A/N: This is a oneshot! No, there will be no follow-up chapters. This is just an idea I had while writing a few drabbles for To Love a Hero. Let me know what you think about it!

cjb1990

Tony Stark was happy with his life. He was. He had an unparalleled mind, a billion dollars company, and could get laid anytime he wanted, with as many girls or guys as he wanted. Sure his dad had been an ass, and the only two persons close to him were his PA Virginia 'Pepper'Potts, and his mentor/friend in Stark Industries Obediah Stane. He knew he had a lot of critics, people who judged him the devil because of his weapons manufacturing.

But since this was a constant he couldn't understand this foreboding feeling in his gut. His gut feeling never failed during business and meetings. So why would he have this now? He was in his jet over an ocean on his way to merry old England to discuss eventual contracts for their military. Pepper cleared her throat next to him.

"Tony, you have to read these documents. We'll be there in an hour, so please read them now."

"Pepper, I know what they want, I have it. No need to worry about documents." She sighed.

"They aren't about the meeting, but about security protocol. It's been a bit restless in England over the last eighteen months, with the Liverpool bombings only occurring last week!"

Tony looked at her. "Pepper, is this an evac plan? It's very easy if bad guys bomb cities, you have to find where they are hiding and smoke them out, while the 1st to 26th platoon stand in the front yard to mow them down."

Pepper wrinkled her nose at his flippant tone. "Just read." With those words as a parting she walked towards her own little corner of the plane.

When they arrived in England a sleek black car was waiting on the left of the hangar.

"Mr. Stark?" An aristocratic voice drawled. Tony looked at the man. High blond hair tied at the back of his neck, the man had a face to match the voice and held a cane with a snake head as a knob.

"Yeah. That's me. You're my escort?" Tony couldn't help but be uneasy at the smirk that lit the man's face.

"In a way." The last thing he registered was the man pulling the knob off of his cane to reveal a thin stick.

"Stupefy!" and his world went dark.

When he came to, he felt like he had slept a long time. Trying to rube the sleep from his eyes, he realized his hands were shackled to the wall above his head.

"So, you awake over there?" This was not the drawl of the man in the hangar. It was hoarse, broken like its owner had screamed for hours on end. It also sounded much younger.

"Yeah I'm up. Well not up, considering I'm shackled to a wall! Any idea as why anyone would hackle me to a wall?" he asked the voice bemused. He heard a low chuckle in the corner.

"Americans. Why do you come to a country at war and be surprised when you become a prisoner of war?"

"Well, weapons manufacturer over here. I sell these things you know, so pretty much a job hazard. But prisoner of war? Of a local terrorist group, I hardly call that a war?" He heard a hiss and felt more than heard the other guy move.

"Bloody hell, a muggle." He muttered. Muggle? "All right, different question. What's the last thing you can remember and what date was that?"

"It's March 13th, or anyway last time I checked it was. Came out of my private jet and this creep with long blond hair and a freaking cane is waiting for me. So I say 'you my escort' and he drawls, no kidding it was an honest to god drawl, he drawls 'in a way'. The he draws some thin stick out of his god damn cane mutters something and then I woke up here." He finished.

"Who was that man?"

"Lucius Malfoy," came he growled response. "Pureblood supreme, old money, severe superiority complex, devote follower of Voldemort and murderer of Luna Lovegood, a good friend of mine." The last words were tinged with sadness and guilt.

What the hell? What on earth was going on in Britain that the rest of the world was missing? When he voiced this, all that first met his question was silence. Then…

"Mr…?" he trailed off again. "Stark, Tony Stark." This got a reaction.

"Bloody Hell! Well, I understand now why Lucy would take you," he said wryly.

"Ah, so you've heard of me, of course no surprise there but I must say kiddo-"

"Harry Potter," the kid cut in.

"Fine Harry. I must say that I have zilch amount of weaponry or tech on me. Except my phone, of course my phones also includes JARVIS, that's my AI, he runs my house and my drives, so-"

"Mr. Stark" he boy raised his voice slightly. "Listen to me very carefully. We do not have a lot of time, now that you're awake. I don't have time to sugarcoat anything so here it goes. Magic; real. All the magic users, and all the creatures and other races etc. went underground because of the witch hunts. Completely different and independent society with its own government and currency. With me so far?"

