Summary: Severus Snape gets mind whammed, more explanations and Nat and Jamie start going down memory lane by the way of 'magic'. Also we finally get back to the cats from the what? the sixth chapter?

Chapter 12

January 8th, 1982 Late Friday night

Professor Severus Snape was up late in Hogwarts potion labs brewing a potion that he promised himself to do as a 'reward' from grading. He was just in his first year and he already hated teaching with a passion. He had a Masters in Potions for Merlin's sake. His talents were completely wasted on this idiots he had to teach. He almost broke a glass vial at that thought, but gently set it down. There were a few upper years that past their O.W.L.s who Severus had to grouchy admit weren't half bad, but the younger ones. He kept in a shiver of horror. He dreaded next term.

Speaking of teaching, Severus eyed his old textbook on his desk that he discovered cleaning out the back cupboard. Thankfully no student found it. Severus shuddered at the thought of a mindless moron cheating on potions with it. Not to mention discovering his original spells. He shrunk it and put it into his inner pocket for safekeeping. No one will use his ideas but him. He briefly toyed with the thought of publishing some of it but no one would buy a potion book from a former Death Eater. Even if it would revolutionize the potion industry.

His attention was caught from bottling his potion, a healing balm, as the fire in his fireplace glowed green as the Headmaster stepped out with a Pensieve and ordered tea and biscuits for two from the Hogwarts kitchen. Snape ignored the patter behind him as the house elves obeyed, casting a cleaning spell over his lab equipment, and finished bottling, shrinking it to fit next to his old textbook. It was clear he wouldn't get anymore work done for himself tonight.

Almost back to his eerie calm, Severus turned around eyeing the hovering cup of tea that almost poked him in the eye and bitterly took it, else the cup would just get in his way. He learned that the hard way. After taking a sip to be polite, it was the Headmaster after all, he voiced. "What do you want?"

"I haven't had time to check up on Harry the past few months until now. I decided to look into my memories before going over again because something was nagging me and discovered something curious. I am under the impression that Lily might be still alive." Albus said as he took in the shocked expression his spy had.

"Not possible. She died. No one can come back from the dead. Unless you're really stupid." Severus knew dark magic and magic that was darker. He missed Lily like a missing limb but he wasn't stupid enough to try and raise her back up. Even the thought of her being alive was intoxicating so he'll listen. He ignored the faint hope that tried to rise in his chest.

"My memories seem to suggest something else happened, that time I went to check on Harry." Albus said gesturing towards his Pensive which he had dropped his first memory to the Dursley's household in it.

Severus took that with a grain of salt, but his curiosity over took his caution. He had to review Albus's memory a few times, as the first time shock made him jerk back out of the memory. He noticed a few things the next time he view it.

"Either someone is impersonating Lily to such an degree that it could fool most people or something else is happening. It's Lily alright, but something is off." Severus said eyeing the headmaster as they walked through the memory a third time as Albus continued to point out how Lily was different.

Severus noted that Albus had focused on just Lily and ignored the rest of the house, Severus thought he saw a shadow on the top of the stairs that might have been James. As for her sister, well Petunia was smart but needed acting skills.

"I'll would go over there and check it out, unless you don't want me to do so?" Snape said dryly knowing the answer was yes. Why else would Albus dangle a faint scrap of something about Lily to his spy?

Albus cringed to himself, he was a bit of a coward but whoever had Lily fooled him twice enough so Petunia left him satisfied. But he wasn't going to mention it, he'll never hear the end of it. "Certainly. Do you need directions?"

"I'll be fine." Severus nodded to Albus who went back the way he came. Early the next morning Severus found himself walking up to the number four house on which they dropped off the Potter brat.

As he rang the doorbell a second time, he noticed quite a few things out of place. First, Petunia's yard was a mess and she always have been a neat and tidy person to the point of exasperation. That Sev knew Petunia would keep, it was an ingrained part of her personality. But this yard was very weedy and overgrown as if she didn't care.

