#every time he mentions hp i look into the camera and shake my head so everyone knows i disprove

[boatemboys]

its time (again)

[fallen-imagine-angel]

Come Back To Me (Part 2) - Peter Parker x Reader

Notes: Hey guys, so I finally finished Come Back To Me part 2! It took a little bit, but I think it makes up for it by being so long. Oh, and Chapter 13 of the HP AU should be up by tomorrow or the next day, hopefully. I’m planning on posting it one of those days. Tag List is open for anything, too! Have a great rest of the day :) 

Summary: Part 2 to Come Back To Me, where you live in the Avengers compound to find a way back to the love of your life.

Come Back To Me - Part 2

Peter Parker x Reader

Requested?: Yes, by @soniasalvatore1 “Can you please make a part 2 to “Come back to me” I really liked it and just want to see what else would happen in the story”

Word Count: 5,190

Warnings: mentions of suicide & depression!! don’t read if those trigger you!! also, FLUFF and ANGST!!! 

Two years. It’s been two years since Tony recruited you, and three since Peter disappeared. Everything has changed.

You spend your days training with Natasha and your nights in the lab with Tony and Shuri. Shuri’s your best friend now, but the term is loose. Both of you are too distraught to really do ‘best friend’ things. The compound isn’t happy, just as you expected. Everyone has lost someone, and it’s taking its toll. 

Steve keeps to himself all day, only coming out of his room to train occasionally. You hardly see Rhodey, but when you do, he’s with Tony and Pepper. Valkyrie and Thor usually spend time with each other, and Valkyrie drinks a lot. You occasionally talk to Thor since he knows what it’s like to lose someone to something other than the dust. Clint mostly spends time with Natasha, so you see him occasionally before or after you train. Bruce stays to himself, beating himself up about how he couldn’t hulk out in time. Okoye and Shuri talk a lot about T’Challa, becoming almost a sisterly duo. You wish you could join, but it wouldn’t fit. You didn’t know T’Challa. Rocket and Nebula, on the other hand, bicker all the time about random things. And then there’s you. 

“Are you ladies almost done training for today? I need my lab assistant.” Tony walks into the training room to find you and Nat battling it out.

“She’s a natural born fighter, Tony. How come you didn’t bring her in here before two years ago? She’s almost as good as I am now.” Natasha tries for a smile. You appreciate her efforts to make you feel better.

“Well, I did learn from the best.” You get in a jab to her side.

“That you did.” Nat nods affirmatively.

“Okay, can you two be done? I’ve got some tech that needs working on, (Y/n), and you’ve already been training for...what is it? Five thirty? Yeah, you’ve been training for eleven and a half hours. It’s my turn.” Tony grabs your arm and drags you away from Natasha. 

You have a system between the two, they each get eleven and a half hours, and then you get an hour of sleep. They don’t know about most of the system, just that Tony gets you in the lab at 5:30 pm sharp. What he doesn’t know is that you’re in the lab until five every morning. Pepper usually forces him to go to bed around midnight or one, two which he makes you promise to go to bed no later than an hour after he does. You always promise, but never actually keep it.

“What are we working on tonight?” You ask, taking off the boxer’s tape on your hands.

“Whatever you were working on last night. You haven’t finished it yet, have you?” He asks you as you continue to walk toward the lab.

“Nope. I’m close, though. I think I can have it finished by tonight. Is Shuri already in there?” You yawn. Tony eyes you suspiciously as you yawn.

“Yes, she is. Have you been getting enough sleep lately?” He frowns.

“Of course. Just tired from eleven hours of training.” You grin at him. He nods, not all the way convinced by your answer. You step into the lab, being greeted by Shuri.

“(Y/n), I made a few modifications to your invention but I didn’t get to finish them, so here’s the list. I’ll let you work on them now. Meanwhile, I’m going to finish upgrades on my brother’s suit.” She gives you a quick hug before walking to the other side of the lab. You mentioned nothing of the fact that her brother turned to dust because you know she would only get upset. She’s set on bringing her brother back just like you’re set on bringing Peter back. You’d made web formula modifications for him, so why can’t she do the same for her brother’s suit? You won’t spoil her dreams, because that would be spoiling your own in the process.

“Thanks, Shuri.” You give her a small smile before getting back to work on your invention. It’s an invention that can locate a person no matter what dimension they’re in.

~+~

Hours later, after Tony and Shuri have already gone to bed, you’re still working in the lab. It’s about three in the morning now, and you’re so close to being finished with your device. If you get it finished soon, then you can maybe call it quits and turn in early for the night.

“(Y/n)?” You hear a groggy voice from the doorway. You look over to see Tony standing there with a confused look on his face.

“Morning.” You wave your hand dismissively, getting back to work.

“Why are you working this late? You need sleep.” Tony walks toward you, trying to take the device from you.

“I’m almost finished. I don’t stay up this late all the time.” You jerk your hands away from him, continuing to work.

“Really? The security footage begs to differ.” Tony points to a camera in the corner, making you sigh. Then your device starts to whir.

“It’s working! Quick, give me a person to locate!” You snap at him. 

“Thor?” He rubs his eyes, yawning again.

“He’s in his room! Ha! It works! Who’s another person who isn’t in this compound?” You ask, suddenly very awake.

“Uh, there’s this guy named Ant-Man who fought my team when Cap and I were...not on good terms. Can you find him? I haven’t seen him in a while.” He suggests.

“Ant-Man? What’s his name?” You ask, typing in some stuff to the device.

“Scott Lang.” He answers.

“Hm...it says he’s in something called the Quantum Realm? No idea what that is, I hope he’s okay. Probably just on a mission of his. Anyway, it works! Now to try it to do it on Peter!” You rush to type in some other things, trying to locate Peter. It beeps, signaling it can’t find him.

