Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not own Harry Potter, the Avengers, or any characters you recognize from J.K. Rowling or Marvel and any mistakes found in any of the chapters are my own.
A/N: In the last chapter I made a mistake regarding Letty's age, she's 17 not 18.
Faceclaims:
Genevieve Bonham: Ella Balinska
Violetta Bonham: Tati Gabrielle
Margot Bonham (Letty's grandmother): Garcelle Beauvais
Elijah Bonham (Letty's grandfather): Idris Elba
Timeline:
May 1992 - Tony Stark meets Genevieve Bonham
Feb. 1993- Genevieve Bonham leaves Tony Stark after finding out that she's pregnant
Oct. 27, 1993- Violetta Marie Bonham was born
Sept. 2003-Violetta's 1st year at Hogwarts
Dec. 2007-Violetta's 5th year at Hogwarts (The Order of the Phoenix)
May 2, 2010- Battle of Hogwarts (Iron Man 2)
Malibu, California
June 17, 2010
Phil Coulson was not having a good day.
He had spent the last week cleaning up the utter clusterfuck of a disaster that Thor and Loki had left behind in New Mexico.
With him being a squib and a SHIELD agent for most of his adult years, he had seen some strange things in his life. There wasn't much that could catch him off guard or spook him. The fact that the Norse legends were real and facing Loki's deathbot weren't even what had him so unhinged.
Tony Stark procreated.
Not only that, the child in question was one of the saviors of the Wizarding world. He had met the young witch and he couldn't believe that he hadn't seen it before.
She was just as sarcastic and extraverted as Stark, if not more so; she was also a closet genius. When she was 16 she had found the correct series of runes that allowed technology to be used around magic without it blowing up, patented it, and then released the information under a pseudonym- Phoebe Halliwell. She considered it a homage to one of her favorite fictional witches.
It was one of the biggest breakthroughs in the magical world and one of the most profitable. The upper crust of pure blood society were practically foaming at the mouth trying to find the genius who had made the most lucrative discovery since the Elixir of Life, so they could get their greedy fingers on her success. They were sorely disappointed when they couldn't find Phoebe Halliwell anywhere in the records stored at the Ministry. The older purebloods as always still had sticks up their asses and their heads in the sand, so they didn't pick up on the easily accessible fact that this was the name of a well known muggle character.
When he asked her why she didn't release it under her own name, she simply replied,
I like fucking with the old grumps heads.
Now that he thought back on it, the smirk on the young girl's face and the impish gleam in her eye was almost identical to Stark's.
Now Phil was on his way to give the genius a crash course on the magical world per Fury's orders. Since he was squib from the Selwyn line through his mother, he acted as a liaison between SHIELD, the MACUSA, and the British Ministry of Magic. One of his main responsibilities was keeping as much of Voldemort's mess away from the muggle headlines as possible.
He made his way up the winding roads toward the top of the seaside cliff, coming to a quick stop at the gate that separated the Stark Malibu mansion from the outside world.
"Agent Philip Coulson for Tony Stark." The agent spoke up after pushing the automated call button that he now knew was controlled by JARVIS.
"Of course Agent Coulson, Sir and Miss Potts are expecting you." The smooth automated British voice rang out through the speaker and the large metal gates opened.
It didn't surprise him that Pepper was going to be there for their discussion. Everyone knew that she made up about 98% of Stark's self control. He should probably thank her for stopping Stark from jetting off to England to try to find the Ministry.
The agent mentally prepared himself before he stepped out of the car.
Pepper Potts opened the giant front door with her usual poise. To an outsider she still held her normal calm elegance, but to the agent's trained eye he could see the nervous air that surrounded the newly appointed CEO.
"Phil, thank you for coming." She spoke with a genuine, relieved smile bringing him into a friendly hug.
"Of course, I know this was not easy news to hear, but I will try to explain everything to the best of my ability."
And he was right. It was not easy news to hear that Tony Stark had a grown up daughter somewhere out there in the world. The pair were barely on stable footing in terms of their relationship, but nothing would change the fact that she loved Tony and everything that came with him.
Besides Rhodey, Pepper was the only one who knew about Tony's past relationship with Genevieve Bonham. Tony had let it slip back when she was just his assistant during one of his drunken rants. That was truly the first time she had seen genuine emotion from the usually crass man.
"Agent, nice of you to join us." Tony spoke up as he walked into the room, but he was missing the usual bite behind his snark that was reserved solely for Coulson.
"It's a pleasure as always Mr. Stark." Phil spoke with a hint of sarcasm and followed behind Pepper as they made their way further into the home.
They settled in the living room facing the expansive floor to ceiling windows that showed the cliff side view that only Stark money could buy.
Both Tony and Phil were a bit tense and an uncomfortable silence settled over the trio.
"So I have no idea where this conversation should even begin." Pepper was uncharacteristically fidgety and spoke up with a bit of uncertainty.
