15 August 2013

Tony stumbled into the kitchen, surprised to find it empty at 9:30 in the morning.

Then he remembered that today was Steve's day to give Harry and the Grangers a tour of Brooklyn. Yesterday, the Grangers had gone to the NY Public Library, something at the top of Hermione's list of things to see. Harry couldn't care any less about visiting a library, no matter how big or historically significant, but today was for something fun for all of them.

The coffee, of course, was already brewed and waiting. Tony poured himself a cup and reveled in the fact that he was caught up on SI business that had accumulated while he was in England seeing to Harry.

To be honest, though, the work he had to do for SI was much less now, since Pepper took over as CEO. Tony winced at the thought, because he really hadn't done her any favors in that regard.

She was capable as hell, and he truly didn't trust anyone else to run his father's - his - company, but she'd been his personal assistant. Elevating her to CEO without explanation, and he could admit this now, looked like something Bruce Wayne would've done, not the considered action of one of the smartest people in the world.

Unfortunately, much as Tony wished otherwise, there was really nothing to be done for it. He had effectively thrown Pepper in to sink or swim in a tank full of piranha and sharks. Throwing her a life preserver or, worse, sending a motorboat out to rescue her, would only cement the impression of an impulsive promotion that she really didn't deserve, therefore making the situation worse than it already was.

He made a mental note to apologize to her for what he'd done, and another one to spend some time brainstorming what he could do to make it easier for her, while he poured his coffee.

He blew on it to cool it - not that it was too hot to drink, anyway, JARVIS kept it at just the right temperature - took a long swallow and said, "Hit me with it, J."

"Good morning, Sir. The temperature is sixty-seven degrees and the skies are clear."

"Excellent flying weather," Tony muttered, though he couldn't go flying with Harry over New York City, not when anyone could look up and see them.

"Indeed," JARVIS said. "Young Harry left with the Doctors Granger, Miss Granger, and Captain Rogers for an excursion to Brooklyn at 8:48. Mr. Black called at 5:37 a.m.-"

Tony blinked. "Why so early?"

"It was 10:37 a.m. in London, hardly early even by your standards, Sir."

"Fair point." Tony took a swallow of coffee. "What did Sirius want?"

"To inform you that the report of the ICW investigation will be printed in tomorrow's Daily Prophet. He expects the Wizengamot to issue a full pardon and apology shortly thereafter," JARVIS continued.

"Harry will be happy," Tony observed.

"But New York may never be the same."

That startled a laugh out of Tony, and he could only give thanks that he wasn't taking a sip of coffee at the moment. "What else?"

"Project CA-21B has arrived from London and is en route to your workshop here," JARVIS said. "Ms. Potts has requested your input on a decision pending before the next board of directors meeting."

"Speaking of," Tony said. "How much stock do I currently have in SI?"

"Percentage, or number of shares?"

"Percent."

"Forty-eight point three."

"Yeah, that's too low," Tony said. "I want at least fifty-five percent." Then he frowned. "How'd I drop so low, anyway?"

JARVIS hesitated.

It was never good when JARVIS hesitated, and Tony braced himself for the worst. "How?"

"A few … ill-considered gifts to others," JARVIS said finally. "Others of the female gender. I believe you were intoxicated at the time."

Tony grimaced. For certain periods of his life, he'd been intoxicated most of the time.

Not anymore. I have Harry to think about and look after now.

"Right," he said. "Fifty-five percent, at least."

"Yes, Sir."

"What else?"

"You have an interview beginning at ten."

"Interview?" Tony frowned. "What am I interviewing for? Not some fluffy slice-of-life piece about my new son?"

"Pardon me, Sir, I was unclear. You are conducting an interview for a magical assistant."

Tony nodded. "The American Bear. Didn't realize that was happening so soon."

"I saw no need to delay," JARVIS replied. "I selected the top ten scorers from this office and reviewed their personnel files and background checks. One candidate stood out."

"Details?"

"Louise Grant, a legal assistant."

Tony grimaced again. Natalie Rushman - better known as Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow - had infiltrated his company through the legal department, and it was little comfort that her identity had been created by the preeminent spy organization in the world.

Still, he couldn't fairly hold this Louise Grant's department against her, no matter how much it rankled.

He pushed that thought aside to ask, "Why did she stand out?"

"See for yourself, Sir."

Tony took a few steps forward so he could see the screen over the fireplace in the sitting area.

On the screen, the quiz he'd sent around a week and a half ago, a list of twenty questions, about half of which had to do with the magical world. JARVIS had highlighted a few of the questions and Louise Grant's responses.

He read the first question and answer, and snorted coffee.

At least I know why she stands out.

The first highlighted question was, What is Hogwarts?

Louise Grant had answered, A British boarding school whose staff likes to think it's better than the American boarding school, Ilvermorny. ICW rankings suggest otherwise, but of course the Hogwarts staff pay no attention to those.

A second question and answer lit up: What is Quidditch?

A sport infinitely inferior to Quodpot, in much the same way cricket is inferior to baseball.

"I like her already," Tony said.

"Indeed." JARVIS' tone was dry as dust. "I assure you, all of her answers are of a similar tone."

"And she'll be here in-" Tony glanced at the clock "-eighteen minutes?"

"More accurately, she'll be in the conference room on the 90th floor in eighteen minutes."

