The portal spat them out into the main living space of the safehouse, which, in true Stark fashion, looked like what would happen if a billionaire genius, a mad scientist, and a wizard all got drunk and decided to build a house together. Sleek holographic displays hummed alongside floating enchanted candles. A coffee maker, which Harry was pretty sure had been possessed since last Tuesday, hissed menacingly in the corner.
Howard Stark stood by the massive holo-table, arms crossed, scowling like they'd just interrupted his favorite radio program. "About time you kids got back. You bring me something worth my time, or was this just another field trip with extra bullets?"
"Oh, don't worry, old man," Harry said, patting his enchanted pouch. "We brought you something very special."
Andromeda Tonks—who somehow managed to look both exhausted and effortlessly regal, like a battle-worn queen—arched a brow. "Is it bleeding?"
Ted, ever the supportive husband, adjusted his glasses. "That's usually the first question we ask."
Lily Potter appeared from the lab space, wiping her hands on a rag, red hair piled in a messy bun that shouldn't have made her look as intimidating as it did. She fixed Harry with a knowing look, one that said What did you do this time? but in the voice of someone who had long since given up on expecting better. "I assume whatever's in that pouch is important enough that you didn't just leave it in a freezer somewhere?"
"Oh, you know me," Harry said, unfastening the pouch with a flourish. "I like to bring home souvenirs."
With a flick of his wrist and a muttered incantation, the pouch's mouth widened—because physics were for Muggles—and the cryogenic chamber whooshed out, landing in the center of the room with a solid thunk.
Howard let out a low whistle. "Okay. Now that's interesting."
Gideon Adler, formerly known as The Most Dangerous Wizard of the 20th Century and now rocking an expensive three-piece suit like he'd just walked off a Parisian runway, stepped closer, regarding the chamber with a knowing smirk. "And this was in Riga?"
Harry nodded. "Long story short? Hydra's got their hands on some seriously unstable assets. This one?" He gestured to the frozen woman inside. "Meet Erica Hayes. Hydra's attempt at making an energy-based superweapon."
Andromeda sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose like she could already feel the incoming headache. "Why is it always weapons with these people?"
"Unoriginal," Gideon agreed. "If they had any creativity, they'd try making an opera singer with energy powers instead. Or at the very least, an artist."
Ted blinked. "That's where your mind went?"
Howard, still studying the chamber, knocked on the glass. "She alive?"
Harry shrugged. "As alive as anyone can be in cryo. Not dead, not awake."
Lily stepped forward, fingers trailing over the chamber's surface. Magic crackled around her hands, golden runes flaring to life before flickering out like dying embers. Her green eyes narrowed. "The technology here is weird. There's something laced into it—something not quite magic, but not quite science either."
Gideon smirked, tilting his head. "You mean my kind of magic?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "I mean something like magic but engineered. It's been modified, twisted into something that plays by scientific rules. Or at least, Hydra's version of them."
Howard sighed, rubbing his temples. "Great. More magical science nonsense. Every time I think I've got a handle on this, you people throw another curveball at me."
Andromeda stepped closer, hands already glowing with diagnostic spells. "We need to wake her up carefully. If Hydra went through the trouble of keeping her on ice, it means she's either dangerous, unstable, or both."
Harry clapped his hands together. "Well, lucky for us, we specialize in dangerous and unstable."
Ted gave him a long look. "Why does that sound like your life motto?"
"Because it is."
Howard exhaled sharply. "Alright. Let's crack this thing open. But carefully. I don't need an exploding energy lady ruining my day."
Lily nodded, already weaving a spell to override the cryo-lock. The machine hummed, the glass panel fogging up slightly as warmth seeped back into the chamber.
Gideon folded his arms. "Let's hope she wakes up on the right side of history."
Andromeda's gaze flickered to the figure inside. "And let's hope she doesn't wake up angry."
The lock released with a hiss.
The ice began to melt.
And Erica Hayes took her first breath.
She woke up gasping, like she'd been drowning in her own mind and had finally reached the surface. Then her eyes snapped open—bright, electric blue, crackling with raw energy—and for one very long second, nobody moved.
Then—
"Ah," Erica said, blinking blearily. Her voice was hoarse, like someone who hadn't spoken in a long time. She glanced around, taking in the strange mix of faces staring at her. "So. I'm either in a Hydra facility, an alien spaceship, or someone's very weird fever dream."
