TITLE: Spellbound

DISCLAIMER: All things Harry Potter belong J K Rowling. Tony Stark, SHIELD, Nick Fury, and everyone else belong to Marvel Comics / Marvel studios, as does any of the characters in the MCU that get dragged kicking and screaming into this... basically, if you recognise it, it isn't mine… I'm just here for the fun.

Diagon Alley

Walking out of Gringotts after saying goodbye to Bill and Fleur and thanking them for their help, both Tony and Hermione had to squint in the bright sunlight after being inside and underground while their eyes had adjusted to the dark.

"Sunglasses, next stop we buy sunglasses," Tony groused, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand as he looked around and easily saw the trio of redheads sat outside a shop only a few doors down and across the alley from the bank. "There they are," He said, pointing the three of them out to Hermione who looked to be having the same problems with sunlight that he was having.

Walking down the steps from the bank he shook his head in amusement at the jingling from the small leather pouch in his pocket, he'd bought one for five galleons each for himself and another for Hermione when he'd exchanged his money at the counter, inwardly thanking Pepper for having the envelope full of funny money left for him at the Stark office reception, and now happily had a 'magic pouch' of a two hundred and sixty five gold coins, six silver coins, and a hand-full of Knuts, which was endlessly going to amuse him, not to mention the sheer entertainment of a small leather bag that he could reach inside up to his elbow with.

"Hey all," Tony smiled as he walked over, trying to get used to the feeling of the pouch of metal in his pocket. "What's happening?"

"Ice cream," Pepper smiled up from her seat. "Or there was, but it had little jumping frogs on it." She explained with a frown.

"Frogs?" Tony raised an eyebrow at this, looking to where Hermione had moved to stand next to Ginny. "Jumping frogs on ice cream?" He asked.

"It's just chocolate," Hermione smiled. "It's charmed like that, they don't last long." She explained. "You can get bigger ones in the shop as well, they've only got one or two jumps in them though."

"Check, jumping chocolate frogs," Tony mused to himself. "Anything else exciting?"

"How did the bank go?" Pepper asked curiously.

"Got it all set up," Tony nodded back. "Transferred the money into her vault, now she shouldn't have any problems." He smiled over, leaning down to kiss Pepper on the forehead. "So, what's next?" He asked, looking to Hermione.

"My wand," Hermione said softly.

"Great," Tony smiled enthusiastically. "Lead the way?" He said, offering his hand to help Pepper out of her seat as Ginny and Molly stood up to join them.

"Ollivanders is right at the end of the alley," Hermione explained, pointing down past the bank and further down the alley.

"Stop there first then work our way back through the shops?" Tony asked, heading off in the direction Hermione had pointed and making sure the other four were walking with him. "Anywhere you need to go?" He asked, looking to Molly and Ginny. "Come on, I can see you want to." He laughed, looking at Ginny.

"Quality Quidditch Supplies," Ginny said with a small grin. "I need some new broom wax this year, but I'll have to see how much it is." She explained.

"That's back there," Hermione explained, pointing back to where the alley curved around before leading back to The Leaky Cauldron. "Next to the Apothecary for potions ingredients." She explained as she followed Tony past Gringotts again, smiling fondly at the Magical Menagerie store as they walked past, remembering when she'd first walked in and bought Crookshanks from there.

"Potions?" Tony asked, looking over in interest. "Tell me more?" He asked hopefully.

"I'll give you our potions text book when we get back," Hermione laughed, trying to imagine Tony's face when faced with all the strange ingredients and potion mixing techniques.

"That book isn't going to try to eat me as well right?" Tony asked dubiously, remembering the Furry Book of Doom too well.

"No," Hermione shook her head, trying to keep the smile off her face as she mock frowned at Tony. "Though I don't know if I should let you borrow it now after seeing what you did to Ginny's book."

"I'll replace it," Tony said quickly, holding up his hands in surrender and looking to Ginny. "I'll buy you a new one, promise." He said fervently, wanting to stay on the Weasley's good side while they helped him through this strange and fun new world.

"What book dear?" Molly asked, looking over to Ginny for an explanation.

"The Monster Book of Monsters," Ginny explained, doing her best not to laugh at Tony.

"The Homicidal Book of Evil!" Tony corrected her. "Her bag starts moving on its own, so I go to make sure everything's ok," He explained. "I take the book out to see what's going on, and it attacked me!" He shouted with a grin. "So I defended myself naturally, and the book didn't stand a chance." He finished with a smirk.

"Translation, he was snooping and something objected," Pepper said, shaking her head at Tony's antics. "Can a book really attack someone?" She asked, now wondering exactly how much of Tony's story was made up.

"That one can," Ginny nodded firmly. "I taped it up with spellotape to stop it from eating my other books." She explained.

"Oh," Pepper whispered, not knowing what else to say when someone else confirmed one of Tony's crazy stories. "Doesn't that mean Tony cut the tape?" She asked, looking to Ginny.

"Of course," Ginny nodded. "So Pepper was right," She grinned at Tony.

"Knew it," Pepper laughed at Tony's mock hurt expression as Hermione stopped walking.

"Ollivanders," Hermione said by way of explanation, pointing to the shop she'd led them to.

"Makers of fine wands since..." Tony blinked, reading off the gold lettering above the door of the shop. "Since three hundred and eighty-two BC?" He asked in awe. "Over two thousand years?" He demanded, looking to Hermione.

"It's been in the Ollivander family all that time," Hermione confirmed. "The store is even mentioned a few times in Hogwart's: A history when it talks about Godrick Griffindor's wand." She explained eagerly. "Twelve inches, oak and gold, with a griffin feather core."

"That's impressive," Tony nodded at the information, having a business pass from generation to generation for over two thousand years was definitely a feat worthy of the history books.

"Um..." Hermione paused before walking into the store, hesitating by the door. "Don't touch anything?" She asked hopefully, looking at Tony and Pepper.

"Why not?" Tony asked curiously.

"Wands don't like it when muggles touch them," Hermione explained. "There's stories of people being knocked out by wands or turned into rats or monkeys." She said gingerly.

"Right, no touching!" Pepper said firmly from next to Tony, making sure he understood.

"I didn't know that," Ginny said, walking with Hermione as she opened the door to walk into Ollivanders. "Do wands really attack muggles?"

"In quite a few cases," Hermione nodded as she led the way into the store.

