Story Title: RIPPLE EFFECT

Chapter Rating: K+

"speech"

'thoughts'

Chapter Six ( Monday June 30th)

Yesterday had been a very stressful day for everyone in the Dursley household and today wasn't starting off any better at first. Usually Petunia would try and get appointments set up so the boys would be seen the same day within an hour or so of the other. Unfortunately, their had only been one opening in the dentist that day which was why Edward was going to work with his uncle while Dudley had to go with his mother to the dentist. Normally, one of the neighbors or a friend of the family would have taken Edward for the day, but with all the upheaval of the previous day, they thought it best if their nephew stay with Vernon. Dudley wanted to complain and whine how unfair it was, but Edward was actually relieved that he'd be with his uncle rather than having to go to the dentist. It wasn't just the fact that he hated that nasty paste that they had to squish in their mouths with the foamy mouth thing either. Sure, the dentist gave you a choice of which flavor to use, but they were all nasty and made the boy want to gag. Better it was his cousin that had to suffer today rather than him.

Edward had packed a coloring book, a pack of crayons, a couple books and a few toys along with the lunch his aunt made for him in his lunch box. He'd huffed when the woman had told him to be sure to take a change of clothes 'just in case'. He'd yet to have an accident! He was fully potty trained and was only a month away from being five, thank you very much! Aunt Petunia gave him 'the look' though so with a sullen expression he'd resentfully went and grabbed another set of clothes and crammed them in his backpack with a glare. Dudley had smirked at him and Edward stuck his tongue out at the boy causing the smirk to morph into a grin.

"Everyone got everything then?" Vernon asked as the family exited the house so he could lock the door.

"Yes, I've checked Dudley's bag as well as Ned's." Petunia knew her nephew and had made sure he'd actually packed the clothes she'd asked him to. She wouldn't have put it past him to say he did but stuff them under his bed or somewhere else while they weren't looking. "Don't forget to pick up the dessert for tonight."

At the reminder that they would be having guests for dinner, Vernon just grunted unhappily and got his family into the car so he could drop off his wife and son before going to work with his nephew. Yesterday after they'd gotten rid of one hassle and had been eating before their jaunt to the park, they'd received a phone call they'd never expected to get. Their Sunday had been one where they'd had to explain to Ned about his step-father's world in more depth than they'd done the past four years. How Lily had always wanted and planned on naming her son Edward James Evans. James had wanted to name him Harry James Potter and had done so when he'd adopted him. Petunia hadn't told her nephew how angry Lily had gotten when he'd done that as well as many other things that were left omitted from the letters that were sent to her. It was explained in a way that he would understand that since he'd been adopted by a wizard, his magic had accepted him as a Potter and that was what the magical world knew him as. Then there was a bit more in depth explanation about the evil wizard that had killed James and Lily. How in order to try and protect Ned, he'd been sent to his mother's world where the magical people wouldn't look for him and under the name his mother had called him.

Of course they'd also had to tell him about his birth father after explaining that James had been his step-father. Ned had been upset since he'd thought both his parents were dead. With his limited knowledge he'd believed that if you had a step-parent it was because birth parent was either dead or divorced. So naturally he'd asked if his mother had been divorced from his father or if he was dead. When he'd learned it was neither they'd had to tell him that he was alive and was actually an American. It had been hard to tell the boy that the man hadn't known about him after Ned's soft and hurt, "Didn't he want me?"

Naturally that was when the bloody phone had to ring and they'd learned that the man was in England and had wanted to meet with them. Vernon learned that Petunia had sent the man a picture they'd taken at one of Ned's games, along with a copy of the boy's end of year report. She hadn't thought he would actually reply as he hadn't when they'd sent the school photo or responded to the letter that had accompanied it. Since they'd been talking about the subject, Vernon hadn't tried to hide the phone call and the family had stayed quiet as they listened to one side of the conversation. When he'd hung up, he'd told them that that had been Mr. Stark's assistant. They'd planned for the man to come introduce himself to the boy on Monday evening for him to get a cheek swab and see how things went. Then on Tuesday when they didn't have any appointments for the boys Mr. Stark could come by later in the morning to give Ned a night to think about everything. The day would be spent with the two getting to know each other. It would give the Dursleys a day to breathe and try and find out how Ned felt about everything since he'd been quiet since the information dump on Sunday. Well, he'd been quiet after he'd angrily blown up at them and wanted to know why they hadn't told his birth father sooner. That bout of anger had caused a melt down when he'd accidentally used his ability to vanish. They'd learned he'd somehow teleported to the park. He'd been scared and very apologetic when he'd come home unsure what to expect from Vernon and Petunia. Ned had only ever used his ability once before that they were aware of and that had been when he'd caught a bout of the flu.

