I got this chapter out way sooner than I expected. I hope you enjoy it!
Despite losing his bet with Jubilee regarding Sirius Black's defense, Stark immediately starts another. "All right, my money's down that he doesn't eat or shower before he comes to check on Harry. Even though he clearly needs both."
Pot calling the kettle black, there, Bucky remarks dryly. James levels Stark with a flat look. He's lived with Stark more than enough to note his inconsistent sleep, hygiene and eating schedules. Truthfully, Black's condition had looked far worse than James had ever seen Stark, had been even worse than Harry's had been the night the Asset came to Privet Drive.
"He's not going to show up looking like that," Jubilee counters.
James doesn't have money to bet, though judging by Steve's unimpressed look, it's setting a bad example for Harry and Jubilee.
The big punk's actin' like he wasn't a cheating cheater at poker during the war, Bucky's voice echoes, amused, through James' head. When James passes this information along, deadpan, Steve turns to him with a ridiculously huge grin. Loki sits forward, eager.
Jubilee is clearly eager to win more money from Stark, stating that Black will take the longest, warmest shower of his life.
Stark cocks his head. "You've got a point there. Think he'll want a burger?"
James knows that Stark had eaten one upon his return from Afghanistan. Seeing Black's condition on the television had made Stark pause, clearly bringing back unpleasant memories.
James' mind had been flooded with sensations of being strapped to a table, of fire coursing through his veins. Muttering his name, rank, serial number until Steve arrived, suddenly bigger.
Azkaban looks as bad as that camp after Azzano. Bucky had remarked during the trial, before echoing the memory, repeating Barnes, James Buchanan, Sergeant, 3-2-5-5-7-0-3-8 .
"I want a burger." Harry raises his hand and slaps it down like Jubilee. "I bet he wants to put his photo in my book."
Stark points at Harry, nodding, before saying "I'll also put money down that he's going after that rat."
"You can't bet he'll do both first!" Jubilee scowls, putting her hands over her yellow coat.
"Yes I can, I'm Tony Stark." Stark just shrugs her off with cocky assurance. "Either way, I win."
Moody has yet to reappear in the room. James' muscles are coiled, wary, his eyes still scanning the room for any sudden appearances.
Like Stark, he expects Sirius Black to appear almost immediately after the trial. His desperation to see Harry was evident before the broadcast ended. James is unsure if Moody and Dumbledore have told Black where they are, but suspects Black will return with Moody.
He's free, Bucky notes. He'll probably try to claim his place as Godfather.
HARRY IS OURS. The other voice states. A fact, pure and simple. Taking care of Harry has been the main mission ever since their relative safety with Stark and at Xavier's Institute.
We're not letting him take Harry away, Bucky agrees. Even Steve didn't end up splitting us apart. Besides, he's younger than I was when the war started.
There's a pause, before Bucky voices what James hardly dares to think. We might not be free.
Moody had, like Stark, been convinced Black was a traitor, had talked of him as if he were filth. Yet the trial had clearly changed Moody and Stark's minds. Black's testimony had convinced them of his innocence.
Stark has already proclaimed James' own innocence regarding the crimes HYDRA made him commit, but he doubts his own trial would go over as well as Sirius Black's. He wonders if he should be given the truth serum, if that would help him plead his case to the rest of the world.
So far, the courts have been so busy prosecuting HYDRA's willing operatives, such as Pierce, who have revealed himself with a telepathic nudge from Professor X. So busy that they have yet to get around to a trial for HYDRA's brainwashed, mindwiped puppet.
If he's convicted, imprisoned, that will leave Black to raise Harry.
James knows, firsthand, how Harry felt back when they were discussing finding Steve. He suspects he'll know how it felt when Steve returned for real, though it's clear Harry remembers Black even less than James remembered Steve.
"We should do that Secret-Keeper thing," Steve says. "I could be the Secret-Keeper, and make sure HYDRA never finds you again. Then you can live in peace."
"They're going to come after you," James says, not even needing Bucky's voice to know that Steve's with him til the end of the line.
