"What?" Harry, May and Snape managed to respond at the very same time. All three of their gazes snapping up to Tony.

"They already signed over legal guardianship." Tony repeated his tone level before he let out a sigh and pulled off his Sunglasses that Harry was pretty sure he'd named Friday, and scratched at his forehead. "It was supposed to be a surprise over dinner but I've always had a flair for the dramatic." He admitted.

"Yeah, I went over to visit his aunt and uncle-The Dursleys-as Harry has unaffectionately referred to them- and asked them to sign over their guardianship rights. They agreed."

"Just like that?" Snape narrowed his eyes at Tony.

"Well, It was either that or I make good on my threat to sue them for child negligence and mistreatment." He shrugged.

"You… threatened to sue them?" Harry asked incredulously before Snape could respond. Tony looked completely unapologetic.

"I needed to get them to do what I wanted and any ruthless businessman will tell you, if you want something from someone you hit them where it hurts so they have no choice but to give it to you. Which for some one like the Dursleys meant threatening them with a bullshit number they couldn't possibly afford to pay. They chose to settle." Tony explained. May was narrowing her eyes at him but he ignored it.

"Tony. What did I tell you about throwing money at every problem?" May asked, her tone deceptively sweet.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you wanted this done fast." He countered. "Last I checked you have to be at work in two days and a custody battle can take months. So I did what you wanted. Just faster." He pointed out.

Harry suddenly felt heavy. He'd been sitting here worried about how this would go wrong. He felt freedom from the Dursleys would always be just out of reach and apparently he had been free of them for at least a few hours. He needed to sit down and he couldn't because they hadn't moved far enough into the pub for him to sit.

Luckily, May was still hovering by him and she kept her hands protectively and comfortingly on his shoulders. It helped to keep him grounded as right now he was sure if she let go he would just float away or sink into the floor. He wasn't sure which.

"I really don't have to go back.." he realized, his voice much softer than he'd meant it to be. He would rather not have Snape here for this but he was also so overcome that he couldn't find it in him to care.

Snape looked down at him and May seemed to pull Harry in closer. Was this what it felt like to have a parent protecting you? Even if it was from a teacher?

"We'll talk about this later." May hissed at Tony. "Harry's my kid now." she stated firmly, jutting her chin out in defiance as she turned back to Snape. "You and this Headmaster are just going to have to deal with that." Harry suddenly felt a little dizzy. May had been fighting tooth and nail for him but it was another thing entirely to hear her just claim him as her own.

Snape faltered, which wasn't something Harry had seen him do often so it was a little surprising. The man glanced down at Harry again, his lips thinning into a harsh line.

"What happened, Potter? Were you too good for your relatives, you just had to move in with a muggle celebrity?"

Harry started to open his mouth to speak but May got their first.

"His 'relatives' aren't good enough to take care of anyone, including their own son. But since Dudley didn't appear to be starving or bullied like Harry was, I didn't try to take him too." She pointed out, voice firm. "And I would appreciate it if you didn't talk to my kid that way."

"Starving? Potter?" Snape looked her over, the word seeming to have shocked him. May's eyes narrowed in defiance.

"He's twelve pounds under the lowest weight percentile for his age group. Do you have any idea how dangerous that can be? Look me in the eye and tell me you would leave a child in that situation." She challenged him. Snape didn't take her up on it and just glanced back down at Harry, as if really considering him.

"What!?" Tony's angry voice cut through the sudden silence, yanking everyone's attention over to him. "Are you kidding me? Get him on the phone-No, I don't care what time it is. Get him on the phone."

Harry glanced over and wondered if perhaps his other cousin had somehow gotten himself in trouble or 'tried to cheat the system' as Tony had called it earlier.

"Harold. Congratulations on the election." Tony greeted whoever it was on his phone. That was a little odd. Harry didn't think that sort of thing worked here. He wondered about the election that Tony had mentioned but turned his attention to May and Snape again.

"I'll be on my way." Snape decided. "I hope this all gets resolved before you have to return to work." He told May with a nasty sort of sneer before moving away and heading out the back door where Harry knew the entrance to Diagon Alley was. He'd been half afraid, half hoping that May might lose her temper and punch Snape too, but she only glared coldly at him and watched him go while Tony argued with someone off to the side.

