Metal and Magic

Chapter 7

After a quick chat with Jarvis at the gate, he drove through and parked in front of Tony’s ostentatious home. He tried the doorknob but found it locked. In response, Harry began banging on the door with both fists. “LET ME IN! LET ME IN!” he shouted and began kicking the bottom of the door while thumping loudly on it with the sides of his fists. A few seconds later, a panicked-looking Pepper Potts opened the door with wide eyes.

“Harry!? What in the world …”

“Sorry, Pepper. I was just trying to annoy Tony,” Harry chuckled as she breathed heavily with her hand over her heart. “Is he in?” he asked with a boyish smile on his handsome face. Pepper’s eyes narrowed into slits before huffing.

“Yes, he’s in,” she said, turning her attention from him and examining the door. “Oh, look, you scuffed it!” she declared as she leaned down and examined the bottom part of the door.

“It serves him right for not greeting me in a timely manner. Where is he anyway?” Harry asked. Pepper sighed and stood up straight.

“He’s still having his morning coffee. It’s a bit early for social calls, you know?” she stated, eyeing him up.

“Yeah, I know. I wanted to see him before he went to work. He asked me to bring him something,” Harry told her as he stepped past her and walked into the fancy house.

“Oh? And what is that, pray tell?” she asked, closing the door behind them. Harry turned and gave the pretty woman a once-over. She looked quite smart in her feminine business attire. Her gray pencil skirt was tight enough to show off her delicate curves, and her white blouse was unbuttoned far enough to show just the beginning of her cleavage.

“It’s top secret, but Tony wants to take it to market. I don’t want to toot my own horn, but you’re looking at the world’s next trillionaire,” Harry smiled smugly. Pepper snorted humorously.

“What I’m looking at is another deviant playboy who’s taking advantage of Tony’s generosity,” she said with a cute smirk as she placed her hands on her hips. Harry sputtered in protest.

“Generosity?” Harry snorted. “I’ll have you know the last two times we went to that gentlemen’s club, I paid for everything. As far as I’m concerned, Tony owes me his firstborn child.”

“Good luck with that,” Pepper chuckled as she led him to Tony.

As he suspected, Tony was in the living room, looking tired and disheveled. His eyes were half-closed, his hair was messy, and he wore a wrinkled bathrobe. He slowly nursed a cup of coffee while the morning news played on a massive flat-screen television. Harry guessed that his TV probably cost more than the average person’s car.

“Tony, we have a guest,” Pepper announced as she sat down to finish her own coffee. The coffee table was filled with various foods. There was a platter of freshly-sliced fruits, a plate of crispy bacon and eggs, and a wicker basket filled with different pastries. Tony perked up when he saw Harry.

“Harry! Sit down and take a load off. Go ahead and eat. It’ll just go to waste otherwise,” he said.

“Don’t mind if I do,” Harry replied, snatching the untouched plate of bacon and eggs. He immediately began scooping eggs into his mouth.

“Hey! That plate was mine!” Tony protested as he watched Harry devour his food.

“You snooze, you lose,” Harry said, chomping down on a piece of bacon. Tony glared as he watched Harry eat his greasy goodness.

“I was waiting for it to cool down,” Tony replied.

“It’s the perfect amount of warmth,” Harry told him as he swallowed. Harry looked around for a napkin, and when he didn’t see one, he wiped his greasy fingers on his trousers.

“Don’t wipe it on your pants,” Pepper exclaimed, scandalized.

“Oh, sorry,” Harry apologized and wiped his hands on Tony’s expensive suede couch cushion.

“Not on the couch either!” Pepper squealed and stood up. Tony burst out laughing at her panicked look.

“Relax, Pepper. All the grease is already on my pant leg,” Harry chuckled and smiled at her. Pepper huffed and walked toward the kitchen.

“If you need a napkin, just ask,” she said over her shoulder.

“She’s going to strangle you some day,” Tony chuckled, shaking his head.

Harry opened his bag and pulled out a small, brown cardboard box. “There are thirty of those Hangover Cures in here, individually bottled into single-use doses,” he explained, handing it to Tony.

“Excellent. I’ll run some tests on them today,” he said, setting the box on the coffee table.

“I saw the news last night,” Harry suddenly stated.

“Oh?” Tony asked nonchalantly, and Harry nodded.

“It seems some lunatic was flying around LA in a metal suit. It got everyone riled up,” Harry told him.

Tony whistled incredulously. “What an age we live in,” he said, causing Harry to snort.

