Peter’s love of reading started at an early age. It began, as most does, with his father reading to him. Late into the night, two sets of identical chocolate colored eyes (each of them out-rimmed in red), the only way single father Tony Stark could get his infant son to stop crying and lull him back to sleep was by reading to him.
It didn’t matter what it was at first. Peter was just content to hear his father’s voice. As the child grew and became more aware, Tony quickly figured out his son was a little genius just like his father. Normal children’s books, at least the ones made for his age, would not hold his attention for very long. Even before he could fully form words he would babble over Tony until he finally switched to a different book.
Through trial and error, Tony learned his son had a particular love for fantasy. Every night before bed, they would pile pillows in the corner of Peter’s bedroom and they would curl up, Peter’s head resting on Tony’s chest as he read him magical stories of princes and knights, of quests and magical creatures and one series in particular about the boy who lived.
It wasn’t long before young Peter was entirely enthralled with all things Harry Potter. His days were spent playing outside their home, pretending that he was going on adventures with the trio in the forbidden forest. Chickens would scatter as he runs through the trees, waving random twigs around like a magic wand with his custom-made Gryffindor robes flapping behind him. After many, many tantrums about wearing his bathrobe outside in the sweltering summer heat, Tony had made him some robes out of a cooling fabric. There’s not much the man wouldn’t do for his child.
Peter, now six years old, can currently be found wiggling in a wooden chair at the kitchen table as his father (once again) is redrawing the lightning bolt scar on the boy’s forehead. “Kid!” He mildly chastises as he washes his previous attempt off with a warm washcloth.
He huffs, sitting still for approximately a half a second before going back to his wiggling. “But we’re gonna be lateee!” he whines.
“No we’re not,” Tony responds in such an exasperated tone that it’s obvious this isn’t the first time he’s said these words.
Tonight is the night the final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, will be released. Or, rather, 12:01 tomorrow morning. Book stores and department stores around the world are having release parties to profit on the hype.
Tonight will be the first book release party Peter has been allowed to go to. Even though it will be way past his bedtime when they get home, there was no talking him out of going (not for lack of trying on Tony’s part).
No promises of them having their own Harry Potter party was going to cut it. Much like his father, there was no reasoning with him once his mind was made up. In order to avoid the meltdown of the century, Tony had relented.
“Alright, Kiddo. One ‘book Harry and not movie Harry’ lightning bolt,” Tony announced, mimicking Peter’s voice from moments before. He stood up and held out a mirror for the boy to see for himself. There was a squeal of delight as the mirror was snatched out of the man’s grip.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Peter launched himself into his father’s arms, wrapping his own around the man’s neck and giving him a big, wet kiss on the cheek. Tony chuckled, hugging him back before placing him back on the chair before clapping his hands together once.
“Alright, Mr. Potter. Uncle Happy will be here any minute so let's go over some ground rules.” Peter straightened in the chair, putting on a serious face to show his dad he was listening. It had taken him an entire week of begging and puppy dog eyes to convince his father to let him go. He wasn’t taking any chances of making the man change his mind at the last minute.
A wave of fondness rushed through Tony as he gave his kid a small smile. He holds up one finger. “There will be no leaving mine or Happy’s sight. Safety is my number one priority and there’s going to be a lot of people there tonight. If I tell you to hold my hand, you will not pull away.”
He waited for Peter to nod in agreement before holding up a second finger. “Listen to us. If either of us tell you no or to stop doing something, you do so immediately without arguing. This is not up for discussion. We will leave without the book. Do you understand?”
Peter nodded his head vigorously, his curls falling into his eyes. “Yes sir!” He was definitely going to be on his best behavior. He had finished Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince ages ago and had been marking off days on his Harry Potter calendar, counting down to July 21st when the final book would be released. He didn’t know when his dad would let him get it if he were to get in trouble tonight. He had even agreed to taking a nap earlier to avoid him getting cranky, which was a miracle in itself.
Satisfied, Tony clapped a hand on Peter’s shoulder and pulled him out of his seat. The door to the cabin opens and in walks Happy dressed in a long brown coat and sporting a wild fake beard and wig. “Hagrid!” Peter squealed for the second time that night, running into his Uncle Happy’s open arms for a hug.
Tony stood there, momentarily dumbfounded with his mouth agape. When he told the man to humor the kid, he wasn’t quite expecting him to show up in full costume. He had assumed his friend / bodyguard would just go out and purchase a Harry Potter shirt to wear under an open suit jacket.
