MACUSA
Chapter 11: MACUSA
Tony sat back in his chair, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
“So…you’re telling me that magic itself does not prohibit a user from being near or using technology, but that most technology doesn’t work in magic dense areas?”
Hermione nodded, taking a bite out of her bagel. The three teenagers were sitting in the living room with Bruce and Tony, tables filled with leftover breakfast foods from the massacre that occurred an hour earlier when the rest of the team woke up ‘starving’. Tony was rich, but he didn’t know how his business would survive another few months of the avenger’s food costs. Damn, even Natasha and Clint could pack it in, lack of powers aside.
It had been a few days since Fury and the magical miracle duo had rained on their parade and Tony was happy to say they had been relatively uneventful, a welcome change from the insanity of the past two weeks. Honestly, it had been quiet, with most of the tower dwellers staying to themselves, sleeping and recovering from the battle and Pepper was busy running the world from his office. The only time Tony saw everyone together was for meals, which were definitely more rowdy affairs, with Thor, Cap and Clint sharing battle stories. Even Rhodey jumped in sometimes, never one to miss out on a dick-measuring contest.
Tony, on the other hand, had been trying to get to know Harry, which was harder than he initially thought it would be. Jarvis was still trying to find data on him, which was concerning as Jarvis had never taken this long to compile a background before, so for now, Tony was left to his observations.
But Harry was quiet for the most part, seemingly content to allow his friends to speak and bicker while he watched from the sidelines, occasionally chiming in. At first Tony chalked it up to the fact that he was still recovering, but now, even as the color in his face returned, Harry seemed to always want to fade into the background. He was obviously uncomfortable during the large group meals and opted to stay with his friends when he wasn’t asleep or alone.
Tony’s gentle prodding for information was almost always met with a brick wall. Tony was really starting to feel like a creep, always watching his son out of the corner of his eye, desperate for an opening or information. Like right now, as he watched Harry push some yogurt around in his bowl, pretending to eat while Hermione and Bruce talked in the background.
“So why do individual residences not use technology?” Bruce said, eyebrows furrowed.
Hermione looked to Ron, who was chowing down on a frighteningly large breakfast burrito. He shrugged.
“I dunno, my dad was a bit mad for the stuff, but I don’t remember anyone else wanting to have muggle things in their house.”
Tony snorted at Ron’s answer. Hermione rolled her eyes before turning back to Bruce, who was still watching her thoughtfully.
“Superiority complexes.” She said blankly.
“Oi!”
Harry sighed, putting down the yogurt he was picking at before answering over his friends bickering.
“It’s more of a cultural difference. The magic community isn’t as interested in steady advancement as the non-magical world. Necessity is the mother of invention and wizards just have had less necessity than muggles.”
Hermione and Ron looked at him in surprise.
“What?” Harry said, looking a little uncomfortable. Hermione just shook her head, and Tony caught a little smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
“Harry’s right for the most part, but the anti-muggle sentiment does get nasty in the wizarding world.” Her eyes darkened for a second, hand shifting to cover her right forearm and Tony saw Harry wince. “I don’t know how open wizards would be to adopting anything muggle…even after the..” She trailed off.
Ron reached up to rub her shoulder and Harry looked back to his yogurt, face blank.
Tony frowned, “I remember Lily told me she used to get some crap for her family not having magic, but they never really mentioned it much.”
The words of their letter flashed through his mind, James telling Harry not to be ashamed.
“Just how nasty does it get?”
Hermione opened her mouth but decided against it, looking towards Harry.
He took a shaky breath. “It is better now than it was before, but still…not great. Hermione’s a muggle born, so she has always gotten it the worse”
Ron scoffed, before mumbling, “Understatement of the century..” His hand was still on Hermione’s shoulder.
“But a lot of the people who really believed in that crap are locked up now.” She said to a worried looking Bruce with a tight smile. “Or dead…”
Harry fell silent again, and Hermione looked at him worriedly.
“Well good riddance” Tony said gruffly, fists clenched out of sight. He had always wondered why James and Lily had tried so hard to shield him from the wizarding world, with the exception of a select few. For a short while, after they left and he was at his darkest point, he thought they were ashamed of him, that he was just a dirty little secret… but it seems like they had a reason.
