Acknowledgement

The loud plops of almost all the people around her disapparating reached Jo belated and distorted. She knew that phenomenon, of course. Knew that she was close to dissociating completely, but she tried to hold on to reality with everything she got.

Her family needed her now and she would NOT let her past, her trauma, win.

"Mama?", Emmy's hand slid into view, as the girl put her hand on top of Jo's clasped ones, "Are you with us?"

There was a note of fear in her voice. She sounded small. Helpless.

Her girl needed her.

The thought of her poor girl needing help and Jo letting her down was just… too painful. She couldn't do anything to help Lily and Harry, but she could be there for Emmy.

Carefully she raised her head and focused her eyes onto Emmy's face, while opening her hands to hold on to Emmy's.

"I'm here.", she said, slowly. Struggling to find the words.

Then everything rushed back with too much force. All the fear and pain her brain had tried to shield her from. She looked around Harry's empty office and apart from Emmy, only Audrey and Percy had remained.

"Do we have a plan?", Jo asked and got up.

"Yes. We're taking you both to St. Mungo's.", Audrey explained.

"Everyone who didn't go to fight already went there.", Percy explained quietly, "We stayed. Thought you'd probably appreciate the option of apparating."

"I do.", Jo agreed, got up and tugged her clothes back into place. She couldn't let people outside this room see how stressed and scared she was. People might not know what was happening yet, but all of them at the hospital would be noticed and she really didn't need another nasty article about how she was too weak. Too muggle. Too… insufficient.

Emmy smiled at her shakily and reached for her uncle's hand as Jo did the same with Audrey.

Apparating didn't help with her nervous nausea, but the two Weasleys got them through the foyer and up the stairs before too many people had the chance to notice them. When they reached the floor Kingsley had closed for them, people were just everywhere. Some of them were friends, others obviously healers, aurors and everyone in between. Still, people opened a corridor for them and Jo was still holding Emmy's hand, when she noticed Teddy standing in the middle of a group of healers, holding a very unhappy looking Lily.

Jo couldn't really describe the sound that left her throat, but she stormed forward, pulling Emmy along and all but crashed into her two kids standing together.

"Mama!", Lily sobbed and let go of Teddy's neck to throw her arms around Jo instead and bury her wet little face in Jo's sweater.

"Oh, Baby! Du bist okay… ihr seid okay!", Jo found herself sobbing right alongside her youngest and pulled Teddy down into a hug with them.

"Daddy is hurt.", Lily whispered into her ear and Jo felt her insides freeze, her eyes meeting Teddy's terrified gaze.

"You guys are okay, right?", Jo told herself as much as she told the kids, "You're okay and we can deal with everything else."

"Coming through!", someone shouted behind them and everyone began to shuffle aside. Jo, too, turned around and for a solid second, she didn't recognise the bloody, mangled figure on the stretcher surrounded by healers.

Not until a horrified Emmy yelled "Dad!", and tried to let go of Jo's hand still clasping hers tightly.

"Emmy, no!", Jo managed to wrestle down her terror, "We need to let the healers do their magic. Come on, darling. Let's… let's sit down and find everyone, yes?"

"Mrs Stark?", a nervous voice sounded from her left, "My name is Sam. If you'll follow me, I'll take you somewhere more private."

Right. Private. One step. One thing at a time. Don't let Lily see her Dad. Find out if everyone is back and taken care off. Find someone to ask about Harry. Yes. The kids first. Then Harry. Just one thing at a time.

Two minutes later they found themselves in a small room furnished with a crazy amount of comfy couches.

Jo sank down onto one, Lily still in her lap and finally, now that they were safe, letting go of Emmy's hand to soothingly rub her back.

"What happened?", Emmy asked Teddy, her voice full of authority. She sounded so much like her father that even her big brother was too surprised to do anything but answer.

"We don't really know… we found Lily in the woods. Where the beacon was. And she told us where to find Dad. I… don't know how bad it is."

Emmy cursed loudly and normally Jo might have said something, but honestly, she felt like cursing, too.

"Was anyone else hurt?"

"No. We were a whole lot more people."

Jo nodded carefully. Jimmy and Alec were safe at school. Teddy, Emmy and Lily were right here with her. That left…

"How's Bucky? And where is Wanda?"

"The healers said Bucky will be okay. He's down the hall. Wanda is outside.", Teddy shifted from one foot to the next.

"Why is she not here with us?", Jo wondered, suddenly incredibly nervous at the idea of one of her ducklings missing.

"I…"

"Out with it."

"I told her to stay with Lily and me, but she kinda ran off, when she saw you guys. I think she feels super guilty."

