Fudge stared down at the travel document request. He might've thought it was just that Harry's family was going on holiday, however, this was a request for a more permanent transfer. Most families didn't move countries until after their children had completed schooling so he saw it as being a bit suspicious. He reviewed the document and found that it wasn't Harry's family at all that had put in the request but a man named Tony Stark. The name rang a bell in his head but he was far too busy to place it. What did this man want with Harry Potter? Whatever it was, he was willing to pay a lot of money for it because this request had been expedited to the extreme.

Feeling a little more than miffed, Fudge used the floo channel to get to the Prime Minister's office. He didn't have time to approve or deny travel documents for a teenager but this particular teenager would have to stay in Britain which meant that he had to stop the papers from going through at the muggle end of things.

"Prime Minister!" Fudge called out, hopping out of the fireplace on one leg. "Hello." He greeted the man's secretary awkwardly. The woman rolled her eyes and shook her head as she left them to talk. "I need you to deny a travel document, it's for one of our citizens. It's vitally important."

The Prime Minister let out an exasperated sigh and shook his head at the antics.

"Mr Fudge." He greeted. "You do know that I'm not in charge of Britain's travel documents, correct? That's all done through Her Majesty's Passport Office and has nothing to do with me."

"Well, yes, of course I knew that. However, you do have the power to step in, don't you? I can't have this person leaving the country." Fudge insisted. The other man held out his hand for the document and Fudge handed it over. Immediately upon reading it the man's face paled and shoved the document back as though it were poisoned.

"Absolutely not. You're out of your goddamn mind if you think I'm going to try and oppose Tony Stark for you." He stated firmly. Fudge frowned and looked at the name again.

"But Harry Potter is one of our citizens, Minister. You don't have say over him any more than I have say over the Muggles." Fudge implored. The Prime Minister just shook his head.

"Fudge, you are looking to piss off someone that could probably make your entire government quake. No." He insisted strongly.

"He's only a muggle, how powerful could he be?" Fudge pressed.

"If you don't know who Tony Stark is, I suggest you do your research but, I'm not touching this." The Prime Minister stated dismissively. "Besides, Harry Potter is clearly a British citizen, which means he falls under my jurisdiction and I'm not stupid enough to go against him."

"Harold-"

"No." He said again. "I'm doing you a favor here, Fudge. Do not oppose Tony Stark. Now get out of my office, I have an appointment in about ten minutes and you can't be here." Fudge sucked in a breath, ready to look offended and press the issue further but the Prime Minister had already turned his back on the man to focus on something that wasn't Tony Stark related.

"He's something of a hero to the Wizarding Community. I implore you to-" Fudge started.

"And Tony Stark is the Goddamn Ironman." The Prime Minister spun around and took in a deep breath, muttering about how he was going to regret this. "Why does Stark want to take this kid out of the country anyway?" He asked.

"From what I understand, to move him to New York." Fudge answered. The Prime Minister thought over that response and nodded gently.

"Doesn't this kid have parents or a legal guardian of some kind? Surely they can tell him no."

"Well, yes. He lives with his Aunt and Uncle, who are ordinary, middle class muggles. I've no idea why he's interested in Harry." Fudge admitted.

"Find out." The Prime Minister told him. "I can maybe make a call and put a twelve hour hold on things but if Stark comes after me, I'm sending him to you." He threatened. "I want no part of this. I'm warning you now, if I think Stark has a good enough reason to take the kid out of the country then I'm giving it the greenlight."

"The Wizarding Community thanks you for your cooperation." Fudge bowed slightly as he headed for the fireplace, not really paying attention to the muttering the Prime Minister was doing as he left. Fudge felt he had what he needed though. A twelve hour hold should give him time enough to find the man and modify his memory if need be. He also realized, with no small amount of dread, that he'd have to contact Dumbledore about this.

That was, of course, assuming that Dumbledore didn't already know. Whoever this Tony Stark fellow is, he couldn't possibly be worse than Dumbledore.

oooOOOooo

Harry had convinced Tony to stop off at the Leaky Cauldron just so he could borrow an owl and send a letter to Ron letting him know where to send Hedwig. Convinced might not have been the right word as the man had agreed pretty readily once Harry had worked up the nerve to ask. It left him to worry about Hedwig. He'd sent her off at the beginning of the week because of the funeral and needing to act like a Muggle and now he was really regretting it. Would she be able to safely get to New York? That wouldn't be too long a distance for her would it?

Aunt May was concerned about keeping an Owl in her apartment but Tony had told her that if the landlord made a fuss he'd buy the building and that had sparked an argument even though Harry thought he was probably joking. Aunt May and Tony seemed to get along great at times but most of the time it seemed like she barely tolerated him.

They were piled into a flashy car, Harry's trunk was packed in the boot along with Hedwig's cage while Harry himself had the entire backseat to himself as May was seated up front with Tony. They'd stopped for petrol and Aunt May had gotten out to stretch her legs and run to the bathroom. Harry settled in and leaned against the car window, watching the roads as other cars zipped passed on the motorway.

