Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, nil, need I say more? All belongs to J.K Rowling, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Marvel, and Disney
Warning: Some angst.
A/N: I' sorry this is so late but my family went on vacation for a week then my sister was moving into her dorm and now I'm getting ready to move back to the dorms too so the past three weeks have been very crazy. Expect updates to be rather slow from here on out though, as I will be focusing a lot on my studies.
I also finally have an idea on who Harry is related to but that won't come into play for a while. I'm just not sure if it's absolutely brilliant or absolutely insane. I'm rather worried that it won't go over well but the idea popped into my head and I liked it. Other than that though the plot is coming along nicely. I am not entirely happy with this chapter, but it sets the scene for the next few chapters. Also I know I tend to ramble in my notes but I do occasionally put important things in here. So skim people. It isn't necessary to read the entire thing but if you don't at least skim you may miss something important.
Avengers POV (during Harry's visit to Central Park, after Fury visits Neo)
The Avengers were once again sitting in the Helicarrier conference room. Janet and Hank were also present. Shortly after Harry had been dropped off, they had been notified of a meeting with Fury. As usual everyone except for Tony arrived on time. The millionaire arrogantly strolled in twenty minutes after they were set to arrive.
"Sit down Stark!" barked Fury.
"Keep your hair on, oh right, you don't have any" snarked Tony.
"Tony, do all of us a favor and shut up" Janet said, rolling her eyes at the inventor.
"Yes Tony shut up" said Clint.
"Fine." Tony said, folding his arms across his chest.
"Loki's move into the tower has been delayed. You have nine more days" announced Fury.
"What?" asked Tony.
"Why?" asked Clint.
"Why is my brother not to be moved?" asked Thor, worried that Loki was up to his old tricks.
"So we can make accommodations for Pym and Van Dyne. Both have given full Avengers status. They are still probationary though and can choose whether they want to reside at the Tower or not. Also Potter is being assigned a tutor. His name is Arya Caldwell and he will be arriving in a week. He is to stay at the Tower as well." stated Fury.
"Hey wait a minute my tower is crowded enough as is now you want to add three more people?" demanded Tony.
"Relax, Tony, Hank and I have our own place to crash." Janet said, rolling her eyes again.
"Stark, the Tower has more than 60 floors. Plus you set aside a dozen floors for Avengers use besides, there are at least five more guest rooms" said Clint.
"Yeah, but it's still my tower. I don't want any strangers in my tower" said Tony petulantly.
"Arya is an American citizen. We have an extensive file." Fury said. Tony looked slightly mollified at this.
"Well, all right." said Tony, after a few more minutes of thought. He did have enough space for at least a dozen more people but he really didn't want any more unknowns in his tower. He was quite certain that Fury had an ulterior motive in all this he just hadn't figured out what it was.
"I'm surprised you aren't putting up more a fight" Clint said, looking at Tony suspiciously.
"He's secretly hoping the new guest is talented in the kitchen." said Natasha.
"If he is we'll be set for life." Clint said, causing Natasha to roll her eyes at him.
"Men, all you ever think with is your stomachs" said Janet.
"No sometimes we think about sex too" said Clint, he was then smacked by Natasha, hard across the back of his head.
"Men" huffed Janet.
"Caldwell will be arriving early. Arrangements for his transportation have already been made. And please try to be discreet this time. I'm still dealing with the press from when you picked Potter up from the airport" said Fury.
Steve shot Tony an I-told-you-so look which Tony returned with an I-don't-really-care shrug. Steve glared at Tony who rolled his eyes. Janet eyed both men and wondered if Rogers would burst a vessel if Tony continues his antics. She knew Tony well as they were both part of the same social circle, sadly that didn't make him easier to deal with. Fury must have sensed the oncoming fight as he started speaking again.
"Try to keep a low profile around the kid. We don't need the public getting to curious about him, so keep him out of the limelight Stark" said Fury, addressing most of his remark to the millionaire.
"Well if that's it I think I'll be going I have a meeting with people" said Tony.
"We're done people" said Fury.
