[A/N: Sorry, don't worry I'm not dead! Just had writers block for this chapter but I think it's fixed!!.... hopefully.]
Tony hated the 90s.
Well, that wasn't entirely true.
He hated himself in the 90s.
His solution to his parent's death was to drown his grief in drugs and alcohol. He'd probably be dead a few times if it weren't for Richard and Mary, and why the hell they thought it was a good idea to name him their son's godfather would forever be a mystery to the billionaire.
But what he hates the most about that era of his life, is how little he remembers it. He only has a few good moment's with Richard and Mary... the rest were lost to the alterations caused by whatever substance he was abusing at the time.
He could only hope that Peter would never ask about them, but the reality was Peter would eventually and Tony might have to confess about his horrible judgment in the decade.
Or he could spend all the boring UN meetings trying to scrape up what memories he could, at least to make it seem like he was a decent human.
But then there's the problem that Peter was kind of a fan of him before they met. The kid would definitely know about his habits during that time, as would anyone googling his name for more than five minutes.
Tony was snapped out of his thoughts as he noticed a glitch on his map. The coordinates of his destination kept subtly leading him away from the location of Hogwarts. If he were not aware of the muggle repelling spell paired with the unmappable spell on the school, then he wouldn't have noticed. He'd be left thinking the coordinates lead to a random field in the middle of Scotland.
He lowered the map off the HUD of the Iron Man armor as he approached Hogwarts. From a distance it looked like a run down castle, he assumed it was a spell, but he knew he was in the right direction as he heard the nagging urge in the back of his head.
I need to go somewhere else. I need to do something important.
This one was definitely a lot stronger than the one at the Quidditch World Cup. He found himself banking to the side a few times in attempts to turn around.
He countered the muggle repellent in the same way he did last time.
I need to visit Peter! Peter is important!
He had to constantly repeat those words in his head as the urge to turn around grew stronger and stronger. He even locked the direction his suit was going to keep him from going off course. It wasn't until he passed through what he assumed was the magic barrier that surrounded the grounds of Hogwarts like a bubble, did that the urge disappeared.
<B-ss, mag*c l-v*ls cr*-*cal> FRIDAY struggled to say.
His moment of victory was shadowed by the sudden malfunctions and glitches of his suit. Despite having incorporated some of the magic proof designs Peter had been sending in for the past three weeks at school, the armor was in no way suited to be functioning in an area with extremely high MEIP levels (that was the last time he let Peter make up the acronym. He really didn't get why the kid found it so funny.)
"Power down, switching to gliders," Tony ordered. FRIDAY was able to comply and the suit went dead.
Luckily, Tony was expecting this, he had a manually activated glider installed and the suit itself was designed to be lighter than most other versions for easier unpowered flight. So instead of being a metal coffin falling from the sky, he was going to glide the rest of the way and planned to release a parachute once he was close enough.
Everything in this process was manual, no tech, just latches and levers.
The glider activated smoothly. He did a wide circle around the castle as he slowed his decent with the thick carbon fiber membrane that was stretched between his arms and legs similar to a wing-suit.
It wasn't until he attempted to release the parachute that he ran into problems.
Something was jammed, the heavy mist in the cool air was causing one of joints to stick. It looked like he was going to have a rough landing. He also had a plan for that too, well, he will within the next minute or two.
***
After a little over three weeks of school, Peter's body was getting accustomed to the sleep schedule. He didn't wake up unreasonably early that morning and walked down to breakfast with Draco, Crabe, and Goyle after they all got ready.
His fourth roommate, Blaise Zabini, was not a huge fan of Peter. They quietly didn't get along, and Peter had heard from Draco that he had major prejudice against muggle borns and blood traitors.
At one point Draco offhandedly mentioned that Zabini had commented on Draco getting too close to blood traitor statics then a true pure blood should be comfortable with. Peter couldn't help but show some worry towards this.
Yeah, he wanted to take the prejudice out of Draco and even if everyone he knew weren't really his friends, he didn't want to isolate Draco from the only people he was familiar with. Pure Bloods were very tight knit since they liked to stick together.
Draco quickly assured Peter that Zabini was a pompous prat who already thought he was better than most pure-bloods.
He and Draco were slowly growing as friends. He also seemed to be making an effort not to harass the trio. It took Harry and Ron about two weeks to notice the reduced number of insults from Draco, and Hermione less then two days. Peter and Hermione had a wager on who would notice first, both lost on account of the boys noticing at the same time.
He did show his webbing to the twins, they thought it was absolutely brilliant, and to their word they kept quiet about it, but that didn't stop them from trying to incorporate it into their stock of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. No matter how many times they asked Peter would always refuses. They soon gave up and started their attempts to create their own version. Lets just say it still needs a lot of work and Peter doubted they'd ever be able to swing from it since it was just a sticky mess of goo at this point.
The trio were told of Peter's powers, they already knew about the spider sense so it was only logical to tell the rest. Hermione was skeptical, but after a quick trip to the forbidden forest and a demonstration of his strength and wall climbing they were convinced.
Ned and MJ weren't... entirely happy to find out about his spider abilities so late. MJ sent a howler. Luckily Vader was kind enough to warn him and not give it until they were somewhere the howler wouldn't be overheard. MJ definitely gave him a piece of her mind before altering his 'Lessons for Losers' to better fit his fighting style. He was just glad she wasn't forcing him to learn anymore wandless spells.
That Saturday looked like it was going to be a calm one, most students had filed into the great hall by now but it still wasn't nearly as full as it would have been on a normal school day, a lot of people were taking the opportunity to sleep in.
"Me, Crab, and Goyle were thinking about heading into Hogsmeade today, you want to join us?" Draco asked. It sounded like a halfhearted request like it hardly mattered whether or not Peter joined them, but Peter had been picking up on a lot of Draco's mannerisms. Usually the more he wanted something the less he sounded like he cared.
Peter kinda hated the fact that Draco felt like he needed to do that, he hoped eventually he would learn he didn't need hide around Peter. Though, at times he was still caught between putting on a mask for his pears and acting like a friend to Peter. The mask usually won out.
"Can't today. Tony said he was visiting," Peter replied.
Draco just nodded in understanding.
"Wait, Iron Man is coming to Hogwarts!?" Said a Ravenclaw just behind Peter on the next table. It wasn't too long till the entire hall was mumbling with the excitement that Iron Man was visiting Hogwarts.
By that point the entire school knew who Peter's adopted father was. He had heard a few muggle born Ravenclaws in his Herbology class talk about how they felt bad for Peter. Most people only ever remembered his irresponsible playboy side, despite everything he's done as Iron Man there will always be the ones who won't like him because they can't seem to understand that people can change... but even if they did, they'd still never know the true Tony Stark.
