Story Title: RIPPLE EFFECT

"speech"

'thoughts'

Chapter Eight (Wednesday July 2nd )

Dudley was watching a pokemon movie that he had gotten for his birthday (again) so sighing, Edward got up and went outside to practice his soccer. The boys didn't know it but Dennis' father had connections to a bootlegger which was the reason why he and in extension Dudley were able to have those movies. Edward liked a couple of the creatures but for the most part he didn't like the cartoon and wold have preferred to have watched Thomas since they actually talked! He was sure that his cousin liked the battles and seemed to love to see Team Rocket 'blasting off again'.

As he was going through the kitchen to the backyard he saw his aunt was in the middle of making steak and kidney pie for their meal later. It was one of Edward's favorite's and he thought his aunt made the best ones! Neither Justin or Malcolm's mothers made the pies as good as his aunt! When he'd told her that, it had made his aunt really happy which made him happy. Seeing him with his ball, his aunt wondered, "What's wrong, Ned?"

"Dudley's watchin' his movie again," was all he needed to say for her to have an understanding expression and told him to be careful of the greenhouse. That was where she grew her herbs and the cuttings for her flowers during the winter. The boy nodded. "Gonna practice dribbling."

"The cone's are in the shed," she told him. "Don't forget to practice juggling!"

"Thanks, Aunt 'Tunia." Edward knew that he needed to practice dropping the ball onto his foot and kicking it up to catch it so he could progress to where he can kick it in the air and allow it to drop and kick it up with the other foot. The cones and practice net for him to kick the ball at were kept in the shed along with a ball pump and a few extra soccer balls. When it was time for him to practice being a goalie, they used the cones at the park just in case of a stray ball.

After a bit, his aunt came out to see him dribbling with the laces and outer edges of his feet. He would use the right foot going one way then he'd swap to the other foot going the other. His couch hadn't wanted them to form any bad habits so had told his aunt and uncle to watch him and to remind him not to use his inner foot when he was at home. Mostly that job was left to Vernon as he was the one most often to play with Edward when he was practicing and even just to have fun.

Wiping her hands on her dishtowel, Petunia called, "Time to come clean up, Ned."

Nodding, he stopped the ball by placing his foot atop it, and biting his lip, he wondered if he should ask his aunt what he'd been wondering. As he gathered the cones, he wondered if his father would be back again anytime soon. He'd had fun with him when he came over the last two times. He wanted to know how long he would be here because he knew that business trips lasted only a short time. Uncle Vernon went on business trips sometimes and had to stay away for a night or two, but he didn't go to another country!

By the time he'd finished putting away his equipment, his aunt was back inside sitting at the table with the family calendar. It had Dudley's swim practices and meets, Edward's soccer training and matches, Petunia's schedule for her sewing group as well as the odd jobs she had. Vernon's trips when he had them were penned in along with their annual vacation. Before he could sit down, his aunt directed him to the washroom to clean up. When he came back he fidgeted with the hem of his shirt as he watched her and knowing her nephew, she soon asked him what was on his mind.

"D-do, you think, they'll be back?" 'Them' of course being Tony and Ms. Pepper. Tony had said that he would be back but he hadn't promised like he had last time. He didn't like fish so maybe he hadn't liked that they went to an aquarium? His stomach was starting to hurt.

Petunia sighed and putting down the calendar and pen, she placed her hands atop her nephew's which were still worrying the hem of his shirt. He stopped and let go as she gently pulled his hands away and pulled him close to maneuver him up onto her lap. The boy didn't look up at all as his aunt hugged him. "I'm sure he'll be back. You'll see."

She didn't tell him that Stark would be back to at least give back the letters and the box. Or at she hoped that he would. She felt Ned nod against her and his mumbled, "He said he would..." He just hadn't said when. Tony had said soon and that could mean different than Edward's or even the Dursleys soon.