“It sounds like humans are cruel to each other in every society …” Bruce said quietly. “I’ve always wondered what the point was.”
“Power..” Harry whispered. “Division always gives power… to someone at least. Someone who doesn’t care how cruel they have to be…”
Tony’s heart started beating fast.
“That sounds like it came from personal experience..” Tony said, trying to keep his voice light, the question clear.
Once again he was witness to a truly impressive three-way glance. God, is this what being around him, Pepper and Rhodey was like? Hermione nudged Harry, but it seemed like he was done talking.
She sighed, “It’s been a rough few years.”
Ron snorted, “Try seven.” he said laughing a little, before Hermione punched his shoulder, gesturing to Harry who was pale and had a quiet look of despair.
“Mate…I.”
“Don’t worry about it, you’re right.” Harry said quietly, cutting him off before shaking himself a little. “So…do we have a plan for tomorrow?”
Tony nodded slowly. He saw the subject change for the plea it was.
“Yep, we’ll head to the ministry, I will try not to kill anyone and we will take a magic transport the hell out of there.”
Tony felt himself lighten a bit when Harry laughed.
“Yes, priority number one, put a hold on the homicide.” Hermione said, smirking a little. “But let's leave here around 8 am, that will give us time to register then catch a portkey to Grimmauld. Ron and I will pack our stuff tonight and leave from there.”
“And I will have Clint meet us there in the Quinjet, so we don’t have to go through a second round of bureaucracy in one day to get back.”
Harry looked at Tony.
“You don’t have to come, we can handle this without you being dragged through political hoops.”
Tony snorted, “Nice try. No, me and pointbreak are coming with you, end of story.”
Hermione nodded at him with, dare he say, some approval in her eyes. Tony had a feeling that was a rare occurrence.
Harry, on the other hand, looked at him in surprise.
“Thor?” He asked. “Why is he coming?”
“Harry..” Tony said, exasperated. “Do you really think I am going to walk you into a magical, potentially hostile, government headquarters without some back up? My suit is untested against magic, so I’m not risking it. Not when we have a literal god on our team.”
“You do realize the three of us have magic, right?”
“Yeah, but something tells me that you are a bit less free to use it than Thunder Road over there.” Tony said. “Just be glad the rest of the crew aren’t coming. I had to talk Cap down from organizing a full squad.”
Bruce chuckled. “He’s not wrong. After that little show they put on a few days ago, consider us all, officially, overprotective.”
Harry looked incredulously at the normally reserved doctor.
“Give it up, Harry.” Tony laughed. “Now, before y’all leave, let's do something about the fact that my suit is so woefully untested against magic. To the lab!”
…
It was way too early to be in slacks, but it's not like he slept much anyway. Harry brushed the wrinkles out of his button up shirt and looked in the mirror. It was weird having a shirt that sort of fit, but Pepper was right about him and Tony being the same height, so for once he looked…presentable. He was happier about that than he thought he would be, but after a few days of actually wearing new clothes, he realized that Dudley’s clothes always being so big made him feel a bit small, almost like it gave him a place to hide. Harry was tired of hiding.
He took a deep breath and tried to flatten the back of his hair one last time. Taking it as a lost cause, he went down to the living room to make a cup of tea. It’s not like he had to be presentable today, he reminded himself while filling the kettle (another thing Pepper had delivered, anything for her British nephew), all he was doing was some registration paperwork…he hoped. Harry wondered when the last time he trusted the government was. Honestly, he had no idea.
He was finally pouring water into his mug, when he jumped at a thud behind him, almost dropping the kettle.
“Easy there.” Thor said, catching the kettle handle in one hand. Goldilocks looked way too fresh for it being the crack of dawn. “I apologize for startling you, I only meant to rest Mjolnir while I get a drink.”
Harry, taking the kettle back from Thor, slightly embarrassed, took a double glance at the big ass hammer now resting on the counter.
“Is that even sanitary?” Harry asked sarcastically, nodding at the hammer.
To his surprise, Thor actually considered the question, brow furrowing.
“I do not know, but I have never had to clean Mjolnir. As it is a weapon of the gods, I assume it is immune to something as common as earthly dirt.”
Harry snorted. “I'll believe you.”