Once Snape had left, May let out a small sigh and released Harry's shoulders. She gently turned him back towards her and looked him over.

"Are you okay?" She asked him. Harry nodded. "You said he was one of your teachers?" She asked.

"Er.. yeah, my potions teacher." He offered. "He doesn't like me much." May shook her head lightly in disappointment and Harry wondered if maybe he'd done something wrong.

"Bullying children…" She muttered. "He should be ashamed." Harry wondered what she'd have to say about how Snape treated Neville. "I know it's not what you're used to but you can come to me if he bothers you." May told him. Harry wasn't so sure that was a good idea but she didn't seem to be at all intimidated by Snape.

"It's alright.. Aunt May.. I still get decent marks in his class-decent enough." Harry tried to insist. May just gently squeezed his shoulder and glanced over at Tony to see if he was done arguing. He wasn't.

"He shouldn't be treating people that way, much less children." She said firmly. "Well, we'll worry about that later, we should probably think about getting dinner, hm?" She offered.

"Erm.. we could just eat here?" Harry offered. May raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know, Harry, you're on a very strict diet until you gain at least ten pounds, remember?" Harry wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that. He'd never had any trouble with eating what he liked before. Maybe he'd often feel a little sick right after leaving the Dursleys and he couldn't eat much before he found himself full, but he didn't think it warranted a whole new diet. At least he was allowed to eat though, that was certainly a step up.

"I'll order something bland then. Or we could go into Diagon Alley and try one of the cafes there?" He offered. May seemed to be at war with herself and just glanced over at Tony, a thought seemed to form in her head.

"They don't take Amex, do they?" She asked, watching Tony argue on the phone some more. Harry frowned. He wasn't even sure what Amex was.

"Er… no. They take er… the wizarding world has a different currency-but don't worry, I have some Galleons on me."

"Oh. Oh, sweetie. You don't need to do that." May assured him but Harry shook his head.

"It's okay. I want to." He assured her. "And it's getting late, isn't it? We might as well get something close. The Leaky Cauldron is an Inn, we could just stay here tonight?" May bit her lip, considering it.

"Yeah, I want it at 9AM at the latest. You're really messing up my Timeline here, Jones." Tony was finally done arguing. He looked so irritated that Harry had to fight the impulse to hide behind May.

"Sorry, Harry. Sounds like your travel documents were delayed but don't worry, I've got it settled, we're picking them up tomorrow at Nine." Tony said definitively, his irritation melting away enough so that Harry knew it wasn't him Tony was mad at. "Anyways, we should probably get you something to eat."

"If I may." Tom cut in once things had more or less settled down. "From what I gather it's been quite a day for young Mr Potter. Might I suggest staying here for the night? It's somewhere Harry's familiar with and room eleven is free. Plus, it'll take nothing to conjure up an extra cot."

"Harry mentioned he wanted to stay here." May added in. Tony ran his tongue over his teeth in thought and then looked at Harry, considering the bar keeper's offer.

"Yeah, okay." He finally relented. "When in Rome, right?"

oooOOOooo

Tom made sure the three of them had a table in a far corner so no one that came in might harass the small group and at May's request, made sure that Harry was given bland foods that were rich in nutrients. Harry still thought it was just a bit much but he didn't complain.

Finally, after they had finished dinner and Harry was feeling pleasantly full, Tony pulled out a stack of papers and set it on the table. Harry recognized his Uncle's signature on it and suddenly felt dizzy again.

"Okay, so I've gotta come clean. I said the Dursleys signed over guardianship of you, kid but the truth is they're missing one signature.

"What? Whose-?" Harry felt panic rising in his chest but before it could get to be too intense he was saved from the downward spiral.

"Mine." May interrupted him. "They signed you over to me but I have to sign too." She explained.

"And then it's a done deal." Tony said smoothly, handing the papers over to May. Harry watched with baited breath. He didn't quite understand how it worked but from what he did understand, the moment May signed that paper then he, Harry Potter, became her kid.

May took a pen out of her purse and clicked the top. The sound was impossibly loud to him and he watched in almost slow motion as she pressed the pen to the paper. He thought he was free before but now he really was seconds away from escaping the Dursley's forever. It felt surreal. Like a dream that was far too good to be true. He kept waiting for something to happen, the papers to catch fire, someone to burst through the door, anything.

May paused.

"Something wrong?" Tony pressed. May shook her head and let out a sigh.

