Disclaimer: Just like everybody else posting on ff. net, I do not own the copyrights of either Harry Potter or Iron Man. Actually I don't own any copyrights of anything. What I do own is an imagination and a laptop.
Summary: Harry was born a hermaphrodite but kept it a secret. He used his alternative identity as a woman to escape the nosy British wizards and settles in the States. There he met a handsome young genius who even though a complete womanizer and a snob manages to capture Harry's attention. And vice versa.
Universe&Timeline: Follows HP books, set after DH; Follows IM movies, set a few years before the IM1 plot.
Main pairing: Harry(Helena)/Tony
A/N: Went to see Iron Man 2. I found it tad dodgy from trailer, but the movie itself was awesome! And the best part? It would so fit my plot, even if some lil' things are gonna have to be a tad hurried. About updates… well I suck with deadlines. Actually I have chronic tardiness. True story, my school records say I'm late for every 1st class since… 7th grade I think. I'll try to hurry the next update :D
Posted: 23.05.10
Harry stepped on the pedal and accelerated the speed. Taking one look at the rearview mirror, he saw that Happy had some trouble keeping up. Smirking, Harry put on even more speed. Happy turned. Harry pouted, but there's nothing to do about Happy having to bring the car back to the company, and Harry Tony's sleek vehicle back to his house. But this was more fun with someone chasing!
All too soon Harry pulled into Tony's garage that was also his workshop. He parked, turned off the engine and got out of the car.
"Jarvis, can you hear me?" Harry asked a bit skeptically.
Several lights came to life.
"Since you have entrance here, why not?"
Harry shook his head and smiled.
"Could you notify me once Tony gets home?"
"Certainly."
"Thank you, Jarvis."
With that Harry Apparated home, not noticing the slight flicker on Jarvis's computer screen.
Harry was taking a shower. The one thing he missed about having short hair was that it was a lot easier to maintain. He had never had to worry about split ends and his hair never bothered him by getting stuck on his face. He used to have to choose his conditioner and shampoo carefully, until he invented his own brand that, while took awhile to apply properly, took care of the split ends and made it look all shiny. On the other hand, while the maintenance was a pain, the taming was a hell a lot easier. Harry's hair naturally held in a way that was somewhere between wavy and curly- the way a lot of women could spend hours trying to achieve. All he had to do was run a comb through and he was set to go.
Rinsing the last of the bubbles out, Harry turned to another pain: shaving. Because he was both a man and a woman his hair growth was also stuck somewhere in between. There was a stripe of hair growing from under his bellybutton, and also some around his chin. Thankfully that was all. He didn't know what he'd do if he actually had to shave his entire jaw or, heaven forbid, chest. Shudder. That could hurt, since he had a pair of sensitive boobs for crying out loud.
When that was done, Harry toweled his hair dry. Yes, toweled! Blow-dryer took out certain necessary nutrients and made his hair dry, and spelling his hair dry made it mat together, making combing it nearly impossible.
Harry was halfway through with applying make-up when Kreatcher came in with a phone.
"Mistress's friend missus Potts is on the phone, mistress."
"Ah, okay. Give it here."
Kreatcher gave Harry the phone and left. Harry took the phone on one hand and continued applying mascara with the other.
"Hey, Pepper. What's up?"
"Hey, Helena. Since the boss is out, it's relatively quiet here, so I was hoping you'd like to have some breakfast with me. Had it yet?"
"Oh, sure, I'd love to. When and where?"
After Harry got the coordinates, he finished up quickly and went to have breakfast. Knowing what a pain it was to find a decent place to park in the city, he voted to have Kreatcher drive him. He was greeted by Pepper on the way to the restaurant. They greeted each other with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Hey, Helena. Hungry?"
"A little. You?"
"Starved. I started early today and haven't had a chance to grab anything yet."
"I thought you said it's quiet now that the boss is out. Why didn't you just sleep in?"
"You're kidding, right? I'm practically running his company for him; right now I just don't have to run his personal affairs for him as extra."
"Jesus Christ! How are you not dead on your feet?"
"By being a coffee addict. I practically need a cup before bed!"
Harry winced. Tony was a good man, but he was hopeless in some cases. Harry could think of only one thing to say in this situation.
"I'm buying."
"Why do you think I asked you to join me?" Pepper replied cheekily.
Harry mock gasped and punched Pepper's arm playfully.
"Pepper! Is that all I am to you? Hehe, I think you're staring to pick up some of Tony's charming personality."
"Well, somebody's got to fill in when he's away. Just watch, before long I'll be taking women to my bed."
Harry cracked up. Meanwhile they got to order their food and dig in. They were halfway finished when a man in a black suit showed up.
"Miss Potts?" Ha asked.
"Yes." Pepper asked the Stark Industries employee (nametag said it).
The man leaned over and whispered something onto her ear. In answer Pepper rolled her eyes.
"Great, Mr. Stark went missing again. He'll show up in a day or so, with lipstick on his collar."
