When Magic Meets Iron

Tony sat in the lab, idly twisting a screwdriver between his fingers, lost in thought.

Peter’s words from earlier still echoed in his head—Harry was a doctor, lawyer, ninja in their eyes. And somehow, despite knowing his kid for a while now, Tony knew none of that.

Well, except for the ninja part. Harry definitely had that whole silent, elegant, probably-dangerous thing going on.

He wanted to know more. But not the deep, painful stuff—not yet. He just wanted to get to know his son.

Tony sighed, then made up his mind. He walked to the common area, where Harry was sitting with a book and a cup of tea, exuding his usual quiet, refined presence. Teddy was curled up next to him, happily coloring.

(Today was the fourth day from time they first met and he asked Harry to come to the tower and apart from the second day where they had breakfast together, Harry didn't go to work the following days, he readily agreed to come to the tower whenever he asked)

“Hey, kid,” Tony greeted, leaning against the couch. “Got a minute?”

Harry glanced up, mildly surprised. “Sure.” He marked his page and set the book aside.

Tony hesitated for half a second, then sat across from him. “I was thinking… I don’t actually know a lot about you.”

Harry raised an eyebrow. “I’d say that’s fair.”

Tony huffed. “Wow. Brutal.”

Harry smirked slightly.

“I just mean—look, no pressure or anything, but I’d like to change that. So how about we start small? What do you like?” Tony asked, waving a hand vaguely. “Music, food, hobbies? Anything?”

(This the third time he's asking)

(Harry decided to be more open)

Harry tilted his head, considering the question. “I like tea.”

Tony groaned. “Wow. Groundbreaking.”

The corner of Harry’s lips twitched. “I read a lot,” he continued. “History, strategy, some philosophy. And science.”

Tony perked up. “science?”

Harry hesitated for a split second. “Yeah. I think it's intresting but I'm not an expert in it.”

Tony hummed. “Alright, alright, you’re a bookworm and a thrill-seeker. Got it. What else?”

Harry sipped his tea before answering. “I cook. I prefer quiet places. I enjoy working with my hands—crafting, fixing things.”

(Mostly using magic)

Tony grinned. “Now that I can work with. You ever build anything?”

Harry nodded. “A few things.”

“Like?”

Harry exhaled a quiet laugh. “That depends. Are we counting things that explode?”

(Again using magic.)

Tony barked out a laugh. “Kid, you’re my son, alright.”

The conversation flowed more easily after that, the usual guardedness in Harry’s posture subtly easing. Teddy, apparently done with his coloring, climbed into Harry’s lap, listening quietly.

“Alright, favorite subjects in school?” Tony asked next.

Harry glanced down at Teddy, absentmindedly fixing his slightly messy hair before answering. “History, mostly. But I liked Defense—ah, self-defense, I mean. Helps me with my profession".

Tony noticed how Harry corrected himself mid-sentence, but didn’t push. “So… basically, you liked learning how to outthink and outfight people?”

Harry smiled slightly. “I suppose so.”

Tony smirked. “Okay, remind me to never make you mad.”

“I’ll try.”

It was easy—natural, even. For once, they weren’t dealing with awkward introductions, unspoken questions, or unsaid things hovering in the air.

They were just talking.

And Tony, for the first time in a long time, felt like he was actually getting to know his son.

The comfortable air between them lingered, and Tony wasn’t about to let it slip away.

Harry was relaxed—or at least, as close to relaxed as Tony had ever seen him. That was a win.

“So, any fun stories from school?” Tony asked, leaning back.

“You know, before you graduated early and became a consultant to special forces at sixteen?” He shot Harry a pointed look.

Harry huffed a quiet laugh, shaking his head. “I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Tony snorted. “Yeah, sure. So, any good ones?”

(Helped take down a terrorist organisation by being at the wrong place at the wrong time?

Like hell he'll believe it.

But Tony doesn't push it.

Not when Harry is opening up.)

Harry hummed, thinking. “Well… there was this one time my friend and I accidentally set a professor on fire.”

