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Pepper's idea had been brilliant and Tony, proud of how his PA and friend was dealing with magic, had put her in charge. With Sirius' help, she had drafted an email to all SI employees announcing a highly classified new Research and Development project. The project, code named iBoggart/i would be its own separate department and require all staff positions from administrative to security to researchers, all with an added monetary compensation for the secrecy.

The email applications were coming in steadily and even Tony was surprised at the response. When Obadiah had cornered Tony in his office for an explanation, Tony had initially almost had heart failure thinking the man knew about magic, only to have him object because a number of his staff were intrigued and applying. Tony had reassured him it was the project he'd mentioned at the board meeting, with the name a play on bogie, and would require a specific skillset.

In the meantime, the goblins had come in and erected wards on the Executive floor, including the Board of Directors conference room, and a magic dampening spell on Stane's office. A separate laboratory and office area was being renovated for people who would work on the project, adjacent to the experimental arc reactor Tony's father had created as a revolutionary energy source. Tony and Sirius had tested numerous spells in the building before allowing both the American Aurors and goblins in to test the reactor and ward the building. Muggle-repelling and Disillusionment Spells were cast on the entirety of R&D laboratories, and specifically Sector 16, which was to be the main research area.

Tony had been delighted to find the reactor did not react to magic in the way electricity did; instead of exploding or frying the circuitry, it actually seemed to energize the reactor. They would also hold the interviews for the new project in the small entrance area, which held the history of Howard and his creation. A nonmagical interview area was set up near the front windows, while Specialized Disillusionment Charms were cast on signs pointing the way to the magicals interview room.

A week later, in anticipation of the sitting in on Pepper's meetings, Tony took Harry down to his laboratory, the one which had been magical-kid-proofed, to read what JARVIS had discovered about Tony's father. Harry loved coming to the lab with him and playing with the bots, especially Dum-E and Butterfinger, who seemed oddly protective of the little boy. Doing a bit of research for the best learning toys, Tony had bought a kid-sized work bench and stocked it with Legos, simple circuit boards, small tools, batteries, and wires. He smiled as he glanced at Harry tinkering at the table with U trying to help.

Tony turned his attention back to the files he'd found both buried in storage rooms at SI and by hacking into the government files. He'd grown up with the knowledge of Howard having been a crucial part of the development of both the Super Soldier program and the nuclear bomb. The files he had recovered showed Howard as a genius and inventor, a founding member of Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division, and had spent millions looking for Captain America after he'd crashed a plane into the ice in WWII. There were also several different documents referring to the Stark Expo of 1974 in Flushing, New York which emphasized that Tony was the only one who should be given his development notes on the Expo.

"JARVIS, remind me to take Harry to meet Aunt Peggy after his birthday," Tony requested, remembering the large Expo layout in a place of honor in his office.

"Of course, sir."

Harry's fifth birthday was the other big event of the week. The house would be full, with Rhodey taking a few days of leave, Arcturus was coming in tomorrow morning, Happy now lived with them, as did Pepper. Tony would do anything he needed to keep his cobbled together family safe. Sirius had helped Tony knock out a section of the wall between his bedroom and Harry's, giving his son a secret door through their closets, so Harry could get to him whenever he needed his dad.

Sirius had started to tease Tony about having his "extra-curricular" activities curtailed, but the look Tony had given him shut him down. Truth be told, Tony hadn't had any desire to restart his playboy ways – what he had at home was enough to keep him happy. Tony, being, well, Tony, didn't examine that feeling very closely.

Besides. Tony's bed was already fuller most nights than during playboy days. Harry loved his secret door and utilized it to slip into Tony's bed more often than not. Tony didn't mind, knowing his little boy suffered from nightmares. About a week ago, Sirius had begun to join them, in his dog form, when his nightmares left him with panic attacked. His bed was big enough to sleep four, so Tony allowed it, until Padfoot left dog hair on the sheets.

