Chapter 13: MACUSA Meet Ivy
Thanks for all the reviews.
Oops, someone let me know that in canon potions did work on the non-magical. Oh well, for the sake of this story, those were flukes. I do thank you for reminding me of that though.
Remember this is AU and crackish.
Hphphp
It was on a sunny Monday morning two days after they got back from the mall, when a small group of them went to visit MACUSA.
"Who all is going with me to the Magical Congress?" Tony asked as he drank his coffee. They were discussing the trip over breakfast. He had thought about it the night before, and he had decided to forgo the lawyer this time. He didn't have one that was versed in American magical law, and Waters was only good for Britain law. He needed to get in touch with Gringotts and get a lawyer for here in the good ole US of A. He would just make sure not to agree to anything. Pepper would probably kill him anyway.
"We have to," Sirius said, nodding to Remus who showed he agreed. "We have to register," he added, playing with his napkin. "We're not even sure how long we're staying, so there is that too."
"Right," Tony said, looking to the Avengers. "Have them give you a work Visa, and I'll put you on the payroll as Ivy's tutors," he said, solving that problem.
"Thanks, that will help a lot," Remus said, glad to have that issue resolved. There had been a chance they could have been deported. They did come into the country in rather a hurry. He wasn't even sure they registered correctly. The goblins had arranged their passage, so they hadn't really paid attention on how they got here, just went along with the ride. He knew they had passports, so there was that.
"I would like to go," Steve said, wondering if the MACUSA operated differently than its non-magical counterpart. He didn't think he'd see much, but it would still be a learning experience. That and he had nothing better to do today.
"I have work," Pepper reminded Tony with a pointed look. "You have several meetings this week. Please, don't forget that," she said, picking up her fork and finishing off her eggs.
"I won't," Tony said, pushing his plate away. He had been eating a lot better since Ivy had joined their family. He was now at a healthy weight without pushing the boundary of overweight. He was also sleeping better and not spending all his nights in the lab designing suits. He still spent quite a lot of time there, and he had many suits, which he had produced in his Malibu lab, to prove it, but he had cut that time in half since she came.
"I'm staying here," Bruce said, getting up and putting his plate in the sink. "There are some figures I need to go over," he added, thinking of some experiments he was working on. There was something different in the magicals' blood that he was trying to isolate. It was wired into their DNA. He was making sure that it wasn't noted anywhere on the servers. He didn't want his research to get out into the public by some hacker.
"We have to go report," Natasha said, gesturing to Clint and getting up and adjusting her shirt. "Don't worry, we won't say anything about Ivy, but we have to report that Loki is here. So, she might not stay a secret for long," she warned. She hated that Fury might get his mitts on the little girl, but then again, Ivy might just bewitch the man.
'I'm coming,' came the voice of Goose in his head as he sauntered into the room. He jumped onto an empty chair and looked at Ivy, who petted his head.
Tony just nodded and stood. "Ivy, dress nice," he said as he left the room.
"Silly Mr. Tony, I always dress nice," Ivy said, though she had an extra special dress that she wanted to wear to the MACUSA building. It was pastel pink and it had pretty ribbons on it. She had light purple robes to match with a witch's hat that was black with a matching ribbon. Her black shiny shoes would finish the ensemble. "Mr. Goose, why are you coming with us?" she asked the cat as they went to her room so that she could get ready.
'I have to protect you,' the non-cat said as he followed along. 'I don't trust the wizards,' he added, wanting to make sure that a least part of the government knew that he was there and would eat anyone who tried to kidnap Ivy.
"Are you going to let them know what you are?" she asked, innocently. She was pulling on her dress and messing up her unruly curls. Not that she knew exactly what he was, but she knew he was an alien.
'I will tell the people in charge, but not the lackies,' Goose stated. It was something he had done in the past. Not often, but once in a while, he let those in charge know he was there. He'd let the head detective know, but not the beat cops.
"If you need me to help you, just let me know," Ivy said, fixing her robe over her dress and putting her hat on. She adjusted her curls until they fell just right. Pepper came in and helped her finish getting prepared. She looked like a little doll when she was done.