"About what?", Jo frowned.

"Well, we promised to look after Lily… so."

At his guilty, worried face, Jo felt a sudden anger boil up inside her.

"Teddy. Edward, look at me."

And nervously he did.

"You did nothing wrong. Emmy did nothing wrong. Wanda did nothing wrong. From what I can see, you… all of you did the best you possibly could. You did NOTHING wrong. And I am prepared to tell you that every day for the rest of my life, if I have to. Now please, please, calm down my nerves and get Wanda. Right now, I just don't want to let any of you out of my sight."

Teddy nodded haltingly and Jo noticed his eyed had gone just as shiny as hers.

Emmy watched them, her brows furrowed.

"I'm gonna go find out how Bucky is doing and if we can find out anything about Dad."

"I think you should stay here. You'll be safer and with all the people outside…", Jo started, "I'll go out and ask in a minute."

"Nah.", Emmy shrugged, "I need something to do and Lily needs you here. I'll be okay. And I'll feel better, once I have some answers."

Jo gulped heavily when she saw the truth behind Emmy's eyes. Right there, she didn't look like the struggling teenager, she looked like a capable, determined young woman, who would stand tall and strong for what she believed in.

Proud. Jo was incredibly proud of her.

Teddy and Emmy hurried outside without another word and Jo started to soothingly talk to Lily, whose grip had loosened, her eyes now partially closed. She was so exhausted, she had just fallen asleep.

Wanda was the first one through the door, looking tiny, childlike and prepared to cry. Jo reached out with her right arm and padded the seat beside her, throwing her arm around Wanda and pulling her close when the young woman sat down beside her.

"What a crappy day.", Jo told her, unable to see Wanda's face, "I don't think I will ever get Harry to take a vacation again."

She felt Wanda shake with suppressed, tired laughter.

"Next time, we'll just have to take all you guys."

"I haven't been to many places.", Wanda sighed.

"Mhhhhh, neither have I, to be honest. Where would you like to go?"

"Somewhere… pretty. No people. Just lakes and trees and mountains."

"That sounds very nice.", Jo agreed, "What do you think, Teddy?"

Teddy had just walked through the door, magically floating three steaming cups in front of him.

"About?"

"Family vacation in the middle of nowhere."

"Hell yeah!"

"Good. We deserve that.", Jo nodded, as Emmy sauntered back in, carrying her own mug.

"Aunt Luna says, Bucky woke up for… like… a second. He just mumbled something about a beacon and gripped Rolf's cloak so hard, she was afraid he'd strangle him. She told Bucky that Lily was safe and he fell right back asleep."

"And Dad?", Teddy asked, handing cups to Jo and Wanda.

"They're still working.", Emmy sighed, "Nothing new. People are starting to leave. Not the family, of course. Grandma Molly seems a little lost. Uncle George said she has too much caring energy. And since no one can go in to see Dad or us, she is now running around looking for warmer blankets for Bucky."

"They can't see us?", Jo wondered.

"No. There is an angry looking auror outside sending everyone away to let Lily sleep and shit.", Emmy grinned.

"That's Niobe. Looking scary is her superpower.", Teddy agreed, taking a sip and Jo decided to do the same. Hot chocolate. Mhhhhhhhh. That boy knew how to handle a family emergency.

Jo knew, she should go outside and talk to the rest of the terrified Weasleys. Or let them come inside. But at the same time, she really didn't want to. She wanted to be here. With the people that mattered most. The people she felt like she needed to protect. Maybe tomorrow she'd be a good sister-in-law or whatever she wanted to call this, but right then and now, she just wanted to have a hot drink with her kids.

At some point during the waiting and quiet talking, Jo felt the time difference get to her.

Still holding the sleeping Lily, Jo fell asleep on the couch and only woke up, when a worried looking Angelina shook her shoulder. The room was almost completely dark now and when Jo looked around, she found Teddy, Emmy and Wanda as well as several Weasleys sprawled out on couches. Asleep. It must have been hours since they all got here.

"Harry?", she asked quietly, not wanting to alarm anyone.

"No," Angelina sighed, "But Tony is here."

Tony. Jo had almost forgotten about Harry's big brother in all of this. She should have called him! But her phone wasn't working and she honestly hadn't even thought about it. Harry had called him, Jo knew that much. And he had been terrified his brother might not come.

Jo was trying to find a way to carefully put Lily down, when Angelina held out her arms, reached for the girl and sat down with her.

"I'll stay. Don't want her to wake up alone."

"Thank you.", Jo squeezed her shoulder and snuck outside.