After having been reassured that he wouldn't get punished for something he couldn't control, Vernon had sat down with his nephew and gave him a watered down version of how he'd grown up. About how he wasn't sure what kind of man Ned's father was, but didn't want to risk it. After having experienced Marge's (since he was told he didn't have to call her aunt) slap, the boy could understand. Vernon had also explained that it wasn't fair though to keep that secret from Mr. Stark about him having a son. When Ned had asked about what if he'd be like Marge, Vernon had countered with maybe he wasn't. That maybe Ned would help him change since it had been Ned and Dudley that had helped Vernon change. That confession had caused the boy's eyes to go wide and Vernon to smile and since then Ned had been quietly contemplative.

He seemed rather excited however to be going to the office with him. This wouldn't be the boy's first trip, but it wasn't a regular occurrence. It had struck the man's humor as well as pride after the first time Ned had been to the office with him and wanted a lamp just like he did for his own desk at home. The last time the boy had accompanied him he'd stayed in the corner out of the way entertaining himself until he was either hungry or had to go to the toilet. He was certainly much quieter than Dudley. His son would grow bored but would actually pay attention when his father was doing the ledgers. The boy would either stand on tiptoes to see what his father was doing or sit in his lap. When he wasn't pressed for time, Vernon would sometimes explain the numbers to his son and even allow him to do some of the maths.

When they got to the office, Edward greeted and returned greetings of the adults that he knew or that said hello to him. He went to what he'd dubbed 'his' corner of the office behind and to the left of his uncle's desk. This way, he could look out the big window if he wanted to. He'd done that before when he'd grown bored of reading, coloring, or playing. He'd watch the movements below and sometimes he'd just allow his imagination to run wild as he gazed down at the tiny specs wondering what they were doing or where they were going. He'd made up a game where he would make up a name for a person or persons if he chose a car and would image out exactly what their day would be like and what they'd be doing. Not everything was normal, oh no. Sometimes he'd imagine the person or people were on their way to an adventure.

There was even a big cushion pillow and a small blanket that was in the corner for him when he got tired and wanted to take a nap. His uncle had gotten them the first time he'd ever had to bring him or Dudley to the office. When the boys weren't there to use them, the cushion and blanket were kept in the coat closet. If Edward felt sleepy, all he'd have to do is go to the closet and pull out the cushion and blanket and allow the drone of his uncle's voice as he made sales lull him to sleep. That had been the routine. Today, would be different. Today, Edward had a lot to think about as he sat and looked out the window. Somewhere out there was his father and he was coming tonight to see him.

Today was utterly boring. It had gone exactly as Tony had known it would go. He'd been roused from bed from Pepper a few hours after he'd actually gone to sleep. There had been numerous cups of coffee and the patented mixture of disappoint, exasperation, and attitude that was Pepper Potts as she'd herded him to the car. Despite him trying to tell her to relax, she didn't and wouldn't until the whole deal was done. To try and change the subject and because he'd generally wanted to know, he'd asked, "So, what time are they expecting us?"

"Nine o'clock, it hasn't changed." Pepper frowned at him wondering if he'd had too much to drink when he slipped out last night leaving her to speak with the Dursleys by herself before she realized her mistake when Tony stared at her. Before she could correct herself, he stated as if it should have been obvious which it was when one considered Tony and his priorities. "I know what time we're meeting Fuller. I meant the kid and his family."

"Tomorrow about eleven o' clock before lunch," Pepper replied after checking the schedule missing the look herboss sent her at finding out he had to wait another day.

"Tomorrow?" While he knew that not everyone would be able to drop everything just because he'd asked, even if they were far and few between, it was still rather annoying. As anxious as he was even if he wouldn't let others see it, Tony was still curious and impatient and thought he'd be able to get through today with the thought that he'd get to see the kid later. As it was, he'd need a day for the DNA results to be checked and confirmed that he was indeed a father. That word alone caused him to twitch even if it was mentally.

