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Chapter Text

When Harry's memories came back to him from his previous life, he was roughly three years old and already as independent as he remembered from his previous life. By five years old he knew what Death had meant when he said this life was going to be different than his past. Not only could Harry feel his vastly large core inside his chest, where magic just needed a flick of thought and would spring into action, but his appearance was far different than his previous life.

Gone the dark black hair, in came the brown hair that under certain lighting looked slightly red. His cheekbones lost the aristocratic look he inherited from James Potter and became defined, but also slightly soft looking. His hair, which used to be a bird's nest, now laid softly on top of his head, nearly as straight as an arrow even with the slight curls at the end. Even though he kept his emerald green eyes, as Harry looked into the mirror, he had a feeling James Potter was not his father in this life.

Of course, this was also made abundantly aware when Harry had gotten in trouble for taking apart the microwave (he was curious okay, how did they work!) and after getting a black-eye courtesy of his uncle, he had been told by his aunt to clean up the attic that he didn't even know existed in the small house.

Slowly going through the dusty boxes that were in the attic was a slow process, one that wore down his arms that have been tired from their earlier chores, and his throat feeling like he was choking on itself as dust kept getting breathed in. But then he found something particular in one of the boxes, one labeled as L.E Throw Away in the far back of the attic under two other boxes.

Biting his lip, Harry pushed all other boxes aside and slowly opened the box, his magic pulling him toward it along with his previous knowledge that L.E was probably Lily Evans, his mother. Feeling his lip tremble as he opened the box that revealed what seemed like memories, perceived in the dusty attic.

The first couple of things on top seemed like spell books that Harry carefully took out of the box, and instead of pushing them aside as he thought about doing since he's already read them, he sat back and opened the book. Its spine creaking from not having been opened recently, but the pages still seemed in pristine condition, like nothing has touched them in years.

It was a potions text, Harry realized as he looked over the title page of the book because unlike the inside the outside was completely ruined in what Harry now assumes in potions ingredients, so the title was ruined. Flipping the pages, Harry was surprised to note the writing that dotted each page. His hand crept down the page slowly, his fingers linger with each word. This was his mother's handwriting, her words, that she had taken because clearly, she enjoyed potions.

Every now and again he noted the words Sev ever now and again, reminding Harry that he was his mother's best friend, and it was obvious the two shared the same interest in potions. For a moment, Harry felt a pang of regret for his old professor, who clearly adored his best friend, who became bitter with age as she fell in love with his childhood tormentor. Because that was exactly what James was, even when he married Lily, you don't change overnight, and Harry knew without a doubt his father was still probably a bully, but it was just more hidden.

Stopping at the end of the first chapter, Harry closed the book to look into more and pulled out the other spellbook and was about to look through it before something else caught his eye. It was a slightly gray book that had a blossomed Lily etched on the front. Pushing aside some of the dust, Harry noted the gray turned slightly whiter and realized it was covered in dirt. Biting his lip, Harry pulled it out of the box and let it rest in his lap.

Opening the front, he realized exactly what the book was, it was a diary or journal, but more specifically, it was his mother's life right in front of him.

"Get down here, Freak, and start dinner!" A voice shouted by the entrance of the attic. Shoving the spellbooks back into the box, Harry shoved the journal underneath his giant shirt and secured it to his belted pants before scurrying down the ladder.

"Coming, Aunt Petunia," Harry shouted as he closed the attic, his heart pounding at his latest discovery.

"What have I said about shouting, Freak!" His aunt screeched in reply as Harry flinched.

Merlin, he forgot how bad the Dursley's really were. By the time he was in Hogwarts, his aunt and uncle's behavior had been fully repressed and he never really thought about what they did to him as abuse, but relieving this life, especially in a child's body that didn't get enough to eat, was certainly an eye-opener.

Enough so that the distrust in others, in adults, was starting to creep back onto him along with flinching from anyone that might suddenly move, or even moves he sees ahead of time. The lack of hunger and thirst was also nothing new as his magic cared for his body while he couldn't. Harry was sure the only reason he was alive was that he was Death's Master, that the being would never take his soul. The difference between this life and the last was that now Death could do something about it in the terms of giving Harry a new father it seemed.

Stopping by his 'bedroom', Harry carefully opened the door and threw the journal onto his single run-down mattress and blanket before carefully shutting the door once more. Happy that his aunt hadn't caught him, Harry entered the kitchen and got started on his latest chore, making dinner.

The next few days were spent with a Lumos spell in his closet reading his mother's journal as if it were some type of religious text, where each word meant something important, something life-altering. It wasn't until he got near the lastest parts that he felt like his heart was beating a marimba in his chest as he read his mother's feeling about James or lack thereof as it seemed, but felt the pressures of their society as a Muggleborn to marry into someone important in order to get anywhere in the wizarding world since she certainly wasn't getting a GED in the muggle world.

Through his anger at the Wizardry World for the pressures they put on his mother, he felt his heart stop as she poured her soul about heading into the muggle world one night, away from James, away from Severus, her lost friend, away from the wizardry world. And found a beautiful man that she fell in love with even while he was drunk out of his mind, but it was okay because she was too. They talked through the night, going from slightly sober to drunk, telling each other about their terrible past, their shitty families, and shitty situations.

The night ended in passion, and obviously, here they were, with Harry born with his American father having no idea about him as they never went past the first names and definitely hadn't talked about location. The next page made tears come to Harry's eyes as two photos spilled out of the book. Both taken with a polaroid, the first was his mother pregnant, a large smile on her face as she cupped her obviously pregnant belly with a shirt that read "My Baby Boy" with an arrow pointing toward it. She looked so happy, her smile genuine as she stared lovingly down at it. Harry was sure if it was a wizardry photo, her fingers would slowly be rubbing the belly, her face twisting in a soft smile of affection, perhaps even tears of happiness would escape as she looked at her baby.

Feeling his heart beating with so much love that his mother obviously had for him, Harry peeled his eyes away from the first photo and could barely look at the second as real tears escaped his eyes. It was him and his mum. She looked like she had just been out of the hospital, but it was obviously him being held in her arms. This time the affection was almost palpable as she stared at his sleeping face, his right hand grasping her finger. He was in a one-piece outfit that had the words Harry Stark in a soft blue, the words barely fitting on his small chest.

With his breath quickened, Harry tore through the rest of the journal until he found the entry he was looking for, the time his mother found out just who his father was.

It had taken me quite a while to figure out who my Little Bud's father was, a private investigator was helpful in this regard and it didn't take him long to find the father. Apparently, the man was quite renowned in the No-Maj world, a term I've heard American's use for Muggles that I found much better than the term England uses. But with his name and apparent occupation, came the hardship of wondering if I should approach the man. On one hand, I know I should tell the baby's father that he has a child, but I read up on the man along with the PI, and have discovered he was quite the playboy and had a habit of sleeping around and alcohol use. While I like to give others the benefit of the doubt, and it wasn't like little Harry would know what type of man his father was as a baby, part of me didn't want to chance it. Especially with everything going on in England at the moment. The Wizard War as Dumbledore has taken to calling it has already taken my parents, has already alienated my sister from me and taken my best friend to the opposition just because of our argument and the pressures of his house. I fear that if I brought a No-Maj into this world, I would be dooming his life, and possibly the life of Little Harry, especially as I've recently learned of a prophecy that might be about my Little Bud. James has already talked me into going hiding with him with Peter as our Secret-Keeper, something that I tried to argue with but with James' possy backing him up I had little choice. I will do anything and everything to protect my little boy from the world. So perhaps when the war is over I will visit Tony Stark and tell him about Harry should I live through it. I just know I will do everything in my power to make sure my boy lives through this, perhaps one day his father will find my baby, my Harry Anthony Stark.

Harry had to stop reading his mother's message as his vision became blurry even with the lack of glasses this time around. He felt a small drip on his hand and brought his hand up to rub against his eye. He knew logically his mother loved him both in this life and the past, but to read it. To know how much she loved him, to see it in the baby pictures...his throat hurt but most of all, his heart felt like someone was squeezing it and squeezing it as a sob wanted to break out of him. He could hear the small whimpers leaving his throat, but the abuse from the Dursleys reminded him painfully not to make too much noise otherwise it would be more than his throat and heart hurting right now.

His hand reverently ran down the book as he closed it, his magic slowly running through his fingers and cleaning the dirt and dust with careful precision, seeming aware of how much care he was putting toward the book. Slowly it cleaned itself under his fingers, the gray turning to a bright white of a brand-new book, and the lily that looked like a muddish-brown was now a bright red, the same color as her hair he realized.

Harry wondered for a moment if his mom had been able to reach out to his father and his father just abandoned them before dismissing it. Death wouldn't have made Tony Stark his father unless the man would care for him, Death might be a lot of things, but this type of malicious act would not be one of them.

He wondered if there was a way father knew about him but dismissed it for the moment, according to his mother, his father lived in America, and Harry lived in England. Plus with how famous his father apparently was, he doubted any letter he wrote to the man would come to his attention, especially with his childish handwriting claiming the man was his father.

Staring at the book with the picture of him and his born self on top, the other picture having been moved to his pillow for the moment, Harry wondered if he could somehow send his mother's journal to the man and let him read it himself and decide what to do. As if his magic heard him, he heard a sharp crack echo through the bedroom and watched in disbelief as the book in his lap and the picture was suddenly gone.

In his darkened room, Harry held his breath and strained his ears, wondering if his aunt and uncle would awaken from the sound. With a sigh of relief, he didn't hear anything, the house only echoing his uncle's snores. Brushing away the last of his tears and calming his heart, Harry settled on the poor excuse of a bed and cradled the image of his mother pregnant with him. He swore to himself that at preschool the next day he'd ask the librarian who Tony Stark was and what he did. She always did have a soft spot for him even in this timeline.

Far away in Malibu, a lone journal and image popped into existence on the desk next to a genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist Tony Stark who was passed out on the desk, a lone bottle of scotch near the edge of it. An alarm blared at the journal's entry, awakening the genius and causing him to knock the glass over.

"Dammit, JARVIS, what the hell?" Tony asked as he rubbed his eyes, not used to JARVIS waking him like this.

"Apologize, sir, but it appears the book next to you and image have appeared without my system's knowledge. My intruder alert had gone off before I could help it, I suggest caution," JARVIS warned.

Tony rolled his eyes, his head pounding behind his eyes as he disregarded JARVIS and picked up the book next to him. As the photo fell to the table face-down, he ignored JARVIS' second attempt of caution before picking up the image and looking at it.

Freezing at the sight of the woman on it, his mind suddenly felt empty as his heart pounded.

Because, unlike many one-night stands, one simply doesn't forget Lily from England who he poured his heart and problems to and got understanding in return. He thought about her often and wondered what she might be up to, but the image of her pregnant was now burned in his mind as he felt like throat tightened.

"JAR VIS ," Tony's voice cracked as he tried to hold back his emotions, "scan the image and do facial recognition, get me a name and when she was pregnant," Tony told his AI as he opened the front page and noted the name on the front. "Scratch the recognition, search all things related to Lily Evan in England, use the image to help with the search," Tony said as he sat back in his seat, already reading through the book speedily, his intelligent mind reading at a far advanced pace.

JARVIS was silent for a moment. "Of course, sir. Should I start a pot of coffee?" he questioned.

Tony's hum of reply was good enough. It seemed they had a new project on their hands for the moment that took precedence over anything that Obie had wanted to be finished for the board.

Chapter Text

Between class, hiding from Dudley, and his chores with the Dursleys, Harry barely had time to stop by Little Whinging Library, a small place that only had a few old computers, too many old newspapers, and a couple of books, to look up who Tony Stark was and what he was so famous for.

And oh boy had Death really picked someone to be his dad, but the more he read about the terrible destructive playboy Stark that the newspaper kept writing about, the more Harry thought maybe they were far from the truth. Because as he kept going further and further back into the newspapers, the more he realized that his father had always been in the spotlight that Howard Stark, his grandfather apparently, had thrown him into and held a pedestal to ever since. Harry remembered what it was like being under Hogwarts eyes, one day the savior the next the destroyer. He couldn't imagine being under their eyes ever since he was a baby and knowing about it.

Harry hadn't to admit it, but it was probably one of the few good things Dumbledore ever did for him, getting him out of the Magical Communities eyes. Of course, that ended in a malleable Harry Potter who fell right into Dumbledore's trap especially as he got older, but being under their constant eye as a baby didn't sound very fun, and making friends was probably even worse. Harry thought that maybe the Muggle World was similar in that regard, where all Tony was doing was following his father's footsteps, but instead of condemning Howard Stark, they condemned his son instead.

Reading the youngest newspaper that the library had about American Affairs, Harry stared at the black and white photo of a clearly drunk Tony Stark and ran his fingers down the image, promising to himself and his father that if they were to ever meet, that he would make sure the man didn't feel the need to drink his life away because of what life has thrown him. Maybe all the man needed was someone to care for, not for someone else to try and clean him up, but accepted whoever he was wholly and unabashedly. Unconditional Love, Harry decided, was exactly what this lonely man might need, and Harry was fully ready to give it to his father.

"It's time to leave, Harry," the old librarian told him kindly, far in her seventies that Harry remembered her retiring when he was seven after she finally went to the police about his suspected abuse. Her silver hair shined under the old librarian lighting and Harry knew she had this job to help pay for her daughter that was in rehab, the only reason she came out of retirement.

"Okay, thank you," Harry lisped kindly, something he was still trying to fix especially without the Dursleys’ help in the matter, and watched as the librarian's eyes practically melted and an easy-to-go smile appeared on her face. 

"I'll see you another day, dear. Be careful going home, Sweetie," she instructed as she followed him out after making sure all computers were shut down and locked the doors behind her.

Nodding in agreement, Harry childishly waved toward her and started down the street, reminding himself that this life was different than his last. Not only because he had his old memories, but because past and new memories were blending together in his developing mind, making him slightly more childish but also mature than anyone else his age. It was frustrating sometimes because it was like he had the words to describe his thoughts, but could never get them out of his mouth as his mouth didn't ever seem to want to work the way he wanted. Words often blended together as his mind raced until it was like he was in a marathon and had already accomplished it but realized too late his mouth was in a cycling race.

It's how he found out he was always better with his hands than his mouth like he could always show what his thoughts were rather than actually saying them to someone who just didn't understand . His magic was always similar in that regard too, words and spells sometimes would get stuck in his mouth but so long as he knew what he wanted, the spells always came as expected and perfect. He hadn't had to try and speak clearly, because it meant time wasted in thinking and doing and just dumbing it down for others.

Maybe that's why this life around Harry was starting to really hate school, even preschool. Because it was like his teachers were so wrapped up in his aunt and uncle, in their explanation that he was dumb and mentally challenged, that they could never see that he knew what they were talking about easily and was probably processing things at a higher grade than he was remotely at. The only thing he really had to work on was his speech development and making sure he could read as his developing brain was still trying to fully remember all the basics his old life knew by heart.

Skipping down the sidewalk and letting his current worries melt away, Harry spun around, enjoying the slight breeze that wrapped around him as the shadows encased him and kept him warm in the thin old jacket Petunia had given him for this fall. He breathed the air deeply, the cool clean breeze making him feel slightly giddy even as his hand twinged slightly from the slight bruise around his wrist from his uncle grabbing him too hard. The full moon above him making him wonder about Remus before letting it fall away, the werewolf had all the chances to be in his life, he just didn't seem to care all that too much about him and that was okay because hopefully soon his father will be in his life and he'd be away from the Dursley's.

Feeling his heart skip a beat as he arrived down Privet Drive, Harry stopped skipping and shuffled down the sidewalk, his good mood slowly dropping as he neared the place he had to currently call home. Oh how much he didn't miss the Dursleys. With a deep sigh, Harry watched as a Black SUV that he didn't recognize from the neighborhood rolled past him and further down the street toward where his house was.

Not thinking much of it as many of the houses around often had some type of guest, Harry walked slowly toward 4 Privet Drive and back to the cupboard he knew he was going to be thrown in as soon as he arrived because he missed cooking dinner for a time at the library.

It was worth it to know about his father, Harry just wasn't looking forward to the scolding and possible hit he might get as a result. As his house arrived in the distance, Harry furrowed his brow in confusion because the Black SUV that went past him earlier was at Petunia and Vernon's house. Mentally going back the past couple of days, Harry wondered if he somehow missed some type of dinner guest or some type of alcohol party that his aunt and uncle were hosting but couldn't think of anything. If he had missed some type of party then he really was going to get it after the guests left.

Swallowing the stone that felt lodged in his throat, Harry sped up his walk and clutched his backpack slightly tighter, having brought it with him to the library as he knew the only chore he had for the afternoon was making dinner, so he just ignored it and went to the library instead right after school.

He felt that stone in his throat drop to his stomach as his breath was swept out of him as he entered the house.

Because standing right in front of him with a furious look toward his aunt and uncle, was his father.