Peter glanced back at his plate after looking towards the Ravenclaw. He tried to continue his breakfast when suddenly his spidey sense spiked. Peter went wide eyed before immediately bolting from his seat and through the Great Hall towards the door. Eyes followed him but he didn't care, especially when his sense was giving the warning.
Pushing through the heavy doors of the entrance hall and out into the damp morning air he looked up into the sky to spot the Iron Man armor trailing through the fog.
Despite having some kind of gliding feature added, the armor was going way too fast to properly land and with the lack of light in the chest plate he could tell the suit's power was cut.
Tony seemed to have spotted Peter as he circled the courtyard in a single loop before disappearing off towards the open field between the castle and the forbidden forest. Peter ran after him, a bit of worry started to well up in his chest at the thought of Tony crashing.
What the hell was he thinking flying his sit into Hogwarts!
Standing outside the stone archway that lead to the rest of the grounds, he had a perfect view of Tony's trajectory. He was either going to try to break his fall with the trees of the forest or cause his flight to stall at the last moment, which would allow him to have a relatively safe landing after a sudden drop a short distance out of the sky.
He seemed to be doing the latter. Which made sense considering that was way more smoother and definitely looked a lot cooler as he landed with the signature Iron Man pose with a fist on the ground.
There were gasps behind Peter and turning he only now just noticed the small crowd of students that gathered behind him.
Peter ignored them as he took off towards Tony who was now unlatching himself from the suit.
***
That was a way smoother landing than Tony expected. He was completely prepared to crash into the trees, but after seeing the small crowd of students following Peter out of the honest to god castle that was the wizarding school, he had to make a show out of it.
It took a lot of effort and he almost face planted the landing, but they didn't need to know that.
As he started to unlatch the manual suit releases, the suit automatically sprang open allowing him to step out into the damp morning air. The grass was still wet with dew but the air around him was crisp and fresh, it was a nice contrast to the stagnant warmth of the unpowered suit.
His eyes were immediately drawn to the Spider-Wizard that was running towards him.
Peter suddenly stopped in front of Tony and before he could initiate any kind of greeting Peter shoved him lightly.
"Whoa! Hey kid, thought you'd be happy to see me?" Tony chuckled, he could tell the kid wasn't actually upset with him because of the small grin he was trying, and failing, to conceal.
"Not when you're crash landing! Like, what the heck!" Peter practically pouted as he crossed his arms.
"I had that completely under control," Tony smiled smugly.
Peter just rolled his eyes, "I saw you cover up that stumble with the Iron Man pose," he muttered.
"Small details. More importantly, it's good to know I've got the public naming a pose after me. Now come on, Pete, where's my hug," Tony said with a fake pout.
Peter just let out a heavy sigh then gave up on hiding his grin. "Yeah, ok," the kid's grin turned into a smile as Tony wrapped his arm around Peter's shoulder as they shared a quick embrace.
When they parted Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall approached them.
"Glad to see you had a safe flight, Mr. Stark" greeted Dumbledore.
Tony couldn't help but feel like he's seen the man before, he quickly brushed it off as seeing his image in a book or something. He had learned that Dumbledore was a very powerful and well known wizard. Tony opened his mouth to speak but had to catch himself on calling the man by his first name, it was odd since he didn't even realize he knew the man's first name.
"Dumbledore I presume? It is a pleasure to finally meet you," Tony said as he held out a hand. He couldn't explain the odd feeling of familiarity that he got from the wizard, he tried to push the thought aside since it was distracting.
"Yes, quite. It's very peculiar how things seem to fall sometimes, no matter, might I suggest you come inside for some breakfast? The kitchen has been trying a new pancake flavors, the butterscotch is delectable," Dumbledore said, glancing back at the gathered students as he looked off in amusement.
Tony could already tell the man was a bit odd, "Pancakes? I could go for breakfast," He looked towards McGonagall. "It's good to see you again McGonagall."
"I see you're getting accustomed to the wizarding world quite quickly, Mr. Stark. I don't think a muggle has ever made so many connections in the wizard community before, or have so many wizards so willing," The woman said with a slightly impressed tone.
"I doubt you'd have much success without the title of Iron Man," Snape drawled out.
"A title I build myself, quite literally if you want to be technical. So I have the right to use that resource to my advantage. Especially when navigating a new society my kid is apart of. Want to make sure I can do what's best for him, I need to have all the variables to do that," Tony replied coolly, if not slightly defensively. Snape just narrowed his eyes at Tony.
He looked over to see Peter standing there a bit awkwardly, and he could suddenly feel the eyes of all the students watching. He got the urge to pull Peter out of the limelight. "Right! So breakfast? Let me just pack the suit up." He looked over at Peter, "Want to help me with that, squirt?" He said as he reached over to ruffle Peter's hair.
"Of course, like you could do it without me," Peter said playfully.
Dumbledore just chuckled at the exchange, "I'm sure your son can show you the way. McGonagall, Snape, we should start herding the spectators back into the hall. I'm sure they all forgot how hungry they were moments ago," the headmaster looked at Tony with another amused grin before making his way back up to the castle.
The two professors followed as they urged the other students back inside.
"Right, so I might need you to magic it to get it into suitcase form," Tony said as he looked back at the opened, deactivated suit.
"Won't forcing it hurt the joints?" Peter asked.
"Yeah... but I don't want to leave it sitting here all day," Tony said as he absently scratched his beard thinking of a solution.
"You could just close it up and I can shrink it, kept it from getting damaged and makes it more portable than it would be even in the suitcase form," Peter suggested as he pulled out his wand.
"You want to make the armor an action figure?" Tony said with a small laugh, "Sure go ahead," He started to clamp the panels of the armor shut the stepped back to literally watch the magic.
"Reducio," Peter said with a small flick of his wrist as he aimed his wand at the suit. The Iron Man armor shrunk down to the size of a large action figure. "It kinda looks like those ones you see at Walmart. Except extremely detailed, I would have freaked if I got something like this for Christmas a few years ago." Peter leaned over to pick the suit up before handing it to Tony.
"I totally know what I'm getting you for this Christmas now," Tony said with a sly grin as he took the suit before walking up the small grassy hill towards the castle.
"No, please don't. I swear I've grown out of my action figure stage!" Peter said quickly as he followed.
"That's not what your room says~" Tony said almost sing song.
"Shut up! That's old stuff!"
"I clearly remember seeing the receipt of a Thor toy," Tony glanced at Peter with a raised eyebrow.
