Tony checked his phone again. Nothing. He tsked but went back to gaming.
"You know, there is a world outside those video games you play."
Tony rolled his eyes at his father's jab.
"And people in that real-world work hard to earn money, not sit on their ass whole day long only to have everything handed to them."
Why did he decide to play down in the living room and not in his bedroom? Yeah, 'cause he accidentally short-circuited the power outlet for higher output and he wasn't feeling like scorching his gaming unit.
"Howard, let him be. He just came from college for a few days." Maria chimed in.
"You are half the reason he's so spoiled, Maria. The other half is because of those stupid games. People his age are earning thousands and all he's doing is killing stupid virtual drones."
Tony turned to face his father, "Just 'cause you are a workaholic doesn't mean everyone else has to be to. I have a life outside of 'work', unlike you". He marked the air quotes.
Howard shot him a glare and then directed it to his mother, who just sighed. He knew his mother hated being in the middle of such squabbles.
"Anthony," his father began in an irritated yet quite-calm voice, "I do not care if it was Halloween yesterday or you are here for another week to waste your time and my money, make yourself useful!"
Tony had it with that. He got up and walked out of the house into the lawn. After calming himself for a few more minutes, he called the number he had on speed dial.
The line didn't ring, just beeped like it was dead. Which was weird because she never switched off her phone.
It troubled him more because he hadn't heard from her in about a week and stuff like that doesn't happen. If she couldn't pick his calls, she always called back. And the fact that yesterday was their daughter's first decent Halloween, it troubled him more.
He shook his head. He should get the thought that he had a daughter out of his head. After all, he had legally given up his rights as a parent right after she was born and had handed them over to James for everyone's good, especially the little girl's. That world was torturous on muggle-borns. Biologically she might be his, but in every other way, she was James' daughter. He was happy being the vodka uncle who loved to spoil her.
He turned back to his house when he heard shouting from inside.
His parents were fighting again. Great.
He looked down at his phone. Maybe a trip to Godric's Hollow won't be that bad. He could visit them all, make sure they are okay, and maybe spend some time with his baby girl.
He went inside the house, expertly avoiding his arguing parents, and rushed to his room. He packed a small travel bag and headed down to see his father storming out of the house. He looked around the hall but couldn't find his mother. Besides, speaking to his mother, in this condition, will not be good. He sighed and just headed to the garage to get his car.
On his drive to the airport, he called Peggy.
"Hey, Tones. How's everything?"
"Quite normal. You know."
"Howard, again?"
"Yeah."
"Maria?"
"I couldn't find her. Dad literally just left." He smacked his lips, "I'm heading to Bristol."
"What's the occasion? I hope not another drinking party."
"No, no, no." he chuckled, "I..uh..gotta meet someone."
"New girlfriend?"
"No. Um…I'll tell you once I come back. It's just I couldn't find mum so I left without telling her. That's half the reason I called."
Peggy heavily sighed from the other side, "If she asks I will tell her so."
"Thank you, Aunt Pegs."
"Anytime, love. Now focus on driving and not talking to me. And call me once you reach Bristol safely."
"Okay."
"Alright, take care." And she hung up.
The drive to the airport was felt shorter. Perhaps it had to do with how much his mind was occupied. Once he got in, he approached the nearest inquiry desk to ask about the flight schedule.
Turned out the next flight for Bristol wasn't until six hours later. And honestly, he'd rather wait here than go back to his house.
While waiting, he kept calling Lily, James, and even Remus a couple of times but no one answered. This made him further worry because this had never happened. One of them always answered.
He didn't know when he dozed off in his seat at the airport, but he was woken up by the announcement that boarding for his flight had begun. The announcement echoed in the almost empty airport.
He quickly straightened the glasses he had worn to hide his face partially. The last thing he needed was to attract attention at the airport.
He quickly made his way to the gate and from there, to the plane.
It took him 10 hours of flight travel and an additional 2 hours of drive to reach Godric's Hollow and another 45 minutes of looking for the house. Lily had once messaged him the address knowing the wizards avoided technology and won't look for their house in that sector but this was his first time visiting the place. Though whatever he was expecting to see was not what he actually saw.