"I just… I wish Ben were here." She admitted before signing her name 'Maybelle Parker.' And it was done. She'd signed the papers and Harry's thoughts were cut short because Tony had noticed her full name.

"Wait, seriously? Your full name is Maybelle?" Tony asked, grinning mischievously at her.

"Shut up, Tony." She hissed at him, her cheeks might have maybe gone a bit pink.

"I thought May was your full name." He wouldn't let it go.

"Sorry to disappoint." She growled at him.

"Oh no, I'm not disappointed." Tony grinned. "I think this is my favorite thing about you." He scooped up the papers and shoved them into a briefcase. "Well, congratulations Maybelle, it's a boy." May rolled her eyes at him and took a sip of her drink.

"Er.. I don't mean to interrupt or anything.." Harry spoke up, the two adults looking over at him. "Do I.. can I-can I keep my last name?" He asked carefully. May and Tony looked at each other for a moment and exchanged looks.

"Of course you can, Harry." May assured him, gently.

"We're not changing your legal name, kid." Tony added on. "This is just declaring May your legal guardian. It just makes her responsible for you. It doesn't change your identity."

"Good." Harry found himself saying. Although, if he had changed his name it might stop people from looking at his scar anytime he introduced himself. Harry wondered if he should maybe tell them about Voldemort and about his parents and then he worried if maybe he should have done that before May signed those papers. Perhaps he should keep it secret for now? Until he knew how to bring it up to them.

Sometime after dinner Tom pulled Harry aside while May and Tony were talking about plans for tomorrow. He pulled him into the kitchen and bolted the door before facing the boy.

"As I understand it, you've left your relatives." Tom pointed out.

"Yes." Harry nodded, not too sure why it mattered to Tom. "I don't care what Professor Dumbledore says. I'm not going back."

"Calm down, Mr Potter." Tom told him, holding his heads up in defeat. "I only heards bits of what Mrs Parker was saying to Severus, but she seemed pretty determined. Do you really want to go with these muggles?"

"Yes." Harry nodded. "They got me out of the Dursleys and I know New York's a bit far but any where's better than there. You heard May say that I was underweight-the Dursley's barely let me eat."

"You're sure about this? They are your family, after all." The man said, his tone innocent and the words felt like poison, casting a hideous feeling of doubt in his head. Rather than voice it though, he just nodded.

"It's done anyway, Mr Stark he-he said he convinced them to sign me over to May. I know they're my family but I really don't want to go back. More than anything, I don't want to go back."

Tom just let out a sigh and squeezed Harry's shoulder in support. "If that's what you want." He said vaguely. "I'll put you and the Muggles up for the night and you'll have time to think about it some more." Tom told him before unbolting the door and sending Harry out again.

oooOOOooo

May had had an exhaustingly productive day and she was glad when they finished up dinner and retired to the room the inn keeper had offered to them. The room was nice and cozy and Tom lit the fireplace with the flick of a wand. She could tell that Tony was impressed by the motion and he moved over to inspect the fire. After confirming it was, indeed, a real fire that could do real damage Tony stepped back and let Tom conjure a cot that looked more like a twin sized bed.

"I'll.. take the cot." He offered, though he didn't look thrilled about it.

"I'll take the cot." May stated, though she wasn't too thrilled about it either. It looked so small and she didn't really want a sore back in the morning.

"I'll sleep on the cot." Harry told them. "It's small and clearly meant for someone my size." May glanced at Tony and sucked in a breath. Harry was such a sweet kid, he probably didn't know why that might be a little problematic.

"Harry, that's really kind of you to offer but-"

"What's wrong May? Don't want to sleep with me?" Tony wiggled his eyebrows at her and May promptly elbowed him in the sternum.

"You have a fiancé." She reminded him coldly.

"I was kidding." Tony coughed out. "It's just one night. I promise to behave." May really wished he'd keep the innuendos to a minimum with a twelve year old in the room but that might have been asking too much of Tony Stark.

"You'd better." She hissed at him. Harry blinked at them both in confusion but wisely decided not to say anything, he just gathered up his bedclothes and disappeared into the bathroom to take a shower and change.

Tony waited until he could hear running water before turning to May who was sorting through the stuff she'd brought up from the car.