Second, Severus raised an eyebrow at the unwashed, unshaven heavy set man who answered the door in dirty clothes. If this was the man Petunia married, she did worse then he dreamed of which he didn't mind. The man's eyes, who could only have been Petunia's husband, narrowed and bellowed, "You freaks cost me my wife and son." Whatever the man was going to say next was lost as Severus forced himself into the house, which stank as he use Legilimency to read Vernon Dursley's mind as the muggle was as open as a book to him, he kicked the door shut behind him.

With a curt movement in a wordless spell, Severus erased all memory of his being in that house, adding a strong urge to clean up and forget about his wife and son but for distant somewhat fond memories. He disparate to where the Potter brat, his aunt and surprising enough, magical cousin called home. A evil grin appeared when it seemed that a pizza delivery was taking place. It was easy to take the pizza boy's place.

When Severus tried and failed to use Legilimency on the man who answered the door, who looked quite a bit like Regulus Black, it was like Severus was hit with a bludger, a red sparkling hexagon shaped bludger tinted in blue and he went down like a falling brick to his everlasting shame.

Two months earlier around the end of October 1981

When cats are reborn they know instinctively how many lives they had left to life. In the case of the Alpine, a blue eyed fluffy white rather large part-kneazle with a scowl eternally etched on his face as a result of his early life and kneazle Liho, just as large but with short blackish almost blue fur and amber eyes, they had only one life left.

Alpine was born first and was the first of four kittens, him being the only male. He was a good big brother to his exhausting siblings. But one by one they all left for other places, that's when he meet Liho or it seemed that way when his human 'handler' as he dubbed Mrs. Figg who cared for him and saved him from drowning when his last owner couldn't find a home for him. Mrs. Figg fished him out of the river somehow hearing his cries for help.

He tended to stalk out the highest or the trickiest of places or at least the ones that the other cats couldn't possible find, so it was a surprise one day to find someone in his hiding place just above the fireplace on a high ledge that he could gather warmth from but didn't get himself caught for the breeding season. Somehow he was intelligent enough to understand what was going on and he refused to be a stud of any sort. If he was going to make offspring, he'll find his own mate thank you very much which was low on his life list. The others didn't seem to care as much.

Alpine hissed low in surprise as he noticed the female who thankfully wasn't in heat, as the rest of the females were, guess she was new and had the wits to avoid the tainted 'love potion' Mrs. Figg put out when she deemed it was time for more breeding.

Ironically enough, Liho was hiding from the same thing. Thankfully she had caught and eaten a few birds before Mrs. Figgs found her else she would also be on the floor wanting to be mated. She had escaped her abusive owners about a few months ago and somehow found herself warming enough to the human a few hours ago to come with her.

The two animals communicated why they were hiding and Liho made room on the ledge for Alpine. She nuzzled his head, purring softly when his claws dug deep into the scarred wood as he was affected by the other animals heats, somehow that calmed him more then his usual scratch up the whole place and make it his own.

He was usually a solitary creature apart from his lost siblings, so it was strange. A few days later after he and the female whose name he never got both were caught by surprise by Mrs. Figgs tossing of a basket onto the table. While her head was in the fire call, Alpine and Liho quickly made their way to the basket as the air from the outside drifted a scent that they thought they recognized.

'Why is Red's scent here? And Silver's too. Did they finally mate properly and have a litter?!' Liho was confused at Red and Silver's behavior, they mated enough for dozens of kittens throughout the years she lived with them.

Alpine frowned at the excitement and sniffed the basket. 'How do you know these scents? They are my people's scents, Red never had a female cat just a male.'

'My Silver only had a female. He named her Alpine and my Red named me'

'Liho.' Alpine decided then and there, he would hunt down his people and protect their litter. He invited the female Liho, so strange, to come with. Or as she snuck out the door that the wizard left wide open, silly male, he'll go with her.