"Miss Granger,"

Hermione looked up at her name, seeing the old wandmaker where he was stood by a desk away from his usual counter, shaving down a piece of wood absently with some sandpaper. "Hello Mr Ollivander." She said politely.

"Vine wood, ten and three quarters, dragon heartstring." Mr Ollivander smiled as he turned away from his desk, putting down the wand he'd been currently carving. "It's been treating you well I assume?"

"It... it was," Hermione said sadly, looking over to Mr Ollivander. "It broke, there was an accident." She explained in a soft voice.

"Oh dear," Mr Ollivander shook his head, walking over to the group. "Beyond repair?" He asked.

"Three different pieces," Hermione winced as she remembered how her wand had looked when she's managed to fish all the pieces out of the bag from the hospital.

"Oh my," Mr Ollivander whispered. "Certainly beyond repair if the core was damaged so severely," He nodded in agreement. "Here for a replacement then?" He nodded. "And brought an audience with you I see," He smiled, looking at the group. "Hmmm, don't remember you." He said with a frown, looking at Ginny. "No, not either of you." He muttered, looking past Tony and Pepper. "Molly dear, Ash, nine and a half inches, with a unicorn hair. I remember it being a rather swishy wand, exceedingly good for charms." He smiled over.

"You remember all that?" Tony asked curiously.

"Of course," Mr Ollivander smiled. "I remember every wand I sell." He said proudly. "Which is curious, because I don't remember you." He frowned, turning his attention back to Ginny. "Wand?" He asked, holding out his hand.

"It's one of yours," Ginny smiled bashfully as she handed her wand over from her pocket.

"Hmmm, yes indeed." Mr Ollivander nodded. "No, no, not mine." He mused, running his finger over the subtle twists carved into the grip of the wand. "My fathers," He announced. "I recognise the technique he taught me." He said with a smile. "No, this wand was certainly not sold to you my dear."

"It's a family wand," Molly said quickly. "Genevive Prewett, my mother." She said proudly. "She left it to Ginny when she passed."

"Ahh," Mr Ollivander nodded at that. "A lot of families pass their wands down, never as good as a wand that choses the witch though." He mused aloud. "The Longbottoms did this as well, same for your son I believe, Ronald?" He asked, looking at Molly for confirmation. "Not two years ago I remember replacing that wand of his."

"Ginny's doing just fine with it thank you," Molly said quickly, cutting off Mr Ollivander's comments.

"Be that as it may, my point still stands," Mr Ollivander said, turning back to Hermione. "Very well, let's see what we have here then." He mused, flicking his wand to the counter behind him and floating over. "Wand arm," He ordered as the tape measure unrolled itself in the air, floating over automatically to where Hermione was holding her right arm out and lining up against her arm, measuring wrist to elbow then from shoulder to fingertip.

"He has to measure all that?" Pepper asked, looking at Molly for an explanation while noticing that Ginny was looking at her wand more curiously now than she had been before.

"Oh yes dear, a witch's wand is very personal," Molly smiled over. "Mr Ollivander makes all the wands here, I dare say almost all the wands for every witch and wizard in England."

"May I... do you mind?" Pepper asked hesitantly, looking at where Molly's wand was poking out of her knitted jumper pocket.

"Not at all dear," Molly smiled, bringing the wand out for Pepper to look at more closely this time, it wasn't a flashy wand by any standard, heavily warn from decades of use, and weathered around the grip from where she'd held it every day.

"Sorry, I shouldn't stare," Pepper said, shaking herself away from where she'd been admiring the pale brown wand, it looked very simple but obviously well used and taken care of, much like everything she'd come to know about The Weasley's now.

"Quite alright dear," Molly laughed as she replaced her wand in her pocket. "This is all very new to you, I understand you have so many questions."

"More than a few," Pepper admitted with a small laugh as she turned back to see the silver measuring tape now measuring down Hermione's nose before twisting around to measure between her eyes.

"Interesting, interesting..." Mr Ollivander mused, flicking his wand and sending the tape measure back to its home on the counter as he walked into the stacks of boxes to the rear of the shop. "Very interesting," He continued to mutter as he walked out of view.

"What's interesting?" Tony asked in a whisper, looking to Hermione for an explanation.

"Don't look at me," Hermione whispered back with a shrug. "Wand lore is a mystery, they don't even teach it at school, you have to go into an apprenticeship to learn anything about them." She explained.

"Secret magic?" Tony asked, looking around the store curiously now.

"I've always wondered," Hermione nodded over. "I'd love to find some proper books on wand lore and read about how wands have changed over time, I bet there's some fascinating history that went into the design."

"Probably," Tony nodded back thoughtfully. "Who knows, maybe you'll..."

"Here we are!" Mr Ollivander announced loudly as he came back from the stacks of boxes, carrying six or seven slender black boxes in his arms before putting them down on the counter. "Hmmm, yes, yes, this one first I think." He mused aloud, pulling the third box from the bottom out and lifting the lid up, pulling the wand out for Hermione to see. "Hawthorne, eleven inches, with a dragon heartstring core." He explained as he handed over the wand to Hermione.

"It's..." Hermione smiled as she took the wand, only to have Mr Ollivander swipe it out of her hand a moment later.

"Nope, not that one." Mr Ollivander muttered, replacing it in the box before reaching for another. "Walnut, twelve inches," He mused, picking up another box and lifting the lid. "Unicorn hair perhaps?" He frowned as he handed over the wand.

Hermione took this one hesitantly, eyeing the strangely curved grip of the wand that was very different from her own natural feeling wand.

"No, most certainly not." Mr Ollivander said, shaking his head as he took the wand back and replaced it in its box.

"I didn't like that one," Hermione said, looking to Tony while Mr Ollivander looked through his boxes again.

"Don't you get to choose?" Tony asked curiously, having been watching with interest as the wands quickly switched hands between the two.

"Oh no," Mr Ollivander shook his head firmly. "No no no, the wand choses the witch, not the other way around." He explained without even turning to face Tony. "Young Ronald here tried out two dozen before finding his new wand." He said.

"Right," Tony drawled out, looking around the shop idly while Mr Ollivander opened another box.

"Yew, nine inches, unicorn hair..." Mr Ollivander explained, handing the wand to Hermione. "Hmmmm," He frowned, looking at the wand and Hermione's hand as she held it. "Go on, give it a flick." He ordered, stepping aside for Hermione to test the wand.

