Harry Potter and the Unexpected Family

Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Marvel Cinematic Universe
F/F
F/M
M/M
Multi
G
Harry Potter and the Unexpected Family
Summary
Harry Potter's life has never been normal. So why was he surprised to find out that his life was once again not what it seemed? Apparently, his father is alive and, get this, was the one who gave birth to him, which is possible because he's an actual fricken Asgardian god. Not to mention, Harry has a second dad who is also alive, is a famous muggle billionaire and superhero, and didn't know about him until his (other) dad's memory was returned. Seriously, this was insane, but in the context of his life it should feel like a normal Tuesday.Or, a story in which Harry Potter regains the family he always wanted, wraps the Avengers around his finger, and lives up to his Marauding legacy while facing down the biggest magical threat the world has ever seen with enough drama and sarcasm to make both his fathers proud.--------------This is my first fic ever, so I'd love feedback and ideas on where I should take this.
Note
I'd love feedback, this is my first ever fanfic!Also, I meddled a bit with the timeline to line things up how I wanted. Here's a reference:( HP dates moved up to match MCU timeline, and chitairi invasion moved to mid June, aged down Tony a few years to make him more similar in age to James and Lily)1961 - Loki left Asgard1971 - Loki left Alfheim1974 - Tony born1976 - James and Lily born1993 - Lily/James graduated1994 - Lily/James married1995 - May to mid November - Tony/James/Lily (Tony 21, Lily/James 19)1996 - July - Harry is born1997 - Oct - Halloween attack2007 - Harry starts Hogwarts2008 - Afghanistan2012 -early June - Ministry Battle- mid June - Loki invades (Tony 38)
All Chapters Forward

Where Harry enters the Batcave

Harry was … overwhelmed.

After allowing Tony and Loki to come and see him, Harry experienced a mild bout of panic. He'd expected anger or disappointment or even ridicule when facing his fathers, but what he'd actually received was stranger than anything he had been trained by life to expect. 

Harry had no idea what to do in the face of such honest, deep, unconditional love. It shocked his system, consumed him and left him cracked open.

When Tony had shared his pain, empathizing with Harry's flashback in a way the teen hadn't experienced with anyone else before, Harry felt like he could finally breathe. He wasn't a monster for losing control, he wasn't damaged beyond repair. If Iron Man could heal from what haunted him, then Harry could too, and he was deeply surprised to feel the certainty in his chest that Tony would be there to help him every step of the way. That reliance was a bit destabilizing, but sometimes there were things that Harry just knew even when he had no logical reason to believe, and this was one of those things. So Harry didn't doubt the truth of it; Tony would be there, as long as Harry needed him.

When both men listened to his pranking story, Harry felt a new kind of freedom. These two were seeing him, the full him, and they were celebrating all that they learned. They didn't see him as the Gryffindor golden boy, hero to the masses. They didn't see him as a dangerous attention seeker or as a potential Dark Lord. They didn't even see him as a child in need of sheltering like other adults in his life who loved him. Tony and James had witnessed more raw and unfiltered Harry than any other adult he'd known just by virtue of how overwhelming the past 18 hours had been, but never had Harry felt more accepted. His masks had slipped off time and time again, and each time, Harry felt less anxious to put them on again.

When … when Loki told him that he wanted to be by his side to protect him, because he loved him more than the universe could hold, Harry lost all control. From a very young age, Harry had locked away his loneliness and fear, somehow knowing even as a tiny child that no one would come to ease those huge and scary feelings. He was alone, and dwelling on that would not serve him. So any time he'd found himself wishing for love or company or safety, Harry had imagined that the wish was a grain of rice on the floor in front of him. In this grim mental game, Harry would pick up the rice and place it in a special bag he'd created in the back of his mind to hide his sorrow. For years, this system has worked, allowing Harry to witness the feeling and not let it consume him in an avalanche of pain that stopped him from continuing on. Now, though, it felt like James' words were a dagger piercing through the bag, letting all the grains of rice spill out around their feet. It was exposed now, his fear and trauma and perpetual sense of aloneness, but in his father's arms he was able to notice how much lighter he felt without that weight to drag behind him. Yes, there was a mess of pain littering the space between them, but now that he'd unburdened himself he could begin to sort through the pieces and actually heal.

