On Punching Gods and Absentee Dads
Enigmaris
Chapter 7: Hermione's Genius
Summary:
Harry wakes up from a three day coma with a new vision and a determination to call his friends. After all, they need to know what he's learned and he knows they're bound to be worried sick. Things between him and Loki are still awkward at best.
Notes:
Hey everyone! Guess who's in her last week of classes?? Me. Guess who caught some sort of flu due to stress??? Also Me. This weekend I'm going to do nothing but sleep, it's going to be so good to relax with the ending of the semester. Thanks for the great comments! I hope you all enjoy this update!
Chapter Text
The room was dark, filled with some sort of fetid stench that reminded one of an ancient rotting basement, but he knew the stench was new. White fingers tapped staccato beats onto the table seated in the center of the room. It was a long oak table, able to fit many bodies, perhaps for a nice party or family reunion, not that it was used for anything pleasurable anymore. There were dark spots staining the wood, dark brown with smaller spots of not quite yet dried red.
A fire crackled and popped, providing the only other noise in the oppressive room. It was attempting and failing to light the entire room. Instead long shadows were painted along the floors and walls. More finger tapping, it was getting quicker, sharper. Then, a knock.
"Enter."
The door at the far end of the room opened to reveal a round shaking figure with a silver hand. Said silver hand was the only thing steady about the person. His face was covered in sweat, his hair greasy and knotted.
"What is it?" A voice hissed out.
"My…My Lord. There is n…news from the Americans."
The hand stopped, that was unexpected news. The expectation had been that any news would be from the Europeans. The one person who could ruin the entire operation had disappeared, somehow. The Order had hidden him somewhere new, had somehow blocked the connection. Every attempt to get into that boy's mind had failed. Ever since the abrupt severing of the connection a few weeks ago.
"And?"
"Ha…Harry Potter has been spo…spotted in Ne…New York City."
"Send orders out for his capture."
The fat, cowardly figure flinched at the order. Flinches meant that the message wasn't finished. Flinches meant pain.
"Wormtail."
"The…The Death Eaters tried to…to capture him but…but the American Aurors got in the way."
The tapping hand fisted. Harry Potter was working with the Americans now? The Order was hindered by the corrupt British Ministry. Potter had been hurt by them just as much as his forces had hurt him. But if Potter allied with someone new? Bright red eyes narrowed.
"Crucio!"
Harry woke with a scream. He tried to fight and push off the thick blankets that seemed to try and suffocate him. His flailing eventually sent him tumbling to the floor. The cool of the carpet felt like pure relief on his fevered skin.
"Mr. Potter are you well?"
Harry blinked at the strange British voice. He carefully pushed the blanket away from his face and tried to see who was speaking. Before he could his stomach violently started to protest. Harry forced himself up and rushed towards the bathroom. He fell to his knees and slid the rest of the way to the toilet. His face fell forward as he started to cough and gag. His stomach heaved and bright drops of red dripped from his scar, landing on the porcelain around him.
"Do you want me to call for your father, Mr. Potter?" The same voice hesitantly asked from somewhere near the ceiling.
He finally stopped attempting to vomit and fell back onto his butt. His scar was still bleeding, he lifted a hand up to the hot pulsing wound. He hissed in pain and let his hand drop. He couldn't see anyone in the room.
"Who's there?" He cringed at how shrill his voice sounded.
"Apologies. I am Jarvis."
"Where are you?"
"I am a computer system integrated into the tower. Mr. Stark created me to help him with his work as well as help anyone living within Avengers Tower. As you are currently a guest I am here to help you. Would you like me to call for help? You are currently bleeding from your face."
Normally Ron would be here helping Harry with the bleeding, or maybe Hermione depending on when the vision had happened. Once he'd had a vision while they were walking along the lake and Ron and Hermione had just laid down next to him to make it look like they were all taking a cat nap. The idea of asking for help from anyone else wasn't pleasant but neither was all of this bleeding.
"Yeah."
"One moment please." Jarvis said.
Harry slowly leaned against the bathroom wall behind him. He focused on breathing, trying to make sense of what he'd seen.
"He's on his way." Jarvis told him, a moment later he heard a door in the other room slam open, then the pounding of footsteps.
