hr
Tony looked around the meeting room, eyes sweeping over the room, arranged classroom style with long, narrow tables and chairs, a pad and pen at each place. Along the back of the room were larger tables with neatly stacked white boxes holding various types of salads and sandwiches, pitchers of tea, lemonade, and water, with carafes of coffee. At the far end were trays of cookies and brownies. Thirty of his employees, including members of security, transportation, and the aviation departments had been summoned to a mandatory meeting. Each one had knowledge of Tony's travel plans and they hoped to locate who had leaked information about Tony's return from New York the week before.
Happy stuck his head into the room. "People are starting to arrive," he informed Tony.
Nodding, Tony walked toward the podium at the front of the room. "Let them in, Happy, and tell them to help themselves to lunch."
A table set below the dais was set up similar to the rest of the room, except it faced the room. Two places were laid out, Tony's laptop at one and a white sandwich box beside each, cups of coffee, and a plate of cookies. There were a dozen security trained Potter house-elves invisible around the room, and security cameras connected directly to JARVIS, recording everything. They had decided not to add anything to the food or drink; Maggie Garcia had cast her spell over each seat in the room, except for Tony's and Pepper's chairs. Tony sat down and opened his lunchbox, knowing Taffy had personally made his sandwich.
As Pepper led the first of the employees in, her ever-present file folders in hand, Tony took a bite of his sandwich. Flavors exploded on Tony's tongue, and he hummed in pleasure, marveling at how Taffy made a chicken salad sandwich so tasty. Taking another bite, Tony gave Pepper a nod as she sat beside him, her own lunchbox in her hand. He recognized the marking on the box and wasn't surprised to see it was one of the salads. Happily finishing his sandwich, Tony felt more and more eyes on him as the room began to fill up. Keeping a surreptitious eye on the room. He could see several people sit down without getting any of the refreshments and Tony hid a smirk behind his coffee cup.
Like most work meetings, the room filled up from the back to the front and Tony reached for a peanut butter cookie as he waited for Happy to signal everyone was there. Pepper set a document above his lunch box and went to work on her salad. Restraining himself from an eyeroll, Tony tapped on his laptop and pulled the same document up from his email. While he knew the information by heart, having written it with Proudfoot and Graves the night before, Tony went over it again. The beginning was an announcement, updating and tightening the release of any information pertaining to Stark Industries, Tony, his family, or company products. Each employee would receive a copy of the agenda, on paper spelled to prevent those with any magic from talking about what happened in the meeting.
His phone vibrated and Tony saw it was from Happy. Wiping his fingers on his napkin, Tony washed the last of his cookie down with a swallow of coffee and stood up. He stepped up onto the podium and reached to take the microphone from its stand.
"Good afternoon, everyone," Tony told them, his media smile in place. "I hope you are enjoying your lunch – the peanut butter cookies are particularly tasty."
There was a cheer from the group and Tony nodded as he heard several thank-yous yelled at him. Sweeping his eyes across attendees, Tony noticed two of those who had chosen not to eat sitting in the back, in the seats nearest the door. There was another seated in the very front row, a latecomer who had no other choice of where to sit. As Tony looked at the woman, he saw a look of pure hatred directed at him and a chill went down his spine. His eyes flashed up to Happy's, watching from the back, who gave him a tiny nod of acknowledgement.
"While you all eat, I just wanted to go over some changes in policies here at Stark Industries, especially concerning the released of information to individuals outside the company." Tony paused for a moment. "How many of you would provide information to people outside of SI for some kind of compensation?"
He knew what was going to happen but was still stunned into silence when half-a-dozen hands went up. Taking a deep breath, Tony continued, as if nothing had happened.
"There is concern among the Board of Directors that their personal information is being compromised," he gave them a fake smile, "afraid of the old i'loose lips sink ships'/i adage. How many of you have provided information on myself or one of my employees in exchange for monetary reward?"
Most of the same hands went up again and Tony saw several of his magical security force silently slide into the room. His eyes sweeping the room, Tony could see the two men in the back row grinning as they put their hands down, not giving a thought to what they had admitted to. The woman at the front hadn't raised her hand, but she hadn't stopped trying to murder him with her eyes. Turning away from her, Tony waved a hand at Happy, signaling him to have the document passed out.