Chapter Text

Harry knew within seconds of meeting his father that there was certainly more to him than the tabloids let on. Because within seconds of Harry coming home and seeing his father glaring at the Dursleys, was his father's attention suddenly on him as he knelt in front of Harry was examining Harry with his eyes for any sign of discomfort.

"Harry, are you okay?" Tony asked hurriedly, his hands hovering over Harry's shoulders like he was torn to touch the boy and possibly cause any hurt, especially if Harry didn't even know who Tony was.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked in childish curiosity, almost borderline the brutality of honesty that toddlers or small children often had before they developed a better understanding that words can have a larger effect on others.

"Do you know who I am?" Tony asked softly, finally tearing his eyes over his son's body with the realization that this was his son in front of him, the boy he didn't know about not even a week ago.

Harry shifted from foot to foot and he side-eyed his aunt and uncle who were looking like they've sucked on a lemon mixed with dollar signs in their eyes. Feeling uncomfortable looking at them, Harry shifted closer to Tony as if to tell him a secret but knew he had to make sure. Make sure this man wouldn't leave Harry as soon as he found out about his powers. "My momma's journal talked about you," he said shyly, his right shoe rubbing at the floor softly as it was more interesting than watching his father's reaction, "and I thought you might have wanted it. I hope it got to you okay."

Looking back up at his father as hands were gently laid on his shoulder, Harry felt one of them move to cup his cheek and he barely hesitated in leaning against the contact, feeling touch-starved from two lives that didn't get much attention. "Yeah, Baby, I got them. You did really good, Little One," Tony gently said as he caressed Harry's cheek looking at Harry with so much love that Harry almost wanted to cry. "But there's an important question I gotta ask, okay Champ?" Tony asked.

Harry was still leaning into Tony's touch, his heart beating fast as he fought his body into just leaning into Tony's personal space, he thought he read something about the man being picky about touching others but couldn't fully remember. "What is it, was I bad?"

"No, Bambino, not at all. But I have to ask, did you want to come and live with me in America, or did you want to stay with your aunt and uncle?" Tony asked, knowing Harry's stability was more important than him wanting to just uproot his son.

"You," Harry said with little hesitation. Despite knowing who and how the Dursleys might react, and Tony being a stranger, he was already trusting Tony way more than either his aunt or uncle.

If Tony was taken aback by the quickness of Harry's answer, he didn't say anything, just shared a look with some type of bodyguard he seemed to have brought with him who nodded subtly before looking back around the small house.

"Alright, then I'm sure you've had quite the adventure, why don't we head back to the small hotel I'm briefly staying in, and in the morning, I can show you our real home?" Tony asked with a gentle smile as he slowly stood up, his hand that was cupping Harry's cheek fell, but the one that had been on his shoulder was still reaching down for Harry to decide whether or not he was going to hold it.

Harry wondered for a moment if he was rushing this bond between him and his father, but his magic was already urging him to take the hand, to go and thrive. Almost like it was being guided by Death that this was the right choice of path. Trusting Death fully, the deity has always been with him after all, Harry reached up and took Tony's hand with a small hesitant smile. "Okay," he simply said and stepped closer to Tony who smiled fondly down at him, sharing his grin.

"Excuse me," A pompous voice butted into their small moment of shared hesitancy, father and son glanced toward Harry's aunt who spoke up, "will you still be compensating us for taking in the br- child?" Petunia asked with an air of false entitlement that she really should not have.

Flinching slightly away from his aunt and hiding behind his father because surely now that they were together Tony wasn't going to leave him, right? He glanced at his father to watch as his eyes lost the gleam he had developed over the course of small conversation with his son, his shoulders slightly stiffened that if you didn't pay attention, you wouldn't notice or the way Tony's hand slightly clenched Harry's smaller one, an act of reassurance.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll get exactly what you're supposed to be getting. Have no worries there," Tony charmed them with that smile that Harry saw all over the magazines that Tony was on the front cover of. He was starting to think that smile might not be his real one, but who was Harry to judge, he had a similar one for the teachers. "Did you have anything you want my guys to grab, Harry?" Tony asked but there was something in his tone that told Harry that Tony knew way more about his living situation than he let on.

"No thank you," Harry quietly said, ignoring the small glare his uncle was aiming at him as he hid his face in Tony's upper leg, feeling tired all of a sudden.

"Alright, Bambino, let's get some much-needed rest for our adventure tomorrow, okay?" Tony asked as he shifted. Harry was disgruntled from the leg suddenly being moved and thought he was being told not to do that when hands were cupped under his arms and he was suddenly lifted into the air.

The sudden shift startled Harry from his sleepiness, he couldn't remember the last time he was picked up. As soon as his aunt could stop she did. Even as she carried Dudley everywhere. 

"Whoa," was Harry's startled response as his arm came around Tony's neck and gently held on, his body leaning toward Tony so he didn't fall back.

"Come on, Champ, let's get going," Tony said as he tilted his head toward the bodyguard that was still there. The man nodded as Tony turned around and started leaving the Dursleys house.

Not feeling like saying anything, Harry tried to force his tense muscles to calm down, but the feeling of lack of control in his father's arms was getting to him slightly. If his father was going to make this a habit, it was something Harry was going to have to force his mind to get used to. They approached the black SUV and Harry was surprised when Tony opened the door to spot a car seat already strapped in.

"Alright, Buddy, let's get you in and going," Tony told Harry with an easy-going smile, helping Harry to transition from his arms into the car seat. The feeling of the smooth cover of the car seat was slightly startling, as Harry just got Dudley's old one whenever they had to go anywhere that was always uncomfortable and Harry was sure was unsafe for his weight and height.

Feeling slightly confined, Harry shifted in his seat and couldn't wait to get out of it as he looked around the SUV and noted the man in the driver's seat. "'ello?" Harry asked softly toward the suddenly unknown person with him as Tony closed his side of the door. Instead of heading to the passenger seat, Tony surprised Harry by moving to the other backdoor of the SUV and climbing in, settling next to Harry.

"Hey, kiddo," the driver said with the same American accent as Tony and gave a small smile toward him in the rearview mirror.

"Hap, go ahead and get us to the hotel and make sure the plane is ready for early tomorrow," Tony told the other man in the car as he took his phone out and started tapping on it.

It was a slick phone that Harry thought resembled the new Apple phones but thought it might be better. As the car started moving, Harry tried to lean as far forward as the car seat would allow, which wasn't much. "Whatcha doing?" Harry asked as he tried to see what Tony was doing, it looked like some type of menu.

Tony paused, glanced at Harry, his phone, then back at Harry. Harry suddenly remembered the Dursley's rule about not asking questions and was about to collapse back into his seat when Tony suddenly moved from his position and slid closer to Harry, showing Harry his dad was not wearing a seatbelt.

"I'm ordering us some food, what do you think we should get?" Tony asked as he tilted his phone, showing Harry the screen of various menus he had open.

Harry shrugged even as he glanced down the list and spotted way too many names he's never even heard of. "Can I have some Mac and Cheese? Or Grilled Cheese? I've never had either of them before," Harry asked as he hesitantly reached out and used his finger to scroll down the menu, more enjoying the action than reading the names.

"I'm sure we can swing that, Buddy," Tony easily agreed, "Just give me a moment."

Tony took the phone from Harry for exactly a moment as he seemed to tap a few things before he handed his phone back to Harry. This time on what Harry thought was the home screen that had a picture of some type of bot on it.

Feeling like he was already asking too much from his question and asking for what he wanted for dinner, Harry withheld asking just what the bot was, and instead, carefully, swept the phone from side to side, noting there wasn't much of anything on the phone.

Just as he was about to hand the phone back, already slightly bored, he noticed a folder that was being developed on one of the pages that had the name "Harry's Games" on it. Tapping it in curiosity, especially as he noticed that many games were being downloaded, Harry felt brief confusion on when his father had time to look through the games and download them.

Putting that question on hold as well, Harry opened one of the apps and spotted cartoonish-looking people about some type of maths game. Instantly clicking out of the game because he had a feeling it was going to be way too easy, Harry tapped out of the folder and finally found some of the games his father must play. It was some type of developing app, there were tools along one side and an area to type in equations.

There was even a project about some type of missile on it and all types of blueprints. Harry looked through the code and thought it seemed pretty sound, but he didn't want to look through it. Opening a new tab as he glanced at his father who seemed to be making conversation with their driver Hap, Harry thought for a moment what he wanted to design and remembered his chemistry teacher, Mr. O'Connor, rubbing at the prosthetic leg he had gotten after he came home from the Army. Mr. O'Connor was so cool but he seemed sad most days.

With Mr. O'Connor in mind, Harry barely hesitated in starting the basic design of a prosthetic leg, but he was more focused on the coding side of things, having only recently learned some of it from the books at the local library, thoughts of perhaps being able to connect it to the mind, make the idea of a prosthetic perhaps easier because they would have the control over their leg. The balancing of the leg would still be hard to do along with connecting it to the mind, but it wasn't like it was going to happen. He was just messing around on his father's game.

"Hey, Harry?" Tony's gentle voice brought Harry away from the phone as it seemed to automatically turn off and stay off even as Harry pressed the button to turn it back on. He tore his gaze away and noted the car had stopped moving and Tony had opened his side of the car.

"Yeah?" Harry asked as he handed Tony his phone back, where as soon as Tony tried to re-open it, it did. 

"We're back at the hotel, Buddy," Tony stated as he shoved his phone back into his pants, "you ready to head inside, eat and get ready for bed?"

Nodding his agreement, he helped his father unbuckled him and took his dad's hand when offered to help him climb out of the tall SUV, having to jump slightly as he knew from past experience he wasn't going to reach the bottom if he tried to step out.

Looking around, Harry noted they were at the back of the hotel and shrugged it off as they approached one of the backdoors of the place. Harry wondered how they were going to get in because surely there's some type of alarm on the door when Tony's free hand that wasn't holding him brought his phone out and held it over some type of exterior lock that Harry knew required some type of key card specified for the hotel.

Barely a second with the phone being held against the scanner, was the red light changed to green and the door was open. "Thanks, J," Tony said out loud as he shoved his phone back into his pocket and opened the door to let Harry, Tony, and their driver inside.

"I'll get the food," their driver, Hap Harry remembered, told Tony as he made his way toward the front of the building.

"Come on, Bambino, let's go check our rooms, huh?" Tony asked out loud even as they took some type of private elevator.

"Haven't you already seen your room, though?" Harry questioned as he leaned into his father's side, feeling the tiredness from getting up early for chores.

Tony shook his head before realizing his son was practically dozing into his side and not paying attention. Warmth swept through Tony as he stared at his son who looked so much like a mix between Tony and Lily but reminded him so much of his younger self. "Nah, Bambino, I haven't seen it just yet. Hap delivered my overnight bag here, but I was more concerned about seeing and getting you. I wasn't worried about anything else," Tony said as he reached out with his hand and ran it through Harry's hair. A dark brown like his own with a few highlights of red shining through.

Already Tony had a feeling he was not going to regret sleeping with Lily and siring a child with her. While he had always been careful in the past, he knew that these types of things were never one hundred percent safe. In a way, Harry was his miracle child. He never thought he'd have a child, much less want one with his damaged past and not having a good role model, but now that Harry was here? Tony didn't want to imagine his life without the little boy even with them barely knowing one another.

He winced for a moment wondering what Rhodey and Pepper's reactions were going to be. He knew Pepper was going to get angry at him, not for having a child per say, but the fact he's been held up in his lab without telling her and suddenly he was on a plane in England with only Happy knowing briefly why they were there. But he couldn't help it, the more he researched about Harry, the more he had an inkling that his son wasn't being treated right until he couldn't stop himself and was here. He didn't want his son in their hands for another day.

Arriving at the Dursley's who had no idea where Harry was and didn't seem to care had made his heart beat so fast in worry. To see his son suddenly arrive home, way past dinner time, when he should be getting ready for bed? That was the icing on the cake because it was abundantly clear to him that this has happened before, especially as his son, his flesh and blood , had shied away from his aunt and uncle nearly the entire conversation. Of course, that said nothing about instantly agreeing to live with a stranger, even if the said stranger was his father.

There were so many red flags in their short conversation both what Harry had said and unsaid. His son not wanting anything from the Dursleys? Well, that spoke of having little anyway with no emotional attachment. Hopefully, the guy he hired to really dig into the Dursley home would do his job because while Tony wasn't past bugging a home and delivering an anonymous tip to the police, he really wanted to do this by the books to get his son's custody with little people knowing so no one could ever try and take his son away.

It reminded him that he was definitely going to have to call in that favor with the judge and update his will. Because as much as he loved his godfather Obadiah, he didn't think he could trust him to raise Harry like Tony was going to do.

Not in the spotlight, not putting pressure on him, and least of all have all the love someone can offer. Pepper and Rhodey, hell even Happy, would definitely do a better job than Obadiah. Maybe he should look into making them his godparents? Something for Jarvis to look into that was for sure. He'd also have to look into what his son seemed to be engrossed in on his phone for the last few minutes of the car ride. Whatever it was had certainly made Harry look concentrated. His tongue had poked out of his mouth slightly and his eyebrows had furrowed, Tony remembered his younger self doing it before Howard had often told him off for making the face. Tony wasn't worried, whatever Harry must've gotten into must have had J's approval because he knew his A.I. was limiting what access Harry had even as his son had his phone briefly, he had already spotted the folder J was creating.

Arriving at their room reminded Tony that it was late as his son had pretty much fallen asleep leaning against him, more and more of his weight is supported by Tony himself. Withholding a chuckle as his son stubbornly tried to stay awake, Tony reached down carefully and picked up his son, feeling his muscles tense almost automatically before they seemingly just collapsed as his son rested his head on his shoulder.

God, his son was going to be the death of him with how cute he was.

"Hey, buddy? Can you do me a favor?" Tony asked as his free hand not supporting Harry reached up to rub his back.

"Hmm?" Harry groggily noised from Tony's shoulder, his nose practically buried in Tony's neck to stop the light from reaching his eyes.

"What's your favorite color?" Tony questioned his son.

Finally, getting his son's attention, Harry rubbed his bleary eyes and leaned away from Tony's shoulder and rubbed his eyes. "Why?" he inquired.

Tony adjusted Harry slightly and answered his question. "We need to get you some pajamas. Was there a pattern or color you really wanted?"

Harry was quiet as the elevator slowly reached the top floor of the hotel and dinged open. "Cars." Harry finally settled on.

"Oh? Like the Disney movie?" Tony asked as he walked into the spacious living room the penthouse came with.

"There's a movie?" Harry confusedly questioned as he looked around with curiosity. Tony had a feeling he was probably going to have to child-lock a few things, cause his son certainly seemed like a mischief maker that would get into something he wasn't supposed to.

"What do you mean when you say cars?" Tony responded, directing the conversation away from movies his son obviously hasn't seen or possibly heard of.

Harry hummed like he was gathering his thoughts and was only briefly responding to let Tony know he heard the question and just needed a moment. Tony used the time to sit in one of the dining room chairs and have Harry sit in his lap, not quite ready to part from Harry just yet, liking the cuddling sessions he and his son were doing.

"One of the neighbors has this antique Mustang. And sometimes when Aunt Petunia locked me out of the house, I'd go over to him and he'd let me help on the car," Harry finally said as he leaned against his father.

"Yeah?" Tony said as he glanced at the phone he had set on the table just before he sat down and saw it automatically searching the internet, finding a pair of pajamas that should roughly fit Harry with vintage cars on it along with a few other clothes, and order it to delivered to the hotel, probably with a lot of bribing to get it there tonight for Harry. "Good news for you then, Bambino, I have a lot of cars we can work on at home," Tony told his son, wondering briefly if his son inherited his love of working with his hands, but dismissed it.

It wouldn't matter if his son wasn't as interested in taking apart or building things, this was his son and he was certainly going to be perfect in whatever he wanted to do. Tony wasn't going to push anything onto his son. "Really?" Harry asked as he looked up at his father, his face eager and happy.

Hitching his son up with his leg, and getting a giggle in response to the movement, Tony shared Harry's smile. "Really, really."

Harry opened his mouth like he was going to respond when the elevator dinged open once more, this time it was Happy with a bag of food. "Foods here," he announced jovially as he sat the two bags of food on the table and started taking them out.

"Whoa, that's a lot of food," Harry whispered out loud as Happy brought out nearly ten containers of food.

"Some of this is for the morning," Happy told the kid with a wink as he looked at the label of two containers and put them in front of Harry. "As the Kid requested," Happy said as he placed a fork next to the containers.

Tony used his long arms to bring the food closer and opened one container that was full of mac and cheese before opening the other to reveal a Grilled Cheese. Taking in his son's surprise, Tony leaned his head down and kissed Harry's curls. "Figured this was a day of firsts. Thought you could have both of them. There should be some greens though?" Tony directed toward Happy who dug around in one of the bags until he made a triumphed noise and took out a small container of broccoli and another full of green beans.