Harry grinned. "Option D: None of the above. Welcome to the safehouse."
Erica stared at him. "And who are you supposed to be?"
He smirked, dramatically flipping his cloak over his shoulder. "Oh, you know. Just your friendly neighborhood wizard."
Erica considered that. Then, still groggy, muttered, "That's stupid."
Howard snorted. Gideon smirked. Lily beamed.
Harry just grinned wider. "Oh, you're gonna fit right in."
—
The lights flickered dramatically. Because, of course, they did.
Electric-blue sparks crackled over Erica Hayes' fingertips as she sat up, looking somewhere between mildly confused and one wrong word away from blasting someone through a wall. Which, all things considered, was a very reasonable reaction to waking up in a strange room filled with even stranger people.
Before anyone could say anything, the universe decided now was the perfect time for Captain America to make his grand entrance.
"What the hell did you just do?"
Ah. There it was. The patented Steve Rogers Disappointed Dad Voice.
Steve came stomping into the room, the weight of all his moral fiber making every step sound heavy with judgment. Peggy Carter, always the picture of composed British disapproval, followed right behind him. Natasha slinked in like she was already considering whether this mess was worth her time, while Bucky looked like a man who had mentally checked out and was now thinking about whether whiskey or a well-placed explosion would solve his problems faster.
Howard Stark, completely unfazed, adjusted his cuffs. "Ah, Rogers. Good. You can help me yell at them."
Steve's eyes landed on Erica, who—understandably—had electricity literally dancing over her skin. He exhaled slowly. "Tell me you didn't just wake up the highly classified, highly dangerous superweapon Fury specifically told us not to touch."
Harry, ever the chaotic neutral party in the room, leaned against the cryo-table with a casual shrug. "I could tell you that."
Steve crossed his arms. "But?"
Harry grinned. "But it would be a lie."
Steve closed his eyes for a second, possibly making peace with his inevitable aneurysm. Then, because he was Steve Rogers and therefore built from an ungodly mix of stoicism and stubborn Midwestern morality, he turned to Howard. "Please tell me you didn't sign off on this."
Howard waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, absolutely not." A beat. "But it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission."
Right on cue, a new voice chimed in from the doorway.
"Damn right it is."
And there he was—Tony Stark, age sixteen, leaning against the doorframe like he hadn't just walked into the middle of what definitely qualified as an international incident. He was already halfway through a stolen cup of coffee (because of course he was), despite no one actually seeing him take it.
Steve let out a long-suffering groan. "Oh, great. There's two of you now."
Tony, without missing a beat, shot him finger guns. "Relax, Cap. You'll get used to it."
Steve pinched the bridge of his nose. "I hate that I already have."
Meanwhile, Erica had been watching this entire exchange like someone who had accidentally walked into the world's weirdest sitcom. Finally, she cleared her throat. "Uh. Hate to interrupt whatever this is, but could someone please tell me where the hell I am?"
Peggy, ever the responsible one, stepped forward, leveling Erica with the kind of gaze that could make lesser men confess to crimes they hadn't even committed. "Before we do that, perhaps you could explain who you are."
Erica hesitated, sparks flickering over her hands again. "You sure? It's a long story."
Howard crossed his arms. "We've got time."
Harry, grinning, gestured dramatically. "Besides, we love a good tragic backstory."
Erica exhaled slowly, met their collective stares, and braced herself.
"Alright," she said.
And then she began.
—
For a long moment, Erica just sat there, shoulders stiff, fingers twitching like she had too much caffeine—or, given her situation, maybe just too much existential dread. The faint blue light crackling over her skin flared and died as she exhaled slowly, visibly forcing herself to stay calm.
"Right," she muttered, running a hand through her tangled hair. "Guess I should start at the beginning."
Harry, ever the supportive audience member, made a go on gesture like he was settling in for a particularly juicy soap opera.
Erica took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and said the magic words:
"I was a Hydra agent."
Instant room temperature drop.
Natasha's face didn't change—because, well, it was Natasha—but she shifted her weight slightly, in that I am calculating twelve different ways to kill you right now way she had. Bucky, already leaning against the farthest wall like he didn't trust the furniture, tensed as though he had just gotten flashbacks to his least favorite winter memories. Steve's jaw went rigid. Peggy—who had personally spent a significant portion of her life punching Hydra in the teeth—folded her arms, expression somewhere between I knew it and I might throw you out the window.