Harry rolled his eyes too. That sounded like Tony, alright.
"Not this time, Miss Potts. His convoy was ambushed by some… locals on his way back to base."
Harry dropped his glass. It fell to the floor and shattered.
"What do you mean 'ambushed'?" Pepper asked.
"There was an armed attack. All of the bodies have been confirmed and there are no survivors, except for maybe one missing person."
"Stark…" Pepper whispered.
Pepper gripped the table and stared into space. She just couldn't believe it. Tony Stark, who didn't seem to have any bad luck whatsoever, seemed to fall into what many people only see in nightmares. It just didn't seem logical. She was pulled out of her shock, however, when she heard hyperventilation coming from in front of her. She raised her gaze to see Helena rapidly breathing while fanning herself with one hand and clutching her chest with the other. Her eyes were in tears, but none of them escaped down her cheeks.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Pepper exclaimed and was up on her feet and next to Helena immediately.
"Okay, okay, you need to calm down. We don't need two funerals." That, apparently, was the wrong thing to say as the brunette started hyperventilating with a whine. On top of that they were starting to have audience.
"Oh, shi- Helena! Tony's fine. He's just fine, you hear? He's Tony Stark, he can do anything."
All of a sudden, Helena stopped breathing and went completely still.
When Harry first heard that Tony was missing, and possibly dead, it seemed like his nervous system shut down. No way! He was through losing people who were dear to him, this couldn't be happening! Not again! Before he knew it, he was having a panic attack for the first time in his life.
Vaguely he registered someone patting him on the back and telling him something, but all he could hear was his own blood flushing through his ears and a mantra of 'no, no, no' echoing through his mind. But through the fog of panic one word was able to penetrate through: funeral. Needless to say, that didn't make him feel any better.
He didn't want to lose Tony! He had lost so many people dear to him already. To think that he could never see his face if he did di… Or not. Harry calmed down.
He may have to return to England for this.
"Pepper?"
"Helena! Jesus, you scared me for a moment. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I… I think I want to go home."
"Okay."
Pepper ended up having to pay for both their meals.
Despite having bathed barely hours ago, Harry could be found standing under a shower after Pepper got him home. Harry needed time to think, but first he needed to clear his head and freezing water did that well. After that was achieved, Harry quickly dried and dressed, not bothering to completely dry his hair. He briskly walked to the greenhouse and took on a simple maintenance chore and allowed himself to think.
They said that there were no survivors with only one possible exception. Tony had led a comfortable life and was stranger to hardships, so wherever he was it probably wasn't good in any way. Whether or not he was alive was unknown. And that was what Harry found the most frustrating. Having lost many people he cared about Harry was no stranger to the pain that came from a deceased one, but this question mark above Tony's well being prevented Harry from mourning.
What was Harry to do? Mourn someone who was not dead, or wait for someone who wouldn't ever return? This didn't sound appealing in the slightest.
But even if Tony was dead, Harry felt like he needed to see him at least one more time. Hence why he may need to return to England. Oh how he regretted throwing the Resurrection Stone away now. Oh, he wasn't planning on actually reviving Tony; that would only lead to more heartache. He just wanted to temporarily summon him from the afterlife- just once.
But now the problem was that he actually had to come to face his old life. Oy vey.
It took Harry nearly an entire month to finally get the courage to return to his homeland. And right now he was walking out of the airport. Home, sweet home my ass. Harry thought. London brought back nothing but bad memories.
"Are we going back to Grimmuald now, mistress?" Asked Kreatcher, who had accompanied Harry on his trip.
Harry let out an irritated sigh.
"There's really no other option. You're going to get to see your old mistress soon."
Harry grimaced at the thought of going back to that house, but it didn't look like he had any other option. Kreatcher, on the other hand, was so excited he looked ready to pop. The two walked into one of London's many crooked back alleys and disappeared into thin air.
The duo reappeared in front of the old familiar house of Grimmuald Place. Nothing had changed; it looked as dreary as ever. Kreatcher opened the front door and stepped aside to let Harry go in. The insides were the same as ever, except a bit dustier. Thank god for small miracles: no one was using the house! From the looks of it the house hadn't been inhabited since Harry left the place.
"Could you fix up Sirius' old room for me before going to see your old mistress, Kreatcher?"
"Of course, mistress. Kreatcher will do right away, mistress."
The once tall, elderly looking butler had stripped his disguise and was looking like a house elf once again. He grabbed the luggage and disappeared.
Harry sighed and started walking around the house, all the while randomly throwing cleaning charms here and there to get rid of the dust. He came upon a big mirror. Harry looked at his reflection miserably. With another sigh he brought his wand near his head.
"Diffindo."
Several of his long locks fell to the ground.