"Then I have time to read all of her answers while I finish my coffee."

HP - IM - HP - IM - HP

Tony was still chuckling over some of Louise Grant's quiz responses when he stepped off the elevator onto the 90th floor. Unlike many of the other conference rooms, this one didn't have glass walls, so when Tony stepped into the room, he stopped in his tracks.

Louise Grant - because JARVIS wouldn't have allowed anyone else into the room - was at least twenty years younger than he'd estimated based on her old-fashioned name.

She was also tall, fit and athletic, with blonde hair and well-toned legs. She rose as he came into the room.

"Mr. Stark," she said.

"Ms. Grant," Tony returned. "I suppose you're wondering why I asked for this meeting."

"Not really."

His eyebrows shot up. "No?"

She smiled. "Well, until the press release a couple of days ago, I would've been. But Harry Potter is your son? That answers everything."

Tony didn't have to fake his confusion. "It does?"

"Of course. And I have to tell you, I'm not interested in being anyone's babysitter, nanny, or governess."

Tony blinked. Then he chuckled. "Reasonable explanation, but wrong."

It was Louise Grant's turn to blink. She, though, frowned. "Wrong?"

"Harry's thirteen, and remarkably mature for his age," Tony said. "He doesn't need a babysitter. Doesn't need a tutor, either - I've got some of those lined up already."

"What does he need, then?"

"Not him so much as me. I need a liaison - someone who can help me out with magical things that I can't access because I'm not magical myself."

Her expression turned suspicious, and he supposed he couldn't blame her for that, given his somewhat sordid past. "What kind of things?"

"Where's the magical district in the city and how do we get in? What are the local laws about underage magic? What's the American version of the Statute of Secrecy? What American magical schools are there? Can parents, even non-magical ones, visit? There's more, JARVIS is keeping a list, but that's the idea."

She looked a little shell-shocked. "I - see."

"Thinking about it, liaison is probably the wrong word. I need a Pepper Potts for magical things."

"A personal assistant." Then she quirked a grin. "Though I doubt I'll be appointed CEO of anything."

Tony shrugged. "Never know. Interested?"

"Very. When do I start?"

"Right now - unless you want to talk salary first."

That shell-shocked expression came back. "I didn't realize it came with a salary increase."

"How about the equivalent of what Pepper made when she started, adjusted for inflation? Unless that's lower than what you currently get. JARVIS?"

"After adjusting for inflation, Miss Grant will need a nine percent increase to match Miss Potts' salary, Sir."

"Tell HR it goes into effect next pay period," Tony said.

"Done, Sir."

"Great." Tony grinned at the woman opposite him and gestured her to a seat at the conference table, belatedly realizing they were both still standing. "Tell me about yourself. Magically speaking, I mean."

"I graduated from Ilvermorny with distinction, and NEWTS in Charms, Transfiguration, Arithmancy, and Ancient Runes."

"Newts? Like eye of newt and toe of frog?"

"Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests," she answered as she sat. Tony took a seat opposite her. "Think Advanced Placement tests, only NEWTS can also be required for certain jobs."

"Seems kind of odd, but okay."

"They date back to a time before attending college was common," Grant continued. "You graduated … basic schooling, let's call it, and then you went straight to work - unless you were going into the clergy or one of the original professions that required advanced education. In the magical world, we'd call those Masteries."

Tony nodded. "Okay, I get it. You didn't want to stay in the magical world?"

"Not full time. I grew up in the non-magical world and, honestly, I like it a lot better than the magical world. The music is much more my taste, and there aren't any movies in the magical world."

"Fair points, both." Tony rose and started toward the door. "JARVIS will send you a list of the things that need doing. The ones I mentioned earlier - those are priority. If you have any questions, let me know. In the next couple of days, we'll have a video call with your counterpart in Britain."

Grant rose, too. "I'll be coordinating with him or her?"

"Only until you're on your feet. Welcome to the magical mystery tour."

"Good to be here."

"Oh, one last thing," Tony paused in the doorway and turned back to her. "There's a magical portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots, at Hogwarts. Ground floor corridor near the entrance closest to the Quidditch pitch. I want it."

Grant blinked. "Um…okay. How much are you willing to pay?"

"Not more than fifty thousand galleons," Tony replied. "Then you can spend another couple hundred thousand on other magical portraits. The people in them don't have to be royalty, just interesting."

"Okay," Grant said again, looking somewhat lost. Tony figured she'd get used to the way he spent money - hell, the way he did things in general - soon enough. "Where should I put them? I mean - once they're awake and active, it seems wrong to keep them in a crate."

That … was something Tony hadn't thought about.

"If I may, Sir?"

"Go for it, J."

"As the portraits cannot be seen by anyone who doesn't know about magic, perhaps the lounge area on the family floor would serve until a more permanent solution can be found?"

Tony reviewed the list of people who had access to the family floor. Of the people he was closest to, Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey didn't know yet.

"Just make sure to detour anyone who doesn't know away," he said, and that brought another thought to mind, so he focused on Louise Grant once more. "New top priority. I need a meeting with whoever's in charge of enforcing the Statute of Secrecy. Harry and I don't have any immediate family outside of each other, so I want permission to tell a few of my closest friends - the ones who are like family to me."

"And the Avengers?" she asked.

"Definitely the Avengers." No need to tell her they already knew.