"These documents acknowledge you've been advised of the new policies, so please sign them. Anyone found releasing unauthorized information will be immediately terminated and handed over to the authorities, if deemed necessary."
Tony jumped down from the platform and walked over to the woman in the front row. "I take it you would hand me over to someone free of charge, given your attitude."
The woman made a sound, no doubt some twisted form of laugh. "I'd kill you with my bare hands if I could, Stark, or I'd give you up to whoever wanted to do the job for me. More importantly, I look forward to getting my hands on that kid of yours, I understand he'd fetch a large price in some quarters, after I'd sold his virginity to the highest bidder."
There was a sudden roaring in his ears and Tony saw red as he valiantly struggled to hold on to his magic as it threatened to explode out of him. There were too many nonmagicals in the room to let it go, and the woman knew that as she stared at him smugly. A fist came into his narrowed range of sight and hit the woman's jaw, coldcocking her in a flash of strawberry blond hair. Jodi Proudfoot was there immediately, surreptitiously binding the unconscious woman to her chair.
The maelstrom of his emotions twisted inside him, and Tony took a deep breath, willing his magic down as he turned to Pepper, who was shaking out her hand, with a dark scowl on her face. Wrapping an arm around her, Tony stepped back, pulling Pepper with him, and allowed the security personnel to do their jobs, checking documents and escorting the employees out of the room. Seven people, five men and two women, had been stuck to their chairs and immobilized by the still invisible house-elves. Happy moved closer to them as he oversaw the operation, sending a concerned look at Pepper as she continued to cradle her hand.
As soon as the room was cleared, Tony turned and wrapped Pepper in his arms. "Harry's lucky to have you as his godmother," he managed to force out hoarsely.
Pepper gave him a wobbly smile and hugged him back. "I'd say I was sorry, but I'm not," she told him in a shaky voice. "What kind of animal says things like that?"
Tony could only shake his head as he surveyed the room over her shoulder. The seven people had been separated and each had a magical guard, while they waited for Proudfoot to question them further. Standing between the suspects and them, Happy had his gun in hand and a look that said he was just waiting for an opportunity to shoot the bitch.
They stayed at the opposite end of the meeting room and Tony erected a privacy shield as they watched the Aurors interaction with the suspects. Taking a moment, Tony had mirror called Remus, just to make sure Harry was all right. Sirius would be at a fund raiser for Emrys House at the moment and would head back by portkey later that afternoon. Pepper had an ice pack on her knuckles, waiting for updates from Happy.
Both jumped when Taffy popped in with a refreshment tray, throwing hateful glares at the woman who was now under a full body bind and a silencing charm. Tony would have sworn he heard the fierce little house-elf growl at the bitch. She snapped her fingers casually before turning back with a smug expression on her face.
"Evil Squib will never get near little master," she spat before popping away.
Tony stared after her. "Don't ever piss off a house-elf."
"I would never!" Pepper exclaimed, a small smile appearing.
They finished the little lemon tarts and coffee Taffy had brought them as they discussed several ways to diversify the different areas SI was already in, including doing more specialized munitions and protective clothing for special forces troops and SWAT teams. Tony had a call into Peggy Carter to see if she could help him track down Howard's notes on the arc reactor, which he was trying to reverse-engineer. The reactor powered a large manufacturing plant as well as several warehouses on the SI property here and was self-generating, without the pollutants of other power sources. If Tony's theory was right, he could make the reactor various sizes and power output, depending on the need.
"Boss?"
Tony looked up at Happy as he slipped into their bubble, looking a little less tense and without his gun in sight.
"Hey, Hap, what did you find out?"
Helping himself to a mini-tart, Happy took a bite, washing it down with a sip of coffee. "Three of these people are just idiots, who liked to brag about knowing you better than they did."
Tony watched with a little impatience as Happy stopped to take another bite of the tart, before he realized Happy probably hadn't had any lunch. He dragged a hand through his already rumpled hair and took a deep breath.
