Chapter 8
•°•CHAPTER 8°•°
"He's asleep."
Tony let out a sigh of relief.
"This is-"
"I know."
"Insane."
"Absolutely."
"It's magic, Tony. You have a magical son."
Tony nodded again, feeling completely out of his depth.
He didn't know what he'd do if he didn't have Pepper.
Drown, probably.
Unfortunately, whatever information he managed to read on parenting didn't mention anything about facing life threatening danger or kids performing magic, or even, hell, ways to deal with secret societies.
It was a lot to take in. But Tony's taken in worse.
"What will you do?"
"What do you expect me to do, Pepper?"
The blonde pursed her lips in a way that told Tony he was about to walk into a trap.
"I expect you to be better than your father."
"That's a low bar, Peps. And I have no idea how to deal with this."
"So what, you'll abandon him?" She hissed. "Tony Stark, I expe-"
"Of course I won't abandon him, it's just… I have no idea how to be a father!"
"You're a genius, Tony. I'm sure you'll figure it out. And hey," she walked over to where Tony was having an existential crisis and squeezed his shoulder in a show of support. "You need to remember Harry’s never been a son either. It's a new experience for you both."
Tony nodded, somewhat reassured by Pepper's words.
He might not know what he's doing, but Harry didn’t either.
And Tony was used to rolling with the punches and improvising.
"So, how will you play this, Tony?"
"I'm getting his custody transferred. Next up I'll let the kid decorate the room, feed him, because God, he needs it, get him some clothes-" Tony looked sharply at her. "No, you can do that. I hate shopping."
"You love shopping."
"Yeah, not as much as you do. You're better at it. Anyway, after that I will have to get any and all information I could get from him, especially blackmail in case we need to sue everyone back in England."
"Sue?! Who are you going to sue?"
Tony shrugged. "His guardians. That freaky headmaster. The Dark Lord, the Ministry, who knows? I've got money and I've got time, Peps, England is my oyster and I intend on devouring it."
"What aren't you telling me, Tony?" Pepper was concerned. Really concerned, because Tony was many things, but he wasn't like this.
"His aunt and uncle? Abused him."
It was a shock to hear and Pepper's heart went out for the young boy in the next room, but things didn't add up. Harry was… closed off. He wouldn't just admit to being hurt to strangers, even if they were related. Pepper was certain of it, even after the short amount of time they spent together.
"And he told you all of this, just like that?" She snapped her fingers.
"You wish," Tony snorted, getting up to pour himself another glass of fine whiskey. "No, no… when Loki healed his wounds he noticed abnormalities. He was the one to inform me of the treatment Harry went through. Harry doesn't know we know. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell him either."
"I'm not stupid, Tony, " Pepper said, affronted. She knew better than to confront a teenager with something so sensitive. Harry was a flight risk. "And if that's the case, you need to get his custody yesterday. And those monsters get nothing from you."
They won't be getting anything other than their life's ruined by Tony himself.
He'll garner intel about that family and use it against them in the worst way possible.
Why kill someone if you can make their life hell?
"I'm not an idiot, Pepper. NDA's are already coming up nicely."
"Good... Good God, Tony. Magical society. Why did Fury or others never told us about it?"
Tony shrugged. "They might not know. Harry was adamant about the secrecy part and if the whole wiping memory thing is real? Who's to say you, me or anyone else haven't been made to forget?"
Which was a terrifying thought. However, Tony trusted Jarvis to inform him of any discrepancies and really, if wizards used owls as a means of communication, they had no idea how to work an AI and delete data.
That put him at ease, somewhat.
"What will you be telling others?" Pepper asked.
Tony frowned. "I'm not hiding the kid if that's what you're getting at. None of them are aware of the word boundaries and march in here whenever. It's annoying. So they'll all see the kid sooner or later. Bruce and Cap already know."
Pepper nodded.
"Besides, Harry doesn't seem to like Icicle. You should've heard him, Peps, the kid's got balls."
"I'm not surprised, Tony. He's yours."
"Yeah, yeah, which is also why he probably has the Stark's Magnet for Troubles."
