Chapter Text
“I really hate magic,” Tony said. He was pacing back and forth inside the penthouse floor of Stark Tower. Harry stood by one of the ceiling-to-floor windows, staring out at New York City.
“I mean, how can you quantify it? How can you say, magic does X, but not Y? Why haven’t any of your scientists developed a scale for this yet?”
Harry pressed his forehead against the cool glass and, not for the first time, considered Obliviating Tony of the knowledge entirely. However, Tony was a man that he respected for various reasons and he knew that he didn’t deserve Harry’s cowardice.
“Those who would attempt to quantify magic tend toward Potions,” Harry offered. “Or spell research. It’s not really possible to quantify, as such. Magic is magic.”
Tony huffed. “Whatever. And you — you died and came back to life? Your ‘son’ is a werewolf? You fly on a goddamn broomstick? This is too much.”
Harry swallowed and bit back a grimace. “I won’t apologise for who I am.”
New York City was a dream when lit up at night. So many people lived out there, oblivious to another world hidden beneath the shadows of the Muggles. Not for the first time, Harry wondered if segregation was the right idea.
“Shit,” Tony said. “Shit.”
Harry sensed Tony approaching him, then Tony wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist and rested his head on Harry’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry I’m being an asshole about this,” he said. “I hate it when the people I care about keep secrets from me, but I understand why you did it. I get it. I just don’t like it.”
“I hate that it’s a secret that I still have to keep,” Harry admitted. “But it would be chaos if the magical world was revealed. Maybe one day, I hope we can integrate our two worlds. But right now, prejudice still runs thick in our veins. We’re barely out of a war about purity of blood. We don’t need another.”
Tony squeezed him, then pressed a kiss to the side of Harry’s neck. He rasped his teeth against Harry’s pulse point before flicking his tongue under the edge of Harry’s jaw.
“Magic,” Tony said. This time he sounded fascinated, not shocked. “You’ll show me, won’t you?”
Harry tilted his head back and caught Tony’s lips in a kiss. Tony’s body was warm against his own and he felt safe, held in Tony’s arms.
“Of course,” he said. “You only have to ask. I care about you Tony, I really do.” He twisted in Tony’s arms so that he could face the other man, pressing their bodies close together.
“Hey,” Tony said between kisses. “You must be magical, because I’ve fallen under your spell.”
Harry groaned. “Your worst pick up line yet,” he said.
“Ah,” Tony replied, “But it is working, isn’t it?”
Harry paced back and forth before the Burrow and wondered if he could get away with turning on one foot and Apparating back to America.
Of course, it would do no good, for Tony was no longer in the States. No, he was on a jet that was due to land in Heathrow in forty minutes.
And Harry still hadn’t told the Teddy that he’d invited his new partner for Christmas at the Weasleys. It had been hard enough telling Molly herself, who’d stood there with a smug look upon her face while her children heckled him from the other room.
“Harry!”
A loud shriek interrupted his musing and Teddy barrelled out of the front door of the Burrow.
With a grin, Harry swept Teddy into his arms and whirled him around, putting his worries aside. Teddy looked healthy and happy. Andi had had him for the first half of the Christmas holidays, of course, but this year Harry had him for Christmas Day itself.
“Who’s my handsomest godson?” he asked.
“I’m your only godson,” Teddy said with a put-upon sigh, but his hair betrayed him, flashing pink with pleasure and embarrassment. Harry ruffled his disorderly mop as he placed Teddy back down.
“So, how was the first term of third year?”
“We beat Gryffindor!” Teddy announced proudly. “Apparently me and Patricia Bones make a great team of Beaters.”
“Well done, Ted, I’m proud of you,” Harry said with a smile. He took a breath of fresh air, wondering how to broach the news to Teddy. To stall, he glanced around the garden, smiling at the fresh footprints in the dusting of snow.
Teddy yanked at his robe. “Are you coming in, then? It’s cold out here.” He tilted his head and his nose twitched. “Is everything okay, Harry? Why are you worried?”
Harry flicked his wand so that a Warming Charm cocooned the both of them. Sometimes, Teddy’s ability to smell emotion did him more harm than good.
“I’m okay,” he reassured him. “Let’s take a walk down to the pond.”
Teddy’s eyes narrowed. “Okay…”
“Do you remember when I visited you at school this term.”
“Yeah, and you smelled of sex!” Teddy said, with great delight.
Harry bit back a wince. He hoped Teddy hadn’t been sharing that around, else his reputation was going to take a dive for the worse.