It was probably really stupid to place that much trust in two men he hadn't even known for a full day, but Harry had never been one to think things through. He survived because he trusted his instincts, listened to intuition that had been built during a life of trials by fire, and then dealt with the fallout. It drove the people who loved him crazy, especially Hermione, when he threw himself into things without being able to articulate why, but if Harry couldn't trust his gut then he was lost.

So he wouldn't overthink this. He finally felt safe. Felt wanted and loved even if it was awkward and intense. It was frightening, but even more so it was profoundly heartening, to feel certain that he wouldn't continue moving through life alone.

Harry allowed himself the release of crying in his dad's arms. He'd been strong for long enough, and in this new unshakable trust he'd unearthed, he knew his father would weather the storm with him. His faith in the man was proven right when he crushed Harry to his chest just as hard as Harry held him. The boy felt lips in his hair and a firm hand cradling the back of his neck.

Feeling a second pair of arms embrace him on his left side, Harry shifted. He squeezed James tighter as he moved his forehead to press against Tony's shoulder. It was just a habit by this point in his life to try and control his tears as quickly as possible, but the process didn't feel as frantic as it usually did. Overflowing as he was with that unnervingly alien sense of safety, Harry found his breaths calming on their own, matching the rise and fall of Tony's lungs. He felt his heart slow, and it began to beat almost in time with the rhythmic da-dum Harry could feel where his ear pressed against James' chest.

Finally, Harry felt settled again, and despite his reluctance to lose this contact he stepped back so he could look at his parents. He felt both of them tense just slightly before releasing him and meeting his gaze.

Loki looked sort of … fragile maybe? Or vulnerable? Harry wasn't sure what exactly he was seeing, but he was pretty sure that the same expression was all over his own face as well. Tony had a bit of hesitancy and awkwardness in his shoulders but Harry couldn't spiral out about it with such a gentle, open grin on his face.

Staring back at them, Harry was at a loss.

"I … er … I don't know what to say now."

Tony laughed, the crinkles around his eyes giving him a softer look than Harry had seen before, as the man flicked his gaze between James and Harry. He couldn't help but think that his pops looked good with the smile lines around his eyes, warmer somehow. 

Whoa. His pops. Papa. 

What a weird day.

"Well, cucciolino, I don't know about you, but I think I've hit my big feelings quota for the day." 

Typically, Harry would interpret that as him being a burden again, but that warmth still shining in Tony's eyes kept Harry from interpreting it that way. Instead, he nodded agreeably and focused on the growing anticipation visible in Tony's entire body. 

"What do you say to messing around in my lab with me while I try to figure out what sort of energy you two are slinging everywhere?"

There was an almost mad gleam in Tony's eye that Harry had only ever witnessed in one Hermione Granger. And really, who was Harry to refuse such excitement?

He let out a bright laugh.

"You're on."

 


 

If there was something Tony could always get excited about, it was a new lab project. Anything at all could spark an uncontainable urge to discover and create. Well, the squishy sciences had never caught his interest because … boring, and gross. But engineering and physics? That was his bread and butter, the intellectual frontier of the human race where Tony could let his genius go berserk and come out having done something thrillingly impossible.

Today, though, today was just special.

After their talk in Harry's room (which was very successful, of course, he'd never doubted his skills for an instant, because he was Tony Stark and he was awesome), the three of them had parted to refresh themselves before meeting back down in the lab. Well, the other two were freshening up, and Tony was riding a too slow elevator with his annoying brother to get to his lab so he could start tinkering. 

Next to him, Rhodey was grinning like a dork.

"What, Platypus, do I have something on my face?"

