A/N: TRIGGER WARNING for mentions of drug abuse and depression with the implication of passive aggressive suicide. Because let's face it, you don't go through all the shit Harry did and be perfectly well adjusted, listening to your friend being tortured and watching people die has a severe affect on your mental state.

Shout out to the person who got correct what's going to happen next. I admit, I'm a little predictable ^^ and once more, thank you guys so much for continuing to read this, I really appreciate your dedication and your reviews are an absolute joy to read!

Chapter 6: The Statute Of Secrecy.

Ginny eyed the back alley behind the diner with intense scrutiny, I know you're there, she thought, slowly creeping out from the threshold of the door that lead from diner to alley.

She tightly clutched on to the styrofoam take out container and bottle of water, keeping her movements normal and steady as she placed them on top of the dumpster lid. Backing up and casting another glance around.

It seemed the diner dumpster had fallen victim to a homeless person rummaging through it for food, the idea of someone being desperate enough to eat garbage didn't sit well with Ginny. She may have grown up in less than ideal financial circumstances, but one thing she always had was food.

So Ginny found herself reacting strongly to the thought of someone going hungry, she'd begun buying groceries for food banks, and on the occasion volunteered at soup kitchens, but this particular person… Ginny hummed in thought, maybe it was because they were on her turf, the diner being half hers, it was her territory, but she'd become rather invested in the diner's mystery visitor.

She'd begun leaving grilled sandwiches, and wraps, and on the occasion the soup of the day, (ignoring the minor infraction of placing a warming charm on the container to the keep food hot if needed, aside) and always with a drink of some sort.

And every morning when she'd check the dumpster, she'd always find the empty take out container and empty bottle, where she'd left them the night before, neatly stacked.

Ginny turned to head back inside, pausing when the hair on the back of neck stood on end, her skin breaking into goosebumps, and her ears picking up the sound of very faint breathing.

One didn't live through the hell that she had lived through without picking up a specific skill set, and Ginny was an expert at detecting foreign presences. She bit back a sigh, "you know" she called, the breathing she'd heard hitched and paused, as if surprised.

"If you're hungry, you need only ask, you're a human being, not some wild animal; we won't turn you away." She said, tugging on the door handle and stepping back into the diner. Curiosity got the best of her and she stood there for a long time, looking through the peephole, until eventually, almost an hour later, a figure practically melted from the shadows of the alley.

She couldn't get a good look at them through the tiny peephole, but she watched as they picked up the container and water and moved to sit on the ground with their back up against the brick wall opposite the diner's back door, content to sit their and enjoy their meal.

Ginny sighed sadly and stepped away from the door, no one should ever have to live like that, she wished she could do more to help, but for now she'd have to settle with her donations, and volunteer work.

Ginny moved around the kitchen, making sure everything was shut off, before heading upstairs to check on Harry, the other woman had been so out of it the last couple of days, and just thinking about the reason why, filled Ginny with such a strong anger. When that git comes back, I'm popping him one, she promised herself as she opened the door to Harry's place.

Two days.

48 hours.

2,880 minutes.

172,800 seconds and counting.

Harry sighed, exhaling sweet smelling smoke into the night air, it'd been two long days since her last encounter with Tony. She'd been shocked to find him in her apartment, probably not as shocked as he was at seeing her do magic.

Harry clenched her eyes shut tightly as the memory of his face flashed across her mind. He just left, didn't give her a chance to properly explain, he had just cut and run, and hadn't come back, not for two long, miserable days.

"How many of those have you had today?" Harry jumped at the sound of Ginny's voice, twisting around to see her friend standing at the door way of her bedroom. Harry swallowed thickly, flicking the remains of the cigarette onto the metal floor of the fire escape, watching as it burnt away into nothing. She simply shrugged, stepping back into her room, brushing past Ginny, and heading down the hall to her kitchen.

Ginny followed silently, taking up a seat at the island and Harry fixed them both a cup of tea, "you took a while downstairs" Harry commented lightly, "still trying to catch our mystery visitor out?" she smirked, Ginny rolled her eyes, "not trying too, going too." She stated firmly, glaring back with crossed arms. Harry's wry smile turned fond.

"I don't see why you bother, they're not hurting anyone, or us." Harry commented, Ginny made a frustrated noise from somewhere behind her. "I just don't like that they keep sifting through our rubbish bins, and who does that without leaving no trace other than half a bag from the bins missing?! Whoever they are, they're a person, they shouldn't have to dig through garbage for a meal." The red head said loudly.

