s Disclaimers: I am not making any money off of this story, so any mistakes are my own. Therefore, I cannot be the owner of the Marvel or Harry Potter universes, that honor goes to their respective creators.

A/N: All spelling and grammatical errors are mine.

This chapter isn't long; it just has a lot of dialogue.

I'm not a social worker so I don't know what kind of questions they would usually ask in a situation like this.

I am in no way well versed in how Brit's like their tea. I am, however, both a coffee and a tea-loving American, so excuse me if anything I say about how Britain's take their tea is wrong.

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[Chapter Five] The Talk

Clutching his stomach, Harry, regretted anything complimentary he might have said about shawarma.

Groaning as he staggered from his bed to the bathroom, Harry all but fell down by the toilet. His head was pulsing now, and his stomach was rolling.

He knew he shouldn't have eaten so much shawarma, but the look on Tony's face. He hadn't wanted to upset Tony by turning down the food after just a few bites.

Harry half laid over the toilet, dry heaving, and gagging wishing that he had access to some stomach soother and maybe a Pepper Up while he was at it.

Although he hadn't actually thrown up yet, Harry heard the not-so-disembodied voice of Tony's automated butler.

"Young sir, are you well? Should I get your father?"

Harry blanched at the thought of Tony coming up here. "Yeah," more gagging, "I mean, no! I mean, yeah, I'm fine, and no, you do not need to get Tony." Harry said as he finally managed to get out between heaves and pants.

He wasn't sick, he just wasn't used to eating such heavily seasoned foods, and the glasses had given him a migraine or something. It was probably what had made him nauseous.

Still, JARVIS must have interpreted the first 'yeah' as he needed help as a few minutes later, Harry heard his bedroom door open and seconds later, the sound of someone entering his bathroom.

Still on the floor, Tony was by Harry's side in an instant.

"Shit! Harry! What's wrong, kid?" Tony's voice was a bit too loud.
It sent Harry reeling. "Nothing. I'm fine. I told JARVIS I was fine." Harry said as he leaned back again while letting his hand drop from his stomach and into his lap as if to convey his point further.

"I am sorry young sir; I mistook your affirmative as to get your father."
"It's fine, JARVIS," Tony dismissed before Harry had a chance to say anything.

Harry groaned, it wasn't fine. He didn't want Tony here. He just wanted to be alone, why couldn't anyone understand that?

"Harry? Is it just a headache? I mean, you aren't getting sick on me, right? Oh, God, I am not cut out for this!" Tony fretted as Harry felt his eyes rake over him, trying to find the cause of Harry's sudden distress.

"I'm fine," Harry said while pushing away from the toilet and subsequently, Tony. How many times did he have to say that for him to understand!

"All right, kid, I got your point," said Tony in a placating manner, even going as far as holding his palms out. "At least let me get you something for your head," Tony said as he stood up.

"See, Tony, you've got this." Harry heard Tony mutter to himself as he went to leave the bathroom.

Harry thought he heard Tony asking JARVIS to alert him immediately if something like this ever occurred again, to which Harry just let out an irritated sigh.

He didn't need looking after; he was twelve, not exactly a grown-up but not at the age where he needed consent supervision either. Merlin knows he wasn't used to it.

Minutes later, Tony returned with a glass of water and a pill bottle. Handing both off to Harry, he wordlessly watched as Harry grabbed a couple of pills, popped them in his mouth, and washed them down with water.

Tony lingered around a few more minutes, eyeing Harry critically for anything else that might be wrong. When it appeared that there was nothing else he could do and that Harry didn't need anything, Tony escorted Harry back to his bed. When Harry was back in bed, Tony left with the promise that he would be around later to check on him but to tell JARVIS if he needed anything in the meantime. Tony had also suggested that he should probably try to get some sleep. Saying that is what always seemed to help him.

If Tony kept his word, Harry didn't know, as he managed to fall asleep at some point and slept through the night until the next morning. As it was, he was only woken up by an insistent knock on his bedroom door.

"M'a wake Aunt Petunia," Harry mumbled as he sat up.

"Harry?" It was Pepper, not his aunt. He relaxed a fraction. "Are you awake?" She sounded frazzled.
"I am now," Harry said groggily as he rubbed the rest of the sleep from his eyes. What time was it? As Harry slipped his recently acquired frames on, he noticed it was barely light outside.

The door slowly opened as Pepper popped her head in.

"Harry, you need to come downstairs right now."

Harry was instantly wide awake. Pepper looked very serious at the moment, which caused him to suspect something was wrong immediately. Probably something he was or wasn't currently doing.

"I'll start cooking breakfast. I am sorry I overslept."
"What?" Pepper sounded very confused before realization dawned on her. "No, no, Harry! It's nothing like that. We'll worry about breakfast later."