Loki appeared, looking frantic and out of breath a moment later. His eyes landed on Harry who was huddled against a wall with a face full of blood.
"Harry."
"Could you get me some ice and a towel?"
"You're hurt. What happened?"
"Please?"
Loki pulled himself together and conjured a small towel and a glass of ice. He knelt down next to Harry. Harry took them both with shaking hands. He dumped the ice into the towel and then made a little bag with it. Then he gently placed the now cooled towel to his bleeding face. He sighed in relief.
"I could spell that closed."
"No. No magic on it hurts." Harry said forcing himself not to shake his head. "Madam Pomphrey's tried everything."
"It happens that frequently?"
"Yeah. Can't really…predict when it will. Nobody really understands the scar at all."
"Curse scars can be complicated but surely you've got some idea."
"It's a curse scar from a killing curse."
Harry looked up to see that Loki was clearly trying not to freak out or panic. He swallowed carefully and waited.
"You got hit with a killing curse?" He asked. "How are you…?"
"I don't know. Nobody does. I was a baby the night mom died, and I got hit. I don't remember anything that would explain it. Dumbledore…he told me it was mum who did something to save me, but I don't know if I want to believe anything he says anymore."
The man hummed in understanding.
"Come on. Let's get up. You've been asleep for three days now, you're probably hungry?"
"Three days?" Harry yelped. "Oh Merlin. I need a phone!"
"A phone?"
"Yes a phone, please?"
"I'm sure there's one, come on. Are you strong enough to stand?"
"Course. It's just a small head wound."
Slowly Harry pushed himself onto his feet, while keeping the towel that was now turning a not so great shade of pink on his face. Loki helped him up all the way and then, gently led him from the bathroom.
"We've got some food ready for you. We knew you'd be getting up sometime today. Are you hungry?"
"I mean…yeah I guess." Harry said shrugging. When wasn't he hungry?
"Good, we'll just be going up a few floors to the penthouse, that's where we eat together most days. I'm sure most of the team will be there too. They've wanted to get to know you outside of a fight."
"Right. And we can get me to a phone?"
"Who do you need to call so badly?"
"My friends. They're probably worried sick about me."
"Of course. They know you're in New York, right now?"
"How do you think I got here without Dumbledore knowing?"
"I see. Well then let's find you a phone."
Harry smiled at little, which was about as big as he could considering the bleeding face. They got into an elevator and fell into silence. It was a little awkward. Harry wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. Loki seemed just as lost. Harry swallowed and decided to try.
"So you…played quidditch?"
"What?" Loki said stupidly before blinking. "I yes…I did. I was a Chaser for four years and the captain for two. How did you know?"
"You were in the yearbook. As the captain. It was part of the reason I…stayed on the team at first when McGonagall put me on."
"You didn't try out? She just put you on?"
"I think it was either get on the team and squash Slytherin or go to detention for the stunt I pulled."
"Which stunt was that?"
"Well…"
Loki gave him a hopeful grin and so as the elevator took them up Harry told the story of Neville's remembrall and Draco Malfoy trying to go for the world's biggest bully award for the first time on Hogwart's grounds. Loki listened with something like glee on his face as Harry told him about flying against the rules all to get back Neville's gift from his gran.
"A seeker as a first year? You must be extraordinary."
"I'm alright yeah."
"What happened to your face?" Thor demanded.
"Well you see." Harry said. "When human teenagers reach a certain age they just start randomly bleeding from their face. It's a rite of passage."
All of the humans in the room looked a little too amused for Thor to believe Harry's claim. Harry rolled his eyes and spoke again.
"Right. No, the bleeding scar thing is just me. Long story. Not much anyone can do for it." Harry answered. "Does anyone have a phone I can borrow? I need to call my friends and let them know I'm okay."
"Since your face is you know…bleeding, do you mind if Jarvis just calls them and puts it on the speaker?"
Harry figured that was fair. No need to get blood all over someone's phone.
"Sure. We'll call Hermione."
"Hermione?" Loki asked his tone inquisitive and playful. Harry knew that tone.
