Chapter 37: A Hell of A Bash
Thanks for all the reviews. They tickle my muse.
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The triple birthday party was in full swing. It was with all of Neville's and the twin cousins' friends and family, even Augusta and Algie Longbottom, though they were only there for dinner. Tony had rented out a small restaurant for the festivities and catered it with food that was simple fare. The magicals from England were in awe of the American food and the non-magicals of America were in awe of the simplicity of the British magicals. Not that they knew they were magical, just that they were… different.
The mutants were confused but brushed it aside for the party. They were used to different people.
Dinner was done, and most of the adults that had come from England had left. There was to be a sleepover later, and they were no longer needed. That and the time difference made it late for them.
Neville, Harry, and Ivy were surrounded by presents and were opening them and thanking each giver as they exclaimed over each gift. Neville was surprised that he was getting so many gifts from people he had only heard of. He had never really met the Avengers or the Asgardians, but they all knew about him. Still, they had gotten him presents along with the cousins. Mostly gardening stuff, since that is what Harry told them he would like.
Gandr, Goose and Star were watching them and having a small chat. "I wanted to tell you that there was a large snake at Hogwarts," Star said to the World Snake.
Goose looked at her like she was crazy. He would have eaten the snake right away. Then again, he wasn't there, so he had no clue as to what the circumstances were. For all he knew it was a friendly snake. It might not be too dangerous at the moment. If it was, he was sure Star would have eaten the snake no matter the tummy ache.
"How large?" Gandr asked, thinking a few feet in length. After all, there weren't many as big as he.
"Around sixty feet long," the female non-cat said nonchalantly, like it was an everyday thing.
"That is not normal," the boy said, lifting an eyebrow.
"I won't eat something that big, so I was wondering if you'd come and take a look," she inquired. She could eat it, but she'd be out of commission for a week if she did. She didn't want to leave Harry undefended that long. Eating that Umbridge woman had made her realize that eating her enemies wasn't always the solution. Her dimensional stomach wasn't as big as Goose's, or as iron gutted.
"I can," Gandr said, intrigued. He had never heard of a snake on Midgard that big. He would have to look into it. "Excuse me," he said. He moved to talk to Remus, leaving the Flerken to talk among themselves. "Remus, Star says there is a large snake at Hogwarts. Around sixty feet long. Any idea what snake can grow that length?" he asked the werewolf. If anyone knew it would be Remus. He was their go to in Magical Animals.
"A basilisk. Though it would have to be quite old," Remus said, alarmed. "Salazar Slytherin was reported to have had one, but surely it would be dead by now. I mean, there's no way…" he rambled, very concerned that the Slytherin's monster would still be alive. He wondered if he should tell the headmaster. Yet, he had no proof, and he couldn't just tell him that an alien told him. He wasn't quite that crazy.
"I would like to go and find this snake. I want to make sure it's not a danger to Harry. How do I get accepted into the school?" the demigod child asked, wondering if he could be accepted as a student for a year. He was magical enough to pass as a student. They established that he could use a wand well enough. He hated to leave Ivy that long though. Fenrir didn't like to study wanded magic, but Ivy would understand, right? He didn't have to stay the full year. Just long enough to deal with the basilisk.
"I think we can get you in as an exchange student," Sirius said, coming up to them, having heard the last part of their conversation. "Why though?" he asked, then heard their explanation. He whistled. "I can see why you would want to go, but it would be dangerous." He knew the kid was strong, but a basilisk was no sneezing matter.
"I am the World Snake," Gandr said, lifting an eyebrow, like he was amused to have to remind them of that fact. "I can grow to wrap around the earth twice over," he reminded them. "If I wanted, I could eat Midgard," he said, a chuckle in his voice.
"Please don't," Sirius said, seriously. There was a pleading tone to his voice and his face twisted into a sad visage. He didn't know if the kid was joking or not. He knew he could, not if he would.
Gandr just smirked.
