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NOVEMBER 1991
"Are you sure it's a good idea?" asked a red haired woman to the black haired man next to her. Both young adults were currently standing in front of an old mansion in the north of the State of New York. The mansion belonged to that of the black haired man's uncle.
The two adults looked worse for wear. To those who had more horrible lives than the norm, they would recognize that these two looked like they had just gone through a personal tragedy. Both adults looked pale and slightly gaunt. The woman's green eyes were rimmed red while the man had a facial hair which hadn't been shaved in days, maybe even weeks.
"I do." eventually said the black haired man. "The question is: do you want to go with it?"
The red-head looked pensive for a few moments. Then, she started sobbing quietly. "It's just... Why!? Why did it have to happen to us?"
The black haired man sighed sadly and took the red-head in his arms. "I don't know, Lily. I don't know." he said.
The man continued to comfort the woman for the next few minutes. Then, he noticed the entrance of the mansion open and a man wearing a black coat made a sign of the hand.
"Lily, Edwin is making sign for us to come inside. It's your last chance to decide. Do you want to go with the plan or would you prefer we go back in England? Or somewhere else?"
Lily leaned away from the man. "I- I would prefer..." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Yes. Let's do this." she said.
The man smiled. "Just so you know, no matter what happen in the future, I love you, Lily Potter."
Lily smiled. "I love you, James." she returned before giving him a kiss. They both enjoyed the kiss before they took a step away from each other. Then, holding hands, they walked toward the mansion.
"Hopefully, Uncle Howard will be able to help us." he said.
EIGHTEEN YEARS LATER, MAY 2010
"Are you sure it's a good idea?" asked a woman with brown, curly hair to a black haired man. The man let out a small laugh.
Unknowingly for the both of them, the couple was emulating James and Lily Potter from eighteen years prior. However, despite the man looking like a carbon copy of James, the woman was anything but. With a slightly smaller stature and brown eyes and dense hair, she did not look anything close to Lily Potter, though both were as equally beautiful.
The main difference between the two couples however was that this one looked like they had just gone through the best time of their lives. They were very happy and both had smiles adorning their faces. Those who knew them (which was practically everyone), knew the reason they looked so happy: the couple had just married.
"Of course it's a good idea, Hermione!" said the man with a grin. "We're now married – a member of my family! It wouldn't be right if you didn't have access to the family vaults."
"It's just... I don't want people to believe I married you simply for your money." said Hermione.
"They won't but, even if they did, does it really matter? Everyone remotely close to us know we married for love, not because of something as inconsequential as money!"
"I suppose you are right." sighed Hermione. "Still, I just want you to remember that I love you for who you are, Harry."
Harry grinned. "I already do – and I couldn't be happier." he said before they happily kissed.
Another difference between Harry and Hermione and James and Lily Potter was the setting of their discussion. While James and Lily had stood in front of a mansion in a cold day of November, Harry and Hermione were standing in front of Gringotts Bank, Diagon Alley at the beginning of the summer.
"Well, Mrs. Potter, shall we go in?" he asked.
"It's your call, Mr. Potter." answered Hermione with a smile. Then, holding hands, they walked toward the bank.
Their business as the bank had taken more time than they had originally expected. The reason for this had been a shock to the young couple.
While they had been signing the forms to allow Harry to take control of the family vault, something happened. The forms are magical and, upon filling them, would allow or refuse to give control to the person who filled them. There were only four conditions that mattered:
- Was the person older than twenty-one?
- If they aren't, are they married?
- Are they the senior heir to the previous vault owner OR are they the next in line to inherit OR the last member of the family?
- Is the previous vault owner still alive?
For Harry, everyone expected it to be a no brainer and be allowed access to the vaults as, while he wasn't yet twenty-one, he was married as well as being both the senior heir and last member (by blood) of the Potter family. As for his parents, everyone knew they were dead, so nobody believed it would be a problem.
So, it came to a shock when Harry's form was rejected.
"It didn't work." he stated simply. The goblin in charge looked confused and took the now blood red parchment from Harry. He waved a hand over it and a spark of blue light appeared. The goblin's eyes widened and he turned to bark something to another goblin.
"What's going on?" asked Harry.
"My apologies, Mr. and Mrs. Potter but it appear we have a slight complication." said the goblin. Harry and Hermione only stared at each other in confusion.
Eventually, after waiting for ten minutes, another goblin arrived. "Mr. and Mrs. Potter." said the goblin, grabbing their attention. "If you would please follow me."
The young couple nodded and followed the goblin as he led them through a series of corridors toward a large conference room. The goblin made a sign for them to sit while he left the room.
"What do you think is going on?" asked Hermione. Harry shrugged.
"I honestly have no idea. Nothing bad, I hope."
