Chapter 3
Third Year
In the wake of half the population turning to dust there were some big changes for the wizarding world. These changes caused no small amount of unrest amongst the students of Hogwarts, who following the start of Harry's third year, began to have breakdowns that took the form of students yelling at teachers for no reason, crying in the halls or refusing to get out of bed.
----
One night, two weeks into term, Harry finds Neville in the Gryffindor common room having a breakdown of his own. He himself had woken up from a nightmare in which a man had locked him in a cupboard. The latter’s face had been indiscernible, but the logic of dream had stated that it was Harry’s father. Harry didn't think he needed professor Trelawney to explain the significance of that particular dream, but he was still shaken enough that he knew he was not getting back to sleep.
Getting back to sleep was impossible, so he padded down to curl up in front of the fire. However, instead of finding himself surrounded by the blissful silence of an empty common room, he was greeted by the sounds of large, heaving sobs.
In a somewhat cowardly move, Harry spent a few minutes deliberating whether he should just head back to his room unnoticed instead of attempting to comfort whoever it was. However, he remembers the devastating loneliness of a summer spent grieving alone and musters all his Gryffindor courage before making his way over to the couch.
When he sits beside Neville, whose eyes are pressed to his knees, He spends a few seconds frozen, considering his best course of action.
"Neville," he whispers to no effect.
"Neville" he tries again.
When the sobs don't let up he tentatively puts a hand to Neville's back.
Neville startles slightly before lifting his red face to face Harry.
"Er, sorry, didn't mean to startle you."
Neville turns even more red before sucking in a few deep breaths, "s'okay, sorry that you have to see me crying like a baby."
Harry winces, "I don't think you're a baby Nev."
Neville's face turns dark, "Everybody else does."
Harry shrugs, "I don't think that's true, and even if that’s what they believe it’s them that would be stupid. Just like they were last year, when they thought I was the heir of Slytherin.”
The corners of Neville's mouth turn up, "That was pretty stupid."
Harry grins, "Cheers!"
Neville wipes at his eyes.
"Do you-er, want to talk about it?"
Neville shakes his head and purses his lips.
Suddenly, Harry remembers Ron telling him that Mr and Mrs Longbottom had been among those to disappear last summer. "Is it about your parents?" he tries, wincing at the clumsiness of his question.
Neville shakes his head, looking thoroughly miserable, "You'd think so, wouldn't you?"
"Um," Harry flounders, "I wouldn't mind if it was something else?"
Neville laughs bitterly, "It's so stupid and selfish."
"We're thirteen Nev, stupid and selfish is a defining characteristic of our age group."
Neville stares at him with an accusing gaze, "You're not stupid and selfish," he exclaims.
"Cheers, I don't think you are either."
"But I am!" he shouts, the volume making Harry wince.
Neville lowers the volume but not the intensity, "Seamus is gone, my parents are gone, Lavender brown is an orphan, and the thing I'm most upset about is the new herbology teacher rubbish!"
Harry blinks. Then he blinks again. "You're upset about Seamus. I know you're upset about Seamus. You and Dean looked like you were about to faint when you saw the empty bed. If anything Ron and I felt bad because we didn't react."
Neville waves his hand, "People grieve differently. Dean really appreciated it when you organised that game of football to cheer him up."
"Neville I don't understand, what exactly are you upset about."
"I'm an orphan now." welcome to the club Harry thinks before considering that he might not, in fact, belong to that club anymore.
Neville continues, "I'm an orphan now I didn't even feel anything," he takes a deep breath, seemingly steeling himself, "I don't know if you’re aware of this, but my parents were tortured in the first war."
Neville waits a beat for the statement to settle between them.
"they aren't- they weren't- all there, mentally, they were permanent residents in the Janus Thickey ward at St Mungo. My Gran used to take me to visit them all the time and- I used to feel terrible because I hated it. I hated seeing them like that and I was so ashamed."
Neville's eyes shine with unshed tears, "When I found out they were gone and that I didn't have to visit them anymore-" Neville exhales, "I was devastated, they were my parents and some part of me has always hoped that they might recover someday, but I was also relieved. Isn't that awful? Feeling relieved that your parents are gone."