Hermione nodded, angling herself away from everyone else before flicking the wand, sending a shower of green flames out that licked over the counter before vanishing in a crackle of light.

"No, no, no, no," Mr Ollivander said quickly, taking the wand off of her again and replacing it back in the box. "Definitely not yew."

"No?" Tony looked up from where he'd been staring at the green fire in joy. "That one's a no?" He asked in amusement.

"Most certainly not," Mr Ollivander confirmed, lifting up another box and opening it up. "Try this one perhaps?" He announced, bringing around the wand for Hermione to take. "Walnut, thirteen and a half inches," He explained as Hermione took the wand, eying the thin engraved wood that tapered from an ornate grip through to a smooth finish. "Phoenix feather." He finished off as Hermione smiled eagerly when the wand slipped into her fingers. "A bit long and very flexible, but it looks like we've found a match."

"Oh yes," Hermione whispered, feeling the warmth rush down her fingers and tingle along her arm.

"Well, give it a try dear," My Ollivander chuckled. "Walnut is a very demanding wand, only the most brilliant witches can try to master one." He explained. "Walnut and Phoenix feather, quite unique. Independent and fierce, flexible and intelligent but with a strong and wild heart, quite the combination."

Hermione nodded at that, flicking her wand to the counter and letting out a shower of golden sparks that danced through the air before turning into butterflies that fluttered for a moment and vanished in a shower of sparkling light.

"Oh yes, quite the match," Mr Ollivander beamed happily at the display. "I rather think I underestimated you my dear, walnut is more than a match for your mind." He said with a proud smile. "I wonder why vine..." He muttered to himself as he closed the empty box and handed it to Hermione before pushing the other boxed wands to the side. "No, no matter." He smiled to himself. "Seven galleons for that one." He said as he walked around the counter.

"Let me," Tony said, walking forwards and lifting out the leather pouch from his pocket.

"No," Hermione said quickly, shaking her head firmly. "You've done so much for me already," She said forcefully, lifting up her own purse that Tony had bought for her to keep her money in.

"It's gorgeous," Ginny whispered as she came over to admire Hermione's new wand. Looking at the warm brown shine that glistened over the carvings that made up the hilt, twisting around until they faded into the length of the wand, leaving it thin and elegant looking but with an ornate and thicker grip that looked like the thinner wand was trying to control a larger and wilder grip.

"I didn't know yours was your grandmums," Hermione smiled as she fiddled with her purse, finding the unfamiliar leather strap and pulling it loose.

"She left it to me when I was six," Ginny nodded. "I always knew I'd use it when I went to Hogwarts." She said with a smile.

"It must be nice having family traditions like that," Hermione nodded as she started counting out seven galleons from her purse, reading to hand them over to Mr Ollivander for her wand.

"How much is in there?" Ginny whispered, looking at the leather purse.

"Thirty-three galleons," Hermione smiled. "I forgot how much wands were." She said as she finished counting out the money and put the seven gold coins on the counter for Mr Ollivander to take.

"Anything else dears?" Mr Ollivander asked, looking to Hermione and then pointedly to Ginny.

"We're fine," Ginny said, gripping her wand proudly, happy with his history and her bond to it.

"Very well," Mr Ollivander sighed, ringing up the purchase on his till and dropping the gold coins into the tray before closing it quietly. "I stand by my word that a wand that choses you will be better for you dear."

"I like this one," Ginny said with a smile as Hermione tied the leather around her purse again to keep it closed. "Where to next?" She asked.

"What did you want to look at?" Hermione asked, looking up from Ginny to where Tony was still eying the wands cautiously with his hands held behind his back firmly while Pepper was watching him.

"Anything, everything." Tony admitted with a grin. "You sure I can't just..." He trailed off, reaching out with one hand before Pepper slapped him hard on the arm.

"You! No touching, anything!" Pepper ordered sharply. "You heard what Hermione said, I don't want to have to take you to a hospital with a cracked skull because you couldn't stop touching things!"

"Come on, we'd better go," Hermione laughed at Pepper's scowling towards Tony. "Thanks Mr Ollivander."

"Any time dear," Mr Ollivander smiled as Molly opened the door, jingling the small bell above it as she led the way out into the alley again.

"I really think I should be off dears," Molly smiled as they walked down Diagon Alley, with Hermione and Ginny pointing out the various shops and what they sold, explaining things to Tony and Pepper as they walked, ignoring the judgemental stares from some of the witches and wizards around them. "Must get tea started, and Merlin only knows what Ron, Fred and George have been up to all day while I've been galivanting around with you." She said with a chuckle.

"It was lovely to meet you," Pepper said with a warm smile.

"Definitely," Tony agreed happily. "Thanks... for everything." He said with a nod.

"I'll talk to the boys tonight dear," Molly nodded back. "I can't promise anything, but I'll see what we all think."

"That's all I'm asking," Tony said, thankful that Molly was even considering the idea.

"Very well, do owl if you need anything dears," Molly smiled, turning back to Hermione and Ginny. "And behave yourself." She said, glancing at Ginny in particular.

"Yes mum," Ginny nodded, her ears blushing a bit at the warning.

"Enjoy your day, and pop down anytime you like dears, would be lovely to have a big dinner for you all." Molly smiled before turning on the spot and vanishing with a crack, startling both Tony and Pepper while Hermione and Ginny forced back laughter at their response.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that," Pepper admitted, looking to Tony who was grinning happily at the sight of more magic.

"It's great," Tony laughed. "Ok, where to next?" He asked, looking to Hermione. "Show me everything!" He grinned excitedly.

"There's the Magical Menagerie," Hermione said, pointing over to the pet store ahead on their left. "That's where I got Crookshanks from." She explained proudly. "They've got cats, toads, rats, kneasles, weasels and ferrets." She smiled, sharing a small smirk with Ginny as she mentioned ferrets, both of them having heard the story from Harry about Malfoy the amazing bouncing ferret earlier in the year.

"Pet store," Tony nodded, a bit nonplussed at that really though. "What's this game Ginny's always talking about?" He asked, turning to Ginny. "Brooms?" He asked eagerly.

"Quidditch," Ginny nodded back, ignoring Hermione's rolling eyes.

"That's the one where you fly around on broomsticks?" Tony double checked, trying to remember everything he'd been told in the last few days.

