Chapter 14
Lupin left a bit later, taking the Map with him to check over and telling the Trio that Sirius would meet them at the usual place in one hour.
Not in so many words, of course, but they got the message regardless.
Ginny and Neville dragged them out and their wanderings took them past the Post Office.
Harry paused when he remembered finding that little flower charm last year, not far from the Post Office itself.
“What is it, Harry?” Hermione paused next to him.
“Nothing, really,” he shrugged. “Just something I found last year in this area.”
“That’s not surprising,” she slightly relaxed. “You can find quite a few things that people lose.”
“But it wouldn’t make much sense,” Ron scratched the back of his head. “I mean, Hogsmeade’s a Wizarding Village, so I don’t know how you would lose something in the first place.”
They kept walking, running into familiar faces – welcome and unwelcome – before Neville and Ginny went their separate ways and the Trio decided to make a head start for the caves that Sirius normally led them to.
“I know that the Star Drop is supposed to be a rumor,” Hermione frowned as they got further from Hogsmeade, “but the Chamber of Secrets was supposed to be a rumor, too.”
“Who thinks we’ll find it in the Chamber of Secrets?” Ron huffed. “That would mean actually going back, though.”
Harry shook his head, not wanting to return there after Second Year.
“It’s one thing to know where it is and try to throw everyone off, but – even if he did find it - you don’t honestly think the Headmaster would put it in the school, do you?” Hermione seemed exasperated at the thought.
“Well,” Ron shrugged, “I reckon we’ll find out when we actually manage to stumble across it at year’s end.”
“You think the Mirror of Erised is back?” Harry bit at his bottom lip at the memory.
“Dear Merlin, tell me that loon didn’t take that thing into Hogwarts! It was bad enough at the Institute, when I found it in Third Year!*
“Tony?” Hermione started slightly before digging her radio out of her pocket.
The dial was on his channel and he must’ve had it on the setting where the radio would automatically allow Tony to speak through the radio without Hermione pushing the button. Harry and Ron took theirs out, too, the three of them having forgotten about the changes Tony made to the small devices. Or maybe it had been something the three of them had done when using them the other night.
“Tony?” Ron asked. “Where are you?”
“Not far. And, for the record, if you decide you want to talk about what I’m thinking is Order business, please be advised that not all ears hanging around are friendly.*
Suddenly, Harry remembered Tony’s question in the Hospital Wing and laughed. Now it made sense. “How did you manage it?” he looked around with a grin.
“That would be telling, wouldn’t it?* Tony’s smug tone made Harry chuckle even more.
“I can just imagine Eames’ reaction to you going missing.”
“Yeah, the same as mine after the last eight times he’s done the same thing.*
Hermione frowned thoughtfully. “Tony,” she spoke. “Were you listening to us?”
“A spell?” Ron tilted his head.
“Yes to one, no to the other.*
Harry kept looking around, which Hermione noticed before the light came on.
“Tony,” she sighed. “Invisibility Cloak?”
Ron started slightly when Tony suddenly appeared on his left. “Good Merlin,” he clutched his chest. “Some warning would help!”
“Sorry, Ron,” Tony smiled sheepishly.
“What are you doing out of bed?” Hermione wanted to know. “I mean, your foot –”
“ – is feeling fine, thanks,” Tony grinned, displaying said appendage. “Phoenix tears help.”
“Of course!” Harry grinned back. “Fawkes was with you, wasn’t he?”
“Yup. Not sure why. I mean, there I was, minding my own business, when Fawkes came up out of nowhere and cried on my foot. Your guess is as good as mine,” he shrugged.
“But you should still be at Hogwarts,” Hermione told him. “Your arm still hurts, right?”
“Don’t think of this as getting away from the Nurse,” Tony told her. “The way I see it, I either sneak out and go with you or stay there and give Eames a crash course in Window Flight 101.”
“You would not have thrown Mr. Eames out a window,” Hermione frowned as the boys chuckled.
“He didn’t believe me, either, last time we were in Hungary,” he shrugged at her expression. “So,” he draped the Cloak over his bad arm. “What are we up to?”
“We’re actually going to see if Sirius is around,” Harry told him.
“I think I’ll go with you,” Tony sighed.
“What’re we waiting for, then?” Ron moved on.
“How long were you following us, anyway?” Harry asked Tony as they followed Ron.
