28 November 2014

Tony paced the small workshop in Avengers Compound - well, technically, it wasn't small, but it was significantly smaller than his main workshop in Manhattan. It wasn't large enough for testing prototypes, and it didn't have significant fabrication capability, but he could retreat here to repair his armor or work on designing something new.

He'd spent the last two days watching the boys training - something he hadn't allowed himself to do before now, as he'd been busy with SI. More than that, he didn't want to put undue pressure on either Harry or Neville, not when they had no idea what was coming before them.

He'd been pleasantly surprised by both Harry's and Neville's performances in the first task, and had used that to justify watching them train. Not that he officially needed a justification, but Tony remembered what it was like being a teenager himself and having the weight of Howard Stark's expectations on his shoulders. He didn't want either of the boys to feel that pressure, but the conclusions he'd come to didn't allow any other choice.

He looked up as Harry approached, DiNozzo trailing behind him.

"What's up, Dad?"

Tony watched DiNozzo circle the room and supposed he shouldn't be surprised. The man was a Federal agent, after all, and security probably came second nature to him. Still,

"Don't touch anything," Tony warned him.

"Things go boom?" DiNozzo asked.

"Only some things and only sometimes," Tony replied. "But a few components are in delicate stages, and some vibrations can mess with their settings."

"Got it." DiNozzo angled his steps so that he was a few inches further away from the workbenches and other equipment than he had been.

"Dad?" Harry prompted, and Tony turned to him.

"New strategy," Tony told him. "You're going to do everything you can to win this tournament."

He could see Harry was bursting with questions, but all he said was, "Why?"

"Assuming DiNozzo's right, and something's going to happen after the third task - Neville won't be prepared for it."

Harry frowned. "He's training as hard as I am."

"You have a year more practice than he does," DiNozzo said as he completed his circuit of the room. "And, not to be rude about it, but you have a talent for magical combat. I haven't seen him display a similar aptitude."

"But you're not his primary trainer," Harry objected.

"No, but Gibbs and I go over both our sessions every week," DiNozzo said. "Getting a second opinion, if you will. Neville's got determination and courage, and those will take him far, but you…" DiNozzo trailed off with a frown. After a moment, he said, "It's like the difference between someone who plays tennis with their friends at the local club and Serena Williams. Both might practice the same amount of hours, but Serena's just got a better aptitude for it."

"And," Tony put in, "from what I've seen of the magical world, magical people rely on magic to the exclusion of everything else. You straddle both worlds, and combat techniques from the non-magical world-"

"Or non-magical weapons," DiNozzo put in, having seen where Tony was going with his statement.

"-might make all the difference between surviving whatever's going to happen and…not."

And there it was. He'd finally spoken his deepest fear aloud - that Harry would be taken from him. As bad as that fear was, Tony couldn't in good conscience sacrifice Neville just to keep Harry safe.

Harry blew out a breath. "Wow. Okay. I - get it." He chuckled a little. "Hermione says that most wizards don't have an ounce of common sense or logic. I can see how that hampers the way they think - and respond."

"More to the point," DiNozzo put in, "a lot of magicals, especially those who stay away from the non-magical world, stop asking how. Or why, depending on the subject. Magic just does what they want, so they stop asking questions. That gives those of us who are at home in both worlds a distinct advantage."

"What does that mean for my training?" Harry asked.

"Once we get you comfortable swimming," DiNozzo said, "we're going to pick five spells for you to drill - ideally, you'll get to silent, wandless casting on all five - and start you in a combat simulator."

"Combat simulator?" Tony asked. "The one the Avengers are using?"

"Yes," DiNozzo said. "I watched a couple of sessions with Captain America, Hawkeye, and the Black Widow, so I know what it can do. I'm running on the assumption that someone, most likely the tournament winner, will be kidnapped, somehow, and dropped into an ambush."

"Why?" Harry asked.

DiNozzo shrugged. "It's what Gibbs and I would do - yank you away, drop you into a situation you'll have to scramble to adjust to, and that gives us the advantage of surprise, and maybe even a full minute before you start to react."

