AUTHOR's NOTES: May 22nd, 2021
Hey guys! I am so sorry that this chapter is a couple days late. School, work and life was insanely busy this week. This chapter is 26 pages not including the authors note so I hope that is enough to tide you guys over for the week.
As always I As always I have to give credit to my Beta's Rhi my editor who fixes all my fuck ups and Luke our marvel expert. The Jack MacFarland to my Karen Walker, The Cory Matthews to my Shawn Hunter, the Woody to my Buzz Lightyear (Yes, I will keep adding more every week because Luke HATES it).
Time for the Q and A, so if you have any pressing questions please ask them. I read every single comment so if you have questions, chances are they will be answered.
Fatalromance: I already messaged you about this but I still am not sure how I am going to incorporate Happy and the wizarding world yet. But I can promise you it will be interesting. I really want to have Happy and his family connect to have it's own moment in a chapter or even a whole chapter to itself. But that might take awhile because I have the next couple of chapters all planned out.
Sheraal: The plan is to incorporate everything that happens in the canon world of the Harry Potter universe. So yes the plan is for Hermione's torture to occur. I have a whole scene in my head on how Tony, Pepper as well as anyone else who will come in the future find out about it. As far as Sharon goes, I'm not the biggest fan of her either, but I do like her a little more after TFATWS. She is Hermione's cousin so she will make some appearances but then again she does work for SHIELD so she is away on missions a lot.
CallaRose4Ever: The adamantium arm is something that will be explained in the next one or two chapters. But yes he will have his signature metal arm.
saralinn: I do have a Beta, two of them! Keep in mind we are all highschool students and are mediocre at English. You of course deserve a fangirl rant as your fic was one of the fics that inspired me to write this one.
crity2re: I'm glad you liked it. You are correct, Bucky didn't fall off the train and went down with Steve on the plane at the end of First Avenger. Truly proving that he was there for Steve till the end of the line. They woke up together and have gone through this whole experience together. Hermione is a little young to be with Bucky right now but she is 17 and at the end of the war she is 18 or 19 so that is perfectly okay with me. You are right he is definitely a great candidate.
Also don't forget to follow this fic's instagram bonus content. Anyways I hope you like this chapter and without further ado I present this week's chapter. Enjoy.
June 22nd, 2012 London, England (7:25pm)
Hermione hung up with phone with her cousin and decided to listen to the nurse. She needed to sleep. It had been an insane few hours and she really needed rest. Before she forgot, there was something she had to mention to Tony.
"Before I sleep there is something you should know. Once I am discharged, I should be able to use my wand to heal my leg. This cast is bloody annoying and I just want it off." Hermione said to him, and before he went off and talked with Professor McGonagall about what she said, she explained it more carefully. "Most witches and wizards are not allowed to use magic outside of school until the age of 17 it is the law. However I am technically 17."
At Tony's confused look she continued: "In my third year, I was allowed to use a time turner. It allowed me to travel a couple hours in the past. I was given special permission by my ministry to use the time turner so that I would be able to attend more classes. Meaning there were multiple versions of myself attending class at the same time."
Tony was silent before bursting out into a howling laughter. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. His daughter found a way to time travel for the sole purpose of being able to attend more classes. If the DNA test wasn't enough evidence that she was his daughter, the time travel to attend class thing was proof enough. Hermione blushed slightly from embarrassment, but she understood where Tony's laughter was coming from.
"Okay, so unlike other people in your grade you can use magic without breaking the law? Did I get that right?" Tony asked, Hermione nodded. "Okay, as soon as we get you discharged from this hospital you can heal your leg and I'll be able to get the cast off. Now you heard what the nurse said, get some rest for an hour or two and I'll get the discharge papers written up."
Hermione nodded and turned over onto her side, letting sleep consume her. Before she closed her eyes, she could see Tony flagging down a nurse, probably to get the discharge paperwork. 'He doesn't want to leave me alone,' Hermione thought to herself. She could hardly believe that this was now her life, but she was excited to see where it would go.
Hermione got a good hour and a half of sleep before she woke up with a start. The nightmares of the crash had been the cause of her quick start, and the memories haunted her mind even once she was awake. She was suddenly aware of her dad rubbing her arm in an attempt to comfort her. Tony pulled her into a tight hug as Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head in his shoulder. Hermione didn't know tears were falling from her eyes until she pulled away from Tony and saw where the dampness of her tears had soaked his shirt. She looked at the damp spot and looked up to Tony apologetically.
"It's okay. I got like a million shirts at home, and this can be washed." Tony reassured her. He could see Hermione was unsettled with whatever happened in the nightmare that awoke his daughter, so he decided to tell her the good news. "The discharge paperwork is all signed so we can leave whenever you are ready."
"What about Happy, Pepper, and Professor McGonagall?" Hermione asked. She was too tired to think of the most likely answer which was that Tony had already figured all of this out.
"They are going to meet us at the hotel and Pepper said she had some…" he cleared his throat loudly "...funeral details to discuss with you." Tony told her, Hermione's eyes began to water again at the thought of her parents' funeral. Tony wanted to quickly distract her from this situation. "The good news is you're all packed and ready to go. I have so much planned, Disney World… You've never been before, right? I got a couple tickets on Broadway booked and a couple more surprises, so we are going to have a busy summer."
Tony tossed a box lightly onto Hermione's hospital bed. She picked it up and had opened the box before realizing what it was. She gasped slightly, seeing it was a new cell phone. She owned a phone, of course, but her parents refused to spend money on an expensive phone that she would only use 2 months out of the year. So she had an old flip phone her mum had owned from the early 2000's. This was a smartphone and Hermione couldn't be more grateful, she was sure her old phone would have been lost in the crash so having a new phone would be great. Then she realised this was the newest phone on the market, it would have cost Tony a bloody fortune.
"T-Tony this is too much. This must have cost a bloody fortune-" Hermione was in the middle of her protest when Tony silenced her.
"Kid...Hermione, you are going to have to learn very quickly that stuff like this," Tony said gesturing to the phone. "Is pennies for me. Besides I've missed out on 16, nearly 17 years of your life and I have to make up for it somehow. Now I don't have access to time travel like you so I'll just have to use my money to make up for lost time."
Hermione went to speak again and tell him that she didn't need anything fancy. But was once again swiftly interrupted by Tony. "Just ask Pepper. She's used to all the crap I pull and you'll have to get used to it too. I've already programmed Happy, Pepper and your cousin Sharon's numbers into the phone as well as my own. You'll also notice a number for James Rhodes. You'll meet him when we get to New York. He's a close friend of mine and will help you with anything if you need it. Now Pepper, Happy and Minerva are already on the way to the hotel, so I am going to get a nurse to wheel you out to the car outside and we will be on our way. That sounds alright to you?"
Hermione nodded as Tony left to get a nurse. She couldn't wait to leave this hospital. It reminded her too much of what she'd lost. Her parents died in this hospital, she should've been like them. It was her magic that had protected her. It was the instinct of her magic to protect her, it just didn't react fast enough to protect them. She could've protected them or saved them with her magic. It would've been easy had she been able to contact Dumbledore, or McGonagall, or Madame Pomfrey. It was all her fault, she hadn't been fast enough.
Tony walked into the room, nurse in tow, when he saw Hermione crying her eyes out. He told the nurse to wait for a couple of minutes and she nodded standing out in the hallway. He walked over to Hermione and pulled her close so her head rested on his shoulder, as he had done so many times in the last couple of hours.