Thankfully it was super easy to sneak into the new home of his owners, but then their plans got stuck as many things happened at once, including a man who thankfully was taken away who smelled like a rat. They hoped that the dog man ate him. They confirmed that Red and Silver had at least one kitten, strange that his scent was different but it was probably because they hadn't groomed him enough and some humans adopted other humans so. Alpine kept an eye on the living while Liho keep an eye on the blue ghosts who strangely smelled of the tiny kitten.

Fortunately Liho and Alpine weren't fast enough to get to the door when their humans left making them quite upset so they snuck through the portal that opened a few days later that held their humans scents coming from it.

While playing with the young blue people who had caring hands and comforting the weepy woman who had lost her kitten, Liho and Alpine had conversed with their fellow feline who was upset that his people, who were now ghosts couldn't see him, as he had tracked the new old scents to where he had joined up with Alpine and Liho. Apparently for some reason no one could see him. Buttercup was very put out.

All three felines hissed in distress when the dog man's voice rose up in anger.

**

Sirius Black's enraged yell caught everyone's attention before the spar could officially start, making Tony get up from Pepper's side and strolled over to his 'relatives.' He was ticked off but didn't show it, unless you knew what that look meant.

Nat frowned inwardly as she and Yelena stepped out of their stances and strolled to where Tony was looking peeved at his 'relatives' as Jamie, the Potters and Remus who strongly reminded her of Bruce for some reason, walked over their interest pipped.

Nat had to suppress a smile at how close Jamie was to her side, a guarding stance that she didn't think he recognized from their earliest team ups. It was one he used on missions before she became exasperated one time and asked him more like ordering him to walk beside her as he walking as a bodyguard would blow their cover at the time. Their relationship softened into something less professional and more personal after that.

"Guys, we were going to discuss this later, like tomorrow since everyone is tired and had a information overload now. Jarvis please order the usual for dinner." Tony said his tone firmly shutting down whatever the Blacks had told Sirius as the discussion had taken all afternoon and it was nearing the time Al insisted on the Stark's feeding time. Tony confessed to his dad that Al was sort of like Edwin Jarvis in that way, and Howard nodded understanding completely.

Sirius turned around with a glare aimed at Tony who just crossed his arms adding, "Gollum show everyone to the firing range." All the Avengers recognized that look that Sirius had. He needed to blow off some steam and destroy something. It seemed that they all did.

But before K.G. could even set up a portal as he came as soon his name was called, Nat and Jamie both shivered so hard that their bodies jerked almost making them lose their balance before Jamie caught Nat in a tight hold that helped settle their bodies. The other ones who had become the body snatchers frowned in worry while everyone else looked confused.

"Nat how long have you and Barnes been here?" Tony asked as the two keep shivering as if they were in a blizzard.

"We, we." Nat just gave up and surrendered to her chattering teeth, the only warmth that she felt was Jamie's body behind hers. So close that his chest and her back would have been one as his arms had clamped around her in a tight hug. It would have been nice but they were still cold and getting colder. Turning around to face Jamie made it a little warmer with her arms crossing her chest, but also a little more awkward since she was using him as a water bottle and he was trying to use her as one.

"We died the night of the 31st of October." Lily said worried as it seemed that Nat and Jamie were starting to become frozen, shivering less and less often as they tried and slowly started to fight off whatever plagued them.

"Was it a violent death?" Tony asked as he exchanged glances with his dad as Remus recognizing that this was a private matter and Sirius needed support, hustled his friend towards the portal while the cats and ghosts besides the Potters scattered to who knows where.

Tony wasn't quick enough to grab Nat as she started to fall but she finally shook off the shivers which went away as fast as they came but Jamie had a harder time almost being a stiff board of a person before jerking back a wild look in his eyes as his hand clutched a knife that appeared in his now silver armored arm.