He took a sip of his tea, watching Thor clunking around the kitchen to make himself a coffee (that life lesson session with Bruce was hilarious to watch). Even with the lesson, Thor looked at the coffee maker like it was a foe to be slain. After a few agonizing minutes, Harry took pity on him.
”Here” Harry said, putting down his tea. He waved a hand and the levers on the machine began to switch on and off on their own, and within seconds, Thor had a steaming cup of coffee in his grasp.
“Thank you.” Thor took a sip. “I have liked this drink since I first came to earth, but I am still not familiar with the machinery required.”
’Well, machinery isn’t my strong suit either.” Harry said.
For a few minutes, they just drank in silence, watching the early morning fog dissipate out of the panoramic windows.
“I notice you do not require the same…wand of wood…that your friends do.”
Harry startled a bit. He hadn’t even thought about it, mostly performing magic on instinct now, the few times he had. He brought out his old holly and phoenix feather wand, twisting it in his hand. “I guess not, but I still use it.”
Thor opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Hermione and Ron walked in. Well, in Ron’s case, he more stumbled in. He never was a morning person.
“Hey mate…you awake?” Harry asked, smirking. Ron just glared at him. Harry chuckled before sliding two cups of tea over to the duo, despite the fact that Hermione looked much more put together than her boyfriend.
”How hard was it to wake him up this time?” He asked her, smirking.
”Not too bad.” She shrugged. Ron’s glare turned to her.
”Not too bad?! She hit me with a aquamenti!”
Hermione hid a smile with her mug, “Well, not too bad for me.”
The three laughed as Tony stumbled in as well, yelling at the ceiling.
“Jarvis, when I said to set an alarm, I didn’t mean to wake me up with a fucking air horn!”
“You said you must not be late today, sir.” Jarvis’s calm, mechanic voice answered back. “And that was the most effective way to ensure you wake.”
“I’m going to unplug you if you do that again.”
“Understood sir, just inform me of which of my central servers you will target and I will plan accordingly.”
“You know that’s not what I meant!”
The trio just laughed even harder at the travesty in front of them, which finally made Tony turn to them. He clapped his hands.
”Okay team, everyone’s here. Should we get this over with?”
Harry took a bracing sigh and nodded, looking towards his friends.
”Do you guys have everything?”
Hermione just held up her old, beaded pouch.
“Coffee to-go cups are in the cabinet. Let's get out of here.”
…
Back in Happy’s bumpy ride, they jostled their way through the potholed New York streets, finally coming to an unassuming alley at Hermione’s direction. Piling out of the car, Tony adjusted his sunglasses as he looked at the dirt strewn alley, an old telephone booth in the back.
“The entrance to the American magical world is in a … phone booth.” He said blankly. “What Doctor Who shit is this?”
Harry looked at his confused, “Doctor who?”
”Don’t worry about it.” Tony sighed. He really needed to get his son up to date on movies and shows. No son of his would traverse the world not knowing who Yoda was.
Hermione took the lead, gesturing them all to pile into the phone booth. Tony looked at her despairingly, before sighing and patting Thor on the arm.
“You better have used deodorant buddy.”
They all somehow managed to squeeze in, Tony swore it had to be bigger on the inside, while Hermione inserted a quarter into the slot and picked up the phone, tapping it with her wand.
”MACUSA, visitors entrance.” She said clearly into the receiver.
“Request accepted.”
She looked around at the rest of them, huddled together. “Brace yourselves.”
”For wha…”
Suddenly, Tony was engulfed with the uncomfortable sensation of being compressed, squeezed through a twelve inch tube.
When they finally landed in a large fireplace, Tony doubled over and heaved. Thor pat him bruisingly on the back, not helping the situation at all. Once he had gotten his stomach back in check, he straightened and took in the building around him.
Hundreds of wizards bustled through the grand hall in tailored, multicolored robes, less austere than what Minister Shaklebolt was wearing. The hall itself seemed to be lined with golden trim in between rows of fireplaces with wizards popping through green flames. Looking up, Tony saw an expansive glass ceiling, with owls flying majestically overhead. A large banner flew, seemingly without supports, hosting a moving phoenix symbol.