"The iwoman/i in the front is actually Liam Yaxley's sister, who shared his blood-purist prejudice, despite most of their family treating her as a pariah. Apparently the two of them were close and she blames you for his being in prison. She admits to trying to stalk you but didn't have any true knowledge."
Finishing the tart, Happy tilted up the coffee cup to drain it and wiped his fingers on a napkin. "The other three are non-magical employees who willingly sold information on your whereabouts and flight schedules. They've apparently been doing it for some time, arrangements originally brokered by Stane."
A mixture of relief and disbelief flowed through him; relief they knew who had leaked the information and disbelief that his godfather had been orchestrating his life for so long. Tony couldn't help but wonder when he might have become expendable to Stane, a chill racing down his spine as he contemplated the scenario. He had no doubt, at some point in the future, he would have become more of a liability to Stane than an asset.
"Happy, let's have each department hold their own meetings and introduce the new policies."
Tony felt the need to move and got up out of the chair. "Pepper, could you please help with the arrangements and make it companywide. I'm tired of the lies the media have printed about me, and while it was amusing for a while, I wouldn't like my son to hear about it."
Leaving the two of them to make the arrangements, Tony stepped into the restroom and Apparated home.
hr
Tony was still a bit unsettled several days later, which manifested itself in being even more over-protective than he'd already been. Their security force as well as the house-elves had been given the information learned from the meeting at SI. Sirius agreed with Tony that the level of the threat had risen to the point of shoot first, ask question later when it came to Harry's safety. New protocols were put into place with JARVIS as well and saferooms were built in the mansion – one on each floor. Neither Tony nor Sirius was taking any chances.
Harry, thankfully, didn't pick up on the undertone of tension in the adults in his life. While he was still quiet, he clearly enjoyed learning and socializing with the other children in his little class. Remus was able to customize the lessons for each of the children, making sure everyone was challenged by the subjects. Tony sat in several afternoons, especially when Remus would instruct on magical holidays and customs, both British and American. As it was October, Remus had been teaching the children about Samhain, and how it differed from Halloween, as well as the customs of various cultures around the world.
As the month progressed, Remus wove the Samhain theme throughout the lessons, from math to reading assignments to art. The children loved it. Tony, having sat in that particular afternoon, realized he had a dilemma: how was he going to explain to Harry he couldn't go trick or treating. When he brought the topic up to Happy, Pepper, and Sirius at dinner one night, after Harry had gone to bed. Sirius looked baffled while Pepper just arched her eyebrow.
"Arrange for SI to have a Halloween party for the employees and allow them to bring their kids in to the office Halloween afternoon, in costume, then they can go to each department and trick or treat."
Blinking, Tony looked at her before grinning widely. "You're brilliant, Pepper!"
"I know." Pepper deadpanned, making everyone else laugh.
"It's a perfect solution and it will keep the kids safe as well," Happy reasoned, smiling proudly at Pepper. "I would make sure there were no masks, though."
"You could encourage the parents to dress up as well, Tony," Sirius suggested, an evil glint in his eye.
Nodding, Tony readily agreed with both suggestions, and Pepper took responsibility for setting the event up. Sirius' smile dimmed a tad when Tony drafted him into helping give out candy, in costume. And Happy was smart enough to hightail it out of the mansion before he was mandated to wear a costume.
"JARVIS, please order the top 10 candy bars for us to give away!" Tony ordered, his mind already thinking about the cutest costumes for Harry to wear.
"And bags of M&M, please!" Pepper interjected.
"Would you like me to choose a variety of the most popular sweets, Sir?"
"As long as Harry likes some of them, sure," Tony answered, his mind focused on costumes.
A week later, Tony was in his workshop, tinkering with an upgrade to the communication mirrors which were flying off the shelves. He was trying to extend the distance the devices could cover by adding an enhancement to the power rune, Uruz. If properly inserted into the runic array, it should be able to double the range they would transmit. One hand absently rubbing over a scorch mark on the work bench from his last try, Tony studied the different runes. While he was sure either Sirius or Remus would be able to correct the array in minutes, Tony was determined to try to figure it out on his own.
"Papa?"