"Chef's choice," Happy announced before grabbing three other containers and bringing them out, he knew one was the steak and potato Tony had ordered with another being a dessert to share with Harry, and the last one was the fish and chips Happy had requested. Leaving the food where it was with the silverware on each container, he moved toward the small kitchen with the extra bag and stuck it in the fridge before grabbing three glasses from the cupboard. Leaving two of the glasses where they were, he filled the first one with the chocolate milk he requested from the hotel, and put it in front of Harry who was slowly taking a bite from the Grilled Cheese with some reassurance from Tony.

With one glass filled, he filled the other two with coke, and took them back to the table for him and Tony. With that, dinner was ready and steadily being eaten, Harry making small noises of appreciation even as he didn't eat nearly as much as Tony had hoped, but more than someone being starved would handle. He even had some of the steak and potato that Tony was eating and a few bites of the cheesecake Tony had bought. Tony would've tried to get Harry to eat more, but given the boy ate all his greens, both the beans and broccoli which was a bit of a surprise, he thought Harry would complain more about it.

With the rest of the food being put into the fridge to take home, Harry sleepily tucked himself back into Tony's side as he told Hap that a delivery of clothes for Harry should be arriving soon. Taking the small command as it was, Happy left father and son to grab Harry his clothes.

"Alright, Bambino, I think it's time for a nice, warm bath and then some sleep," Tony muttered into Harry's hair, pressing a quick kiss to his forehead.

"Warm?" Harry asked as he moved slightly away from Tony. "Baths aren’t always cold?"

Tony pushed down the anger that arose from the comment and just pressed another kiss to Harry's head. "Not with me, Champ, not with me," he muttered as he lifted Harry back up and carried the five-year-old to the bathroom.

"Do I have to?" Harry whined slightly as he rubbed his eyes. Tony thought he was adorable.

"It'll make sleeping easier. Do you want my help?" Tony asked as he started the tub and got it to the right temperature.

"I don't wanna do it," Harry grouchily murmured, glaring at the tub as it started to fill up fast.

Tony thought he certainly had the Stark attitude with just those few words. If there was one thing that Tony certainly inherited from Howard, it was that when he didn't want to do something, he'd find ways to not do it. "Come on, Buddy, let's remove these old things and get you in," Tony gently consoled as he helped Harry with the oversized shirt and pants.

Harry let out an agitated huff but followed his father's command of stripping and getting into the water. The warmth of it nearly startled him back into awakeness but it was combined with the warm air that made him that much more tired. He was nearly falling asleep in the tub, having forgotten what he was doing in it in the first place.

Tony let out a small laugh as his son valiantly tried to stay awake, dozing on his hand that propped on his leg as he sat crisscrossed in the tub. Knowing his son wasn't going to get anything done, especially with it being late in the day, Tony stepped forward and grabbed the bathroom supplies Hap had the forethought to make sure was in the bathroom. Even without knowing what he was doing at all, Tony knew the basics which would have to suffice.

Grabbing an extra face cloth, he instructed Harry to press it against his eyes and tilt his head. It took a few winces for the dirt to wash off, but finally, he thought he had gotten most of it off of Harry and would just make sure he had a more in-depth one at their Malibu home.

A gentle knock on the bathroom door stole Tony's attention for the moment as Hap opened it and set the pajamas Tony saw Jarvis order on the counter in the bathroom. "Night, Hap," Tony called out and got a wave in return as the door closed again.

"Alright, Bambino, up you get," Tony announced as he grabbed one of the fluffy towels and held it open for Harry, already pressing on the tub's plug to drain the dirty water.

Harry let out a tired whine, but stumbled onto his feet and into Tony's embrace as Tony gently ruffled the towel against him. "Feels nice," Harry groggily told Tony as he leaned into his father, his wet hair dripping onto Tony's Metallica shirt that he even forgot he had on, never changing it once he finally left his lab in Malibu and got on the first plane to England his pilot could do.

"I'm sure it does, Champ, are you ready to get dressed and sleep?" Tony gently asked as he gently lifted Harry's head and started rubbing it with the towel to dry it.

Harry hummed his agreement and used Tony's shoulders to steady himself as he slipped into the boxers, pajama pants, and shirt that Tony helped him into that all had various vintage cars displayed on them. He barely made a sound as Tony picked him up, only folding himself into the curve of Tony's neck as he fell into a quick sleep. Feeling full and clean like never before.

Tony slowly placed Harry on the bed in the third bedroom and carefully slipped the covers over him. "Goodnight, Bambino," Tony gently spoke to the air as he tucked in Harry and kissed his forehead.

Tomorrow should certainly be an interesting day, it was going to be Harry's first look at their Malibu house.

Chapter Text

Harry woke up with a fast heart and his words dying in his throat even as he scrambled out of the bed. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, but he realized he hadn't accidentally fallen asleep on the Dursley's guest bed like the one time but was instead in a bed at the hotel.

A hotel he was in with his father.

His father, who had suddenly arrived, and his first move was to go get Harry.

The warm feeling in Harry's chest help edge the nightmare he had of his uncle's anger and fists die away. He still rubbed his chest, a phantom pain from when his uncle had put just a bit too much pressure on his under-developed chest. Something Harry knew from the older side of his memories that would've killed him had he had no magic, the crack should've damaged his ribs and instantly press into his lungs. The only reason he lived was that his magic had instantly reacted in reinforcing his sternum and ribs, making sure they didn't crack and put pressure on his organs.

With small soundless steps, Harry crept toward one of the two windows in his room and peeked outside of it, noting the darkness he finally looked for a clock that was bound to be somewhere in the room. Finding the words of 5:34 staring right back at him, Harry blinked as he realized how early it was and debated if he wanted to stay confined to this room or explore the hotel.

Looking toward the bed and feeling himself shiver with slight fear, the under-developed part of his brain and full of imagination vividly reminding Harry of the nightmare he just came out of. With that thought, he slowly opened the door and was happy when it didn't creak.  His older and younger mind fought for a moment, causing Harry to pause as he stepped out of the room. Thoughts of waking up Tony or going to him for comfort were vividly being beaten down by his younger mind that reminded him of the one time he tried that with the Dursleys.

Harry flinched as he remembered the loud crack that had followed when his uncle had stepped on his arm and the dark bruising that lasted on his chest for days after his uncle's tantrum at being awoken by the freak of the house. With the stark reminder glaring in his mind, Harry knew that even though it would be rational to wake either Tony or Happy, that he wasn't going to. Wringing his fingers in his shirt, the images of vintage cars easing some of Harry's worries, Harry moved away from the two closed doors that lead to Tony and Happy's room and made his way toward the living room.

With nothing else to do, Harry looked around the room, instantly dismissing the television against one of the walls, fearing it would be too loud, his eyes tracked toward the small kitchen-like area. Not feeling like cooking and knowing he had a choice until Tony told him otherwise, or at least until they got to his actual home, Harry eyed the toaster in one of the corners with some wrapped bread beside it.

Yes, that would certainly do.

Harry couldn't tell you when exactly his father had sat on the couch behind him. Harry had sat on the floor leaning against the small coffee table in the small hotel room his fingers taking apart the machinery of the toaster, but he certainly became aware of it when Happy cleared his throat.

Blinking away the sudden lighting change, apparently, it has become daytime during his time examining the toaster, and the small crick in his neck, Harry stared at the man that entered before turning to his father. Uh, apparently his father had actually come during his investigation and Harry hadn't even realized that he was asking the man questions about the machinery without thought.

"When did you get here?" Harry asked as he finally dropped the screwdriver, where he got it he couldn't fully tell you since he can't recall it himself and rubbed his eyes that felt crusted around the edges.

"Oh Lord, give me mercy, there's two of them," Happy sighed out as he ran his hand down his face and went toward the kitchen.

"Just be happy he didn't destroy the coffee-maker. Made that mistake once when I realized the time," Tony joked as he winked toward Harry even as his hand ran through Harry's hair. "Morning, Bambino, I've only been away for about an hour now, did you have a good sleep?"

Without a second thought, Harry nodded his head even as he slowly sat up and reached toward his father. Slow movements with hesitant fingers, slightly expecting his father to push him away or just sit him onto the couch. He hadn't expected Tony to lift Harry up and settle him on his legs without a second thought, his left arm curling around his waist as his right picked up the coffee he briefly sat down.

"When did you wake up?" Tony asked as they both eyed the clock in the kitchen right by Happy who was making a slight mess of pouring the coffee. Apparently, the man's coordination is a bit short in the morning when it comes to waking up. Noticing it nearly read 8 am, Harry just shrugged against his father even as he leaned back. Resting his head backward against Tony's shoulder. "Dunno," he mumbled out the lie, not wishing to tell the man the truth.

Tony hummed even as his knee slowly started bouncing up and down, a movement that was slightly exciting for Harry as he slightly giggled at the action. "Any idea what you want for breakfast?" Tony inquired as he threw back the rest of the coffee he had.

"I get some?" Harry asked without a second thought, the younger mind in shock at the idea since he's never actually gotten breakfast from the Dursleys before. Some scraps of eggs, sure, real breakfast, no.

Tony's grip on his waist briefly tightened, and he stopped moving his legs, but he turned his head toward Harry's head and pressed a small kiss against the side of his head. "In this household, it's the most important meal of the day, we can't miss it out," he joked out but Harry could tell the smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

Without a second hesitation, Harry reached out and slowly caressed the lining surrounding his father's eyes. Eying them with a frown. "I like it better when you smile for real. It makes your eyes prettier," Harry said even as he dropped the conversation as the crinkles returned. Tony chuckled and kissed Harry's cheek even as he slowly shifted Harry.

Instead of putting him back onto the ground, he set the coffee onto the table and picked up Harry. "Well, if I remember correctly, and I always do," Tony said with a wink and walked toward the grumpy Happy, "we got some leftovers yesterday for a full English Breakfast. Did you want to do anything else before we go home, Harry?" Tony asked as he adjusted his grip lightly, making me jump slightly in the air that made a giddy feeling arise in my chest.

"Uh," Harry mumbled, his brows furrowed as he thought about anything he might've forgotten since his younger mind had taken over most of yesterday given how tired he was. A thought struck him as horror and sadness made a few tears cling to the corner of his eyes. "I forgot mommy's trunk in the attic," he replied, his younger and stronger mind making the sadness stronger as his lips wobbled lightly, panic rising in his chest steadily.

"Hey, hey, shhh, I can easily get some of my people to grab it," Tony hushed gently, his free hand reaching up to slowly rub Harry's back as the young boy practically collapsed against Tony's collar as he tried to calm himself down, a reminder of previous times he's cried in his head.

It took a few moments, but eventually, Harry did calm his chest even with festering anxiety that stay in his belly until he saw his mother's chest for himself. "Sorry," Harry muttered as he wiped his eyes with his hand.

Tony tsked lightly and brought the hands over to the sink before grabbing a tissue and holding it up to Harry's nose. After a confused second, Harry took it and blew into it to help his clogged nose. "Why are you sorry?" Tony asked gently as he continued to take care of an upset Harry while Happy started heating up the food they got last night, knowing ahead of time that Tony would not want to leave the hotel unless it was to head to Malibu, mostly because they didn't want any news getting pictures of Harry just yet.

"For crying," Harry solemnly said, "'M not 'llowed to cry. Real men don't cry, only freaks cry. Uncle Vernon said so," Harry told his father, his emotions feeling all over the place as his two minds fought against one another, enough so he was starting to get a bit of a headache. Or maybe that was the dehydration he was feeling after crying.

Tony had a brief moment of silence like he was thinking he was going to say something before shaking his head and bringing them back toward the couch with a small look toward Happy. After sitting down and bringing Harry into his chest, cuddling him close, Tony finally acknowledged Harry's apology. "You have no reason to be sorry, especially over something as simple as crying. Now, I'm going to tell you something that I wish someone told me when I was your age, okay?" Tony asked as he ran a hand through Harry's curls.

"Okay," Harry softly said, resting his head on his father's chest. The anxiety from the lack of his mother's chest slowly quelled under the calming beat of his father's heart.

"When people tell you that real men don't cry, that men aren't allowed the cry, I want you to know, it's complete and utter bullshit. Okay? Your uncle was wrong, anyone who says that is wrong. Men, real men, cry, they show their true feelings because feelings are such a complicated overwhelming thing that, when you don't say something, they fester and fester and can come out the wrong way. Always acknowledge your feelings, Harry, and never fear them. You are a man, no matter how you act unless you wanna be a female. But that's a completely different conversation. Okay, Bambino?" Tony asked as he kissed Harry's cheek as his son gave him a slow hesitant smile.

"Yeah," Harry whispered, feeling like he was going to start crying again because of how much love he was feeling inside him. "Do you cry, Daddy?" Harry asked childishly.

Tony's face blanked for a moment, realizing that this might've been the first time that Harry's actually called him his dad and more importantly, it was an acknowledgment that holy shit he was a father to this small child that would rely on him every day. Trying to push the thought aside and focus on the question, Tony winced because his father's words of "Stark Men are made of Iron" resounded in his head. "Yeah," Tony said softly as he remembered a vivid day he did cry. "When my parent's-" or well his mother anyway "-passed away I cried. I also cried when I lost my long-time friend, Edward Jarvis, and his wife Anna. They...they were the closest thing to a family I had in a long, long time," Tony said softly, his mind drifting toward memories of the past.

"Food!" Happy announced from the kitchen, drawing both stark men away from their thoughts. The face they made at Happy nearly made the man burst into laughter, the slight disgruntled and unhappy stare telling me they were comfortable where they were and unhappy to have to move. "Come on, the earlier we eat, the sooner we can leave for home. I already texted the others from last night and they'll get the trunk that Harry had mentioned in time to leave for the airport and anything else important that might've been there. I also had a small delivery for a change of clothes for Harry until he gets more settled in."

Tony nodded as he moved both him and Harry toward the table where he reluctantly let Harry sit in his own seat now that he wasn't about to fall over asleep in his food. "I also want you to get the lawyers on any property that either Lily or her husband may have owned that is now legally Harry's. Along with any investments that the Potter's may have made here in England, while I only know their name as someone wealthy in England, I want to know exactly what they might've done to keep the wealth and anything that now belongs to Harry so we can start getting it all in order for when he's older. Make sure the places are up-to-date, plumbing, electricity, the building itself. Don't want anything falling down without us knowing about it because it wasn't kept up to date. Oh, and have Jarvis get a list started on clothing, toys, and furniture that he things we might need and can look over later. A basic list to start, and as time goes on can narrow down what Harry likes."

Happy made an acknowledging noise as he shoved a few eggs in his mouth with one hand, the other already texting on his phone through various contacts. Even though this was generally Pepper's job before her Happy did have to do this type of thing every now and again since Tony usually just blurted what was on his mind at any moment of the time, no matter if his assistant at the time was there or not. Meaning that Happy sometimes fell into the assistant role of telling the actual assistant what to do. In this case, thankfully Jarvis could handle most of it since Happy knew trying to explain everything to Pepper over text or phone was not going to work out and may lead to her just up and quitting.

Still feeling slightly tired from his panic from the morning, and lack of sleep, Harry kept quiet the questions that festered inside his mind, mostly concerning just who Jarvis was, considering his dad just told him someone named Jarvis was dead, and just why Tony thought he needed clothes or toys. What he had now was perfectly fine! At least, his childish mind thought so since he never had more than this before, these pajamas even fit him!

When it became clear that everyone was done at the table, Harry staring at the food with a slightly worried brow, like he knew he should keep eating but felt too full, Tony slowly took the food from Harry and watched as the boy frowned but didn't fight him on it. "There'll be some snacks and food on the plane," Tony was quick to reassure Harry, hoping that the little trust between them would make Harry trust his word.

Harry just nodded and pulled his arms around his legs, looking tiny in the chair he was sitting in. Handing the food to Happy to deal with, Tony quickly and happily scooped up his son, which was still weird to think about, and blew a raspberry in his cheek. Harry's peels of laughter made Tony feel higher than any drug he could have ever taken in college. "Come on, Bambino, let's see what this change of clothes Uncle Happy grabbed you, and then we can get out of here and go home."

"Home?" Harry asked as he rested against his father, a small smile on his face even full of anxiety of the unknown.

"Home. A house in Malibu where I promise you, you'll have all the machines you can take apart at your whim. Especially things under my car. There are even some cars that we can look through and work on," Tony promised as he kissed Harry's chubby cheeks that still had some baby fat on them, even with how malnourished the boy looked.

"I'd like that," Harry quietly told his father, a soft look on his face as his shoulders relaxed slightly.

The duo found the bag that Happy mentioned and took Harry to his bedroom where Harry let Harry stand on his own. "Let's see," Tony muttered as he dug into the bag and grabbed the shirt, small sweatshirt, boxer, pants, socks, and a new pair of shoes that were inside. Grabbing the plain white shirt Tony knelt in front of Harry. "Arms up," Tony told his son lightly and watched him hold his arms up, looking amused as Tony quickly helped him out of his pajama shirt and into the plain white shirt. "Alright," Tony muttered as step one was done. "I can get dressed by myself, you know," Harry amusedly told his father as he started slowly taking off his pajama pants and old boxers to put on the new ones.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, I never got to help change you when you were younger. Just let me help you for now," he commented as he helped Harry slip on his boxers and soft cargo jeans. Given how loose Harry's clothing was before, anything too tight might cause his son to go into a panic attack or be uncomfortable. Loose things like a t-shirt or cargo pants would help for now along with the sweatshirt that was included. Loose, comfortable clothing that Harry should be warm in given it was nearly November and Britain was in a cold spurt at the moment.