Tony would have stared in awe for a few minutes, but he did not have the chance to as Hermione, Ron and Harry immediately began moving through the crowd, faces tense and moving in some sort of formation. He and Thor followed quickly, weaving through the crowd to a processing desk.
Sidling up the the front of the desk, they stood in front of a MACUSA employee, frantically writing something on the parchment in front of her. Was that a quill?! No wonder Jarvis was having trouble finding records!
Hermione cleared her throat, causing the witch to look up, annoyed.
”We were looking for the auror department.” Hermione said.
The witch huffed.
“You have to sign in first.” She said, looking inordinately peeved for someone doing her job. “Names?”
”Hermione Granger, with Ron Weasley, Harry Potter and..”
The witch’s head shot up, eyes wide.
”Harry Potter?!” She looked around frantically before her eyes settled on Harry, who was standing quietly to the side. Tony caught Harry instinctively flatten his hair over his forehead.
Now it was Hermione’s turn to get annoyed.
”Yes, and Tony St…” She was waved off.
”No need, we were told to expect you.” She said a little breathlessly. “Please proceed to the fourth floor, an auror will meet you there.”
”Thanks.” Harry mumbled, before turning quickly to the elevators on the other side of the hall.
Tony laughed tightly, trying to ease the tension in the three teenagers. “I guess your reputation precedes you kid.”
Harry sighed as they all entered an empty elevator, which rattled dangerously as if rose from the ground floor.
”That’s not new…which reputation, though, is what concerns me.”
So much for easing the tension…
A loud ding marked their arrival on the fourth floor. The doors slowly opened and they stepped out, right into an entire guard of people.
Harry stepped back, hand twitching towards his wand. Ron already had his wand out, gripped tightly in his hand. There must have been 6 auroras waiting, wand holsters strapped visibly to their forearms and faces gruff.
“Mr. Potter.” The lead auror approached, nodding stiffly “Please come this way.”
Harry looked at them suspiciously. Thor crossed his arms over his chest, looming over the group threateningly.
”Is this really necessary for citizen registration?”
“The President would like to be present at the proceedings. He is waiting for you. This way.”
Harry took a hesitant step forward, breaking the freeze that encompassed them all, and they were led through the winding halls to a conference room at the far back, where the President sat with another official looking woman, wearing horned glasses and holding a stack of papers. Additional aurors were stationed at either end of the room.
President Jackson looked up when they entered, his neutral expression turning to a frown.
His eyes rested on Hermione and Ron. “What are you two doing here? I thought I told you to leave back to Britain.”
Ron bristled, but Hermione held him back with a squeeze to the shoulder.
”We had planned to leave once Harry was registered. We are already packed.”
The President looked at them suspiciously before nodding.
”Fine. I will send people to ensure that plan stays in place.” Tony saw Ron’s face go red and he didn’t blame him. ‘I will not kill anyone, I will not kill anyone, I will..’ Tony repeated like a mantra.
”Mr. Stark and Mr. Odinson, it was against my better judgement that you be allowed here in the first place, so if you would please step outside while I have a..discussion… with Mr. Potter, I would be grateful.”
“That would be a no.” Tony said nonchalantly, removing his sunglasses to glare at him.
“Excuse me?”
”I don’t believe I will do that, I’m comfortable right here. Point Break, you comfortable as well?”
”Very comfortable indeed, Stark.”
President Jackson bristled, but he would not meet Thor’s eyes.
”Very well. But you will not interfere.” Ha, Tony knew bringing Thor was a good decision. He may not be in the weapon business anymore, but he knew the power of good old fashioned intimidation. Especially when dealing with spineless politicians, used to throwing their weight around.
Turning to Harry, the president’s glare returned. “Mr. Potter, before we start your registration, I wanted to come to an understanding.”
When Harry didn’t answer, just standing stiffly, he continued.
”I like to lead my community with order and stability. I accomplish this through knowing those in my community. I can only assemble a picture if I know all of the parts. You on the other hand are an unknown and unpredictable entity, and you bring…complications.”
Harry stayed silent. Tony was not as patient.
”So do alien invasions, which he stopped, but who am I to talk?”
“Mr. Stark?!” The President spit out, before taking a breath and ignoring him, turning back to Harry.