"Tell me what you're thinking, just let it all out." Tony whispered while his daughter cried. It was a new feeling for Tony. Utter helplessness. Even during his kidnapping he had never felt like this. Unless you've done it yourself you will never understand the feeling of holding your child while they are in pain mentally or physically. Not being able to do a damn thing that can make it better. Hermione took in some shaky breaths before attempting to tell Tony her thoughts from the last several minutes.
He heard her mutter some latin phrase and saw her make a strange hand movement. He could only assume she was casting a spell. What Tony didn't know is that Hermione, Harry and Ron had been practicing some wandless spells in the DA last year. While Harry and Ron hadn't been powerful enough to do a silencing spell wandlessly yet, Hermione had been practicing and figured with the nurse being right outside it was the perfect time to use that spell.
"I-It's all my fault. I could'v-ve helped them. I could've saved them. I-I-If I had just been strong enough to contact McGonagall or my schools nurse, they would still be here…" Hermione's voice trailed off as she once again began crying. Tony knew this was coming. The survivors guilt. He pulled back so that he could look her in the face as he told her this:
"Hermione, there is NOTHING you could have done to prevent this. On my way here I looked at the case file for what happened. A truck came out of nowhere and your car swerved into a pole. They are still looking for the truck that caused it and I won't rest until I figure it out okay?" Tony told her. "It was a complete accident there was nothing that could have been done to prevent it. I know what you're feeling right now, I felt the same way when my folks died. It should not have been you. You are here for a reason. You survived for a reason. I didn't know your dad but I grew up with your mom. She wouldn't have wanted you to feel like this. She would have wanted you to live your life."
Tony's words took a couple minutes to sink in before Hermione muttered 'you're right'. She was of course still devastated. But Tony was right. Her mum would have wanted her to cry for a couple days, a week at most. Then go to America with Tony, have a great summer, then finish Hogwarts. She wouldn't have wanted Hermione to fight in the impending war, however Hermione was a Carter, the fight was in her blood.
Tony called for the nurse to come in with the wheelchair for Hermione. She said goodbye to the room she had called her home for a few hours, until Tony came to pick her up. The nurse wheeled her down the hallway and soon they were out the front doors of the hospital.
It took Hermione's eyes a couple of seconds to adjust to the daylight as she had been used to the dim lights of the hospital for the last day and a half. Once her eyes adjusted she saw a sleek black limo in front of her. She could only assume that this was their ride to the hotel. She had to remember what Tony said, 'It's gonna take a long time to ever get used to this' Hermione thought.
Tony opened the door and helped her step inside. The nurse passed Tony a pair of crutches that was then passed onto the driver to put in the boot of the car. Tony got inside so that he was sitting across from the young witch. Tony gave the driver the address to the hotel and off they went.
Hermione then remembered that Sharon wanted to hear from her if she got discharged. Hermione didn't feel like hearing the voice of her cousin, full of pity, so she decided to text her using the new phone.
Hermione: Hey Sharon, It's Hermione. I'm texting from a new phone in case you don't recognize the number. I just wanted to let you know I was discharged for the hospital and am heading to a hotel with my bio-father.
Sharon: Good to hear you were well enough to be discharged. I am slightly concerned about you heading off with a complete stranger.
Hermione knew that Sharon was only concerned for her well being, but it was slightly irritating that Sharon didn't trust her instinct. She was a Carter after all.
Hermione: Believe me Sharon once you meet him you'll realize he can be trusted. He's well known to most people.
Sharon: I have no idea what you mean by "he's well known to most people" but I will be there by the time you wake up tomorrow, there was a strange kind of storm here last night so I couldn't take off. But that doesn't matter, send me the address and I'll head to your hotel straight from the airport.
Hermione: Ok, I will get the address to you and make sure you are given access to the room. Love you. Have a safe flight.
Sharon: Love you too.
"Was that Sharon?" Tony asked his daughter curiously. He was happy she still had some family left at least, and it sounded like she had a pretty big 'found family' in the wizarding world. He was happy that if she decided to return to school, she wouldn't be alone.
Hermione nodded. "I promised her I'd let her know when I was discharged. She just wanted to know the hotel's address so she could join us from the airport."
Tony gave his daughter the address as she typed it into her phone and sent it off to her cousin.
"I'll make sure to put her on the access list for the room. They take VIP client security very seriously at this hotel so she'll have to be on a list."
Hermione nodded and was quiet for a long time. There was clearly an elephant in the room. Tony figured she must be uncomfortable. Most of the time they had been left alone at the hospital, Hermione had either been talking to her cousin or asleep. The billionaire wished there was something he could say to calm her discomfort. He knew she was hurting, and him coming, then flipping her whole world upside down did not help.
"Hey listen...You know you can talk to me right? I know it's weird and awkward right now because I basically missed your entire life. But I want to help you through this." Tony told the curly haired witch honestly. The young girl looked up from her phone to meet his eyes.
"Can I be honest with you?" Hermione asked him. Tony nodded in response, attempting to hide his smile as his daughter finally began to open up to him. "I loved my parents, and nothing will ever change that. But I always felt like the odd one out. Like my intelligence was a burden to them. Of course they were proud of me, but I think they were always guilty and ashamed that I could never advance anymore than I already did."
Hermione's confession made sense to him. Helen and her husband had a child genius. As smart as Helen was, Hermione would have been smarter. They wouldn't have been able to keep up. It's like what Hermione said about not being able to go to college at such a young age, her folks couldn't afford it. He had never had that problem, being the son of Howard Stark and all that.
"But once I went to Hogwarts we were able to travel for a week in the summer which we had never been able to do before." Hermione told Tony. "But after my first year, I only ever spent that one week in the summer with them. I'd spend the rest of the time at The Weasleys." At Tony's confused look she explained, "My best friend from school's family. I-I'm just starting to feel really really guilty."
Tony could see tears welling up in the young girl's eyes yet again and it broke his heart.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey. You lived your life in the moment and I bet your parents were happy about that. You told me that before you found out you were a-" Tony caught himself remembering that there was a driver in the car and he couldn't expose his daughter's secret. He coughed lightly before continuing. "Before you went to Hogwarts, you didn't fit in and before you found out your relation to me, you were confused about your level of intelligence. But you found people who made you feel normal, and I can promise you that your parents would never be mad at you for that. I promise you that they were proud that you were making friends and fitting in. So don't be guilty about something you should be proud of."
Hermione smiled and moved closer to Tony to give him a hug. Tony wrapped an arm around her shoulders and smiled at his daughter. At the loud sounds of horns coming from the outside of the car, Tony looked out the window and saw bumper to bumper traffic, he sighed. Tony hated traffic. That was one of the perks of being Iron Man. He could literally fly around and beat traffic anytime he wanted. However it wasn't just him in the car and he was not about to pick his daughter up and fly her around London. That would just scare the hell out of her.
"This hotel is going to take awhile to get to if this traffic continues. Why don't you get some sleep and I will wake you up when we get there." Tony told his daughter. She nodded and nestled herself in Tony's shoulder. The man smiled before he had JARVIS let Pepper know that it might be awhile due to traffic. Looking at his daughter Tony decided that traffic might not be too bad after all.
June 22nd, 2012 London, England (8:46pm)
Hermione woke up to Tony gently shaking her awake.
