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Harry loved the beach. Tony grinned as he stood watching his little boy squealed as he played in the surf, running away from the waves as they broke on the beach and then chasing them back to the water's edge. Sirius was jogging alongside him, laughing wildly as he kept an eye on Harry. They were on a small strip of private beach adjacent to where Tony's house sat perched, within view of the Pacific Coast Highway and a large public beach adjoining it. Tony knew they were attracting attention, but couldn't care less; Pepper was up at the house now, already preparing a press release to announce Tony had become a father.
"You are a hard man to find, Anthony Stark," Tony heard a familiar voice say in a conversational tone. "Now, you have a few things which belong to me and I want them back."
Diving to the side, Tony could feel the hot prickle of a spell brushing against his arm as he hit the sand and kept moving toward the blanket where he'd left his wand. Panic clawed at his throat as Tony desperately held his hand out and was surprised as his wand slapped into his palm. Diving abruptly in the opposite direction, dodging another red jet of spell light, Tony stumbled to his feet and ran towards the water where he could see Sirius was down on the sand.
"Papa!" Harry screamed and Tony's heart stuttered as he searched for his son as he zigzagged across the beach, dodging a fiery orange spell.
As soon as he saw his son, at the water's edge, covered with a golden dome shield and Max at his side, Tony changed direction towards Sirius.
"iBombardo!/i" Tony casted at the old bastard's feet just as he jumped backwards to avoid a sickly yellow spell. "iStupefy/i"
"You will surrender both the child and my wand to me," Albus Dumbledore, dressed in eye-searing orange robes, pointing his wand at Tony as he continued to zig-zag down the beach.
A crowd had gathered along the fence at the edge of the beach, watching in disbelief. Tony moved to stand in front of Harry and Sirius, casting as strong a Shielding Spell as he could. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye, but kept his trained-on Dumbledore.
"Pretty brazen of you to come here, Dumbledore," Tony spat out. "Max!"
There was a pop of displaced air and Tony knew Max had taken Harry away.
"I have diplomatic immunity here, Mr. Stark – being Chief Mugwamp of the International Confederation of Wizards has it's benefits." Dumbledore smirked. "I will take what is mine and then erase all your memories of your son and magic." Dumbledore put on a sorrowful expression. "I am thankful you returned here, as I wouldn't have been able to do anything while you were in England. Those restraining orders were a bit of a bother."
Tony heard a groan from Sirius and hastily cast a localized iProtego/i over him. "You want my son to groom him to fight for you. How much of a coward does that make you?"
Dumbledore's face went slack and anger blazed in his eyes. "He is the child of Prophecy; he has a role to play."
"No." Tony stood his ground as the old bastard stepped toward him, wand coming up. "This is a war for adults to fight, not a child! You fucking know Riddle isn't dead and yet you are sitting on your ass, doing nothing."
He watched as Dumbledore raised his wand again, fire in the old fuck's eyes.
The single gunshot threw Dumbledore face-first to the ground and Taz had him bound with a snap of his fingers. Tony folded to his knees next to Sirius as Happy kept his gun trained on Dumbledore, coming around to kick the hand still holding the wand. Seeing the other beach goers had scattered, Tony also kept his wand trained on Dumbledore.
"Thanks, Happy," he got out, trying to get his breathing under control. "Sirius—"
Multiple cracks of Apparition sounded around them and Tony hoped it was the cavalry. Knowing Harry was safe was the most important thing.
"Mr. Stark? I'm Auror Fontaine, from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, I need you to lower your wand."
Looking up seemed to take a lot of effort, but Tony had to make sure. The man was dressed in black with an insignia on the front of his shirt.
"Do you know Robert Graves?" Tony demanded.
The man nodded, a sneer on his face. "Everyone knows Captain Graves!"
"Sounds about right," Tony muttered, lowering his wand. "Their good, Happy."
"You know you are bleeding, Stark?"
Tony ignored the question, having only enough energy to turned towards Sirius. "iRennervate/i."
Everything went dark.
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Tony woke up abruptly, a weigh laying across his chest, and the soft sound of sobbing. The bright light flooding the room told him it was still daylight as he struggled to sit up.
