Chapter Text
It really had all started the past summer. After the Potter LuckTM almost got the souls sucked out of not just Harriet, but her Muggle cousin too, Sirius realized a few important things. The first one, that Harriet was in danger, wasn’t a new realization, but she wasn’t being attacked by just Voldemort and his lackeys this time. Dementors meant that someone in the Ministry was trying to hurt her. And with the way the Prophet was maligning Harriet’s name, it was becoming clear that being in Britain was getting progressively more and more unsafe. The second realization, that Dumbledore wasn’t going to do a thing to help protect Harriet, quickly led to the third realization. If no one was going to help her, Sirius would have to do it himself.
Sirius had a plan. It wasn’t a good one, but it was better than nothing. He had some letters to write and an extremely awkward conversation with a teenager to be had. It was going to work out just fine. He kept telling himself that.
Sirius had many things: dastardly good looks, an amazing sense of humor combined with a penchant for good ol’ mischief, a veritable ton of trauma. Sirius also lacked many things, such as complete sanity and any semblance of tact, which is why he pulled Harriet away for a difficult conversation while the Weasleys and Hermione were celebrating their new prefect positions. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t his best move, but at least he didn’t choose right after the hearing at the Ministry. Then again, Sirius was not known for his stellar decisions, like chasing after Wormtail instead of taking care of little baby Harriet. He still regretted that one. A lot.
Anyways, Sirius nabbed Harriet and pulled her into the library while everyone else was being disgustingly cheerful in the kitchen. He sat Harriet, who was eyeing him nervously, down on a couch before plopping down gracelessly right next to her. Sirius looked at Harriet. Harriet looked at Sirius. Sirius looked back at Harriet, then blurted, “James wasn’t actually your dad.” Super smooth, Sirius. He nailed it.
“Wait, what?”
“You know that pureblood bullshit about having ‘an heir and a spare?’ Well, James and Lily were having a hard time having any child, much less two, so they decided to, well, fake it. They found some Muggle who looked a lot like James, and then James magically adopted lil’ baby you.” Sirius looked at Harriet dubiously. “You do know how babies are made, right?”
“Wait, what? And yes, I know how babies are made!” And really, in Harriet’s defense, she had spent his whole life being told how much she looked like a female James, just with her mum’s eyes. “They just found some random guy for Mum to have sex with so they could have a child to fulfill dumb pureblood requirements?”
“It wasn’t just some random guy; it was a random guy who looked like James. And it wasn’t just to have an heir. James and Lily really wanted a child. They both loved you, a lot.”
“So why are you telling me this? Learning that my whole life has been a lie is exactly what I needed right now.”
“Well, I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but both the Ministry and Voldemort are out to get you right now. Your other dad happens to be an American, and I’m going to contact MACUSA and see if I can get at least you, though maybe me as well, political asylum. If everything works out well, you’ll be able to move to the US next summer and will no longer have to deal with the mess that is British Wizarding society.”
“You want me to just… leave?”
“Yup. I want what’s best for your safety, and I don’t trust Dumbledore to keep you safe. I’ll drag you to America myself if it’s what I need to do to protect you.”
“Will I have to go back to the Dursleys?”
“You’ll never have to go back there.”
Harriet smiled. “Alright. I’m in. Let’s move to America!”
~~~
Vernon Dursley did not like Harriet. Harriet didn’t like Vernon. She didn’t like any of the Dursleys, and the feeling was definitely mutual. Vernon Dursley liked Harriet even less when she dragged a limp Dudley back to the house after being attacked by Dementors. Harriet didn’t mind that the Dursleys disliked her. She just minded how they treated her. Just because she didn’t like Draco didn’t mean she’d hit him (she left that to Hermione). Vernon, however, seemed to feel that dislike warranted a heavy dose of violence. It definitely made him feel better. Harriet wasn’t a fan. She personally thought he needed some better coping skills, something that didn’t end with her nursing some new bruises. When Sirius offered her a chance to escape her personal summer hell, she eagerly took it. She was excited to leave. Hopefully her biological father wouldn’t mind if Harriet lived with Sirius. It would be easier for everyone involved. He wouldn’t have to deal with her, and she’d be able to finally spend time with her godfather. So, for once, she started her fifth year not actually dreading the summer.
~~~
Her fifth year ended in a tragedy and the horrific realization that Sirius would never have a chance to be free. Sirius was still taking care of her from the other side, though, because he had already arranged everything for her to leave. MACUSA was more than pleased to offer her dual citizenship on the condition that she attended some events for them. They had a Muggle-born social worker already prepared to facilitate her move to New York where her bio father apparently lived. Sirius had snuck out to Gringotts with her over the miserable Christmas break, where the goblins had done an inheritance test which showed that her bio father was some guy named Tony Stark. James had adopted her, though, so she was a Potter in the eyes of Magic even if she didn’t have any Potter DNA. While they were there, Sirius updated his will, making Harriet his heir. “Just in case,” he had said with a wink, and now, Harriet wondered if he had known that something was going to happen to him. It wasn’t fair that he had died, but then again, nothing in her life had ever been fair so she might as well just suck it up and get over herself.