The house was pretty much burned down.
What in the name of the holy fuck had happened? Were they attacked? Did they move out? How come Lily didn't call him? Was the threat severe now? did Lile text the wrong address?
"Excuse me."
He quickly whipped around. There was an old woman with the usual greying hair, dressed in the typical English clothes, glasses perched on her nose with a calculating look shot at him
"May I help you?" she asked
"Uh…my friend used to live here."
"Your friend?" she gave him another look, waiting for him to elaborate
"Yes. Lily Potter." He said softly
The woman's stern expression quickly melted into a sympathetic one.
"I believe you didn't hear."
"Hear what?"
"I'm so sorry, dear." She reached and opened the gates of the house, gesturing him to enter.
He gave her a weird look but walked in. The lawn Lily once raved about was almost dead but that was not what made him freeze on his tracks.
His feet dragged him right in front of the gravestones and then decided that they could no longer support him. He fell to his knees as tears started forming in his eyes.
He swallowed, controlling his tears.
"Despite these tombstones here, they are buried in the Godric's Hollow cemetery. Should you wish to properly visit them." she softly added
"Whe-when did this happen?" he asked, his voice raspy
"Two days ago. The night of Halloween. I'm sorry, young man."
He closed his eyes and took a deep shuddering breath. Only then he realized that there were two gravestones, not three.
He quickly whipped around and looked at the woman.
"What happened to their daughter?"
The woman looked a bit nervous or awkward, he couldn't tell.
"She was rescued." She finally answered after a very pregnant pause.
Tony quickly stood up, wiping away his tears, "Where is she?"
The woman looked at him, "I don't know. I'm sorry."
He looked back at the gravestones. Lily and James were dead. There was nothing he could do there. But there was so much he could do for their daughter, his daughter.
He had to drive all the way back to Bristol to get himself a temporary stay at a hotel. Once he had a night rest of jet lag and mourning his two friends, he got to work the next day only to hit a stump.
He did not know where to start.
The worst part was that he barely knew anyone in the English Wizarding World. He didn't even know who to contact or how to get any information without tipping off the wrong person.
His priority was getting hold of his baby girl who could technically be anywhere. His safest bet, at least to his 21-year mind, was to find a PI to do the digging.
It took him about a week to get a hold of a PI who was aware of the magical world. He didn't know it was going to be that hard to look for one. And he was still unsure how he managed to get a hold of one.
But as his luck would have it, the PI he did manage to get hold of was Caelum Black. A couple of little questions here and there and would you know it, his father was kicked out of the Black family for being a squib.
Caelum took great interest in his request and rather offered to work pro-bono.
"The safety of the Girl-who-lived is far more important to me than my monetary requirements, Mr. Stark."
That took him off-guard. "The girl who lived?" Tony asked
Caelum wore a sympathetic look before he began to tell them what he had heard on the Wizarding Grapevine.
Tony took a deep breath, running his hands through his hair. He had no idea what to feel. An 15-month-old girl defeated Voldemort? And how did anyone even know what happened? Unfortunately, Caelum did not have those answers.
Tony knew that more than that, Caelum was taking great interest as finding her for him can be seen as a major fuck you to the Wizarding World.
Caelum was effective. Within three days not only did he manage to find out what actually happened at the house the night of Halloween but also where the little girl was. Again how he managed any of that, Tony had no idea. Besides, it was better to not look a gift horse in the mouth.
At least he knew where to find her.
Tony took a deep breath, standing in front of Number 4, Privet Drive. Caelum had given him the address and the detailed instructions of who lived there. Not that Tony needed it. He knew Petunia. In fact, he knew her too well.
The door was opened by someone Tony would fathom calling a man, much less associated with the same species. In fact, he wondered if by any chance the 'man' in front of him was rather a failed experiment of combining human and walrus DNA.
"We are not buying anything you are selling." He spat. Wow. He had the temperament.
"I'm here for Petunia. I was told she lived here." Tony said politely, "I'm an old friend."
The man studied him head to toe before somehow half turning inside, "Tunia!"