Harry made a very disgusted face at the thought of dating Hermione…that'd be like dating Ron. Why did everyone think that? Hermione was great, but she was like sister great. Which, after that horrible incident with Cho at Madam Puddifoots, Harry was pretty sure it was better that way.
"She's like my sister. No way."
"Really?" Loki asked. "Is she pretty? Does she make your heart race? You know if you're having a hard time…"
Harry pursed his lips. He'd had a long time to think about dating Hermione in his fourth year. When all the newspapers were screaming that they were an item. At first, he'd been upset because it was Rite Skeeter lying, again. But then…then he saw how it made people treat Hermione. People told her she wasn't pretty enough for him, people told him that it was good he'd finally made a move. One boy from Ravenclaw had basically told him that there was no other reason to be friends with a girl like her.
"So, the first thing you're going to do to me as a dad is call me a liar then?" Loki's mouth snapped shut and he looked like Harry had punched him again. Harry didn't apologize. He was tired of people not believing him when he said things. "Can we please call her?"
"Of course, Mr. Potter. What is the number please?"
Harry listed out Hermione's number and soon the entire room was filled the sound of ringing. Loki was looking a little put out that Harry wasn't even willing to entertain his nonsense.
"Granger Residence." Hermione's voice said. "This is Hermione speaking."
"Hullo." Harry said, it took less than half a second for Hermione to know who she was talking to.
"HARRY JAMES POTTER! I HAVE BEEN SO WORRIED!"
Harry winced at her shrill tone. He deserved that he really did. He should have called them before he passed out, or asked Thor to call them. He'd forgotten, and he'd left them worrying for three days. Before Hermione could go on a full blown rant, he broke in.
"Hermione you're on speaker phone."
The wind blew out of her sails, Harry could feel it over the line.
"What?"
"I'm at Avengers Tower, have been for the last three days. I've been unconscious. I'm sorry, I should have gotten a message to you guys before I fell asleep."
"What happened Harry?" Hermione asked. "You only pass out for three days if you get into a fight with You-Know-Who."
"Are you ever going to let that one go?" Harry asked, a little irked at the mention of the incident in their first year.
"No. Now what happened?"
"I was exploring New York, I wanted to see a bit of the city before I headed home." Harry told her. She and Ron already knew that he'd punched his dad and fought off an Asgardian. He'd called them days ago about that. "I got attacked by Death Eaters. They swarmed this arcade I was at."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I mean other than the magical exhaustion. I'm like…way more durable now. I got hit with a low powered blasting hex and it barely hurt."
"That's very interesting. I do wonder what exactly those spells Loki put on you did. I didn't expect you'd become stronger like that. This is going to take more research if we're going to ever understand what you're capable of." Hermione said, her mind already wandering towards what books she wanted to read.
"Plus." Harry added. "Think of what it'll mean for quidditch."
Loki actually smiled at that while the others looked a little confused.
"Harry." Hermione said. "There is more to life than that game of high speed death ball."
"Is there really? Name a better game, Hermione. You can't."
She made a very annoyed noise before pushing the conversation forward by asking him what happened in the fight. Harry quickly told her that Tony Stark had been there at the arcade too, trying to find him and when the Death Eaters showed up, he helped evacuate the muggles and then went to get help.
"Did they all come to help?" Hermione asked.
"If you're asking, Miss Granger, whether I came to help my son." Loki said. "Then yes I did."
Harry gave the man an unimpressed look for interrupting. Loki looked almost hurt that Harry wasn't impressed. But how could the man think that? The rest of the Avengers had been silent.
"Harry?"
"Yes, he helped." Harry confirmed. "But then he wanted to talk. Which is why I ended up passing out for three days. The conversation was so…enlightening that I lost control of my magic for a moment."
It was embarrassing to admit but he knew Hermione would understand once he told her why.
"Enlightening? Do I need to come down there Harry? I'm not sure how but if you…"
"No. No you need to stay there. Stick to the plan." Harry told her. "Are you alone right now?"
"My parents are at the dentistry right now, it's just me here. I don't see why that would matter, they're muggles you know." She said. "What's wrong?"
"Dumbledore lied." Harry told her. "Dumbledore told Loki that I was dead, that Sirius and Remus were dead. That's why he wasn't there."
