Pepper
•°•CHAPTER 7°•°
Albus sighed heavily, flicking his wand at a yet another Howler he received this morning.
They were never ending.
Since Harry and Cedric had disappeared with absolutely no trace, Albus was getting slammed from all sides to find them.
Thankfully, he wasn't the only one since the Ministry was overseeing the last task, but he was the one everyone expected to dish out answers.
Except, he didn't have any.
He tried to tell Cornelius that Voldemort was back and that the boys were taken by him, but the man proclaimed him a liar and a deluded, senile old man.
He might be old, but he knew that the only reason Harry was even entered into the tournament was to get the boy away from school. Which they succeeded in doing.
It soon became clear that his friend Moody was being impersonated by a Death Eater all year long, they just didn't know who it was: the bastard managed to escape.
Alastor was still recovering at St Mungos and didn't remember much. Nobody would believe him if he did either, since Alastor was considered half-sane due to his extreme paranoia.
But the fact remained that the imposter helped to abduct the boys and now they had no leads.
The Diggorys were furious, demanding search parties to be made to find their only son.
People were enraged, and the more time had passed, the wilder the theories have become.
Some were even accusing Harry of murdering Cedric to win the Tournament, then hiding his body and fleeing.
It was absurd.
And yet, no locator spell could find either of the boys. His only hope was retrieving some information from Severus, who was about to be back from the meeting with Tom at any minute.
As if on cue, the flames flared and the wizard stumbled out, looking more than a little ragged.
"What news do you bring me, Severus?"
The man shook his head.
"I'm afraid the Dark Lord wasn't in a chatty mood, Albus. He's… he's furious. It's obvious the brat had escaped somehow, somewhere, otherwise the Dark Lord would be overjoyed and parading his corpse around."
"Severus-"
"Don't 'Severus' me, Albus. I don't know anything else and I didn't dare irritate the Dark Lord when he was quite keen on ending my existence for defying him and not showing up the night of his return. Be glad I'm here at all."
Albus nodded, feeling old and helpless.
"We'll continue to look. I've called the old crowd back. We must find Harry. He's vital in this war."
"Why? What is it about that boy that you're so fixated on?"
"You know of the prophecy, Severus." The wizard flinched. "He's the one who must deliver the final blow."
"You know my thoughts about prophecies well, Albus," Severus sneered, but didn't argue the point. He's heard about it enough times to know it would be futile. "I will see if my old crowd has anything to divulge about the boy. Perhaps Lucius will. He disappeared the moment the Mark started burning."
Albus nodded. "Very well, my boy. Do contact me immediately if you have news."
Severus nodded curtly and left without further ado, leaving the headmaster to ponder about which road to take.
None of them seemed appealing.
People were in the uproar, the Ministry dragging its heels. Things weren't looking up.
He hoped that Harry would reach out to him for help, send a message, somehow. But for some reason the boy chose to stay silent. Unless, of course, he's being held against his own will, which would make the situation that much more dire. Albus wouldn't be surprised if Tom simply chose to lie to his followers and keep Harry hidden somewhere, if only to make his life miserable.
Tom would absolutely love to tarnish his reputation as a headmaster who lost two of his students.
Yes… Harry being held captive could very well be an option.
The headmaster sighed, flicking his wand at a yet another howler flying his way.
Sirius Black will not be happy that Albus wasn't even a step closer to finding his godson.
Harry genuinely considered just fucking off, but Pepper, for looking unassuming, was a sharp woman and not one to be messed with, it seemed.
She chatted his ear off while not letting him out of sight for even a minute, trying to keep him engaged.
But Harry was having a total culture shock after exiting the tower. The last time he's seen so many people in the streets was when Lockhart was signing autographs.
Not to mention the size of the buildings.
And the noise.
Merlin gracious, and for a moment he honestly believed he'd be able to navigate the city on his own.
"Too much?" Pepper asked gently, nodding with an understanding smile, making Harry feel like an ass for not answering. "Yes, New York has that effect on people. I take it you're not used to such… commotion?"
Harry shook his head.
There were too many people. He'd never be able to see a threat even if it was right in front of him. A wizard could easily blend in into the masses.
He was completely and utterly exposed.
Some of the panic must've shown on his face, because Pepper gently took him by the arm and started leading him somewhere.
"You're safe with me, Harry, don't worry. And if anything, Tony's… bodyguard is also following us. You can meet him later, okay? Oh, and see?" She pointed at the small shop with a glowing ice cream cone sign. "We're already here. Told you it's just around the corner."
Harry wasn't so sure.
They couldn't even shield against magic, even though no wizard would be stupid enough to expose magic to so many muggles at once.
Unless they were insane. Like Voldemort.
"I'll have a strawberry sorbet and a chocolate mint ice cream to go for later… what do you want, Harry?"
Harry startled, hearing his name.
