i.
Harry Potter's name comes out of the Goblet of Fire.
All eyes turn to him, and all hell breaks loose.
ii.
The general consensus is confusion for the first few moments, until one of the more outspoken Hufflepuffs shouts that Potter has stolen victory from them again. (Dean will later inform Tony that the instigator had been a member of the Quidditch team that did not make it to the finals in the prior year.) The Gryffindor table begins to yell back, their voices layering over each other into a low roar, fiery and rageful like the lions they are. The other two tables burst into loud discussions but largely stay out of the brewing fight…
…which is more than Tony can say, because he calmly rises from his seat, brushes off his dress robes dramatically, turns on his heel as if he's aiming to leave the Head Table, and then just as quickly grabs Barty Crouch Sr. by the collar, lifts him up, and socks him clean in the jaw.
The cracking sound slices through the rest of the chaos. The Great Hall noticeably quietens.
"I told you the Goblet needed more protections than a damn age-line!" Tony snarls, rearing back to take another swing. Arms reach around his waist and tug him back and away from the cowering Ministry director. He feels he's made his point and allows it.
"Nice right hook," Sirius mutters once he releases Tony, "but technically, that was assault."
"The lovely thing about Magical law is that honor duels are still allowed, and there's nowhere that states bare hands cannot be used," Tony sneers. "Besides, I'm rich. Where's Harry?"
Sirius glanced briefly at the Gryffindor table. "Looking like he's about to pass out."
"Good. If anyone sees him like that and tries to claim he wanted this, I'll go after them for defamation." He steps away from Sirius and brushes off the lapels of his cloak. "We're leaving."
Sirius hears the edge to Tony's anger and nods, the demeanor that came with the title of Lord Black sliding across his form and making him the most intimidating person on the dias as Tony slips away into the lower level full of students. The raised voices fade once he nears the Gryffindor table, but Tony knows it is likely the presence of a security charm to keep the children from hearing whatever fight the adults are continuing.
Luckily a path parts easily for him to reach Harry. No student wants to become memorable to Regent Dagworth-Granger during a time like this.
Harry's gone completely pale, and Tony would bet good money that the only reason he was still upright was due to the death grip Dean had on his shoulders. He can see Hermione has one hand clutching Harry's while her other is wrapped tightly around her wand, ready to defend in a heartbeat. He recognizes the faces of some of his kids' other classmates, particularly Parvati Patil, and how she and a girl who was clearly her twin were in a screaming match with a blonde boy in a blue and bronze tie. The rest fade away like extras in a movie as Tony comes to a stop in front of the cluster of students surrounding Harry.
"Did you put your name in?" He asks bluntly, wanting to get this public scene done and over with so he can take his kids and leave.
Harry's eyes widen and he jerks back in surprise. "What? No!"
Tony knows this, knows Harry wouldn't have dreamt of doing such a thing in a million years. Still, he also is aware that these questions are what everyone else is thinking. By having it shared in front of witnesses now, with no possibility of Tony coaching his answers or reaction, this will be laying the groundwork for any defense against the inevitable attacks that will come Harry's way.
"Did you ask someone to put your name in for you?"
Hurt flashes across Harry's emerald eyes. "Of course not!"
Tony nods with finality. "Good. Now, come on, Heir Potter. We're leaving."
The temperature drops around them as new whispers begin to spread. A sitting Wizengamot member formally addressing an heir apparent as the official Heir? And for it to be Regent Dagworth-Granger of all people, who could petition for the right to sit for House Potter on account of being Harry's guardian and have the power for himself?
Let Tony's political play be their focus while he uncovers who set Harry up.
iii.
Hermione leads the way out of Great Hall, Harry's hand still clutched in hers. Her eyes flicker at every person they pass as if daring them to try and stop her.
As Regent Dagworth-Granger, Tony almost wishes they would just so Hermione can make a warning of them. As her older brother, he's incredibly relieved that they are allowed to pass by without issue.
Tony and Sirius follow them steadily. He's curious to see the surprised and sympathetic faces of the students as they watch Harry's departure. It's better than the alternative, certainly, but still unexpected.
It's something he can use to their advantage.
The need for it becomes clear as a wavering voice calls out to them from the front table. Minister Fudge visibly quavers as everyone's attention turns back on him. "Lords Black and Dagworth-Granger! I'm afraid I must insist that young Harry joins the other champions-"
"'Insist?'" Sirius' voice is cold and filled with simmering rage as he takes a single step back towards the Minister. Despite the distance between them, the man cowers. "You insist upon me, Lord Black, one of the remaining Sacred 28?" Even Lucius Malfoy becomes serious at the mention of the group of pureblood families, no longer mildly amused by the situation. "Try and stop me from bringing my godson home. I dare you."
No one accepts the challenge.
The four of them leave the castle grounds before Sirius apparates them all away.
iv.
Harry is numb when they arrive in the Stark's London apartment. Tony wishes he could take the time to coax the boy out of his daze, but he trusts Hermione to do so.
He and Sirius have to hit the ground running now while they are ahead.