He was so close to leaving the Dursley's forever and while he was extremely glad of the fact he couldn't help but feel a little guilty about how glad he was. Aunt May had told him that blood had nothing to do with family but he couldn't help it. There was a time he desperately wanted the Dursleys to like him and claim him as their own and maybe, just maybe there was still that tiniest glimmer of hope but he knew better than to dwell on it.

The Dursleys had proven time and time again that they didn't want him around and that they thought of him as nothing more than a terrible burden on their family. Aunt May wanted him around, she wanted him to move in with her and to be part of her family along with her other nephew and he really liked the idea of having relatives that liked him.

She'd also said it would have been irresponsible of her to leave him in there and he couldn't help but wonder if she had felt obligated to take him in. Then again, he reminded himself, she's going through an awful lot to get him to Queens. He found his mind drifting off to imagine what Queens was like. Was it anything like Little Whinging? May said she lived in an apartment so he imagined it couldn't be too similar.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a phone going off and he looked up to see Tony grab it and then switched it to video mode.

"Ned, right?" He asked.

"Oh my god. Tony Stark is calling me." Said an excited voice. Harry tried to be as discreet as possible as he leaned over to get a glimpse of who Tony was talking to.

"Yeah, news flash. You called me. Or, more specifically, you called May and I answered her phone." He pointed out. The boy on the other end had dark hair and a dark tan but he couldn't really make out any other details.

"Right. Uh.. Sorry to bother you, sir. I know it's late but-"

"Kid, it's not that late. It's about 6PM." Tony assured him.

"Right. Sorry. So. Peter." Ned started again. "He has a fever and-"

"-Ned!" Another voice cut in. Harry thought this must have been Peter. He leaned over again to see if his other cousin was in the frame. He wasn't. "Don't bring Mr Stark into this! I'm fi-" The other cut himself off to cough. "I'm fine." He dared to insist. "There's no need to call anyone-especially Mr stark!"

Harry heard him coughing again.

"Yeah, sounds fine." Tony said sarcastically. "He didn't. He called May and I picked up her phone."

Silence, and then a very raspy "What?" Exploded on the other end. "What are you doing with May's phone!? Is she there? I want-" he broke off to cough and then Peter seemed to have taken the phone from his friend because suddenly there was a face of a boy with brown eyes, a square jaw and curly hair but again it was kind of hard to see much else about him. "-to talk to her."

"She's busy." Tony waived it off. "You running a temperature there, kid?"

"No!" Peter denied a little too quickly. "What are you doing in London, Mr Stark?"

"Oh, you know, on a hot date with your Aunt." Tony said nonchalantly and then laughed at the outraged look on Peter's face. "I'm kidding. Your Aunt asked me for a favor so I'm helping her out. Oh! That reminds me, you two haven't met yet. Harry, come into frame for a second."

Harry moved more towards the center of the back seat and saw Tony was tilting the phone's screen so that Peter and he could see each other.

"This is your cousin, Harry. Harry, this is Peter." He introduced the two.

"Wait. Really? Cousin? Awe-some" He coughed the word.

"Nice to meet you." Harry said politely. "Aunt May's said a lot about you. So has Mr Stark." Peter groaned and then coughed again.

"Great. Just what I needed; them spreading embarrassing stories about me."

"They've not said anything bad thus far. Just that you're apologetic and you er.. like to climb on the ceiling." Harry offered in attempt to cheer the other boy.

"Yeah, we're making sure to make you sound as lame as possible. In the meantime, get Karen to send me your vitals including your temperature." Tony told him, focusing the screen back on himself. Peter groaned and set the phone down. Harry wondered about who Karen was but wasn't able to find out as she didn't appear on the screen and Peter came back looking pretty pleased with himself.

"Ninety-nine point eight! That's not a fever!" He stated triumphantly. Tony let out a sigh and ran a hand over his face.

"Don't be like him." He instructed Harry who just nodded mutely. "Here's what we're gonna do." Tony turned his attention back to the teenager. "I'm gonna call Happy to take you to the compound-"

"But I'm not sick!" Peter protested.

"Don't interrupt me." Tony waved him off. "You're close enough to a fever and your Aunt can't afford for you to take a trip in the ambulance and you can't afford to have the hospital running blood tests. I've heard how high your fevers get and I'm not taking the chance. Your Aunt will kill me."

"Fiiiine. But you can't tell Aunt May." Peter compromised. "You know how she gets and I don't want to stress her out anymore." Tony let out a sigh and considered the offer. Harry had a feeling that Tony was thinking about the fact May was stressed out enough as it was.

"Alright fine," Tony caved. "But the second you cross the threshold into a fever, I have to tell Aunt May." He insisted.

"What? Why?" Peter argued. Harry sank back in his seat. He would have never been brave enough to take that tone up with Uncle Vernon-or at least he'd never be brave enough to question him in that tone.

"Why? Because she's your Aunt. She's responsible for you, and she would want to know." Tony pointed out.

"But I'm not even that sick! And May will absolutely freak." Peter protested and Tony rolled his eyes.

