Masked, hooded men advanced, deflecting every jinx she sent their way. How she was still alive, she had no idea. Having not quite mastered non-verbal spells, they could anticipate her every move. As she backed away, she knew she was being forced into a trap, she just couldn't figure out what it was. There wasn't time to figure it out. It was only when two red haired figures leapt out of nowhere that she allowed herself to exhale; she hadn't even realised she'd been holding her breath. Red flashes streamed from Fred and Percy's wands as they duelled with the two Death Eaters.

"There's something I wanted to ask you, Pep." Fred shouted while the death eaters were momentarily distracted by a suit of armour crashing into them. Fred spun around, and planted a soft, surprising kiss on her lips. Someone might have hit her with a stunning curse the way she froze. Fred grinned a grin so infectious that Virginia couldn't help but smile back. "When this is all over - Stupify - how about we have fewer randomly timed kisses and actually go out properly?"

When this is all over. Virginia thought about these five words carefully. It didn't feel like this war would ever be over. Hogwarts was falling apart around them at the hand of self proclaimed monsters. Could they really win? Her silence claimed Fred's attention leaving him open and exposed. Desperate to protect him, Virginia leapt forward with the first spell she could think of. A jet of water spurted out of the end of her wand, knocking the Death Eater's hoods down. One of them had a strangely familiar receding hair line; his remaining hair was streaked with grey. Cocking her head, Virginia realised he reminded her vaguely of the new Minister of Magic.

"Hello, Minister." Percy bellowed confirming her suspicions, hitting his former boss with a well aimed jinx that caused the Minster of Magic's wand to drop with a loud clatter and a shower of golden sparks. The minister clawed at his robes in apparent discomfort. "Did I mention I'm resigning?" It wasn't the time to laugh, but Pepper did anyway. Never in all their time at Hogwarts, had she heard Percy Weasley tell a joke. Three spells whizzed over their shoulders stunning one of the Death Eaters and turning the other into some kind of sea urchin. Virginia looked back to see Harry, Hermione and Ron who had run to their aid, grinning like Cheshire cats.

"You are actually joking Perce..."

Fred's words were cut off by an enormous boom that sent them souring through the air. She felt strong hands grab hold of her robes, forcing her downwards, pressing her against the cold, hard floor. Screams and shouts erupted around them, all dulled by the inane buzz in her ears. Opening her eyes a crack, Virginia scanned the scene around her. All she saw was rubble partially hidden by the arm of the person on top of her which was covered in a bight red, hand knitted jumper. Fred's arm.

With a few, awkward squirms, she broke free from her temporary shield and pulled her body into an awkward sitting position. Just when the fighting had lulled, the whole side of the castle had been blown away, scattering the six of them across the corridor. The others were stirring and groaning from pain. Blood speckled the bricks.

"Thanks Fred." Virginia breathed. He didn't reply. He didn't move. "Very funny." She rolled her eyes. "We should move." Still no reply. Frowning, she hauled his body over only to see a ghost of his final grin imprinted on his freckled face. A wave of dread engulfed her as she grabbed his arm, feeling for a pulse. There was nothing. "No, no, no..." Over and over again, she repeated the simple two letter word as she clambered on top of him, pressing his chest up and down in a regular beat.

The cold wind whipped her tear streaked face; she hadn't even realised she'd been crying. A strangled screaming noise that expressed neither pain or terror came from beside her. Ron, Percy, Harry and Hermione stared at her as she uselessly tried to revive Fred's limp, lifeless body. A chill of despair spread throughout her. Tears on her cheeks seemed to harden and irritate her face with a strange clawing sensation. At some point, they stopped falling altogether and were replaced with absolute agony in her tear ducts. Someone far away was shouting her name... Then she was lifted completely off Fred. Soft hands held her away from him with surprising strength. All hope was lost...

"Pepper listen to me!" Harry's shout broke through her curtain of grief. "Dementors..."

She didn't understand. Fred was dead. Unlike in the films, there had been no last goodbye, no confessions of love. Just death. How was the war still raging around them? Why hadn't every combatant laid down their arms? Harry shouted again, making Virginia turn towards the gap in the wall. Eerie shadow like figures gracefully poured through the hole, approaching them with dangerous speed. There were a hundred. A thousand. Too many. Pathetic silver puffs of mist scrambled out of Harry's wand as he repeated the Patronus charm over and over again to no avail.