“Be careful with that, Tony,” Harry suddenly sounded serious. “I don’t know what you’re planning, but if you do something crazy like I think you’re going to do, then it’s going to be dangerous.”

Tony suddenly got quiet, as if he were thinking hard. “I know what I’m doing,” he finally said, not denying the accusations.

“I hope so. If you find yourself in some hot water, I can pull you out, but I can’t if you end up dead … so be careful,” Harry told him right before Pepper walked back into the room. She strolled up to Harry and handed him a napkin. She then handed him a glass of orange juice. Harry smiled handsomely at the pretty woman. Before she could pull her hand away, Harry gently gripped her fingers and guided her hand to his lips. He kissed the top of her hand like a gentleman. “Thank you, Miss Potts.”

Pepper’s cheeks flushed pink, and she suddenly got a bit shy. “You’re welcome, Mr. Potter,” she said before returning to her seat, flustered.

“Stop hitting on my personal assistant,” Tony huffed, causing Pepper to blush harder. “Now, finish eating my breakfast and get the hell off my property,” Tony said. Harry chuckled and finished Tony’s exquisitely cooked bacon and eggs while he finished his coffee.

Metal and Magic

Harry spent most of the day trying to find a suitable home to rent, but he eventually got tired and settled on staying in a hotel for a few days. He left most of his stuff in his rented car and dropped the rest off in the room. Harry then made his way to the hotel’s roof and transformed into a raven. He flapped his wings and shot off into the sky.

Sometimes he enjoyed just flying around while his human emotions were dulled from his animagus form. He would fly around for a while and stop and perch when tired. He did this until the sun had already set. He was on his last flight of the day when the sound of police sirens caught his attention. Harry banked to the right and glided several blocks before he spotted the disturbance. Two men were running from a bank while several police cars pulled up, lights and sirens blaring. The man in front was lugging a large duffel bag that appeared heavy. Harry thought he saw some kind of mist escaping the bag, but he wasn’t sure. It only slightly shocked him when one of the men pulled a gun and blindly fired behind him. The bullet struck the windshield of one of the cop cars, punching a hole straight through and creating a spiderwebbed shatter that radiated away from the hole. The cops didn’t take this lightly. They immediately began firing back as the two men jumped into a getaway car. Most of the bullets missed, but he saw two hit the car’s trunk, one hit the right tail light, and another shattered the rear window. The car roared to life, and the wheels began to spin and squeal. A cloud of white smoke erupted from the wheels as they spun out. A second later, they were hauling ass down the street with the cops hot on their heels.

Normally, Harry would have never been able to keep up with the cars moving at top speed, but this was Los Angeles. Even at night, there was more than enough traffic to keep them from reaching those speeds. From his vantage point, Harry saw that the lead car was trying to make it to the freeway, where it could try to outrun the police. It ripped through an intersection, causing a motorist to slam on his brakes and swerve to the side, trying to avoid a T-bone collision. The SUV jumped the curve and plowed right into a light pole. The bank robbers didn’t seem to care about the danger they were causing. They dipped between cars, cutting off motorists while nearly causing even more wrecks. Then the traffic became too heavy, they pulled to the left and started going against traffic. The cops continued to follow, but they pulled back, likely finding the criminals’ actions too dangerous. Thankfully, Harry didn’t need to worry about that. He flapped his wings harder, closing the distance. The car then swerved back into the correct lane of traffic and pulled hard to the furthest right lane. Their damaged tail light shattered when they clipped a white luxury sedan trying to get on the freeway.

As they got on the on-ramp, Harry made his move. He tucked his wings and shot down toward the car. Aiming for the back, Harry unfurled his wings just as he flew through the broken back window. He transformed back into a human, sitting uncomfortably on a pile of broken safety glass.

“Watch out! You nearly hit the fucking side!” the passenger cursed his friend’s poor driving as he looked out the side window. They were indeed very close to the safety wall.

“Are they still behind us?” the driver asked, sounding nervous and more than a little stressed. They just left the on-ramp and were now on the freeway. The engine revved, and they began moving faster. The passenger looked over his left shoulder, and his eyes widened when he found Harry sitting there. Harry smiled and silently waved when he was spotted.

“Who the fuck are you?!” he sputtered, suddenly looking very angry.

“What are you talkin’ abou… HEY!” the driver shouted as his friend pulled out his handgun.

BANG!

