(A/N): Welcome back everyone! I hope you all are staying healthy and safe. Or, if you are feeling a little under the weather, that you feel better soon! A lot seems to have happened since I've been away, hasn't it?
First off, I want to thank Geethika, Beauty Eclipsed, Nikelkm, CassiopeiaKnight, Nessa Kane, nagi92, Sora Loves Rain, Adharablack85-2, crity2re, Rafafalafa, hypercrazyx3, Freyja-Njorda, alexaguamenti, Catzandbookz8, PIPhoenix, General Mac, Famond, Westcoast222, and Guests for reviewing! It really helped me to hear how much you all love this story and that you're enjoying the world I'm creating.
Quick note- I had a guest review just ask me about how come Hermione didn't bring up the fact that she's technically not a witch when speaking with the British Wizengamot and therefore their laws don't apply to her or why MACUSA didn't say anything. No one outside of the Avengers and their inner circle of people know that she's not human and that's not a piece of information that she's going to be dropping anytime soon. She's Loki's daughter guys- when she makes that announcement, it's going to be as dramatic as possible.
So my month away has done me a world of good. It's become easier to write again and I've had so many ideas about this and my other fics and I've been working on chapters for several of my other stories. Because of that, I've decided that, for the next few months at least, I'm only going to be posting for this story once a month. The first Sunday of each month, I'll post the next chapter. If I start writing more again, I'll consider posting more frequently but this is what I'll be doing for now.
All the gratitude in the world to my beta sailorxbloom! She's been such a huge help to me with this story and my others and I'm so lucky to have her help!
This chapter has characters from Daredevil, The Punisher, and Jessica Jones. There's a lot going on in this chapter but hopefully you'll enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!
Thank you all for reading! Enjoy!
Harry, Ron, and Kingsley apparated to Hogwarts gates as soon as they received McGonagall's Patronus. She was already waiting for them on the other side, face drawn and pale.
"What's wrong?" Harry demanded. It was almost midnight and there was no way McGonagall would have called them at such an hour for anything less than an emergency.
McGonagall just shook her head, opening the gate for them before turning and hurrying back towards the castle.
"Blimey," Ron murmured. "I don't think I've ever seen McGonagall this quiet before."
"Me neither," agreed Harry. It was unsettling really. McGonagall had always been the unflappable one- it was as though she had seen it all and couldn't be impressed by anything anymore.
Instead of walking up the steps to the castle, the Headmistress veered off and led them to the edge of the lake. Glancing around, Harry unexpectedly stumbled over something hard in the grass. Once he'd gotten his feet under him again, Harry bent down to search for whatever had tripped him. His fingers closed over a stone and he lifted it close to his face.
It was a chunk of white marble. His stomach dropped. Harry knew what this was from.
"What is it?" Kingsley asked, but Harry ignored him.
Racing ahead of the others, Harry sprinted to Dumbledore's tomb. Or, more accurately, where it once was.
"Oh no," he breathed.
It was completely destroyed- that was the only word that could be used to describe the absolute ruin in front of him. Every side, wall, and edge of the tomb was shattered into pieces no bigger than Harry's fist.
"Merlin's beard," Ron swore.
Kingsley didn't say anything, just stepped forward and began picking through the rubble. "The body's gone," he announced. "There's no trace of it- it must have been taken before the tomb was destroyed."
Coming up behind Harry, Ron muttered, "You think it was someone after the wand?"
Harry's stomach dropped, but he shook his head. "If that was it, they would have just taken it and left, wouldn't they? Would have left them with the element of surprise. And why would they have taken Dumbledore's body?"
Having overheard Harry speaking, Kingsley added, "This attack was clearly done out of anger."
"This was done out of malicious rage," Harry agreed. "This isn't just resentment- this is, 'I'm pissed as hell, and I'm not gonna take it anymore'."
Gesturing for Harry to move closer, Kinsley murmured, "Could this have been done by Hermione?"
Even though the idea had popped into Harry's head the moment he'd seen the destruction, Harry couldn't help feeling offended on Hermione's behalf. "Hermione wouldn't have done this."