"What's wrong, then?" He voiced his concern as he threw the covers away from him. If it wasn't because he had overslept and not had breakfast waiting, then what was the issue?

"Someone called Child Protective Services. They have sent a social worker over and, she wants to talk to you." Pepper said, looking angry for a minute.

"What?" Harry was confused. Didn't they usually send over social workers for kids who were in foster care or something? He wasn't in foster care, and Tony wasn't his foster dad considering he was the real thing.
"I know, Harry. I'm just as shocked as you are. But someone must have reported it yesterday and right now the woman is down there talking to Tony. She's demanding to speak to you too."

"Reported what?" Harry questioned. Tony hadn't done anything to him, other than being kinder than Harry really deserved. Harry hadn't been acting very grateful to Tony, hiding in his room instead of trying to get to know him.

Pepper took a deep breath, "Child abuse, Harry." She acted like it was painful to say. "It's not something people take lightly, and I can only assume someone reported the Dursley's actions."
"Oh. Um, could you give me a few minutes, please?" Harry asked as he scrambled out of bed.

"Of course, just come down when you are ready. The social worker is not going to leave until she talks to you, so take your time."
"Mrs. Potts, erm, Pepper?" Harry stumbled, still having trouble remembering not to address her by title, catching her as she was getting ready to leave. "Do you know why she wants to see me?"
Pepper softened at his question, "She just wants to know how you are settling in. She will probably want to know what you think of Tony. Make sure it's not Tony behind all this. Just tell her what you think. Be honest, Harry. If you don't like it here, tell her. She can make other arrangements." Pepper said although she had a peculiar look on her face.

She seemed to be conflicted about something before she seemed to make up her mind. "Harry, I do want to remind you that regardless of what happens today, know that you will always have a home here. I know you haven't known Tony but for a couple of days, but in that time, I have seen a real change in Tony. A change for the better, and I have you to thank for it. I know I should not try to sway your decision, but please consider everything when you answer her questions today. Tell her the truth, but think of all Tony's done for you in the couple of days you have been here and the life you had with your aunt and uncle."

Harry saw gratitude, worry, hope, anxiety, and many other emotions to name on her face at that moment.

"I will," Harry promised.

"Thank you, Harry." Pepper sounded relieved. "Now, get ready, and I'll let them know you will be joining us shortly." With that, Pepper closed the door to the room, leaving Harry to hastily get dressed.

Not even ten minutes later, Harry stepped off the elevator and into the common room where he saw Tony sitting on the couch as he had been on that first morning when they had met. Except now, Pepper stood beside him. Neither of them seemed to be very relaxed, and Harry quickly saw why. The woman who must have been the social worker, Pepper was talking about, was wandering around the area, looking into things and taking notes.

"Harry." Tony greeted with a smile; it didn't seem to reach his eyes, Harry noticed at once. "I hope you are feeling better this morning?" He sounded tired, and maybe a bit stressed, Harry realized. He felt a little guilty, hoping that he hadn't stayed up all night because of him. The pills worked well enough and had at least dulled the pain enough where he'd been able to fall asleep.

"Yes," Harry said as he walked over to stand around Tony and Pepper. "Uh, thanks, by the way, for last night."

Hearing the greeting, the woman turned around and, upon spying Harry, bustled over before Tony had a chance to respond.

The woman was middle-aged and short, only a few centimeters taller than he was, with short blonde hair. She had a stern look on her face, but it seemed to dissolve into something a bit kinder as she approached him. "Harry Potter?"

"Yes?" Harry answered while glancing at Tony and Pepper. Harry noticed Tony's eyes appeared not to have left him during the entire conversation.

Harry looked at the woman in front of him.

"Margret Atwood, I'm a social worker sent by the CPS to look into your new living arrangement. I would like to have a word with you and ask you a few questions if I may?"
"Sure, that'll be fine, I guess. Tony?" Harry looked expectantly at the man who claimed to be his father. Harry wasn't sure what he was trying to ask Tony. It wasn't like he was asking for permission. It was almost like he was trying to seek approval or something, which was odd.

Harry was mildly surprised when Tony remained seated and did not offer him a place beside him. "Go with Mrs. Atwood, Harry. Pepper and I will be here, and we can get breakfast when you return."

The woman did not interrupt the exchange, but Harry could tell she was watching the interaction very closely.
Catching his gaze, Mrs. Atwood smiled again; this time, it was more reassuring. "Why don't you show me your room, Harry? We can talk there."
"Er, okay," Harry said before leading her to the elevator and leaving Tony and Pepper to themselves to talk over this morning's events. The trip to Tony's floor was short and spent mostly making small talk. She inquired about what he wanted for Christmas, but the conversation kind of died when he responded that he didn't know. He'd never had anything before starting Hogwarts, and he never made it a point of asking for anything, as it would have just given the Dursley's the unneeded pleasure of denying him of it.

