in a stubborn move Tony recognized all too well. "And you already have gray hair."

"Hey, there's no need for that, and it's not gray it's silver. And it makes me look distinguished," Tony cried unwilling smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "But seriously that doesn't mean you should go looking for danger."

"I wanted to solve the problem. No one else seemed to believe that the basilisk was real. No one else would listen and I couldn't sit around while people's lives were in danger," Harry pleaded.

"You can when it puts your own life at risk. You're all I've got, kiddo, I couldn't stand it if something happened to you. Promise me you won't put yourself in danger like that again."

"I can't do that. If someone is in danger I'm going to help them. I got that from you after all," Harry hinted slyly.

Tony sighed. How could he punish Harry for things he did himself? Tony was just as if not more reckless than him.

"Just promise me you'll be more careful if you get in a situation like that again, and that you'll at least try to get help next time. I don't want you looking for trouble," Tony persisted. After all he wasn't really mad at Harry about all this. He was angry with those in charge, however, for not taking care of this before Harry felt the need to step in himself.

"I can do that," Harry grinned.

Tony grinned and ruffled his hair.

"Good, now get some sleep. I'm going to talk with your Headmaster. We're going to Asgard," Tony nodded to Thor.

At finally being acknowledged Thor bounded over to them like an over eager golden retriever.

"Harry it is good to see you have survived your battle with the basilisk. There will be many on Asgard who would enjoy hearing about your defeat of it," Thor boomed.

"Thor!" Harry greeted with a large smile for the Norse god. "So we actually get to go to Asgard?"

"Yup, the All-Father wants to have a look into just what Loki did to you when he messed around with your magic. And I think we can all agree to get this checked out incase there are any long-term effects," Tony explained.

"Right, I can't believe I'll get to go to another realm," Harry agreed looking excited.

"I'll see you in a little bit. Get some rest," Tony kissed his forehead.

Tony pulled Thor aside, "Would stay with him? I need to go have a talk to his teachers."

"Of course, my friend, I will guard his bedside and ensure that no harm befalls him," Thor swore.

"Right, I'll be back," Tony was going to have a few words with Dumbledore and he didn't want Harry hearing about it.

He had been okay with Hogwarts before because he thought the place was safe from outside forces getting in. But two years in a row Harry had been in danger from things inside the school itself. Tony didn't want to smother his son or be a helicopter parent but Hogwarts just didn't seem like a good place for Harry to be anymore. He knew Harry might be upset but Tony was putting his foot down, and he was taking Harry out of Hogwarts. He'd find him a tutor or something.

Tony was briefly stopped in his mission by the Weasleys. They were utterly grateful about Harry saving Ginny but they didn't seem to be too concerned about the event happening in the first place. They seemed convinced that the school had done all they could. In fact wizards in general seemed to have a blasé attitude to the whole event. The school hadn't even shut down when two students were attacked and someone threatened the school. Tony would have thought some sort of investigation should have been performed, and the school checked to rule out all possibilities. This convinced Tony it was time to take Harry out of Hogwarts.

Albus Dumbledore found him just as Tony was leaving the hospital wing "Mr. Stark."

"Headmaster Dumbledore," Tony said coolly.

"I can see you would like to speak with me," Dumbledore said regarding him cautiously.

"You bet I do," Tony said stiffly.

"We can talk as we walk," Dumbledore offered genially.

"Perfect," Tony followed him into the hallway.

"You're upset about the basilisk," Dumbledore stated calmly.

"Damn right I am. My son could have died today, and I didn't know anything about it," Tony snapped.

"We weren't trying to keep the events that took place a secret, Mr. Stark. The problem was that we weren't sure what was causing students to be petrified. The ministry was convinced that Sirius Black was behind the attacks. I wasn't convinced and did my best to look into the matter myself while trying not to alert the ministry."

"Harry was convinced that he was the only one who thought the attacks were more than a prank," Tony glanced at Dumbledore to gauge his reaction to his statement.