Tony winced. He did not wish to imagine the condition his child was subjected to right now if this was a regular occurrence.
It had been quite some time since he had visited London. And it had been longer since he had seen Petunia. She used to be a sweet girl but now, he wasn't so sure.
She looked a lot different now. Puberty had not been graceful on her.
Tony removed his sunglasses.
"You know him?" the man demanded
"Hi, Tuni. Long time no see." He gave her a lopsided smile
And then recognition dawned on her face.
"Uh..yes. He's an old friend." She turned to the man, "Why do you see what Dudders is up to? I'm sure I'll be done quickly."
The man sneered one last time before he waddled in. Petunia walked out and almost closed the door after her.
"What are you doing here, Tony?"
"I got to know about Lily and James."
Petunia's face turned stony and took a short inhale, "It was tragic, yes."
Tragic, Tony chuckled. He was well aware of the love the sisters had for each other.
"Anyway, I'm looking for her daughter."
Petunia narrowed her eyes, "What do you want with her?"
"As her godfather, she falls under my custody should anything happen to her parents."
"You are her godfather?" she snorted
"Yeah. And Lily and James' will says so. So, I'd like to have my goddaughter, please."
Petunia looked like she wanted to say no and protest but smartly, she did not. She nodded walked back in.
Tony waited at the porch, looking around. The neighborhood was creepy. all the houses were identical. In fact, more than a bunch of houses had the same type of car? Did they coordinate or something? Were the HOA rules?
He frowned when he saw an old lady looking at him through the window of her house. The moment she saw that he saw her, she pulled the blinds.
"Weird," he muttered when he heard the door open again.
He smiled when he saw his daughter walk out holding Petunia's hand.
"Unca Ony!" she grinned and launched herself at him. He quickly grabbed her and pressed a big kiss to the side of her head.
"Baby girl!" he chuckled, caressing her dark hair, "What's up?"
"Am good."
Tony's heart clenched realizing she had no idea of what happened to her parents.
"Here's all her stuff."
Tony took the basket from Petunia.
"Thanks, Tuni for keeping her alive for that short while. And I'd appreciate it if you kept this quiet."
Petunia frowned but Tony didn't mind that. He turned and made his way to the car he had rented. He was thankful that he remembered to buy a car seat for her.
She was talking his ear off the whole way he drove to the hotel. Most of what she said did not make sense but Tony was glad that her spirits were high. It even made him smile.
It was when he reached his room that he realized something. He had a very basic, bare minimum idea on how to raise a child.
He sighed, guess he'd have to wing it.
She yawned big and loud, rubbing her eyes with her tiny fists.
"Sleepy, darling?"
She nodded
"Come on."
He laid her down in the middle of the bed and surrounded her with big fluffy pillows.
"Comfy?"
She nodded, again. And then sleepily smiled, "Nighy-night."
"Nighty night, love" she smiled, tucking her.
He waited until she slept off and once she did, he settled on the armchair and picked the envelope Caelum had given him. Apparently, it was all he could find on what happened that night. Though Tony had no idea how Caelum managed, with him being a squib and all, he wasn't going to ask. Caelum could prove to be very useful in the future.
It felt weird to him how Voldemort had decided to attack the happy family, out of the blue, and all by himself. No army or lackies. The more he read, it looked like a rushed attack, with all guns blazing.
Why now?
And how did he know where they lived? Lily had mentioned that they were living with very uptight security.
Also, the biggest question he had, if there were four people in that house that night and three of them were dead and the fourth one was a child who could barely speak a full gramatically correct sentence, how did everyone know what exactly happened that night?
He flipped the page and almost swore. He had wondered where the hell Sirius was and now he finds out that he's in prison for betraying the Potters. What the actual fuck?
Why would Sirius betray James? That was ridiculous. Which also brought the question of where the hell were Remus and Peter?
He picked his phone and called Remus only to find out that the number now no longer existed. Great.