"Hey kid, we're here. Pepper had pizza waiting upstairs. I hope you're cool with pizza, I just figured you were hungry and Pepper has some funeral things to discuss with you. You can't really do that on an empty stomach." Tony said awkwardly. He knew that it was going to be a touchy subject for a long time and there were going to be a lot of tears tonight. But he'd been through this before. It was better to plan it all at one time to rip the bandaid off. It gives the time to grieve.
"Yeah pizza's okay." Hermione told Tony quietly. Tony looked outside and didn't see any reporters to which he let out a sigh of relief. He opened the door and led her through the hotel. They took the elevator to the top floor.
Hermione was too caught up in her thoughts to even comment on the fact they were on the top floor. She was terrified of heights, but that didn't even matter. Her thoughts consumed her far too much to be afraid at the moment. Tony knocked on the door and Happy let them in. Hermione muttered a thank you. She saw a couch in the middle of the room and walked over towards it.
Everyone in the room looked at Hermione as she walked over and sat on the couch. It was like she was in a daze or in her own world. Minerva had nothing but sympathy for the poor child. Minerva, Happy and Pepper had packed up everything and it was currently being loaded on a plane at this moment. Pepper had packed a suitcase with some clothes for Hermione and a funeral outfit but everything else was going with them to the US.
Pepper and Tony looked at each other before walking towards Hermione who looked like she was barely holding it together. Pepper kneeled in front of her.
"Are you sure you want to do this today?" Pepper asked the young girl as a tear slipped down Hermione's face. The young girl nodded shakily.
"Y-Yeah, Tony said you had something important to discuss about the f-funeral?" Hermione said, trying to be strong. She was sick of crying and just wanted all of this funeral mess behind her.
Pepper looked at Tony, worried that this was too much for her. But Tony knew that his daughter was a big girl and would only continue if she wanted it. He gestured for Pepper to continue. Pepper pulled out a small file from behind too. The will.
"Your parents had basically outlined everything they wanted in their will. Firstly, everything goes to you Hermione. Their money, house and dental practice. That is one of the things we are going to discuss-"Pepper started to get into the option Hermione would have but the young girl once again took charge. It was her way of dealing with all of this loss.
"Their money will remain in a joint account with me. I don't know what I'll do with it but I am not touching one cent of it. The house can be rented out and I can make money from that. As for the practice… Luke can run it. He was my parents' most trusted employee. He can run it for me until I figure out what to do with it." Hermione said wiping the tears from her eyes. "What about the funeral?"
Pepper was taking notes on what Hermione was saying previously, making sure she would contact the right people in the morning. She finished up her notes and pulled up her notes for the funeral planning that she had taken earlier that day.
"Your parents had basically planned out their funeral already and had a seperate account with funds for their funeral. They had plots picked out and a church that they wanted it hosted at. They didn't have any close friends on their guest list other than your cousin Sharon and a family friend named Thomas Hiddleston, I haven't been able to confirm whether or not he has been informed yet. Of course Minerva has already…"
"I've already owled , Mr. Black and the Weasley's they will be ready for whenever you need them. Arthur Weasley will then pick up Mr. Potter who has also been informed and bring him to the funeral as well. They all send their deepest condolences." McGonagall informed her student, unable to stay quiet any longer without informing the young witch that there is her family in the wizarding world who are there to support her as well.
"Owled yes that is the term you mentioned to me. As I was saying I tried to locate your parents friend…"
"Uncle Tom yes. He's my dad's best friend, but I've called him Uncle Tom since forever. He is off the grid, doesn't believe in technology so he doesn't have a phone and won't give us an address. So we don't really know when he's going to come around. My guess is he's either seen it in a newspaper or he hasn't. I would love it if he was there but I don't think he'll be able to come." Hermione explained sadly.
"Okay so I'll cross him off the list." Pepper told the young witch as she crossed Tom Hiddleston's name off her list of funeral attendants. "Now here is the biggest issue. The church your parents wanted the funeral held in according to their will, is only available for tomorrow afternoon. Meaning we'd have to have their service tomorrow, however you could hold a dinner with the attendants on a different day-"
Pepper was abruptly cut off by Hermione, "Let's do it. The sooner they are buried, the sooner they'll be at peace. That's what they always said. I never liked hearing about their deaths but they always said that they didn't want people to be grieving over them for more than a couple of days. They would've liked that, especially if they knew I would be going to America with you guys. They would've wanted me to start this new adventure as soon as I could."
Tony looked at his daughter looking for any sign of sadness or pain and found nothing. He could only see relief. With him, he wanted to hold out on a funeral as long as possible, it made his parents' death all too...real. But with Hermione it looked like she truly believed that the sooner they were buried, the sooner they would be at peace.
"Pep, would you be able to have everything ready for tomorrow?" Tony asked, knowing Pepper could pull anything off last minute.
"Absolutely. Hermione, do you want to have a dinner after the service, and if so where?" Pepper asked. She knew Tony would want to rent the whole space out for the night so she would need to book that first. Hermione nodded.
"The Fat Duck. My parents went there on their first date and every anniversary after that. They would've wanted to be remembered there." Hermione said simply. "Is that all you need?"
Pepper nodded: "Don't worry about a thing Hermione. Your parents were very specific about everything. I had pizza delivered as well, you must be starving. Leave everything to Happy and I."
Hermione stood up and gave the redhead a tight hug. Not saying a word. Tony stood where he was, smiling at the scene. Pepper didn't know what to say or do. She just decided to hug the girl back as long as she needed. Hermione waited a few seconds before pulling back.
"Thank you Pepper, for all of this. You haven't known me for more than a couple of hours and you've already gotten engaged because of me, are planning my parents' funeral and helping pack my stuff to move to America. So thank you." Hermione said genuinely to the redhead.
Pepper being overwhelmed with emotion pulled the young girl into another tight hug: "I don't want to hear anymore of that. You never have to thank me for this alright?" Pepper said to the girl as she pulled back from the hug. Pepper gestured to Happy and they both left the room to make the plans for tomorrow.
"Oh I can heal my leg now!" Hermione realised. She turned to Minerva who walked over to Hermione and summoned a chair for the girl to sit on. "I know it's better for someone else to do it and since you're here it will make it easier."
Minerva nodded. "This will hurt but only for a moment. Then I can vanish the cast. You won't have to pull out one of the saws that I know the muggles use, Mr. Stark. Ready?" Minerva asked the young witch.
Hermione nodded as she braced herself for the pain. Minerva kneeled down and took hold of the broken leg.
"Brackium Emendo." Minerva said clearly. An audible snap was heard and Hermione hissed in pain. Tony was taken by surprise given how fast the healing was. Minerva muttered another latin phrase and the cast vanished.
Hermione stood up and moved her leg around trying to get used to having a normal leg function once again. Tony stood in place letting out breathy laughs of amazement.
Minerva figured that this was her time to leave: "Miss Granger?"
"Yes Professor?" Hermione said turning around to face her professor. Tony was bringing the pizza over to the couch for them to eat.
"I'm afraid I must take my leave and return to Hogwarts." Minerva said reluctantly. It was a hard time for the young girl and the last bit of familiarity was leaving for the night. Mineva didn't want to leave, however she needed to inform those at Grimmauld Place the plan and put a protection plan in place for tomorrow. Hermione looked slightly deflated at the revelation that her professor wouldn't be there the rest of the night. But what was she thinking? She would be going to America in a couple of days and Hermione would be doing that alone.