Tony nearly choked on his drink. “I—what?”

Harry chuckled. “It was an accident. There was this teacher—strict, all about rules. One of our classmates played a prank that went wrong, and somehow, the professor’s cloak caught fire.”

Teddy gasped. “Did he turn to ash like in cartoons?”

Harry ruffled his hair. “No, thankfully. We managed to put it out before it did any real damage, but my friend and I were right there, so of course, we got blamed.”

Tony smirked. “Let me guess. Detention?”

“Two weeks,” Harry confirmed.

“Oof. Harsh.”

Harry shook his head. “That wasn’t even the worst one. There was also the rogue cat incident.”

“Oh, this I have to hear.” Tony grinned.

Harry leaned back, smirking. “A friend of mine—who was very against rules, by the way—snuck a stray cat into our dorm. No one noticed for a week. Until one morning, it escaped, ran straight into the teacher’s lounge, knocked over a potion—I mean, a chemistry set—”

Tony raised a brow at that but let it slide.

“—and caused a minor explosion. It took three professors to catch the cat, and my friend spent a month in detention.”

Teddy giggled. “Was the cat okay?”

“Oh, perfectly fine,” Harry assured him. “It actually ended up becoming the school’s unofficial mascot.”

Tony shook his head, grinning.

Harry smirked. “That’s only the tip of the iceberg

Tony narrowed his eyes, but there was amusement behind them. “Y’know, every time you tell me something about your life, it sounds less like a school and more like a battlefield.”

(Damn he hit the nail on the head.If only he knows.)

Harry just smiled, taking a sip of his tea. “I had… an interesting education.”

Tony was sure there was way more to these stories than Harry was telling him. But for now, he’d take what he could get.

Because Harry was talking. Laughing, even.

Tony was hooked. The more Harry talked, the more ridiculous his school life sounded.

What kind of school was this?

(He didn't even hear about it, only that it's super elite and exclusive that only selected can join.

They don't even allow Internet in the schoo, completely hidden.

Which is suspicious as hell.)

(Ned: It's definitely a spy school.

Peter: agreed.

Natasha (to client) : Let's dismantle it then.

Harry: YOU ARE NOT DESTROYING MY SCHOOL

Tony: we aren't asking permission.)

Tony leaned back in his chair, grinning as he watched Harry. The kid—his kid—was actually talking, telling stories without that usual guarded edge.

And man, his stories were wild.

“So,” Tony said, smirking, “your school had fire professors and rogue cats. What else?”

Teddy perked up. “Tell the one about the pudding!”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “The pudding?”

Harry sighed but chuckled. “Alright. So, in my third year, there was a massive food fight in the cafeteria—”

“Oh, this is already good,” Tony muttered.

“—and someone—still don’t know who—thought it would be funny to switch out the custard for extra-sticky gelatin pudding.”

“It got everywhere!”

Teddy giggled.

“It was chaos. Imagine an entire cafeteria trying to run while stepping in superglue pudding. People were stuck to chairs, trays, even the floor.”

Tony wheezed. “You mean to tell me someone booby-trapped the school with pudding?”

“Oh yeah,” Harry said. “We had to be rescued by the janitor—who was furious, by the way. Took forever to clean up.”

Tony shook his head in disbelief. “I knew school food was a crime, but that takes the cake.”

Teddy giggled. “Harry got pudding in his hair!”

Tony burst out laughing. “Oh, I need to see that.”

Harry gave him a flat look. “Unfortunately, there are no pictures.”

“Damn. Tragic loss.”

Harry smirked. “At least it wasn’t as bad as the haunted bathroom.”

Tony nearly choked. “The what?”

Harry sipped his tea innocently. “One of the bathrooms was… let’s say out of order. There were all these weird pipes issues—every time someone went in, the sinks would randomly turn on, or toilets would flush by themselves.”

Teddy nodded seriously. “And sometimes, people swore they heard voices.”

Tony narrowed his eyes. “Okay, pause. Are you telling me your school had possessed plumbing?”