"You sure about that? Because she seemed overly-angry at the lot of us the last time we spoke."
"Hermione's angry but she's not stupid and she never does anything without reason. Destroying Dumbledore's tomb and stealing the body wouldn't do anything but piss everyone in Britain off even more than they already are- it wouldn't serve a purpose in the long run. If she'd just stolen something from it, then maybe it could have been her. But destroying everything- announcing to the world what happened- is the action of someone who's been bottling up their anger for a long time and is now done doing so and wants the world to know that."
"And Hermione doesn't want everyone to know she's angry?" Kingsley asked, clearly unconvinced.
"Oh no, Hermione wants the world to know she's done with us. But she's hasn't been pretending otherwise. This," Harry tried to come up with the right word to describe the destruction around them before settling on, "This is a taunt. This is someone firing the first spell in a duel. Hermione's already started her war against us. And even if she hadn't, she wouldn't taunt us like this because we aren't worth the time."
"Potter's right," McGonagall declared. "Miss Granger wouldn't have done this. What we should be concerned about right now is why someone took it. Stealing a body… it speaks of Dark Magic."
"I've heard Hermione's gone pretty dark," Ron muttered, and Harry's temper snapped.
"If Hermione wanted a body, Ron, then she'd coming for yours! Forget about Hermione. This is about Dumbledore. Who hated him enough to sneak onto the Hogwarts grounds, destroy his tomb, and steal his body?"
"Everybody loved Dumbledore," the ginger snorted, clearly peeved at Harry's angry remarks. "Nobody who isn't a Death Eater would do this."
Kingsley, on the other hand, seemed troubled. "He may be loved here in Britain but, in other wizarding communities, Albus Dumbledore is almost as reviled as Grindlewald. His obsessions cost many lives and the only sorrow he ever showed for the damage that was done was either regarding his own losses or done in an attempt to manipulate the emotions of others. I myself may have followed him, but I was no stranger to the kind of man Albus truly was."
"If you think that many people hate Dumbledore enough to have done this, then how are we supposed to figure out who did?" Ron demanded.
"We can't," Harry sighed, looking between Kingsley and Professor McGonagall. "If they were able to accomplish this much damage without being caught in the act, then they were probably smart enough to cover their tracks. If we can't find any clues from this, then we're going to have to wait until they strike again. And if they're this angry, they probably won't settle for desecrating a grave next time; they're going to go after a person."
STARK HEIRESS SWOONS OVER NOTORIOUS LADIES MAN
Mia's struggle with life in the spotlight
Her brother's attempts to keep them apart
"Told you so," Tony sang.
Mia looked up from the magazine with a picture of her and Billy standing together from the night before on the cover and glowered at her brother. "Did you actually go out and pay for this drivel?"
"Oh, it's not just the gossip rags that are printing that. You've been such a goody-goody and nobody likes that so now everyone's jumping on this."
"He's right," Pepper sighed, shuffling into the room. "We've gotten calls from multiple outlets asking for an official statement about your new relationship with Billy Russo."
"Lovely," Mia rolled her eyes. "And what did you tell them?"
"No comment." At the mutinous look on Mia's face, Pepper explained, "They weren't going to believe it if I told them you and Billy weren't dating. As long as you two don't pull anything like this again, it should be fine."
Happy came striding out of the elevator then and Mia felt like the universe was conspiring against her- which really wasn't fair since she was going to do her best to save it. "Flowers for Mia," he announced, setting down a large bouquet of purple flowers. "Don't worry, I already checked for any explosives or contaminants."
"Yes, because that is what I'm most worried about right now," the brunette sighed.
"Those better be from Steve," Tony warned. "Otherwise we will be tossing them out the window."
Pepper snorted. "Yeah, because that won't catch anyone's attention. I can see the headlines now: Trouble in paradise- Mia Stark receives flowers from another man. Russo falls into a bitter rage."
"Or they'll think that Billy and I got into a fight and he sent flowers as an apology, which I did not accept," Mia offered, searching for a card. "Which would be especially appropriate seeing as how these flowers are from Billy," she sighed, pulling out the card.