“The point is,” he said, then paused, uncertain how to continue. “Well… The man I was with, I’m seeing him, Teddy. He’s coming to the Burrow for Christmas, if that’s okay with you.”
Teddy’s hair flashed through a veritable rainbow of colours, settling on turquoise.
“Is he nice?”
“Yes,” Harry answered, although anyone that knew Tony probably wouldn’t say the same.
“Will you be kissing him all the time?”
Harry spluttered. “No!”
Teddy beamed. “That’s alright then.”
“Yeah?” Harry said weakly.
“Yup!”
Teddy raced back to the Burrow. Harry followed, slightly dazed by the simplicity of the conversation. He’d been prepared for… well, he’d been prepared for anything, really. A tantrum, a dramatic fight, a sulk… Andi had told him not to worry, but he’d not quite believed that Teddy would be alright with it until then.
“Harry!” Ron bellowed as he walked in the door.
Harry jumped, wand dropping into his hand. He glanced around, only to find the entire extended family staring at him.
“Oh, put that away,” Hermione hissed, hassling him into an armchair.
Harry blinked and glared at Ron. Ron gestured at the radio.
“Former Bulgarian Seeker and Latvian nobility Viktor Krum, also known as Victor von Doom, has been apprehended on the French-German border by the local Auror department. His suspected crimes include launching an attack on both Muggle and magical New York, endangering hundreds of lives and the Statute of Secrecy…”
Harry frowned and wondered why he’d not been alerted, glad as he was that Viktor had been captured. A discrete check of his mobile proved that Parker had sent him over a briefing but noted it Not Urgent, as he knew that Harry spent time with his family over the holidays.
“I can’t believe I let him take me to the Yule Ball,” Hermione muttered.
“Always knew he was a bad ‘un. Fraternising with the enemy, just like I said,” Ron announced sagely, then winced as Hermione whacked the back of his head.
“Emotional depth of a teaspoon,” Harry said in unison with Ginny, and they shared a mirthful glance.
“What time is Tony coming, dear?” Molly asked as she bustled about the room, tidying away the children’s toys and straightening the odd decoration.
Harry glanced at his watch and grinned. “Just about now. I’ll see you in a bit,” he said, getting back up to his feet.
“Tony Stark, I can’t believe it,” Hermione muttered.
“I still don’t get the big deal,” Ron said.
“He’s the Muggle Harry,” Hermione exclaimed.
Harry snorted as he left the Burrow and wondered if Hermione would be able to fully explain who he was to people that couldn’t comprehend electricity.
He was looking forward to the resulting conversation between Tony and Arthur.
As Harry waited in the VIP arrival lounge of Heathrow Airport he marvelled at the advantages a famous name and a fair amount of money awarded celebrities. The service was private, discrete, and efficient. He wished they had the equivalent in the wizarding world.
Tony stepped through the security gates, sunglasses perched upon his nose, in a smart suit that was rumpled from travel.
“Welcome to London, Mr. Stark,” Harry said, enjoying the view.
Tony snapped off the sunglasses, folding them into his breast pocket.
“Now, you’re a sight for sore eyes,” he said.
“Always.” Harry winked. “Your transport awaits. Please, follow me.”
He lead Tony out of the arrivals lounge and to Heathrow’s Apparition point, weaving through the crowds.
“Are you prepared to meet my family?” Harry asked, opening a door and leading them into what looked like a cleaning closet. They passed through the misdirection wards into an empty security room from which it was safe to Apparate. “I’ve got to warn you, they are a bit of a handful.”
“Of course,” Tony answered. He looked around curiously before his gaze settled upon Harry once more. “You’ve already met mine.” He stepped forward, suddenly so close Harry could feel his body heat. “Besides, I like a handful, you know that.”
Harry captured Tony’s lips in a kiss, tasting coffee and chocolate.
“Really,” he murmured, “I should be worried about them meeting you.”
He grinned at Tony. “You are such a bad influence, after all.”
Tony smirked. “The worst,” he agreed. “I’ll give your family sound business advice, teach them how to count cards, and show you Brits what a chat up line really is.”
Harry sighed, pulling Tony into his arms so that he could start the process of Apparition.
“I never should have mixed business and pleasure,” he said, but he smiled down at Tony without a single regret, tone kind to soften his teasing words.
“Yeah, yeah,” Tony said. “Right. It’s time for some real magic, isn’t it? You promised me teleportation?”
Tony raised a brow, as if daring Harry to prove him wrong.
“Ready?” Harry said. Before Tony could answer, he turned on one foot and the pair of them disappeared with a crack into thin air.
Tony’s squawk of indignation echoed around the empty room they’d left behind.