The Weight of a Name
They had been waiting.
After everything they had learned—his real name, his knighthood, the abuse—they had been ready for answers.
But when the manor doors opened, and Harry stepped inside, they weren’t prepared for this.
He was exhausted. Beyond exhausted.
Lord Malfoy, as they knew—was right beside him, his hand hovering near Harry like he was expecting something to happen.
And it did.
Harry barely made it three steps before his knees wobbled. Draco caught his arm instantly, steadying him like it was routine.
Silence fell over the room as everyone saw what Draco had clearly already known.
Harry looked like hell.
His face was pale, dark shadows under his eyes, and he moved like he was carrying the weight of the world. He looked like someone who had been running on nothing but sheer willpower for far too long.
(For the first time they notice his height.
Harry always had a commanding presence however now that he's exhausted he looks so tiny, Shorter than Peter.
Around the height 5'4.
Had he always been so small?)
Every sharp question, every demand for answers—gone.
Peter took a hesitant step forward. "Harry—"
"I’m fine," Harry muttered, though the way he leaned into Draco’s support said otherwise.
Tony narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, nope. Not buying that."
Rhodey crossed his arms. "Sit down, before you fall over."
Harry hesitated.
Draco rolled his eyes and pushed him onto the nearest couch. "For once in your life, Potter, shut up and rest."
Teddy, who had been trailing behind them, immediately climbed up beside Harry and curled up against him. "Daddy does this a lot," he mumbled sleepily. "He doesn’t like resting."
"Yeah, well, that changes now," Peter said firmly, already stepping closer.
"I’m really—"
"Tired. Overworked. Stupidly self-sacrificing.full-time lunatic." Draco cut in. "Pick any of those, they all apply."
Tony sighed, rubbing his temples. "For the love of—Harry, let us help you."
Harry blinked at them, like he didn’t understand what that meant.
Draco watched him carefully before sighing.
For a long moment, Harry looked at them.
At Peter’s worried expression.
At Tony’s frustrated but genuine concern.
At Rhodey’s assessing stare.
At Happy’s quiet but firm presence.
Then he looked down at Teddy, who had already fallen asleep against him, his tiny hand clutching Harry’s sleeve like he knew his dad was about to collapse.
But just as the tension started to ease, they noticed something else.
Or rather—someone else.
There was a bundle in Harry’s other arm, wrapped in a soft blanket, completely silent until the tiniest noise broke through the air.
A baby’s coo.
Everyone froze.
Harry sighed, shifting slightly so they could see her better.
"This is my daughter," he said, voice soft but steady. "Delphine Potter."
Silence.
A lot of silence.
Then—
"Your what?" Tony shrieked.(No he did not, Tony stark does not shriek)
Rhodey exhaled, running a hand down his face. "Okay. You know what? We’re shelving all our questions for later. Right now, you’re sitting your ass down and resting."
(Rhodey does not blame Tony for shrieking—If it were not for his military training Rhodey would have shrieked too.)
He gave a pointed look at Tony.
(A warning that Harry is tired and Tony needs to chill out before he goes into mental breakdown and do something he regrets.
Tony bless him, understands and shuts up.
Thank goodness for their years of friendship which developed this tact understanding)
Peter, still in shock, hesitated before walking forward. He reached out a little hesitantly. "Can I…?"
Harry, tired but amused, carefully let Peter see Delphine. The baby blinked up at him with curious blue eyes.
Peter smiled. "She’s beautiful."
Harry’s expression softened. "Yeah. She is."
Draco huffed, crossing his arms. "Potter, if you fall over, I swear—"
Harry just huffed a tired laugh. "I’m fine."
Draco ignored everyone."“You’re holding a sleeping toddler and an infant while looking like you haven’t slept since the Battle of —,” Draco stopped himself and said dryly. “You don’t get to argue.So, shut up and rest."
Harry actually listened.
He picked up Teddy, Delphi in his arms and with the support of Draco and Peter he moved to the master bedroom. He first arranged both his kids to be comfortable and blacked out once he hit the bed.
The moment Harry was asleep again, Tony cornered Draco.
They stood in the hallway just outside the room, the air tense. Rhodey, Happy, and Peter were close enough to hear but didn’t intervene.
