New York City, Vientiane Book Café
May woke up early, got ready, and rushed to the book café. She was expecting a very important guest today and needed to prepare in advance. When she arrived, three store clerks were already at the door. She quickly took out her key and opened the door.
Inside the café, she noticed that some books seemed to be out of place compared to last night, but she didn't think much of it, assuming she might have misremembered. She quickly instructed the clerks to start cleaning and prepare coffee and tea. Tony drank coffee yesterday, and her boss wanted tea. Although May felt a little out of place, she had to be ready to provide whatever they wanted.
To her, today's opportunity could be pivotal for the café's success. Regardless of whether her boss approved of the publicity, she believed that no business-minded person would refuse a chance for profit.
Soon, the entire store was clean and open for business. A while later, her nephew, Peter Parker, quietly entered the café. They had agreed to pretend not to know each other to avoid unnecessary trouble. Peter ordered a cup of coffee and found a spot with a good view, reading silently. However, May could see the excitement and anticipation in his eyes.
What May didn't notice was Alice, the receptionist, giving Peter a strange look. Alice had seen photos of May's nephew before and recognized him as the young man reading by the window. She quickly masked her thoughts and resumed her duties.
As time passed, it was almost 8:30. May saw her boss, Lockhart, approaching from outside and hurried out to greet him. Peter, curious about his Aunt May's boss, watched with interest.
Lockhart entered the café, pleased with the quiet atmosphere. The main purpose of opening the café was to avoid unnecessary trouble and earn magical resources, not money. Hence, May's marketing efforts were meaningless to him.
However, Lockhart noticed a slightly handsome young man near the window with a strong breath of life. Recognizing him as Spider-Man, Peter Parker, Lockhart smiled and nodded at May. "May, I'll be in study room 101. When Tony Stark arrives, bring him in. Also, bring me a pot of tea."
May nodded in understanding, and Lockhart went to study room 101.
As it approached 9 o'clock, a commotion outside caught May's attention. She saw Tony Stark arriving in his Iron Man suit. May quickly ran out and waved. "Mr. Stark, the boss is waiting for you in study room 101."
Tony Stark, in his Iron Man armor, entered the café, waving to the guests inside and causing a stir. Several people, especially the women, rushed to take photos and get autographs. Passersby outside also joined in, creating a crowd. Peter seemed ready to join, but held back.
Tony was easy-going, agreeing to fans' requests, signing autographs, and posing for photos. It seemed like the café was his territory. May, seeing this, lit up with joy and instructed the clerks to take photos, thinking this would be great promotion for the café.
However, she forgot that it was past 9 o'clock, and her boss was still waiting in the study. Tony seemed absorbed in the attention, forgetting his appointment.
Lockhart, sensing the scene outside, was speechless. He understood Tony was venting his dissatisfaction from being rejected the previous day. But Lockhart wasn't going to indulge him.
He gently waved his wand and cast several spells: "Repello Muggletum," "Obliviate," and "Sugestio." A transparent ripple spread from the tip of his wand, enveloping the entire bookstore. Pedestrians outside seemed confused and continued walking without noticing Iron Man. Inside, the crowd surrounding Tony slowly moved outside, their memories of the encounter becoming hazy. They remembered meeting Iron Man and taking photos but couldn't recall details. A thought ingrained in their minds to keep this as a personal secret.
May and the clerks seemed unaffected, returning to their tasks. Peter, under Lockhart's control, returned to his seat and continued reading, though a brief flash of clarity crossed his eyes before turning to confusion.
Tony, unaffected by the spell, was shocked by the scene. He called Jarvis, closed his armor mask, and prepared to escape. Then, he heard a gentle voice.
"Mr. Stark, I'm waiting for you in study room 101."
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[More Chapter available at p@treon.com/goldengaruda]
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Lockhart felt the effects of his three spells and nodded with satisfaction. During his time in the Harry Potter world, he had extensively studied mind magic. Given his proficiency in memory spells, he retained a wealth of research knowledge.