"Think of something happy." Luna's dream like voice came from behind her. Something happy. There was nothing happy anymore. Death and cruelty had overwhelmed the place that she'd once considered her home. Fred was gone. Hagrid had been abducted while trying to save his giant half-brother and was probably dead too. "We're all still here. We're still fighting..."

A silver stag erupted from Harry's wand, joining Luna's hare, Ron's terrier and Hermione's otter. As the strange menagerie chased off the Dementors, Pepper took a step back. The tears that had frozen in her tear ducts were slowly defrosting and allowed the tidal wave to spill from her eyes and cover her face. The world around her blurred into nothing.

Strong arms wrapped themselves around her tightly. For a moment she thought it could be Fred. His death could have been a big mistake. That was until she smelt rotting cloth and blood soaked breath. Her vision cleared long enough to see Fenrir Greyback. Even in his human form, he looked like something from her darkest nightmares, especially with his teeth sharped like thirty daggers designed for ripping flesh from the bone. Letting out one final sob, Virginia prepared herself for death. It wouldn't be too bad... at least she'd see Fred again.

"Wait!" A woman's voice screamed, yanking her roughly from the Werewolf's grasp. Wild, black hair that smelt strongly of death covered her face, making her cough loudly. The woman's ripped, black robes told her she wasn't safe yet. "Don't you realise who this is? The Dark Lord will want her." The cackling face of Bellatrix Lestrange loomed over her, yellow teeth fixed in a terrifying smile. The one thing that had saved her life was the one thing that would cause it to end in suffering. She was Harry Potter's little sister.

Hands sped furiously across the keyboard as Pepper desperately tried to catch up on work pushing the memory out of her mind. For too long, she had been worrying about things she could not change. There would be thousands of Aurors out searching for her brother, what could she possibly do that they couldn't? She hadn't used magic in eighteen years. There was a reason she had left that world behind.

A gossip magazine landed on her keyboard with a loud thump breaking her train of thought. When she focused her mind on the screen, Pepper saw she'd typed three paragraphs of random letters that looked a little like Welsh. She hadn't even noticed Tony walking into her office.

Without even a glance at the cover or Tony's irritated expression, Pepper brushed the magazine to the side; deleted the gobbledygook she had just written and started again. She didn't have time for Tony Stark and his strops about bad press. Having spent so much time in her head over the past twenty four hours she'd gotten extremely behind on work. Malfoy's words plagued her mind and consumed her thoughts. She could barely think, let alone manage a handful of superheroes as well as running a company.

Somehow, the magazine found it's way back onto her keyboard, directly in her line of sight. Gritting her teeth, Pepper looked deliberately at the screen, loudly thinking each word as she typed it.

"I don't have time for this." She said, refusing to raise her eyes to meet his. "Our stocks are falling, I've had to rearrange meetings with three important clients this week..." Disinterested in her assessment of the companies welfare, Iron Man cut her off.

"Is that because you're sleeping with this guy." No, it's because of an unplanned trip to upstate New York for a little slumber party. Pepper rolled her eyes, only half listening to what Tony was saying. However, his words niggled irritably at the back of her mind. In her opinion, it took too long for her to realise the severity of his accusation. He just accused her of cheating on him! Shocked, she grabbed the magazine and stared at the cover. Along with a crude innuendo as the title, the cover photograph had her and Malfoy sitting together. It was so ridiculous; anyone who looked at the picture could see by their expressions that there was not even an ounce of chemistry between the two.

Part of her was simply relieved they hadn't caught Malfoy using magic or followed her to the bank to see her open up a security box in a false name. Relief wasn't the emotion she was supposed to have when her name was being dragged through the dirt. The thought made her laugh out loud.

"Oh so you think this is funny?" Tony snapped. "Who is this guy? He's not a client, he doesn't have a social security number nor has he legally entered the country in the last year!" Tony ticked off his statements on his fingers as he spoke. Rendered speechless, Pepper allowed them to descend into a long uncomfortable silence.