"Yes and no." James answered looked worried at the cold almost blank look that Jamie was wearing but he slowly blinked his way back to his normal as Yelena and Nat fast talked to him in Russian in soft voices he didn't know that Nat or that Yelena even had. The silver armor and knife disappeared as fast as they appeared. It was all in a span of five minutes but to the two who just went into the cold almost burning heat and back again it felt like hours.

"Shit, just shit. Fing A." Tony didn't exactly swear but Yelena made up for it, thankfully in Russian as Petunia reentered the room and rushed forward, her heart jumping in her chest. She had left after Sirius enraged yell to check up on the boys.

"Nat?" Petunia wasn't a jumpy woman but something in Nat's face gave her an uneasy feeling that she didn't like nor how Nat seem to slump forward giving Petunia firm hug. Petunia wasn't a hugging person nor was Nat from what Petunia could observe, but the quick physical contact seemed to help the redhead who straightened up and walked towards the portal that was still active.

Tony discarded his idea of bring them to the warmest bedroom in his house and followed towards the firing range instead. Tony did order Jarvis to set up the highest security walls he and his dad could make with this blasted era's technology as Pepper quietly asked Howard to lead her to the offices as she knew Yelena could handle the upcoming situration better then she could. She had a sinking feeling that Nat and Jamie's experience was more along the lines of Yelena's then her own.

Howard's admiration for his newly found daughter-in-law grew as Pepper demonstrated why exactly Tony handed off the company to her with her sharp wit and pointed questions as he fast walked her towards the home office already deep into the company's finances. Howard left Pepper in their office who started to go through the books with a keen eye. Howard squashed the urge to pour himself a stiff drink, and asked Blinken to make everyone some hot chocolate in the kitchen instead. He had a feeling they were going to need it.

Meanwhile as Remus stared in awe at the muggle firing range, which did not resemble anything he seen before, Sirius Black's magic was becoming dangerous as he held his wand in his hand. It started to throw off sparks, something that only happened when he was getting his first wand before going to Hogwarts as he cursed the dark lord in his head and what he had done to his brother. He was torn from chewing out Reggie and hugging him, to never letting him go.

Sirius's eyes narrowed as something moved down the long, wide strangely lit, furbished space and he snapped off a nasty spell that was almost unvoiced that blasted the human target but his eyes had already caught something else, a huge figure, another wordless spell encased that target with ice and Sirius was lost to his battle senses.

A sharp whistle make him jerk back to himself and realized that he was magically exhausted or enough, turning to see his Uncle Al, no Howard Stark offer him some hot chocolate, very rich, dark creamy drink that chased off the rest of the edge he had.

"Not as good as Edwin's but close enough." Howard said with a tint of sadness as Sirius's eyes widen in surprise at the tasty drink. He didn't know muggles had this type of chocolate. Remus chuckled at the look in Sirius's eyes. Remus had this type before, but it was very expensive. Pepper had gotten it to him as a gift once. He always wondered where she had gotten it.

Tony smiled at that, so true and looked up at the wall in a silent command. Jarvis, who had yet to inform his boss that Vision somehow had the ways and means to slip back into their old universe, was gone, powered down the dummies and the targets that Sirius was using for the past few minutes, the sharp cracks of the muggles guns in his ears blended together enough for him to not notice when Nat and Jamie expertly shot down targets to the awe of the Potters, the boredom of Yelena who pouted that Nat got to the paintball gun first and the thoughtfulness of Remus as he noticed their aim was much better then James or Lily's ever been, not that they were bad. The pair stopped when Howard appeared with the drinks as if Nat and Jamie realized how the hot chocolate would help them.

"Stop your playtime Black, something come up." Sirius was about to protest but realized he had calmed down enough, took another sip of the hot chocolate and came with them to the lounge that was a few hallways over from the firing range.

Lily and James, no Nat and Jamie, held mugs that seemed to refilled on command, (it was Blynken) like it was their lifeline as their bodies started to relax once again, the warm, delicious chocolate cooling the heat and warming the cold they had experienced.