"That would depend upon your definition of the word, Mr. Potter." said a new voice behind them. The Potters turned and looked at a fourth goblin. Immediately, the couple noticed that this goblin had an air of importance around him. He also looked more regal than the previous goblins they had delt with. "My name is Silverstaff and I am one of the seniors employees in this bank. I deal with most of the important business and clients that go through Gringotts London." he said, introducing himself.
"Harry Potter." answered Harry.
"Hermione Potter." added Hermione. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Silverstaff."
"So it is, Mr. and Mrs. Potter." said Silverstaff as he sat down at the table. "I'll go down right to the point of this meeting. While you were filling the forms necessary to take control of Vault 224 – also known as the Potter Family Vault – we noticed something was wrong.
Harry stiffed a snort. Yeah, he had noticed too. It was a bit hard not to when the whole parchment turned red and a large 'REJECTED' appeared on top of it.
"We did some tests on the parchment to make sure that the results were right and we were shocked when we realized they were."
"Why? What caused the error?"
"I'm trying to ease you into it, Mr. Potter." said Silverstaff. "The error was caused because one of the conditions was not met."
Both Potters frowned. "I don't understand." said Hermione. "Harry is not twenty-one, sure, but we are married so his age shouldn't matter in his case. And everyone know he is the last of his family."
"That's the thing, though." said Silverstaff. "He isn't."
Harry almost stood on his feet from the shock. "What?" he blurted, his eyes wide open. "You mean there is another Potter alive?"
Silverstaff looked hesitant. "Yes – there is."
"Then who is it?" he asked.
"Hold on!" interrupted Hermione before Silverstaff could answer. "That doesn't make any sense. It shouldn't matter if another Potter is alive as the previous owner – Harry's father – isn't. The only reason Harry wouldn't be allowed to gain control of the family vault would be because there is a more senior heir of James Potter."
Harry stiffed a gasp of shock. "Does that mean I have an older sibling somewhere?"
Silverstaff winced. "Not exactly." he said. Before the Potters could ask for clarification, he took a roll of parchment and gave it to Harry. Harry unrolled it, curious. He quickly realized it was a list of all members of the Potter family from the 20th Century along with their living status and (if they had them), aliases. At the top were Henry Potter and his wife Wlhelmina Pomfrey, followed by their two sons Fleamont and Charlus and their respective wives Euphemia Stark and Dorea Black. To his surprise, Fleamont and Charlus also had a sister he had never heard about. She was named Autumn. Then, there was the son of Charlus and Dorea named Charlus Jr. It was followed by Harry's parents James and Lily and Harry and Hermione themselves.
Harry barely paid any attention to the names. No, what shocked him to the core was the living status of his parents.
- James Fleamont Potter (ALIVE. Alias: Anthony Edward Stark (As of 5th of November 1991))
- Lily Jasmine Evans (ALIVE. Alias: Virginia Lilith Potts (As of 5th of November 1991))
Harry saw the world around him spin. He felt dizzy as he processed the revelation. His parents were alive! Not only that, but they were the famous Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, the owner/chief inventor and the CEO of Stark Industries respectively. Harry would have been ecstatic to learn that fact, if it wasn't for one horrifying thought:
His parents had abandoned him.
There was no way to deny it. The simple fact that his parents had taken new identities merely days after their supposed deaths told him they had gone into hiding in America, all while leaving him behind.
"Please... please tell me that's not true!" pleaded Harry to Silverstaff.
"These parchments don't lie, Mr. Potter." said the goblin.
Harry felt his wife grab his free hand and he turned to look at her. It allowed her to see the shock and horror on his face. "Harry?" What is it?" Hermione asked, concern lacing her voice. Harry simply gave her the parchment. She grabbed it and gave it a quick look. She suddenly gasped when her eyes reached the bottom.
"They abandoned me, Hermione." he whispered emotionally. "They abandoned me and went to America alone."
"Oh, Harry!" exclaimed Hermione, taking her husband in her arms. She held him as he sobbed in her shoulder.
"Why?" he whispered to her. "Why did they do it?"
"I don't know, Harry!" said Hermione, sounding almost as emotional as him. "I wish I could tell you but I don't know."
It took a few minutes for Harry to calm down. When he did, he leaned away from the shoulder of his wife. "I want – no – I need the answer. Silverstaff, do you..." started Harry before he stopped. The goblin was no longer in the room.
"He left a few minutes ago. I think he wanted to give us some time alone."
Harry nodded. He was grateful for Silverstaff's actions. "Hermione... thank you."
"What for?"
"For being with me – for never leaving my side. I love you – so much." he said.
"I love you too, Harry." she said before she gave him a long, passionate kiss. Then, she leaned away just as Harry began feeling dizzy again – though for a completely different reason. "What do you want to do about it?" she asked.
