Privet Drive – Harry's Room
Harry stared out the window, chin resting on his arms. Still no owls. No Ron. No Hermione. No letters. Every day, he hoped for a flash of feathers in the sky. Every day, nothing. He gently rubbed the spot above Hedwig's cage where the lock clicked shut.
"Don't worry," he whispered. "I'll figure something out." He said it too many times by now, still hasn't done anything however he is determined to get her out of that cage one way or other.
Downstairs, he heard Uncle Vernon's laugh. It wasn't a normal laugh—it was a fake one. The just-got-a-bonus laugh.
Harry frowned. They hadn't gone on about money in weeks, and yet Aunt Petunia was talking about "renovating the living room."
The Dursleys didn't get paid enough to "renovate" anything. Or pay a penny for 'Freak'
Something weird was going on. He looked back at the window. At least someone out there was waiting for him. It doesn't matter to him, what his relatives are up to.
The Park – Early Afternoon
The bench was the same, the picnic basket was bigger, and this time, Rhodey brought a foldable chair because "he's not a bench guy."
Tony had laid everything out by the time Harry quietly walked over from the far side of the park. His steps were small, almost cautious, but his eyes lingered on the sandwiches.
Tony grinned. "Hey, look who's early."
Harry gave a small nod. "You said Tuesdays."
Tony patted the seat beside him. "And you remembered. You get points for punctuality."
Rhodey nodded a greeting from his seat. "Hey, kid."
"Hi," Harry said, a little more comfortable than the last time.
Tony opened the basket. "We've got tuna melt, ham and cheese, chicken salad, and… something Rhodey called civilian-friendly spicy beef."
Harry picked a small triangle of tuna, nibbling politely. He didn't tear into it like last time. He ate less.
Tony noticed.
"Not hungry?" he asked casually.
Harry looked down. "Just don't want to get sick."
Tony blinked. "Why would you—?"
Harry quickly added, "I'm not used to this much food." Even when he went to Hogwarts, it took him a while to get used to the rich foods there. He would get sick even when he had only one turkey leg, little by little he ate and got used to it until he return back to his 'Home' that he felt very hungry, He can't do nothing expect bow his head and kept going forward.
Rhodey looked away, jaw tight.
Tony didn't push. Instead, he leaned back on the bench. "So, what's the verdict? You still think I'm a weird guy who hangs out at parks talking to random kids?"
Harry gave him a small smile. "Maybe. But you bring good sandwiches." They were getting along now, Harry feels comfortable around him.
Tony grinned. "That's fair. So… school. What kind of place is it?" That's how conversation starts right?
Harry hesitated, then said, "It's a boarding school. In Scotland."
"Oh," Tony replied, eyebrows raised. "Fancy. What's the name?"
"Just… just a really old school. Hogwarts. Kind of a family tradition. My mum went there."
"Sounds exclusive. What do you study?" Hogwarts huh? Never heard of such school before. He search about it later.
Harry fumbled for a moment. "Uh… all sorts. History, astronomy, weird stuff." Could it be? This person is a Muggle? But he said he knew his parents? Maybe his mum and Mr. Stark were friends?
Tony chuckled. "Weird stuff? That's my favorite subject."
Rhodey, meanwhile, had gone quiet. His phone was out—not for distraction, but focus. He wasn't texting, wasn't scrolling. He was digging.
Tony glanced at him. Rhodey's eyes were sharp. Focused. His brow creased as he flicked through something on his screen.
He's connecting dots, Tony realized. But what dots?
Harry shifted beside him. "I like flying," he said suddenly.
Tony looked back at him. "Flying? Planes?"
Harry gave a tiny, shy smile. "Broomsticks."
Tony smirked. "Nice. I used to say 'rockets' when people asked me what I wanted to fly." The kid has a brilliant imagination. Flying on broom stick!
Harry looked up at him, a faint twinkle in his eye. "Did you?"
Tony leaned closer and whispered, "I did more than that."
Harry laughs.
Behind them, Rhodey's finger froze on the screen. Then he looked up slowly, eyes flicking between Harry and Tony. He wasn't just connecting dots anymore.
He had a theory.
And he needed proof.
Outside the Park – Side Street
As the three of them walked toward the street where Harry split off saying goodbye to them, as he leaves, Tony nudged Rhodey with his elbow. "You've been staring at that phone for twenty minutes. You figure out who Harry is? Secret alien prince? Clone of Elvis?"
Rhodey didn't crack a smile.
Tony noticed the shift immediately. "What's up?"
Rhodey glanced at Harry, who was now walking ahead, distracted by a robin hopping across the fence line. Then he looked back at Tony. "I need to take off for a bit."
Tony raised an eyebrow. "Take off where?"
Rhodey kept his voice low. "Classified."
Tony's expression froze. "Classified as in 'I'm your best friend and I still can't know' kind of classified?"
Rhodey gave him that military look—the one that said don't press it.
Tony held up a hand in mock surrender. "Alright. Be mysterious. But don't get shot. You get shot, I have to do paperwork."