“What’s the problem?” Tony looks at it, seeing it light up red.

“It can’t find him!” You yell in frustration, trying to find everyone you know that turned to dust. No dice.

“It can’t find anyone? So it can find every dimension except the one that we’re trying to find? Unless...” Tony trails off, guilt lacing his voice.

“They’re not dead, Tony. Don’t even think of that. No, we’ve just got to try again,” You try it again, to no avail, “Ugh!” You throw the device into the trash, not seeing Tony picking it up and putting it away for future use.

“Hey, hey, kid, just go to bed. We’ll figure it out tomorrow after your training.” Tony lays a hand on your shoulder. An idea pops into your head.

“What if we didn’t have to wait anymore?” You grin, grabbing multiple pieces of technology from everywhere.

“What are you getting at?”

“Time travel! We could go back in time to save them!” You grab his shoulders excitedly.

“Kid, get some sleep. You’re only nineteen. This isn’t healthy.” He shakes his head, sighing.

“We just have to make a portal, then we could go back in time and save all of them! We can save Peter!” You ignore his comment completely.

“(Y/n), listen to yourself! Okay, say we go back in time. We save them. Peter is sixteen years old. Do you really think you can date a sixteen-year-old kid Peter? He would still be in high school.” Tony growls, trying to knock some sense into you.

“Plenty of people date with age differences, Tony.” You point out.

“It would be illegal!” He yells, causing you to fall silent.

“Tony...I’m not looking to date him. It’s not about having him as my boyfriend, it’s about having him back. My Peter. My best friend. Sure, I’m in love with him, but I would be fine getting him back and just being his best friend. I just want my best friend back. Please.” You sniff, a tear slipping out of your eye.

“Oh, (Y/n)...” Tony pulls you in for a hug as more tears slip from your eyes. You bury your face into his shoulder.

Then it hits you.

“What if...what if we didn’t go back in time to get them, but we went back to stop the snap from happening? What if we went to The Collector and got the Reality stone, then got the Time stone from Dr. Strange, and the Space stone from Loki, and had Wanda destroy them all.” You offer, your brain going a thousand miles a minute trying to process everything.

“That’s...that’s actually not a bad idea. We’ll get to work on that tomorrow, though. As of now, we both need to get some rest.” Tony pushes you out of the lab. You groan and trudge to your room, flopping on your bed and finally getting some much-needed rest.

~+~

The next morning, you jump out of bed and run to the training room, finding Clint already in there talking to Natasha. 

“Hey, Clint. Nat.” You give them both happy smiles, something you’ve never done in your two years here. They both seem taken back by the happiness you’re radiating.

“What happened to you?” Nat asks.

“Tony and I may have figured out a way to get the others back.” You grin. Both of their eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

“You’re...serious?” Clint asks with a hint of hope in his voice.

“Maybe. It’s a really good possibility, though. We’re working on time travel.” You nod. Clint gives you a smile, the first you’ve ever seen from him. The rest of your training is spent working hard.

~+~

Eleven and a half hours later, like clockwork, Tony saunters into the training room.

“Let’s go!” He yells, and he doesn’t have to ask twice. You’re saying goodbye to Natasha and heading to the lab.

When you reach the lab, you realize that the outline of a portal has already been started in the center, and Shuri is tinkering with it.

“You guys started without me? Traitor.” You punch Tony in the shoulder. 

“I never said I wouldn’t.” He shrugs, giving you a smile. You jump right in, getting to work beside him and Shuri. Bruce even comes in for a couple of hours to help you guys work. For once, you don’t feel hopeless.

~+~ 

A few weeks later, you’re finally finished. There’s a portal sitting in the center of the lab, and you’ve tested it to make sure it works.

“We have to figure out who will go.” Tony frowns, scanning the portal one more time for any possible malfunctions.

“I know who will go.” You give him a look. He nods, having the same people in mind as you.

“So what’s the news?” Everyone else shows up in the lab, filing in through the door one by one.

“We found a way to get the others back.” Tony drops the news, and everyone’s faces go into shock. Except Clint and Natasha’s, of course. 

“You’re serious?” Steve asks.

“How?” Nebula asks skeptically.

“Even the ones who didn’t turn to dust?” Thor steps up, his fingers crackling with untamed electricity.

“Yes, even Loki. Even Gamora. Everyone. Because….we’re going back in time.” You answer their questions.

“Back in time?” Rocket yells.

“Yes, back in time, rabbit. Did you not hear them?” Thor beams, now in a much better mood.

“I heard them.” Rocket growls, but he doesn’t seem that angry at Thor. He seems to have a soft spot for the god.

“When are we leaving?” Steve asks.

“Now.” You bite your lip, looking through the Avengers and Co.

“Who’s going?” Nebula asks, narrowing her eyes at you and Tony. Shuri and Bruce are off to the side, already positive that they’re not going. Bruce doesn’t want to fail again, and Shuri isn’t sure she’s ready to see her brother again, since he left her in her lab when he was off fighting and ultimately, dying.

“Me, Steve, Thor, Nebula, and Natasha will go,” Tony answers, and you clear your throat.

“And me.” You add. Tony turn to give you a look, but you glare at him and make him shut up.

“So...we’re just stepping through the portal? Where...when are we going first?” Thor asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Your ship. Before Thanos arrived. We’re getting the Space stone from Loki first.” You smile at him. He nods. 

“And, we’ve got a remote for the portal so we can open it anywhere to any time and send something through or walk through. That’s why we need Bruce and Shuri here, to keep track of what and who comes back through the portal.” Tony informs everyone.