As he grabbed the sweatshirt, Tony nearly laughed at the front of it. "I get my charm from my Daddy" oh Tony so wanted to have words with Happy about the sweatshirt but Harry looked pleased when he saw it. "Is it true?" he asked with an innocence Tony thinks his younger self could've never pulled off.

"Definitely," Tony agreed with a smile and noted he missed one other thing in the bag. A small beanie that had a small truck on the front of it. "Did you want to wear this?" Tony asked already making a mental note that his son probably enjoyed car-themed clothing items as Harry shyly nodded and took it in his hands and carefully placed it on his head.

Leaning back on his heels even as a subtle ache ran through his knees, Tony couldn't help but stare at the small child that shared his half of DNA. Harry looked ridiculously cute in the outfit and Tony knew that if (when his traitor's mind whispered) the news found out about his son at this current age, they would flock toward him just because of how cute he was. And somehow, Tony had no doubt that Harry would make everyone fall under his spell as his son positively beamed at Tony with love and happiness shining in his eyes.

"Love you, Bambino. You look great," Tony whispered with so much care that Harry couldn't help but fling a hug at his father, initiating the contact.

"Love you, Daddy," Harry whispered into his father's shoulder as the man carefully picked him up and set him on Harry's bed before carefully helping the vintage car socks on his feet before velcroing the pair of Disney Car shoes onto his son's feet. "Alright, I think we're reading to head to the states," Tony told Harry with a smug smile.

Harry gave a hesitant smile back and climbed off the bed, his eyes instantly tracking the light red dots that flashed from his feet as his feet made contact with the ground. With childish curiosity, Harry lifted his foot before placing it back on the ground and watched it light up again. "Look!" Harry eagerly told Tony as he lifted his foot and placed it on the ground, the lights flashing red once more.

"Very cool," Tony agreed as he stood up and took Harry's hand in his own, guiding Harry whose eyes were trained on his shoes toward the exit of the hotel room. Happy nodded, telling Tony without saying anything that everything was ready. 

Somehow the trio managed to make it to the private strip and onto Tony's private plane without the news catching wind of it. Lily's trunk and possessions were stored away with the small bag that Tony had packed. Harry eagerly looked out of the window from his strapped position as he watched the plane take off.

"How long is it gonna take before we get home?" Harry asked as the captain told them they could take off their seatbelt.

Tony smiled at the question and lead Harry toward a small screen near the front of the plane. "See this," Tony asked as a flat world map image showed up, the plane still in Europe with a pathway over the United States leading toward California," the purple trail is the flight path we're taking. We're going to be making two stops here and here," Tony pointed to two circular marks along the flight path," where we can stretch out legs. But up here, it shows how much longer it'll be until our first stop, the second time says until the next stop, and the final one is until we're home. Okay?" Tony asked as he knelt and hugged his son who was examining the screen.

"So, roughly 12 hours?" Harry curiously asked as he took in the information the board gave, mentally thankful that his magic was far more controlled than his previous life considering electronics and magic don't exactly go hand-in-hand.

"Exactly, Bambino," Tony told his son with a kiss on his cheek, "do you want to watch some kid's movies that are available?"

"I'd rather play the game on your phone," Harry answered honestly as his father lead him back toward the seating area and pulled him into his lap. Leaning back onto his father's chest, Harry ignored Happy who had earbuds and some type of book off to the corner.

"Wanna show me this game?" Tony asked, mentally calculating which stimulating game had hooked Harry's attention that he knew J.A.R.V.I.S had installed.

Shrugging his shoulders as his father handed him the unlocked phone, Harry skipped over the folded label with his name and went toward the other game that he had enjoyed and pulled up where he left off for the prosthetic he had been working on. Harry felt his father suddenly tense behind him and looked up, worried he had done something wrong.

Shying away, Harry stopped as his father's arms wrapped around him and a loose breath left Tony. "You are marvelous," Tony whispered into Harry's hair as he pulled the boy closer and gave a gentle kiss. "Let's go through this game of yours. You want to talk me through what you're thinking?" Tony asked, his mind whirling with the information that his son was like him. Engineering gifted and advanced for his age. He thought he saw some of it this morning with his son taking apart the toaster, but this went beyond his expectation. Not that he wouldn't have loved his son less if he wasn't as gifted as Tony, but this was another thing for them to bond over, and Tony was going to treasure the gift that was his son.

Harry gave a hesitant smile, nodded his head, and tried to talk to his father about the thoughts whirling through his mind. Liking the fact that, unlike his teachers, his father easily kept up with Harry's words and explanations. Not having to dumb it down or change them for another person was refreshing, and Harry felt like he found where he truly belonged.

12 hours passed quickly and left Harry dozing in his chair as the plane landed for a final time in the heated California sun. Though they left early morning in England, considering the U.K was 8 hours ahead of California, they still had plenty of time through the day and Tony had managed to convince his son to take a nap with the promise of exploring the house.

During the nap Tony had made more headway on Harry's legalization, the dual citizenship finally going through while Tony worked on burying it so no one could find it unless they were J.A.R.V.I.S before working on Harry's school credentials. While he would love for his son to go to school under the Stark name, he knew that while Harry was not out in public yet, and maybe in a year or two he would be, it would be safer for him to be under either Potter or Evans. He'd just have to ask his son what he personally wanted to go by.

Throwing his shades on to stop the sun from blinding him and making sure Harry took off the sweatshirt so he wouldn't be too hot but left the Beanie on at his insistence, Tony picked up Harry and made their way to the SUV that was waiting for them, Happy sliding into the front seat while Tony sat in the back with Harry who was strapped into a car seat.

"Ready to go home?" Tony asked with a grin toward Harry who sleepily returned it, looking between Tony and the outside world with awe.

"Ready," Harry replied with eagerness, enjoying the air that flowed through the car as Happy rolled down the windows, Tony leaned over to point out some things to Harry who enjoyed looking out the window. Even in his old life he never visited America before, especially somewhere as far as California. That combined with the child-part of his developing mind, Harry's attention was easily drawn to the outside world and rambling to Tony about anything that caught his attention.

Eventually, they winded up a road that led to a single white house that could only be called a mansion overlooking a cliff. Harry's love of heights was instantly drawn to the design and the fact he was sure if he looked out the window, he would be on the edge looking down at the water that's below them. "Is that a beach we can go to? I've never been to the beach before," Harry asked as his eyes took in the large, insanely large for just two people, mansion in front of him.

"It's a private beach," Tony agreed before pointing toward the bottom of the house, "but for safety, we don't go under the house or play in the water down there. The rocks there are a bit sharp and just in case the house ever does become unstable, we don't want to be underneath it. But we can enjoy the beach just a bit further down, during the summer, the waves even get a bit bigger and I'm sure you can learn how to surfboard if you want."

Perking up at the mention of something new, Harry slowly nodded as excitement thrummed through his veins but hesitation gnawed on his bones. It almost felt too good to be true. Unhooking himself from the car seat without help from his father, Harry stepped out of the car and took his father's hand as he came around to lead Harry to the house.

It was as big as Harry thought, but also cozy. Open in a way the Dursley house never was, but still filled with couches and rugs, plant or painting, even a fireplace to curl up nearby and read at night, Harry fell in love with his new home. And, okay, the pool that was right next to the house helped, but Harry didn't feel claustrophobic as he walked into Tony's house, the scent of a soft sea breeze lofted through the entire house, his bedroom wasn't cramped but still open and spacious enough so that if he did get the toys Tony had mentioned, or books that he wanted, he'd have more than enough room to have them in his room.

The kitchen was also just as open and spacious, great for cooking and baking, easily moveable with multiple people, unlike the Dursley home where if his aunt moved too suddenly while Harry was on the stove, his hand would get slightly burned as he tried to catch himself.

Spinning around in a circle as he took it all in, Harry felt wetness gather on his cheeks as he stared wide-eyed around him. "Hey, Woah, what's wrong, Bambino?" Tony asked as he was instantly by Harry's side and kneeling in front of him.

"Nothing," Harry whispered like it was something forbidden, "this is just so...brilliant," Harry told his father as he looked around. The weight that seemed to have been a constant presence throughout his life, one he never even knew about, seemed to lift as Harry finally felt free in a way he never felt in his previous life. Like he finally found the one place he could finally just be himself.

He wasn't Harry Potter here, the orphaned son of James and Lily Potter. He was Harry Anthony Stark, a nobody in the world right now. The son of Tony Stark, a brilliant inventor that changes the world with his mind. "I love you," Harry whispered to his father as their eyes locked and Harry just felt so much love for his father, and for his father instantly finding him without a single thought.

Tony moved his hands from Harry's shoulders to his cheeks as he cradled his son's face so gently and with so much care. "I love you too," Tony said, love pouring into his own words as he took in his son's happiness and love, "but, you haven't even seen the best part of the house yet. Come on, let me show you my workshop that you can enter under supervision. I still have to show you your robot siblings," Tony said with a large smirk.

"I'd like that," Harry said softly, his smile more confident and less hesitant as he realized he was here. He wasn't in the U.K where Tony might be ripped away from him. This was real, and it was happening. And his father wanted him in his life.

Taking Tony's hand to lead him to the workshop, Harry knew he was going to enjoy this life very much.

Chapter Text

Harry woke up with his heart pounding and a scream lodged in his throat as he scrambled out of the guest bedroom he was staying in while his father properly prepared a room for him. Not that Harry was thinking about this as he stumbled out of the bed he was in, his childish mind in panic at the fact he wasn't in his cupboard under the stairs.

He wasn't even thinking about U, Butterfingers, Dum-E, or J.A.R.V.I.S who he had fallen in love with when he was meeting all of them, or that J.A.R.V.I.S was instantly paying attention to his vitals and slowly waking his father up. No, the only thing on Harry's mind was finding a small cupboard to hide in.

The closet was out, it was too large given it was a walk-in closet and didn't feel like his cupboard. But Harry remembered the small closet near the front door for jacket and shoes. It's where his own sweatshirt and shoes were currently stored since Tony had taken the time to show Harry how to slide on the marble floor with socks. They spent a good hour just sliding around and nearly fell against a side table near the couch when Harry didn't stop in time.

Finding the closet and instantly ducking into it, Harry curled on the floor, ignoring the shoes that were underneath him as he pressed his knees against his forehead, small shakes running through his body as the green light replayed over and over in his mind. The cruel laughter that the older part of Harry knew was Voldemort twisting into his uncle as he rained assault on Harry's small body.

His forearm twinged in remembrance of a particular near-break for his arm from a harsh blow of his uncle when the man tried to hit his stomach only for his arms to protect himself. Flinching when the door suddenly opened, Harry gave a small whimper as he tried to curl tighter, protecting his head and chest since they were important. Arms and legs could take a beating, but it hurt more if his head or chest got hit from waking his uncle up.

"'orry," Harry kept muttering without thinking, rocking slightly back and forth as a way to try and calm himself. His uncle didn't like crying, didn't like whimpering as it was.

"Shhh, it's okay Hare-Bear. I'm here," a gentle voice slowly entered Harry's panicked mind as he realized the voice wasn't his uncle.

For a moment, Harry's entire body instantly tensed, wondering who the new person was before his mind slowly caught up with itself and Harry slowly unfolded his head from his knees. "Daddy?" Harry called out weakly as his head slowly looked toward the open cupboard door.

"Hey, Hare-Bear. You with me again?" His father, Tony Stark, gently asked as he was kneeling just in front of Harry, his hands twisting slightly in his lap like he wanted to reach out, but knew the touch wouldn't be met well.

"Daddy," Harry cried out as he threw himself at his father who easily caught him and let him clutch him as an anchor.

"I'm here. You're here with me. It's okay now," Tony soothingly whispered as Harry buried his face in Tony's shoulder and twisted his hand in Tony's shirt.

Tony rubbed Harry's back in soft smooth motions as Harry cried into his shoulder. Tony slowly went back and forth to try and further calm Harry as he gently shushed Harry and kissed the side of his head, the part he had access to, to try and further relax his son.

Eventually, as minutes passed, Harry did slowly calm down and just laid his head on his father's wet shoulder. A few shakes ran through his body, but it was far less than the beginning as exhaustion and jet lag caught up with Harry considering his sleep schedule was currently not in sync.

"Do you want to talk about it, or try and get more sleep?" Tony asked in a low voice, finally moving from his stiff position on slightly hurt knees as he stood back up.

"Are those the only two options?" Harry quietly asked as his hand slowly stopped clutching Tony's shirt and instead, his thumb drifted toward his mouth to suck soothingly.

Tony let it be for the moment, addressing the bigger problem than the thumb-sucking. "Well, we can have a bit of hot chocolate if you think it'll help. But yes, you do need more sleep," Tony gently corrected, wanting his son to not pick up on his bad habit of staying up through the night. If it meant laying down the law or at least fixing his own schedule, then so be it.

"I don't want to fall asleep again," Harry quietly said around his thumb even as his eyes slowly started drifting shut on their own.

"What about with me?" Tony asked as he pressed a soft kiss to Harry's forehead.

Harry stayed quiet for a moment as Tony just stood near the cupboard Harry had hidden in. "Okay," he finally agreed, his voice hesitant and filled with restrained fear as the arm still around Tony's shoulder tightened slightly as Harry buried his face more in Tony's shoulder.

Tony didn't say anything else as they made their way back upstairs and toward Tony's room. A few random bits of machinery over the place but it was generally just a place to sleep. It had a bed with grey and white covers, a computer in the corner, a tv on the floor, and a small bedside table with a light and some coding book faced down opened on it.

Slowly tucking Harry in and against his side, Tony thought how weird it was to feel a small tiny body clutch him in his sleep and only prayed that Harry wasn't a shifter through the night given his foot is right by the area that conceived Harry to begin with. Giving a gentle kiss against Harry's forehead as he slowly fell asleep in Tony's arms, Tony spent a few minutes just watching his son slowly drift to sleep.

"Thanks, J," Tony muttered to the room, knowing his more advanced bot would hear him.

"Of course, sir. Shall I wake you at your normal time?" J.A.R.V.I.S softly asked to not wake up Harry.

Given the 'normal' time was usually around noon given Tony stayed up most of the night, Tony hummed and shook his head. "8 am, J. Need to make Harry breakfast," Tony muttered as exhaustion was suddenly poured through his own veins. Who knew a small child could leave someone so exhausted.

Tony fell asleep before he could hear J.A.R.V.I.S's affirmation, his arms wrapping around Harry in a protective embrace, as if he could stop Harry's mind from causing nightmares.

They both slept through the rest of the night peacefully until J.A.R.V.I.S carefully woke Tony in the morning.

Tony was surprised to note that Harry was still asleep. Given how early he seemed to wake up in their time in the U.K, Tony thought Harry would already be up and just keeping himself occupied. But no, his son was still passed out against Tony, his thumb near his mouth but not in it. Soft snores left his parted lips as Harry curled, protecting his stomach even while asleep.

Something ugly rose in Tony's chest as he watched his son protect himself even asleep, combined with last night's nightmare, Tony was fully happy he was pressing charges against the Dursleys. Especially given they didn't even have the proper documentation in order to be Harry's guardians. Kidnapping charges were such lovely things combined with abuse and assault charges. Carefully, and watching for any movement, Tony gave Harry's forehead a soft kiss, mentally making a note to find a surgeon to possibly remove the scar on his forehead, before slowly, and feeling old, getting out of bed and heading downstairs to make breakfast for the two of them.

It's been a long time since Tony made his own breakfast, usually just having coffee until either Pepper or Rhodey would bring food, or just grab a donut that J.A.R.V.I.S would usually order for him. Wasn't the healthiest of diets, but Tony vowed to do better for his son who could gain a few pounds.

"J.A.R.V.I.S, do we have everything to make the Frittata recipe you have stored?" Tony asked as he remembered downloading all of his mother's recipes into J.A.R.V.I.S.

"That is correct sir. Shall I set the oven to the correct temperature?" J.A.R.V.I.S asked.

Tony hummed his approval and ignored the oven turning on as he grabbed all items from the fridge he needed. It's been years since he made Frittata, but he remembered it was one of the things he loved as a child that he hadn't had for a long time. Probably since his mother's passing in truth, it was always hard to enter her cookbook given the joy of cooking was something mother and son shared. Howard never really approved of it, but Maria Stark was her own tornado, and cooking with Tony was something that Howard wasn't going to get into a fight over given that Maria usually won said fights when she put her all into it. It's part of the reason Tony even knew a lot about his Italian heritage and knew Italian itself. He would even say it was his first language before Howard started teaching him English given he spent most of his youth with his mother who loved her heritage.