Tony could only nod. Whatever bullshit the kid was spouting, it was bullshit he could follow.

"Now, in this society, there are prejudices. Not based on gender or skin color or something, but based on blood. The purer your blood the better, some say. A pureblood is someone who come from a long line of only magic users, some creatures as well, but absolutely no muggle or non-magical blood. Then there are the half-bloods, born from pureblood and muggle or muggleborn. Lastly the muggleborns or first generation magic users. There is a faction of dark pureblood families that purebloods are better because they are purebloods. They want the government, and to wipe out muggles and muggleborns alike. They are unworthy, mudbloods."

Tony started to become horrified. Yeah, this sounded like a lot more than just some local terrorists.

"The light faction disagrees, they believe in a meriting system. It is not about the blood, but the capacity for magic. Sure traditions are important, but they can be taught to them. Those factions are at war. The dark side – yes it sounds like Star Wars I know – is headed by Lord Voldemort. The light side by Albus Dumbledore. Right now, you are a proud prisoner of the dark. So get ready 'cause here they come."

The door opened, allowing a beam of light to fall on Harry. Tony sucked in a hissing breath. The boy looked terrible. His clothes were rags hanging of his body. What Tony could see of his skin was covered in dirt and blood. His face was cut up severely. His eyes were clear sparkling orbs of emerald. Tony could see that he was put through hell here, but they had not broken him yet.

"Mr. Potter, we meet again," The Drawl was back (Tony had to suppress the urge to capitalize it in his head).

"Malfoy," Harry spat back. "Still haven't told Tom you have me I see. What shall he do with you when he realizes that you have had me in your dungeon for three months without saying a word to him?" Tony saw him smiling sweetly at the blond. He couldn't help but feel satisfaction at the flinch Drawl failed to hide. Though underneath it, he felt shock. The kid, Harry, had been here for three months?

"Ah, so he has found out I'm missing hmm? And started asking you merry band of Death Eaters why you did not know. Especially you Lucius, with all your connection at the Ministry, on the board of governors of Hogwarts, and still you did not know! He must have expressed his severe dissatisfaction." Tony felt a shiver down his spine. Harry had almost hissed the last words at Blondie. He felt like he was missing a huge amount of subtext that passed between the two. But he realized that Harry was not a simple prisoner, he was someone of importance.

"Shut it you insolent boy! I do not have the time to jest with the spawn of a Mudblood!" He spat dangerously at Harry, who merely smirked triumphantly. To Tony's shock the man turned to him.

"And mr. Stark. Back in the land of the living I see." The silken tones screamed danger to him.

"Mr. Potter, a choice for you." He said without turning his silver stare away from Tony.

"Me," the boy said without hesitation. "He watches, but me." Okay, Tony did not like the sound of that.

"Very well, we will need a bit of light and a new playmate for that, though." He had barely finished speaking and the cell was thrown into blinding light. A startled yelp escaped Harry, and Tony blinked furiously. He saw that Harry had shut his eyes firmly. Not seen that much light in a long time, his brain supplied.

"Ah, does itty bitty Potty's eyes hurt," a sickening female voice cooed from the door opening. Tony could only supply one word for the woman in front of them; deranged. Her voice got a reaction out of Harry though. First a small whimper escaped him, followed by a lowly growled, "Bellatrix."

The woman didn't hesitate and cut down her stick with one fell swoop. Harry groaned, and to his horror Tony saw a cut appear on his cheek.

"That would be mrs Lestrange for you, Mr Potter," Drawling Blond said with poorly disguised glee.

Harry couldn't answer Blondie, as the crazy woman had pointed her stick to Harry again screeching "Crucio!"

The effects were instant. Tony looked on in horror as Harry convulsed on his spot, the shackles straining as he arched them to maximum length. He saw his teeth digging in to his lower lip, clearly refusing to cry out in pain.