"Well, tomorrow is the soonest they could have a most of a full day free. They had agreed to dinner tonight so we could get the swab, for you two to meet and answer some questions I'm assuming." She didn't even want to get into how she'd had to talk quickly in order to get them to agree to the quick meet and greet let alone allowing Tony to tag along the entire day with the family. Pepper wasn't even sure if the kid even knew about what was going on. All she had known was that Vernon Durlsey after learning who she worked for and the reason behind her call had been very stiff and slightly rude. The rudeness she could pass off as perplexed with the whole thing. In fact, she was rather surprised that they had agreed at all for her boss to intrude upon their day but had to give it to them that they weren't changing their schedule for Tony. That if he wanted any chance to talk to the kid, he'd be the one to have to change his agenda to match theirs.

At learning that he didn't have to wait until tomorrow Tony perked up a little. It seemed like today wouldn't be a complete loss. Although it was still a bit too early to tell but he was hoping that his meeting with his potential progeny didn't go south. He could fret about his inadequacies as a father later, after he'd been bored to tears with Fuller.

"Dinner, huh? Haven't had an English dinner in years. Should be fun."

Petunia was feeling stressed out and pressed for time which was making her a bit irritable. She as well as Vernon had been brought up where when you had company you served them the best. With having to take Dudley to the dentist which had not been fun in the slightest as her son was sulky that he had to go while Ned didn't. Telling him that Ned had an appointment next week did not cheer the boy up at all as he stayed in a mood until they reached the dentist. He'd been sidetracked by some comics that he'd looked at while Petunia had checked them in. Then he'd wanted to know if he could have some fish. When she'd said not tonight that maybe tomorrow he could have some fish and chips, he'd told her he didn't want fish to eat but he wanted them as pets. That had thrown her for a loop. When she'd inquired why, he said that most people had pets and fish were pretty and that neither Vernon nor her would have to take care of them. Fish didn't have to be taken for walks, or shed, didn't have claws, and wouldn't get underfoot to trip on. He'd actually had a good argument, but she told him he'd have to ask his father. At that her son had gone back into sulking and stating that that meant no.

After the dentist, she tried to get Dudley to play quietly after he'd had his snack while she got started on dinner. Naturally without Ned there to distract him, he got bored after so long and wandered back into the kitchen to watch his mother. Climbing onto his chair, he kneeled on it, hands clutching the backrest as his eyes followed his mother's movements. "Will dad let me have fish?"

"I don't know," Petunia replied distractedly as she seasoned the roast and stuck it in the oven. She had learned from trial and error from the early years of her marriage with Vernon on how to get all the food prepared and ready to eat at once. Of course it had been many many tries to learn how to make a decent roast as well since she only had cook books to go off of and they all naturally had variations and contradictions in them. Thankfully Vernon had weathered it out with her trying any of the meals she made and giving her honest critique.

"I want fish."

"Why?"

When she didn't get a verbal response, Petunia turned and asked her question again and got a shrug from her son in reply. He didn't tell her that Ned had told him about the class fish they had and that after seeing the movie Petunia had taken them to weeks ago had caused him to want them. They were pretty and didn't take up much room. He could put them on his desk and they'd be his since he had his own room now. Ned had gotten his own room since he'd be going into grade one come fall and would 'need to concentrate' and that way since they had different friends and wanted to do different things sometimes. While he knew that his cousin liked fish, that was why they were supposed to go to the aquarium tomorrow, he didn't know if he would want fish as pets. Dudley also didn't voice that a fish couldn't run away and that it sounded easy to take care of. He didn't have to be gentle with a fish like he was always told to be when he was around pets of his friends.

"We'll see," his mother finally answered and he smiled while she shooed him out putting on a Pokemon movie for him knowing he'd stayed glued to it. She wasn't sure if Toy Story was such a good idea after the reaction the boys had when they'd watched it the first time. A smile twitched at her face as she went back to the kitchen recalling Ned and Dudley prodding their toys and trying to catch them moving on their own.

The morning was predictably boring with Tony mentally mapping out the building, taking note of the employees, and having Pepper mark certain files. With the tediousness behind him, he had hours to fill until they were due to arrive in Surrey. Pepper made sure they left in plenty of time so they could find the place as well as bring a bottle of wine. Something that Tony would have overlooked due to the fact that he didn't usually worry or care about such niceties. She had been surprised Tony had even asked about the wine wondering if he should bring it since there would be kids there and what was the legal drinking age in Britain? It wasn't as if he'd ever paid attention to the law when it came to alcohol.

