Harry Potter and the Invincible Technomage
Fathers Day
By Clell65619
A/N: I do not own Harry Potter. Nor any of the Marvel Comics Characters mentioned herein. But you knew that.
Harry Potter and The Invincible TechnoMage
Chapter Five – Fathers Day.
May 11 1985:
Orange County Child Services
French Lick, Indiana.
“Mr. Stark, the child is… well, different. We aren’t really equipped to care for him.”
In the corner of the room the tiny black haired boy sat quietly. There were blocks and crayons with paper on the table he sat at, but he most studiously avoided touching them. Tony really didn’t understand that, in his entire life he had never seen a child so young sit so quietly. Outside the door to the office something happened, causing a loud noise that startled the boy, and once again the electric blue dome formed over him.
“He does that all the time.” The woman said, Tony couldn’t recall her name. She leaned forward conspiratorially. “I think he may be a mutant.”
“May I speak with him?” Tony Stark asked, pushing all of his charm into the question. As usual, the woman reacted to his patented bachelor vibe and nodded.
Tony moved over to the small table where the boy sat, still quiet as a mouse. Collapsing his tall frame to fit in the tiny chair, he met the boy’s gaze. Startled again, the boy looked away. What had his life been like to be this cowed at such a young age?
“Hello Harry. My name is Tony. I work at the place where your Aunt and Uncle got hurt.”
A look of terror filled the boy’s eyes. “I didn’t do it. I didn’t do anything.”
“We know that Harry. It’s ok that you’re scared. When I heard about what happened I was scared, and I wasn’t even there. I’ve called your Aunt in England.”
Again the fear showed. “Aunt Marge?”
“Yes Harry. Your Aunt Marge told my assistant that she couldn’t take you because she is too old to care for a young man like you.”
“Aunt Marge doesn’t like me. Nobody likes me because I’m bad. I try real hard, but I’m always bad.”
“From what I’ve seen, you’re a good boy Harry. As far as I can find out, you don’t have any other relatives. Do you know of any?”
“No sir. My mum and dad died in a car crash. My Uncle said they were drunk.”
What a horrible thing to say to a child. What kind of man had that bastard Dursley been in life anyway?
“I was wondering if you would like to live with me Harry?”
“With you? Yes Sir. I could do that. I’ll work hard. I can make breakfast, and I can weed the garden and I can clean bathrooms. Uncle Vernon said I could start mowing the lawn this summer. I don’t eat much sir, and I don’t need much space.”
“Harry, I’m not looking to hire a servant. I was asking if you would like to live with me. If you would like it, I would like to adopt you. You would be my little boy.”
“Really?”
…---===ooo000ooo===---…
The morning after the Troll incident, breakfast was served as usual. Albus Dumbledore was seated at the head table radiating peace and serenity in that way he did that calmed almost everyone in the room. He was well aware that Minerva and Filius were not among those calmed by him this morning, but the students were amazingly unaware of the details of the previous night’s adventure.
Dumbledore’s serenity was suddenly shattered when something, no two extremely powerful somethings crossed the wards. What ever they were, they were flying and moving at very high speed. He had barely risen from his seat when the doors leading to the Entry Hall slammed open.
“Dumbledore!”
The Headmaster turned to see three people standing at the doorway. An extremely tall blonde man, an ethereal blonde woman clad all in green and wearing nothing on her feet, and a man he recognized. A man who couldn’t possibly be here without Dumbledore’s specific invitation.
“Dumbledore, what the hell have you allowed to happen to my son?” The tall dark haired man strode to the head table to stand directly in front of the Headmaster. “You swore that this was the safest place in Britain, that nothing could happen to Harry as long as he was here, and you let a damned Mountain Troll into your school?”
Dumbledore’s eyes drifted to the Hufflepuff table where Agatha Harkness was sitting, holding court as the most famous living Hufflepuff. She smiled and saluted him with her goblet.
“Mr. Stark, you are understandably upset, perhaps we should retire to my office where we can discuss this calmly.”
“Your office? Are you insane man? My son almost dies because you can’t do your job properly and you want me to go to your office? I’m going to see Harry.”