"Easy now, Bella. We don't want him to be mentally incapacitated when we give him to the Dark Lord now, do we?" The blond was clearly entertained by the torture.

The bitch relented. Tony saw Harry's body spasm in the aftershocks, his chest heaving while he sucked in his breath. After a few moments he spoke up.

"Bella, Bella. You need to ask you master how to do this, pet. You have nothing on Tom's crucio's. This? A mere tickling charm, nothing more. Very entertaining for Lucy, however. He lacks any humor in his life." Harry's voice was ragged. Tony had to give it to the kid, he had guts.

The bitch and Blondie now wore expressions that crossed the lines from angry into deranged.

"Sanguine calientes!" "Sectumsempra!"

They both cried out at the same time. Tony saw deep cuts appear over Harry's torso, while the boy groaned in pain. Bellatrix' face had turned up with vicious glee.

"Nice, isn't it Potter? To feel your blood warm up as in passion? To feel it go uncomfortably warm? And to end up boiling in your own body?" She cackled, full of joy.

Tony turned his head back to Harry. He was in agony, and Tony could feel nothing but hollow horror. After fifteen minutes of this torture, Harry finally cried out in pain. This seemed to be the cue the bitch was waiting for, because she let go of the attack.

"Till next time, Potty!" And they both left the room. With a clang the door closed behind them, descending the room back in the deep darkness.

Tony listened as Harry tried to compose himself, but it was clear as day that it wasn't going to happen soon. After what seemed like an eternity, Harry became quiet. To quiet.

"Harry? KID! You still with me?" Tony's voice was hoarse and dry, not capable of being smooth after the horrors he just witnessed.

"I'm super," came the sarcastic remark.

"Why?" He asked quietly.

"You're a muggle," came the reply, as if that would explain everything. It didn't.

After a long silence, Tony came with the follow-up.

"So?"

"So… These two forget that a muggle is made up differently than wizards. This is a magical torture session, your mind wouldn't last as long as mine would. It unfortunately has been proven so. I really didn't want to be responsible for devolving Tony Stark, the genius, into a vegetable whose upper brain activity consists of letting you drool all over the place." Okay, so the kid had some point. And a lot of bitterness, if the tone of voice was to be believed.

"You have been here for three months?" He asked quietly.

"Or more," came the careless reply. "I was taken just before Yule, or as you call it Christmas. So when you were taken, it had been three months. Give or take a day."

Tony didn't know what to say, so spoke the only word in his mind.

"Fuck." It came out as a small breath.

He heard Harry burst out laughing, which quickly dissolved into a harsh coughing fit.

"Well, no. Though I like to. I had this girl, her name was Ginny. She's a gorgeous sexy redheaded spitfire of a woman. Could kiss like a house on fire." His voice turned reminiscing. "I was buying her Yule gift when I was taken.

"That sucks dude." Well, it did! Tony was having a mental breakdown here.

"So, any idea how to get us out?" Tony asked.

"Yes, I do. In fact I have an entire escape plan ready to put in action." Came the serious reply.

"Really?" Tony was hopeful now.

"Oh yes! I just stay here for the view, and the people. You see I'm a real people's person, and those two are just my cup of tea." Harry was using biting sarcasm, though Tony had to admit it had been pretty dumb of him to ask it.

The room descended in to silence for a long time, before Harry spoke up again.

"You said you had your phone?" He asked.

"Yes, in my pocket." Tony answered.

"What does it run on?" Okay, that was a surprising question. It ran on electricity, what else does a phone run on?

"It runs on bunnies." Hey, if Harry could answer dumb questions with biting sarcasm, than so could he!

A sigh reached his ears.

"I mean, what conducts the electricity, old school copper wire or something else?" Okay, in-depth questions about his phone. He could do that.

"It is a palladium conducting system. Especially designed for me, by me."

"Thank Merlin!" Harry cried out.

"Now can you reach your phone?"

Tony was startled, why hadn't he tried that before? It was in the inside pocket of his jacket. Try as he might, he couldn't reach it with his hands. He growled in frustration.

