Adjusting her well enough in his arms, he proceeded to walk to his life's biggest showdown.

His mother was the first one to notice him. Her brown eyes then quickly landed on his daughter and slowly her expression changed.

"Howard..." she whispered, slightly gulping

Howard turned to look at her before he turned to where she was looking. His face turned from surprise to disbelief to quick anger.

"I can explain." he started

He could clearly hear his father's teeth grinding, "You better."


Tony really did not know where to start it all off. Clearly, he cannot, under any circumstance tell them about the magical world. so he cannot tell them the truth.

It was good that he had spent the entire travel back home coming up with the perfect causes that'd seem legible.

"I haven't gotten all day, Anthony." his father demanded

Tony swallowed, bouncing his little girl in his lap.

"Do you remember Lily?" he asked

Howard frowned, "Is she one of your bed warmers?"

Tony frowned at that.

"I think he's talking about the Evans girl. Back when we used to live in England." Maria softly said

Tony nodded, "Her. She got married less than two years ago. And soon she came along." he smiled at his baby girl who tried to reach for his curly hair. Tony softly pulled her back and held her closely.

"Lily was supposed to call me on Halloween. She didn't. Neither did her husband. I freaked out."

"Is that why you went to Bristol?" Maria asked and Tony nodded.

"I just wanted to make sure they're fine." he took a deep breath, "It was a gas explosion. Both her parents passed away. She was rescued and put in foster care."

He took a deep breath under their scrutinizing gaze.

"Well, I fail to see why she couldn't stay in that foster care," Howard muttered

Tony wanted to glare at him but that most certainly will not help his case.

"She's my goddaughter. She's my responsibility."

Tony looked at his parents. It took him a few minutes but he could feel that maybe Howard's resolve could break. And it might have happened had his mother not opened her mouth.

Tony loved Maria. But he'd have also loved her more if she had just stayed shut.

"Is that all she is?"

Maria had a look over her face that Tony didn't remember seeing before.

"I gave birth to you Tony. I can tell. She's got it all. Except for the eyes."

It didn't take Howard more than a minute to figure it out.

"You have a bastard."

It wasn't a question.

He gulped again. Might as well get over it once and for all.

"Lily and her husband were having a difficult time conceiving."

"So you volunteered?" Howard demanded

"They asked me." he corrected

"Were you ever going to tell us?" Maria asked

"If her parents hadn't died, not really."

"How dare you?!" Howard stood up and Tony's arms reflexively went to shield his daughter. She also seemed to notice the change in the air and had eerily quieted down, most probably scared.

"I will not let a bastard inside this house!"

"She has nowhere to go!" Tony shouted back, "she's my daughter."

Howard suddenly straightened, "I will not have an illegitimate heir. And definitely not because of your stupidity and inability to keep it in your pants! I will not be responsible for that!"

Tony's grip just tightened around the girl in his arms.

"Howa-"

"Stay out of it, Maria!"

Tony's jaw clenched. Usually, in such situations, he would defend his mother but right now, his priority was his daughter.

"She's pretty much an orphan." Tony firmly repeated

"Put her in an orphanage then!"

Tony's head snapped up at Howard in disbelief.

"She's my daughter!"

Howard took a deep breath, his face turning almost red, pointing a finger at him.

"Either you stay or you both don't. But I will not have an illegitimate in my house. I will not let an illegitimate ruin it all."

Tony's jaw and his grip on his daughter tightened.

"I'll see myself out then."

"Tony!" Maria stood up but Tony paid her no mind. He just turned, picked the travel bag from the ground.

"If you step out of that door, you'll be dead to me, Anthony. You will not inherit a single penny from me. I will consider myself childless."

A chill ran down his spine.

He turned and looked at his father, throat tight and dry.

"Did you consider me as shallow as you to prioritize money over my child? Keep your money and shove it u-" he paused and shook his head. He spared his mother one last look before he walked out of the door.