Everyone who was picked for the mission steps forward and the rest take a step back. Shuri turns on the portal and the team steps through. You feel like you’re submerged in water.

~+~

When you arrive on the other side of the portal, it’s like getting a fresh breath of air. You take a deep breath and look around the ship, seeing everyone happy and talking. You spot Loki amidst the crowd.

“Brother!” Thor bellows, grinning and running over to him. He envelops him into a large hug, which Loki is very confused at.

“I swear you were just in the other room.” Loki mumbles.

“I am from the future! We have come to rescue you!” Thor sweeps his hand toward the rest of the team, including you, and you wave slightly. You were trying not to fangirl. Of course, you’ve heard of all of these heroes, but you’ve never met any of them. And true, Loki isn’t a hero, but he’s an anti-hero, and he tried to save his planet and his brother in the end, so he’s a hero to you.

“Right...look, we’re about to head to Earth, so I’ll see your...team...there.” Loki rolls his eyes at his brother's antics, probably thinking he’s playing a trick on him.

“Look, Reindeer Games, we need you to hand us the Tesseract. And come with us. You’re going to die if you don’t, I promise you that.” Tony steps forward, holding out his hand to Loki.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. No. I don’t even have the Tesseract.” Loki huffs, crossing his arms.

“Do not lie to me, brother! I told you, I’m from the future. Any moment now, Thanos will show up and steal it. Then he will...destroy everyone. Do you think we can take Heimdall, too?” Thor turns to Tony.

“We can’t take all of your people, Thor, but I will allow Loki and Heimdall.” Tony begrudgingly agrees.

“C’mon, trickster, we need the stone. If you don’t hand it to us, we’ll be forced to take it from you.” You frown.

“You said Thanos is coming any moment now, yes?”Loki hums, glancing at the front of the ship anxiously. 

“Yes. Come with us, brother. Please.” Thor practically begs. Loki reaches into thin air and flips the Tesseract to Tony, who of course catches it with ease.

“Where are we going?” Loki asks, narrowing his eyes at you and Nebula in particular since he’s never seen the two of you.

“We’re not going to the same place as you. You’re going back to the compound, three years in the future. We’ve got some unfinished business in other places.” You answer him. He nods, seeming to deem you worthy of answering his questions.

“Okay.” He agrees, surprisingly.

“Okay.” Tony nods and clicks the remote, opening the portal. Loki, without hesitation, steps through to the other side. Thor gets Heimdall, gives your group a smile, and steps through the portal with Heimdall to get some much needed time with his brother and Heimdall back. Tony closes the portal and opens up another one.

“To Knowhere, pre-Thanos.” You smile at them and step through.

~+~

Another breath of fresh air and you’re in the middle of the Collector’s Museum on Knowhere. 

“Collector!” Tony yells, cupping his hands around his mouth.

“How can I be of service?” He appears behind your group, cocking an eyebrow at everyone.

“Give us the Reality stone.” Nebula’s now at his throat with one of her many weapons.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Shouldn’t we ask nicely first?” Steve asks, putting a hand on Nebula’s shoulder. She shrugs him off and presses the knife harder against The Collector’s throat.

“He wouldn’t react well to asking nicely.” She growls.

“She’s right. Why should I give you the Reality stone?” He narrows his eyes at her.

“Because if you don’t, there will be consequences. Half of the universe will die. That means half of your clientele. And you, of course. You’ll die.” You smile sweetly at him. He glares at you.

“And why should I believe you?” He sneers.

“Because in about thirty seconds, Thanos is going to barge in here and take this from you no matter what, and he won’t spare you. I suggest you give us the stone and run so he doesn’t get to you next.” Natasha speaks up, instead of just giving her signature intimidating look that she’s been giving this entire trip so far.

“Fine. Take the stone.” The Collector gives Nebula the Reality stone once he realizes you’re telling the truth.

“Another down. Let’s go.” Tony opens another portal, and everyone steps through.

~+~

You’re now standing on Vormir, right behind the purple thumb and his daughter, Gamora. Everyone looks at each other apprehensively.

“I’ll grab my sister. Tony, open the portal as soon as I’ve got her because we’re both going through as soon as I do. Then, you guys go wherever you need to go.” Nebula instructs. Tony nods. Nebula sneaks forward and taps Gamora’s shoulder. She spins around, ready to fight until she sees Nebula. She relaxes a little bit and willingly walks through the portal with Nebula without her having to explain anything.

As Thanos drones on about his big plan, Tony opens another portal and everyone walks through unnoticed. 

Disaster averted.

~+~

You, Tony, Natasha, and Steve step into Dr. Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum. 

“I know why you’re here, you don’t have to tell me. Why do you need the Time Stone?” Dr. Strange appears from nowhere, giving your group a look.

“If you’re so all-knowing, then you should already know the answer to that question.” You raise an eyebrow at him.

“You’re right, I do. You want it to possibly save half the universe. Look, I’m tasked with keeping this stone at all times so I do not think I will hand it over to the likes of you.” He shakes his head.

“Then you also understand that you handed it over to Thanos when he tried to kill me.” Tony crosses his arms.

“Now why would I do such a thing?” Dr. Strange hums, flipping through one of his books absentmindedly.

“We don’t know. But you should give it to us because you and everyone you love will most likely die if you don’t.” You growl.

“So, if I give you the Time stone, you will save the world?” He asks, snapping the book shut and returning it to its place on the shelf. 

“Yes. Please, just give it to us. You’ll get it back three years from now, I promise. But it won’t actually be gone three years since we’ll only have it for about ten minutes.” Tony explains. Dr. Strange nods and opens the necklace, handing the Time stone to Tony. You thank him and step through another portal to your last destination. 