"I…" he blushed. "Didn't bring any money," he muttered, embarrassed.
Pepper laughed, but it didn't sound like she was mocking him. "Ohhoney. The adults are paying. Just pick whatever tickles your fancy and don't worry about it."
Harry still felt uncomfortable, but did as he was told. Pepper had the exact same expression as Mrs Weasley when she put a second serving of food in front of Harry. Declining wasn't even an option in such times. He knew from experience.
Eventually, he picked lemon sorbet, begrudgingly sitting down at the small table next to Pepper, who looked happy as you please.
It was unnerving.
How could she be so okay with him? He dropped out of nowhere. Like a nasty surprise of even more responsibilities, and instead of being mad or annoyed, she took him to get ice cream.
Maybe American muggles were simply different and more chill? Or just fucking cut off from reality.
"So, Harry, what can you tell me about yourself?"
Harry shrugged. "Not much to tell here." And not so in the open where anyone could overhear them.
Pepper, thankfully, nodded in understanding.
"Well, is there anything I can tell you?"
Harry frowned, pondering, eventually blurring out the one thing that still didn't sit right with him:
"Why would Tony want to take me in? He doesn't have to. He has no obligations towards me and owes me nothing. It's just… bizarre to think he'd willingly take on such a burden when he can walk away with no consequence."
Pepper's face turned into something a lot like pity and Harry winced.
"Harry…" the blonde reached out to squeeze his arm. "You aren't a burden," she said firmly, holding Harry’s gaze. "And Tony wants you not out of some misguided sense of obligation, but because you are his son and he wants to get to know you. Catch up on all of the years he missed. He does act like an impulsive child more times than not, but usually, he gets what he wants. And right now he wants your custody and to spend time with his child. Is that too hard to understand?"
Harry swallowed.
He understood this in theory; he's seen other parents spending time with their kids; even uncle Vernon loved to spend time with Dudley, but he never thought himself included in that category. He was always the one on the sidelines. Always.
It felt weird to be wanted now, after such a long time of being by himself.
"I wasn't lying when I said I come with a baggage… uh…"
"Pepper, dear. Call me Pepper."
His cheeks flushed, but the boy nodded. "Pepper. I have people who want me dead, others who want to control my life. I come from a place where a-" Harry leaned in closer and whispered: "-magical war is taking place and I'm expected to lead it."
"You are a fourteen year old boy, Harry," Pepper snapped, and Harry was taken aback by pure anger in her eyes. "You will not step a foot close to any war, am I understood? War is the act of men - let them fight it."
He sighed. "I'm already involved. They will come after me regardless of my age."
Pepper huffed. "With who your father is, I doubt anyone will dare to point a finger at you, dear."
Harry looked at the woman confused.
"I… have no idea what that means," he confessed.
"You-" Pepper frowned. "You don't know what Tony does?"
"Never heard of him in my life."
Pepper's face turned into one of shock. "But… well, I suppose your… world doesn't follow ours then, does it?" Harry shook his head. "Well then. I suppose I should enlighten you, before you inevitably find out on your own." Oh no, was Harry going to regret saying anything? Was Tony a criminal or something? "Your dad and his dad before him, created a multi-billion dollar company, darling. Tony's a weapon manufacturer, or he was, before turning around and getting into clean energy and becoming the Iron Man."
Harry blinked. "Sorry, becoming a what?"
"The Iron Man? You haven't hea- never mind that. Yes, he's the Iron Man. Which means he invented a… suit, let's call it that, in which he can fight in and do all sorts of reckless things in order to give me gray hair. Tony's a hero, really. I'm sure he'll be delighted to show you what I mean. But he's well known internationally and when you say you have people after you… well, your dad is the same." Harry was dumbfounded. "See? You already fit in, dear. Now eat your sorbet before it melts."
Pepper's explanation left him even more confused. And shocked.
How the fuck could Pepper just drop this kind of stuff on him and then calmly tell him to finish his ice cream?
"What I meant to say, Harry, is that Tony can protect you and protect himself really well. You don't have to worry. I'm sure you'll understand what I mean later on, and you can watch some videos. Now, how about we grab Tony's ice cream and get back? You have a lot of new things to process."
Harry nodded. His head was still reeling from everything that happened and all the new information he couldn't seem to process.
He allowed Pepper to take the lead and get them back into Stark Tower. He could now see the enormous sign and Merlin, it felt surreal.
He didn't even complain when Pepper immediately ushered him to bed.
"Do you think he's alright?"
Ron shrugged his shoulders, glaring at the dirty wallpaper his mom instructed him to scrub. By hand.
"Aren't you worried?" Ginny persisted, kicking his ankle when Ron stayed silent.
"Oy! Piss off, Ginny."
"Then answer me. All you're doing is sulking around."