"I'm not worried about that either, since you always seem to figure things out," Pepper smiled. "Enough chatter, mister. I know that you know, that your lawyers have been waiting for you for the last twenty minutes or so."
"Are they?" Tony's eyes widened. "I had no idea. Probably should go see what they want."
Pepper chuckled. "Yes. Let's."
Sirius Black wasn't a happy man.
His godson was missing and nobody was doing anything about it.
He already screamed himself hoarse when shouting at Albus, at where his reckless machinations have gotten them.
He screamed at him for not pulling Harry out of that deathtrap of a tournament altogether. For letting his terrified godson to compete with no help, while other headmasters were clearly cheating and helping their champions, while Harry was left to flounder it alone.
And now, he was missing.
Kidnapped. A runaway. Nobody could tell, because nobody knew what happened.
Albus was hiding something, Sirius was sure of it.
Snape, that arrogant, good for nothing Death Eater, swore that Voldemort didn't have his godson. That he was hiding, like a coward, which earned him a quick sharp hook into that big ugly nose of his.
Sirius wished he'd done more, because Snivellius was fucking useless.
Voldemort could have Harry hidden and not say a word to someone as untrustworthy as Snape. His godson could be out there, being tortured while they were sitting on their asses.
But if he ran away… where would he go?
Sirius knew Harry hated being at the Dursleys. It didn't take a genius to find out those pigs mistreated his godson. Sirius would run too. And he has, straight to the Potter Manor, but Harry had nowhere to go.
And he was certain Harry would send him a message, contact him in some way if he could. Unless… unless he was afraid Sirius would tell everyone and would bring him back to Dursleys. Which Albus definitely would do. He heard the headmaster talking about needing to find Harry before the blood wards fell.
Sirius felt like he could trust no one.
Albus only wanted Harry for some wards and for war. His friends missed him, sure, but Harry already told him about their falling out and that things didn't feel the same, but he had to pretend they were.
He also confided to Sirius how Ron would get jealous if he spoke to anyone else and he found it hard to make other connections.
Which put Ronal Weasley into a very unfavourable light for Sirius. He even felt vindicated for breaking the boy's leg a year before.
But now that the whole Weasley brood plus Hermione moved into his house… Sirius found himself growing annoyed and resentful.
Albus put it under the guise of everyone gathering together to find Harry, but there was nothing even remotely close happening to finding his godson. Just Molly ordering everyone around, in his home, which was starting to drive him nuts.
So Sirius, as the Lord of this House, did the only reasonable thing he could and sealed his floor off, so nobody could get into it. He did the same with the library, Reggie's room and one of the better rooms that he believed Harry would like. Also the entire basement and storage room.
He might resent his family, he might hate the house he grew up in, but it was his and Molly has no right to go snooping around his property.
They wanted a place to meet, they can do that in the bloody kitchen or the drawing room. Sirius never agreed to hand his house over to strangers.
Harry needed a quiet place to stay when he comes to live with him. So Sirius will make him a home.
One where he can be comfortable in and isn't pestered by Molly Weasley. Somewhere he would want to return to.
Sirius pulled out his wand.
He'll do some remodeling and then will try his family books. He was certain he'll find a spell to find Harry.
He didn't care if it wasn't legal magic.
He had a godson to find.
Harry woke up to an unnerving feeling of someone staring at him.
He opened his eyes, only seeing a blur of a silhouette; it was still partially dark outside.
"Go away," he said, voice muffled by the pillow, not ready to deal with whoever came in to bother him.
"Is this the way to greet your guest, Harry?" A melodious voice of Loki startled the boy.
"Yes. When they're intruding on my sleep."
Loki snorted.
"You're telling me you didn't ask for a map so you can find your beloved wizards? Shame. I guess I'll just get rid of it then."
Harry extended his hand and summoned the map before the god could do anything to it. Except…
"What the fuck," Harry asked, as his hand was still empty while that god was smirking at him. He was certain that was the expression on Loki's face, because he still couldn't bloody see, and instead, summoned his glasses.
Yep. Smirking.
"So sorry. I'm not actually here. I'm astral projecting."
Harry pouted. "Well, I'm not leaving this bed."
"Shame."