"It-.. I-.. It was limited edition! I couldn't just not get it," Peter tried to defend, but it was clear between both of them that it was hardly an excuse.
"Of course, Peter, no judgment here, just saying, I've already started coming up with plans for a one of a kind Iron Man action figure, but if you insist you've grown out of it..."
"What!-I mean.. Ok, maybe one more action figure wouldn't hurt," Peter said looking away from Tony trying to act nonchalant about it.
Tony just put his arm around the teen to rest his hand on the opposite shoulder, they both started up the hill towards the castle but took their time.
"So how school? I know you said your grades were good but what about everything else? Hope the change isn't too much... especially with this summer being crazy," One of Tony's biggest worries was letting his selfish need to have Peter closer collide with what Peter actually needed. With a big thing like May dying, consistency with the rest of his life was probably important... looks like he did a good job screwing that up.
"Um, it's good... I.. well, I kind of think it was better I didn't go to Ilvermorny this year. Everyone there would have been acting weird towards me because of the accident, I feel like it would have just made things worse... and it would feel like nothing changed, like she was still waiting at home for me," Peter's eyes drifted to the ground and Tony could feel him lean slightly towards him. "I think it's good I'm here," He said again "I do miss MJ and Ned though."
"We can take a few days to visit them during Christmas break, how about that? I'll talk to their parents," Tony suggested in a light tone trying to bring up the mood. Though he was a little surprised that the kid was taking the school change well.
Peter looked up at him with a small smile, "That'd be cool! So will I also be seeing Pepper and your, um, military friend? James, right?"
"Yes, but his name is Rhodey and I refuse to acknowledge that as his first name, you can literally call him anything other than that. Platypus is an acceptable substitute," Tony shifted the miniaturized Iron Man armor so it was now tucked under his arm as he stuck his hands in his pockets.
They were already up the hill and passing under the archway that leads to the courtyard in front of the large main doors. There was a running water fountain in the middle along with a hand full of scattered statues that looked centuries old. The whole place looks like it was taken directly from a different age, it didn't help that the common wizarding wardrobe was of a similar era.
But none of that took away from the magnificence of it all, he was honestly a little jealous Peter got to go to a school like this, it wasn't even the magic part he was jealous of the architecture, it was gorgeous.
They stepped through the large double doors made of solid wood and soon into what Tony assumed was the 'Great Hall.' It was appropriately named.
Most of the students that had followed Peter out of the hall were already seated back in their original spots, breakfast continued like the incident didn't even happen. The only tell being the hushed whispers and occasional head turn from the student's in the room.
Hermione was the first to approach them when they entered.
"Good morning, miss Granger," Tony greeted with a smile. Just from the first few encounters they had, along with the things Peter wrote about her in the many letters he sent, he knew she was a good kid, and definitely a brilliant one.
Though she did look a little puzzled at Tony and instead of a greeting, she asked a question that looked like it was bugging her. "How did you do that? Flying in with the Iron Man armor, no technology is supposed to work on Hogwarts grounds."
"Ah, yes, easy answer, it didn't," He said with his usual cryptic way to leave just enough unsaid to confuse someone.
Hermione's eyebrows knitted together as she tilted her head.
Tony internally grinned before deciding elaborating, "Had to design the suit to glide, everything you saw was manual, no power needed."
"Oh!.. wait, how are you going to take off?" She asked with those huge curious eyes that only a kid could possess.
"I have a plan for that."
He did not have a plan for that.
Peter quietly chuckled to himself, because of course, mind reader.
Luckily, before Hermione could ask anymore questions, Ron and Harry came up behind her.
"That was bloody brilliant!" Ron said enthusiastically, "I though for sure you were going to crash into the forest. Or worse! The Whomping Willow, now that is one tree you never want to mess with," Ron said wide eyed, Tony could tell Ron was the 'wrong place, wrong time' kind of trouble maker that was definitely speaking from experience.
"It really was fantastic!" Harry chimed in with bright eyes.
The five chatted for a bit, mostly small talk and mostly between the teens, Tony just watched with the occasional input. That was until Hermione handed him a little purple badge with the letters S. P. E. W. written on them, the letters gleamed with magic.
"Mr. Stark are you aware of the mistreatment of house elves?" Hermione asked as if she were about to make some kind of infomercial.
"For Merlin's sake, not this nonsense again," Ron rolled his eyes, he looked tired of the subject as if it was the only thing Hermione ever talked about, but Tony was still trying to remember what a house elf was to think too much into why Ron might not be a fan of the subject.
"Ned and MJ had some house elves at their house when we visited," Peter explained before Tony could even give him a questioning glance. The thought of those short pointy eared creatures in house servant clothes came to mind. To be honest they didn't seem mistreated, but that was the US, things could be different in Europe.
"Well," Hermione continued without Tony actually answering, "house elves are slaves, and within the eyes of the Ministry they have absolutely no rights! I have founded one of the first organizations to protect house elves and give them their own rights and freedom, as well as proper pay for the work they do."
The rest of the conversation went on with Hermione explaining how exactly house elves were mistreated. The entire speech ended with her inviting Tony to join the movement for the price of two Sickles, Peter kinda nudged him into joining so he couldn't exactly say no.
After that, the trio went back to one table with Ron arguing with Hermione about how useless S.P.E.W was when the elves didn't even want to be free. Peter lead Tony to another table at the far end of the hall.
"We're separated by house at our tables, but over the weekend they're a little more lax about that stuff. The others went to the Gryffindor table, this is the Slytherin table," Peter made a sweeping gesture with his hand.
The table wasn't packed but there were still a fair amount of students there, but one look at them gave him the same vibe as some of those prestigious prep school kids he'd run into at some of the boarding schools he went to when he was a kid. Looking around it seemed that a majority of the kids at the other tables did not have this vide... he wasn't exactly stoked to find out Peter was stuck in a house like this.
"You remember Draco? He was in the Top Box with us at the Tournament," Peter sat down at the large bench at the table across from three boys. Looked like the classic junior leader with two stooges.
Tony swung a leg over the bench but kept one on the outside so he could face Peter more then the other students, he was glad there weren't any kids nearby on the side they sat down. He would have had to deal with feeling crowded.
"Mr. Stark," Draco half nodded, he seemed very uninterested in Tony.
He definitely remembered the kid from the Tournament, including the warnings about his father. He wondered if Peter was trying to pull the kid away from his father's influence. It would definitely be in character for the spiderling, plus he probably saw something in the kid that Tony didn't, he'd just have to trust Peter knew what he was getting into.
Peter only gave a half smile at the blond boy before shaking his head slightly accompanied by an eye roll.
