Disclaimer: Just like everybody else posting on ff. net, I do not own the copyrights of either Harry Potter or Ironman (or Corpse Bride or McDonald's). What I do own is an imagination and a laptop.
Summary: Harry was born a hermaphrodite but kept it a secret. He used his alternative identity as a woman to escape the nosy British wizards and settles in the States. There he met a handsome young genius who even though a complete womanizer and a snob captures Harry's attention. And vice versa.
Universe&Timeline: The beginning follows HP books, set after DH; Follows IM movies, set a few years before the IM1 plot.
Main pairing: Harry(Helena)/Tony
A/N: Updating weekly… yeah. Well, anyway, let's do it like this. If I pass the time limit of TWO WEEKS everybody will send flames. I got a slight fever right now, so I'll either be writing a lot or not at all. Let's hope it's the former.
PS: Helen of Troy. Duh!
A/N2: I FOUND OLD 'THE SEER' CHAPTERS IN MY OLD COMPUTER. IF YOU WANT I CAN REPOST THE CHAPTERS. BUT I WILL NOT BE CONTINUING IT.
Posted: 13.04.10
Gotta love brooms. Flying around on them always gave Harry weird thoughts. Right now Harry was thinking if anyone could see him through a satellite. Wonder if wizarding spells worked on them too. Didn't matter as he's wearing his invisibility cloak and those things sure did work on muggle technology. Getting sidetracked. Taking one look at his vine-y bracelet he turned slightly where the unwound tip pointed. The vine worked like a dowsing rod, but instead of water it scouted out the closest one sprayed with its pollen.
Ohhoo! The tip pointed downward, must be in that building somewhere. Now that the easy part's over, the fun part starts soon. Landing on top of the building he opened the roof entrance and slid in. The place looked a little dingy to Harry, but that's what you get for living in the lap of luxury for over two years.
Finding the apartment he was looking for, or rather where the vine was pointing at, he quietly cast an Alohomora at it and slipped inside. Yeouch, the place was filthy. It's not dirty like the roof was leaking or the plumbing didn't work or the walls were molding. The living conditions were otherwise good enough, but the tenant was simply a complete slob: pizza and noodle boxes littered everywhere, dirty laundry was thrown at random and the place could use some airing as the smell of sweat was overwhelming. Now if only Harry could navigate on this maze of dirtyness.
Harry found it easier to move while using a levitation charm. Floating around the apartment Harry went through a door to what appeared to be a bedroom. Well if the less-that-18-year-old gagged and crying girl tied to the bed was any indication. It was the nameless guy who got pissed at his friend for calling dibs on Harry earlier. He was bent over the girl with a perverted glint in his eyes and a 15-inch jungle knife clutched in his left hand. Looks like Harry was just in time.
Starting out small Harry took a deep breath and blew his icy breath at the man's neck. He shivered and looked around, not seeing anything he shrugged it off and turned back to the girl. Harry maneuvered himself to his other shoulder and blew there. This time the rapist pulled off the girl more and took a suspicious glance around.
"Who's there?" He demanded.
Harry put a Muffliato charm around the young girl so that she could not hear her.
"Stop it." Harry whispered very quietly.
The man shivered and looked at the girl.
"Come out!" He shouted slightly louder.
"No, please, stop it." Harry whispered again.
"Who's there?!" He said in a commanding voice, but you could hear the fear that crept in it. He turned to the girl.
"Did you hear that?" She shook her head, her fear turning to confusion. Then she passed out, because Harry stunned her.
"Hey!" The man yelled and shook her shoulders. When she didn't wake up he slapped her, but she remained unresponsive.
Harry opened the door slowly, making sure it creaked as much as possible. The frightened man stood up slowly and even slower walked out of the room. Feeling overly theatric, Harry slammed the door behind him with the flick of his wand. The man shouted out in surprise and fright. His desperate eyes darting around the room as he attempted to find something, anything.
With a slight flick Harry lit a bulb in another room, the light glowing through from under the door. Gulping, the man opened the door and walked in. He stepped into the room and took a look around. When nothing seemed to happen he snorted and turned around, fully intending to get back to the girl.
