Chapter 3

"We're almost out of galleons, Mistress." Koby expressed his concern.

"It's dragots Koby, not galleons. They use a different currency here." Jamie corrected the house-elf. "Anyway, for food and the like, you can just buy them with muggle money. I figure that once I sell those potions I brewed earlier, it should earn us three hundred dragots, more or less."

Koby nodded along, but then raised a question, "When should we open our store?" Jamie took a moment to think before answering, "Let's open it tomorrow."

After that, Koby headed to the kitchen to start preparing dinner. He planned to throw a small party later that night for their new home celebration.

While all of this was happening, news of Tony Stark's disappearance in Afghanistan had reached the United States, setting off a major frenzy among the people.

"We've deployed our entire force in Afghanistan to search for any leads on Mr. Stark's whereabouts." The military representative reassured Pepper, who had temporarily taken charge in the absence of the billionaire.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the representative left, leaving Pepper alone in the office.

"I don't know what else to do at this point." Pepper sighed wearily. It had been a full two weeks since Tony's disappearance, and there was still no word of him. The situation was looking increasingly grim with each day that went by.

She was about to get back to her work when suddenly, Happy barged into the office. "Pepper, you've got to come see this!"

"Is it about Tony?" Pepper rose from her chair with a hopeful look in her eyes.

"No, no, it's something else. I've found a way to locate Tony!" Happy grinned, sliding the tablet in his hand over to Pepper. On the screen, there was a video of a singer performing at a talk show.

"Happy, don't you see that I don't have time for this nonsense right now?" Pepper furrowed her brows in displeasure.

"Wait, just hear me out first. You know that singer? He got diagnosed with vocal cord damage like a month ago, and he couldn't sing at all. But look at him now! He's singing again. Oh, and there's this interview too. You should watch it," Happy said.

Pepper observed as Daniel recounted the miraculous healing of his vocal cords. Nevertheless, the audience, including the host, appeared somewhat skeptical about his claim of visiting a shop that could vanish without a trace.

"Where's he at? We gotta go meet him!" Pepper thought it would be a good idea to meet this Daniel, even though she had some doubts about his story. Still, this could be the only shot they have at saving Tony.

"I've already called him, and he agreed to meet us." Happy told her.

"Great, let's go then." And they both headed out of the office.

* * *

Sitting in a fancy café in downtown Manhattan, Daniel stared at the pair facing him. Out of the two, he recognized Pepper, Tony Stark's personal assistant. "So you're looking for that shop too?"

"If it's alright with you." Pepper said.

"I'm more than happy to tell you all about it." Daniel replied before launching into his tale.

"... They took the money, or you could say they made it vanish, and then gave me some kind of potion to drink. I wasn't sure if it would work, but as it turns out, it did." He finished off with a sip of water.

"Do you have any idea where we might find that shop?" Pepper asked.

Daniel wrinkled his forehead. "You know, I'm not sure, really. I went back later on, but there was only a wall in that alley, nothing else."

"Nothing else? Our boss has gone missing for weeks, and this might be our one shot at finding him." Pepper, seated across, leaned forward with a plea in her eyes. Happy also joined by nodding his head.

"Maybe try to think of a wish when you get there? That's what I did the previous time." Daniel said with a hint of uncertainty.

"Big thanks! Consider this our way of showing gratitude." Pepper wrote out a check for a hundred thousand dollars and handed it to Daniel before taking their leave.

* * *

"So, what's our plan now?" Happy questioned, as the car exited the Manhattan Bridge and entered Brooklyn.

Pepper sat in the back seat of the car, gazing at the scenery as it rolled by outside. "Could you have someone verify the name of the shop? Every bit of information could help us."

"I'll reach out to the people at the company when we get back..."

"Stop the car!" Pepper shouted, surprising Happy, who promptly slammed on the brakes.

After the car had fully stopped, Pepper hurriedly got out and stood by the roadside, looking up at the three-story building with a large sign hung above the door that read "The Enchantress."

Happy parked the car and then joined her outside. The two of them just stood there, staring at the shop sign in utter bewilderment. Could this be just a random occurrence?

"Mistress, there are two muggles standing outside! Could they be our potential customers?" Koby popped beside Jamie on the second floor.

Giving her pocket watch a quick check, Jamie marked the position of the pointer in the red zone. "Looks like we've got our very first customer. Time to set a new rule! Everyone who wants to meet us will have to make an upfront payment of a hundred thousand dollars."

Koby nodded and disappeared with a small pop.

At the entrance, Pepper and Happy paused, uncertain, before eventually choosing to step inside. The interior of the shop was enveloped in darkness, and just as the door closed, a candle burst to life, illuminating the surroundings.

Taking a quick glance around the room, Pepper noticed the potion cabinet along the wall, the tables and chairs at the center, and the quill with parchment. Gathering her thoughts, she made her way over and settled into a chair.

When she picked up the parchment, words started to appear, just like what the singer had told her.

"Happy, it says we need to make an upfront payment of a hundred thousand dollars first." Pepper said after she finished reading it.

Without any hesitation, Happy turned and made his way towards the door. Before he could even reach it, the door swung open by itself. He got into his car and left to search for the nearest bank.

Before long, Happy returned with a suitcase. He opened it and placed it on the table. Both of them looked at the suitcase, uncertain about their next steps.

"Oh my, how generous!" Jamie remarked, raising an eyebrow as she peered at the scene unfolding on the ground floor through a crystal ball. The people below had no clue they were being watched.

"Koby, would you mind bringing them upstairs?" Jamie lifted a teacup and took a sip.

"Of course, Mistress," Koby's reply came from somewhere in the room.

Meanwhile, Pepper and Happy were scratching their heads. They were waiting for something to happen, yet nothing did. Out of nowhere, a staircase suddenly appeared next to the potion cabinet. They were absolutely sure it was a solid wall just moments ago!

"You can come upstairs now." A voice called out from the staircase.

Pepper glanced around but didn't spot anyone. While Happy reached into his pocket, feeling a slight relief as his fingers closed around his gun. He then motioned for Pepper to follow him up the stairs.

Climbing the stairs with care, they entered a luxurious Victorian-style reception room on the second floor. Sunlight streamed through the windows, and flames crackled in the fireplace. Interestingly enough, the room felt pleasantly cool.