Just as he put it into the oven, he heard the front door open. "Ms.Potts has entered with Mr.Rhodey," J.A.R.V.I.S informed him immediately as Tony slightly relaxed as he heard the click-clack of Pepper's heels against the floors.

"Anthony Edward Stark," Pepper hissed with slightly disheveled hair as she entered where Tony was, Rhodey oddly slightly next to her as his furrowed eyes took in Tony leaning against the counter and something cooking in the oven. Unlike Pepper, Rhodey knew Tony the longest out of everyone in Tony's life, knew how much cooking meant to Tony and what it meant for him to be making something now. "Maybe you can tell me why the lawyers just informed me that you changed your will so everything goes to some Harry Potter? What have you done now?" Pepper asked with slight disbelief mixed with slight anger. Most of all, though, was the worry that resonated through her body wondering what had caused Tony to ignore them for an entire week, make an unplanned trip to Europe, and then come back and change his will without any say, especially Obadiah who seemed just as clueless.

Tony spotted a mop of brown hair sitting on the stairs and gave a soft gentle reassuring smile toward Harry. "It's okay, Harry. Can you come here and meet your aunt and uncle?" Tony asked quietly as he knelt down and opened his arms.

Instantly, Harry stood up from his hiding seat on the stairs and ran into his father's arms. Pepper and Rhodey were shocked quiet as Tony easily picked up the small child and held him close. Harry buried his face in Tony's neck, uncertain of the new people who entered their home, and instantly started yelling at his father.

Tony's hand rubbed Harry's back reassuringly. "Pep, Platypus, this is Hare-Bear. My son," Tony gently said with a hint of steel. Daring them to say something rude with Harry in his presence.

But there was a reason all three have been friends for a long time as Rhodey was the first to move. "Hey, Little Man, my name is James, but your dad likes to call me Rhodey because my names name is Rhodes. Do you have any other nicknames but Hare-Bear?" Rhodey asked with enthusiasm, his eyes roaming over Harry. Even with the babyface on his cheeks, Rhodey knew Tony when he was still a child himself and could instantly see Tony in Harry's face. Knowing with certainty that they really were father and son.

"Daddy calls me Bambino," Harry mumbled as he turned his head away from Tony's neck and just leaned his cheek on his shoulders instead of hiding. His eyes roamed Rhodey's relaxed stance and slowly untensed himself. "Are you in the military?" Harry asked with a brief blink as he took in the bluish suit Rhodey was wearing with medals to the left side of his chest.

"Good eye, Little Man. I'm in the Air Force. You know what that means?" Rhodey asked with a slight smirk.

Perking up in curiosity Harry tilted his head that looked similar to when Tony gets curious about something when he was younger. It had long since died out in the older man, but Rhodey couldn't help but fondly recall a 15-year-old Tony doing that when he was first making Dum-E and stumped himself.

"It means I get to fly and make sure we stay safe," Rhodey boasted as he held Harry's attention.

"Really?" Harry asked eagerly, "I love flying."

Tony nearly snorted as Harry completely ignored Rhodey's other half of his sentence, focusing instead on the flying part. It was something Tony noted when they were flying from England to California, Harry often spent some of the time just looking out the window with wide eyes and a sort of wistfulness in his eyes.

Before Rhodey could say anything else, the timer went off on the oven and Tony took out the Fritatta that was ready. "Dude, Fritatta? I hadn't had that in a long time. You're in for a special treat, Hare-Bear, your dad makes a mean Fritatta," Rhodey said as Pepper still looked slightly uncertain as to what exactly was going on, but she would take it up with Tony when there weren't little ears around. In any case, Tony's actions suddenly made more sense and caused Pepper to relax a bit more, trusting Tony to know what he was doing and, if anything meant she would come over a just a bit more often to make sure Tony didn't burn too quickly from this new situation.

Tony served everyone a slice of Fritatta and didn't stop Harry from climbing in his lap to eat his own food next to Tony. If anything, Tony was all too happy to have Harry in his lap and wrap his arm around Harry's waist to make sure he didn't fall. Harry's happy hums as he ate the food told Tony he was certainly making this more often for his son.

"What's the game plan for today?" Pepper asked as she slowly chewed and savored her own food, never having known Tony to make his own food. It always surprised her to note Tony's fridge wasn't empty but never seen him make anything before. Which was a shame given how good this was.

"Well, Hare-Bear needs clothes, bedroom furniture, toys, and enrolled in school. I also need to talk over with the lawyers to make sure everything did transfer over correctly and everything is handled with his old guardians," Tony said, his face portraying something bad about his relatives as Harry slightly tensed in his lap and looked up toward Tony.

"You're not going to send me back to them, are you?" Harry asked in a quiet fearful voice that told Pepper and Rhodey a lot more about the situation more than before and made them understand why Tony quickly went about this plan without filling them in first. They didn't like it, but fully understood Tony's thought process. His mind didn't have time to fill in his friends for help, but made him get Harry out of the bad situation instantly and without much thought.

"Never," Tony vowed as he kissed Harry's cheek and gently tickled the boy to hear his heartfelt laughter. Harry relaxed against his father when he was done, his blinding smile filling the room. His smile was exactly like Tony's when he didn't have a mask on. The slightly lopsided smile always made someone feel like they were filled with sunshine and happiness. Tony didn't smile like that as often as he used to, but it was often enough when he was with Rhodey or Pepper that both if they had any doubt before, vanished as they knew with certainty that Harry was absolutely Tony Stark's son.

"Well, would you like any help for today? I don't have to be back on base until tomorrow, I just hadn't taken the time to go change before coming here," Rhodey asked Tony as he leaned back in his seat, wanting to spend the day with Tony and Harry who seemed like he was slowly warming up to him and Pepper.

"We'd love that," Tony told them with a smile, knowing instinctively that Pepper was going to be around today regardless just to make sure Tony didn't overstress himself. Harry gave him their own smile, still uncertain of the new circumstances, but ready for the new life that Death had brought him.

And if, perhaps, at the end of the day Harry got a car bed to sleep in with matching sheets. Well, it was his room after all and cars were his favorite thing next to his daddy.

Chapter Text

Harry, or Harry Evans as he was referred to at school but Harry Stark at home, was enjoying his new life immensely. His dad had got him set up with a school and urged him to do well. He didn't feel left out there either as the kids there were ambassadors or political children, something Harry understood because many of them also had pseudo names like his own and knew not to talk about their family life. That combined with his dad figuring how smart he was, actually meant Harry was challenged in school. Sure, he was still with his age group, something his dad was a stickler on considering how quickly he moved through the school system and didn't work well with others, but his actual homework and classwork were grades ahead of himself. By the time he enters Middle School, his work would be late High School and his dad said by that time, he could decide if he wanted to go to high school or straight to college.

Harry didn't really care regardless, knowing that when he turned 11 he'd be taken in by some magical school, so it would be better long term to just get as far in regular school as possible without stressing himself out. Between his school schedule of his Uncle Happy dropping and picking him up, Harry was often alone by himself to entertain himself. Harry knew today was going to be even more of an Entertain-Yourself-Day because his dad had seemed so focused on whatever project SI asked him to do, and Harry absolutely hated his Uncle Obadiah that he tried to never refer to the man as his family. Something about him just struck Harry wrong, he always gave an air of dissatisfaction and fake caring when it came to Harry and his father. Like a leopard just playing with its prey before striking and killing it once and for all.

He reminded Harry of Vernon Dursley. Waiting for one wrong move before striking, maybe not the abuse like Harry suffered, but from the way the man seemed like a snake waiting in the bushes, it would perhaps be worse than whatever his previous had ever done to him. Harry sighed as he ran his fingers and walked alongside the fence of his private school with crazy security. Happy was running late and Harry was bored as the security guard was watching him keenly but not stopping him. He paused in turning around when something in the corner of his eyes made him pause.

Harry saw the security guard tense and reached for, no doubt, the gun on his hip, but Harry ignored him as he crouched low and let magic dance inside his palm. It felt soothing as it entered in the air without any actually coloration and Harry watched the small malnourished young Red Maine Coon that looked like it only recently got out of kitten years.

The cat looked skittish as it stared at Harry, but as his magic soothed the air around them, the cat hesitantly took a step forward. "It's alright, Luv," Harry gently coaxed as the cat crept closer to Harry.

Soon enough, the cat sniffed Harry's hand and headbutted it, a small purr resounding that made Harry grin and watch as the security guard relaxed in his stance. "Hi," Harry gently said as the cat crept closer, "my name's Harry. And I think we're going to be friends," he gently told the cat, his heart yearning for his old friend Hedwig but knew he would have to wait.

As Harry got comfortable on the ground, the cat instantly made its home on his legs and relaxed in it, a louder purr coming from him as Harry gently ran his fingers through the cat's slightly knotted fur.

"Harry?" A shouting voice drew Harry's attention away from the cat. It was his Uncle Happy, it seemed he finally arrived.

"Did you want to come home with me?" Harry asked the cat, knowing his magic would make it sentient enough, a Made-Kneazel in this case instead of being born with its intelligence.

The cat paused and stared at Harry, it's slightly yellowish-brown eyes flickered with unnamed magic before they changed to the same emerald green as Harry's eyes. Harry grinned at his new familiar and didn't hesitate in picking her up, cradling her body gently against his own as he made his way toward Happy.

"Uncle Happy! I made a new friend!" Harry shouted to the man happily and watched the security guard's lips twitch upward as he followed Harry.

"Oh?" Happy asked as he played on his phone briefly, looking slightly frustrated.

"Yeah," Harry said as he grinned happily at the distracted man.

Feeling slightly mischievous as Happy wasn't paying any attention to him, Harry slid into the backseat of the car and buckled himself in, the cat moving from the seat she was placed on into Harry's lap, purring softly and licking his left hand as the right ran through her fur.

"Tell me more about them at dinner," Happy said as he snapped his phone shut and entered the driver seat, all without really looking at Harry.

Bemused, Harry turned and waved at the security guard, more bodyguard he supposed, and watched the man refrain from smiling at Harry as he tilted his head toward Harry before walking back toward the main office now that Harry was with his family. "We can go now," Harry said as Happy hadn't even started the car yet.

"Wha? Oh yeah," Happy said as he sighed and threw his phone on the passenger seat. Whatever was going on was definitely causing Happy grey hairs. Harry felt a bit bad about sneaking the cat with him, but Happy should definitely pay more attention to what Harry on him.

The ride was short but long at the same time as Harry waited for the inevitable moment that Happy realized Harry snuck a cat with him. But the moment never came and Harry left the car fast when they arrived home that Happy didn't see the slightly large body in Harry's arms.

Harry instantly ran upstairs, feeling excited as he took the cat toward his bedroom. Upon entering and shutting the door, Harry let the cat out and roam around his bedroom, his familiar would know not to damage anything in there. "JARVIS?" Harry hesitantly asked as a thought finally entered his slightly mature mind, the older part of himself making itself known for a moment.

"Yes, Harry?" JARVIS asked, his tone portraying nothing of the fact Harry just brought a random cat with him home from school.

Harry ran a slightly agitated hand through the cat's fur, feeling scared and nervous. His new familiar picked up his feelings and instantly jumped on his bed with him to try and calm him down. "Do you think Dad will make me get rid of Ginger?" Harry asked, finally figuring out a name for his new friend.

Ginger the Red Maine Coon purred louder at being named and butted Harry's arm soothingly, creeping into his lap to lay across it and cuddle him.

JARVIS was silent for a moment. "I do not think Sir will be opposed to you having a friend," he said softly at last, "would you like for me to call him up so you two may discuss it?"

Harry's heart thudded in his chest but he knew better than to keep the conversation from happening. It was better to get it done now than later. "Yeah," he said softly, already feeling like the new bond he was about to have was going to be torn from him. It would hurt, and his magic would suffer for a month, but if it made his dad happy...

JARVIS paused in response and Harry kicked off his shoes before shimming back onto the bed until his back hit his pillows. With more room, Ginger rubbed her head against his legs before carefully walking onto his belly and laying on top of him, the slightly heavy weight made Harry feel relaxed as his hand rubbed the cat's head.

"It seems Sir is indisposed and cannot take time away from this project," JARVIs had finally said, his tone holding a bit of frustration and Harry sighed.

"I hate Obie," Harry muttered under his breath, knowing it was the older man's fault for his dad being too busy for even a minute.

"I know," JARVIS said kindly, "would you like me to put on a movie, Young Sir?"

Harry perked up, it was rare JARVIS would put the tv on before dinner, usually it was when the bot was trying to cheer Harry up. "Only if you watch the movie with me! We can watch Cars! Dad says it's okay, but okay means great in his books!" Harry excitedly told his pseudo older brother.

JARVIS hesitated, Harry could tell because it took him 5 seconds longer than usual to respond, "Sir had wished to watch that movie with you, perhaps another movie you are interested in?" JARVIS asked with carefully measured words.

Harry was a bit downcast at not watching the movie he wanted to watch, but he felt a bit happy that his dad wanted to watch it with them. "What movie would you recommend?"

JARVIS hummed before an opening sequence was projected in front of Harry. "My research concludes that the movie Bolt would be most appropriate," JARVIS said as the lights lightly dimmed.

Harry cuddled Ginger a bit closer and happily watched the movie with JARVIS, his mind already forgetting that he hasn't had the conversation with his dad about the pet cat.

He didn't now when he fell asleep, it was probably near the end since he knew some of what happened, but he woke up with a hand running through his hands and a soft purr radiating from the side of his chest. During his sleep it seemed he went onto his side and Ginger had instantly curled up into his arms.

"Daddy?" Harry groggily asked because that was definitely his father's hand running through his hair.

"Hey, Bambino, JARVIS told me you fell asleep when I was done with dinner. How are you feeling?" Tony asked gently, his eyes were soft and he looked like he needed to sleep 15 hours. He had grease smudges on his cheeks and his hair had bits of oil like he ran his oiled hands through his hair.

"Okay. I made a friend. Her name is Ginger," Harry sleepily said, his hand on top of Ginger petting her softly, causing her to purr even louder and nuzzle toward Harry.

"JARVIS told me, I'm sorry I was busy today, Bambino. But I have some time now," Tony offered, feeling bad for pulling a Howard and not talking to his son. Seeing the cat curled up with his son reminded Tony of the years he spent by himself without a close friend (Rhodey not counting since he met the other man in college, not preschool or elementary school). Tony mentally promised himself to be better and tell Obie to shove it next time he demanded more of Tony's time then he can offer.

"You said dinner? Maybe after we can watch Cars? JARVIS said you wanted to watch it with me?" Harry asked as he finally reached up to rub his eyes to get the crusties out.

"That sounds like an excellent way to end the day. And before your mind catches up," Tony jokingly said as he bopped Harry's nose, causing his son to go briefly cross-eyed, "yes, you can keep Ginger. I've already ordered a few cat things to be delivered tomorrow and a groomer is coming when you're at school to help with the knots. JARVIS is scouring to make sure she's not someone's missing pet," Tony told Harry as the cat in question opened their emerald green eyes and blinked lazily, moving out of Harry's embrace to stretch.

As Harry moved to sit up and hold Tony's hand while they went downstairs, he wondered what exactly his father had been working for SI. "What were you making? Anyway? And when do you have to leave to present it?" Harry asked, because Tony always had to present the new projects for the military for some reason.

"I call it Jericho," Tony told him after a brief hesitation, "it's a really big powerful missile. I think it's going to save a few people's lives. I present it in a month, after the award-show that my number 1 fan is coming to," Tony joked, gently poking Harry at his side and causing his son to giggle, making Tony smile.

"Are you sure you want me joining? You don't like people knowing about me?" Harry asked, his voice soft and hesitant.

Tony paused as they reached the last step and kneeled so he was looking Harry in the eyes. "There is nothing more in the world that I want but to scream for the world to know my proudest creation, my proudest moment in my life, is when I discovered you were my son. But you're young, and I don't want the world to darken the only thing in the world that makes me feel so happy," Tony said in a rare moment of communication and feelings.

And Harry, the older side of him, completely understood. He had been like that with Teddy after the war, not wanting the press to change and dim his godson's light, the only thing that kept him afloat after the war. So, Harry reached up with his hands and cupped his father's cheeks like the few times his father did when he had a nightmare. "I'm ready when you are daddy," he said seriously.

Tony's eyes were suspiciously teary, but he smiled all the same as he gently grabbed Harry's hands and kissed both of his palms. "I know," Tony said before coughing and standing, his cheeks a little bit red, "come on, I was promised a movie after dinner."

Harry happily followed Tony wherever they went.

Chapter Text

Harry giggled at the press from beside Pepper, she was holding his hand as they waited for Tony to arrive to the award ceremony. Harry knew his father thought about skipping out on it, having received this award countless other times before, but this was Harry's first time watching his father get the award, so Tony had hired a tailor for both father and son duo while getting extra security around the place.

"Dad looks really good," Harry whispered under his breath to both Pepper and Happy, his babysitter and bodyguard for tonight respectively. Usually Happy was his dad's bodyguard, but apparently Tony trusted him a tad more watching Harry than himself for tonight.