“Where’s your costume?” Happy squawks, bringing Tony out of his stupor. “I can’t be the only one in costume!”
Tony snorts, raising his arms out and gestures at his suit as if to say ‘you’re looking at it.’
“That’s not a costume. I’ve seen you wear that to multiple board meetings.”
“Well yes, but I don’t normally carry sticks to meetings.” He pulls a wand out from his pocket and gives it a twirl. “Though it may make things a tad more interesting. Can you imagine Obie’s face?” He snickers at the mental image.
“Who are you supposed to be?”
“Sirius Black, naturally. We do come from similar backgrounds after all. I was going to go as Snape, but the little man here nixed that idea pretty quickly.”
Peter pulls out of Happy’s arms and gives his father an unimpressed look. “He’s a bad guy, Dad. He kills Dumbledore!”
“Ixnay on the spoilers, Kid.” He glances over at Happy to see what (he thinks) may be a look of disappointment on his face. “Now go get the rest of your costume on before the Knight bus leaves without you!”
Both men watch as Peter scurries down the hall towards his bedroom. Tony walks over to Happy and claps him on the back. “Thanks for doing this, Hap. It means a lot to the kid. And to me.” Happy just grunts, but Tony understands exactly what Happy didn’t say. He would go to the ends of the earth for that little boy. They both would.
Peter comes sliding back into the room, now dressed in red and gold Quidditch robes and large round glasses sitting slightly askew. He quickly pushes them back in place before grabbing his dad’s hands with both of his smaller ones and attempts to pull him towards the door. “C’mon! Let’s go!”
***
It took a little over an hour for them to make it from the Stark’s cabin to the Barnes and Noble in Union Square. Tony had already decided that they were just going to crash at the tower tonight. Peter had fallen asleep in his booster seat about halfway there, thankfully, since his vibrating was driving Tony nuts. He wakes up as soon as his father starts unbuckling him. “Are we there?” He excitedly asks, no traces of sleep on his face.
Tony chuckles, holding the door open a bit to make room for the boy to jump out. “See for yourself.” Even though the festivities had already begun, there was a line wrapped around the building of people waiting to be let in.
Grabbing hold of Peter’s hand, Tony confidently starts pulling him past all of the dressed up people that have been waiting there for hours to the front of the line. “Mind if we cut in?” He asked a dark skinned woman with a curly haired little girl dressed as Hermione that looked to be about the same age as Peter.
The girl just glared at them, making Peter blush and hide behind his dad’s leg. Her mother, on the other hand, recognized Tony immediately and gladly moved aside to let him through the door.
“But–”
“Michelle!” The woman hissed, giving her daughter The Look.
Michelle grumbled but stepped to the side to let them through. Peter mumbled a shy ‘thank you’ as he walked by. It always makes him a little uncomfortable when his dad does things like that, but he also really doesn’t want to wait at the back of the line.
As they walked into the store, they received a wristband that would guarantee them a pot in line to purchase a copy of the book and a goodie bag filled with a poster, a bookmark, a button and a few temporary tattoos. “Alright, Kiddo. Where to first? The world is your oyster and all that jazz.”
Barnes and Noble had really outdone themselves, if you were to ask Tony. Entertainment for the night was spread out between the four levels of the store. There wasn’t much on the main level, just a large stage set up that wasn’t currently being occupied. Jim Dale, the narrator of the American version of the Harry Potter audiobooks, would be there later tonight to do a live reading of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. That’s also where the judging of the costume contest would be
Tony tightened his hold on his son’s hands and started heading to register for the contest. Local news stations were set up, filming the crowds and asking questions to passing fans – a lot of who’s your favorite character, how do you expect it to end, and how do you feel about this being the end of an era.
They had almost made it through before they started hearing the whispers. It seems they had been recognized. Not that Sirius Black was much of a disguise, but Tony had foolishly hoped. Damn, maybe he should’ve dressed up as Hagrid too. The wild hair probably would’ve been a better disguise. Oh well. Time to face the music.
He plastered on his best media smile and turned around, mostly blocking Peter from view. The cries of “Mr. Stark” got even louder as multiple microphones were suddenly being thrust in his face. “Mr. Stark! What brings you here tonight?”