What was worse than him believing the schmuck in the papers was that he trusted her so little that he wouldn't even come to her before running an illegal background check which, of course, Malfoy wouldn't have shown up on. Assuming he'd arrived in the country legally, it would have been through a means of transport strictly regulated by the International Confederation of Wizards. They weren't known for their communication with the passport office and other 'silly muggle travelling restrictions' (as Bill Weasley had once most delicately put it in a debate with Hermione). When he'd gotten bored waiting for her to either explain or fall at his feet crying, begging for forgiveness, Tony spoke again.

"Is this about me making another suit?" He demanded, slamming his bare hands down hard on her desk. If he'd had the suit on, there was no doubt the glass desk would have shattered. Pepper took a deep, calming breath. "Because that's a really disgusting way to get back at me!"

"My world does not revolve around Iron Man." She exclaimed. "I can't believe you think this could be real! Don't you trust me?" If she got a dollar for all the trashy affair stories the tabloids tried to accuse Tony of, she'd never have to work again. Many of them had pictures more damning than the one taken of her and Malfoy, but Pepper would never believe them. There was more chance of Tony cheating on her with Captain America than with another woman.

"Of course I trust you-"

"Then why are we even having this conversation?"

"This is about him. Who is this guy? Why are you having drinks with a strange man?" He spoke with such certainty that Pepper didn't think she could say anything to change his mind.

"Why are you doing illegal background checks on him?" She asked defiantly. For once, Tony couldn't think of a witty response. "Since you trust me so much, who I choose talk to shouldn't be a problem. Now I'm very busy so if you'd excuse me I have a meeting to go to." She was certain Tony got the hint, only he didn't move. He was too busy figuring out a new plan of attack, as if she was some terrorist Iron Man needed to stop. Under her sleeve, she felt her wand start to heat up as her anger flared. Trying to prevent red sparks erupting from her wrist, Pepper hurriedly packed a few random objects, including a stapler and a file on pensions, into her handbag. As she rose from her desk, she spared on last glare at Tony Stark. "When you've grown up, come talk to me."

"Oh I'm sorry, I thought you just said when I grow up. That's funny." As she strode out of her office, Tony's fake laugh followed her out of the room. She closed the door behind her, and rested her head against the wall in despair, wondering what she had just done and what to do next.

Her first instinct was to keep working every day with her head held high until Tony Stark came to his senses. Even then, what would really change? He'd promised he'd stop risking his life. He'd promised he'd stop building suits. He'd promised he'd put their relationship and their company first. Every promise he'd made, he'd broken. Perhaps it was time to let him handle things on his own for a while; after all there was someone else who needed her more. She'd let her brother down enough in the past.

"You have fought valiantly." Cold and unfeeling he spoke. Words pierced her brain, causing pain that even the worst migraine couldn't recreate. Blinking a few times, Virginia brought her surroundings into focus. Excruciating pain erupted from one of her legs, a copious amount of blood flooding from the injury and pouring into the hard dirt around her. Two people in ragged, torn, rotting clothes knelt beside her, lapping the blood off the floor greedily. When she screamed, they leapt back as if they were not supposed to be there.

A tall man in a long, cloak flowing in a dream-like fashion in the wind turned towards her. His wand was pointed to his neck, making his words echo throughout Hogwarts and even into Hogsmead village. With one look, the young Werewolves melted back into the circle of death eaters surrounding them. It wasn't surprising they'd scattered, with only one glance at his face Virginia realised that he was not a man anymore.

"Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery." His voice sent a chill through her, causing goosebumps to spread like a rash across her body. "If you continue to resist your Lord, every one of you will die. One by one. Your lord does not desire this; every drop of magical blood spilt is a waste. Lord Voldemort is merciful; Lord Voldemort will give you one hour respite. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured."

Virginia thought of Fred and couldn't help but wonder how many others had perished. They had thought Hagrid to be dead, but he was captured in the corner of the clearing. Thick black vines tethered him to a tree, one through his mouth so he couldn't speak. Voldemort continued his spiel.