“Mr. Stark, I assure you all is well…”
“All is well? I’m interested in how you decided that. You let a troll get, not on to the grounds, but inside the school it’s self. My son was forced to defend him self, almost dying doing so. The only reason he is still alive is he presented a pair of classmates with the means of calling for help. You have yet to notify me of his status, I’m suspecting that the Grangers and the Patils also have yet to be notified of the dangers their children found themselves in. Harry still hasn’t wakened, and you’re assuring me all is well?”
Dumbledore was taken aback at the man’s vitriol. Did he not know to whom he was speaking? Giving no outward sign he concentrated and applied a calming compulsion to the man. Tony Stark’s eyes dilated for a second and he smiled, then his brow furrowed, and the fire returned to his eyes. He leaned over the table, putting himself inches from the Headmaster’s face.
“Old man, you know the circles I deal with. You made that clear when you decided to visit us last summer. I am a technologist. I build things. My friends encounter cowards who try to control the minds of others all the time. This is the second time you’ve played your mind games around me. Try to control my thoughts again and I will rip your mind from your body. If I ever find out you used your mind control on my son, and not a single stone of this lovely castle will be left standing. Do I make myself clear?”
“What I do if for the greater good Mr. Stark.” Did this Muggle really think Dumbledore would be frightened by his threats? Though his unexplained ability to throw off a compulsion did give the Headmaster pause.
“’The Greater Good’? That has been the refuge of bullies since time began old man. Everyone believes what he does is right or justified. What makes you special?” The man stood back “I want to see my son.”
…---===ooo000ooo===---…
Dumbledore watched as Filius led the elder Stark out of the Great Hall on his way to the Hospital Wing. He turned his attention to the Muggle’s two companions.
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave the castle. You have no family here and are not allowed to stay.”
The broad shouldered man smiled down at Dumbledore. “I am Merlyn’s representative in this reality little wizard. My mission is to justice, not your nebulous ‘greater good’. You lack the power to remove me, as your amusing wards told you when we arrived. Normally I wouldn’t have anything to do with your kind, as Merlyn advised, but this is a favor for a trusted friend. We will be staying until Mr. Stark is ready to leave.”
“Merlyn really doesn’t like you or what your people have been doing with his heritage” the bare footed woman said. “Now that I’ve met you, I can understand why the land here is so unhappy.”
…---===ooo000ooo===---…
At the Hufflepuff table, Agatha Harkness was surrounded by delighted ‘puffs. The sheer glee of having the acknowledged ‘most powerful witch in the world’ turn out to be a Hufflepuff was only slightly dimmed by the knowledge that she was banished from Britain for life and was liable to be arrested at any time… Though any Aurors who attempted to make such an arrest on Hogwarts grounds might suddenly discover they lived in interesting times and that was before Mistress Harkness (as she let the ‘puffs know she preferred to be called) cast a spell. Not to mention that finding Aurors to make that arrest might be chancy given the number of ‘puffs in the service.
Those who claimed that the badger house was a dumping ground for near squibs and dullards could choke on it.
“Mistress Harkness?” Shy fourth year Cedric Diggory spoke up. “Since we heard you were here, we looked you up in the house records. Those records tell us that you didn’t finish your seventh year due to being banished.” He blushed. “The records do not record what you were banished for. Is it too rude to ask what it was you did?”
“Never shy away from asking questions young Badger.” Agatha smiled at the blushing boy. “If I view your question as being too personal or too forward I will not answer it. I have been a teacher for a very long time, I live for questions.”
“Why the old fools attempted to banish me and why they still pretend that they could is actually a story that is both amusing and sad. Are you sure you want to hear it?”
There was a chorus of affirmatives.
“During my seventh year there was a Dark Lord on the rise. Do any of you know of Dark Lord Derkholm?”
“Derkholm was an especially nasty Dark Lord who reined from 1672 through 1680. He was noted for his use of Magic Stealing rituals on young girls.” Supplied Penelope Clearwater. She had come from the Ravenclaw table as soon as she realized that there might be something to learn.
“Very good Miss?”
“Penelope Clearwater ma’am.”
“You have an excellent grasp of recent history Miss Clearwater.” She smiled when she saw the looks on their faces. “Recent for me at any rate.”