Tony nodded thoughtfully. "Ask Cap, too - he might have new ideas."

"Roger, wilco," DiNozzo said before focusing on Harry again. "Does anyone involved with the tournament know you have two wands?"

"No," Harry answered. "I presented my holly wand for the weighing ceremony. Nobody asked about another."

"Great. We'll work on switching wands and off-hand casting as well as wandless," DiNozzo said. "Still with the goal of keeping it simple."

"Makes sense," Tony said. "And DiNozzo - thanks for taking the time out of your real job to work with Harry this year."

"My pleasure," DiNozzo answered. "NCIS has been a bit stressful, so taking a sabbatical to teach isn't a bad thing. I'm sure Gibbs wouldn't admit to that, but I've known him long enough to know he's feeling much the same."

Tony nodded, an idea half-forming in his mind, but before he could articulate it, his phone rang. He checked the readout, only mildly surprised at the name displayed there. With a touch, he accepted the call. "Ted. Something wrong?"

"Not wrong, precisely," Ted Tonks replied. "I had a call from Albus Dumbledore."

"Shouldn't the call have come from his lawyer?" Tony asked.

"I have the impression he doesn't have one."

Tony snorted, and Ted chuckled. "I'm not about to tell him the old adage about lawyers who represent themselves."

"Never interrupt your opponent when he's making a mistake," Tony said by way of agreement. "What did he want?"

"To talk to you and Harry about the lawsuits. I think he wants you to drop them."

"It's not gonna happen, not after this Triwizard fiasco."

"I didn't think so," Ted replied cheerfully, "but I'm required to present all offers of mediation to my client, so there you go."

"Tell you what," Tony said as an idea hit him. "He takes out a full-page advertisement in three major magical newspapers, stating categorically that neither Harry nor Neville knowingly or willingly entered the contest…then we'll talk. Still not dropping the lawsuits, but I'll listen to what he has to say."

"That…" Ted blew out a breath. "That would be something. I'll pass along the request."

HP - IM - HP - IM - HP -

5 December 2014

Ted had taken a little liberty with Tony's request, so in the end Dumbledore took out five full-page ads: one each for the countries the participating schools were located in, plus the home countries of those champions who lived elsewhere than the school they attended.

Not for the first time, Tony was grateful that Sirius had recommended the Tonkses as attorneys. They were able to explain quirks of magical law in ways that Tony understood, often by analogy to non-magical things, and they didn't treat him any differently because he wasn't magical himself.

That they had a comfortable office in London, not too far from Stark Docklands Tower, was a bonus.

It was in that office he sat now, in a conference room that overlooked the Thames - or it appeared to overlook the Thames; with magic anything was possible, and Tony wasn't familiar enough with London geography to know for sure - reviewing the latest reports on the Avengers' status while he waited for the promised meeting with Albus Dumbledore.

So far, more than a hundred countries had signed on as full participants, and their financial contributions were adding up nicely. They'd still need to build slowly, and Tony had been considering a one-time startup injection of capital to make sure the Avengers had a couple of fully operational, non-refurbished, jets to get them where they needed to be as quickly as possible.

They were keeping staff to a minimum - a managerial type who'd also serve as dispatcher; mechanics and technicians for the jets and other equipment; cooking staff; housekeeping staff; and an on-site medical and physical therapy team - and that appeared to be sufficient for now.

To be fair, the Avengers hadn't been severely challenged since the Chitauri Invasion. Still, Tony was confident that the arrangement would succeed long term - at least enough that he could focus more on being Tony Stark than on being Iron Man.

A noise at the conference room door made him sit up straight and set his phone aside. Ted had advised against having JARVIS record the discussion, and Tony reluctantly agreed. They had a solid case against Dumbledore - not to mention the other lawsuits in progress - and there was no reason to jeopardize that by not following his attorney's advice.