Harry was looking at the full length mirror. The make-up was off, hair cropped short, T-shirt and trousers, no dresses, no accessories, and the old pair of round glasses on his nose. Well, actually, the glasses were just for show since he had his eyes fixed a few moths after moving to Malibu. Laser surgery rocked! But that aside, Harry still thought he looked different than he used to. No matter who he had been before, right now he looked far too feminine still. Well, he had always been a scrawny kid, but now as a man he should look a little bit more masculine. Of course for a woman Harry had a strong physique, but for a male… well, you get the picture. He just in case had a bandage wrapped around his chest to… minimize… aspects. With a huff Harry pulled a jacket on and Apparated away.
Harry appeared in front of a large manor. He stood there for a minute, letting the memories wash over him. Let's only hope this encounter will be better that the last time he was here. Who was he kidding? That at least was guaranteed. With a deep breath he rang the bell of the large door.
A house elf opened the door.
"Hello. Is Draco here?"
The little being squeaked and stepped back to let Harry in. She closed the door behind him and popped away. For a moment Harry stood in complete silence. Well, this is creepy.
"Mr. Potter… The look doesn't flatter you."
Harry turned to look at Draco who looked as smug as ever.
"I don't like it either, but unfortunately it's necessary."
"I must say I didn't expect to see you here. With the way you looked so… comfortable with your new life."
"Trust me, there's trouble even in paradise. How's Astoria?"
Draco's face started twitching.
"Whatever you do, don't mention babies near her. She had a miscarriage."
There is a saying keep your friends close but your enemies closer. Whatever the case Draco thought he knew Harry rather well, so he really didn't expect the feminine man to throw his arms around him and start slobbering all over him.
"Whoa, what's this all about?"
"I'm sorry." Harry all but cried and took a step back.
Harry took a few deep breaths to calm himself.
"Tony's missing."
Draco raised his brow elegantly.
"So? He's a muggle, right? Just use a locator charm or…"
"He went missing in Afghanistan."
"… Oh."
Afghanistan really wasn't a good place for European wizards to be. It was kind of like the Bermuda Triangle, full of wild, untamed magic. For people like Draco and Harry who tamed their magic, going to Afghanistan would be like jumping into a tornado. The small amount of native wizards didn't actually wield magic, but let magic wield them.
"Well, I don't see any way I could help you in that way." Draco said sympathetically.
Harry sighed unhappily.
"I didn't dare hope that you could. The main reason I'm here is to tell you that our deal will probably come to a hiatus."
Draco raised an eyebrow again.
"Don't look at me like that, Draco. I need something I left in Hogwarts' forest. I doubt I'd be able to get it without alerting the headmistress. And I definitely don't trust her to keep her mouth shut about me."
"McGonagall is a pretty trustworthy woman, but I agree that she wouldn't keep shushed about something like this."
"This is all, I guess, except… could I borrow an owl?"
The letter Harry sent to McGonagall didn't reveal his identity. It merely stated that he was a former student who left a sentimentally valuable possession behind and would like to collect it as soon as possible, and that the object was too well hidden for anyone but him to find it. He just hoped he didn't sound too suspicious. Now he waited for an answer. And waited. And waited for three stupid days before the lazy old hag got off her bony ass and quilled down a reply. The letter was pretty short. It stated that she would meet him on a Hogsmeade weekend at the Three Broomsticks to personally escort him to wherever he needed.
Harry was very surprised. The headmistress had time to do this personally? Aside from running a school that was supposedly the best of its kind? Did they suspect it was him?
So on this lovely Saturday afternoon found Harry sitting in the overcrowded Three Broomsticks pub. Personally Harry thought Hog's Head would've been a better place to rendezvous simply because there it's actually possible to find the person you want to find!
Still, here he was, sitting with his hood drawn up and a butterbeer in his hand. Oh, there was McGonagall… with several other teachers. That pompous old cunt took a table with her colleagues without any visible remorse. She straightened up and glanced around the pub every once in awhile. She didn't actually think Harry would simply walk up to her while in this crowded room, did she? He mentioned that it was personal and would've liked it to be quick! As in, no need for others to know he was even there.
Harry sat behind the same table moodily for an hour until the dried up bag of bones finally decided to leave. Harry got up as well and followed her out of the pub. He followed her and another person accompanying her. They turned around the corner and Harry followed them there as well. The next thing he knew he was staring at the clouds.
"Suspicious. Neville, check for his wand."
Harry's eyebrow started twitching.
"I… was…. annoyed at…. you for your… disrespectful behavior earlier when I politely asked you to meet so I could collect something very important to me. Now I'm downright pissed."
Harry grumbled and clumsily pushed himself to sitting position. The plant bracelet he wore ate away foreign magic that didn't belong to Harry. Neville and McGonagall, however, received quite a shock to see the headmistress' body bind dissolve so fast. They didn't waste any time and pointed their wands at him stiffly.
"Put those things away, I'm annoyed as it is. Geez, the war is over, get a life you two."
The two however didn't make a move to lower their wands.
"How have you been, Neville? I couldn't believe you took up a job at Hogwarts, when I first hear it. The worst career choice you could've made, I think."
"Who are you to-"
"As paranoid as you are, I'd like to know why on earth you'd agree to help only to turn psycho on me, McGonagall?"