Harry chuckled, no real amusement in it, sliding a mug across the island towards Ginny, "ouch!" Harry squealed as Ginny flicked her on the back of her hand hard, "what was that for?!" She demanded, rubbing her hand and glaring at Ginny.

Ginny smirked back at her, "stop being foolish, if he won't come here, then you should go to him," and just like that, all the steam drained out of Harry's body, she seemed to fold in on herself, shoulders drooping, and expression maudlin. "I can't do that," she murmured, absentmindedly stirring her tea.

"Why not?" Ginny asked, leaning on the counter top, resting her chin on folded arms, "because" Harry started, "I can't really get to him can I?" She asked, "he lives on the top floor of that tower, just getting passed the lobby would be impossible without using magic."

Ginny raised a brow, "so? Use a disillusion charm! No one will see!" Harry stopped short, lifting her head to face Ginny with an incredulous look, "oh yea, let's break the law some more!" She said sarcastically, Ginny grinned mischievously, "better than standing around here waiting for him to come to you, just go Harry, seriously mate, where's that Gryffindor courage?"

Ginny shot back, downing half her tea in one gulp. A little while later, Ginny took her leave, waving goodbye as she vanished from sight.

Ginny was right, she thought double checking her locked door, the distinct crack of apparition sounding throughout the apartment.

Harry pursed her lips, really, she was making excuses, there was no reason why she couldn't go to Tony. No reason other than her own fear, that maybe Tony really just didn't want to see her.

Not that I could honestly blame him, she thought, sluggishly making her way back to her bedroom. She'd sleep on it, and decide what to do in the morning, after two days of nothing, something had to be done. But, sleep did not come easy, she tossed and turned into the wee hours of the morning, until the grey light of dawn saturated her bedroom.

Harry rolled over, burying her face into the mountain of pillows, Ginny's right, she thought, again, her mind going in circles, what happened to her courage?

What happened to the parts of her that always rose when faced with adversity? She'd never backed down from a fight or a challenge before, and fear was something that had never stopped her from diving in head first, so why was she letting it stop her now? Why was she so afraid of Tony's rejection?

Harry grunted determinedly, sitting up and throwing back the thick duvet, her mind made up, she swung her legs over the side of her bed and stood with purpose. She quickly changed from her night clothes and soon after left her apartment.

Quickly striding down the street, eyes fixed on the tower in the distance and the genius dwelling inside it.

Two long, agonizing days had passed since Tony broke into Harry's apartment, he'd been feeling lonely, and out of sorts and hadn't wanted to be around people, so he stupidly decided to sneak into her apartment, she really shouldn't leave her bedroom window unlocked like that.

And so he'd sat on her couch, and then she'd come in just after midnight, she looked tired and worn, and then she was pulling a long thin stick from her pocket, and flicking it around the room, making the music start, and lights come on and laundry fold itself, and when she looked at him, wide eyed and pleading, saying 'I'm a witch'… Okay sure, it wasn't his greatest moment, he panicked and ran. But come on!

He was a man of science! Of logic! Magic? That couldn't be real, it just couldn't; there was no such thing as magic!

How was else was he supposed to react?! He thought, annoyed with himself, but if he were honest, he was angry too, she was special, why hadn't she told him? After everything he told her, laying himself bare, why hadn't she told him?

And now here she was.

Standing in the threshold of his living room, which okay, that was unexpected. Probably as almost unexpected as he himself actually being there, seeing as how he spent most of his time these days sequestered away in his lab.

"Sorry Boss," Friday's completely unapologetic voice resounded loudly in the silence between him and Harry. Tony pulled an unamused face up at Friday's sensor, his youngest wasn't sorry at all, really she wasn't.

After two days of arguing with Friday who wanted to talk to the nice dark haired lady again, his youngest decided to betray him by letting Harry bypass all security check points and waltz right into his penthouse suite.

Harry had her arms crossed, a displeased look on her face as she tapped her foot impatiently, "you've been avoiding me," she said it patiently, rather than accusingly. "Tony, you need to tell me what you're thinking and feeling, I can't make this right unless you do. I miss you Tony, my nights at the diner are lonely without you there."

Tony kept his face blank, even though his heart contracted painfully in his chest at her words, he hadn't heard 'I missed you' since Afghanistan.

"Tony," Harry sighed, "about what you saw, I'm sorry, you were never supposed to see that." Tony felt his jaw tighten, he stared at her for a long time, watching her slowly lose her composure, "for Merlin's sake, say something!"