"I'll get my own map later."
"Oh? With what money?"
Harry instantly felt guilty.
Fuck. He had nothing here. And he really didn't feel like leeching off Tony more than he already has, no matter what the man had said.
He just needed to get to Gringotts, and he'll be set. Or to a wizarding store, where he can pay with his rings.
"I'm sure I'll manage," he managed to grit out, dropping back into bed.
"Aw, don't be like that. Just come to my floor and we can go find your magical land."
Harry rolled his eyes.
"What's in it for you?"
Loki shrugged, a mischievous smile on his face. "What? I'm curious. I've never met magical folk on this planet and considering you're a wielder, I don't think it's discriminatory here."
Harry snorted. "You have no idea."
"Oh? Because in Asgard it's frowned upon if men choose to wield magic instead of a weapon. I was always looked down upon for doing so."
"That's horrible," Harry said, his eyes widening. "No, it's nothing like that here. Witches and wizards are equal, but it's more about… blood. There are muggles, those who have not an ounce of magic. There are muggleborns, who are considered anomalies; they come from two muggle parents and are considered by some to be of dirty blood due to their muggle ancestry. Then there are half bloods, like me. One parent a pureblood, the other of mixed blood. And finally - purebloods, whose families have never mingled with anyone of unsure blood. It's a whole mess and obviously a discriminatory system, but quite frankly, I haven't delved too deep into it to know if there's any merit. Not like anyone told me anything."
"Well," Loki was both, disturbed and fascinated. "That's a new take. Not that I'm surprised. You were adamant about the importance of Secrecy before, and if those muggleborns still have ties to their muggle parents and muggle families… they pose a great risk for exposure. What is being done about that?"
Harry's mind came to a screeching halt.
He… had no idea.
Hermione told her parents about magic all the time and they… what was stopping them from telling others? Or from going to the authorities if they don't like what they hear?
Fucking hell, why was no one worried about it?!?
"I don't know," he answered eventually.
Is that why the Ministry of Magic kept bending backwards towards muggleborns' whims? So they wouldn't expose the Magical World?
It would make so much sense-
"Well, we can find out later. Come on, young sorcerer. Let's go see your world. Oh, I'm two floors down, by the way." And the god disappeared, leaving Harry completely and utterly confused.
With a loud groan and great difficulty, Harry got himself out of the bed, and straight to his own, private bathroom. Which was another new thing for him.
He never really had much privacy, or stayed anywhere this fancy. Quite frankly, it still felt like a surreal dream he could wake up any minute from.
To his surprise, a yet another set of muggle clothes awaited for him too, which Harry felt incredibly grateful for and also guilty.
His parents left him money, he could provide for himself just fine.
His parents.
Merlin's saggy balls, he had three biological parents.
It was still a bit too bizarre to think about, let alone to process.
And he still wasn't sure what blood adoption entailed. Was he still James' son? He must be, since he wore the Potter heir ring.
But then why didn't he know about any of it? Why did no one tell him? Not even the goblins. Not even Sirius, who should've known… Sirius. Harry wanted to contact his godfather, to tell him he's alright, but he was terrified to be tracked down.
Letters could be intercepted and they will be on high alert due to what happened anyway.
It wasn't safe. Not yet.
Harry got ready, and walked to the elevator, pressing down a hopefully right floor.
He still couldn't get over the fact he was in a skyscraper. Merlin.
He'd love to fly off of it one day.
Ding.
The door opened and before Harry could walk out of the elevator, he was pushed back in by Loki.
"Hey!"
"Sush. Here's your map."
Harry rolled his eyes and grabbed the thing from the god's hands.
Conceited bastard.
Harry couldn't believe he was afraid to meet him at one point; Loki was bloody annoying.
Harry tapped the map with his wand, smiling when the entrance to the Wizarding World lit up brightly, and so did the path to get there. Actually… there were two entrances, but one was really fucking far and Harry couldn't waste all day to get there, so he chose the closer one.
It wasn't that far, but it would take at least an hour to get there. Probably more.
Shit.
"Problems, little sorcerer?"
"It's a bit far…"
"Show me." Harry did. "Ah… well, I'm sure you know how to use public transport."