"Wait, this isn't the townhouse is it?" Remus gasped as he looked out at a large snowy yard that ended in trees. It was also darker then he thought it was. Time zones were a pain even for wizards.

"No, once I know what was happening, everyone and I meant everyone, came to the safe house aka the compound aka the playground, wait, no the playground is in a different area somewhere. It's in upstate New York, well away from the city and the wizarding school." Tony added ignoring the wide eyed looks of the wizarding folk and smirking at Nat's chuckle who had instantly recognized the place as Jamie once the hundred-yard-stare was out of his eyes looked around in awe. Trust the Starks to go all out on a safe-house. Jamie could see Howard touch everywhere with a hint of what he assume was Tony's style.

"Ok, so you gave us hot chocolate and why is this a safe-house? Is it because of what's happening to Nat and Jamie?" James Potter was patient up to a point and that point had past as Petunia had brought in his son and Dudley playing with muggle wooden blocks of all things after a few downing of the hot chocolate from the people who could still drink.

Yelena eyed the standing ghosts, sitting people in a semi-circle and stepped forward as Tony after a few minutes, left leaving Howard to explain as he wanted to be with Pepper. Tony's merging wasn't easy.

"Yes. I have a guess why I'm the spokesperson instead of anyone else. We all came here in unusual ways, all connect by Nat and Tony somehow. You all grew up or almost grew up, around magic and know the ins and outs and isn't afraid of it, not that I am, but Nat and Jamie's relationship with 'magic' isn't a good one in our old reality. My life experiences mirrors theirs more then the Stark family."

Yelena bit back a smile at her sister's muttering in Russian of "No shit." She noticed that Jamie's hand had started to creep towards her big sister's. How in the world did the bogeyman know Nat?

Pushing that disturbing thought to interrogate Nat later, Yelena continued. "When this universe's magic merged with our soul self, which includes everything,our abilities and memories, it was if I had the worst 24 hour flu ever along with other things. Or in the case of Pepper and me, dragon pox. Pepper and I were young. Since we were Squibs we recovered quickly. It was almost seven days or seven days after since we had gotten here." Yelena took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she remembered waking up in a small body age six, still with blonde hair but a sweet curious blue ghost girl peering at her in shock who was saying 'Why are you in my body? Who are you?'

"That is, Helena caught dragon pox when she was six, and Ginny was eleven and seven days later, they were telling us all about how to function in the magical world. Our parents were too busy with their new 'magical' son to give a damn as they didn't notice that their own daughters had died and pretenders had taken their place."

As a former Black Widow, Yelena had taken the new world in stride and it helped that she was the older one when Pepper had appeared at age eleven and she was sixteen and just about to cut ties with her impossible but who still loved her in some way parents. Yelena would take it to her dying day but she was happy that Ginny stuck around to help Pepper adjust. It helped. But she had the nagging feeling that the two little blue ghosts would be going soon. Call it Black Widow's instinct.

At this, the Potters frowned, Remus took it in with a calm expression as Sirius entertained himself with moving the wooden blocks around to Dudley and Harry's delight. He had a disquiet feeling inside. He liked Nat and Jamie. If Yelena said her experience was on par with theirs, then it would be something bad.

Meanwhile Tony and Pepper worked side by side in the office that Tony and Howard used for business and listened silently to the conversation by way of Jarvis who relayed it all by poxy on the tv monitor.

Nat's hand found Jamie's as she listened to her sister talk. Yelena knew something that Nat didn't know, Yelena had a small tell that Nat would never inform her of when she was withholding information, but Nat had a feeling that Yelena would inform them of whatever she was holding back when she was ready.