Harry smirked. “Let’s just say no one went in there unless they had to.”

Tony shook his head. “I swear, the more I hear about your school, the more I think it should’ve been shut down.”

Harry just grinned. “ You think that was bad? Let me tell you about the great stair collapse of Year Two.”

Tony’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry—the what?”

Harry shrugged like it was normal.

“There was this really old staircase in one of the towers. Everyone knew it wasn’t the sturdiest, but the school insisted it was fine. Until one day, in the middle of rush hour, the whole middle section just… collapsed.”

Tony blinked. “You mean to tell me a staircase just gave up with students on it?”

“Oh yeah,” Harry said. “It turned into a slide. Five people crashed at the bottom, and one guy actually got stuck in a wall.”

Tony ran a hand down his face. “Your school had zero safety regulations.”

“None whatsoever,” Harry confirmed.

“And instead of closing it down, they just put up a sign that said ‘Use at Your Own Risk.’”

Tony for the first time was speechless.

“That’s not a warning, that’s a threat.”

Teddy giggled. “Tell about the pumpkin incident!”

Tony looked between them. “Why do I feel like I need to hear this?”

Harry sighed, but his smirk was pure amusement.

“So, every fall, we had this huge harvest festival. The teachers would bring in decorations, food, everything. One year, someone thought it’d be funny to replace all the normal pumpkins with rotting ones.”

Tony grimaced. “Ugh.”

“Oh, it gets worse,” Harry said.

“See, these weren’t normal rotting pumpkins. They were so bad that if you touched them, they’d explode.”

Tony’s jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”

Harry nodded. “One student picked one up, and boom—pumpkin guts everywhere.”

Teddy was grinning.

“It smelled so bad.”

Tony winced. “I take it this set off a chain reaction?”

Harry grinned. “Oh yeah. The teachers tried to move them, but every time they did, another one would go off. By the end of it, the whole cafeteria looked like a pumpkin murder scene.”

Tony wheezed. “I—who did this?”

“No one ever confessed,” Harry said, shrugging. “The principal lost it—he started ranting about ‘irresponsible hooligans’ while covered in pumpkin mush.”

Tony shook his head. “Your school wasn’t a school, it was a survival course.”

(Understatement)

Harry smirked. “Pretty much.”

Tony chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief as he watched Teddy cuddle into Harry’s side.

He still didn’t know everything about his son, but one thing was very clear—

Harry’s life had never been normal.

Tony wiped a tear from his eye, still laughing

 “Alright, alright, tell me—was there ever a year at your school that wasn’t complete insanity?”

Harry hummed, pretending to think. “Nope.”

Teddy giggled. “Never ever!”

Tony groaned. “Figures. Alright, you got any more? What else happened at this cursed school?Because so far, your school sounds insane”

Harry chuckled. “Oh, absolutely. We had the worst luck, my friends and I.”

Harry smirked. “There was the Great Library Fire of Year Four.”

Harry scoffed. “Excuse you, I didn’t set anything on fire.”

Tony crossed his arms. “Uh-huh. I feel like you have a very loose definition of ‘I didn’t do it.’”

Harry smirked. “Okay, fine. I was there. But technically, it was an accident.”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “I highly doubt that.”

Harry shrugged. “See, we had this one teacher who hated anyone making noise in the library. One day, some students were—well, not quiet—and she lost it. In her frustration, she knocked over an old oil lamp.”

Tony blinked. “Why did your school have oil lamps?”

Harry sighed. “You’re asking the wrong questions, Tony.”

“Okay, fine,” Tony said, rubbing his forehead. “Continue.”

Harry smirked. “So, the lamp fell. The rug caught fire. Chaos ensued. People were screaming, running, throwing books—someone tried to beat the fire out with a chair.”

Teddy nodded seriously. “It didn’t work.”

Tony's eyetwitched. “They made it worse, didn’t they?”

“Oh yeah,” Harry said. “By the time the fire was out, half the room was covered in soot, and the teacher tried to blame us.”