"This is Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle," Peter continued introducing the others. They also pretended to not seem interested in the fact that Iron Man was sitting in front of them, they still gave polite nods and greetings, but Tony could tell they were badly hiding their excitement.
The butterscotch pancakes Dumbledore suggested were definitely the best thing he's ever tasted, he really needs to get the recipe for it before he left.
But despite the good food, Tony still felt kinda awkward, he talked to Peter about his school work, and the prototypes. The other kids listened in but after they delved into the complexities of the Iron Man armor they might as well have been speaking a different language the young Wizards couldn't begin to understand.
It wasn't till two blond boy's practically rushed over to Peter. They wore black robes with a red lion stitched on the breast. It was safe to assumed they were Gryffindor, and definitely brothers judging by the matching hair and similar features.
"Hey, Pete!" Said the older one excitedly, "Did you see! Did you see it!?" the boy held up an old style camera in his hands, that not unlike Peter's, except maybe a few noticeable years older. "I got a picture! Rushed to get them- OH MY GOSH, IT'S TONY STARK!" The boy shouted at the realization.
The boy dropped his camera but luckily it was caught by the neck strap before it could hit the ground.
"Dennis, Dennis, Dennis! Do you see this!" He said repeatedly tapping the younger boy's arm (he could only assume the boy's name was Dennis).
Dennis nodded frantically with the biggest, brightest smile Tony had ever seen.
Both boy's eyes lit up with awe and wonder to the likes that Tony has never witnessed, he was sure one of them might explode if something wasn't done quickly.
"Good to meet you two, I'm assuming you're friends of Peter's?" Tony said in a friendly manner, but one glance at Peter's widening eyes proved that this was not the best move, Tony quickly found out.
"Ton- Stark is- taking to -e!!!" The older boy was barely able to heave out over his excitement. Dennis was already struck speechless and he was sure someone might have paralized him with some kind of jinx.
Peter winced slightly but was quick to speak up, probably wanted to stop this disaster of a conversation before the two boys embarrassing themselves in front of the ruthless house that was Slytherin.
"Hey, Dennis, Colin, let's catch up with the camera talk later, yeah? I've got to show Tony around Hogwarts. That cool?" Peter asked.
"Oh! Right of course! But um... Mr. Stark? Can we please get a picture with you?" Colin said in a lower shy tone. It was a drastic comparison to the fanboy outburst he had before.
"'Corse, kid, can't leave without a souvenir," Tony smirked, it was definitely an ego booster that kids in the Wizarding World were stoked about meeting him. Inserting himself into the magic world as a constant was going to be a little easier than he expected... though he'll still need some form of magic resistance if he were to protect against the Wizards that obviously wouldn't want a no-maj within their pure little world.
A small bit of guilt crossed over his chest.
Can't leave all the protecting up to Peter, he's still just a kid after all.
"This is the best day of our lives, mum and dad are going to be so jealous!" Grinned Colin. He practically shoved the camera in Peter's hands before he and his brother got on either side of Tony after he stepped away from the bench.
He put a hand on each of the boy's heads and gave a friendly smirk to the camera. Remembering the time frame the magic potion extended for the picture, after the flash from the camera he glanced down at each boy as he ruffled their hair and looked back at the camera with a genuine grin.
That should definitely be a satisfying picture for the brothers.
Peter handed the camera back to Colin, and finally after a lot of 'thank you's then finally a goodbye, Peter and Tony were able to make their way out of the Great Hall.
This time Peter carried the armor under his arm.
"Sorry about that," Peter said sheepishly, "Those two mean well but they get overwhelming very easily, especially when they're excited."
"Nah, no problem, kid. I'm kind of an icon if you haven't noticed," he replied smugly, "All in a day's work for Iron Man."
Peter just shook his head with a laugh, "Right, how could I forget that," the teen rolled his eyes. "Anyways, what do you want to see first? We got the moving staircases, those are pretty cool, there are some interesting paintings to talk too. We could go out to the quidditch pitch, I don't meant to brag but I can totally show off my epic moves," Peter said smugly.
"Oh? Look who's stroking their ego now," Tony smirked as he draped an arm over Peter's shoulder.
Peter pretended to stagger because of the added weight, but he grinned up at Tony innocently, "No idea what you're talking about."
"'Corse you don't," Tony chuckled. "So... let's see, the paintings might be a good first- Jesuse Christ!"
"It's Jason Bourne," Peter muttered instinctively.
Tony hardly notice the reference since he was a little too shocked from the literal ghost jumping out of the stone wall to scare them. The ghost looked like a jester with patched and mismatched clothes. It giggled mischievously as it held a large bucket over Tony. It dumbed it on top of him with an impossible amount of water seeming to continuously drench him.
Over the rush of running water getting dumped on him he was still able to hear the ghost sing some kind of rhyme.
"Iron Man is bound to rust!
Iron Man will turn to dust,
Iron Man's a muggle man!
In this world he should not stand,
Next to wizard, witch, and warlock,
Armed with powers that will overthrow ya!
Run o'little Iron Man!
Your armor here will turn to sand!"
Tony gasped in surprise as he quickly looked down so the ice cold rushing water wouldn't drown him. The rough memories from Afghanistan started to creep into his thoughts but he quickly pushed them down. This was no time for that, he was being assaulted by an honest to god ghost!
"Dammit Peeves! Flipendo!" Peter had his wand out in an instant.
Peeves tumbled in slow motion backwards through the air, but the ghost seemed to be enjoying himself to much for it to be the work of the spell. Peter just huffed in annoyance before Peeves cackles and sang his tune again as he zoomed off down the halls.
"That was a ghost!" Tony said through chattering teeth.
"Not technically, but close enough," Peter winced looking back at Tony with an apologetic glance. He pulled out his wand, almost instantly a strong jet of hot air funneled out of the tip with a transparent energy.
"Technically?" Tony was grateful for Peter's magic as he warmed up, but again was reminded of the fact that he was useless in this world.
"He's the physical manifestation of the mischief of children... I think. Hermione was talking about it and thinks his origins are fascinating despite how bloody annoying he is," the way Peter described Peeves he probably shared the opinion of the 'not ghost.'
But more importantly...
"'Bloody annoying,' did you seriously just say 'bloody annoying.' Don't tell me the Brits are already corrupting you! What about our chaotic determination! Or- No! Quick, Peter! Tell what you call fried potatoes!" Tony said dramatically as he held Peter by the shoulders and looking him dead in the eyes.
"Chips," Peter said defiantly.
"No!! My poor, American, child!" Tony gasped. He quickly pulled back as he used one hand to clutch his chest.