Tony said nothing, he just stood there silently. Harry made a desperate sound, "Tony please," she breathed his name like a silent plea, "I never wanted to hide anything from you, I had no choice, the statute forbids it unless you're family."

Tony finally spoke, "what are you?" He asked again, softly. Harry made a painful sounding noise, before she growled in frustration, "I didn't lie to you Tony, I am a witch." She stated firmly.

Tony stared at her for a long time, before he snorted, "I'm not stupid, magic isn't real, there's no such thing." He sneered spitefully, with a shake of his head, "if you want to lie to me about your powers, fine. But don't give me some bullshit story that you're a fucking witch!"

Harry's shoulders sagged, "this, what you're saying; you're saying out of anger." Tony suddenly slammed a hand against the wall he'd bene leaning on, fist clenched. "Damn right I'm angry! I'm furious!" He snarled, "I've told you things I've never told anyone, and you lied right to my face!" He suddenly laughed, "I should've known better, I don't even really know you, do I?"

He turned and set an angry pace, back and forth across the floor, "I don't know the first damn thing about you!"

"Then ask me." Harry responded calmly, her posture open and sure, "I never lied to you Tony, I know it seems that way, but I never have, and I won't start lying to you now, ask me anything you want, and I'll tell you the truth."

"Okay," Tony nodded, mouth pulled tight, "what's your favourite colour?" Harry blinked in surprise, of all the things she'd been expecting to be asked, that certainly wasn't one of them.

"Red and gold," she answered softly, "because at Hogwarts where I went to school, I was sorted into Gryffindor, and those were my house colours, and Hogwarts was the place where I was happiest."

Tony remembered seeing the odd flag on her wall, the red and gold one that read Gryffindor, he swallowed thickly, "were you really a teacher?" Harry nodded yes, "I taught Defence against the Dark arts, a class dedicated to teaching witches and wizards how to escape from creatures, and how to duel and generally defend themselves."

"Is Ginny…is she one too?" Tony asked, Harry chuckled lightly, "in my world, witches and wizards come from many families; muggle borns are magical people born into non magical families, no one knows why some muggles suddenly have magic, a lot of theory believes it's because they did have magical ancestors somewhere down the line and eventually that dormant magic became dominant again." Harry explained softly.

"Half bloods are magical people born too one magical parent and one non magical parent, and pure bloods are magical people who come from entirely magical families. Ginny is a pure blood. The Weasley's though not a Noble house, are one of the oldest pure blooded magical families in the United Kingdom." Harry bit her lip in thought.

"Well, they used too be," she carried on, "Ron married Hermione, and she's muggle born, their children Rose and Hugo are technically half bloods, and Bill married Fleur and she's quarter veela, so now the Weasley's have creature blood too, it's all really fascinating."

Tony gaped, "I'm sorry, they have what blood in them?!" Harry chuckled, "there are many types of magical creatures. A Veela, is typically a woman, in possession of something called an Allure, it sort of entrances the male mind, makes Veelas seem completely and utterly irresistible. A man sees a Veela and all he wants is her, but Veelas also have a little quirk, when they get angry they take on a bird like appearance." Harry's tone was that of a teacher giving a lecture, and Tony could definitely believe, that she'd been one for sure.

"It used to be that certain families would never 'taint' their family lines by mixing in muggle blood or creature blood, those families believed such people and beings were below them. These days, no one really cares anymore who marries who, after the war, only the old, and I mean Ancient Houses have a problem with blood mixing." Harry shrugged,"Magic is magic after all."

Tony remained silent for a long period of time, before huffing a deep breath, "you keep saying war, what war?"

Harry paused, thinking on how to explain it, "Terrorism was the cover story the Ministry of Magic used when the war spilled into the nonmagical world." She began after a beat, "the truth is, like every day people, wizards and witches can go bad, and one went as bad as you can go. His name was Tom Riddle, but the magical world knew him as Lord Voldemort."

Harry felt the tremor of memory go through her, "Voldemort was raised in an orphanage, and he was horrifically mistreated because he could do magic, they thought he was abnormal, and he grew to hate nonmagical people because of the way they treated him. When he was young, he began amassing followers, like-minded witches and wizards that hated all things not magic."

She explained, "they called themselves Death Eaters. Voldemort was high on power, no one dared stand in his way, and then he heard a prophecy about an equal that could defeat him, he thought I was that child of prophecy and when my parents were sold out by their friend, Voldemort murdered them, but the sacrifice of my mother's life gave me blood protection against him and he couldn't kill me."