"How can you be this cute?" Pepper asked, when she fixed the last curl. She leaned over and kissed the girl's forehead.
"Just lucky, I guess," Ivy said, smiling at the compliment. "You look very pretty today too," she said, noting Pepper dressed to kill for the office. She was wearing a sleek black business dress suit with matching heels.
"Thank you, Ivy," the businesswoman said, getting up and going out of the room, waving Ivy to follow. "I have a lot of work to do today, so I won't see you until dinner. Try to keep the men in line," she said, winking at Ivy.
"I'll try," Ivy said, giggling that new giggle. She bent down and picked up Goose and left the bedroom to the living room. "I'm ready, Mr. Tony." Pepper was right next to her waiting for Tony and the rest to ride down with them.
"Let's go then, little bug," Tony said, waving to all those going with him. Sirius, Remus, and Steve joined them in the elevator. Bruce, Thor, and Loki waved goodbye to Ivy as the doors closed. Natasha and Clint had already left.
"This is where I leave you," Pepper said when they reached the office part of the tower. She bent and kissed Ivy on the top of her head, and Tony's cheek. "I'll see you tonight," she added, waving to Sirius and Remus. She then got off the lift.
"You are one lucky man," Sirius told Tony as she departed. He clapped the man on the shoulder and then let his hand fall.
"Don't I know it," the man said, watching Pepper walk away until the doors closed. She was one beautiful woman, and he was lucky to have her. That and she put up with his bullshit.
Ivy cuddled Goose, who purred and nuzzled back. Remus tried to pet the cat but was hissed at. Goose didn't like the smell of wolf on him.
"Sorry, Mr. Remus," Ivy said, not knowing why Mr. Goose didn't like the man. Mr. Remus was a really nice man. Then again, Mr. Goose really didn't like anyone.
"It's alright, little one," Remus said, glaring at the non-cat. "I am quite used to cats not liking me," he added, his eyes going soft as he gazed upon her face. It was hardly Ivy's fault that the animal didn't like him.
"Mr. Goose, you need to be nicer to people," Ivy reprimanded the animal in her arms.
'No, I don't,' Goose disagreed. 'I have the right to like or dislike whomever I choose,' he added, glaring at all the men as they got off the elevator. They made their way across the lobby and into the limo. Goose got out of Ivy's arms and stretched on the seat. 'Wake me when we get there,' he told Ivy.
"Okay, Mr. Goose," she said, petting the non-cat and letting him sleep.
They rode in silence; it only being broken by Goose's purring. Ivy was watching people and the men were doing various activities, like cruising the internet on their phones, or reading parchments, as their personality dictated.
Steve was still getting used to this century and he was enjoying watching cat videos on the internet. It was relaxing. Every now and then he'd shoot Goose a look and wonder if that cat did what the cats in the videos did.
Tony was reading science magazines on his phone. He liked to keep up on what the public was thinking high tech was, even if he surpassed it ages ago. He was reading an article on a company think tank called AIM, and they seemed to be on the cutting edge of helping the disabled. He recalled meeting the founder at a New Year's Eve party in 1999. Killian, he remembered. Well, good it seems like the man didn't need his help after all.
Remus and Sirius were going over Sirius' account information. Sirius was still trying to get caught up on six years' worth of backlog. The accounts were a complete mess with Lucius dipping into them over the years for bribes. He was going to have to recover that money. Malfoy had no right to those funds in the first place.
They pulled up to the Woolworth's building and this time went to the MACUSA entrance. There was an elevator that went to the thirteenth floor, which only magicals could use. Well, and those with them. There were actually sub floors within the thirteenth floor, but you had to get to the thirteenth floor first and go to the magical lifts to get to them.
They went to the receptionist desk, once they exited the magical elevator, and inquired where they needed to go.
"I need to report an attempted kidnapping," Tony said to the woman behind the desk. Steve and Ivy were behind him and looking at the people surrounding them. They were dressed in an array of outfits. There were some dressed as wizards, while others looked just like Pepper would look.
"And we need to report our stay here in your country, and apply for a work Visa," Remus said, pointing to him and Sirius, who was looking around to make sure they weren't going to slap handcuffs on him. He was very wary of the government.