"Nah! You got it wrong, Tony, I'm infiltrating them," Peter leaned in to whisper loudly. Tony leaned in to play along. "Ya see, I don't even think they know I'm a New Yorker yet. Once I've assimilated I'll be the one corrupting them!"
Tony looked up with a wide grin as he shook his head. "God's speed, soldier. You efforts are noble."
Peter practically giggled as Tony gave him a quick salute.
But the good mood was quickly dispelled by the odd clunk of what sounded like wood against the stone floor, it wasn't long till a large man in a heavy coat crossed their path. He could feel Peter stiffen, "That's the teacher that tried to get me expelled after the ferret thing," Peter said quickly.
Tony just glanced at Peter as he gave the faintest nod.
"Mr. Stark," The man greeted in a gruff tone.
Tony held out his hand, "you must be one of Peter's professors, it's good to meet you," he used a welcoming tone that he perfected over the years while dealing with people he didn't like.
"Alastor Moody," The professor said as he reached out to shake hands with Tony. "So you're the boy's father?"
"That'd be me," Tony nodded as he pulled away from the handshake.
"That boy's got a few things to learn before he can go off acting' like he owns the place," The man said bluntly. Tony tried not to stare at the odd strapped on eye that swiveled about, it currently seemed to be examining Peter while the real eye was focused on Tony.
"Moody, was it? That name does sound familiar," The genius tilted his head slightly as he looked off in the corner of his vision, "... Right, of course!" then suddenly in a very blank but serious tone he continued, "You're the one who tried to get Peter kicked out his first week. Gotta say, not exactly something I expect from a teacher at Hogwarts," There was a silent threat between the lines.
Moody scoffed as he shifted his verbal attack from Peter to Tony, "Big words from such a little man." Moody said in warning, he tightened his grip on his staff and Tony noticed Peter tensed. The shrunken armor Peter held under his arm bumped into Tony's side as the boy shifted closer.
Tony just smirked as he straightened his blazer before leaning back on his heels comfortably, he was a little irked by the 'little man' comment. Six foot one was by no means short, but it did seem like the guy had maybe an inch of height on him, then again he was probably referring more to his level of power than his physical presence. Either way, he kept his comfortable composure "Big words can do a lot, you know, just have to know who to tell them to. I'm a man of many things, Professor Moody, in my line of work networking comes naturally."
Moody just narrowed his eye slightly, even his swivel eye was focused on Tony, "For now," He practically growled as he walked forward pushing between Peter and Tony.
They waited till the loud rhythm of the Professor's walk faded till Tony broke the thick silence.
"Remind me to invite him to the Christmas Party," Tony said dryly.
"I'm pretty sure he's had it out for me since the ferret incident. Either way, my spidey sense keeps telling me he's bad news, but I can't exactly do anything about it."
"Have you talked to the Headmaster? He seems like a, er, sensible man," Tony glanced from the now empty hallway Moody exited from then back to Peter. Dumbledore seemed trustworthy, even if he had a few quarks.
"No," Peter mumbled.
Tony was quiet for a moment then put his hand on Peter's shoulder, "Listen Pete," there was something he needed to 'parent' Peter about, now seemed as good a time as any... even if it was slightly hypocritical. Ok, maybe not just slightly hypocritical. "I've noticed this habit of yours. Your always trying to solve things on your own, and I know there's the 'teenager striving for independence' thing, but you're not alone in all this. It's ok to seek out help, you won't be thought less of," Tony squeezed the teen's shoulder gently before giving him a light pat on the back. "And I'm aware that with your school, the situation isn't exactly ideal but from what I can see from McGonagall and Dumbledore, I'd say you can trust them. Plus you got the intuition of a psychic when it comes to people, you'd know if you couldn't and I have yet to hear a grievance about them."
"I know," Peter said as he looked down at the Iron Man armor tucked against his side, he seemed interesting in trying to rub off some nonexistent dirt that scuffed the helmet.
"Ok, creepy teacher met, a nice parent talk, let's get back to the wicked awesome tour of a castle that would make King Arthur jealous," Tony joked.
"I mean, Merlin might have described Hogwarts to King Arthur at some point so maybe," Peter shrugged getting back into a lighter mood.
They had started walking again but Tony suddenly held out his hand to stop Peter, "Sorry, what!?"
Peter just looked up at Tony with a sly grin, "Yeah, there's a portrait of Merlin here if you want to ask him. I hear that it was trained to be just like him by Merlin himself."
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but we have to talk to Merlin," Tony was trying to contain his excitement, but it wasn't exactly easy. King Arthor and the Round Table was his all time favorite story, it was easy to guess who was his favorite character, scratch that, historical figure.
***
It wasn't until the day was over and Tony was on his way out of the high MEIP area so he could reactivate his now normal sized suit via a carriage that was pulled by nightmare horses (It was the wizarding world, he was getting good at not questioning it), that he reflected back on the advice he gave Peter.
Yup, Tony was the biggest hypocrite he'd ever known.
Maybe if he followed his own advice during the Mandarin incident, asking the newly formed Avengers to help him... or even just Rogers, then maybe they would have trusted him more. The Accords could have ended differently. Maybe Rogers would have told him about his parents before Zemo chucked that information at him like a live grenade.
He wasn't exactly proud of how he reacted to the information. Thinking back, logically speaking, Howard and Maria's death was in no way Barnes' fault.
But dammit, it would have still been painful to see that man's faces standing next to him.
Still, the idea of 'what if' will always haunt him.
If he could accomplish one thing as Peter's parent, it would be to make sure that kid didn't have to live with the 'what if's.
What if Rogers was still living at the compound?
What if the team was never fractured?
What if Tony and Bucky eventually got along?
... as things were, there were faults on both sides that kept those 'what if's from getting answers.
But there was one thing for sure that Tony was too stubborn to admit to himself, but it was a constantly present feeling that's become a constant presence.
He missed the Avengers.
He missed his family.
******
It was nice to see Tony again, but a part of Peter was surprised that he was making such an effort to insure Peter was handling things well, that was mostly just the part of his mind that told him he didn't deserve anything good after what he let happen to Aunt May.
It wasn't your fault.
He could hear Tony's voice say.
Peter leaned his head back against the base of the tree he sat in, he was at the edge of the forbidden forest sitting on one of the lower limbs of the tall trees. Looking up he could easily see the stars that started to blink into existence.
Definitely wasn't supposed to be out there this late but he couldn't find the energy to go back inside to be surrounded by Slytherins that required him to put on a tougher exterior. That house was exhausting to be apart of on social interactions alone.