Tony looked personally offended. “She started the fire and blamed the students?”

“Yup.”

Tony sighed. “This school, man.”

Teddy grinned. “It was awesome.”

Tony shook his head. “I don’t know whether to be horrified or impressed.”

Harry chuckled. “That’s the standard reaction.”

Tony leaned back, smirking. “Alright, give me one more. What’s the craziest thing that happened?”

Harry hesitated for a moment before his lips twitched. “Alright. Ever heard of exploding cupcakes?”

Tony stared at him. “No. No, I have not, because normal schools don’t have exploding cupcakes, Harry.”

Harry’s smirk widened. “Well, mine did.”

Teddy nodded enthusiastically. “Boom!”

Tony groaned. “Okay. Explain.”

Harry leaned back, casually sipping his tea. “It was during a big school event. Someone—still no idea who—thought it’d be funny to fill cupcakes with baking soda and vinegar.”

Tony covered his face. “I—your school was a war zone.”

Harry just grinned. “Like I said—never a dull moment.”

Tony shook his head, watching as Teddy giggled into Harry’s side. 

Harry’s life had been ridiculously chaotic.

(Those who knew Harry:*snort* understatement of the century)

Tony was still reeling. “I just—how did your school not get shut down? Like, genuinely, how did it pass safety inspections? Did it even have safety inspections?”

Harry smirked. “Honestly? Probably not. Or if it did, someone was really good at covering things up.”

Teddy giggled. “It was fun!”

Tony groaned. “Of course, you think so.”

Harry thought for a moment before his lips twitched. “Okay. Ever heard of The Great Hall Ceiling Incident?”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “No, but based on what I’ve heard so far, I’m gonna assume it wasn’t minor.”

Harry chuckled. “You assume correctly.”

Teddy nodded enthusiastically. “It was so cool.”

Harry leaned back, smirking. “Alright. So, the ceiling in our school’s dining hall was designed to look like the sky outside. It was usually harmless.”

“Usually,” Tony repeated. “Meaning at some point, it wasn’t?”

Harry grinned. “Exactly. One day, something malfunctioned. Instead of just showing the weather, it started acting like it.”

Tony’s eyes widened. “Wait—wait, wait, wait. You’re telling me—”

“Oh yeah,” Harry said. “Suddenly, the inside of the hall had wind, rain, and lightning.”

Tony gaped. “You ate lunch in a storm?”

“We tried,” Harry said.

“It didn’t go well. Someone’s entire plate got blown away. A kid got hit in the face with flying toast.”

Teddy cackled. “Boom! Splat!”

Tony clutched his chest, laughing. “I cannot with this school—why did they not evacuate?”

Harry shrugged. “Oh, they tried. But then it got worse.”

Tony stared. “How?”

Harry smirked. “Hail.”

Tony choked. “Hail?”

“Golf-ball sized,” Harry said casually.

“People were hiding under tables while staff ran around in a panic.”

Tony leaned back, covering his face with his hands. “I—this is so unsafe—”

Harry snorted.

“The best part? The headmaster just walked in, looked around at the chaos, and went, ‘Ah. Unfortunate,’ before sitting down and having his tea.”

Tony gaped. “HE DID WHAT?”

Harry nodded. “Didn’t even flinch. Just casually sipped tea while we were getting pelted with ice.”

Teddy gasped. “Grandpa Tony, your face is so red!”

Tony pointed dramatically at Harry. “You—you are never sending Teddy to that school. Ever.”

(Harry watched Tony's reaction with amazement.

He never thought Tony would be this angry.

Something broken inside him started healing.

Ah. He's already a goner.

Tony Stark dug himself into his heart and built a house there becoming a permanent resident.)

Teddy pouted. “But—but—”

“No buts,” Tony said firmly.

“I refuse to let you get taken out by rogue toast and flying hail.”

Harry laughed, shaking his head. “Relax, Tony. I was fine. Mostly.”