"He's not the only one, Little Man," Happy said with a smile even as his eyes drifted through the crowd, flickering between the people and all the possible exits and entrances.

"I know, Pepper looks absolutely smashing," Harry said with a smile that was all his father as Pepper laughed, her cheeks blushing a tad bit.

"Shush you," Pepper scolded lightly, her smile showing that she wasn't upset. Harry didn't know if he was suppose to hear the "Just like his father" under her breath and decided to ignore it in favor of watching the press try and question his father and why they haven't seen anyone on his arms lately.

Harry tried not to puff his chest about helping his father's worse parts of himself, but he knew that since he entered his father's life that his father was more...focused shall he say on his health. There were less one-night stands, more sleep, and more time away from working, much to Obie's chagrin though. Harry also knew that his father was becoming more focused on the company, wanting to finally take it over so he knew exactly what to teach Harry to pass it down if Harry wanted it.

Harry never told Obie, but since Tony's request much earlier about looking into some of the company books had gone no where to downright ignored, Tony had started looking into the company and the people that work there. There was apparently something going on, since Harry had taken to covering for Pepper and Obie when his dad was on a research hold but didn't want them to know.

Apparently they tried roller blading on Thursday, only Harry can safely say that he's never once put any skates on. The new skates in his bedroom that showed up later that day for cover only made Harry keep the secret even safer. His dad owed him one since he said they skated inside and apparently Pepper wasn't just going to give a stern talking to to just his dad, but also Harry himself for putting himself in danger by trying to roller blade inside.

But none of that matter, because Harry felt so warm inside of him as he watched his Uncle Rhodey enter the stage to say who won the Apogee Award even though everyone knew who it was going to. Even if the whole video just before Rhodey spoke was a tad boring, Harry just felt proud of his father.

"As liaison to Stark Industries, I've had the unique privilege of serving with a real patriot. He is my friend and he is my great mentor. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to present this year's Apogee Award to Mr. Tony Stark. Tony?" Rhodey announced as Tony came onto the stage, his fake smile in place with a smirk that suggested fun times, not that Harry was suppose to know what that smirk meant.

"Yes, yes, I know, it's an honor to be in my presence," Tony boasted, his fake persona on that made Harry downcast a little, but he fully understood. When his eyes connected with his father, he gave him a smile of encouragement, knowing his dad's next words were going to get a few people upset, namely Pepper and Rhodey wouldn't have been warned ahead of time. "And I would love to thank you all for taking the time to celebrate this award with me. But now that the moments over, I wished to announce that Stark Industries is in collaboration with hospitals for a new direction I hope to take the industry. Instead of just creating weapons, there is an idea to help wounded soldiers for when they return home. Stark Industries is interested in prosthetic designs, and I hope you are interested in as well. Peace doesn't just end when you come back home, I hope to make life easier. Peace!" Tony said as he made a peace sign with the hand not holding the award, kissed them, then put them in the air as he walked off the stage.

Harry giggled as Pepper groaned beside him and Rhodey looked like he gotten smacked in the face with a fish. He cleared his throat to continue on with the award ceremony, ignoring the few reporters that were allowed in were talking between themselves or at themselves, it was always hard to tell.

Harry only lasted an extra minute in his seat before he got up, Pepper sighing and getting up as well, and the duo made their way backstage. Upon seeing his father talking to Obie in angry tones of voices, Harry broke into a run. His father just saw him and kneeled down and opened his arms for Harry to collide into him.

"You did great!" Harry spoke excitedly, seeing the award in his father's hand and looking at it curiously. Tony handed Harry the award for the young child to look at as he used his free hand to pick Harry up and put him on his hip. "We're done here, Obie. You aren't changing my mind," Tony said a tad harshly as he made his way toward the exit.

He got everything he needed tonight in his hands, even if it meant he had to get a stupid award.

"Alright, since the arm isn't quite as fluid as we want, let's try this," Tony told Harry, both concentrating on the prosthetic that was Harry's first ever design and the very thing that Tony was going to be talking to hospitals about.

Harry briefly saw Pepper coming into the workshop on her phone and felt downcast, knowing what time that meant. "I'm gonna try again, right now," Pepper told the person on the phone, probably Rhodey considering Harry knew he and his dad were heading to Afghanistan together to showcase Jericho.

"Please don't turn down my music," Tony pouted as he dropped the screwdriver they were using and pulled Harry to his chest.

"I'll keep you posted," she told Rhodey before getting off the phone, "you are supposed to be halfway around the world right now," she pointed out, trying to sound like a scolded mom but her voice softened as Harry clung even worse to his father.

"Why are you trying to hustle me out of here," Tony playfully asked, his hand rubbing Harry's back.

This would be the first time since they found each other that Tony and Harry would be separated longer than just during school time or for meetings. This was a whole 58 hours, 32 minutes, and 17 seconds of separation.

"Your flight was scheduled to leave an hour and a half ago," Pepper exasperatedly said, not even bothering to hide her amusement she felt at the situation.

"That's funny, I thought with it being my plane and all, that it would just wait for me to get there," Tony mocked and was rewarded when Harry giggled into his chest. Feeling a little bit lighter, Tony leaned down and kissed Harry's fringe.

"Come on Hare Bare, both you and I know we hid in here for as long as we could. Tell you what, when I'm on the plane I'll have JARVIS pull up the workshop camera and schematics and you and I can continue to work on this project."

"Promise?" Harry asked quietly, sounding slightly desperate to just spend a bit more time with Tony until he went offline.

"Promise, but Pepper's right. I gotta get going or your Uncle Rhodey is going to be disappointed in me. And you haven't seen a pouting platypus it's not a good look on him," Tony jokingly said, running his hands through Harry's hair.

Harry giggled with a small smile before it fell again. "Just...be careful. Come home?" Harry asked, knowing that Afghanistan was a serious place to be going to.

"I'll always do my best to come home to you," Tony's face fell into a serious expression as he held Harry's shoulders, "There's nothing in this world that will ever stop me from trying to make my way home to you. Okay?" Tony asked.

Harry gave a small hesitant smile. "Okay," he agreed.

Father and son gave a long hug between one another before Tony told JARVIS to ready his fastest car, something he hasn't driven in a while since Harry still needed a car seat. And a car seat plus fast car is not a good combo.

Harry giggled as Tony got into the car and waved morosely toward his father, Pepper at his side and rubbing his shoulder as she waved at Tony as well, having promised Tony she would watch over Harry was he was gone.

He had taken to watching the window. It was perhaps a bad habit, but Harry would sit and stare out the front window with Ginger in his lap, purring loudly as he absentmindedly pet her, waiting to see his dad's car coming around the bend and toward the back of the garage.

Nearly 32 hours into the trip, Harry hadn't expected to actually see a car coming. A brief thought of panic that someone might be attacking the house disappeared when he recognized it as his Uncle Rhodey's car. He nearly went outside to greet him before mentally reminding himself that his uncle might not be alone and to let Happy talk to him first, to make sure he wasn't being threatened.

Harry shouted for his Uncle Happy who was also staying with Pepper, taking over many of the babysitting-bodyguard duties for her to help run Stark Industries from this side of the world. Happy went out to talk to Rhodey, the smile on his face disappearing the longer they talked. But it was longer than if Rhodey was a danger to them so Harry finally fed up and went away from the window. Ginger following him obediently as he opened the door.

"Uncle Rhodey!" Harry shouted excitedly because even if his father was his absolute favorite person in the world, Uncle Rhodey was perhaps a close second fighting with Pepper and Happy.

Rhodey had a smile on his face, but Harry knew some micro expressions from living with the Dursley's and knew it was a fake, only meant to help Harry. Harry ignored it for the moment as he hugged his uncle, looking behind him expectantly. "Where's dad?"

And then the expression fell, and so did the pit in Harry's stomach. "Hey, kiddo," Rhodey started as he knelt, his hands on Harry's shoulders keeping him in place. "Something happened to your dad. But I promise we're doing everything we can to find him. I came back to tell you, but then I'm heading back out to find him again."

"You're lying," were the only words Harry could manage past the lump in his throat, tears gathering at the edge of his eyes, "this isn't funny, Uncle Rhodey," he wobbly said, his resolve breaking.

"I wish I was, kiddo, I wish I was," Rhodey said sadly.

"No," Harry shouted, fighting Rhodey's hold that briefly tightened as the man fought him to bring him to his chest, "No Dad said he'd come home. That he'd be safe," he cried.

"I know," Rhodey said softly, his voice seemingly just as choked as Harry's. If Harry looked up he was sure even his Uncle Rhodey would be crying with him. "I know," he repeated even quieter as Harry finally collapse in his struggle and cried on Rhodey's shoulders.

Harry didn't even have the energy to fake smile for his Uncles or Aunt, he was tired. Tired of a promised family to be ripped away from him, tired from crying, tired of the hovering his uncles and aunts were doing.

He was tired, but he was also so very angry.

Not at his dad, his dad could do no wrong in Harry's mind. But Death promised that he'd have a family, that he'd have a dad that would love him. And now Harry was an orphan once more. So he was so very angry and tired.

He couldn't remember how exactly he snuck into the workshop, stepping foot into it and breaking the promise to never go in there alone and just stared at the project he had been working with his dad on since his dad found him and the app he had been playing with.

He wanted to destroy the thing. Wanted to trash the surroundings since it all reminded him of his dad and broken promises.

But this was his dad's new dream for the both of them. A world where they still built things but didn't kill anyone, or at least, weren't supposed to be used to harm other people unless in defense.

He couldn't trash it, because it was a dream that Harry wanted to fulfill for his dad.

In his childish anger, Harry took his rage out on other things, the desk chair got tipped over and slightly thrown with weak arms, the screwdriver was thrown toward the wall along with a wrench, far away from the cars his dad and him worked on over the weekends.

The toolboxes that were scattered around were thrown, not that they were ever actually used anyway since both father and son just randomly put tools around the place. One of the drawers along the wall that's suppose to house even more tools was tipped over and scattered onto the floor.

Harry felt his anger drawn out of him, leaving just sadness in it's place. He fell in his spot and curled into a ball, Ginger carefully crept toward him and nuzzled along his legs, a strong purr resonating from her.

"There is no reason to mourn yet, my Dear Friend. Your father is still alive and will be for a long time coming," a feminine, but still slightly deep, voice spoke.

Harry looked up and froze upon spotting the figure dressed in black. A scythe in their hands as they casually, as if they weren't the strongest being on earth, as their words finally registered in his mind.

"Really?" he asked quietly, waiting for his heart to break even more than it could at this moment.

"Really," Death said softly, kneeling down and extended her fleshed hand out to run through Harry's hair.

Now Harry just felt exhausted and emotionally drained.

Chapter Text

There was only one thought that kept circling Tony's head as he worked on a secret design with Yinsen in the cave he had been taken to. Harry's voice and his no doubt sadness upon hearing Tony had been kidnapped was heartbreaking and Tony had vowed to himself when he found out about his son to never leave him alone, that vow was not changing now even miles away.

He would not leave his son an orphan a second time around. Part of him wished he had Rhodey in the Humvee with him, but the other part of him was glad he didn't have to witness his closest friend, his brother's death. For all that Tony may wish he didn't remember the Humvee incident, he knew exactly what that gun fire meant, knew what it meant when the soldiers went out and never came back.

He promised himself to find their families and help support them because those men and women died trying to keep him safe, and Tony was regretful in how his life ended with their deaths. If he never made Jericho...

No, he had to stop thinking of the what ifs. He had a child he had to get back to, to cling to and make sure he never had this type of sadness of the unknown ever again. This suit he was making would ensure that whatever was out in the world that could harm his son, would never reach his son ever. The reactor in his chest would have to be just as important and he would need to make sure Harry couldn't accidently damage it.

For all that the father and son don't talk about it, Tony knew about Harry's magic and its capabilities. Lily had mentioned it a lot in her diary when growing up, the dairy that Tony had copies of in case the original, now in his sons care, ever got lost or destroyed. Tony never wanted Harry to accidently lose a piece of his mother that he lost when he was a baby, her handwriting, her words, would become so important to him especially growing up.

Tony still wished he had some of his mother's own things.

So yes, Tony knew about Harry's magic. He didn't do it much, Lily's school books from her chest and diary mention it usually happens under emotional distress often times, and considering Tony knew Harry was far far happier with him, and rarely had a tantrum as the kid himself was pretty laid-back, well there wasn't exactly any prime time to mention to his son that he could do magic.

And Tony never wanted Harry to think Tony only cared about the kid because he wanted to experiment with the magic that he was certain was just science to some degree that some people could harness. So, it just wasn't said.

There had been a brief note from Lily mentioning technology and magic not coexisting, but he was goddamn Tony Stark, he would make certain they could work together. And screw the boarding school that Lily went to, he wanted his son in his grasp after this dammit, he can make friends at a school in the states.

But that was a future problem, right now, right now Tony had to survive this godforsaken cave with terrorists that would kill him or Yinsen within a heartbeat if they caught onto what he was planning.

And Tony still wasn't sure if Yinsen was a spy that the terrorists sent to bond with him to make sure he was working on the bomb.

Tony nearly threw the wrench in his hands in frustration as his thoughts curled into one another, he wished he had his son or JARVIS with him briefly because they knew how to keep him on track and focused, he was sure he had some type of undiagnosed ADHD but never cared to find out. Harry and JARVIS was his outlet, knew his ramblings because Harry himself rambles often and JARVIS just grew up with Tony's own rambling style.

"You should sleep, Stark, it wouldn't do anyone good if you ran yourself too far," Yinsen told Tony, the doctor side of him coming out.

"It wouldn't do anyone good if I don't get this done," Tony muttered to himself angrily. He was missing a part for the suit and his mind was trying to figure out ways to ask for it without alerting them to what they were doing.

Fuck it, he can make up something on the spot next time they came, he had to get the repulson working for the boots. It shouldn't be too hard going from a rocket repulson to an armor suit, it's why the thing was as giant as it was, to work with the technology he had within his grasps.

He had to do this, he had to get to his son alive and well.

Tony closed his eyes in relief as he saw the helicopter overhead. Collapsing to his knees in relief as his body was too drained and dried to cry in relief. Then he saw Rhodey and Tony collapsed into his friend, grabbing his shoulders and not letting go as Rhodey helped Tony into the plane.

"How was the "fun-vee"? Next time, you ride with me, okay?" Rhodey told Tony and Tony couldn't help but let out a choked laughed as he hugged his friend tighter.

It was good to know his inappropriate jokes didn't just affect him but his Cuddly Bear too.

Returning to the states, not seeing the desert sand everywhere, was an eye-opener to Tony. He felt distant, in a way, as they entered his homeland. The air felt too chilled, the sun wasn't shining down on him as he walked on but still felt so bright to his cave-adjusted eyes. He wondered if soldiers returning home had the same problems he was having now, and his mind whirled even as his eyes darted everywhere taking in everything.

There weren't paparazzi, thank god, but there was a Pepper and Happy and between them...

"Daddy!"

His son.

Tony didn't hesitate even with one arm in a sling from landing slightly wrong in the armor to kneel and open his free arm. His son slammed into his chest, hurting some of his ribs but in a good way even as the arch reactor made his ribs hurt even more, and clung to his son who was clinging just as hard back.

"I love you," his son whispered to him, a promise in his tone that nearly made him cry. His smart, perhaps too smart, son who probably had an understanding that the Tony that left for Afghanistan might not be the exact one that returned.

"I love you so much. I'm ready," he whispered back to Harry.

Ready for the world to know about him, done hiding his son. If the world knew about him, Tony will god damn protect his son. He'll let the paparazzi know he was off limits, most will respect his decision and for those that don't...

Well, Tony was one of the richest men in the world, they certainly won't be making the mistake again.

And Harry who could seemingly always follow Tony's mind just nodded and let his head rest on his shoulder, unwilling to let his father go. Not that Tony had any wish to let his son go. Using his non-hurt hand to pick Harry up underneath his butt and hold him to his chest. It strained the muscles in his arms, but Tony was content because this pain meant his son was safe in his arms.

Tony took a moment to bask in his son and just smell the childish shampoo he uses, memorizing it and storing it in his memory, before talking to Happy and Pepper who had tears of joy no doubt and entered the car with them.

"Where to, sir?" Happy asked, remaining professional but Tony could tell he felt relief on saying it again. The big softy.

"Take us to the hospital, please, Happy," Pepper told Happy instead of letting Tony talk.

"No," Tony said sternly, ignoring the car seat in favor of having Harry in his lap, even if it was against the laws. The laws can go fuck it, he hasn't seen his son for a long three months.

"No? tony, you have to go to the hospital," Pepper pleaded, looking down to Harry who still wasn't saying anything else but leaning into his father.

Tony couldn't tell Pepper, who definitely wasn't in the know, that Tony could feel Harry's magic dancing across his skin, carefully and examining him for any wounds. The arm in the sling was already feeling better, stronger even then before. His ribs around his reactor felt easier too, and the reactor itself made his breath hitch as he realized it was trying to help his son.

