Chapter 7: Hello, Remus.

Thanks for all the reviews. I get some of my ideas from them.

Hphphp

Tony made sure that he withdrew the money before they had gone home that night. He didn't want to have to do it in the morning. It was a good thing they were still early in the evening, and the bank was still open. The bank was not happy with him withdrawing that much cash at one time, but they had little choice in the matter. Happy stayed with him to make sure that nothing untoward happened.

When they got home, Ivy showed off her broom and the billionaire let her zoom around the living room and dining room, but he made the kitchen and the outdoors off limits for now. The broom only went three feet off the ground, and he said they could use the junior broom when they got back to the states, and he had more space to let her fly.

"Look, Mr. Tony, I can fly just like you," Ivy had said as she passed him.

"Maybe when you're older, I'll build you a suit, and then you can go into space," Tony said, only to earn a 'look' from Pepper.

"Really?" Ivy said, stopping her broom in front of Tony and Pepper, her green eyes wide and full of awe.

"Really," he said, thinking the couch was so worth seeing the wonder on that face.

"Ivy, honey, finish putting your things away, and we'll order pizza tonight," Pepper said in a tight tone, her nails digging into her hands. She knew she should not be angry at Tony, but she hated him in one of those suits, the thought of Ivy in one terrified her.

"You're not going to fight, are you? You sound like Aunt Petunia just before she starts yelling," Ivy said, looking at Pepper like she was going to explode any minute.

"No, sweetie, I just don't like those suits," Pepper said, being honest.

"Oh, well, Mr. Tony won't build mine with guns or such. Just so I can fly," Ivy said, with all the importance she could. She nodded like she had solved the problem and went to put her two brooms away in her room.

"She's right, you know. It'll only be flight capable," Tony said, taking his girlfriend in his arms.

"It had better be," Pepper said, folding to the idea. She knew she couldn't talk either of them out of it.

"Trust me," her boyfriend said, kissing her on the lips.

"Eww," Ivy said as she came into the room.

Both adults chuckled and separated. Who knew having a young child around would put a crimp on their love life. Still, she was just too cute to be mad at about it.

Hphphp

The next morning, Tony went to the reading of the will, while Pepper and Ivy stayed home. He made sure to bring the cash with him to set up the vault. Happy drove him to the Leaky Cauldron and was waiting there drinking butterbeer, with the occasional cup of coffee to wash the sweet taste down.

As Tony was making himself more comfortable for the reading, the rest of those mentioned in the will were doing the same. There was an old woman there with a vulture on her head. Another older woman wearing some form of Scottish dress. A man with greasy hair and a woman with a monocle. There was another man who looked like he was the saddest man in the room. He was also the most poorly dressed and haggard looking.

Ragnuk decided that he would be the goblin to read the will and Gringotts was represented by Mr. Waters, even if it wasn't his venue.

"Thank you for coming," the goblin said, banging an ornate rock on to a flat rock used for just that purpose. "If everyone would settle down, we can get on with the reading," he said, lifting the ball that the will would be recited from. There was a parchment version, but it was also recorded, which could not be copied or adjusted in any way. This was to deter frauds.

He tapped the ball and James' voice filled the air. First was the legal jargon, then they got to the nitty-gritty. First everything went to Lily Potter, should she outlive him, then to his child(ren) should she parish before the will was read, with the exception of…

"Sirius Black, I leave the custody of my child(ren), should my wife die before or by the time this will is read, and 30,000 galleons. There is to be a stipend for upkeep of said child(ren), of twenty-five galleons a month. Sirius, I know you thought that switching Secret Keepers was a good idea, and I agreed with you. However, if this will is being read, then we were betrayed by Peter Pettigrew. It was not your fault, don't take that blame.

Remus Lupin, I leave 30,000 galleons. Get a new wardrobe and stay in my child(ren)'s life. They need their Uncle Moony. Don't let your past fears rule your current life. Also, I apologize, we thought you were the traitor. If this will is being read, as I said, the traitor is Peter Pettigrew.

Frank and Alice Longbottom, I leave 15,000 galleons. Hopefully our children will grow together and be one big family. If Sirius can't take my child(ren) then custody will go to them.