"Huh?" blurted Harry before the confusion washed away. "I don't know." he answered truthfully. "I think... I think I want to meet them. I want to know how they survived and why they left me behind."
"Should we buy a portkey to California, then?" asked Hermione. Harry nodded.
"We will."
Harry and Hermione literally came crashing down in an empty park in Los Angeles, California five days later. It wasn't for their lack of trying but Harry had never got the hang of portkeys – the trauma of the Third Task having a hand in it – and was not able to land still. It certainly didn't help that international portkeys were a lot – a lot! - rougher than local ones.
"Are you okay?" he asked as he helped his wife back up.
"I am." she said. Harry smiled when he looked at her hair. It looked a lot more frizzy, almost like she had just jumped from an airplane. "Still, let's never do this again."
"Plane tickets for the return?" he asked with a grin. Hermione nodded, making her hair move. He chuckled. "You might want to straighten your hair, though."
Hermione rolled her eyes before she used her wand to clean her hair. "Pretty enough, now?" she asked.
Harry shrugged. "No matter how your hair is, I'll always find you beautiful."
Hermione grinned. "Good answer." she said before giving him a peck on his lips.
"Well, then, Mrs. Potter, shall we go explore the city before meeting the "in-laws"?" he said jokingly, trying to hide his nervousness and anger. He still wasn't over the shock of learning his parents had lived but abandoned him that Halloween so long ago.
Seemingly understanding what he was feeling – and she probably did, being Hermione – she responded in kind.
"But of course, my good gentleman. Lead away, Mr. Potter!" she said. Harry barked a laugh as they left the park.
The young couple walked around the famous American city for the next few hours. Before they were going to meet James and Lily Potter (or Tony Stark and Pepper Potts as they were now known as), the younger Potters wanted to see as much of the town. Neither held the illusion that they would want to stay in America if they didn't like James and Lily's answers.
Eventually, Harry and Hermione got tired of walking around and, having filled their cameras with hundred of photos and their bags with dozen of souvenirs, they hailed down a cab.
"Hi!" said Harry to the driver. "Do you drive to Malibu?"
"I do." answered the American. "It'll cost you extra, though."
"Fair enough." said Harry. "My wife and I need to go to... what's the address?" he asked to her.
"10880 Malibu Point." Hermione answered. It had taken a few days to find Tony Stark's address as it was not public record. All the public knew was that he lived in a large mansion by the sea in Malibu.
"10880 Malibu Point it is." answered the driver, imputing the address in his GPS. "We should be there in an hour."
"That's fine." said Harry. "Thank you."
"J.A.R.V.I.S., open the schematics on the Jericho." said a man as he sat in front of his computer. The man sighed as the blueprints of a nearly completed missile appeared on the screen.
James Potter, also known as Tony Stark to the rest of the world, did not like building weapons. Ever since he had taken over his uncle's company following the car crash that killed him and his wife, Tony had been slowly phasing out weapons. In the 1990s, Stark Industries had been building anything from pistols to intercontinental ballistic missiles. Nowadays, the company only built missiles, bombs and heavy weaponry used on planes, tanks, ships and others.
James would have shut down the weapon manufacturing division of Stark Industries years ago had he been able to. Unfortunately, despite building less and less weapons and focusing on clean energy, cellular phones, computers and other types of electronics, the weapons division still earned a lot of income to the company and the Board of Directors would simply never allow it to be shut down. It also didn't help that his uncle's former right hand man, Obadiah Stane, was in full support of keeping it running.
James sighed again as he continued working on the Jericho. The Jericho was a new type of short-range missile that could destroy an entire village by itself. It was a disgusting weapon but one James was forced to work on. He hoped the Jericho would be the last weapon he would ever design but he knew otherwise.
"Sir?" asked J.A.R.V.I.S., grabbing his attention away from his project. "Ma'am has arrived."
"Really?" perked up James.
His wife Lily – or Pepper as everyone else knew her – was one of the only remnants of his life from England. She was also the most important person in his life and the woman who held his heart.
Despite what they had gone through in 1991, Lily and James had never left each other's side. If anything, Voldemort's attack brought them closer to each other. She had followed him when he had proposed a crazy plan to build new lives in America. She had been by his side as his uncle introduced him to the world as his son Anthony Stark, who had supposedly been kept away from public view. She had been with him when Howard and Maria Stark died only a month and a half later, leaving James as CEO of Stark Industries when he was nowhere near ready. She stood by him when he made the world believe that he was a playboy and man-whore (not that he was, he had never cheated on her). She stood by him as he fell in a depression following that Halloween. And, just like she had been with him during all of those things, James had returned the favour and stood by her side as she went through her own life-changing ordeals.