Tony crossed his arms. “Alright, blondie. Time to start talking.”
Draco arched a brow, unimpressed. “About what, exactly? And it's Lord Malfoy ”
Tony scoffed. “Don’t play dumb. You obviously know more about Harry’s past than we do. So spill.”
Draco sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"I warned you not to push."
“And what do you think I’d tell you? A full report on every terrible thing he’s been through? A neat little list of every scar and burden he carries?” He lowered his hand and met Tony’s gaze.
“Because that’s not happening.”
Tony’s jaw tightened. “Listen, I get that you’re his friend or whatever, but we’re his family.”
Draco scoffed. “Are you? Because if you were, you’d know that pushing him like this is the worst thing you could do.”
( And Draco is Harry's Family too.
They are family through Black blood of Harry's grandmother and Draco's mother.
They became Family when Harry stood infront of him—shielding Draco and his mother from the ponting fingers and accusing eyes of the world.
When he protected them by proving their innocence when court demanded their execution after seeing the dark mark on his arm in his trail while wearing his battle armour daring anyone to go against justice.
When he stayed countless times in their house—the very place he got tortured to comfort him and his mother.
When he brought Teddy over and introducing Draco to Teddy as a cousin.
When he reinstated Draco'd mother into the black family.
When Draco comforted Harry countless times when he got a nightmare and vice-versa.
When Harry came as a quiet support even without asking while he visited his father in prison for one last time.
When Harry hugged and kissed him on his forehead the first time in delight after Draco declared he's going step out of his father's shadow and cleanse the Malfoy's bad name.)
That made Tony pause.
Draco took a step closer, his voice calm but firm.
“You want to know why Harry won’t talk? Because every time he has, people have either ignored it, used it against him, or left him.”
Silence.
Draco tilted his head. “Tell me, Stark. What do you think will happen if you push too hard? If you make him feel cornered?”
Tony didn’t answer, but Draco saw the flash of unease in his eyes.
So Draco pressed on.
“He will leave.”
Tony tensed.
“And I don’t mean ‘storm out and come back later’ kind of leaving.” Draco’s voice dropped lower.
“I mean gone. No trace, no way to find him, no way to fix things.” He crossed his arms.
“Because if there’s one thing Harry knows how to do, it’s to escape wherever he wants.”
(Just like how he escaped certain death a number of times.)
"And It’s not about trust. It’s about instinct."
Draco’s voice was calm, but there was an edge to it.
"Harry has spent his whole life dealing with things alone. He doesn’t ask for help because no one was ever there to give it to him."
Tony’s stomach twisted at that.
The weight of that statement hit them all.
Peter swallowed hard, his expression had gone pale.
Rhodey exhaled sharply looking grim.
Happy looked unnerved.
Tony, despite everything, still tried to push. “We just want to help him.”
Draco stared at him. Then, slowly, he shook his head.
“Then wait.”
Tony’s fists clenched. He hated that. He hated waiting.
But…he also knew Draco was right.
Harry had already hidden so much of himself. If they made him feel like staying was a mistake… if they messed up with Harry, they wouldn’t get another chance.
He would disappear. And no amount of money, power, or AI would bring him back.
Finally, Tony exhaled, running a hand through his hair. “…Fine.”
Draco nodded. “Good.” Then he glanced toward the door. “Just…let him breathe. He’ll come to you in his own time.”
They all knew Draco wasn’t bluffing.
After a long moment, Tony exhaled sharply.
"Alright. No pushing. But tell me one thing—where are their mothers?"
Draco blinked. "What?"
Tony gestured toward the next room, where Teddy and Delphine were sleeping. "Harry’s kids. Where are their mothers? He’s raising them alone, which means either they died, or they left."
Draco just stared at him.
Rhodey folded his arms. "It’s a fair question. He’s 16, and he’s taking care of two kids by himself. That’s not normal, Lord Malfoy."
(Harry: Hey, I'm an adult according to magical law, have been since I got emacted.)
For the first time since arriving, Draco’s carefully crafted mask slipped.
And then—to their utter disbelief—he burst out laughing.
Not just a chuckle. Not a smirk. But full-on, genuine laughter.
Tony exchanged a baffled look with Rhodey and Peter.