Harry smiled sadly, "he tried, but the killing curse, the one he favoured, and the most unforgivable of all curses, wouldn't work. It rebounded, drained him of his powers and sent him into exile."

Harry made a weak sound, "I never lied to you, I just withheld the magic based parts of my stories, such as the tournament I was in my fourth year; it's actually called the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and it was a trap for Voldemort to get the last thing he needed to return to full power; my blood."

Harry breathed deeply, "he murdered Cedric right in front of me, and took my blood by force, he used my mother's protection to resurrect himself, and then he reigned war down on my world, thousands went missing, many more died in the wake of his destruction, and it took so much to finally put him down. In the end, I did it. With great sacrifice, I killed him and ended his tyranny, I spent my teens watching people I went to school with, people I loved, get tortured and murdered, I've lost friends and family, and I have never lied to you!"

She sobbed, the weight of those memories crashing down on her, "I wanted to tell you so badly, I even asked Hermione to help me find a legal loophole for the Statute of Secrecy, because it's that law that stopped me from telling you everything!"

Harry swallowed thickly, through the harsh sting of her salty tears, "magic is real Tony, I know that must be hard for you to accept, so wrapped in science and logic as you are, but its real."

Tony rubbed his eyes tiredly, "show me" he requested, voice low, Harry nodded, removing her wand from her pocket, and with a muttered spell and a swish, his couch turned into a pig. She almost laughed at the expression on his face as the farm animal rooted around his living room.

She flicked her wrist again, turning it back into a couch and regarded him patiently. Tony didn't know what to make of that, it was proof, cold hard definitive proof, that magic was real, and she was what she said she was, a real fucking witch!

"I want to know everything" He finally said, turning to look at Harry, seeing her there, holding her wand in a delicate hand and giving him the most heart breaking expression of hope he'd ever seen on another person.

"I want to understand, but you need to explain it to me, magic? Magic is something you read about in stories, it's not supposed to be real!" He pointed at his couch, "that wasn't supposed to be real!"

Harry chuckled lowly, "well, we live in a world where amazing things happen. Aliens? You're friends with a Norse God aren't you? Thor?" Tony opened his mouth, but paused, caught on his own words.

She had a point. He saw and lived through unexplainable, illogical things every day since becoming Iron Man. So magic? It wasn't as insane as it sounded. Then, why am I having such a hard time accepting this, when I could accept other things so easily? He thought shrewdly.

"You want me to talk to you," he started, voice low, "I think…" he trailed off, gathering his thoughts, "I think, I'm having a hard time with this, because I've told you the deepest and darkest parts of myself, why couldn't you tell me about this? What Statute are you talking about?"

"The Statute of Secrecy" she answered promptly, "it's an old law, it's actually several pages long, but summed up it pretty much states; no magical being may reveal the existence of magic to any being of nonmagical heritage, relatives by blood and marriage being the only exceptions."

She took a halting step forward, "I never wanted to hide it from you, I just couldn't tell you." Tony looked at her, hard and long, intelligent eyes swiftly moving over her form, taking in dark hair, and bright green earnest eyes, coat clad figure, and the long thin stick, a wand, his mind supplied belatedly, and said something he never once had to say, "I forgive you."

Harry laughed in relief, pocketing her wand once more and moving swiftly across the room to throw her arms around him, "I've missed you" she repeated, holding onto him tightly. Tony held her back, she still smelled like orange blossoms, he thought squeezing her tightly.

"Boss?" Tony looked up at the sensor above the door where Friday was watching from, "can we keep her?" Harry and Tony shared a surprised look before both broke out into laughter.

Tony came back to the diner later that night, a fact that immensely pleased Harry, though he wasn't spared from the anger of a certain red head.

Oh God, he could feel her burning holes into his very soul, Tony inwardly whimpered, he'd arrived just before close, Harry greeting him brightly with a cup of fresh coffee and a large helping of home baked apple pie.

She'd disappeared shortly after to start cleaning the kitchen, leaving Ginny, who was not normally there at this time, to mop the floors. The entire time she'd been mopping she hadn't once stopped staring at the back of Tony's head.

"So…" Tony flinched at her tone, "good to see you back, after two days, anything interesting happen?" Ginny asked, the soft, wet swish-swoosh of the mop on the floor, and the humming of the lights the only sounds between them.