"No. We're not doing this again. You're gonna listen to me and do as I say, and I say get your ass to the compound. That way Friday can monitor your temperature and you can't cheat the system. Do you understand?"

"...Yes, sir." The teenager finally relented and Tony let out an exasperated sigh.

"Good. I'm calling Happy. Bye Peter." he ended the call and then instructed his sunglasses, Friday, to call Happy and just as he'd threatened, he sent them to get Peter from his friend's house. He'd just finished giving Happy instructions on dealing with Peter when May finally came back. She handed Harry a bottle of water and then buckled in again.

Tony took a moment to make sure everyone was buckled up before shifting gear and shooting out onto the motorway at a speed Harry was sure wasn't strictly legal.

oooOOOooo

Harry realized with no small amount of fear that he didn't remember exactly where the Leaky Cauldron was in London. Last year, he'd gotten to Diagon Alley through Knockturn alley when he'd accidentally ended up there after his first attempt to use floo powder had gone slightly awry. The last time he'd been in the Leaky Cauldron entrance was two years ago, when Hagrid took him. He remembered that it was on a busy street and it was between a record store and a bookstore. It wasn't much to go on but somehow, Tony was able to figure out what street it had to be once he took into consideration that muggle maps likely wouldn't list the pub.

Going based off of what Harry remembered it really didn't take Tony too long at all to figure out where this place was. Harry worried that May and Tony wouldn't be able to see the building but maybe since he was nearby they were able to? He led them into the building and Tom rushed over to greet him.

"Harry Potter! Good to see you again, my boy!" The bald man stated, moving over to shake his hand. "Though I'm confused as to why you're here so early."

"Oh I…" Harry started, suddenly feeling nervous. May put a gentle hand on his shoulder and Tom looked up at the Muggle's he'd brought along.

"These must be your relatives. Lovely to meet you." Tom offered his hands to May to shake.

"Well, yes, in a manner of speaking." May admitted. "At least, I am. Tony's a family friend." She stated. Tom paused and looked the man over before offering to shake his hand.

"I just needed to borrow an owl. See, I've sent Hedwig off and-" There was a familiar screech from further into the pub and a snowy white owl swooped in and landed on Harry's arm. "Hedwig!" He announced happily. "How'd you know to come here?" She just nipped affectionately at his fingers.

"Oh good, she was already here." Tony stated. "That'll save some time. Anyways, I'm Tony Stark and this lovely Lady is May Parker." He introduced them. Somewhere a few tables over, someone dropped their cup on the table and Harry wondered if it was because they recognized the name.

"Yes, good to meet you both, thank you for taking care of Mr Potter." Tom bowed his head. Harry couldn't help but feel like he was going to get in trouble for bringing two muggles here but he really had felt like he didn't have a choice but to tell them and he wanted to make sure Ron knew about what had happened.

"Interesting…" A cold voice had sounded off to the side. Harry recognized it as belonging to his least favorite teacher, Professor Snape. Or course he would just happen to be there for this. "I wasn't aware that Mr Potter had any other relatives." He swept over to the small group. What was Snape doing there anyway?

"P-professor, I didn't expect you to be here." Harry admitted. "This is Aunt May and Tony." He introduced them, still feeling a little self-conscious. Would Snape say anything against this? He probably would just on the grounds he and Harry despised each other. "Er, Aunt May, this is one of my teachers." He offered, "Professor Snape."

"Oh." May said, her tone light and friendly. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm May Parker."

"Yes, I heard." Snape stated flatly. "Although, I must admit, I was under the impression that Potter was to stay with his Aunt and Uncle over the school Holidays." He cast a glance down at Harry. May put her hands protectively around his shoulders.

"Vernon Dursley is my cousin." She admitted. "And he nor Marge should have never been allowed near this boy. So he's staying with me now." She said firmly.

"Is he?" Snape asked, eying Harry who just nodded. He didn't want to have to explain himself to Snape of all people.

"I'm not going back." He said firmly. He had a way out and he was so close. There was no way he'd let Snape ruin it for him.

"Does the Headmaster know of this arrangement?" It was an innocent enough question but Harry could tell he meant the words to be poisoned.

"Doesn't matter." Tony finally cut in, gently shielding Harry and May with his shoulder. "The Headmaster isn't his legal guardian." He pointed out. Snape's beady, black eyes snapped to the man and narrowed in contempt at the casual manner in which he joined the discussion.

"Doesn't it?" He turned the question around. "Professor Dumbledore has made it quite clear he expects Potter to spend part of his summer holidays with his relatives." Tony rolled his eyes and Harry couldn't help but worry about him.

"He's not staying with them." May said firmly. "As a nurse, I can't allow it." Snape's attention returned to her, looking her over as if he'd only just taken notice of her.

"I'm afraid there's more going on here than you're aware of. The headmaster will not allow you to-"

"Yeah, well. Too bad." Tony cut in again. "He can bitch and moan all he wants but as of about two fifteen today, Vernon and Petunia Dursley signed over legal guardianship. To May."