“Don’t think I am unaware of the problems you have presented to the British Ministry…”
”Problems HE presented?!” Ron said, incredulous. “Not the death eaters attacking him?!”
Tony and Thor shared a look. That was new.
”You have been the one common denominator and center of the violence and discord in Britain for half a decade, and I will NOT have it here.”
“Or you could say another common denominator was, I don’t know, Voldemort?!” Hermione spat out, officially fed up.
Harry looked at Tony, a flash of panic showing through his neutral facade.
Tony cut in. “That’s enough.” He said to the president, placing a hand on Harry’s shoulder. “Get to the point or I will blast us out of here, to hell with you and your bureaucratic bullshit.”
The aurors stepped forward, wands out at Tony, when a chill fell over the air. Everyone froze, looking at Harry, whose expression had turned to ice. Harry moved in front of the group, obviously ready to shield them if necessary.
“We are here to comply with your plan.” He said softly, contrasting the cold power emanating from him. “Now tell me what I need to do, and we will leave.”
“Sir..” One of the aurors started, looking at Harry with wide eyes before the President silenced him with a raised hand.
A look of fear flashed across the President's face and the aurors gripped their wands a bit tighter, before Jackson shook himself out of it.
“If half of what I’ve heard is true, you are a dangerous person Mr. Potter and you attract dangerous people, do not become a threat to us.”
“I never intended to.” Harry said coldly. The room’s temperature dropped further.
“See to it that you stay that way, or there will be consequences.”
Tony took another step forward, fire in his eyes. He would not let that go. “Let’s be clear here. He is not the threat you need to be worried about. You come after my son, and I will end you.” Thor punctuated that statement with a crackle of thunder in the background, allowing his eyes to glow with repressed lightening
”Your son?” The President said, obviously taken off guard, all bravado thrown to the side.
”Yes, and as such, any further…discussions…can be directed to me.” Tony’s voice was hard. “Or through any lawyers I can assure you I will find.”
Tony turned to the witch besides the President, who had leaned back in her chair, trembling.
”Now.” He said, leaning forward, bracing himself on the conference table. “What do you need us to do?”
The witch just stared at him until Tony cleared his throat.
”Y..yes.” She said, rifling through the parchment in front of her.
“Please sign here, just attesting that your projected residence in the country exceeds six months, but will not exceed ten years.”
Harry took the offered quill, eyes scanning the page before Tony could even warn him about reading the contract first. He signed.
“And as his American sponsor, Mr. Stark, please sign here..” Tony scratched out a squiggle. How the hell did people write with these things?
”Now we just need to register your wand.”
Harry offered his wand stiffly, hand twitching when it was taken from his grasp, handed to one of the aurors who promptly began casting spells over it, before handing it back hesitantly.
“Then I will perform a quick medical history and core exam and you will be good to go.”
Harry’s head whipped towards her. “What? Why?”
“It’s standard procedure..” She squeaked out, startled at Harry addressing her directly. “MACUSA offers medical care to its citizens and needs to be aware of any conditions or..”
”No.” Harry cut in, shaking his head.
“Harry has already been checked out by a physician.” Tony said quickly.
”A no-maj healer cannot possibly be able to see what we are looking for.” One of the aurors said stiffly. “All new residents must do a medical and core exam.”
“Additionally, I would like a validation of your..alleged..paternal connection.” Jackson stated, eyebrows furrowed as he looked between them.
Harry just kept shaking his head, looking uncomfortable.
”Isn’t there a lawyer we could talk to, to make sure you are not…bending the rules.” Tony said stonily.
”Fine.” President Jackson spat out, looking annoyed. He turned to one of the aurors. “Bring a law wizard, quickly, I have more to do today than just deal with this.”
”So do we, Mate.” Ron glared at him. “You don’t have to be here.”
They sat in a tense silence for a few minutes, when another wizard was escorted to the room. Contrasting with the mood the group had fallen into, this man was actually smiling.
He walked right towards Harry without hesitation, hand outstretched while the President looked on, exasperated.
”Law wizard McAllister, pleasure to meet you Mr. Potter. I handle immigration matters here. How can I be of assistance?” Tony smirked a little, if there was one thing you could count on, it seemed to be that lawyers would be lawyers, no matter where you were.