There was a moment of silence, Hermione only really ever needed a moment to understand anything. Where Harry had needed more than a few to figure out the cause of this betrayal, Hermione figured it out in a heartbeat.
"That…THAT FU-"
A terrible crackling sound cut off Hermione's rant and then there was the silence of a disconnected to call. Harry winced at that. Her parents were not going to be pleased.
"What happened?" Tony asked. "Is she okay?"
"She's fine." Harry said. "It's just that magic and technology don't tend to…play well together. Most witches and wizards don't use it because if you get upset even a little it tends to break it. It's why I don't have a phone myself. She'll call back once she's calmed down. It only sucks cause I've never heard her swear before. I probably never will."
Harry moved the now dripping towel from his face. His scar was probably really bright red and inflamed but it was no longer burning or bleeding.
"Give me those." Loki said. "Is it done bleeding now?"
"Should be. At least until the next time it happens."
"How often does that scar just start spurting blood?" Hawkeye asked.
"I dunno? Sometimes. It's not like I keep track." Hermione would have though.
"Could you explain what causes it?" Captain America asked.
"The night my mom was murdered, Voldemort tried to kill me too."
"You said his name." Loki hissed.
"Lokes I thought you said that name was cursed." Tony said.
"It is. It alerts him to your location when you say it."
Harry thought about it and realized the blood wards probably kept that from happening. He'd said it plenty of times while in New York and the monster still didn't know where he was.
"I didn't know about the curse. Dumbledore never told me. In fact, he encouraged me to start using it." Harry told them with a disgruntled expression. "Sorry. I'll call him by his real name from now on."
"That's not his real name?" Loki asked.
"What sort of mum would name their kid that? It's a made up french name that means 'flee from death'." Harry told him. He'd learnt that from Fleur. "His real name is Tom Riddle. Fair warning if you call him that he will get so pissed off you should be ready to dodge a killing curse."
"Riddle…" Loki said. "Where have I seen that name before? It's so…familiar."
"Did you ever get a detention where you had to polish all the school trophies by hand?" Harry asked.
"Only about 500 times…" The man snapped his fingers. "Tom Riddle, he got an award for special services to the school in the 1930s!"
Harry nodded a little.
"That was for when he framed Hagrid for the murder of a 12 year old girl that he committed."
"Oh Odin." Loki said. "He's the reason that kind man can't use magic?"
Harry nodded, his jaw hardening.
"Loki." Thor said. "Who is Hagrid?"
"He's the groundskeeper at Hogwarts. A very kind man with a love for dangerous magical creatures." Loki said. "If you ever have a problem with a magical creature he's the man to call, there isn't a single one he can't tame. He can't use magic but he never talks about why. I hadn't realized that he'd been framed for murder. If you're convicted of a crime that serious, either your wand is snapped and you're not allowed to use magic anymore or you're put in prison."
"He's my friend." Harry added. "A great friend. He got me my first birthday present. He even made me a cake."
Loki frowned, which Harry had expected. He didn't expect Thor to step forward and look at him with a pensive look on his eye.
"How old were you?"
"11."
"And you hadn't received a present for your birthday before that?"
"I'd never gotten a present for any reason before that." Harry told him slowly. How thick was the man? "I'm an orphan. People don't give us…gifts."
Before Thor, or rather anyone, could say anything to that Jarvis spoke.
"Excuse me I am receiving a video call from Miss Granger. If you would please go over to the tv I can connect the call."
"Sure." Tony said. "Come on kid. This way."
Harry quickly stepped around a frowning Thor and followed Tony. Out of the corner of his eye he could see dark clouds forming outside. The other Avengers followed them to the area where a TV was mounted on the wall. The screen turned on a moment later. Hermione looked like she was still in a rage. Her hair was the bushiest it had ever been, and her cheeks were red.
"I cannot believe this! I am OUTRAGED!"
"Herm-"
"Don't you try and calm me down Harry James Potter!"
Using his middle name twice? She really did mean it. The girl in the screen stepped away from the computer and started to pace rapidly back and forth, muttering to herself. Harry felt the need to defend his friend.
"She's…passionate." Harry whispered.