He bites back the snarky comment he wants to make. “Oh, you know how it is. The kid’s a big fan.” He says instead. Peter shyly pokes his head out from behind his dad’s legs, giving the reporter a small wave. Cameras flash as others try to push closer.
It's not very often that they have a chance to get a shot of Tony Stark’s heir . Or even Tony Stark himself anymore. He had mostly given up his party days once Peter was born.
Happy, who had been standing back a ways at Tony's insistence, is suddenly by his side and completely blocking their view of the kid. Tony gives them a final wave before scooping Peter up and retreating, leaving Happy behind to take care of the reporters.
They come to a stop at registration before Peter starts wiggling out of Tony's grip. There are about 20 people in front of them so Tony busies himself on his phone, keeping one hand on Peter’s shoulder.
There's a little boy in front of them that turns around to grin at Peter. He's dressed in a fuzzy brown bathrobe with a white stuffed rodent pinned to his shoulder. He's holding a walking stick that's almost the same height as him in his hand. Honestly if it wasn't for the fake eyeball glued to a piece of elastic around his head, Tony would have had no earthly idea what the kid was supposed to be.
It didn't take long for Peter to figure out. He grinned back at the boy. "Cool Mad Eye Moody costume!"
The other boy's eyes lit up at the praise. "Thanks! People keep asking me if I'm Hagrid, which is crazy cause Hagrid doesn't have a fake eye!" He finally stops to take a breath, thrusting out his hand. "I'm Ned Leeds, by the way."
Peter shook his hand with equal enthusiasm. "I'm Peter. Peter Stark." Tony smirked at the awkwardness, but kept his attention on his phone.
Ned's eyes were like saucers as they flicked to Tony. "Dude! You're Tony Stark’s son? That is so cool!" He pulled on the sleeve of the woman standing beside him. "Ma! Did you hear that?"
"Yes, sweetie, but calm down. He may not want the attention." Tony gave the woman a grateful smile as Ned instantly stopped the excited babbling.
At this point, it was almost their turn to register. They were given a number placard to hold up and their pictures were taken before saying their 'good luck' and parting from Ned and his mother.
From there they got in line at the Starbucks. Tony was definitely going to need some caffeine if he was going to make it through tonight. Unfortunately the coffee smelled like it had been there for a while, so he got the three of them a butterbeer instead. Despite Peter insisting that he could walk and drink without spilling it, they found an empty table by a window to sit down.
"Kid, I know you. You're an overexcited puppy. I'm not letting you loose to wet the carpet."
Peter rolled his eyes, climbing up in the chair on his knees. "You make it sound like I'm not housebroken."
This made Happy snort as he went to take a drink, making him spill a little bit of the foam on the table.
Tony passed him a napkin. "Apparently it's the guard dog I need to be worrying about." Peter cackled, using both of his hands to bring his own butterbeer to his lips. His eyes got impossibly bigger as he took another gulp.
Tony took a small sip of his own, grimacing at the overly sweet flavor. It tasted like they had poured a cup of butterscotch syrup in a bottle of cream soda and topped it with whipped cream. Peter had no qualms. He had already finished his and was giving Tony's a hopeful look.
Tony rolled his eyes, pushing it across the table to his son. "Take it easy, Bud, you're going to make yourself sick."
Peter didn't comment, but he did drink this one a little slower. Once they finished their drinks, they took a quick bathroom (Peter was absolutely thrilled when he saw the ENEMIES OF THE HEIR BEWAREwritten on the mirror in what looked like red lipstick) and headed to the second floor for their first activity of the night.
All of the small tables that usually held books displayed on them had been moved for the night and were replaced by long tables covered in black cloths. Plastic cauldrons and different sized glass bottles were spread around along as well as supplies for kids to make their own potions.
Peter excitedly pulled both Tony and Happy by their arms to an empty section of the table. A worker dressed in black robes and a witches hat smiled warmly at them as they came to a stop in front of her. "Welcome to Potions Class! I'm Professor Parker. Who do we have here?"
She spoke mostly to Peter while Tony and Happy just watched, which was perfectly okay with them. She was a natural with kids, keeping him engaged as she helped him put his safety goggles over the fake Harry Potter glasses he was wearing. He gave Tony a toothy grin when he noticed his dad had his phone out filming him.
"Okay Mr. Peter, " Professor Parker said in a fake professional tone. "We're going to be making a Fizzing Potion tonight. Have you ever brewed a potion before?"