Harry considers this for a moment, "My next door neighbour, Mrs. Figs, told me she was relieved when her husband died. She said, "I loved him to bits and I'm going to miss him like hell but I don't think I could have coped with another second of watching him slowly waste away," I think it's okay to be sad that people are gone while being happy that they aren't suffering anymore."
Neville blinks and some of the anguish on his face clears, "Thanks, Harry."
----
Ron's breakdown happens three weeks into term in the middle of a divination class. Professor Trelawney had once again, been predicting Harry's death and something in Ron seemed to just- snap.
"Where do you get off predicting people death you stupid hag? Everybody knows you're a fraud talking about death doesn't make us think you're any less of a hack. You think it's okay? Talking about another of my friend's death when I just lost three of the most important people in the world? People think I have no tact but you-You take the cake and I'm bloody fed up. I'm leaving and I won't be coming back!"
Then,red-faced and heaving Ron, grabbed his stuff and walked out.
Harry had thought about going after him, but lately Ron had seemed to prefer his space.
---
Once Trelawney has recovered she instructs Harry to sit with Pansy Parkinson. The girl had been working with Grab and Goyle due to uneven numbers. Harry might have protested, if he weren't so dazed or worried about being paired with one of the late Draco Malfoy's lumps. At least Parkinson might make meaningful contributions, even if they were bound to piss each other off.
Once they had settled into their new seats and Trelawney had given them some time to work through their projects, Parkinson had turned to him, her eyes light with mirth.
He cuts her off before she has the chance to speak, "If you don't have anything nice to say, Parkinson, don't fucking say anything."
Parkinson's nose wrinkles, "A muggle phrase, really Potter? And a Hufflepuff one at that." She rolls her eyes, "don't get your knickers in a twist, I was only going to say that was rather impressive, for a Weasley at least."
Harry rolls his eyes, "That was almost a decent thing to say, for you at least."
2023-summer post war
The summer after Harry's seventh year, he meets Peter Parker at a Stark foundation post-blip fundraiser. It's crazy because he remembers hearing stories of Peter when he was thirteen and thinking that sixteen sounded so old. Now, four years later, he's the older one, if only by a few months. Such is the strangeness of the blip, Harry supposes nothing will ever be stranger than a twelve year old Hermione attempting to boss him around.
---
It's a stuffy fundraiser, most Stark foundation Fundraisers are, Morgan looks adorable in her pale pink formal dress and Harry feels ridiculous in his dark blue suit. The heat of summer is oppressive, and Harry wanders around with his white dress shirt rolled and cuffed halfway up his arm. The only thing that keeps him from complaining is the knowledge that Parker has to wander around in spandex.
It's halfway through the evening and Harry already feels as if it's been an eternity. Pepper and May are circling the room dazzling investors with the lavish evening gowns and bright smiles whilst an irritated Morgan flicks peas at him. Harry rolls his eyes and scoops Morgan onto his lap, an action which isn't as easy as it once was, she's getting bigger everyday.
Morgan, knowing full well she shouldn't be playing with her food, turns her big brown eyes on Harry and pouts in an attempt to escape a scolding.
Somewhat used to his sister's tactics Harry just tsks and shakes his head "You know you shouldn't play with your food Mo."
She frowns "But Har-ry, I'm bored." She whines before her face goes pensive. She throws her arms around his necks and pulls herself up so she can whisper in his ear, "They won't stop staring, I want to go home.
Harry pats her back "I know Mo, I'll find something else for you to focus on."
As he talks Harry starts clearing some room on the table in front of him. He pulls some matchsticks out and places them in an equation in front of him, "Here you go Momo, move one match-stick and make this equation correct."
Morgan huffs, annoyed, before curiosity gets the better of her and she turns around in his lap, making him grunt, before setting about her work.
Just as Morgan has solved the problem with a triumphant grunt a hush is called as May gets up on stage to make a toast and everybody returns to their seats.
Pepper smiles as she takes the seat next to us and strokes her hand over Morgan's hair. "Having fun?"
Morgan makes a face and shrugs noncommittally.
"Thanks for taking care of her." Pepper whispers
Harry shrugs, "thanks for bringing her so I have an excuse not to talk to people."