"Yes, we didn't want to panic the students. With just one attack that is what seemed to be the most likely option that one student was trying to scare the rest of the school. However, the ministry became fixated on Sirius Black. They wanted to send dementors, ghastly creatures not fit to be around children, to guard the school. Unfortunately, these matters kept me away from Hogwarts so I was not able to notice the signs," Dumbledore said sadly.

Tony sighed, "I know there's probably a lot more to the situation than I understand. I know wizards do things a bit differently, and I know everyone has a few idiot politicians they have to deal with. But the point of the matter is that whatever system you've got in place is just not working for my son."

"You mean to remove Harry from Hogwarts?" Dumbledore questioned in obvious shock.

"Yeah, I do. I don't like seeing my son once every four months, and I don't like him being involved in a world that just thinks of me as some muggle," Tony confessed.

"I understand your reasons Mr. Stark, but are you certain this is the wisest choice? Harry has friends here, and he will receive a good education here," Dumbledore argued.

"I can get a tutor and he can stay in contact with his friends. I'm not cutting him off completely," Tony replied.

"This event has come as a shock to you. If you give it some time you may change your mind," Dumbledore tried.

"No, I really don't think so. I've been thinking of it for a while. This is just the straw that broke the camel's back," Tony said firmly.

"I see, simply know then that Harry always has a place here," Dumbledore told him, his blue eyes finally losing their twinkle as he realized he was out of options.

"I appreciate that, and I'm sorry that it has to be this way," Tony did feel bad about taking Harry from a place he loved so much.

"As am I," Dumbledore agreed.

"Now, I need to grab Harry's things."

"I'll have the house-elves bring them to the infirmary. Will you be leaving right away?"

"We're actually going to visit a friend. He came with me and I think he's eager to get going, so yeah as soon as we have his things we'll be leaving," Tony said.

"I'll get Harry's friends then so that they can say goodbye," Dumbledore said before sweeping off down the hallway.

Tony turned back to the infirmary. He had no idea how he was going to break the news to Harry. As he entered the hospital wing he wasn't surprised to see Harry awake with Thor regaling him with tales from his adventures in Asgard.

"Dad," Harry grinned at him looking a bit sheepish to have been caught awake.

"Hey kiddo, there's something I want to talk to you about," Everyone immediately caught on to the seriousness of Tony's voice and they gave the two of them some space.

"What is it?" Harry asked wearily.

"You know we're leaving for Asgard as soon as possible, right?" Harry nodded his understanding. "But we're not coming back."

"We're not coming back to Earth? Or I'm not coming to Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"You're not coming back to Hogwarts," Tony said steadily but firmly.

Harry was silent for a moment. "Is this because of the basilisk?"

"Sort of. But it's also because I don't like seeing you once every five months. We've already missed so much time together. I don't want to miss anymore," Tony said sincerely.

"Okay," Harry agreed.

"Just like that? No fight? No yelling?" Tony asked in surprise.

"I think you're right. It's a good idea. I mean I love Hogwarts, and my friends. It will always be a place that I can call home. But I have new home now, and a new family. I don't want to miss out on any of your adventures. Besides, I've really missed you, too," Harry admitted.

"I'm glad to hear it," Tony grinned and ruffled his hair. He glanced behind him, and noticed that Dumbledore had arrived with Harry's two best friends. "Your friends are here to say goodbye. I'll leave you to it."

Tony stepped back so that the three of them could have a private moment. Harry started telling them about his adventure with the basilisk. Tony knew when he told them about leaving Hogwarts because Hermione started to cry.

"The two of you can come to visit whenever you want to," Tony reassured them.

"We'll still miss you," Hermione cried.

"I'll miss you, too. Here take my mobile phone that way we can stay in touch," Harry pulled out the phone from his robes and passed it over to Hermione.

"We'll keep you updated with everything. You know if Snape's being more of git or if Fred and George prank the Slytherins," Ron grinned.

"Right," Harry grinned.