“Well, I figured you three would be heading over to see Snuffles,” Tony explained. “I just wasn’t quite sure when you were going to head out.”
“Did you really throw Mr. Eames out a window before?” Hermione crossed her arms.
“There was no other option,” Tony smiled slightly at the memory. “He’ll have to explain that, though. It wasn’t the first time and probably won’t be the last.”
“Do you normally toss your mates out windows?” Ron turned back to ask.
“Only when there’s no other option.”
Harry couldn’t begin to imagine the circumstances leading to that scenario, but he was sure the circumstances had to be dire in order for that to happen.
It was a comfortable silence that blanketed the four as they made their way to meet up with Sirius.
Harry looked up to see some clouds rolling past. “Looks like you were right,” he pointed them out to Tony, who nodded.
“It’s going to be unsettled for the rest of the weekend and into next week.”
“Oh, Tony,” Hermione turned to him. “That homework is due next week, isn’t it?”
The boys groaned.
“Why do you need to remind us?” Ron scowled.
“Mi, I’ll talk with you later on that,” Tony shook his head with a grin. “The boys aren’t interested.”
“Too bloody right, we’re not,” Ron agreed.” After me in the Great Hall and Tony getting blown up, I need to relax.”
“I think I agree,” Harry nodded, to Hermione’s dismay.
“Well,” Tony pursed his lips. “It is Hogsmeade Weekend, after all. You’ve got all day tomorrow, don’t you? Relax for today.”
Hermione didn’t seem very happy about that, but dropped it.
Not long after, Harry spied his Godfather’s Animagus form patiently waiting for them.
They hurried over and Sirius had no reservations about hopping up to lick at Tony’s chin.
“Yeah, good to see you, too,” he ruffled black ears before the Trio took turns greeting him.
Sirius gave a bark and turned to the caves, Harry following after him with Tony, Ron and Hermione trailing behind as they travelled to the one Sirius claimed for his own.
“Can’t say I missed this place,” Ron quipped, eying the cave as they entered.
Sirius changed back to his familiar self and barked a laugh. “I can, you could say. How are you?” he hugged Harry tight, both happy to see each other again.
They all filled him in on classes and other happenings – including the recent alarm on Hermione’s birthday and Tony’s office blowing up.
“I didn’t even know we had an alarm,” Sirius mused, leaning back against one of the back corners. He really did look good with a relatively dusty pair of old robes and hair that attested to Sirius’ dog-like tendencies to mess around in dirt and leaf piles.
“That’s what a lot of us said,” Tony scowled, draped on a beanbag he’d brought with him. There’d been four others if they wanted and Sirius had quirked a brow before gladly taking the black one as the Trio chose their own. “Dumbledore needs to remember to tell us all about these things. I made him and Flitwick do this charm that’ll remind them to alert others about the alarm when new people join the staff.”
“You would think,” Hermione crossed her arms and put one leg over the other, “that the Headmaster already had that type of alert already in place.”
“Well,” he scratched his head thoughtfully, “I can kind of understand, what with the Order and all of that.”
“Oh,” Harry turned to see Sirius watching them all with an odd smile. “Moony told us about the Star Drop. Anything you can add?”
“I know about as much as he does,” Sirius shook his head with a frown. His blue-grey eyes looked at each of them. “Everyone’s chasing a rumor, really. That, however, doesn’t mean that Harry’s off the hook,” he pointed out. “Tony, I’m relieved that Dumbledore got you to teach, because you can keep an eye on things from the inside.”
“Lately,” Tony smiled wryly, “I’ve been second guessing that consent. One can only wonder what else is in store for me. I mean, after evacuating the school and getting blown up…”
“Don’t get discouraged, Tony,” Hermione told him with an encouraging smile and warm brown eyes. “You’re doing wonderfully.”
“Besides,” Ron shrugged with his own grin, “just look what we’ve gone through. And we haven’t given up, yet.”
“Yeah,” Harry sheepishly agreed. “Though I know there were times I wasn’t sure I could keep going, either. Like Second Year and the Chamber of Secrets.”
“I heard about that,” Sirius reached over the gap between them to squeeze his shoulder. “And the Basilisk.”
“The Ford Angela,” Ron added with a wince.
“Dementors in Third Year,” Hermione sighed.
“Werewolves,” Harry smiled slightly.
“The Tri-Wizard Tournament in Fourth Year,” Ron scoffed. “And the bloody Cup, while we’re at it.”