The old woman gripped her wand tighter. Her eyes glinted angrily.
"It is my duty to guarantee the students' safety. A person trying to sneak in so soon after the war is…"
"I really should have snuck in and taken what I left behind. Would've saved me a lot of shit."
McGonagall opened her mouth to say some comeback, but Harry didn't let her have word.
"I'm gonna say this once: just let me get what I came back to this miserable country for."
For a while no one did or said anything. Then Neville told Harry to remove his hood. Harry sighed and rolled his eyes, but did as asked. The two did what was expected: spluttered. After the initial shock wore off, suspicion crept in.
"How do we know you're really Harry Potter? You could be a fake." Said McGonagall.
"Honestly, I don't give a rat's ass, because as soon as I get what I came for I'm going back home."
"Do you think it's polyjuice?" Neville whispered to his employer.
"Where would I get the necessary ingredient of a body part?" Harry asked with another eye roll.
"You could've saved one."
"Would expired hair even work? Anyway, I should look a few years younger if that were the case. Now could we please get this over with?"
"Maybe we should ask him something only Harry would know, Minerva?"
"Yes, that's a good idea, Neville."
"Umm, what is Harry's patro-."
"If you're going to ask what my patronus is, I'm going to scream. That's almost common knowledge, idiot."
Harry rubbed his temples. He wasn't usually so unpleasant, but he's been in a constant bad mood ever since Tony's disappearance and his feelings were expressed in this inopportune moment.
"This can't be Harry. He'd never call me an idiot." Neville whispered, but Harry heard that.
"What do you expect? I told you, the item I came for is extremely valuable to me! Just let me get it and I'll go. It's not even in the castle itself!"
As mentioned before Harry had been a little sensitive the past month. It expressed in anger, and now in anguish. The two Hogwarts' professors were quite taken aback with the sight of the tears that made appearance in the corners of the dark haired man's eyes. Feeling suddenly very uneasy, they didn't know what to do about this situation.
"Hey, hey, you can't blame us for being cautious. If you could just get us proof that-" Neville started softly, but didn't lower his wand much.
"FUCK YOU!" Harry screamed at the top of his lungs and Apparated to Grimmuald.
It was a miracle that Harry didn't splinch himself. He leaned on the nearest flat object for support while the tears forced themselves down his cheeks, completely against his better judgment. In a moment Kreatcher was by his side, offering him strong tea. Harry shook his head and asked for something stronger.
"Kreatcher doesn't think Mistress should-"
"Now, Kreatcher."
A direct order was impossible for a house elf to ignore. A moment later found Harry with a glass of single malt. He downed it and then another, and another. He had been so close. So close to seeing Tony again.
The cracking sound and pain in his hand indicated that he had squeezed his glass broken. Harry's breath hitched and he stiffened. No! That was not why he wanted the stone. Tony might not be dead. And he was not going to grieve unless he actually had to. Tony's death was not confirmed- so he wasn't going to mourn! Just like that the waterfall that had made itself down his face, stopped.
He was going to get the stone, whether he had to sneak in or use diplomacy! With a sigh he picked the shards of glass out of his hand. After that was done he snatched the rest of the bottle and went to bed.
In the morning Harry woke up feeling like a squid had taken up residence in his stomach. His eyes felt like they had been removed and put back in backwards. On top of that there seemed to be a medieval miner in his brain who insisted on pounding his hammer against his skull. In other words he had a hangover.
Kreatcher came in with some potion and plenty of liquid and a newspaper. Harry took it without question.
"I'm mentioned already?" Harry asked quietly.
"No, mistress. Kreatcher thought mistress would like to be up to date with wherever mistress was, mistress."
Harry sighed. It's not like he could do anything more productive right now. He opened the paper and a report about werewolf rights trials stared back at him. He frowned and felt guilt start creeping up at him. It was no surprise that wizards still had sticks up their asses, but this reminded him of a certain someone he had been neglecting for over three years.
Teddy hadn't inherited his father's lycanthropy, thankfully, but he was being raised by his widowed grandmother who probably didn't have too much of an income. The ministry practically left Madame Pomfrey in the streets after she burned out her use, and Harry seriously doubted they were any nicer to his godson and his grandmother.
I'm going to visit them he thought determined and stood up. Immediately he fell back with a groan. Okay, maybe later; they're probably still asleep anyway.
Harry was standing in front of a familiar house. He only hoped Mrs. Tonks hadn't moved, because that would really just plain suck. With a deep breath he knocked on the door. For a moment nothing happened, but then he heard some shuffling sounds. The door opened and a tired looking woman with rapidly graying hair peeked out. Once she realized who was on her front porch she opened the door wider.
"Well I'll be damned. Look who finally showed up." She said that in a tone that made Harry feel like a husband who had been gone for a decade and left the wife to raise a bunch of kids alone.
"Hey, Mrs. Tonks. Mind if I come in?"