Tony made a point to tell Sirius ihe/i was welcome, but Padfoot could sleep on the floor. Harry giggled at the pout his godfather pulled, but Tony had awoken yesterday morning with Harry pressed to his chest and a very aroused Sirius wrapped around his back. Figuring out he was pansexual at puberty, Tony had, at one time, been very closed to Sirius, but what he was feeling in that moment was more than he wanted to dissect then. Tony contented himself to simple enjoy the embrace.

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Tony sat at the conference table, looking over the list of interviewee names as Pepper sat beside him, going through a file folder. He knew in the other conference room, Rhodey and the head of R&D, Miles Johnson, were starting the interview for those who found their way there. Auror Captain Proudfoot had gathered a group of retired officers she had personally vouched for as members of Tony's new magical security force and they were scattered throughout the area. Happy and Max had positioned themselves outside their conference room door, with a disillusioned on-duty Auror behind the table, who would be checking magical signatures.

By lunchtime, Tony was amazed at how many witches and wizards were actually employed by SI. He clearly hadn't been playing attention to the world around him, but he was sure his PA would tell him it had something to do with his previously self-absorbed ego. Pepper had already begun a list of candidates Tony wanted to have second interviews with, for actual positions in the new tech division. Happy was glad for a chance to sit down as Rhodey joined them in their conference room to eat the lunch Taffy popped over to them.

"Any likely candidates?" Tony asked, spearing a hard-boiled egg half with his fork, Pepper having ordered Chef salads from Taffy.

"A couple of strong contenders for positions when you moved others to the new magic-based department, Tones," Rhodey informed them. "Several people who have gotten degrees on your education incentives, now want to use them."

"Will you forward your observations to Pepper, so we can have HR follow-up?" Tony paused. "We need to keep a better eye on those employees who are working to better themselves – I would always rather promote from within."

Rhodey nodded and Tony hid a smile as he watched his friend pick through the lettuce to get to the strips of meat in his salad. Tony did have a suspicion about Miles, who had always been able to do miracles in R&D, but didn't seem to have magic and he suspected might be a Squib. He shook his head, not sure how he'd lived without his magic for so long. Even now, he could feel it under humming under his skin.

"Happy, did all the security personnel get their sandwiches?" Pepper asked, her fork in one hand and a paper in the other.

Tony's bodyguard was rooting around in his salad like Rhodey, looking for the world like he'd kill for a burger. "Yeah, those roast beef ones looked really good."

Covering a laugh with a cough, Tony gestured with his fork. "If you want to go check on them, there's probably one left—"

Happy was gone before Tony finished and the rest of them laughed.

"I don't know why he doesn't like the salad?" Pepper muttered darkly. "Tony, the first interview after lunch is Liam Yaxley, a British expat who has been on Obadiah's security staff for about three years."

Sitting up straighter, Tony took the resume from Pepper and scanned it. Alarms sounded as he saw a Scottish boarding school listed as well as a prior job as a bodyguard to a "Noble" family. Meeting Rhodey's eyes, Tony handed over the paper.

"Make sure Happy gets a heads up when you go that way, please, Platypus," Tony directed. "It'll be interesting to see which way he goes."

As the time approached for the interviews to start up again, Tony made use of the restroom attached to the conference room. As he dried his hands, he looked around the room, some instinct had him casting a detection spell, only to have two areas light up in red. Stepping back out, Tony shut the door softly.

"Max," he called softly.

The house-elf appeared instantly and bowed. "Yes, Master Tony?"

"Please secure this restroom – there are at least two surveillance devices inside. Also make sure no one can Apparate or Portkey into it or this conference room."

"Wes can do, Master Tony!" Max popped away as Pepper watched him.