"That's the one," Ginny laughed. "The Quality Quidditch Supplies store is up the end of the alley," She explained, pointing down the alleyway.

"What about heading for some lunch soon?" Pepper asked, looking around the group. "I don't know about you, but I could do with something to eat." She asked, looking meaningfully at Tony for him to get the hint that the two girls needed to eat something proper today and not just nibble at bits of sandwiches in the morning.

"Ok," Tony nodded in agreement. "Book store," He said, pointing to Hermione. "Quittich store?" He asked as he pointed to Ginny. "Then out to London to find a restaurant?" He asked, finally looking at Pepper.

"Deal," Pepper agreed at the same time as Ginny corrected him with "Quidditch."

"Flourish and Blotts is down past the bank," Hermione nodded in agreement, her stomach starting to rumble at the talk of food. "We could go there first on our way through?" She asked, looking up at Tony.

"Great plan," Tony smiled, seeing the eager smile starting to come through on Hermione's face as she mentioned the book store. "Lead on," He said, stepping aside for Hermione and Ginny to take the lead again.

"She seems nice," Pepper whispered as she fell instep with Tony walking a few steps behind Hermione and Ginny. "This magic stuff is all a bit... you know, though."

"Molly? Reminds my of mom actually," Tony said with a snort of laughter. "Get the feeling she's a bit overprotective of the kids." He said, nodding to the two girls ahead of them that were talking quietly between themselves.

"Isn't all this magic stuff bothering you?" Pepper asked curiously.

"Honestly?" Tony asked, then continued when Pepper nodded. "Ok, a bit," He nodded. "The physics just don't match up here," He said, waving around the alley where they were walking. "Half of these shops should have fallen down within a minute of them being put up, but they've been here for god knows how long." He explained. "Back in the bank, I saw an iron door dissolve completely at Hermione's touch, breaking at least four fundamental laws that I can think of."

"So it is bothering you," Pepper nodded knowingly.

"Until I figure it out," Tony smirked back. "There's got to be laws and explanations for all this stuff, even if it doesn't fit with the physics we know, there's got to be a logical explanation for it all."

"Nothing here is logical," Pepper pointed out. "Chocolate frogs that jump around on ice cream? That's not logical at all."

"Point," Tony nodded with a sigh. "Look, I'm just trying to deal with it and let Hermione be excited about it, this is her life, if she's happy then that's what she wants." He explained. "If I have to shut up with questions and just let her enjoy it, then that's what I'll do."

"You? Shut up?" Pepper asked mockingly with a smirk. "I'll believe it when I see it." She said with a small laugh, looking ahead to see where the girls had stopped outside a double length shop with large windows showing off the interior, where several books far larger than any book she'd seen before were proudly being displayed.

"Those aren't books, they're bricks with covers," Tony quipped, walking up to the window alongside where Hermione was admiring the large book. "Potions and Lore, a Potion Master's Guide to Advanced Alchemy?" Tony raised his eyebrow as he read off the gold embossed title from the blue leather cover. "Advanced alchemy?" He asked as the title filtered through to his brain, looking to Hermione and then over to Pepper. "I need it." He said solemnly before darting around and moving into the book store before anyone could stop him.

"Alchemy?" Pepper asked, looking at Hermione as they both followed Tony quickly into the store. "Like, turning lead into gold alchemy?" She asked, her eyes going wide when Hermione nodded in response.

"Nicolas Flamel wrote it," Hermione whispered as she hurried over to the counter where Tony was already trying to make his way through. "It's really rare, there's only about a dozen copies of it." She explained.

"Don't tell him that," Pepper almost whimpered as she followed Hermione through, making sure Ginny was following with them through the maze of books inside.

"The alchemy book in the window, how much?" Tony asked as he finally found his way to the counter.

"Potions and Lore?" The assistant behind the counter asked, raising his eyebrow at the question and looking over Tony with a frown. "If you have to ask..."

"I have to ask because I didn't see a price," Tony interrupted, waving away the comment. "Whatever, I'm buying it. Along with others, probably lots of others." He said firmly. "You deliver?" He asked.

"Yes... yes of course." The assistant stammered out, not used to having someone talk like this.

"Tony, you're scaring the boy," Pepper chided him as she approached, resting her hand on Tony's shoulder. "He'll take it, along with whatever the girls need." She smiled, gesturing to Ginny and Hermione.

"Miss Granger, I didn't see you there." The assistant sighed in relief at the familiar face. "Are... is this gentleman with you?" He asked, looking back to Tony.

"Hello Neville," Hermione smiled over, remembering his name only because it was the same as Neville's at school, even though the assistant was a few years older and sported neatly cut blonde hair, rather different from Neville's at school. "Yes, he's... he's family." She said with a small smile, having seen Tony's enthusiasm for knowledge now and starting to wonder what else they had in common.

"Of course, we'd be happy to deliver for Miss Granger," The assistant smiled warmly. "Let me get the manager from the back so we can organise your account." He explained as he stepped out from behind the counter. "Won't be long, I trust you'll keep an eye on things?" He asked, looking to Hermione.

"Always," Hermione laughed at him, watching as he made his way around the maze of books and vanished from view into the rear of the shop.

"You know him?" Ginny asked curiously, not recognising the assistant from Hogwarts anywhere. "How much time do you spend in here?" She asked with a smirk.

"He trusts you to keep an eye on the store while he heads into the back?" Pepper prompted with a curious glance around. "Some of these books look hundreds of years old." She whispered, looking to a stack of leather bound books that she was sure the titles were written in Latin.

"Yes, I'm in here a lot." Hermione huffed, rolling her eyes. "Neville lets me read whatever I want without disturbing me, it's the best place away from the Hogwarts Library I've got." She explained.

"It's great!" Tony grinned, looking around and grabbing a book from the shelf with a name he recognised. "A Thousand Years of Quidditch?" He read off the title. "From Ten-Fifty to Modern Day?"

"Quidditch is that old?" Hermione asked in shock, looking to Ginny for confirmation.

"I haven't read it," Ginny admitted. "But I know the history." She nodded. "They have books like that in the library at school, but they're always checked out." She added with a sigh. "I could never afford one of those."

Tony frowned at that, flipping over the cover to glance inside. "Nine galleons five sickles?" He read off the cover. "We'll start a pile," He said, tossing it on the counter. "Ok... what else have we got..." He mused, flicking through various books and running his fingers across shelves at a time, looking for anything that would jump out at him.