~+~

You arrive in Wakanda, in Shuri’s lab, next. You see Wanda standing there with Vision.

“Wanda, we need your help.” Steve steps forward.

“With what?” She asks, narrowing her eyes at you since you’re the only person she doesn’t recognize.

“We need you to destroy these stones.” You say as Tony lays them out on a table for her. She nods, a little hesitant, but seems to understand what’s at stake since you’re obviously not the regular Tony, (Y/n), Steve, and Natasha. Even though she wouldn’t know what you’re normally like.

She starts to use her power to destroy them.

A few minutes later, they all shatter, causing a massive burst of energy to throw everyone off their feet and into the nearest wall. 

“Ugh...time to go, guys.” Tony groans and opens a portal. Everyone climbs through, leaving a confused Wanda behind.

~+~

When you arrive back in your time, everything is different. No one is in the lab besides Shuri, Bruce, Thor, Loki, Heimdall, Nebula, and Gamora. 

“What happened?” Natasha asks.

“The rest didn’t know when you would come back, so we waited. For three years.” Shuri explains.

“We’ve been gone three years?” You furrow your eyebrows.

“Time travel. We don’t know how it works yet, we just figured out how to do it. It’s the same time as when you left, and the same place, but as soon as you destroyed the stones, everyone started appearing again. It’s been three years in their minds. They’ve been living here for the past three years and Thanos is only a distant memory to them. They remember the other timeline, but it’s more like a dream to them.” Bruce shrugs.

“Interesting. Well, I guess it’s better to be gone for three years than them be gone for the rest of our lives.” Tony racks his brain for explanations, but you don’t care.

“Where’s Peter?” You ask.

“Probably in his room.” Shuri gives you a small smile. Without warning, you and Tony rush out of the lab and find your way to Peter’s room. Tony had shown it to you a long time ago, and you had memorized the route from every room you had been to, so you get there a split second before Tony does.

“(Y/n)-” Tony stops you, putting an arm in front of the door. 

“What? I need to see him, Tony.” You try to shove him out of the way, to no avail.

“I need to talk to him first. Please. Let me. You can talk to him right after. I promise.” He begs you, giving you his puppy dog eyes that rarely many people got to see. You frown, sighing. 

“Fine. You have five minutes.” You begrudgingly let the billionaire go first. He’s a father figure to Peter, so it makes sense. You’re just the best friend.

~+~

During those long five minutes, you get a call. From your mom.

“Honey?” Your mom asks.

“Yeah, mom. It’s me.” You nod.

“Oh, good. Are you coming home for dinner tonight?” She asks simply, and you smile, a tear slipping down your cheek. It’s been so long since you last heard your mother’s voice.

“Yeah, I’ll be home. I gotta go now, but I’ll call you later, okay? I love you.” You hear her say a soft “I love you” back before you hang up, biting your lip to keep from crying already.

She’s okay. Everyone’s okay.

~+~

A few minutes later, as promised, Tony walks out of the room and closes it softly.

“You can go in now. You’ll thank me later.” He pats your back and walks off, leaving you slightly confused and nervous now. You’re not sure if you want to go in yet, after what Tony just said. Why will you thank him later?

Cautiously, you open the door. Peter is sitting on his bed, staring at his phone, crying. You hear a distinct voice playing on the phone.

“Uh, take care. I love you.” Your voice. Your voicemails. He’s listening to your voicemails.

“You weren’t supposed to hear those. How did you get that? I would’ve thought that- after...after the time change, your voicemails would’ve changed, too. Maybe disappeared.” You mutter, your heart rate picking up rapidly.

“Tony had my phone...he was never on it, it was to kinda...preserve my memory in a way, but he had it in his pocket at all times. Probably hoping that he’d give it back to me one day…” Peter trails off, not even looking up at you. Is this what Tony meant when he said you’d thank him later? He was wrong.

“I’ll just go.” You tear up, not from being with your best friend, but from not being able to have a happy moment with your best friend once he’s back.

“No, don’t. Please stay.” Peter grabs your hand and pulls you back to him, hugging you harder than you’ve ever been hugged before.

“Shuri says that dying is a distant memory for you. Almost like a dream. Do you remember it?” You whisper, letting your tears flow.

“Yeah, I do. Not vividly, just kinda the overview of things. I know I disintegrated, but I can’t remember much after that.” He admits, pulling you closer to him. You let out a sigh of relief.

“I remember everything. I remember being without you for a year. I remember being without May, Ned, or MJ for a year, too. And...without my dad for half a year.” You take a deep breath and pull back from Peter to get a good look at him. He doesn’t look much different besides being slightly older. Nineteen suits him well.

“I’m so sorry, (Y/n).” He brushes a hair behind your ear and your breath hitches in your throat.

“I should go. I’ve got a dinner with my family, and-” Peter cuts you off mid-sentence.

“Aunt May and I, and your family should do dinner together tonight! It would be a great way to catch up again, especially after everything. Shuri explained to me that regular civilians have a different perception of what happened than us...heroes. They don’t think that you, Tony, Steve, and Natasha have been gone for three years. Your mom has lived like you’ve been here the entire time, for some reason. I’m not sure why.” He explains quickly, making you slightly confused but more understanding why your mom wasn’t completely freaking out that you answered the phone.

“Okay. I think dinner with everyone would be good.” You nod in agreement.

“Great. And...before we go, there’s something I need to do.” Peter scratches the back of his neck anxiously.

“And what-” You’re about to ask what that would be, but before you can get the sentence finished, Peter’s kissing you. You’re surprised, to say the least, but not in a bad way. Your hands make their way to his hair, pulling at the disheveled curls as you kiss back. You’ve been waiting for this for too long.