As the rapist was walking into the room Harry positioned himself behind him and partially took off the invisibility cloak. When he turned around Harry could see his annoyed expression quickly morph into a look of horror as he fell over. His wide frightened eyes were probably the steadiest part of his body as he shook all over and released his bladder. It would've been very funny hadn't it been so disturbing.
"Why have you done this to us? Why didn't you stop when we begged you to stop? When we begged you to stop hurting us?" Letting out a heartbroken whisper Harry slowly advanced on the man who looked like he could have a heart attack any minute. Harry kneeled down eye-level with the petrified man.
Looking at those haunting green eyes was the last sane thing the man remembered before ha was plunged into insanity.
Harry stood up after having doused the man with a hallugenic poison. It scrambles the mind enough that if the cure isn't administered soon the victim won't be able to regain sanity. And considering how muggles don't have the antidote at all, he wouldn't be cured even if he were discovered in time.
Walking into the bedroom Harry untied the girl. He scooped her up and stuck her onto him using a sticking charm. He left the building and went home.
"Kreatcher." Harry shouted and watched the disguised elf appear with a pop. He dumped the girl into his arms.
"Here, wake her up, give her a truth serum and find out where she lives. Then get her home." Turning on his heel he was about to leave when he shouted over his shoulder.
"Oh, and don't forget to wipe her memory of tonight's happenings. There's no need for her to remember this drama."
And he was flying off again on his broom.
It took faster to find the other guy. It didn't come as any surprise to find him in a strip joint. Those two were definitely all-out pervs. But this presented another problem. How was he going to do this without getting caught? He really didn't want to sit out his entire evening under his invisibility cloak waiting for this idiot to leave be club. And from the look of things it didn't look like he was going to leave any time soon.
"So, he didn't leave tip at all? What a cheapskate."
"And after all the gagging I had to do too. He was so fuckin' demanding."
Harry heard two strippers/prostitutes complain to one another. He turned to look at the two girls that didn't look any older than he was. They were both wearing white lingerie with spiked heels and angel wings. Both were moderately pretty. Suddenly Harry got an idea.
"What do you usually charge?" He asked them.
The two girls looked at Harry, who they couldn't really see as he was standing in the shadows. They told Harry an astronomically low price. Harry was surprised. The price of a woman's body was really so low? Harry took out some cash that was pocket change for him, but week's worth of money for the girls.
"Well, then. How about a favor?" The girls were eyeing the money and then glanced at each other. They started a sultry walk towards him/her, but Harry stopped them before they could act on their misunderstanding.
"You see, I have a bone to pick with that gentleman over there." Harry subtly pointed at the man calling out lewd things to nearby girls.
"You mean Mr. Jacks? Total cheapskate. Never wants to pay. Everyone tends to avoid him as much a possible."
"So, what do you want us to do?"
"I want you to go to him. Make him think you're out for… other kind of fun. Lure him outside of the club and into the back alley near here. After that you're free to go."
The girls looked a little reluctant. They had every reason to, as Harry's plan seemed like he was going to off the guy even to himself. Harry reached out his pale hand with the money.
"This is just an advance; you'll get another equal amount when it's done."
That was enough to sway the girls. They took the money and said they'll be right back. Harry was a little reluctant and thought he might've pretty much just thrown away several hundred dollars, but then the girls emerged again. They had dissed their wings and pulled on short skirts. Good, they looked off-duty compared to the other 'employees' here."
They sat on both sides of the man with seductive smiles. The perverted man fell for it hook, line and sinker and soon he was walking out of the place, his arms around either of the girls' waists. Harry Apparated in the alley and waited for the three to arrive. He heard the three approach- especially with how loud the man was being. They passed him and Harry quickly shot a stunner at the three of them. They fell over.
Moving quickly he enervated the man. He lifted his head with a grumble and took a looked at the unconscious girls on either side of him.
"What the fuck?!" Was his natural reaction.
He lifted himself up and took a look around. His eyes found Harry and he froze.
"That's not possible." He whispered eyes wide.
