Chapter 60
Panic.
The sense of fear was overwhelming, and Tony had to steady himself against the counter as he read the message.
'Something's off. Track my phone and come pick me up'
Harry would never send a message like that unless something was really wrong. He never wanted to cause a bigger scene than need be, and by sending a text like that, he was sure to know that Tony would cause a scene.
"Pepper!" Tony cried, tearing his eyes off of the phone.
Pepper appeared at the door, eyes wide with concern. Tony's voice was taut and full of fear, something that didn't happen very often.
"What's going on?" She asked.
"It's Harry," he replied breathlessly. "He's in danger."
*
Harry's navel twisted as he was transported through the air, feet suddenly hitting the hard ground again. He was certain that, if it hadn't been for Malfoy senior's tight grip on his upper arm, he would have fallen to the ground.
"Itty bitty Potter, all grown up," Bellatrix shrieked. Harry glanced around, realizing that they were no longer near the New York alleyways, but instead, standing between some run-down shipping containers in what appeared to be a shipyard of sorts. He wondered how they had found him all the way in America, and how they had managed to travel internationally without being flagged by MACUSA, or the British Ministry.
Though the British Ministry was a bit of a mess, so the detail wasn't all that surprising to him.
With horror, Harry realized that he wasn't carrying his wand on him. Panic began to settle in at the discovery. He and Loki had been working wandlessly during their past few sessions together, however the fact that he was stuck in a room with three powerful dark wizards, without a wand, was a terrifying fact.
"What do you want from me?" Harry questioned, summoning all of his courage to make his tone sound bored and carefree. They couldn't know how vulnerable he was. How afraid he was, all the time.
Bellatrix cackled, the sound making Harry flinch as memories of the battle at the Ministry flooded back.
Sirius. Remus. Dumbledore. Fred. Hell, even Snape-- they all died for him there. They all died, trying to save him.
And now he was here, in America, with a family that loved him for who he was, and a boyfriend who, yes, had just hurt him, but who still told Harry every day how much he cared for him.
It was another family who would be willing to die for him, and he couldn't let that happen. Not again.
"I believe, Potter, that you've stolen something from us. Without the Dark Lord, many of his followers have gone into hiding, their own selfish fears blinding them from the greater good," Lucius drawled. "But he left a legacy. A mission that must still be fulfilled. And that is what we intend to do. But I'm afraid we can't do that until you are out of the picture."
Harry couldn't help but scoff. "You realize that there's nothing stopping you, right? What you're doing is wrong, but I'm done. I've fulfilled my duties, and have nothing to show for it except for banishment from the Wizarding World. You've already taken all the people who mattered to me there. I'm done with all of it."
His response must have taken the three Death Eaters by surprise, because they hesitated for a moment.
It wasn't that he wanted another War to break out, or another genocide and torture of muggle-borns. Harry still cared greatly for his old friends there, but he was exhausted. He didn't understand why every single time that something happened, all of the responsibility was laid on him. He was sixteen, for Merlin's sake!
"So go ahead," Harry chuckled darkly. "Do your worst. But I have to tell you, I've seen cruel. I've seen pain. And anything you do to me now... it won't compare to some of the monstrosities I've faced."
*
"So go ahead. Do your worst. But I have to tell you, I've seen cruel. I've seen pain. And anything you do to me now... it won't compare to some of the monstrosities I've faced."
"God dammit Harry!" Tony cried, burying his head in his hands as he listened to the conversation.
"I got your message, what's going on?" Natasha entered the bakery, dressed in her typical leather suit that she wore when going out on missions.
"He's giving the bastards permission to torture him!" Tony sobbed, any composure that he once had, cracking. "Dammit. Pepper told me we needed to come up with a plan first, but all I need to do is go find him."
"I'm coming too," Peter declared, appearing in the doorway. "This is all my fault, and I'm coming with you guys."
"Pete-" Natasha began, but Peter fervently shook his head.
"No. It's my fault that Harry was walking by himself, and it's my fault that they kidnapped him. He wouldn't have been alone, and they wouldn't have had an opportunity if I had been with him."