"Now your Lord speaks to Harry Potter. If, at the end of this hour, you have not given yourself up. Your Lord will enter the battle, find you and punish every last man, woman and child who has tried to conceal you. Starting with little Pepper Potter."

Like something out of her worst nightmares, he looked straight at her for the first time. Waxy, pale skin was stretched over his skeletal head giving him a gaunt look like a corpse that had been left to rot for a month or so. Red eyes looked straight through her into her soul. There was a presence in her head, rummaging around in her memories. A wicked grin spread over his lip-less mouth, making him look even less human.

"One. Hour."

He spoke without breaking eye contact with her. It was as if some invisible force was making her unable to look away, even though she was desperate to. Slowly, without making any sudden movements, the Dark Lord removed his wand from his neck so his voice was no longer projected. Virginia found herself wishing she was there making an impossible decision, strengthening their defences and saying her last goodbye to Fred.

"You know me, little girl." He hissed, crossing the clearing in a glide. He didn't even walk like a normal person. "You've met me before, in a different form." His red eyes flicked to Lucius Malfoy accusingly, then fell back to Virginia. Her breathing was ragged and terrified. She'd seem him possessing Ginny Weasley after Mr Malfoy had given her the diary, not realising it's importance as a Horcrux. Subsequently, she'd spent her second year looking for any mention of Tom Riddle in the history books, a handsome boy who attended Hogwarts fifty years ago and become the second greatest sorcerer in the world... perhaps the third if you included Grindelwald.

"Leave 'er alone yeh monster!" Hagrid shouted, having worked his gag loose. With only a flick of his wand, Lord Voldemort tightened Hagrid's bonds. His eyes didn't leave Virginia; it was as if he expected something from her, only she wasn't sure what.

"Y-you're T-Tom." Virginia stuttered nervously. "Tom R-Riddle... You killed my parents."

"Yes, yes, that's right." A long, spindly finger reached out, stroking her cheek. Despite her better judgement, Virginia flinched backwards. The movement made her broken leg hurt even more. "After tonight, after I've killed your pathetic excuse of a brother, I'll be the Lord of not just the Wizarding world, but the entire planet."

"Or perhaps my pathetic excuse of a brother will kill you." Virginia snapped back, with courage she didn't realise she had. Voldemort took a step back, a cruel haunting shape of a smile on his face.

"I was hoping you'd say something stupid like that." He told her, breathing in deeply through the slits in his nose. He raised his wand high above his head, "Crucio

The pain was excruciating. She'd been determined not to scream, but all inhibitions left her before he'd even finished the spell. There was only one hope left in the world; her brother would come and save her. Over the next hour, she repeated that thought over and over in her head. Unfortunately, the monster pointing his wand at her was hoping for the same thing.

Their deepest hopes came true. Just as the hour was about to end, Harry Potter stepped into the clearing. Suddenly, the crowd of Voldemort's supporters started to laugh, crying evil cat calls as her brother walked towards Lord Voldemort. Harry's eyes flicked towards Hagrid, then to the snake who was the last Horcrux. Finally they settled on Virginia; he sent a kind, reassuring smile in her direction that made her eyes fill with tears.

"HARRY! NO! WHAT'RE YEH-" Hagrid bellowed, only to be silenced once more by the Dark Lord. Her brother took another step forward. He hadn't draw his wand. Why wasn't he drawing his wand? Finally, it dawned on her what he was planning to do. She wanted to shout, to scream, to tell him to fight, to run. She couldn't even tell him how much she loved him. Unable to hear her thoughts, her brother walked right past her, looking boldly Voldemort's red eyes.

"Harry Potter." The Dark Lord said, a singularly mirthless smile curled on his face. "The boy who lived. Come to die." There was something poetic in his words, but Virginia didn't care of the poetry. She just cared about her brother.

A flash of green light.

The war had been won.

Pepper didn't know how long she'd been leaning against the wall. It was long enough for Tony to get bored in her office and open the door to leave. Her presence had disrupted whatever thought was consuming his mind, leaving him to only stare with blank befuddlement at Pepper. Eyes stinging with the threat of tears, she turned her back on him and started to walk away with as much dignity as she could muster.