"You know," Harry spoke up conversationally. "Call me crazy, but your feet and legs aren't shackled. Your hands are above your head now. Maybe you should try standing up?"

Tony flushed a dark red (not that anyone could see it, but he could definitely feel it). He hadn't thought of that either. He felt like a stupid six grader, a feeling he was not familiar with.

After a couple of minutes struggling to stand up without the use of his arms, he managed to get on his feet. Now, his jacket pocket was on the same height as his hands.

"Why didn't those two think of this?" He questioned out loud.

"Purebloods," came the instant reply. "They know that you have a phone, but think it won't work because of the magic. What they don't know, is that me and my friend Hermione have been doing research for ages about the malfunctioning of electricity around magic. Turns out that magic creates an overload of energy for the system, and copper wiring can't handle that. Now, palladium canhandle the energy load of magic. So we can use it as a conductor for it, and use magic as battery for your phone."

"Huh, who would've though?" Muttered Tony, finally managing to unearth his phone out of the depths of his pocket.

"it's dead!" He exclaimed disappointed.

"Of course it is," came the scathing reply. "Electrical energy seeps away in a magical environment. Try to keep up."

Definitely feeling like a dumb six-grader, Tony thought to himself. He was surprised by Harry, clearly the kid was intelligent and strong. He also seemed of importance to both sides of this supernatural mystical war.

"Now, take out the battery, and hold it towards my voice." It took some effort, but Tony managed it.

"Okay, now what?" He asked tersely. He hoped to god this would work out. Otherwise they would still be stuck here, and he would have sacrificed his phone for nothing.

"Now, you hold as still as you can. I'm trying to beam my magic in it, sort of. If I miss, you'll feel like your super statically." Tony confirmed that he was ready. He immediately felt like he was in the middle of a thunderstorm. He was sure his hair looked like he had put his fingers in the electrical socket on the wall.

"You missed! You missed!" he hastily cried out.

"Oops, sorry," came the reply. The static force relented after he spoke. Again Harry tried, and again he missed.

After what felt like an hour, Harry finally hit the bull's eye. Tony felt the battery become pleasantly warm.

"That's it Lucky Luke! You hit the jackpot!" He cried out.

"Okay, done!" came the voice of Harry, equally enthusiastic. But to Tony's great concern, it also sounded tired and full of pain.

"Harry, you okay there buddy?" He asked

"Doing magic after a blood boiling curse isn't exactly recommended by Healers," Harry replied. Tony translated that in his head as; "I'm in freaking agony, because the bitch put me under a curse. Then, I put myself in further agony because I used magic, while I know that worsens the situation."

"Alright then, just don't die on me." Tony had discovered during their talks, that flippant and sarcastic was the best way to communicate with the kid. Who was he not to relief the tension and pain as much as possible for him.

"I promise I will not let you leave this place alone. Like I said; people's person." Harry replied, thoroughly amused.

"Now, put the battery back in the phone and it'll work." Harry instructed. "Hopefully." Came the afterthought.

"Hopefully?" Tony drew out the word slowly and sarcastically. But his hands were already working on putting the battery back and turning on his phone.

"Sweet merciful baby Jesus, it works!" Tony was ecstatic.

"Good! Now, call this number and put the phone on speaker." Harry recited a number and Tony dutifully called it, putting the phone on its speaker mode.

"Hello, Granger residence," came from the phone.

"Mione?" Harry asked, his voice now full of emotion.

"HARRY?!" the woman screeched back. "OH MY GOD, HARRY! You're alive! Where are you? Why are you phoning me, instead of coming back to HQ or-"

"Hermione Granger, SHUT UP!" Harry cut through the incessant questions.

"Listen up, I don't know how much time I have. I'm in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor, not by free will. They just caught Tony Stark. He, thank Merlin, had a phone with palladium wiring." Tony could hear a gasp of understanding and awe coming from the other end of the line.

"You need to call in Kingsley, let him speak with the Americans. If we can get their magical and muggle help.."

"The Munchers don't stand a chance." Hermione ended understandingly. "I saw on the news that Stark has been abducted a week ago. His assistant was found unconscious." Tony gasped, not Pepper!