Snape, I leave 5,000 galleons with the hopes that he will forgive me for the toerag I was in school. I know money can't make up for what we did, but maybe it will help you live up to the man you wanted to be. Lily says to tell you she forgives you.

Amelia Bones, I know you wanted to be an Auror, and you were Lily's friend, so I leave you 1,000 galleons. Again, I hope that any children we have will grow together.

Minerva McGonagall, I leave 1,000 galleons for Hogwarts' Broom fund. I don't want my child(ren) to have to ride the same brooms we did. They are deathtraps now. I'd hate to see what they are like in a few years.

Peter Pettigrew, I hope you burn in the pits of the muggle's hell. Also note, that if his name is still in the will, he is still alive and hiding, because I am sure the coward isn't here. Such is the magic of the will. Sirius, you keep my kid(s) away from that rat bastard."

Then there was more legal jargon and then the ball went silent.

"Who is this man?" the woman in the vulture hat asked, pointing to Tony. "I don't recognize him, and he was not mentioned in the will." She was unimpressed with Tony's four-hundred-dollar suit. He was not dressed like a wizard and that was all she cared about.

"I would like to know the same," the greasy haired man asked, sneering at Tony's muggle clothes, even though they were of high quality. He looked vaguely familiar to the potions master, but it was like he had seen him a few times in passing. Perhaps in the muggle world. There were millions of them in London alone. It was one of the reasons he stayed in the wizarding world, he hated people in general and there were fewer of them here.

"I am here to represent a concerned party, that is all you need to know," Tony said, shocking everyone with his American accent, and adjusting his jacket cuffs without care. He knew he could take on anyone in the room without his suit. They all thought they were better than him because they had magic, well they would learn different if they thought to test that theory. He was trained in hand-to-hand combat. That and he had his ankle pistol on him. He never went anywhere unarmed. Not after Afghanistan.

"He is here legally," Mr. Waters said as he stood and started to sign something for the bank. "I vouch for him."

"If you all would come and sign for your inheritance, we can move on," Ragnuk said, placing a pile of parchments in front of him.

They all stood one by one and started signing on the dotted line, so to speak. Tony was watching the haggard looking guy, and he looked worse than he had when the will started. It was like his entire world view had been destroyed and rebuilt to something he was not grasping well. There was a large amount of guilt there.

Before the woman with the monocle, Amelia Bones, left she said, "I need a copy of that will. Sirius Black will need it for his appeal," she added, like she was going to see that it was done.

"There was never a conviction to appeal. I will see that he gets his first trial. I have already started the proceedings," Waters said, handing her a copy. "I want Sirius Black out of Azkaban within the hour," he added, handing her another piece of parchment. It was a writ to have Sirius transferred to the Ministry holding cells. There he would get proper treatment and guarded by real people. "I want him under twenty-four-hour surveillance."

"You're thinking assassination?" she asked, knowing there would be some that would not like to see Black free.

"Yes," was all Waters said.

"Come, we can talk on the way," Amelia said, leading the lawyer out of the room. The two left and only the other man was left.

"Who are you and why do you smell of Ivy?" Remus Lupin asked, rounding on Tony when it was just them and Ragnuk.

"Um," Tony said, looking to Ragnuk for an explanation. He was expecting questions, but smelling Ivy on him, that was new. Not even the Hulk said things like that.

"He's a werewolf," the goblin said, putting all the paperwork in a briefcase. He stood by and waited. He knew he still had business with Stark.

"Those are real?" Tony said, fascinated. He started looking Lupin up and down as if to spot any differences between him and normal humans. He didn't see any. Well, there were the many, many scars, but that could be from anything.

"Why do you smell like Ivy?" Remus asked again. He didn't care for what the man thought. All he cared about is the whereabouts of his cub.

"Because I am now her guardian," Tony said, slipping off his jacket exposing a fake shirt collar. He took that off too and was now in a t-shirt that sported a logo for his company. He folded the fake shirt and stuffed it in the inner pocket of the jacket and put it back on.

"How?" the werewolf asked, "She's supposed to be with her relatives," he added. He never liked that she was with Petunia, but Albus said she was safe. Every time he asked, he was reassured that Ivy was safe and happy.