“And Fifth Year,” Tony added. “Well, I wasn’t there for a lot of it, but still.”
“Ah, Fifth Year,” Sirius seemed to pounce on the subject like he’d been waiting for it to come up in conversation, though Harry wouldn’t have the faintest idea why. “Yes, an interesting year to be sure.”
“Tell me about it,” Tony huffed.
Christmas holidays in Fifth Year went well – until New Year’s. They didn’t realize until Easter that they’d used the Black family Marriage Set at Midnight on New Year’s Day, after months of feeling ill.
“Mm, yes. Very interesting,” Sirius tilted his head with an odd smile. “Oh, it was eventful for you three, I’m sure,” he directed at the Trio with a nod, “but, to be honest, it was a relief to me.”
“Really?” Ron frowned at him on Harry’s other side. “Being on the run and working for the Order is a relief?”
“I suppose it would be,” Hermione mused, her tone thoughtful. “Sirius would be helping the Order with Harry’s safety, after all.”
“Nothing against them, mind,” Sirius scowled and Harry was surprised at that. He’d always thought that Sirius liked being part of the Order. “I care about Harry’s safety – as I do with Tony, Hermione and Ron, of course -, but I’d like him safe, not ignorant to the point where the Order has to do everything for him.”
“Ah ha!” Tony lit up with a genuine grin that made his green eyes sparkle. “So I was right! The Order wants him to be completely dependent on them.”
“I didn’t use to think so,” Sirius slumped down with a tired sigh as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Lately, though, I’ve started getting the feeling that Molly Weasley isn’t the only one who wants the kids to ‘keep their noses out’, if you will. Incidentally, I’ve also come to the conclusion that Ron and Hermione are seriously being considered as future members of the Order.”
The reaction was fierce.
“No way in bloody hell would I join!” Ron growled with surprising ferocity, blue eyes flashing.
“Nor I,” Hermione agreed, scowl growing on her face. “You were right, Tony,” she turned to face him. “They really do think that they can use us to make Harry into a docile lamb,” she spat. “They can forget that right now!”
Harry glanced at Sirius to see him just as confused, but Tony nodded grimly at Ron and Hermione. “Ron,” Harry turned to his stewing best friend, “what are you guys talking about?”
“When Hermione came to the Burrow,” Ron took a deep breath, obviously in an attempt to calm down, “she told me and Ginny to resist joining the Order because of what Tony told her.”
“It was during the case with Sherlock,” Tony jumped in. “I had – still have – concerns about the Order and their management with Harry.” He more or less summarized his concerns about how the Order’s complete shutout of the Trio was akin to controlling them and how the Order already knew well how strong the connection was between the three. With Ron and Hermione under their control, the Order would then be able to keep Harry from doing something that would put him in more danger – or even keep him even more firmly under their control, regardless of his life being in danger or not.
Harry hadn’t really thought of it that way, before, and he felt a little constricted, panicked and slightly betrayed at the idea that his closest friends could be used against him like that. Probably in a way that none of them would even realize the tightening noose until it was too late.
“That’s very insightful,” Sirius gave the Italian a nod, his face dark. “And from what’s been going on so far, correct. I’ve been thinking that we need to talk to Dumbledore about it, but I also keep thinking that it’s not going to stick. Or overarching circumstances – like the Star Drop – will make him decide to take action ‘in Harry’s best interests’.”
“So, we keep away from the Order,” Ron nodded with determination.
“That won’t be easy,” Hermione negated. “It’s the Headmaster, so he can find a way. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t at least try to think of something,” she reached over to squeeze Harry’s wrist, but he wasn’t sure who she was trying to comfort.
“Actually,” Sirius broke in, “the Headmaster – and, thus, the Order - has quite a few blind spots. As you’ve already proved.”
“Really?” Harry blinked at him. “How? As far as we know, the Order’s been pretty much shadowing our every move.”
“Not as much as you might think,” he suddenly grinned, the sparkle in his eyes making him appear younger and giving Harry the impression that this Sirius was Padfoot the Marauder come out to play. “In fact, I distinctly recall New Year’s in your Fifth Year, I believe. Just as it hit Midnight. Weren’t the four of you alone?”
“Yes,” Tony slowly answered, tilting his head at the oldest of the group with a frown. “We were alone. Why?”
“No reason. It’s just that – usually – the people wanting to marry drink the ‘engaged’ Potion first, instead of what was already put in those cups, but you also used the plate so it should still be solid.”