Maybe you would thank Tony later.

“That’s what I had to do. I’ve been waiting to do that for...forever.” Peter grins once you pull away. Then, he kisses you again. And again. And again.

“Peter, as much as I absolutely love kissing you, we should get to our apartments. My parents will be wondering where I am.” You grin and take his hand, pulling him out of his room and into your car that Tony had gotten you a little while ago for your birthday.

~+~

When you’re finally back at your apartment building, you run up the stairs to see your parents. Peter has been able to see Aunt May for three years, but you haven’t seen your parents since the day your mom disintegrated and your dad committed suicide.

You knock loudly on the door to your apartment, Aunt May and Peter behind you, waiting anxiously. Aunt May knew of why you were so excited, she also had a distant memory of what happened, since she wasn’t necessarily a superhero, but she was involved in the life of one.

“Hi, honey!” Your mother hugs you and you hug back tightly.

“Mom! Where’s dad?” You look behind her. She gives you a concerned and sad look.

“Where’s…(Y/n), your dad...your dad committed suicide two years ago. How could you forget that?” Your mother places her hand on your forehead to check your temperature.

You go numb.

“He...what? Why?” You mumble, suddenly feeling very claustrophobic. Everything was supposed to be okay again.

“Well, he said he didn’t feel quite right. Like something was off. He kept complaining about it for half a year until...he killed himself. A year before he did, he was fine. Nothing was wrong. But then, six months later...he wasn’t himself anymore. He said he felt like he wasn’t supposed to be there like nothing felt quite real anymore. I don’t know what he was going on about, but he couldn’t bear to live with it any longer. Are you sure you’re okay? How come you don’t remember this? You were distraught and went to stay with Peter for a little bit.” Your mom pulls the three of you inside and goes to get a thermometer for you.

“He’s...he’s gone. For real. I’ll never get to see him again.” You mumble, not really able to contemplate anything else at the moment.

“I’m so sorry, (Y/n).” Aunt May and Peter hug you, trying their best to comfort you in the best way they could. Peter especially, since he knows what it’s like to lose a father.

“Honey, take your temperature.” Your mom hands you a thermometer and you put it in your mouth, not paying much attention to it. You hear a beep and your mom takes it out of your mouth.

“No fever...weird.” She frowns and goes to put it away. She then serves dinner and everyone eats silently. An awkward tension grows over the table.

“So, uh...me and (Y/n) have an announcement. We’re dating.” Peter smiles, trying to take your mind off your father. He laces your fingers together and holds your hands up for your mom and Aunt May to see.

“Oh, I’m so glad to hear that! You know, (Y/n), I knew you two would get together ever since you started hanging out when you were kids.” Your mother gushes. “I saw it, too! Did you see the way they would look at each other in middle school? Totally crushing on each other, but never even noticed it! I’m surprised it took them this long!” Aunt May joins, making you smile. Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad after all. Sure, you don’t have your father, but you had adjusted to life without him before. It shouldn’t be so hard this time, especially with everyone else by your side.

“Did someone call for a party!?” Ned and MJ suddenly burst through your apartment door, hugging you and Peter tightly.

“Oh my gosh, you guys! I texted you, like, fifteen times this morning! How come neither of you answered?” MJ punches your arm lightly. So, she’s like your mom. No clue about anything.

“MJ!” Ned yells, pointing at your intertwined hands. MJ raises her eyebrows and looks at you, winking.

“Now I think I know why you weren’t answering.” She smirks.

“MJ!” Both you and Peter yell, heat rising to your cheeks. You bite your lip to keep a smile from forming. If only she knew.

“Okay, okay. The adults are here, right. So, what’s for dinner?” MJ grins and they sit down and start eating your mother’s homemade food. You smile to yourself.

Maybe this can be your new little happy family.

[sapphicscholar]

Could you write a fic where all of the Superfriends (starting with Alex) get turned into the animals of their Hogwarts Houses? (For instance, Alex would be turned into a snake.) probably due to an alien virus or something, or alien tech, or any other reason you can think of.

Re: the prompt with the Superfriends turning into their House animals: that could be done via magic too, and maybe would make more sense to do it that way since why would a random alien know about Harry Potter, right? Maybe Mxy decides to play more pranks. (I think fifth dimensional imps are magic. Probably) I dunno.

Just posted on AO3

A/N: So, since I had requests for more Hogwarts AU, I went ahead and aged them up to make them HP AU adults for this one to make sense – apologies that not all the superfriends are here, but I went with the crew most likely to be found at the downtown base of the DEO minus J’onn (you’ll see why soon enough). Hopefully this works for ya!

Also…holy crap, I’ve never felt more high without being high nor been more grateful for having immersed myself in the world of Animal Studies and read (and reread) Donna Haraway or Thomas Nagel’s “What Is it Like to Be a Bat?” Also…learned SO MANY animal facts.

Chapter Text:

“Wake up,” Maggie hissed, nudging Alex with her elbow.

“Huh?” Startled, Alex jerked awake, her quill streaking a dark scratch across her notebook.

Rolling her eyes, Maggie waved her wand and wordlessly erased the extra ink so that Alex would be able to read her notes, not that they said much she didn’t already know.

“Your fault I’m this tired,” Alex murmured back, pulling a smirk and a low chuckle from Maggie.

“Didn’t hear you complaining last night…”

“Danvers! Sawyer! Is there something more important right now than your first day of work?”

“No, Director J’onzz,” Alex replied, looking appropriately bashful even if she knew he only said something to avoid the appearance of favoritism. She caught Kara’s expression as she spun around to stick her tongue out at her. It suddenly felt like the few years they’d spent together in muggle school before beginning at Hogwarts, back when her mom had managed to convince the school that Kara would be more comfortable being in classes with her big sister whenever possible.