Rhodey snorted. "Yeah, you've got that look I recognize from MIT, the one that meant I was gonna have to haul your sorry ass out of whatever lab bunker you'd taken over for the week and make you shower, eat, and sleep." His humor shifted into something more endearing, and he bumped Tony's shoulder. "Now, though, I'm pretty sure that you're gonna be at the dinner table, new obsession or not."

Tony gave his own dork grin, unashamed (partly because he was sure his expression was way less uncool than Rhodey's). 

"He's awesome, Rhodey, he just told us about how he pranked his entire school because they were being annoying gossips and he let us hug him even though we're awkward and don't know what we're doing and he showed me magic that most people can't do." Tony gripped his brother's shoulder, staring intensely into his eyes. "And now, he's going to willingly come spend time with me in the lab so we can keep bonding while I start working on a project that's going to make the arc reactor look like a model airplane."

Rhodey laughed, pulling Tony into an unexpected bear hug. "Being a dad looks good on you, Tones."

Tony scoffed but leaned into the hug. He really hoped that Rhodey's confidence in him wasn't misplaced. If anyone ever deserved a good dad, it was Harry.

Once they got to the lab, Tony started running around, gathering up anything he thought might be useful for reading and interpreting the nature of magical energy, calling out orders to JARVIS as he went. Rhodey, knowing better than to get in the man's way or try to help him at this stage, rounded up three more chairs nearby the pile of equipment Tony had amassed, setting out a few drinks and things to snack on.

Finally, after about fifteen minutes, James and Harry walked into the lab together, looking a bit more settled than they had when Tony left them. At least, that raw emotional edge they'd had was no longer there.

"Hello gentlemen, welcome to the Batcave."

Rhodey poorly hid his laugh in a cough when the two gave nearly identical expressions of confusion. It was pretty hilarious, actually, they both looked like a fishhook got caught in their eyebrow and hiked it right up.

"Ah, right, you magical people don't know about Batman. Well, we'll have to have some movie nights and a book club to get you two, Thunderdome, and Captain Crunch up there caught up with the times." Tony waved them in, pointing them toward the chairs Rhodey had grabbed. 

Before they could get there, Harry and James were intercepted by a very excited and curious DUM-E…

…who ran straight into Harry's knee and started smacking at him with his arm in what passed as a greeting from the ridiculous bot.

"Ah ah ah, DUM-E, what did we say about the hitting people thing? I know you want to say hi, but we're more breakable than you." DUM-E whined, turning in place and clacking his claw together a couple of times at Tony with some dejected beeps before turning back and starting up his rough patting on Harry again. "HEY! That's it, cut it out or you're going straight to that middle school down the road. They can take you apart to get a good look at what a disobedient brat looks like."

There were more sad beeps, but DUM-E's arm was tapping Harry much more lightly now.

Harry had kind of frozen awkwardly during the whole thing, unsure of what was going on while James gave the bot a curious and delighted glance, but at Tony's outcry the kid cocked his head to the side with a (cute) thoughtful furrow in his brow. "You made him?"

"Yeah kid, I made most of the stuff in here."

"And he can think?"

"Well," Tony tried to explain, "he can learn things and he has preferences and ways he tries to communicate things. He isn't verbal though, and his coding is pretty rudimentary." Tony cringed, thinking of how drunk he'd been when he did the project for the engineering contest Howard forcibly signed him up for. Thank God he didn't create some kind of murderous android. Or some dumb bot with no personality.

"So … I've got a little brother then, too?"

Tony's eyes snapped to Harry, and he had the very ridiculous urge to get emotional.

Tony loved his bots, all of them, and hardly anyone treated them like more than bolts and sheet metal. Rhodey helped a little with most of them and called them his nephews, but other than that, Tony was it. It was surprisingly validating and heartwarming to see JARVIS and DUM-E being treated like they were aware.

But even more than that was the soft, bittersweet excitement in Harry's eyes as he lowered a hand to pat the side of the hydrologic arm still hitting him a little too hard, now against his stomach. 