"Of course, give my best to Sirius, Remus, Harry and the Weasley's." Hermione said walking over to her professor. Minerva smiled softly at the young girls' words. Even after the death of her parents the young witch still had exceptional manners.
"You'll see them tomorrow dear. They want to be there to support you. I believe Headmaster Dumbledore might also make an appearance." Minerva informed the young girl. Minerva held out her hand to the young brunette and Hermione shook it with a small smile. Minerva looked over Hermione to look at Tony. The man was shoving pizza in his mouth when the older woman said, "It was a pleasure to meet you Mr. Stark. Please say goodbye to Ms. Potts and Mr. Hogan for me. I will see you all tomorrow."
With that the older women Apparated. Tony, who had still been looking as the older women disappeared, choked on the piece of pizza he had been eating. Hermione who had been watching Tony to see his reaction began cackling like a madwoman. It was the first time Tony had heard his daughter laugh like truly laughing, but he could barely register it because a woman just disappeared!
"C-Can you do that?" Tony asked his mind reeling at the possibility of his daughter being able to teleport!
"Well I am technically 17 and I did teach myself, however just like driving you need to have a license to apparate." Hermione explained smiling. She walked towards the couch and jumped over the cushions, sitting next to Tony. She grabbed a piece of pizza and began eating. She hadn't even realized how hungry she was until she had a piece of that pizza.
"Apparate?" Tony asked, his daughter giggled and nodded.
"Yes that's what we call it." Hermione explained. "Can we rent a movie? I already slept at the hospital and in the car."
Tony smiled. Finally some common ground. Of course he wanted to get to know his daughter, however those conversations will come naturally. He just needed to be patient. However, watching a movie with his kid was good enough for him.
"Sure, watcha want to watch?" Tony used the remote to scroll through the films. He wasn't used to the remotes since he had JARVIS so using one made him feel really old school.
"That one!" Hermione said. Tony looked and saw Hermione had chosen 'The Princess Bride'. Tony looked at his daughter, who only shrugged. "It's my favorite film. Mum and Dad couldn't stand it so Uncle Tom always watched it with me whenever he was over. I just don't want to watch any films that remind me of them...I-I don't want to cry anymore."
Tony looked at his daughter and in that moment he realized just how strong of a woman she actually was. He could bet she was a card shark too with that poker face. He knew she was dealing with this really fast which is how he dealt with his parent's death. Tony knew he'd have to keep Hermione from copying the same way he did. Sex and alcohol.
While the movie started playing, Tony looked at his daughter and realized he had nothing to worry about. Hermione was stronger than he ever was. Together they watched the movie. The both of them quoting all the famous lines in unison.
Pepper and Happy walked into the room a couple hours after McGonagall had left and saw Tony with his daughter, cuddled up and sleeping on the couch. Pepper quickly snapped a photo of the two sleeping Starks as Pepper and Happy retreated to their rooms for the evening.
June 23rd, 2012 London, England (9:15am)
Tony woke up to the sound of a knock on the door and someone shouting 'room service'. He was about to sit up when he realized that something or someone was weighing him down. Hermione had been sleeping on his shoulder but had woken up when Tony had tried to move.
"Tony?" Hermione whispered in a groggy voice. It was then that Pepper ran into the room to answer the door. A waiter brought in some food before Pepper tipped the man generously before he left the room. It was in that moment Pepper realized that the Stark duo had been woken up.
"Oh Hermione I'm so sorry, I wasn't trying to wake you." Pepper apologized. Tony stood there slightly insulted.
"And what, did you mean to wake me up?" Tony said pretending to be wounded.
"Yesterday was a big day for you Tony. But today my focus is Hermione." Pepper said. Tony pouted while Hermione got her first clear look at the size of the room they were in. There was a corridor that looked like it went on forever. Even just the living area alone was three times the size of the one at home. Hermione stared in awe at the room and was only pulled out after she heard Pepper say her name.
"You think this is big? Just wait until you get home? The living room alone is the size of this entire suite." Pepper joked as Hermione started eating. "There is one last thing we need to discuss. When do you want to fly back to the US? We can wait a couple of days if you want-"
"No!" Hermione said. "I-I can't stay after the funeral. I need to be away from England for awhile before I can consider it home again. C-Can we leave after the dinner? I don't really want to stick afterwards."
"Tony?" Pepper asked, looking for a second opinion. No knowing what to say to the young witch's idea. Tony was shocked but after he thought about it he understood.
"It's because of Sharon and Peggy right?" Tony asked Hermione. She nodded and put down the fork she was using.
"All of my family is in New York now. Grandma Peggy, Sharon, all of you. I mean I still want to finish school here but I need to be with my family right now. It's not like I can ask all of you to move to England." Hermione explained.
"If that's what you really want we can leave tonight." Tony told his daughter, delving into his own food. "Are you able to get the jet fueled up and ready?" He asked Pepper, she nodded before starting to leave the room.
"Um Pepper?" Hermione asked. The redhead turned around to look at the brunette. "What time do we have to leave for the…" But Hermione couldn't finish her sentence.
"It's at 4:30 so we will have to leave around 4. So you should start getting ready around 2:45. I can help you get ready unless you want to use that time to catch up with Sharon. Speaking of what time is she getting in?" Pepper asked. Hermione then realized she hadn't checked her phone that morning. Hermione ran over to the couch and picked up her phone from between the cushions. 6 missed messages from Sharon.
(9:36pm)Sharon: Taking off now.
(10:32pm)Sharon: Delayed due to storm. Got a message from a "Pepper Potts" isn't that Tony Stark's chick? What the hell is she messaging me for? So the funeral is tomorrow? I'll try to get there as soon as I can if this plane ever takes off
(11:39pm)Sharon: I know there is a time difference and you're probably asleep but how the hell are you in contact with Tony Stark's assistant? Does this have something to do with this whole mystery dad thing?
(2:30am)Sharon: Taking off now. The airport I'm landing in Heathrow so it should only take me an hour to get to your hotel once I land. Turning my phone off. Can't wait to see you. Night.
(8:34am)Sharon: Just landed. Have to wait for luggage, I should be there in an hour and a bit.
(9:06am)Sharon: In a taxi on my way now. Should be there in about 40 minutes. Love you.
"Shit." Hermione said after reading through all the messages. She looked up to answer Pepper. "She'll be here in about 30 minutes. I just got all of her texts from last night."
"No worries." Pepper said. "I'll have lunch delivered for 11:30 since she'll probably be hungry. Even if you guys aren't you should still probably eat. All of your clothes are in the room down this hallway, on your first left. I hung up a black dress that I thought would be… appropriate, if you need help putting it on just let me know."
Pepper left the room to go over final details with Happy. Hermione looked down at her plate sadly and pushed it away. Tony looked at her with a concerned look on his face.
"I'm not really hungry anymore. I'm going to go get dressed." Hermione said as she walked to the room Pepper had mentioned.
Tony didn't know what to do. On one hand he thought that Hermione might just need some space. On the other hand he didn't want to leave her alone because that was what he wanted and look how he turned out. Well turned out before he became Iron Man.
'When did I become so paternal?' Tony asked himself. It was true, over the past 48 hours Tony's life changed for the better. But somehow within 48 hours he became some overprotective and proud father. It was a weird change and definitely a strange feeling. Who knew Tony Stark would become the fatherly type?