Harry wondered why she didn't go ahead and ask him what he thought of Tony but guessed that she wanted the privacy of his room before she started pestering him for answers. The small talk must have been for places that people could easily overhear.

Harry idly wondered if she knew about JARVIS.

Harry led her down the hall to his room. Opening the door and switching on the light, he was relieved he had taken the time to make up his bed. At least she wouldn't think of him as a total slob.

Mrs. Atwood did a once over of the room, inspecting it for who knows what. Harry ignored her and walked over to the sitting area.

Following him, she sat down on one of the chairs, leaving Harry to take the one opposite of her.

"So, uh, what questions do you have for me?" while his voice remained calm, his hands belied his anxiety.

"I'd first like to start off with a simple question. Could you give me your full name and your date of birth?"

Harry gave them his information wondering why the woman wanted to know his full name. She already knew his first and last. Maybe she needed a record for it or something.

She also asked for his mother's name and asked for some details about her. It was when speaking to her about his mum and dad, or rather, stepdad, that Harry realized that Tony had mentioned either one of them again after Harry's outburst. He wondered if Tony was afraid to ask more about them, or was just content on putting the conversation on the back burner until they got to know each other better.

The conversation of his mum led to the topic of his former guardians, which Harry was less eager to talk about.

"And you used to live with your aunt and uncle, Petunia and Vernon Dursley, right?"

"Yes."

"You are from England, originally, correct?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"And how did you get to New York?"
"By plane?" Harry asked, not really sure what she was asking. He figured he must have misinterpreted the question because it was kind of silly to be asking how did you get here. How else did she think he got to New York? By boat? Harry hadn't had muggle history in over a year, but he was pretty sure no one had actually sailed to America from England since before the invention of the airplane.
"You misunderstood me. When did you get to New York? Why New York? Did your relatives, plan this trip with the sole intention of dropping you off with Tony Stark, or did it just turn out this way?"
"I usually go to a boarding school. They sent a letter to me and told me that they were going to Hawaii for the holidays but before they were going to drop me off at Tony's. Once they picked me up from the train station, we flew into New York, and now I'm here. I think they found out about Tony from one of my mum's letters or something and decided to send me to live with him when I am not in school."
"I see," the social worker made notes of his response. Harry doubted she saw anything but didn't comment. In the end, it wasn't worth it.

"Do you enjoy school?"
"Yes." And it was the truth. Sure he didn't care about being called the Slytherin Heir and everyone suspecting him of being the one petrifying his classmates or the looming threat of Voldemort. Still, he genuinely enjoyed learning more about his magic.

"And what kinds of stuff do they teach you there?" Harry told her what he had been taught in the muggle schools, hoping that it was correct, and when she asked for the name of his school and whether he had many friends there, he answered her. Of course, he couldn't tell her about magic, so he made up a name for the school, but he told her about his friends and had to make up some of the things they liked to do when they weren't in class as not to arouse suspicion, but she seemed to buy it, so Harry didn't feel bad.

"I am glad to hear you enjoy school and have friends. Do you plan on returning after the holidays? It is not very convenient, is it? With Tony living here in New York and your school being all the way in the UK."
"Um, yeah. Tony and I have talked about it. I want to go back, so I'll probably be going back. At least he said I could go back, although I don't know anything more than that."

"That's good. But have you considered perhaps attending a school here in New York? I am sure there are many good public and private schools that would love to have you enrolled in their program?"

Harry shook his head. He wouldn't be attending any school other than Hogwarts, and it was where his parents had gone to school, and, despite everything, it's where he wanted to go. Besides, any school in New York would probably only accept him because Tony would probably try to buy his way in. Kind of like how Lord Malfoy bought his son's way into the Slytherin Quidditch team.

"I am happy where I am at," Harry said firmly.

The woman looked at him funny for a second before studying her notes carefully.

"Now tell me, Harry." She said as she looked at him. "What do you think of Tony Stark?"
"That he's nice?"
"Can you give me an example of when he was being nice?" Harry was a little annoyed that she was acting like she was talking to a little kid. He supposed she was nice enough, but he was twelve, not two.

"He bought me clothes and a coat when he saw I didn't really have one."
"Your aunt and uncle didn't buy you a coat?"
"No, well, you see, I had a coat, it was a cast-off of my cousin's. It was sort of old and worn, and I outgrew it last year. I didn't bother packing it."

She frowned at this.
"How old is your cousin?" She asked as she continued to write down his responses.
"He's my age, so twelve. He's about a month older than me, though. He's also a lot bigger than me if you know what I mean."
"Did you usually wear hand-me-downs from your cousin?"
"Yeah. My aunt and uncle always said they didn't have extra money to spend on me." Harry blushed a little. He knew it wasn't his fault he had walked around looking like he lived on the streets, it was just kind of embarrassing to admit it.