James and Lily had stood by each other's sides as both reached the lowest points in their lives. Despite changing their whole lives – including their very names – James and Lily's love never faltered and they never walked away from one another. And James never regretted it.
"Thanks for telling me, Jay." said James as he walked up from his desk and toward the door of his workshop. He climbed the stairs to find his wife sitting in the living room, her high heels laying lazily on the ground.
"Hard day?" he asked as he sat next to her.
"You have no idea." said Lily with a snort.
James hummed as he brought his hands toward her bare feet. "Do you want a massage?"
Lily smiled. "Oh, certainly." she said. "If it's a good one, you might even be rewarded tonight."
"Oh? Do tell." he said with a smirk.
Unfortunately for him, James never got to learn what she meant as they were interupted by the ring of the doorbell. Lily sighed as James stopped the massage before it had even started.
"Who is it, J.A.R.V.I.S.?" asked Lily.
"I am not able to recognise who our guests are, Ma'am." answered the A.I..
"I'll go get it." James said.
"Thanks." said Lily with a grateful smile. James smiled back before he walked toward the doors. Along the way, he put on his Tony Stark mask ("A perfect picture of arrogance!" Lily had once said) and opened the door.
"This is a hologram of Tony S- What the...!" he suddenly exclaimed as he took in the appearance of the man standing in front of him. The man in front of him looked a lot like him, just younger, with longer hair, glasses and without a beard.
"Hello, Mr. Stark – or should I call you James Potter?" said his younger carbon-copy with a bitter smile. James took a closer look at his clone in an attempt to note more difference between them. When he saw that the man's eyes were the exact same as his wife, he took a few steps back as realization filled his mind.
This was Harry. His son!
"What!? But- but that's impossible!" he stuttered.
While James stared in shock at his son, Harry used the opportunity to walk past him and inside the house. A pretty brunette followed him, only looking half as angry as his son.
"Tony?" said a voice. "Who is it?"
'Oh god, Lily' he thought just as the red-head entered the entrance hall. She froze and gasped when she saw their son. "Harry...?" she whispered.
"So, I suppose I should be happy you both remember me enough to recognize me.." said Harry bitterly. "Of course, that wouldn't have happened had you not abandoned me in England while you lived the high-life here under the Californian sun!"
"Harry..." tried James but his son ignored him.
"Do you know how much I used to look up to you when I was younger?" he asked. He didn't let them answer as he continued to speak. "During all my teenage years I believed you two had sacrificed yourself for me! I thought you were heroes! I always sought to honour your sacrifice by being a son you would be proud of!"
Another "Harry..." was heard, though it came from Lily this time. In the corner of his eye, James could see his wife was in tears. Harry simply ignored her as he continued to rant.
"You know, in a way I should be happy to notice you don't have a second child around. I really don't know what I would have done if I found out you had another son or a daughter after abandoning your oldest." he said, making James flinch as Lily let out a sob.
The brunette moved toward Harry and took him in a hug. "Harry, you're being a bit harsh, here." she said quietly.
"Hermione, they abandoned me...", sounding less angry and a lot more sad.
Finally, James couldn't stay silent. "Harry, we thought you had been killed!" he said quickly.
Harry and Hermione froze before they both turned toward him and Lily. Their eyes were wide open. "What?" Harry gasped.
"It's true." sobbed Lily. "We thought Voldemort had killed you. That's why we came to live here in America. We couldn't live in the same country our son had died in."
James watched in relief as the anger that had filled his son seemed to completely dissipate. It was replaced with utter confusion with a hint of disbelief "How... how did this happen?" asked Harry. "Because I remember this night pretty well and I'm pretty sure I saw the both of you die while I lived."
"You remember what happened?" gasped Lily. Harry nodded.
"Why don't we go sit somewhere?" asked James.
"Good idea." said Lily. "Come Harry and... Hermione, was it?"
"It is." confirmed Hermione with a small smile.
James followed with a smile of his own as they walked toward the living room. Lily shut down the televisions before allowing their guests to sit down on the couch.
"Why don't I tell what I know of that night before you tell me what happened?" proposed Harry. James and Lily nodded so Harry began talking. James noticed Hermione take one of Harry's hand in support and he began wondering if the two were a couple. It would certainly explain her presence here.
"Well, the earliest I remember from this night was me sitting on your lap while you were using your wand to conjure coloured smoke."
James let out a chuckle. "I remember that! I used to do it whenever you had a fit because I wouldn't turn into Prongs in the middle of the house."
"I- really?" asked Harry, sounding baffled.
"Yes." said Lily, sending a half-amused, half-stern glare toward her husband. "Of course, it would have never happened had James not done it and nearly destroyed the fireplace in the first place." Hermione brought a hand in front of her mouth to hide her giggles.