Did he just discover the source of magic? A reactor core having the same properties as magic? No, Tony, focus on Pepper not his son's magic and his reactor that were working together to help his body.

"No is a complete answer," he finally told Pepper, driving his stumbling thoughts away from the mechanics of magic.

"I don't have to do anything. I've been in captivity for three months. There are two things I want to do. I want an American cheeseburger and the other a press conference," Tony told Pepper as he hugged Harry tighter to himself.

He would've asked for his son first and foremost, before food, sleep, or the press, but he already had that which meant he had to get two other things out of the way before sleeping.

"Call for a press conference?" Pepper asked confused, as Tony never called for a press conference.

"Yeah," Tony confirmed as he finally felt like he could breath easier, he felt Harry's magic leave him just slightly, easing itself but still helping Tony function until he could get proper sleep. God he loved his son so much.

"What on earth for?"

"Hogan, drive," Tony said instead of answering, knowing if he spoke his thoughts Pepper, Rhodey, or even Obie would try and change his mind, "Cheeseburger first," he ordered Happy who obliged.

Happy drove them to Stark Industries after stopping at Burger King and ordering multiple burgers that Tony reluctantly shared with his son. He ate a couple bites before handing the burgers back, much to Tony's happiness as he savored each and every bite.

His son would be the only one in the world he will ever share food with dammit, and that's because his son was always so hesitant in trying new foods unless Tony tested them first.

Getting through Obie was annoying, the man even trying to take one of Tony's burgers dammit, after being held captive for three months. Who does that? Okay, well, maybe Tony if he just joked about it but the man actually tried to grab one from him and everything.

Tony may joke about having one, but he likes to think he wouldn't actually try and take the food. He never took food from Harry, because Harry would let him even if he was starving and dammit, he was trying to make Harry more reluctant for food to just be taken from him but it was hard sometimes.

Harry was still in his arms even as they walked backstage for the press conference, Pepper opened her arms for Tony to transfer Harry, but Tony shook his head. He wasn't letting his son out of his arms any time soon. But he still had to ask...

"You still ready?" Tony whispered to his son as he stared at the group of paparazzi with their cameras ready.

"Yeah," Harry whispered back, the first words he's said since the reconnected at the airport.

Feeling braver with his son in his arms, and ignoring Pepper's surprised looks along with Obie's disgruntled one, Tony strode toward the paparazzi and could see them already taking pictures.

Harry just put his head in Tony's neck and hide his face.

"Hey, would it be all right if everyone sat down?" Tony asked tiredly as he sat in front of the podium, not wanting this to be a big deal. "Why don't you sit down? that way you can see me, and I can...A little less formal and," he sighed as he stumbled in his words. Gods was it always this difficult? "Let's just talk about this yeah?"

As everyone sat down with him, Tony felt like he could breath just a little easier and decided to leave his Official Mask off for the moment. "First things first, this child here will be left out of any news from today. There will be a conference later in regards to him, but if anyone even thinks about mentioning him, I will have your job. My first duty is to protect him first and foremost and many of you are also a parent or guardian and know what I'm talking about. Yes, my word choice will be talked about at the later conference, but I ask that you be understanding and leave anything in regards to him for later. The news I will be saying later will be more important for the moment." Tony spoke, watching their faces and mentally making note of who might be problems later. He'd have to blackmail the newspapers heads to make sure they didn't report anything about Harry, but that was fine, Tony never felt the need to before but this was his son. He wouldn't let the news beseech him with things that weren't true.

"Good okay," Tony muttered to himself as his son's grip loosened and he looked up from his neck to stare at Tony in the eyes before darting toward Rhodey and Pepper. Tony nodded and released his own grip reluctantly, helping his son stand as he ran toward the back and held his hands up for his Uncle Rhodey to hold him which he did without hesitation.

With his son in hands he trusts, Tony turned his gaze back to the reporters.

He took a deep breath and started what has been on his mind for the past three months, "I never got to say goodbye to Dad. I never got to say goodbye to my father. There's questions that I would have asked him. I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels. I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability."

The deaths of the service men and women from the Humvee flashed in his mind and Tony repressed the flinch that wanted to flow through his body. He will honor them.

"Mr. Stark!" A reporter called out. Tony took a moment to recall the man and calmed slightly as he realized it was just Ben, a trustworthy reporter that he knew would stay on topic instead of drifting to Harry.

"Hey, Ben."

"What happened over there?" Ben asked the question many reporters wanted answers to.

It was a question Tony can't answer while sitting down. Not while his body thrummed with his fight or flight instincts and memories were too close to the surface.

"I had my eyes opened." Tony told them while standing and moving behind the podium, "I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International-" Everyone stands up in commotion and started trying to talk at once and flashing picture, Tony just ignored them- "until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be. For the moment I will be focusing on prosthetic designs for military's and personal use along with ways to help the military without making weapons of destruction."

"I think we're gonna be selling a lot of newspapers," Obie joked which annoyed Tony as he slid onto the stage, apparently trying for damage control

"What direction it should take, one that I'm comfortable with and is consistent with the highest good for this country, as well," having said his piece, Tony left the stage, taking Harry from Rhodey and heading toward Happy. He thought about looking at the giant arc reactor that supplied Stark Industries with energy, but goddamn it he was tired and wanted to ignore Obie just for a bit longer.

"Home?" His son's quiet, hesitant and so very tired voice asked from Tony's shoulder as they stayed paused in hesitation in heading to the car or inside the building.

Hearing the exhaustion made Tony's guilt settle in and flair his protective father instincts. Right, his son needed him, and they both needed sleep.

"Home and sleep," Tony confirmed as he headed toward Happy who overheard his words and gave a stiff nod, thankfully leaving the topic of the conference behind.

Harry was quiet but let Tony strap in him into the car seat. "I don't want to sleep alone," he finally quietly admitted as Tony settled in his own seat.

His heart still beating perhaps slightly fast, sweat clinging to the back of his neck, and his instincts still screaming. "I don't either," Tony admitted as he leaned over and kissed his son's forehead, "why don't we have a sleepover in my bed? Then we can figure out the rest when we're awake?" Tony asked.

Harry's small, hesitant, pleased smile blew away the remaining paranoia that Tony had as he constantly felt watched by someone. Yes, all Tony Stark truly needed in the world was right in front of him, and he will kill anyone who tries to harm him. "I'd like that."

Well that definitely settled it for Tony. A sleepover in his bed it was.

Chapter Text

Harry was curled into his father and rubbing his finger gently over the glowing blue thing in the middle of his father's chest that he didn't know much about, but he knew it was keeping his father alive somehow.

There were whispers, words that Harry couldn't understand, but one thing he didn't like was how it felt slightly like death, not much, but long term use meant it would poison his father. They'd have to figure that out, but Harry didn't know how t bring it up without bringing up his connection to Death which would bring a whole other conversation about past lives.

Something his atheist father would have a hard time believing, but Harry didn't believe in god. Sure, he thought there was some type of afterlife, but how one is judge is based upon their own thought. If they believed they'd go to 'hell' then their landscape would change to reflect that. If they wanted to be judged and juried, then Death would assign a Reaper to review their case for them and have them judge them.

Harry believed in Death. He didn't believe in a god though. After all, Death was always going to happen one way or another until the end of the world. There was no escaping Death. You can put it off, but it will happen one way or another until Death reaped themselves. The only time that will happen was when everything in every universe was dead and gone.

"You know, you're suppose to be sleeping," Harry's father muttered without opening his eyes.

"I know," Harry whispered to his father, like he had to keep the room quiet lest he create tension.

They stayed in the darkened room silently for a bit, the only glow was the soft blue that calmed Harry down as he stared at it illuminating the ceiling.

"What is it?" Harry finally asked, his finger running over the thing, straying from the damaged rim that would've been his father's cartilage around his ribs which held them together.

It must have been painful, getting the cartilage and perhaps some of the bones removed. Harry didn't like being hit in he chest, it made his ribs sore for days, he couldn't imagine the pain of getting the ribs removed wherever he was.

"It's called an Arc Reactor," Tony explained as he finally opened his eyes. Harry thought they looked dark and gloomy, like he was having sad thoughts once again, "your grandfather came up with the idea. There's a big one powering Stark Industries right by the press conference we had. He and the scientists could never make it miniturized."

"But you did," Harry murmered proudly. He always thought Hermione was smart, but in truth, she had nothing against Tony Stark. Harry didn't think there could be anything in this world his father couldn't figure out of he tried hard enough.

"I did," Tony said sadly, a small smile on the edge of his lips, "but it still needs work done," he explained with a sigh, like he knew he needed to get up but was just so tired.

Harry stayed curled into his father's side, his finger running over the arc reactor lightly, probably going to be the only one to ever touch it with no hesitation given his father's trust, and stared at his father's face. "Want me to help?" Harry asked, knowing his father was going to make the process of the arc reactor a secret.

His father gave him a smile, a real one, the one Harry absolutely loved because it made him feel loved for the first time in either life. "I would love for you to help me."

Harry vowed to never share the secret of creating a miniature arc reactor with anyone. No matter the circumstances unless his family's life was in danger. But if that ever happened, Harry would show the people exactly why he was the Master of Death and why Death will follow his directions if needed.

No one but them would know how to make one, Harry promised himself as he helped his father move to their workshop. He placed the tools in front of his father so he didn't have to strain himself as the duo plus JARVIS created a better reactor.

The magic felt stronger, but so did the feeling of Death. Harry wanted to say something, wanted to warn his father, but given the elements they were using, Harry had a feeling his father had an idea of the possible repercussions, but it was either this or death given the apparent shrapnel in his father's chest.

Harry had helped his father change out the reactors, his hands the smallest out of the family and Harry could easily follow instruction and knew why they were doing it. It was a smooth transition, only a small bleep on the health monitor from the exchange, but his father was fine and there was no strain afterward.

"You should make a backup," Harry murmured, his hands running along the edge of the old reactor that had previously been in his father's chest and keeping him alive.

"No reason to," Tony told Harry, his hands flapping in the air as his mind seemed to whirl already, turning toward Dum-E and Butterfingers to scold at them for whatever reason.

He wanted to ask his father what he wanted to do with it, but his father always tried to claim not being nostalgic, which was a bold-faced lie considering he still has any art project, no matter how childish they looked, on the walls of the workshop so he can see them any day everyday.

But it made Harry's own mind whirl even as Pepper called him up to make sure he had finished his homework.

This piece of "junk" as his father might call it saved his life. It helped reunite father and son together, and Harry was going to honor that. Turn a bad experience into something good and look at with happiness.

Nodding his head to himself, Harry kept hold of the reactor and left his father to go to Pepper to finish his help, a whispered word to JARVIS had the A.I. ordering what Harry needed.

Harry was fiddling with the prosthetic, with it being nearly complete Harry didn't know when exactly his father wanted to bring it to Stark Industries attention and get the contracts with the hospitals, but it would mean Harry and either Tony himself or Happy would end up being away from the house to run tests with a team of doctors and the patient who was testing it. With everything having happened recently, Harry didn't want to push the subject so maybe he should think of another design to do in the meantime that can be tested later? It was something to think about.

He had to put down the screwdriver though as his father entered the room, having left the house to go talk to Uncle Rhodey about something, which he wouldn't tell Harry just yet but promised he would when Rhodey came back with him.

"Dad?" Harry asked quietly, knowing that when in the previous statement was suddenly turned into an if. Harry hadn't thought his Uncle Rhodey would be mad about his father's decision, but maybe because he was a liaison between the military and Stark Industries that was why? Even with Tony's promise of still trying to work with the military?

His father shook his head, like he was trying to clear his thoughts as he gave a solemn looking smile toward Harry. "Let's do this," he said with a bit of confidence, part of him looking forward to working on this project that meant so much to him with his son.

Harry gave a bright smile, watching as the dark gloom that's been hovering in his father's eyes brighten into a shine as he smiled for real at Harry.

"Let's do this," Harry repeated back and sat in his father's back, curled into his chest lightly not putting pressure on the Arc Reactor, and watched and helped his father fiddle with their project.

An armored suit. The very same one that saved his life in escaping Afghanistan, being redesigned and refined to better suit his father's figure and hold against anything that can be thrown against it.

Harry stared at it, feeling proud of his father.

"Okay, let's do this right. Start mark, half a meter, and back and center. Dummy, look alive. You're on standby for fire safety. You, roll it. Harry, stay behind the dotted line. Okay. Activate hand controls. We're gonna start off nice and easy. We're gonna see if 10% thrust capacity achieves lift. And three, two, one."

"Dad!" Harry shouted in surprise as his father was suddenly thrown into the air, hit the upper wall, and fall back down. Harry winced, that must've hurt.

"I'm okay. Did we write this down?" His father asked gruffly, still getting his breath back from the shock his body had upon hitting the wall.

"I have recordings and equations of the cause and effect reaction. But I believe we need something else to control the flight," JARVIS said above them.

"Flight stabilizers," Harry mused as he helped his father up and get some ice from a fridge in the room for snack time, "could be a pair of gloves. They have the main stabilizers while your boots have the flaps for controlled movement. The main suit could have a few more flaps and perhaps stabilizers along the sides of your body. But we have to keep in mind internal temperature and body movement. Kinda like a balance scale, move to much to one side and you'd tip that way."

Tony hummed as his mind whirled as well. "Gloves would work best, arm movement to help steady out any movement of the leg. Legs go one way, your arms can go the other to help balance it out," Tony agreed as father and son duo went back to the table after putting the boots aside to fiddle with later.

Right now, they needed to come up with some type of glove design for stabilization.

Harry was helping fiddle with the arm design that they thought would work best for stabilization in the air. Tony's arm was in the design as Harry fiddled with the different wiring and tightening it when needed. Trying to make sure the mechanism for getting it on and off wasn't going to fizz out and stop working.

He barely payed attention to when Pepper walked into the room. "I've been buzzing you. Did you hear the intercom?" Pepper asked with exasperation, as this not hearing was common when both father and son were working on a project together.

"Yeah, everything's... What?" Tony asked with a blink, pointing to a different spot for Harry to fix with soft instructions.

Harry stuck his tongue out slightly in concentration, adjusting his hand and working on the spot.

"Obadiah's upstairs," Pepper informed Tony, Harry scrunched his noise in disgust at the name but kept quiet.

"Great!" Tony told her absentmindedly, adjusting his elbow. Harry scrunched his eyes and narrowed at the wires, there was something slightly off that he's been trying to fix. Maybe if he did this...

"What would you like me to tell him?" Pepper tried to get Tony's attention who was watching Harry work, keeping quiet to try and let him solve the problem even as his mind buzzed with possibilities.

Pepper finally did sigh. Giving up. "Okay," she said before finally looking at the project the duo were working on, "I thought you said you were done making weapons. Is this some type of prosthetic arm design?"

Harry paused in his next step. That actually wasn't a bad idea. Why hadn't he thought of that for his next project, it would make the most sense given the leg design. He could combine the two projects, using the design similar to the arm of the armor, but the inner workings of the leg prosthetic to make it actually work. Slim it down since it didn't need to be so bulky, work on a join attachment he could make similar to the leg. Maybe he could edit the joint so it could work for either arm or leg, save some money for hospitals that way?

"This is a flight stabilizer," Harry informed Pepper happily, finally finding his words once more, "it's suppose to be strong enough to help stabilize the air current and direction of movement. Not a weapon," Harry informed her happily.

Just as he said that, he finally fixed the wiring to the hand and watched with wide eyes as the stabilizer suddenly shot into the air, pushing Tony backwards and scaring Pepper.

"Uh," Harry muttered as that was not suppose to happen but dammit, that was so cool!

"Write that down," Tony told Harry as he pushed himself up and helped get his arm out of the armor.

Harry nodded his head even though he knew it was JARVIS who was recording any information they gathered.

"Tony, need I remind you it's way past Harry's bedtime."

Oh.

Dammit, he wasn't tired. Was he?

Harry pouted as Tony shepherded Harry completely upstairs with the promise of tucking him in as soon as dealing with Obie. Ignoring Obadiah on the main floor, Harry rushed up the stairs to get dressed in his pajamas and wondered if he could make a deal, or threaten he didn't mind, his father into reading from one of his books on his shelves that he was slowly collecting.

His father's storytelling voice was okay, but Harry wouldn't trade it for anyone else even if it was the worst. It was his dad's voice, and that meant everything to him.

Changing quickly, Harry curled into his race car bed that Tony specifically got for him, and waited for his father to come the stairs.

It didn't take long, which meant Tony was absolutely done with something Obadiah had said, plus the slight tightening in his eyes, the dark gloomies entering his eyes again, meant Harry's thought process was most likely correct.

So, Harry forwent his favorite story, and instead found the story that he knew his father enjoyed reading and held it up to Tony with wide puppy eyes. His father's shoulder untensed, a small smile went on his face along with a sigh of relieved tension.

"Yeah, alright. Just don't tell Pepper, we are suppose to be way into sleep by now," Tony told Harry was a small chuckle as Harry eagerly shifted to the side of the bed so his father could lay over the covers and Harry could curl into him.

