Chapter 59
"Harry? Harry, come on kiddo, I just want to talk," Tony called, entering the, what appeared to be, empty kitchen.
A soft sniffling came from around the corner, near the back door that lead out to the alleyway with the dumpster.
"Hey kid, what's going on?" Tony's eyebrows furrowed as he knelt down beside his son. He already knew the gist of what had happened, but he felt that it was important to get Harry's side of the story before providing any input.
Harry glanced up at his dad with red-rimmed eyes that were brimming with tears. He shook his head as he looked back down at his hands, almost in an ashamed manner.
"I'm being so stupid," Harry whispered, the words taking Tony by surprise. Quickly, he recomposed himself and positioned himself so that he was right in front of Harry.
"Why do you say that?" He questioned gently, using the crook of his finger to tilt Harry's chin up.
"I knew that Peter wasn't out at school, but for some reason... I just didn't think he would introduce me as anyone other than his boyfriend. He... he didn't even tell the truth about me being your son."
Tony sighed. He knew that they weren't going to be able to protect Harry from the media forever, but it wasn't just the media he was worried about. He wanted to be able to protect Harry for the rest of the world-- something that would become way harder once they announced that the Tony Stark had adopted him.
"Harry..." Tony began, but Harry just shook his head.
"I understand. Peter's not out at school, so he couldn't say I'm his boyfriend. You're still trying to protect me, so he couldn't say I was your son. I get all of it... it just still hurts to feel like-like I'm just some random person who appeared in both of your lives. Some random person that could be tossed aside at any moment.... I guess, being a boyfriend and a son makes me feel a lot less disposable," Harry admitted.
Tony grasped Harry's hands in his own. "You are not disposable, do you hear me? You are the most precious thing in the world to me, and I love you. I don't want you to ever have to doubt your worth, just because other people don't know that you're my son, or know that you're Peter's boyfriend. It doesn't matter what other people think because we know the truth. We know you, and we love you."
A lump formed in Harry's throat, suddenly rendering him unable to speak.
"I think Peter wants to talk to you, would you be up for that yet, or do you still need a bit?" Tony asked softly, brushing away a run-away tear on his son's cheek.
"I... can you tell him I'm not mad at him? I just... I think I need to take a walk. Get some fresh air and clear my mind," Harry replied quietly, voice cracking a bit.
Tony bit back a frown at the idea of Harry walking the streets of the city alone. He knew that this was a good neighborhood, but it was still New York City, and anything could happen.
"I'll be okay, dad," Harry assured, reading the apprehensive look that had appeared on Tony's face. "I just to have some time to self-reflect."
"Do you still have that app on your phone?"
"The one that's not a tracking app, but can tell you where I'm at in case of an emergency?" Harry gave a small smile. "Yeah, I still have it."
"Hey now, I'll have you know, it's a safety feature, not a tracking app. It'd only be a tracking app if I used it to track you, which I don't, because I trust you."
"Or because I'm never out of anyone's sight," Harry bantered, raising his eyebrows.
"Didn't you have a walk you wanted to go on?" Tony gave him a playful shove towards the door. "Just try to be back before dark, okay? Call me if you need anything."
"Okay. Love you dad, and thank you," Harry leaned in and gave Tony a small hug before disappearing out the door.
*
Harry didn't have a destination in mind when he began walking, but soon an idea formed in his mind. He opened the maps app on his phone, and plugged in the address Jacob had given him earlier. He figured that he could multi-task while on the walk-- self reflect, and get some advice from someone who had opened up their own bakery.
The walk wasn't very far, only a few minutes, and Harry settled into a steady pace.
The air was cool, but didn't have a sharp winter bite that the most recent days had. The walk was nice, and Harry found that instead of thinking about everything that had just happened, his mind really was clear.
It was a nice change, for once.
Before he realized it, he had arrived in front of an old glass storefront. He phone alerted him that he had arrived at his destination, and he glanced up to see the 'Kowalski' logo in faded print above a small, striped awning.
A sign on the door read closed, but Harry took a chance anyway and pushed on the door, not surprised when it opened. For some reason, he had a feeling that Jacob had been expecting him.
"Mr. Kowalski...erm, Jacob?" Harry called, making his presence known. The last thing he needed was the police being called on him because Jacob had thought he was an intruder. "It's Harry. Are you here?"
There was a clang from the back of the kitchen, and suddenly Jacob appeared.
"Harry! So good to see you again," he gave the teen a genuine smile, and waved him to the kitchen.
Harry eyed the empty display cases as he walked past them through the back doors to the kitchen. He wondered if the bakery had been closed all day, or if Jacob had sold out of everything and had to close early.
"Can I get you anything to eat or drink? My ma always taught me never to let a visitor go hungry," Jacob bustled around, moving at a surprisingly quick pace.
"No, thank you, I'm alright," Harry replied, but his focus was elsewhere. Lying on the counter were some uniquely shaped bread loaves. They looked like... no, it couldn't be.
"Are those..." he pointed to the loaves of bread tentatively, eyes wide as he looked towards the elderly man. "Are those... erumpets?"
He grew quiet, awaiting the man's answer. Harry's mind was racing with possibilities of what might happen next. What if they were just something Jacob thought he had made up, and now he was going to have to explain what an erumpet was? What if Jacob was part of MACUSA, and was going to arrest him from asking someone that he knew as a muggle about a magical creature? What if-
"Yeah. Yeah they are," Jacob gave him a lopsided grin, eyes crinkling before he turned and pulled another batch of goodies out of the oven. "Have a seat, Harry. I'll explain."