Silence filled the cave as Sirius’ grin stretched across his face.
Harry felt … felt shocked and panicked and in disbelief because there was no way Sirius said what Harry had thought he’d said.
Harry turned to look at the other three to see Ron’s mouth hanging open, Hermione’s eyes wide and horror slowly growing on Tony’s face.
“What?” the American croaked.
“The Marriage Set,” Sirius lifted a shoulder.
“You knew?” Hermione found her voice. “You knew and –”
“I suspected,” he held up a hand. “Tony, mate, breathe before I have to drag Remus up here to explain how you passed out. As a matter of fact,” he went on to explain, “I really only found out around Easter, when you lot suddenly got better. I had thought that the ‘sickness’ looked an awful lot like ‘bond separation’, so I went looking for the Marriage Set that I hadn’t actually thought to tell all of you about. I knew it was in the kitchen and I knew exactly where it was in the kitchen, but it was gone when I looked. Then I looked in the book only I can read – being the Head of the Family, mind – and what did I find when I looked at the Marriage section? A line that I had never seen before that moment, telling me that the Set had been used on New Year’s Day. ‘Now what,’ I asked myself, ‘would this really mean?’ The four of you had disappeared before Midnight on New Year’s Eve and the Set was gone, but the book said that it had been used at about the time you four were gone from sight. And once I started thinking about that, ‘bond separation’ made that much more sense.”
“Why in Merlin’s name didn’t you say something?” Harry demanded to know, tension a hard ball in his stomach and adrenalin flooding his veins. Sirius wasn’t about to do anything to them, was he?
“To put it simply: I couldn’t. I couldn’t tell Tonks or Remus, so I wasn’t sure if I would be able to tell you.”
“Tony put charms and things up,” Hermione shakily explained. “No one can tell a thing to anyone, who doesn’t already know.”
“That’s a very smart idea,” Sirius turned softly amused eyes on Tony, who still looked wary and likely to bolt at any moment. “I’m actually glad the four of you have a bond.”
That brought Harry up short.
If Sirius knew that they now had a bond because of his family’s Marriage Set, then –
“Sirius,” he frowned, thoughts circling around in his head. “What do you know about me having to stay with my Aunt?” From the corner of his eye, he saw Ron and Tony sitting up in interest as Hermione leaned forward.
Sirius connected his gaze with Harry’s for a long moment. “It’s because Lily used ancient Magic when you were a baby – something Dumbledore knows very well. But, now that Tony’s made sure no one but a select number people can actually talk about the bond between the four of you, no one outside of that small group actually knows that Lily’s wards have fallen. Everything else up is more than likely being strengthened, but no one has any idea of the very key line of defense that’s not there anymore.”
Well, that answered the question of if Sirius knew why Harry had to stay with his Aunt, but that didn’t quite answer whether he knew about the Prophecy.
“So,” Hermione broke into his thoughts, her voice small, “you aren’t going to… to make us tell someone? The Headmaster?”
“No, Hermione,” Sirius smiled reassuringly. “I can promise you that. I’m fairly certain that they could make things worse for you by trying to break the bond. That is out of the question, but that wouldn’t at all keep them from trying. And I can only imagine what Tony would have to go through.”
The Italian eventually heaved a sigh and handed over the ‘Marriage Bond’ notebook to Sirius for his signature. They explained that Sirius could not speak of the bond to anyone outside of those who already signed it. They also explained about Tony’s cousin – and theirs -, Peter Burke, and what they’d discussed before the wedding.
“Well,” Sirius nodded approvingly. “That takes care of quite a bit of our problems. I would say that you have this in hand.”
“But,” Tony rubbed the bridge of his nose with a sigh. “You’ll need to help us come up with something after graduation. Or cover with the Order.”
“I’ll do what I can,” he studied Tony for a moment before smiling. He got up and moved to Tony’s side, draping over him in a hug. “I’m relieved that you three are watching after him,” Sirius added over Tony’s head at the rest of them.
Harry smiled slightly, finally relaxing at his Godfather’s words. He was on their side, though it was something that they had debated. Harry wouldn’t have blamed him if he’d been against the whole thing, though it would have hurt Harry to not be able to trust Sirius on this very important secret.
“You know,” Tony absently hugged Sirius back with a frown. Then, as if reading Harry’s thoughts, “You’re taking this awfully well…”
Sirius grinned at the suspicious look and squeezed Tony closer. “I know,” he said simply. “But I already count the four of you as family, so it’s fitting.”