Harry threw his head to the side at the last second to avoid having an extra hole put in his head. The pop instantly made his ears ring, and he wasn’t the only one. The driver screamed out in pain and accidentally jerked the steering wheel to the left. The car swerved to the left and side-swiped a pickup truck with a loud crunch. The gun-totting passenger leaned into the back, trying to get a good shot at Harry, but he was too quick. The Elder Wand suddenly appeared in Harry’s hand, and all it took was a quick flick for the man to be disarmed. The gun slipped from his grip, and he yelped while comically trying to catch it from the air. It bounced off his palm, tumbled backward, and hit the middle console. BANG!

“YEEEAAAAOW!” the driver screamed. “You shot me! Oh, god, you shot me!” he accused his friend. Harry saw that he had been hit in the right forearm. At that moment, he decided it might be best to leave. These two idiots would kill all three of them if this carried on any further.

“But I didn’t …” the passenger began before Harry stunned him in the face. The passenger slumped forward, completely unconscious, while the driver tried to avoid crashing into another car. Harry pointed his wand at the dashboard and fired a very powerful Piercing Hex. The hex punched a hole straight through the dashboard, right through the engine, and even tore a chunk out of the road beneath them. The car jerked hard and sputtered a few times before the engine cut off. By then, Harry noticed flashing red and blue lights. He turned and looked out the back window. The cops were only twenty feet away. Harry grabbed the duffle bag from the back seat and apparated away, leaving the two idiots on their own.

Harry appeared in his room in the house he had just left. It was the first location that came to mind. That would need to be rectified since popping into someone else’s home probably wasn’t a good idea. Luckily, the house was still empty. Harry dropped the duffle bag on the bed and opened it up. It was loaded with bundled stacks of bills. Unfortunately, they were all splattered with hot pink paint.

“Exploding dye pack,” Harry said out loud. That was the mist he saw coming from the bag when the robbers left the bank. He remembered the packs from movies and TV shows when he was young. The packs would go off when a radio signal was sent, covering the money with permanent dye and leaving it useless. The goal was to cover the offender as well, making it easier for the authorities to identify him. From what he remembered, the dye was supposed to be almost impossible to remove. “Let’s try magic,” Harry said.

He pointed his wand at the mess, and it began siphoning the dye straight from the bills and inside the bag. When the inside was clean, he did the outside, the bed, and the little bit that got on his hands. Once done, it was all sparkling clean. Harry turned the bag over and dumped the cash on the bed. He easily found the fake bundle of bills and vanished it. He looked over the money and guessed there were tens of thousands of dollars there. His first instinct was to keep it, but after thinking it over, he decided against it. He didn’t know a lot about Muggle money, but he did know that they could be tracked by the serial numbers on each bill. That was very risky for the relatively small amount of cash. Besides, he didn’t need the money and could devise a better way to earn some when needed. Harry levitated the cash back into the bag and cleaned it of his fingerprints. He conjured some gloves and picked the bag up. Harry then went into the backyard, transformed into a raven, and flew off in the direction of the bank. It took him a good while to pinpoint the area, but when he finally did, spotting the bank was easy. There were still cop cars out front with their lights flashing. Harry landed on the roof of the building next door to the bank. He didn’t know if there were cameras on the bank’s roof and didn’t want to risk it. He transformed back into a human and chucked the bag over the side, in the direction of the police. He quickly transformed and took to the sky. Harry circled overhead and saw the police looking in the bag. With his good deed for the day done, Harry found a safe place to transform before apparating back to his hotel room.

Metal and Magic

Coulson sighed as he walked to his boss’s office. Fury had been getting more and more irritable over the last week. As far as he was concerned, no progress was being made. In reality, very little progress was being made, so Coulson could understand his irritation. He reached the door and knocked. “Enter!” Fury barked from the other side. Coulson entered, and Fury motioned for him to sit down.

“It looks like we’ve got something else to worry about,” he stated as he reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of aspirin. He popped the top and downed more than the recommended dosage.

“Sir?” Coulson asked.

“It seems there’s someone flying around in a metal suit, causing havoc. They killed a bunch of terrorists in Gulmira, Afghanistan, earlier today before destroying their military equipment. The council isn’t too pleased with this turn of events, and I can’t say I feel any different. We can’t have some lone wolf traveling the world and taking matters into their own hands,” Fury filled him in.

“And what does the council want us to do about it?” Coulson asked.

“They want the technology for themselves,” Fury told him. Coulson snorted.