Tony was standing forlornly with Pepper and Happy, who looked just as terrified to be standing amidst bustling magical people. Jo saw Hermione, Ron and Arthur standing with them, whispering in quiet, worried voices.

"Tony?", Jo asked and he looked right at her. She had never been his biggest fan. Had never really liked the way he treated Harry. Or Sirius. Or even the kids. And he had never really bothered to get to know her. Never made an effort. But right now, he was looking at her with the same fear of rejection she had seen in Wanda's eyes earlier and all she felt was relief to know that he cared. That he had come. And how happy Harry and the kids would be.

"You came.", she smiled, "I'm so happy to see you."

And later on she really didn't know which one of them was the first to go for a hug, but a second later they just stood in the middle of that corridor, holding onto each other with all their strength.

"Jo?", Hermione asked a minute later, when she and Tony carefully disentangled, "I was about to come and get you. The healers are done for now and want to talk to you, first."

"Did they say anything?", Tony asked, his voice strained.

Hermione shook her head. "Only that they stabilized him. The rest they wanted to discuss with you. They said to just come in.", she pointed to a door to her right.

Jo took a deep breath. Harry was alive and stable. That was what she needed to hear. The rest, she knew, they'd be able to deal with.

"You coming?", she asked and absentmindedly pulled on Tony's jacket.

"What?"

"You are coming with me, no? You're Harry's big brother. He'll… he'll want to see you. And I'm sure you'll want to see him."

Tony looked at her like he thought she was joking, before his gaze softened and he nodded. It didn't matter what they thought of each other. This was about Harry and how much they loved him. Carefully, she opened the door and they stepped through. The first thing Jo noticed was Harry lying in a big, comfy bed. His form was almost completely covered by a blanket and his head seemed surrounded by a weird shimmer. And even after all the healing, the right side of his face was still so bruised, it seemed almost black. A small magical lantern cast a soft glow and a tall woman in robes stood next to Harry's bed, looking at her with a mixture of calm and… pity. Jo felt it right away. The healer might try to hide it, but she could still feel it. Like a bad odor, it was just everywhere and impossible to ignore.

Quietly, she stepped towards Harry's bed and tried to find some part of him to touch. Just to feel his warmth. To KNOW that he was still with them. Still alive. Still fighting.

But up close the shimmer actually looked like a solid bubble around his head.

"Mrs Stark and Mr…? I'm sorry, I wanted to speak to you alone for a moment.", the woman looked dubiously at Tony, who had rounded the bed and was now standing next to her and opposite Jo, looking just as desperately to make some sort of contact as she did.

"This is Tony Stark, my brother-in-law. He needs to be here.", Jo declared. She would let no argument slide. Tony had looked after Harry all his life. He loved his brother. She could see it in every single one of his tiny expressions. So different from the fight she had witnessed all those months ago.

The healer still looked less than happy, but Jo didn't care. "Own it.", Harry would sometimes tell Emmy, when she was worried about her looks or people recognizing her as his daughter, "You are who you are. Be proud."

And she could be that, too. She was a Stark now, damn it. Time to act like it.

"Mrs Stark. Mr Stark. My name is Healer Banerjee. I'm the healer in charge of… trauma patients."

"Yes. ", Tony sounded just as impatient as Jo felt, "And how is he?"

"He has sustained extensive damage all over his body. Especially to his right side. Almost all his bones there were, for a lack of better term, pulverized. They are currently regrowing, which will take some time, even with our help. His lungs collapsed several times, which is why we are currently helping him breathe.", she pointed towards the shimmer around Harry's head, "There might be some nerve damage. And some things we simply can't tell without him waking up."

"Things like what?", Jo asked. Her voice felt hard and hollow, her whole body numb. She… she had no idea what exactly magic could actually do. Were there things even magic couldn't fix? What could be so bad that even the healers didn't know?

"Maybe we should just be happy that he's here and talk about anything further, when the time comes.", Banerjee tried and Jo felt her mood suddenly shifting from worry to anger.

"Why?", she hissed, "So I can sit here and wonder instead of knowing and preparing?"

"Jo, maybe it's not so bad. You don't need to prepare for something that might not happen.", Tony tried, but he, too, looked unhappy.

"No. I can prepare for everything. That's what I do. That's what I do best! If something doesn't happen that's fine, but I will NOT be unprepared! Will he be able to walk? Will he need a wheelchair? Ehm, Physio? Will he need that? Do you guys have that?"