Tony groaned. “You are so lucky I didn’t know you back then, or I would’ve had a heart attack.”

(Harry's heart clenched, this time with longing)

Harry smirked. “But then you would’ve missed out on all these fun stories.”

Tony huffed. “You and I have very different definitions of ‘fun.’”

(Tony thinks this is karma.

Is this how Happy, Rhodey and Pepper felt.

He has new respect for them)

Teddy tugged on Tony’s sleeve. “But Grandpa Tony, it’s funny.”

Tony sighed, ruffling Teddy’s hair.

“Yeah, yeah, kiddo. It’s funny now. But your dad was basically living in an action movie at all times.”

Harry grinned. “That’s an accurate summary, actually.”

Tony just shook his head. “Unbelievable.”

Harry’s smile turned mischievous. “Oh, Tony. Have I ever told you about the Exploding Pumpkin Juice Prank War?”

Tony immediately groaned. “I already regret asking.”

Teddy giggled excitedly. “It's a story so awesome!”

Tony took a deep breath.

“Okay. Let’s hear it. What in the absolute hell happened with this… Exploding Pumpkin Juice Prank War?”

Harry smirked, leaning back like he was about to share the best gossip in the world.

Teddy was practically vibrating in excitement, already giggling before the story even started.

“Alright,” Harry said. “So, my school was full of two types of people: those who lived for absolute chaos, and those who suffered because of it.”

Tony groaned. “Why do I already know which category you were in?”

Harry ignored him. “One day, some brilliant—” he used air quotes, “—students decided to start something. A little, harmless prank.”

Tony’s eyes narrowed. “I doubt very much that it was harmless.”

“Oh, it was at first,” Harry said.

“Someone just ench—er, rigged a few pumpkin juice bottles so that when you took a sip, it made a funny noise—like a duck quacking.”

Tony blinked. “I—okay, that’s actually kind of funny.”

“Oh, it was hilarious,” Harry said.

“Until someone—who shall remain unnamed—decided that wasn’t enough.”

Teddy giggled. “Boom boom juice!”

Tony’s eyes widened in horror. “Boom boom juice? Oh, hell no. I don’t like where this is going.”

Harry grinned. “It escalated quickly. The next day, more juice was tampered with. Instead of just making sounds, it started changing colors, making people’s teeth blue or turning their tongues green.”

Tony snorted. “Okay, still not terrible.”

Harry nodded.

“Yeah. But then it kept going. People started adding fizzing agents so that the juice would start foaming up and spilling everywhere when someone tried to drink it.”

Teddy clapped his hands. “Like a volcano!”

“Exactly, Teddy,” Harry said, ruffling his hair.

Tony sighed. “Alright. So some kids got creative with their soda. Big deal.”

Harry smirked. “Yeah, but then it really got out of hand.”

“One particularly creative individual decided to set booby traps,” Harry said, eyes twinkling.

“If you didn’t drink the juice, it would randomly explode the moment you picked it up.”

Tony choked. “Exploding drinks?”

“Tiny explosions,” Harry assured. “Just enough to make a mess, not hurt anyone.”

Teddy giggled. “Sticky! Everywhere!”

“Oh, it was,” Harry agreed.

“Within hours, the entire dining hall turned into warfare. People were suspicious of every single drink on the table.”

Tony gaped. “You lunatics turned lunchtime into a psychological thriller where no one knew if their drink was safe?”

Harry nodded, grinning. “Pretty much. I watched grown adults stare at their drinks like they were defusing a bomb.”

Tony wheezed. “I—this school was insane.”

“Oh, the best part?” Harry said, eyes gleaming. “One of the teachers—who thought they were being smart—brought their own sealed drink.”

Tony raised a skeptical eyebrow. “And?”

Harry’s smirk turned wicked. “Someone swapped it when they weren’t looking.”

Tony gasped. “No.”

“Oh yes,” Harry said. “So there we were. Dead silent. The entire hall watching as this very serious, no-nonsense professor took a sip of their totally safe drink.”