"Or," Natasha stated, "they would have killed you and taken Harry anyway. You don't know what could have happened- these people are unpredictable. And if they do anything to you, Harry will never forgive himself."
Peter scowled, most of him knowing that Natasha was right. They would have killed him without a second thought. But the other part of him knew that he had to make it up to Harry. He had to show him that he still loved him, and that he didn't mean what he said earlier.
"Oh itty bitty Potter," a shrill voice sung from the other end of the phone. "You're going to wish you hadn't said that. CRUCIO!"
Tony went rigid with panic, before a scream pierced the air.
"Fuck!" Tony stood, kicking over the stool, tears streaming down his face. "Screw this, I'm going. I can't-- fuck, I can't take this!"
Both hands were running through his hair, tugging at the ends as he sobbed, listening to his son's broken screams.
"We're here, what's going-" Steve halted as he and Bucky entered the kitchen, hearing the screams and pleading coming from the phone.
"Is that-" Bucky's eyes went wide and his hand flew to his mouth.
"You guys can either follow me, and stand around here waiting for that 'plan', but I'm going," Tony growled, anger growing with each second that the torture continued. He had promised that he would never let anyone hurt his son ever again, and he was going to keep that promise to the best of his ability.
"I'm coming," Natasha declared.
"Us too," Steve and Bucky announced in unison.
"Count me in," Clint growled from the doorway, standing next to a worryingly green Bruce. "I'm going to guess the big guy is in as well."
"And I'm coming," Peter stated. "You can't stop me. Harry is going to need comfort, and I want to be able to give that to him."
Tony looked at the kid, letting out a small sigh as the screaming disappeared. He knew that either he would tell Peter he could go, or the kid would find a way to sneak in anyway, and at least if he approved it, he knew Peter would be taking the safest measures to get there rather than improvising.
"Fine. But if I tell you to take Harry and run, you don't do any self sacrificing shit. You do what I say, when I say it," Tony conceded. "I've contacted Loki, and Harry's professor. These are wizards, and we don't know what exactly we're up against here. So be careful."
From the other end of the line, the screaming started again and Tony squeezed his eyes shut, knowing that the sound of the screams would haunt his dreams for years to come.
"Let's go."
*
Harry lifted his head off the ground, pain flaring in every imaginable part of his body. The Cruciatus curse was, in some aspects, the worst pain imaginable. But Harry knew that nothing compared to the pain of what Vernon had done. Nothing compared to the pain that he felt when he lost everything and everyone that had ever cared about him. Even now, once the pain had dulled some, his heart still ached for those whom he'd lost.
Bellatrix frowned down at him. He had screamed, but he hadn't begged and pleaded with her to stop like all the others did. It was upsetting, and disappointing.
"Lucius," she pouted. "He's not doing anything."
"Calm now, Bella. I have an idea of how to make him scream," the man's face twisted into an evil grin, and from beside him, Fenrir let out a low growl.
"Greyback, hush. You'll get a turn as well, once I'm finished. Maybe you can even... show him what you did to his precious Remus."
Harry's blood ran cold as he realized what the men were about to do. Everything in him screamed to beg with them, but he knew that's exactly what they wanted and it would only encourage them more.
"Aww is itty bitty Potter afraid?" Bellatrix cooed in a sickeningly high voice, but her tone was anything but sweet. "Good."
Lucius loomed over him, aiming his wand at him. Harry squeezed his eyes shut as the man's tightened around the handle of his wand.
Stop. Don't do it. Please. I'll do anything. Don't.
Lucius's lips parted into a snarl. He was clearly enjoying the anticipation of the impending curse.
Suddenly, there was a loud 'oomph' and the man's hand disappeared. Quickly, Harry looked up to see what had happened, when his eyes landed on...
"Dad!" Harry cried, tears finally beginning to flow.
The Iron Man suit hovered a few feet over Lucius' unconscious form, face plate open to reveal a fuming Tony.
A gentle hand appeared on his shoulder, and Harry flinched as he turned to face Natasha, who had a maternal look on her face.