“Big surprise,” he simply stated.

“They’ll have to get in line. The Air Force was the one to discover this, so there’s no way to keep it a secret. They’re already pushing hard to take charge of this new tech … assuming they can find who has it.”

“And what do you think, sir?” Coulson asked.

“It would be a useful tool to have in our arsenal,” he confessed.

“If only we knew who made it,” Coulson replied.

“I have a feeling we do,” Fury answered him. Coulson looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Who has a beef with the Ten Rings? Who had a particularly shit time in Afghanistan? Who has the technical know-how and resources to design and build something like this?” Fury asked.

“You can’t mean …” Coulson said, shocked by the turn of events.

“Tony Stark,” he nodded. “Barton saw something streak through the sky as it left Stark’s mansion. He thought Stark was testing a new missile or a rocket-powered drone. It wasn’t until after I heard the reports that I knew what it was.”

“So what do we do? Should we bring him in?” Coulson asked.

“That’s the dilemma,” Fury responded. “Right now, I’m the only one who has put two and two together. If we bring him in, the council will know within minutes, and I don’t trust them to do what’s right.”

“So, should we wait?”

“I need to think it over and decide the best course of action. For the time being, put multiple agents around Stark’s home. Make it discreet and keep it off the books. Only use the agents I’ve personally vetted. I don’t want this getting back to the council. At least not yet.”

“What about Harry Potter? Do you think he’s somehow connected to this?” Coulson asked.

“I’m not sure. The timing is very suspicious. Tell Romanoff to speed up her plans. We need to know what he’s up to and what his connection to Stark is.”

Coulson nodded. “I’ll make the call. Is there anything else?”

Fury shook his head while pulling a file from his desk. Coulson knew he had just been dismissed. He got up while pulling out his phone. He made the call as soon as the door closed behind him.

Metal and Magic

The following morning, Harry’s phone began to ring. He checked the caller ID and smiled. “Hey, Natalie,” he happily answered the phone.

“Hi, Harry! How come you haven’t called me?” she playfully asked.

“I’ve been a bit busy lately. You know, house hunting and such, but I’m free today if you want to meet up,” Harry told her.

“I’d like that. I was planning on going to the beach, if you want to join me,” she suggested.

“That sounds great. When do you want to meet up?” he asked.

“I can pick you up in an hour,” she said. Harry thought about it for a second. While he didn’t particularly like the idea of this group knowing where he was living, he didn’t plan on staying long anyway.

“Harry?” she called out, making sure he was still on the line.

“That sounds good. I’m staying at the Regency Hotel on Beverly,” he told her.

“I know the one,” she happily stated. “I’ll be there in an hour.”

“I’ll be waiting,” Harry said with a smile.

“I’ll see ya!” she chirped.

“Bye,” he chuckled and stuffed the phone in his pocket when it cut off. He went down to the lobby and visited one of the hotel's shops. Being in LA, of course, they sold beach supplies. Harry purchased a pair of swim trunks, a pair of windbreaker pants, a pair of sunglasses, and a couple of large beach towels before going back to his room. Harry stripped down and put on the trunks before sliding the windbreakers over them. He then put his shoes back on and finished it off with a white t-shirt. Harry checked himself in the mirror and nodded. He then conjured a small duffle bag and placed his towels and wallet inside. With nothing left to do but wait, Harry flopped on the bed and turned the TV on.

Metal and Magic

Natasha pulled up to the hotel and was about to call him when she spotted Harry exiting the front door with a bag in his hand. He appeared to be ready to settle in while waiting for her. She gave the horn a short blast, smiled, and waved when he looked over at her. He smiled back and walked over to her. Natasha rolled down her window and called out to him. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” he joked, walked around the car, and jumped into the passenger seat. When the door banged shut, she put the car in drive and pulled out. Harry tossed the bag into the backseat and settled in.

She received a call from Coulson the previous night. His instructions were clear. They needed information, and they needed it soon. This put Natasha in a bit of a pickle. For situations like this, she preferred more of a slow burn. It was much easier. However, with no other choice, she would have to become more aggressive.

“I know a great spot. There are fewer tourists since it’s a bit out of the way,” she happily stated.

“That’s good. How have you been? I can see you got your car fixed,” Harry responded.

“Yeah. I had a bad fuel pump, but I got it changed. Outside of not having my car for the day, I’ve been pretty good.”