"Well, anyway. The next thing I remember is you coming in the room and telling something to us." he said, looking at his mother. "I think it was a good thing because you were both very happy." For a brief moment, Harry believed he had gotten it wrong as both of his parents looked down in sadness. "What is it?" he asked.
James shook his head. "Just continue, please."
"Well, after that is when Voldemort showed up. I think he blasted the door open." He then looked at Lily. "You took me and ran upstairs while you-" He turned to look at James. "Fought Voldemort downstairs. It's at that point you 'died' as I heard Voldemort laugh. I was then put in my crib as you-" He looked at Lily. "Sealed the door closed. You then stood in front of my crib as Voldemort blasted the door open. You prayed for him to take you instead, to kill you instead of me. Voldemort told you to move away but you refused. So, he sent the Killing Curse toward you and you died. I then began crying and Voldemort shot the Killing Curse on me. It rebounded and hit Voldemort in the face, destroying his body and leaving only this scar on my forehead." he said, raising his hair to allow them to see. "About half an hour later, Hagrid showed up and took me. Downstairs, we met with Sirius who asked Hagrid to give me to him but Hagrid refused, telling him Dumbledore had ordered to bring me to the castle to make sure I was safe. Sirius decided to help him by giving him his flying motorcycle and we left together."
Then, the anger reappeared on his face. "So, tell me how is it that the two people who supposedly sacrificed their lives for me ended-up in America taking new identities less than a week after their supposed death?"
James sighed as he rubbed his face. He had noticed how his son had never once addressed them as 'Mum' and 'Dad'. He was sure Lily had noticed it as well, being the observant one of the two. "I think I should start. Voldemort didn't actually kill me that night-"
"Obviously." snarled Harry.
"Obviously." repeated James. "The reason why is because of your brilliant mother. You see, when Lily found out Voldemort was after us, she developed a new ward that could diffuse the magical energy of a Killing Curse and transfer it away."
"Almost like a radiator which diffuse the heat of water in the air." explained Lily. Hermione nodded in understanding while Harry just stared at them. "We had no way of knowing if it would work, but it did. That night, the ward did its job and the Killing Curses lost enough power that they simply stunned us for a few hours instead of killed us."
James continued. "I was the first to wake up. I immediately heard many voices outside of the house and panicked because I believed they were Death Eaters coming to finish the job. I was also freaking out because I didn't know what had happened to you and your mother. I ran upstairs and found Lily on the ground of your nursery. She..." He gulped. "She was covered in blood." Hermione gasped. "I saw you were missing and there was blood on your crib as well so I put two and two together. I believed Voldemort had blown you up." Lily suddenly sobbed as James put an arm around her shoulders. She leaned in his embrace as he continued his tale. "I woke Lily up and tried to ask her what had happened to you – wishing my theory was wrong but..."
"I couldn't think clearly." admitted Lily, still crying slightly. "Just like James, I thought you had died. I was having a breakdown and I wasn't coherent."
"When I heard people enter the house, I knew it was time to leave. I took Lily and apparated us away to an old ancestral home of our family. We rested there for three days and mourned you."
"You rested three days?" asked Harry.
"The Killing Curses might not have killed us but they sapped all of our energy. We were bone tired and needed to sleep and eat a lot to gather it back. It didn't help we were too depressed to want to leave our bed anyway." he said, making his son and Hermione nod in understanding. "On the fourth day, we tried to contact Sirius, Remus and Peter but none answered." he said. He noticed both Harry and Hermione look at each other like they knew something he and Lily didn't. He didn't give it a second thought and continued his tale. "We started to believe all of our friends had been killed. We felt alone - like we only had each other. It's also then we realized that we simply couldn't continue to live in England where we had believed we had lost our son. I proposed to Lily that we move to America using my uncle's help."
"Howard Stark?" asked Hermione. James nodded.
Lily spoke again. "I understood why James wanted to move away from England so I accepted his offer."
"That same day, I told Howard what had happened and why we had moved. We believed we could still be hunted by Voldemort and his Death Eaters and Howard told us to come by muggle means – that he had one of his planes in Heathrow that could bring us to America."
"We left the next day with only a minimum amount of luggage. We took the place to the State of New York where he met Howard. It's then we came up with the idea of making me his son Anthony Edward Stark. He and his wife Maria had a son with that name. He was the same age as me but he died when he was six. They never shared the news of his death with anyone because they didn't want the medias to make a story out of their family tragedy. It came handy years later when Lily and I came to America. I took the name of Tony Stark and Howard presented me to the world as his son."