As Tony began to rant, Mia flipped open the card and read, Normally I'd give you my number, but I'm positive you can find it yourself. Thanks for an enjoyable evening.
Plucking the card from Mia's fingers, Pepper glanced over the message. "To be honest, I'm surprised that you went anywhere near Russo last night. I know that he's charming, but there's something… off about him."
"You mean the fact that he gives off the air of a psychopath who still hasn't realized that he's only pretending to feel emotions?"
"Oh, so you've noticed it too?"
Mia shrugged. "It's something in the eyes."
Tony had finally stopped ranting long enough for his brain to comprehend what they were saying. "Wait." He spun on his heel to face the two women. "You think he's a psychopath? Then why the fuck are you still hanging around him?!"
"Curiosity. I want to see how things go."
Happy snorted and Tony leaned down to thump his head on the kitchen island. "How the hell did it get to the point where I'm the most sane person in the room?"
"Spooky, isn't it?" his sister teased, smiling widely.
"You have everything you need for tonight?" Mia asked, leaning back on the windowsill in Frank's base.
He made a grunting sound that she had come to realize was his version of 'Yes' but didn't look up from the gun he was cleaning.
Mia sighed, glancing over at the plans littering Frank's desk. Tonight was the night he planned on going up against some of the leaders of the Kitchen Irish. Frank didn't plan on actually fighting any of the Irish- he would be positioning himself across the street in an empty building and opening fire on the men from there. She couldn't help worrying though.
"You'll call if you need anything?" she prodded again.
Frank sighed. "Christ. Yeah, kid, I'll call if I need anything. You know this ain't my first rodeo, right?"
"I do know that. I also know how little regard you have for your own safety. At least one of us should be worrying about you."
"That so?" Setting his gun to the side, Frank turned to look directly at Mia. "Does that mean I'm supposed to worry about you since you couldn't give less of a shit about your own safety?"
She shook her head. "Tony and Pepper worry enough for all of us."
"Yeah? How about Billy?" Mia made a face and Frank gave a short bark of laughter. "Saw you guys on a couple of magazine covers."
"Ugh. I thought that I would at least be able to escape that nonsense with you." Tilting her head to the side, Mia asked, "Do you know Billy? I know that you wouldn't waste your time reading any of those magazines, so how did you know his name?"
He shifted uncomfortably. "We served together," he answered shortly. Mia knew there was more to it, so she quietly waited. Finally, Frank whispered, "He was their godfather. My brother."
Mia's stomach dropped. She hadn't expected that. "I…" she struggled to find words. "Why…"
She really hadn't expected this. Hadn't expected the broken father that was Frank to have been so close to a man like Billy. It made her rethink her opinion on the other man. Perhaps the look in his eyes wasn't because he was a bad person but because of loss. Maybe he feigned emotions because it was easier than actually bringing himself to care. Mia could understand that.
Should she tell Frank that? Let him know that his friend didn't seem okay? Or would that just be cruel?
Frank knew what she wasn't asking. "He has a life now. A good one. Doesn't need me getting in the way."
Before now, she'd wondered if she had any more heart to break. Now she knew.
Mia still cared too much.
Without a second thought, she walked over to Frank and slowly- slowly enough to give him time to move if he wanted- pulled him into a hug. Frank tensed and stopped breathing for a moment as Mia rested her cheek on top of his head. When she didn't say anything or make any other movements, Frank gradually relaxed.
How long had it been since Frank had been touched by anything other than violence? Was the last time he'd felt a kind hand been when his family was still alive? Probably, since it wouldn't make sense otherwise. Mia vowed to do what she could to change that. She didn't think she could make the world less cruel, but maybe she could remind Frank that there were still a few kind things out there.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. He didn't say anything in response, just continued to tremble faintly against her. Unable to help herself, Mia continued, "I think he misses you. If that's any consolation. I think he's mourning the loss of you and your family."
Frank pulled away and gruffly responded, "So? Doesn't mean that I should get him pulled into the shit with me."
