Hagrid patted his stomach and smiled "Well then, I have to go, you should be alright with Ace, Harry." Harry nodded and said "Thanks, Hagrid!" Hagrid smiled and walked away as Hermione came running over shouting "Harry! Mr. Brand! How are you?"
Ace smiled at the two and said "I actually have to go as well… Is there a bookstore nearby?" he looked at Hermione, who nodded and replied excitedly "Actually! I just came from there! Come quickly or you'll miss it!" before running off.
Ace was confused and Harry looked at him, "Miss it?" Ace sighed and replied "I don't know either, Harry…" as he followed after Hermione, Harry following along behind him.
The duo arrived at the bookstore to see a group of people crowding the store.
Ace was stunned and said "Oh wow… People really love reading nowadays!" Harry muttered, "I don't think so… Look over there." as he pointed in a direction. Ace followed his finger and saw a man with a camera taking pictures of some guy who was signing books!
Ace clicked his tongue and remarked, "Must be nice being famous." Harry looked up at him with a strange face and Ace coughed, "Well, it's overrated anyway, right?!" Harry rolled his eyes when suddenly someone shouted "Harry Potter!?"
Everyone turned to look at Harry while the cameraman grabbed Harry, saying "Merlin's Beard! Harry Pottah!" he pulled Harry through the crowd past a woman with orange hair and tossed Harry right next to the book signing man.
Ace stood there alone and looked at the book signing man strangely, wondering why he was so famous. Suddenly, Ron appeared and said "Ace! What are you doing here?" before turning around and adding "Mom! This is the bloke who saved me!"
Ace was stunned as the orange haired woman hugged him tightly saying "My word! Ron has told me about you, Mr. Brand! Thank you! Truly! I don't know what I'd do without my Ron! It's reassuring to know that Hogwarts has such brave teachers!"
Ace was turbo confused and looked at Mrs. Weasley blankly, barely squeezing out a "What?" However she went on, "I can only hope Ron will learn from you and get better grades! His report card last year was simply terrible!"
Ace was still dumbfounded but thankfully, the book man started speaking, distracting Mrs. Weasley.
Ace quietly slipped away to the shelves and started looking around, finding himself on the second floor as the man below spoke "My Autobiography 'Magic and Me'..." He wasn't really listening as he was trying to find some tomes or spell volumes.
Ace put the book back and sighed, these were all just story books… What a shame!
He turned around to see Malfoy leaning on the railing, looking down at the man speaking with a bored expression.
Ace knocked on his head, asking "Not studying, are we?" Draco turned his head and snorted "Oh you." Ace gave him a funny look and replied "Oh me? I think I remember seeing someone run away in the woods last year, right? Does your father know?"
Draco's face turned red and he said in embarrassment "You wouldn't!" Ace chuckled and replied "I wouldn't? Are you sure?" Draco started sweating and said with anxiety "You can't! He'll be angry!"
Ace chuckled and pointed down at the man asking "Who is this guy?" Draco calmed down and said quickly "If I tell you, you can't tell my father." Ace rolled his eyes and replied "Sure."
Draco patted his chest and returned to the railing, saying "That's Gilderoy Lockheart. I think he's a magic adventurer or something. My mother reads his books. I don't really care for him." Ace leaned on the railing, saying "Hmm. This is the first time I've heard of him."
Draco looked at him and asked "He's not in the library?" Ace turned his head with his chin resting on his palm, "You pay attention?" Draco turned back and snorted "I do have excellent grades after all. The library is not a stranger."
Ace turned back to Gilderoy and explained "He's not in the library, no. Although, I don't study fantasy stories and he hasn't released any books on magic itself. He very well could be…"
Gilderoy handed Harry a stack of books and said graciously "That's why, he will be departing here with my complete collection. Free of charge." the crowd clapped and the reporter snapped a picture of the duo.
Ace looked at the books and rolled his eyes, saying "So he's a sham. Good to know…" Draco chuckled inwardly before walking away back to the second floor. Ace watched him go before turning to the bookshelves and sighing as he returned to the first floor.
Just as he reached the bottom of the staircase, he saw a blonde haired man talking to another man with a pointy hat in front of a bunch of kids.
Ace looked at Draco and then the blonde man before walking over.
The tension was a bit thick as the blonde haired man said "Associating with Muggles… Disgraceful." The pointy hatted man's eyes twitched and suddenly, Ace appeared!