"But they had plenty of money to spend on their own son?"
Harry nodded.

"Is there any other time you thought Tony was being nice to you?"
"Yesterday. He took me to get new glasses. I haven't picked them out yet, but Tony's promised me that we would go back and pick out a couple of pairs."
"That's nice. Do you think he will keep his word?"
"I suppose so. He's been really nice so far."

"Tony said your aunt and uncle hadn't taken you to get your eyes checked in some time?"
"No. They were busy." Harry said, not justifying their actions, but because they were busy… busy making excuses as to why they didn't need to take him to get his eyes checked.

"Tony mentioned a few minutes ago that you were not feeling well last night? Are you feeling better now?"
Harry affirmed that he was feeling fine, wondering why she couldn't seem to remember his earlier answer since she remembered Tony asking him the question.
"Do you know what caused it?"
"I just had a headache. That was all. It wasn't a big deal. I get headaches quite frequently, though, so I'm pretty used to it. But Tony- well, he..."
"What did Tony do?"

You mean besides, overreact? Harry thought, only he remembered what Pepper had told him just a while ago. Think of everything Tony's done for him in the past few days and compare it to everything the Dursley's have ever done for him. The least he could do was tell the truth, and tell the woman that he had been there. And that in some ways it was kind of nice.

"He was... nice about it. He stayed with me for a few minutes before going to get me something to take for my headache." Harry said before he fell silent for a few seconds. His mind was going back over last night's events.
"He said he'd come back and check on me later." Harry almost whispered, recalling the almost caring tone Tony had spoken to him last night. Almost as if he really was a father checking in on his son. He would have thought it was all a dream, had he not remembered the flutter it had sent through him. For perhaps the first time in his life since his parents had died, Harry had felt like someone truly cared about him. It felt strange, but not entirely unwelcome.

"And did he?"
"I don't know. I fell asleep, but Tony probably did." And Harry felt that it was true.
"And how did that make you feel? Having Tony there when you weren't feeling well?"
"I don't know. It was sort of nice, I guess. But I'm not used to it."
"Your aunt never sat with you when you were sick?"
"No."
"Hm," She intoned thoughtfully. "What did she usually do when you got sick?"
"She'd send me to my room and made me stay there until I felt better."

"They never took you to the doctor's?"

"Not for a cold."
"Okay." The woman said, writing something else down and flipped some pages down to look at some other notes she had taken.

"So, after he bought you a new winter wardrobe, what did you do?"
The sudden change of topic caught Harry momentarily off guard. "We came back here and talked and got to know each other better."
"What did you think of that?"
"Think of what?" Harry questioned. What was she even asking?
"What did you think of him after you two spent some time getting to know each other better? What did you two talk about? Things of that nature."
"Does it matter?" Harry said. He liked Tony. Harry thought that Tony was trying too hard to win Harry's love, or whatever he was doing, but he didn't hate Tony or anything like that. It was just strange because he wasn't used to an adult being so interested in him. There were professors at Hogwarts, like Professor McGonagall, that seemed to care about her students, but that was different. It was her job to care, and she only cared so much. It wasn't Tony's job to care about him, yet he still did. It was a strange concept for Harry.

"Yes, I believe it does matter. You have a voice here, Harry. It is my job to make sure your wishes are understood and heard. Anything you tell me is completely confidential, other than in a court and law kind of setting. Meaning if you do not want me to tell Tony, then I won't. In fact, most of what we are talking about now, won't even be mentioned to Tony."
"What parts will?" Harry said, and it was not because he was baiting time. He was also curious about what she would be telling Tony.

"If it is decided that it is in your best interest to stay here for the time being, then I will merely just be giving some suggestions on my part, based on what you tell me. Just ways that will help both you and your father settle in in the long run."
"Oh. Do you think I will? Stay here, I mean, with Tony?"
"At the moment, I haven't made up my mind. Do you want to stay with Tony?"

"I don't know. He has been nothing but nice to me, though." Harry reiterated for the umpteenth time. Even if the woman decided against letting Harry stay here, he didn't want her to think that Tony had been mean to him.

"So, what do you think of your room?" She said as she crossed her leg, glancing around the child's large and spacious room. It hadn't been decorated or personalized yet, but she hadn't really expected it to be. It was a lot larger than most of the children's room she saw, but given the size of his father's living space, she suspected it was on par with the other bedrooms.

"It's nice. A bit too large, but it's nice."

"Was your other room not as large?" She asked as if she was honestly curious, Harry just snorted.

He doubted the boy's dormitory at Hogwarts was as large as his current room. Of course, that was a bit of an exaggeration, but this room was a lot larger than his room back at the Dursley's.