There was another round of hugs, and then they were ready to go. Thor grabbed Harry's trunk up like it was nothing, and Tony helped Harry up. Tony would have waited to let Harry rest a bit more but he really didn't want to wait around at Hogwarts after the awkward conversation with Dumbledore. He was angry and upset with the wizarding world, and didn't want to keep Harry here any longer than was necessary.

They made their way off school grounds so they could take the portkey back to the tower. Thor wasn't thrilled by it but he agreed it was the fastest way. They both agreed that they would leave for Asgard the next morning. He wanted to give Harry the chance to rest some more, and get everything in order before leaving for an unknown amount of time to a mythical realm. Tony also wanted to update Coulson on the events that had happened to Harry while he had been in the chamber. Coulson had thanked him for the new information, and assured him that he would start looking up different possibilities on this could have occurred. Thor was happy enough to sit around and eat Tony's large supply of Poptarts.

Tony found himself much more relaxed with Harry in the house. He set the two of them up on the couch and popped in a movie. Thor joined them. Tony stroked his fingers through Harry's soft hair, and tried not to think about the implications of the change to the color of his hair. Tony was certain that no matter what happened, no matter what they discovered when they went to Asgard, he would love Harry regardless. Harry was his son and nothing could change that.

/

Severus Snape was doing what he did best. He was hunched over a large cauldron making a potion. It was in the very early hours of the morning, and he was slaving away to finish the last stages of the extremely delicate potion. He had been working on this potion for the last three weeks. He had been planning on using it to prove a point; although, it seemed like it was too late for that. The Potter brat, for that's who he still believed he was, had left Hogwarts, permanently. Severus was glad to see him go but he would have preferred for it to have been after he had proven the truth to the world.

Severus didn't believe Tony Stark, the smug bastard. He didn't believe that Harry Potter was anything other than the spawn of James Potter. They had the same smug attitude and stupid Gryffindorish bravery, not to mention the same black hair. The boy was his and Severus was going to prove it to get back Lily's good name. He wanted to shame Tony Stark for ever having said otherwise.

Lily would have never been unfaithful, and if she had she certainly wouldn't have chosen anyone like Stark. Severus would have never believed that he would find a man he disliked more than James Potter or Sirius Black but Stark had proven him wrong. Severus had enough knowledge of the muggle world, being a half-blood, and he had looked up Tony Stark. The man was an even more arrogant and selfish arse than James Potter, which was quite the accomplishment in Severus's book. The man had had a string of sordid love affairs, and an innumerable amount of drunken escapades. Stark was a waste of a human being, and Severus couldn't stand the thought of Lily's reputation being besmirched by his outlandish claims. James Potter was practically seen as a saint now for dying for a cheating wife and a baby that wasn't his.

For these reasons Severus had brewed a genealogy potion. The last ingredient he needed to add was the pieces of hair he had collected from the boy. Pleased with the success of the potion he ladled some out into a smaller vial. Then he put the hairs in, and swirled the vial until it turned the appropriate violet color. Severus then pulled out a piece of parchment, and let three drops of the potion fall onto it.

Severus stepped back to watch as Potter's lineage was written out before his eyes. Branches and names formed as his genealogy to his grandparents, including any aunts and uncles, was revealed. Once it was finished Severus picked up the parchment to have a closer look, and nearly dropped it again in utter shock. As he had expected Lily's name was listed as one of Harry's parents with Lily's parent's names attached to Lily's own and Pentunia's beside Lily's. Then, disappointingly, Tony Stark's name was also attached to Harry's as one of his parents. But this was not what had made Severus drop the parchment. No, that honor belonged to the third name attached to Harry's in the slot reserved just for his parents. According to this chart Harry had three biological parents. It was impossible but Severus knew he had brewed the potion correctly, and that results had to be correct. It seemed that Harry Stark had somehow ended up with three parents.

Now, if only he could remember where he had the third name. It was oddly familiar and not just because it was the name of Norse god. Severus sighed. He felt like he had failed Lily. But there was nothing he could do. He couldn't change anything. Still, he decided he would keep the information about the third parent to himself. Harry Stark's parentage was already enough of a circus. Severus didn't need to feed the flames.

Thanks for reading!