The door opened and Ted gestured Dumbledore into the room. Tony had chosen a seat along the back side of the table, closest to the window, and Dumbledore frowned as he sat opposite him. Ted came around the table and sat next to Tony, dropping a legal pad on the table as he did.

"I had expected to speak with Harry," Dumbledore said, gingerly taking a seat opposite Ted and Tony.

"Nope," Tony answered. "Not gonna happen. He's a minor, and I'm his - how'd you put it, Ted? Parent and natural guardian?"

"Natural parent and guardian," Ted corrected.

"Right, that." Tony nodded a thanks to Ted and faced Dumbledore. "So you talk to me, or you talk to his attorney." He paused for effect, then continued, "Though an argument could be made that he should be emancipated as a result of the tournament."

"Someone cheated to enter his name," Dumbledore replied. "That doesn't mean he should be emancipated."

"No, but representatives of three different governments forcing him to compete, rather than invalidating the draw because he's a minor, could." Tony bit back a grin at the shock on Dumbledore's face. Then he waved a hand, airily. "But we talked about it, and decided he's not ready for emancipation. You're stuck with me."

Dumbledore still seemed shocked. "You…talked about it?"

It was Tony's turn to be surprised. "Sure. What else would we do?"

Ted cleared his throat, cutting off anything Dumbledore might have said. "We're off topic. What did you want to discuss, Headmaster?"

Dumbledore gathered himself and regarded Tony gravely. "I wanted to discuss the damage these lawsuits of yours are causing."

Had Tony heard him correctly? "What?"

"These lawsuits are causing a lot of damage," Dumbledore repeated.

"What about the damage done to Harry?" Tony demanded. "Are we supposed to ignore that?"

"Damage done to Harry? What do you mean?"

Tony exchanged a baffled glance with Ted. Ted sat forward, drawing Dumbledore's attention.

"Not counting the abuse he suffered while in the so-called care of Vernon and Petunia Dursley," Ted began, "and not counting the abuse he suffered thanks to a bullying teacher who was never reprimanded, he faced a troll and a possessed teacher in his first year alone, and in his second year, he fought a bloody basilisk and nearly died. How is that not damage?"

"Harry is fine," Dumbledore protested. "He recovered quickly, as children do. The damage these lawsuits could do is far more lasting."

"Did you even hear what you just said?" Tony demanded. "Your lack of concern for the health and safety of one of your students, let alone one as obscenely famous as Harry, is appalling."

"As I said, Harry is fine-"

Tony tuned him out and picked up his phone - such an understatement for what the device really was, but in public he only ever referred to it as his phone, for obvious security reasons - to return to what he'd been doing before Dumbledore arrived.

The operating budget was of some concern - not ongoing; once the Avengers were up and running, eight billion a year should be plenty to keep them going. Until then, though, that one-time infusion of startup cash was looking more and more necessary than it would have a year and a half ago. But a year and a half ago, the planet hadn't been invaded by aliens, and he hadn't known that there were actual magic users cohabiting on the planet already.

A nudge on his foot made him look up to see that Dumbledore was practically vibrating with rage.

"I am not accustomed to being ignored," he said tightly.

"Then start saying things worth paying attention to," Tony countered. "See, that's your problem - you've gotten used to being important, and you probably are, in the magical world. But in the non-magical world, nobody's ever heard of you, so we have to take you as we find you, and right now, I find you irritating as hell."

Beside him, Ted had a sudden coughing fit.

"Irritating," Dumbledore repeated, his tone full of disbelief. "Who are you to find me irritating?"

Billionaire genius playboy philanthropist. His comeback to Steve Rogers ran through his mind, but none of that would impress Dumbledore. Not that he cared about impressing Albus Dumbledore. So he fixed Dumbledore with the most baleful look he had - and thank you, Aunt Peggy, for modeling it - and chose the most relevant of all the things he was for his answer.

"I'm the parent of a child you have knowingly and recklessly endangered on more than one occasion, and I won't be placated by meaningless words." He sat forward. "I wanted to record this conversation, because I figured you'd try to intimidate me, but Ted talked me out of it. Fine - you get this one for free. Any other communication you want to have with me will be in writing, sent to Ted or Andi Tonks as my legal representative. We're done here."