The duo chit-chatted as Natasha drove to her supposed favorite spot. She parked the car in the back lot of an Italian restaurant, and when Harry looked at her confused, she pointed to a patch of long, dried brush. “There’s a path there that will lead us down to the shore. It’s a bit rocky, so be careful where you step,” she warned him.

Natasha had actually learned about this spot during her last mission in Los Angeles. She was glad to have a reason to visit it again. “Come on. Follow me,” she said as Harry grabbed both of their bags.

She led him through the brush and onto the rocky path that led down an incline. They took it slow so they didn’t accidentally twist an ankle. When they reached the shore, there were only a few people around. Further down the shore to the right, she could see many more people enjoying the morning sun. Thankfully, this area was a bit of a walk from all the food stands and souvenir shops, so most people didn’t bother. “Hey, this is nice,” Harry said as he stood next to her. The breeze was stiffer than normal, which made the water a little rougher.

“I told you it’s great!” she smiled at him. “Bag, please,” she said. Harry handed her her bag and dropped his on the ground. Natasha pulled out one of her towels and spread it across the sand. Harry did the same. He kicked off his shoes and socks and pulled his pants down, revealing the swim trunks he had on underneath. He then pulled his shirt over his head. Natasha took a brief moment to check him out before removing her own clothes. She wanted to make sure he was watching. When she was sure he was looking at her, she pulled her t-shirt over her head, revealing her bikini top. She could feel her large breasts jiggling around and providing him with an erotic show. It was exactly what she wanted. She kicked off her shoes and dropped her shirt into her bag before unbuttoning the short jean shorts she had been wearing. Natasha tugged them down her thighs and let them drop around her ankles. She bent over to pull them from her feet, making sure Harry could see her breasts dangling. She intended to use every advantage she had. Covering her lower half was a bikini bottom, a size or two smaller than she would usually wear. The back was wedged between her pillowy cheeks, and the front hung low on her hips. She internally smirked when she saw Harry checking out her mostly-exposed body.

“Enjoying the show?” she teased him. Harry looked up at her and smiled.

“Best show I’ve seen in a while,” he teased back, making her laugh. She sat down on her towel and reached into her bag. Pulling out a bottle of sunblock, she squirted some onto her palm. She rubbed her hands together and began applying it to her smooth legs. Harry dropped down onto the towel next to hers and rested the back of his head on his folded arms. He closed his eyes, crossed his ankles, and sighed. This was the opposite of what she wanted. Luckily, she had a plan.

“Can you rub some of this on my back?” Natasha asked with a cute smile on her pretty face. Harry opened his eyes and saw her holding out the bottle of sunblock. He smiled at her and sat up.

“Sure!” he said, taking the bottle from her. Natasha beamed and lay face down on the towel. She turned her head and rested the side of her face on her hands. She then smiled to herself and reached behind her back. She found the string holding her top together and pulled it. She moved the strings away, leaving her back completely bare. Harry placed his hands on her back and slathered the cool cream over her smooth skin. Her breath hitched when she realized he was not just rubbing it into her skin, but massaging her muscles at the same time. She had to admit, it felt really good. It had been too long since her last massage.

“That feels good,” she hummed when he reached her shoulders. He finished way too soon for her liking.

“There you go,” he said before applying some to his skin as well.

They lay next to each other for a while, talking and joking, before Natasha sat up. “Oops!” she cried out as her untied top nearly fell off her chest. She pressed her arm to her breasts just in time to save her modesty. That wasn’t planned, but she considered it a happy accident. With most of her breasts exposed, Harry’s attention was now fully on her. She turned her back with a smile. “Can you tie me up, please?”

Harry did just that, and she smirked when his fingers lingered on her skin. Once tied, she pushed herself to her feet and held out her hand. “Let’s go swimming,” she suggested.

“Alright,” Harry said and got to his feet. He took her hand, and she led him into the water. As soon as they were thigh-deep, a large wave crashed over them, nearly knocking her down. Harry wrapped his arm around her, keeping her upright. She took the opportunity to press her body against him. The cold water had her nipples hard, and she subtly rubbed them against his bare chest.

“Thanks for saving me,” she smiled at the handsome young man. He smiled back at her.

“No problem,” he chuckled, keeping his arm around her. His hand was on her hip, and she could feel his fingers lightly caressing her soft skin. Natasha stood on her tiptoes and lightly kissed his lips. She was pleased when he kissed her back. After pulling away, she smiled sexily at him and pulled him further into the water, where they splashed and played around. This was only the beginning of what she had in store for him.