“At any rate, Derkholm’s forces captured me and 12 other girls on a Hogsmeade trip. We were added to the four girls he already had. Derkholm did his rituals in groups of seven. I was selected for the second set of seven that afternoon. Number 6 actually. Doing the ritual 12 times in a row was evidently somewhat intoxicating. He inverted the transfer rune on the cluster.”
“So instead of your magic going to him, his went to you?”
“Quite right Mr. Diggory. His magic, his life, and the magic he had stolen from 236 other girls. In one fell swoop, I became the most powerful witch in the world. The old fools of the Wizengamot decided that since I had the power of a Dark Wizard, I must be dark. They ordered my death.”
“I didn’t feel the need to cooperate, so I defended myself. 23 Aurors later, the Wizengamot decided that perhaps I shouldn’t be killed. I believe my standing in their chamber threatening to flay the skin from all their bodies may have had something to do with that decision. After I left they decided to banish me for life. I ignored that as well, until my betrothed broke it off with me due to my ‘dark leanings’. That was when I left for the Massachusetts colony, vowing never to return.” She smiled again. “It took my favorite student in over a century to get me to return.”
“But Mistress Harkness. What if someone calls the Aurors?” asked Susan Bones making a mental note to ask her Auntie Amelia about this injustice.
“As I told your headmaster last night, if who ever sends them after me doesn’t care about their Aurors, why should I?”
…---===ooo000ooo===---…
Harry hurt. He hurt all over his body. It was better than his last memory though. And he was warm. That was good. His eyes hurt too. Could magic cure blindness? He couldn’t recall Mistress Harkness having anything to say on the subject. But then it wasn’t really likely to have come up.
There was a light murmur of conversation in the room. He girded himself and opened his eyes. He found his father looking down into his eyes.
“Dad?”
“Hey kid. What did I tell you about leading with your chin?”
“When did you get here?”
“Here in the infirmary? About three minutes ago. I’ve been in the castle about 20 minutes. I got into the UK about two hours after Agatha and Wanda got her. The delay was finding Brian and Meggan to help me find this place. Even with the GPS coordinates, I kept missing.” He ruffled the boy’s hair. “Wanda told me what you looked like last night. Madam Pomfrey is quite the healer. Think I could hire her away for the Avengers?”
“Jarvis might get jealous if you got someone else to patch people up.”
“True enough. Your friends here have been telling me that you saved them from a huge troll.”
Harry looked over to see Padma and Hermione both sitting in beds, eating from trays and smiling shyly at him. “I’m sorry Dad. I didn’t mean to worry anyone. We tried to run, but we were trapped. Then I tried the weapons in my Techsuit, but all they did was make the troll mad.”
“Did you archive the target specs in your upgrade file?”
“Yes. After the Techsuit didn’t work, I really didn’t have much choice. You’ve seen the specs on a troll I’m sure. If it had been just me, I would have tried to dodge around him, but with three of us, someone was going to get hurt.”
“And you decided, better you than them?”
“Yes sir.” Harry couldn’t meet his father’s eyes.
“You did the right thing Harry. Would I prefer you didn’t get hurt? Most certainly.” He looked around to see if anyone was paying close attention to their conversation. “Am I surprised that you put your body between danger and your friends? No. Look at the example you’ve been given. Steve, Clint, Ben, Jennifer, Wanda, hell, even me. What do we do? You’re a good kid Harry. You did the right thing.”
“Thank you Dad. I’m not sure I believe it, but thank you.”
“Are you still set on staying here?”
Harry nodded. “Yes sir. I like being with people like me.”
…---===ooo000ooo===---…
“Miss Maximoff?”
“Yes?” When Tony and Harry had started talking she had moved away to near the door of the infirmary. The man who approached her was tall with a hooked nose, dressed all in black.
“My name is Severus Snape. If you had a moment, I was hoping I could escort you to breakfast in the Great Hall, that we might discuss your work in Chaos Magic.”
“I’m surprised Mr. Snape. I was under the impression that most wizards viewed my work on the theory of Chaos Magic as something just short of heresy.”
“You are correct, and until last night I was one of them, but after seeing an example of the practical application last night…”
“Are you one of Harry’s teachers?”
“I am. I teach Potions.”
“Breakfast would be nice.”
…---===ooo000ooo===---…
May 15 1985:
Stark Estate
New York, New York
“And this is your room Harry.” The rotund man showed him to a huge room, with a bed, bookcase, desk, dresser, and a lot of things. This room was bigger than the sitting room back at #4 Privet Drive.