Harry seemed to be stumped at the man’s complete disregard for the hostility around him. Tony fought the urge to laugh.
”Yes, hi.” Tony cut in, the law wizard turning to him with the same white-toothed smile. “We were wondering about any protections concerning a medical exam requirement for temporary resident registration.”
”Of course.” McAllister gave Harry a practiced sympathetic look. “Unfortunately, there is no getting around the requirement, it’s been written in law since appearance altering potions became commonplace and a rash of increased disease transmission.”
“However, we can ensure confidentiality of any results. Results are just accessible to your assigned healer and our Auror department. I assure you they weren’t going to conduct the exam in here? Correct?” He looked towards the President and assistant.
”Of course not.” The President replied, teeth clenched tightly while smiling back to the lawyer.
Tony glanced at the grinning President, wanting nothing more than to wipe the smugness off of his face.
“Is the President one of the parties privy to the results?”
“No, unless there is concrete evidence of a crime being committed by the examinee following registration.” Tony smiled dangerously.
“Do you have any private law wizards who can help us ensure there is no..” Tony smirked at the President. “Misuse…”
McAllister smiled. “Of course, I can assist you with owling a few firms.”
Pepper would be happy with that. Tony turned to Harry in a whisper.
”Listen, I don’t give a shit if it‘s required. If you don’t want to do it, lawyer or not, we can leave right now.”
Harry to a shuddering breath, before squaring his shoulders.
”No, it's fine…I may take that lawyer though.” Harry muttered. Hermione nodded, meeting Tony’s eye.
“Great.” McAllister smiled widely, not even pretending he hadn’t been listening. “I can walk you to the healers.”
Harry nodded and turned to walk away when the President called out.
”Until next time, Mr. Potter.”
Tony opened his mouth to bite back but Harry just kept walking, already out the door.
Their group went back through the corridor, pretending not to notice that the aurors were continuing to follow them at a distance, with one next to McAllister. Ron was still vibrating with anger and he swore he felt sparks coming off of Thor. For Tony, his anger ran cold, calculating. He stated that Harry was his son deliberately. They may not know now what that entails, but they would soon understand the protection and power that came from being a Stark, magic be damned. And now they would have lawyers…Pepper was going to have a field day.
However, he couldn't sense any anger from Harry, just discomfort and a chill surrounding him that hadn't truly dissipated once leaving the room. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Harry shivering slightly. As much as he hated it, maybe it was a good thing Harry was being given a medical exam. Something was wrong that Dr. Smith was just not trained to deal with.
They eventually reached the door to a medical wing, and McAllister turned to Harry.
“So, considering you have concerns with the exam, would you like me there while it is being conducted? I could also provide my memory to any future counsel through legal exchange if you so choose. You could also have your sponsor be a stand-in and have his memory exchanged in the same way.”
Harry looked hesitant, sending a desperate glance to Hermione who was looking at the lawyer thoughtfully.
“You know, for once, witnesses may be a good thing.” Hermione conceded in a low voice. “How much trouble would that have saved us in the past if we had someone else's memory to lean on?”
She looked Harry in the eye, before whispering so quietly that Tony knew he was not meant to hear. “I know what you are worried about, but this may be a chance to not do this alone.”
Tony coughed, trying to hide the wetness gathering in his eyes.
“Harry,” He tried to meet his son's eyes. “I know you are an adult and that there are a lot of things that I don’t know, but I would like to come in with you. If you are uncomfortable then that's fine, but…”
He lowered his voice a bit. “But I don’t trust these people as far as I could throw them. So I think you should take someone who can give the legal memory…transfer..thing. God, I hate not knowing how things work.” He sighed in frustration. “But that’s besides the point. There is nothing wrong with needing an advocate.”
Harry looked at him and nodded, obviously unable to speak. Tony let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding.
“Okay McAllister, let’s get this over with.”
Tony and Harry entered the exam room.
…
Unlike muggle hospital rooms, healing rooms smelled anything but sterile. Instead the smell of brewing potions and sparks of magic filled Harry’s nostrils as he entered the room. He suddenly relaxed slightly, reminded of the long hours he spent in Hogwarts hospital wing. Despite usually being in some kind of pain, he always felt safe there, under Madam Pomphrey’s strict care and scratchy bed sheets.