All of it was still in a way understandable. But it was his father's last sentence that made him actually hate him.

"Steve would never do that."

Tony would forever deny when asked, but he did flip a bird off at his father.

That sentence was the final nail in the coffin. Steve Rogers can go fuck himself with an ice dildo for all he cares. She was his daughter. Lily and James had entrusted her to him. He was going to fulfill that, even if he had to work at Walmart.

He quickly made his way to his car and got in, strapping her to the seat.

Without a second thought, he pulled out of his parent's driveway and just started driving. He ended up pulling at a semi vacant spot and rested his head on the wheel.

What now?

"Unca Ony?"

Right.

He took a deep breath, calming himself before he turned to look at her with a soft smile. She looked worried and terrified. It almost broke his heart to see her like that.

"Yeah, baby."

"You otay?"

He chuckled, reaching to brush some hair out of her eyes, "Yeah. I'm okay. Just a bit tired huh."

She just nodded with a hum.

"Give me a minute darling."

He exhaled, leaning back on the car seat.

What now?

He supposed he could call Peggy but that would mean his father would find out eventually.

He exhaled, running a hand through his hair.

Pulling out his phone, he checked through his contacts when one struck him. He supposed he can give him a call.

But he had known the guy for roughly four years. Will he help? His own parent had turned their back on him.

"Fuck it," he muttered and dialed the number.

"Hello,"

"Hey, Rhodey bear. I need a major solid right now."


Pulling up at the address Rhodey had told him, he sighed.

"Come on, baby."

He quickly got out of the car and got her out too. He then made his way to the elevator and pressed the button for Rhodey's floor.

Tony had gotten lucky. When they both had left MIT for holidays, Rhodey had planned on visiting his parents in Philadelphia. It was just a couple of days ago that Rhodey had told him that he was visiting his sister, Jeanette.

He just hoped Jeanette would be slightly accommodating.

Nervous and worried, he glanced at the door and then at his daughter, before he reached and knocked.

"Coming!"

And the door opened to reveal Rhodey.

"Hey, man." he chuckled and reached forward to give him a little side hug.

"Hey. Thank you. It means a lot."

"No problem." his dark eyes then dropped to his daughter, "you must the little lady Tony told me about."

She had always been such a fun and happy baby but now she quickly hid behind Tony's legs. Tony blamed his father for that.

"Come on in. you look you are gonna fall down."

Tony picked her up and walked in, Rhodey closed the door after him.

He heard the footsteps and soon enough Jeanette appeared with a big smile.

"Anthony." she smiled and reached to give him a hug, mindful of his baby before she grinned at her too, "What a lovely baby you are!"

his daughter just pressed her face to his shoulder.

"Dad shouted a lot in front of her. She's just a little shaken."

"totally understandable." Rhodey softly clapped his back

"thank you, both. It means a lot. I didn't know what else to do."

"None of that now. Come on. She looks tired. You got any baby food?"

"Yeah, it's in the bag."

"I'll get it." Rhodey turned to get it from his bag.

Jeanette was awesome. Tony made a note to buy her something nice for all the trouble he was putting her through.

It had taken his baby about 15 minutes to get familiar with Jeanette. Howard's yelling had really shaken her up.

Once she was fed, Jeanette slightly bounced her until she burped.

"I might need you to give me a raising a child manual 101," Tony said

"Stick around and learn." Jeanette teased him as she kept patting the girl.

She must have pretty freaked out and hence, tired 'case she out like a light bulb in just a few minutes.

"I'll put her to bed." Jeanette smile before heading up

Once she was gone, Tony sighed and leaned on the couch.

"I'm not gonna let you off the hook so easily."

"Sure, Platypus." Tony muttered and looked at him, "shoot."

"All you said to me on the phone was that you have a child with you. I'm gonna go on a limb here and say that she's your daughter. Tones, you gotta tell me all of it."

