Okay, so for a few chapters this is going to take a bit of a sidestep, and I'm sure there are probably people who are not going to like it; to those, I'm sorry, but this has been planned since January. Literally; I've had the next chapter almost fully completed by the start of February. And he will have his uses. I swear.

Also, so you know, the next few chapters all occur pretty much in tandem, due to the glory of time zones.

Uhh, I don't really have much to say except 'bear with me' for those who aren't keen. But in reality, it's my story and I will do what I want. Or... what the characters want more to the point.

So, onwards, enjoy. Blast me if you want- you'll be kindly ignored, but you're entitled to your opinions anyway.

Cinna

Part One: Great Expectations

Chapter Nineteen: Totally Worth It

'Mapping out some ground rules', as Tony was quick to find out, was very much a give and take process. Harry and Hermione gave as good as they got, and weren't afraid to lay out their own set of demands, requests and rules. Included in their demands were new identities and social security numbers- ones without their last names- and the freedom to leave the tower at any time, but they were only two on a rather long list. He and his teammates had grudgingly acceded to most of them- Harry and Hermione were nothing if not reasonable, thank Christ- and Steve and Natasha in particular had made an executive decision of behalf of SHIELD for many of their terms, but they'd unanimously put their 'foot' down when it came to allowing the pair to find their own place to live.

That, as Tony had so succinctly put it, would be a very bad, and very stupid idea.

In return, the inter-dimensional travellers had agreed to never cast as spell on them without their permission, unless the situation was dire. Any of their 'off-site' activities were to be approved of at least two Avengers members and any and all of their future associates would be subject to background investigations by Tony and/or SHIELD.

Harry- in a fit of mild irritation- had pointed out that neither he nor Hermione were children, and that acting like over-protective parents was unnecessary, but Tony- feeling daring- rolled his eyes at the wizard and told him to deal with it; they were on probation after all. The amused twitch of Hermione's lips is totally worth the subsequent death stares.

By four-thirty, the afternoon after their adventures through Britain, most of them had reached the critical point in their relationship where tensions had simmered down to a casual wariness, as Harry and Hermione grew familiar with their housemates. It was about bloody time, as far as Tony was concerned. Queenie had been familiar with most of them for just over a week already, and Harry had been awake for just on five days. More than enough time in his books to grow supremely comfortable in their presence.

Bruce was making dinner (for once) with the help of Hermione. The pair were conversing quietly over some-such or other- Tony didn't really care after eavesdropping for the first five minutes when it turned out to mostly be about things to do in the city.

Besides, Harry's detailed retell of his first Hogwarts letter to an enraptured Steve was far more entertaining. Tony listens into the tale with growing amusement as he pretends to read some business documents Pepper had forced on him last night. It was a great tale, he'd admit to that, though part of him wondered if it was all true, or if Harry had seen fit to add a great deal of embellishment in there. Because really; a half-giant? How did the mechanics of that even work? The prospects terrified him.

Literally, terrified him.

It's on that note that Tony stops pretending to be reading those stupid, boring contracts and tries to distract himself with a preliminary search for that godfather of Harry's- stoically ignoring Hermione's laughter from the kitchen as he does.

And that's precisely when the alert decides to pop up on his screen.

He unconsciously sits up straighter, latching onto the alert and bypassing SHIELD's security protocols to bring up the data in seconds.

The data he'd helped Bruce and Doctor Foster analyse.

The data which they'd used to calibrate sensors from all over the world to monitor extra-dimensional activity.

The data which was now being duplicated by a reading received just under three minutes ago on the east coast of Australia.

Fucking hell.

He hadn't expected that. Sure, he'd made sure tabs were being kept on any future activities, but… well, shit; he actually expected anything else to come through. The Death Eaters were supposedly hell bent of world domination and resurrecting wizard Hitler- jumping through something that was presumed to be a one way ticket to the afterlife was hardly was an intelligent career move. Even if they were in pursuit of prisoners.

His phone rings before he has the chance to pass on the news to the others. He picks it up with considerably steady hands, not bothering to let it ring through to Jarvis as he normally would. He knows without a shadow of a doubt who it is.

"Stark speaking."

"We've got another one."

He pouts at the sound of Agent Hill's voice, "What? Mama Bear's too busy to talk to us?"

A heavy sigh, "Another one's come through the Veil, Stark."

He smirks, "I know."

"We thought you might." She sounds disapproving.

"And what do want us to do about it? They're kind of far away."

"Stay in the Tower, for now. We don't know if they're hostile or not. The Director is sending a dispatch team there now to assess the situation."

Bag and tag more like, but Tony won't hold it against them. Hopefully the fucker tried his hand at sky-diving like Potter- only with less success, "Permission to pass it on?"

Hill snorts in derision, "Like you wouldn't have told them anyway, but granted."

"I'm wounded, Agent Hill. Are you questioning my integrity?"

"Among other things… Don't let them out of the Tower, Stark." The line goes dead and he rolls his eyes, taking note of the four sets of eyes now focussed intently on his person. He slips the phone back into his pocket slowly, playing out his nonchalance at the situation.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asks, watching him carefully.

"Agent Hill called-" Tony starts.

"-SHIELD called." Steve corrects. That man can read too well into a situation sometimes. Tony frowns at him for the interruption.

"Semantics. Someone else has passed through the Veil. They want you to stay on the down-low until they know if they're a threat or not."

Hermione goes very still, face unusually blank. Slowly, it morphs, shifting from realisation to disbelief to anger before finally resting on amusement. She lets out a hysterical laugh and her hand flies up to her mouth.

"What?" Harry asks, concerned. She laughs again, face quickly going red with the effort of holding back her laughter.

"It's- oh God- haha- it's Malfoy!" She bursts into laughter then, doubling over at the apparent hilarity of the situation. Tony doesn't miss the bitter and vindictive sound to it.

Harry frowns at her in confusion as she shakily sits down on the closest chair, unable to stop, "How do you know?

She slowly calms down, thought the occasional giggle prevails. "Think about it- heh- I've been here for just over a week- haha- it-it took a week for the Veil to spit me out in the first place, when there'd only been a few moments between our entry.

"And who was right behind the two of us?"

Harry's eyes widen, "Merlin's saggy balls."

"Yes! The idiot got sent in after us!"

The guffaws that escape his shocked face are unnervingly similar to Hermione's.

A/N: Soooo yeah. This is happening. This has always been going to happening.

And you know, If you bore with me through Hermione, for those who normally prefer Harry-centric fics, then I'm sure you can bear with me through Draco Malfoy too.

Remember that I still love Harry best. And soon (well, I say soon; it's probably a month away for you guys...) there will be Harry. And a fair amount of it.

Leave a review, tell me how you feel!

See you in a fortnight!