Half Brothers

The air in the Headmaster's office had grown thick after Lucius Malfoy's dramatic exit. Silence settled like dust in the corners of the stone room, tension coiling around the occupants like an invisible thread. Dumbledore resumed his seat behind the desk, contemplative and weary. Sirius leaned casually against the hearth, while Remus stood near the door, his eyes on the diary like it might bite.

Tony, however, didn't move. A cold sweat had broken across his brow. The edges of his vision blurred, and his chest… burned.

He swayed slightly on his feet.

Amelia Bones, sharp-eyed as always, noticed it immediately. Her gaze narrowed, watching the way Tony's fingers subtly pressed against the arc reactor embedded in his chest—just above his heart. She stepped forward, voice deceptively calm.

"Tony" she said crisply, "a word. Come with me."

Sirius looked up, blinking. "It's late. We were going to head back to the hotel."

Dumbledore, ever the host, offered, "You are welcome to stay the night. There are guest quarters—"

"No," Amelia interrupted firmly, not taking her eyes off Tony. "Only him. I insist."

That made Remus raise an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"

Tony grimaced faintly and held up a hand. "It's fine." He looked to Sirius and Remus, eyes shadowed but voice steady. "Just give me a moment. I need to talk to you both. Alone."

Sirius straightened, concern creeping in now. "Tony—"

"I'm not dying in the corridor, Padfoot," Tony said dryly. "Just… the hallway. Please."

Still confused, but sensing the gravity behind his words, Sirius and Remus followed Tony out of the office. Amelia stepped aside, watching them closely, but didn't follow. Johnny offered a worried glance as well, but remained behind.

They stopped near a tapestry of a wizard being kicked in the pants by animated cauldrons. The corridor was empty, and the flickering torches threw dancing shadows against the wall.

Tony exhaled slowly, then looked at both men. His friends. His family.

"I should've told you sooner," he began. "But I didn't want to ruin everything."

Remus frowned. "Tony…"

Tony reached up and tapped the glowing arc reactor in his chest. "This isn't just to look cool. It's keeping me alive. Or… was."

Remus stared, silent for once. His eyes searched Tony's, not yet comprehending.

Tony continued, voice low. "When I got kidnapped in Afghanistan… a piece of shrapnel in my chest. Close to my heart. It was going to kill me, uhh... they... someone build...fuck, anyway, so I built this—" he tapped the reactor again—"as a power source. To run an electromagnet. Keeps the metal from entering my heart."

Remus looked horrified. "You've been walking around with that—inside you—this whole time?"

"Yeah. And it worked, for a while. Then I upgraded to Palladium. It's a cleaner, more powerful element." He paused. "Except now it's slowly poisoning me."

Sirius face changed. The disbelief melted into rage. "What the hell, Tony?! You've been dying and you didn't tell us?!" Sure, Tony did mention something about the arc reactor and but he didn't said he was dying! Did he?

"I had a lot going on," Tony said bitterly. "Harry, press, company... Take your pick"

Remus put a calming hand on Sirius's shoulder before he could explode further. "Is there anything that can stop the poisoning?"

Tony gave a weak shrug. "I've been working on a cure. Something sustainable. But I'm running out of time."

"Amelia knows"

Tony gave a faint smile. "She's no fool. She's been watching me for weeks. Probably figured it out the moment I started losing color."

Remus looked stricken. "You should have said something. We could've—"

"What?" Tony cut in gently. "What could you have done? You're a wizard, not a biomedical engineer. And Sirius, I've seen your idea of help. It usually involves shouting and firewhisky."

That got a snort from Sirius, but his jaw was still clenched. He was trying very hard not to punch a wall.

"I didn't want pity," Tony added quietly. "Or worse, the look you're both giving me right now."

Remus sighed, long and heavy. "It's not pity. It's worry. You're not just Harry's brother, Tony. You're ours too."

Tony blinked, momentarily stunned.

Sirius nodded, voice softer now. "We don't care how shiny your toys are, Tony. You're family. If you need help, we're damn well going to give it."

Tony swallowed hard, then nodded. "Alright. Amelia's dragging me somewhere. Probably for a full magical exam. You know her—no-nonsense and terrifying."

"We'll be right behind you," Remus promised.

Sirius squeezed his shoulder. "You're not going anywhere. Got it?"

"Got it," Tony said, forcing a grin. "Let's not go all teary-eyed. I'm not dead yet."

And with that, he turned and walked back toward the office, Amelia waiting in the doorway like a hawk.

He gave her a nod. "Let's go then... Let's see your healer"

She didn't respond at first, only stared at him with something unreadable in her eyes. Then she turned on her heel and led him away.

Sirius and Remus watched him disappear down the corridor.