"I'm sure that only works with magic," Loki lifts an eyebrow loftily. "You might be interested to know that I've been shielding your location."
Steve turns to Loki, surprised, and Loki spreads his arms in a grandiose gesture. Thor beams at Loki with pride.
Only a few hours later, the news that Peter Pettigrew has been captured is broadcast. According to the report, he'd been hiding as a pet rat belonging to a family named the Weasleys, and had been identified by his frantic attempt to escape at the news of Sirius' trial, as well as his missing toe.
"See? I told you pets are bad news." Stark tells Harry, clearly not wanting to deal with one in the slightest, even though he could easily pay caretakers, and a few students at the Institute already have pets of their own.
"Snuffles was good news!" Harry folds his arms. "Do you think he knows where Snuffles went?"
Stark doesn't take his eyes off a clip of the trial replaying on the screen, where both Moody and Black are visible in a clip. "I doubt it. Wasn't he a stray?"
A loud crack echoes throughout the room, and James shields Harry instinctively, drawing a knife and readying his prosthesis.
It's not a gunshot. Moody appears in front of the television, almost as if jumping out of the screen, bringing Black with him.
Moody is dressed in his worn, long coat, as always, but Sirius Black has taken the time to switch his threadbare prison robes for a far more elegant set and put his lank, unwashed hair in some sort of order. He could blend in with Thor and Loki's archaic sense of style.
Black holds a long, thin box, about the size of Harry's motorbroom, though James readies himself for it to reveal a weapon.
Black scans the room, taking in their attire and the fact that James has readied a knife rather than a wand. "Did you just apparate in front of Muggles?"
Loki opens his mouth to object to being classified as a muggle.
"Told you, our secret was compromised." Moody growls.
Stark, of course, jumps into the conversation immediately. "Yeah, the whole world knows about magic and aliens, thanks to Loki. And mutants. You cost me fifty bucks, by the way. Not that I need it, I'm a billionaire, but I thought you were going to race over here to check on Harry. He's fine, by the way."
"Where is he?" Black demands, clearly wanting to be the judge of that himself. He'd seemed slightly taken aback by Tony's accent as well as his words, clearly piecing together that they'd traveled overseas and that the world he'd been locked away from has changed drastically.
Harry's pressed behind James' leg, arms wrapped around it in a manner that would put him at risk if James had to fight, but he peers out at Black.
"Harry," Black's face softens, and he suddenly looks years younger. "I've got something for you. I know I missed three of your birthdays, but trust me, I'll make up for it when you turn five. That's coming up soon, I can't believe it. You're so big now."
Black's voice croaks, either from disuse in prison or emotion. He holds out the box, and James blocks Harry, eyeing the package suspiciously.
WIZARDS WOULD NOT USE STANDARD EXPLOSIVES. Warnings sound like alarms through James' mind. WEAPONIZED STICKS ARE CAPABLE OF CREATING EXPLOSIVES.
That'd be a huge wand, Bucky drawls as James narrows his eyes at the package and its holder.
Black frowns. "I'm not a Death Eater. The last thing I want is to hurt Harry. It's a gift."
"We watched you on telly," Harry peers out from behind James. "You got in trouble but it wasn't you."
"Yeah," Black sighs in relief and crouches to Harry's level. It lets James loom over him, silently promising harm if Black upsets Harry in any way.
"Look at you," Black smiles fondly and reaches out to ruffle Harry's hair, but Harry shrinks back into James. Black's face falls until he forces another smile.
"Your hair almost looks like mine," Black huffs out a laugh. "It used to be like James', sticking up all over the place. And you have Lily's eyes."
"What's that?" Harry points to the box. "Is it Snuffles?"
Black's laugh is almost a bark, mixed with surprise. "You remember Snuffles?"
"He's in my book,"
Stark points at Black. "You are Snuffles,"
Black nods, then turns into a black dog that strongly resembles a bear. Harry reaches out to hug the dog, but James pulls him back.
Black shifts back into a human to frown at James, who matches his frown. Black offers the box again, but James holds out an arm.