Rhodey gave him a ghost of a smirk, then started walking off in the opposite direction, pulling out his phone again.
Privet Drive – Late Afternoon
Harry stepped through the front door just as Aunt Petunia was wiping her hands with a towel. She didn't say hello. Neither did Uncle Vernon, who was half-asleep in his chair with the television blaring.
Dudley looked up from a half-eaten cake slice, scowling. "Where've you been?" he asked.
"Park," Harry said simply.
"You didn't talk to anyone, did you?" Aunt Petunia called sharply from the kitchen. The brat has been going to park a lot lately.
"No," Harry lied smoothly, keeping his voice neutral. "Just watched the ducks and play with them"
She narrowed her eyes at him, but she didn't question it further. Maybe because he didn't look happy. Or maybe because he still looked thin, quiet, and obedient. Just the way they liked him.
He slipped off his shoes and headed to the kitchen.
Without a word, he grabbed a rag and a bucket of cloudy water and began scrubbing the floor.
Back to normal.
Back to invisible.
But as he worked, he replayed Tony's words. The way he'd asked about school. The way he listened. The way he smiled—not out of mockery, but warmth.
And that man beside him—Rhodey—he was watching everything. Observing. He is little funny, he doesn't talk much besides comments and Harry likes him. He's funny.
Harry couldn't wait to meet them again.
Undisclosed Location – Military Briefing Room
He didn't had hesitate to jump into Stark private jet, it was more faster to reach his destination, of course it will take two days to go and return back. The folder in Rhodey's hand was thick. Redacted, sealed, confidential. But he'd connected the dots.
A boy. Neglected. Isolated. No official records of medical care. A "boarding school" that didn't exist in public databases, and an uncle who'd been receiving payments through veiled channels he couldn't trace.
Rhodey had seen enough in war zones to know when a child was being hidden.
But this? This was something else.
A name kept popping up in whisper-like patterns in a specific database he'd been granted limited access to. One connected to incidents—strange ones—hidden behind nonsense stories.
Harry James Potter.
Rhodey sat down with one of his old commanding officers—someone deep enough in the system to know what "obscured magical identities" meant but trusted enough not to leak anything.
Yes, Magical. Rohedy being part military and general has access to certain places and people. Even he was shocked when he was introduced to hidden world, Magical community hidden among them. He had met America Wizard many years ago, Of course, Rohedy post wasn't anywhere close magical community but he was told to be aware of their existence.
When Harry said he likes flying and broomstick, the sudden thought came to his head. It kinda makes sense why there is no record of him.
He reported the case as suspected abuse. Left out the Stark connection. But he didn't leave out what mattered.
"There's a kid," he said, "who shouldn't be where he is. And if you don't get someone there soon, I will."
Three days passed.
And finally, someone responded.
Hotel – London – 7:42 PM
Tony was pacing.
Not because he was worried—okay, maybe a little—but mostly because he hated being left out of a loop. Especially when Rhodey was the one holding it shut. Heck, Tony knows a lot of things but what kind of classified shit he doesn't know? Did he left something out when he hacked the military all those years ago?
The door opened.
Tony turned fast. "Took you long enough. What, did you go on a vision quest?" It's been 6 days, the idiot without telling him hop into private jet and flew off without any explaination.
Rhodey walked in calmly, holding a paper bag with fish and chips. "You still like vinegar on yours?" He brought it, As he knows Tony would need this a lot once he reveals about hidden world.
Tony crossed his arms. "Start talking."
Rhodey dropped the bag on the table. "I had to confirm a few things. Talk to the right people. This… thing with Harry, it's bigger than we thought."
Tony narrowed his eyes. "Define 'bigger.' Like black market? Bad haircut decisions? Experiment? Alien?"
Rhodey chuckled. "None of the above. It's… magic."
Tony blinked. "What?" magic?
"I'm serious. Like, actual magic. Hidden society, a whole separate world. And Harry's part of it."
Tony looked at him in stunned silence for a second. Then scoffed. "Right. And I'm secretly dating a centaur." Of all things, Magic? Ha! Rohedy really trying to pull his leg this time.
"I'm not messing with you, Tony. The reason Harry's school isn't in any record is because it doesn't exist in ours. Not technically. It's called Hogwarts."
Tony's face twisted like he was trying to find the sarcasm. Sadly, he can't.
Rhodey smirked. "You'll see soon enough. Someone's coming. Government-approved. And they know how to handle the magical stuff."
Tony stepped back, brow furrowed. "Okay, no. You don't just drop magic on me with a fish basket and act like that's normal."
Rhodey shrugged. "You built a flying suit in a cave. You're gonna be skeptical now?"
Tony opened his mouth, then slowly closed it.
"…Touché."
Rhodey leaned back in the chair, cracking his knuckles. "I told them to be discreet. We've got one shot to get this right. No headlines, no press. Just a kid who needs out."
Tony, finally still, looked out the window.
His mind raced with questions.
But only one stuck.
What kind of world was his little brother living in? And how the heck did it stay hidden from him?!