As Tony seated himself, the door opened and Happy ushered in Liam Yaxley. The man greeted them with a wide smile and Tony nodded to the man as he sat down. Pepper began asking him the questions they had prepared in advanced, ones that danced around the edge of asking whether the applicant knew about magic. Concentrating on the man, Tony feel the man's magic – an oily, slimy aura. Yaxley kept his right arm raised upward, leaning against the arm of the chair and Tony could just see the tip of his wand. Yaxley kept up the charming demeanor, answering Pepper's questions promptly; waxing poetically when she asked him why he wanted to be head of security for the new department.

Tired of the bullshit, Tony leaned forward and cleared his throat. As Yaxley looked at him, Tony could see the contempt in his eyes before it was masked.

"So, Yaxley, in your opinion is a Cleansweep better quality or a Nimbus?"

Yaxley laughed. "Cleansweeps are rubbish – the Nimbus, of course."

Tony had his wand in his hand and a Protego shield cast in front of Pepper, even as Yaxley processed what he'd said, but before he could do anything, Happy was on his feet with his gun in his hand, Max at his side. The door burst opened and several uniformed Aurors charged in. Captain Proudfoot followed at a more sedate pace, closing the door behind her.

"His magical signature matches the tracking spell you had on you, Tony," she announced as her Aurors tied the man up. "And I've been authorized to use Veritaserum."

Tony smirked as Happy holstered his weapon. "Hap, will you tell the next candidate we'll be a couple extra minutes, please?"

"Sure, boss."

Proudfoot came over to the table, her back to Yaxley as Tony stood next to Pepper's chair, left hand on her shoulder. "You have any specific questions you would like answered?"

Taking a deep breath, Tony let it out slowly. "I'd like to find out if Stane knows about Harry, who gave the orders to put the tracker on me," another breath, "what does he know about Stane illegally selling weapons."

Tony sat back and watched, filing away the bastard's answers in a way that Tony could have immediate recall of them. Yaxley was a Death Eater, loyal to the wizard who had killed Lily and James, and almost killed Harry. Stane knew about magic, had known since Howard had told him about working with them during World War II. Dumbledore had worked with Howard and Captain America, against Hitler and Grindelwald. Stane thought of Tony as a figurehead for Stark Industries and had started to sell weapons to terrorists after Tony's parents were killed and Tony took over as CEO. Stane knew about Harry and was working to kidnap his son, to sell him back to Dumbledore – if they killed Tony to do it, all the better. The last question had Yaxley giving them a list of the witches and wizards working for Stark Industries, who were loyal to Stane.

Tony's mind was whirling and he'd already thrown up Pepper's perfectly elegant executive lunch, stress twisting in his stomach, as the Aurors transport Yaxley back to their offices in San Francisco. Auror Captain Graves and Auror Shacklebolt appeared on scene and now flanked Tony, Happy standing stalwartly behind him. While the no-maj applicants were continuing, the next magical interview had been pushed back an hour.

Requesting the conference room and restroom be swept again, Tony took a deep breath, centered himself and Apparated to his bedroom. He had a driving need to check on Harry and Sirius and made his way down toward the main level. He smiled as he heard Harry talking excitedly, the low rumble of Sirius' voice, and his son's happy laughter.

Harry looked up as Tony came down the stairs and slid off his stool to greet him. "Papa!"

Tony scooped his son up, hugged him tightly, before throwing him into the air and catching him.

"Papa! I drawed you a picture!" Harry took off up the stairs.

Surrounded by cookie making ingredients, Sirius wiped off his hands and stepped out to greet him as Tony walked into the kitchen. He frowned when he saw the look on Tony's face.

"Tones, what's wrong?"

Tony walked into Sirius, looping his arms around his waist. "Obadiah's security supervisor is a Death Eater and admitted they're conspiring with Dumblefuck."

He was glad when Sirius' arms pulled him close and held him tightly. "I just needed to see you two for a minute and make sure you were all right."

"Papa?"

Hearing Harry's tentative voice, Tony pasted a smile on his face as Sirius stepped back. "Let me see your picture and then you can give me a hug like Padfoot did."