Harry's quiet voice startled Tony and he whipped his chair around to find his son, fingers twisting in the hem of his shirt, standing in the doorway of the lab. Usually DUM-E or U would chirp when Harry was close, but both were on their chargers in the back of the room.
"Bambino? Are you all right?" Tony slid off his stool and scooped Harry into his arms.
Harry circled his arms around Tony's neck and gave him a hug, nodding his head. "Daddy said you were thinking too hard, and I should get you for lunch."
Smacking a kiss to one soft cheek, Tony ran a hand down his son's back. He was delighted Harry had gone through his first growth spurt, adding several inches in height as he gained some much-needed weight. He looked healthier and had moved up the growth chart from the bottom to the thirtieth percentile. His hair shined, his skin was a bit tan from the time Harry spent outside, and his eyes almost glowed with intelligence and mischief.
Tony drew back a little and gave Harry a horrified look. "Daddy didn't do the cooking did he?"
Giggling, Harry shook his head. "No, silly, Taffy did!"
"Oh, thank goodness!" Tony dramatically blew out a breath before reaching in to tickle Harry's side.
"Papa! Stop!" Harry laughed and squirmed, pulling his hands down to cover his stomach.
With a snort, Tony stopped and hugged Harry again, before standing up and carrying him up to the kitchen. Taffy had made a hearty stew, salad, and fresh baked bread for them. Sirius was already seated, reading a letter as he waited for them. Tony kissed the top of his head and sat Harry down on the stool between them. Setting his letter to the side, Sirius began to ladle stew into their bowls, while Tony cut and buttered slices of bread. With murmured thanks, Harry bent over his bowl and began eating. Tony met Sirius' eyes over his head; they had been working with Harry as the therapist instructed them to do, to reassure him no one would ever deny or take away food from him. It was a work in progress.
"How are you doing with the power rune?" Sirius asked between bites, his face carefully neutral.
Cocking an eyebrow, Tony glared at his partner, not surprised when Sirius caved and shot him a smirk. "I'll figure it out, dogman!"
"Papa?"
Looking down, Tony felt his heart contract as his son looked up at him with wide, too innocent eyes. "Yes, baby boy?"
"I need a costume for Samhain."
Tony recognized the puppy eyes now and smothered a grin. "Did Helena teach you how to make those killer eyes, kiddo?"
"Ah huh." Harry nodded his head proudly and Sirius snorted, almost choking on a bite of food.
Rolling his eyes, Tony leaned towards his son. "Costume, huh? Well, Samhain costumes are usually animals and—"
Harry's face screwed up in a scowl. "Animals? Not Power Rangers?"
Sirius barked out a laugh before he could contain it and Harry shot him a suspicious look. Tony bit his cheek to prevent his own smile from erupting.
"You mean you want a Halloween costume," Tony asked him softly, rewarded with a bright smile and nod as Harry continued to eat his stew. "You want to be a Power Ranger?"
"Maybe?" Harry muttered around a mouthful, eyes darting between Tony and Sirius.
"You want to be a unicorn?" Sirius asked, his face completely, well, serious.
Tony smirked at him. "Maybe a witch? Or an Auror?"
Harry's head bounced between them before scrunching up his nose. "I don't know—"
Shaking his head, Tony reached over and ran his hand through his son's hair comfortingly. "It's okay, baby boy. We'll sit down this afternoon and JARVIS can show us some of the most popular costumes kids are wearing, okay?"
Harry's face brightened and he gave Tony a wide smile. "Okay, Papa!"
The discussion was entertaining and perfect for a Sunday afternoon. Although discussion was a loose label. It turned into a planning session, complete with diagrams, schematics, and designs. Harry, to Tony's delight, decided he wanted to be Luke Skywalker for Halloween. That led to a spirited debate between Tony and Sirius as to who got to be Han Solo (as the coolest character) and what other Star Wars character was cool enough for them to be. In the end, Harry chose Tony to be Han and Sirius would be Lando Calrissian.
"At least I get a cape," Sirius said with a sniff, looking over the picture JARVIS had brought up on the TV. "Besides, I look good in blue!"
While Tony silently agreed with him, he arched an eyebrow. "You could always go as Princess Leia," he snarked and Harry giggled.