Harry fumbled for a chair, not believing what he was seeing. This batch looked to be like demiguises.
"Are you a wizard?" Harry blurted.
"Nah, unfortunately not," Jacob responded, taking a seat across from the teenager who was at a loss for words. "I'm what they call a 'no Maj' here, or as Newt would call me, a 'muggle.'"
"Then... How do you know...?" Harry shook his head, panicking inside. How much did Jacob know?
"It kinda ties into that long story I was talkin' about earlier," Jacob chuckled. "Long story short, have you ever heard of the name Newt Scamander?"
"Yeah, of course. He's written all of the best Care of Magical Creatures textbooks that we use at school," Harry spoke, mentally slapping himself. Any chance of Jacob not knowing that he was a wizard were out the window now.
"Yeah, those books took him so many years to write. He kept getting... distracted, to say the least," Jacob remembered, the memories seeming distant.
"Well, Newt and I were close friends. Happened completely on accident, and I've had my memory wiped a few times because of it, but we always had a way of reconnecting. And you can't know Newt without knowing his creatures. I was able to open my bakery right after having my memory erased for the first time, and part of me remembered the creatures, but I thought I had just made them up. It wasn't until Queenie..."
He trailed off, growing solemn for a second before continuing.
"It wasn't until my memory was restored and I met up with Newt again that I realized that the items I had been baking were actually real," Jacob finished.
Harry nodded. He knew some of what Newt Scamander had accomplished, and it wasn't just a matter of writing textbooks. He knew that Dumbledore had been close with him, and that Hagrid admired him, but he didn't know the full story. Something told him, based on the pained, far-away look in Jacob's eye a moment ago, it wasn't always full of happiness.
"I know a bit about you. Newt always brings me the Daily Prophet when he comes to visit, so that I can stay updated on the happenings of the Wizarding World. I feel like part of me belongs there now, but nobody can know. It's like we're young, again, whenever he brings me the paper. Like we're breaking rules again."
"How much do you know about me?" Harry's brows furrowed. If Jacob was talking about the papers from when he was fighting Voldemort, he was alright with that, but he didn't know what the papers had been writing about since that final fight in the Ministry of Magic, when he had defeated Voldemort once and for all.
He didn't know what they knew, and suddenly, it was all he was worried about.
"Just about how that other wizard had risen to power, and you were the one to stop him. Sounds like you've had kind of a rough life. That's a lot of pressure to put on a young kid like yourself," Jacob spoke, but his voice wasn't accusing or hateful. It was gentle and comforting, as though he understood.
"Yeah," Harry sighed. "It was."
"If you don't mind my asking, why are you here now? In New York City?" Jacob pressed lightly. Again, the words didn't have any malice behind them, just kindness and curiosity.
"My relatives weren't good people. Tony saved me from them, and he and his fiancé have adopted me," Harry responded, giving the briefest version of the story that he could muster. It wasn't that he didn't trust Jacob, because the man seemed as though he could keep all of his secrets.
It was the fact that the sun was setting outside, and his dad's words were playing in his mind.
"Just try to be back before dark, okay?"
He hadn't ever gone out on his own before, and he didn't want to break his dad's trust by staying out too late. He knew that Tony would panic if he wasn't back by the time the sun set, and he didn't want to worry him.
"It's getting late," Jacob whistled, peering out the kitchen window. "How about we continue our conversation another time, okay?"
He winked at Harry, who gave a small smile in return as he rose to his feet.
"Are you alright getting back on your own, or would you like me to walk back with you?"
"I think I'll be alright getting back, thank you though," Harry replied.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Jacob exclaimed, turning and grabbing the template for a cardboard box and quickly flipping into formation. He placed a loaf of bread and a few other goodies into the box, before handing it to Harry.
"For your trip back," he winked. "Gran's rule was never to let a visitor leave hungry."
"Thank you," Harry grinned, accepting the box.
"I'll see you in a few days, when you open that bakery of yours. Save me some of your favorites, alright?"
"I'll make sure to. Thank you for everything," he gave a small wave and said one final goodbye before exiting the bakery.
The temperature had dropped, and the air had more of a bite to it now than it had on his way over. The sun was still out, but it was quickly dropping in the sky. Harry fumbled with his phone in his pocket, pulling it out to send a text letting his dad know that he was on his way back.
He knew that when he got back, he was going to have to have a conversation with Peter, but he felt as though he was thinking more rationally now, and he felt bad for having made his boyfriend worry. He knew that Peter loved him, and not calling him his 'boyfriend' to some random kid at school wasn't indicative that the fact had changed.
A noise caused Harry to glance up from his phone right before sending the text. He was all by himself, almost at the corner of the block.
A feeling of unease settled over him, and fear began building in his stomach. Something felt off, but he wasn't sure what it could be. Glancing around again, his thumbs danced across his phone screen, deleting his previous message and replacing it with.
'Something's off. Track my phone and come pick me up'
He knew that the text would scare his dad, but he would rather be safe than sorry.
He had just hit send and repocketed his phone when one hand appeared on his shoulder, and the other was jabbing a wand into the side of his neck.
"Move, and you're dead," a sickeningly high voice spoke.
He recognized that voice.
"Bellatrix," he growled.
"Miss me?" She cackled, sounding more insane than ever.
A flash of long blonde hair caught Harry's eyes, and his eyes narrowed as Lucius Malfoy and Fenrir Greyback stepped out of the shadows.
And then they were Apparating.