He tossed his phone on the table and then read further and frowned. He vaguely knew who Dumbledore was. Lily and James had told him. But why would Dumbledore drop their child at Petunia's doorstep no less when their will clearly state that should anything happen to them, their daughter's custody fall onto Sirius and then him. He knew this because Lily had given him a copy of their wills. And now some things started making more sense.
Lily had grown a bit paranoid in the last few months often saying how she thought that not everyone around them was being truthful. Which was when she messaged him their address and then faxed a copy of their joint will a few weeks later. She said it was for safekeeping but now it made sense. Someone around her wasn't being trustworthy.
He pressed his lips, thinking as he looked over at his sleeping daughter.
Picking his phone, he called Caelum.
"Mr. Stark! I hope you have young Ms. Potter with you?"
"I do. Thank you, Mr. Black."
"It was my pleasure. What else can I do for you?"
"I was hoping if I could get in contact with James and Lily's accountant or lawyer, or attorney or anyone who holds their will and stuff."
"You wish to meet the goblins of Gringotts?"
"Yes! Goblins!"
"that might be a little hard, Mr. Stark."
"I'd highly appreciate it if managed. Say a handsome cheque."
Caelum took a deep breath, "Let me see what I can do. Though I would suggest not to keep hopes high. May I also suggest you make your way back to States. I'd rather not wager the reaction of certain people if they found out that young Miss Potter is not where she's supposed to be. There isn't a lot these people can do on foreign soil."
"I'll do that, of course. But I don't really have any documents on her name."
"Hmm. Let me work on that."
Tony sighed and walked to the bed, sitting on the edge. This might not be his best idea. Raising a child. He wasn't sure he was able to handle himself but now there was additional responsibility of a child on him. Hey, but at least he won't do a job worse than Petunia, he was sure of that.
He carefully reached and pushed back some of the hair only no notice something. He had visited her a handful of times at other places and he did not remember seeing the scar on her forehead. Lily or James hadn't mentioned so either. And none of the photos that the couple sent him had that scar. And he hadn't seen it before. Weird.
He wondered if the scar was caused by Petunia or whatever happened the night of Halloween.
He also made a mental note to get her growing hair a trim.
But right now, he was exhausted and all he wanted to do was sleep. He carefully laid next to the little girl and softly draped an arm around her, just a reminder that she was safe, safe with him.
"Are you sure you are squib?" Tony joked when Caelum handed him some papers in an envelope.
"Trust me, Mr. Stark. Despite being their descendant, I have no wishes to have magic. They've screwed my life enough."
"Blacks were infamous for a reason." He pulled out the papers and checked them over, "Are they legit papers?"
Caelum nodded, sipping on his tea, "I do have contacts, Mr. Stark. After all, Late Lady Potter, God rest her soul, did give birth at St. Mungos. I wasn't aware you were present there."
"James was a nervous mess. And Lily was one of my most genuine friends." He looked at Caelum from the papers, "I wouldn't have missed it for anything."
Caelum nodded, "And that made the job easier. As you have signed the documents accepting the position of godfather for Miss Potter, the change of guardianship shouldn't be that hard. Dumbledore doesn't hold a lot of weight here."
Tony frowned at Caelum, "Dumbledore has her guardianship? Why?"
Caelum frowned, "What is wrong?"
"Dumbledore was never to be her guardian. She has two godfathers, me and Sirius, and a third guardian. If anything happened to Lily and James, her guardianship, or custody, was to be passed to Sirius, then me and then…uh…I forgot her name, I'm sorry…Banes, something. She works for the Ministry, I believe"
Caelum frowned, "Amelia Bones? Auror?"
"I think that was her name."
"do you have any proof of that?"
"I've got her parent's will."
"That will work splendidly."
"For what?"
"As I said before, if certain people found out her whereabouts, they would do everything in their power to get a hold on her. But if we have legal proof that you are rightfully her guardian, this would make things easier."
"I didn't know you were a lawyer too." Tony chuckled
"Oh no, not me. But my brother sure is." Caelum leaned back, "just in case if the need arises."
"I will definitely keep that in mind." Tony nodded, putting all the papers in the envelope
"What time are you returning?"
Tony checked the clock, "in two hours. I should get going. I need to buy some things for her."