Sirius gave them both a bland look.
With their characters set, they spent the afternoon tucked up on the couch, talking about Halloween. Harry chattered excitedly about going to SI to trick or treat and all the plans the others in his class had made for the day. While he listened with a half-smile on his face, Tony used his laptop to send an email to his tailor for an appointment. He wanted them to have the most realistic costumes possible and pictured how cute Harry would be dressed as Luke. With JARVIS' help, Tony knew he could create real-looking blasters for he and Sirius, but fashioning a lightweight lightsaber for Harry might be a bit more of a challenge.
"Daddy?" Harry's voice was quiet and hesitant, catching Tony's attention.
"Yeah, pup?" Sirius set down the drink he had in his hand and turned his attention to the little boy.
Tony followed his example, setting the laptop to the side. Harry fidgeted where he sat between them, his fingers again twisting into the hem of his sweat shirt. Tony could almost feel him working up the courage to speak and reached out to lay his hand over Harry's fingers.
"Take a deep breath, bambino, and say what you want to, neither of us will get mad at you. I promise."
Harry's eyes were wide. "Mean Aunt 'tunia always locked me in my cupboard on Hallo'een, 'cause she said Mummy and Daddy James died on Hallo'een." He took another breath. "Is it okay for me to have fun then?"
"Oh, baby," Tony breathed, damning the bitch for the thousandth time. "Come here."
Harry climbed into his lap and Sirius scooted against him, putting his hand on Harry's leg. They cuddled together for several minutes, taking comfort from each other. Tony kissed Harry's temple.
"Your mummy and daddy would not have wanted you to be sad on Halloween, baby boy," Tony told him softly. "They would have wanted you to have the most fun you could, because they loved you very much, Harry."
"I remember your first Samhain," Sirius squeezing his leg gently. "Your mum dressed you up like a little dragon and you were adorable. Neither she nor James would want you to spend the day punishing yourself, pup."
Those brilliant green eyes searched first Sirius' and then Tony's face, before Harry snuggled back against Tony's chest. They sat there for several minutes, before Taffy popped in to tell them dinner was ready.
Harry had a nightmare that night and ended up sleeping between Tony and Sirius, mumbling about screaming and green lights. He was a bit quieter than normal for the next few days, but by the time Samhain arrived, he was as excited as his classmates. Tony knew Remus would have a hard time getting the children to settle down and do any real work in class, so Remus had allowed them to watch an animated cartoon about Halloween as they colored pictures of the crops normally harvested in the fall. Each child had brought in a small pumpkin to learn how it grew, clean it out, and roast the seeds, then draw a face on, which Tony and Sirius got to help with.
Tony was actually amazed that they were able to make it through the day and get everyone into their costumes without a meltdown. Harry may have been the youngest of the students, but Helena was the highest maintenance, a literal little drama queen, even though she was much older at eight. Of course, she decided she wanted to be a princess, complete with a tiara. One of Harry's classmates was dressed like a scientist in a white lab coat, and the other was dressed as a Quadpot player, but it resembled the type of uniform a jockey would wear, so safe for the no-majs at SI. Tony praised each of the children's costumes and took pictures of all four kids together, swearing silently that Harry was the cutest Luke ever.
As the time drew near for them to head out to SI, Tony began to feel anxious. In his mind, the most dangerous part of the trip would be when they arrived at SI and exited the car. Sirius stopped beside him, an arm sliding around his waist, tugging Tony against him.
"What's wrong?" Sirius asked quietly, looking amazing in his Lando costume.
Tony turned into him, so that he was pressed against Sirius' chest, face buried in his neck. "Can't we just have the house-elves pop them over?"
A hand cupped the back of his head. "There are layers and layers of protections, Tones, including Rhodey and Proudfoot riding in the van with the kids."
Taking a deep breath, Tony took a step back and let the breath out slowly. "Okay, let's go then."
He followed Sirius out to his favorite Audio, hand finding a natural resting place on his blaster (he'd never tell anyone he'd modified it to shoot a taser blast). Tony loved his costume and planned to re-wear it at the next costume gala that was held. Sliding into the driver's seat, they followed the van as it drove along the Pacific Coast Highway, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.