Shit. If Tony wasn't careful, this kid was gonna kill him or turn him into a sap.

Who was he kidding? This kid had melted Tony almost instantly, and since then he'd just become more and more of a puddle of goo. Especially when DUM-E's little happy tones were going nonstop in response to Harry's words.

"Um … yeah, yeah that's your little brother." He sniffed. "Likes to make a big mess of things though, so you tell him off if he goes near your stuff without permission."

Harry snorted, then looked down and gave another soft pat to the pressure plate he'd found just behind the bot's pincer claw, making DUM-E whir in content. "Don't worry buddy, I'll keep you safe from middle schoolers with screwdrivers."

Tony had to take a deep breath and get this shit moving or else he was gonna lose it.

"Okay, so basically I'm gonna need one of you to stand in front of the machines here and do some voodoo and I'll see what I can see." 

The two walked the remaining distance after sending DUM-E off to his charging port with a last goodbye. James turned to their son as he sat down, smiling encouragingly. "I'm happy to volunteer if that's what you'd prefer, but I'd love the chance to see what other magic you've mastered, darling."

Harry shrugged and gave a nod, ignoring his own blush as he jogged over to the big-ish area on floor space Tony had created.

"What kind of stuff do you want to see?"

"Well, nothing too fancy to start with. Give me a common spell that uses an average amount of juice."

"Ok, and you know that this might break some of your stuff? I mean, it's less likely when I'm focused on control, but it could still happen."

Tony grinned, waving a carefree hand that hopefully eased the tension that had entered Harry's shoulders at the comment. "No worries, mini Merlin, I've got loads more where this stuff came from. Do your worst."

He still looked a little wary, but the kid reached over to his arm. He moved his finger like he was drawing a symbol, and suddenly the holster Tony had seen yesterday and this morning was on full display.

Leaning forward for a better look, Rhodey whistled. "Damn, so when you guys said magic you meant actual, bippity boppity boo, wand-and-cauldron magic." At Harry's cautious nod, the colonel did his best to project reassurance and enthusiasm in his smile. "That's pretty cool, kid."

Harry's answering smile was tinged with slight relief as his shoulders relaxed a smidge.

Before Harry could do more than pull his wand out, JARVIS spoke up.

"Sir, the low energy field surrounding Harry fluctuated upon the reveal of his wand holster."

Tony's eyebrows arched, dragging a holoscreen up from the table.

"You've got something to read already?"

"Yes sir. Preliminary analysis indicates that the field surrounding Harry is similar in nature to the energy surrounding the door that Mr. Lupin blocked earlier today, though it is significantly stronger. Mr. Lupin does not emit the same energy field consistently in the way Harry, Mr. Potter, and Mr. Odinson do."

"Wait, what?" Harry looked surprised and mildly worried as he turned to James, silently asking for an explanation. 

"Yes, a demigod and god would have more magical energy stored within them than your average Midgardian magic user." James shrugged, looking a little sheepish. "I didn't have much inclination to study the differences before entering my life as James, and no memory since then to take up the work." He gave a thoughtful tilt of his head before smiling. "I'm sure there are texts I can reference to help us understand any genetic or anatomical components of magic in mortals and gods. It will be very useful to look into, since there have been only six recorded demigods in history and none have been studied beyond their historical significance. So when it comes to you, our best guesses about things like magical maturity, biology, and other health related topics would come from combining knowledge of the two groups."

By the end, Tony's fingers had started rapping an anxious beat that matched James' pinched look very accurately. Of course if he was going to have a kid, it would be a genetically unique being whose body and potential health risks were totally unknown.

Ugh. He was gonna have to study the squishy sciences, wasn't he?

"Well," Tony clapped, determined to keep the atmosphere light until they had more information, "your dad was always a nerd, so we'll let him go digging in libraries. I, on the other hand, have never been one for book learning. I like the practical stuff." He wagged his eyebrows at Harry (looking ridiculous and slightly insane, he knew). Once the kid laughed, he continued. "So, Mary Poppins, let's get to the good stuff now."