There was no such thing as magic. Illusions, sleight of hand, misdirection, all those were real and true. There was a science and an art to it; that Tony could acknowledge. It was still parlour tricks and fakery much like how 'psychics' used observation of body language and facial cues to navigate their sessions to spout their nonsense. It was complete garbage. Yet the Dursleys believed in this; stated that the two opposing cults believed and lived this as well. For some reason, Lily had been caught up in this strangeness and had been brainwashed. The only thing that could pass close to actual magic as people believed in it was perhaps psionics.

What were the odds that this was the 'magic' that the Dursleys had told him about? It still smelled of a training program to raise up child soldiers. Somehow they were able to track and know which children had abilities or decided to give them to the kids themselves. Skimming the letters, certain things made themselves known. It seemed these 'Purebloods' or such were legacies. Child soldiers that had offspring whom had inherited their abilities and been trained in their footsteps. It would explain why there were no official paperwork on them as if they didn't exist.

J.A.R.V.I.S. scanned the letters for Tony and soon had them downloaded to the man's tablet as well as saved to his server at the man's home. The A.I. had gone through the letters summarizing them, flagging people of interest. On a whim, Tony had J.A.R.V.I.S do a world wide search for children whose records stopped at age eleven; what he found had the man frowning in thought. As far back as electronic records were kept in all places that had modern technology there was a pattern. Any child whose records stopped at eleven were never reported as missing. They just vanished. It was only the odd one every here and there that had their records start up once again at age eighteen with a seven year blank gap. It wasn't localized in Europe either.

While Tony was looking over the letters, Pepper was going through paperwork and on the phone making sure that the merger process was going smoothly. She knew that Obadiah would be seeing to everything in California. Later she would have to call Obi and have to go through their flight schedule since it was possibly their stay might be extended. Tony had planned on staying at least a week to check on the validity that the boy was his as well as trying to find Godric's Hollow and visiting it. In fact, as far as the woman knew, Wales was still on her boss' itinerary.

Later J.A.R.V.I.S. spoke up to let them know that the results from the paternity test was in. It was confirmed that Tony and Edward's DNA matched. Something that neither Pepper nor Tony were in that much doubt about after having seen the boy in the flesh. While he wasn't well versed on genetics Tony knew the basics and knew that every so often nature would throw a curve-ball such as switching the boy's green eyes from a recessive to a dominate gene. He was wondering if whatever recessive gene his mother had gotten would pass along as another dominate trait with this ability she seemed to have possessed and was killed for.

Jarvis interrupted his musing to inform him that Henry McCoy was returning his call. Thanking him, Tony answered his phone and had a long in depth conversation with the scientist. He figured that if anyone could tell him if what he was reading was possible would be an expert in not only genetics but biochemistry. Tony also appreciated the man's wit and sarcasm. It helped that the scientist didn't try and dumb things down and they could have an intelligent conversation.

There was a hum of thought on the other end of the line. "Sounds like something a colleague of mine would know more about then myself. I can inquire about your questions and get back to you?"

After agreeing to that and having J.A.R.V.I.S. put the call at the top of his list to inform him when McCoy called, he sat back with a thoughtful frown.

Hanging up the phone, Petunia was relieved that Gordon's parents would be taking Dudley next week and Ned would be going to Malcolm's. Vernon hadn't had to take both boys to work with him together save for once and it hadn't been on her birthday. The boys would go to their friends in the morning but return home in the evening after Vernon got through with the workday. Normally the boys would have stayed home with a babysitter but after the peanut butter incident, the woman didn't want to risk it. Not that she believed that the incident would be repeated, but it was better to be certain. If the boys stayed over at a friends they wouldn't likely get as bored and end up in some kind of mischief.

Surely Stark and his assistant would be gone by then? Even if he tried to fight them for custody it would take a bit and Ned wouldn't be taken straight away. Frowning, she wondered if he had finished with the letters yet. If he had decided to take his assistant's suggestion into consideration as he said he would. Her musing were interrupted by the boys arguing followed by a -THUMP- upstairs which resulted in their voices raising. Petunia was out of her chair and up the stairs in less then thirty seconds to stand rooted to the spot staring into Ned's room. "What is the meaning of this?!"