"You need to go to the DMLE on subsection C," she told Tony. Then she turned to Remus and said, "You need to report to Immigration on subsection D." She then gave them a map of the area and pointed to the correct elevators to get them to where they needed to go.
"Okay, we'll meet up in the cafeteria after we're done," Tony said, thinking it was the central point. He pointed it out on the map and then started for the elevator.
"Got you," Sirius said, looking at the map and making out his route. Remus was guiding him to the lift.
Tony, Steve, Goose and Ivy went to the DMLE and were directed to the Head's office. Everyone watched them as they went, admiring the little girl. The director was an older man who looked like he had seen plenty of action before he had retired behind the desk. His name was Robert Decker.
"So, you're here to report an attempted kidnapping?" he said, smiling at Ivy. Normally this would be handled by one of the regular Aurors, but this was Tony Stark and Ivy Potter. Big names in both worlds. He wanted to make sure it was done by the numbers.
"Yes, Albus Dumbledore attempted to kidnap Ivy the other night. I have a recording of him doing it. Her bodyguard, Goose, stopped him," he said, pointing to the cat in Ivy's arms.
"I take it that is not a real cat," Decker said, jotting it all down. He glanced at the cat and made sure to take down its description.
"No," was all Tony said, shooting Goose a look.
"Can I see the recording?" the detective asked, settling in his chair.
"Sure, but I warn you, it's a bit disturbing. Hey, Steve, can you show Ivy the bullpen," Tony said, motioning Steve to take Ivy out of the room.
"Mr. Tony, I'm a big girl," she said, batting her big green eyes at him.
"Nope, not going to work this time. I don't want you to see this," Tony said, kissing the top of her head. There were some things he was going to protect her from for as long as he could, and this was one of them.
"Okay, Mr. Tony," Ivy said, all bright and cheery. She liked that he was trying to protect her. She would learn about it later. She knew there was something strange about Mr. Goose, but she didn't think he was that scary. Not even if he could shoot tentacles from his mouth, but that was just silly.
"Come on, princess, we'll go see if any of the officers has any cookies," Steve said, handing Goose to Tony.
"Yay," Ivy said, skipping out of the office.
"Is it really that bad?" Decker asked, not sure if he wanted to see it.
"It is unnerving," Tony said, putting Goose in the empty chair next to him and getting his cell phone out. "Jarvis, run the security video of the attempt." He laid the phone on the desk so a hologram could be produced from it.
"Of course, sir," the AI said, and he ran the hologram from the phone, and it showed the whole scene. It stopped when Dumbledore portkeyed out. The silence in the office was unsettling. Tony didn't know if it was from Dumbledore's attempt or Goose's tentacles.
"Just what the fuck are you?" the shocked man asked Goose.
'A Flerken,' was all the alien said. He didn't feel the need to elaborate.
"I don't know what that is. I'll just write down an alien. How should I classify you?" was the next question.
'A class XXX creature,' Goose said, thinking of their classification system. 'I am quite deadly, but harmless unless provoked.' Though he thought of himself as a XXXXX creature.
"I see," Decker said, taking a picture of Goose and classifying him as a dangerous and deadly creature that was to be handled with kid gloves. Only to be approached if needed. He turned back to Tony and said, "Since the attempt was thwarted, there isn't much I can do. I can arrest him for trespassing, but it'll be tricky. He has diplomatic immunity. I don't like it, but there it is. However, if he ever enters your house again, you have the right to protect yourself and those in your house," he said, like any other true American.
"What about violating the Statute of Secrecy?" Tony asked, wanting to get the man nabbed for something. "Now all the non-magicals know about magic."
"Since you have a witch and two wizards in your home it could be argued that they would learn about it sooner or later," the detective said, scribbling something on his notepad. "Still, like I said, you can protect your house if he comes back. With the wizards there, you can do it magically."
"We already have wards up," Tony said, smirking a bit. "The deadly ones are only on Ivy's room. I made sure that the ones on the tower were maim only. However, I have weapons around the house, if need be," he added, knowing the man knew who and what he was.