Harry didn't feel like playing around like he did with the other guy. So he shot the poison in his face and watched the man fall down coughing. Harry rolled his eyes and grabbed the girls, leaving the man lying in the alley. He Apparated them to the strip club's dressing room and placed the girls sitting on the sofa. He put the rest of the money in their palms and hid. He then shot an enervate at them. They woke up, feeling confused. Looking at the money and then at each other they shrugged it off and called it a night early. Harry did as well.
Months passed relatively quiet. There was a bit of drama with the press as it at first adamantly refused to believe that the relationship between Tony Stark and Lady Helena Potter was nothing but platonic. There were hordes of different speculations when Tony would often come to a party with Helena on his arm, but leave with a new face every time. One reporter managed to get a comment from Helena about it, but the 'we're just friend, he's free to do whatever he wants' didn't seem to suite with the gossipvultures very well. After a while the public accepted the platonic friendship though. Read: they became bored with the old news and moved on to newer gossip.
Behind the scenes Harry and Tony grew closer and closer at an alarming rate. There were times when Harry forgot that Tony didn't know about magic, but luckily he never did or say anything too weird. Despite that particular secret about Harry's past life he felt more open with Tony than he ever felt with Ron or Hermione. He talked about a lot of inner dilemmas he had never felt comfortable to discuss with anyone before.
Tony wasn't any different. At times Helena acted rather eccentric but he didn't mind. Helena sometimes talked about her childhood, making Tony feel extremely grateful at his own life. He also talked about his own inner demons he had never acknowledged before, but now felt extremely relieved having let it out.
One evening Tony took Helena to Rome. She had mentioned that she had never been anywhere really, and Tony wanted to be the one to show her the world. It was a starry evening and they were enjoying pasta with candles and live performers. Overall the atmosphere was extremely romantic. After dinner they went to take a stroll in a park.
"You know, this is quite like a date." Tony said with a cheeky grin.
"Oh yes, I agree. You haven't run off with a pretty girl quite yet." Helena replied with a smile.
"Oh, yeah, I tend to do that, don't I? Well, tonight's different. I can't just leave you in a strange town all on your own now can I?"
"I thank you not to do that. Being in uncharted waters is scary enough. I would probably forget how to paddle if I were to be left by myself."
Tony smiled and took her hand.
"I'm sure you'd be able to manage. You're too perfect not to."
At that Helena seemed to feel extremely uncomfortable.
"I'm far from perfect, Tony. I have several secrets that you don't know about."
Tony was surprised to hear that.
"I thought we talked about everything."
"No, Tony, not really. Remember what I said about having two conditions you needed to fulfill if you ever wanted to date me?"
Tony nodded.
"Of course. No quickies and no cheating."
Helena managed a slight smile.
"Well, there's actually two other."
Tony's eyes widened.
"You've gotta be kidding me." He said in disbelief.
"It's not like that, Tony. It's nothing you need to change about yourself. The two conditions I laid down were what needed to be fulfilled so that I could accept you. These other two are what you need to accept about me."
"Can't you just change them?"
Helena shook her head.
"No, I can't. It's something I was born with. No matter what I do I can't change the circumstances."
Tony frowned.
"What are they?"
Helena lowered her eyes.
"I'm not ready to tell you."
"Helena, what the hell?"
"I'm sorry. It's just too personal."
"Personal my ass! I've told you about everything! And you feel like you still need to have fucking secrets before me!"
"Tony!"
Helena looked scandalized. Tony felt pissed as hell. And they didn't talk for a month to come.
It was in the middle of summer and Helena's birthday was fast approaching. Tony was planning to give her a surprise party as an apology. At first he stubbornly refused to have anything to do with her until she told him what she kept as a secret. But that was a month ago! And he missed her! He missed talking to her, he messed her laugh, her smile, her eyes. And plain just being in her company. So for the first time since forever he swallowed his pride and decided that knowing she kept something from him was a small price to pay if she still considered him her friend.
Of course, since this was her 21stbirthday, it had to be something big. He subtly invited a lot of people but getting the birthday girl to actually attend turned out to be a nuisance. He couldn't just call her and invite her to a party after blatantly ignoring her for a month and telling her it was a 'surprise party in her honor' would kind of ruin the whole idea of a surprise. In the end he pestered Pepper until she agreed to pretend it was a girls' night out for the two.