That said, there is one thing he can do…
"Jarvis? Call Aunt Peggy. Tell her to get Hope here at any cost– I'll even allow the joint deal Hank's been gunning for."
v.
Hope Van Dyne arrives nine hours later and the three H's immediately hole up in Harry's room.
Tony checks on them in the morning to find all three curled up under a pile of blankets. He's glad Harry's able to get some rest; there are already dark circles forming under his eyes from the stress of the situation.
His relief doesn't stop him from documenting the memory. He's sure the kids will appreciate the pictures one day.
He leaves them to sleep, knowing they'll have lots of work awaiting them when they wake.
vi.
"Harry's a Lord?" Hope's eyes widen as she turns to her friend, looking him over as if the proclamation had magically changed him.
Harry wryly smiles back. "It's not like they wrote it on my forehead in large letters," he jokes.
The brunette pokes him in the middle of his slashing lightning-bolt scar. "Seems to me like they already did."
Hermione sighs fondly at their antics but doesn't let them distract her line of questioning. "This is because of the rules saying all competitors must be of age, correct? Mr. Crouch had said that entering your name in made a magically-binding contract, so for it to choose Harry, then the contract was accepted and thus means Harry is considered of age."
"I leave all of the fancy words to Moony, but that's the gist," Sirius agrees, reaching out to ruffle her hair. Hermione squeaks and ducks out of the way, hands raising to shield her curls.
"But I don't want to be a lord," Harry mutters, shoulders hunching slightly. "Y'know, it was just… nice feeling like a normal kid for once. Or as normal as possible."
Tony draws the teenager into a side hug, one arm slung around him and drawing him in close. "Sometimes, we just gotta make the best out of what we're given, kiddo."
"This sucks."
"I know," Tony nods.
vii.
The Wizengamot is not happy to hear they've been legally out-maneuvered by an ancient drinking glass.
The general consensus is that they're quite lucky it only happened to the Potter boy, aren't they? Why, he was set to become Lord Potter in three years anyway! And besides, he has Lord Black and Regent Dagworth-Granger to mentor him; both families have historical ties to the Light and Dark factions despite currently being Grey, so there is no major argument to be made about the Potter votes being biased.
These are at least the discussion points spread by the Daily Prophet. Tony is ever-so-glad to own a newspaper. Perhaps he should look into quietly becoming a majority shareholder of some non-magical ones as well?
viii.
He can't get Harry out of competing in the tournament.
Even though Harry did not enter himself, even though he is underage, even though he does not want this, the Goblet of Fire does not care. Magic does not care. The spell is binding, and Harry must compete in all three trials.
But only all three trials. Crouch and Dumbledore both try to impress upon Tony that it's to the competitors' benefit to participate in the other (optional) activities, but frankly, he doesn't care. There's no need to weigh his wand, other than to potentially tamper with it. There's no need for pre-planned interviews organized by the Ministry where they can control what is printed.
There's no need for the Yule Ball either, but Tony keeps quiet on that point, knowing his kids will all want the chance to have a fun night with their friends.
And really, the only reason Harry's still even at Hogwarts is because it was his choice. Sirius was all for pulling him out, considering his emancipation. He's already had so much change with this situation, and Tony doesn't want to force anything else onto Harry. He has friends at Hogwarts. Tony won't take that away from him.
But Harry will have to compete in a tournament with a renowned death toll, and he will have to compete alone.
Tony gets to work.
ix.
Tony's kids are his priority, they really are. However, he still has a global enterprise to help run and he's only human. Even with magic, being to places at once isn't an easy feat, and Tony had seen how tired his sister had grown over the year she used her Time Turner. He settles for having Sirius act in his stead, so Lord Black begins making weekly visits to the castle.
Competitors in the Triwizard Tournament were allowed a tutor as long as they were alumni of the competitor's institution. Sirius Black fit the bill quite nicely.
His past experience as an Auror and Hit Wizard-in-training certainly didn't hurt, and despite his years in Azkaban, the man had rapidly regained his magical strength and was still reaching his prime. He was the teacher Harry needed and an unbiased contact with the kids that Tony was thankful for.
The letters that Sirius ferries between Hogwarts and Tony keep him updated on what's been occurring, even as he remains in the non-magical world at the head of Stark Enterprises.
..I've seen the Mauraders' Map that Sirius and Remus made while they were in school– Fred and George now have it, of course, who else would– but he didn't need the map to lead us right to it! It's a room that only appears when summoned, and for the exact needs of the summoner! Sirius calls it the "Come and Go" room, but Hermione said that she'd read about it in Hogwarts: A Historyand that its proper name was the "Room of Requirement." Anyways, they've been fighting for days…
…Sirius said he wouldn't admit I was right unless I beat him in a duel, but unfortunately for him, I've a wand anda staff. He gave a Mauraders' apology to me afterward, in front of the Great Hall and everything. It got Harry to laugh for the first time in days, so I count it as a win…
…still would not be writing to you if it weren't for the Vow, nor would I be participating in these "extracurricular sessions." Not only have the Weasley twin terrors joined, but they dragged the rest of their quidditch teammates along as well. Is there a word for "an unruly, obnoxious hoard of lions that trap you in a magically disappearing room for hours each weekend", other than "annoying"?...