"Okay, what the hell is so funny?"
Draco took a moment to catch his breath, wiping at his eyes. "You—" He let out another short laugh. "You really think Harry had a girlfriend?"
Peter frowned. "Uh…yes?"
Draco let out an amused sigh. "Oh, you poor, clueless fools."
Tony scowled. "You gonna explain, or just keep mocking us?"
Draco smirked, but there was a fondness to it.
"Alright, listen carefully. Teddy is Harry’s godson. He adopted him as it is his right and responsibility as godfather, plus he doesn't want Teddy to grow up as an orphan. Delphine…her adoption is complicated, and I won’t tell you why just that he took her in to keep her safe and it’s the reason he’s so exhausted."
Peter’s mouth fell open slightly. "So…they’re not his biological kids?"
Draco shook his head.
"Not in the slightest. Hell, I know he didn't even have his first kiss —Don't tell him I said that— But they are his kids. And if you suggest otherwise in front of him, you will regret it."
Tony exhaled slowly, rubbing his temples. "Jesus Christ…so he just…chose to take on two kids? At his age?"
Draco’s smirk softened—just a little. "Harry has always been like this. He will never let an innocent child suffer if he can do something about it."
(And Harry being as stubborn as he is—went as far as blood adopting them, now adult or not Harry is their parent and guardian according to law. No one can gain custody over his kids now.)
Peter looked down, absorbing everything. Peter thought that Harry may not have super powers but he is a Hero, anyone who say's otherwise can fight him.Harry is sooo cool— once again filled his brain because he doesn't think any of the super Hero's can do the the same right now -forget about doing it when they were 16.
Tony ran a hand through his hair, muttering, "Kid’s too good for this damn world…"
Draco’s smirk returned. "Finally figured that out, did you?"
Draco was already at the door when he hesitated.
He turned back, walking quietly toward the bed where Harry was sleeping.
The others watched as Draco leaned down slightly and, with surprising gentleness, pressed a brief, affectionate kiss to Harry’s forehead.
It wasn’t romantic.It was familial.
"Rest, you idiot," Draco murmured, before straightening.
Peter blinked in surprise.
Rhodey and Happy exchanged looks.
Even Tony, who wasn’t usually sentimental, felt a pang of something heavy in his chest.
Draco straightened, brushing an imaginary speck of dust from his sleeve as if he hadn’t just done something so soft. Then, with one last glance at Tony, he said :
“Take care of him.”
Then, just as they thought he was finished, Draco turned fully to face them again, his expression unreadable.
"You need to understand something," he said, his tone like ice.
"Harry has people who love him. People who would follow him to the ends of the earth, People who would burn the world down for him.. People who worship the very ground he walks on—not because he asks them to, but because he’s earned it. Because he gave them something no one else did.Because Harry Potter is the kind of man who would sacrifice everything for someone he loves. And we love him back."
His eyes darkened, and for the first time, Tony truly saw it—the sheer fierce loyalty that Harry commanded.
Not through power.
Not through manipulation.
But simply by being Harry.
"If you hurt him," Draco continued, his voice dangerously soft, "if you push him too far, if you make him think even for a second that he’s better off leaving,if you make him think for even a second that he’s unwanted—."
A pause.
"And if that happens?" Draco’s lips curled into something that wasn’t quite a smirk, wasn’t quite a threat—just a simple promise.
"Then you will have more than just his absence to deal with. Because those of us who love him? We do not forgive easily."
"Don’t mess this up, Stark."
Then, with a last look at Harry’s sleeping form with sleeping Teddy and Delphi held protectively in his arms, Draco turned and walked away the sound of his footsteps echoing through the manor’s grand halls.
Leaving Tony, Rhodey, Peter, and Happy standing there—more unsettled than ever.
(But hey atleast they now know that Harry hasn't been completely alone.)
The chamber was suffocating. A hundred pairs of eyes—some furious, some fearful, some calculating—bore into him.
Harry stood tall in the center of the Wizengamot, hands clasped behind his back, face unreadable. The murmurs in the hall had swelled to outright debate, robes rustling, voices rising.
"The child is a Riddle!" spat a particularly stubborn lord, his voice sharp with disgust. "How can we allow such a stain to remain in our society?"
