TITLE: Spellbound
DISCLAIMER: All things Harry Potter belong J K Rowling. Tony Stark, SHIELD, Nick Fury, and everyone else belong to Marvel Comics / Marvel studios, as does any of the characters in the MCU that get dragged kicking and screaming into this... basically, if you recognise it, it isn't mine… I'm just here for the fun.
"Hi," Pepper smiled as she poked her head around the door of the bedroom into where the two girls had retreated after lunch to talk in the quiet. "Tony's gone down to interview some nurses for the position, these just arrived." She explained, holding up a white and green paper bag for Hermione to see. "Painkillers?" She asked, holding up a bottle of water as well.
"Thanks," Hermione winced as she sat up on the bed.
"Here," Pepper said, coming into the room and setting them on the bedside table. "Codeine, it's pretty strong stuff. Try taking half a tablet at first if you need it, then the other half if it's really bad."
"I don't really take many tablets," Hermione admitted, trying to think back to the last time she'd actually needed medication before she'd started Hogwarts.
"Break it in half, just swallow it with some water." Pepper explained. "I took it when I broke my arm skiing a few years ago, knocked me out." She said with a small smile. "It might help you sleep."
"I'll remember that," Hermione nodded, thankful for the warning.
"Who's this little guy?" Pepper asked, seeing the owl in the cage on the desk. "He's cute."
"That's Pig," Ginny smiled.
"I didn't know owls came this small, is he a baby?" Pepper asked, curious about the animal in the apartment. Tony wasn't really one for pets, other than his random robots in the workshop, so she wasn't around tame animals much.
"Fully grown, or nearly anyway." Ginny explained. "Mr Stark said there was a garden he could fly around in?" She asked hopefully.
"The roof?" Pepper asked, putting everything together. "That's a good idea actually, you sure it was his?" She asked with a small smile. "I could take you up there now if you want? Show you how to get up and down without coming to Tony every time you wanted some fresh air?"
"That'd be great," Hermione nodded enthusiastically. "Give me a minute to get my shoe back on?"
"Sure," Pepper smiled. "I'll be in the lounge ok?" She said before leaving the room.
"Ok," Hermione nodded, smiling a bit at Pepper. The woman seemed really nice, and very approachable, which seemed at odds to the way Tony described her as nearly a goddess with infinite amounts of patience for him. "This is our chance," She whispered to Ginny. "Write a note to your mum, we can send Pig with it." She explained her plan.
"Ohhh," Ginny nodded, quickly darting to her bag to grab some of the parchment she'd folded up especially for this sort of thing. "I didn't bring a quill or ink?" She asked.
"Look in the desk, the drawers," Hermione nodded, watching Ginny quickly move over and quietly start ruffling through. "There, that!" She said, catching sight of a silver pen that Ginny picked up.
"Hmm?" Ginny asked, looking at the strange silver object.
"Give it to me," Hermione smiled, taking it when offered then waiting for some parchment before twisting the barrel of the pen to bring the rollerball nib out at the tip. "I'll tell her we got here fine, had lunch and everything is great?"
"And we had the best food in the world, ever!" Ginny grinned enthusiastically. "Why didn't you tell me about pizza before?" She asked, pouting a bit.
"Honestly, I hadn't really thought about it." Hermione answered as she wrote the note quickly, wondering how Molly would think about the strange blue ink that was very different from the quill ink they normally got. "I always think about it from my side, how there's so much stuff you know about growing up with magic that I can't even think about." She explained. "I never really thought that there were muggle things that you missed out on."
"I really missed out on pizza!" Ginny said with a laugh. "You can't tell Ron about that, we'll never hear the end of it," She said with a grin.
"Maybe he already knows?" Hermione suggested. "Harry's had pizza before as well, maybe he told him?"
"Harry knows about pizza and didn't tell me?" Ginny asked, pouting with a betrayed expression on her face. "If Ron knew, I'll bloody hex his balls into next week." She promised fiercely.
"Done," Hermione said, folding up the note and sticking it in her pocket. "You grab Pig's cage." She said as she gingerly stood up, grabbing the crutch for support.
"Got him," Ginny nodded, fetching the owl cage from the desk. "Are you ok?"
"Fine," Hermione nodded. "Come on, let's get this sent before your mum apparates over." She said with a laugh, only half joking because they both knew Molly would do exactly that if she didn't hear from them in time.