"Okay, you mind telling me why you're so pissed at me?" He asked casually. May snapped her head up, giving him a glare that told Tony he was right in suspecting she was mad.

"I'm not." She denied before going back to rooting through her things.

"If it's about the Maybelle thing-" He started.

"It has nothing to do with my name." She told him curtly.

"Aha! So you are mad!" Tony pointed out and May just stopped what she was doing and zipped her overnight bag up again.

"I'm not mad." She denied again. "But ever since you got here, all you've done is throw money around. And kudos to you, it worked. But I can't do that and you're making it clear that you don't think I can handle this on my own." She pointed out.

Tony frowned and started to shake his head. "May, that's not true, you know that's not true."

"Do I? You've paid for every single thing since you got here this morning and it's making me feel like you think I can't financially support another kid." She hissed. "I appreciate you helping me get him out of that situation but you don't have to pay for every goddamn thing. I know how to budget."

Tony held his hands up in surrender as he considered May's concern. This was her biggest issue with rich people. They thought they could save the world just by tossing money around rather than figure out where the shortage came from in the first place.

"I don't think you're not capable-as a matter of fact I think you're the most capable." He offered. "Look, I'm just-I know it's gonna be tight for you when you get back and I didn't want you to have to worry about that right now." He told her.

"I don't need you paying for every little thing." She growled. "I can't just rely on you to pay for things when money gets tight."

Tony watched her for a moment and then scrubbed at his face with one hand. Surely he could see her point. It wouldn't be right for her to come to him with any and all her financial issues. She can't just depend on him to solve all her problems.

"Why do you think you have to do everything alone?" Tony finally asked, his tone almost uncharacteristically gentle.

"Because, in case you haven't noticed, Ben's not here anymore." She snapped and Tony winced. She paused as what she'd said registered in her brain and a thick silence settled over them both, the only sound was the running water from the shower.

"You're not…" Tony shifted and sucked in a breath before letting it out was not his area of expertise. "You have people in your corner." He stated bluntly. "It's not that I don't think you can do it alone, I don't want you to do it alone. You have… so much to worry about already, let me worry about some of it for you. At least until you get back to Queens."

May sat down on the bed and just stared at the window as she considered his words and how she'd hideously misinterpreted his actions. She really did feel as though all his help was a subtle reminder she'd never be able to do it without him, but she also thought about her own resonsponse. It wasn't that she was in denial about Ben being gone. It was hard to stay in denial when she had to cough up about twenty-five grand to pay for a funeral especially when they had very suddenly found themselves to be a single income household. On top of all of that, she'd had to quickly find a new place to live.

"You clearly need some time." Tony told her. "I'm gonna go check in with Pepper." May nodded to show she'd heard him and then shook her head.

"I'm okay, thank you." She offered. Tony watched her for a moment and then ducked out of the room. May laid back down and fell asleep faster than she'd meant to.

oooOOOooo

When Harry had finished his shower he noticed the room was quiet. He came out to find May had already fallen asleep and Tony was seated on the bed with a tablet out and appeared to be reading. He looked up when he noticed Harry had come out and pressed a finger to his lips.

"She's exhausted." He whispered, gesturing towards May. Harry nodded. He remembered that she'd been up before him this morning and he was fairly certain he fell asleep before her last night. She must not have gotten much sleep.

"Erm.. D'you mind if I er… write a letter to my friends?" Harry asked, trying not to sound too hopeful. "I need to tell them about what's happened."

"Sure, knock yourself out." Tony shrugged. "Or you can borrow my phone and give them a call." Harry shook his head. He should probably tell them more about the wizarding world tomorrow.

"Er… well, actually we don't-wizards don't really use phones-or electricity. My friend Hermione says that magic has a way of affecting electricity so it shorts everything out." Harry stated. "Wich.. I'm really surprised your tablet and phone even work here."

"Yeah, I own the leading company in technology and I'm constantly working on ways for my tech to work better." He explained. "And anyways, your friend knows humans run on electricity, right? Relatively low levels but enough to power a lightbulb."

"Oh." Harry frowned in thought. He didn't know that but Hermione probably did. "She probably just meant electronics couldn't work around magic." He backtracked. Tony shrugged.

"Maybe magic and electronics aren't compatible now but I've always found a way around the impossible. Do you need to borrow a pen for your letter or?"