Harry lasted five minutes into the story. But Tony didn't move from his spot as his hand curled into his son's hair and his thoughts twirled. He ended up falling asleep like that.

And Pepper got a photo that would one day be framed and put into Tony's workshop on his desk at Stark Tower.

Chapter Text

Harry was startled awake when a resounding crash echoed through the house. Throwing off his covers, he bolted out of his room with Ginger at his heels and looked over the edge of the railings that separated the upstairs from the downstairs. His eyes widened as he took in the hole in the ceiling and then the giant hole in the piano which had resounded through the house.

"Dad?" Harry called out because surely, there was nothing else that could cause said hole in both floor and ceiling but his dad.

Upon hearing no response but a low, perhaps slightly annoyed, groan. Harry carefully crept down the stairs, his magic was bursting under his skin on the very off chance that it wasn't his dad that made the holes but rather someone or something else that found their house.

Harry yelped when he peered down the hole by the piano and flinched backward, but then his mind caught up and realized that it looked like the armor he and his dad had been working on the night before. He hadn't thought it was ready though, apparently, his father disagreed.

With the knowledge it was his father in the suit, Harry ran toward the basement and their lab, entering his code, and meeting his dad who was finally, sluggishly, getting up from where he had crashed into the many cars the duo worked on as side-projects.

"Dad?" Harry called out again, his voice hesitant but filled with worry.

"I'm good," his father eventually called out, shifting and reaching up to get the helmet off of himself. The mechanism seemed slightly stuck, Harry realized with a slight frown, something they would have to fix for the next time. Perhaps some refining would be needed for a tad stronger material?

"You need lighter but stronger, material," Harry informed as he glanced toward the hole in both the roof and the ceiling of their current floor.

"Yeah, yeah, help me get this shit off," Tony muttered, his voice filled with a slight bit of pain, but Harry could tell he was sulking a bit.

"Pepper says you need to watch your language," Harry informed Tony with a smile as he stood from his kneeling position, brushed his pajama pants off slightly, and went to grab the tools around the workshop they'd need to peel the armor off.

Tony grumbled too lowly for Harry to make out exactly what he said, but he gave a tired smile to his dad. "Did you do something stupid again?" he innocently asked.

Tony just gave another groan and shooed Harry to go back to bed, promising him he could see the new design tomorrow. Harry gave a small pout, but he was still tired so he reluctantly followed Tony's insistent shoo and went back to his bedroom after making sure his father had the armor off and an ice pack for his head.

He left his wrapped-up gift of the old Arc Reactor on his desk for him to see when he has a chance.

Harry bit his lip as he glanced at his watch again.

His dad was late, and so was Happy.

This had never happened before and Harry didn't know what to do. JARVIS wasn't answering from his watch, his Dad had seemed upset that morning when Harry went to school, not even mentioning how the Mark III was going or even if it was complete, and now Harry had no idea what was happening.

It was an hour after school had been released, and Harry still had no ride. His bodyguard had eventually taken him back inside when it became known that someone wasn't picking him up, the school was trying to get in contact with someone but with no one picking up, Harry didn't know who was going to be picking him up.

After three hours, it started to get slightly dark outside and Harry was starting to get a really bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, even Death wouldn't tell him what was going on when he called on them when he went to the bathroom at one point. They just stated that Fate's wheels were in motion and Harry shouldn't try and stop it, not this time at least.

After this though, he would have free reign to change the timeline should he wish, but this, whatever was about to happen, was for the good and would save millions of lives eventually.

Harry hated that because he didn't care about those millions of lives, he only cared about one and that was his father. His father who got him as soon as possible when he learned about him and his situation. Who called him Bambino and was slowly teaching him Italian so they could be closer to Harry's grandmother, taught him Italian meals, and helped him with his homework. Who worked with him in the lab making things he wanted, helping Harry when he was stuck but not trying to teach Harry to fix a problem in only one way since many problems have multiple solutions.

Harry didn't care about anyone else but Tony, and so Harry wished he could be there right now.

Finally, after another hour went by, a limo pulled in front of the school. Harry bit his lip slightly because it wasn't his father, Tony hated limos because of who he used to be. Now he drove his fast cars when alone or, a tad more reluctantly, the SUV vehicle he upgraded to the maximum protections that had Harry's car seat installed in it and even had an area installed for Ginger to be safe when they traveled.

The door opened and Harry tensed at the sight of Obie. Surely something serious was going on if Obie was the one picking him up, Harry knew he was the lowest person on the list of pickups if the school couldn't get in touch with anyone and even then, it was a last resort.

"Thank you for coming, Mr.Stane. You're on the list of approved pick up and we couldn't get in touch with anyone else," the principal, and the only other person but the bodyguards that stayed, told Obie.

"Think nothing of it," Obie said but Harry couldn't help but get the uneasy feeling around him. His magic curled inside of him and he felt the bad feeling about the day get worse as he stared with disdain toward the man who was Tony's godfather. "I'm happy to help. Usually, I'm just so busy at work, but you see, there's a bit of a situation going on. it's being resolved shortly but I need to get Harry to a safe place, you understand."

Harry's stomach and magic rolled with worry and something else. There was something about Obie that had always set his magic off, but today it was worse than normal. He felt nauseous just being in Obie's presence and all he wanted was his dad right now.

"Where's Daddy?" Harry asked quietly as the bodyguard finally took his hand and led him outside. Harry shifted slightly, feeling exposed under Obie's eyes, like the prey who finally had been found by the predator.

"You'll see him soon, come, Harry, we need to go," Obie lightly commanded to Harry, extending his hand palm up for Harry to take.

Glancing warily toward the principal who just gave him a smile and a small nod, Harry let go of the bodyguard with a helpless look toward the man who was tensing beside him and finally reached for Obie.

The pit in his stomach never went away even when Obie helped him into the car seat in the limo and directed the driver toward his townhouse.

Harry was alone with two other guards, both at the entrance of the elevator. Obie had said his father was in critical condition having gotten hurt and that Harry could see him in a few hours when he knew more.

Harry could feel the lie but didn't call Obie out on it even as his hands clenched at his sides. Mostly because Obie had long scratches on his arms which could only come from one being in the Stark household.

Ginger would never attack anyone unless they threatened either Harry or Tony. Harry just hoped that both Ginger and his dad were fine and perhaps that's why Pepper, Rhodey, or Happy weren't answering their phones when his school tried to call them.

Feeling the low anger in his belly simmering, Harry knew he couldn't interrupt whatever was going on with his dad, but that didn't mean he had to be used as ammunition against his father.

Looking around the penthouse, it was clear that Obie had forgotten that there was one rule in holding a Stark hostage.

Don't give them electronics.

Don't give them tools.

Don't let them know they're being held hostage.

Clearly, the henchmen weren't very good at their jobs or hadn't been ordered beyond making sure Harry didn't leave the place, because he had free access to the kitchens.

Harry might still be physically young, and his mind constantly dueled between his ages, but he was smarter than someone his age even naturally. And with it, came the ingenuity and stubbornness of a Stark.

Plus, for all the Obie was close with his dad, Obie didn't know about the close secret that Harry held dear to his chest. His magic.

But as Harry rummaged through the drawers of the kitchen, something else dawned on him. He didn't have to create something, he only had to use a bit of science. Staring at the forks, spoons, and knives, Harry gave himself a small grin and grabbed a handful of them by their handles without making too much noise with a bit of magical help and set them beside the microwave.

Eyeing the henchman, Harry walked toward the freezer section of the fridge and opened it. Rolling his eyes because clearly, even Obie wasn't against heatable dinners, Harry grabbed one and found they were custom foods.

So, he did have a chef who just froze dinners for him. Shrugging his shoulders and knowing it would do, Harry opened the microwave and threw the dinner in, glanced at the henchman, and then threw the utensils in with it. But he didn't start the microwave yet as he frowned.

His mind wandered over the room before opening a couple of other drawers. Duck tape, gorilla glue, a couple of extra outlets, and phone chargers. Smiling, Harry grabbed them and looked toward the pen holder beside the fridge and grabbed them as well.

Glancing at the henchman and rolling his eyes because they weren't paying any attention, Harry ducked and started working on his project for escaping. The first was combining the charging cables together and reinforcing them with duct tape before securing them just above foot height against the entrance of the kitchen. Then he took every single pen, uncapped them, and placed them in front of the wire. Next, with a couple of extra cables, Harry brought them toward the microwave with the glue and, after gluing the opening of the microwave shut, put the chargers in their ports filled every single outlet behind the microwave glued those as well, and hid the end of the charger against the back of the microwave. With a tad bit of magic, he made it look like they were all going into the microwave, making it harder to just unplug the microwave.

Stepping back briefly, Harry grinned and started to microwave before leaving the kitchen and heading toward the bathrooms which were just beside the henchman. Entering the bathroom and knowing he didn't have much time, Harry rummaged through the bathroom. Finding a thing of rubbing alcohol, some small bottles of lotion, and some cologne Harry tucked them into his pockets just as the sound of popping reached his ears. He was about to leave when he saw the lighter for the cigars Obie loved and grabbed it with the Lysol spray above the toilet.

Opening the door, Harry heard the twin thumps of the men falling over in their hurry to stop the microwave and entered the elevator with a small smirk as he knew the alarm system would go off soon enough.

Punching the floor below the penthouse, Harry watched the elevator doors close and just stepped off the elevator when the fire alarm system rang out. The others in the building started to reluctantly leave their apartments and made their way down the stairs, Harry followed them and did his best to blend in.

"Kid, stop!" shouted a voice behind Harry.

Turning slightly, Harry saw it was one of the two henchmen who was already talking to the earpiece. Putting on a burst of speed and using his small body to shove between people, Harry ran down the stairs but knew this wouldn't last long.

There were a few who tried to grab Harry, concerned citizens who meant well but didn't know what the real story was and why Harry was running away from his kidnappers dammit, so he found the first door and threw it open and squeezed past the people still entering the stairway.

Seeing the other stairs on the opposite end of the hall, Harry quickly grabbed the cologne, threw it on the floor, and placed the rubbing alcohol in the middle of the pile as the henchman entered the hallway. Grabbing the lighter, Harry was thankful that it was still in perfect working condition as it instantly lit when he tried. Touching it to the cologne along the floor, Harry watched it burst into flames, fueled by both the oxygen and the carpeting to spread quickly. Hoping the container the alcohol was in was considered a closed container and it would ignite, Harry ran for the other stairs as the flames he left behind reached higher.

Knowing they would still be right behind him, probably going to the opposite stairs from the next floor down, Harry ran down two flights of stairs, pushing past the people, before mentally apologizing, lotioned the bar of soap, and dropped it onto the stairs and with it the lotion he had in his pocket.

Hearing the people trip on the stairs was concerning, but Harry kept on his way until he finally reached the bottom of the stairs and went toward the front of the building where people were still exiting.

He almost got out before arms wrapped around his torso and lifted him up. Panicking, Harry managed to twist himself and see that it was the other henchman who grabbed him.

Trying to push himself out of the strong arms, Harry finally felt something else in his pocket. The small can of Lysol was still in his pocket. Grabbing it and before the man could react, Harry shoved the nozzle in the man's face and sprayed it.

The man instantly yelled and gained everyone's attention, including the firefighters and police who were entering the building as he dropped Harry and rubbed his eyes.

Dropping the Lysol and spotting the other man, Harry tried to make his way toward the door.

Only two different arms stopped him this time, panicking, Harry met the blue outfit of a police lady who was frowning at the man in the suit Harry just assaulted and the other that was stopping by his friend, staring at Harry who was paused by the woman.

"What is going on here?" she asked, her voice stern and holding the command of everyone.

Harry didn't even hesitate.

"They kidnapped me!"

It turns out the woman who stopped him was a sergeant of the LAPD named Athena Grant, a name Harry forced himself to memorize because he was sure his father would want to know, along with the 1-1-8 fire department who was taking care of the fire that Harry had set. She had responded because a few of the people who tried to stop Harry had called 9-1-1 about a kid running away from some people and one of them had seen him set the fire in the hallway. That alone meant Harry had to stay with the police, even with the two guards trying to fight her to release him into their custody.

Athena was Harry's new favorite person because she just gave them what seemed like a disapproving, how dumb can you be, mom look and shut them down quickly. Even asking them to come down to the station to learn more about the station. When the duo tried to backtrack and say that wasn't needed, Athena was able to get them to essentially confess that they were hired by Obie to keep Harry in the apartment with no one else knowing he was there.

With more suspicion about the situation, Athena was able to arrest the duo while leading Harry to the back of the ambulance.

"You want to explain to me what happened?" she asked gently as a black-shaved female paramedic wrapped an orange blanket around his shoulders before moving toward the apartment to help check over more of the people coming out with slight coughs.

Harry felt a little bit bad about that, he hoped no one got hurt. "So, I may have stuck some silverware in the microwave and set up some pens and wires to trip the two guards who were watching me," Harry mumbled with embarrassment, "did you get in contact with my Uncle Rhodey yet?"

"You see that man over there? He's Detective Ransone, and he's trying to call the base your Uncle Rhodey is at. Is there anyone else we can call?" Athena asked gently.

Harry hesitantly shook his head because he knew Pepper, Happy, and his father's number, but he also knew it wasn't that long ago the school was trying to call them and they knew what his true last name was. Harry had already told the officers his last name was Evan on the off chance J.A.R.V.I.S was still active and trying to search for Harry himself. "The school's been trying to contact everyone else, they haven't been answering for over three hours. It's why I knew I was kidnapped, Obie said my dad got in an accident, but he had scratch marks on his arms. The only place he would've gotten them was at home, my cat Ginger would only attack anyone if they hurt me or Dad. He's also the very last person who was supposed to pick me up from school," Harry rushed out, his fingers fumbling in his pants as he tried to explain his thought process to the copper in front of him.

"You think he was at your dad's house, and your cat attacked him?" Athena asked, zeroing in on his words.

Harry nodded, biting his lip in worry as the officers controlled the fire.

"Detective Ransone!" Athena shouted drawing the man over the phone.

"Sargent Grant?" Ransone asked, his tone serious as he walked over, his phone on hold with the military base.

"Harry, you need to tell us where you live, we can send units to make sure your dad is okay," Athena gently pressured.

Rocking a little bit even as his mind whirled, Harry shakily nodded, fearing if his dad was hurt or not. "You can't get in without the passkey, let me come with you. I can get you in and give you a basic layout," Harry pleaded.

It took a little bit of arguing, where Harry had to control the childish urge to throw a tantrum and instead threw cold-hard facts at them with the limited information they were given, but Harry was able to join them to the house with the promise of staying within the police car.

Harry directed them even when Athena questioned Harry twice more about the route as the Stark house was quite out of the way. It wasn't until they reached the gate of the long driveway and Harry punched in the code to open it that Athena seemed to believe that Harry did live there.

Mentally apologizing to the sergeant, Harry barely waited for the car to stop before he was out of the backseat and running to the front door. His shirt was grabbed just as he punched in the password to the door and it swung open. "You, back to the car," Athena scolded, handing his to the Ransone who seemed to finally be speaking to someone at the base with a frown.

Harry waited anxiously for any news about his father, he blinked wondering if he was seeing things when a familiar face was being escorted out of the house in handcuffs. "Uncle Rhodey!" Harry shouted as he broke away from Ransone and sprinted toward his uncle.

"Harry," the clear relief on the man's face as he knelt on the sidewalk, his Air Force outfit slightly shuffling around the edges of his pant leg due to the movement.

Harry didn't hesitate as he threw himself into Rhodey's body, curling his arms around his uncle's neck. Rhodey's face buried in Harry's neck to return the hug as Harry finally let himself break down, his uncle gently reassuring him. "Hey, Champ, I need you to look at me," Rhodey said softly, finally moving his head from Harry's neck.

Sniffing, Harry did as he was told. "We're going to head with the nice cop here, okay, and I'll explain things okay? So I need you to be stronger for just a little bit longer. Okay?" Rhodey asked gently.

Harry nodded slowly as he glanced with watery eyes to Athena. "You're not gonna separate us, are you?"

Athena gave him a gentle smile. "No, now how about we get your Uncle Rhodey out of these cuffs," she joked with a wink as she reached down to uncuff Rhodey, "We just need him to come down to explain some stuff to us. Will that be okay with you?"

Nodding slowly, Harry curled back into Rhodey. His head snapped up when a small meow reached his ears and Ginger limped toward him, his ears showing blood having come from them. "Ginger," Harry cried out, feeling emotionally tired now with the proof his cat was hurt.

"Hey, we'll get him a really good veterinarian, I'm sure you'll see her in no time all better. Okay?" Rhodey said, curling and picking Harry up into his arms properly now that his arms were released.

"Officer, I need you to get the cat to a vet clinic," Athena instructed a nearby cop who hastily complied.

"Come on, Champ, let's go," Rhodey muttered to Harry's hair before pressing a kiss to Harry's forehead.

Feeling slightly safer and emotionally exhausted from the day, Harry rested his head on Rhodey's shoulder and let himself fall asleep.