"Of that I have no doubt," Decker said with a chuckle. "I'll file a report and it will go as a mark against the man. We'll make sure that it gets reported to the papers here and in Britain. He will have to do some fast talking to get out of this one," he added still chuckling. It was always good to see the likes of Dumbledore taken down a peg or two.
"I'll bet, since I'm sure he hasn't told anyone that Ivy is here," Tony said, laughing out loud. He knew that Dumbledore had kept it all hush-hush. There hadn't been any word of the little darling leaving the coast of the UK since they had.
"It did catch me by surprise when you walked in with her. How did you come to get her as your daughter?" Decker asked, leaning back in his chair. This looked to be quite the story.
Tony told him how it all happened, and they shared a good laugh over it. When he was done, he got up to go and see what Steve and Ivy were up to. It was quite shocking to see that Ivy was leading a sing-along with Aurors and prisoners alike.
She was singing It's a Small World and they were singing the chorus. They were all sitting in front of her in a semi-circle. They were all swaying with the words and there was music coming from somewhere.
There were some pretty good voices in that group. From soprano to deep baritone. It was quite the nice range of voices. Of course, there were some that were horribly off key and pitch, but that was alright, they blended in with the rest and were drowned out by the good singers.
Ivy's voice was the sweetest voice of them all. She was singing like a bird in the morning light. There was a shaft of light coming from a window that was shining on her like a spotlight. It reflected off her black hair and made her sparkle.
Tony went up to where Steve was standing off to the side, though the man was singing along. He was a nice tenor.
"How did this come about?" he asked Captain America, making him jump a bit. Tony smirked at catching the man unawares.
"Ivy wanted some biscuits, cookies to us, but all they had was doughnuts. She was upset and they asked what would make her feel better, and this happened," Steve said, shrugging his shoulder.
"I never thought I'd see the day…" Tony said, marveling over the power of his daughter. She could rule the world with her cuteness. He was going to have to teach her how to harness this power. "Ivy," he called, making her stop singing. He got glares from the grownups that had been singing with her. "We're done," he said, smiling at her.
"Okay, Mr. Tony," Ivy said, giggling and making all the people around her happy. "I have to go now. You all have a good day and remember, be nice," she said, wagging her finger at the prisoners.
"Yes, Miss Ivy," they all said back. Some of them quite bashfully.
She hopped off the chair she had been standing on and ran to Tony. "Did you get mean Mr. Dumbledore in trouble?" she asked as she picked up Mr. Goose.
"Unfortunately, he is protected," Tony said, putting a hand on her shoulder and leading her out of the room.
"Oh," she said, with a pout. "Well, he will be punished somehow," she said, believing in karma without knowing what it was.
"I am sure you are right," Tony said, though he wasn't sure how.
"We should go and meet Sirius and Remus," Steve said as they approached the elevators.
"You're right," Tony said, pressing the correct button.
They rode down in silence. Goose wasn't even purring. He didn't like being in buildings with lots of people. They all wanted to pet him, and he didn't like that. They got to the cafeteria and spotted the duo sitting at a table.
"Hey, you can't have that cat in here," one of the lunch people called, pointing at Goose.
"Oh, sorry," Ivy said, not understanding why, but not wanting to be yelled at. She turned her wide eyes to the man who said that, and they were shiny with tears.
"Oh, I am so sorry for yelling at you, little lady. But animals can't be around food," he said, immediately caving. "If you promise not to put him down, you can keep him in your lap," he said, giving her a cookie.
"I promise," she said, her smile brightening the room. She snatched the biscuit with her free hand. "Mr. Goose will stay in my lap the whole time." She ran and sat at the table and put Goose in her lap. She then ate her treat.
"I'll make sure of it," Tony said, handing the man a twenty. He and Steve stood in line to get food for the three of them. It didn't take long, and they got some soup and sandwiches with soft drinks for beverages. It hadn't been that long since breakfast, but an early lunch wouldn't hurt.
"How did everything go?" Tony asked Sirius as they sat.
"After we told them we were tutoring Ivy Potter, everything went smoothly," the dogman answered.
"They didn't have an issue with me being a werewolf, but they did have one with Sirius," Remus said with some awe. He was used to being the problem.