Teddy bounced. “And then—BAM!”

Tony leaned forward, fascinated despite himself. “What happened?”

“The juice erupted,” Harry said dramatically. “Like an orange geyser, straight into their face.”

Tony burst out laughing. “No—no way!”

“Oh, way,” Harry said. “They just sat there. Dripping in sticky pumpkin juice. Completely silent. The whole hall was waiting—we all knew we were doomed.”

Tony wiped a tear from his eye. “What did they do?”

Harry grinned. “They sighed, calmly put their cup down, and said, ‘I hope you children are proud of yourselves.’”

Tony howled with laughter. “I love this professor!”

“Oh, everyone did,” Harry said. “They were the best.”

“Well, kid,” he said, “I think you just convinced me your school was absolutely terrifying.”

(Kid.

Harry swallowed.

The last time someone called me that was sirius.)

Teddy giggled, sitting up. “Daddy tell fire story!”

Harry leaned back, eyes gleaming with amusement. “So, picture this: It was one of those rare days where everything at school was actually… calm.”

Tony snorted. “Unlikely.”

“Exactly,” Harry said, pointing at him. “Which is why, of course, things went to hell within the hour.”

Teddy nodded very seriously. “Boom.”

Tony put his face in his hands. “Oh, God.”

Harry grinned.

“So, there was this one student—bit of a disaster—who was absolutely terrible at chemistry. And by terrible, I mean legendary levels of incompetence.”

Tony perked up. “Oh, this is already great. Continue.”

“So,” Harry said, “they were working on a very basic experiment—something so simple, a child could do it. But somehow, they miscalculated, and their solution burst into flames.”

Tony cackled. “Oh, that’s classic.”

Harry nodded. “It was. Except, instead of calmly handling the situation, they panicked and knocked over the entire table of chemicals.”

Tony’s laughter halted. “Wait—hold on.”

“Boom!” Teddy cheered.

Harry grinned. “The entire classroom went up in flames.”

Tony stared. “You’re joking.”

“Nope,” Harry said. “

There was fireeverywhere. People were screaming, desks were melting, and I was standing there wondering how the hell a simple assignment turned into a scene from an action movie.”

Tony wheezed. “Oh my God—how did you survive school?”

“Miraculously,” Harry said dryly.

“But the best part? The professor just sighed, pulled out a fire extinguisher, and casually put out the flames like it was a normal Tuesday.”

Harry said, laughing. “They were just so done with us.”

Teddy nodded sagely. “Teacher very tired.”

“Oh, absolutely,” Harry agreed.

Tony wiped a tear from his eye. “Alright. But be honest—how many times were you the one setting things on fire?”

Harry paused. “...Define many.”

Tony groaned. 

(This is definitely karma.

He really needs to apologise to Rhodey, Happy and Pepper.)

Teddy, completely unbothered, clapped his hands. “More stories! More stories!”

Harry chuckled, ruffling his son’s hair.

“Alright, alright. How about the time someone accidentally dyed the entire school’s laundry neon pink?”

Tony perked up. “Wait, that actually happened?”

“Oh, it absolutely did,” Harry said, grinning.

“And let me tell you, I have never seen a group of grown adults look so done with life.”

Tony smirked. “Okay. I need details.”

Teddy cheered. “PINK CLOTHES STORY!”

Tony leaned back, shaking his head. “Alright, I need to know—who was responsible for the pink laundry disaster?”

Harry smirked. “Oh, you’re gonna love this—it was absolutely not an accident.”

Tony’s eyes widened. “A sabotage mission?”

“More like revenge,” Harry corrected.

“See, there was this one absolute menace of a student—rich, entitled, thought they owned the place. They always bullied other students, but since their family had connections, they never got in trouble.”

Tony groaned. “Ugh, those types.”

Harry nodded. “Exactly. Anyway, one day, they pushed the wrong person too far. This one student—let’s call them ‘Mischief Master’—decided enough was enough.”

Teddy clapped. “Mischief!”

“Exactly, Teddy,” Harry said, grinning.