Of course she gave him a cold shoulder for asking her that favor.
"I wouldn't have to do this if you hadn't alienated her." She had said.
She very adamantly believed that even the closest of friends were entitled to have secrets from each other. Tony, for the first time, seriously considered firing her. But the fact remained that he was completely dependant of her- just like one other woman that had unknowingly wormed her way into his heart.
Harry's doorbell rang.
"It's mistress's friend missus Potts, mistress."
"Tell her I'll be right there, Kreatcher. I'm just finishing up here."
Since Tony started ignoring Harry he delved into his work to fight off the depression settling in. He was heavily reminded of Ron's bi-polar behavior before Harry felt like he had had enough and left. At least Tony had a somewhat valid reason to sulk, but that didn't mean he could just ignore him! And an entire month straight!
However his and Pepper's friendship did progress during this time and Harry enjoyed spending time with the woman he had so amazingly many things in common with. And tonight on Harry's 21st birthday she was planning to take him out. Even though Harry said that he wasn't fond of partying she remained firm. She convinced Harry that since it was his drinking-age birthday the least they could do was reap the benefits.
"Hi, Pepper. Sorry it took so long. I lost track of time working and had to take a quick shower before I could get ready at all."
"That's fine, Helena. When Mr. Stark looses track of time working he's usually hours late."
Pepper knew she made a mistake mentioning Mr. Stark when she saw her smile turn stony. Things were definitely very tense between those two.
"Anyway, let's get going. You can only celebrate your 21st birthday once."
So they took a seat in Helena's modest sports car and drove off to a night of drinking and dancing.
Tony was starting to feel a little anxious. Pepper had promised to get Helena there nearly half an hour ago.
"Would you relax, Tony? You look like a groom realizing the bride is leaving him standing at the altar."
Needless to say Obadiah didn't make things any easier either.
"You're not helping, old boy. Pepper promised to get her here half an hour ago!"
"Maybe they stopped to pick up some guys?"
Tony sent Obadiah a very poisonous glare.
Suddenly everybody started shushing and slinking off to form a circle before the entrance. The lights were turned off. The door was pushed open.
"SURPISE!"
The lights came back on, photographers shot pictures, and Helena looked ready to fall over.
"Pepper! I said nothing big!"
"It wasn't my idea."
Pepper glanced towards the crowd, more specifically, to where Tony was. He had a smile on his face as he walked over.
"Happy birthday, Helena." He said with a grin and gave her a hug.
Harry sighed but smiled.
"You never do things halfway, do you, Tony?" That's one way to say 'sorry', and another to say 'forgiven'.
So Harry had his first ever birthday party. His 17th birthday dinner didn't count- everybody were too distracted by the upcoming wedding anyway.
Harry was having a pleasant conversation with Tony when he saw something he really didn't expect.
"Oh, fuck me sideways." He exclaimed in surprise.
Tony nearly spilled his drink from the surprise of hearing such words from Helena- as she usually never swore, at least not like that. She excused herself and made her way towards a platinum blonde who had a smirk plastered on his face.
Harry never thought he'd see his face ever again.
"Malfoy." He said in greeting.
"Potter." He greeted back with a smirk and raised Harry's knuckled to kiss them.
"I must say, Potter, I like the new look. Suits you."
"What are you doing here? And more importantly, how did you find me?"
Draco glanced sideways; Harry followed his gaze and saw Poppy Pomfrey in a heated conversation with a man around her age.
"My family owes you a debt, Potter. That's not something we can tolerate, but we couldn't do anything about it if we didn't even know where you were, now could we? I must admit I was rather stumped at finding you until madam Pomfrey recommended looking for a miss instead of a mister. How'd she know you'd be hiding as a woman is beyond me, but that's not what matters. What matters is that I've finally found you."
"Which I do not like at all, Malfoy. I rather like being lost to… the old crowd. Tell you what; I'll count your debt as fulfilled if you make sure it stays that way."