"Papa!"
Small arms wrapped around his throat and Tony took a blow to the chin from the top of his son's head. Wrapping his arms around Harry, Tony blinked as several pairs of hands assisted in helping him sit up. Tony could see he was on the couch in his living room and as he tightened his hold on Harry, he could feel the pull of newly mended skin along his left side and shoulder. Sirius sat down beside him and wrapped the two of them in his arms and Happy looked like he wanted to do the same.
"What did that bas—man hit me with?" Tony groaned as he laid his head against the top of Sirius'.
"Cutting Hex," came an unfamiliar voice. "Among other things."
Tony squinted at the woman standing near the windows. A cup of coffee materialized in front of him on the low table and he shifted Harry a little so he could reach it. Sirius left his arm around Tony's shoulders as the woman stepped in front of them
"Auror Captain Jodi Proudfoot, Mr. Stark. I'm sorry we had to meet this way." The woman, dressed in what Tony was becoming to recognize as the Aurors uniform, although this one seemed a little more ornate.
Waving off her apology, Tony eased Harry into his lap. "How did ihe/i find us? Gringotts ward smiths have layered the property in wards and protective fields!"
Proudfoot sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Your wards are formattable, Mr. Stark, however, someone apparently was able to cast a tracking spell on you when you went to Stark Industries this morning."
"Well, shit!" Tony cursed, dredging up a smile when Harry giggled quietly. "That brings up a problem I hadn't thought of."
"I wouldn't be surprised if you have a number of no-majborn magicals working for you, Mr. Stark," Proudfoot informed him. "And I suspect there may be a few with connections to England."
"Do you think you can track down who put the tracking charm on Tony?" Sirius asked. "I know during my time with the British Auror Corp, we were able to search the magical signature left at crime scenes."
Proudfoot nodded, pacing in front of them. "I'll contact my cousin, who works for your DMLE and see if he can assist, quietly, as this person may be a UK transplant."
"Contact either Proudfoot, Shacklebolt, or Amelia Bones, they all helped me retrieve Harry from his irelatives/i and know the situation."
Pepper stepped forward, making Tony jump as he hadn't even realized she was there. "Why not have them come to us?" she asked, sitting on the arm of the couch next to Tony and handing Harry a shortbread cookie.
Tony looked at her with wide eyes. He hadn't given her anything but a rudimentary overview of magic as he hadn't secured permission to tell her or Rhodey yet.
Proudfoot laughed at his expression. "I was filling Ms. Potts in, Mr. Stark, while you were being seen to by the healer. She had witnessed the attack from your deck and was instrumental in comforting young Mr. Potter—"
"Stark," Harry corrected her around a mouthful of shortbread.
"—Stark when the house-elf transported him back to the house."
Tony nodded, arching an eyebrow at Pepper in inquiry.
"Send out an email to all the SI employees about a new research development project you are looking into, code named something magical and invite them to apply to help with it," Pepper suggested. "Offer those chosen a bonus." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It will intrigue those who recognize the name and may draw out our spy."
Proudfoot nodded her head. "That is an excellent idea, Ms. Potts, and we can have Aurors at any interviews."
"Besides, I know you, Tony," Pepper said, giving him a calculated look. "You are going to find a way to invent tech which will work around magic."
Sirius laughed at the look on Tony's face. "Something like Project Patronus or the Quidditch Project!"
"We are more Quadpot players over here, Mr. Black." Proudfoot smirked.
Harry squirmed in his lap and Tony set him on his feet. "Can I go see Taffy, Papa?"
"Of course, bambino," Tony told him, brushing back his hair.
They all watched as Harry headed back towards the kitchen, before Tony turned back to his guest.
"Is that bastard still alive?" Tony spat out.
Proudfoot sighed and rubbed her fingers across her forehead. "Unfortunately, Mr. Stark, he is. If your bodyguard had aimed just an inch or so lower, it might have been a different story. His position in the International Conference of Wizard did indeed give him diplomatic immunity, however, he was incorrect about the restraining orders he was served with – they transcend international boundries. So, he was turned over to ICW Aurors, banned from the United States along with a long list of charges. I know for a fact he has lost his position in both the ICW and the British Wizengamot."