There were no problems with the event at all, much to Tony's relief, and many of the staff had taken the time to bring their children in. They divided the kids by age, allowing the youngest ones to go first. A large meeting room had been set up with games and non-sugar treats like fruit and veggie sticks to try and counter all the sugar. Tony was proud of his son, who was delighted to be at his Papa's work, and talked excitedly about all the things Tony invented.
By the time the older children had finished their rounds and made it to the meeting room, the younger kids were tired out. Harry walked over to where Tony and Sirius were talking to Rhodey and Pepper, dragging his bag of candy behind him. He bumped against Tony's legs and leaned forward, burying his face in Tony's thigh. Smothering a laugh, Tony brushed a hand through his son's tousled hair as Sirius took his bag.
"Are you finished walking, bambino?" Tony asked quietly.
Harry nodded and lifted his arms in the unspoken plea of small children. Scooping him up, Tony pressed a kiss to Harry's forehead as Harry wrapped his arms around his neck, laying his head on Tony's shoulder with a sigh. Sirius slipped his arm around Tony's waist, his eyes scanning the back of the room as they stood near the refreshment tables.
"Why don't you and Sirius head out, Tony?" Pepper whispered, noticing Harry had already fallen asleep. "We'll stay and finish up for you."
"Thanks, Pep," Tony answered after a glance at Sirius and leaned to kiss her cheek.
Weaving their way through the gathered crowd, Sirius using the arm around his waist to maneuver Tony between groups. They emerged from the meeting room and headed down to the front of the building where his car was parked. An escort vehicle was waiting for them at the entrance and as soon as Tony strapped Harry, who was sound asleep, into his chair, they were on the way to the mansion. There was more traffic on the road this time of the afternoon and Tony concentrated on his driving while Sirius kept watch for anything out of the ordinary.
The escort car waited until they passed through the gate and drove into the garage. JARVIS brought up the lights as Tony pulled into the parking spot next to the stairway with a relieved sigh. Sirius was already around the car and lifting Harry out of his car seat, as Tony stepped out. He arched his back to get the kinks out of it.
"JARVIS is the property secure?" Tony asked quietly.
"Yes, Sir," JARVIS responded immediately. "Only the small ones moving around."
"No unexpected anomalies or blanks in your surveillance?"
"None at all, Sir, nary a ghost nor goblin has appeared."
Tony huffed a laugh. "Excellent, J! Taz?"
The house-elf appeared beside him. "Yes, Master Tony?"
"Can you pop down to the beach and make sure everything is clear down there, please?"
"Yes, Master Tony!" Taz popped away.
Tony hit the button for the elevator and held it open for Sirius to carry Harry through. Carefully laying Harry down on one of the couches in the living room, Sirius grabbed one of the throws and covered him. Tony leaned down to kiss Harry's forehead.
"A short nap will do him good." Sirius said as he tugged Tony into his arms with a roguish smile. "Have I told you what a handsome Han Solo you make?"
Smirking, Tony tilted his head upward, his muscles finally relaxing as Sirius kissed him. He looped his arms around his boyfriend's neck and pressed closer as Sirius deepened the kiss. They had both been tense since their return from New York, despite most things going smoothly in their slowly combining lives. Sirius' hand came up to thread his fingers through the hair at the back of Tony's hair and he sighed. He'd never felt as cherished as he did in Sirius' arms.
The sound of Apparation startled them apart and Tony had his wand in his hand even as he jumped back to stand protectively in front of Harry. Sirius had reacted identically, and they both straightened as they saw Rhodey stepping out of Jodi Proudfoot's arms. Rhodey rolled his eyes as he saw them.
"You two must have been making out to have us startle you so badly," he observed with a knowing smirk.
"I'm gonna sic the kid on you, Sour Patch!"
"Consider it payback for the things you put me through at MIT, Tones!"
The two couples spent a pleasant couple of hours just relaxing and talking. It had been a while since they'd had the opportunity and they took advantage of it to talk about the upcoming holidays. About sunset, a sleepy Harry wandered over to where they were seated and climbed into Harry's lap for a cuddle. Taffy appeared with a snack of carrots and celery with a dip. After his snack, Tony carried Harry upstairs to change out of his costume into warmer clothing, taking the time to do the same.