"I know something about the exchange program," Siriusly said, coming up to them, having finished taking pictures of the kids opening their presents. Tony was leading them in some games with their friends, with the clown that he had hired, and the adults were just mingling now. "Tell me what's going on," she added, looking at the three of them. She sipped on her virgin daiquiri. They were serving mocktails for the adults and soda for the kids.
"I'm glad someone else knows about it," Sirius said, drinking his Coke. "It's fallen out of use over the last century or so," he added. "If I remember my history right, it was used mostly before the war with Grindelwald." He looked at Remus to confirm.
"Most schools don't want to go to Hogwarts anymore. It's a bit of a joke school now," Remus said, not liking that his Alma Mater was not the top school. Then they proceeded to tell her why they wanted to get Gandr there.
"I see," she said, after hearing what was happening. She didn't like the fact that Harry was in danger, but Star seemed to think the danger was minimal, so she would allow this to play out. "I'll set it up when I get on the other side of the pond," she said, tucking her camera in her clutch. "I know a few people on the Board," she added with a smirk. "Don't worry, Gandr, we'll get you there somehow. Even if we have to sneak you in," she assured the boy.
So, the four of them talked it over and set their plans into motion. They brought Loki over, since technically he was Gandr's guardian, seeing as he was the boy's parent. The five of them got their ducks in a row and then rejoined the party.
Gandr went back to the kids and had fun, though his thoughts were on this large snake that was in Hogwarts. Would it be friend or foe? He was going to have fun finding out. He might have a pet before the year was out, or a new coat. Who knew.
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"I've been meaning to ask you, Stark, do you want to keep that glowing bit of metal in your chest?" Loki asked Tony when the party was over, and the kids were all bedded down in the living room having a sleepover. They could hear them talking as kids were wont to do at these things.
The music was going, though it was down low since they were supposed to be going to sleep. No one believed for a moment that they would sleep before midnight. There was too much gossip to be done, and the sugar high was there too. There had to be ten kids, both male and female, in there. Siriusly was chaperoning, along with Star and Goose.
"It powers my suits, and you said that there was still a danger with that Thanos guy still hanging around," Tony said, grabbing a glass of Coke with ice from the bar in his study. He went to his chair at his desk and started going through some of his paperwork. Not that he liked doing paperwork at night, but there was always some that needed to be done.
He, Loki, Remus, and Sirius had gathered in the study to discuss some things before retiring. Bruce and Steve went to Bruce's lab to do business. Natasha and Clint were at SHIELD going on assignment. Thor and Pepper had retired for the evening. That many kids were too much for them.
A fit of giggles broke out from the living room making the men that were gathered in the study look in that direction. They all chuckled and then looked back to Tony.
"We can magic it up," Sirius said, thinking that they could incorporate some magic into it, like make it radiate some wards for the suits, or give it a core, or something.
"That might be pertinent," Loki agreed. He knew more about magical artifacts than Black. "We can make it something that would make the suits more resilient. Or they could have an energy field that would repel energy blast," he proposed, thinking of the things that they could do with the Arc Reactor. "Or create energy blast, or both. I would have to study it better to get a feel for it," he said, looking at it with narrow eyes.
"I would have to think about it. This is keeping me alive after all," Stark said, tapping the glowing disk in his chest. It tinged under his fingernail.
"It doesn't have to be," Sirius said, leaning forward, looking to Remus, who knew more about healing magic than him. Well, only because he had to be healed more because he tore himself during his transformations. Poppy had discussed some medical terms with him while he recovered.
"We can get a healer to fix what's wrong with you yet keep the Arc Reactor in your chest. That way you can keep your power source and still not worry about it leaving your chest," the werewolf said, thinking that was a liability. It seemed like the logical solution. If Tony needed it to power his suits, which they would need in a fight, then he would need it in his chest. Still, it was stupid to keep it as his life support.
"That would be a relief," Tony said, thinking hard on that. It had been a worry since he found out that magicals can call things to them with magic. All someone would have to do was call it to them and he would be dead within minutes. It was something that kept him up at night. He would have nightmares of a magical summoning his reactor from his chest at a critical point in a fight and Ivy and Pepper dying because he died.