"But - I'm sorry if that sound offensive - but aren't you a pureblood?" asked Hermione timidly. "I mean, Tony Stark is known around the world to be capable of developing the best technology and generally being the best engineer in the world."
James started laughing. "Do people really believe I'm pureblood?"
"You aren't?" asked Harry, shocked. James shook his head.
"While my father was a pureblood, my mother Euphemia Stark was an American muggleborn witch. As for why I'm such a brilliant engineer, it's because my mother and Howard taught me how to build things from a very early age. At first, they were simply curious on whether I had inherited the Stark talent or not so they tested me by teaching me the very basics - how to build simple circuit boards and stuff like that. I loved it so they continued teaching me and by the point I started Hogwarts, I was already better than the average man or woman. Each summer between school years, we would visit the Starks and Uncle Howard would continue to teach me. Around fourth year, I began taking a few courses by correspondance in the M.I.T. and the rest is history, as they say.
"When your mother and I arrived in America following that Halloween, it was Howard who got the idea of having me take the identity of his son. He already wanted me to inherit the company so it wasn't such a stretch to have me take the name of Stark." he said.
"As for me," said Lily. "Howard used his contacts to build me a brand new identity, that of Virginia Lilith Potts."
"Why those names?" asked Hermione.
"Virginia was my grandmother's name. Lilith because it's close to my real name and it would explain the use of 'Lily' as a nickname and Potts because I wanted to keep some form of my married name as well as to make sure I never forgot about you, Harry." said Lily. She then turned her teary eyes toward their son and looked straight at his. "Please believe me when I say that I would never – never! - had left you behind if I knew you were still alive. I would have stayed in England or brought you here with us because I simply love you too much to abandon you in any way, shape or form."
James saw the moment where Harry finally accepted the truth as his shoulders dropped and a smile grew on his face. As tears leaked out of his eyes, he croaked "Mum..." emotionally. Lily didn't need any more intensive to jump in her son's arms and they started sobbing in each other's shoulders. James felt tears in his eyes as his wife and son were finally reunited after all those years. Of course, he wasn't willing to let them do it without him so he grabbed both in a family hug.
James heard a sniff and looked up. He noticed Hermione looking at his son with a beaming smile and tears in her eyes. As if knowing how she was feeling, Harry brought an arm around her and brought her in the family hug. James' theory that both were romantically involved only increased at the gesture.
Eventually, after a few minutes, all four of them released each other and took back their places. Wiping her cheeks, Lily suddenly spoke. "Are you two a couple? You seem pretty close." So James wasn't the only one who had noticed, then.
Harry and Hermione looked at each other before they promptly burst out laughing. Lily raised an eyebrow, prompting their son to answer. "You could say that." he said before they raised their left hands, proudly displaying their wedding bands.
Lily immediately squealed and brought Hermione in a hug.
"Welcome in the family, Hermione!" said James, grinning.
"Thank you, Mr. Potter." said Hermione gratefully.
"Oh, just call me James." said James. "Or Tony when we aren't in private."
"Lily or Pepper is fine for me as well." said Lily as she let go of her daughter-in-law.
"That remind me," said Harry. "Where does that nickname come from? None of your names fit that nickname."
James suddenly started snickering. "Because it's not. I think Rhodey once said she looked like she had bitten in a hot pepper when she was angry and I kind of made it a joke by calling her Pepper. The nickname stuck." he said with a shrug.
"Rhodey?"
"A friend I made. We actually met in a bar. He was nice and I never expected to see him again but I did a few days later when I went and did business with the military. I liked the man and decided to make him the official liaison between Stark Industries and the U.S. Military. We got to know each other and, after a few years, we became best friends." he said. "He's one of the few who know the truth about Lily and I."
"Who else know?" asked Hermione.
"Happy Hogan, who is a good friend of ours too. That's about it, I think." said James. Lily nodded next to him.
"We really didn't tell anyone else – not because we're ashamed but because we didn't want people to know the truth about Tony Stark. After all, James is a public personality."
"Make sense." said Harry with a nod.
"So, is there anything else you wanted to know?" he asked to his son.
"Yeah. I'm just curious about what the blood was." he said. "I mean, did Voldemort injure you?"
The amusement fell from James and Lily's faces, making Harry understand he had touched a very delicate subject. He immediately attempted to backtrack. "I mean, you don't need to tell me if you don't want to. I'm just curious."
"No – it's alright." said Lily quietly. James sent her a questioning glance which she answered by nodding. He turned toward his son and daughter-in-law and explained.