Howard interjected. "Tony and mine's magic merge wasn't as clean," Ignoring Yelena's muttering in Russian of 'yeah right.' "since we're magic users. Mine was also like a illness but with all the aches and pains I 'earned' in our old world. Tony as well. When he came too, I asked Tony, 'Did you 'wake' up with a body that was 'sculpt' by everything that happened in your old life?'"

Tony chuckled at making Sirius jump while Remus startled when his voice came out of nowhere. "Yes. Let's just say I'm very glad that Regulus's heart is young and healthy because my heart wasn't. The experiences we went through were quickly cycled in a short time span. It came to me as dreams, intense life like dreams that started almost a week after being cast into this reality. Thankfully it didn't really started to be serious until I was with dad.

I just thought I caught a cold as I had the sniffles a few days before I started to London for the test I was going to do. The dreams starts with something that's significant in our lives." Tony remembered the three months of cave living and all what happened afterwards, the good and bad.

"Bucky aka Jamie I understand why his starts with the cold," Howard was still mentally grieving Bucky's 70 year P.O.W. past, "but why Nat?" Howard frowned at what he hoped didn't happen.

Yelena gave a joyless laugh, making Howard cuss at his confirmed guess. "Do you really think Jamie was the first person to be stuck in the cryostasis chamber by our 'bosses'? Someone else had to be the unwilling subject. My sister and mama were one of the firsts after they worked out the kinks. Without them, the Winter Soldier wouldn't have survived."

Jamie sucked in a breath, Nat's hand had tighten to an vice. He felt sick, why in the world would someone cryostasis a black widow? It wasn't necessary. It didn't make any sense, that and he never meet her beyond that four or six month mission in the early 2000's. He had trained Black Widows before then and he knew he would have remembered her in the Red Room, not just her looks but her everything.

After Yelena broke the news of Nat's death to her and dad, Alexei went and did something that broke the house. Mama's face had told her that they already knew. Her muttered comment about being completely free from cryostasis now make Yelena confused and she demanded answers. Afterwards Yelena was stunned into silence but it explained so much or at least some of the little things that Nat did that Yelena, a child of the 90's could never understand.

Yelena only volunteered that information because she knew that there was no way to go back home. Otherwise she'll never say anything about her sister's past. Yelena knew the explanation that Tony and the others gave was the broad strokes only and not enough for all the secrets to be revealed.

There was a reason why Nat stopped the video after she took down the guards before their 'dad' and Yelena started the avalanche. Wizards were stuck up idiots with a few exceptions. Like that dark lord, he and his followers were dangerous. She knew that Jamie and the others would keep what they needed to keep private.

She only explained Nat's past now so Nat could be somewhat prepared for memories that would be confusing otherwise. She trusted Remus not to tell, the two Starks had gone through the same thing, the only one she had to keep tabs on was this way too handsome Sirius Black person. Yelena needed to talk to her sister soon as Sirius did something that make her feel 'butterflies' which never happened to her before. Ever.

Nat frowned at that, she wasn't ever stuck in the freezer like Jamie was. Yelena seemed so angry at this false experience Melina told her. That's an experience she wouldn't have forgotten or did she? After all, the Black Widows from an early age was exposed to the cold, they were never kept warm and comfortable in the Red Room but for the youngest of the young. Their 'bosses' had learned that the hard way.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked as Nat looked up, a shocked as she add. "I was born in 1984, not earlier. Mom said she was cycled four time before my birth, not after. I would have known if I had been…this doesn't make any sense."

"Nat you were born in 1920's and mom earlier then that. While she used her assassin skills for the cause and gained the name Iron Maiden, she was also a excellent scientist so they kept using her skills which included fine tuning the chambers." Yelena said in Russian. "I'll explain further sister but it's all true." She knew that only some of the group knew Russian and her sister's past was her own. If Nat wanted to tell them, she'll tell.

Nat had a vague memory of something, but she wasn't sure what. Something about it rang true but. "How does my being born in 1928 have anything to do with Jamie and I's shivers?"