"Not really," Tony answered, swirling on the bar stool to look at her, she looks pissed, Tony contemplated, taking note of the drawn expression and the flash of angry light in her usually warm eyes.

"You're not usually here this late" Tony began, attempting friendly conversation, "brilliant observation, you really are a genius." Ginny sniped back, Tony let out a breath in a loud whoosh, "okay, I get it you're mad at me," he said, holding his hands out in surrender, "and you're right. I was a dick, but in my defence, I was kind of surprised, I mean it's not everyday you see laundry folding itself!"

Ginny paused her motions, staring at Tony for a long hard minute, "I take it back, you're not a genius, you're a bloody twit that's what you are!" Tony felt his jaw drop in surprise, "uh, you lost me…"

Ginny scoffed, tossing the mop aside, "I'm not mad because you took off after seeing Harry do magic! You had a normal reaction to something extraordinary, I'm hacked off because what in the blazes were you doing in my friend's apartment after midnight when I know she didn't let you up there?!"

Oh, Tony thought, that explains the behaviour, "fair point, and total honesty, I broke in through the fire escape." He admitted, rubbing his hands together in a sheepish manner.

"Why?" Tony almost jumped out of his skin, "Lordy, is this a magic thing? Do all you magical people not make sounds when you walk?" He asked at Harry making a silent reappearance in the main store front.

"No," Ginny snapped, "it's a 'we survived a brutal war that ended thousands of lives, and sneaking into enemy territory required absolutely silence' thing," Tony winced, okay, not off to a good start here.

"Ginny," it was only her name, not even said in an angry tone, or a reprimanding one, it was simply Harry speaking her name, but Ginny instantly backed off, her body language less threatening.

"She does have a point though, I meant to ask you earlier, but obviously bigger things took precedence, what were you doing in my apartment?" Harry asked, coming around the main counter, setting all the drink machines onto flush mode.

"I uh, wanted company, it was a rough day," Tony coughed awkwardly, "you should really start locking your bedroom window, anybody can get in rather easily," Tony snapped his fingers, "a defence system! You need an alarm, or some other kind of security!"

Harry and Ginny shared a look, both beginning laughing hysterically, "Oh, Tony!" Harry gasped in delight, "I have protection wards placed around my apartment." Harry explained through her mirthful giggles.

Tony seemed to deflate, "well, never mind then," he groused, propping his head up on his hand, elbow on the countertop. Ginny snorted another laugh behind him, "I'm done Harry, you good if I take off?" Harry nodded with a smile, "have a good night Gin, I'll put the mop away." Harry bade her out the door, Ginny paused at the doorway, "I left some food for our friend, you don't mind grabbing the empties do you?" Harry shook her head, "I'll grab them in the morning." She promised, waving goodbye, Ginny was gone in the next instant, red hair disappearing quickly down the darkened streets.

"How was I able to get in then?" Tony asked suddenly, Harry hummed, "did you intend to take anything?" Tony shook his head, "were you planning on hurting me?" Tony gasped, crying out an offended "no!" Harry shrugged, "then you were able to get in, protection wards can be crafted for all kinds of things," she carried on, moving past him to shut down the machinery completely.

"People use protection charms on things they care about, things they don't want damaged or stolen, and their living spaces to prevent unwanted visitors or intruders. Mine are set up that, say someone wants to come steal my telly, the moment they get inside, they get confused, that's what the confundus charm does, it confuses you, so anyone breaking in forgets why they were there and are compelled to leave, no harm done." She explained using her teaching voice.

"We had to do it that way, because the U.S is more strict on the Statue of Secrecy than any other country in the world, so it had to be something that wouldn't cause a potential exposure to muggles."

Tony quirked a brow, "I keep hearing you say that word, muggles?" Harry nodded, "it's what we call people without magic, at least back home, here the magical community calls them No-Maj; no magic."

Tony shook his head in disbelief, "your world sounds strange," he commented, Harry chuckled, "it can be. Mostly it's just backwards, but we've spent a long time working on that, there's a lot more equal ground these days than there used to be 10-15 years ago."

Harry flicked off the main lights, "come upstairs, there's something I want to talk too you about," Harry beckoned, Tony climbed to his feet, watching in amazement as she flicked her hand at his mug and plate, they were both sparkling clean in an instant and put themselves away.

Tony shook his head, "that's so strange," Harry chuckled lightly, "it's about to get stranger," she promised, heading up the stairs to her apartment, Tony following one step behind.

After situating him on the couch, she disappeared down the hall, Tony could hear the sounds of a door opening and her rummaging around inside the room, before retuning with a very old and incredibly heavy looking stack of four books.