"I can see that." Tony said.
"It all makes sense now!" Hermione shouted, not having heard them. She strode right back to the camera. "Everything about the last five years finally make sense!"
"I'm not…following." Harry admitted.
"Just think about it, Harry." Hermione said. "Think of it like you're Dumbledore. It makes sense, all of it. The stone, the chamber of secrets, the dementors, the tournament!"
"Hermione." Harry said. "You're the genius here. Not me. What makes sense?"
She sighed and then took in a deep breath, obviously trying to calm herself down so she doesn't break her computer.
"Just imagine, you're the leader of a rebellion against a Dark Lord." She started, still sounding a little to close to rabid for Harry's liking. "And you're losing. Every account I've read of the war before we were born was bad. Our side was losing. I mean just think of it. Your entire side of the war is being decimated by Death Eaters. By the time James and Lily Potter joined the Order, an entire generation of witches and wizards had been destroyed by the war. The Potters were gone, the Longbottoms, the Bones families, everyone like them. An entire generation. There's a reason most of the Order was made up of teenagers and young adults. You've been fighting a 50-year war and it's clear now you can't win. You're not even slowing The Dark Lord down."
She looked almost rabid as she laid out her description. Harry didn't like to think about the war. Loki spoke up.
"She's right. As hopeful as your mother and I were, I knew that unless something big changed, we probably wouldn't win. For a long time, I heavily debated sending a message to Asgard and begging for help. I didn't think one god would be enough, especially as weakened as I was."
"Thank you, Mr. Potter." Hermione said politely, glancing over at his dad with interest in her brown eyes. "I'm glad to know my research has been accurate. The teachers at Hogwarts make it so difficult to get information. Something about war crimes not being appropriate reading."
Harry snorted while a few of the other Avengers chuckled. Hermione ran a hand through her hair and continued.
"Now. Back to what I was saying. Dumbledore was losing. The lauded leader of the light, the defeater of Grindewald, supposedly the greatest wizard alive and he can't do anything. Then! Right when everything seems lost, he hears a prophecy. A prophecy about a baby that's going to be born that can do what Dumbledore can't, end the war."
"Me." Harry said, his voice sounding just a tad hoarse.
"Exactly." She said. "He just needs to keep one family safe until you're old enough to be the savior the world needs. He warns your family, tells them to go into hiding because Voldemort's put them on his hit list. He doesn't tell them about the prophecy because if they knew they might do something stupid or dangerous. Your family goes into hiding, trusting only their closest friends with their secret hiding place. It's fool proof now. He just has to last long enough. It's just a waiting game, gathering enough intel on You-Know-Who that when you are old enough you can take him down."
"But it goes wrong." Tony breaks in. "The parents are betrayed and killed and he's left with the baby."
"That night Harry survived a killing curse, something no one ever has in the history of the spell. No one knows how it happened, the only survivor of the night is him and he was only 15 months old. The killing curse rebounded off of Harry and hit You-Know-Who dead on, destroying his body."
"So, the prophecy is fulfilled then?" Steve asked hopefully.
"I'm afraid not. His body was destroyed but he wasn't. Dumbledore knew that, he told Harry as much in our first year. Even though Harry had survived the first confrontation, he knew this was only a break in the war. They were incredibly lucky that Harry lived. Without him there isn't any hope of the war ending. Dumbledore realized that he'd left too much up to chance. He'd trusted your parents to keep you safe and they failed. He couldn't trust anyone to make sure you were in the right place to win the war."
"So, he lied. I got that Hermione." Harry said. "He told Loki that I was dead and so was everyone else so that he wouldn't take me to Asgard, away from Tom and the war."
"It's more than that. So much more than that. I've thought of this all just now. If Dumbledore decided that he needed to control everything to make sure that the prophecy was fulfilled in the way he wanted, then…there's no stopping what he'd do to you."
"What do you mean?" Thor asked. "What did he do?"
"Dumbledore was the head of the wizengamot, that's the governmental body that did the Death Eater trials. Sirius Black was framed for betraying the Potters, it would have been Dumbledore's duty to get the man a trial. But he didn't, there was no investigation, nothing. Sirius was just thrown in Azkaban. Dumbledore knew the truth, but it didn't matter. If Sirius was a free man then Sirius would have control of you, not him. Sirius had already failed to keep you safe once. He wasn't getting a second chance."