"Stunned?" Harry's voice was all business.

"No," snorted the girl on the other line. "Scorch mark of a stunner were a foot on the left from where she would've stood. She was ducking out of the way and hit her head against a metal frame."

Harry groaned. "Seriously? She knocked herself out?"

"Yes." Hermione replied. "Now Harry what else do we need to know?"

Harry was silent for a heartbeat.

"Make sure healing assistance is on stand-bye." It was silent, though Tony was sure he could hear the brain of the girl on the other end of the line working.

"How bad?" The voice sounded a lot younger now.

"Three months of Bella and Lucy," Harry was terse, not telling of his injuries, but the names seemed to hold all the meaning.

It certainly seemed so when the reply came. "Oh, Harry" she sounded like she was in tears.

To their dread, they could hear footsteps coming down the steps to the dungeons.

"Just hurry, Hermione Granger!" Tony called out, before snapping his phone shut, and hiding it back into his jacket. He just repositioned himself on the floor, when the door opened again.

This time, no lights came on. There was a small, pudgy man. His face was light by a small light on the end of his wand. He also floated two plates of food, towards the two men.

"Well, let us see how good you are in feeding the both of you Potter." The voice trembled as much as the man itself. He was terrified.

"Or," Harry responded, almost thoughtfully. "I could call in that life debt you owe me, and make you help us escape."

The man, if possible, started to tremble even harder.

"Y-You don't want to do that, Potter," the man squeaked. "They'll know in a second."

Harry chuckled. "Don't worry, Wormtail. I have no intention to bank my chips just yet."

The man looked confused, not understanding the reference. With another scared look at the teen, he withdrew from the cell.

Tony looked at Harry. "Why don't you call in this debt? It would be pretty useful, no?"

Harry nodded in the dark. "Yes, it would be bloody useful. But wouldn't it be slightly stupid to bank in on it, before the cavalry has arrived?"

Tony now understood. He reminded the man of the debt (and it seemed they were to be taken quite literal), as a foreboding for what's to come.

"So, how are we going to eat something that's standing innocently on a floor that we can't reach?" Tony asked. He could hear the smirk in Harry's voice as he answered.

"Magic, mr. Stark. Magic." And with some effort he managed to float Tony's plate to level with his face. With utmost precision, he managed to get food in his mouth. Tony almost gagged it all back out. It was disgusting! With an immense effort, he managed to keep it down.

"So, how long do you think it'll take for the cavalry to arrive?" Tony asked the kid.

Harry chuckled lightly. "Oh, if I know Hermione, she is now on a rampage through the Order and the Ministry. I pity the person who doesn't take her serious."

"Why?" She hadn't sounded like a spitfire on the phone.

"Combine the biggest bookworm who has an eidetic memory with a personality of bravery and loyalty and severe vengeance. Yeah, I pity the bloke who tries to stop her. She'll hex him with spells not even seen in the last two centuries or something like that." He chuckled again, clearly remembering Hermione Granger in one of her glory moments.

"Yikes, no that doesn't sound wonderful for the peeps who cross her." Tony murmered.

The days after that, the two fell in a routine. Being woken up by Blondie and Psycho, Harry brazening his way through a torture session while Tony had to look on powerless and helpless, Harry getting himself together again mentally, food, sleep.

Harry worried Tony. He could see that the treatment of the two captors was wearing on him. His jokes were not as spot on, and his sarcasm became more bitter. But the most worrying was that his magic was declining. He had trouble levitating their plates at the end of the day. On the first day he had managed that, even after a blinded 'hit-the-target' session.

Tony asked Harry about it. And Harry couldn't deny everything Tony had witnessed over the past few days. He needed to come clean, even though he did not want to tell Tony anything about his condition. It became more and more a distinct possibility that the cavalry would arrive too late for him.

"I'm not healing Tony." He coughed.

"What do you mean?" Tony, for the life of him, couldn't keep the concern out of his voice.

"At the beginning of my stay, I could direct my magic to heal the most serious wounds. I've done it since my childhood. But now, my magic is deserting me. I don't know if it is because my wounds are too serious and too many to heal, and therefore my magic is exhausting itself. Or if it is vice versa." Harry remained silent for a moment.