Erica let out a dry laugh. "Yeah, I figured that'd go over well."
Natasha arched a brow, voice cool as ever. "You were Hydra?"
"Were." Erica emphasized, because context mattered. "Until I realized they'd been lying to me from the start."
Silence. The kind that stretched long enough to make a person question their life choices. Then, Howard—who had somehow taken all of this in stride, probably because he was used to things getting progressively weirder—gestured for her to keep talking. "Well, go on, kid. You already have our attention."
Erica exhaled sharply. "I grew up in Hydra. Born into it, practically. My parents were scientists working on advanced bioweapons—brilliant, but a little too ethical for Hydra's taste. When I was five, they died in what I was told was a terrorist attack."
Steve's frown deepened. Given his own Hydra murdered my parents situation, he was taking this personally. "And that wasn't true?"
Erica shook her head, her jaw tightening. "No. The real story is that Baron Helmut Zemo had them executed when they refused to weaponize their research. But I didn't know that. Hydra fed me a sob story, made me believe the world was cruel and chaotic, and that only they could bring order to it." Her voice turned bitter. "And I bought it."
Tony, still absorbed in the data flashing across the screen from the now-open cryo chamber, didn't look up as he muttered, "Yeah, that definitely sounds like a cult."
Erica huffed a laugh. "Tell me about it."
Bucky, who had extremely strong opinions on the Hydra raised me to be useful pipeline, made a noise that sounded vaguely like a growl but otherwise stayed silent.
"I volunteered for Project Aegis," Erica continued. "An experimental enhancement program designed to create next-gen supersoldiers. Their answer to Captain America—except with an added bonus." She lifted her hand, letting blue sparks dance over her fingers. "Energy-based abilities meant to neutralize even the biggest threats."
Natasha tilted her head slightly. "But you were planning to defect."
Erica nodded. "Yeah. Somewhere along the way, I started putting the pieces together. Little inconsistencies. Orders that didn't add up. Then I found the files—the ones detailing everything Hydra had ever done to me. My parents weren't killed in a terrorist attack. They were murdered. My life, my loyalty—manufactured. I was a weapon, just like they always wanted."
The silence that followed was loud.
Harry, who had been unusually quiet up until now, muttered, "That's messed up."
Erica huffed out another humorless laugh. "You're telling me."
Peggy, always the one to cut straight to the core of a problem, narrowed her eyes. "Why didn't you leave?"
Erica's expression darkened. "I tried. I had an escape plan, a way out. I was going to defect to S.H.I.E.L.D.—but before I could make my move, I was betrayed."
Steve, voice tight, asked, "By who?"
Erica's lips pressed into a thin line. "Someone I trusted. Someone I thought was on my side." She let out a slow breath, then gestured toward the cryo chamber, which was now officially her least favorite piece of furniture. "Next thing I knew, I was locked in that thing, and Zemo was giving some long, dramatic speech about how I was a failure and an inconvenience that needed to be erased."
Tony, who had been scrolling through Hydra's Really Evil Data Logs, suddenly frowned. "Well, that tracks."
He tapped the screen, adjusting his reading glasses just to be extra annoying. "According to this, you've been on ice for…" He hesitated, then glanced at Howard.
Howard, who had been peering over Tony's shoulder, sighed and rubbed his temple. "A decade."
Erica blinked. "A decade?"
"Give or take," Tony added helpfully. "You know how it is. Hydra loves its dramatic time capsules."
Erica just stared at them, processing that tiny detail. Then she exhaled sharply, ran a hand through her hair, and muttered, "Well. That explains a lot."
Harry clapped his hands together. "Okay, so, to summarize: You were raised by Hydra, found out they were the worst, tried to leave, got betrayed, and then Zemo decided to freeze you like an evil Disney princess?"
Erica shot him a look. "That's a terrible summary."
Tony nodded sagely. "Yeah, but it is accurate."
Steve, who had been standing quietly with his thoughtful but vaguely furious expression, crossed his arms. "The important question is—what do you plan to do now?"
Erica looked at him. Then at the others. At Natasha's unreadable expression, Bucky's carefully measured silence, Peggy's cool assessment. Then she glanced down at her hands, at the faint blue glow still lingering over her skin.