The rest of the team quickly went in their separate directions for the day. Though all of them would be back at the house at around the same time to make it for dinner. Even Clint and Natasha who would normally have been out on missions. Neither had received any long-termed missions for the time-being, actually they weren't really receiving many missions at all. While it was odd both spies were appreciating the downtime. The rest of the team was in a similar state of mind though they all new the quiet they had enjoyed for the past few days would be coming to an end soon.
Harry's POV (a week later)
A week passed since Harry's arrival at Avengers Tower. Harry found himself settling into his new life surprisingly well. He started to establish a new routine. He would train when he got up then take a shower. Then he would spend some time reading until everyone was up. His morning routine tended to vary a little depending on what time he woke up.
At the moment Harry lay on his bed flicking through A Guide to Wizarding New York. It was an interesting read. He was learning a lot and he was very thankful Kieran had bought it. He started when his alarm clock went off, then rolled off his bed and headed upstairs to make breakfast. He had been making breakfast as well as dinner every day since his arrival. It was not like he had much else to do (he wanted to wait until he had another wizard with him before he went exploring). He also found that he enjoyed cooking for the team. The constant banter reminded him painfully of old times, and yet, it was oddly comforting at the same time.
He did have to cook more than he ever had to for the Dursleys, but he had some help. Pepper insisted that he have an assistant, aside from JARVIS, help him in the kitchen. It was usually Steve as he was the only one who could actually cook. The rest of the team just barely managed not to blow up the kitchen when they tried to help. Steve could cook as long as he wasn't using anything that Tony had built. Harry didn't mind as he got along with Steve quite well.
"Good morning Harry. You will to set two extra places at the table. Your tutor is arriving this morning along with an agent from SHIELD." said JARVIS, startling Harry from his thoughts.
"All right thanks JARVIS" said Harry.
He set two more plates on the table while Steve chopped ingredients and kept an eye on the bacon. Harry returned and started the eggs, mixed batter for pancakes, and turned the sausage. He was planning a large spread of bacon, toast, pancakes, omelets, sausage, oatmeal, fruit salad, and muffins. He usually kept breakfast fairly simple but he felt the need to do something special as they were having guests.
Once the table was set to his satisfaction Harry sat down. Bruce was on his left and Steve on his right. The chair directly in front of him and the one to its left were empty. He assumed this was where the guests would be sitting.
"Agent Coulson has arrived with a guest." JARVIS announced.
"We're not here" said Tony.
"Let them in please JARVIS" said Pepper as she elbowed Tony in the side.
"They are on their way, Ms. Potts" said JARVIS.
Harry moved his food around with his fork idly. His eyes were trained on the door. He was a bit curious to see who the new guests were. He could feel reproachful stares as he continued to push his food around. Everyone had remarked or commented on his thinness at least once (Pepper kept insisting that he didn't eat enough which reminded him painfully of another red headed woman). He found this irritating. He was not that thin; his ribs were no longer visible, and he was even starting to put on some muscle.
"Hello" said Agent Coulson. Harry recognized him from their brief meeting on his third day with the Avengers. He grinned at the agent but felt it slide off his face as he saw the man standing next to Coulson. Harry had seen him during the Final Battle. Harry tensed as he remembered watching Hogwarts crumble; the desperation to move only to find someone holding him back.
"What are you doing here?" demanded Harry. He had never learned the man's name but Harry had seen him around a few times after the battle. The man had stuck around for some of the funerals before disappearing. Harry had wanted to talk with the man after he had been revived but it had never happened. He took a deep breath as he felt the edges of the table digging into his hands.
The others blinked with shock.
"This is Arya Caldwell" said Coulson in a transparent attempt to dissipate some of the tension in the room.
"I'm your new tutor and right now I think it best if we continue this discussion privately" said Caldwell cheerfully.
"Fine, follow me" said Harry, he wanted answers.