"You... I... I didn't..." Ginny stammered out, looking to Hermione and Pepper.

"Get used to it," Pepper sighed in response as she idly looked at a book that was apparently to do with magical portraiture and mixing alchemy with paints. "If he goes overboard... there's nothing we can really do, just try and reign him in from time to..." She trailed off as the assistant came back into the room, followed by an older man with silver hair and a neatly trimmed beard that flowed over his black robes.

"Miss Granger, I thought it had been too long since your last visit," The older man said as he looked down, seeing Hermione. "You're here to read today or..."

"Buying," Tony said from where he was picking up two more books. "Standard book of spells four, five, six..." He trailed off, looking for any more. "Seven." He commented, adding it to the pile before lifting them over and putting them on the counter ontop of the quidditch book he'd already placed there. "These, plus the Alchemy book in the window." He said with a grin. "Tally up, tell me when we reach two hundred." He said simply.

"Galleons?" The man asked, blinking in shock at Tony's comment.

"The gold ones?" Tony asked, looking to Hermione for confirmation. "Those," He nodded. "Delivery charge?" He asked.

"For an order this size? And for Miss Granger? I won't hear of it." The man smiled widely. "Close the shop Neville, private customers get priority." He ordered happily, waving Neville to hurry up with closing the front door up. "And fetch Miss Granger's new book from the window." He added, settling in behind the counter with some parchment and a quill to start tallying up the books that had already been placed on the pile.

"If you want anything, I'd grab it now before Tony fills up," Pepper mock whispered to Hermione and Ginny.

"I heard that!" Tony yelled from where he'd vanished into some book stacks behind a shelf, coming out with three more books in his arms. "Moste Potente Potions?" He asked, holding up a thick black covered book to Hermione. "Advanced Trans... Transfiguration?" He asked, having to double check the word as he read it. "Predicting the Unpredictable?" He asked, holding up the third book while putting the first two on the pile. "Using Divination to Insulate Yourself Against Shocks?"

"Not divination," Hermione shook her head. "I dropped it third year." She explained.

"Not any good?" Tony asked, holding the book more disdainfully now as he saw Hermione's dismissive look to its name, then shrugging when Hermione shook her head so he put it back on a random shelf.

"Really," Hermione huffed, wandering over and picking up the divination book, taking it back into the stacks where she knew where it belonged.

"What are we up to?" Tony asked, eying where the shop manager was tallying up the books on the counter, having made an extra-large space for the alchemy book from the window.

"Sixty-four galleons and two sickles." The manager reported professionally.

"Keep going then," Tony grinned, looking back to the stacks before choosing an area at random to wander off towards.

"Is he always like this?" Ginny asked, looking up at where Pepper was leafing through the portraiture book with interest, blushing a bit at asking the question.

"Sadly," Pepper smirked, closing the book and adding it to the pile Tony was making on the counter. "I take it this is something else Hermione shares with Tony?" She asked, looking at Ginny curiously.

"With books?" Ginny nodded firmly. "I don't... I mean, I've never seen her buy this many before though." She explained.

"What about you?" Pepper asked with a smile. "Do you need anything here?" She asked. "I noticed Tony already put the book you mentioned wanting on his pile."

"I didn't mean for him to do that!" Ginny said quickly.

"You'll get used to it," Pepper laughed at Ginny's face, shaking her head in amusement. "This is a man that two years ago bought a hundred-and-twenty million dollar Jackson Pollock, just because he wanted it. He's never even looked at the painting." She explained, rolling her eyes.

"A... a hundred..." Ginny whispered, blinking as she tried to understand that. Why would anyone pay millions for a painting and not even look at it?

"Really, put anything you want on the pile," Pepper prompted her good naturedly. "At least with these I know someone is going to appreciate them," She said with a wry smile towards where Hermione was now actually looking at a book she'd pulled off of a shelf.

Ginny nodded at that, feeling very awkward about the situation as she walked over to see what Hermione was looking at. "What's that one?" She asked, standing on tiptoes to look over Hermione's shoulder at the book she was reading.

"A history of transfiguration," Hermione explained, closing it so she could turn around and look at Ginny.

"Getting it?" Ginny asked curiously, wanting to see how Hermione was dealing with this as well.

"I... I want to," Hermione nodded. "It's... it's just..."

"Weird?" Ginny nodded.

"Merlin yes!" Hermione laughed back.

"Pepper was just telling me, she says he bought a hundred-million-dollar painting that he's never even looked at!" Ginny exclaimed. "Who does that?" She demanded.

"Apparently, he does," Hermione whispered, shaking her head at the idea. "You didn't believe me when I told you how rich he was, did you?"

"It... it hasn't sunk in yet," Ginny admitted. "He can buy two hundred galleons worth of books just because he wanted them? I can't even think about the sort of money he has." She explained, remembering how Tony had talked about his money with Professor McGonagall and the 'billions' word had been mentioned more than a few times.

"That's only what he got from the bank," Hermione whispered over, feeling uneasy admitting the huge piles of gold she now had in her own vault at Gringotts.

"Another," Tony said, walking by the two girls and pulling the book from Hermione's hands, adding it to a pile of five books he already had in his arms and carrying them to the counter. "Tally?" He asked as he drummed his fingers idly on the counter.

"A hundred and forty-six galleons, seven sickles." The manager said, a bit in shock as he picked up one of the books from the new pile and started adding the new ones to the tally.

"Pep? Girls?" Tony asked, looking around to the three of them. "I'm serious, grab what you want." He said firmly before turning back to the manager. "Got forms for me to fill in for delivery?" He asked.

"Of course," The manager smiled happily, bringing up some more parchment and another quill. "Please write your address here, be sure to indicate if it's a magical or muggle address."

"Muggle," Tony nodded, remembering that word. "They're the witches," He said with a smirk, nodding over to the two girls.

"I see," The manager nodded solemnly. "Miss Granger's father then I presume?" He asked curiously.

"Yup," Tony grinned proudly as he took the quill that was being offered. "Ok, yeah, no." Tony said in amusement, eying the long-feathered object with ink dripping from the nib. "Hermione?" He asked, looking around for her and spying her reading another book with Ginny alongside her. "One second." He said, handing the quill back to the manager and wandering off to the girls.

