It Only Takes a Second

- LX -

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!