"It's a broomstick." Black cracks the box open to show them the harmless contents. "I got you one for your first birthday, and you were a natural. I don't know if you've had the chance to ride one with muggles-"
"Is it magic?" Harry asks, slipping out from behind James and approaching the box. "Mr. Stark made me a moto'broom. He's my other other dad."
Stark smugly gestures to himself. Smug about the motorbroom, but far less comfortable with his caretaking abilities or Harry's designation for him.
"So, he took you in?" Black's surprise is evident in his tone, but he doesn't look away from Harry. "I don't know if anyone told you, but I- I'm your godfather. Your mum and dad wanted me to take care of you, if anything happened to them."
"They died," Harry informs Black, as if he hadn't been aware. Black's face twists with grief before he schools his features, clearly trying not to scare Harry.
Harry stares guilelessly at his godfather. "Do you want to go in my book?"
"Your book?" Black echos, confused. "I'd love to see your book."
Harry slips back to the couch, wraps his arms around the book, and returns to James' side. "It's my family book. They ripped you out, but not Snuffles."
"I want nothing more than to be in your family book." Black's face breaks into a huge smile, his eyes lighting up. His grin grows wider when Harry returns the smile.
"I win!" Harry cheers. "I knew you'd want to be in my book! Mr. Stark, you hav'ta give me money now!"
Harry holds out his hand, in the same expectant gesture Jubilee had used. Stark bursts out laughing, only laughing harder as gold coins suddenly appear in Harry's palm. Loki smirks, wiggling his fingers to emphasize the lack of a wand. Black blinks as Harry stuffs the coins in his pockets.
Thor claps his hands, loud as thunder, and booms "Let us celebrate this joyous reunion!"
James does not feel joyous. He puts his hand on Harry's shoulder, showing Black that Harry is his son.
Black turns back to Harry, torn between amusement and hurt. "Your parents picked me to take care of you. I understand if you want to stay with your new family-"
"I have a new James dad." Harry says, blunt enough that even Stark looks uncomfortable.
"New James Dad?" Black repeats, hollowly, the same way Steve had when he realized James no longer goes by Bucky.
"Uh huh. He keeps me safe with his robot arm. He's my fist."
Black's face shifts through several emotions at once, clearly struggling with the fact that Harry has a whole life without him, just as Steve had struggled to come to terms with James' life. He isn't surprised, as Steve had been, but it still evidently hurts.
"Your new dad's named James, too?" Black's voice is raspy.
"I'm not leaving Dad." Harry puts his foot down, literally, unwrapping one arm from his book to clutch James' leg again.
"Of course," Black says, too quickly. "I knew you'd be attached to… to whoever raised you instead of me. Wouldn't want to leave them."
"I'm 'dopted now." Harry stands proudly. "Harry Potter Barnes."
Black is silent for a second. "Right, of course. I… wasn't around to be your godfather." He shakes his head grimly.
"You can be my Godfather now, like Thor and Loki," Harry nods at them.
"That is not what the term means, nor are we your father," Thor says gently.
"Nor is he a god," Loki gestures to Black with an air of superiority.
Black ignores them, focusing on Harry. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." Harry opens his book to one of the ripped photos, and yells for Steve. "Steve! Can you draw my godfather in here?"
Steve reaches for the book, but Black stares at the photos of Lily and James Potter with baby Harry like a man dying of thirst would look at water. Steve backs up from the book, and asks "Why don't you show him your family album?"
James settles on the couch with Harry on his lap. Black looks rather envious that he can't hold Harry, but turns to the photos as Harry flips through the album.
I hope I did Sirius justice in this chapter. I know several people speculated about different outcomes. In Prisoner of Azkaban, Sirius said he understood if Harry wanted to stay with his aunt and uncle, so I can't picture him insisting Harry has to stay with him. And of course, Harry's reaction here is a bit different from canon. I just thought it would be fun, since this is the opposite scenario from when Steve showed up. It's someone from Harry's past who really wants to be part of his life.