"I can heal you right now, if you can tell me what exactly is wrong," Loki offered. He was a god after all. He could have this all solved in a matter of minutes. He wasn't as good as the healers in the Healing Hall of Asgard, but he did know the human anatomy. Well, he could try anyway. If it was too difficult, then he would bow out gracefully and let someone else do it. He wasn't that prideful anymore, that and Ivy would hate him if something happened to her daddy because of him.
"I don't trust you," Tony said, not mincing words.
"I see," Loki said, hurt by that. He understood it, but it still stung.
"I trust you with Ivy. You love her, but you don't even like me," he explained, taking a drink of his soda. "You loath me at times," he added, setting his glass down, making the ice clink. "You have no qualms at showing it," he reminded the demigod.
"There is that," the godling conceded. He had to admit there were times that Stark got on his nerves, and he was not above showing it. There were times they couldn't even be in the same room as one another. As it was, they barely tolerated each other, but they did try to get along as teammates and housemates. For Ivy's sake.
"I can have a certified healer here in a jiffy," Remus offered, whipping out his phone. He was glad that most of the wizarding world was now using them. The hospital here in California was now using phones, computers, and fax machines. Just like Gringotts. He called them and made an appointment for a house call. He explained the situation and the fact that the person was a non-magical in the know. He stressed that there were at least five magicals on the premises. That there would be two of them present at all times. "They'll be here at ten in the morning on Tuesday." He put the phone in his pocket and looked at the relieved Tony.
"I'll be sure to be here," Tony said, jotting that down on his calendar, making sure to note to tell Pepper tonight. She had been after him to get this done for ages. She would not be happy that he was keeping the Arc Reactor, but the fate of the world might hinge on it. That might be hubris, but he wasn't taking that chance.
"Thanos is a danger that may never come here," Loki said, not believing it for a moment. "Or at least not in your time," he added, again not believing it. He knew the Titan was a danger and he would be coming soon. He had endured many months of torture under that monster's hands, and he knew the Titan's plans to capture the Tesseract. And any other stone that Midgard housed. Loki didn't know how many Infinity Stones Earth had, but he thought Thanos said there was more than one. He just hoped they hid them well.
"We are training for it in any case," Tony said, meaning just that. For the last year, now that the kids were in school most of the time, he, the Avengers, and Asgardians were training most of the time. Bruce was even letting the Hulk out more and more to train with the group.
They had a spot in the desert that was sanctioned off just for them to train by SHIELD. Coulson was their liaison.
Loki would do his time dilation thing and they would spend the day training, while Ivy and Gandr were in regular school. Then while they were in magical studies, they would do their usual business. They haven't told the kids this because they didn't want to worry them.
The magicals did their own thing. They could train using their time turners. They would repeat a few hours a day and up their game using darker spells. They would use the beaches at night. The roar of the waves hid most of their activity. Wards and shields did the rest.
They would be as prepared as possible for when the time came.
"To us," Sirius said, lifting his glass of firewhiskey.
"To us," the rest said, doing the same to their drinks. They all drank to the sound of the kids playing in the next room.
"To them," Tony said, making everyone agree and drink again.
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"So, why do you think the adults think they can hide their extracurricular activities from us?" Ivy asked Gandr as they ate some potato chips. The rest of the kids were sitting around and watching Frozen. She, of course, was talking about their training.
She had known about it from the beginning. Jarvis had told her. Tony hadn't ordered him not to. An oversight on his part. The AI had let it be known that they were training for the eminent threat on the earth.
It started when she got up the third time to repeat her day and Tony had stumbled down to his lab just before her. It was innocent and she decided that if he wanted her to not know, she'd keep his secret. Well, she told Gandr, who had been told by his dad. Fenrir was training with the Avengers, so there was that.
"They are just trying to protect us," Gandr said, looking to the room where the men were still talking. "They need to train without worrying about us," he added. He wasn't sure how he felt that his older brother was training with them, while he was left behind to watch Ivy. While he loved her to death, he wanted to fight too. Then again, there wasn't much to train when all he had to do was grow and swallow.