"Hey, I've got you. We'll help you from here," she soothed. "Nobody is going to hurt you again. Not if we have something to say about it."
"Why you little-" Fenrir growled, aiming his wand at Natasha and firing a spell, but it was quickly diminished as Harry rose to his feet, erecting a shield between him and Natasha and the werewolf.
"I don't have my wand," Harry murmured to Natasha, careful to maintain the shield around them and keep Fenrir from hearing. "I've been practicing wandless with Loki, but I don't know if I can defeat all three of them without it."
"We called your professor and Loki, and they're both on their way now. We'll take care of this, trust me," Natasha told him.
Another spell fired at them, this time bright green. Harry didn't even have to hear the spell leave Bellatrix's lips to know exactly what it was.
Cedric.
Remus.
Sirius.
Dumbledore.
Snape.
Fred.
His parents.
The green light had taken them all. He wasn't about to lose his new family to it as well.
A 'pop' to Harry's left alerted him that Professor McGonagall had arrived. However, he was shocked when he turned and looked to her.
Flocking her side was Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, Arthur Weasley, Molly Weasley, Ron and Hermione and Mad Eye Moody.
Behind them, Clint, Loki, Peter, Steve and Bucky were standing in full uniform, Bruce standing beside them, waiting for any opportunity to Hulk out.
Everyone he loved, everyone he cared about-- they had come to help him.
But this time, it wouldn't end like it had at the Ministry. This time, they were going to win.
Harry closed his eyes, focusing his magic on the two targets in front of him. Lucius was still unconscious, leaving just Bellatrix and Fenrir.
"Would you look at that," Bellatrix cackled. "Potter's brought all of his friends and family again, just for us to kill them like last time!"
Harry's magic crackled as he felt the anger bubble in his chest at the thought. The fear was long gone, replaced by anger and desire for revenge.
He took a few steps forward, magic flowing through him like electricity. Wordlessly, he threw a spell towards the witch, and she barely deflected it in time.
"I see play time is over," she pursed her lips, firing a spell back.
Fenrir prowled the perimeter, ducking behind shipping containers to dodge spells flying his way from the Order members.
Spells flashed, bathing the night sky with blue, red, orange, and green glows.
"How can we help?" Clint hollered, ducking to avoid a stray spell heading his way.
"Just stay back. I don't want you getting hurt!" Harry called back, shooting another spell back towards Bellatrix.
There was a scream to his left, and Harry lost focus for just a moment to see who it was, when pain radiated through his shoulder.
The cutting curse had hit his arm straight on, and the wound was deep. Hissing in pain, his other hand flew to the wound, and he focused his magic toward it. He didn't need to heal it fully, because he couldn't risk burning out his magical core, but just enough that it wasn't debilitating.
"Harry!" Tony called, seeing the blood seep from the wound.
"I'm okay!" Harry assured, deflecting a curse shot at him by Bellatrix.
"Greyback is secured! I'm taking him to the Ministry right now for an emergency trial and transportation to Azkaban!" Moody announced gruffly. A feeling of relief flooded Harry as the Auror apparated away with a stunned Fenrir. Now it was just down to Bellatrix.
Molly Weasley fired a curse at the woman, getting closer and closer to her.
"You killed my son!" She screamed, wand arm waving furiously. From Bellatrix's other side, Professor McGonagall was shooting spells.
Between the two women, Bellatrix was distracted. All it would take was one spell to finish her off. To take care of the problem for good...
But Harry couldn't do it. Raising his hand, he fired a stunning spell at her.
The dark witch's body went rigid, and she teetered over in petrified position.
"I'll take her in," Kingsley announced, casting a spell over her to make sure she remained stunned.
"You did it," Tony landed beside Harry, wrapping him in his arms tightly. "I'm so sorry, buddy. I'm so sorry."
Harry sobbed, the physical and emotional pain from the night's events finally getting to him.
"Excellent work, Harry," Professor McGonagall praised, coming over to where he was. From a few yards behind her, Hermione, Ron and Molly sheepishly stood.
