Prove You Have A Heart

Chapter 30

Harry didn't know who was more nervous; himself, Tony, or Luke. Unfortunately, Tony couldn't be there to drop Luke off for his first day of school; Pepper had tried to reschedule his meeting, but the buyer was particularly stubborn. So Harry found himself driving Luke to school alone, almost physically shaking with nerves. "Just be yourself, pup, yeah?" he assured, glancing at his son. "But remember, don't mention magic, and don't say who your Papa is, okay?" Luke nodded, having been thoroughly briefed on it by both of them for the past few days. While they weren't hiding Tony's connection to Luke, they didn't want the little boy to be the first one questioned when it came out, and him telling everyone his Papa was Tony Stark would definitely do that.

Pulling up in the school parking lot, Harry got out and unstrapped Luke from his booster seat, crouching down to be at eye level with him next to the car. "Have fun, and try and make friends, okay? I know it's only until November, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it while you're here." He leaned in, kissing his son's messy hair. "And your Papa and I love you, no matter what. Even if you don't like it much," he added. Luke bit his lip, nodding, and Harry straightened up, holding Luke's hand on their way in. A petite blonde woman was waiting by the door, and she smiled warmly.

"Hi," she greeted chirpily, a friendly smile on her face. "First day of school?" Harry nodded, and she gave him a knowing look. "The K class is the first door on the left there. I'm Miss Anderson, I'm the teaching assistant for K through 2."

"I'm Harry Potter, and this is my son Luke," Harry replied, squeezing Luke's hand in reassurance.

"Hi," Luke greeted shyly, and Miss Anderson grinned at him.

"Hey, Luke. Are you excited about starting school?" Luke shrugged, nodding, his grip on Harry's hand tight. "A lot of the class are already here; how about I introduce you to your teacher? And then you can start making some friends," she encouraged. Harry urged Luke forward, following Miss Anderson through to the classroom, where she beckoned over the only adult in the room. It was another woman, this one a young brunette with a kind round face, wearing a bright green cardigan and polkadot red and white dress.

"Hey there, are you joining us?" she greeted, addressing Luke. He was glancing around the bright classroom inquisitively, watching the kids who were already there as they played.

"Yeah," he murmured, attention more on his surroundings than her. She didn't take offence, looking up at Harry.

"I'm Miss Leyman, I'll be your son's teacher," she introduced, reaching over to shake Harry's hand.

"I'm Harry Potter, this is Luke," he told her, and she nodded.

"The boy who's only with us for a few months?" she asked, and he nodded in confirmation. "Well, welcome. I hope Luke enjoys his time here, however short it may be." Harry smiled, crouching down in front of Lucas once more.

"Why don't you go see if those three will let you play with them?" he suggested with a smile, seeing two girls and a boy playing with Lego. "You like Lego, don't you?" Luke nodded tentatively, and Harry ruffled his hair, grinning at him. "Give us a hug, and I'll see you at three. I love you, pup."

"Love you, Dad. Give Papa a hug from me when he gets home," Luke instructed, hugging him tightly, making Harry stifle a grin; Luke had gotten up early with the specific purpose of hugging Tony about twelve times before he left that morning.

"I will, pup. Now go on, go make some friends." He pulled back from the hug, nudging Luke gently in the back towards the other kids, and grinned to himself when Luke shyly approached the nearest girl, quickly being accepted into the group.

"Well, he doesn't seem to have any problems," Miss Leyman remarked, amused. Harry chuckled, getting to his feet.

"Yes, well, he's not a shy boy, I'll tell you that now," he told her with a wry smile, and she laughed.