Pepper laughs "Your father was never one for stuffy dinners either. Best hope that's the only thing you inherit. If you start turning to alcohol to get through these evenings you'll be in for it."
Harry grins and ducks his head, "wouldn't dream of it."
After the speeches finish Pepper takes them backstage to say their goodbyes to the Parkers. As they make their way through the throng of people Harry trails behind Pepper with a sleepy Morgan.
---
Back-stage, May is breathless and elated. "Honestly, between Spiderman's fame and Morgan and Harry's cuteness factor, we could probably fund the whole of America," she grins dizzily for a moment before turning and embracing Pepper. "Thank you so much for coming, I know how much your two hate the attention but it really helps, tremendously. "
Then she moves to embrace Harry who has a sleepy Morgan clinging to his leg. "And you, I know you don't do it on purpose but that face and the way you are with your sister-well- let's just say we wouldn't have raised enough money without you."
Harry, patently unused to affection from people that aren't related to him, cringes minutely, "No worries May, it’s you who does all the hard stuff. All Morgan and I do is sit around and look pretty."
May laughs boisterously before cutting off abruptly. "Oh, I just realized, you and Peter haven't met yet have you? Come here Peter," May motions Peter over, " Morgan, Harry, this is Peter, my nephew. Peter, these are Morgan and Harry, I'm sure you know who they are."
Peter frowns, "I know who Morgan is, but I’m not 100% sure about Harry,"
Harry smirks " To be honest I'm not too clear on that myself." Whilst Pansy may be adamant that he will never be anything other than Potter, in the privacy of his own mind he thinks neither Stark nor Potter sounds quite right. "Harry Potts, according to the public at least. Pepper's secret child who she was forced to give up due to difficult circumstances."
Peter's mouth opens and then he blinks. He blinks at Harry, then he blinks at Pepper then he blinks at Harry again.
Harry bristles at the scrutiny, "Take a photo, it'll last longer."
Pepper tsks and swats him on the arm. Harry ducks his head and grins.
--
The adults get caught up chatting about whatever it is that adults seem to talk about for hours when they were supposed to leave 5 minutes ago, so Peter, Harry and Morgan find somewhere to sit on the floor.
They chat idly for a while. They've almost reached rock bottom in terms of topics of conversation, when Morgan falls asleep on Harry's lap and Peter perks right up.
"Are you really Pepper's kid?" Peter asks, gaze intent on Harry's face.
Harry quickly glances around the room to see if anybody is listening. "Tony trusted you right?" he asks even though Tony had told him many, many times how much he trusted Peter.
Peter nods quietly.
"No, Pepper isn't my mother."
Peter grins triumphantly "I knew it! I knew that-"
"But," Harry interrupts, "Tony Stark," he pauses for emphasis, "is my father. "
Peter's eyes go wide with disbelief. Then, "Tony cheated on Pepper?" he asks scandalized.
"What? No, Merlin. I'm seventeen years old Peter, I was, um, conceived, well before they were a couple."
"Oh," Peter says, face pensive, "I guess that's alright then."
Harry bristles, "Thanks for the validation, I so needed your approval."
Peter sputters. Harry rolls his eyes.
---
Harry had kept it together at the fundraiser, but as soon as they got home he collapsed in his room, back pressed against his closed door. He presses his eyes to his knees and clenches his jaw to muffle his sobs. Everything had been so loud and Peter hadn’t even known who he was, even though Harry has been hearing stories about him for years and the people he wants to talk to the most aren’t even here anymore.
Third Year
The first time Harry speaks to Tony, it's on a phone call organised by Professor Lupin.
---
Lupin hands Harry the phone and Harry stares at it for a long while before pressing it to his ear.
"Hi," he squeaks, embarrassingly.
"Hi," the voice is gruff and a little breathless.
There's an awkward pause.
"Um, I'm Harry"
There's a soft laugh, "Hi, Harry. I'm Tony, and it's very nice to speak to you."
Something fragile and warm blooms in Harry's chest.
"Tell me a bit about yourself Harry, any hobbies, any pets?"
Harry shuffles his foot. Professor Lupin said that Tony was a muggle, but he also said that Harry could talk about magic, he just might need to explain.