"Hmm?" Hermione looked up from the book as she heard her voice, turning around to see Tony walking towards them. "Sorry, I got..." She trailed off as Tony plucked the book from her hands.

"Ancient Runes, An Extensive Resource of Norse and..." Tony trailed off, ignoring the rest. "Come and write down our address for me?" He asked hopefully. "Quills? Really?" He asked with a snort. "Remind me to bring a pen next time we're shopping." He laughed as he led Hermione back to the counter, missing her shocked look at the way he'd phrased 'our address' while he tossed the Ancient Runes book on the pile they were taking.

"It took me ages to learn too," Hermione admitted, swallowing the nervous feeling that was bubbling up inside her as she smiled over and took the quill from the manager.

"Why not pens?" Tony groused. "Ok," He muttered to himself, seeing that Hermione was ready as he pulled out his phone. "JARVIS, what's the address for the London apartment again?" He asked, putting the phone on the counter so it was close enough for Hermione to listen to.

"Of course sir," JARVIS' voice came over the speaker clearly. "The London apartment is situated on the forty-first floor, at One Canada Square, Canary Wharf."

Tony watched patiently as Hermione wrote down the details on the parchment, reading it back as she went along, writing the address out in neat scratches and swirls with the quill. "There." She announced when she was finished. "Is that enough?" She asked, looking at the manager.

"That'll do nicely," The manager smiled as he took the parchment and quill back. "Delivery today?" He asked, looking to Hermione and over to Tony.

"Sure," Tony nodded. "JARVIS, delivery from..." He trailed off, looking at Hermione.

"Flourish and Blotts," Hermione filled in with a smile.

"Coming today, have it sent up to the apartment." Tony finished off, speaking aloud as he wandered over and eyed the book Ginny was reading. "Hexes and Curses, The Best Defence is a Strong Offence." He smirked, pulling the book out of Ginny's hands. "This one too." He grinned, taking it back to the counter and dropping it on the pile.

"Of course," The manager chuckled, seeing Ginny blush as she moved to stand by Hermione, adding the last book to the tally. "A hundred and fifty-eight galleons, fifteen sickles." He said, looking over the list. "Is that everything?" He asked.

"Yes!" Pepper said quickly before Tony could go looking for anything else to add. "That's plenty, thank you." She said, watching as Tony pouted while Hermione and Ginny hid their smiles in their hands.

"Take these through to have them packaged Neville," The manager ordered, looking at the rather large pile of books that had been set aside.

"Right, money," Tony nodded, pulling out the leather purse from his pocket. "Used to having people do this for me," He snorted, reaching in and grinning when his arm vanished inside the bag itself. "I love that." He laughed, walking over to the counter and pulling out a handful of gold coins before repeating the process several more times while the manager tidied up the coins that were spilling over, counting them out into small piles of ten galleons each.

"I don't think I've ever seen that much money before," Ginny whispered over, looking at Hermione in shock as Tony continued to pull out handfuls of the gold coins.

"You two alright?" Pepper asked, walking over and recognised the shocked expressions on their faces as someone that had just been introduced to Tony Stark's idea of shopping. "Did you at least get some for yourselves?" She asked with a small smirk.

"He... he added three of mine," Hermione admitted with a nod.

"Two," Ginny nodded with a small blush.

"At least those will be read then," Pepper sighed, shaking her head in amusement as she heard the till ring up from the counter. "All done here?" She asked, looking at Tony who was fiddling with some silver coins the manager was handing back to him.

"Yup," Tony grinned, dropping the silver coins into his leather purse with glee. "What's next?" He asked. "Oh, that sports store!" He nodded excitedly.

"Come on then," Pepper smiled, moving to Tony and waiting for him to grab his phone from the counter before herding him towards the entrance of the shop. "Thank you for all your help." She said, smiling back to the manager of the store.

"My pleasure," The manager beamed happily. "Be sure to return any time you like."

Hermione smiled at that, happy that the Flourish and Blotts manager was happy for them all to return, though it was obvious he was happier with the amount of gold that had been deposited in his till today than Hermione's normal quiet reading excursion. She had to wonder if this was how people acted when they realised money was involved, she could see it in the Flourish and Blotts managers eyes, how he was making a mental note to remember her when she came back, rather than happy to ignore her and leave her to her reading as he had done before.

She remembered how Ron had been upset earlier in the year when he'd given Harry leprechaun gold by mistake and it had vanished, that had almost been an argument between Harry and Ron when he'd moaned in front of everyone that it 'must be nice to have so much money you don't notice if a pocketful of Galleons goes missing.'

She'd thought it strange at the time, and absentminded of Harry, understanding why Ron was upset at the same time when he'd saved up to pay Harry back for the Omnioculars he'd bought them, only for the money to vanish leaving Harry out of pocket. Now though, seeing her vault filled with the gold coils, she could understand it a bit more, the ten Galleons Ron had given back to Harry would be easy to overlook or miss when compared to larger piles of money.

"What are you thinking about?"

Hermione shook her head clear as she heard Ginny's voice from walking alongside her. "Sorry," She smiled hesitantly, rubbing her head and trying to clear her thoughts. "Just about Harry and Ron."

"Ah," Ginny nodded, looking away from Hermione and up ahead to the Quidditch store where they were walking. "Ron's fine by the way, mum said he still feels bad about the hospital bed." She explained.

Hermione nodded at that, remembering the day Ron had come to visit her at the hospital with Mr and Mrs Weasley, he'd been poking around the hospital room and barely listening to her while she'd been pouring her heart out to him. It had all come to ahead when she'd been trying to tell Ron how much she missed her parents when Ron had started pressing the buttons on the bed randomly, jerking the foot of the bed upwards and jarring her leg in the process, which while still in the cast had made her cry out in pain and draw the attention of the doctors.

She'd yelled at Ron so hard for that and banned him from coming near her in the hospital room again, even though she knew it was an accident now, she was still upset that he'd been ignoring her and fiddling with the muggle hospital bed instead of listening to her when she'd needed him.

"Good," Hermione nodded, happy to know that at least Ron was ok, even though he'd really hurt her by not listening to her when she was upset.

"We can owl Harry later if you want?" Ginny asked after thinking about it. "If the Dursley's let him." She added, remembering how badly Harry's aunt and uncle treated him. "Or does he have one of the muggle phone things like Tony does?" She asked curiously.