"I'm sorry, what exactly is Physio?", the healer looked confused and Jo wanted to throw something at her. How could she not know that? Was there a different term in English? Yes. There was. She remembered learning it long ago. Could see it spelled out in front of her eyes. But her brain was drawing a blank. There was nothing. Absolutely nothing. Only Harry's pale and bruised face. His shallow breathing. He was a tall, lean man, but now… now he looked so, so tiny. Like Lily had, cradled in her arms. Harry wasn't supposed to look like that. He was her rock. He was everyone's rock. He was Harry, damn it. Suddenly Tony was besides her, putting his arm around her shoulder.
"Physical therapy. It's like… training.", he told the healer.

"Ah, no. We don't really have that, but we have potions and the like."

Jo and Tony both looked at her, both of them expecting her to say more. They wanted to know everything now. So Banerjee sighed and relented.

"As far as we know, he has been tortured with the Cruciatus, too. Do you know what that means?"

They both nodded.

"Before he wakes up, we can't tell if there might be permanent damage to his brain."

Tony inhaled sharply, but Jo just nodded in understanding. That was the plan after all. Get the info. Get to planning. Deal with the situation whatever it might be.

"I know it sounds cruel, but what works in our favour is the fact that, and there is no good way of saying this, he has been tortured before. If we are lucky that means his brain might take more than others. But right now, we will have to wait for him to wake up."

Again Jo nodded and Healer Banerjee turned towards the door.

"There will be people outside and should something happen there are spells to alert us. I will give you a moment."

Once she had left the room, Tony seemed to shrink next to her, his face looking lined and grayish. He let go off her shoulder, walked back around the bed and pulled up a chair, sitting down and unsteadily placing a hand on the blanket covering Harry. He was scared to touch and potentially hurt his brother. That Jo could understand just fine. She, too, reached for a chair and sat down, propping her face up on her hands and staring at Harry, as if she was scared he'd disappear on her again.

"He ran off without telling anyone. Without bringing backup.", she told no one in particular.

Tony chuckled sadly.

"He always does. It was the same with him at school, you know? He ran off and never even tried to get help. Well. He did, once. He was 15 and Voldemort tried to lure him out of Hogwarts. It only took 5 years for him to learn not to rely only on himself."

"Character growth."

"Maybe… He got hurt pretty badly the year before. Did he tell you that?"

"The year before… the Triwizard Tournament?"

"Yes. I had come to see the third task. Fucking school. He should never have been forced to fight dragons and all that shit. And then Voldemort came back and… Harry was hurt. And just like now, I sat there like a useless lump. Next to his bed and waiting for everyone else to do something, while I, the useless Muggle, couldn't do shit."

Jo had heard the stories of Harry's school years, but she had never even thought about how Tony might have felt. Tony, for his part, seemed lost in thought.

"Every stupid year he got hurt and almost killed. I wanted him to come home. Wanted him to get a private tutor, you know? I would have paid any prize. Damn it, I would have done the same for his friends. Opened a private magic school just for him, but he didn't want to. Said danger was part of the magical world and that he would have to learn. And eeeeveryone had something to do to help. Sirius. The Weasleys. Dumbledore. Remus. Everyone. Everyone but me. I just sat next to the phone and waited for someone to call and tell me he had been hurt again."

Tony went quiet and Jo felt tears run down her face. She hadn't even noticed that she had started crying.

"I'm sorry, Tony.", she told him.

"What for?"

"For not realizing sooner. I mean… I'm not magical. I'm not part of that world and it bothers me. But at least there is no one actively trying to hurt the kids. And I have Harry… to protect them."

Tony thought for a moment.

"I was supposed to protect him, you know? Have his back. That was my JOB. My duty. My responsibility. And I never could. When I became Iron Man, I thought… I thought my little brother won't have to protect me anymore or come and save me from a cave. But that wasn't good enough, either. Loki killed Ginny in my house. My HOME. And I failed again."

"Is… is that why you didn't tell Harry about your surgery?", Jo asked, a sudden feeling of dread and understanding forming in her chest.

"I didn't want to be a burden.", Tony admitted, his voice tiny and broken.

He, too, was crying a little now and Jo knew that now that Tony had opened up like that they would never be able to go back.

"I'm a burden.", she finally admitted her deepest insecurities. Tony lifted his head and finally looked at her.

"Financially, mentally. I'm a depressed mess with heavy doses of ADD and Borderline Personality DIsorder. Some days, I don't have the strength to even brush my teeth. Some days, everything is just too much and I dig my fingernails into my arms until I draw blood.", carefully she pulled back her hoodie, revealing the small crescent shaped red marks on her left arm from when she had been so worried and stressed about Lily, "And I know I'm a mess. I don't like crowds. The big Weasley-Family-Gatherings stress me out until I dissociate. And all these people think 'Why is Harry with HER? She's not strong enough. Not pretty enough. Not Ginny enough.' And most of them think I slept with a married man, too. I told Harry not to marry me. I told him he deserved better. I told him I'd be worse than useless."