Harry felt frozen as Hermione continued.
"He could have raised you at Hogwarts. It's safe there, one of the best warded places in the world. And you would have been with people like Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick who knew your parents and were close with them. But he didn't. He didn't want anyone to influence you, anyone other than him. So, he isolated you from everyone for ten years. He left you with those monsters so that when you did come back from the wizarding world you wouldn't have any sense of worth. That way you'd see him as the perfect leader, the perfect mentor."
Outside the clouds were thickening. The air felt hot. Harry focused on breathing. He couldn't lose control, he wouldn't. Suddenly Loki reached out and took Harry's hand. Without thinking it through Harry squeezed as hard as he could. Loki didn't flinch at what had to be a painful grip. Instead, he squeezed back for just a second. The anger dwindled a little with the pressure he was exerting. Hermione had gone back to pacing now.
"Then you show up at Hogwarts but you're not the Chosen One he imagined. You're not a prodigy in any of your classes. The only thing you really seem to care about is quidditch and having fun with your new friends."
"Quidditch is fun." Harry interrupted stubbornly. "And was I not supposed to want to spend time with you?"
"Dumbledore had to know if you could do it. He knew you were a demi-god but you didn't seem like it. You weren't stronger or faster, your magical power was good but nothing extraordinary. He'd been expecting a young Achilles and he got a skinny half-starved kid who almost got caught helping Fred and George with a prank." Hermione continued as if he hadn't interrupted.
"I didn't get caught though." Harry interrupted because he still had his pride thank you very much.
Hermione paused in her pacing and gave him a very stern look for interrupting.
"So, he tests you. He puts the philosophers stone in the school to lure You-Know-Who here with the promise of a new immortal body. He sets up traps that first years could get through and he waits. He gives you your dad's cloak for Christmas so that you can sneak around better and makes it easy for you to stumble on clues about everything." Hermione said. "The whole thing was a test to see if you were the Chosen One! And you passed Harry! As an 11 year old you fought off You-Know-Who by yourself and saved the school."
"What about the year after that?" Harry asked. "You mentioned the chamber. Do you think he didn't do anything about the petrifications because he knew You-Know-Who was behind it and wanted to see if I could stop him again?"
"And you did. You did it with nothing but an old hat and a bird." Hermione continued. "But you still weren't all-powerful. All records of demi-gods show them as pure powerhouses of magical energy, but you weren't. Dumbledore knew you were the chosen one and that you had the heart and bravery to do what needed to be done, but you didn't have the power. Something was holding you back."
Finally, Harry truly understood.
"He's just been letting worse and worse things happen to me so that eventually I'll…I'll jumpstart into a whole new power level."
"Exactly. He's pushing you as hard as he can so that you can fulfill the prophecy and save the world. I think he's getting desperate Harry. Think about it. The last time you spoke with him was just after Sirius had been murdered right in front of you. You were grieving and desperate and so angry. He took you to his office and he chose that moment in time to tell you the prophecy."
Harry choked on nothing. The grip he had on Loki's hand was the only thing keeping him from breaking down. Lightning crashed outside their window and a moment later a huge clap of thunder reverberated around the room.
"It was cruel, Harry. So cruel of him to do that to you. Sirius had just died and then he told you that you had to save the whole world. He wanted to destroy you emotionally, because maybe that was what you needed." Hermione said. "But that didn't work. All that happened was you fell apart. After a year of him ignoring you and putting you in emotionally and mentally painful situations that he did nothing to fix, and then delivering the killing blow you still didn't…power up."
"It's escalating." The Black Widow jumped in. "He won't stop until he gets the powerful weapon, he wants to end this war. The longer it goes before Harry becomes powerful enough the more people around him will get hurt. You might even be next Miss Granger."
"I've thought of that." Hermione admitted. "But Harry don't think this means I'm not with you till the end I am. I knew from the moment we became friends that it was going to be dangerous. Back when we were 11 and you saved me from a troll. Ron and I aren't abandoning you for anything. We're with you till the end."