Pepper had taken them up to the roof using the elevator, asking JARVIS to give the girls access whenever they wanted it, to make it easier for Hermione to get some fresh air and enjoy the sunlight through the glass pyramid cover when she couldn't go out into the main city.
"It's beautiful," Hermione said, looking around the self-contained island of greenery in the city, high above anyone else that could come near them.
"It's an ongoing project," Pepper explained. "We're hoping to create small cultures like this on buildings all across the world in major cities, to help bring down carbon dioxide levels and filter the air pollution." She said, gesturing to the small trees growing around them. "We only got this one up last year, so it's not doing much yet, but when it's ready we'll open the dome during the day and let the trees soak up the pollution in the city, hopefully it'll provide measurable results over time and we can incorporate it into other buildings." She said, pointing up to the glass pyramid overhead. "The rain gets funnelled down the sides, then collected around the edges of the main building, from there it's stored in tanks and mixed with plant growth mixtures where it's slowly released underground to seep back up to the plants and trees."
"Parks in the sky," Ginny smiled happily, not following much of what Miss Potts had said but enjoying the quiet park area for what it was. "I like it."
"You just like being up high," Hermione smiled knowingly. "Do you mind if we keep Pig up here, it'd be a lot nicer for him than staying in the bedroom."
"Of course," Pepper smiled. "Do you need me to close off the open areas?" Pepper asked, looking at where there were some open hatches in the pyramid dome, letting fresh air circulate through the roof.
"He's allowed out into the city," Hermione said quickly. "I've had him out before, he never goes too far."
"If you're sure," Pepper said dubiously, not wanting the girls to lose a precious pet.
"Really, he's a good owl," Ginny smiled over.
"I always thought owls were nocturnal," Pepper mused with a smile, shaking her head in amusement at the two girls.
"Do you mind if we stay up here for a bit, it's nice to get some fresh air out of the hospital," Hermione asked.
"Of course not," Pepper nodded knowingly, sensing that the girls wanted some time alone for a while. "JARVIS will let you back in, just tell him to bring you down to the apartment when you want to ok?"
"Ok," Ginny nodded at that.
"Thanks," Hermione smiled over.
"Enjoy," Pepper said, waving as she walked off, keeping an eye on the girls until she reached the elevator and watching as they sat on the grass and started talking.
"Has she gone?" Hermione asked, having her back to the elevator so she couldn't see, but saw that Ginny was watching closely.
"Yup, the doors just closed." Ginny said, putting the cage down and bringing Pig out of the cage where he instantly hooted and tried to get free into the air. "No, you're sending a letter!" Ginny said firmly, holding onto Pig so he couldn't fly away. "Take this back to The Burrow quickly." She explained, holding the rolled parchment for Pig to grasp. "Wait, then come back with a reply. If we're not here, leave the reply in your cage alright?" She said, hoping the small owl understood the sense of urgency in her voice.
Pig hooted in response to that, happily taking the parchment then flying off, circling around the glass area for a moment before sensing where the fresh wind was coming from and flying out into the open city.
"Think he'll make it?" Hermione asked.
"Should do," Ginny nodded. "Ron used him to send a message to Harry, it's nearly as far isn't it?"
"Close," Hermione nodded, knowing Harry lived somewhere in Surrey but that was about it. "If he made it to Harry then he'll make it to your mum, probably won't be back today though." She explained, thinking how far it was for the little bird to travel.
"Mum can send him back tomorrow if it's too late," Ginny nodded.
"We could always ask Mr Stark to try calling your dad on the phone he gave him," Hermione asked, trying to be serious before she burst out laughing at the thought of it.
"I wondered what that was," Ginny joined in the laughter. "Dad's probably already taken it apart and trying to figure out how it works."
"Probably something to do with the plug," Hermione gasped out between giggling.
"Oh Merlin, it came with a plug too?" Ginny muttered, giggling herself as she laid down on the grass and enjoyed the cool air blowing through the closed off area.
"So…" Hermione paused, catching her breath after laughing so hard. "What do you think of Mr Stark?"
"He's nice," Ginny smiled.
"You're just saying that because he introduced you to pizza," Hermione said, sending her into laughter again.