Molly was the first to move closer.
"Harry," she began. "I'm... I'm so sorry about how we treated you. It was hard for me to see at the time, but... you saved my other kids. I only focused on the one that was lost, instead of all that were saved and I-- I know you'll probably never be able to fully forgive me, but I wanted to tell you that it wasn't your fault. And that I truly am sorry for the way that we treated you."
Tony opened his mouth to say something to the woman, but Harry gripped his arm tightly, silently telling him to stand down.
"I'll be honest. Your words and actions hurt me a lot. You had no idea what I was going through, how I was feeling, and yet you still said what you did. But I've also learned a lot about the meaning and value of life since them, and I forgive you. I miss you."
Molly's arms wrapped around him, tightly embracing his small frame. He didn't have the heart to tell her that every inch of his body felt like it was on fire, and that the tight embrace wasn't helping.
"Harry!" Peter bounded over to where his boyfriend was. "Harry, I'm so sorry for what I said. I didn't mean to make you upset, I was just thinking about how I wasn't out to anybody at school, other than Ned and MJ of course, and I wasn't sure what they would think of me. But I realize now that none of that matters, because you could have died, and God, Harry, you can't die. I love you too much, you can't-"
Peter's rambling was cut off by Harry's lips on his. Peter melted into the kiss, before breaking away and resting his forehead against Harry's.
"I thought I was gonna lose you," Peter whispered.
"You won't."
They didn't see Lucius' unguarded body begin to stir, reaching for his wand that was still disguised as a cane.
They didn't hear the curse leave his lips until after the green light was already hurdling towards them.
"Harry! Peter!" Bruce hollered, racing towards the boys. Racing towards the path of the killing curse.
"Bruce! NO!" Harry screamed, as the scientist intercepted the curse, falling limply to the ground.
It was all a blur.
Lucius aimed another spell towards Harry. But before he could cast it, an arrow pierced his shoulder, and he cried out in pain as Clint came racing toward him with Steve, who collected the man and snapped his wand in half.
"Bruce!" Harry fled to the scientist's side, wondering, hoping, praying that the man wasn't dead.
"Wake up, Bruce, come on, wake up," Tony knelt by one of his best friend's side.
Green muscles rippled beneath the button up shirt Bruce was wearing, and Harry let out a sob of relief at the realization that the Hulk had saved him one more time.
"Hulk angry! Hulk no like green light!" He cried crankily, before turning to his teammates.
"Man hurt Harry?" He asked, pointing towards the teen. "I hurt man if he hurt Harry."
Harry couldn't help but smile, and look towards where Clint and Steve were hauling the man towards the Order members so that he, too, could be taken into the Ministry.
"How about, Hulk, if we just go home?" Harry prompted. He had had enough for one night, and he knew that once the adrenaline wore off, he would most likely pass out.
"Harry? Can we talk?" Hermione asked, timidly stepping towards where her ex-best friend was standing beside the giant... what creature was that?
"Hermione, Ron, right now, I just want to go home and sleep for days. But I'll owl you, okay, and once I'm feeling better, and things with the bakery's opening have slowed down, I'll come visit. How does that sound?"
Hermione gave him a tight lipped smile. "That sounds perfect. Thank you Harry."
"Yeah, thanks Harry," Ron echoed, hands shoved deep in his pockets before his head shot up. "Hold on, did you say you're opening a bakery?"
Harry couldn't help but laugh, and Hermione and Ron began laughing as well. It felt good to laugh with them again.
"I'll tell you more about it in a letter, alright?"
"Will do," Ron smiled.
Tony's hand appeared on Harry's shoulder, and Harry looked into his dad's tired, yet kind, eyes.
They had come to save him tonight. There wasn't much they could do against magic, and they didn't even know how their suits and shields held up against it. But they had come to help. They cared about him, and they had been willing to risk their lives to save him.
When he looked into his dad's kind eyes, he felt nothing but love and admiration for the man. And despite being in an immense amount of pain still, Harry leaned into his father's frame in an act of affection.
"Let's go home dad."