June 23rd, 2012 London, England (9:34am)
Hermione looked through some of the clothes Pepper had packed for her and chose some light wash jeans and a purple jumper to wear before the funeral. She didn't want to put on the funeral outfit. Not yet. She did stare at it for awhile though. It was a black lace 50's retro dress that Hermione's mum had found at a thrift store and Hermione had fallen in love with it. Beside the hung dress Hermione saw a fastener that her mum had worn the day of Princess Diana's funeral. 'Even if I couldn't be there myself to pay respects to the people princess. I was still going to dress up and watch it on the tellie to show my respect.' Hermione recalled some her mum had told her about that day.
Even though it was the most British thing she could wear to a funeral and even if it was a bit cliche Hermione knew her mum would've had a kick out of it. Even though she'd just gotten dressed, Hermione decided to take a quick shower which only took her a few minutes because that's the type of fast showering you do at Hogwarts. Hermione was in and out in less than 5 minutes. She brushed her teeth and found another message from Sharon.
Sharon: Here now, just entered the lobby. Checking through security and I will be right up.
Hermione: Ok will see you in a bit.
Hermione left her room and reentered the common area of the suite. Tony, Happy, Pepper, were all in the common area going over the plans for when they get back to New York. Once Hermione entered the room they all looked up and quieted down.
"Sharon in the lobby...she's on the way up." Hermione finished her sentence and then there was a knock on the door. Pepper looked at Hermione who made no sign of moving. Pepper walked towards the door and opened it.
A mid-height woman stepped inside the room. She had shoulder-length wavy blonde hair, and beautiful chocolate brown eyes. She was curvy, yet still fairly thin. The women looked around with wide eyes until they settled on Hermione. The woman dropped her suitcase and ran.
The two girls ran to each other and met in the middle, pulling themselves into a tight embrace. Sharon and Hermione were to only two people in their own little world. Pepper and Tony could hear the whispering to each other then sobbing uncontrollably.
No one knew how long they stood in their embrace but when they pulled back, the two girls had tear stained faces as well as red blotchy eyes. Sharon still had her phone on her and got a notification, making her check her phone. It was then the girls realized that they'd been standing there crying for 20 minutes. Hermione wiped her eyes and looked at the 3 other adults in the room, who were doing a very poor job pretending that they weren't watching this interaction between the two girls.
"Umm...Sharon this is Happy, Pepper and my biological father, Tony Stark." Hermione said, introducing her cousin to everyone who had been taking care of her the last couple of days. Sharon stood in place looking at her cousin in shock.
"I'm sorry, what?" Sharon asked her cousin, Hermione went to speak again but Sharon held up a hand to silence her. "What. The. Actual. Hell?"
So Hermione went in the whole story with Tony, Happy and Pepper helping to fill in the blanks. They of course left out the part about Hermione being a witch because as close as Hermione was to Sharon, the young blond couldn't know. After they finished their explanation, it took a while for Sharon to speak again.
"Wow. So you'll be in New York during the summers." Sharon stated simply. Hermione smiled at her comment.
"Yeah pretty much. I'll be able to help you with Grandma Peggy and we can actually see each other all the time. When you aren't at work of course." Hermione said somewhat happily.
"Yeah it'll be great." Sharon said putting an arm around her cousin. "Just do me a favour and stay away from SHIELD. You're a Carter which means to them you are valuable." Hermione nodded in agreement. She had no intentions of becoming an agent like her cousin. The young witch was far more interested in aiding the welfare of magical creatures.
"How do you know about SHIELD?" Tony asked, surprised. I mean he understood they were descendants of Peggy and all that but SHIELD liked to keep a pretty low profile. Most employees weren't even allowed to tell their spouses what their real jobs were.
"I work for SHIELD. Following in the Carter footsteps. I was recruited right out of school by Phil Coulson. You would've met him not too long ago." Sharon explained.
"Phil! Yes we met him not too long ago. Tony isn't a fan, but he's a good person." Pepper commented at hearing the name of the familiar agent. Tony was more concerned about Sharon's warning about SHIELD.
"So is Hermione on SHIELDS radar or what?" Tony asked concerned for his daughter's well being. Tony's hacked into SHEILD files before and saw the kind of shit they deal with. He didn't want his daughter to be forced into that kind of work. He didn't want her involved with SHIELD at all but that wasn't his choice to make.
"Only high level personnel know that Hermione exists. It's harder for them to track her because she doesn't live in direct contact with SHIELD. My parents were both agents and so was our grandmother." Sharon explained. "Because Hermione's parents were both dentists and had no connection to SHIELD, she wouldn't be as well known as me. However it is still SHIELD and they have access to information you couldn't even imagine." Sharon turned to look at Hermione "So just be careful Hermione."
Tony checked the time on his watch and realized quite a bit of time had passed and they all had to start getting ready soon. Pepper asked if the girls needed any help but Sharon and Hermione wanted time to themselves. Hermione had to prepare Sharon to meet her friends from the wizarding world. Hermione was sure that her professor had told her wizarding family that they needed to dress and act as muggle as possible. But it wasn't easy for the Weasley's to pretend to be muggle so Hermione had to come up with an explanation for their potentially odd behavior.
The girls walked into Hermione's room and Sharon began to unpack her outfit for the funeral. Unlike Hermione's very traditional look, Sharon had a suit that she likely wore for important work meetings. Before Sharon changed she offered to help tame Hermione's hair into a somewhat manageable look. Hermione agreed knowing that there was no hope in even attempting to put her hair into an updo, as it would just fall out with any slight movement.
The girls moved slightly over to a vanity in the room. Hermione sat down as Sharon began to brush out her hair.
"They would be so proud of you. How you're handling all this. Not just their deaths but even Tony Stark's arrival." Sharon commented to the bushy haired brunette, giving a slight smile while looking at Hermione through the mirror. "Besides, they always wanted to come join Grandma Peg and I in New York. They just wanted to wait until after you graduated."
"Yeah. I was all for it even then. Now I have a legitimate excuse to go." Hermione said. "I still plan on finishing out the rest of my schooling here though." Sharon was still only a quarter of the way brushing through Hermione's hair.
"I don't blame you. I remember you used to call me all the time, crying because you felt like a weirdo." Sharon said, Hermione smiled at the memory. Even though it wasn't a happy time for her, it kept her in contact with her cousin constantly. "But after you went away to that boarding school, well...I don't think I've ever seen you so happy."
Hermione smiled and thought about how much had changed over the years. She used to be such a bossy little know-it-all. Even though she's not as little or bossy anymore, the know-it-all portion was still very much present. It was all so different now. She had endless amounts of friends and family from the wizarding world. If Tony hadn't come around, Hermione probably would've retreated into her little witchy world permanently.
"Yeah, the people at the school really helped me with my confidence and all of that. Actually you'll be able to meet them today, I've invited them to the funeral." Hermione informed Sharon in an even tone. Hermione was worried that Sharon would launch herself into her 'family business only' speech. But instead Sharon was smiling
"I can't wait to meet the people who helped turn my little cousin into this fierce little firecracker I know today." Sharon said shaking Hermione's shoulders playfully, before putting the brush down. "All done. I'm gonna put on my suit. Let me know if you need help zipping up your dress."