There were Lego all over the floor in chunks from whatever they had formed before unrecognizable which the boys had been wrestling around in. There were crayons and a skewed coloring book on the floor that had obviously been on Ned's desk before they had gotten into their argument and bumped the desk. Both boys upon hearing the woman's sharp tone of voice, quickly let go of the other and stood but kept their petulant angry expressions. Ned glared at his cousin speaking up first. "He broke my tower!"

"Not uh!" Dudley denied and before they could get into a 'Did too, did not' and start fighting again, Petunia asked her son why he was in Ned's room. She nearly sighed with exasperation when his reply was that he wanted to play with the Lego and that Ned hadn't been playing with them. "Did you ask him before you started to play with them?"

"Yes."

"What did he say?"

"Yes," Dudley said at the same time Ned denied the claim. She held up a hand and told them, "Enough!" when they tried to start arguing again.

"Ned, did you tell him he could play with your Lego?"

"Not th' tower." His hands were fisted in his shirt with his anger at his cousin for destroying the half built tower. He'd hoped that maybe when Ms. Pepper and Tony came back they could finish it. Then Dudley went and ruined it!

Sighing, the woman wondered what she was going to do with the two of them. She decided on having them both clean up the toy blocks while she watched. Ned was upset and tears were in his eyes as he picked up the plastic pieces that had once been an unfinished skyscraper. He was slower then Dudley who wanted to get it finished hoping that was all the punishment they were going to get for fighting. Once he was done he looked at his mother expectantly while his cousin still sat on the floor with his head bowed down staring at the carpet.

"Dudley go to your room."

"What'd I do?" he whined. Ned had said he could play with his Lego, it wasn't fair!

"Dudley, now!"

While he stomped to his room, Petunia massaged her forehead. Ned stayed sitting on his feet, his shoulders shaking as he cried refusing to look up. She crossed over to sit on his bed having an inkling as to why her nephew was so upset. Trying to rear both boys to be tidy was a chore in and of itself a bit, but her nephew was more inclined to that persuasion than her son. Ned would usually put his toys away when he was done playing with them for the day. Which was why it was unusual for him to have Lego out for Dudley to tear apart thinking it was okay to play with.

"Ned?" She spoke quietly. "Can't you build another tower?"

Wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, he shook his head. "No."

"Why not?"

"'Cause."

"Because why, Ned?" Even though the boys were five or just about to be in Ned's case, she and Vernon tried to get the boys to speak correctly as they could. Some things were a losing battle which they had learned to pick the battles they tried to fight with the boys. When they were upset like now, they didn't bother trying to correct their speech.

There was a mumbled response that she couldn't understand and told him so. He repeated quietly, "Tony built it with me."

It was as she had thought. "I see. Maybe he'll build another one with you." She offered despite her misgivings of offering the boy such hope. At her nephew's dubious frown, Petunia stood up and offered her hand. "Come on, up you get. You can help me make the trifle."

Wiping at his eyes again, the boy got up and followed his aunt down the stairs and into the kitchen. He didn't mind helping her when she made food. He got to nibble on the food sometimes when he was in the kitchen 'helping'. It was usually always fun. Soon enough he had forgotten about his distress and was smiling and laughing as he 'helped' add the layers to the trifle they'd be having after supper.

AN – Belated Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas to you all! Sorry this chapter is so short but I shall be updating the next chapter within a few days. Really, you guys are awesome! I love that you've stuck with me and are so patient and understanding. Thank you! And 8 people voted! 5 for 2010 and 3 for 2008 :D You guys rock! Oh, and had to move this up to T in accords with the rating system of the site for later. It might take a bit for it to sink in for Tony about magic because even as he said in Avengers about the aliens, "Seeing it, still working on believing it."

Also you knew it was coming, but made another story category to dump all the one-shots, drabbles, interludes, and side stories to this fic there. Updates there will be sporadic with 'chapters' not being in order but as they come to me or whatever. And I'll be updating that as well within a few days with the story about the mentioned "Peanut Butter Incident". As always, thank you for reading and apologies for any mistakes. Creative criticism welcomed.