She stepped back and let Harry come in. The place looked the same. The same couldn't be said for Andromeda, sadly. She looked half starved and the circles around her eyes were a testament for sleepless nights.
The two walked into the kitchen and Andromeda put on a kettle.
"You look exhausted. How have you been holding up?" Harry said while taking a seat.
Andromeda frowned.
"I have seen better days. After my husband and daughter, along with her husband, passed on there hasn't been anyone with an income. Teddy and I have been living on savings, and those have been getting dangerously scarce. Especially since I was disinherited when I married Ted. You'll have to excuse me if I can't offer you any biscuits, since I don't have any." She poured Harry some hot water and tapped the cup transforming it into tea.
"How's Teddy been?"
A shadow of a smile appeared on Andromeda's face.
"Like his mother when she was young. The tyke is a joyful bundle of mischief, always getting into trouble."
She waved her wand and a leather bound book floated into the room. Harry took it and opened the first page. A smile crept to his lips as he looked at the photos of Teddy. It started as a baby with multicolor hair being cradled in his parents' arms, to multicolor haired baby with his grandmother, to multicolor haired toddler with his grandmother. Harry frowned when he noticed that there were more pictures of him in there that any of the Weasleys or the other old crowd.
"Haven't the Weasley's given you any helping hand?" Harry asked with a frown.
"Why? You haven't been here so they have no real connection to my grandson. You may not have noticed, but only you were somewhat close to my daughter or her husband. The others pretty much only saw them as a former teacher and a woman with a good sense of humor. Sure they visit every now and then, especially William and his wife. Their daughter is around a year old and awfully fond of Teddy."
"I'm sorry I haven't been here, Mrs. Tonks, I…"
"No need to apologize, boy. I have eyes I know you never would've gotten any semblance of peace otherwise." Andromeda waved her hand dismissively. "Still, a little compensation every now and then would've been nice." She muttered as a side note.
Harry frowned. As a former Black, Harry never would've believed Andromeda's pride would've allowed her to ask for any sort of monetary aid. Madame Pomfrey had been extremely embittered too, and only recently seemed to have returned to her old matrony self. How bad were things here, really?
"Have you eaten anything, lately?" Harry asked softly.
Andromeda looked a little embarrassed.
"I eat what I can find. Mostly I have to forage for myself, but the best parts go to Teddy, of course. This winter is going to be rough." She sighed.
"I'll start sending you regular checks." Harry said with determination.
Andromeda looked startled.
"Really, that's not necessary. Some help any now and then is appreciated, but-"
"I don't want to hear anything about it. I probably won't be present much in my godson's life, but I want to make sure his childhood is as happy as possible. The line of work I do makes it more than possible for me support you."
Andromeda smiled sincerely for the first time.
"Does your work really take that much time that you won't be able to visit your cute godson?"
"Well, no, actually, but I live quite far away. Like too far for Apparation."
"I think your little godson would miss you." Andromeda said slightly singsong like, her eyes full of mischief and not on Harry at all.
Harry turned around and saw a teal haired boy peering at him from behind the door. Harry looked the boy in the eyes and after awhile they turned the same shade of green his own were. A wide smile appeared on Harry's face.
"Hello, Teddy. What are you doing hiding behind the door? Come on out here."
For a moment Teddy didn't do anything. Then he bashfully walked into the room. After getting a little nearer to Harry he bolted and hid behind his grandmother. After a moment of hiding he peered from behind her with a shy grin.
"Do you remember who I am, Teddy?"
"You were mummy and daddy's friend." They boy said and hid behind his grandmother again.
Harry laughed.
"That I was. Now, why don't you stop hiding? How am I supposed to give you your present if I can't see you?"
Harry said with a mock sadness.
"Present?" Teddy sounded a little too hopeful for Harry's liking.
He took a step closer to Harry, but still remained by Andromeda. Harry took a package out of his pocket, enlarged it, and reached it towards Teddy. Teddy forgot all about his apparent shyness when presented with a gift. He left his grandmother's side and snatched the package. He sat down right there and tore away the paper. He pulled out a stuffed wolf that was almost as big as he was. The wolf's mane changed color every now and then.
"Awesome!" Teddy squealed and hugged the wolf.
"What do you say?" Andromeda said and Teddy looked up.
"Thank you." Teddy said with one really toothy grin.
Harry ended up spending his entire day with his godson, who made him promise to visit again tomorrow. And for a week that's what he did, until one evening, when Teddy was tucked into bed already, the old bones were dug up.
"I see you're quite happy playing with Teddy." Andromeda said while sipping a wine Harry had given her as a gift.
"Yes. Personality wise he definitely takes after her mother, but then again he doesn't have lycanthropy like his dad did."
"Hmm. There's one thing that I can't help but wonder."
"Hmm?"
"It's just I doubt that visiting Teddy was your original reason of returning. But as you've spent all your time here, I can't help but think what your original goal here was. I mean-"
Andromeda shut up when she saw the dark shadow appear on Harry's face.
"I left something at Hogwarts that is of extreme importance to me. I need it back."