Glancing over to her boss who was once again fiddling with his phone, Pepper had to admit that she was curious. After being told on the plane that the kid was a result of more than just a 'good time' it hadn't crossed her mind that he would come in person. If anything she would have assumed he'd have not personally gotten involved by just having the doctors get the swab and test it against his own DNA then make some sort of arrangement with the family seeing as the kid had seemed happy in the picture. Tony's remark of, "Pictures can lie, Ms. Potts," had her very curious. Tony would know about that since he'd grown up in front of the constant attention from the media and had learned to put on a smile whenever he saw a camera.

"We might have to take the kid with us just to get him away from the Stepford," Tony muttered as his eyes took in the neighborhood. He shuddered at the conformity of it all.

"Tony," Pepper warned and ignored his whine of, "What? If factory children come out bouncing balls in synchronicity we're leaving."

Barely hearing the exasperated sigh he got from his assistant, Tony knew about home associations and wondered if Britain had the same rules. In America when one bought a house in such a place they were subject to the rules of the association which meant they had to cut their yards to a certain height and so often, how many trees were in the yard, etc. That was why he didn't belong to one and had built his mansion where he wanted after buying the acreage.

"That one," Pepper interrupted his nervous thought and many sarcastic quips he could deliver. "Number four."

The driver pulled over and the two got out, Pepper holding the bottle of wine as Tony nervously smoothed out his blazer and stuffed his phone in his pocket. The woman didn't catch his mutter but she gave him a look that clearly told him to behave. He rolled his eyes and gave a strained smile while biting back his urge to snarkily call her mother. Ringing the doorbell, any doubt that they might have been mistaken about it being the wrong Dursleys vanished when the blond woman answered the door. Before Pepper could utter a word, Tony had already said the woman's name in greeting. "Petunia."

"Stark," came the stiff reply before her eyes traveled to Pepper and the assistant couldn't guess at the brief flash that went across the woman's face before she opened the door and had them enter her home. Pepper offered the bottle of wine which the blond took and went to the kitchen saying she'd get the tea and to please sit.

While Pepper had done that and looking subtly around the room, Tony was more obvious about it. It was kept neat and clean but not overtly so that you would think that no one lived there or that they employed a maid. There were a few generic paintings on the wall but what held their attention were the photographs. There were a couple professional family ones of the Dursleys with both boys dressed nicely and smiling at the camera but you could tell it was the type of smile one game when asked to by a photographer. There were current school pictures in frames along with a scattering of candid ones of various ages.

There was the sound of a thud and childish yells which had both Pepper and Tony looking towards the kitchen that Petunia had disappeared into. Shortly afterwards there was raised voices of children before a command to go wash up that was clearly Petunia's. The woman in question came in bearing a tea tray and an awkward expression. "Boys will be boys," she stated and set the tea tray on the coffee table. "They'll be down shortly."

Taking their seats, Tony was coiled in nerves that he hid as he took a tea cup that was poured for him. Taking the opportunity that was presented with the absence of little ears, he got straight to the point. "Why now?"

Pepper winced and gave the other woman an apologetic look for her rude boss, but it seemed that the blond woman either expected it because she knew of Tony's personality or just expected the question period. Setting her own cup of tea down, Petunia stated simply, "You had a right to know he existed."

"And you couldn't have dropped a line, say, I don't know, when Lily died."

Pink suffused Petunia's cheeks as her eyes hardened. "Would you have come? Would you have taken care of a traumatized toddler? We did what we could and thought right. We sent you a letter a year ago when the boy started school. There was no word from you making it clear you wanted nothing to do with him. I don't know why I sent you the update."

"What letter?" There had been a letter? He turned to Pepper who shook her head just as baffled as he was. Petunia gazed at them suspiciously while Tony's mind whirred. A whole year he should have known about his kid but hadn't due to some clerical error? To answer the blond's accusations he didn't know how he would have acted.

"Traumatized?" Pepper spoke up. Tony told her he'd had doubts about the fire that supposedly killed the boy's family.