"A mobile?" Hermione asked, thinking about the question. "I don't think so, Harry never mentioned having one." She said with a frown. "Electronics don't work at Hogwarts anyway, too much magic, and I don't think his uncle would have bought him one."

"Probably," Ginny nodded in agreement as they approached the Quidditch store. "We don't have to go in, I can come back another time." She said with a smile.

"What's this?" Tony asked, coming up behind them and peering in the window at the luscious ebony broom being displayed for everyone to see. "Firebolt?" He asked, reading the expansive display around it.

"It's the fastest Quidditch broom ever!" Ginny grinned enthusiastically. "That's a hazel twig one," She explained, pointing to the bundled twigs that were shaved and shaped around the end of the broom. "Gives better steering." She explained at Hermione's curious look. "Harry's is birch for faster climbs."

"I didn't know they did different ones," Hermione admitted, looking closer at the broom now.

"You fly on these things?" Tony asked dubiously, eying the thin ebony handle with golden metal work stand that looked like it doubled as a foot rest.

"All the time," Ginny grinned. "The Firebolt is a world class broom, even international teams use them." She explained.

"That team you were talking about... Salem?" Tony asked.

"The Sirens?" Ginny asked, shaking her head. "They have a partnership with the Montgomery Sisters company over in Amonk," She explained. "They all use Phoenix brooms."

"How much?" Tony asked, looking around the display for anything that gave an indication of the price. A flying broom was definitely something he wanted to take back to the workshop to have JARVIS look over. "Price on demand?" He asked with a smirk, catching sight of a white sign at the bottom of the display.

"Expensive," Ginny nodded forlornly. "Hundreds of Galleons." She explained. "It's only professional Quidditch players that can afford things like that." She said, looking away from the broom sadly and over to the other window where the various uniforms were displayed before walking over, forcing herself away from the Firebolt.

"Don't," Pepper said warningly, seeing Tony's look as he stared at the broom in the window. "I know that look, you're thinking of buying one and fiddling with it yourself before letting her have it." She explained in a whisper.

"So?" Tony shrugged, not looking away from the broom and seeing Hermione's face that looked like she agreed with him on this point.

"So, how do you think her mother or family will feel if she comes home with something like this?" Pepper whispered firmly. "You can't just buy things for people without thinking how it'll make them feel." She frowned over. "She'll feel indebted to you and it'll break her heart when Molly tells her to give it back to you."

"She's right," Hermione nodded over.

"You said a friend had one of these?" Tony asked, looking at Hermione with a betrayed look on his face.

"Harry..." Hermione frowned, shaking her head. "It was a gift, from his godfather." She explained.

"Are we going in?" Ginny asked from the other window where she'd been eying up the new Holyhead Harpies scarf on display.

"Sure," Tony nodded over Hermione's head, waiting for Ginny to take the lead and open the main door into the shop. "Fine, I won't buy it." He promised, looking to Pepper as he followed Hermione into the store.

"You have to set a good example," Pepper explained, happy that Tony was actually listening to her for once. "Not be reckless and impulsive with your money, Hermione is looking up to you now as her guardian." She explained.

"Reckless? Impulsive?" Tony asked with a mock shocked looked on his face, holding his hand to his chest with a 'moi?' grin.

"Do you want a list?" Pepper laughed back. "I keep it alphabetised and in date order." She smirked.

"Point," Tony admitted as he looked around the store in surprise, there were actually people in this store, unlike the wand store or book store, here there were people wearing cloaks and robes, along with a splattering of younger people in normal clothes, shopping around and store and talking animatedly with each other. "How come everyone's in here instead of the other shops?" He asked, catching Hermione's attention.

"It's the school holidays," Hermione explained, gesturing around the shop. "It's the most popular store in Diagon Alley." She sighed, looking around at the various areas before wandering over to follow Ginny towards a section of the store.

"It's the new Holyhead kit," Ginny explained as she felt Hermione come up next to her, looking at the emerald and gold items that were on sale, scarves, jumpers, robes and flags all prominently displayed along with other teams like the Chudley Canons and Kenmare Kestrels. "It's the only all witch team in the British league!" She explained with a proud smile.

"Really?" Hermione smiled, having heard Ginny talk about the Harpies before and heard all this, but unable to stop Ginny when she was excited about something.

"Sorry," Ginny grinned bashfully, realising she'd told Hermione all about the Harpies the summer last year when she'd stayed over before the Quidditch World Cup. "Let me just check the prices of the broom wax then we can go." She smiled, heading over to the back of the store where the broom maintenance stock was kept along with the second-hand sales where she'd normally look.

"Is she ok?" Pepper asked, coming up behind Hermione to talk quietly.

"Yeah," Hermione nodded with a sigh. "Ginny's just... she's not been around money much, Merlin, I haven't." She explained, shaking her head and trying to gather her thoughts together.

"Tony freaked her out in the book store?" Pepper asked knowingly. "Freaked you both out?"

"A bit," Hermione admitted. "I... I know this is normal for him," She explained, tussling her hair a bit with her hand nervously. "But we... Ginny saved up for months to buy some new school uniform bits for her third year. Mum always made sure I had enough for anything I needed, and then Tony's just spending more money in one store than I could spend in a year." She explained with a frown.

"You think she'll think differently about you now because of Tony?" Pepper asked, getting to the heart of the problem.

"No," Hermione shook her head before thinking about it a bit. "Maybe?" She asked, looking at Pepper. "The Flourish and Blotts manager did, he barely even spoke to me before, other than complaining if I was reading a book and got in his way." She explained. "Today he's friendly and inviting us back any time we want."

"Money changes people," Pepper nodded in agreement. "It changes how people look at you, how they talk about you." She explained. "But it doesn't change your friends if they're really your friends." She said with a small smile. "Do you think Ginny cares if you have money or not?" She asked.

"Of course not," Hermione answered quickly.

"There's your answer then," Pepper smiled, squeezing Hermione shoulder reassuringly as she looked around to see where Tony had wandered off to.

At the rear of the shop Ginny was happy to be out of the bigger crowds that were around the main uniform displays out in the larger area of the store, the back of the store always felt more comfortable to her with smaller nooks and crannies' filled with old quidditch equipment, the smell of leather and wood polish filled the air back here, making a warm and comforting environment for her to enjoy.

"What's this then?"

She turned back as she heard Tony coming up behind her, looking around as he walked comfortably through the store like he owned it, his hands in his pockets as he idly looked around, looking lazy but she could see how his eyes were taking in everything around him.