"Oh? And what if I just, by accident, let it slip where you are and how you're hiding."
"Then your debt will not be fulfilled." Harry replied nonchalantly in a matter-of-fact tone while examining his nails (which despite of his profession looked top notch) in on oh-so-innocent matter.
Draco raised an elegant eyebrow.
"That's surprisingly Slytherin of you, Potter. Never would've thought you had it in you."
"Coming from you I'll take that as a compliment. So tell me: what were the reactions of everybody once they realized I was gone?"
Draco's mouth stretched from a smirk to a grin.
"You gave me a very amusing final year of Hogwarts. There were some whispers about you not being there at the entrance feast, but it didn't turn into a full-scale panic until the morning after when they realized that you weren't in the castle period."
Draco laughed at the memory.
"Personally I think that the Weasels were the most amusing. Weaselbee went on ranting about betrayal and such, Weaselette was bawling and going on about some nonsense about wedding dresses, the mud-"
"Do not use that term in my presence, Malfoy."
"Of course. Now where was I? Ah yes, the little bookworm. She took it as a personal offense not being able to find you by her outstanding resources. Not a wonder as realistically she had pretty much nothing. Oblivion is bliss, as they say."
"Must've been indeed amusing. I understand your reason, but why did Pomfrey want to find me?"
"No clue. She only came to me a few months ago when she retired from Hogwarts."
"She retired?"
"Amazing, isn't it? After how she remained, true even in the wartime, it's baffling how fast she hung up her apron."
Harry and Draco chatted on about nothing for a few minutes. They were both pleasantly surprised at how well they could get along, considering their past relationship. Or not… They did have an unspoken truce after Narcissa Malfoy sort of helped Harry bring Voldemort to his demise. Would've kept chatting away too if it hadn't been for…
"Mis-sh Potter. Lovely to see you again." … Madame Pomfrey's intervention. It was clear to both wizards that she almost called Harry mister, which they found slightly amusing.
"Madame Pomfrey, lovely to see you well."
"Likewise, I hope. But I'd like to take a look at you myself, considering your usual streak of luck."
"I'm quite alright. Believe it or not I've lived a rather danger-free life since you last saw me. Maybe it was the country."
"Or the company you kept." Draco couldn't help but take a jab at.
Harry rolled his eyes and made a ha-ha sound.
"Nevertheless as I am quite positive you haven't seen a healer since our last checkup, I'd like to make sure you're really fine." Pomfrey sent Harry a meaningful look which made Draco slightly suspicious. Despite what a lot of people thought he was no idiot and he definitely knew the signs of when two people kept a secret. Judging by what the nurse said it looked like Harry had a medical condition that he wasn't comfortable sharing with another healer.
"Enjoying the party?"
Draco was a little startled when he heard a male voice ask out of nowhere. Mildly surprised he saw a moderately handsome (to a Malfoy's standards anyway) man place a hand on Harry's shoulder. Draco raised an eyebrow. Judging by the way Potter's eyes lit up they were more than friends. Potter was dating a muggle? A male muggle? It came as no surprise that since he's already a drag queen he's also a pillow biter. But a muggle!?
"Oh, Tony! These are some of my… old acquaintances from England. This is Madame Poppy Pomfrey and Lord Draco Malfoy. This is…"
"Tony Stark." The brunette introduced himself reaching a hand towards Draco for a shake, which seemed to have the purpose of crushing Draco's fingers, while virtually ignoring Pomfrey altogether.
"Charmed." Draco said with a smirk. Ah, the jealous type! They were always the most fun to fool around with.
Pomfrey on the other hand didn't seem the least bit offended of being ignored. She simply excused Helena and herself, wanting to have a little talk to 'catch up', leaving the two men on their staring contest.
"A Lord, huh? I'm guessing you and Helena were friends since you were in diapers."
Helena? Draco thought amused. He knew, of course, the identity Harry had adopted, but hearing someone actually say it out loud was a real knee slapper.
"No, not quite. We officially met only when we started boarding school together. She was always a real spitfire, caught my attention immediately."