"We, Vernon and I, believe he was in the room when his mother was killed," came the quiet answer. She was staring at her hands clasped around her tea cup, ears on alert for the children she missed the widened eyes of her audience and the tight expressions of horror. "What with how he would strongly react whenever we tried to enter the nursery."

Tony frowned. "The death certificate said fire."

Before Petunia could reply, the sounds of small rushing feet could be heard and Petunia sighed as she reprimanded, "No running!"

"Yes, mom." Came at the same time as, "Yes, Aunt 'Tunia"

All three adults stood up as the boys entered the room two of which had to school their expressions when they caught sight of the brunette child.

Edward was practicing dribbling his ball across the backyard while Dudley sat on the back stoop playing with some of his toys when they were called into the house. Well, they were called into the house after Edward accidentally sent some of his cousins toys flying with a stray kick of his ball. The ball also had hit the siding of the house very loudly and he'd winced when his aunt came out and scolded him. Dudley had been about to launch himself at the younger boy before his mother had come out and told them their guest had arrived. Both boys were instructed to go upstairs and wash all the while Edward tried to tell his cousin it was an accident. They hurriedly washed their hands and face and changed out of their play clothes before slowly walking towards the stairs. Dudley had poked Edward when he stopped. "Whats matter?"

The younger bit his lip, hands fidgeting with the hem of his shirt, shoulders hunched. "My tummy hurts."

He'd been stressed and anxious all day thinking about his dad. That's who was downstairs and what if he didn't want him? What if he didn't like him? "What if he's like Aunt Marge?" Despite being told he didn't have to call her that, habit was hard to break.

Dudley caused him to giggle with his serious reply of, "I'll kick him."

Grabbing his hand, Dudley had them running towards the stairs before they were told not to and they gave their typical replies as they walked the rest of the way down the stairs. Both boys looked at the strangers as they entered. Edward ducked his head a bit at being stared at and nearly flushed with embarrassment when Dudley after returning the gazes blurted out, "Are you mean?"

"Beg your pardon?" Was the first thing out of the man's mouth and Dudley counted it a success that his attention had left his cousin.

"Are you mean?" he asked again as if he didn't hear his mother's utterance of his name in that scolding tone of hers. Nor did he listen to his cousin's annoyed hissing of his name. "If you are, I'll kick you."

"Uh...Thanks for the warning?" Came the confused reply.

Petunia couldn't see how this could get any worse yet while she was both mortified and proud of her son's behavior she was also very amused at his 'threat'. She was sure that the other two adults were also slightly amused but made sure not to show it. The red head tried to reassure the boys by saying, "Don't worry, he's only mean to adults."

"Only when they deserve it," Tony pouted.

"Dudley, Ned, this is Mr. Stark and his assistant Ms. Potts." Petunia tried to salvage the first impressions. She already knew that there would be questions after the boys went up to bed and was grateful she'd have her husband with her when that happened. At the moment she wished he'd not forgotten to pick up the cake from Tesco on his way home.

"Tony, please," the man insisted. He squatted in front of Edward who was watching him warily but the man had a friendly enough expression. He sort of reminded him of Justin's dad. "So, which do you prefer? Edward, Eddie, Ned? Please tell me you don't go by Ward."

He'd shrugged at first but at the last he smiled and shook his head. The Dursley's called him Ned and most did, but there were some adults and kids that used his full name.

"Well, its nice to meet you, Eddie. You don't mind me calling you that do you?"

Shaking his head he returned the sentiment, eyes roving the man's face before he stated, "Your beard's funny."

"Oh yeah?"

Edward nodded. He'd never seen someone with a beard like that. He reached out to touch it but quickly retracted his hand when the front door opened and his uncle's voice called out to his aunt about the long wait at the bakery causing Tony to strand up. The men looked at one another, Vernon greeting, "Ah, you're here."

Petunia took the box from her husband and excused herself to the kitchen to oversee the last of the dinner preparations. Tony introduced Pepper who had been half watching her bosses interaction with the boy, as well as listening to the blond child who wanted to know what she did. She greeted Mr. Dursley who greeted her then went to the chair his wife had been sitting in as both Tony and Pepper retook their seats on the sofa. Dudley went and sat in the other chair sharing it with his cousin. After a brief bit of awkwardness and stilted conversation between the adults, the children's natural inquisitiveness overrode any shyness.

