Changing Tides

Draco stared at Harry, shock on his face, for all of thirty second before he scowled, pulling his wand out. “What in Merlin’s name are you doing here with a Muggle, Potter?”

“Shut up and help me.” Harry let his armor drop off him before pulling Coulson up to a nearby chair. “Please, Draco, just help me.”

Draco shoved Harry out of the way and started murmuring spells, waiting until they set before speaking again. “Tell me what happened.”

So Harry did, dragging a hand through his hair as he did so. He told Draco about the impending invasion, the attack on the Helicarrier (“The Hell-e-copper?” “No, the Helicarrier. It’s a—never mind, I’ll explain later”), and finally about Loki.

He skipped over the parts where Loki knew about Voldemort because Draco didn’t need to know that.

Draco had three potions stirring by the time Harry was done with the shortened version of his tale. “You said he was stabbed with a scepter?”

“Yeah.” Harry waved his hand, bringing up an image of it. It was a little blurry, but Harry didn’t want to push too much magic out right now - it showed clear enough. “The blue gem is magical in property, but nothing we’ve come up against yet.”

“We’ll deal with it later.” Draco flicked his wand and Coulson’s shirt disappeared. “You owe me a new chair.”

“Noted. Can you do this?’

“I’m insulted that you think I can’t. Go fight another war, Potter, it’s what you do best.”

Harry nodded and got back in his suit, or what was left of it. He would need to fix it. “Let me know when he’s okay.”

Draco simply grunted and Harry smiled as he disappeared – reappearing where he had stored his suit before. The sharp pain in his chest that came with the move would have to be dealt with later. Rogers stood there waiting for him, a frown on his face.

Harry was actually going to enjoy explaining magic to a man that didn’t seem to believe in anything but what was in front of him. He grinned, watching as Rogers’ frown grew deeper. “Coulson’s safe.”

“Where did you take him?”

“To a friend who would rather die than have his reputation tarnished by losing a patient. Coulson is fine, Rogers. Let it go.” Harry rubbed at his chestplate, grabbing his bag as he went to the bathroom, stopping to drop off the suit as he went. He needed to get this thing out of his chest and fast.

“I can’t just let it—“

“Steve, please.” Harry frowned at him. “I don’t think we have time to explain anything. Talk to Fury, pull out of him his real plan, and then we can go find the asshole that started this.”

It had felt good to slam the door in the Captain’s face, but Harry knew that he couldn’t do this forever. He couldn’t be angry at Steve for something Howard had done, no matter how much he wanted to. He was a better man than this. He sighed, pulling off his shirt so he could replace the reactor. The chip was fried worse than the others, and he welcomed the stabbing pain for a moment because it was better than the ache that had been across his entire body.

He couldn’t just die here, though, so he got the replacement in, trying not to think about how little he had left, and then washed up.

Rogers was still waiting for him when he was done, and he frowned. “What do you want?”

“You lied to your team.”

“I don’t have a team here.” Harry tossed his bag by his ruined suit, already looking over what he would need to replace, and what he would need to rebuild. “Iron Man works alone.”

“Maybe he should join a team, then. Become a soldier.”

Something in Harry snapped, and he turned sharply to Rogers. “We are not soldiers,” he said, voice tight. Because soldiers, just like the ones in Afghanistan (like the children at Hogwarts), always die fighting. He would likely die clutching in chest in his living room, alone except for Jarvis. “I am not a soldier.”

Rogers gave him a soft smile, head tilted to the side like a puppy. “You think so?”

“Don’t start with me. You think we’re soldiers? Any of us here? You’re a damned fool. Every single person here, except for yourself, fights to keep themselves and maybe their family alive. That’s all, there is no ‘go team’ mentality. Hell, even Fury just focuses on watching his own back!”

Rogers shrugged, looking toward the damaged suit. “Maybe it’s about time some of us stepped forward to change that.”

“And you want me to be part of it? A liar and a trickster?”

“Maybe that’s what we need to take down Loki.”

Harry hesitated, frowning at Rogers. “And what happens after this? You take me down because of what happened before?”

“I’d like to think that you wouldn’t make me do that.” Rogers sighed and stepped closer, putting a hand on Harry’s shoulder. He kept it hanging for a bit when Harry moved away. “Tony or not, you can help.”

“So I’m useful to you?”

“I didn’t—“

“No, it’s fine.” Harry rubbed his eyes. “Fury’s talked to you?”

“No.” Rogers glanced toward Harry’s disassembled armor. “Not interested in talking to him.”

“Why me, then?”

“Because you may know what Loki’s doing better than he does.”

Harry ran a hand through his hair, pacing the room. He wasn’t sure what Rogers thought he would know – Loki freaked him out if he were honest. There was something off about him, something not right.

“Tony... I mean, Harry. Hell, what do we even call you now?”

Harry opened his mouth to tell him, then closed it sharply. Was he Harry? Or was he truly Tony now? He frowned, taking a step away from Steve. “I don't know,” he said honestly.   “Call me whatever you want.”

Rogers hesitated before taking a step closer, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder. This time, he let it stay. “It's okay. And it’s okay if you don’t know what Loki’s doing… We can figure it out.”

“I know, it’s just… wait.” Harry pushed Rogers out of the way, going toward his suit. The helmet was flashing, indicating he had a message. He put a hand to his ear and cursed as he realized he didn’t have his comm in.

“What is it?”

“Just hold on.” Harry took the comm out and stuck it in his ear. “Jarvis, what’s the message.”

The sound crackled a bit before Edwin’s voice came through. It was shaky and Harry felt himself go numb. “Tony, there are people on the roof with a machine, delivered here by helicopter. Jarvis has been shut down and I… wait…” Static came through again as Edwin moved. Harry could barely hear shouting in the background. “Lockdown mode being initiated in your lab, sir. I suggest you get here when you can.”

The line went dead. Harry took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Well shit.”

“Tony?”

Harry looked at his suit for a long moment before turning back to Rogers. “He’s at my tower. Is it just us?”

“Stark Tower? How are we going to get there, Fury locked down the jets.”

Harry patted Rogers’ arm. “We steal one.”

Rogers nodded, stepping back. “Sounds like a plan. I can see if anyone looks like they’d be willing to come with us. I tend to gather disobeying soldiers around me.”

“You do that. I’ll meet you there in fifteen.”

“Where are you going?”

Harry smiled a bit. “I heard Widow went after Clint, so I’m going to see him.” He went for the door, but paused before leaving. “And… Steve? I’m sorry about Howard’s death. I am.”

“It’s okay, it wasn't your fault.”

“Thanks.” Harry left, going to find his friend. He was sure Clint would want some revenge. That is, if Natasha managed to get him back.