"No, I mean it," Ginny laughed, slapping Hermione on her good shoulder lightly. "He's a bit like you, but like Harry at the same time. Like you two had a baby maybe."
"Thanks for that horrible thought," Hermione said, making a face at the idea.
"You know what I mean," Ginny explained. "He's smart like you, but Miss Potts holds him back from jumping into things, like you do for Harry." She reasoned out loud. "He definitely reminds me of you more though."
"Yeah," Hermione nodded, unable to deny it really. She saw the resemblance more and more after spending more time with him. "He told me his parents died when he was younger too." She explained. "That's why he wanted you to come with me." She said softly.
"Oh Merlin! I didn't know," Ginny whispered. "That must have been horrible for him!"
"He told me about it yesterday," Hermione explained. "He said he didn't want to see me do the same thing he did."
"What did he do?" Ginny asked, poking Hermione in the shoulder when she didn't get an answer. "Well?"
"Drank," Hermione said quietly. "The way he talked about it, he didn't me a little drink now and again either." She whispered. "He called it 'crawling into the bottle' for some reason."
"Wow," Ginny muttered, trying to picture what that must have been like. "I don't think I'll ever understand that."
"He explained it pretty well," Hermione admitted. "Getting drunk helped numb everything, stop him thinking about what he'd lost, just make everything blurred and easier." She explained. "I can see why people would want that." She admitted quietly.
"You… you're not going to…" Ginny tried to ask but couldn't find the words.
"No," Hermione said firmly. "I'm not even old enough to buy alcohol Ginny, I'd never do that!" She said, rolling her eyes at her best friend. "I was just saying, I understand it. I don't think I did before."
"Suppose you can't until you've been through something like that," Ginny frowned, wondering if Harry felt the same. He probably didn't she reasoned, he didn't remember his parents or losing them.
"That's what I think," Hermione nodded in agreement.
"What do you think he's going to do about Hogwarts then?" Ginny asked, trying to keep Hermione on lighter subjects and keep her mind occupied.
"Oh, Merlin I don't know," Hermione frowned, rubbing her forehead with her free hand. "He'll have to sign the letter saying I can go, or I'll miss this year."
"When do the letters have to be signed by?" Ginny asked, knowing Hermione would know the answer to the extremely random question.
"The end of July," Hermione whispered nervously. "That's what my letter said, we had to reply by no later than the thirty first of July, that's when they cut off acceptance."
"That's just two weeks away!" Ginny said anxiously.
"I know," Hermione nodded, feeling nervous enough already without actually verbalising any of this. "I don't even know if there's enough time for the Ministry to get a new letter sent out to him, convince him to let me go, and reply to it in time."
"We have to!" Ginny said urgently. "You can't miss out!"
"I know that!" Hermione replied firmly. "I just… I don't know what else I can do." She explained. "I could always do home-schooling for a year? Just pure theory work so I can go back next year?"
"That'd never work," Ginny shook her head. "Merlin, what a mess." She muttered, flomping back down onto the grass. "Two weeks?" She asked again.
"Two weeks to convince Mr Stark that magic is real and… and I'm a witch." Hermione said, her throat catching over the last part, wondering if he'd still want her here when he found out.
The Burrow
Molly instantly looked up from her knitting as she heard the familiar hoot coming from outside, she'd already knitted two sweaters and a scarf, the nervous energy she felt over leaving her daughter and Hermione in a strange place was still going strong and she had no idea how she was going to sleep tonight.
Rushing to the window she opened it with plenty of time for Pigwidgeon to fly in, arcing around the room a few times before fluttering down and dropping a neatly folded piece of parchment on the table where Molly had been anxiously waiting.
She didn't waste any time in unfolding the letter and reading through it, her eyes scanning over the strangely neat blue ink as she felt the nerves leak out of her body.
The girls were alright. That was the most important thing of the letter, they were safe, comfortable, and settling in to the strange muggle house.
The writing was definitely Hermione's, she recognised the hand writing instantly, though the blue ink was strange and a lot thinner than she was used to seeing with a quill but she couldn't think about that now, the contents of the letter were far more important than how it had been written.
"Arthur!" Molly shouted, heading to the window again to call her husband in from where he'd taken that strange muggle device out to his shed to tinker with. "Arthur, the girls have owled!" She yelled when she saw him coming out of the shed.