Shivers was an understatement, it was like she had been dipped into a frozen lake. The only warmth she felt was from Jamie's body and that had been doing something else to her body something she didn't want to think on right now. That cold had warped into a false warmth that she knew wasn't from biting cold, she had experienced that before, but, Nat's eyes closed and she leaned back into the comfortable couch a dark blue, thankful that Tony and Howard had the sense not to go all 80's on the compound, that horrible decade will be over soon. Even if she and Jamie got sleep, it felt like she'll never catch up on her sleep. It was like she was sleep walking in dream the last few days.

"When Pepper and I went through our 'fevers' we experienced all our memories and felt them like it had happened. We woke up with all the knowledge, memories and muscle memories we had gained. But none of the physical scars or body toning we had. That we had to work on." Tony commented casually to fill the silence that followed that shocking statement.

Pepper's voice made almost everyone jump as she added in. "That's why I am not allergic to strawberries here, before, I was terribly allergic. My body hasn't had a baby so it's still prenatal figure, so no heart surgeries for Tony, no other procedures done. Nat, your 'new' body has had a baby so it has that." Pepper didn't voice anything else as Nat's eyes swarmed with unshed tears as Yelena had explained when she had gotten her period after she was sixteen and was in shock as she had expected not to have her reproductive organs as they had been removed during that age.

Yelena moved into a hug and got her shirt all nice and wet from Nat's weeping. Jamie's head was lowered as he tried to control his own tears and the slow but steady cold feeling that started at his left arm and started to spread.

"Once your souls and memories and whatnot merge then your bodies will not be as strange to you. It's quite a bumpy ride though." Howard finished as Jarvis announced that someone was at the townhouse door and was very insistent on seeing Mr. Stark right away.

Howard sighed, gulped the rest of his hot chocolate, wiping his lip with his sleeve, which to be fair wasn't a high quality shirt as it looked and grumbling went to see whatever was the matter with his highly efficient but strange employee, Mrs. Ted 'Andy' Andromeda Tonks wanted now, that is he had a feeling it was her, she had been trying to get in touch with him for days about a personal matter. It kept slipping his mind and he had run out of excuses.

She must be desperate since he and Tony had never really meet her, but through Photostatic Veil which she didn't notice as at least that part of their tech was holding up, for the most part. It was the only highly advance tech that could work as it should. Thanks to Tony's genius and Howard's brains.

'Thank you Jarvis.' Howard thought as he mentally prepared himself to become well himself as he adjusted the veil and he looked at his own face in the mirror, that is the 74 year old him.

Al Black just sighed as Howard became Howard thanks to Jarvis' recon of his face from his 'magical database.' Magic in the hands of these Stark men were scary. But so exciting.

The door opened onto a sharply dress young twenty-something year old who was holding their takeout. Howard inwardly sighed to himself, if she wasn't married and he was forty years younger.

"Yes, are you my delivery person?" The cheerful tone of voice threw off the young witch's strive.

***

When Howard left to see who was at the door, hopefully dinner, Sirius had a question that he knew everyone had. "What's cryostasis?" It seemed somewhat familiar but not really.

The three former assassins exchanged glances and spoke in short hand. Nat leaned forward and lifted her son to her chest, cuddling him as she answered. Harry's body temperature was higher then a adult and to the cold Nat a cute, darling water bottle.

"It's a way to keep someone's body alive for decades. For instance, Jamie was born in 1917, Yelena claimed I was born in 1928, which can't be true. They use some sort of glucose to help keep the temperature of the chamber, which is always below freezing from destroying the human body, and so a body can 'wait' to be revived for later missions."

"But that's Star Wars stuff!" Petunia exclaimed, her mind in shock. "That's science fiction, it can't be real."

Lily had to bit back a smile, at least she had something to bond over with Petunia, they were both science fans, thanks to their mother. The original star wars film was something that their mother had dragged them two on a mother-daughter outing, which was amazing. It was the only thing that Lily and Petunia could talk about during Lily's last Hogwarts years. Lily was bitter that she couldn't see the latest movie since she was in hiding at the time.