"And I'm not trying to tell you that you should. All I want is for you to know that you are missed. That there are people out there who still care about you. Even if your friends aren't here beside you, it doesn't mean that you're alone." Mia bit her lip, trying to find the right words. "It's alright to take comfort in that- you're not a terrible person for feeling relieved or happy that you're missed. It's nice to know that you made as big an impact on someone else's life as they did on yours."
He slowly met her gaze. "Don't you go telling him about this, alright?" Frank instructed. "Don't bring Billy into this."
"I won't," Mia promised, glad to be giving a promise she wouldn't have to break.
"Why are we meeting here?" Mia asked, sitting down across from Jessica. It was a nice, quaint little coffee shop and not at all Jessica's style. If the place didn't serve alcohol, then Jessica wouldn't be sitting down there.
Jessica scowled. "Because I said so."
Now that she was right in front of her, Mia could see the deep bags under Jessica's eyes and the dirty white shirt under her black jacket. Jessica had never seemed to be anywhere close to the word 'fine' in the entire time Mia had known her, but this was… She threw up several charms. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Instead of answering, Jessica tossed a folder on the table. "What the fuck are you doing?" she demanded.
Mia lifted the top of the folder and then immediately let it fall closed. She closed her eyes, forcing herself to breathe deeply a few times in order to quell her nausea. Frank had told her that his family had been shot multiple times but seeing it for herself made it so much more real. That boy couldn't have been more than 10 years old and his body looked almost shredded from the number of bullets that tore through him.
"When you hired me, you said that you thought Samantha Reyes was a corrupt official that had been missed during the reviews after Fisk," Jessica hissed, leaning forward. "I've met Reyes before and yeah, she's a fucking bitch who only cares about making herself look good, but she didn't exactly come across as corrupt. What do I know though? So, when I broke into her house, I was expecting to find paperwork showing she'd been taking bribes or some shit like that- not a file full of pictures of dead kids."
"I'm sorry," Mia told her, genuinely regretful. "I knew that she had some evidence in her place, but I truly hadn't considered the consequences of not informing you about what you might find."
Studying her closely, Jessica finally seemed to decide that the apology was sincere. "I looked up the date that was on some of the paperwork. The only thing reported as happening that day at Central Park was a gang shooting. No civilian casualties were reported."
"Reyes is covering up what happened there for reasons still unknown." Mia took the file and carefully slid it into her bag. "There was a family of four caught up in the crossfire from the gangs and only the father survived. The official reports say that the family were casualties of a drive-by shooting. She tried to have the father killed twice while he was at the hospital and is hunting him still."
Jessica sat back in her chair. "I read the reports. Reyes was apparently in charge of a sting operation to capture a new drug dealer going by the name Blacksmith. The gangs were supposed to meeting up with Blacksmith at the park, but he didn't show, and they got into a shoot-out. She's covering up what happened to that family- the Castle's- in order to save her own ass. The press would skin her alive in they found out what happened."
Mia took a deep breath, forcing herself to remain objective. If what Jessica said was true- and Mia had no reason to doubt her- then she now had even more questions that they needed to find the answers to. "DA's and their offices are not supposed to be in charge of sting operations," Mia started, drumming her fingers on the table. "And, even if they were, she should have cleared the park of any civilians before the meet up time."
"A meeting between a drug lord and three gangs in a public park in broad daylight screams 'trap' to me," Jessica muttered. "Real question is who they were after. Cops? Or the Castle's?" At the questioning look Mia sent her, Jessica snorted. "Cops found out about the meetup because of one of their undercover people heard about it. Blacksmith invited the gangs to meet up and then didn't show. Why? Did he know the cops would be there? Or did he set it up at the park for a reason? Maybe they were supposed to open fire on one another."
"You think the police being there was a coincidence? That the real target was someone else- was the Castle family?"
"The meeting was set right where the Castle family was. They were the only ones, other than several gang members and one cop, who ended up dead. And I have never heard of even a semi-smart drug lord setting up a meeting in the middle of the afternoon in the one of the most famous spots in New York City. Central Park is a pretty safe spot in this city; may have a lot of pick-pocketers and the occasional mugger, but not exactly a place known for shootings. So, why would the Blacksmith want to meet there?"
