Four
CHAPTER 7: FOUR
He had to admit, he was feeling very sentimental celebrating his son's fourth birthday. Unlike many parents, the man loved a three-year-old Harry. He was still technically a baby yet can hold out clear conversations. Even though the father wished Harry wasn't too independent, the boy appears to know the workings of the world. He had little to no problem with bathing, brushing his teeth, dressing up, and even preparing his own breakfast bar actually cooking. The kid almost had no emotional breakdowns and fits in the last 7 months living with Tony. Nevertheless, Harry still had a wide and active imagination, still played like a normal child, still covered himself in mud when outdoors, still loved to cuddle and be held, still cried for daddy during nightmares, and still thought dinosaur-shaped nuggets were the best thing in the world. He was basically the model toddler every parent hoped their child to be.
For Harry to turn four was proof that his little boy won't stay little forever. He won't always be small enough to sit on his lap. Small enough to fall asleep on his arms. Small enough to carry over his shoulders. Small enough to hide from the world. Sooner or later, Tony would have to let him go and live his own life.
He only wished Harry would still call him daddy at ten. Hold his hand at fifteen. Kiss his cheek at twenty. Hug him at thirty. And tell him he loves him at forty.
He wanted to be selfish. He was selfish. All he knew before Harry was to do anything he wanted. But for his baby, he won't. He won't put himself above his son's needs and growth. If he had to send Harry to school at eleven, he'd do it without a second thought (though he needs to make sure the school's security is top-notch). If Harry wanted to flip burgers in life, he'd let him (though he hoped the boy had bigger dreams than that). He would always be proud of his son and would remind him over and over again. His father failed him as a child. He would not fail his own son.
What Tony originally planned for Harry's birthday was to throw him the grandest children's party ever; however, the kid begged him against it. He said he didn't want a party full of people he didn't know. He just wanted to spend time with his father. Maybe go to an amusement park or a zoo.
So Tony took him to Disney World. He initially tried to have the park closed for their 3-day stay but Harry wanted the normal experience. Instead, he paid a hefty sum for extra-extra platinum plus passes which normally wasn't for sale and had reservations at the Wilderness Lodge.
The boy won't stay put and was bouncing in excitement like a kid full of sugar that he actually dressed him himself. He had Harry on a white shirt, a grey Burberry cardigan, blue ripped jeans, and white superstar sneakers. Tony knew his son would be a fine-looking young man when he grows up.
"Daddy, let's go!" The boy was now sporting a Mickey Mouse ear hat and dragging him by the hand towards one of the rides.
"Slow down, champ. I can't lose you in this crowd, then I'd have to track you down on my suit. Can't have that. Can we?" Tony reminded.
Harry uh-huh-ed without looking back to his father. He was fully focusing on one safari attraction. Tony then picked the boy up and carried him to the fast pass entrance. The ride was essentially an 18-minute safari tour showing real wildlife that had Harry totally awed. The boy really loves his animals. He'd have to take him to a real African safari tour when he's older assuming he won't grow out of it.
The crowd was surprisingly a good thing. Parents were too focused on their children and children were too focused on the rides to recognized Tony. And Harry got to be around children. His boy even found a fellow animal-enthusiast 5-year-old to gush with during the ride. There was a constant blabber of wows and looks all throughout. Harry would occasionally tug on his sleeve and tell him little facts he read from his children's book. It amused him how serious his son was in educating him of the size of an ostrich egg.
"It's like twelve normal eggs, daddy! It's so big! Did you know? Well, they are big birds so they must have big eggs. I don't think they'd fit in a chicken egg," Harry mused.
He had a hard time withholding his laughter at his child's antics and would hum and nod his head at each of Harry's commentary.
They spent a whole day in the Animal Kingdom before going back to their hotel. His son had changed his attire into a zookeeper costume the dad just had to buy halfway through their adventure.
In the next two days, Harry and Tony tried on many of the rides and attractions. They went on Avatar-themed and Pirates of the Caribbean-themed boat rides, got to meet Disney characters, bought a ton of costumes and trinkets, ate adorably shaped food, and even had Harry over his shoulders as they watched the parade.
"This is the best birthday ever!" Harry exclaimed. He held fairy floss in one hand while his other arm had wrapped around his cap-covered head. "Thank you so much, daddy. I love you." His son whispered in his ear and kissed him on the cheek.
Tony reveled in the affection Harry had for him. "Anything for my Hare-bear."
At the end of the day, when Tony would carry the sleeping form of his son to bed, he would think about how different his life turned out to be.
"Happy Birthday, my little angel. Please don't grow up too fast." He'd whisper and kiss his son's forehead. And every time, Harry would sigh contentedly.
Tony directed to the suite's balcony drinking his glass of wine. Who would have thought the business magnate, playboy, and ingenious scientist would willingly spend his days on a crowded, uncomfortable, children-filled resort?