Suddenly the boys were bombarding the two adults with questions from if they liked soccer to how come Pepper was ginger. Then it was dinner time which the boys enjoyed since they got to have the sweet apple sauce on their pork and they were really looking forward to the dessert. Dudley chose that moment to ask his dad about getting fish. "Do they sell fish at the aquarium?"

"What?"

"Fish. Do they sell them? They have extras right?"

"I don't think that's how it works," Tony told the kid with amusement.

"Can we ask tomorrow?" Dudley wondered.

"Tomorrow?"

The blond nodded at their male guest. "We're goin' to the aquarium tomorrow."

"You're coming, right?" Edward spoke up looking at the man hopefully. That was what Uncle Vernon said. That Tony was going with them tomorrow so that way he didn't have to wait until they were done. The aquarium might take a long time!

"Don't worry," Pepper smiled at the boy. "Tony is all yours tomorrow."

Giving a shy smile back, Edward turned his eyes back to plate reassured a bit, even if he kept glancing towards the aforementioned man every so often. When they were finished eating, Pepper helped with the clean up while Vernon went to help Dudley with his reading and Tony was being shown Edward's room. The boy led him around the small room by the hand, pointing at different things as he explained about them before he sat on his bed and watched with nervous anticipation. Tony obediently and attentively listened to what he said and went where the boy led, eyes taking in everything to see what made the kid tick. From the dragon backpack and soccer cleats hanging hanging from the desk chair, to the Lion King bedding and teal colored comforter.

There was a globe nightlight on the bedside table that when turned on would cast the night sky about the room. Along with the light, a book on the solar system with a bookmark lay on the nigtstand. Many books in the bookshelf for his age group up to a couple years older. Atop it was a plastic lightsaber because Jedi and Star Wars was awesome! There were even a transformer that was there 'guarding' the red teddy bear with winged gold balls in the design. The bear had once been the pajamas he'd been wearing when he was left with his relatives. A few tubs of K'nex and legos. A poster of a steam locomotive was on the wall. The shelf above the desk held a metal model train, a plush dragon, and a framed photograph of an infant Edward with his mother, both grinning at the camera.

Tony had lingered at the desk and Edward saw his hand twitch like he wanted to pick something up like his own did but the man kept his hand to his side. Instead, he'd turned to him and said, "Space, trains, and soccer huh?"

Edward shrugged. "What do you like?"

"Cars, robots. And building things."

"I like building things!"

Glancing at the tubs of K'nex and Legos Tony had grinned with amusement. "I can see that. What do you usually build?"

The two ended up with a pile of the building toys beside each other as the constructed whatever came to mind. Edward used the K'nex to build a space shuttle while Tony used them to put together a car. They soon had a garage, a shuttle launchpad, and were working on a skyscraper when Vernon had popped in to tell his nephew that it was time for him to get ready for bed. Naturally, the boy pouted and dragged his heels until Tony reminded him that they would see each other again tomorrow. Edward didn't let the man go until he promised.

Following Vernon back down the stairs, Tony wasn't sure what he was feeling at the moment. He'd been anxious when they'd arrived and it hadn't calmed down any when he'd gotten his first good look at the kid in person. In person the there was a stronger resemblance. When he'd seen the greenish yellow healing bruise he was sure that most people's thought process went immediately to abuse, but he hadn't picked up that vibe from either Petunia or Vernon when he'd met them at their wedding. Nor had it seemed to change when he'd met the woman again. He'd assumed the kid had been smacked in the face with a soccer ball or had gotten it there since the kid seemed to love the sport.

But then the blond kid had asked him if he was mean which sent warning bells off in his head that someone had purposely caused that injury. He had to hand it to the kid though for threatening to kick him if he was mean. It seemed Edward was on the shy side or just quiet until he knew someone. He seemed to open up when they were in his room. That hopeful gaze he sent him though at the dinner table really hit him. He was glad that Pepper saved him on that which he made a mental note to ask her about that. He'd not recalled her mentioning anything about any aquarium or outing being on the agenda for tomorrow.

Pepper was seated at the dining table with Petunia when the men joined them. Soon all four adults had a glass of the wine Tony had brought. It was surprisingly Petunia that restarted their conversation from earlier by asking questions.

"How much did Lily tell you about herself?"