Tony sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"I used to have a friend when I lived in the UK. Lily. She was an amazing person. We became friends quickly."

"where'd you guys meet?"

"Funnily enough, the church."

Rhodey snorted.

"Long story short, she got married to her high school sweetheart James two years ago. They immediately started trying for a kid but when nothing came of it for months, they went to get checked. James never knew he was sterile."

"Oh boy..."

"Lily called me. We had been in contact even after I left the UK, but it was mostly letters, calls." and owls, he mentally added. "Talked around and someone suggested IVF." Tony ran a hand through his dark hair, "James came from old money and blood. All those noble families in the UK. There would have been a lot of ruckus if they found out that James couldn't have an heir. So, they were looking for someone similar to James and apparently I fit the bill. I was a bit hesitant. Lily was my friend. But I ended up...you know..."

"sleeping with her?"

"Donating my sperm to them. Geez, Rhodes!"

Rhodey chuckled at that.

"Lily got pregnant. 9 months later, she's here." he looked in the direction Jeanette had taken her, "I offered to give up my parental rights. They were hesitant to accept but I insisted. It was mostly because of Howard." he rolled his eyes, "They made me her godfather. I loved it. Met her a couple of times while she was growing up." he smiled fondly

"Tones..."

"Yeah," he sighed, "Lily and James were...a part of a secret organization. I'm not at liberty to tell a lot of it. Lily got grilled when they found out she had told me. But...they had enemies." he sighed again, "someone tipped off the bad guy about Lily and James' location. Despite the tight security they were living in, the bad guy came and...they were murdered on the night of the Halloween."

"I'm so sorry."

Tony nodded, "Somehow she got saved and was put in Lily's sister's care." he scoffed, "Petunia hated Lily. And I'm sure she would have done the same to her if I hadn't brought her away." he looked at Rhodey, "Lily and James' other friends have all gone AWOL. I don't know how to contact them. I'm all she got right now."

"Howard didn't hear you out did he?"

"Only half of it. I told him it was a gas leak that killed them." he again ran a hand through his fingers, "He said he won't keep a bastard in the house. That he won't be responsible for an illegitimate. So either I drop her off in an orphanage or I leave the house."

Rhodey reached and squeezed his knee, "I don't know how qualified I'm to say this, but you did the right thing. She just lost her family and for Howard to say such a thing..." he shook his head with a sigh, "I'm sure Jeanette won't mind you both staying here."

"Yeah, I'm cool with it." she chimed in, walking in and sitting on the couch next to Rhodey, "you got a very sweet girl."

"Of course I do. She got my genetics."

"So...how did your parents take the news?"

Tony snorted, "Howard all but disowned me. In fact, I'm pretty sure he's on the call with his lawyers to disown me."

"That's a bit extreme..." she muttered

Tony shrugged, "He's a drama queen, alright. He gave me a choice, you know. Drop her at an orphanage and keep my inheritance or keep her and lose my inheritance."

"Are you serious?!" Jeanette demanded, "The nerve!"

Tony chuckled, quickly suppressing a yawn.

"Well, you have two weeks off before your term at MIT resumes anyway. I have no problem with you staying here," she said

"Maybe I'll stick around too? you look like you could use all the help, man."

"Thanks, platypus," he muttered

"Come on. Grab some sleep."

Tony did not argue.


Their new routine started the next day. Jeanette left for her work at the hospital around 10 AM after feeding all three of them.

His baby took a nap after that, which left the two boys to figure things around, aka mostly baby proofing the house, just in case. She was starting to walk and the last thing they wanted was for her to put things in her mouth.

"do you want to be her godfather?"

Rhodey froze and looked at him, "What?"

"You heard me." Tony chuckled, "I'm in talks with a lawyer who'll be drawing new papers for her."

"New papers? Are you changing something?"

Tony pressed his lips, "I'm naming myself as her father."

"Tony...are you sure?"