"I guess," she said, sighing and putting her head on his shoulder. "So, you're going to Hogwarts next year," she said, sighing again. She didn't like that she would be alone in her magical studies. Though, it would be nice to hear about the school from a different perspective. Gandr wasn't biased in any way. No one he knew had ever been, besides Harry and he didn't know the boy as well as he knew Ivy. Still, no past relations, or anything like that to taint his viewpoint.
"Maybe we can exchange me for Luna," he suggested. "She really doesn't want to go to Hogwarts. She says that she will have a hard time there," he said, looking at the small blonde that was peering at the tv with upmost fascination. She had told them that she wasn't looking forward to going. There were dreams she was having that her time there would be terrible. She wasn't scared, per se, more like uncomfortable. She knew Harry and Neville would protect her as well as they could, but they would be in a different House and far away from her.
"There is a thought," Ivy said, perking up and looking to were Siriusly was pretending to read. She nodded in decision, and she got up and went to talk to her. Picking her way across the room, over sleeping bags and pillows, she approached her favorite aunt. "Aunt Siri, Gandr suggested that we use Luna as the exchange student. Luna doesn't want to go to Hogwarts. She says they will be mean to her there," she said, curling up on her aunt's lap. "Can we help her?" she all but begged.
"I don't know if it will work. He will be going into his second year and she's a first year," she said, thinking that over. She reached down and petted Ivy's hair in a soothing manner. She hated it when the girl got upset. Her mind was going a mile a minute over the Exchange Program rules, seeing what could be done. "However, I will see if it is possible. Either way, I will talk to her parents and see if she can study with you."
She knew Luna had some seer ability in her, and that if there was a possibility that she would be picked on, then her mum would let her stay here. Now if Pandora had not been around that would have diminished, but thank all the little gods the woman had survived her accident. She would talk with the Lovegoods in the morning.
"Come on, Ivy!" Laurie called, from the group of kids in front of the tv. "It's your party too," she said, patting the seat next to Harry and her. Harry didn't react to her pheromones either. That was because of the mind-whamming blocks that Loki had put on his mind. Well, pheromones were physical, but the blocks helped block the mental aspects, so there was that. That and he was too young to understand what was happening.
"Coming," Ivy said, going to join the kids and watch the movie she had seen a hundred times. She grabbed Gandr on the way and they had a great time until around two in the morning, when they all finally went to sleep.
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The kids were all standing around with their respective guardians. They were all waiting to say goodbye to Ivy and Harry. Neville was doing that now.
"Thanks for sharing your birthday with me," he said from his place near his gran. She was stiffly standing on the balcony of Stark Tower. They were in New York for the party since that was where most of the kids were, and it was easier for the magicals from England to come to. That, and Tony didn't want that many people in Malibu.
"Of course, Neville, you're our friend," Ivy said, in her cute little voice. She hugged the boy and was happy that he was there. It had been a great party with the three of them sharing their birthday.
"I'm just glad you could make it," Harry said, looking to the grim-faced old woman standing off to the side. "Next year, we'll try to go to England," he said, looking over to Siriusly and Tony. It would be up to them after all, but they'd prepose it.
"That'd be great, but I don't think we'd be able to invite the muggles," Neville said lowly, glancing at Laurie and the other kids that weren't magical.
"That's alright, we'll just have two parties," Ivy said, brightly.
"Well, I'd better get going," Neville said, giving both of them a bear hug. He gathered up the extendable bag that held all his gifts and went to his gran. "I'll see you in school, Harry," he called and went to the elevator with the old woman. He waved as the doors closed. They would take the portkey from the Woolworth's building.
Ivy and Harry said goodbye to each of their guests one by one. Siriusly and Sirius had a talk with Xeno and Pandora Lovegood, and they all decided to write McGonagall about the Exchange Program and the two kids.
"Well, that was fun," Ivy said, grabbing Harry's hand.
"Yeah," he said, swinging the hands between them. "I liked it simple."
"Maybe we should let Neville go all out next year," she suggested, making Tony sip-take.
"Neville?" the man of iron asked.