"Ms. Potts!" The shout came not from Tony, but from her assistant. The young girl ran hurriedly, a look of utter terror on her face. "Ms. Potts I'm so sorry, he just slipped by me. I told him it was appointment only..." Pepper looked down the corridor in confusion to see Malfoy striding from the other direction, most likely having apparated up the stairs. How could he have so blatantly used magic in such a high profile muggle building? The assistant froze, a look of sheer confusion on her face. "How did you get up here so fast... I'll call security..."

"No wait." Pepper insisted, knowing that wouldn't do much good. "What exactly are you doing here?" She said loudly, "Did any one see you use... you-know-what?" She added in a quiet hiss so neither Tony nor her assistant would hear. Malfoy scoffed.

"Muggles don't see anything they can't explain..." From the expressions on Tony and her assistant's faces, Pepper knew that was true. The assistant had rationalised the event by assuming Malfoy had sprinted up the stair well and Tony was consumed with fury about the alleged affair. However, she didn't have time for Tony's nonsense, so Pepper turned her attention back onto her childhood bully.. "Haven't you seen the papers?" He kept his voice low so only she'd hear, it was the first time she'd ever seen him appear breathless. Despite her worry, she couldn't help but be intrigued. "They've found him. You in or out, Potter?"

On the dark Lord's command, Hagrid had gathered her brother tenderly in his arms. The enormous tears shedding from his eyes splattered like rain on Harry's face, leaving oddly distributed patches of clean amongst the grime and blood that covered him. One of the death eaters had bound the wound on her leg with a crude bandage so she could at least hobble from the Forbidden Forest up to the school beside Hagrid without aid. The pain of the walk didn't amount to even half the amount of pain she'd experienced with the Cruciatus curse.

A bloodcurdling scream met them at the courtyard of Hogwarts school. Even when she saw Ginny's pain, Virginia just felt strangely hollow. She couldn't grieve anymore. She couldn't cry anymore.

"HARRY POTTER IS DEAD!" Voldemort shouted across the courtyard. The people Virginia considered her friends and family gathered outside the school in a silent state of shock. All eyes were drawn automatically to the bundle in Hagrid arms. "From this day forth, you put your faith in your Lord. Now is the time to declare yourself. Come forward and join us. Or die." The dark lord outstretched his arms in a gesture of welcome. Perhaps his words would have had the desired effect if he kept himself a fraction more human.

Only one person from the resistance stepped forward. Neville Longbottom, much to the amusement of Voldemort and his death eaters. In one hand, he the sorting hat hung limply, the other he placed deliberately on his leg. Five outstretched fingers. He looked pointedly at Virginia, before turning his attention back to Voldemort.

"It doesn't matter that Harry's gone. People die every day. Friends-" Virginia thought of Fred. In the crowd, she couldn't see Lupin or Tonks. She assumed they were gone as well. "-Family." With a deep breath, she dared a glance at her brother, before snapping her gaze back to Neville. Four outstretched fingers. He was counting down. "Yeah we lost Harry tonight. But he's still with us in our hearts. None of us died in vein." Three fingers. No one noticed Virginia slip her wand from her sleeve. "But you will." Two fingers. Voldemort started to laugh. "IT'S NOT OVER!" One finger. Neville pulled the sword of Gryffindor out of the sorting hat. Harry leapt of of Hagrid's arms. Virginia pointed her wand at the Dark Lord.

Impedimenta!" She screamed. It hit its mark, everyone else had been too focused on Harry's sudden resurrection to even notice what she was doing in the background. Hagrid grabbed her robes and threw her towards the school for her own protection while Harry sprinted out of the way. By the time Voldemort recovered enough to send blasts of the killing curse in his direction, half the Death Eaters had disappeared. Chaos reined and in that chaos, Neville cut off the head of Voldemort's snake. The last Horcrux was gone.

A new sense of hope strengthened the resistance. Harry was alive. It was just him and Voldemort. Harry, the boy who lived, master of the most powerful wand in the world, her big brother, won. It scared her, that she felt nothing. No joy. No sorrow. Nothing.

"Gin?" Harry's voice murmured. She looked around; the once crowded courtyard had emptied without her noticing. Distant music played as people revelled in the final demise of Lord Voldemort. "You alright?"