"Listen Tony. I- I may…" Harry had to take a deep breath to steady himself. "It is a very real scenario that you walk away from this when they come. But the window for me is kind of small at the moment. When, if I die, could you tell some people some things?"

Goosebumps appeared all over Tony's skin. How weird and terrifying that a teenager could discuss his death so calmly.

"Sure kid, but you have to promise me something first."

"What?"

"Promise me that when that time comes, you'll go down swinging. Don't walk away from this, but fight it every god damn step of the way." His voice broke, hoarse as it was with emotions. The silence lasted too long for his liking.

"I promise." Harry's voice was soft, but rang with determination. Tony knew he wasn't going to give up anytime soon.

Three days later, Harry didn't speak to Tony at all. The only words Tony heard him utter was the standard 'me' when Lucius walked in, and a 'fuck you' when Bellatrix touched him and taunted him.

It was after their meal, but Tony couldn't sleep. He knew he was lucky. He had been in the cell for over a week, and not once did they touch him. No, instead Harry kept sacrificing his body and mind for him. Harry still hadn't explained how and why he was so important, for both sides. Lucius and Bellatrix didn't care to explain either.

No, the only time those two spoke to him, was to insult or taunt him. They continually called him 'mudblood' and taunted him with the pain they inflicted on Harry. As far as psychological torture goes, it was pretty damn effective from Tony's point of view.

Tony kept on going over the last week. Harry had made noises he thought the human body incapable of. But then again, he had thought it also impossible to make someone scream their lungs out with the flick of a wooden stick.

Tony was a man who dealt in war, there was no denying it. He made weapons that were designed to kill an enemy as fast and efficient as possible. But this? This horror was a side of war he was not familiar with. And it sickened him to realize, that this was also a part of the business he made his fortune out.

He was shaken out of his reverie by a tremor that went through the walls of their cell. E sat up straighter. Was that the rescue? Finally!

"Harry! Harry wake up!" Tony screamed.

"What?" Harry mumbled, then crawled into himself in pain and groaned.

"Listen! Looks like they finally came!" He was excited, he couldn't wait to be freed from this godforsaken hell hole.

The noise came closer and closer. By the sounds of it, there was a fight on the stair leading to the dungeons. The screams of wounded men, rifles going off, the yelling of spells… it was crazy out there.

Then for a moment, there was silence. Complete and utter, deafening silence. Tony couldn't even hear Harry's breath. Wait! He couldn't hear Harry's breath!

"HARRY!" he yelled at the kid.

"Harry! Still with me?" His frantic questions got nothing but silence in return. "HARRY, NO! GODDAMNIT! You promised, Harry! Come on, buddy stay with me. Don't die, not now…"

His screaming attracted the attention of the people outside in the dimly lit dungeon hallway. Soon Tony could hear the voices just outside the cell door, banging on the door.

"Are you in there? Anyone behind this door? Can you make a sound, talk, anything to give us a sign?" it was a deep, soothing and calming voice. But Tony was beyond that.

"Please, he's dying! Come in, help him! Harry!" Tony was truly losing it.

With a huge bang the door flew upon and banged against the cell wall. Wands flared up and shone light in the cell. Tony couldn't see who were holding the wands. But he needed to take the chance to save Harry.

"Are you alright, sir?" the deep voice asked him.

"I'm fine. I'm fine! It's Harry! He took it all, said because I'm muggle I couldn't take it. He stopped responding, I can't hear him breathe anymore." Tony was simply begging the man.

"Harry?" the man now whispered and stood still for a moment. Then everyone jumped into action. Soothing and deep went to the kid, and immediately vanished his shackles with a muttered word and a wave of his wand. Turning him on his back, Tony could clearly hear the air sucked in between his teeth. He knew what deep and soothing was seeing. Every time the god damn light was turned on he had to see the extent of the damage wrecked on Harry's face.