(Delphine Riddle— daughter of Tom Marvelo Riddle and Bellatrix lestrange nee Black was placed in magical orphanage after they found out, however someone leaked her parentage just a week ago. It became a controversy about what to do with the child.)
Harry clenched his jaw but forced himself to remain calm. He had expected this.
"She is a child," he said, his voice steady. "She has not committed any crimes. She does not carry her father’s sins."
"And yet she carries his blood!" another lord argued. "You speak of innocence, Lord Potter, but you know better than anyone—darkness is bred in the bone!"
Harry’s fingers curled slightly.
"And who decided that?" he asked coolly. "You?"
The man bristled, but Harry didn’t let him speak.
"Tell me, how many here knew Tom Riddle before he became Voldemort?" He let his gaze sweep across the hall, making them squirm. "Do any of you know the boy? The orphan, scorned and unwanted, isolated from the very people meant to guide him?"
Silence.
"You say darkness is in the blood?" Harry’s voice was sharper now. "Then tell me—was it blood that made him a monster? Or was it how he was treated?"
A few lords shifted in their seats.
Harry pressed on. "Tom Riddle was a child—brilliant, powerful, desperate for belonging. But what did the world do? It turned its back on him. Even Dumbledore, the great Albus Dumbledore, who saw his pain, who knew the risk, did not extend a hand. And so, he became the most dangerous dark lord in history."
The murmurs in the chamber grew uneasy.
"You all fear another Dark Lord rising," Harry continued, his tone softer now, "but tell me—what are you doing to prevent it? Condemning an infant for her father’s crimes?"
He exhaled.
"I refuse."
A ripple of shock spread through the Wizengamot.
"I will not let history repeat itself. I will not let an innocent child suffer for the sins of another. I have placed my petition for adoption not because I seek power, nor because I have some foolish ideal of redemption, but because Delphini is a child. And I refuse to let her be abandoned to a world that would rather create another Voldemort than prevent one."
"And it seems you forget, she's a Black. She carries the same blood that courses through me through my grandmother Dorea Potter nee Black."
Silence stretched heavy and thick.
And then, slowly—hesitantly—one voice spoke.
"…He is right."
More voices followed, reluctant but firm. The debate raged on for hours, arguments thrown, fears laid bare, but in the end—
Harry won.
Later, back at Potter Manor…
Harry sat on the couch, exhaustion weighing him down like chains. In his arms, Delphini dozed peacefully, unaware of the storm she had survived today.
Across from him, Narcissa Malfoy sat with Teddy in his lap, her expression unreadable.
"You really fought the entire Wizengamot for her?" she finally asked.
(After the war they released the true story of Voldemort sans hocruxes and Dumbledore.
It became cautionary tale told to kids as a bedtime story.
Tom Marvelo Riddle became a victim of society and Albus Dumbledore became one of the most hated due to his manipulative actions.
That was what helped Harry today in the wizengamot today)
Harry looked down at the baby in his arms.
"No innocent child should grow up alone," he murmured. "Not if I can do something about it."
Teddy, nestled against Narcissa, blinked sleepily at his dad. "So, she's my sister now?"
Harry smiled tiredly. "Yeah, cub. She’s your sister."
Teddy grinned. "Good. She can have my extra stuffed dragon."
Molly who was beside her sighed, rubbing her temple. "You do realize you just made yourself even more of a target, don’t you?"
(Yes, Narcissa and Molly became somewhat friends after Draco and Arthur declared the end of their blood feud.
They are terrifying together.)
Harry chuckled softly. "What else is new?"
Molly shook her head but didn’t argue. Instead, she reached forward, brushing a lock of dark hair from Delphini’s forehead.
"Then let’s make sure she has a good life," she said simply.
Harry nodded.
Teddy reached over, his tiny fingers brushing against Delphini’s hand. "I’ll protect her too," he declared seriously. "Just like you protect me."
"I'll be the best big brother ever!!"
Harry swallowed past the lump in his throat.
"I know you will, buddy."
And as Teddy rested his head against Narcissa’s shoulder, Harry held Delphini closer and closed his eyes—preparing himself to meet Tony in muggle Potter manor.
No child should suffer.
Not on his watch.