NIGHTSHADE | marvel x hp

046

The arena was, for the lack of a better word, unrecognisable.

Smoke and dust swallowed everything— thick clouds rolling over the stands, turning the world to a blur of brown and gold.

Nobody could see her. Nobody could even tell if she was still alive.

Up in the stands, Natasha's chest rose and fell sharply, her hand still frozen mid-grip on the railing. Her gaze darted through the smoke, searching for movement, any sign of her.

She turned to Tony. He stood motionless, eyes locked on the arena, jaw clenched so tight the muscles there trembled.

It was never a good sign seeing the billionaire in that state.

Every second stretched into eternity.

Behind them, Pansy's hand flew to her mouth, eyes wide. "No..." she breathed, voice cracking. Sirius had found her and the others earlier in the castle and asked them to lead him and the avengers to the arena before it was too late.

Theo was the first to move— shoving past Blaise and Draco, ignoring their startled protests as he forced his way to the very front of the stands.

No no no no.

His knuckles were white on the edge of the railing, dust settling over his hair.

"I'll kill you if you die Stark."

All eyes were fixed on the swirling smoke.

Then — a low rumble.

The ground shifted. Pebbles rolled down from broken stone.

A handler's voice barked somewhere off to the side — "Get the dragon under control! Now!" — and teams of wizards and witches swarmed into the arena, wands raised, casting shimmering nets of blue containment magic that arced over the massive creature.

The smoke began to thin.

What was left of the arena looked like a battlefield — charred rocks, shattered stone, and at its heart, a mound of rubble where the dragon's last blast had hit.

Everyone held their breath.

And suddenly— a metal hand burst out from under the rocks, fingers flexing, gleaming in the sunlight.

For one stunned heartbeat, no one moved.

Then the entire pile exploded outward, dust and shards flying, as a figure shot into the sky in a burst of silver and red.

The crowd erupted.

Cheers roared from every direction, echoing across the stadium like thunder. People were screaming her name, crying, laughing, pointing as the Iron suit streaked upward through the clearing smoke.

Tony exhaled sharply — a sound halfway between a laugh and a gasp of relief.

The others behind him— Natasha, Steve , Bucky , Sam, Vision, Wanda, Clint and Rhodes all shared the same breath of relief.

Aria landed in front of them with a hard thud. For a moment she just stayed there, breathing heavily inside the helmet.

And then the armor hissed open.

The helmet peeled back— steam rising — revealing her face smeared with soot, her hair damp with sweat and sticking to her forehead. Her eyes darted up — and the instant she saw him, every muscle in Tony's body moved at once.

He crossed the distance in seconds.

She barely had time to deactivate the rest of the suit before he grabbed her— pulling her into a tight, desperate hug that lifted her a few inches off the ground.