Slowly, she clenched her fists.
"…I want to finish what I started."
Howard smirked, tone halfway between approval and amusement. "Well, now that's interesting."
And just like that, things got a whole lot more complicated.
—
The comms crackled to life, sending a buzz through the room. Everyone knew what was coming. The atmosphere in the safehouse shifted from 'mildly chaotic' to 'brace for impact.' They had, after all, just opened a cryo-chamber containing a potentially lethal superpowered individual. If there was anyone who'd be really angry about that, it was Nick Fury.
His voice came through the speakers like a freight train—loud, direct, and carrying all the fury of a thousand storm clouds. "Tell me," he asked, his words laced with the kind of venom that made people check if they were still breathing, "which one of you idiots thought it was a good idea to open a cryo chamber containing an unknown, possibly hostile enhanced individual when I explicitly told you to wait until we had proper containment?!"
There was a silence in the room, and not the good kind. The kind where you start rethinking your life choices and maybe wish you had just stayed home, binge-watching Netflix.
Howard Stark, ever the cocky genius (and in this case, probably the reason they were in this mess), cleared his throat like he was about to talk his way out of a paper bag. "Well, technically—"
"Stark," Fury interrupted, his voice suddenly dipping into that low, ominous growl that made even the most confident people question their life decisions. "Do not finish that sentence unless you want to personally fund the psychiatric therapy I'm going to need after dealing with this mess."
Howard raised an eyebrow, glancing at his fellow Avengers for support. "Pretty sure you could use some anyway."
Ted Tonks—because, apparently, nothing says "I'm going to live forever" like picking a fight with a guy who controls a global spy network—smirked. "Hey, in our defense—"
Fury didn't even let him finish. "DEFENSE?! The only defense I'd accept is that you were all temporarily possessed by a brain-eating parasite that made you forget basic protocol and common sense!"
Somewhere in the background, Erica—who, let's be honest, probably didn't know she was walking into a complete disaster today—raised a hesitant hand. "Uh, I'm right here, y'know?"
Fury was unmoved. "And you'll stay right there until I'm sure you're not about to go full Winter Soldier on us."
Bucky, who had been the Winter Soldier, muttered under his breath, "Nice. Real supportive."
Fury ignored him, which, considering Bucky's emotional baggage, was probably a smart move.
Lily—who was the one person in the room who was actually trying to fix things—stepped up, putting her hands on her hips. "Alright, alright. Let's just take a breath—"
"A breath?!" Fury let out a sharp, humorless laugh. "Lady, the only thing stopping me from storming that safehouse myself and knocking all your heads together is that I don't know if I've got the insurance for it."
Gideon Adler (aka Gellert Grindelwald... or whatever this new identity was) couldn't resist. "Now, now, Director. No need to be dramatic. Everything's under control."
Fury's sigh was so deep it could've been used as a boat anchor. "Gellert Grindelwald—"
"Gideon Adler," Gideon corrected with a smug smile, knowing full well that was exactly the wrong thing to say. "I find the whole 'Grindelwald' thing rather... passé."
"Gellert," Fury repeated, the frustration practically dripping from the word. "If you open your mouth one more time—"
"—You'll what?" Gideon asked, his voice practically oozing smugness. "Glaring at me through the screen?"
Fury made a sound somewhere between a growl and a scream. Somewhere, a nearby window cracked under the pressure.
Andromeda, ever the voice of reason in a world that had absolutely none, massaged her temples. "Gideon, stop provoking the man who controls a global spy network. Trust me, it's not worth it."
Gideon shrugged like he didn't have a care in the world. "What's the worst that could happen?"
Fury's voice suddenly dropped into a terrifying, measured tone, as though he was forcing his temper into submission. "Alright, here's what's going to happen. You're going to sit tight and not do anything stupid. I'm sending a containment team. You will not engage, you will not do anything that'll get us all killed, and if I find out that one of you so much as looks at a suspicious object, I will personally make sure you all end up in a very deep hole with no access to coffee, alcohol, or science."
There was a collective gasp from Howard, Tony, and Lily. And honestly, if you were Tony Stark and someone just threatened you with no science, you'd probably die a little inside.
"How dare you?" Lily whispered, her eyes wide with shock.
Tony put a hand over his heart, mock-hurt. "That was cruel, Fury. Just cruel."
Howard muttered, "That's borderline war crime material, man."