"No. It was the smallest of the bedrooms the Dursley's. It used to be Dudley's toy room until the Dursley's decided to give me the room."
"Did you and Dudley share a room then?"
"Er, no. I actually slept in a different part of the house, but that's not important."
"It is important. If your relatives treated you unfairly or differently than your cousin, then it is very much so important. Why did you not sleep in your cousin's room? Did you not have a bedroom? Where in the house did you sleep if not in a bedroom? How many bedrooms did your relative's house have? And how old were you when you got your cousin's playroom?"

Harry stuttered for a moment. Should he tell her? If he told her, then maybe he wouldn't have to go back to the Dursley's. That thought alone was the deciding factor. The Dursley's didn't deserve him, nor would he be going back to them so willingly. Not after they sold him to the highest bidder, so to speak.

"I usually slept in the room under the stairs." Harry winced. He hadn't talked about it a whole lot on account of how bad it sounded. Because it sounded every bit as bad as it was, and Harry had no way of justifying what his relatives did. And it was extremely embarrassing, for Harry to admit that it had only been when he was in primary school that he learned that sleeping in a cupboard was not only wrong but cruel as well. At the woman's horrified look, Harry continued anxiously. "I mean, I was smaller back then. It wasn't too crowded. I know it wasn't right, but I didn't mind the smaller space. I felt safe there."
"You slept under the stairs? In the cupboard." The woman clarified while writing something furiously on her pad.

"How big would you say this cupboard was?"
"Not large. I couldn't do much more than sit up in it and lay down, but it was my room."

"Could you describe it for me?" And Harry did to the best of his abilities. It wasn't the best description, but Harry was sure she got the general picture of it. The social worker wrote down every word.

"How old were you when you got your room?"

"The cupboard?"

"No, but you can tell me anyway. How old were you when your aunt and uncle moved you up to your cousin's playroom?"
"Eleven. I know that sounds horrible," Harry apologized again, "but I have always been kind of small for my age. Before that, the cupboard had always been my room."

More writing.

"And how many bedrooms did your relative's house have?"
"Four. The room where my aunt and uncle slept, Dudley's room, his playroom where they kept all his broken toys, and Aunt Marge's room for when she came over for a visit." Harry recited off quickly. He'd been in charge of cleaning them all at some point or another throughout the years. Sometimes all four bedrooms on the same day.

"So they had plenty of space for you, but they instead chose to give you the cupboard. Did you ever wonder why you were being treated differently than your cousin?"
"No." And it was the truth. The Dursley's always justified their actions to him. It was always because he was a freak or being lazy, or because he deliberately acted out or caused mischief or being a general nuisance, the list of accusations went on.

The woman looked at him in disbelief, but Harry didn't elaborate, nor did she ask him to.

Instead, she asked him more about the cupboard. "You said you felt safe in the cupboard. Can you explain why you felt this way?"
Harry just shrugged, not commenting again.
"Harry?"
"It was my room. Aren't you supposed to feel safe in your room?"
The woman was silent for a minute before she asked in a soft voice. "Do you feel safe here in this room?"

Did Harry feel safe here? Knowing that at any moment, Tony could enter his room, or have JARVIS listen in on him and report back to him at any time.

The room was bigger than he liked, but it was only temporary. Just until he went back to Hogwarts, and then there was no guarantee he would be returning.

"It's nice." Was that going to be his standard answer? It's nice? Like what kind of response was that? Did he like it, or did he not? What did he even mean by 'it's nice' anyway?

She must have been thinking along the same lines as she commented on his response. "That did not answer my question, though. Do you feel safe here?"
"Yeah, yeah, I do. Everyone knocks before they enter my room, well except last night. I think Tony just came in…"

"When you had a headache?"
Harry nodded in affirmation.

"Did you, at some point, tell him that it was okay for him to just come in?"
"No." Harry knew he hadn't told Tony as much.
"Does that bother you? That he just came in without asking for your permission first?"
"No… I mean, not really. This is his place. He should be able to do whatever he wants. Besides, he invited me to stay here with him," no need to tell her that he hadn't really had a choice. "And he was worried."
"It shouldn't matter that he is letting you live here. Yes, I would agree that this is his place, the name on the side of the tower says as much. And that he was likely worried about you," She said with a slight laugh, "but, would you go barging into his room, unannounced?"
"No! That's his room. I would knock or something if I needed him and wait for him to answer." More accurately, Harry would just ask JARVIS to get his father, as he didn't know how Tony would react to him, interrupting him if the bedroom door was closed. His uncle never liked it, regardless of what "excuse" Harry had.

"Exactly, Harry. You would do the courteous thing by waiting to be invited in. That is the same thing that Tony needs to be respectful of. Your room is your room. He might own the tower, but he has given you this room, and as such, he has said that this is your space. If he comes in uninvited, then he is encroaching on your space. Do you understand?" The woman explained although she smiled slightly when Harry told her that he thought he might.