Remus picked her up from the Dursleys the day after term ended and drove her to the airport. She didn’t bother saying goodbye. Her trunk was disguised as a normal suitcase, and had charms covering it so she was able to easily pass through security. Hedwig unfortunately had to be stowed in the bottom of the plane. She wished she could just take a Portkey, but they didn’t want to alert the Ministry that she was leaving, since they were likely already compromised by the Death Eaters. It was what it was, though. She had a plane to catch and a father to meet.
~~~
Harriet loved flying but decided quickly that she hated planes. They were death traps that had no business being in the air, and she was decidedly not a fan. She tried to read a bit of her maths textbook that Hermione had provided, but the letters were jumping around and she couldn't use the handy read-aloud charm she had learned. She was in for a long and boring flight.
~~~
A nice-looking woman was waiting for her at the airport. She introduced herself as Felicity Adams, social worker extraordinaire. Ms. Adams briefly explained the plan. They were to head to Stark Tower for a paternity test since they couldn’t exactly show the Muggles the results of a goblin inheritance test. After that, she’d meet her father, Ms. Adams would explain some things, her dad would hopefully take her, and that would be that. She’d have a new home. Harriet knew there was no way it would be that simple.
The car ride to the tower was quiet. Harriet ogled at the buildings, having never left Great Britain before. They finally got to the tower, and Harriet found it quite ugly and ostentatious, but it was apparently to be her home, so she’d get used to it. They parked, and Harriet left her trunk and Hedwig in the car, who was hooting, irritated at being left behind.
The secretary waved them through after verifying that Ms. Adams truly did have an appointment. They entered the elevator, which started rising despite them not pressing a button, not that there was a button to press. The elevator had shiny steel walls and a thick carpeted floor but no buttons, just a small screen displaying what floor they were on. It was rather eerie, and that was saying something, considering she went to school where staircases moved on their own.
The elevator stopped on the 49th floor, and the doors silently slid open to show a pretty woman with strawberry blonde hair and a man wearing a lab coat waiting for them. She stuck out her hand, and Harriet shook it apprehensively.
“You must be Harriet,” she said, not quite warmly but definitely not antagonistically. “I’m Pepper Potts and this is Dr. Bruce Banner. He’s going to take care of the paternity test today.”
“Nice to meet you, sir and ma’am,” Harriet mumbled awkwardly.
“If you’ll just follow me, we’ll head to the med bay where we can take a few samples,” Bruce said, smiling kindly. He led her to a room that reminded her of the hospital wing, and had her sit on an exam table. She swung her legs idly while she waited for Dr. Banner, who was bustling around collecting supplies. “Alright, so first I’m going to take a swab from the inside of your cheek.” He did just that as Harriet opened her mouth obediently. “I’m also just going to take a small blood sample.”
“Do you have to take the blood sample?” Harriet asked, alarmed. She didn’t like what happened the last time someone used her blood for something.
“Unfortunately, I do, but we only need a few drops, not a lot.” Harriet resignedly allowed him to take the blood sample, and watched curiously as he fed the two samples into a machine. She hoped the test would be done soon. She was tired and jet-lagged and just wanted to go to sleep. She was not having a good day.
~~~
Tony was not having a good day. He was bruised and sore from the Avengers’ latest tussle with the new-and-improved Doombots, a pounding headache from the board meeting that managed to be both horrendously boring and utterly frustrating to the point he was almost grateful that the Doombots attacked, giving him an excuse to leave without facing the wrath of Pepper. He got a nasty shock from the Widow bites he was updating in an attempt to relax via tinkering, and then DUM-E assumed his loud and excessive swearing meant a fire and proceeded to cover him with a generous layer of foam from the fire extinguisher. Needless to say, the day had not been pleasant. It was about to get worse.
“Boss, I’d suggest that you get cleaned up a bit. You have a meeting with a social worker in half an hour,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. said. Tony spat out his mouthful of smoothie.
“A social worker?”
“Yep! Boss Lady told you about this yesterday. There’s someone claiming to be your kid and you are her best bet for custody.”
“I can’t have a kid. There’s no way she’s mine.”
“She’s currently in the med bay with Dr. Banner for a paternity test, but based on her appearance, there is a high likelihood of her being your child.”
Tony swore. This day was just getting worse. He took a quick shower, trying to get the grease and the chemicals off of him, before throwing on some jeans and an old MIT sweatshirt. He walked into the conference room fifteen minutes late, where he was met with the disapproving glare of Pepper, who was sitting across the table from a woman. Tony collapsed into the seat next to Pepper, sighed, dragged his hand down his face, sighed again, then finally looked up at the social worker.