"Yeah, I'm sure you're delighted to be cleaning this absolutely filthy room, Ginny. I'm in heaven."
"You know damn well I was talking about Harry, you pillock."
Ron shrugged again. "Harry’s always fine, isn't he? He probably didn't want to be stuck with his relatives and fucked off."
"And Diggory? Decided to take Harry on a road trip, didn't he?"
"So Merlin help me, Ginny, if you don't back off-"
"What?" The witch glared furiously. "What are you going to do? Run away to cry to mummy? Your best friend is missing and you don't seem to give a shit!"
Ron sighed.
"What am I supposed to do, huh? We know nothing. No one is telling us anything. And who knows, Harry probably planned it like that- ouch! What the hell, Ginny!"
She glared at Ron, looking ready to strangle him. "You think he planned to be probably kidnapped?" Ginny hissed. "You know he didn't even want to be in the Tournament!"
Ron huffed. "That's what he said, but we don't know that, do we? Come on, Harry always sticks his nose into everything. First year it's the Stone, then the heir of Slytherin, last year it was Sirius and dementors - it's a pattern. It's like he can't stay away from danger for a whole year, so…"
"So you think Harry did this far a thrill?!" Ginny shrieked. "I can't fucking believe you. What's wrong with you?!" She threw a dirty rug at Ron again, who barely managed to duck out of the way. "Are you seriously still jealous?" Ron's silence said it all, and Ginny was mad. "Unbe-fucking-lievable. Harry didn't want to participate! He loathed the attention, the task - even I could see that, and we barely even spoke!"
"Yeah, Ronniekins, me thinks you want the glory-"
"-and none of the work."
Ron's cheeks flared, and turned to see his twin brothers smirking at him.
"Bugger off, all of you!"
"Why? All of the fun is in this room."
Ron sneered. "You're all acting as if Harry did all of the heroic shit and I wasn't even there! I'll have you know that I was dragged along every single time he rushed into danger! I deserve some recognition too!"
Fred and George's expression softened into one of understanding, and they started nodding.
"Oh, we remember," said Fred.
"Yes, especially when you were sleeping-"
"-and snoring hard enough to make waves in the Black Lake-"
"-while Harrykins was risking his life saving your ungrateful ass."
"Yep. You were there."
"And!" George shut Ron up with his wand. "How you ventured against the dragon with him."
"Truly, it was magnificent."
"And let's not forget how you bet three galleons that Krum would be in the first place." Fred shook his head disappointedly. "Your faith in your best friend was staggering."
"We are still shocked how he took you back in after you treated him like shit and led the whole Gryffindor house against him."
"We would've flayed you alive."
"Or left you hanging naked from the dining hall ceiling."
"Or locked you in a room with Peeves."
"Or with Myrtle."
""Or both,"" the twins said in unison.
"The point is," Fred said, while his twin and Ginny were nodding along, "that you were acting shitty then and you're acting shitty now. And we don't like it."
"Then don't fucking interfere with my life, yeah?" Ron snapped, embarrassed and angry at everything his brothers had said. "Harry forgave me."
"Oh? Did he?" Fred asked. "Wonder what he'll think if we tell him what you've done."
"Because Merlin help me, Harry can be oblivious," George sighed. "But he sure won't be so forgiving if he finds out it was you who made his life so miserable when he was already probably scared out of his mind."
"And when he realizes you don't even care if he's alive!" Ginny finally joined the twins, having heard enough. "What's wrong with you?!"
Ron's had enough of this. "Lay off, will ya? I'm telling you, Harry will turn up eventually. And for other things…" Ron shrugged. "It was a long time ago, he's not going to care."
"We'll see," Ginny muttered darkly, slapping the wet dirty rag directly on her brother's face, hoping that it may help slapping some sense into Ron. "Try growing some empathy until that time, or I'll hex you."
Ron shivered at the threat, knowing damn well just how viscous his sister could be.
But he still couldn't see what the big deal was.
So what if he was jealous? Harry had everything he ever wanted: the recognition, the fame, the money.
All Ron had was second-hand clothes and nothing else to show.
He didn't have many friends, his grades were average, his magical ability wasn't all that great… he was good at chess, but that was it.
None of it was his fault.
And sure, having the Harry Potter as a friend paid off if you counted off all of the dangerous situations it got him in.
And Harry thrived in such situations. Ron could see that.
He may not have liked the attention - which was a waste, in his opinion - but Harry was seen. And with him, Ron was seen too, if for a little while.
So no, Ron wasn't worried about Harry. He'll turn up, eventually.
He probably is just lost, or hiding somewhere.
And all this nonsense about You-Know-Who? Ron didn't believe any of it for a second.
There was no proof.
And just because professor Moody wasn't actually Moody didn't prove anything, no matter what the headmaster said.
His siblings can happily piss off as well.
Ron didn't need to hear their crap.