She continued quite seriously, "That does not mean to say that you can lock your father out. It's all about setting respectful boundaries."

Isn't that what Tony had been saying when he had said something about a two-way street?

"But you would feel more comfortable if he knocked, or let you know that he wanted to come in," Mrs. Atwood laminated.

Harry nodded. After years of his uncle just barging into his room unannounced, it was nice for someone to ask to be invited in before entering.

"Then, I will talk to Tony about that, and let him know that that is something you find important."
Harry looked surprised that she would do something like that on his behalf. She caught the look, "that's what I'm here for, Harry."

Harry looked out the window and over the city and to the sunrise. It had painted the sky a pretty pink and coral color. His attention was eventually drawn back to the woman.

"Other than last night, has everyone been respectful of you and your wishes? How about the others that live here? Have they been making you feel welcomed?"
"Yes. Everyone's been nice. I don't think they really know what to think of me, but they seem all right with me being here."
The woman nodded while looking at her papers.

"Can you describe an instance where they made you feel that way? Why do you doubt them?"
"We haven't really talked that much. I don't think they are used to having a kid around."
"Do you think that in time this will change and that they will want to interact with you more?"
"It's possible," Harry said, but he didn't know when that would be. He'd be going back to Hogwarts before long, and most of the other Avengers were out during the day doing Avenger-y things.

The woman must have heard the skepticism in his response. "I know this is a huge adjustment for you and your father, and you need to focus on trying to establish a relationship with him, but you also need to try to form a relationship with the others too since they live here. If you feel uncomfortable around them, you need to tell me, Harry. This is also important. I need to leave here today, feeling confident that I am leaving you in a home that you feel comfortable in- with people who have your best interest at heart."
"I do feel comfortable here," Harry said. He did feel comfortable around Tony, although there were a lot of awkward moments.

The woman looked at him as if trying to gauge the truthfulness of his comment. Harry looked away after a few moments.

"I have here that you've seen Mr. Stark's personal doctor, Connor Fayge."
Harry nodded, waiting for her to continue. "He was the one that did the paternity test when your relatives brought you in, am I right?"
"Yes."
"And did he notice anything amiss?" At Harry's uncertain look, she elaborated. "Did he notice any outwardly violent or unusual behaviors between your relatives and you?"
"I guess. I don't know. He didn't seem to like my aunt and uncle a whole lot. But they were being rude." Harry said, beating her to her next question. The woman wrote that note down too. She must have been writing everything down for further examination.

"Did the Dursley's take you to regular doctor appointments? You mentioned before that they did not always take you when you were sick."

"Only when they had to."
"So, they took you for school immunizations?" Harry nodded. They only took him because they had to, and they always took him to a clinic that served the underprivileged. Harry wasn't exactly sure why they didn't just take him to see Dudley's doctor, but even so, those visits were always few and far between.
"What about injuries or major illnesses?"
"I broke my arm once when I was younger. They took me to get it plastered. And I usually just stayed home from school when I was sick. I never went to the clinic for it. Aunt Petunia always said 'what comes on its own, leaves on its own.'"

The woman frowned at that and circled something on her pad.
"How did you break your arm?"
"I fell down the stairs," Harry mumbled. More like he'd been pushed by Dudley, but he wasn't going to be the one to explain why his cousin had pushed him down the stairs.

The woman didn't seem to buy his excuse.

"You fell down the stairs?" The social worker's eyebrows shot up while giving him a look that said that she clearly didn't believe him. Harry realized that this must be a common excuse.

But in his defense, he was telling the truth. "Yeah. I missed a step, and I fell. My aunt took me when she realized I must have injured myself." Actually, she only took him after it was clear that Harry couldn't perform his chores and to keep their neighbors from talking. It wasn't because she had suffered from a change of heart or anything that drastic. She just wanted to know what was keeping him from doing his chores.

"How about at your boarding school? Is there a nurse or doctor available to the students?"

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey. She's very stern and won't let you leave until she feels that you are well."

The woman nodded in understanding. "I take it you've seen her then?"

"Only when I'm sick, or when I've hurt myself," Harry said, thinking about the slightly overbearing mediwitch. "But, yes, she'll keep you there forever, and she won't let you do anything," Harry said with an exasperated scowl.

Mrs. Atwood chuckled. Kids could be overdramatic at times, and she felt that this was one of those times.

"Do you mind going into detail about some of the times that lead you to go seek her out?"
"At the end of the term last year, right before finals, Ron and Hermione and I were exploring around the school instead of studying, and I stumbled and knocked my head. I saw her then when she said I had a concussion. She made me stay for a couple of days and refused to let me study or do anything. It was very boring."

What he had been doing was trying to find Nicholas Flamel's Stone, but he couldn't exactly say that now could he?

The woman pursed her lips.