"They weren't nice to her, so I took her away from them," the billionaire said with a smirk. He then turned to Ragnuk. He took out the rest of his money and handed it to the goblin. "There's 100,000 pounds there. Convert it and put it in the vault. Tell Waters to contact me if he needs to get into it for any reason," he said, watching the goblin count out the large envelope of money.

Remus' eyes bugged out at the amount of money the man just gave the goblin. "Who are you?" he asked again. There are very few people in the world who could throw money around like that.

"Tony Stark," Tony said, holding out his hand for a shake. He saw recognition finally dawn in those yellowish-brown eyes. "Come on," he said to the werewolf after the shocked man shook his hand, "I'll take you to Ivy."

Remus was torn. First, he learned that everything he believed for the last five years was false and that Sirius was innocent. Then, he learned that Ivy was not happy and safe with Petunia. Now, he was learning that she was in the custody of Tony Stark, the richest man in the world. His faith in Albus was dwindling by the moment. "Okay," he said, following the muggle who could take him to his cub.

The two of them made it to the penthouse. Ivy was having a tea party with Pepper and Happy, there were many stuffed animals invited as well. It was adorable to see her sitting in one of her princess outfits serving tea to Pepper, who was wearing a tiara and a boa. Happy had been given a top hat from somewhere.

Goose was sitting on the dresser watching. He made sure to let Ivy know that he didn't like tea, thank you very much. When she had turned her eyes on him, he told her that they could have a private one later. She compromised with that and had given him a hug.

Tony, being the man he was, pulled up a chair and poured himself some faux tea. "Sit," he told Remus in no uncertain terms. "Everyone, this is Remus Lupin. He was a friend of Ivy's dad," he said, handing Remus a pretend cup of tea. "Little bug, this is Remus. He's a werewolf," he said, making everyone else in the room almost drop their cups.

"Are you really?" the wide-eyed girl said, turning those beautiful eyes to the ragged man. "Wow," she said in awe.

"Yes," Remus said softly, melting at the sight of those eyes. Not even Lily's eyes were that charming. Ivy had to be the cutest child he had ever seen, and Moony was cooing inside him. He knew that not even the wolf in him would hurt this cub.

"Will you hurt me?" Ivy asked with all the innocence of a child. She had heard that werewolves were mean, but Mr. Remus looked really nice.

"Never," Moony said with conviction.

"Then you can be one of my friends, because friends don't hurt one another," she said, smiling brightly.

That made Remus flinch knowing that his actions these last five years had hurt Sirius, insofar as keeping him in prison, or at least not trying to get him out, by believing him guilty. "I wish that were true, cub," he said with a sad smile. "I hurt your godfather, and I don't know if he'll forgive me," he explained at her askance face.

"Well," Ivy said, tapping her chin in thought, looking so adorable doing it, "if you hurt Mr. Sirius then you will just have to make it up to him," she said, like it was the only answer. She smiled brightly again and handed him a biscuit. "Give him a kiss and a biscuit," she said, because that is what works for her.

"I will try," Remus promised, meaning every word.

"Enough of this wishy-washy stuff," Tony said, looking at the clock. He had an hour before he had to leave. "I want a cookie too," he said, grabbing two cookies and pretending to dip them in his tea.

"Eww, Mr. Tony, that's gross," Ivy said, wrinkling her cute little nose. "You'll make the biscuits soggy," she added, taking his cup away.

"I like soggy cookies," Tony said, and they played tug-a-war with the cup for a minute. Then Ivy smiled and let him have it. Tony pretended to dunk his cookies again and ate them with relish.

They played for another half an hour then everyone, but Remus had to go do things.

Hphphp

Tony did the interviews and selected a woman by the name of Renee Thompson. She was a Hogwarts graduate, but she had kept up on her A-levels and finished college in computer science. She was one of the more ambitious women that he had interviewed.

She was around thirty-five and was a shortish woman with brown hair and eyes. She was a gorgeous woman, that if Tony weren't in a monogamous relationship, he'd tap that. However, he was, so he only flirted a little bit. She knew he was just being playful and didn't hold him to his teasing.