Ted leaned over to Andromeda, his eyes sparkling with the dangerous kind of curiosity. "Should we tell him about the other—"
The entire room froze.
Fury's voice dropped to a near-whisper. "Other?"
It was like the whole safehouse collectively held its breath.
"Uh," Ted said, "I mean—should we tell him about... the other... stuff?"
Fury's voice came back, cold and unfeeling, like a glacier moving at full speed. "I am so done."
And in that instant, the man who was responsible for keeping the world safe from chaos sounded like he was one deep breath away from a full meltdown.
"Alright," Fury said after what seemed like an eternity. "You idiots are lucky. I'm sending a containment team. You idiots will stay exactly where you are. No heroics. No being stupid. No opening anything else, ever again, without clearance. Got it?"
"Got it," Harry said quickly, cutting off whatever else Howard was about to say, knowing full well that if Fury didn't want a word out of them, Howard was not going to be the one to provoke him any further.
Fury's voice turned lethal. "And if you do anything else stupid... I swear to God, I will make sure none of you have a job or a life to go back to. Just try me."
With that, he cut the connection, and the room was left in a stunned silence.
Then, from the back, Erica, who had clearly absorbed as much chaos as one human could take in a day, raised her eyebrows. "So... that was the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D?"
Harry clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Welcome to the madness."
Howard gave an exaggerated shrug. "Trust me, kid. That was nothing."
And as the tension simmered down just a little bit, the group exchanged glances, all of them wondering how much worse it could get. Because when it came to this bunch, it usually got worse before it got better.
—
Erica raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms as she leaned against the table. "What other thing, exactly? You know, I think I speak for the whole room when I say we're all really curious now." Her tone was light, but there was an edge of sarcasm creeping in.
Harry, not one to miss a chance for chaos, grinned and leaned in toward Ted, practically bouncing on his heels. "Yeah, Ted. What other thing? Don't leave us hanging. I'm already running on pure Fury-induced panic, and you can't just dangle a juicy mystery in front of me like this. Spill it, my guy."
Ted seemed to wilt under their combined gaze, and it was clear he was trying to figure out how deep in trouble he was. "Look, I'm not sure this is a good time," he mumbled, looking a bit panicked. "Maybe we should—"
"Oh no," Harry cut in, "now it's definitely the best time. You're not getting away from this one, Ted." He was practically grinning, the kind of grin that made even the bravest of men reconsider their life choices.
Bucky, leaning back with his arms crossed and a half-smile, tossed in his two cents. "Yeah, man. You can't just say 'other stuff' and leave it there. That's not how this works."
Ted groaned, his face going red as he realized there was no backing out now. "Alright, alright, fine. But I'm warning you, this is gonna sound insane."
"Does it involve anything worse than the possibility of getting blown up by Fury today?" Harry asked, genuinely curious.
Ted hesitated for a long second, but then sighed as though he'd just been handed a life sentence. "Well… James and Sirius—"
"Let me guess. They're at it again?" Tony interrupted, rolling his eyes as though he'd already lived this horror story a thousand times. "Those two are like a walking disaster waiting to happen."
"More like an exploding disaster," Howard Stark piped up, folding his arms across his chest with a smug expression. "I'll give them credit for one thing—those two are genius-level idiots."
"Genius-level idiots who can cause an international crisis," Tony muttered, rubbing his temples like he was trying to ward off a headache.
Ted ignored them, continuing with a deadpan seriousness that made the group lean in closer. "Yeah, well… it turns out that those genius-level idiots didn't just 'experiment' in the lab. They created… a little something. And I mean little as in mini black hole bombs."
There was a beat of silence, like the universe itself had taken a pause to process what Ted had just said. Then, it all hit at once.
"Wait, wait, wait," Tony was the first to speak, blinking in disbelief. "Did you just say black hole bombs?"
Ted nodded sheepishly. "Yeah. Black hole bombs. I mean, I don't know if it's an actual black hole per se, but it's pretty close. They're, uh… tiny, portable little singularities that can pretty much destroy everything in a pretty impressive radius."
Howard looked a little impressed despite the situation. "I've seen some crazy tech, but this is—this is next-level insanity."
Tony turned to his father with wide eyes, his voice a mix of shock and sarcasm. "You're telling me, we couldn't even come close to something like this, and these two morons managed to pull it off?"