"Oh good, how are they? Did they say anything about the fantastic muggle things…"
"Not now Arthur," Molly said, shaking her head as Arthur came into the kitchen. "They're both fine. Mr Stark apparently gave them a large room to sleep in. Hermione said that both her and Ginny agree that they don't feel anything funny is going on, and that they're happy to stay there."
"Good," Arthur smiled, he hadn't been as nervous as Molly had been after seeing the Stark building himself, but it was still good to hear from the girls and confirm he had been right. "See, nothing to worry about Mollywobbles," He said reassuringly as he reached around Molly's shoulders and squeezed her lovingly.
"Hermione asked us to write back, but I think I should let Pigwidgeon rest for a bit first," Molly said, looking at where the tiny owl looked ready to fall over.
"Best not to send Errol dear, if Mr Stark is happy for little Pigwidgeon to be there, then he won't see anything strange about seeing him flying around, but another strange owl might have him asking questions." Arthur explained.
"I know," Molly nodded. "Should I send Minerva's letter with ours? Let Hermione know what she said?"
"I think that's a good idea," Arthur nodded. "Did you explain to Minerva what I said about Mr Stark?" He asked, not having read the letter that Molly had written to Professor McGonagall before she'd sent it.
"Of course," Molly said, rolling her eyes. "I gave her as much information about Hermione's new father as I could."
"Just checking dear," Arthur smiled happily. "Merlin, I hope someone speaks to him soon, then we can actually talk properly on our lunch meetings about the sort of things I saw." He said, his eyes glinting with the possibilities of exciting future muggle discussions.
"And we can have Hermione seen to by a proper medi-witch," Molly said firmly, the important part sticking in her mind. "Get the medical kit dear, I'll send her a vial of Skele-Gro with the letters in the morning. She'll know not to take too much of it and keep it hidden."
"Yes dear," Arthur smiled, leaning down and kissing Molly on the top of her head before heading off to find the medical kit from the sitting room while Molly reached for some fresh parchment and started writing her reply.
The Ministry of Magic
It was late in the day when Professor McGonagall floo'd to The Ministry, having been dealing with several meetings with new muggle first years already. She strode through The Atrium towards the lifts, thankful The Ministry was quiet today so she could make her way around without being bothered too much. It was a simple journey up to Level Two where the Department of Magical Education shared its floor with the much larger Department of Magical Law Enforcement, she nodded respectfully as she made he way past two Aurors before heading down the corridor to the Education department.
"Minerva, good to see you again."
Professor McGonagall smiled easily at the young receptionist who had welcomed her, recognising her from the various times she'd visited the department over the summer to arrange meetings with new muggleborn or half blood families.
"What can I do for you today?" She asked professionally.
"A rather tricky situation sadly," Professor McGonagall explained. "I need to arrange a meeting with Pius Thicknesse and hopefully someone from the Muggle Liaison Office, or The Department of International Magical Cooperation, as well."
"Hmm," The receptionist frowned. "Mr Thicknesse is around, I think he's in his office at the moment." She explained. "The Muggle Liaison Office is still in termoil though over what happened to Mr Crouch," She said, checking the magical calendar for the various Ministers who worked in the building. "Minister Fudge's assistant is currently overseeing the Department of International Magical Cooperation, shall I have him come to you?"
"That would be helpful," Professor McGonagall nodded thankfully.
"Go right in, I'll have Minister Fudge's assistant come up as soon as I can." She said with a smile, waving Professor McGonagall through to where Mr Thicknesse's office was before sending off an inter-departmental memo to Minister Fudge's assistant and watching the paper fly off down the corridor.
"Minerva! Come right in!" Pius smiled openly, opening the door to his office when he saw Professor McGonagall coming towards him. "What can I do for you today?"
"Thank you," Professor McGonagall smiled, moving into the office and letting Pius close the door behind her. "I have Minister Fudge's assistant on his way up as well, I feel we'll need the Department of International Magical Cooperation's help on this one." She explained.
"Oh?" Pius frowned as he walked around the office to sit back at his desk, gesturing for Professor McGonagall to take the seat opposite him. "Do tell?" He asked patiently.
"A rather promising student of mine, her parents were killed in a car accident the past week." Professor McGonagall explained. "Miss Granger." She said.