“Really?” Hermione tilted her head. “But you don’t need to go that far. I mean, you’re Harry’s Godfather, so he’s already considered part of the family…”
“And you’re not, even being Harry's friends?” Sirius refocused his attention on Hermione, seeing uncertainty in her brown eyes. “Listen. When we were in school – as the four of you may already know -, I was pretty much disowned. James and Remus – Pettigrew to a lesser extent and Lily much later – were my family. Hermione and Ron, you’ve both been there for Harry when others wouldn’t – much like James and Remus did for me. As far as I’m concerned, you may as well be family and I will gladly accept you as such, just as I’ve accepted Harry.”
“And Tony?” Ron frowned at him, the tallest of the Trio worried about Tony feeling left out.
“Tony,” Sirius turned back to the Italian with a warm smile. “After what I’ve seen in the wedding’s aftermath, I can’t bring myself to worry about any one of them where you’re concerned. After seeing them with you, I have not a doubt in my mind that you’re just as much family to them as they are to you.”
That was one of the first times that Harry saw Tony actually speechless, green eyes staring into Sirius’ blue grey.
“Well,” Hermione shyly added, “it is true.”
“Yeah,” Ron smiled slightly. “I know it’s not something I would usually say, but…”
“Sometimes,” Harry beamed at them, “actions speak louder than words.”
The five of them stayed silent, no words needed, for long moments.
Tony, Harry could tell, seemed to be having some trouble wrapping his head around the idea and Harry couldn’t help mentally cursing the Muggle NCIS team at his uncertainty. They were going to have to be careful with Tony, because Tony might think he would need to curry their favor in exchange for acceptance when he just needed to be himself.
“So,” Tony finally broke the silence, struggling to find a safe topic. “Ever explore the other caves?”
“No,” Sirius shrugged, content to put the earlier conversation in the past. “Would you like to?”
Tony all but flew out the door, Hermione going after him to be sure he wasn’t going to rush into danger, and Ron and Harry stayed a moment with Sirius as they went ahead.
“Can we ask you something before we go?” Harry asked.
“Sure. I have to walk back to town with you so that you can give Moony’s dog back after his walk.”
“Right,” Ron gave a nod. “Look, do you believe in Seers?”
Sirius blinked, obviously not having expected the question. “To a point, yes,” he glanced between the two of them and Harry had to wonder if he knew about the Prophecy.
“We think, the two of us,” Harry gestured between himself and Ron, “that we know one. Hermione doesn’t believe in Seers and Divination, but we have reason to believe we have another friend who is a Seer. She said something on the train and we can’t immediately discount it.”
They repeated what they remembered, especially about the Founders and what Ron said earlier as they’d gone with Phil to lunch.
To his credit, Sirius listened thoughtfully without laughing in their faces at being fanciful and eventually shook his head. “To be completely honest, I’ll have to ask someone about that, though it does sound similar to something Lily told us once in Sixth Year. Something about seals and sigils, but I don’t remember very much about that conversation, I’m sorry to say,” he looked apologetic.
“Oh,” Harry frowned at the cave’s rocky floor before nodding. It didn’t hurt to ask, after all, even if they had to wait for more answers which would more than likely lead to more questions. “Alright, but we can’t let Hermione know we’re looking into it.”
“She might shut us down,” Ron explained.
“I see,” Sirius agreed with amusement. “Well, I’ll see what I can get together, but it will take time.”
“Don’t let on what we’re doing,” Ron made him promise. “It’s secret.”
“I won’t let on,” he nodded with more conviction this time. “You can count on me.”
“Alright,” Harry smiled slightly to see the determination to do right by them – regardless of whether he would eventually decide they were seeing things that weren’t there. “Thank you.”
“For my Godson? Anything,” he winked. “Now, let’s go find the other two before they start wondering where we are. We also need to remind Tony to clean these bag chairs up.”
They found Tony and Hermione further up the mountain and spent an hour exploring before they had to go back before people started looking for them.
“We may as well head back to the school, too,” Tony sighed, retrieving the beanbag chairs with a flick of his wrist before Padfoot ran ahead to lead the way back to the Village proper.
“Do you think Mr. Eames is still looking for you?” Hermione fretted.
“Nah. He got the message, but he’ll probably be showing up again soon enough.”