"When you were playing with coloured smoke and Lily came in the room, it was to tell me she had just found out she was pregnant again." admitted James. Harry's eyes widened as Hermione gasped. He could see from her expression that she had already figured it out. He would have commented on how happy he was his son had married such a bright girl if the situation wasn't so serious. "When Voldemort sent the Killing Curse at Lily, it impacted her stomach. He didn't kill her but... but he caused a miscarriage." Lily let out a sob and Hermione immediately rushed to comfort her. "We didn't realize that it was what the blood was until a few months later when we found out Lily was not pregnant. By that point though, we were already convinced you were dead so we never tried to question what had happened to you if it wasn't your blood on the floor. If we did, we might not have needed you to come here for us to find out you were alive." said James, regretful.
Harry simply dropped his head in his hands. "Shit... fuck! I'm so sorry!"
"It's not your fault, Harry." said James.
"That's not what I meant." he said, looking up, his face full of guilt. "When I arrived, one of the first things I told you was that I was happy you never had a second child." he said. "Damn! I would never had said that had I known."
James couldn't deny his words had hurt, so he simply tried to comfort him. "You couldn't had known, Harry." he said.
Harry simply nodded before he went to Lily and took her in a hug. "I'm so sorry, Mum." he said. Lily simply held him as she mourned the child she never got to meet.
Later that evening, after James and Lily had given a tour of the mansion to Harry and Hermione, the Potters sat down in the dining room and ate a simple meal of pasta and chicken. The two couples had been talking about the friends Harry and Hermione had made at Hogwarts when James suddenly remembered something.
"Say – what happened to Sirius, Remus and Peter? We never got to find out." he said. The conversation stopped as Harry and Hermione looked at each other. They looked like they had a silent debate. Harry seemingly won as he smirked slightly before both turned toward them.
"Well, it's a complicated story." admitted Harry. "I think I'll start with Remus.
"After your 'deaths', Remus attempted to gain custody of me. Unfortunately, because he was a werewolf, it was never granted – not that the Ministry would have as Remus wasn't related to us anyway. I think he moved out of the country after that. Hermione and I only met him years later in our third year at Hogwarts. That year, Remus became the D.A.D.A. teacher."
"Really?" asked Lily.
"Yes." said Hermione with a fond smile. "He was our best Defence teacher."
"That's great!" said the red-head. "I always knew Remus would make a great Professor."
"And he was the best." said their daughter-in-law. "Later in his life, he met and married a woman named Nymphadora Tonks and had a son named Teddy."
"My godson!" said Harry proudly, making James grin.
"Moony, you old wolf. I'm so proud of you!" he said, pretending to wipe a tear.
Harry chuckled before his face turned grim. "Unfortunately, merely a month after Teddy's birth, Remus and Tonks were killed, leaving their son an orphan." he said.
"Oh no!" gasped Lily.
"Damn..." said James, rubbing his face.
"Yeah..." sighed Harry. "Since then, Hermione and I have taken an active role in Teddy's life. He's mostly raised by his grandmother but we have him home every other day."
"I'm happy to know you are there for him." said Lily.
"She's right. Can we meet the little tyke one day?"
"Sure, if Andy doesn't mind." said Hermione.
"What about Sirius and Peter?"
Harry and Hermione hesitated, so James helped them out. "Why don't you tell us about Peter? We already know Sirius was there the day of the attack so we know he was at least fine by that point."
"Probably for the best." said Hermione. Harry nodded and continued explaining.
"There is no easy way to say it so I'll just... Peter joined the Death Eaters."
"WHAT!?" barked James and Lily.
"Yeah..." said Harry with resignation. "Turns out the secret of our location wasn't tortured out of him. He gave it willingly to Voldemort."
"That bastard! I thought he was our friend!" exclaimed James. He felt guilt grow in his stomach as he realized just who had been at fault for Halloween. Lily had not trusted Peter to be their secret-keeper but James and Sirius hadn't shared her concerns and managed to convince her otherwise. If only they had listened to her, they might never have been separated in the first place.
"I think I'll tell you about Sirius at the same time since their story is linked at the beginning." said Harry, making the other three nod. "After Hagrid left Godric's Hollow with me, Sirius decided to find out what had happened to Peter. He found out pretty quickly that Peter had betrayed you and, mad with grief and rage, decided he would kill him. The two met in a crowded street on the Second of November. Peter immediately began accusing Sirius of betraying you to Voldemort before he blasted the street, killing twelve people."
Lily gasped again.
"The bastard." growled James.
"Peter then cut one of his fingers and escaped in his rat form in the sewers. When the Aurors arrived a few minutes later, they found Sirius laughing hysterically and telling how it was his fault. When they gathered witness testimonies, they found out how Peter had accused Sirius of betraying you and how Sirius had his wand pointed at Peter. With twelve dead along with Peter presumed dead, the Aurors simply chucked Sirius in Azkaban and forgot about him."