"Well how much do you know?"
"Nothing. For once in my life I'm completely lost. I have a kid that's a part of a world that I know absolutely nothing about." The billionaire stated bluntly as his leg bounced anxiously.
It was well known that Tony Stark was not good with the unknown, he usually went out of his way to be the most informed person in the room. Being stuck in the dark about something so monumental had him on edge.
"So I'll start with the basics, magic is a supernatural force that changes aspects of the world at fundamental levels. On a physics level, magic often acts as a source of energy, often achieving work on behalf of the user. The ability for humans to use magic is a hereditary trait passed down from a person's ancestors, which allows witches and wizards to practise it, and they hone their skills at magical schools and academies like Hogwarts in the UK or Ilvermorny in the States. Magic exists in the DNA of every wizard, every person who has the magic gene has access to magic. Despite what you might have seen in horror movies, magic comes from within the wizard or witch themself, as opposed to, say, from the burning of elements or the summoning of demons." Phil paused for a second to let his explanation sink in.
"But you can summon demons can't you?" Stark spoke up monotonously, making Pepper pinch his arm.
"I personally can't Stark, seeing as I'm a squib, but there are those who practice necromancy who are more than proficient at the task." Phil stated, not showing any emotion besides the slight upward tug of his lip.
"What's a squib?" Pepper spoke up, veering the conversation back on track.
"The Wizarding world is basically split into a four-tier caste system. Squibs like me are at the bottom, we're those who are born into a magical family, but show no sign of magic abilities. As the magic gene is the dominant one, most children are born a wizard or a witch, those that are not can still see the magical world. Next are muggle borns which are wizards born to parents who are both muggles or non-magicals. Muggle-borns are frowned upon by many pure-bloods, who assume that they are not pure witches or wizards. At the top are purebloods, like Auror Bonham, who are wizards that are born into 'pure' magical families, whose members all have magical power. Some of these families believe that pure blood wizards should be the only type of wizards, but others think that half bloods are keeping the wizard race alive. Families like the Bonhams are considered "blood-traitors" by the more radical families. Then there are half-bloods like Violetta, who are wizards who have only one muggle born or magical parent," Phil was going to continue, but saw that Tony was having an internal struggle wanting to speak up.
"Would they give her a hard time about that?" The genius spoke uncharacteristically soft, making Pepper lace her fingers with his.
Phil sighed before he answered, "You have to understand that the magical world can be a bit medieval when it comes to certain things. A child being born out of wedlock would automatically be looked down on, no matter who the father was. But believe me when I say Letty isn't one to let people get under her skin. She's a tough kid Stark."
"You've met her?" Pepper's tone was hopeful.
Phil let out a rare chuckle and shook his head fondly, "Yes, once the last Wizarding war began to spill into the muggle world Fury sent me as the liaison between SHIELD and a secret paramilitary society known as the Order of the Phoenix. Auror Bonham was a part of the original group, and Letty was initiated unofficially when she was 15."
"She was a baby! Who decided that was a good idea?!" Tony jumped up and started pacing back and forth on the verge of having an anxiety attack.
"It was war Stark, the other side didn't care how old they were. Their leader spent months tracking down a young family just so he could assassinate a toddler, trust me when I tell you they had no qualms about murdering children," Phil spoke bluntly, "And it wasn't like anyone could stop her, she was involved whether she wanted to be or not. Her best friend and god brother Harry Potter was at the top of the dark lord Voldemort's hit list. They had been facing off with him and his followers since their first year at Hogwarts."
"Why was he going after the children?" Pepper once again grabbed a hold of Tony pulling him back down to the couch.
"The caste system is basically what has caused almost every single war in the magical world; there are those who wish to subjugate muggle-borns and muggles and have purebloods reign supreme. Their leader Voldemort was the most powerful and dangerous dark lord of all time. He and his followers tormented the UK for years back in the 90s, they slaughtered muggle borns without remorse. There seemed to be no hope in stopping them. But during an interview for the divination position at Hogwarts with the late Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, a witch by the name of Sybil Trewlaney spoke of a prophecy. She foretold of a child that would bring about the end of the dark lord. Unfortunately a young death eater was eavesdropping and went back and informed Voldemort. In his deranged mind there were 2 children who fit the description given by Trewlaney, Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom, who coincidentally are both the sons of Auror Bonham's friends; James & Lily Potter and Frank & Alice Longbottom. The Potters went into hiding, but unfortunately were found and murdered by Voldemort with only young Harry surviving." Phil finished solemnly.
"And what about the Longbottoms?" Tony spoke up as Pepper kept a comforting hand wrapped around his.
Coulson paused for a second before speaking up again, "They were tortured to insanity by a group of death eaters Bellatrix & Rabastan Lestrange and Antonin Dolohov."