Harry held up his arms and Tony picked him up, setting him on the breakfast bar. A drawing of who Tony believed was he and Sirius, each holding the hand of a small stick figure with green eyes.

"That's a beautiful picture, bambino! We'll have to ask Taffy to have it framed so I can put it up in my office!"

Tony lifted his son into his arms and squeezed him, kissing his cheeks. "Be good for Uncle Sirius, kiddo, and I'll be home soon. Then we'll do something fun, okay?"

"Ok, Papa – me and Uncle Sirius are going to bake more cookies for the party tomorrow!"

Setting Harry back down, Tony spelled the flour off the front of his suit and waved before Apparating back to the conference room. Pepper and Happy were standing to one side, Happy's arm around her waist and Tony smiled. Finally! The two had been dancing around each other for months.

"Everything okay at home?" Pepper asked, arching a brow but not stepping away from Happy.

"Yes," Tony brushed his hand down his suit. "They're baking cookies for tomorrow."

Pepper gave Happy a peck on the lips and walked to Tony. Cupping his chin, Pepper brushed something off his check, probably flour, Tony deduced.

"Thanks, Mom," he chirped in an imitation of Harry, making his friends laugh.

"And, no, Pep, we aren't adopting Tony – he's a magnet for trouble!" Happy grumbled good-naturedly as he walked back towards the door. "You ready for the next one?"

Tony exchanged a glance with Pepper as they resumed their places at the table and then nodded at Happy.

"Bring in the next one!"

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Harry's fifth birthday dawned sunny and bright, with the promise of being a hot day. Tony and Sirius both hid their faces in pillows, with Harry sandwiched between them. They had talked until long after midnight about the interviews and the just over a hundred magical individuals he and Pepper had been able to identify employed by SI.

"Sir, the time is 6:30am, the temperature in Thousand Oaks is 75 degrees, with a light wind –"

"JARVIS, why are you waking me up at this ungodly hour?" Tony groused.

"Because you requested I wake everyone up who will be accompanying you and Master Harry to the petting zoo in Thousand Oaks this morning."

Tony groaned, as Harry began to stir beside him.

"Of course, sir, to be transparent, Master Harry wanted everyone awake at 5:30am—"

"Thank you, Mr. JARVIS!" Harry popped up, practically vibration with excitement. "Uncle Sirius, wake up!"

Tony snorted as his son jumped on his godfather's back and decided the best thing was to slid out of bed quietly—Harry had other ideas.

"Papa! I'm five already!" A huge smile split Harry's face as he tumbled off Sirius and in to Tony's lap.

Taffy wisely made a breakfast which was heavy on proteins and light on sugar, introducing Harry to bacon and egg sandwiches. She also packed a hamper with fruit, meat pies, vegi sticks, juice and tea. Tony was thankful for the Warming Charm on his coffee mug as Happy drove he, Rhodey, Pepper, Sirius, and Harry the thirty minutes to the petting zoo. Another car with security personnel behind them, and an Auror escort in front of them, Arcturus electing to stay at the mansion.

Harry, dressed identical to Tony, down to the baseball cap and sunglasses, was delighted when he found they had a whole hour to go from animal to animal before the park opened for the general public. Mesmerized by the quick efficiency of the attendants as they fed and took care of the barnyard critters, Harry asked a non-stop string of questions, which the staff answered with smiles. Tony held his breath as they got ready to leave out the back, as there was already a line at main entrance. It had been obvious Harry had adored a number of the animals and Tony was deathly afraid Harry would want to take at least one home. Despite a wishful glance at the baby goats, Harry obediently took Tony's hand to walk back to the car.

Despite having the picnic lunch which Taffy had packed, Tony had Happy pull into a fast-food hamburger place and go through the drive-through. He figured the Bentley could make it through and he was hungry for a burger. Apparently, so was Harry and even Pepper laughed at the delighted face of the birthday boy, who'd never had a cheeseburger before. Happy further thrilled the birthday boy by taking the long way back, driving down the coastal highway.