"Ahh yes," Pius nodded thoughtfully. "Arthur Weasley mentioned it, he took a week away from The Ministry to help the girl."
"Indeed so," Professor McGonagall nodded, thankful that Pius knew who they were talking about. "While the situation is somewhat complicated, the short of it is that Miss Granger has family that have taken her in."
"A muggle?" Pius asked automatically.
"Yes," Professor McGonagall nodded.
"Ah, and you need permission to approach the family as you would a new student," Pius nodded thoughtfully. "Not a problem, we're coming to the…"
"That's not all of it," Professor McGonagall held up her hand. "The muggle in question… Mr Weasley believes to be a somewhat influential member of muggle society, and an American to boot."
"Ah," Pius frowned. "Yes, now I see why you said this was more complicated than it first looked." He said, drumming his fingers on the desk thoughtfully. "Ahh good, Mr Weasley, come right in." He said, standing up from his desk and flicking his wand to the office door to open it for Mr Weasley to enter.
"Weasley?" Professor McGonagall asked, standing up to see what Arthur would be doing here, only to be faced with Percy Weasley dressed in a smart suit walking into the room.
"Percy Weasley here is assistant to Minister Fudge, he used to work in the Department of International Magical Cooperation, he's overseeing the entire department now until a new Minister can be appointed to the post." Pius explained. "Quite useful to know in this situation." He said with a smile as he gestured to Percy to come in.
"Minister, Professor," Percy said professionally as he entered the office and closed the door quietly behind him. "You wanted to see me?"
"Yes, thank you for coming." Professor McGonagall nodded. "I admit, I hadn't known you were working under the Minister, but it's a rather fortuitous turn of events." She said with a smile. "You're aware of what's happened with Miss Granger?"
"Of course," Percy nodded, he'd heard about it when he'd heard his father had taken a week's absence from work. He didn't talk to his family much anymore, but he kept tabs on what was going on and why like always.
"It seems Miss Granger's family are actually American," Pius said, explaining the reason for requesting Percy's presence in the meeting.
"I see," Percy nodded thoughtfully. "Has the family been approached and made aware of Hermione's situation?" He asked professionally.
"Not as of yet," Professor McGonagall pursed her lips thoughtfully. "I'm told he is a muggle of considerable wealth and influence in America."
"Well, I do have some contacts in MACUSA Federal Education Departments, I could reach out to them to see if they have heard of the family. Do you have a name?" Percy asked.
"Stark," Professor McGonagall answered simply. "Tony, one would believe short for Anthony, Stark."
"Very well," Percy said thoughtfully as he memorised the name before looking at the clock on the wall of Pius' office. "Am I to understand this is a matter of urgency?" He asked curiously.
"Somewhat," Professor McGonagall nodded. "I have only a certain amount of time before finalising the student body for this year." She explained.
"Of course," Percy nodded. "I shall use the Trans-Atlantic Floo immediately then and try to contact my acquaintances in MACUSA." He explained. "Professor, Minister." He said respectfully, nodding to them both before leaving the office and closing the door behind him.
"Shouldn't have been surprised that young Weasley found his way to The Ministry," Professor McGonagall chuckled after Percy left the room. "One of the most tidy and official students I've ever had." She explained.
"He's certainly doing well here from what I've heard," Pius nodded in agreement. "The Minister seemed happy enough to leave him in charge of various things in the department over this time."
"He seems content enough," Professor McGonagall said. "If all is well then, I shall approach the Stark family on Monday to explain Miss Granger's situation to them?"
"I see no reason why not," Pius said in agreement. "You have their address?"
"Indeed, Molly Weasley sent it when she informed me that Miss Granger would be staying there, along with their youngest to be with Miss Granger during this tragic time." Professor McGonagall explained.
"Two young witches in the house and the family don't know about magic already?" Pius chuckled. "I should feel sorry for the man."
"Oh no, Miss Granger is quite the opposite," Professor McGonagall shook her head. "One of the brightest witches I've ever had the pleasure of teaching. Responsible, studious, polite. Responsible enough that she was granted a time-turner this past year to double her workload for her third year of classes. Would that all my students follow her example." She said with a chuckle.
"You sound quite fond of her," Pius said with a small smile. "Another one for The Ministry after graduating then?"
"I'd certainly think so," Professor McGonagall nodded. "If not, I'll be offering the girl a teaching position just as soon as she graduates." She said with a chuckle.