"This is definitely a no-no in my world, but since you now know about magic, and I trust you to keep this secret, there's some stuff I'd like you to read." She dropped the books down on the coffee table with a heavy thump.

"History of magic?" Tony questioned lifting up the first book, Harry nodded, "this was our first year text book for History of Magic class, it delves a lot into the Goblin wars, our teacher; professor Binns, was a huge Goblin war enthusiast; probably because he lived through one of them."

Harry reached a hand up, tucking a strand of loose hair back behind her ears, "there's some good stuff in there too, about how we ended up going into hiding, key points in the creation of our government, some examples of laws, and key players in history."

She reached over for the second book, handing it over to him, "this one is The Rise and Fall of The Dark Arts, it has history on dark witches and wizards; most notably The Dark Lord Grindelwald, he caused a lot of problems during world war two. Voldemort is in there too, not his real history, who he started out as, but the history of his campaign from the time he first attacked all the way to his eventual end; I'm mentioned in there as well."

Tony flipped through the book in interest, "this one is Hogwarts; A history, Hermione swears by it." Harry laughed, "she always had her nose stuck in a book, but none more so than this one. It details the creation of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the school rules, the school song, and little tidbits of information about certain parts of the school."

She waited for him to finish looking through them, listening to his interested ha's and hum's before softly clearing her throat. "This one is what I wanted to talk to you about," she said. Tony set aside the other books, and reached for the last one she held out.

"Legilimency; the art of mind reading?" He looked up at her sharply, Harry sighed quietly, bracingly. "Legilimens are witches and wizards who are either born with, or have learnt the practice of reading another's thoughts, it's not as common as it sounds, it takes a lot of self-discipline and mental training to accomplish." She explained.

"Legilimency has a counter part called Occlumency, which is the practice of protecting your mind, building mental shields and traps that prevent a legilimens from reading your thoughts; seeing your memories. Occlumency can also help you sort and categorize your mental space." She finished, looking at him intently.

"I told you earlier today, I have never lied to you, I won't start now. I am an accomplished occlumens, and I'm very proficient at legilimency. Voldemort was also very skilled in both practices as well." Harry bit her lip in hesitation.

"Back in…oh, it would've been '93 or '94, there was a news segment on the telly about a man named Sirius Black, he was a criminal convicted of killing thirteen people, he'd escaped from a maximum security prison and was considered highly dangerous."

Tony frowned in thought, he'd have been in his early twenties then, caught up in booze and women and many other things, but even he could recall seeing the gaunt face of a man in a newspaper when he'd been in the U.K round that time establishing a Stark Industries office in central London.

"What the nonmagical world hadn't been told for obvious reasons was that Sirius Black was a wizard, and he'd escaped from the Wizarding prison; Azkaban. But, he was innocent. I learned the truth about him in my third year at school, I was thirteen, and everyone believed he was a Death Eater, a follower of Voldemort's, he'd been friends with my dad, best friends even; like brothers." Harry took a deep shuddering breath.

"Those who were in charge back then thought he'd been the one to sell my parents out to Voldemort, they were wrong, and Sirius went after the true culprit only to get framed for mass murder and locked up without a trial." She carried on quietly.

"Even though we learned the truth, it wouldn't have been enough, we had no proof. So the real killer escaped and Sirius had to go on the lamb….He was my Godfather." Harry choked out, tears springing to her eyes, the memory of Sirius playing in her mind like a film with no sound.

"We only got to know each other for barely two years, Dumbledore said it was a short cruel end to what should've been a long and happy relationship. I blamed myself for what happened, Voldemort was after something, something kept locked up in the Ministry of Magic, an artefact, that only he or I could touch. And when he couldn't get it on his own, he used legilimency to plant these thoughts and visions into my head." Harry swallowed tightly, the burn of her throat stinging unbearably.

"He made me see Sirius, made me believe that he'd captured Sirius and was holding him, was torturing him, and I panicked, and I didn't think, and I rushed in to save him, only to walk right into a trap." She sobbed desperately, burying her face in her hands.

"We were met by Death Eaters, and eventually Voldemort himself, and Sirius came to rescue me, and he paid for my mistakes with his life. I was fifteen, and he was dead." She cried, "and I watched it happen! He smiled at me, and then he was gone."

It took several minutes for her gut wrenching sobs to die down, before she could calmly speak again, "so I know what the price is of having someone mess around in your head, play with your fears and make you see things that aren't real."