"Now that one, I do know," Harry snarked, and with a little grin on his face he waved his wand in a precise little motion. 

And suddenly, sitting on the table a few feet to his right, was a carpetbag just like the one from the movie.

Rhodey immediately burst out laughing, turning to look at the others and doubling over again at Tony's surprise and James' complete befuddlement.

Once he shook himself out of the amazement and amusement warring in his head over his son's cheeky presentation, Tony gave his son a look that promised plenty of future antics, his index finger pointed at the kid.

"You, Harry Potter, are the best kind of menace."

Harry just grinned.

Harry showed them lots of magic, all of it awesome and giving Tony a bunch of energy readings to work with. After he made that bag appear, Harry had done some kind of charm to make it 'work like the real thing', and then he started summoning random objects and putting them in the bag. At first it was stuff like screws and a hammer and a book, but then Harry had summoned a standing lamp and just casually dropped the whole thing in like it was nothing. He kept doing that for a while, and when he got bored he 'transfigured' James' outfit into the white dress from the sidewalk chalk scene and Tony's into Burt's classic orange pinstripes from the same part.

At one point, Tony asked him to do “something impressive”, and, after a moment of consideration, he’d looked over at James with a weighing, slightly defensive look in his eye. 

"So…,” he hedged, “I may have learned something illegal. Nothing bad, it’s just that they only teach it to you when you’re 17 for safety and stuff, but I figured with the war and all I’d need to know how to do it.” Here, he narrowed his eyes at James just slightly. “You can't get mad though because you did an illegal animagus transformation when you were my age, so you'd be a hypocrite if you said anything."

Tony, more amused than anything, watched the warring pride, intrigue, and parental concern on James’ face until it settled into amused resignation. “Well, I’ll have to let it slide this time I suppose.”

“Alright!” Tony whooped, “Show us what you got, magic man.”

Harry’s sly little grin was the only warning he got before the kid turned in place and disappeared with a little pop, only to reappear right in the space between Tony and his holotable.

“Holy shit!” Tony shouted, falling back on his ass in surprise. Rhodey fell off his chair too, but more from laughing so hard he cried at Tony’s reaction. Eyes sparkling with some sheepishness (which didn’t totally mask the humor sitting there), Harry held out a tentative hand to help Tony off the floor.

After he scrambled up, Tony grabbed the kids shoulders. “That… was so fucking cool, do it again!”

Harry laughed, losing even more tension from his shoulders as he popped up laying right beside Rhodey on the floor to give the man his own scare. Looking over at James, Tony knew that he had just as much astonishment, warmth, and excitement in his own eyes. Their kid was incredible, but even better than that, he was learning to relax around them. 

It felt amazing.

Throughout the whole day, they laughed and joked and told stories while James took some turns performing simple magic too. Rhodey had been laughing more than Tony had seen in years at the whole Poppins display, and James had this wild looking grin like he'd never been more enamored by anyone, especially after the kid's prank with the outfits. Tony was just so fucking excited about the magic readings he was getting.

He'd definitely slipped into the beginnings of an engineering binge when a growl from Harry's stomach interrupted, and Tony's excitement crashed down around him just a bit.

Ah, shit. Tony knew he was gonna be a fuck up at this. Not one day in, and he's already not taking care of the kid.

Tony looked over at Harry, who had a very embarrassed grimace on his face and turned away from them to continue putting back the things he'd summoned, deflecting like a champ.

Rhodey looked over at James, who was about to open his mouth with a very worried expression, and Tony, who was trying to get his horror off his face, and cut them both off. He spoke up in a cheery tone, breaking the suddenly tense atmosphere.

"As much fun as I'm having, I think it's time we all go grab something to eat for dinner."