Harry was now four. A highly gifted four-year-old at that. He's going to need to hire him a tutor soon. His son can already read fully on his own and had formed a rather big vocabulary. Maybe he'd have him learn an instrument or two. Piano, perhaps. Or the violin. And probably teach him to play soccer as well. It would work great with his upcoming schedule. He'll be busy finishing up Stark Tower and he needs Harry occupied while he's working.
All in good time.
In the following months, Harry adjusted well to his new schedule. He had school from 10 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon: Math, French, and horse-riding on Mondays and Thursdays, and Science, History, and Arts on Tuesdays and Fridays. There are no classes on Wednesdays so his father hired an instructor for violin lessons. Tony would drop him off to school every morning before either driving or flying in his suit to work. Happy would then pick Harry up in the afternoon. Sometimes he'd drive the boy to New York so father and son could have dinner together.
Tony managed to find a small, exclusive semi-boarding school that caters to the wealthy and gifted children. They had a flexible curriculum that allows parents to incorporate preferred lessons such as etiquette, basics of business, and even robotics. The school had very high security so Tony had no worries about his son's safety.
The best thing about Exeton Academy was that the headmaster was a good friend of Julian Jackson, the one who introduced Tony to magic. The school was actually his recommendation as they had catered young witches and wizards before they transferred to magical schools. Exeton was one of the few non-magical schools that had magical connections.
It was also fortunate that Exeton was located in Philadelphia as the penthouse in Stark Tower would be ready by next year. For the time being, Tony and Harry resided in a beautiful Tudor two-story lake house he bought in Princeton, a few minutes from Exeton.
Harry thrived in school. He was very happy he got to play with other kids now. At first, he was hesitant and terrified of the thought of being away from his dad but managed to man it up. He forgot what it was like to be around many children and it scared him to think no one would want to be his friend. Of course, Tony told him otherwise. He told him anyone who doesn't want to be friends with him is not worth it.
So Harry went to school. There were only eight kids in his normal class which he thinks is a good number. Language and sports were optional. The older classes had music as well. Most children took French and Mandarin so he had many classmates for that class. He was the only one his age who took horse-riding though. It was his favorite class. Mr. Monroe, his instructor, was very kind. He would sometimes let Harry accompany him to feed the horses.
Oh, and he even made friends. His first friend was named Nicholas but Harry calls him Nick. They sat next to each other in class and played chess at recess. He's part-Chinese and originally from Austin, Texas. His parents weren't together anymore so he went to live with his mum who was a professor in a school called the University of Pennsylvania. His dad had a construction company in Texas so he doesn't get to spend a lot of time with him. Harry was glad his daddy still had time for him even though he's got lots of work.
There was also a girl named Selene in his class. She had long blond hair and pretty grey eyes. She had a British accent like Harry and is very quiet. Selene recently moved from England to America with her parents because of her father's work. She told him his mum works as a writer and his dad was a zoologist. Harry wanted to know all about his father's work but Selene said she didn't know much of what her daddy does.
Harry, Nicholas, and Selene quickly became the best of friends. They always had lunch together and never in the school's cafeteria. They would eat lunch on the grounds under a big tree, sometimes on the bleachers, and even tried eating on top of the playground.
Harry usually gets picked up first so he never did see either of the two's parents.
Harry found out Selene can do magic when the two of them were called to the headmaster's office. Ms. Young, the history teacher, sat on the other side of the room.
"Mr. Stark, Ms. Scamander, I'm here to invite you to join the Elemental Science club. It's a club supervised by Ms. Young for students who can do magic such as yourselves. You will learn how to meditate and control your abilities. Your parents already know about this so you do not have to worry. Now, there are only 5 students aside from you two. This is a purely invitational club so your other friends can't join. Club meetings are only on Fridays from 3 to 4 in the afternoon," Mr. Fontaine informed.
Harry was surprised Selene's magical like him but quickly turned to giddiness. He was extremely happy to have a friend who can do magic as well.
"You're a wizard?" Selene asked Harry the moment they stepped out of the office.
"Uh-huh. I didn't know you can do magic too!" Harry exclaimed.
"Mum and dad have magic." She commented. "Do yours have magic too?"
Harry shook his head. "Daddy doesn't have magic but he knows lots about it."
"Oh, you're muggle-born!"
"What's a muggle-born?" he asked.
"Those with parents who don't have magic, silly." Selene giggled.
The boy was confused. He knew he was called a no-Maj-born or a first-generation but he had never heard the term muggle-born before. "Mr. Jackson said it's called No-Maj-born or first-generation wizards and witches here in America."
Selene then told him England used the term muggle-born instead and they continued to talk about all the accidental magic they had done until Happy came to pick him up.