The afternoon party on the deck, under a series of awnings and umbrellas turned out very enjoyable. The adults were treated to pleasant temperatures under a warm sun, with the fog bank hovering near the horizon, promising an evening cool down. Harry splashed in the pool after he showed Tony how much he'd learned from Sirius. They'd kicked a ball around the yard and Harry opened a present from each of his guests. As much as Tony wanted to spoil Harry rotten with a mountain of gifts, the mind healer they were all talking to cautioned Tony and Sirius from overwhelming the little boy who couldn't ever remember receiving one.

Dinner had been fish and chips with mashy peas, another first for Harry and delicious. He's eaten enthusiastically, although his eyes kept straying to the adorable birthday cake Taffy had shaped to look like Harry's new miniature car. His son dutifully ate most of his dinner and helped clean the table, insisting on doing his usual chore, before sitting at the breakfast bar and staring at the cake. The five candles were lit and Harry squirmed as he waited for everyone to finish singing to him, clearly uncomfortable with the attention, even from his family. Taffy cut pieces and Harry (and Tony) was amazed to see layers of chocolate and white cake under the frosting. Both layers were delicious and Taffy declared that Harry would be able to chose a favorite now, as he'd tasted both. Tony loved the cake, but thought the blueberry ice cream was even batter.

Harry's favorite gifts were the child's training broom Sirius and Rhodey conspired to get him and the battery-operated drivable car Tony had built him. Modeled after his own 1994 silver Porsche 911RS, Tony had made it with simple circuit boards and a take apart "engine" they could take about and put back together. Sirius had helped him, bemoaning the loss of the Harley he'd modified to fly – at which Tony gave him the side-eye. While he'd love to see the flying motorcycle, he didn't want Harry flying on anything but the carefully charmed kid's broom.

Tony made sure there were plenty of bubbles in the bathtub that evening and helped Harry have a sea battle for a little while, but he could see how tired his little boy was. Helping Harry dry himself, the five-year-old insisted he was old enough to get himself dressed. He smothered a laugh as he went downstairs. Tony was proud of himself, he'd retrieved Harry, he'd only has the occasional drink, usual a glass of scotch – and more surprisingly, he hadn't missed it. Sirius looked up with a smile as Tony came into sight, nursing a small glass of firewhiskey.

"Everyone else gone?" Tony asked as stood at the bottom of the stairs waiting for Harry.

"Pepper and Happy went on for a walk." Sirius wagged his eyebrows suggestively. "Grandfather headed to bed and I think Rhodey is still out on the deck."

Tony laughed and turned as he heard footsteps padding along the upstairs hallway. He smiled at Harry, clad in red pajamas and dressing gown, he was rubbing his eyes tiredly as he approached the top step and tripped.

It seemed to happen in slow motion, Harry's startled then fearful look, his mouth opening to scream. Tony threw up his hands, stretching his arms wide as his feet carried him towards the stairs, yelling Harry's name. All of a sudden, Harry was in his arms, his son desperately clinging to him and sobbing. Afterwards, Tony was never quite sure whether Tony Summoned him or Harry Apparated into his arms, or a combination of both.

"I'm sorry, Papa! I did bad! I'm sorry!" Harry wailed, shaking in Tony's arms.

Tony was shaking himself; his legs unsteady as he tried to sooth Harry. "You didn't do anything wrong, son! And I so glad you have magic and weren't hurt!"

Arms wrapped around both of them and Sirius buried his face in Harry's tousled hair. "Hey, kiddo, that was spectacular! What a strong little wizard you are!"

"It was pretty awesome, mini-me, although I do think my heart skipped a beat!"

Sniffling, Harry lifted his head. "Not gonna send me back?"

"Oh, hell no!" Tony bit out. "Never going to happen, son! You are stuck with me!"

"And me, pup!" Sirius interjected, arms tightening.

Needless to say, Harry slept between the two men that night, and none of them had a nightmare.

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