Tony froze as he heard the names that he recognized from Genny's SHIELD file.
"They ambushed Genny, didn't they?" Tony sat unnaturally still as his knuckles turned white.
"Yes," Coulson paused, "they went after her the same night they attacked the Longbottoms."
"Where are they now?"
"Bellatrix was killed in the final battle at Hogwarts, however Rabastan and Antonin are still at large."
Coulson saw a dark look cross Tony's face making him speak up again quickly, "Every effort is being made to track them down. The minister has a task force in the Auror core whose sole purpose is to hunt down the remaining death eaters who fled after the final battle. Lestrange and Dolohov are at the top of his list."
"Is Letty in any danger?" Pepper worried, keeping a firm grip on Tony's hand.
Phil hesitated trying to keep his tone neutral as if not to cause the couple any more distress, "Dolohov developed an odd fascination with Letty after she faced him in a duel at the department of mysteries in the Ministry a few years back. The kids snuck out of school and broke into the Ministry in an effort to save her and Harry's godfather Sirius Black, unfortunately they lost him that night.." Phil was cut off before he could finish.
"Where were all the adults?!" Tony yelled, getting up, starting to pace again.
He couldn't believe that the people around his daughter could be so negligent. Why would they allow such a young girl to be involved in such dangerous situations and be around so many dangerous people?
"They found out after the kids had already arrived. You have to understand Stark, Dumbledore though he was a great wizard, was a deeply flawed,single minded man. He did what he thought was for the greater good. He kept most of his followers in the dark about his plans, pushing Harry to the front lines and Letty refused to let him fight any battles alone."
"Who is this Dumbledore and what does he have to do with my daughter being in danger?"
"Albus Dumbledore was the headmaster of Hogwarts and the founder of the Order of the Phoenix. He held a lot of weight in the magical government and was the only wizard that Voldemort truly feared. He basically groomed Harry into being Voldemort's perfect foe and raised the boy like a pig for slaughter," Phil spoke with some resentment leaking through; he didn't agree with the tactics that Dumbledore used regarding the children, "Letty and Harry are joined at the hip and she took it upon herself to become his pseudo bodyguard. Especially after her grandparents got him removed from his abusive relatives that Dumbledore left him with."
"And they let that man be in charge of children?! Are welfare checks not a thing in your world?!" Tony's face had gone dangerously red with frustration as he looked close to pulling his hair out.
He had no idea the stress that having a child could cause. He could count on one hand the number of times he had ever felt so helpless; when he found out his parents had died, and when he first woke up in that cave with Yinsen.
Now it felt like a piece of himself was out there in the world, completely vulnerable and exposed; He knew that Agent hadn't even scratched the surface when it came to the happenings of the war that so deeply affected his first love and his only child, but no matter how difficult it seemed he knew he needed all the facts.
"I can understand your frustration Tony. I didn't agree with a lot of the decisions Dumbledore made, a lot of things could have been avoided if the man would have simply communicated instead of speaking in riddles all the damn time," Coulson's own discontent about the man seeped out, "I never was a fan of the way he treated his students like pawns on a chess board, but he is gone now and can no longer toy with their lives."
"Good," Surprisingly Pepper was the one who spoke up. Even though she hadn't met Letty yet, she was hopefully going to be a part of their pseudo little family and Pepper Potts was fiercely protective of what she considered hers, "do you know how she's been since the war ended. Was she injured, who is she staying with right now?" The strawberry blonde was eager to get any information she could.
"I haven't seen her, but I know that she and Harry are both staying with her grandparents. There's probably a couple strays staying with them too, the Bonham's had safe houses set up during the war for displaced families." Phil tried to give her a comforting smile, but he knew it probably looked more like a grimace. Violetta was on the front lines against people twice her age and had been on the run for the past year, she was bound to have gotten some injuries, he just didn't know how many and severe they were as of yet.
"When can I see her?" Tony took deep breaths as if he could read Coulson's mind knowing he was simply trying to placate Pepper with his answer, causing his anxiety to be at an all time high.
"I'll set up a meeting with Minister Shacklebolt, he's Auror Bonham's younger cousin. He'll be able to get in touch with Letty and her grandparents, though he'll probably want to meet with you first before he does so, as of now Letty doesn't know that you know about her." Phil stated calmly as Tony moved to sit back with Pepper.
"Fine, I guess that'll do for now." Tony finally spoke up, staring at the floor deep in thought.
"Thank you Phil, you really don't understand how much this means to us." Pepper gave a genuine smile. Her eyes teared a little as she joined hands with Tony, giving his a squeeze.
We'll get through this together.
Notes:
All the definitions and explanations of Magic come from Harry Potter fandom wiki, the Bustle article "How Does Magic in the Harry Potter Universe Work?" by Melissa Ragsdale, and https/harrypotter./wiki/Wizarding_Social_Classes and are no work of my own.