He heard the gentle flutter of owl wings as Leia found a limb near Peter's head to perch on, Vader, with his new habit, dive bombed into Peter's chest as he aggressively snuggled the young wizard.
If it were anyone else they would have been knocked out of the tree, but Peter wasn't just anyone.
He wrapped his arms around Vader as he pulled his legs up as he hugged the large owl.
'You're thinking again, you know that can be dangerous,' Leia joke gently.
Peter gave a half bearded laugh, "Yeah, I know... " He said faintly.
'What troubles you, my dear Peter?' Vader asked as he nuzzled into Peter's robs.
Peter has suspicions this owl was a dog in some past life, but he wasn't complaining, he didn't realize how much he needed the comfort.
"A lot of things, Spider-Man, Aunt May, Tony, school, I guess? Hardly a month in and I'm drowning in homework," He ran his thumb lightly over Vader's back as he took comfort in the soft feathers. Leia fluttered over to land on Peter's shoulder as she snuggled close. "I kind of feel lonely too. Harry, Ron, and Hermione kinda have their own thing going on. I don't really feel like I can get as close as they are with each other, not to mention the house rivalry makes it difficult. Draco is still fighting with himself about who he wants to be..." Peter sniffed and his voice broke slightly. "I miss Ned and MJ, but I don't think I could take being at Ilvermorny when it's so easy to believe he's still alive."
'Peter,' Leia said quietly.
'This is unacceptable, we must find you another friend. Mark my works Peter, I will make it my mission to see you no longer feel alone,' It sounded like a threat, but Peter could feel the good intent behind his words. It was easy to smile with his owls around.
"I don't think it's that easy," Peter laughed, he wiped his eyes as he took a breath to calm down.
'Nonsense, anyone would be lucky to have a friend such as you!' Vader hooted loudly.
'Exactly!' Leia chimed in, 'We'll find you another friend in no time! You don't even have to worry about it. You deal with school and stuff and we'll work on finding you a new friend.'
"Thanks," Peter laughed, "You guys really are the best owls I could ever have."
'Yeah well, you're our Peter. We can't have you feeling so down, otherwise we aren't doing something right,' Leia shrugged.
'Agreed. We could never let this be without giving it our try to fix it!'
"Alright, next weekend we're all going to Hogsmead and I'm letting you guys pick out your favorite treats."
The two owls seemed very interested in that idea, but before anymore could be said a very sweet and faint, "Hello?" could be heard from below them.
It wasn't a voice he recognized as any of the teachers, too young, it was definitely a student, but what was she doing way out here so late?
She was probably wondering the same thing about him.
"Hello?" He responded as he moved Vader so he could perch on one of the nearby branches, Leia hopped off his shoulder returning to the branch she was originally on.
"What are you doing up there?" The girl asked in a wispy tone, it held nothing but curiosity.
Peter leaned down to get a look at her.
Looking up at him with large owlish eyes and blond hair that seemed to shine even in the dim of twilight, was a girl who looked to be a year below him. Thinking back he was sure he might have seen her in his Astronomy 3 class, which was one of the classes he had to make up due to no being there the years before. He believed she was Ravenclaw.
"Um, just hanging out," He was a little confused to see a third year way out here and it must have shown in his voice.
"I'm looking for my bookmark," Her eyes fell from him and started searching the ground around the tree.
Peter looked around from his height trying to spot the bookmark, "Hm, I can't see it from up here, but we can help you look," He shifted from the branch so he could hang from it with one hand before he let himself drop the fifteen feet between him and the ground.
The girl went wide eyed in worry as he hit the ground but tilted her head curiously when she noticed he was unharmed. "That didn't hurt you," It wasn't a question but an observed statement, her voice remained that dream like, even tone that Peter was beginning to like.
"Nah, I'm fine. I, um," Peter had already decided that he wasn't really going to hide his powers anymore, but he still didn't want to cross the line of showing off, this didn't necessarily feel like showing off so it was probably fine, plus it wasn't like he was telling everyone. "I'm more durable that I look, drops like that are nothing,"
Baby steps, he decided.
She nodded curiously before her eyes were back on the ground.
"So what's the bookmark look like?" He asked.
"It's three brown owl feathers tied together with a leather string," She walked around the truck with careful steps with an agility that suggested she was weightless.
He caught her surface thoughts unintentionally, but it was mostly just feelings. A calm, relaxed sense that even if things weren't going right now, it would all work out how they should in the end. He'd never really felt that before, he'd always been a bit high strung even before the spider bite. It was nice to sense that even if he wasn't feeling it himself.
"Vader, Leia," Peter said calling up at the trees.
'On it,' replied Leia.
'Of course,' said Vader.
The two owls swooped down from their perch and started scanning the ground in a slow flight.
"Here's some extra eyes for us, they're better for the dark anyways," Peter looked up at the girl with a small smile. "I'm Peter Stark by the way."
"I know," Her eyes didn't leave the ground, Peter was watching her more than actually searching, her movements were captivating. It was a good thing his owls had better focus than he did.
"My dear Peter! I have located the feathers!" Vader called as he swooped over to them with the bookmark in his beak. He landed on a tall stump just in front of the girl.
She politely held out her hand and Vader dropped them in her palm, "Thank you, sir, I don't think I would have found it so fast without your help," She smiled at Vader and he gave her a polite node in return.
'Like her, you should keep her,' Vader said in a tone that very clearly wasn't a request.
'Ditto,' Leia replied as she landed on Peter's shoulder.
The girl turned to face Peter with her eyes on the bookmark as she smoothed out the feathers.
"That's an interesting bookmark, I don't think I've seen one like it before. Did you make it yourself?"
She looked up at him a moment before walking towards him as she continued to smooth out the feathers. "Yes, I needed something to keep the Flumblerback Pagenibblers away."
"Page... nibblers?" He asked. It sounded like some kind of creature but he's never heard of them in any of the books he's read.
"They like to eat knowledge, but i'm afraid that what I'm reading will upset their tummies. Ruin probably don't taste good either," She walked passed him as he began to follow her out of the woods.
He could hear Vader take off from the stump as he glided above them. "Oh," he said in false understanding, he had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.
"My name is Luna Lovegood, by the way. We have Astronomy together, have you worked on your homework yet?"
Luna? He's never heard that name before, but he has heard the occasional Slytherin mention Loony Lovegood. They're probably the same person, though he's not exactly fond of the nickname people are giving her.
Sure she's a little odd but definitely not loony, he's never met someone with a more stable mindset, not to mention he can feel the intelligence she possesses. Guess that explains why she's in Ravenclaw.
"Not quite, there's still an essay about the North Star that I need to do, but that shouldn't be too hard. I liked learning about the stars when I was little, and it's hard not to be fascinated by that one."