Tony sighed and settled on the couch, "The guy who murdered her parents, his people would be looking for her. Her name's very...unusual. Especially her last name. Also, as her godfather, currently, I don't have the powers her father would. And when I'll be her father, she'd need a godfather."

Rhodey smiled, "I'd be honored." and then he frowned, "I never realized in everything that happened. You never told us her name."

Tony chuckled, "Marguerite." he muttered

"Marguerite!" Rhodey demanded, "were you high, Tony? That's such an ancient name! Not to mention french! She's gonna hate you for naming her that once she grows up."

Tony laughed, "I named her after Aunty Peggy."

"Margaret is a lot better than Marguerite!" Rhodey rested a fist on his hip, "You are half Italian. That makes her a quarter Italian. Why would you give her a French name?"

Tony smiled, "Lily's family had a tradition of naming girls after flowers. When we found out that it was her, I told Lily and James about naming her Margaret, and but James wanted to follow the flower tradition. So did Lily. So, I did some major research. Marguerite is a french version of Margaret which means ox-eye daisy. So...both birds, one stone."

"I'm almost afraid to ask her full name."

"Marguerite Rosalie Genevieve."

"That's so mouthful. Poor girl's gonna have such a hard time speaking it."

"We can always give her a nickname."

"Anything other than Maggie, please."

Tony chuckled, "Wasn't that your ex-girlfriend's name? The one who cheated on you?"

A pillow hit Tony's face which only made him laugh. Their little playtime was disrupted when they saw her standing in the hallway, rubbing sleep off her eyes.

"hungry, baby girl?" Tony asked and she just nodded

"I'll get the food." Rhodey got up


That very day, he called Caelum and asked to get the new papers drawn.

The next day Caelum and his brother reached States via portkey. Jeanette had given her permission to use the flat for the meeting on the only condition that she'd get to be the godmother. Tony didn't say no. She was already helping them both a lot.

Oberon Black looked older than Caelum but held the Black aura more prominently than Caelum did.

He had spent the previous day thoroughly going over James and Lily's will just to make sure he had all the ammo needed. One of those statements was that Tony and Sirius would have complete access to their vaults. Everyone who knew them knew that Sirius and Tony would never use that money for their own benefit. Sirius came from old money and after his parents' deaths and brother's disappearance, inherited a lot. Tony was also the sole heir of Howard Stark; former sole heir.

He shook his head. Nope. His daughter came first now.

Tony quickly introduced himself, his daughter, Rhodey, and Jeanette to them all.

"If Howard's disowning you, are you sure you can afford this? They look super expensive," Rhodey whispered to him

"That won't be a problem."

He figured neither of them will mind him taking a little money to help their daughter.

"So what kind of documents are you looking forward to, Mr. Stark?"

"Tony, please. Mr. Stark is my father." he shifted his daughter in his lap to avoid numbing the one leg she was putting all her weight on, "I'm sure you are well aware of everything that's happening back in the UK."

"Unfortunately." Oberon nodded

"For her safety, I figured it best to have documents with changed details." Tony cleared his throat, "birth certificate, records, and all that."

"and would you be changing the entire name?"

"Just her last name."

Oberon nodded and pulled out a stack of papers from his bag and laid them on the table.

"If you'll fill these..."

Tony nodded and Rhodey reached to get Rose on his lap.

Tony quickly filled out the papers, putting his name in the spot for Father's name, Lily's in mother's name, and filling the rest of the information. He even filed information for Rhodey and Jeanette on their papers before handing them the papers to sign.

Once done, Tony capped the pen and handed them to Oberon.

"I'll get these documents processed on a priority basis."

"Will they be valid only over there or both places?"

"That depends on what you want for her as her guardian." Caelum replied,

"I think it's best, for now, to change them in both. It will keep her safer, I hope. If she wishes to change it back to Potter once she grows up, that would remain an option?"

"Very much so, yes. We'll also provide these records to the American government to cover all the bases."