…and can you pass along my apologies to Mr. & Mrs. Carter for the pillows the last school owl tore to shreds? I've enclosed some of my allowance to pay them back for the damage. Sharon said that you'd pass along our letters now, and I really need her help Mr. Tony, she's helping me figure out how to get Seamus to figure out that I like him…
And on it went.
Tony kept every letter.
x.
Sirius informs him the following week that a fight had nearly broken out at his latest defense tutoring session with the kids, excitement brimming from every word. He plops himself down at the kitchen table with a grin, not even grimacing the slightest when Néni Ana slaps the back of his head because he didn't think to call ahead.
Tony merely raised a brow. "I don't think we're supposed to encourage their fights."
Sirius huffed. "I said 'almost.' Harry invited Cedric Diggory to join our latest tutoring session."
The old dog was more than happy to retell the tale. Rumors of the lessons and drills in defensive and offensive magic with Harry had slowly but surely spread. Because they refused to let Harry go through it alone, the number of students that trooped to the Room of Requirement in the morning and then down to the kitchens afterward to sneak food back to their common rooms grew each time. It started small: Hermione (of course), Dean, Parvati and Padma, the Weasley twins, Draco Malfoy, even Harry's Quidditch teammates now.
The previous week had nearly caused a bigger fight than when Angelina Johnson had walked in and seen Draco Malfoy in the practice space, as she'd been the brunt of many Slytherin pranks over the years for her skills as Chaser. This time, Cedric Diggory had walked in behind Harry.
Parvati and Hermione had been ready to fight on the spot, the former being held back by her sister while the latter had luckily taken a more defensive approach and erected a shield between the two competitors.
Harry had been the one to de-escalate the situation. "I'm not competing against him," he'd said. "I'm not trying to win. I just want us to survive."
That'd been all that was needed for Cedric Diggory to be welcomed into the fold.
(Tony wonders why the Hufflepuff had been left to his own devices for so long in the first place. He now knows what would've awaited Harry if they'd expected Hogwarts to help prepare him as a champion: nothing.)
xi.
Tony thinks that this latest letter is an attempt by the kids to include code words in their communications to him, for fear of being caught.
Sirius takes one look at the sentence "Professor Moody turned Draco into a ferret" and goes straight to Malfoy Manor.
Let no one ever say Narcissa Malfoy had forgotten she was once Narcissa Black.
Sirius, Lucius, and Tony race to Hogwarts in her wake, arriving to find her icy fury leaving a visible glistening sheen along the stone walls as she makes her way to Alastor Moody the defense classroom. Tony lets the two wizards follow her– she was their cousin and wife, so he left her in their capable hands– and instead made his way to the infirmary. It pains him that he knows the way by memory.
He's greeted by Harry and a dark boy in a green Slytherin tie watching in tired amusement as Hermione squabbles with Draco, who lies on one of the cots.
"You shouldn't have provoked him!" she hissed. "He had us fight the Imperius curse in class, Draco. There's no telling what else he'd do!"
"It's not like I knew he was behind me– ow, don't hit me–"
"Then don't be so stupid!"
"'Draco', is it?" The other Slytherin mutters to Harry as Tony moves to stand by his ward.
Harry shrugs. "It's a long story. Hey, Tony," he adds, nearly as an afterthought.
Tony sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb. "Please tell me they're not flirting."
"They're not flirting?"
"...We're going to teach you to lie better, Harry, or you're never going to have a chance or prayer at winning poker."
xii.
Narcissa Malfoy finds them in the infirmary not long after, her face so pale, she nearly matches the color of the sterile sheets covering the empty cots in the room.
"Mother–" Draco starts, perking up as she enters, but he abruptly cuts off at the sight of her expression.
"Regent Dagworth-Granger," she says, her voice steady despite her obvious shock. "We must speak with acting Headmistress McGonagall at once."
If it had been Lucius Malfoy, Tony would've made a comment, maybe waited a few moments to see him sweat first. But this is Narcissa Black Malfoy, whom he's never before seen with a hair out of place, now with her pureblood society mask shattered.
"All of you, go to the Room of Requirement. Now. No detours."
He hears some protest begin from the Slytherin boy– who he now knows to be Blaise Zabini– but he quiets as Hermione and Harry both move to help Draco out of his cot.
"Don't leave until I come for you!" Tony snaps, pausing until he sees agreement from his baby sister and ward before he and Narcissa hurry out of the room.
xiii a.
"It hasn't been Alastor Moody teaching the students for the past few months," Narcissa says without preamble once they've found Minerva McGonagall in her office. "It's an imposter. Amelia Bones is on her way in now."
xiii b.
He looked down at the unconscious man who had once been his little brother's best friend with nothing but disgust and rage.
"Hello, Barty," Sirius growled.