"Your son has magic and you're sceptical about carbon freezing someone?" Jamie asked trying to get up the nerve to leave and find the nearest room with a lock as his mind and body started drifting into the cold and at times the warmth that he and Nat were experiencing. This was not a cold or the flu or something, this was 'magical cryostasis' and it was coming fast. Jamie blamed the super soldier serum, thanks a lot HYDRA. Not.

Jamie landed with a thump on the floor that made Harry and Dudley start crying. Thankfully Sirius had the sense to grab Harry, tickling him to distract him as his mother's body slumped down sideways into the couch, gone for now.

Tony who was still listening and now from the office, directed them to place Nat and Jamie in the warmest room that they had, telling Remus, Sirius and Yelena not to magic to carry them there.

Sirius grumbled a bit at that as he had his wand ready, but Yelena shot him a look and to his surprise and to Remus's amusement he obeyed the blonde's instructions as it seemed she had done this before. Carry someone to some place else, not this cryostasis thingy.

K.G. popped into the room to announce dinner was ready after he had urged the other house elves, fresh off of babysitting, who were rightly upset they hadn't made dinner (muggle takeout? How dare they?), to relax and get to know the other 'servants.' At the moment Nod was becoming fast friends with DUM-E and Butterfingers while his parents eyed the two robots with deep distrust. But it was better then where they were.

Sirius walked behind Remus and Yelena who seemed like great friends, deep in thought. The sight of James and Lily's bodies so cold and warm and somehow lifeless made him antsy, he wanted to go out and destroy the Death Eaters, but he knew that he couldn't. For one Lily was marching right behind him muttering something he couldn't make out and James was going on and on about how much better Jamie's aim was, a bitter jealous flavor to his tone. If Sirius left again on a fruitless hunt, Lily will kill him somehow from the grave, he just knew it. He entered the open doorway and when Sirius stopped in his tracks at the sight before him.

"Andy?" Sirius's jaw dropped as his cousin, Andromeda 'Black' Tonks, in a smart looking formal muggle outfit looked up from where she was going over company accounts with her new boss, Pepper Stark, who oddly enough looked like an old friend of hers when Andy was very young.

Howard and Tony were eating Chinese and waving around chopsticks as they talked in a blur.

***

Meanwhile, deep in their minds and bodies as the magic worked to weave their new occupants into their new home, Nat found herself as a bystander in her earliest memory as Jamie went on his own journey. Before her mind brought up the memory, she could only recall warmth and love that she had never knew she had had.

Nat whirled around at the sound of her father Ivan's name being called as a carbon copy of her old body called his name while coughing as a fire raged on.

"Ivan!" It was garbled mess, and Nat knew only she knew that the name being called was Ivan's. (But how?)

No, wait, Nat's mind took in the pale face and the dark hazel shot with her own beautiful green color, it was her mother. Her real mother, not Melina. But why was she dressed if it was the early 1900's?

Nat felt a shiver go down her spine as she watched herself, a mere, almost one year old, but looked like she was six months old, (how did she know that?) thrown out the busted first floor window to a waiting man whose old, old uniform said Petrovitch. Nat followed the soldier Petrovitch through Stalingrad but was it the early 1920 or the 1940s? Nat really couldn't tell. Some places looked the same in any decade, expectantly in Europe, as for the uniform when she went to get a closer look had morphed into a every day clothing that could be from any decade.

Nat bit back a sigh of frustration as the scene morphed into something new.

Author's note: There's a reason why the Photostatic Veil work. Kind of, mostly, they are slightly glitchy, but just slightly. You try and bring 21nd century technology back to the late 20th century when everything was still huge and blocky. It's amazing that the holograms work as well as they do. Or anything else the Starks come up with to be honest.