"No idea. We don't have such things." Apart from a Knightbus, but even if New York had one, how was Harry supposed to pay for it?
Loki frowned. "Well then, I suppose we can walk-"
"May I suggest a driver, Young Sir?"
Harry jumped in surprise, letting out a startled squeak. "What the fuck!" He shouted.
"So sorry to disturb you, young Sir, it was not my intention."
"Just who are you?!" Harry demanded.
"I am Jarvis, personal AI assistant of Mister Stark."
That still didn't make any fucking sense.
"Listen up, Jarves. Maybe stop listening to my private conversations and go take a break, or a nap, or something. I've got business to take care of and you… you stay out of it."
"Understood, young Sir. When are you planning to be back?"
"I don't know, and none of your bloody business!"
"You know, we wouldn't be walking right now if you accepted his offer," said Loki after they've been walking for twenty minutes. Thankfully, it was still criminally early which meant the streets were practically empty, apart from a few joggers and people who were hurrying to their too early jobs.
"Feel free to go back," Harry snapped at the God, and froze for a moment.
He was an idiot.
He pulled Loki into an empty alleyway, and pulled out his wand.
"I don't want to be recognized," he said before casting a few glamours on himself; nothing much, just changed his hair colour to blond, made his hair curly. And a handy Notice-Me-Not charm that would go a long way for someone with Harry’s fame.
Loki shook his head when Harry trained his wand on the man, instantly transforming into a random blond bloke who sent a smug conceited grin at Harry. The audacity-
"Seriously? You could've just done that to me as well!"
"You never asked." Loki smirked.
"I had no idea you could do that!"
"Not my fault, is it? Now let's go, my darling, just as dashing teenager of a son. We need to find the world of magic."
Harry scowled, hiding his wand, but that didn't stop him from sending a mild stinging jinx at Loki, who yelped in surprise.
Harry continued to walk with an innocent look on his face that Loki didn't believe for a second.
What a pair they made.
"Good morning, Sir. It's currently exactly eight in the morning. The current weather in Manhattan is sunny and is expected to be all day. Current temperature is 57°F and is looking to be as high as 75°F at the highest. I've already ordered you breakfast and it's bound to arrive at any moment."
"Great. Good. Thanks, Jarvis." Tony stretched around in bed, feeling exceptionally well rested.
The meeting with his lawyers went well into the night, but Tony was glad at the results it brought.
Harry's custody was as good as his.
Considering the abuse Harry went through, even if he still had no evidence of it - which reminded him to get Harry to see a physician - and Dursleys dubious care… a simple fact that Harry didn't even have medically necessary papers…
That alone should've brought Child Protective Services on their doorstep, but for some reason, it didn't. It was shady.
He could understand if the Dursleys were poor, but not only was medical care free in England, but they were living very comfortably.
And Tony was about to ruin it all for the sake of his kid.
He wasn't above forging some papers that make it seem they knew he was the father all along and chose to keep it quiet.
However, something in Tony told him that Harry wouldn't like his life exposed like that, so, Tony will get his custody first and then ruin the Dursleys lives.
Someone will be going to their house in the morning - or whenever- to force them to sign transfer papers, along with some ironclad NDA's. If they refuse to sign, well… It was obvious from the numerous awards Petunia Dursley got every year that she was exceptionally proud of her standing in society. But one nasty rumor about her being an abuser, and her whole perfect life would crumble.
People in the suburbs were vicious, especially housewives.
Tony was certain they will bend. He wasn't giving up his son.
Hell, he already had papers for citizenship drawn up. He wasn't messing around.
"Hey Jarvis, where's Harry's breakfast? Teenagers get hungry, I'm pretty sure."
"Young Sir has left the Tower and is yet to come back, sir."
Tony choked on his food. "What?! Left where?!"
"Young Sir and Mister Loki had the map of New York on them, but didn't say their location out loud."
"Loki… fucking batsard, he stole my son!" Tony pushed down the panic thinking a fucking norse god and his son wandering the streets, all alone. With no supervision.
It didn't sound like something that would go overly well.
