i.
Tony meets Lucius Malfoy's gaze when Sirius Black's acquittal of all charges is read out in front of the assembled Wizengamot and press.
He might be young, but Tony wasn't blind. The whispers from the Light faction that Lord Malfoy had been a Death Eater were more than just mere allegations. The same could be said of the man's rampant bribery and manipulation within… but that would mean throwing rocks at glass houses. Tony still needed money to equal might for now as he did his best to clean up the world his sister was forced into.
Regardless, the begrudging nod that Lucius gives him is the cherry on top of a successful day.
ii.
Tony tries hard not to roll his eyes as he listens to Sirius rage and curse at him, but really, the tantrum is getting them all nowhere.
"Lord Black–"
"I'm not a fucking lord, you prissy-nosed twat–"
Now what had his nose done to warrant that? Apparently he had to be the adult here as well.
"Lord Black," Tony stresses the title to annoy the man, "as you are in fact the head of your house thanks to my hard work to get you exonerated. Either way, I don't give a fuck what title you have: you are not going to see Harry until you are medically cleared. The fact that you've lasted this long in Azkaban with some semblance of sanity is more than impressive, but I will not risk my kids' lives by assuming you're all fine and dandy."
Sirius Black stares up at him through sunken but fiery eyes from where he was magically restrained on a bed. "Remus, the lordling said 'fuck,'" he points out with a slow grin.
Remus Lupin sighed heavily from his seat next to Sirius and tipped his head back to stare at the ceiling. "Lord, give me strength."
"How can I give you strength if I'm stuck to this fucking cot?" Sirius snapped.
iii.
The news has already broken by the time Tony makes it back home. Thus, he's confused to find Hermione, Harry, Sharon and Hope making s'mores in the microwave. He's greeted by Harry's amazed expression at the snack while the girls explain that s'mores weren't as popular in England as they were in the States, so they simply had to educate Harry on how to properly enjoy one.
Tony promptly declares a "dessert-for-dinner" night and resolves to tell his kids of the news later.
iv.
Harry holds Hermione's hand in a death grip as they stand outside the door to Sirius Black's private medical suite. Tony watches the thirteen-year-old war with himself silently. Harry knows he doesn't have to go in if he's not ready, despite how much he's claimed otherwise.
"We can leave whenever I want to?" He double-checks, turning to Tony with wide green eyes.
Tony smiles and claps one hand onto Harry's shoulder. "You're the boss here, kid."
Harry nods tightly and opens the door.
v.
Sirius Black had improved rapidly in the past few weeks, the gauntness leaving his form as he steadily regained his weight and health. Of course, this also meant he'd had more energy and had been causing as much mischief as he could while still on bed rest.
That said, Tony would forever swear that the light returned to his eyes when Sirius saw Harry.
Tony and Hermione stood off to the side as godson and godfather became reacquainted after more than a decade apart. Each was the closest link the other had to the late James and Lily Potter, so while Harry listened enraptured to Sirius' tales of friendship with his parents, Sirius was just as enthralled with learning about his godson.
The Starks pretended not to notice when either of them cried.
vi.
Sirius asks to speak to Tony privately before they leave.
"The things Harry said happened at school– Flamel's stone? Dementors? A basilisk?!" His voice is raised to a near-shout. "Is that all true?"
Tony sighs. "Now you see why I've done my best to be involved?" He slouches down into the chair Harry had vacated when he left the room. "There's only so much I can do. I can't bring certain things before the Wizengamot because I'm just a Regent, and there's some people who just can't be bribed, although there's a concerningly low number of those here."
The dangerous edge to Sirius' grin reminds Tony of the rumors he'd heard leading up to the trial, about how the members of House Black all teetered on the edge of madness. When he next speaks, Tony's glad the man is on his side.
"Well, I couldn't think of a better time for House Black to reclaim its Wizengamot seat."
vii.
This Christmas is the first time since their parents' died that the Starks hold a holiday party. Granted, it's a family-and-friends-only affair instead of the usual media circus, but both siblings are happier with this setup anyways. Hermione is so excited by it that she even takes over the decorating with Edwin, while Harry volunteers to help out Néni Ana in the kitchen.
Tony and Rhodey sit back and enjoy a brandy while offering opinions to both pairs before Ana threatens them with her rolling pin. They help make sugar cookies without complaint– although Tony eats more than he helps.
The kids can't invite any of their school friends, due to Hermione's Stark identity remaining secret, so the party is small but still manages to feel full of life. Aunt Peggy brings Sharon and all three Van-Dynes show up, while Sirius Black and Remus Lupin arrive late but with arms full of presents for all the kids.
"Sirius forgot we couldn't undo shrinking charms in front of the Muggles, so we did it out in the stairwell," Remus whispers to Tony, who hides his laughter behind his mug of eggnog.
He finally gives up and laughs freely when Sirius hands a present to a confused Rhodey, with the reasoning of "anyone my age or younger is a kid!"
viii.
Tony's present from Sirius came several weeks after the kids' return to school.
It'd been a goal of his for a while to open up a Hogsmeade shop for magical items from the Americas, but between his role at Stark Industries, his time spent in the Wizengamot, and his inability to quickly travel to the village, the project had fallen to the wayside. Remus Lupin had reinvigorated his interest in the idea over the holidays, however. The werewolf had lots of experience working in retail in Magical Britain (unfortunately due to anti-creature laws, which Tony added to his to-do list) and given him a list of things that would best sell.