"Hogwarts?" Andromeda asked, but then there was a knock on her front door.
"Who could be visiting at this hour?" Andromeda muttered to herself, but stood up anyway.
Harry sipped his tea and listened to Andromeda answer the door.
"A little late for a social call, isn't it, Mrs. Weasley."
"Sorry to bother you in this hour, Tonks."
Harry nearly chocked on his tea. That wasn't Molly Weasley's voice, but Hermione's!
"Neville told us about a possible impostor, masquerading as Harry. We just wanted to give you a heads up. And ask you if you've heard of anythi-"
"A heads up a week late. Tut tut. Had this been the wartime she would've been dead already." Harry called from the kitchen while sipping his tea.
There was thudding of feet and Ron and Hermione practically fell over each other trying to get through the kitchen door.
"Didn't even take off your shoes. How rude." Harry muttered.
"Harry!" Both of them shouted before suspicion crept in.
"Quiet! Teddy is sleeping." Andromeda came in and took out two more cups for tea.
"What was the name of the baby Chinese Fireball dragon that Hagrid had in our second year?" Asked Hermione. Smooth one.
"Norbert. And it was in out first year, and it wasn't a Chinese Fireball, it was a Norwegian Ridgeback." Harry answered with another sip. He grinned mischievously. "And Hermione started her period when she was fifteen .Two days before the Yule ball (1). You were pretty loud worrying about messing up your dress before I had to drag you to Madame Pomfrey so she could shut you up already." Hermione's and Ron's faces went beet red.
"Ron, your first kiss wasn't with Lavender. It was with Neville in our fourth year." Ron's face looked like it would pop with how much blood there was. Hermione gasped and looked at Ron with disbelief.
"Still doubt I'm not Harry?" Harry asked cheekily. Hey, they wanted something only Harry would know. They got it.
"Thanks for the tea, Andy. I'll be going home now."
"Take care, Harry."
Ron and Hermione were still feeling too embarrassed to stop him.
The morning after found Harry waking up to Kreatcher shouting and Mrs. Black screeching. Throwing on a bathrobe drowsily, Harry wandered down the hall and came face to face with half the Weasley clan: Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.
"Whassa 'appened?" Harry asked, still feeling bleary.
The noise quieted down, except for Mrs. Black, and everybody turned to face him.
"Oh, Harry. Where have you been? We have been worried sick about you." Molly Weasley gushed and tried to make her way to him, but Kreatcher, ever the devoted house-elf, blocked her path.
"Bad Wheezy! Woke poor mistress up." He muttered angrily.
That woke Harry up a little more. He really needed to have a word with Kreatcher not to call him 'mistress' while in this kind of company. Hopefully they thought Kreatcher thought Mrs. Black.
"Kreatcher, go get us some tea, please. I'm awake now anyway."
Kreatcher muttered cusses, but left to do Harry's bidding.
As soon as Kreatcher was out of the way Mrs. Weasley practically flung at Harry with a flying hug. Harry urgently blocked her with his hands. She looked hurt but no way was he going to risk Mrs. Weasley feeling his bust.
"Would you excuse me while I go change? I'm sure Kreatcher has your tea ready just about now. Excuse me."
Harry went back to his room and charmed bandages around his chest area as quick as possible. Growing up as they did the Weasleys' didn't understand the concept of privacy very well. Thankfully they didn't bother him and he was able to finish dressing in peace. Going to find them he got the impression that they did, in fact, try to follow him, but Kreatcher put an end to that plan.
"Hey." He said cheerfully and took a seat, accepting the tea Kreatcher offered.
"Where have you been?" Hermione chose a direct tactic.
"Away, finally living my life the way the way I've always wanted to." Harry chose a not-so-direct answer.
"And you couldn't live your life the way you wanted here? With your friends?" Ron burst angrily. Harry frowned at him. Out of a family of temperamental redheads, Ron had the shortest fuse.
"Not really. How do you suppose I could? I have no privacy, the paparazzi is dogging me, if I do one wrong move I'll be crucified. And on top of that… my so called friends were no different." Harry said with a cheerful smile, but you quite easily see the sarcasm in it.
The entire room burst into a squabble, which Harry was all too happy to ignore. Suddenly there was a lovely chiming sound that shut everybody up. Everybody looked confused except for Harry who took out his phone. He flipped it open urgently and placed it against his ear.
"Hello." He said in a soft voice that surprised the room's other occupants.
"Hello, Helena? Obadiah here. Sorry to bother you so late."
"Has there been any news?"
"Nothing. You might want to prepare yourself to accept that Tony is dead."
"Well, until his body has been confirmed, I am not going to mourn."
"Still, you could show how much you miss him by attending a… gathering in Stark Industries. It's for new contacts purposes."
For awhile Harry didn't say anything.
"Helena?"
"Tony's been missing for over a month. And you're THROWING A PARTY!"
"Hey, hey now. Tony may be missing, but his company in still in full swing. Why don't you honor him by attending?"