"What did he say?", Tony asked quietly.

"He… he didn't say anything. He got up and hugged me and… and he cried. He said he was sorry I was made to feel that way.", Jo chuckled through the tears now streaming freely down her face, "Then he offered to have my parents killed."

"That sounds like Harry.", Tony smiled a little, too.

They sat in silence for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts.

"Once.", Jo suddenly blurted out, "I was at St. Mungo's to visit Bucky and I met Hannah Longbottom on my way out, you know? She told me how sad she was that we couldn't make it to the barbeque at Bill and Fleur's the week before, but how everyone understood and I was totally confused. When Harry came to get me, I told him his family had stopped inviting us, because they were afraid I would have a meltdown or something. Harry went bright red and I just KNEW something was up."

"Oh no. What did he do?", Tony leaned forward again.

"He admitted that he sometimes declined invitations, when he was stressed or didn't feel like going out and let people believe it was because of me. I didn't even know what to say to that. He used MY mental health as an excuse, so he didn't have to find a better excuse or admit he just didn't want to go. I was so mad."

Tony laughed. A real, actual laugh this time.

"Harry never liked to say no to people he cared about."

"Oh, I know! He told me everyone always expected him to show up and be Harry Potter. He said it, like that was a title."

"It is, sorta."

Another couple minutes of silence, but this time it was Tony who broke it.

"I need to apologize to you, too."

Jo tilted her head in question.

"I never really got to know you and you are right: I, too, judged you on those things you mentioned. I… I loved Ginny very much and I just… I don't know how to say it. I know you make him happy. I know you make the kids happy. I can see it. It just… hurts."

She nodded. What was she supposed to say to that anyway?

"I think you are good for them.", Tony continued, "You bring another perspective. You let Harry be weak. You helped Emmy be herself. Teddy told me how much happier she is outside of Hogwarts. That's good. You did what I always wanted to do. You gave the magical world the middle finger and put your family first."

"I never looked at it like that."

"It's always easier to see from the outside in."

"There is something else I need to apologize for.", Jo continued, "I never interfered between you and Harry. Never told him what to do or anything, but I never encouraged him to talk to you, either. I… well, my family of origin sucks. Except for my brother, but that's a story for another day. I've not been in contact with my parents since I moved to London. And people always tell me 'They are your parents. They love you. You are family.' And I hate it. Hate it. Family isn't made through blood. It's made through memories and choices. And every time someone tried to tell Harry to talk to you, I just got so, so mad. I know I didn't help. I thought… I thought your situation was similar. It's not. I can see that now. My own problems made me blind to both you and Harry suffering. I'm sorry, Tony. That shouldn't have happened."

Tony seemed to think on that and Jo appreciated that. She had just bared her soul to her brother-in-law and a quick answer wouldn't have felt right. All the information they were sharing, working through all of that would take time.

"So I felt like a failure, whose little brother needed to protect him, when all I wanted to do was protect HIM and you felt like a failure, whose husband shielded her, when she wanted to do the same for him."

"Yes."

"Perfect. We make quiet the pair."

"Like families should.", Jo declared and reached with her right hand across Harry to shake his, "Deal?"

"Deal."

"Ouch."

Both Jo and Tony froze, unsure where the sound was coming from, when they both turned around to stare at Harry, whose eyes were still closed. Had he just..

"Lily?"

"Save!", Jo assured him, before she could even register that it indeed had been Harry, who had spoked.

"Good."

"Harry?", Tony asked carefully, getting up to get closer to Harry's face, but he seemed to have fallen asleep again.

The door burst open a moment later, a slightly ruffled looking Healer Banerjee storming through.

"He woke up?!"

"Yes, but only shortly.", Jo hurried and got up to let the healer through, "He only said it hurt and asked about Lily."

"He spoke?!", Banerjee looked equally shocked and elated, "Oh, that is a good sign. A very good sign!"

"You think he'll be okay?", Hermione asked, standing in the doorway surrounded by several frantic looking Weasleys.

"There might be some physical problems, but mentally: Yes, I think he'll be okay."

Our dearest readers, we hope you are all doing well and this chapter anwers your most pressing concerns. We have decided to end this part of the story here, because it just felt right.
The NEXT part will probably be called "Call it Courage", but it will take a while. There is lots of planning to do, but we hope you are as excited about Infinity War for the Starks as we are.
Stay safe. Stay healthy. We appreciate each and every one of you very much! You brighten these tough times.
Lots of love
NyGi and Fel