"Just broom maintenance things," Ginny explained, reaching down to pick up a tin of broom wax. "Fourteen sickles." She nodded, thinking it had actually gone down in price since she'd last bought a tin with Fred and George.

"Right," Tony nodded over. "What about those?" He asked, pointing over to the left side of the store where he could see a dozen different types of brooms displayed on a wall next to what looked like old fashioned brown leather football protective padding.

"That's the second-hand section," Ginny explained, blushing a bit as she thought about how much of her quidditch gear she'd bought from there. "Brooms, padding, quaffles and things like that."

"Show me," Tony nodded, seeing how the young redhead was getting enthusiastic again about everything. "What are these ones?" He asked, wandering over and pointing to three brooms that looked pretty much identical to him, all a warm light brown colour with tapered bristles at the end.

"Those are the old Nimbus Two-Thousands." Ginny explained happily, more comfortable talking about something she knew about now. "The Two-Thousand-One's came out a few years ago, so there's a load of the old Two-Thousand's on sale now with people wanting the new ones."

"Upgrades, got it." Tony grinned, putting it into a term he could understand. "And those?" He asked, looking to the other brooms that looked decidedly less than aerodynamic and nowhere near as comfortable as the Nimbus ones.

"Bluebottle," Ginny explained, pointing to the nearest. "The other two are Comet Two-Sixties." She said, gesturing to the other brooms.

"What about that one?" Tony asked, curious about the broom he could see on a wall on its own, secured behind a glass cabinet. "Is that expensive or something?" He asked, wandering over to stare at it. "Doesn't look any better than those Nimbus things?"

"It's an Oakshaft Seventy-Nine."

Tony turned around in surprise at the voice, expecting to hear Ginny's explanation but finding Hermione answering instead. "Ok? What's that?" He asked curiously.

"It's the same broom Jocunda Sykes used to fly across the Atlantic," Hermione explained, walking through to the back of the store. "I didn't know they had one here." She said, looking to Ginny.

"They take it out to the front when there aren't any big displays on," Ginny explained. "It's not A Oakshaft Seventy-Nine," She said with a wink. "It's THE Oakshaft Seventy-Nine. The one Jocunda Sykes used." She announced as she grinned when she saw Hermione's face.

"She flew across the ocean? On that?" Tony asked in amazement, looking at the fragile looking wood and twine broomstick.

"She's really famous," Hermione nodded proudly. "She was in Gryffindor at Hogwarts, there's a statue of her in the entrance hall."

"That was in Nineteen-thirty-nine," Ginny explained, admiring the broom. "It's a piece of witch history." She said with a smile.

"Ok, I can appreciate that." Tony nodded, looking from the historic broomstick in the glass case to the newer Nimbus brooms on the wall. "Looks like brooms have come a long way." He admitted, spotting the differences in style, quality and aerodynamics immediately.

"Oh yeah," Ginny bounced a bit as she walked over to the Nimbus brooms again. "Cushioning charms, faster acceleration, enchantments for stability and handling." She explained. "They're all getting better every year! Even the new Cleansweeps are pretty good for Quidditch, mum was talking about getting Ron one if he makes Prefect this year."

"I completely forgot about the Prefect letters!" Hermione whispered in horror. "Professor McGonagall will need to know if I'm coming back or not or she'll chose someone else."

"You're a sure win for it," Ginny nodded. "Besides, you've got two weeks before the Hogwarts letters are due back." She explained.

"Two weeks?" Tony asked, looking between the girls. "Prefects?" He asked. "Explain?"

"Our letters have to be signed by our..." Hermione swallowed the word, forcing herself to correct it before she continued. "Guardians, before the thirty first of July, they have to get all the students names and places set by then." She explained anxiously. "If I don't get my letter signed and back to the school by then... I'd... I'd miss a year!" She whispered in horror.

"Ok," Tony frowned, seeing this was serious now. "What about the other schools? Salem and Illy-whatever?" He asked.

"I didn't get chance to look at their letters," Hermione admitted quietly as she saw Tony taking his phone out of his pocket to look at the screen.

"It's the eighteenth today," Tony nodded to himself, adding a mark in his networked calendar for the thirty-first of the month. "So you need to decide on a school and let them know... in twelve days?" He asked, making sure he understood what the girls were saying.

"Oh Merlin!" Hermione whispered, her breath starting to come in sharp gasps as heard the deadline.

"Breath," Tony ordered, putting his arm around Hermione's shoulder and leading her back towards the front of the store with Ginny following. "Ok, we'll get some food then head back the apartment," Tony explained as he led her through to where Pepper was idly looking at the various coloured scarves.

"Tony, what about this one?" Pepper asked, holding a gold and red scarf and jumper up. "It's the perfect colours to match your..." She stopped as she turned around, putting the scarf and jumper back instantly when she saw Hermione's face. "What happened?" She demanded.

"She forgot to tell us about the school deadlines," Tony said. "No big deal, just means we've got to see the schools a bit faster than I thought." He explained as he led Hermione out of the store with Pepper and Ginny following him.

"How soon?" Pepper asked once they were outside of the store with Ginny helpfully pointing towards The Leaky Cauldron at the end of the Alley. "Thanks." She said with a smile to Ginny as they started walking.

"Twelve days," Tony mouthed silently over Hermione's head to Pepper so he wouldn't set her off again.

"It's alright," Pepper nodded reassuringly to Hermione, inwardly smiling a bit at how relaxed the girl seemed to be with Tony comforting her. "Ok, so we need to visit these schools?"

"I've... I've got the letters," Hermione explained in a fluster. "The ones that came this morning." She said quickly. "I didn't read them because I wanted to get my wand first."

"We've got your wand now," Tony smiled. "We'll go for some lunch first, then head to the apartment and you can read the letters and send a letter to Molly." He explained.

"Molly?" Hermione asked, looking up at Tony and suddenly feeling very conscious of the way he was comforting her. "What... why..." She stammered, looking back to Ginny.

"I'll explain over food," Tony said with a smile, seeing Hermione's anxious face when she saw his arm and moving it off of her shoulders. "What do you think?" He asked, looking to Pepper and the girls as Ginny led them through the archway to the Leaky Cauldron. "I fancy steak, anyone else?" He asked hopefully as he stepped into the dingy smoke-filled pub.