“As I was saying,” J’onn continued, “today marks your first day as a member of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement’s Auror Office. You have all proven yourselves worthy through years of study and testing, but I warn you against thinking that might be enough on its own. None of you will be allowed into the field until you have completed your first year of intensive training. From here on out, you should think of your task force like your family. You will eat together, train together, and, when the time comes, go out into the field together.”

“Like Hogwarts houses!” Kara chimed in.

“Yes, Ms. Danvers,” J’onn admitted, dipping his head and trying not to let his smile at her chipper demeanor show.

“Or like the muggle military…” Alex trailed off, not wanting to be outdone.

“Yes, Ms. Danvers…the elder. Given the rigorous nature of this training, that is, perhaps, the more apt comparison.” Alex arched an eyebrow at Kara in challenge when J’onn turned to pace in front of the room. “Now your task force captains will take you for the rest of the day for some team bonding and an overview of your next few weeks of training. I ask that you give them your full attention and respect.”

The new recruits nodded and quickly moved to gather their belongings before finding their teams. Alex and Maggie sauntered over to where James, Kara, and Winn had already gathered, then followed them down the hallway to their assigned meeting room.

“I’m so glad we’re all together!” Kara squealed, nearly bouncing in excitement as she carefully stacked her belongings on one corner of the small conference table.

“More like glad that J’onn likes us enough to let us all be on the same team,” Alex corrected her, sinking down into a seat and pulling at Maggie’s hand to try to get her to join her.

“It’s a shame Vasquez couldn’t come with us,” Winn sighed. Sure, Vasquez liked pulling pranks on him every now and then, but they had gotten close over the years at Hogwarts, and he would miss seeing her every day.

“I’m sure she’ll find some way to amuse herself with Lucy out at the East Coast branch…” Maggie trailed off, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively as she leaned into Alex’s side. James rubbed at the back of his neck, trying to find the right expression that showed how supportive he was of his ex-girlfriend’s newest relationship without looking overly enthusiastic either.

“Recruits!” came a booming voice, and Alex felt her posture straighten as she looked for the source of the sound. “I am Auror Potter—no, no relation, and you would do well not to ask. I’ll be your task force captain for the next year. I expect you to show up to work on time each morning and be ready to give me 110 %. I don’t promise this will be fun, but if you follow my lead, at the end of it, I promise you’ll be ready to go out into the field alongside the very best we have to offer.” He surveyed the group of them, trying to place the faces to the bios he’d received from the Department.

“Winn Schott!” he called out, smiling to himself when the smaller boy stumbled forward, quickly righting himself as he saluted.

“No salutes necessary, Schott.”

“Oh, uh, right.”

“We’ll go around and do brief introductions – I want to know what you all bring to this team. You can start.”

“Yes, sir!” With a deep breath, Winn began, “I, uh, I spent the last year doing some tech work with the Muggle Relations Division. We—er, muggles, I mean—they have certain kinds of technology, like, they have portable phones instead of two-way mirrors or floo powder calls. Anyway, some of them had found ways of using technology to detect our presence—finding signs of life in places we had hidden from their view, the like. I worked on creating measures to combat detection” Alex looked beyond intrigued, though Maggie just bit back a laugh at how amazed everyone seemed by muggle technology. She’d grown up around it and, if truth be told, still thought some of it was vastly preferable; she’d take a text over the dizziness of spinning her head into a friend’s fireplace any day, though of course, with so few muggle friends left, she rarely had a choice in the matter.

“Given the nature of your position on our team, you’ll be spending part of your training with our codebreakers and the rest of your time with your team,” Potter explained to Winn, who nodded and sat back in his seat when it was clear that his part was done.

“Danvers?”

Alex looked up, while Kara jumped to her feet, smiling broadly.

“Ah, right…the sisters.” Kara and Alex glanced at each other, wondering how much J’onn might have mentioned to their captain, who looked very much like he was trying not to smile. “We’ll start with Alexandra.”

“It’s Alex, sir.”

“Noted.”

“Well, I took some time off after graduating from Hogwarts before beginning the Auror Training Program to travel. I went and worked studying magical creatures—their physiology, magical properties, uses in healing. But I’m back now and excited about my work here.”

“Suck up,” Maggie whispered, stifling a laugh at the annoyed expression that flashed across Alex’s features.

“It says here you specialized in dragons?”

“Mhm,” Alex confirmed with a nod.

“Interesting…could come in handy.” Alex grinned. “Now Kara, you’re fresh out of Hogwarts, right?”

“I am, but I am more than ready!”

Potter couldn’t help a small smile at her enthusiasm. “You wouldn’t be here if we didn’t think you were qualified. Next up: James Olsen.”

James raised his hand a bit in acknowledgement. “I know I’m a bit…older than most of the new aurors, but I just…I liked my career at the Daily Prophet, but I couldn’t help but feel like there were ways I could be better at serving the community, doing more good than what I could do behind a desk or a camera.”

“I didn’t start out as an auror myself,” Potter admitted with a small shrug of his shoulders. “No right or wrong way to get here. Well…I wouldn’t recommend floo powder, actually. The department’s fireplaces are rather small—personally I almost always end up banging my head on the way out.” He turned to Maggie, the last on his list. “And last but not least: Magdalena Sawyer.”

“Maggie,” she clarified. “Yeah, I spent the past couple of years traveling with Alex, though I was working as an apprentice to a wandmaker.”

“Ah, which one?”

“Violetta Beauvais’ granddaughter.”

“Interesting choice. Not Ollivander?”