“All this is for me?”
“Yes, this is your bedroom. When you’re ready I’ll show you around the rest of the family rooms.”
“There’s more? Wow.”
“Yes Harry the house is quite large. Would you like help unpacking?”
“Oh, no Mr. Jarvis, I can do it.” The small boy opened the single very cheap suitcase he had brought with him. From the case he removed a pair of jeans and two shirts, those three items, like the shirt and pants he was wearing, appeared to be brand new. “I love these clothes.” The little boy murmured to him self.
“It’s just ‘Jarvis’ Harry. Please no one calls me Mr. You love those outfits do you?”
“Oh, yes sir. They are the first new clothes I can remember. I got them special for the trip. Uncle Vernon didn’t want me to come, but there wasn’t anyone to take care of me for six weeks. So I got to come.” The boy’s eyes so bright suddenly dimmed “Then the accident happened.”
Three shirts and two pair of pants were the first new clothes he could remember? “Well Harry, that’s behind you. Mr. Stark wants you to stay with us from now on.” Edwin Jarvis was wishing he could have met this ‘Vernon Dursley’ while he was alive. Perhaps a short lesson in how bullies were dealt with in Brooklyn would have straightened the man out. “It seems to me that you could use a few more outfits. Perhaps tomorrow we can go shopping for a few things.”
“I don’t want to be a burden Sir. Don’t worry about me.”
“Harry, you could never be a burden.”
…---===ooo000ooo===---…
“You’re sure?”
“Yes Dad. I need to stay here. I need to be with others like me.”
“Alright kiddo. You cook yourself again, and your butt will be back in New York before you can say Brighton Beach. Jarvis is likely to kill me as it is.”
“Make sure you tell Jarvis I’m ok Dad.”
“He knows. Brian, thank you for your help, I’ll be hitching a ride back to London with Agatha and Wanda. Megan, as usual it has been a treat to see you.”
“Any time Tony. Take care of yourself Harry.”
“Thank you Mr. Braddock.”
“Take care young Harry.”
“And you Mistress Harkness. Thank you for coming.”
Harry watched as his father and the two witches disappeared, while Brian and Megan flew off. He watched until the fliers were too far away to make out. He then turned and reentered the castle. He had some Herbology homework to finish.
…---===ooo000ooo===---…
May 27 1985:
Stark Estate
New York, New York
Harry had lost track of time. The picture book about dragons and trolls and goblins had taken hold of his imagination and he had lost himself in imagining a world where such things existed. Jarvis had knocked on his door reminding him that there were visitors and that dinner would be in half an hour. He came barreling around a corner and ran full bore into someone very large, very hard, and very… Orange?
“Watch it there sport.” A very deep gravelly voice came from the huge… person.
Harry stared up at the person. “Are you a rock?”
The huge person laughed a deep friendly sounding laugh. “My skin is sort of like a rock, but I’m a man. My name is Ben. You must be Harry.”
“Yes sir. Could I touch you?”
The man laughed again. He extended his hand. Harry wrapped both his hand around the massive orange index finger. “Wow! That is so amazing!”
“Come on Harry; let’s find my nephew, Franklin.”
“Yes Sir. Have you always been like this?”
“No, we were trying to go the moon, we didn’t use the right shielding and we came back changed.”
“We? Are there more orange people?”
“No, we all changed in different ways. My best friend is like a rubber band, his wife can turn invisible, and her brother can turn into fire and fly.”
“That is so cool. You are all so lucky!” He gestured to himself. “This is all I am.”
The big man laughed again. “Sometimes it’s good to be just you Harry. You’ll grow into yourself given time.”
A small blond boy ran up. “Unca Ben! Unca Johnny’s telling people that purple pants story about you.”
“Oh he is is he?” the large orange man rushed into the room.
“Hi.” Said the blond boy. “I’m Franklin. Are you Harry?”
“Yeah. Ben is your Uncle?”
“Yeah, all my life.”
“You are so lucky. He’s the coolest uncle in the world. All mine did was yell at me, he could turn colors too, but I think that was mostly being mad.”