"I have an owl," he says, cheering at the thought of her, "She's a white snowy owl, and she's very clever."
"An owl huh? Like the kind that brings letters?"
"You know about owls that bring letters?"
"Lily, your mother, had one. Tawny, with a horrible temper."
"What was her name?" Harry asks, imagining his mother.
Tony laughs "His name was Derry, short for pterodactyl, I can only wonder how you ended up with such a normal name when everything else she's ever named has been so eccentric."
"Eccentric?" Harry asks.
"Unusual, beyond what would usually be expected. One of your mother's best qualities." Tony sniffs and clears his throat.
There's silence again, still heavy, but not so strained.
"What about you?" Harry hedges "Any pets? Hobbies?"
Tony chuckles, " I invent things, which I suppose is a hobby, and I regard some of my creations as pets, even though Pepper never believes me."
"Pepper?"
A pause, "She's- She's my wife Harry."
Oh. Stupidly, Harry had been so caught up in the idea of father, one who was alive and capable of caring for him, that he forgot to think of him as a person. A person who might have a family of his own.
"Is she nice?"
"She's very nice, the nicest in fact. She can't wait to meet you."
"Really?"
"Really. If she had her way-if we had our way- you'd be here with us right now."
Harry smiles, "do you think I could come see you?" he asks on an impulse.
"I'd love that Harry, but Mr Lupin, you professor, I think, said it might be best to work up to it."
Harry deflates a little. At least it's not a no.
---
Harry and Tony exchange a few more phone calls and slowly the conversations include less silence and more sharing.
"Do you like dinosaurs?" Harry resists the urge to scoff. Hermione's cousin who is 5 likes dinosaurs
Magnanimously, Harry says "I like dragons, although Norbet was in a lot of trouble when our groundskeeper Hagrid hatched him illegally. Maybe that's not fair," Harry amends, "the fact that Hagrid's wooden cabin didn’t burn down probably means he was on his best behavior."
"Right," Tony says, "do things like that happen often?"
"Things like what? Hagrid breeding dragons? Not really, They're usually raised in reserves, like the one Ron's brother -Charlie- works at in Romania. This year he bred these useless creatures called flobberworms which mostly just cause pain. Sometimes Hagrid’s ideas can get a bit- out of hand."
Tony huffs, "Sounds like you're keeping busy."
"Life is always busy at Hogwarts," Harry gushes. He could do without all the mass murders and dark lords after him, but for the most part it's the good kind of busy.
"Right,” Tony says, voice going a bit flat. “How is everything with Black? Do you feel safe?"
Harry bristles, "people need to chill about that, his attempts on my life so far have just been sad. I mean, who goes through the trouble of finding the password to their victim’s dorm without even figuring out what bed they're in."
"Harry!" Tony bites, tone harder than Harry had ever heard before, "you shouldn't be so flippant about your life. Do you think he could get into your dorms again?"
“Nah," Harry says blithely, "Neville won't make the same mistake twice."
Tony sighs."Could you pass me on to Mr Lupin."
"Sure, I have quidditch anyways."
Post War part 2
After Harry's break down, Pepper was on his case to get out of the house more. Part of that involved sitting through Stark foundation function with his irritable little sister, another part of that included forcing Harry to go on a summer trip.
"That's so weird Pepper, I don't even go to that school."
"Peter will be there and May says the kids from Midtown are very approachable. Come on Harry, it'll be a good chance to get to know everyone before you go start there next year."
Harry throws up his hands, "How many times do I have to tell you? Peter and I aren't friends. We talked once at one of those stupid fundraisers and occasionally sit in awkward silence when you and May unsubtly drag us to your morning coffee.”
"You'll be miserable in England and you’re miserable here. Don't you think your Father would want better for you?"
Harry bristles, "I thought I had a bit longer before you started playing the ‘what would your father want' card."
Pepper puts her hand on Harry's shoulders. "I'm trying to look after you, not punish you."
Harry rests his head on her collarbone, "I know," he grumbles, "it's just every time I think of leaving this place I feel like I'm going to crawl out of my skin."
Pepper wraps her hands around him, "I think, that is just one more reason for you to go."
Harry sighs.