Chapter 33

Maybe he should have kept his mouth shut. Amelia looked like a lion ready to pounce on him—not like any lady in heat, but murderous and with every intention of strangling him, Imagine if Pepper, Rhodey, or—God forbid—Harry knew of his condition.

Tony doubted he could handle any of their lectures, let alone the disappointment of his baby brother. God, not his brother.

Amelia had given him a full earful. After that, she finally calmed down and told him she'd make arrangements for the entire medical visit. She had already spoken with Harry's healer, Timmy Bellson. The guy was Muggle-born, and Tony figured he'd be able to make some sense to him—more than he could with most other healers. And if Mr. Bellson didn't understand, Amelia said she'd call in the experts, and Tony was not allowed to say no. Because—Merlin's saggy balls—she threatened to tie him to the bed and let the healers have a look at him.

Tony had been too speechless to even make a snarky sexual remark about her last comment.

Nonetheless, the day had gone well. Harry and Sirius were bonding, and Amelia was watching Tony like an angry mama bear. Geez, she and Pepper would make an unstoppable force.

If Sirius had noticed Amelia glaring at Tony, he didn't say anything.

Tony had already prepared a guest room for Sirius. Like heck he was going to let the guy get away. He'd already planned to bring a certain werewolf into the mix. The floor was almost finished. He'd take Sirius with him for backup in case Lupin refused.

All in all, the week passed without any major problems.

At the breakfast table, Tony, Harry, and Sirius were enjoying breakfast together when—

THUD.

All three turned to look at the window, where they saw a flicker of wing feathers drift down. Tony blinked.

"Wait, that wasn't Hedwig, right?"

"Hoot!"

"Oh, sorry, your highness," Tony said, glancing at Hedwig as she fluffed her feathers indignantly on her perch. "I forgot you were taking a nap."

"Should I let the owl in, sir?" JARVIS's voice rang out in the kitchen. "I see a letter attached to it."

"Mm! That's the Hogwarts letter. I forgot it was coming today. Let it in, JARVIS," Sirius said. He still wasn't entirely used to the AI, despite Tony's many explanations. If anything, Sirius half-believed some poor soul was trapped in the ceiling.

JARVIS opened the window, and the owl flapped in, looking rather ruffled and a bit grumpy. Its feathers were all over the place.

"Uh… let me get the peace offering!" Tony said, getting up to rummage in the kitchen.

Sirius took the Hogwarts letter from the owl while offering it a plate of bacon for its troubles.

"Tony! Grab a water bowl too!" he called as he handed the letter to Harry, who eagerly tore it open.

"So, what's on the list this year?"

Harry scanned the letter quickly. "Uhh… same things—just books and…" He frowned. "Who's Gilderoy… Lockhart?? It's got so many of his books on the list…"

"Can I see?" Sirius asked.

"Sure," Harry said, passing the letter to him and picking up his fork again. Tony came back with a small bowl of owl treats and a water bowl.

"Here you go," he said, setting them down in front of the owl.

The owl didn't hesitate to gulp down the water gratefully. Meanwhile, Hedwig flew over from her perch and landed on Harry's shoulder. Harry smiled and gave her a piece of bacon, which she accepted with a contented hoot.

Sirius squinted at the letter. "I think I remember that bloke," he muttered. "Gilderoy Lockhart… he's a fraud."

"Huh?" Harry and Tony looked at Sirius, confused.

"Wait, what do you mean by fraud?" Tony asked, reaching for the letter Sirius offered. "Like a con artist? You know this guy?" He skimmed the list and blinked. "That's… huh?! That's way too many galleons! What is he selling—Victoria's Secret?"

Sirius scowled, already looking annoyed at the mention of the man's name. "Yeah, I know him. He was completely useless. I think we were in sixth year when he was in third year—he wasn't exactly the brightest wand in the box. Seeing all those books makes me wonder if he even did half the things he claims."

Harry eyed him suspiciously. "You… you really seem to dislike him."

Sirius chewed on a piece of bacon, swallowed, then shrugged. "I just don't like his face. Anyway—hurry up and pack your stuff. We need to head out today. Plus, I've got to handle some things at Gringotts. Can't believe I'm still the Heir of the Black family line…"

Tony raised an eyebrow. "What? You weren't supposed to be?"

"Later," Sirius muttered. "Harry, you done?"

"Yeah, I'm done," Harry said, standing and stretching. "Tony, can I take the tablet with me?"

"Of course you can," Tony said with a grin. "Just… not at Hogwarts. I'm still working on the magic-meets-technology thingy."

Harry snorted and left the kitchen with Hedwig on his shoulder. As soon as he was out of earshot, Tony scooted his chair closer to Sirius. "Okay, he's gone. Spill it, sugar daddy."

Sirius inhaled his juice wrong and coughed, grabbing a napkin to mop up the mess. "You have no shame, do you?" he wheezed.

Tony grinned. "Can you blame me when a handsome man's sitting right next to me? How could I not say something polite about his beauty?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Oh, Merlin, thanks." He let out a short laugh. "Anyway, as for your dying curiosity… I didn't exactly get along with my family. My dear mother disowned me—blasted my face right off the tapestry. I ran away and stayed with the Potters. They were basically my real family. James was like a brother to me. I thought that meant I'd get nothing from the Blacks—until I got a letter from my goblin bank manager saying I was still the official heir. Now I've got to deal with that filthy money…"

Tony stayed quiet for a moment, processing this. "You know… you could spend that money on something they'd hate."

Sirius stared at him, then slowly grinned. "You… and I are gonna be best friends, Tony."

Tony let out a mock gasp. "I thought we already were!"

Sirius's grin widened. "Now we really are. Listen—I've got an idea…"