Not that he felt particularly cozy now. He was still shivering, absolutely freezing as the cold magic within him was riled under his tenuous control. He was so desperate to get out of that office, away from the President who had the worst combination of Fudge’s morals and Scrimgour’s demeanor, that he had just agreed to this. Merlin, why did he agree to this? This wasn’t just uncomfortable, this was dangerous. What if the horcrux left evidence? Honestly, Harry had been avoiding medical treatment since the end of the war. Since the forest, he was afraid of what they would find…
His eyes slid to Tony walking beside him, face set in stony, determination. Too much had been mentioned today for him to not have to tell Tony about the war… to explain why they thought of him like that. The last thing he wanted was for his father to think he was some kind of criminal, that he was as dangerous as they made him out to be…’But you are.” that traitorous voice in the back of his head rang out. He did his best to ignore that for now.
A larger part of him was actually glad Tony was here. He and Hermione were right…too many times things had happened to him behind closed doors or while he was alone and no one had believed him… whether that was the Dursleys, dementors or the tournament, he knew better than to trust the government. And one, smaller part of him, was just tired of keeping secrets and was tired of being alone.
“You okay kid?” He was shaken out of his thoughts by Tony’s voice. Tony looked at him with warm, sympathetic eyes, the stony face he had on previously melted away.
“Yeah.” Harry croaked out, hoping his voice hadn’t shaken.
A healer in pale green robes came up to them, wearing a soft smile.
“Hello Mr. Potter. I am Healer Douglas and will be assisting you today. You need the medical history and core exam, correct?” She asked, holding a notebook. Harry nodded.
She led them to a bed behind a curtain.
“Okay so,” She began jotting down his information. “I am going to cast a charm that will give me a comprehensive medical history of injuries, vaccinations, illnesses and such. Additionally, I will layer two charms which will just validate your identity and check the health of your magical core. This is just to ensure that unstable cores are treated prior to leaving the ministry. The charms together shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes.”
Harry paled slightly, it was becoming more and more obvious this was a bad idea, but it was a little late now. He laid down in the bed in the way that the healer indicated, trying to control his shivering.
The healer looked at him concerned. “Mr. Potter, would you like a warming charm.” He would, if they ever worked. Harry shook his head. “Okay then, let's get started.”
Harry pushed his head back into the pillow and squeezed his eyes shut as waves of magic washed over him.
A parchment floating besides the healer began to fill with writing from a quick notes quill. Minutes passed and Harry kept his eyes shut, too scared to open them, so he tried to zone out to the scratching of quill. It had to have reached the time by now, he began to count seconds in his head, heart beating as he realized that this was going on much longer than promised. Finally, after what felt like an hour, the healer’s voice called him.
“You can sit up Mr. Potter.” Her voice sounded oddly shaky. When he finally opened his eyes, he found the healer pale and watching him in a frozen shock. Tony was looking between them, obviously concerned and confused, while Harry tried to control his panic, waiting for the healer to speak.
“Um..” The healer started, obviously trying to breathe, a far cry from the composed persona she had on not thirty minutes ago. “I would recommend…further evaluation at a larger hospital. I could refer you…”
“No.” Harry said, letting a calm facade wash over him, slowly standing from the bed. “You have all of the registration requirements. I am leaving now.”
“Wait!” She said frantically. “Please! You have to be admitted…to see a specialist healer…something!”
Now was Tony’s turn to panic. “Why? What’s wrong with him?!”
She ignored him, still looking at Harry with wide eyes, before whispering, “How are you still alive?”
Harry blanched.
“Answer my question! What’s wrong?” Tony said, nearly yelling at this point.
“It doesn’t matter.” Harry muttered. “I’m not going to a hospital…I’m fine.”
Tony now glared at him, for the first time since they met and Harry looked away. He could hear Tony take a deep steadying breath.
“At least give us a copy of the results…” Tony said, obviously trying to control himself. The healer nodded, duplicating the parchment, seemingly on autopilot, and handing it to Harry who immediately shoved it in his pocket. Tony huffed.
“Am I free to go?” Harry asked, now looking firmly at the floor.
“But..but..your core…”
Harry’s breath quickened. “Is it unstable?”
“No… it's gone!”