Two days later, Tony got her altered birth records in the mail.

Marguerite Stark now officially existed in the world.

"I love so much, baby girl." he grinned at her, picking her up

"Wove you too!"


A week after he had started living with Rhodey and Jeanette, he was resting in the room the two shared, going over his email he'd be sending to his University asking to be able to make suitable arrangements when Rhodey came to his room.

"You need to come out now."

Tony frowned and walked out, sparing a quick glance at his napping daughter. As soon as he stepped into the living room, he stopped. It was his mother, Peggy, and Daniel.

He licked his lips, "what are you doing here?"

Maria looked guilty while Peggy and Daniel had a weird look on their faces.

"Tony, sit down." Peggy softly said and Tony followed.

Maria studied his face, "You've not been sleeping well."

"I have a lot on my mind," he replied

Maria took a deep breath, opened her mouth to say something but then shut up. It took a few more seconds and a hand squeeze from Peggy.

"You should come back."

Tony almost gaped. "No,"

"Tony,"

"You heard what dad said. You heard the ultimatum he gave me. I'm not putting her in an orphanage or foster care."

Maria shut closed her eyes.

"The ultimatum?" Daniel asked

"Mom didn't tell you?" Tony asked

Daniel gave Maria a sharp look, shared a confused look with Peggy before he shook his head.

"Dad said if I didn't put her in an orphanage or foster care, he'll disown me. I'll be dead to him."

Both their eyes widened.

"Maria? Did Howard really say that?" Peggy asked

Maria just took a deep shuddering breath and nodded.

"Jesus," Peggy grunted.

"I'm not coming back to that house," Tony said, finality in his voice.

"how long are you planning on living here, then?" Daniel asked

Tony licked his lips and looked at Rhodey, who looked back at him.

"My sister doesn't mind as long as they both stay here, sir. And I'm happy to help any way I can." Rhodey said

"what about when you'll have to go back to college?"

Tony took a deep breath, "I was about to email them about it. I need to see what options they can provide me."

Peggy and Daniel shared a quick look

"Come and stay with us," Peggy said

Tony blinked, "I don't want to cause more trouble. And if I move in with you, dad will find out. I don't want him near her."

"Tony, Howard will not say a single word if you'll come to stay with us," Daniel added

Tony and shared another look.

"Can I see her?" Maria softly asked

"She's sleeping," Tony replied clippingly.

"Tony, can I talk to you, alone?" Rhodey softly smacked his shoulder

"Excuse us." Tony got up and the two walked inside

"Now she does it," he grumbled as soon as they were alone.

"Tony." Rhodey leaned on the wall, "I think you should go with your Aunty Peggy."

"Are you serious?"

"Look. I get it why you don't want to. I don't blame you. You two have been here for only a week and I don't want her to leave either. But let's be practical. she needs stability. No matter how good you are, MIT isn't gonna just let you skip the rest of the year or finals. You are doing a doctorate and a second master's. Your Aunt and Uncle can provide you with that stability. Jeanette works too. When we'll be gone, no one will be here to look after her. That won't be the case there. And if by any chance it doesn't work out, you can always come here or to Philadelphia. Mom and Dad would gladly accept you both. For her sake, give this a try."

Tony exhaled, pinching the bridge of his nose. In a way Rhodey was right. she does need stability.

"Fine. But if it doesn't work out, you and Jeanette are in gonna be in it big time."

Rhodey chuckled, "Sure."

Just then they heard the doorknob clink. They turned to look and it was moving. They shared a look and opened the door and peeked in.

She was on the bean bag, on her tiptoes if the pressure on the bag was anything to go by, and blinked at them innocently.

"She's not even 2 and she improvising. Only your daughter, Stark."

Tony smiled and in return, a big grin came on her face.

"Unca!"

"Hey baby girl, did you sleep well?"

She nodded before giving Rhodey a grin, "Hi Unca Rodi"

"Hello love."