"Rename non-magical items and package them similarly to magical ones," Remus was quick to point out. "The conservative magical families won't know otherwise, and the muggleborns and half-bloods will be glad to have easy access to things they've missed."
Tony nodded approvingly. "Cunning. I approve. Any chance you were Slytherin?"
Remus winced. "Please don't ever say that again…" He trailed off when he saw Tony's smirk. "Ah. Nice prank."
ix.
Tony nearly gets lulled into a sense of complacency by how the spring semester unfolds for Harry and Hermione. Hermione's grades continue to be impeccable – except for her storming out of Divination class, which Tony can't really fault her for when he'd done worse things in school– but Harry's essentially skyrocket. Tony sends him a care package of Muggle sweets in return.
He knows it's in part from the regular correspondence and meetings Harry's begun with Sirius and Remus. His godfather has clearly been doing his best to make up for the lost eleven years together and can be found wildly supporting Gryffindor from the stands of every Quidditch match. He always gives a rousing summary of each game when he visits the Stark household (Edwin's eye twitches each time the Casanova tries flirting with Ana, and Tony and Rhodey have bets going on how long it is before the polished butler snaps).
Hermione's letters home have largely been centered on Harry since the day she started at Hogwarts, but to Tony's delight, other names begin to appear regularly. There's a regular study group with Padma Patil, Terry Boot and Theodore Nott; she takes walks around the lake with Fay Dunbar at sunset; Parvati Patil and Ron Weasley have jointly been teaching her and Dean Thomas (another muggleborn) to play wizarding chess.
Even Harry's letters home have been growing in length. He's not as verbose as Hermione, but Tony still appreciates every word. Quidditch practices take up much of his free time, but he's made friends in other houses ("Hermione convinced me to sit with her and two Hufflepuffs," he writes, "and they're both really nice. Susan even showed me a way into the kitchens!")
He's glad that they're safe enough to begin to flourish.
He should've known better.
x.
Sirius apparates directly into Tony's office at Stark Industries' in London, sending off a dozen proximity alerts. The wild look in his eyes keeps Tony from swearing at the man as he rises to his feet.
"Peter Pettigrew is at Hogwarts– he took the kids."
Tony stares at him for several heartbeats in dead silence as he tries to process the words floating between them. "You said Pettigrew is dead."
Sirius growls– actually growls, the deep sound rumbling out of his throat as he strides forward and grabs Tony's wrist. "The map never lies."
They apparate away with a loud crack!
xi.
Tony storms into the castle as Sirius races out into the castle grounds. He knows there is nothing he can do in a magical fight, but he can go tell Deputy McGonagall, considering that Dumbledore is still on probation and that frankly, Tony doesn't trust the man with Harry and Hermione's safety.
Even without magic, students avoid him as he strides through the halls. His fury radiates off of him in waves, anger flaming in his eyes.
Whispers begin to spread about Regent Dagworth-Granger's presence in the castle.
xii.
Minerva McGonagall stays in the castle to lead the protection of the rest of the students, if it becomes necessary. Tony is mollified that Professor Flitwick is sent after Sirius and the kids; the man may be small in stature, but his reputation as a former dueling champion is known even to Tony.
Severus Snape is found to be missing from the castle. Tony sees the way McGonagall clenches her jaw. He'd be doing the same without his years of faking aloofness to the paparazzi.
Lucius Malfoy and Amelia Bones arrive at nearly the same time, although the latter has fellow purple-robed Aurors with her. For once, neither levies the other with a fierce glare as they convene on Tony and McGonagall.
"Fill me in," Amelia orders, and Tony isn't one to argue.
xiii.
It went like this:
The Weasley twins had noticed their brother missing after curfew and checked the Marauder's Map for his location.
The small scroll of text next to Ron Weasley's name that read "Peter Pettigrew" had them racing to Harry.
Harry, thank god, contacted Sirius about the map's error, as he was aware that Misters Padfoot and Moony were his godfather and uncle thanks to the stories he'd heard in the past months. However, the headstrong boy had gone off to save his ginger friend, which of course meant Hermione tagged along, which also now meant several more Gryffindor friends followed them both. The twins had stayed behind to tell McGonagall what was going on.
The children speak little on what happened in the Shrieking Shack at first, but their injuries and Priori Incantatum on their wands tell otherwise.
Parvati Patil had pushed Hermione out of the way of the Whomping Willow's branches and broken her arm.
Dean Thomas had hit the small notch to make the tree freeze by using Wingardium Leviosa on a rock.
Hermione had splinted Parvati's break and later, stabilized Ron's head and neck in a crude brace made from shirts and a belt.
Harry had only used a body-binding curse on Pettigrew… at least according to his wand. Tony doesn't push them any further when he sees the shadowed look in their eyes, but does make a note to see if Magical Britain has any mental health services. These kids need someone to talk to, even if they aren't yet ready to do so.
The rest comes from Severus and Sirius. Pettigrew had stolen Ron Weasley's wand and engaged in a duel with them both. From the anger on Madame Bone's face, the spells the rat used are extremely illegal and she can't even fault Sirius one bit for slicing the man's wand hand off once the children became threatened.
Nevertheless, Pettigrew escaped in the chaos.
Tony can feel a headache forming but wills it away until Harry and Hermione are sound asleep in the hospital wing.
It's become his least favorite place in the world.