Disclaimer: Tony Stark and the rest of the characters are the property of Stan Lee and Marvel Studios/Disney. Harry Potter and all associated characters and settings remain the intellectual property of JK Rowling and her associates. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Warning: This fic is un-betaed and will most likely stay un-betaed. There will be mistakes and misspellings. There will be things that don't match up with what I wrote before (feel free to point out those mistakes). This is called writing by the seat of my pants. I lost myself as a writer, I think, by participating in fest after fest – it's time I wrote for myself again.

Notes: I'm going to see The Avengers for the fourth time later today! And then I will see it for a fifth on Wednesday (maybe even a seventh on Thor'sday)! I'm so excited! I also need to do my homework when I get back tonight. Ugh.

Chapter 20

Harry took a cab home, texting Neville as he did so. Once he got a confirmation that Neville would make sure Hermione got home, he called Obadiah. He knew the man was still at the party, but business possibilities always had him answering. Sure enough, it only took three rings.

"Tony? What—"

"Do you know what's going on in Gulmira?" Harry asked, not bothering to ease into the question. There was silence on the other end of the phone and Harry scowled. "Gulmira, Obi. Terrorists in Gulmira have my weapons."

"Tony, you can't afford to be this naïve."

Harry found himself agreeing with that and he cursed himself a thousand times over for being a complete idiot about this entire situation. "I was naïve before. I thought there was a damned line we didn't cross in this business."

"Tony—"

"No, Stane, just no." Harry rubbed his face. "I need you to fucking answer me honestly. Are we double-dealing under the table?"

There was silence, and that was really all Harry needed to let that small slim shard of trust he had shatter. How could he be so stupid? He came here to look for a damned spy, but he spent more time getting away from the war and the death of his best friend that he didn't realize the truth right in front of his face. Blaise was never going to let him live this down. If he didn't kill Harry first, right after Hermione pulled the reactor from his chest so Harry's own stupidity would kill as well.

"Who do you think locked you out?" Stane (and he would never be 'Obi' again – Harry felt part of him crumble at the thought of best-fucking-friends selling each other out) asked him. "I was the one who filed the injunction against you and your temporary CEO. It was the only way I could protect you."

Harry hung up and flung the phone across the cab, ignoring when the guy driving gave him a startled look. The instant the man truly recognized him had Harry groaning and he told the man to pull over a good two miles from his house.

"You want a better job?" Harry asked as he got out, letting his mind shut down. He'd push Tony to the forefront right now, just until he could get home and properly kick his own ass. "Here, take this." Harry handed the guy a few hundred dollars and a card. "Call them and tell them Tony Stark likes tacos. Seriously, code word. They'll hook you up."

He didn't even care that the one-of-a-kind suit and the just-as-rare shoes were ruined in the slightly muddy walk home. He spent much of the time staring at his phone (retrieved before he left the cab), searching through any documents he could find pertaining to what the hell was going on in Gulmira.

None of it was good.

When he got back to the house, Clint was already there, sitting on the steps with his arms resting comfortably on top of his knees. Harry looked him over before sighing and shoving his phone into his pocket. He wasn't in the mood to do this, but he had a feeling Clint wouldn't budge unless they talked, so he waited. It didn't take long.

"I work for a defense organization," Clint said as he stood up. "You're not in trouble, you're not on a watch list… We're just concerned."

"Afghanistan." Harry narrowed his eyes. "You want to know how I escaped."

"Yeah, we do, but that's what your meeting with—"

"I'm not telling you guys that information." Harry pushed past Clint and went into the house. He didn't bother shutting the door, knowing the man would follow him no matter what. "I escaped, I came home, end of story."

"There's always more to the story."

"Look, Agent—"

"Just Clint."

"Agent," Harry repeated, turning to glare at him as he did. "What I do is my own business and I have enough to do without you snooping around. I would appreciate it if you get the hell out of my house."

"I can protect you."

That had Harry laughing so hard he needed to hold onto a nearby wall to keep himself standing. What protection could a normal person offer a wizard? It was utterly ridiculous to hear and Harry didn't even care that Clint wouldn't know about his magical abilities.

"I don't see what's so funny. We have reason to believe that someone within your com—"

"Old news," Harry said, controlling his laughter. "That is seriously old news. I know someone's trying to screw me over."

"Because of the reporter?"

"No, because my father spit it out in blood the day he died." Harry turned and walked toward the lab, needing something to distract him.

"If you walk down those stairs before we finish this, I will hack through your systems."

Harry turned fast, pointing a finger toward Clint. "Fuck you, Agent. What do you care? This is just a job."

"Is it really that hard to believe that I care?" Clint stepped closer, his fists clenching. "God damn it, Stark! I let your driver hit me with a damned car, yeah, but then I saw how your employees treat you. Happy, Pepper, Rhodes… hell, they're your family, Stark."

Harry crossed his arms. "What's your point, big bird?"

"My point, dumb ass, is that anyone would kill to have what you got and I'm not talking about the money." Clint dragged a hand through his hair. "Not only do they work for you, but they work with you. You take their ideas, and they take yours and it's a well-matched team that my employers take years to build and that's what they do."

That hadn't been the response Harry was expecting and he kept still, eyes widening a little.

"And to top all that shit off, you guys pretty much live together. Who wouldn't want to be around that?"

Harry rolled his eyes, glad that he found some weakness in that argument. "So this is selfish? You want to hang around us and pretend to protect me because you're jealous of how we are?"

Was that a… Yes, that was a blush tinting (just barely) across the other man's cheek. "To be honest, after a few days, I forgot about most of the mission. It was nice to be around."

"We constantly told you we didn't trust you."

"And you had no reason to." Clint shrugged and Tony was glad it wasn't an apology. "It was nice while it lasted."

"Oh no." Harry held up a hand and backed away. "Oh, hell no."

"What?"

"Don't you innocently 'what' me! This is the same shit they do when they want something." Harry rubbed at his eyes. Just the other day, Hermione had pulled the same kicked-puppy look until Harry handed over a few notes on the suit for her to indulge in.

"I don't really get—"

"Just stop." Harry shook his head. "Fine, stay. Whatever. Same rules apply, though, and I won't hesitated to kick your ass out if you try to spy on us."

Clint straightened and held up his hand, two fingers pressed together. "Scouts honor!"

"Just shut up." He backed toward the stairs again. "And if Stane steps on foot on this property and doesn't have a bullet in him when he leaves…"

"Threat noted, sir."

"I'm not paying you for it, either."

Clint smirked. "Well damn, there goes all my plans."

"Yeah, yeah…" Harry waved at him before disappearing into the lab. He didn't want Clint here any longer than he had to, but he figured he would have a reason to kick him out soon. Didn't all spies eventually snoop in on whomever they were staying with? Yes, it was bound to mess up soon.

Harry sat in the lone chair and rested his head on the desk. Issues with Clint could wait. Right now, he needed to go destroy his weapons and protect the place Yinsen loved so much.

I wanted this to be longer to include Gulmira, but that will show up next chapter. This hasn't been my best/favorite chapter so far. Oh, well.