"We've got some guests. Wanna go meet them?"

Her smile dimmed but she nodded.

Settling her on his hip, he walked out to the living room.

As soon as her eyes landed on Maria, she buried her face in the crook of his neck, arms tight around him. "No!"

Tony and Rhodey shared a quick look. This was the first time this had happened. she was always good with people, even making friends with the old lady that lived down the hall.

"Baby? Everything okay?"

"No!"

They shared another look before he realized what might have been wrong.

"Mom, I think you need to go."

"Bu-"

"Dad's yelling really scared her. I think she's remembering that seeing you."

Maria shared one quick look with Peggy and Daniel before she got up.

"I'm sorry, mi cara." and she walked out. Rhodey closed the door after her.

Tony turned to the girl in his arms, "Can you be brave for me and look ahead? Come on, baby."

She slowly raised her head, looked at him, and then looked ahead. When she longer saw Maria, her body slightly relaxed.

"You good now?"

she nodded.

"Come on. I want you to meet my Aunty and Uncle."

She gave him a confused look as he settled on the couch.

"Baby, this is my Aunty Peggy and Uncle Daniel. Say hi."

She waved her pudgy arms clumsily.

"Her eyes are beautiful." Daniel smiled

Tony chuckled, "This is Marguerite Stark."

Daniel's grin and Peggy's smile with glassy eyes were all the acceptance he needed.

"Hey." Peggy began, shifting closer to them both, "Hi. I'm your Grandma Peggy. This is Grandpa Daniel."

The little girl blinked, a bit confused before she looked at him. Tony just nodded.

She looked back at the couple. "G'anma." she said softly, trying the new word for the first time. "G'appa."

"That's right, love." Daniel smiled

Peggy hesitantly stretched her arms out and after a second of consideration, his baby willing leaned towards her and Tony let her. Peggy wrapped her arms securely around the toddler.

"You are beautiful, darling."

The way his little grin gave them a gummy smile, Tony knew that both the adults were now securely wrapped around his daughter's little fingers.


Unknown location, the UK

Albus Dumbledore stood at the top of the cliff, glancing at the wide-open sea. A loud screech tore through the silence and he raised his arm as his phoenix perched there.

An unopened letter tied to its claw.

He was rather...irritated at the way certain things had taken place. Especially in his absence. He had been occupied with ICW and by the time he returned, he had a frantic letter from Arabella that was dated a week ago. Reading that, made him feel something he hadn't felt in a long time. Fear.

He immediately went to Privet Drive. The blood wards were still there but the girl wasn't. He tried to talk to the residents, but they didn't open the door and he wasn't interested in gaining an audience by breaking and entering. He could have erased their memories of the same, but he needed them on his side so the girl could live there. Besides, the colder that family would be towards the girl, the easier will it be to manipulate her. He figured he'd deal with them at a later date.

His priority was finding the girl.

All Arabella had mentioned was that a young man came and took the girl away. She further added that Petunia never spoke about it. Even when asked, she'd change the subject.

Albus regretted not putting a tracking spell on her. Then again he hadn't suspected that anyone would be taking her away. He expected the girl to grow up with the Dursleys until she discovered magic at 11, clueless, naive, and trusting.

Fawkes trilled again.

Ever since he was informed of her absence, he'd been trying to find her only to fail. Every letter addressed to her came back undelivered. The tracking and point me spells refused to work.

Albus Dumbledore rarely lost. Be it the first Wizarding War or the beginning of the second. And he couldn't believe that now, he ended up losing the Girl-Who-lived.

Where in the name of Merlin was Marguerite Potter?


I was a little bored and thought, why not? Also, my assignment is pending in 2 hrs and I haven't written anything but my name. Kudos to me!

I'm quite excited about this because of all the hyped-up comments I'm getting.

You know the drill.

The more the comments the sooner I'll be updating. Not particularly this story but it would be either this or Caged instincts.

Ciao!