Initially, he optimized the Muggle-repelling charm, allowing him to selectively block or admit certain Muggles. Later, Lockhart combined Kamar-Taj magic with psychological knowledge from his past lives, delving deeply into memory manipulation, consciousness, and cognition. The two additional spells he used today were among his smaller achievements. The results were remarkable, though there was a minor side effect—a feeling of displeasure from tampering with people's minds. Although it had little impact on Lockhart, he tried to avoid frequent use to prevent psychological repercussions. He theorized that the original Lockhart's poor personality might have been a side effect of overusing memory spells.
With Tony Stark's disruption now resolved, the psychological suggestions Lockhart implanted ensured everyone would keep the encounter secret. This idea was deeply embedded in their subconscious, compelling them to defend their actions even to themselves.
After casting the spells, Lockhart called Tony over. Soon, Tony Stark exited his Iron Man suit, turned it into a suitcase, and walked towards study room 101. As the wooden door of the study quietly opened, Tony, holding a trace of fear from the earlier strange scene, saw Lockhart sitting calmly inside.
Tony hadn't forgotten the eerie scene, recognizing that without the magic potion provided by Lockhart, he might have reacted aggressively. Even so, Lockhart's method of mind manipulation left a bad impression on him. He resolved to start work on anti-magic armor.
Lockhart watched Tony Stark place the suitcase aside and sit in the chair opposite him. Lockhart glanced at the suitcase with interest, as if nothing had happened earlier, and gently asked, "Mr. Tony Stark, why do you want to see me?"
Tony, recalling the information SHIELD provided, felt more confident but still a bit stiff. "Thank you, Mr. Lockhart, for the potion. It was very effective and saved my life."
Lockhart nodded slightly. "You should thank SHIELD. I just provided the potion to them. Who they use it on is their business."
Tony replied, "I've already thanked SHIELD. This time, I mainly wanted to meet and chat with you." He hesitated briefly, his original plan of leveraging wealth suddenly seeming inappropriate. Wizards, unlike capitalists, played with magic, not technology. Nevertheless, he continued, "I want to buy some magic metals for research."
Lockhart was puzzled. He expected Tony to seek more of the life-saving potion. However, he understood when Tony explained, "Not long ago, SHIELD invited me to participate in a wizard gold coin project. This gold coin should be provided by you, right?"
Lockhart nodded, and Tony continued with a hint of pride, "Originally, their project made no progress, but with my involvement, we achieved breakthroughs. Using Stark Industries' database, we analyzed the gold coin's elements and characteristics. We found elements similar to gold, rare earths, antimony, tungsten, tin, and other strategic resources. However, there are unknown elements we couldn't identify. We speculate these are magic metals. With more of these metals, we can attempt to synthesize a wizard gold coin."
Lockhart nodded, feeling nothing wrong with Tony's statement. He felt a touch of admiration for Tony's technological genius. Lockhart originally had little confidence in artificial synthesis, but Tony's involvement brought hope.
Lockhart, showing no outward emotion, felt a strong interest, which Tony noticed. Tony was pleased, knowing he hadn't mentioned the most crucial part. The unknown elements in wizard gold coins had amazing properties. Using them in Iron Man armor could greatly enhance its combat power. This was a key reason Tony approached Lockhart—obtaining these metals in large quantities would allow him to create a stronger, possibly magic-resistant armor, showcasing the combination of science and magic.
Lockhart didn't know Tony's full intentions, but even if he did, he wouldn't care. Science would advance, but magic wouldn't regress. Lockhart initially placed most of his hopes on Kamar-Taj, expecting little from SHIELD. Tony's involvement was a pleasant surprise.
Suddenly, Lockhart waved his hand, and over ten fragments of magic metal flew out from his space bag, landing on the table. Pointing to the metal fragments, he said, "This is the magic metal I currently have. You can take these for testing. If they don't help, I will send another batch next month."
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[More Chapter available at p@treon.com/goldengaruda]
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