He ignored the confused and worried looks everyone directed at him as he led Caldwell downstairs. Harry kept glancing back to make sure that Caldwell wasn't about to curse him. Caldwell didn't seem the least bit perturbed by Harry's behavior, if anything he looked amused. If anything this nonchalant attitude just made Harry warier. He closed the door with a slam and he saw Caldwell palm his wand. Harry eyed it with distrust and felt his own wand in his palm. Caldwell casted a mild privacy charm then motioned for Harry to speak. Harry did so gladly because he was bursting with questions.
"Who are you? Why did you stun me? Why did you disappear? What are you doing here now?" asked Harry once the door was closed.
"I'm Arya Caldwell. I stunned you because you were being stubborn. I had other business to attend to. I wanted to visit New York, a friend asked me a favor, and I felt like it" replied Caldwell easily.
"Did Neo send you?" asked Harry, not satisfied by the answers he'd been given.
"Well, Neo hired me but I sent myself here. You may not like me but you are stuck with me. We're going to be spending a lot of time together though so I suggest we try to get along" said Caldwell.
"You stunned me" said Harry incredulously.
"You were being difficult, if I hadn't you would have been a Potter pancake." said Caldwell.
"I could have saved them" snapped Harry, though he knew this wasn't true even as he said it. At that point it had been too late, but there were several things he could have done. He was responsible for the Hogwarts massacre. He had decided to return to the castle and finish the fight. And his decision got everyone killed.
"Fine then it was my fault everyone died because I stunned you, happy?" asked Caldwell, his tone was colored with exasperation.
"No" said Harry quietly. Nothing short of having his friends back would make him happy. He knew that this would never happen as no magic could recall the dead, at least not properly. He felt weary and he realized that his potion was wearing off. It was a modified calming draught that he took that morning which usually kept him from being overwhelmed. The shock of seeing Arya again must have made it wear off.
"Well I just admitted that you were right and you're still not happy because?" said Caldwell, raising an eyebrow at Harry.
"You're a git" said Harry.
"I know I am but what are you?" asked Caldwell.
"I am going back upstairs" replied Harry.
"What? You were raring to go now and now you're all gloomy. Are you on something?" asked Caldwell.
"I'm fine" sad Harry shortly.
"All Mr. Mood Swing, we'll go back upstairs."
That said, Caldwell immediately let himself out of the room and back upstairs. Harry trailed behind him trying to keep his mind busy by thinking about his new tutor. He didn't know Caldwell very well but the man was familiar, just in a way that he couldn't place. As if Caldwell was someone he had met before the Final Battle. It would come to him eventually, but for now he would err on the side of caution. Harry dismissed all the stares he was getting as he walked into the kitchen behind Caldwell. Caldwell took the seat next to Pepper, directly across from him, with Coulson sitting on his left.
"This looks delicious" said Caldwell as he sat down.
"What were you talking about?" asked Tony. Pepper stomped on his foot though the rest of the table looked curious.
"Lessons" lied Caldwell smoothly, "and you seem to be in need of one in manners Mr. Stark"
Everyone started laughing at that. Caldwell smirked at the indignant glare that Tony shot at him. Harry had to admit things were definitely going to be more interesting with Caldwell around. His personality was a bit too similar to Tony's for there to be any semblance of peace in the tower. He just hoped that the tower would stay standing.
"So do you have any plans for the day?" asked Pepper.
"Yes I plan to start our lessons with a walk through history of New York. After that I have made arrangements for a place to hold practical lessons." said Caldwell.
"That sounds great" said Pepper.
"I will be holding some practical lessons at the tower as well, but that won't be until later." said Caldwell.
Harry finished his toast and quietly walked his plate to the sink. He was looking forward to his lessons despite his reservations about his teacher. He was also going to finally be able to explore New York some more. Harry watched as Caldwell meticulously peeled and cut an apple as he chatted with Tony. While he didn't trust the team explicitly, he felt they were a fair bit more trustworthy than Caldwell. He found that Steve, Thor, and Bruce were both quite honest; Tony and Clint needed to have an eye kept on them because of their perchance for mischief; Natasha and Pepper he generally interacted very little with. He struck up a conversation with Steve who was eyeing Caldwell with trepidation.