"Of course. Have a safe journey. And do call me if you have anything that requires my service."
Tony sighed, looking at the large shelf of baby food. Which one did Lily feed her?
He looked at his watch. He better find the right brand. They also had a flight to catch.
He almost had a mind of calling Petunia and asking what she fed her when he heard a voice from next to him.
"First time shopping?" It was an older man, maybe in his 40s, grey hair with his brown hair, wrinkles, and a kind smile.
"Uh…yeah." Tony smiled softly
The man smiled and leaned to playingly poke his daughter's stomach, which got him a big smile and giggles.
"15 months, I presume."
"Yeah, she's 15."
"Ah, kids this age tend to be quite picky with their food." He smiled and picked a box of food. "This food has solid pieces, rich in iron and nutrients." he showed the back of the box, "and it is easy to make."
Tony took the box and thanked the man.
"Oh, it's no big deal. I raised two boys by myself. I know how hard it can get."
Once the man left, Tony grabbed a couple more boxes, after checking everything and made his way to the till.
He looked at the little girl in his arms, who seemed tired and clearly looked sleepy.
"Why don't you take your nap sweetheart? We'll be home soon."
"'Kay." She muttered while yawning as she rested her head on his shoulder and dozed off.
Tony had felt nervous only quite a few times in his life. But this was most nervous he had felt. He knew his mother would at least hear him out but his father, he really didn't wish to map out their reactions.
"Wat happin?"
He looked at his little girl in his arms and smiled.
"Nothing. Are you ready to meet my mum and dad?"
A huge smile broke on her face and she nodded enthusiastically.
He took a deep breath and tried to open the house but found it locked. Okay weird but not unusual. He reached to his pockets but found nothing, which had him wince. Of course, he forgot his house keys.
He settled her on the ground.
"Stay here, baby."
And reached for the secret space where he knew an extra key was kept. Glad to know that the key was still there, he opened the doors, picked her up, and entered the house.
"Mom? Dad?"
His voice echoed through the mansion. That only meant one thing, his parents weren't home.
His parents would already be less than pleased that he left for the UK just like that, didn't call them or anything only to return with a daughter neither of them knew he had. It was going to be a field day.
"Unca Ony? Me hungy."
"Hungry, uh?" he chuckled, bouncing her a little in his arms to illicit and full of life laughter. "Alright. Let's see if we have a little milk for now."
Walking into the kitchen, he placed the giggling girl on the counter with a promise that she won't make a sound.
Then he began preparing her baby food.
Once it was ready, his attention shifted from the bottle to the little girl, who seemed very busy in making sense of the new house she was in.
She giggled and squealed when he picked her up before handing her the sippy cup to drink from.
He probably should ask someone, most preferably a pediatrician, what solid foods he can give her. Which also means he had to get her almost everything new. Whatever stuff Petunia and given him were clearly what she could salvage from thrift stores and hand-me-downs but no daughter of his, irrespective of the current status of parental rights, was going to wear anything second-handed.
He also needed to get her a crib or a mini bed, was it? And a wardrobe and toys and quite possibly a playpen.
But first, a pediatrician appointment. He needed to know what all had changed in his little girl after that night and a week at Petunia's. He can bet all his goddamn wealth that living in that house would not have been fun.
"Anthony?!"
His head shot up and he looked towards the hall. How did his father know he was home?
"He must have gone outside," his mother said
"You are right. He must have gone out to smoke or shoot up drugs or get drunk like a cheap homeless man. I don't even know why I bother with this boy!"
"Howard!"
Tony sighed, running a hand through his hair before he looked at the baby girl with the softest smile he could conjure.
"Ready to meet some new people?"
Edit 3/11/2021 : Tony's child is 15 months, not 18. My bad.
The teaser trailer for the prequel of Rose Stark.
This could very well be a standalone read if you are new here.
Also, I'm more focused on the current fic of this series, Caged Instincts. as for when I will update this fic, I'm not sure because I want to finish that fic first.
Lemme know what you think of it so far. what your expectations are.
You know the drill. Read and Review.
Ciao