Tony shook his head and exchanged a look with Sirius. "That's not going to stop him. Lily said he's been strangely obsessed with Harry since before he was born."
"I would advise you to add proximity wards around the property, Mr. Stark—"
"Sir, Major Rhodes is driving up the driveway." JARVIS interrupted.
"Thanks, J, let him in."
"Probably time for me to leave," Proudfoot said, flexing her wrist and her wand sliding into her hand.
"Rhodey is in the loop, if that's what you are worried about," Tony told her. "He's been my best friend since I was fourteen."
The front door slammed open. "Tony!"
"I'm here, Platypus," Tony called, standing up.
Rhodes, still dressed in his desert camouflage uniform, came hurtling up the stairs. Eyes sweeping back and forth, he zeroed in on Tony and enfolded him in a hug. "Are you alright? There was something on the news about you being attacked?"
Tony clung to his best friend for a long minute before stepping back. "Yeah, I'm fine, Honey Bear—"
"Oh my god, is that Sirius Black?"
"Hey, Rhodey!" Sirius grinned and Tony rolled his eyes, the memory of partying with the two of them resurfacing.
"Papa!" Harry called as he carefully came down the stairs, skirting around Rhodey to hide behind Tony's leg. "Papa, who's that?"
Rhodey folded to his knees. "Oh my – is that Harry?"
Tony reached behind him, before gasping when he stretched newly healed skin. Sirius muttered something uncomplimentary under his breath as he picked Harry up and lifted him into Tony's arms.
"Baby, I want you to meet your other godfather –"
"Hey!" Sirius yelped.
"—Papa's best friend, James Rhodes. He's pulled Papa out of more gutter—"
Pepper coughed loudly.
"—bad situations than anyone else in the world." Tony rolled his eyes as Harry giggled.
"And they gave you custody of an innocent child?" Proudfoot muttered.
"Platypus, this is Auror Captain Proudfoot of MACUSA."
Proudfoot nodded her head before looking at Tony. "Let us know when you need us to assist, Mr. Stark. I left my card with Ms. Potts. We will be in touch." She turned and walked down the stairs toward the front door.
Tony looked around the room, still holding Harry on his right hip. "Let's go up to the kitchen."
They had planned to have their lunch on the beach, but Dumbledore's attack had derailed that idea and Tony knew he and Sirius couldn't miss a meal. Rhodey's response made Tony wonder if there had been a block placed on his best friend's memories, as well.
Taffy had lunch set up on the large deck and Harry clapped his hands with delight as he declared it was their beach picnic. Still a bit shy with two new people in their midst, Harry was mostly quiet but Tony and Sirius were able to draw him out. He fell asleep sitting on Sirius' lap and Tony picked him up to lay him down for a nap.
Stepping back out onto the deck, Tony heard Rhodey ask what had happened. Pepper was able to give a very accurate overview, as Sirius had been stunned immediately and Tony too bust trying to get to his son and friend.
"It was my fault," Tony admitted. "I thought we were safe because we were within sight of the house and, I thought, no one knew we were here. I had Taz stay at the house and Max stayed in the car with Happy. Thank goodness for the both of you, Happy!"
"Well, that old guy wasn't quiet about what he was doing!" Happy's face darkened. "I just knew I had to come up on his blind side to be able to get a shot before he stunned me and Max was right with me."
"We need to add dueling practice to teaching you some Auror grade defense spells, Tony," Sirius added as he pushed his plate away. "I can't believe how rusty I am!"
"And maybe Happy and I need to start you on some weapons training, Tones." Rhodey looked thoughtful. "In some circumstances, it sounds like getting a shot off would be quicker than unholstering your wand and then casting."
"And we need to make sure we keep the house-elves close and not get complacent," Tony resolved.
Pepper put a hand on his arm. "This is new territory for all of us, Tony."
Tony nodded, exchanging a look with Sirius. They would need to do better and they both knew it.
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