"God, Harry? Can you hear me? Ennervate!" More people came into the cell. Tony was surrounded by wand carrying men in weird dresses. They fussed over him, removing the shackles, trying to put spells on him to check him out. But Tony didn't care, he only cared about the two men who were pouring liquid after liquid down Harry's throat, all the while muttering frantically and waving their wands over various body parts.

Finally, Tony saw Harry move. The groan that fell from his bloodied lips were like an angels choir to him.

"Hey, Harry? Can you hear me? Follow the sound of my voice, open those eyes to my voice. That's it Harry, easy. Easy does it." Calm and Soothing did wonders, even Tony felt himself relaxing, now he knew that Harry wasn't dead.

"Kings?" Harry groaned. "That really you?" The so-called Kings chuckled softly.

"Yes, Harry it's really me."

Before 'Kings' could say anything else, a huge black dog was bounding into the cell. Tony couldn't believe his eyes when the dog transformed right in front of his eyes into a man. A very attractive man, he may add.

The man had shoulder-length black wavy hair. His eyes were light and sharp, but Tony couldn't discern the color in the lights coming of the wands. The man was tall, and his face (while still handsome) was drawn with harsh and deep lines. Tony was mesmerized by the man, but the man didn't even notice him. No the man's attention was kept by the weak and tortured kid in the other corner.

Even in the lack of light, Tony could see clearly the concern sketched all over his face and body language.

"Kinglsey?" the man nearly growled. "Is he…"

"He's alive," Kingsley responded just as grim. Ah! Apparently 'Kings' was a nickname. "But barely. As far as we can tell he had harsh treatment all over these three months. But the most extensive damages are mostly not even a week old. Sirius, it's bad."

At this, it seemed that Sirius had trouble to even stay standing. A hand rubbed his face with a wild abandonment. As if the pain needed a physical outlet.

"We don't know the extent of spells but-"

Tony cut in. He realized they needed to know what the hell happened to Harry. And by god, he was not planning on needing to fulfill his promise to Harry.

Flashback

"Alright, buddy. I'll call my own cell number, so it'll go to voicemail. Then leave the message for the person you want, and we'll do it as many times as you need to say goodbye."

With a few flicks, they could hear the dial and connect tone. Immediately it sprung to voicemail.

"This is the most awesomest billionaire on the planet, Tony Stark. You've reached his voicemail, leave a message, and maybe just maybe if you're interesting enough, I'll call you back." BEEP.

"Sirius, mate, I love you. I guess I really need to say it once without an awkward man hug after it. You've always protected me, hell without you I'd be dead ten times over. Well, maybe that joke was too soon, considering you'll hear this message when I'm actually dead. Please, don't say this is your fault. It was just bad luck. Cause what would you have done different, huh? Forbidden me to go to Hogsmeade? You know I would've snuck out anyhow. Been there shadowing me? I'd feel like you didn't trust me an would've resented you for it. So please, no blaming yourself. Mourn, cry, scream, use it as an excuse to demolish the wall on which you mum's painting hangs. But don't you dare feel guilt, Padfoot!

Now, just one more thing. Go out and date! Let the world rejoice in you awesomeness. Moony wouldn't want you to become a recluse in Grimmauld Place. And neither do I. I love you, I'll wait for you."

Damn! That man was Harry's godfather. He looked like he was moments away of breaking apart.

"I don't know all the spells, some they did silent. I do know that he called the two who came here Lucy and Bellatrix." He started hesitantly. He didn't want to interfere with the healing. At the two names, all the people who came to rescue him, let out low uttered oaths and curses.

"The psycho bitch used a lot of 'crucio'. Mostly she had to be stopped by Blondie. Blondie called several, uhm, secumspra? No, uh, scumspree?" For Gods'sake, smartest man in the room can't even recall one stupid spell?

"Sectumsempra?"Sirius asked him full of horror.

"Yes! That's the one! Sectumsempra, mostly on his face and arms. Diffindo, rectusempra…"Tony fervently was sifting through his memories trying to come up with what they all used on him. The first torture session came to mind, with its horrible outcome.

"Bellatrix used something Harry called a Blood Boiling Curse?" he ended.