"I swear," Sirius muttered, "if he dies on me…"

Remus shook his head. "He won't."

But deep down, they both knew this wasn't going to be an easy battle.

———

Tony had to admit flying through London's night sky in his Iron Man suit was usually a thrill. But this time, it felt… heavy.

He wasn't even sure why he agreed to this. Maybe it was the way Amelia said,"Tony, you will come with me," like she didn't care if he wore an indestructible suit or if he could shoot missiles out of his palms. She was going to make him sit down, shut up, and get checked. And Tony Stark knew better than to argue with an woman who looked like she could body-slam a troll before morning tea.

Argh, look at him thinking like these wiggle people.

Still, when Amelia handed him a disguised Portkey and warned, "We're not making a scene. No dramatic entrances. Follow me," he did just that.

And now here they were.

Landing in front of a tall, crooked building in the heart of London's magical district, Tony blinked at the old, dark-bricked structure. A subtle enchantment kept Muggles from noticing it.

They stepped inside the building, the front building attached to it. The lobby was bathed in warm candlelight, the walls lined with floating quills and charts that moved on their own. Wizards in healer robes bustled about, while a grandfather clock in the corner ticked in reverse.

Tony squinted. "This place looks like a Renaissance Faire and a haunted tea shop had a baby. And that baby grown up and shit here"

Amelia ignored him. She strode up to the counter where a tired-looking young wizard sat behind a floating quill. She exchanged a few quiet words with him, flashed her identification, and gestured for Tony to follow.

Clutching his suitcase tighter, Tony murmured, "If I wake up in a cauldron bath surrounded by singing gnomes, I'm suing everyone."

Still no reaction from her.

They reached a ward door that opened on its own—of course—and revealed a tall, middle-aged man in green healer's robes. His peppered hair was tied back, and his robes were stained with ink and faint potion splashes. The brass badge over his chest read Healer Atticus Thorne.

Amelia offered a curt nod. "Atticus. Thank you for agreeing to this."

Atticus Thorne smiled politely—until he saw who stepped through the door behind her.

The man froze, eyes wide, mouth slightly open.

"Mr. Stark…?"

Tony blinked. "Uh. Yeah. Hi." He hesitated. "Do I know you?"

Atticus shook his head, dumbfounded. "No, but… Merlin's beard, my niece works for you. Eliza. Eliza Thorne. She's in your Chicago R&D division. Brilliant witch, top marks at Ilvermorny but moved to Muggle world as she wanted to be engineer, She never shuts up about your devices. You gave her a chance when no one else would...."

Tony raised a brow, surprised. "Huh. Small world"

Atticus chuckled, a bit starstruck. "It's an honor. I didn't expect… well, you in my ward."

Tony scratched the back of his neck, suddenly awkward. "Trust me, I didn't either."

"Alright," Atticus said, gently professional again. "What's the problem?"

Amelia nodded to Tony, who sighed and stepped forward. He carefully unbutton his shirt revealing the soft glow of blue on his chest. Arc reactor. "This. Long story short? Shrapnel in my chest, electromagnet in my ribcage. I've been using a Palladium-based arc reactor to keep the fragments from entering my heart."

Atticus narrowed his eyes as he studied the device. "That's… incredible..."

Tony gave a short laugh. "Yeah, tell that to my blood."

Atticus motioned for him to sit on the padded bench. "Let me run a few scans. And… if you're okay with it, I'd like to bring in another Healer who specializes in magical-Muggle integration."

Tony shrugged. "Fine. But tell them not to drool on my shoes."

As Atticus got to work, Tony found his gaze drifting toward the softly glowing magical instruments, the floating diagnostic parchments.

Tony muttered to himself, "Magic hospitals look like someone gave an IKEA wand to a Victorian doctor."

"Hmm?" Atticus asked.

"Nothing," Tony replied, smirking.

The healer ran a thin wand down the arc reactor, murmuring charms under his breath.

After a moment, Atticus frowned. "The poison's spreading faster than expected. Your blood is saturated with magical energy too—likely from prolonged exposure to wizards, artifacts, and wards."

Tony looked up sharply. "So magic is accelerating it?"

Atticus nodded. "Possibly. But… maybe it can also help."

Amelia, who had remained quiet this whole time, folded her arms. "Meaning?"

Atticus hesitated, then smiled faintly. "Meaning we might be able to work with it—combine magical detoxification with technological containment. But it'll be risky."

Tony snorted. "Everything I do is risky."

"Then you came to the right place," Atticus said, eyes gleaming.

Tony leaned back on the bench. The arc reactor pulsed softly.

For the first time in weeks, maybe months, he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

Maybe—just maybe—there was a way out of this.