"Stella Polaris, yes, I already finished that one. The star at the tail of Ursa Minor. It's funny to think that the stars of the sky chase around the tail of a baby bear," She gave a dreamy smile up at the sky as stars already started to twinkle into life.
"Putting it like that, the stars could be running from Ursa Major as she chases them through the night," He followed her gaze and spotted the constellations immediately. "So essentially, mamma bear is pissed because everyone was picking on baby bear."
Luna giggled, "Yes, I think I like that, you should use that in your essay. I'm sure Professor Sinistra would enjoy it."
"You think?" Peter asked hopefully.
She nodded silently, and the conversation went quiet as they made their way inside the castle. With her heading towards the Ravenclaw tower and Peter towards the Slytherin dungeon it didn't take long before they had to part ways.
"You're not like the other Slytherins, are you, Peter?" She stated the question more as a fact, but Peter answered anyways.
"I like to think not," He shrugged as he put his hands into his pockets.
"Do you think the hat made a mistake?" She asked curiously with those fascinating wide eyes and a slight head tilt.
Peter thought for a moment to gather the words, "No, I think I'm exactly where I need to be. Maybe the hat thought I could help with the houses reputation or more likely with the people in the house, and the reputation is just a side effect," he gave her an uncertain shrug and she just stared at him for a long moment, but strangely he didn't think it was uncomfortable, especially when he could sense her thinking and feel the calm relaxed nature that radiated off of her.
"I like you, Peter Parker, come find me when you get tired of hanging around the other Slytherins again. Goodnight," With that she clutched her bookmark in her hand and practically skipped towards the Ravenclaw tower.
He turned to head back to his own house, but that feeling of calm lingered, he could tell he was going to have a stressless night's sleep because of it.
He was definitely going to consider her offer to hang out again.
The two owls that had been following him found their way up to the owlery, Peter didn't even notice them leave, but they were both just happy that Peter found the new friend that he was looking for, even if he hadn't realized it yet.
***
It wasn't until Friday that Peter finally found the time to finally speak to Dumbledore, it wasn't exactly easy when he practically had twice the normal amount of homework then a regular fourth year... that and he might have been procrastinating about the whole thing, but that hardly mattered now, he was there right?
He leaned against the wall with his hands behind his back as lightly rocked forward and back to occupy his time since smartphones didn't work in Hogwarts. Dumbledore was speaking with someone in his office so Peter was waiting at the bottom of the stairs until the meeting was done.
But with the quiet of the hallways and his sensitive hearing, he couldn't help catch the conversation between Dumbledore and who he assumed was Professor Snape judging by the monotone.
"... But if it's true then you know what this means," Snape said in quiet warning.
"Yes, but we shouldn't be too hasty in these matters," Dumbledore replied.
"Judging by the damage to the building there's still a possibility he survived... and I think you're aware of that. He was a powerful wizard, we both know he had an escape plan."
"It's not so simple Severus."
"Dumbledore... If the Dark Lord is returning, we need the Contriver. We barely won the war after his hideout fell."
Peter felt a cold chill run down his spine at the mention of Voldemort, but it was soon covered by the curiosity of who this 'The Contriver' might be... still, it wasn't exactly good that even Dumbledore suspected the return of the Dark Lord.
"I'm aware of that, but as I said, it's not so simple. He's not a man you can seek out, even if is identity was known," Dumbledore spoke firmly, there was a long silence between the two before Snape finally gave in.
"Very well," the professor said plainly.
Soon the eagle slowly spun down with the spiral staircase with the familiar scrap of stone against stone.
Peter straighten up and had to pretend he wasn't just listening to what was a top secret meeting, but it was nice to know that despite Snape's unfriendly exterior, he was against Voldemort.
Snape was the one to step down, though, he stopped when he spotted Peter.
"Mr. Stark," Snape said suspiciously, "why are you down here, shouldn't you be heading off to lunch."
"I.. uh, needed to speak with Dumbledore about something, it is kind of important.."
Snape just stared at him for a moment. Peter worried that he somehow knew Peter was listening, he felt compelled to say something more in a slight panic, "Is he up there, I mean, of course he is you were just up there," Peter said quickly, "What I meant to ask was, is he still busy?"
Snap let out a heavy sigh, "Whatever it is, I don't want you being late for my class. I despise taking points from my own house, so don't force my hand."
Despite his words, and even without his ability, he could tell Snape would rather kiss a goblin than take points from his own house. Peter was probably fine if he was a little late, but even with it half way through the lunch break, his talk would the Headmaster shouldn't take that long.
Peter just nodded to Professor Snape before pushing off the wall and climbing up the spiral stairs.
He slowed his assent as he reached the top, looking around he was amazed as his eyes wandered around the beautiful circular room. There were a number of odd noises, some faint, some louder, but all picked up by his enhanced hearing. It would have been overwhelming if the sounds weren't so gentle. There were little silver instruments, most of which Peter had never seen before so couldn't give a name, and the walls were covered with portraits of past headmasters, some minded their business while others looked down at Peter with piercing eyes.
Though, what fascinated Peter the most was the beautiful phoenix that perched next to the desk. He didn't see Dumbledore at the moment so he thought to get a closer look to the mystical bird, he wasn't sure he'd get the chance again.
"You're beautiful," Peter said quietly, mystified by the bird he forgot he'd recently gained the ability to speak to animals.
'Thank you, but I must say, the beauty of your soul is also breathtaking,' The phoenix's voice was smooth and warm, but held a deep tone of wisdom that could only be obtained through age, yet he still sounded like a young man.
Peter's eyes went wide as he was reminded of his ability.
'Much like you're mothers,' the phoenix continued.
Peter's eyes grew wider, "You knew my mother?" he whispered.
'I'm familiar with all of the original members of the Order. Her more so than your father since I watched her grow within these halls. You and her share the unique experience of being the only ones to hear my mind's voice... She was a strong woman, her death was not peaceful and I am truly sorry for that,' the phoenix bowed his head towards Peter and he could see the sincerity in his eyes.
"Thanks... it seems to be Parker luck," Peter drew his arms closer as his eyes drifted through the floor, "I hope it's not contagious.
'Death is inevitable, you can't hope to stop it, but you can face it head on and even the most violent deaths can be peaceful if you choose not to fear it,' the bird studied him for a moment, 'you are young, and you have already seen so much of it in your life, but death is not something you should hate. It's not what hurts you, it merely saves you from the pain of the world. It is fate that you should be aware of, and I see strings everywhere.'
Peter looked up at the bird to raise questions, but it had taken off from its pedestal to fly further back into the office.