She bit back another sob, "Sirius had given me a special mirror, one that I could use any time to contact him, and these visions that Voldemort stuck inside my head; they drove me mad, and I forgot all about that mirror, I broke into a teacher's office to illegally call him through the fireplace, but there was a traitor in our midst that made me believe Sirius was gone."

She tilted her head to look up at Tony, "I didn't use the mirror," she whispered, "I left school property with a group of friends; fellow D.A members, I endangered their lives, lead them straight to Death Eaters, got them all severely injured; a few them almost died! And Sirius did die, murdered before my very eyes by his own cousin; the Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange, and it all happened because I believed what I was seeing in my head and in my dreams was real; and I didn't use the mirror."

Tony remained silent, unable to form words to her story, the similarity was gruesomely remarkable in certain aspects, between her Godfather and Ultron, both of the circumstances were the results of choices made by someone else's hands.

"But I can't blame myself for it anymore, yes it was my decision that lead to it all going down the way it had, but it was ultimately Voldemort's fault. A man so greedy, and so cruel and malicious, and all things horrible in this world, that you could no longer call him a man; didn't care about the consequences of his own actions, just cared about his own ambitions and goals. He was the one who planted these visions in my head, and those visions made me do what I did, Sirius' death was not entirely my fault. Just like Ultron wasn't entirely yours."

She gestured to the book, "read this and learn it well, I want you to have all the facts, so you can make an informed decision. Because the cost of someone else's desires goes deeper than you know." She said, "the mind is a very special place, and very private, it belongs to us and only us."

Harry stated firmly, "but, once you've learned everything in that book, then with your permission I would like to enter your mind." Tony stilled, not knowing how he felt about that, "what do you mean enter my mind?" He finally asked after a lengthy pause.

"I believe that whatever Wanda did, whatever she put into your head, it's still there. I don't think your nightmares are an after shock, I think they're happening because what she did is still affecting you; still active inside your mind." Harry explained, "it's just a theory, but it's a working one, I can use legilimency to enter your mind and isolate the abnormality she put in there, and hopefully erase it."

Tony glanced up hopefully at that, "you can get rid of it?" He asked in whisper, a part of himself desperate to believe her, Harry nodded haltingly, "it's a theory, but from the way you describe her powers, it sounds like she possesses an element of magic; crude and archaic, but still magic, and synthetic magic doesn't hold a candle to natural magic. If it's in there, yes; I can get rid of it."

She finally said confidently, and Tony felt something in him shift at her words, like a weight he didn't know he'd been carrying had been lifted from his body, and it felt good. He clutched the book in his hands tightly, holding onto it as if he was adrift at sea and it was his only lifeline.

Harry gave a tired sigh, "that was a little intense," she murmured, "I haven't spoken about Sirius in years," Tony hummed in agreement, "I don't really talk about Jarvis all that much, either Edwin or my boy Jarvis."

Harry tossed him a sad sideways smile, "what a pair we are," she laughed softly, "two peas in a pod." She suddenly stood to her feet, walking around the coffee table to the decorative shelving unit that was just beside her front door and rummaging on the shelves until she pulled out a thin case.

Harry turned and walked over to the living room window, cracking it an inch or so open and settling on the couch under it, deftly lighting a cigarette.

"I didn't know you smoked," Tony commented casually, eyeing her curiously. There was something off about what she was smoking though, it didn't smell like any cigarette he'd ever smelled before.

The scent was sweet, and a little fruity, like mixed berries coated in whipped cream, "these aren't your normal cigarettes, in fact they aren't even cigarettes at all." Harry explained, bringing Tony out of his thoughts.

"I uh," Harry released a deep breath, "I have nightmares, I've mentioned before the dead live in my dreams." Tony nodded, listening intently, "after the war they got worse, nameless faces haunting my nights, blaming me for their untimely ends," She took a deep drag, exhaling sweet smelling smoke out the crack of the window.

"Being at Hogwarts helped, back when I was teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts, but when I quit, I didn't have the routine, and the distractions, and they got worse. I uh, went a little mad." She admitted, "began getting into things I shouldn't have just so I didn't have to see those faces when I slept."

She sighed heavily, "in my world, there's a potion called ambrosia," she swallowed thickly, "I was 26 and at a party and some people busted it out, and I figured why not? Live a little; I liked it, I liked it a little too much, it took everything away, it made me feel warm and fuzzy and I didn't think, and I didn't see the faces in my dreams."