"And Tony, you said he's never been rude or shouted at you for anything?" The woman looked intently at Harry, probably to try to catch him in a lie.

"No. He has never raised his voice or gotten mad at me. He has already done more for me than the Dursley's have."

The woman smiled before glancing through her notes and papers again.

"You did very well, Harry. And I appreciate your cooperation and honesty. How about you show me around your room now? Show many anything and everything you want. I will be taking notes, but ignore that. I just want to make sure that Tony has provided you with all the things you need."
"Er, okay? What do you want to see first?"

She told him just to start wherever, and after that, Harry slowly went through the room, showing the social worker everything she asked to see.

When Harry had finished, Mrs. Atwood suggested they go back and meet up with Tony so that they could talk as a group.

While they were in the elevator, she asked Harry again if he thought he might want to continue staying here.
"I like it here. Tony's been really nice."

"All right," came the simple reply.
The two of them rejoined Tony in the living area almost an hour after they had gone up to Harry's room.

Harry noticed as he made his way over to him, and not for the first that morning that Tony seemed anxious.

Harry smiled half-heartedly, hoping to at least convey some reassurance that Tony had done something right. At least, by his standards anyway.

He didn't know which way the woman would go, whether she would let him stay or force him to go to someone else (although hopefully not back to the Dursley's), but Harry had felt like he'd done all he could to speak favorably on Tony's behalf.

From there, the woman sat down and talked to both of them on somethings they should do to make the adjustment easier, just like she had said and some other suggestions.

She also seemed interested as to why Dr. Connor hadn't reported his suspicions. Tony seemed prepared to defend his employee's actions, and while he didn't precisely dodge the questions, Harry noticed that Tony didn't answer her questions outright. He did not seem overly concerned about why Dr. Connor hadn't reported the Dursley's and just answered the questions in a way that more or less pacify her.

She also questioned as to why he hadn't given the child a full look over. Tony responded that he would after Christmas unless something urgent came up because he was on vacation at the moment and how Connor hadn't seen any tell-tale signs of physical abuse at the time.

This did not seem to appease the social worker at all who demanded that he take Harry immediately to get evaluated. Harry watched as Tony argued right back, and in the end, the social worker begrudgingly compromised and settled with having Connor see to Harry immediately after he returned from vacation and the holidays.

Keeping true to her word, she mentioned some things to Tony that Harry had brought up, which Tony seemed to be overly eager to adhere to.

Tony had also tried to weasel out of her who had blabbed, but the woman steadfastly refused to say. Which Harry supposed was probably a good thing. Stating that she had to keep all parts anonymous in case someone attempted to retaliate or something along those lines. Harry realized that in this case, it was Tony she was talking about. Harry wasn't positive that Tony would do anything to exert revenge on the Dursley's, but he couldn't discount the thought of Tony just standing back and doing nothing either.

After a bit more discussion, it was time for the metaphorical ax to fall. Harry didn't understand why it would fall on one person to decide whether or not he should be allowed to stay with Tony or not, but it was, and so it was with bated breath that Harry waited for the woman's opinion on the matter.

Harry kind of figured that she had decided to let him stay here with Tony since she had been giving them some pointers but, it felt good to hear it all the same.

"I think that if you follow my suggestions, then I do not see why you cannot stay here."
The smile on Tony's face made the earlier scrutiny worth it. The look on Tony's face could only be compared to Christmas coming early. The man looked stoked at the thought that Harry was going to be staying.

It caused Harry to smile a bit too. He, in his own way, was very relieved that Mrs. Atwood had determined that he was fine to stay with Tony. She didn't say when she had decided to keep Harry here, but she warned that this wouldn't be the last time they would be seeing the CPS and that Dr. Fayge was to immediately forward his findings directly to her. Which Tony promised he would.

After that, she quickly made her leave, but Tony and Harry barely noticed on the account that Tony was gripping Harry's shoulders lightly, although he felt a twinge of pain from his still-tender shoulder and beamed at Harry.

He pulled Harry into the first real hug and whispered into his ear. "I think you've just made me the happiest man on this planet, Harry. You could have told her anything, but you didn't. Thank you."

A throat cleared from somewhere within the room, interrupting the hug, causing the moment to be lost forever.

Harry did notice that Tony's eyes sparkled with unspoken emotion as they pulled away, but with a blink, it was gone.

"What do you want, Steve?" Tony bit out irritatedly. Mostly likely at having their little father and son moment interrupted.

"Breakfast is ready if you two would care to join," Steve said as he casually leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. He didn't comment on their little display, but he seemed to be drinking in the sight before him with hard eyes.

"We will be there in a moment. Go ahead and start without us." Tony dismissed Captain Rogers calmly while he continued to look at Harry with a proud smirk on his face.

"Don't complain to me if your coffee and food are cold," Steve grumbled but took his leave.