Students remembered ‘Agent’ from last year, so they had to stop for ear scratches and fond pats when they got to the more crowded part of Hogsmeade. They found Moony at Zonko’s, relating Marauder tales to a group of students made up of his former students and younger ones who never had the chance to have Moony teach them.
Soon, he had to take ‘Agent’ and both departed with fond farewells.
Not long after that, Tony and the Trio headed back for the school.
True to prediction, Eames, Mac and Stevens had gone, though Palmer had stayed to do one last check once they got him out of the Greenhouses.
“Unbelievable,” he shook his head once they told him about Fawkes healing Tony’s foot.
“Right?” Tony grinned. “Maybe I had some sort of smell on me that affects it like catnip does cats.”
“Well, that, too, but I was thinking how interesting stuff always seems to follow you around.”
“Not always, Palmer.”
“Sure,” he nodded unconvincingly.
The Trio said goodbye to Palmer and left him with Tony as they moved back up to the Tower to occupy themselves until dinner.
Harry was half-heartedly finishing up some Charms about two hours later when he caught sight of Hermione’s contemplative expression. He was about to ask, but never got the chance when she suddenly dashed upstairs to her room.
“What was that about?” Ron frowned as he looked up from his Chocolate Card collection.
Hermione came back to their table a minute later with something clutched in her hand. “Harry, remember that pendant Agent dug up at Vince’s house during the Spring holiday? The one that looks like a figure eight?” she set that same pendant down on the table in front of them. “It is technically Tony’s, since he was the one that found it, and I was thinking earlier that having Padfoot was like having Agent last year. That’s when I remembered the pendant buried in that box. Do you think Tony would want the necklace?”
Ron reached out to study it, having never seen it despite having heard about it, as Harry thoughtfully agreed.
“It is Tony’s, after all,” he nodded. “I think he would like it.”
They found a length of black string that they thought worked well and didn’t want to wait until seeing Tony at dinner, so they immediately set out to find him in his quarters on the Teacher Corridor.
“It’s a good thing Palmer gave him the okay to go back to his rooms before we left,” Hermione almost skipped along, “or we would’ve gone back to the Hospital Wing.”
Sure enough, Tony answered the door in a flour dusted apron.
“Hey, good timing,” he waved the radio at them. “I was just about to see if you wanted to help me make some of Mac’s favorite cookies as we wait for dinner to start.”
“Sure,” Ron eagerly agreed.
“But first,” Hermione gave him a look to be patient, “we wanted to give something to you.”
“Oh?” Tony raised a brow. “Sure,” he led them to the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel before giving them his undivided attention. “What’s the occasion?”
“Do we need one?” she shrugged. “I just thought it was time to return this,” she held up a small box.
Tony tilted his head and held his hand out for it, turning it around and revealing a small ‘S.B.’ on the bottom. “This is the same box I gave you during the summer,” he mused. “Huh. Well, I don’t think your hair clip is going to match my eyes,” he said seriously, his eyes sparkling in amusement.
“Just open it,” she rolled hers with a smile on her face.
He blinked as he found the pendant necklace nestled inside the velvet lining, fitting into the space almost like it was supposed to be there. “Hey, I think I remember this,” he carefully took the pendant out to look at it in the light of the living room fire and the balls of light hovering overhead. “From Vince’s right?”
“It’s something you found,” Harry told him.
“Yeah,” Ron nodded as they watched Tony carefully handle the pendant like it was the most precious thing he’d ever held. “It’s yours, mate. Fair and square.”
It took Tony a long moment to finally look up at them, eyes bright. “Thank you,” he said simply, pulling the string over his head and summoning a mirror to admire it. “I – thank you.”
Harry smiled as he watched.
After everything the poor man had been through the last two years, he deserved something to show it was all worth it. Even though they didn’t know anything about the pendant or how it ended up buried in Vince’s yard, the fact that Harry, Ron and Hermione were the ones to give it to him made it that much more special.
Tony let it hang down against his apron for a long moment before tucking it inside his shirt. “This doesn’t go beyond the four of us,” he absently brushed at his eyes, the mirror disappearing a moment later. “I don’t want it getting in the way while I do things.”
They nodded and let the moment pass as they looked around at what Tony was doing before their arrival.
“Right,” Tony clapped his hands. “I know most of these are for Mac, but I think she’ll be able to part with some of them as payment. What’s say we get to work?”
* **