Tony snorts as Peter eagerly nods his head in response. "We've had a few magical mishaps. This one here has been banned from unsupervised potion making."
Peter gives his dad a sheepish smile, clearly remembering the Green Goop Fiasco a couple months back when Tony had walked in from work to find Peter begging Rhodey, both of them covered in green snot-like slime, to not rat him out. To this day there is still a greenish tint to the living room sofa.
"Uh oh! Number one rule to potion making is being safe and having adult supervision." She placed two glass mason jars on a disposable placemat in front of Peter. She instructed him to fill each jar half full with white vinegar. There was a look of pure determination on the boy's face as he used both hands to guide the liquid into the jars without spilling a single drip.
Professor Parker then had him squeeze some liquid dish soap into each container and add some food coloring (he obviously did one red and one blue since those were his and his dad's favorite colors) before mixing glitter and tiny plastic spiders for decoration.
"Very nice, Mr. Peter! Now take one of those popsicle sticks and stir it up real good. Not too fast. Good job!" Peter was absolutely beaming at the praise.
The final step was putting a couple spoonfuls of baking soda into each container. As soon as the baking soda was added, the potion began to bubble up. The jar couldn't contain the potion as it started to overflow onto the placemat, colorful foam and plastic spiders going everywhere. Peter gave an excited squeal, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet and clapping his hands. He smiled up at his father and was rewarded with an affectionate hand tousling his curls.
"Way to go, Bud. Let's help clean up before we move on."
***
The next activity for the night was trivia, but not before grabbing a quick picture in front of the giant Hogwarts display made entirely out of legos.
They met back up with Ned and his mom in the line for trivia. Each boy babbled enthusiastically about what they've been doing. While Peter had been making fizzing potions, Ned had been at the wand making table. He brandished what looked like a pencil painted gray with a black pipe cleaner around the handle and red glitter glued to the other end.
"Is that a Darth Vader lightsaber wand?" Peter asked with wide eyes.
"Yes!! Are you a Star Wars fan too?"
"It's only my favorite movie outside of Harry Potter!"
Tony and Mrs. Leeds exchanged knowing looks as the boys continued their conversation exuberantly. It looks like this is the beginning of a budding friendship.
Honestly, Tony is thrilled. Peter isn't exactly shy, but he's also not as outgoing as his father. Coupled with the fact they just moved from Malibu to New York at the end of last school year, having a new friend would really help with the transition. Tony made a mental note to ask Mrs. Leeds where Ned went to school – once he figured out how to do so without sounding like a total creep.
Tony's internal musings were interrupted by a tug at his sleeve and two pairs of young, hopeful eyes staring up at him expectantly. He had only been half listening, but agreed regardless, having only caught the fact that Peter had asked permission for Ned to come over sometime.
With a squeal of delight, the boys go back to talking animatedly. Happy leans forward to whisper in Tony's ear. "You do realize you just agreed to letting that boy bring his ferret over for a play date, don't you?"
Well shit .
Tony didn't have much of a chance to harp on the clusterfuck of a play date that he just agreed to (how ferret proof is Peter's bedroom anyway) before it was his turn to answer a trivia question.
A graying man dressed as Albus Dumbledore in long purple robes stepped in front of Tony with a long game show microphone in his hand. "Ah, Mr. Stark. Thanks for coming out to join us tonight… What is the caretaker, Mr. Filch's deepest secret?"
Tony thought it through for a minute. He was fairly certain he knew the answer. Though not as big of a fan as his son, Tony had also read all the books (mostly to Peter) and watched the movies. But at the same time, it was also well past 9 pm and the thought of getting off his feet and letting the others have a better chance of winning was extremely tempting.
"He's madly in love with Professor McGonagall and pretends his cat is her in her animagus form."
There was a round of laughter, even Dumbledore chuckled good-naturedly. Peter, however, was not impressed. It was just as obvious to him that his dad had intentionally thrown the question.
Tony shrugged guiltily, ruffling the boy's hair before stepping out of line and sitting down by Ned's mom, leaving a chair between them.
Happy joined them a few minutes later after missing his question (which Weasley brother is the oldest).
The contestants were dwindling down. Only Peter, Michelle and a couple older kids remained. Even Ned had been disqualified over a technicality. He sulked over to plop down between Tony and his mom, but was elated when Tony offered him a fist bump.