"My, that good then?" Pius smiled happily.
"Terrible thing that happened to her family," Professor McGonagall said sadly. "I do hope it hasn't broken the girl too much." She said softly.
"She has family with her now, and friends if the Weasley girl is staying with her." Pius smiled reassuringly. "You'll be able to see for yourself how she's doing when you meet with her family."
"Yes," Professor McGonagall nodded thoughtfully. "I will admit, it will be a weight off my mind to see how the young girl is doing."
"Yes, I can see that it…" Pius trailed off, standing up as he saw Percy Weasley actually running down the corridor towards his office again. The shock shown on his face told Professor McGonagall how unusual it was to see Percy acting like this.
"Percy?" Pius asked, flicking open his office door with his wand so the young assistant could run right in.
"Minister," Percy breathed out heavily as he got into the office, trying to catch his breath and be professional at the same time.
"Spit it out," Pius said, not worrying about how professional Percy felt he needed to be when it was obvious that the news was urgent enough to have him run through The Ministry corridors.
"Mr Stark, my contacts at MACUSA knew the name instantly." Percy explained. "Extremely wealthy and influential, owns entire businesses and has regular dealings with the American muggle army." He explained. "My contacts say contact is allowed, but to be cautious. They mentioned something about Mr Stark owning various muggle weapons of his own, some that even MACUSA have been watching." He explained.
"My word," Pius whispered softly.
"Sorry Minister," Percy said, catching his breath now and returning to his stiff professional stature. "MACUSA consider him a muggle genius of sorts. If he is contacted and informed of the Wizarding World, they would like to be kept informed and have contact with him themselves."
"Well, it seems you are on an important meeting Minerva," Pius chuckled as he sat back down at his chair. "A muggle of considerable influence indeed." He said with an open laugh at Professor McGonagall's face. "I think I would like to attend this meeting myself as well, perhaps it best if Mr Weasley join us as well?" He asked, gesturing to Percy.
"That might be wise," Professor McGonagall nodded, thinking over what Percy had said about Mr Stark.
"How about…" Pius frowned, flicking through his calendar. "Hmmm, Monday, eleven am?" Pius asked, looking at Professor McGonagall for confirmation. "Providing there's no emergencies, I should have most of the early afternoon free for the meeting."
"Very well," Professor McGonagall smiled, making a note of that herself.
"I'll meet you both in The Atrium, we can proceed from there." Pius smiled as Percy noted that down. "Nothing you need to do on Monday is there?" He asked, looking up at Percy.
"No Minister, nothing that can't wait." Percy replied professionally, thinking that his report on standardising cauldron thickness was nearly done and ready to be notarised anyway.
"Wonderful," Pius smiled. "I've never actually been there when a muggle is informed about the Wizarding World, should be rather entertaining." He said with a chuckle as he sat back down at his desk and jotted the meeting down on his calendar so he would remember it.
Stark Offices apartment
"Jarvis?" Ginny asked hesitantly as she helped Hermione over to the lift doors, they'd waited on the grass for long enough for Pig to come back, and had left his cage open there for him to come back to later on as it was obvious by now he wasn't returning any time soon.
"Yes, Miss Weasley?" JARVIS' voice came as the lift doors opened to let the girls inside.
"Can we go back to the apartment now?" Ginny asked, helping Hermione into the lift.
"Of course, Miss," JARVIS' voice replied.
"JARVIS?" Hermione asked nervously. "Um, where's Mr Stark? Is he still meeting nurses?"
"No Miss," JARVIS responded. "Sir is currently in the workshop."
"Can we go and see him?" Hermione asked.
"Of course, Miss," JARVIS replied again as the elevator started moving down. After a few moments the lift doors opened, letting the girls out as the sound of music filled the room.
"What is it?" Ginny asked as she walked out slowly, looking around the strange environment to see if she could make out where the music was coming from.
"Rock and Roll," Hermione explained as she hobbled out of the lift and looked around the workshop. "ACDC I think, I haven't listened to muggle music in ages." She explained in a whisper. "There he is!" She said, pointing to the other side of the workshop where Mr Stark was working with some tools on some sort of strange armour that was attached to his forearm and hand with bracers and wires running up the rest of his arm.