"I'm afraid you wasted a call, Obadiah. I'm still in England."
"Ah, that's too bad. Well, I'll talk to you later, then. Hopefully with some news that time."
"Yes, hopefully."
"Good night, Helena."
"G'night, Obadiah."
Harry flipped his phone shut and sighed. He blinked at the room full of people. For a moment he had forgotten they were there.
"Who was that?" Hermione said gently.
"Just… someone I know." Harry replied miserably. He had had hope for a few seconds that Tony had been found.
Obadiah's call made Harry miserable, but it had at least one positive side effect. All of the Weasleys knew the pain of freshly lost loved one, so they didn't push him for answers. This time. The duration of their stay was used for catching up instead.
"Kreatcher, how's your interstate Apparation?" Harry asked one evening. The house elf pulled a grimace.
"Not very good, mistress. Young house elfies can Apparate cross continents just fine, mistress. But old house elfies like Kreatcher should not. Old house elfies still can, mistress, but it's bad for them, mistress." Kreatcher didn't seem to like the fact that his age got in the way of serving his master to full capacity.
"Damn. I still don't have the stone, but I cannot leave my greenhouse unattended for too long." Harry muttered.
He pulled on an old leather jacket. He didn't much like the clothes he wore right now, but for appearance sake he did. He was getting ready for dinner in the burrow.
"Mistress?"
Harry was about to leave the house to Apparate away, but he turned around to face his house elf.
"Yes? What?"
"Maybe… mistress should think about… getting new house elfies? Kreatcher is getting old."
For a moment Harry mulled it over.
"If you think so. Although, I can't trust new house elves to know how to make sure my plants are alright, like you can. Besides, I wouldn't even know where to begin searching for new house elves. I really don't have the time either."
Harry left the house and Disapparated, not noticing the proud and pleased look Kreatcher had at his unintended praise. Kreatcher popped out of existence as well, determined to find the best and devoted servants his race could offer.
Meanwhile Harry appeared at the front door of the Burrow. He knocked and Mrs. Weasley opened the door with a huge smile. She tried to give him a bear hug again, but was blocked like last time. She pouted but let him in. The family had already gathered. Ron and Hermione were playing chess, George was doing something with Ginny on the background, and Mr. Weasley came down from the stairs.
"Harry! Haven't seen your pretty mug in ages. Where've you been?" George said cheerfully. He looked a whole lot better the last time Harry had seen him. But then again the last time he had seen him he had just lost his twin with whom he'd been together since their conception.
"Busy." Harry replied elusively.
So they start dinner. The night before they had talked a lot: about Ron and Hermione's wedding, the birth of Bill's firstborn Victoire, George's business (Ron had helped him make it into a huge success, but now trains to become an Auror), and a whole bunch of other stuff. But the one thing they never brought up was Ginny's love life. That was a subject Harry didn't want to breach, but might be necessary.
"Say, Harry, you are going to stay home now, right?" Said Ginny with an odd glint in her eye.
"Well, I'm going to have to go home soon. The line of work I do gives me a flexible schedule, but it pretty much forbids me to stay away for too long at a time."
"I meant home here. Not wherever you've been." She said, her brows knitting together.
"My home is no longer here. I've made a life I'm happy with. I don't want that life disturbed." Harry said with adamant finality in his voice, but it didn't look like Ginny was going to roll over and just take it though. So Harry turned the subject somewhere he wanted to avoid otherwise.
"Say Ginny, Ron and Hermione tied the knot recently and Bill has a bundle of his own joy now. What about you? Seeing anyone?"
The ominously excited look in her eyes made Harry suddenly very nervous. How did she translate that last sentence?
"Well, I hooked up with Dean again for awhile but… we broke up again recently."
"That's a real shame." Harry said quietly.
"What about you, Harry? Anyone special in your life?" She asked and sat up straighter.
Harry looked at his hands and smiled wistfully. Without raising his eyes he said sadly and quietly.
"Yeah. I do."
It was a bit of a white lie. For one, he wanted Ginny off his back, and another, he did have someone special. Tony was very special to him, even if they weren't in an official romantic relationship. No matter how nice that idea may sound to him.
Suddenly Harry's breath hitched. Harry never lied to himself about his attraction towards Tony, and he had always enjoyed his company and his egotistical ways always made him laugh. He never realized this, but this past year he'd known Tony… he had actually fallen in love with the man.
And now, he may never see him alive again.
That realization made Harry's eye involuntarily tear up.
"I need to go to Hogwarts." He said and stood up.
Immediately the entire clan was on him and bickering at him.
"Shut up!" Harry shouted suddenly and very loudly. The shock o his sudden aggression helped achieve just that.
"You know I am not an impostor. I need to go to Hogwarts to retrieve something I dropped around the time I killed Voldemort."