"That was really violent." She breathed, shaking her head incredulously. Sitting down beside her, Harry chuckled along. She put her head on her shoulder like she always did when they were younger. "I saw you die Harry. I don't understand how you're here."

"Well when Voldemort killed our parents, he accidentally made me the eighth Horcrux. When he sent the killing curse in my direction he killed the Horcrux. Then I was able to beat him in a dual because Draco disarmed Dumbledore, and I disarmed Draco making me the ruler of the elder wand, the most powerful wand in the world..."

"I didn't want you to explain it." Virginia snapped. "This is mad. This whole world is insanely impossible I can't even..." Words failed her. She let out a tear-less sob and stared directly at her brother. "I can't do this any more. I can't live this life anymore."

Astounded by the truth of her own words, Virginia thought back, trying to make sense of how she felt. Perhaps if Fred hadn't died, she wouldn't have dropped her guard and been captured. She wouldn't have seen her brother die. Perhaps, she'd be in there revelling. Maybe she'd finish her final year at Hogwarts; date Fred; split Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes three ways (heaven knows she'd put enough blood sweat and tears in the company over the years. Then one day they'd get married and have kids. It was just a dream of an unreachable life.

"What are you going to do?" Her brother asked, voice low and nervous. "I don't want you to go anywhere."

"Unfortunately my world doesn't revolve around Harry James Potter." She nervously said, making him laugh. "No I'll travel - the muggle way with passports and visas and live a different life."

"You ever need anything, little sister, I'll always be here for you." He told her, eyes wide with honestly. For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to say it back.

Pepper glanced back at Tony, who was glaring daggers at the pair of them. Who was he to convict her without even hearing her side of the story? What gave him the right to be her judge, jury and executioner? Harry wouldn't have done that. The last words her brother said to her rang loudly in her ear: If you ever need anything, I'll always be here for you. Perhaps now she was ready to return the sentiment.

"In." It was a spur of the moment decision.

Malfoy grinned at her, making her feel less like a willing accomplice and more like a doe that had just wondered onto a busy dual carriageway. Nevertheless, she couldn't back out now. She didn't want to back out. Grabbing her arm, Malfoy pulled her into the stairwell so they couldn't be seen. If Tony Stark found out about the magical world, she couldn't imagine the repercussions. He wasn't the most subtle man in the world; the secret of him being Iron Man had lasted about five minutes.

Lost in thought, she almost didn't notice Malfoy pull a half eaten packet of chewing gum out of his pocket. Without having to ask, she knew it was a Port Key. She could sense the growing waves magic it was emitting as the seconds ticked by. Without pausing to think about how it would look for the CEO of a major business to just disappear, she placed the tip of her finger on the Port Key and closed her eyes. After a single second, she was flying across the surface of the planet faster than light. She'd made her choice.

Authors Note:

Thanks for reading!

Initially I'd been planning to put the Battle of Hogwarts flashback later on in the story, but I hope it fits in here as both these chapters mark a turning point in Pepper's life; the moments she left the Wizarding world and the moment she stepped back into it. In this story, I haven't got any plans for the Avengers to find out about Pepper's magic, but (as you can guess from this chapter), Harry will be in it very soon as well as the other characters from Harry Potter. The avengers will probably come in later on as well.

For me, Virginia and Fred are obvious OTPs in the Wizarding world. He's like the wizard version of Tony; childish and extremely clever. Also I think Fred and George would have enlisted Pepper's help when setting up Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes due to her natural flair for business. I'm not 100% happy with the present day parts, but didn't really know how to make it better (this is which is probably why this chapter is a bit shorter than the others).

Thanks again to everyone following this story! I can't believe its almost got 200 followers and 100 favourites. Thanks also for the people who have left lovely reviews. I'd be very happy to accept any constructive criticism or answer any questions you have!

I have quite an interesting question - I've been trying to think of a Patronus animal for Pepper and was wondering whether any of you have an idea? If you do please let me know!

*Edit*

I'm really sorry - just found a couple of typos in this. I've also added in a couple of sentences so it's a bit clearer what happens in the present day parts of the story! Please shout if anyone notices any others!