The night in Stark Tower was quiet—peaceful, even. The city's hum was faint through the thick windows. Harry, now comfortably in his pajamas, lay in bed with a book resting on his chest, the soft voice of an audiobook whispering in the background. His eyes fluttered as sleep threatened to take over.
Then—CRACK.
A loud pop echoed in the room, causing Harry to bolt upright. Harry startled yelped "Who—?!"
A small, strange creature stood at the end of the bed. Big green eyes shimmered with fear, and its long ears twitched as it wrung its hands nervously. "Harry Potter must not go back to Hogwarts, sir! He must not!"
Harry's eyes widened. "Who... what are you?"
The creature bow. "Dobby the house-elf, sir. And Dobby has come to warn you!"
House elf?
At that moment, Jarvis triggered a silent alert to Tony.
Down in the lab, Tony was working on upgrading his suit when he heard Jarvis voice making him paused on his work.
"Unauthorized magical presence detected in Harry's quarters."
Tony's head snapped up. He suited up instantly and launched toward the room with blasters primed.
Back in the room, Harry stood in front of Dobby, confused and trying to calm the frantic creature. "Wait—what do you mean, don't go back? I have to go back to Hogwarts. My friends are there!"
"No! Evil plots are afoot! Great Harry Potter must stay away—it is not safe!"
Both of them jumps startled as the door is kicked down and Tony arriving in full armor, blaster pointed at Dobby. "Step away from the kid, Yoda!"
Dobby shrieked and ducked behind the nightstand.
Harry splutters and wave his hand wildly to stop him. "Tony, wait! wait! He's not hurting me!"
Tony's helmet retracted slightly, revealing his face—serious and suspicious. "Jarvis said we had a magical trespasser. I don't care if it's an elf or an Ewok, it doesn't get to barge into your room uninvited."
Dobby peeking out from his hiding place. "Dobby only came to protect Harry Potter, sir! He must not go back to Hogwarts!"
Protect him? Not go back to Hogwarts? "Why not?"
Harry look annoyed. "Yeah, what evil plot? Who's behind it?"
"Evil plot what now?"
Dobby whimpered and shook his head. "Dobby cannot say! Dobby mustn't tell secrets! But... but... why would Harry Potter go back to friends who do not even write to him?!"
The room went silent.
Harry froze. So did Tony.
"What... did you just say?"
Dobby slapped his face with both hands.
"Oh no, Dobby said too much! Dobby is a bad elf—"
Tony stepping forward, deadly calm and yet glaring. "You intercepted Harry's letters? You were the one who blocked his letters?"
Dobby looked down, ears drooping. "Dobby only wanted to keep him safe! If Harry Potter thought his friends had forgotten him, maybe... maybe he would not return."
Harry look angry and hurt. "You stole my letters?!"
"It was only to protect you!"
Tony powered down his blaster, his jaw tight. "You're going to tell us everything you know. Every bit of it. And if you ever come near him again without permission... I won't be so nice."
Dobby vanished with another crack, leaving the room filled with heavy silence.
Tony turned to Harry, kneeling slightly to meet his eyes. "Hey... I'm going to get your letters back. All of them. And whoever's behind this 'evil plot'? They're going to regret targeting you."
Harry nodded slowly, trying to absorb everything. "Thanks, Tony."
Tony stood and ruffled Harry's hair gently. "Get some rest, kid. I've got some calls to make"
Man, To think they thought it was Headmaster fault. He feels little bad but no way he's gonna forgive that old fossil.
---
Tony sat at his sleek lab desk, still processing the evening's strange events. He had text a lot of messages to Amelia. He's glad he gave her phone and taught her how to use it. He dialed Amelia's number on his tablet, pacing as he waited for her to answer.
"Tony, what's going on? You sounded urgent earlier."
"You won't believe this. Some house elf just appeared in Harry's room at night. Told him not to go back to Hogwarts, said there's some evil plot. Then, it turns out this elf was blocking Harry's letters from his friends."
"So... It wasn't Dumbledore...House elves don't usually act like that, Tony. They're bound to their owners and very protective, yes, but to interfere this way… It sounds like someone ordered it."
"Yeah, Harry said the elf was scared and wouldn't say who sent him. Is there a way to find out this elf? I did send you the description"
"I'll come by tomorrow. I want to upgrade the protective wards around Harry's place. That should keep any more magical intruders out. And I'll see if I can trace this elf's magic signature."
"I appreciate it"
"I also bring moody with me"
"Even better!"
They ended the call.
Tony takes a seat, he rubs his forehead. "Jarvis have you found anything useful?"
"I am sorry sir, I haven't"
"Keep going buddy... The sooner we finished this the sooner I can punch someone in the face"
---
Meanwhile, Harry was nervously holding his phone, deciding not to write a letter this time. He quickly dialed Hermione's number.
"Harry! Is everything okay? You don't usually call around this time...?"
"Not really. Something weird happened tonight… A house elf came to my room. Told me not to go back to Hogwarts and that he blocked my letters from you and Ron."
Hermione blinked in confusion. "A house elf? Oh! I heard about them-"
Harry immediately speak again as he doesnt want her to give him whole history in middle of night. "Yeah, Tony thinks someone might be using the elf to keep me away."
"We'll figure this out, Harry. You did the right thing telling me. I'll write Ron immediately and explain everything. Just stay safe, okay?"
"Thanks, Hermione. Oh! And let's meet up at Daigon alley when second year term starts..."
"Of course! We can show Mr. Stark the Diagon valley and if I understand.. he might be interested in magical items... "
Harry snorted. "You have no idea how I kept my wand locked up in my trunk, He wanted to experiment on my wand to see how it works and such"
Hermione giggles. "That's how my parents were"
They chat a bit more until Harry felt sleepy, he said goodnight and byes to Hermione before heading to bed.