It took Harry a week to finally be granted access to Hogwarts. When he did, he wasted no time going to the Forbidden Forest and summoning the stone to him. He was in and out of Hogwarts on less than ten minutes, which annoyed the headmistress as she wanted Harry to stay for a meal. But Harry had more important things to do right now. Like making sure whether or not Tony is still alive. Giving everybody a warning not to disturb him that night, he went to his bedroom and concentrated on the stone.
For a moment nothing happened, then there was an invisible wind on his face, and he could feel. He felt Tony's life force. Still strong, and relatively healthy too.
Harry smiled the widest smile since ever. His Tony was still alive! Let's hope he'll find his way back home still.
Going back home was inevitable now. He'd been gone for nearly three weeks and he really couldn't put off leaving his vegetation unattended. So, with promises to Teddy to be back real soon, he took on his usual form (the Helena-look) and went home. But back at home a surprise was waiting for him. At home a couple of house elves were waiting for him. Like, literally a couple of elves. A newly mated pair who were looking for a new family to serve.
"Mistress should have new helpers with how old Kreatcher is getting, mistress." The ancient house elf said, looking a lot prouder now for some reason. Harry turned to Kreatcher and gave him a hug, nearly making the small thing have a heart attack from happiness.
The bonding ceremony was over in a jiffy, and Harry wasted no time in teaching the elves about how to take care of the plants and what plants were übersensitive to even house elf magic.
So within a week Harry left Malibu again. Staying there just seemed painful without the lovable narcissist around. By now he had been missing for two whole months.
…
The end of November rolled by and Tony had been missing for three months now. Meanwhile Harry had found a bit of Tony's DNA from his house, with some help from Jarvis. So to alleviate boredom Harry had taken up creating a bracelet for Tony. It had to be as durable as possible, and have at least some protective features, not to mention it couldn't look ghastly. Well, they didn't call him (rather her, actually) a genius in botany for no reason. And as luck would have it, Harry had just finished the bracelet one day before he got 'the call'.
He was playing with Teddy at the time when his cell went off. He was a bit surprised to see Tony's home in the caller's ID.
"Hello?"
"Miss Helena, this is Jarvis."
"Oh, hi Jarvis. What made you make this call?"
"No real interest for myself. You just asked me to notify when Mr. Stark got home."
"Wait, WHAT? Tony's home? He's been found? How is he, is he okay?"
"His limbs are intact and he is walking with no need for aid, so my guess is he's physically in a satisfying enough condition. That's good, considering he is about to give a press conference."
"A press conference?"
"I would suggest you turn on a TV, unless, of course, you wish to see him personally first. But then again, you'd miss his charming debut for being back for less than an hour."
"Thank you, Jarvis." With that he hung up.
Completely ignoring Andromeda he ran to the living room and grabbed the remote. He flipped it on and didn't even need to surf to find what he was looking for. It was on the first news channel.
"Oh my. That lost billionaire has been found." Andromeda said quite nonchalantly. Being the widow of a muggleborn she is quite up to date about the going-ons in the muggle world, mostly because she has a television and Teddy likes to watch cartoons in the morning. Of course there are 5-minute news in between shows sometimes.
"You know him? Or are you just an avid fan?" She said jokingly to Harry.
"His disappearance is the reason I came back to England." Harry said with no humor in his voice.
Andromeda's eyes widened a little and she clamped her mouth shut. Yes, apparently Harry did know the formerly missing billionaire.
The two watched as the press conference started, and Tony sat down while eating a burger. Harry smiled at the way Tony still seemed pretty indifferent towards the people around him. He smiled all throughout his interview, except when he said that he's closing the weapons manufacturing department.
Harry didn't want to even think about what Tony had to live through to make him make that decision; especially considering how immediate that decision was.
"I wanna watch cartoons!" Teddy said from behind him.
Harry turned to his godson, and kneeled eye-level next to him.
"Teddy, sweetie, I'm going to go back home."
The boy's eyes widened and his turquoise hair turned black.
"No, I don't want you to!" He protested loudly.
"Sorry, baby, but I have to go home. But I'll visit every now and then. Maybe you and granny Andy can visit me too. But you're going to have to call me Aunt Helena, instead of Uncle Harry, then." Harry said with a smile.
"I still don't want you to go!" Teddy said with a pout.
Harry had shown up as Helena on their doorstep a month ago. He figured that Teddy and Andromeda had the right to know about this, so he told them the truth. And that if they ever visited him, they'd have to call him Helena. Of course he made both of them promise not to say a word to anyone about this.
Harry kissed and hugged Teddy, nodded goodbye to Andromeda, and left home to pack.
He was going home.
About time too. As Ginny had a hard time accepting reality, along with the rest of her family. Inevitably they did the same mistake as last time and lost Harry the same way the second time. What a shame.
PS: I hope you don't think Harry's too emotional in this chapter. I just wanted to emphasize how much Tony was missed.
Also, should I bump the rating to M?
1- Hermione's birthday is in September, so she's almost a year older that Harry (add the time turner 3rd year, she's probably way more than one year older anyway).
Word count: 7958 (NOT counting my side notes)
Thanks for reading.