Shaking her head, Maggie cleared her throat, figuring there was always going to be the moment of outing at any new job. “No, I, uh, I wanted to support a woman working in a male-dominated industry. Plus, she’s a queer woman and all—felt like we would work well together.”

Alex managed to cover her small snort of laughter with a cough. “Felt like you would work well under her is more like it,” Alex whispered when Potter turned his attention to the board in the front of the room.

“Didn’t hear you complaining that New Year’s Eve we all spent together,” Maggie taunted, stopping only when she caught sight of Kara’s scandalized look. Turning her attention back to the front of the room, Maggie heard their captain saying something about team-building exercises. She tried not to groan at the idea as he motioned for them all to follow him down to one of the training rooms.

“And this is the one,” he finally announced. “Now hand me your wands.”

Slowly but surely they handed them over, though Alex eyed him suspiciously, wondering if this were some kind of test. It seemed like they should know better than to leave themselves defenseless, though she eventually relented.

“Head into the room.” James led the way, looking around to try to figure out what their first exercise might be. The room was fairly plain: one table, one small window, and a few chairs. “Your task will be to escape.” Winn furrowed his eyebrows, looking between the captain and the unlocked very much open door. “Ah, we’ll be locking you in here. The key will be directly outside of the door.” They looked between themselves, shrugging. It didn’t seem a particularly difficult challenge. “Once you escape, you will need to retrieve a set of three small sensors.”

“How will we know where to look for them?” Kara asked.

“You’ll know,” he answered, dismissing further questions with a wave of his hand. “You’ll have half an hour.”

Even with the two tasks, it still seemed rather doable. Their confident expressions soon gave way as a team of aurors—all slightly older—approached, a few of them not bothering to hide their smirks. After all, it wasn’t every day they got to haze the newbies. In unison they raised their wands then brought them swishing down. With five flashes of light and a few cut-off cries of surprise, they stepped back, locking the door behind them with a loud laugh. Left behind in the room were five sets of robes and five animals—two confused badgers, one coiled snake, one squawking eagle, and one massive lion.

Alex found herself enveloped in darkness, and she fought to see in front of her. Her senses were suddenly overwhelmed with the sound and feel of low vibrations, and she surged forward, feeling as her whole body slithered, moving forward in one lithe, curling movement. Eventually she felt her head emerge from the cloth. Acting on instinct, Alex let her tongue dart out from her mouth, though she had to admit, nothing quite felt like a mouth or tongue in the sense that she knew. But as she did, she was overwhelmed with the scents of animals that she was fairly certain she wouldn’t have recognized by smell before this moment. She spun around and was struck by the startling outlines of the animals she smelled—two smallish badgers, both of whom somehow smelled familiar; a bird that she watched flutter about; and a lion that seemed to be pacing the room. Hit with a desperate need for warmth, she slithered toward the ray of sunlight illuminating one small square of the room. She would think once she was warm.

Maggie and Kara clawed at their robes, and once Maggie was free, she took off toward the scent of another badger and came to stand beside her. Kara tried to look forward but found she could barely see at all. She suspected this would make the task significantly harder, though she found that she could smell everything. Maggie sniffed the air, finding the scent of something that seemed intensely familiar. She waddled across the room, noting the clicking of long nails. That was quite the change from the usual, she laughed to herself. As she got closer to the smell, she could feel her fur raising, but she tamped down on the instinct to treat as prey and possible dinner what smelled and looked, in its vague outline, like a snake, trying to remind herself that what she knew from before needed to outweigh any animal urges. As a large beast lumbered toward her and the snake that for some reason she felt compelled to protect, Maggie’s lips curled back and she pushed her claws forward, her hips and hindquarters raising slightly as she let out a loud hiss.

James reared back at the small but somehow intimidating creature in front of him, crouching and letting off a fairly repugnant odor. He thought perhaps he was the only one from the group left as he pawed at the ground, letting out a small growl of annoyance that had another one of the creatures raising its nose in the air and turning in his direction. He wondered if his new form would be able to simply knock the door forward. With as much of a running start as he could manage in the small room, he lunged forward, finding himself flung backwards with what he could only assume was magical force. So the door was out.

Winn fluttered nervously above the others, looking down at the sight below him. He swooped in high circles above the room, eventually coming to roost on the narrow windowsill after one mistaken attempt at crashing through the glass pane. As he looked through it, he was astounded at just how far he could see, looking out over the treetops and well into the surrounding neighborhood. He wondered if they’d ever make it out of the room and watched as the lion was sent sprawling back across the stone floor.

Despite her instincts screaming at her to flee, Alex found herself slithering under the badger that had come over to her, basking in the warmth of the thick fur. Maggie lowered her already short body down.

Across the room, Kara dug desperately at the floor, finding even her thick, long claws futile against the weathered stones.

Noting the attempts of many of those around him to help, James reasoned they might actually be his team. In an attempt to get their attention, he let out a loud roar, unaware of the crowd of aurors that had gathered outside the enchanted door who flung themselves back at the sound.

Alex popped her head up at the sound, having felt it vibrate and rumble across the ground. She hissed back, as did the two badgers, and the eagle let out a squawk. Oh. Oh! As she watched the other badger dig and the lion lunge at the walls and the eagle fly into the window for a second time, she realized that perhaps this was her team. She hadn’t been transported into some other dimension. She darted her tongue out, flicking it against the side of the face of the badger who she’d been cuddling, and somehow, she wasn’t sure how, she just knew it was Maggie. And oh! Badgers. Two of them. That smelled like home. Because they were home. Because they were Maggie and Kara. Because they were Hufflepuffs. And she was a snake because she was a Slytherin. Which made the charging lion James and the now perched eagle Winn. And oh dear god they were never getting out of here.