"Enough," he stated not wanting to rip at that particular badly healed wound. She'd told him enough that he'd actually trusted her and allowed himself to become deeply attached to her. So much so that he'd been thinking about how she fit into his life. At the time he'd thought he'd known the important bits and would have time to find out everything he didn't know; that she would entrust her secrets to him bit by bit. "Yet it seems she didn't tell me what I truly needed to know."

Petunia seemed to debate about something before she nodded. "Do you recall the terrorist attacks going on during on?"

Pepper gasped as Tony's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying she was killed by a terrorist?" In every paper he'd searched there hadn't been any such accusations around the time of the woman's death. In fact, the only reason he'd been able to locate the paperwork about her husband's house was because he'd had J.A.R.V.I.S search for the name Lily Potter and she was listed as the beneficiary of the deed. Yet for all that was worth, neither he nor J.A.R.V.I.S could track the firm past Wales. That would be another tally for the Lily was a spy theory and the woman's next words seemed to add to it.

"She and her husband were being targeted by the terrorist's leader."

Tony listened to the woman explain that Lily had got caught up in this silent war just before she got involved with James Potter. How they'd gone into hiding but had been sold out and were killed because of it. That somehow the leader had been caught in the backlash of whatever he'd done to the house and left Edward without his parents. Tony winced at that but frowned when told that the boy had been left with them and how the Dursleys had coped with the sudden addition to their family. The boy's interest in soccer and how he was doing in school. How they'd decided it was time to finally tell Tony about Edward.

"I didn't receive that letter," Tony informed them once again. Pulling out his phone and finding the correct picture he handed it over saying, "That was the first and only picture I received."

"Well, we sent you one back in October." Petunia got up an fetched a picture from a drawer and handed it over. "That was the one we sent along with a letter."

While Pepper took the picture before handing it to Tony, he glanced at it as he listened to the woman summarize the letter. Essentially they'd wanted to inform him he had a son and they would provide proof if he needed it, but didn't want any compensation for taking care of him all these years. That he was being well looked after and they would continue to do so. If he was so inclined to be a part of the boy's life or not let them know so they would know what to say to their nephew.

"And as you never got a reply you thought that in itself was the answer," he concluded. Staring at them, he turned his gaze to Vernon. "What happened to his face?"

There was a flush of embarrassment and anger before it was controlled by Petunia's hand on her husband's. "My sister, Marge. She's been handled." He didn't have to say that there would not be a repeat occurrence. After a measured stare, Tony nodded.

"What do you plan to do?" Came the question that had been plaguing both Dursleys since Pepper had called them. They wanted to know what his intentions toward their nephew was. Swallowing, Tony honestly admitted, "I don't know."

He'd like to be in his kid's life but he had doubts about what kind of father he would be. He thought he could do better than his own father, but he could probably do a lot worse without meaning to. While Tony's childhood had been less than ideal having no privacy and having to embrace that, he'd never seen his parents murdered in front of him either. Nor had he ever been struck by a family member. First, he'd have to get confirmation even though by this point it would likely just be superfluous to get the cheek swab. As he'd not gotten it tonight, he likely would be able to tomorrow.

Tony and Pepper ended up thanking the Dursleys and Pepper was asking about the Dursleys schedule while Tony called for their car to pick them up. They left the house with many things left unresolved but a tentative understanding.

"Well, that went well. Didn't it?" Tony asked just to be sure, once they were back in the car heading towards their hotel.

"Yes," Pepper replied with a smile. "You did good, Tony."

Having her affirm that some of the tension he'd been carrying around relaxed and disappeared. First impressions had gone rather well. It seemed his kid was being well taken care of and his appreciation for the Dursleys rose another notch. Then as if recalling the conversation from earlier, he asked, "Run that aquarium thing by me again?"

AN – Sorry once again for the lateness of the chapter! I've been sick and not really feeling like logging on or even typing up anything. There is also the fact that I have so many different ways I wrote this chapter up originally and wasn't sure which way to go until I got to the point where I said I was posting it and not delaying it any longer. I have no idea where Godric's Hollow was supposed to be. Its been awhile since I've read The Deathly Hallows. But eh, this is fanfic so its now in Wales.

And I'm sure I'll be having to up the rating to T soon...On a different note, I just saw Coco for the first time a few days ago and really enjoyed it. I can't believe I hadn't seen it earlier! As always, thank you for reading and apologies for any mistakes. Creative criticism welcomed ^_^