“So, Mischief Master sneaks into the laundry room—somehow—and dumps an industrial-grade bottle of bright pink dye into the washing machines.”

Tony snorted. “Oh, I like them.”

“Oh, it gets better,” Harry said, eyes twinkling.

“See, they timed it perfectly so that every single piece of clothing belonging to that one student got dyed.”

“No. No way.”

Harry nodded. “Way. Every uniform, every expensive designer jacket, even their gym socks—neon pink.”

Teddy gasped dramatically. “Everything?!”

“Everything,” Harry confirmed.

“And the best part? The student had no choice but to wear their gloriously pink wardrobe for weeks, because they weren’t allowed to replace everything immediately.”

Tony lost it. “That is the pettiest and most beautiful thing I have ever heard.”

Harry chuckled. “Yeah, Mischief Master was never caught, but they became a legend.”

Teddy bounced excitedly. “PINK LEGEND!”

Harry laughed, ruffling Teddy’s hair. “Exactly, kiddo.”

Tony wiped at his eyes, still laughing. “Okay, but be honest—were you Mischief Master?”

Harry gave him an innocent look. “Tony, I would never commit such a crime.”

Tony narrowed his eyes. “That’s not a no.”

Harry smirked. “It’s also not a yes.”

Tony pointed at him. “You’re so guilty.”

Teddy nodded sagely. “Daddy very sneaky.”

Harry chuckled, leaning back into the couch as Teddy nestled against him.

The room was still filled with lingering laughter, but something had shifted—the air felt lighter, warmer.

Tony watched as Harry absentmindedly ran a hand through Teddy’s curls, a soft, content expression on his face. I

t was such a small thing, but Tony felt something in his chest ache.

He’d missed so much.

For all Harry’s refinement and guardedness, he was still just a kid—one who had seen too much, carried too much, and somehow ended up raising a child of his own at an age where he should have been worrying about school dances and late homework.

And yet, here he was—telling stories, making Teddy laugh, and letting Tony in, just a little bit.

Tony cleared his throat, pulling himself together. “Alright, you’ve convinced me. I said it earlier but your school was objectively insane.”

Harry smirked. “Took you this long?”

“I was in denial,” Tony admitted. “But now? Now I need to meet some of these people.”

Harry chuckled. “I’d say ‘good luck,’ but… let’s just say most of them aren’t exactly reachable anymore.”

Tony frowned, but he let it go. Now wasn’t the time to push.

Harry hummed. “Well, considering it was in a castle, that probably helped the atmosphere.”

Tony blinked. “…A castle?”

Harry smirked. “Yup.”

Tony stared at him. “Are you—wait, hold on—you lived in a castle?”

Harry nodded casually. “Mhm. Very old, lots of history. Bit drafty. Probably haunted.”

Tony looked personally offended that this information was just now being revealed.

“You mean to tell me that I’ve been sitting here listening to your ridiculous school stories and not once did you think to mention that it was all happening inside a castle?!”

Harry shrugged. “It’s not that big a deal.”

Tony gaped. “Not a—not a big deal?! Who goes to school in a castle?!”

Teddy gasped. “Does it have dragons?!”

Harry chuckled. “No dragons, bud.”

(Dragons in Hogwarts was a one time thing)

Teddy pouted.

Tony ran a hand down his face. “I swear, every time I think I have a grasp on your life, you just drop another ridiculous fact like it’s nothing.”

Harry smirked. “You’ll get used to it.”

Tony groaned. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

Teddy tugged on Tony’s sleeve. “Can we go to castle?”

Harry ruffled his curls. “Sorry, bud, no visitors allowed.”

Teddy huffed. “No fair.”

Tony muttered, “Yeah, tell me about it.”

(Although,Tony already made a mental list to see where it is and if possible visit 

Who would deny Tony Stark?)

(Only if he knew)

Tony reached over, ruffling Teddy’s hair. “Alright, Mini Mischief. You got any dirt on your Daddy?”

This was turning into a great day.