Harry immediately started rambling. "Oh yeah, whatever you want, but don't feel like we've gotta stop for me, I was having a really good time, and I'm not really that hungry yet, plus there's snacks and stuff still…" the kid flicked his eyes between James and Tony, offering them a hesitant but still genuine smile. "I really have had a lot of fun in here with you guys."

Tony was always a good multitasker, so he didn't even need to take a break from internally berating his carelessness when he grinned back, over the moon that the kid clearly was getting more comfortable with them. "Well, Rhodey is a grouch when he's hungry, and I could eat too. Why don't we come back down tomorrow to keep working, huh mirtillino mio?”

Harry looked unsure, but gave a slow nod.

Tony walked over and slung a casual arm around the kid’s shoulder, walking out with a shouted order for JARVIS to save everything, knowing that Rhodey and James would follow.

Once they were in the elevator, Harry turned his head to look at Tony.

“What’s that nickname mean?”

Tony thought back. “Which one?”

“Meer… meer-tea-lee-no.”

Tony chuckled at the endearingly terrible accent. “Ah, yeah, mirtillino means little blueberry.”

An expression of outrage came over the kids face as Rhodey snorted and James gave a cheeky grin. “What?! You called me a blueberry?”

“Noooo,” Tony drawled before pinching the boy’s cheek between his fingers very lightly. “I called you my little blueberry. Big difference there, kiddo.”

Harry huffed and crossed his arms, but Tony could see the light blush and little smile on his face when he looked away. Not to mention he hadn't shrugged off the arm Tony still had on his shoulders, so the man figured Harry wasn’t too mad.

They chatted lightly on the ride up until they stepped onto the common floor, where once again the mood was disrupted. 

“Sir,” JARVIS stated calmly, “the Avengers have gathered in the lounge area with pizza, and have invited the four of you to join them for a movie screening.” Tony shrugged, about to say that it sounded like a great idea …

Harry froze next to him. 

…or not.

 


 

At JARVIS's announcement, Harry struggled to hold onto the tentative joy he'd been able to cultivate throughout the day. It had been … really fun. Harry couldn't really follow along with whatever Tony was doing, but it has been very clear that 'genius' wasn't an exaggeration, and the unbridled excitement he had about everything Harry showed him was such a new experience from a muggle. Harry was also amazed at what James could do without a wand, and tried not to read into the intense pleasure he felt whenever the man complimented Harry's own spell casting. Not to mention the joking Uncle Rhodey (a title he insisted on) had done at Tony's expense that helped Harry relax a lot. It had been really nice, messing around and just spending time with Tony, James, and Uncle Rhodey all day. So much so that he'd forgotten how he'd literally attacked everyone just this morning.

He remembered what Tony said about how it was understandable to react to things that remind you of pain, and Harry understood that for the most part, but he still felt bloody awful for what happened in the kitchen. He felt his Adam's apple bob when he glanced at Tony.

Proving his intellect once again, the genius gave Harry an encouraging shoulder bump. "Don't worry about it, kid. No one's angry."

Right.

Well, either way, there was no use delaying the inevitable. Besides, he couldn't hesitate if he wanted to say what was on his mind before either of his fathers (whoa, fathers) stopped him. Taking a deep breath and gathering all his Griffyndor-ish courage, Harry turned the corner.

"Hello."

All eyes in the room turned when Harry announced his presence in the doorway. He stepped to the side a bit, not going closer to the group but allowing Tony, Uncle Rhodey, and Loki to enter as well.

Harry projected a carefully constructed aura of calm and kept his hands open and visible at his sides, hoping that he could minimize any fear the others had of him after his truly ridiculous display this morning. He observed Clint especially, well aware of the man's reluctance to engage in any sort of contact with magic after his experience with the scepter.

"I don't mean to impose, but I wanted the opportunity to apologize for my behavior at breakfast today. I didn't intend to cause any harm, and I am sorry for any damage I may have done."

Across the room, Clint's heart was breaking. This tiny kid, the one so tragic and adorable that made Clint want to wrap him up in fuzzy blankets and murder anyone who looked at him funny, was standing there like he needed to prove to the fucking Avengers that he wasn't a threat while he apologized for something that was clearly a trauma response outside of his control. 