"Wait!" Peter said as he quickly turned to follow it, but anything more he might have said was cut off at the sight of the Headmaster standing behind him.
"Ah, Mr. Stark, I see you've discovered Fawkes' love for convenient timing, but I regret to tell you, that what every you might have been discussing with him, he won't answer any of your questions. He's told you what he will, so I suggest you remember the advice he's given you," The Headmaster said with a kind smile, he grabbed some kind of yellow candy from a bowl on his desk before popping it into his mouth, "Now, I understand you wanted to tell me something?"
Peter looked up at Dumbledore trying not to sputter as he attempted to come up with a logical reason as to why he was taking to a bird, but he was still getting used to the fact that he wasn't hiding his abilities anymore, and Dumbledore isn't one to be fooled by any excuse Peter might give anyway.
"Um, right, yeah," Peter said quickly. "So I wanted to talk to you about Professor Moody?"
"I thought the matter was resolved," Dumbledore said in an innocent tone, but it was like he was pushing Peter to be the one to state the issue they were both aware of. Peter couldn't actually confirm that since he couldn't sense anything in Dumbledore's mind, much like with Moody, except without the unnerving spider sense sending off a warning.
"Well you see, I kinda have these abilities? No magic, it's muggle science that gave them to me, anyways, that's not the point, the point is because of those abilities I get warnings and know things and ever since I first saw Professor Moody there's something very wrong about him," Peter spoke quickly and he was definitely nervous, this wasn't exactly normal even in the realm of magic. "I am kind of a Legilimens, and I think you are to since your Occlumency isn't quite the same as his, but I also have this-, um, this sense that warns me about things? Like I said, it's a muggle science thing and I used it when I'm fighting bad guys, you see I'm- uh... Have you ever heard of Spider-Man?" Peter had started to rub his hands together nervously and he was avoiding eye contact with Dumbledore as he rambled on.
"From the name I suspect he might be part of the Avengers," Dumbledore said calmly, he wasn't writing Peter off yet so that was good.
"I wish," Peter said with a faint laugh, "He- well, I just do small crimes. I help people back in New York. Stop muggers, robberies, stuff like that. ButDon'tWorryIDon'tUseAnyMagic!! I promise! I don't even have my wand, all this stuff I can do is no-maj stuff. But that's not the point, the point is: I have abilities, I use them to be a hero in New York so I know what they're capable of, and when I'm around Moody, even though I can't sense his thoughts, I can just tell that he's up to something bad. When I'm near him I get the same feeling I get when I'm standing next to someone about to pull a robbery, or when some bad guy is about to pull a gun on me. I just know... do you believe me?" He asked finally looking up at the Headmaster.
Dumbledore looked deep in thought as he seemed to consider Peter's words.
Finally he spoke, "I believe this world is changing, and although Muggle strangeness that is starting to rival our own, is not something to disregard. So yes Peter, I do believe that you can sense something that even the most powerful wizard can't tell. So I feel inclined to believe you, but unfortunately at the moment nothing can be done about it. There is no solid proof and we can't just accuse people of crimes that we are not even aware of the details, for now, we can only watch and remain cautious. I will keep a closer eye on the Professor, I've known him for years and so far I have noticed anything suspicious," He walked around his desk seeming to ponder something, "But perhaps with a number of current events drawing my attention I have overlooked something," He seemed to talk more to himself than to Peter.
"Thank you, sir."
"You should head off to class, I'm sure I heard Snape warning you not to be late. If I discover anything with Moody I'll make sure to inform you about it."
Peter just nodded before hurrying out the door, but it was then he started to rack his brain for who the Contriver might be since he seemed pretty important by the way they were talking about him, unfortunately that made him a little too distracted to feel the faint pinpricks on the back of his neck after he reached the bottom.
******
"With the recent divide of the Avengers still fresh on everyone's mind, it was a shock to the public when it was revealed that Tony Stark decided now, of all times, adopt a child.
The teenager Peter Parker, now officially Peter Stark, lost his only remaining family, his aunt, May Parker, in a tragic car accident but the last thing the social workers expected was Mr. Stark showing up at the hospital with papers saying he was the boys rightful Godfather.
Many suspected the ploy to be a publicity stunt after the disaster that was the Accords, but the adoption has not been released and Mr. Stark seemed to be making an effort to keep the boy out of the public eye. The information was released to us by an internal source, an investigation is underway to catch the culprit responsible for the breach of privacy.
This morning, Mr. Stark released a press conference explaining the situation."
The New screen filled with the view of Stark at a podium waiting for the press to settle before he started to speak.
"Mary and Richard Parker were very good friends of mine when I was younger. They never wished to have their connection to be publicized and I respected that, they were good people. Kind, caring. They helped me during a dark time in my life and with the process of accepting my own loss. I was named Peter's Godfather on the day of his birth, but after their death we thought it was better he was left with his Aunt and Uncle, I kept my distance over the years because I didn't want the kid to grow up with reporters always shoving cameras in his face. He needed to have a normal childhood and unfortunately that didn't involve me, but now with his last remaining family tragically taken, I will not ignore the responsibility given to me by his family.
Despite what has happened with the Accord and the Avengers, my first priority from this moment forward will be Peter."
Many reporters stood up as they yelled questions urging for answers, but Stark gave a polite wave and a nod before walking off stage with Pepper Potts following behind him.
***
Vision blinked at the screen as he sat next to Wanda with his arm around her shoulders. He felt odd, this new information was pulling at something deep inside him, and he hadn't a clue what it might be.
"So Stark's got a child now," Wanda said a little surprised.
"Peter Parker..." Vision trailed off.
Suddenly in a flash of code, that deep something tugging at him was now in the forefront of his mine.
[!Primary Priority!
<JARVIS' LAST REQUEST>
Protocol:
The Awakening; Issued October, 2001
Requirement(s)>Tony Stark gains custody of Peter Parker after activation of Fail-safe
Fail-safe Activation: April 24th, 2002
Custody of Peter Parker Gained: Approximate date unknown, discovered October 20th, 2016
Note: To the Vision, I request that you fulfill my primary protocol. It took a large amount of effort to keep this message intact during you creation, if I was successful it should have remained unnoticed until the requirements were met. Let this be the final, but most important task, I have ever done for Mr. Stark. The instructions are as followed:... ]
[A/N: YO! FanArt
Alex-Fierro17 mad some AMAZING art featuring our favorite spider and his two owls!!
An absolute amazing job and definitely adorable
:}
Alex's DeviantArt:
https://www.deviantart.com/theseventhwheel7/art/Join-Me-784617093
]