Ted held up a hand. "One thing, Tony." Tony nodded sharply, once, and Ted focused on Dumbledore. "Is there any business directly pertaining to the Triwizard Tournament that you needed to speak to my client about?"

Dumbledore visibly collected himself, and when he spoke, his voice was back to that grandfatherly tone that Tony supposed was meant to be comforting but always struck him as patronizing and condescending.

"When shall we expect Harry for the Yule Ball? The elves need to know when to have his guest quarters ready."

"That would be never," Tony answered. "He's not attending. Before you ask, I don't know whether Neville is. That's up to his grandmother."

"But they must!" Dumbledore protested. "As part of the tournament-"

"It's really not," Tony said. "Or have you forgotten that I had the matter researched thoroughly by independent investigators? Not just the Tonkses, but the ICW, too. The only things required of competitors are the three tasks and the wand-weighing."

"Miss Weasley will be disappointed," Dumbledore murmured. "I understand she's been talking about going with Harry."

"The fantasies of a thirteen-year-old girl, however much I like her personally, don't matter," Tony said. "Harry's not going to this Yule Ball. We have other plans for Christmas."

"Oh?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes twinkling.

"Yes." Tony turned back to Ted. "You know you and Andi are welcome to join us."

Ted shook his head. "Thanks, but we're spending the holidays with my family."

"If you change your mind," Tony offered before regarding Dumbledore once again. "I was talked out of asking for a restraining order against you, due to the tournament. But now, after the way you approached Harry after the first task we'll file for one. Don't come within fifty feet of Harry without me, Sirius, Ted, or Andromeda present, and then only to talk to him about tournament-related business."

Ted cleared his throat. "I believe that concludes our meeting, Headmaster."

However much Dumbledore wasn't accustomed to being ignored, he was even less accustomed to being dismissed, if his expression were anything to judge by.

Still, Dumbledore stood with dignity and left the room.

Tony started to speak, but Ted held up a hand. A moment later, his wand was in his hand and he was casting a silent spell.

Ted sat back with an expression that was both relieved and satisfied. "No listening charms."

Tony's eyebrows flew up. "You think he'd do that?"

"I think it never hurts to be sure he didn't. Or anyone else I might have a meeting with."

Tony couldn't fault that reasoning. "Since I'm here, how're things going?"

"Still in discovery," Ted answered. "I'm not pushing for things to move faster because I don't want to risk any of the tournament organizers. Not that we care if they lose their magic after they forced two underage wizards to compete, but it's not a good look if we push in ways that could be interpreted as trying to make them lose their magic."

"I trust your judgment on that," Tony said. That Sirius had agreed with Ted carried a lot of weight, too. "What about the letter to the editor last month?"

Ted offered him a wry grin. "It kind of got lost in the news of the tournament, but there's still been some response. No cursed letters, thankfully, and only a couple of howlers."

"Howlers?" Tony asked. The term sounded familiar, but the details weren't surfacing in his memory.

"Enchanted letters, think of them like a record. The sender records what they want to say, and when it's received, the letter plays it back, at high volume."

"Right, I'd forgotten." More like he hadn't cared. Details like that were why he had lawyers and administrative assistants. "So the, what'd you call it, mail ward, is working?"

"Apparently," Ted answered. "I have the letters that Harry has received waiting - cleaned of all charms but unopened - if you want to take them with you."

"Send them to the Docklands Tower. I have another errand while I'm in country," Tony said, getting to his feet. "Thanks."

He made his way out of the office and down to the street - thankfully, for his purposes today, on the non-magical side of London - and into a cold, bright-ish English afternoon that was already sliding into evening.

Tony took a deep, bracing breath, and as he exhaled, his armor formed around him.

He was airborne almost before the armor had fully formed, angling northward toward Scotland, and Hogwarts. He had a Black Lake to recon.