He grabbed the blonde haired man's hand and shook it, saying "Hello! You must be Draco's father, right?" The tension dissipated as Ace smiled happily. Everyone looked at him as the blonde haired man replied slowly "Lucius… and you are?"
Ace let go of his hand and said "Ace Brand. Nice to meet you!" Lucius looked at Draco, who gave him a look to which Lucius turned back to Ace, saying "The overseas Wizard… Yes I've heard of you."
Ace's eyes lit up and he chuckled, "Well that's a relief! You know between me and you, I didn't think I was all that famous! Although! Hanging around Hogwarts will do that to you I guess! At any rate, I have to commend you on your parenting. Draco is quite the bright child, although he can be a bit sharp tongued ahah…"
Lucius' mouth twitched as Ace continued on "He reminds me of myself when I was a boy, you see I never knew my parents so I had to…" he went on for a few minutes as Lucius started to sweat silently.
He looked at his wrist and said "Oh my would you look at the time! I must go, apologies. Come along, Draco." as he looked at Draco frantically. Draco followed after him quickly and they left the bookstore.
Ace paused and said "Wait! I wasn't done…" before sighing "Why does this always happen…" He turned his head to see the rest of the group looking at him. The pointy hatted man shook Ace's hand with enthusiasm, saying "Charmed! I'd love to hear more of your travels in the Muggle world!"
Ace's eyes lit up and he shook the man's hand excitedly "Really!?" The man nodded happily and they walked out of the store as he asked "What is this 'performance magician' you speak of?" Ace laughed happily and started explaining "Well! You see…"
Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other and sighed…
A while later
Mr. Weasley and Ace hugged and said "Farewell, my friend! See you around!" Ace grinned and waved the newspaper, adding "Thank you for this by the way." Arthur smiled and slapped Ace's shoulder, winking "As a friend should! Take care now." before leaving with his family.
Ace smiled at waved at the Weasley family, saying "See you at school." Harry and Ron waved at him before leaving. Ace smiled to himself and turned around, walking on the streets of Diagon Alley.
He looked at his watch and turned to a pub, muttering "Leaky Cauldron… 10 am…" before walking inside. He sat down at a table and ordered a pint of Merlin's Brew as he opened the newspaper and started reading.
It was a muggle newspaper!
Ace got his drink and sipped on it as he read the latest headline 'Tony Stark is Ironman!' He coughed on his drink and started reading the article in shock!
'After the reveal of Obidiah Stein's reign of terror on the leading weapons company by one Ace Brand, the recently missing Tony Stark has made a grand return! The missing Tech prodigy, returned from terrorists in Afghanistan, shocks the world with his display of apex technology!'
There was a picture of 2 mechs fighting each other on a highway and the article continued.
'During the interview after the fact, Tony Stark declares himself as the man in the iron suit, donning the name Ironman! Could this be a superhero in our generation?! Experts on the topic of finance claim the stock prices of Stark Industries will continue to rise exponentially over the coming years. More on page 8.'
Ace was stunned silly and stared at the picture of Tony Stark, "Holy fuck!" the pubgoers glanced at him briefly before continuing their conversations as Ace looked around in embarrassment.
He turned back to the newspaper and continued reading as he drank his beer until finally Hagrid walked in the pub. He looked around before walking over to Ace, saying happily "Ready to go?"
Ace looked up and nodded dumbfoundedly, saying "There's a superhero out there, Hagrid!" Hagrid looked confused and asked "Superhero? I 'ave never 'eard of anything like that!" Ace and Hagrid left the pub as Ace explained "There's this guy that can fly around in a metal suit of armor shooting lasers!"
Hagrid seemed shocked and repeated "Lasers, you say!?" Ace nodded frantically, his mind blown, as he shouted "LASERS!" Hagrid shook his head and sat on a motorcycle, replying "The world changes everyday!"
Ace sat in the second cart on the motorcycle, sighing "Incredible! I want to be a superhero too!" Hagrid put on goggles and smiled "You're a Superhero at Hogwarts, ya know." Ace looked at him in confusion, "I am?" Hagrid chuckled and revved the motorcycle, explaining "The man who stood up to the evil wizard to save Harry Potter. Even I got tha news! Haha!" before flying off into the sky.
Ace was stunned yet again!
A long while later