Remus joined them for dinner, which Taffy had made using traditional Samhain dishes. A roasted pork lion with potatoes and root vegetables, biscuits with dried fruit, an apple relish, pumpkin soup, with apple tarts and apple cider for dessert. Tony made a conscious effort to keep the conversation on light, upbeat topics, allowing Harry to monopolize it for a time to describe all the cool costumes he'd seen that afternoon.
JARVIS helpfully turned the beach floodlights on after dinner, to light the way down the cliffside stairs. Everyone had taken the time to put on a jacket and Tony tugged a warm cap on Harry head to keep his ears warm. They gathered at the area of the firepit; wooden beach chairs set in circle around it. Between Rhodey and Tony, they laid a fire in the pit and Tony lit it carefully. Jodi and Sirius piled some larger rocks together and placed a wedding picture of James and Lily on it.
Tony allowed Sirius to relay the story of what happened four years before in Godric's Hallow, as Harry sat wrapped in Tony's arms. Rhodey added wood to the now roaring fire. And the spotlights went off.
Sirius took a deep breath. "James and Lily, I hope you can rest easy now, Harry is with Tony and I, and together we will raise him in the way you wanted us to. He is well, getting healthy, and will always be loved very much."
Tony gathered his thoughts for a moment. "Thank you, Lily, for you and Mom sending me my memories back, it allowed me to rescue Harry from those manipulating and abusing him. He is such a precious gift and know I will always protect him with my life."
Harry slid off Tony's lap and walked over where the picture was, reaching up to run a fingertip over the faces of his parent. "Hi Mummy and Daddy James. Papa and Daddy Padfoot are taking really good care of me and lets me eat and never hits me, I'm sad you had to go away, but I know Papa and Daddy and everyone will take care of me."
Tony pushed himself to his feet, feeling both teary and furious as he scooped Harry up and hugged him fiercely. Sirius expanded his beach chair to hold Tony and Harry, as they watched the fire burn down. The wind swirled around them, and the flames danced high while Tony watched them. At one point, Tony's heart stuttered in his chest, and he could have sworn he saw faces appear in the flames: Lily, James, and his mother.
A blink of his eyes and the images were gone.
hr
JARVIS woke Tony up at an ungodly hour the next morning. "Sir, you need to wake up."
Tony groaned and untangled himself from both Harry and Sirius, before stumbling to his feet. He made his way to the bathroom, before grabbing his dressing gown and yawning as he headed downstairs. A hot cup of coffee was waiting on the kitchen island and Tony grabbed it, silently thanking Taffy, as he took a gulp.
"All right, J, what's the emergency?" Tony tone was a bit sharp, but he knew JARVIS wouldn't wake him up for anything else.
The television nearest the kitchen came on and showed a slightly blurry picture of he and Harry at the SI Halloween party. The show was one of the early morning news shows and the anchor was talking about Tony carrying a small child, before the co-anchor threw out a comment about a secret love child. The picture changed to a slightly shaky but much clearer video of Tony carrying Harry with Sirius walking beside them, his arm around Tony's waist. His fingers tightened around the coffee cup.
"Is it the same on all the channels, JARVIS?"
Yes, Sir, apparently, whomever took the images sold them to anyone who would pay."
Tony took a deep breath. Someone had violated the SI policies by using a camera within the building. "JARVIS, see if you can hanck in and get the metadata behind those images. I want to know who took these as soon as possible."
"Already in the works, Sir. Would you like me to wake Ms. Potts?"
"Give me fifteen minutes, JARVIS, and then wake her and Happy up, please."
"As you wish, Sir."
Tony sighed, long and low. He knew this day would come and had Pepper write a press release that would automatically be sent out about Harry being Sirius' child, but he'd changed his mind. There was no reason not to just tell the truth about Harry and, besides that, the Board would be pleased to know he had an heir. And it would probably save him from some lectures.
"Taffy."
The house-elf was beside him in an instant. "Yes, Master Tony?"