"You think it's ok to talk to him?" Ginny asked quietly as she watched Mr Stark work while singing along to the music.
"He said we could come down right?" Hermione nodded. "Just be careful in here, muggle tools can be dangerous." She explained.
"Ok, I won't touch anything." Ginny shrugged, not really seeing anything that looked dangerous but not recognising a lot of the things scattered around either.
"Sir, Miss Granger and Miss Weasley are here to see you." JARVIS' voice came out over the music.
"Huh?" Tony asked, looking up from his soldering iron. "Oh, hey." He smiled, waving the girls over. "JARVIS, kill music." He said loudly, waiting for the music to fall silent before turning back to the girls. "Hey, Pepper told me you were on the roof, I didn't want to bother you up there."
"We were just letting Pig out for some fresh air," Hermione lied with a small blush as she hobbled through the workshop with Ginny's help.
"Welcome to candyland," Tony laughed as he waved his free arm around. "What do you think?"
"I liked the music," Ginny said, picking a vaguely safe topic.
"Spellbound," Tony nodded. "Not one of their best, but a good track." He said with a shrug. "I'm more a Shoot to Thrill guy personally." He said, putting the soldering iron down and making sure to rub any of the solder left on the nib off on the sponge underneath before putting it in it's holster. "So, exploring then?" He asked with a grin.
"Sorry, I didn't know we were disturbing you," Hermione said quickly.
"No, not at all," Tony shook his head. "Just some last-minute upgrades really, just some wiring and testing the new fittings out, nothing that can't wait." He explained.
"What is that?" Ginny asked, looking at the metal glove that covered half of Mr Stark's arm and all of his hand.
"This?" Tony asked, holding up his hand. "Technically it's… well, I guess you could call it a gauntlet. It's main use, aside from armour, is the repulsor built into the palm." He explained, turning his hand over and holding it out for the girls to see.
"Repulsor?" Hermione asked, repeating the strange word.
"I designed them," Tony explained. "Mostly they're flight stabilisers, the technology works by converting electrons into muons, then when you charge an electrical current you create plasma, which can be focused through an electromagnetic…" He trailed off seeing the looks the two girls were giving him. "And I've lost you." He said, shaking his head.
"I understood up to when you said flight stabiliser," Ginny admitted with a small grin, seeing that Hermione was as lost as she was.
"Ok," Tony nodded. "Think of lightning," He said, continuing when he saw them nod. "Lightning is ionised plasma."
"You're making a glove that shoots lightning?" Ginny guessed.
"No, well, yes, well, kind of," Tony said. "Lightning is partially ionised plasma, I'm using a similar method, but directing it, so it only goes where I need it to and not just anywhere it wants. It's more like a blast of force than a lightning bolt." He tried to explain. "I designed it originally for… well, it's used for flight stabilisers instead of burning fuel." He said, not wanting to tell the girls he'd originally designed the repulsor technology to use in missiles to drive them deeper in impacts and cause more damage.
"So, you can fly with them?" Ginny asked, her eyes going wide at the thought of muggles that could fly.
"Pretty well as well," Tony grinned. "Ok, stand back, I'll show you how much force they kick out." He explained, turning to the side so the girls could see how the gauntlet was attached up his arms and to his shoulder and then through to the arc reactor on his chest.
"Ok," Ginny nodded, helping Hermione step back a few paces so she could watch.
"There's fine," Tony nodded when he saw the girls move to stand beside one of the tables. "This'll be pretty loud ok?" He asked, holding up his hand to the middle of the room, making sure he was only using one percent power so he wouldn't he blasted back. "Ready?" He asked, checking with the girls again as he flexed his fingers, opening the palm repulsor port.
Flexing his forearm he activated the repulsor, sending out a small blast of plasma energy and kicking up a few papers in the room. He saw the girls flinch but didn't expect the small redhead to jump in front of Hermione brandishing a stick at him.
"Expelliarmus!"
He didn't have chance to ask what the strange word was as the gauntlet and brace was ripped from his arm in an impossible way by an unseen force, flying through the air for the redhead to snatch as she pointed the wand at him.
"What!" Tony yelled out at the same time as Hermione shouting "Wait!"
"What the hell!" Tony yelled again, trying to figure out exactly what just happened.