Sharon grabbed her suit and went to change in the bathroom that was attached to the room. Hermione knew that this was her time to talk to Sharon about how her friends from the wizarding world were 'different'.
"Hey Sharon?" Hermione called into the bathroom.
"What's up?" Sharon asked from the bathroom.
"So when you meet my friends and their family today, don't be surprised if they are a little weird." Hermione said vaguely, then cringing at her own words. Sharon was quiet until the door opened to reveal a newly changed Sharon.
"What do you mean weird?" Sharon asked as she walked over to the vanity to fix her hair.
"Well most of them live in a town with no electricity or media from outside of the town, so they may be very amazed with some of the things they see." Hermione explained, hoping that Sharon would buy it. Hermione had always been a proficient liar, which wasn't always the case at Hogwarts.
Hermione walked over to her dress and pulled it off the hanger. She pulled on the dress and attempted to zip it up but was unsuccessful. Sharon walked over and zipped it up for her, before turning Hermione around by the shoulders. Sharon grabbed Hermione fastener and helped her fasten it to head.
"So they're like Amish?" Sharon asked curiously. Hermione shook her head.
"No they just have been raised without all that stuff so they don't see the point of having it now." Hermione explained simply. She didn't want her cousin to think that they'll show up dressed like the Amish.
"Hermione! Sharon! Time to go. Car's waiting." Happy called from the living room. The two girls looked at each other before sighing sadly. Sharon and Hermione slowly went to grab each other's hands as if they were 5 years old and about to cross the street for the first time. This was a journey they were destined to take together. They reluctantly stepped out the door together.
The car ride was silent on the way to the church. No one said anything as they stepped in the car and no one made any attempt to break the silence. Sharon and Hermione maintained the lock of their hands. It wasn't until the car stopped in front of the church that Hermione and Sharon even looked up from their laps.
Hermione looked out the window and saw Remus, Sirius, Harry and the Weasley's standing outside the church all dressed in black. Sirius kept his hair over his face and wore a top hat with a tailcoat as if he were a member of the royal family. Hermione knew that he wore it to distract everyone from his face, because he was still a wanted man, he had to stay hidden. Remus was wearing an old wore suit that looked about 3 sizes too big on his lanky frame. Harry was wearing a suit that wasn't big enough to be Dudley's, but was still too big, which meant it had to be one of Sirius'. The Weasley's wouldn't have had time or money to shop for any funeral appropriate clothing so they must have transfigured clothes they already had.
Even though their outfits were different, they all wore the same expression of hurt and sympathy for Hermione as she stepped out of the car, finally letting go of Sharon's hand. Harry was the first to walk towards her. Hermione heard the clicking of her heels as she slowly walked over to her friend. Once she reached Harry she looked up to meet his eyes and any bit of strength she had melted away. At the tears in her eyes Harry pulled the brunette witch into a tight hug as she sobbed.
Everyone's expression dropped as they heard Hermione sob into her best friend's shoulder. It was a long time before Hermione pulled up from her friend's shoulder. She only pulled back when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
Hermione looked behind her and saw Tony giving her a small smile. Hermione regained her composure and decided it was time to make introductions before the worst couple hours of her life.
"Harry, Remus, Sirius, Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Ron, Fred, George, this is my biological father, Tony Stark. My cousin Sharon. As well as my dad's fiance Pepper Potts and our security guard Happy Hogan." Hermione said still wiping the tears from her face.
Harry, who hadn't noticed the other people who left the car, immediately looked towards the billionaire, recognizing the name instantly.
"Hermione, you never told us that your father was Tony Stark!" Harry said surprised. Sirius, being in prison for so long, and the Weasley's who had no contact with the muggle world other than Hermione, had no idea who this man was and why he was such a big deal. Remus who had been living in the muggle world up until he was offered the job at Hogwarts two years prior, knew exactly who the man in front of them was and he was gaping. At their looks Harry clarified. "This man could buy out the Malfoy's fortune, or all the pureblood fortunes combined about 20 times over and that's just at this moment."
Everyone looked and gaped at the man in front of them. Tony was used to the reactions of other people when they found out who he was, even if they already knew who he was. Hermione noticing the looks from everyone, not wanting to explain this story for the second time today, decided to shut the questions down.
"I didn't know he was my dad until yesterday. He and my mom grew up together so that's how they knew each other. I'll be going to New York with him later tonight and will be spending the summer there. No you can't convince me otherwise, not that you would but I am serious about this. I want to get to know Tony and spend more time with Sharon as well as my grandmother." Hermione said firmly before walking to see Sirius and Remus who were standing at the doors of the church, waiting for her to come to them.
"Hey kitten." Sirius said standing awkwardly, not knowing how to talk to the young girl. The only funeral he'd ever cared about was James' parents which was the same but completely different. James' parents were his parents but he didn't grow up with them until he was a little older. Hermione had grown up with her parents her whole life so Sirius couldn't even fathom how Hermione was feeling.
Remus didn't say anything, he just pulled her into a hug, whispering his condolences in her ear. He also informed her that Minerva would be at the dinner. Something came up with some other business so Headmaster Dumbledore wouldn't be able to make it but Minerva would make a point to try and be at the dinner.
The Weasley's all took time to give their condolences to Hermione, and to her surprise Arthur wasn't looking around trying to absorb all of the muggle things. Instead he was like everyone else, focused on Hermione and how she was doing.
Sharon came up from behind her and grabbed her hand once again. They both looked at each other with a look of understanding. The next few hours were going to be the worst hours of their lives. But they would get through it together. They looked at the doors of the church with Pepper and Tony right behind them. Together Sharon and Hermione pushed the doors open.
The next couple of hours were clear but blurry. Hermione and Sharon could barely see ahead of them without being blocked by the tears.
The service was quick. Hermione's parents didn't want much in terms of a service. A couple of religious passages and they requested an eulogy from Hermione's Uncle Tom but unfortunately he was still unreachable. So at Hermione's request, Tony gave the eulogy in his place.
After the eulogy, everyone rode in townscars that Pepper had arranged to take them to the burial site. Even though the wizards didn't know Hermione's parents all too well, the words that were said made them all emotional. Even though Hermione remained strong during her words, she broke down when she was done.
After the words from Sharon and Hermione, everyone dispersed, leaving Hermione alone with her parents' graves. She didn't know what to say to them so she briefly laid a hand on their caskets and whispered a silent promise that she would make her parents proud.
Tony came up from behind her and let her know that it was time to leave for dinner. But if she wanted to stay for a while longer, he could stay with her. Hermione shook her head and moved away from the caskets. Not wanting the reminder of what she'd lost any longer. Everyone else was in the cars watching the scene in front of them.
Harry felt the most sympathetic towards Hermione, other than her father of course. But he was in a completely different situation. As much as he missed his parents, he lost them at the age of one. He only knew them for a small amount of time, of course he loved and missed them but it's hard to compare the death of his parents to the death of Hermione's. She grew up with them and felt the love that they had for her. Harry didn't have that, he couldn't imagine what she was going through.
All the wizards were compact into one car and the adults were having a hushed discussion about this "Tony Stark". They were all trying to come up with theories as to how he and Hermione's relation came about. To be honest Harry was quite curious as well but he knew Hermione would tell them all the story in due time. Whether it was through a letter or on September 1st when they all boarded the express, Hermione would tell them everything.