Sirius exclaimed a loud "NO!" in horror and turned around to face Tony.

"Did he use magic afterwards? Please tell me he didn't!" the man turned out to have clear grey eyes, now watering with unshed tears. Tony could only nod.

"He said it wasn't recommended by Healers to do magic immediately after that curse." He spoke. Sirius choked on a small laugh.

"Yeah, he would say that, wouldn't he?" He then turned back towards Kingsley and the unnamed man, who were now working even more diligently over Harry's body.

Tony was rubbing his wrists in his hands. They felt like crap, but he wasn't going to complain about it, not with Harry in the condition he was.

"He's stable!" The other man cried out. The rest took their cue, and without an excuse or heads up, Tony felt himself being lifted over Sirius' shoulder. Turning his head, he could see Kingsley do the same with Harry. The rest of the people swarmed around the two duo's, keeping their guard up.

Tony saw luxurious rooms, filled with wand tapestries and beautiful oak wood furniture. Then, they were outside and he could see a clear starry night sky.

"Hold on," Sirius whispered to him, and with a sickening pull behind his naval they were gone.

Tony had been taken to a hospital wing in a school. There, Pepper and Rhodey were waiting on him. After a quick magical, and normal, check-up he was declared healthy. Pepper had wanted to leave, but Tony didn't want to hear it.

"God, Tony why? We've been to hell, let's go home!" she screamed, exasperated.

Tony turned around and looked her dead in the eye. Pepper couldn't help the flinch it created. Rhodey had understood, but knew Pepper wouldn't have listened to him.

"That kid, the one behind that curtain? Pepper, you want to leave before they're even done with him? Let me tell you something," Tony had been furious with his PA for the first time in his life. "That kid, apparently is some hot-shot in this war. He lost his parents, uncle, friends, to this war. They want him dead for some reason. They had him for three months when I was dumped in his cell. I almost couldn't look at him, because there was not one part of his body that wasn't bruised or bloodied. And still, when they asked him, he said that he was the one to torture!"

"He said, 'me, let him watch but me'! and you want to leave and go home without a 'see you later' or a , gee I don't know, a freaking thank you!" Tony had to do his utmost best to keep from screaming to his PA. It wasn't that she didn't mean well, it was just that she had no idea and still presumed to know best.

The room had become quiet after that. Tony refused to move one muscle, before he knew what happened with Harry. It was not for three hours that they got new.

Sirius appeared from behind the white curtains with a tired and drained face. Tony had stood up and looked the other man – okay he really was an attracting man – expectantly in the eyes.

"He'll recover. He's out of the woods and he'll make a full recover." Tony sighed in relieve and stepped forward. Putting his hand on the man's arm he spoke quietly.

"It's not your fault, Sirius Black. Harry even recorded a phone message, in case he didn't make it. He said it, like, three times in that message. That you shouldn't feel guilty." Sirius was startled and looked Tony in the eye.

"C-Can I hear it?" Tony wordlessly took his phone and played the message for Sirius, who held on to the phone at his ear with trembling hands.

After it played out, Sirius handed Tony his phone back. "Thank you," he said gratefully.

'So, mr Black," Tony started. "Hypothetical question. What would happen if a, say chip guided missile would land on a warded mansion with a few enemies in it?"

Sirius looked the other man straight in the eye. Nobody could miss the evil and angry glint in Tony's eyes, and Sirius smiled sardonically in response.

"Well, this is of course only theoretical speculation, I'd say that the blast would overpower the wards and they'll collapse. Now, hypothetical, if there were two missiles…"

Tony smiled, well more evilly smirked, at the other man's answer. He held out his hand, Sirius took it without hesitation.

"Sirius, this is the start of a beautiful friendship." Tony looked the other man deep in the eyes. Sirius barked his amusement out.

Tony walked away towards Pepper to start make shipping arrangements. Sirius couldn't help but notice the beauty in the other man's eyes, or the shape his strong shoulders held.

"Moony wouldn't want you to become a recluse…"

Yes, this would be a beautiful friendship. Sirius looked out of the window, full moon tonight. And he smiled.

And That's the one-shot