Both Tony and Loki had opened their mouths to respond to the kid, but Clint was quicker.

"We're cool, kid. Nat tries to stab me if I accidentally wake her up from a nap, so holding everyone still for a few seconds isn't a big deal." Clint gave his best easygoing grin. "Besides, I don't think you're the kind of kid to lose control without a reason."

Harry swallowed as he looked at the man, and he wasn't sure what to say until Natasha spoke up.

"We don't blame you. We do, however, need to know your triggers to prevent future incidents."

Harry was fast to start nodding, understanding that these people needed to protect themselves from him. Before either man at his side could express the outrage written across their faces, Harry spoke. “Yes, um, I’m not usually as reactive as I was today, which I once again apologize for." He hurried on, but looked down at his hands which he'd clasped in front of him so he wouldn't have to watch their thoughts splayed across their faces as he continued. "I do tend to be a little touchy when I am locked in somewhere, when I'm in small spaces, when people come up behind me, and when I hear the words ‘boy’ and ‘freak’, especially as insults. I, uh, I think that's it, but if something else comes up I’ll let you know.”

Harry finally dragged his eyes up to look at Natasha again. Her demeanor didn’t really change, but something subtle in Natasha’s expression shifted, so she looked a little gentler when she responded. “Alright, thank you.” She kept staring at him, eyebrows slightly drawn in concentration, before she turned to the group. "I react poorly to unexpected touches, especially when I can't see you approach or when I'm asleep."

Harry breathed out. He knew what she was doing, trying to normalize what he'd just done by doing the same thing in front of the others, but that didn't mean he didn't appreciate it.

Clint had flopped down on an armchair, hands tucked behind his head. "Yeah, and I tend to hoard food in my room, just in case, you know? I get cagey if I can't find something to eat really easily. I also need to get somewhere high up if I'm anxious, like a hammock by the ceiling or something, or I'm likely to overreact and hurt someone." He leaned back like he was done, only to shoot up again. "Oh! And I use hearing aids, so if it seems like I'm not responding, just make sure you wave or something to get my attention before you get too close."

The others had quickly picked up on what was going on, and everyone ended up sharing a couple of their triggers. It was helpful to know, but with each one Harry felt his shoulders unclench just a little bit. He was used to being attentive around people, especially fighters like the Avengers, so it didn't stress him out to hear about things that would set them off; in fact, it made him feel more at ease to have some information to navigate through this new dynamic. But what really made him relax was this proof that the warriors trusted with protecting the entire world had sore spots just like him, places where they had cracked a bit and tried to put themselves back together, but you could still slice your finger if you weren't careful.

He wasn't a freak, really. Especially not amongst these people.

It hurt a bit to hear James mention his anxiety around being talked about behind his back and any mind magics, and Tony's intolerance of people handing him things or touching his chest, but that too made it easier to be vulnerable.

As Rhodey finished his brief mention of anxiety about splitting up in public places (he gave Tony a significant look at that), Harry made eye contact with Natasha and smiled at her, a thank you for taking the attention off of him and showing him he didn't have to be embarrassed.

She smiled back, still guarded but more genuine than he had seen her so far. When Uncle Rhodey finished, everyone fell silent for a moment, before Steve cleared his throat.

"Why don't we all settle in for movie night, then? We have pizza and popcorn."

Everyone got comfortable around the overflowing coffee table, chatting lightly and filling plates. Harry ended up on the center couch tucked between James and Tony, their shoulders brushing as he set his plate on his lap.

Steve turned to him once everyone had settled. "Do you have any movie requests, son?"

Harry looked up at the huge flat screen that Dudley would probably murder someone for. He thought hard for a minute, and then glanced over at Tony with a playful smirk.

"How about Batman?"

 

It was awesome, but Harry was sure that the Batcave had nothing on Tony's lab.

Forward
Sign in to leave a review.