"Jarvis, Harry's shoes have a tracker in them. Track it, now!"
"Yes, Sir." There was a pause. "Sir… the trackers seem to be disabled."
"What?!" Tony shouted. "How is that possible! The kid is clueless about these things!"
"I wouldn't know, Sir. They seem to just have stopped working at one point."
Tony frowned. "Where is the last place the tracker was still active? Wait, how long has it been disabled?"
"It's been disabled for one hour and seventeen minutes, Sir, and I've already sent you the location."
Tony groaned.
His kid just had to have disappeared in a fucking alleyway. Someone probably snatched him.
Someone so young and vulnerable would be an easy target for the scum of New York City.
Unless Loki had something to do with it, which Tony didn't doubt for a second.
Loki was shady and always planning nefarious things; it would make sense that he got Harry wrapped up in his schemes already.
"Did they mention anything? Where they were going?"
"Loki provided Young Sir with a map and I believe they were going to visit the magical world."
Tony cursed.
"Why didn't you wake me up!"
"Sir, you specifically instructed me not to wake you up before 8am under any circumstances, bar an attack on the world or this tower."
"Loki kidnappedmy son! It is an attack, Jarvis!"
"My apologies, Sir, I was under the impression Young Sir went willingly."
God damn it.
Harry went to find his people with a fucking lunatic and he had no idea.
Loki probably was already making plans on taking over the Magical World. Tony was certain of it.
It would be like a shiny new toy for Loki to admire and then break.
And why didn't Harry wake him? Why did he slip away like he- like he didn't want Tony to get involved?
Was this Harry’s way of running away?
Did Tony say something he shouldn't have?
Fucking hell, he was so out of his depth. He's known about his son for a day and already lost him.
Tony quickly ran to the garage and drove off to the location Harry’s GPS tracker went out.
Harry mentioned that electricity and magic don't work together, so maybe his kid stepped into the faerie land and now Tony had to wait for him to leave it.
Naturally, the alleyway was empty. The diner next to it was buzzing with life, and the abandoned building next to it looked suspicious, but Tony didn't see his kid anywhere. In fact, his instincts were screaming at him to leave.
Instead of being smart and listening to those instincts that saved his life so many times, Tony walked into the diner and ordered himself some light breakfast and coffee.
The waiter looked at him weirdly, but didn't say a word. Probably recognized him and was courteous enough to leave him be, thankfully.
However, as the time passed, Tony didn't see even a glimpse of messy black hair.
Which really should've been a dead giveaway of who the boy was - that hair was exactly like James's had been. He remembered James saying it was a curse Potter men had battled for generations, and he found it hilarious.
Even if it made the whole 'Harry has three bio parents' a fucking bizarre concept. He had no idea if it would affect the DNA results and prevent him from proving his relation to Harry, but Tony could always just fake them in case it turns into an issue.
After an hour of waiting, Tony just ordered another coffee to go and proceeded to park his car in a clear view of the alleyway and wait, as the streets filled with more and more people as the morning went by.
"Anything suspicious, Jarvis?"
"There seems to be more people coming in from the diner and the alleyway than originally went in. Some I haven't seen entering at all. The alleyway is closed off and only has backaway entrances to the abandoned pet store and the diner itself."
"Entrance must be somewhere there, then," Tony concluded. "Anything on the tracker?"
"Not yet, Sir, it is inaccessible."
"Waiting it is, then." Tony sighed and leaned back, making himself comfortable.
Never in a million years he thought to be waiting for his child to come out of some secret world he wasn't permitted to see.
Absolutely ridiculous.
His phone rang.
"Yellow?"
"Tony, where are you? You're supposed to be in a meeting as of ten minutes ago!" came Pepper's annoyed voice that indicated the trouble Tony was in yet again.
"Gonna have to postpone, Peps. I'm hunting down my runaway kid who went on a magical trip with Loki without letting me know."
"What?! Tony, what happened!?"
"Don't worry, I'm handling it. Just don't tell anyone anything."
"Well… call me if you get news."
"You got it, Peps."
He hung up, and while waiting for his kid to show up decided to do more research on parenting, because he was pretty sure losing your own kid on the first day wasn't it.