Rubbing his eyes, Tony gave her a small smile. "It's going to be an early morning for everyone, could we get some oatmeal and toast going, please?"
"Of course, Master Tony."
"And lots of hot coffee, Taffy, please."
hr
Tony smoothed a hand down the front of his black pin-striped suit, his red tie the only spot of color. He slid his sunglasses onto his face and, with a nod to Pepper, stepped into the SI press room. Walking out onto the dais, Tony kept a neutral expression on his face as he stood beside the podium while dozens of flashes exploded in his face. As he stepped behind the microphone, the room full of reporters quieted down.
"Good morning, I have a brief statement to read and the first one of you who shouts at me will be escorted out and the media outlet they represent will be banned from future press conferences."
He looked around the room, noting those faces that were familiar to him.
"Since the day I was born, I have been in the media spotlight, thoroughly documenting my accomplishments, my missteps, and my failures. I have never done anything about the rumors, suppositions, and outright lies, allowing the press to have a field day with my reputation. That stops today." Tony's made eye contact with as many of the people as he could. "From this day forward, any derogatory articles or unsubstantiated rumors better have facts to back them up or my lawyers have been instructed to file lawsuits."
The room was completely silent.
"This morning a video was sold to numerous media outlets, who began broadcasting it without even trying to validate the footage, despite a minor being one of those pictured. A number of wild allegations were made by various anchors. Lawsuits were filed against every one of those media outlets and anchors as soon as the court open this morning."
There was a low hum of whispers now.
"As for the speculation involving the child pictured, I can confirm I am his biological father."
The room erupted and two of the journalists stood up, shouting. Tony made eye contact with Happy and nodded. Instantly, security guards approached the two and escorted them from the room. The rest of the attendees fell silent as they turned back towards Tony.
"I have always known about my son, as I donated sperm to enable my cousin and his wife to have him. I have been involved in his life since before he was born. My cousin and his wife were murdered, and my son has come to live with me. Along with my cousin's best friend, who is also my son's godfather, I will be raising my son. I will not tolerate unauthorized photos or videos taken of him and will bring the full weight of Stark Industries down on those who violate the law, especially those pertaining to taking pictures of an underage child."
Tony smiled slightly as the room remained quiet. He turned sideways and Harry, dressed identically, including the sunglasses, walked to his side, with Sirius, clad in a charcoal gray suit, behind him.
"His name is Harry Stark and you may take pictures for the next five minutes, but we will not be answering any questions."
The three of them stood there for the allotted five minutes, Harry's hand slipping into his as he stood still. At the signal from Happy, Tony lifted Harry, kissing the top of his head as he turned and followed Sirius to the back of the dais. Feeling like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, Tony moved toward his office, where they could Apparate home. Sirius walked beside him, hand at the small of his back. Harry pulled the sunglasses off and was fiddling with them with a little smile and Tony was glad he had made the decision to claim his son. He certainly didn't want his son to think he was ashamed of him.
The door to his office opened for them as they approached, curtesy of one of the house-elves. Now, they could start making plans for the holidays in earnest. Before that was the trial, where Tony hoped Dumblefuck would be convicted of being the manipulative bastard Tony knew he was.
hr
aHHHH
It's Halloween here – Harry was picked up by Tony on the 1st of July – came back from NYC on Sept 3rd
Skeeter somehow gets info from Dumbles – his magic temp bound when he tries to escape
Goblins find diary at Malfoys - inventory
Put together plan for Emrys Houses – where, who, funding, etc
Remus begins to tutor Harry
Rhodey and Jodi dating, Happy and Pepper together, H & P living in the mansion opposite side – 8 bedrooms/10 bathrooms
Taffy, Max, Taz, Tiffy, Zin, Lenz, Mazzy
Gringotts – Potter elves – Cliffshard / Steeljaw
School magic = lupin
Penseive – Sirius and Lupin
Dumbledore trial
Challenge Tony's paternity
Magical children – Emrys Houses for children
Stane – interviews – listening devices in Tony's apt
Aunt Peggy
Stark Expo?
Graves, Proudfoot, Maggie Garcia
Horcruxes: Harry, Huff cup, locket,
Invisibility cloak