But James’ roar seemed to help everyone gradually realize that they were still a team. A team without language or opposable thumbs, but a team goddammit. Having seen James repelled from the door and having watched Kara’s vain attempts at digging through the floor, Alex slithered around the perimeter, finding herself slamming face first into the walls a few more times than she would have liked. Eventually, though, she made it back, disappointed in the lack of any cracks she could exploit.

Realizing his squawks weren’t attracting much attention compared to the roar, Winn tapped loudly against the glass pane of the window. His beak wasn’t going to crack it, but at least he hadn’t been magically forced backward, which must mean something. Eventually he flapped down, settling on James’ back and finally catching his attention. He flew back and forth between James and the window until he finally caught the motion and seemed to understand.

James sat back on his haunches, regarding the window. It was small—much too small for him to fit through. He suspected if he lunged forward, he’d catch the stone wall before he ever had the opportunity to smash through the glass. But then he felt a cold thing twisting around his paw, and as he raised his arm to shake it off, he felt it coil tightly around him before two small fangs sunk into him, and he let out a loud mewl of pain.

Alex would have rolled her eyes if she could have. She barely even bit him, but at least she had his attention. Once he settled down and Alex uncurled herself from his front paw, he finally seemed to catch her meaning and backed up as far as he could in the small room, lunging forward paw first at the window as soon as Winn had flown away from it. The first time it wavered but didn’t crack. The second time he heard the sound of the glass splintering, though it didn’t give way. And finally it crashed through. He bounded back with a yelp of pain, sitting back and licking at his paw, attempting to knock the small shards of glass out.

Meanwhile, Winn flew out through the broken window, allowing himself just a few moments of freedom as he swooped and soared over the trees before flying back to the building and darting in through the front door. He ducked and swerved out of the way of the other Ministry employees, watching with glee as they squealed in surprise and dove out of his path. Eventually he made it into an elevator, perching patiently on the railing as the wizards and witches who were unlucky enough to be with him regarded him warily. When they made it up to his floor he flew down the hallway, catching sight of the glinting key and hooking it with his claws before soaring back out the way he came and finally returning with the key. He managed to push it into the small lock, though he found himself unable to turn it.

Alex hissed until Winn finally landed near her, and she slithered up his body, winding himself around his neck and pushing at his beak until he finally lifted her up. Once more, she wrapped herself around the key, twisting until it turned with her, finally hearing the satisfying click as the door popped open. James rushed forward, nosing the door all the way open, and a snuffling Kara and Maggie followed close behind, running into a few walls as they went. Maggie wondered if this was how Alex felt without her glasses. Once they were out of the room, which, Maggie reasoned, must have been somehow enchanted, Maggie and Kara found their ears assaulted with a loud beeping. The sensors, Kara thought. Potter had told her they would know how to find them. Of course, being able to hear them didn’t make the lack of proper vision any less of an issue.

Between Winn and James, however, they had enough vision and size for the group of them, and they followed their impromptu pack leaders through the halls of the Ministry, delighting in hissing, nipping, and growling at the more senior aurors as they passed. Eventually Winn led them outside, and Maggie and Kara got straight to work, running as fast as their short legs could take them to the sound of the beeping that seemed to be coming from the heart of the grounds that surrounded the building. Suddenly feeling useful, Kara dove nose and claws first into a patch of dirt, burrowing until she latched onto the beeping sensor. A few yards away, Maggie did the same, feeling grateful she’d been able to do something other than help to keep Alex warm during their team mission.

With two of the three sensors gathered, the team followed the noise—whether felt as vibrations or heard as a grating sound—over to one of the gnarled old trees. James pawed at it, but found nothing. Kara and Maggie dug around the perimeter of it, only to find that the deeper into the ground they got, the further away they were from the sound. Eventually they turned to Alex, who slithered her way up the tree, attempting to focus on the feeling of the vibrating sounds, tracing them to a small crack in the trunk that she managed to wedge herself into, finally getting to what she was fairly certain was a sensor—not that it gave off any kind of heat for her infrared vision to catch it. After multiple attempts to angle herself properly to nose it out of the tree, Alex gritted her teeth (in theory, she couldn’t do much with a pair of fangs) and opened her jaw wide, fitting the whole thing into her mouth and praying it wouldn’t kill her when she turned back into a human.

With the three sensors in (figural) hands, they made their way back to the building, feeling every bit the part of the heroic team even if they didn’t look it.

“Two whole minutes to spare. Very impressive,” Potter greeted them at the entrance, watching as two clawed paws deposited sensors at his feet, and a snake unhinged its jaw, managing to get the sensor back out of its mouth. “Now back to the room with you!”

They all followed dutifully, finding the group of slightly older aurors waiting for them, wands at the ready. Once they had been shepherded back into their initial locked room, they were hit with transfiguration spells once more before the door locked—for their privacy, they soon realized, as they stumbled forward human once more but clothed no longer. Alex and Winn quickly threw on their robes, as did Maggie and Kara, whose attire littered with small, badger teeth-sized holes chewed across them but was at least passable. James, however, stood in the corner, clutching Winn in front of him like a shield. His robes lay in tatters; they hadn’t quite withstood the challenge of accommodating a lion, though he didn’t think Madame Malkin would accept that as an excuse for a return.

When Potter returned and tossed back their wands, Kara was kind enough to magic James’ robes back together before turning her attention to the small holes in her own, while Maggie patched up the damage she had wrought on hers.

“So…you passed day one.” Potter looked between them, gauging their reactions. “How does it feel?”

There were a few long moments of silence before Winn finally spoke up, his voice cracking slightly as he asked, “That’s day one?”