Howard gave a long-suffering sigh, his arms spreading wide in that patented "we're dealing with magic" gesture. "It's magic, Tony. Magic's a whole different level of crazy. You can't exactly predict what's going to happen when you start playing with things like that."
"I still can't believe this," Tony muttered, leaning back in his chair like he was trying to process this new level of madness. "I mean, black hole bombs? What's next? A reality-bending pocket watch?"
Gideon Adler—who had been silently observing all of this with the same mischievous gleam in his eye that James Potter once had—finally spoke up. "Well, let's not forget who we're dealing with here. The Marauders. Chaos is practically their middle name." He smiled, a thin, almost predatory grin forming on his face. "And chaos, my friends, is an art form."
Andromeda, standing nearby, rolled her eyes dramatically. "Genius in chaos, yes. But still chaos."
Bucky chuckled under his breath, clearly entertained. "If there's one thing I know, it's that James and Sirius never did anything without at least half an eye on making a mess of it all. It's in their DNA."
"Great," Steve muttered, rubbing his hand over his face. "I've fought Hydra, aliens, and robots, but now we're dealing with black hole bombs from a couple of troublemaking wizards? Really?"
"Well, don't worry," Natasha added dryly from her perch near the door. "Fury's going to lose his mind when he finds out about this."
Bucky grinned at her. "I'd say that's a given."
"Right, and if we survive Fury's reaction," Natasha continued, "maybe we'll get a drink." Her smirk was lethal. "Or three."
The conversation paused for a moment as the reality of the situation settled in. Howard, ever the pragmatist, broke the silence. "Listen, we need to figure out if Fury knows about these little—how do you say—toys yet. Because if he does, we're all screwed."
Ted shifted nervously. "If he doesn't know already, he will soon enough. The last thing we need is him finding them and going nuclear on the rest of us. I mean, no offense, but Fury with those? That's a recipe for disaster."
"Well, we can't have that, can we?" Harry said, a grin creeping onto his face. "I mean, I definitely don't want to be responsible for getting everyone incinerated by black holes. That would ruin my whole 'hero' thing I've got going."
"I'm not sure any of us are getting out of this one alive," Steve muttered, not entirely kidding.
"Maybe," Tony said, suddenly perking up with that signature Stark flair. "But I've got a few ideas for how we can prevent Fury from turning us all into cosmic dust. It's just gonna involve a lot of sneaky science and—oh yeah—magic."
"Right," Howard deadpanned. "We'll just add some magic to the mix and make everything magically better. Nothing could go wrong."
Harry, who had been quietly sipping his drink and enjoying the drama, raised his eyebrows. "Look, all I know is this is about to get really interesting. And probably really, really dangerous."
Gideon grinned widely. "Dangerous? This is just another Tuesday for us. Now, let's figure out how to stop Fury from blowing us to bits."
"And then we'll have a drink," Natasha added with a wink.
With that, the chaos continued. And somewhere in the background, you could almost hear the sound of James and Sirius cackling from their labs, as if they were right there, enjoying every bit of the mayhem they'd just created.
—
As the storm of chaos raged in the next room—people arguing about mini black hole bombs, seriously—Lily Potter and her son, Harry, took a detour. And by "detour," I mean they marched straight to the lab of James Potter and Sirius Black. These two were so well-known for their brilliance and utter lack of caution that Harry swore the floor would probably be lava by the time they got there.
Lily, the fiery redhead with a brain sharper than a basilisk's fang, slapped Harry on the back with a little too much enthusiasm. "Alright, kiddo," she said, her smile sweet but her tone sharp enough to cut glass. "We're going to have a chat with your father and Sirius. Need to talk to them about their 'latest pet project.'"
Harry groaned. You know it's bad when your mom's pulling the "let's talk" card. "Great. Let me guess—world domination through more black holes?"
Lily raised an eyebrow. "You're the one with our genes. You should be used to it by now."
Harry winced. "Yeah, I guess that does explain a lot." He ran a hand through his messy hair, his nerves already on edge. "Seriously though, how do they keep topping themselves? I mean, mini black hole bombs? Who needs that kind of power?"
Lily didn't miss a beat. "Well, remember when your father created a spell to make people float off the ground and—"
Harry stopped her right there, his face contorting. "Ugh, I know. How could I forget the floating jellybeans incident? No more weird experiments, please. I just—"
"Let's just hope they haven't blown up the lab this time," Lily interrupted, shooting him a knowing look.