She was right. Put like that, it didn't make sense to believe that Frank and his family were simply there at the wrong place and time. Frank had told her before that his family went to the park that day and took their blanket down to their spot- as in a place they apparently went regularly. If someone wanted them dead, then the easiest way to disguise that was to make it seem like they were just caught in the crossfire of another crime.
"Frank didn't die though," Mia whispered. "If they wanted all of them dead then he's still a target by the Blacksmith, or whoever made the order."
"Maybe they don't know that." Jessica scooted her chair back. "Reyes covered up the crime. They might think that Frank's dead. Reyes is a shitty person for covering up the crime to save herself, but she might have saved Frank's life. Or, the cop could have been the real target and the Castle's were just collateral, so it doesn't matter that one made it out."
It would be nice and convenient if the officer was who they were after, but those two adjectives had never been applied to any part of her life. Mia knew better.
Perhaps they had thought that Frank was dead before and that was why he wasn't currently a target. But Mia couldn't imagine they still did, not with the press constantly discussing the increasing number of deaths involving members of the Dogs of Hell, the Kitchen Irish, and the Mexican Cartel. Sooner or later, they would come after Frank again. But in order to find out who they were, Mia was going to need to find out why.
When Frank had called and asked for her to meet him, Mia's mind had immediately jumped to all the possible ways his plans for the Irish could have gone wrong. She wondered how badly he was injured and if she knew enough healing charms to be able to help him. Mia had been meaning to learn more than the handful she had memorized for the Horcrux hunt but now that she had become effectively immortal, they had become less of a priority. As long as she knew enough to be able to heal Tony when he blew himself up, and enough to save a person from certain death, then it was good enough.
Her father would be so disappointed at such lazy thinking.
However, when she met him in front of the entrance to his base, the last thing Mia had expected was to find a pitbull standing next to him.
"Hello," she greeted, eyeing Frank closely for injuries before turning her attention to his companion. There was gauze taped above his eye and on his front left paw. "Who's this?"
"Kitchen Irish had him," Frank grunted. "Used him in a dog fighting ring."
Mia couldn't help smiling. Frank had saved this dog and taken him with him rather than leave him for the police to find. "You're a good man, Frank." He stiffened at the compliment and she sighed. "Are you both alright?"
As per usual, Frank ignored her question. "One of them got away. Can you watch him for me?"
Flicking her eyes between the dog and the man dressed in black from head to toe, Mia realized, "You plan on keeping him, don't you?"
Frank shifted uncomfortably. "Pitbulls have a bad rep," he said defensively. "Any shelter would probably put him down once they figure out he was a fighting dog."
"I didn't say that it was a bad thing," she told him, keeping her tone even.
Kneeling down, Mia studied the dog closely. He had to be in an incredible amount of pain, yet he still kept quiet at Frank's side. She would have expected him to be scared and defensive- like Frank, really- but instead he seemed calm and content. Like he knew he was safe now. "Hello," she greeted him, vague memories of interacting with Hagrid's dog Fang coming back to her.
The dog shuffled forward cautiously, leaning forward a bit to sniff at her. Mia stayed still, allowing him to grow comfortable with her presence. When he moved closer, she carefully held out her hand. "May I see your paw?"
Snorting, Frank told her, "You don't have to be polite. He's still a dog."
"He's not stupid, Frank," she retorted softly. "We don't know how the Irish trained him and what commands he can follow. If they've had him since he was a puppy, then it's likely he's been taught to follow at least basic instructions." Mia may have also been using a bit of magic to allow the dog to more easily understand her. Her father had always had a way with animals, and he'd taught her some of his tricks.
Sitting back on his hind legs, the dog lifted his injured paw and set it lightly in her hand.
"The fuck?" Frank muttered.
Mia grinned. "See. He's very intelligent." Carefully peeling off the bandage, she studied the wound. The jagged holes appeared to be a bite and it seemed deep. "Was he used in a fight tonight? It looks barely healed."
"Seems like it."