"It was touch and go for a minute. They didn't want an ex-con in their country, until I dropped yours and Ivy's name," Sirius explained, a smirk on his face. He liked the fact that he could just drop names like that.
"How long is your Visa for?" Steve asked, taking a bite of his ham and cheese sandwich.
"Until Ivy goes to magical school, then we have to either find different work or return home," Remus said, not sure what they were going to do. "So, about five years," he reiterated.
"That should be plenty of time to get you sorted," Tony said, confident they would figure something out by then. "I think we should relocate to Malibu," he said, thinking it was time to get out of New York. He liked the schools and weather better in California.
"I'll leave that up to you," Sirius said, not knowing the US.
"We'll take up a vote with the others," Steve said diplomatically.
Ivy was listening in and feeding Goose some of her roast beef from her sandwich as she drank her Coke. She didn't understand it all, but she got the gist. She was determined to make sure that her godfather and his friend could stay as long as they wanted. She'd just have to figure out how. She was looking forward to seeing more of America though.
Hphphp
A vote was taken, and they did decide to relocate to Malibu. It was a nicer location for raising a child, in most of their opinions. That and they all wanted to live near the beach. The British among them were excited to see the Pacific Ocean. It only took a few days to move since the house was already prepared for them.
The days passed and getting Ivy caught up on her education became the number one priority. She soaked it all up like a sponge. Her new way of thinking let her learn at an enhanced rate. She was a genius now, and she had no qualms of showing it. She spent many hours in the labs with Tony and Bruce. She learned mechanics with Tony and chemistry with Bruce. Not to mention the regular education, math, English, and other such stuff. They split that too.
Both were geniuses in their own rights. They were good teachers too. They each had different approaches in how they taught. Tony was a hands-on teacher, while Bruce was a lecturer. Both methods worked with Ivy. She was just that flexible.
There was also the magical aspect of her schooling. Loki taught her what he could of Asgard magic, which was quite different from the Midgard ways. It was wandless, ritualistic, and had a lot of symbols and herbs. There was a religious aspect to it that Loki was trying to explain to her, but she wasn't quite there yet. It just didn't click to her that Mr. Thor, Mr. Loki, and their family were considered gods. To her they were just really nice people.
Sirius and Remus were reluctant to teach her the Earth's way of magic seeing as she was too young for a wand, and they were worried it might damage her core. However, they did let her delve into the runes and arithmancy, not seeing that there was anything wrong with that. They had honestly been flabbergasted when she took to it like she did to flying.
Speaking of flying, they made sure to take her to empty beaches so that she could spread her wings, so to speak. She wanted to soar, and they let her. Tony was fascinated with how the broom worked and more than happy to chase her around the beach and ocean in his suit. They spent many hours doing just that. Not that the brooms went high, but high enough for a good race.
Soon they were going to have to get Ivy enrolled into regular school. She was going to have to go into an accelerated education program now that her level of learning had increased. Tony was worried that she might not be able to make friends with this new learning habit. He knew it had been an issue for him. There weren't many geniuses out there, and those that were tended to be socially awkward.
Ivy wasn't worried though, she liked everyone. She was sure that she would make tons of friends.
"You know, Tony," Sirius said, coming up to the man after a week had passed since they had relocated. Everyone else was asleep, and Tony was in his office.
"What's up?" Tony asked, finishing up the upgrade he was designing on his suit. He and Jarvis were just finishing up for the evening.
"Ivy's birthday is tomorrow," her godfather said, a bit of panic in his voice. He had forgotten all about it, and Remus had reminded him earlier that night.
"Shit," Tony said, having forgotten that the child's birthday was at the end of July. It had been such a busy month they hadn't had time to do much of any planning. He wondered how Pepper had forgotten. She was usually on top of things like this. Then again everything had been so frantic lately.
"What are we going to do?" Sirius asked, looking around like an idea would come out of nowhere.
"I have an idea," a voice said from above them. They both looked up to see someone hidden in the shadows of the bookcases. He looked like he was masked, but it was hard to tell.
"Who the fuck are you?" Tony said, wondering how the man had gotten through the wards and the defenses.