But Harry wasn't having it. "Or opened up a black hole that we'll have to explain to Fury. Because I can already see that conversation going downhill fast."
They reached the lab, a place where genius and disaster seemed to mix in equal parts. If there was ever a more chaotic place on the planet, Harry hadn't found it. Papers were flying, unfinished gadgets were scattered all over, and in the middle of it all, Sirius Black and James Potter were hunched over a set of magical blueprints, chatting excitedly about whatever insanity they were cooking up now.
James looked up when they entered, his signature grin plastered on his face, like he'd just stolen the last chocolate bar in the house and was daring someone to stop him. His messy black hair looked like it hadn't seen a comb in years. "Ah, Lily, Harry! What's up? Need some chaos in your life?"
Lily crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing. "Chaos? Oh, I'm sure you two have plenty of innovations for us, don't you?"
Sirius, the handsome troublemaker with an almost too-perfect smirk, leaned back in his chair. "Oh, Lil, don't be such a buzzkill. We're just ensuring the world doesn't get too boring, y'know?"
Harry rolled his eyes, leaning against the doorframe. "Yeah, by creating stuff that could probably open a portal to the Underworld or make us all disappear. So, what are you guys working on today? Another doomsday device?"
James gave him a wink. "No, no. Nothing that dramatic today. We're on the edge of something great—an invisibility shield that works on both magical and technological wavelengths."
Harry blinked. "An invisibility shield?" He raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. "That's it? You two are playing with old school magic now?"
Lily, clearly enjoying the show, stepped forward with a smirk of her own. "You really want to talk about 'being behind the times,' Harry? You do realize you're a wizard using actual Sorcery, and you're going to diss an invisibility shield?"
Harry threw his hands in mock surrender. "Touché, Mom. You've got me there. I'll just go back to being an actual superhero and—"
"Alright, enough banter," James interjected, slapping a hand on a workbench piled high with glowing stones and mysterious components. "We've got bigger things to focus on. You heard about those mini black hole bombs, right? Well, that was just the prototype."
Harry's face fell. "What? You've already tested those? I swear to Merlin, you two—"
Sirius chuckled, waving him off. "Relax. That was just a small scale experiment. We've got something way cooler in the works." He grinned, looking like he was about to drop the craziest thing Harry had ever heard. "We're playing with spacial compression. Think about it: we're making a super-compressed pocket dimension."
Harry blinked at him, his mind trying to catch up. "A pocket dimension?" He let out a short laugh, looking back at Lily. "And how, exactly, is this not World War III in a bottle?"
James, clearly proud of himself, leaned closer to show off the scribbles on the blueprints. "It's magic and science combined! Think of the possibilities! We could store all kinds of things in there, and I'm not just talking about your mother's ridiculous amounts of clothes." He winked at Lily, who shot him a pointed glare.
Sirius, ever the optimist, added, "If we get it right, we could have something incredible on our hands. Think: an entire universe in a pocket-sized case."
Lily's expression didn't shift an inch. "So you want to play god and shrink dimensions now? What could possibly go wrong with that?"
Sirius raised both hands. "Alright, alright! We're not going to start with world domination… just yet. But hey, don't knock it 'til you try it."
Harry slapped his forehead. "I can already hear Fury's voice in my head: 'Why do I keep you two around?'"
Lily stepped forward, her voice icy as she glared at both James and Sirius. "If you ever even think about selling these devices to Hydra, I will make sure you two spend the next century in a very uncomfortable position. That's a promise."
James just shrugged. "Alright, alright. No Hydra. We'll just use it for, y'know, other purposes. No biggie."
Harry shot them a look that could only be described as 'half-resentful, half-sarcastic.' "I swear, if you two even think about making a portable black hole, I will personally make sure you never see the light of day again. We've already got enough problems."
Sirius threw up his hands in mock surrender. "Alright, alright! No black holes. No chaos. We're just trying to make the world more... interesting."
Lily sighed and rubbed her temples. "If this is what 'interesting' looks like, I'm starting to worry for my sanity."
Harry couldn't help himself. "Well, where's the fun in not causing a little chaos, right?"
Lily shot him a look. "You're grounded, mister."
And with that, Harry knew: the real fun had only just begun.
---
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