"I know, 'Mione. I know." He blinked rapidly at her show of support.
"Hey Hermione." Tony Stark said, speaking up. "Harry said you're a genius. That true?"
It seemed like a really weird change of topic. Hermione turned her head a little and walked back towards the computer.
"I'm the brightest witch of my age, Mr. Stark." Hermione said seriously.
"It's true." Harry said. "When we were third years she was so smart she convinced the government to let her use a time travel device, so she could take every class offered at Hogwarts."
"Time turners are heavily regulated." Loki said. "It would have been a trial to get one for that."
"I was very adamant." Hermione said.
"More like terrifying. That's a compliment by the way Hermione."
"I know." She said with a small smile.
"Well I've got to admit." Tony said. "That's pretty convincing stuff."
"Convincing for what?"
"You see I've just learnt about the magical world and the fact that witches and wizards can't use my tech. Honestly it just…breaks my heart that I can't make money by selling to magical people."
"What?" Harry asked at the same time Hermione did.
"Yeah." Tony said his fingers rubbing the sides of his chin. "I was thinking of asking Lokes here to help but honestly I don't think he'd be much good. You on the other hand, you might just do."
"I think I have more important things to do than…"
"Of course, you don't. I know you're young and its summer which means you've got at least a couple of months you could work here. Although…since you are so young I suppose I can't just take you without your parents being in the know."
"That's called kidnapping." Hermione said.
"Right. I guess there's only one solution. I pay for you and your parents to move out here into my super secure and safe tower. Of course, since they're dentists I don't see why they couldn't just set up shop here, maybe even be my dentist. Jarvis when's the last time I saw a dentist?"
"It has been at least 8 years."
"See!" Tony said. "This is the only solution that works best for me and my wants."
Hermione was staring at Tony with watery eyes. Even Harry was staring at the man who had just offered an unbelievable opportunity for Hermione and her parents. Her parents were going to be safe here. Harry couldn't believe it.
"I…Can't believe this." She said. "I'm getting an…an internship with the Tony Stark. This is…Harry do you know what this means?"
"I do. You're going into nerd mode. I'm going to lose you again. I don't…I don't know if I can survive it a second time." Harry dramatically lifted a hand to his eyes while Hermione started to shake herself out of her star struck stupor. "It's just…every time I think about our second year I get so…frightened. Just imagining that you'd ever start-"
"Harry James Potter if you finish that sentence I will do to you what You-Know-Who never managed to."
Hermione really hated being reminded of her Lockhart phase. The other Avengers were all started to crack up at Hermione's sheer embarrassment. Harry mimed zipping his lips to keep Hermione from considering going through with her threat. She took in a deep breath and then spoke very calmly.
"Thank you so much for the offer Mr. Stark. I'll need to talk to my parents about it, it'll take a few hours since I've…broken our house phone. I'll call back once I know if we're able to accept."
The call continued a little while longer after that, but it was mostly filled with Tony heaping more things to 'sweeten' the deal. By the time Hermione managed to get off the call she looked too star struck for Harry's liking. But that couldn't be helped. Genius was Hermione's…thing. Loki tried to get him to eat after she hung up, but Harry refused to do anything that wasn't calling Ron and telling him next. Tony settled the argument by giving Harry his cellphone and telling him to just get the phone calls over with.
Telling Ron was…simpler in some ways. Once Harry told Ron to make sure no one was listening he quickly outlined everything. Ron broke about fifteen cups and plates from his position hiding out in the kitchen while he listened. He also violently swore to punch Dumbledore out and to tell all of his brothers so that they'd help him beat up Dumbledore too. The Weasleys were always ready to throw down it seemed.
The hard part was getting Ron to swear himself to secrecy. That took at least ten minutes. Which was generally how long it took for Ron's temper to simmer down. During the entire phone call his stomach started to make more complaints. The Avengers also enjoyed watching Harry respond to Ron's various threats with increasingly desperate pleas for peace. Thor had disappeared at some point and about halfway through the conversation it started pouring rain. The violence of the storm was unlike anything he'd ever seen.
He hoped Thor was okay. The man had been so nice to him and Harry didn't want anything terrible to happen to him.