“Come on. When ever Unca Johnny tells the purple pants story, Unca Ben ends up grabbing him and holding him under water until his fire goes out. That’s really funny!”
“Your other uncle turns into fire? Man, you are so lucky.”
…---===ooo000ooo===---…
Stuart Granger parked the car and got out. His wife Kristine came to his side.
“I always wanted to take you here, but the costs are astronomical.”
“Don’t worry about that Stuart, we’re here now. I can’t believe we got an invitation from Tony Stark no less. Do you think he might have Iron Man here?”
“It’s Hermione that’s the Super Hero fan Kris, not you. I just find myself wondering what he wants.”
At the reception desk, Stuart mentioned the Stark party, and the pair was escorted back to a private room.
“Ah, the Grangers. Welcome. I’m Tony Stark.” He gave then that smile known world wide. “This is Chandrahas Patil and his wife Dhanyata. Mr, Mrs Patil these are the Grangers, Stuart and Kristine. I can see you all have questions. You’re asking yourself why has he called us here.”
“It turns out that we have something in common. Our children are all students at Hogwarts.”
The Patils immediately became very alert. “You’re a wizard?”
“No. My adopted son is however, just like the Granger’s daughter Hermione.”
The Patils and the Grangers stared at him expectantly. “We have things to discuss, but I think it would be more comfortable to do so over our meal, without the wait staff in attendance.”
Surrendering to this, the group looked to their menus and ordered. They made small talk while their meal was prepared and served. As soon as the wine was poured the servers left and the room was sealed.
“Excuse me one moment.” Tony opened his briefcase and removed a small object, he twisted it and placed it on another table. “Now we’re safe from eavesdroppers. Last night our children, my son Harry, the Patil’s Padma, and the Granger’s Hermione were going to dinner from the castle’s Astronomy tower when they were confronted by a Mountain Troll.” The Patils gasped. “Stuart, Kristine, I don’t blame you for not knowing, I had to look it up myself when I found out. A mountain troll is a nasty creature that averages four meters tall, weighing in at around 600 kilos. They are aggressive and will kill most people they come across.”
“From what I’ve been told, the kids attempted to escape, but evidently the stair cases move and they were trapped with the troll attacking. If you’re aware of my work, then it won’t surprise you that my son has some technological advantages that other students at Hogwarts do not. He used his weapons, but couldn’t do more than annoy the troll.”
Stark went on to explain what Harry had done, and the level of injury he had sustained in doing so. The Grangers seemed to assume that Harry was just an above average magic user based on Letters sent by Hermione. The Patils were startled at the admission that Harry had managed to use Chaos magic, even if he did so in a self destructive way.
“What concerns me is that the school made no effort to inform me, and the headmaster was angered when I presumed to appear at the castle. That was when I asked myself if either of Harry’s friends’ parents had been informed of the situation they had found themselves in.”
Both sets of parents were surprised by the revelation of their children’s adventure, and said so.
“I thought so. I have an idea that will facilitate communication between our children and ourselves. With your permission I would like to supply both Padma and Hermione with technology that will allow them to communicate almost instantly with you. Given my choice I would be pulling my son out of that mad house, Harry on the other hand has a deep need to prove himself to those like himself. From the way they were together at Hogwarts, it’s a safe bet to me that the three of them will remain together at least for a while, so if the girls have a way to talk to you, and you have a way to talk to me, that triples the chance that I will hear what my wayward child is up to.”
“I do not understand.” Chandrahas Patil said. “Ours is a magical household, from everything I know of Muggle technology, it will not work in such an environment. We do use Muggle technology in our business, but we cannot at home.”
“Ah, an unexploited market… you make the businessman in me salivate. Having Harry around has necessitated my learning to develop tools that works with the magic instead of trying to make it work in spite of it. I will need to tune the kids modules to them, but your home units will work fine with the ambient level of magic you generate.”
“Will the children’s devices give them any advantages in their studies?” asked Kristine Granger.
Doubtful, unless Hermione hacks into the system to add the capabilities. Harry could do it if he wanted, but tells me doing it the normal way is easier.”
The discussion went on for another hour. In the end both families agreed, and were indeed looking forward to the new method of communicating with their children. It was agreed that the Starks would visit both families when the children returned to London for the Christmas Holidays.
…---===ooo000ooo===---…