On that fateful Halloween night, Lily and James survived while Voldemort apparently 'marked' Harry Potter as his equal.
Aria Potter, twin sister of the boy-who-lived was proclaimed a squib, abandoned by her family and given to the care of the Dursl...
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"Dad?"
A pang of silence followed, and then every single gaze in the room swung towards her.
"Mini-me?"
Aria's body crashed into him so hard that the force of it had Tony rocking back on his heels to keep from being tackled to the ground. The man's arms came up automatically to wrap around his daughter.
"Easy, kiddo, are you okay?" Tony asked , ignoring everyone else present in the room with them, before he realized how tightly the girl clung to him. Aria was trembling. Tony's relief faded slowly back to concern. When he looked up, he found Dumbledore watching them with a dark expression on his face unlike anything Tony had ever before seen from the man. He found his arms tightening, reflexively, around his little girl.
And then he heard it. They all did. A sob escaped his daughter's lips, her eyes stinging and blurring before warm tears soaked into his shoulder. He tightened his grip around her, cradling the back of her head protectively, shielding her from the dismayed gazes of the Potters and the cursed staff.
"What the fuck—" he began, each word dripping with venom, "and I won't repeat myself—did you do to my daughter?" His tone was so fierce it could send a beast retreating with its tail between its legs.
Potter was the first to step closer, reaching out, but his hand froze mid-air when Bucky, standing tense beside Tony, aimed some sort of weapon in his direction. Potter quickly brought his hand up in surrender, backing off as Bucky's steady gaze bore into him.
Bucky's hands were trembling, not from fear, but from the barely restrained urge to scoop Aria up and get her out of there. No, he told himself. He had to make sure every single person who had ever hurt their girl paid for what they did.
The infirmary fell silent, the only sounds being Aria's muffled sobs and the hushed whispers of students just outside the door. The tension was suffocating.
"I'm going to ask you to put my daughter down," the Potter patriarch finally spoke, his voice strained as he tried to sound as threatening as possible.
Tony pressed a gentle kiss to his daughter's temple, whispering softly into her ear, offering a sliver of comfort before reluctantly passing her to Steve. Without hesitation, Steve enveloped Aria in his arms protectively, holding her close as if she were his own.
The moment the transfer was complete, Tony's demeanor shifted drastically. In one fluid motion, he'd donned his Iron Man suit, the familiar whirr of machinery filling the room. His repulsor was aimed directly at James Potter.
"One more word Potter, and there will be a see-through hole in the centre of your forehead"
"Enough." Dumbledore's cut through the rising storm, low and authoritative.
If these people were anyone other than who they were , then that single word would've been enough to silence the room. Alas—
"Oh you better not get me started, Albus" this time, it was Loki who spoke, raising his index in warning. His cerulean gaze racked through everyone present, agonisingly slow, as he made his way close to where the older wizards stood.
From the far end of the room, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black's gazes met, though the contact was quickly severed, when blue eyes met Remus' amber ones instead, as Bucky came to stand in front of Sirius.
"So we leave an eleven year old child in your care, to teach magic to." Loki began, pacing around the space with the ease of a predator secure in its domain. "And then we get word that she has been treated with no respect, forced to endure things other students didn't , and almost gets killed, in the safety of your walls!" He bellows , voice laced with venom that cut through the air like a blade. His magic flared uncontrollably, sending a shockwave through the room, causing walls to crack and objects to fly.
Tony still had his repulsor aimed at James Potter.
"What happened to young Aria was an unfortunate incident— and I take full responsibility for it—"
"That you will. But first, I'm taking my daughter out of this shithole you call a school." Tony's tone held a finality to it that had everyone stunned for a second.
It was only then that Aria peaked from over Steve's shoulder, her gaze meeting Dumbledore's.
Had he not seen it with his own eyes, Albus would have chalked it up to the whims of old age—but no—there was no mistaking it— the child had stuck her tongue out at him.
"I can't let you do that." The four-eyed fool spoke again, this time raising his wand and aiming right at Tony stark.
That seemed to do it for the man because in less than two seconds, a beam erupted from his reactor and hit James straight in the chest, sending him flying five feet away.
Lily shrieked as she ran toward her husband, followed by a panicked Remus and Pomfrey. Albus stared wide eyed between the wizard and avengers faction.
"You're making a terrible mistake, Aria needs to complete her education at Hogwarts—"
"She doesn't." Sirius cut in, placing a comforting hand over his goddaughter's shoulder.
"Sirius. What happened to you? What happened to the boy who used to run around these halls causing mischief ?" The older man tried, his voice growing softer.
"Isn't it obvious Albus? Black is a traitor, he's accomplice with the people who ripped my daughter away from me— from her family!" The words have to bash their way out of Lily Potter's mouth from where she kneeled with her unconscious husband's head on her lap, having been wedged in her throat, imprisoned behind gritted teeth. When the sounds do fall about the room, they're cold and rattling.
If looks could kill , the redheaded witch would already be a lifeless heap at Tony's feet.
"If wanting to protect my goddaughter from those monsters you call family, makes me a traitor, then I hope I'm the biggest bloody traitor to have ever graced the wizarding world" Sirius scoffed, grey hues snapping to the side when he feels a hand rest on his shoulder. Natasha gave him a firm nod, which he returned.
"This is not the end Albus. First, I'm getting my kid to safety, and then when I'm done doing that , I'll come back to take care of you." Tony promised, not wanting to waste one more second here. They had come to retrieve Aria. After that's done, they could properly teach these children killers a lesson.
"Found it!"
Everyone's eyes fell on Loki as he appeared again— nobody had noticed him disappear— with a bag and satchel in his hand, undoubtedly holding Aria's possessions.
" and I've got her suitcase." Wanda added.
Aria glanced toward the door, catching her friends' eyes from behind Wanda. Pansy, Blaise, Draco, Theo. Concern was written all over their features, but also dismay. They heard her father.
"You're lucky there are children here," she heard her dad say, knowing that they probably wouldn't be leaving peacefully if it wasn't for the crowd of overexcited students littering the entrance.
Aria didn't want her dad to destroy Hogwarts. Not that she held any fondness for the school or anything— but some of her friends considered this place home—
It was sad that she couldn't share the sentiment. This would never come close to home. Home was in the United States— in Stark towers. With her family.
She didn't shun Hogwarts completely, as it remained the place her godfather grew up in, and became the wizard that he was now.
But for now, she couldn't. She had to get away.
"Aria?"
The girl looked up to see Tony standing next to her, his hand coming to gently stroke the top of her head. "Ready to go back home?"
"Yeah" her voice was raspy. She tried again. "Yeah— that'd be cool."