Dinner was faster than what they expected. In the middle of dinner Minerva finally made an appearance in muggle clothing which freaked out her previous and current students. Hermione picked at her food all night, not even attempting to eat. Which was the same with lunch earlier that day, before they left for the funeral Pepper offered it to both Sharon and Hermione but both refused to eat. Which of course was understandable given what had happened.
Throughout dinner, various Weasleys, previous and current professors, as well as one best friend and his godfather all gave their condolences to Hermione to which she muttered a small thank you. Hermione then asked that Minerva explain the situation with Tony to everyone once they all returned to Grimmauld Place. The young witch didn't like explaining the story more than once since she was starting to feel guilty about building another family so quickly when her parents were still barely cold in the ground.
Tony sat beside his daughter the whole night just watching her expressions, trying to get a read on her. But her expressions and emotions were stone cold. He didn't know exactly what to say to her. There were so many unknowns. Would she be better in her new environment in New York? Would she even still want to hang around him? Or will she be spending all her time with Peggy and Sharon in New York?
Conversation throughout the night was light. It wasn't a happy fun time with her wizarding friends like it was in the Great Hall or Grimmauld Place. In fact it wasn't until Pepper asked Sharon a question that either of the young girls spoke.
"Sharon, do you have a flight booked to get back to New York? Because you are more than welcome to come home with us later tonight." Pepper asked the young blond. To which Sharon nodded her head.
"I do actually. A friend of mine called in a lot of favours to get me here this quickly, so I should stick with my original flight plans. Unless you wanted me to come with you Hermione. I know you're scared of heights so I don't know how difficult it will be for you to go through a flight without…" Sharon trailed off but Hermione wasn't an idiot, she knew Sharon was going to say her parents.
"I'll be fine. I've actually gotten better over the years with the whole heights thing." Hermione said to Sharon, slightly fibbing the truth. I mean it wasn't a total lie. She'd flown on a broom before and even though she was bloody terrified of that thing, she was comfortable in airplanes.
"You're afraid of heights?" Tony asked, happy to learn a new yet basic fact about his daughter. Hermione looked at him confused as to why that was a key thing that Tony would focus on. Tony decided to explain. "So was I...I mean not for a long time. My dad made sure of that with all the traveling we did but that's kinda awesome. That we have stuff like in common."
Tony realized how stupid that comment was after he made it. Hermione had just buried her parents and he was comparing how similar they were. He thought that Hermione would have been insulted at the comment but she was actually smiling softly.
"So I have you to thank for my crippling fear of heights? Thanks for that." Hermione joked lightly. Everyone was relieved. Hermione was going to be okay. It may take her awhile to be back to her old self but she would be okay. She was smiling a little bit and was making lighthearted jokes. She would be fine. Hermione checked the time on her phone and realized it was getting late. "Pepper, what time do we have to leave? It's already 7:00."
Pepper double checked the time and realized it was getting late. Even though it was Tony's jet and they could leave at any time, it would be better if they left earlier. "We should get going soon if that's okay with you."
Hermione nodded and began to stand up to get ready to say her goodbyes. Everyone else followed suit. The Weasley's were up first, Fred and George came forward to give her a hug.
"Don't be a stranger or forget to write." George said while they parted from their hug. Fred was next giving her a hug.
"We'll miss you bookworm. Who else is going to keep ikle Ronnikins in check?" Hermione giggled at the comment from Fred.
"Hey!" Ron commented, the twins ruffled his hair.
Next was Ginny, Arthur and Molly. They said their basic "keep in touch" and "you always have a pace with us if you want it." Hermione smiled and thanked them but knew that would be a struggle for the Weasley's. They couldn't take care of another kid and she really was excited about her future in the states.
Remus and Sirius were next. Both giving the girl a hug wishing her all the best in America. They both pulled away and planted a kiss on her forehead. They both thought of her like a daughter or a niece and were sad to see her go.
Lastly was Minerva who was always very professional regarding her students. No matter how much she wanted to hug the young witch and wish her luck it wouldn't be professional. She held out a hand to the girl who shook back immediately.
"Albus sends his regards and wished for me to pass along this." Minerva said reaching into her sleeve and pulled out a letter with Miss Hermione Jean Granger written on the front. Minerva passed Hermione the letter, Hermione opened it and saw a small note from Dumbledore and another piece of paper that Hermione hadn't opened yet.
"Miss. Granger,
I was very sad to hear about the sudden loss of your parents, my deepest sympathies are with you at this time. After the events at the department of mysteries, those few weeks ago I looked into potential prophecies for yourself and Mr. Weasley. While there was nothing for , I found a curious prophecy regarding yourself and your time in New York this summer.
While I cannot tell you the events of your destiny, the inclose documentation will help you immensely. Good luck Miss. Granger and I look forward to your return to Hogwarts in September.
Yours,
Albus Dumbledore"
Hermione opened the document inclosed in the letter and read the title. Hermione then realised that Dumbledore had gotten clearance for her to use magic publicly as long as she doesn't expose the wizarding world. She would have to keep herself disguised while using magic publicly and as long as it was necessary she could inform others of the wizarding world. She would also have diplomatic immunity during that time with approval with most countries in the world.
To say Hermione was confused and shocked was an understatement. What the hell was going to happen to her in New York? Why the hell was she going to have to use magic publicly? Who in the bloody hell was she going to have to tell about the wizarding world?
Hermione looked up to see McGonagall holding up a hand silencing her: "I don't know anything about the contents of the letter and I do not want to know. That is between you and the Headmaster."
Hermione folded up the letter and placed it in the pocket of her dress. Everyone around her was curious to know what was in that letter that would have shaken Hermione so badly. But they didn't say anything about it, knowing that Hermione wouldn't dare endanger the trust that Albus Dumbledore had with her.
Everyone said their goodbyes as Hermione, Tony, Happy, Pepper, and Sharon left the restaurant, stepping into a car, airport bound. Hermione kept one hand in her pocket, clenching the letter her headmaster sent to her. She didn't know what her future was regarding New York but she knew she was in for a wild summer.
They dropped Sharon off at her gate for the airport. The private jet had a different entrance than commercial flights so they decided to drop Sharon off first. Hermione stepped out of the car while Happy was getting Sharon's bags from the boot.
Hermione and Sharon didn't say anything. Just pulled each other into a hug and stood there as long as they could before a security officer said they had to move it along. The girl pulled back and looked at each other.
"I'll see you in New York, kid." Sharon said with a smile.
"Not a kid anymore but sure. See you then, maybe when I land we could go see Grandma?" Hermione asked.
"Sure." Happy dropped the bags in front of Sharon, which she picked up and began walking towards the door. "Bye. See you later!"
Hermione waved until Sharon could not be seen. She got back in the car as Happy drove them to the private plane loading dock. They pulled in and they all got out of the car. While Happy was unloading the bags, Hermione asked if she could take her suitcase on the plane with her. She wanted to get changed out of her funeral clothes, she offered to take her own suitcase but Happy insisted. That was another thing she was going to have to get used to.
They stepped on the plane and Hermione immediately took a hoodie and some jeans to get changed into. Pepper and Tony took a seat across from each other, leaving a seat for Hermione if she wanted it.
Hermione stepped out of the bathroom and grabbed a book from her suitcase before taking a seat next to Tony. She began reading silently as Pepper and Tony looked at each other then her, almost asking for permission to work on their own stuff. Hermione looked up after a couple seconds, sensing the look they were giving her.