"Ginny!" Hermione yelled, trying to pull Ginny back from where he wand was still pointing at Mr Stark threateningly. "He wasn't… It wasn't going to hurt us!" She said firmly.
"It… it wasn't?" Ginny asked, suddenly very aware of what she'd done and what she was holding.
"It might now, it's still armed." Tony said firmly. "Careful with the hand, put it on the desk and step away." He said, making sure he cut off every word as he said it.
"I'm… I'm sorry, I thought…" Ginny whispered, doing her best to put the red and gold coloured gauntlet down on the workbench where Mr Stark had pointed.
"My fault, I shouldn't have shown you that." Tony admitted, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry I surprised you alright?" He asked, making sure both the girls were alright. "Are you sure you're both alright?" He asked once Ginny had put the gauntlet down, breathing a bit better when he knew it couldn't accidentally set off a repulsor blast in the young girl's hand.
"We're fine," Hermione said. "Or we will be until your mum hears about this." She said, looking at Ginny with a frown.
"Sorry, I… I didn't know what it was… I thought…" Ginny whispered.
"You thought I was a threat," Tony said, recognising the protective action the girl had taken by getting in front of Hermione. "You were going to protect Hermione from me?" He asked, his eyebrows raising in surprise as pride for his daughter's friend swelled up in his chest. "What the hell was that anyway? Some sort of telekinesis?" He asked, trying to figure out how she'd managed to pull the Iron Man gauntlet off of his hand and away from him without hurting him or releasing any of the catches. "Seriously, that was impressive!" He admitted.
"It's… um… Hermione?" Ginny whispered, her eyes wide as she tried to think of a believable explanation here.
"Oh, yeah, nice stick by the way." Tony grinned, seeing the ornate looking stick Ginny had pulled from somewhere that had been pointed at him and was now somewhat badly hidden up her sleeve.
"It was magic," Hermione said softly, stepping forwards thinking 'now or never' in her mind as she stepping in front of Ginny. "I'm a witch." She admitted bashfully, waiting for the confused reaction.
"A what now?" Tony's face of blinking disbelief said it all.
The Triskelion
Washington, D.C.
Director Nicholas Fury was not having a good day as he stormed into his office, he'd been contacted by various people separately from the World Council in the last few hours demanding to talk with him and see his evaluation of Tony Stark, people that shouldn't even know the name, let alone be talking about him and requesting meetings with the man. Then there was the news that apparently, somehow, Tony Stark had a child, a daughter. That thought alone was enough to make his blood run cold, there were two of them in the world now. The prospect for nightmares alone was horrifying.
"Sir, Agent Romanoff is here." Agent Hill announced from where she'd followed him and stood by the doorway while he got settled.
"Send her in," Fury groused, leaning on his desk and frowning at today's events as he run them through in his mind. Tony Stark should have no contact with MACUSA, there was no reason for him to have any contact with that secretive society, and equally MACUSA officials should not be contacting him through unofficial channels asking for information on Tony Stark.
It didn't make sense, and the only connecting piece he could see was Stark's mysterious child.
"Sir," Agent Romanoff said loudly, announcing her presence as she entered the room and closed the door behind her.
"Agent Romanoff, your cover at Stark Industries still intact?" Fury asked, instantly cutting through to business.
"Yes sir," Agent Romanoff nodded crisply, knowing Stark had kept it intact after the incident over the Stark Expo fiasco earlier in the year.
"You're keeping an eye on him?" Fury asked.
"Officially I'm on other projects," Agent Romanoff explained. "What's he done?"
"Not sure," Fury groused. "People are asking about him, people that shouldn't be. He needs shadowing again, possibly for his own protection." He mused with a frown. "It might be your scariest assignment yet." He said with a wry smirk to her.
"I shadowed Banner at Culver University. I saw him and Blonsky up close during the Harlem Incident." Agent Romanoff bristled. "What could be scarier than that?" She frowned.
"Banner's in Kolkata, we don't foresee an incident." Fury shrugged. "I'll need you in England, that's where Stark's supposed to be."
"England?" Agent Romanoff raised an eyebrow there. "That's supposed to be scarier than Banner and Blonsky?" She nearly laughed.
"Tony Stark has a child." Fury simply, watching the news register on Agent Romanoff's face.
"Bozhe moi!" Agent Romanoff whispered in horror as the thought of Tony Stark reproducing filtered through her brain.