Tony didn't even bother snarking back a reply.

"What do you say, Harry, breakfast?"

Harry nodded in agreement, blushing furiously at having been caught in the private moment.

"Don't worry about Steve and the others," Tony said, waving off the other Avengers as if their opinions were inconsequential. To Tony, they probably were.

In a staged whisper, Tony leaned in closer to Harry and said, "It was Spangle's turn to cook this morning. Can't guarantee that anything he has made is edible, so if you don't like it, don't be afraid to speak up."

"I could have cooked something," Harry said, feeling useless at not having really done any chores or cooking since he'd been here. He was getting lazy, and that wouldn't do to continue. It could become a habit, and he certainly didn't need that. "I'm sorry that I overslept. I'll cook breakfast tomorrow."
"No, Harry. You're twelve-years-old and a kid. More importantly, you're my kid. No one here expects you to cook, least of all, me. We are the adults here. If we don't like what's been cooked, we can fix something ourselves, or order take-out. If you want to take up cooking or baking as a hobby, I won't object if that is what it'll take to make you happy, but you are not cooking us meals. I think we both know why you had to do that at the Dursley's and I will be here to assure you again and again until you believe me, that what the Dursley's did was wrong and their rules do not apply here."

"Okay." Harry relented for the moment, although he was still determined to beat everyone up so that they could have a nice, hot, and edible, breakfast in the morning before they left to go about their day.

"Come on, let's go before everyone drinks all the coffee, or worse, it actually becomes cold." Tony shuttered dramatically at the thought.

The two of them made the way into the busy and noisy kitchen.

Harry expected everyone to just ignore him like they had last night, but the lively conversation around him died as he wandered to the stove to grab whatever was being served for breakfast. It looked like oatmeal, but it had the consistency of almost dried cement. Harry nearly gagged at the thought of having to eat it, but he sucked it up and scooped a lump of the congealed grey substance that was supposed to pass for oatmeal and moved on.

Tony had more guts than Harry eyed the pot with unconcealed disgust and promptly bypassed it entirely for the coffee pot.

Pulling out a large cup, Tony filled it up to the brim and took a deep inhale of the coffee. Tony closed his eyes for a moment before opening and finding Harry observing him. Tony looked at him for a moment before a look of horror passed over his face.

"Oh, hell, kid. You drink tea, don't you?" Tony said, disregarding his cup of coffee as he began frantically searching the cupboards for any kind of tea.

"I don't have to drink tea. It's not a big deal."
Tony whipped around empty-handed and stared at Harry in disbelief. "It's not a big deal? I thought all Brits liked their tea, like us Americans liked coffee?"
"I do like tea, but I don't have to drink it. I could drink water instead." Harry eyed the coffee pot speculatively, "I'm sorry, but I've never tried coffee, and I honestly am not sure I want to."
Tony shook his head, "What kind of tea do you like? Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Green tea? I need to know so I can get you some. What brand do you like? Shit, I can't believe I forgot this!" Tony groaned at his oversight.

Harry saw Steve and Bruce raise their eyebrows, probably at Tony's antics, and Clint roll his eyes. Natasha just stared at her phone, looking utterly uninterested in the conversation going on around her.
"Um well, I usually drink black tea. I'm not overly picky; any kind will do." Harry said with a shrug.

"Just black tea? Isn't there a lot of different kinds of black tea out there?"

"Yeah, but it doesn't matter."

"Black tea. JARVIS, order the best black tea on the market. Any kind will do." Tony said in the same voice as before while looking at Harry to make sure he had gotten the order correct.

When Harry didn't correct him, he continued, "Do you take anything with it? Don't people usually add cream, honey, or something to it?" Harry was kind of surprised Tony knew so much about tea as all he'd seen Tony drink was coffee. But Harry supposed you could also add all that to coffee, so maybe it really wasn't that big of a surprise after all.

"Depending on the kind of tea, I sometimes add cream or a cube of sugar, but I can drink it plain too."
"Okay. Are you sure you're fine without tea right now? I can always send Happy out to get you some?" Tony began pulling out his phone and posed to call Happy immediately.
Harry fought the urge to roll his eyes. Tony did know that they didn't drink tea with every meal, right? Case in point, at Hogwarts, they usually had pumpkin juice with their meals instead of tea. "I'm fine. I drink water too."

Tony looked uncertain, but it was Bruce who spoke up. "Tony, Harry has said he's fine without tea. You've ordered some, now sit down and drink your coffee. If Harry wants it, I am sure he will tell you."

Tony grabbed his now cooling cup of coffee and sat down. Taking a sip of it, he said, "You will tell me if you want some? I probably should have Happy pick some up anyway, just in case."

This time Harry really did roll his eyes as he poked his spoon experimentally at the hardened gray lump. It jiggled for a second before stilling- yeah, there was no way he'd be eating that.