“Thank you for joining us, Dr. Stark. It’s a pleasure to meet yo-,”
“Cut to the chase. Is she my daughter or not?” Tony interrupted. The woman looked a little flustered, and Pepper kicked his leg underneath the table.
“She is.” The woman slid a folder across the table to Tony, who glanced at it.
“F.R.I.D.A.Y., is this accurate?” he challenged.
“It’s accurate. Dr. Banner used both a saliva and a blood sample. Congrats, Boss. It’s a girl!”
Tony groaned. “So now what? Who even is her mom?”
“Her mom was Lily Potter. I’m not sure if you remember her. She died nearly fifteen years ago along with Harriet’s step-father, James Potter.”
“Don’t remember her. Does she have anyone else she can stay with? I’m not exactly father material here.”
“Harriet was raised by her maternal aunt, but the state removed her from their care as they were deemed unfit guardians. Her godfather was to receive custody, but he unfortunately passed away a few weeks ago. You’re the only one she has left. If you choose to not take her, which is your right, she will enter the foster system either here or in London.”
“He’ll take her,” Pepper smoothly interjected. Tony looked at her, outraged. “Excuse us for a moment, Ms. Adams, I need to talk to Tony briefly in the hall.” Pepper dragged Tony after her with an iron-strong grip.
“I’m not taking her,” Tony said.
“Yes, you are. That poor girl has no one, and if that isn’t enough reason for you, think about what the press would say when they find out you abandoned your child, because you know they’ll find out.” Pepper’s glare softened a bit. “I know you’re worried about being like your own father, but you’re so good with Peter and Harley. You’ll be fine.”
Tony sighed reluctantly. “Fine. I don’t want to, but I’ll take her.”
Pepper smiled. “Wonderful! Let’s head back inside.” They turned around to see a very uncomfortable looking Dr. Banner and a teenaged girl with dark hair and very angry bright green eyes. She was petite and was wearing the ugliest set of clothes Tony had ever seen. She glared at him before entering the conference room, with Pepper following behind. He winced a little. It was unfortunate that she heard that conversation.
Tony had to sign a few papers, and before he knew it, he was with his daughter in the elevator with her suitcase and an owl. An actual owl. He looked at her. This was awkward, but he might as well get it over with. “You should probably call me Tony. What’s your name again?”
“Harriet,” she said, before going back to petting her owl. “I know you don’t like this, Mr. Stark, so I’ll do my best not to be in the way. I go to a boarding school, so you’ll only have to deal with me over this summer and the next one.” Tony was a bit ashamed about how relieved he felt at that.
“Alright then. I’ll find you a room so you can drop off your stuff, and then I’ll take you to meet everyone else.”
“Everyone else?”
“The Avengers.” At her blank look, he elaborated. “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes? Doesn’t ring a bell?” She shook her head. “What, did you live under a rock?”
“Something like that,” she muttered.
“How have you not heard of them? Do you know who I am?”
“Nothing besides the fact that you’re my biological father. My school is very isolated and Aunt Petunia never let me watch the news or leave the house much, so if you’re someone famous, I have no clue.”
No clue. She had no clue that she was the child of one of the richest people on the planet. He was astonished. He ignored the little tidbit about her aunt as they had arrived at the penthouse level. He directed her towards an empty room, and she lugged her suitcase and the bird cage. She opened the cage and let the owl hop up onto her shoulder.
“You can unpack later. The common floor is the level below us.” She silently followed him to the elevator, both her and the bird watching him with unnervingly bright eyes. It made him shudder, and he was grateful when the doors opened up to the common room, where a group of the Avengers were lounging. Everyone turned to look at them. “Team, this is my kid. Kid, this is the team. I’ll be in the lab.” He pushed her forward slightly in the direction of the team and made his escape.
~~~
Harriet stood there, shocked. “Charming. Is he always that pleasant? My name’s Harriet.”
“Since when did Tony have a kid?” a tall blond man asked.
“He’s had a kid for nearly sixteen years. He’s known about his kid for about two hours. It hasn’t been a pleasant surprise for him,” she said dryly.
“Is that an owl?” someone else asked, curiously.
“Does she look like something other than an owl? Her name is Hedwig.” Hedwig flew from her perch on Harriet’s shoulder to land on the man/s knee, who immediately started cooing over the bird. The group quickly went around and introduced themselves. The blond man was named Steve, while the bird obsessed one was named Clint. A second man, Sam, also started petting Hedwig after introducing himself. A redheaded woman who looked far more dangerous than anyone had a right to look was named Natasha. Apparently, there were other members of the group, two gods who were currently off-world, and some people named Bucky, Rhodey, and Wanda were on a mission and would be back the next day.
Harriet didn’t stay for long before she excused herself to start unpacking. She’d met enough new people that day and was more than ready for some sleep.