Renee knew her way around a computer and knew how to get electricity in wizarding areas. She had done her house and a few friends' houses as well. The plan was to get Gringotts wired and set up with security and computers. The vaults would eventually be digitalized, making the magicals have to learn to use some modern devices just to get to their money.

The goblins would be set up with a satellite just for them. They would have an intranet, internet access, and a cell phone network. Worldwide. Every Gringotts would follow England's example, if it proved successful, which it should. This way they could communicate with other branches faster and easier.

Hphphp

Remus was a constant visitor over the next few days. Tony didn't care, he got to get some work done. He had been putting off some of his adjustments to his suit the whole time he had been in the UK. Now he was using his computer, via holographic images, to make those adjustments. Jarvis was, as usual, being his sounding board and coconspirator.

"Sir, you have received a package. I believe it is the last of Miss Ivy's paperwork," Jarvis said as they finished tweaking the right arm of the suit on the hologram. Tony wanted more range of motion out of it.

"Finally," Tony said, dropping the holograms down and rushing out of his office. He took up the package that had been brought up by the doorman. He tore open the large envelope and looked over the paperwork. "Yes! Jarvis, call the airport and get the plane ready. We're headed back as soon as we're clear for takeoff."

"As you will, sir," Jarvis said, already on the phone with the pilot. "The pilot says he can take off in the morning around ten."

"Good," Tony said, then started going around the apartment and packing up things he was going to bring with them. "Pepper," he called as he did, knowing she was somewhere with Ivy and Remus. "We're going home," he said, his voice filled with excitement.

"Mr. Tony," Ivy said as she came into the room, her tone timid. She was looking at him from under her curls. She looked like she was about to cry. "Mr. Tony," she said again, "are you taking me too?" she questioned.

Pepper was right behind her about to answer when Tony did.

"Of course, little bug. That is why we waited so long. We had to get permission from the government," he said, picking her up and placing her on his hip. He kissed her forehead and showed her the papers. "These say you can come live with us," he explained with a smile.

"Forever and ever?" she asked, her tone one of awe. Her cute little face lit up with joy and wonder and her eyes went wider than normal.

"Yes, forever and ever," he agreed. He then set her down on her feet and said, "Go pick out your favorite clothes and put them on your bed. Pepper and I will come and help you pack," he said, patting her on the head.

"Yes, sir, Mr. Tony," she said, then skipped to her room to pick out her bestest clothes. She had to tell Goose they were going too. He would be so happy to go somewhere else. She wondered if her owl friends were going to fly over the ocean. She hoped they would be okay.

Remus looked sad. He watched her go like his heart was breaking. Pepper decided to pack her clothes while Ivy sorted hers. She hated putting it off to the last minute.

"Don't look so down," Tony told the werewolf, clapping him on the back. "You can come and see her anytime you want. My treat," he added, knowing the only money the man had was what James Potter had left him in the will. And while it was a small fortune in the wizarding world, it was jack in the real world. Which was where Remus spent most of his time.

"I'm going to stay here for Sirius," the werewolf said, still staring down the hall, like Ivy would come back any moment.

"Sirius should come and stay with us after his trial," Tony said, letting him know of the invitation he had given the lawyer. "I want Ivy to know both of you," he added when he was done.

"You don't know much about Azkaban, do you?" Remus said, finally looking at the man he was talking to.

"Not so much, no," the other man confessed.

"It's guarded by demons that suck the happiness out of you and leave you with your worst nightmares. Most people go crazy within the first year there. We don't know how Sirius is going to be when he comes out. No one has ever been released after this many years. If he is sane, Sirius is still going to need a lot of therapy," Remus said, looking at the man to make sure he got what he was trying to tell him.

"I happen to be the richest man in the world. I think I can afford to get the man the best care that money can buy," Tony said, waving away the man's warning. He wasn't really waving it away though. His brilliant mind was going a thousand miles a minute as to what that meant in terms of what dangers it posed to Ivy. He would have to make sure Sirius had someone with him at all times. Ivy's safety was his first priority.

"Mr. Tony, I got all my clothes ready," Ivy said, skipping into the room again. She was flushed from working so hard to get it all straightened out.

"Do you now?" Tony said, picking her up and taking her to her room. There on the bed was every article of clothing Ivy owned. This was going to take a while.