Draco was really enjoying poking a sleeping dragon at that moment. The heavily suppressed but clearly visible holy anger (1) in this Tony Stark's eyes amused Draco almost as much as the Weasley clan did when they realized that a certain someone was missing- and not marrying his money away. (2)
"I'm assuming, you were a previous boyfriend of hers." Tony grounded through clenched teeth, adding an especial emphasis on the 'previous'.
"Oh not quite." Draco said smoothly. "I must admit though. Our relationship has changed a bit over the years. It's a bit of a shame really; I do quite miss the way we used to be."
"Oh, and are you going to rekindle the way you two used to be?"
"You know, it's a real shame that Helena's family didn't believe in arranged marriages. Otherwise she'd be long gone for the likes of you."
"What is that supposed to mean?!"
A while earlier, when Harry and Pomfrey left the men.
"Really, Mr. Potter, disappearing like that. What were you thinking?"
"That I'd like some privacy." Harry deadpanned. "And don't call me that. I'm a lady remember? Even muggles have ears, you know. Now, why are you here?"
"Dear merciful Morgana's braids! You could be a little nicer, with all the pension troubles those thrice damned youngsters at the ministry-"
"Pension troubles? What are you talking about, Madame Pomfrey?"
"Ah that. I chose a successor the very year you disappeared. After a year of helping her settle in I was finally able to retire and lead a quiet and relaxing pension. But those damn ministry officials- oooh how they infuriate me- denied me my pension funds I'm entitled to, saying they need it to still recover from the shock of the war! Hah! As if the ministry took all that damage! The money, of course, is being stuffed into their greedy pockets and not at all to the war victims and rebuilding where it should be going! Those-"
"Okay, okay, I get it. But what made you come seek me out?" Harry had to cut into her tirade as it looked like she would've vented for hours to come otherwise.
"Ah that, yes. Two reasons mostly. One- I had to live by somehow. Between not having any sort of income, family and the bastards who refused to give me my old job back, I was in a rather tight spot. Helping Mr. Malfoy helped me- if only temporarily. And two- I was worried about you. Believe it or not you have quite grown on me and it eased my soul to know you are fine."
"I'm touched."
"When did you become such a prude?"
"What so you mean? I meant it!"
"Oh. Well anyway, when are you going to leave this party? I'd like some time to get settled in a little before giving you your checkup."
"Huh?"
"You're going to be a nice hospitable lady and of course put me up, obviously. I can't do a full physical when I'm about to fall over from hunger and fatigue, now can I?"
"… You have become even more headstrong since I last saw you."
"Yes, well, having no roof over your head can do that to a person."
Harry had never seen the matron so bitter. She was as stubborn as a mule, headstrong and strong-willed, downright scary if the circumstances were right but never really bitter. The British wizarding community really hadn't learned its lesson it seemed. Give it a decade the most and they'll have another budding dark lord rising.
"I'll have my house elf draw you a hot bath." Harry said quietly. Translation: you can stay with me for now.
"Sounds long overdue. And another that is overdue is your intervention."
Harry didn't get what she meant until Madame Pomfrey pointed out Draco and Tony, the blond looking like the cat that caught a canary while the brunette looked like a volcano seconds away from erupting. In an instant Harry was next to the two men, ready to do some damage control.
"Judging from the way you two look, I'd say you haven't changed at all, Malfoy. Tony, whatever he told you you can forget immediately. Draco here gets some perverse pleasure from pissing people off. And he's good enough to do that even to a stranger."
"You wound me, Helena!"
Draco exclaimed dramatically, making Tony want to gouge the blonde's eyes out.
"What else is new? You tried to get me by getting me in trouble with teachers and I got back at you by being better than you in everything we did."
Tony raised an eyebrow. Did he miss something here?
"So not true! I was way better in sports."
"Then how come you couldn't beat me once in any the matches we were in?"
Tony watched with now both eyebrows raised as Helena's face morphed into smug satisfaction when Malfoy scowled, obviously having a touchy subject breached.
"So… you two were rivals?" Tony asked slowly.
"Of course. What else would we have been? Man, he used to piss me off, but thinking of it now it was kind of fun."