Silent tears began falling down her face, "I didn't know the dangers of continued and prolonged use, and I didn't tell anyone what I had been going through, it wasn't that I was ashamed, it was that I couldn't. Because, there was still a small childish part of myself that didn't want to believe in the horror I lived."

She wiped her tears with the back of her hand, even as more fell, "I kept my mouth shut, and in private I took ambrosia, the thing is, after a while ambrosia puts you in a state of being that keeps you complacent. I was so blissed out on the stuff that I'd just lay on my bed for hours, wouldn't do anything else."

She took a few shuddering breaths, "I was so languid, I lost an alarming amount of weight in under a month, I mean I wouldn't eat. I wouldn't sleep, I'd just lay on the bed and watch the colours all day."

She paused, licking her lips and clearing her throat, "I was killing myself," she whispered quietly, an admittance of guilt that wrecked her to her core. "I did it, because all my life I had been in some sort of danger, my bedroom was a cupboard under the stairs, when it wasn't then I had bars on my window, my entire childhood was spent in a prison."

She took another drag, "and when I got free, I was in instant danger, Voldemort had a follower in the school when I was 11, my first year and I still remember what it felt like to have his hands around my throat. My second year, I had to face down a 60 foot long, giant deadly snake, and I almost died! Then Sirius, and I was face to face with these creatures that suck every bit of happiness from you, then the Tri-Wizard tournament and Cedric, and I couldn't help because I was tied to a tombstone. Then that mad teacher tortures students with a blood quill and I still have the reminder on my hand!"

Harry lifted up her right hand, showing the back of it, Tony squinted in the light and faintly written on the back of her hand, in old scars was 'I must not tell lies'.

"Then Dumbledore died, and I thought someone we trusted had betrayed us and I was so wrong! And then war came, and Dobby died in my arms!" Harry suddenly burst into harsh tears, shoulders shaking with the force of her sobs.

"I couldn't save him! He was a house elf, and he was my friend and he saved me when I needed it, and I couldn't save him, he died in my arms, and his last words was my name!" Harry yelled in complete and utter anguish.

"To live through that, and be okay? Not possible, I wasn't okay, I hadn't been for a long time. And I didn't tell anyone what I was feeling" she continued brokenly, sucking in great gulps of air, "I kept it all in, and I got addicted to a potion so I wouldn't have to feel anymore, and I didn't tell anyone, and it was Ron that found me passed out, and I felt so ashamed."

Harry sobbed, "because I let that happen; I let one of my dearest friends, my brother, see me like that, because I didn't tell anyone that I was hurting. He shouldn't have seen me like that, shouldn't have had to bring me to the hospital!"

Harry cried for several more minutes, "I had to go through detox, and finally I told them all, I told them everything, and my Healer…Doctor, sorry, he prescribes me these," Harry held up the finished cigarette.

"It's not tobacco, it's a magical plant that's been grown in special potion treated soil, they help deal with anxiety and depression, and with the effects of PTSD." She said quietly, "rather than take three or five different medicated potions everyday, I smoke two of these a day, usually one when I wake up, and one just before I go to bed."

Harry flicked the remains of the cigarette out the window, watching it slowly burn up on the sill. "I caused a lot of panic with what I did, it took me a full year under a strictly monitored nutrition program to gain back the weight I'd lost, and now I go to therapy once a week, I only take Dreamless sleep twice a week if even that. I'm doing better," she said with a watery smile, "but it still kills me inside, what I let happen. No one really cared when I was a kid, the Durlsey's never came to comfort me if I had a nightmare, and they never once asked me if I was okay, I got used to the idea that no one cared, and even after I knew that was wrong, that people did care. I still wouldn't talk about anything."

Tony stood, moving the books off to the side, he inched his way towards her, sitting down by her side, he didn't say anything, he just wrapped an arm around her and pulled her to his side, holding onto her, offering what silent comfort he could.

He knew what it was like, he'd been there too, in this they were united, in this; they were exactly the same.

Several hours later, he still held onto her, her tiny frame curled into his side. He glanced down, surprised to see she'd fallen asleep, and he couldn't help but smile at the peaceful expression on her face. He continued to hold onto her, eventually falling into sleep himself, and when they woke the next morning, no words were said, no words needed to be said.

They shared breakfast, and Happy came to pick him up, she saw them both off with on the go coffees and a grateful smile in his direction. When he returned home, he locked himself in his lab, and began reading the books she'd leant him. He held onto the promise of them, just as tightly as he had held onto her.