Pretty soon it was just down to Peter and Michelle. They both seemed to know these books backwards and forwards. Obviously the guy asking the questions seemed to gather this, so he decided to change it up
One of the workers pulled up two chairs and had each of the kids sit down. "Okay, final question. Whoever stands up and answers correctly first will be the winner. Understood?"
Both kids nod. Michelle, the epitome of Hermione Granger herself, sits with her back straight and hands folded in her lap. Peter, on the other hand, is vibrating with nervous energy, grasping either side of his seat ready to push himself up.
Instead of reading the question, the man turned to address the crowd, a few camera flashes going off. "This is all rather exciting, isn't it?" He says with a laugh. "We actually have a second prize for the winner tonight. Not only will one of these kids be first in line tonight for the final book – they'll also be going home with this."
A lady dressed as Professor McGonagall came forward, holding up a copy of the first Harry Potter book. A copy signed by JK Rowling herself. Michelle's eyes doubled in size. It was the first time Tony had seen any type of reaction since the trivia game began. Peter seemed to notice as well, biting his bottom lip as he studied her face.
Dumbledore waited for the crowd to calm down before continuing. "Also both kids here will receive a voucher for a free butterbeer from Starbucks."
Tony rolled his eyes at the huge grin Peter shot him. The boy had been trying to weasel another drink out of him all night. Despite being able to easily afford buying a round of butterbeers for everybody in the entire damn store, Tony would never deny the boy the chance to use a free voucher that he had earned.
Dumbledore cleared his throat and began reading the final question, being sure to enunciate. "What is the full name of the Headmaster of Hogwarts?"
Both kids shot out of their seats, Peter just being a millisecond quicker. Dumbledore held out the microphone in front of Peter, giving him the go ahead.
"Albus Percival Wilfred Brian Dumbledore." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he knew he had messed up.
"I'm afraid that's incorrect. Michelle?"
"Albus Percival WULFRIC Brian Dumbledore."
"Very good! We have a winner!"
Michelle was absolutely beaming as she accepted the book from Dumbledore, hugging it to her chest like it was the most precious thing in the world. Peter, on the other hand, looked like he was trying not to cry as he shook the man’s hand and received his voucher.
He didn't let the tears fall until he saw his dad standing off to the side, bent down on one knee with his arms open wide for a hug – which Peter promptly fell into. "You did so good, Buddy. I'm proud of how far you got," He whispered into the boy's ear, gently squeezing the nape of his neck.
Peter's only response was burying his face further into his dad's neck. Tony groaned as he stood back upright, Peter still hanging around his neck. He walked them back to the small group, giving a slight shake of the head when Happy offered to carry Peter.
"Who's up for a round of liquid diabetes?" He looked to Ned and his mom, who readily agreed. Ned filled the otherwise silent walk to Starbucks with endless chatter that was starting to grate on Tony's nerve until Peter began to stir.Without warning , he slid out of his father's arms and joined in on the conversation, all prior disappointment seemingly forgotten. He was back to his normal, bubbly self by the time they reached Starbucks.
After receiving their drinks (three coffees for the adults and two butterbeers for the gremlins) they make their way back to the stage where they were crowning the winner of the costume contest; a rather impressive costume of Hermione in cat form after the Polyjuice Potion mishap in the Chamber of Secrets.
The countdown clock read 11:01, which means they have another hour before the books are able to be sold. They found seats together to watch as Jim Dale came on stage to begin the live reading. They weren't very far in when the inevitable sugar crash happened. Peter had crawled into Tony's lap, head resting on his shoulder as kids got up to act out various characters. He was asleep before the trio had even made it to Hogwarts.
Happy and Tony exchange looks, Happy silently agreeing to stick it out while Tony takes Peter to wait in the car. Tony gives him a grateful smile as he stands, careful not to wake the sleeping child in his arms. He glances at Mrs. Leeds, pausing for a moment. Patting his pockets as if he actually carried business cards, he found an ink pen instead. Grabbing one of the free bookmarks the store had been handing out, he writes down his personal phone number and hands it to her. She accepts it with a smile, placing it in her purse as she goes back to rocking her own sleeping child.
As Tony waits in the car with Peter's head in his lap, playing with his curls as he snores softly, he thinks that all in all it had been a pretty successful night. Peter may be a little upset in the morning that he hadn't been able to make it all night, but hopefully the book and promise of a play date should be enough to make it better.