It's a bit of a shame really, as I do quite miss the way we used to be
"He was a real selfish idiot when we first met. All prancing around, insulting my choice of friends, saying he would be better one. I turned him down and he took it real personal. Antagonized me at every chance ever since for years to come."
She was always a real spitfire, caught my attention immediately
Tony couldn't believe it. He took one look at Malfoy who looked like he was silently having the time of his life. This man was brilliant. He had not lied once, but manipulated Tony into thinking things that made him feel rage. All of a sudden the earlier fury Tony had felt washed away and he started laughing. Thinking about it now, he should be pissed but it was kinda funny. Helena turned to look at him, surprised at his burst of laughter.
"Sorry. I was under the impression that you were lover."
"That would have made you mad, wouldn't it?" Forget the respect Tony might have felt a moment ago, but the worst was yet to come.
"Oh, Tony and I aren't in a romantic relationship. We're just friends."
The unbelieving yet amused look Draco gave him made Tony want to shrivel up and die.
"Speaking of relationships. Did you marry Pansy like she planned?"
"After the stunt she pulled? Of course not!"
"Stunt, what stunt?"
"She opened her mouth and said the wrong thing at the wrong time. She lost a gamble and now she has to pay for it. You were there when she did it too, remember? Right before that event."
Harry understood what Draco meant. It was right before Voldemort's death. He sent a message to the Hogwarts residents, demanding Harry Potter in exchange of their lives. Pansy was the one who said that they should nab him and do just that. Unfortunately at least 3/4th of the rest of the school didn't agree. The gamble Draco referred to was the fact that Harry killed Voldemort and not the other way around. And the sad truth was that the wizarding world really loved scapegoats and heroes. They pushed Harry on a pedestal and made Pansy a scapegoat. Poor girl.
"I see. Well, anyway, who did you marry anyway?"
"Astoria."
"Astoria? Daphne's little sister?"
Daphne Greengrass was a pureblooded Slytherin, the same year Harry and Draco were in. Astoria was two years younger than them, but in Slytherin too.
"That's the one. We just found out she's expecting our firstborn. I hope it's a boy."
"Wow, congratulations."
"Why, thank you."
Overall Harry had fun at his birthday party, even if it brought some unexpected changes with it. For one thing Harry had a small house built on a far end of his property just for Madame Pomfrey, who was finally able to enjoy her retirement. Her only duty now was being Harry's personal nurse in case he ever fell ill. Other than occasionally coming over for some tea she lived in relaxing solitude.
After Draco went back home to his wife he kept in touch quite minimally. Sending reports only when he felt like it. So far Harry only found out that Neville had taken up a job as a herbology teacher at Hogwarts. Stupid boy, all that wasted talent!
Things went relatively quiet for weeks to come. Or at least as quiet as could be with Tony's party animal nature. This particular night was quite slow. Tony, for once, didn't feel like going out, but didn't want to stay at home either, so the only other option was visit Helena.
He expected it to be a typical visit he had become accustomed to. Fortunately or unfortunately that was not to be.
Tony pulled his car up the parking lot (yes Lady Potter had a parking lot), and just walked in the house. Of course even though he didn't announce his presence Kreatcher was there to take his jacket. That butler was eerily perceptive in Tony's opinion. He was planning on surprising Helena, but ended up being surprised instead.
Tony had snuck up to the room Kreatcher had said where his mistress was; he quietly pushed the door open and peered in. Helena was moving around the room and as she brushed past a table her sleeve knocked over an expensive looking antique vase. Helena didn't look the least bit upset. She just waved at the thing and it… repaired itself back together?! Then floated back to the table… … …
Tony was too shocked to do anything, but the noise that his throat made got him Helena's attention.
Harry had accidentally knocked over a vase. So he did what any other wizard would've done in his situation- wave a wand and fix it. After floating it back to its place Harry heard a sound that made him turn around. Harry almost exclaimed out loud as he saw Tony frozen on the doorway- eyes as wide as saucers and mouth hanging open. Out of impulse Harry had his wand pointed and an Obliviate at the tip of his tongue, but the spell did not come out.