"So have you got any special missions for the day?" asked Harry.
"Not really, your new tutor is…different." said Steve.
"Yeah well between him and Tony it will be a miracle if this place stays standing" said Harry.
"Don't say that hopefully Pepper will keep them in line." said Steve.
"I thought that was your job" said Harry wryly.
"Yes, but Pepper's much better at it. She's the only one he actually bothers listening to" said Steve.
"It helps that she threatened to neuter him and everyone on the team if they so much as dent the new building" said Harry, remembering an argument shortly after he met Coulson. Tony had decided to start a game of touch football with Clint. It had been fine until Thor had joined. The thunder god managed to knock two windows out, fry the couch, and smash several small tables. The repairs had taken two days to complete.
"That does help. Pepper can be absolutely terrifying." agreed Steve.
"True" muttered Harry, he would poke a sleeping dragon before he would willingly incur that woman's wrath.
"I don't envy anyone on the bad end of her temper" muttered Steve.
"True but most of the time whoever does deserves it" said Harry.
"What about Tony?" asked Steve.
Harry knew the blonde was thinking about how often Tony seemed to be on the receiving end of Pepper's temper. The millionaire had the innate ability to anger Pepper far better than anyone else. In fact, Tony seemed prone to fits of foot-in-mouth syndrome around his girlfriend. It reminded him sorely of Hermione and Ron.
"Well he seems to be the exception then again Tony has proven he possesses the ability to annoy even inanimate objects" said Harry grinning.
"True he does seem very good at causing endless amounts frustration." said Steve.
Harry nodded. He saw Caldwell stand up and take his knife to towards the sink. He watched as the door that separated the kitchen from the dining room swung closed. A few minutes the door swung open and Caldwell walked behind him.
"Hey pipsqueak let's go" said Caldwell.
Harry scowled at the tutor. He didn't like being referred to by his height. It was a bit of a sore spot. He wanted to argue against leaving but as he had already finished eating he had no excuse. He was tempted to ask one Coulson or one of the team to come with them but decided against it. He got up reluctantly and followed Caldwell to the elevator. He wondered briefly what the day would hold for him.
A/N 2: Next chapter someone spills the magic beans, will there be a beanstalk?
Shameless plug alert! If you're looking for some really awesome Avenger one shots try All About Harry by Kefalion (which partially inspired me to write my own series of one-shots Harry Situations, though Kefalion's is markedly better than mine). Also I have posted a series of one-shot that serve as companions to this story. Another reason it took so long for this chapter to come out. It's mostly just background, but there will be the occasional outtake and various extras. It's called Companion to Finding Family. I had a really good name but I forgot what it was so I just went with that instead.
Also the Avengers bit was supposed to be in the last chapter, but I was running out of time so I just tacked it onto this chapter instead. And I wasn't sure about Steve's age so I just used my best guess.
I've heard from a few authors that SOPA is being circulated again. People who don't make money and are just having fun with their favorite characters should be allowed to continue doing so. Just a heads up. Here's a link to a petition, just erase the spaces: petitions. whitehouse. gov/ petition/ stop-sopa-2013/ LMzMVrQF
I was feeling cranky when I wrote this response earlier and I am not feeling all that charitable still, four hours of sleep over forty-eight hours will do that to you. So OCs don't like then don't read this is a work of fanfiction hence there will be that element of change in it. I am not the original creator of these characters any more than anyone else on this sight is so I am free to take my imagination and run with it. This story is coming together slowly so certain things are still not clear yet. As things continue the more important parts of the OCs will be made clearer. I had more stuff to say in this vein but I forgot what it was. If I remember I will add it later probably.
Neo and Dawn are also very much necessary because most canon characters over Fred and George's age died. I don't believe in bringing back officially dead characters so the OCs are here to stay. I will say this is honestly been more trouble than it's worth. I started this story for FUN! Yes I understand some people seem to disagree with me and to them I say try Voltaire. That said I am not going to quit but if you disagree with me and I you then...well I think you get my drift...