"Guys, you have stuff to do. I get it. I'm fine. I'm like a house cat you'll barely know I'm here." Hermione said smiling before going back to her book.
"Okay...We do have some things planned for us to do together over the next couple weeks if that's okay with you." Pepper said, Hermione looked up from her book once again.
"Yeah that's totally fine. But you guys don't have to keep me entertained all the time. I'll be fine. I can explore myself a bit, I read, I watch T.V. I'll be fine entertaining myself." Hermione told them.
It was then that the plane's engine roared and they began their ascendance. Hermione had one hand gripped on her book and the other to the armrest of the plane. Both Pepper and Tony noticed this, Tony grabbed the hand that was grasping the armrest and took it in his own hoping this would help ease her worry. Which it did.
The plane took off and Hermione's worry began to subside. She released her hand from Tony's grasp, smiling and mouthing a quick thank you. Tony smiled back before he pulled up new plans for a suit upgrade he was working on before he found out about Hermione. Pepper went ahead and began working on Stark Industry business and Happy began reading a newspaper.
It was a good two hours of silence before JARVIS's voice came through the plane's speakers.
"Mr. Stark? Sorry to interrupt." JARVIS asked. Hermione jolted up from her book looking around to see where his voice was coming from. Tony laughed silently at her worry.
"Hermione that voice you hear is JARVIS my AI system. Stands for Just A Rather Very Intelligent System. JARVIS this is my daughter Hermione." Tony introduced the two.
"Hello, Miss Granger-Stark. A pleasure to meet you." JARVIS said using an unofficial hyphenated last name. Hermione still a little freaked out over the voice said a quick 'hey' while still looking around the air.
"What did you need JARVIS." Tony said while still working on his suit plans.
"I found a recent activity in SHIELD's files as well as recent news footage from Germany." JARVIS said in his very monotone british voice.
"Pull it up." Tony said leaning back in his chair, looking at the hologram in front of him. He had shoulder-length dark hair that was slicked back, hidden partially beneath a horned golden helmet. His deep green cloak trailed behind him, the city lights reflecting off it's gold accents. His armour was black, plated with gold and accented with the same green as his cloak. He held a beautiful staff in his right hand, the intricate gold design topped off with a brilliant blue gem clasped between sharp golden points.
'There are no men like me.' The man said. Tony knew he was needed in Germany.
"Happy, notify the pilot to head towards Germany." Tony said giving the security guard an order. Hermione, who had continued watching the news feed, knew that Tony was going to need to get to Germany as soon as possible. It was going to take to long to get there if they kept using the plane.
Normally, if Tony was alone he would've just put his Iron Man suit on, ripped the doors off the plane and flew there. But he couldn't risk the suction of the plane pulling Pepper, Happy and Hermione along with him. So they would have to use the plane to get there.
"Tony you'll never make it in time." Hermione said getting up, finally giving in input. Tony appreciated the help but he didn't need the reminder.
"I don't have any other choice kid." Tony said, frustrated. He didn't like missing a fight. Who knows how many people were going to get hurt because he wasn't there. He just hoped that SHIELD would get there in time to stop all of this.
"Yes you do." Hermione stated. It was risky but it just might work. I could apparate us there. It's risky because of the distance but I'm powerful enough that it just might work."
Hermione had seen an alley in the distance on the hologram screen, she could apparate into the alley, allowing Tony to show up out of nowhere and she could keep herself hidden. Tony listen to her words. If Hermione was confident enough in her ability to get them there safely he had to trust her.
"Okay. JARVIS you know what to do." In less than 30 seconds Tony had his suit on. He said a quick goodbye and I love you to Pepper before walking over to Hermione. He didn't know how this whole Apperating thing worked so he let his daughter do her thing. Hermione wrapped her arms around his middle.
"Hold on tight and don't let go okay?" Hermione said. "Close your eyes and just a warning you may feel sick when we get there." The young witch had only done this a handful of times before so she went over the instructions in her head after she closed her eyes, wand in hand. She was lucky it hadn't broken in the crash as she'd previously thought. Hermione took in a deep breath before repeating, Destination, Determination, Deliberation.
Tony closed his eyes as he felt himself being sucked into a vacuum.
Several Hours Before at an Undisclosed SHIELD Facility (New York, New York)
"Steve come take a look at this." Bucky Barnes called, looking up from the daily newspaper that SHIELD officials delivery. Steve threw in one final punch into his punching bag before walking over to his best friend Bucky Barnes.
"What is it?" Steve asked, looking over Bucky's shoulder to see what he was reading. The obituaries from the previous day. It wasn't an abnormal thing for the two men to do. They checked everyday to see if they knew anybody on the pages. They hadn't known anybody yet. Bucky pointed to a specific picture of a woman and what looked to be her husband. "Helen Jean Granger nee Carter-Sousa, survived by her mother WWII war veteran Margaret "Peggy" Carter, her daughter Hermione and niece Sharon." Steve read aloud.
"Wow." Steve said using language he tended not to use unless in time of extreme shock. "Peggy's kid? Hold up Peggy's alive?" Steve was shocked. He avoided looking up anybody he knew from before not wanting to be hit with the burden and realizing that almost everyone he and Bucky had known would be dead.
"Yeah. From the looks of it, her daughter passed away yesterday. Left behind a teenage daughter, what a shame." Bucky said. He could that Steve was only focused on the fact that the woman he'd longed for, for so long was alive. Old and probably close to death, but alive. They both continued to read and reread the obituary silently until a familiar man with an eyepatch walked into the room dropping a file on top of the paper.
"Rogers, Barnes, looks like you two have got an assignment." Fury began walking out of the room before turning to say, "Wheels up in 10 minutes, suit up."
"Wait." Steve said, picking up the file. "Where are we headed?"
"Somewhere familiar to you two, Germany. Now stop asking questions and suit up." Fury said finally leaving the room. Steve and Bucky looked at each other before heading to their rooms to suit up, the newspaper left abandoned in the training room.
I hope you guys enjoyed that. I know there wasn't a lot of content regarding the funeral. I just didn't know how to write it. If I'm being honest I've never been to a funeral before so I have no idea what normally happens. So I decided to keep it pretty open to interpretation. Anyways, I'm sure you're all wondering, who is this Tom Hiddleston? What's going to happen in Germany?
Follow this fic's instagram bonus content. I will be uploading Tony's eulogy later this week so follow the account for bonus content like that and for fanart that either myself or other created.
As for last week's poll, the majority of you voted for Aaron Taylor-Johnsons' Quicksilver over Evan Peters. So that means it's a point to me, here is the current tally:
Delaney-2
Luke-0
This week's poll question is: Who is the strongest Avenger in the MCU? I whole-heartedly believe that Wanda Maximoff the Scarlet Witch is the strongest Avenger. Luke disagrees, he believes that Dr. Strange is the strongest Avenger. So what do you think? Leave your opinions in the comments and be honest. I feel bad kicking Luke's ass this hard.
As usual, Rhi has no opinions on the topic.
Thank you all for the suggestions for Hermione's potential Avenger's name if I make her an Avenger. I have one in mind that hasn't already been suggested and I'm pretty attached. However if there is a name that I love more than that one I could be persuaded to switch my loyalties. Can't wait to hear more awesome ideas!
Alright that's all for me this week, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Finally I just want to thank you all so much for reading and for giving me all the support. It is what keeps me going. See you all next week!
-Delaney