"Oh, no, I've got that covered thanks." Harry shook his head and went to gather up a few of the things he'd brought up from the car with him including some parchment and his ink quill and inkwell. He uncorked the jar of ink and dipped his quill so he could write out a quick letter to Ron.

Ron,

You'll never believe what's happened. My uncle's grandmother passed away just recently and some family I'd not met from America showed up. She found out how the Dursleys had been treating me and took me with her!

I think they'll still let me go to school, but I'll be moving to New York with her. I can't wait to tell you all about it!

-Harry.

Ron's letter done, he set about writing one to Hermione and then crossed over to Hedwig. He opened her cage and attached the letters to her foot and sent her on her way with instructions to deliver them to Ron and Hermione.

"She gonna be able to find Forest Hills?" Tony asked after a moment. Harry frowned at him. "It's the name of the neighborhood they live in." He explained.

"She hasn't let me down yet." Harry stated proudly. Tony shrugged and returned his attention to his tablet. "..They'll let me go, won't they? I know Professor Dumbledore-er-the Headmaster of my school-isn't.. I've tried to leave before, you know? I asked Professor Dumbledore my first year if I could just stay at Hogwarts and he said no and last year My friend's mum offered to let me stay with them over the holidays but he said no to that too, so I just… it hard to think…"

Tony set the tablet down and stared at the kid for a moment and finally gestured for him to come over. Harry was a little reluctant mostly because he tried to stay out of arm's reach of anyone that wasn't someone he implicitly trusted, but finally he moved over and sat up on the bed, careful to avoid waking May.

"Look kid," Tony started, rubbing his eyebrow. "I'm not the best at this kinda thing so you'll have to bear with me-I know you've been through a lot. More than any kid should be and hey, you got that in common with your cousin so if you need to talk to someone-ignore that." He stopped mid sentence.

"What you need to know is that it's done, okay? May signed the papers acknowledging herself as your guardian and that is a very legally binding document. The Headmaster or whoever can kick up a fuss but what's done is done. There was a small hold on your travel documents but once I talked to the Prime Minister he immediately released the hold. It's done, okay? You don't have to worry about ever seeing Vernon or Petunia Dursley ever again."

"You're sure?" Harry pressed, not wanting to fall into a false sense of security. "Snape's probably already told Dumbledore and-"

"If they try to fight then May will fight right back. I've seen her temper at its worst before and she's not backing down for anything."

"They're gonna remind her their my family and that they must care for me or-"

"Yeah, that's bullshit." Tony stated firmly. "Sorry for the language and maybe they do care, deep, deep down but that doesn't change the fact it's not a safe environment for you to grow up in. Even if it is just for summer break. Just because they're your family doesn't mean they can't hurt you, as I'm sure you're… all too… well, I'm sure you know."

Harry nodded, because he did know.

"It's just… it feels kind of surreal that I'll never have to see them again like this is just some sort of dream. But I also feel guilty because I'm not sad about it. I should be, shouldn't I?"

"Nope." Tony said flatly. "Not even a little. What they put you through? Wasn't right. Not by a long shot and being glad to be out of a bad situation isn't wrong. It's human." Harry nodded as though he understood but he didn't really. The Dursley's had taken him in, after all and although he would hesitate to say they clothed him since all of his clothes were Dudely's old ones.

"So you don't think I'm being ungrateful towards them? I mean they did take me in." He point out.

"Yeah? A terrorist cell took me in rather than let me bleed out in the dessert and held me captive for three months. Yeah, I'm grateful I didn't get left to die but that doesn't mean I was gonna feel bad about torching the place when I finally managed to escape." Tony stated bluntly.

"I don't think that's the same-" Harry started, a little shaken by that revelation.

"Besides, you're a kid. If you don't feel safe in your own home that's on them, not you. A Guardian's job is to take care of a kid and if your basic needs aren't being met then the fact that they took you in means jackshit and they failed at their job."

Harry bit his lip and then nodded his head in understanding. He wanted to argue that they did feed him sometimes but felt that wouldn't help anything. Besides, he had no reason to argue on the Dursleys' behalf and had no idea why he felt so determined to do so. He just wanted to make sure all the facts were known.

"...Thanks." He offered instead.

"No problem kid, now get to bed. We have to get you stateside tomorrow." Tony nodded. Harry gave him a small smile and slipped off the bed to crawl into the cot Tom had provided.