For a few agonizing seconds Harry and Tony were simply staring at each other, doing nothing. While Tony's brain had pretty much shut down from shock, Harry's was working overtime. Should he wipe Tony's memory and just get it over with, or try to explain? Well, if the worst came to worst, Harry could always Obliviate him later. With that decided Harry lowered his wand.
"Kreatcher! Get us something to drink, with a patch of calming draught." He shouted out loud… to the empty room.
"Sit, Tony. I don't want you to hurt yourself in case you faint."
When Tony didn't move a muscle Helena did that weird waving thing again and Tony felt like the air behind solidified and pushed him towards the woman he felt like he didn't know anymore. He watched her take a seat and point towards a sofa opposite her. Taking cautious steps he reluctantly sat down, whilst not daring to remove his eyes from Helena. A whiplash like sound made an already skittish Tony jump a foot up in the air. He turned his hear suddenly, making his neck feel a sudden sharp pain, only to see the creepy butler place a tray of tea on the table.
"I think I need a little stronger than that." Tony muttered.
"It's fine. See this bottle? It's a calming draught, it'll help you relax. I'm going to need some too."
Helena poured some tea to both of them, not even batting an eyelash as her butler disappeared into thin air with the same whiplash sound, then opened the clear vial and poured some of the liquid to both of the cups. She handed Tony his cup and he took it, albeit slightly reluctantly. Seeing Helena take a sip out of her own cup he tried a small amount himself. It tasted like any normal tea. For a moment nothing happened, then as suddenly as someone poured water on him, Tony felt his muscles almost forcefully relax. Raising an eyebrow he took a bolder swig from his cup. The effect was the same. Now feeling a lot calmer, he felt ready to listen to whatever explanation Helena was going to give him.
"Do you remember the reason why we had a fight?"
Well, that certainly wasn't what Tony expected.
"Sure, we… um, well not really."
"There were two things about me that I said I haven't told you."
"Ah, right. The things your chosen partner has to know and accept in order to be with you, since you can't change them about yourself."
"Yes, that. Well, what I'm about to tell you is one of them. The truth is… there is a hidden community in the world."
"A hidden community? Like terrorists or something?"
"Ah, no. It's something you're either born into or born out of genetically. You can choose if you actually live amongst them, like me, but if you are a part of them, you're part of them."
"I'm not sure I get it."
"Your kind used to be aware of us, but now we're just children's bedtime stories and myths. It was a bit of a joke when we were put on stakes and burned, it never actually worked."
"Burn on a stake? What are you, witches?"
"Bingo."
Tony looked at Helena's smiling face.
"You're serious?"
"Of course. Magic is as real as the air we breathe. But unlike the ridiculous belief that we're lost people who sold our souls to the devil to gain some power, we're actually just genetically born this way. Think of magic as an exotic energy that has the ability to bend reality to a certain extent. And think of wizards and witches as humans born with the special ability to manipulate that energy. Most of us need to use a mediator though." Helena said with a smile and showed her wooden wand.
"Now, the question I'd like to ask: can you accept this?"
"Don't know, yet. What if I don't?"
"Then I'd have to follow the law."
"Law?"
"Yes. We're required to make sure that our world remains a secret. I'd have to wipe your memory. Why don't you go home and think about it? But don't go babbling. Other than me getting into trouble you're going to have your memory erased anyway, plus whoever you told."
"And if I went to the press?" Tony said as a joke but Helena didn't find if amusing apparently. She pointed her wand at him in an aggressive manner.
"Then you can say goodbye to your life as you know it. Not by my kind, but you'll be stuffed to a loony bin by your own kind, your shares probably sold, and me facing trial and probably prison."
Well, if she put it like that, it really wasn't funny.
But now that Tony found out about the first secret Helena held, he couldn't help but wonder what could be the second one. Must be something really big since she still didn't tell him, even after this bomb.
1- 'Püha viha täis' means 'full of holy anger' in Estonian. It's a way to describe a person who's almost comically pissed off. I really like the phrase in my language so I just had to use it.
2- That's Draco's POV.
Word count: 6602
Thank you for reading.