"Sirius was in Azkaban?" asked James, his mouth slightly agape. Harry and Hermione nodded. The guilt in his stomach seemed to grow even more as he realized he and Lily leaving England had not only left their son an orphan but had had sentenced his best friend to hell on earth. "Damn! We should never have left!"
"Maybe – maybe not. It's too late to fix our mistake." said Lily sadly. James nodded before he turned to his son. "Please tell me Sirius isn't still there."
Harry and Hermione chuckled. "Trust me, he's not." said Harry.
"They released him?" asked Lily. This time, the two younger Potters outright snorted.
"Of course not." said Harry, making James' heart fall.
"Nah." said Hermione. "Sirius simply got bored and decided to escape."
Later on, James would tell himself that if his jaw had been detachable, it would have literally fallen to the floor. After taking a few seconds to process such a crazy statement, he burst out laughing.
Lily joined in as well. "Trust Sirius to find a way to escape a place nobody had before!"
"Unfortunately, Sirius spent the rest of his life in hiding as the Aurors tried to find him. At least it was better than the Dementors." said Hermione.
"Hold on – rest of his life?" repeated Lily.
Harry winced. "Sirius died protecting me when I was fifteen. I had fallen in a trap and Hermione, myself a four other of our friends got attacked by Death Eaters. The Order of the Phoenix came to our help but Sirius was killed in the process." he said sadly.
James rubbed his face once again. "Damnit!" he cursed.
"What about Peter?" asked Lily. "Is he dead or alive?"
"Death by strangulation." simply said Hermione coldly.
"Good." said Lily. "Nobody get to hurt my son and get away with it." she said, making Harry smile.
James returned to his diner when he suddenly realized something. "If Sirius didn't raise you - then who did?" he asked. He immediately realized something was wrong when Harry winced and Hermione sent him a concerned look. Harry simply mumbled something.
"Harry?" asked Lily. "Who was it?"
Harry sighed. "Vernon and Petunia Dursley." he answered.
"No..." gasped Lily. "But - they hate magic!"
Harry snorted. "Trust me, I know."
"How did you end up there?" asked James.
"Dumbledore sent me there. I don't think he trusted Sirius since he believed he was your secret-keeper and he wanted me to live with a close blood relation of Mum. Since the Dursleys were the only known relatives alive, I ended-up with him."
Lily raised from her seat and took her son in a hug. "I'm sorry." she simply said.
"You don't need to apologize." said Harry with a smile. "I don't blame you."
"But still - it must have been hard living with them!"
"It was, but it made me who I am. I moved on and I now happily married with a family of my own." he said, looking at his wife with loving eyes. Hermione smiled before she gave him a kiss.
James smiled at the display. While he was sad he and Lily had not been able to be there for Harry during his childhood, he was glad he had managed to find love despite this. "Thank you." he said to Hermione. She simply nodded.
EPILOGUE:
It had been a few months since Harry and Hermione had met James and Lily and the couple couldn't be happier. Right now, the two were packing their small flat as they had decided to move in James and Lily's mansion and leave England. They had already been looking for a home and when they met James and Lily, decided they would buy one in California to be closer to them, along with its shining and hot sun (Just like her parents, Hermione hated rain and cold). When they heard about it, James and Lily invited them to stay in the mansion as it was big and empty with only the two of them. The younger Potters had agreed, which led to their packing.
"Hermione!" yelled Harry from their bedroom. Hermione was in the living room further away in the flat.
"What is it?" she yelled back.
"Is my photo album with you?" he asked. "The one Hagrid gave me in first year?" Harry wanted to show it to his parents as both had admitted not having any remaining pictures from their early lives.
"Yes! It's in the bookshelves here!"
"Thanks!" he said. Just as he was able to seal a box with tape, his cellphone rang in his back pocket. Harry grabbed it at smiled when he saw the Stark Industries logo on the back. Even a month later, it still baffled him that his father could design and program an entire piece of advanced technology all by himself.
Harry looked at the screen and saw it was his mother calling. He picked up the call just as Hermione entered the room.
"Hey Mum, how are you?" he asked happily. Unfortunately for him and Hermione, their good mood would vanish with Lily's words.
"Harry, your father had a business presentation in Afghanistan yesterday. While he was coming back to the military base, terrorists attacked his convoy." Lily then let out a sob. "Your father is missing."
Harry stood there in silence for a few seconds before he spoke. "We'll meet you at the Mansion in a few hours." he said before he hung up. "Dad is missing in Afghanistan." he simply said. Hermione gasped.
"Well, what are we waiting for? We need to go see your Mum now!"
"Okay, just let me tell Andy we won't be able to take Teddy this weekend." he said. A quick Floo call later, Harry and Hermione used their portkey and vanished from their half-packed flat.
THE END... FOR NOW