Memories of her Care of Magical Creature's studies came to the front of her mind and, without thinking, Mia muttered an animal-friendly healing spell. In seconds, the dog's paw was completely healed and, after jerking his paw back with a soft yip of surprise, the dog was checking over his limb.
She had immediately realized her mistake after she'd done it. Mia had used magic in front of Frank. Her eyes fell closed and she silently cursed. Why had she been so careless? Better yet, when had she become so careless?
While Mia had known that it was likely that Frank would find out about at least some of her abilities if she continued spending time with him, this wasn't how she planned on it happening. How was she going to explain it to him now though?
Instead of looking shocked, confused, scared, angry, or any other reasonable emotion for this situation, Frank just seemed faintly surprised. "So, you're magical," he stated, as though it was nothing. Like her secret was only a step above common.
Mia's jaw dropped. "You know about magic?"
He nodded. "Met a few locals during my tour who had abilities. Don't know much, but I know some."
"And they were… friendly?"
Giving her a look, Frank snapped, "Not everybody over there is a terrorist. Thought you'd be smart enough to know that."
Scowling at him, Mia retorted, "I do know that. However, it's unusual to hear of someone non-magical encountering a witch or wizard and being allowed to keep their memories in a situation other than that they were attacked with magic and miraculously managed to escape."
Relaxing, Frank elaborated, "Helped save a woman and her kid from a couple of assholes. The kid was scared and made one of the guys catch on fire which was weird but hey, everyone had heard of the Hulk by then and Captain America had just come off the ice- standards for unusual were changing. She told me a bit about a magic and that was it. Think she didn't bother doing anything to me because no one would have believed me anyway."
Mia couldn't help chuckling as she straightened up. "You never say what I think you will," she commented with a sigh. "This isn't the place to talk about it though. Before I abscond for the night with your dog, I will need to know his name."
"Doesn't have one."
"That's unacceptable. If you won't name him, I will."
"Fine. I'll come get him tomorrow."
"You two need to get your shit together!" Clint hissed, looking back and forth between Loki and Carol.
The two immortals had contacted the archer to discuss their daughter's latest mission. They knew that she was searching for Bucky and hunting down any HYDRA agents with specific ties to the Winter Soldier Project and that they had finally located Karpov.
"Excuse me?" Carol snapped, glaring at Clint.
He was past caring about pissing her off though. "Look, I get that you two are having issues right now. I understand. But your fight is stressing out Mia even if she's pretending like it isn't and it's not okay. You know how much pressure she's under right now and how messed up she is; she doesn't need the fact that you two are fighting about her on top of all that!"
"You know nothing about this," Loki sneered. "Do not think that because you are assisting our child it makes you irreplaceable."
"You're still on thin ice after that comment about Dumbledore," Carol reminded him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Don't get cocky now just because we didn't kill you on sight."
Clint rolled his eyes. "If you were gonna kill me, you would have done it by now. You know that Mia would be heartbroken if I died and that my death would be the thing to fully tip her over to the dark side."
Carol rolled her eyes. "Oh my god. Sometimes I think you're intelligent and then you talk, and I have to reevaluate everything."
"Mia is our daughter," Loki reminded him, seeming both proud and tired. "Our powers and abilities run through her veins and guide her hand. She is not meant to fit into your simple and ever-changing definitions of 'good' or 'evil' for she is beyond such descriptors."
Throwing his hands in the air, Clint declared, "I understand that you see yourself as a god, Loki, but you're not. You're not a god, Carol's not a god, and Mia is not a god- nobody's a god!"
"Maybe not in the traditional, human sense of the word," Carol allowed. "But Mia's as close to one as you'll ever encounter. Her powers and abilities- her life- is beyond your understanding. The more you push her and try to force her to conform to your ideas, the more she's going to push back. And if Mia really put her mind to it, she could shatter ever idea you've ever held and everything you've ever thought you understood about this world."
Loki stepped forward and leaned in close to Clint. "I did not involve you in this so you could question every move Mia makes- every choice we make," he told him softly. "You are meant to support and guide Mia as she prepares for the fights that she will be forced to take part in over the coming years. If you are unable to do that, then we have no use for you. Remember that."
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