It was a little past midnight when Aria leaned against the wall by Filch's office, trying to make herself less conspicuous behind a pillar.
She waited, trying to stay patient as the minutes seemed to drag by. Suddenly a crash resounded above her head. She cringed at the deafening noise, but smiled to herself.
Blaise (her partner in crime) must've found a suit of armor nearby and used that.
The door to Filch's office flew open and Filch himself raced off to the nearest stairs, his eyes wide and mouth scowling; Mrs. Norris streaked after him, and turns out Aria didn't even need the key that James had given her.
The girl rushed in the office, heading straight for the cabinet, hoping silently that Blaise was able to make a clean getaway. She wriggled her fingers excitedly and then pulled on the handle to open a drawer.
The drawer wouldn't budge. Aria frowned and pulled again, harder this time; still nothing. She began to sweat as she looked at the cabinet, noticing for the first time the lock. She cursed to herself and started searching Filch's desk for a key.
She heard a clatter above her head; Filch had reached the fallen armor. Aria looked more frantically but found nothing. No key, no lock pick, no way to unlock the file cabinet. Filch would be heading back soon, if not already. Aria panicked and pulled out her wand, trying to think of a spell to help her find the key.
Or...unlock the cabinet. Aria stared at her wand stupidly for a second, then pointed it at the cabinet.
"Alohamora?" She asked quietly and the drawer popped open.
Aria sighed with relief, deciding not to tell Blaise she had wasted precious time looking for a key when she could've just used magic from the start (at least not for a while, but later, when it would be funny, she would have to of course).
Aria rifled through the drawers, trying to find the bag with all her stuff in it. Filch would be back any moment...
Aria closed her eyes and reached into a certain cabinet with both hands, taking hold of the heavy bag. She opened her eyes in triumph and bounded out the door glancing back only once to see if the room looked more or less untouched.
"Good enough" the eleven year old whispered to herself and then ran down the hall and around a corner.
Just when she was about to take another turn, the girl stumbled when her body collided with something— someone.
Looking up, her wide blue eyes met Theodore's gaze, a mixture of surprise and relief dancing in her hues.
Theo's voice remained calm as he questioned her, his tone betraying a subtle sarcasm and curiosity. "Stark, care to share why you're out wondering around past curfew?"
Aria hadn't anticipated running into anyone, let alone Theo. She quickly realized that they were both doomed , considering Filch, whose approaching footsteps could be heard echoing down the corridor.
"I needed to get my things back." Aria hissed, her voice barely above a whisper. "Besides, I can ask you the same thing."
Before Theo could respond, the sound of Filch's grumbling voice grew louder, signaling his imminent arrival. Aria's heart pounded in her chest as she glanced back at the boy with a mixture of worry and panic.
Theodore's expression hardened, a flicker of determination crossing his features.
Without hesitation, he reached out and grabbed Aria's hand, his grip firm yet oddly reassuring. "We need to go, now." He urged.
They darted down the corridor, their footsteps echoing through the empty halls, Theo grabbed the bag with his other hand at one point , while his other one tightened its grip on Aria's.
The first years' heart pounded in their ears, a mix of fear and exhilaration surging through their veins. Theo turns back every other second, glancing at the girl to make sure she's still there even though his hand is still firmly holding onto hers.
Finally, they managed to find a secluded alcove, hidden from prying eyes. Aria's chest heaved as she leaned against the wall, her lungs desperately trying to catch their breath.
Theo's grip on her hand loosened, but he remained close, his brown hair falling over his eyes as he breathed heavily.
As they listened to the fading sound of Filch's frustrated footsteps, Aria looked up at Theodore.
"You're a slow runner." She joked breathlessly.
And he must have thought that she didn't see it, but she did . Aria saw his features soften as he celebrated this little victory, she saw him— she really did see him — almost smile.
Theo almost smiled at her.
But then it was gone so fast, too fast. Like it wasn't even about to happen at all.
"Just say you couldn't keep up." Theo huffed, rolling his eyes before passing her the bag.
The corners of Aria's lips quirked at his forced demeanor.
"Whatever you say Theo boy." She mused, before glancing from behind the wall to see if the path was clear.
After confirming that Filch was nowhere to be seen, the pair carefully made their way back to the Slytherin common room.
She never knew why Theo had been out past curfew though.
It was the next day, just before the Halloween feast, that Aria deemed it safe enough to bring out her phone, seeing as her dorm was empty.
"Please dad, pick up." She muttered, pressing on the call button. It rang, and rang, but no answer yet.
Aria tried again, and nothing. She then tried to call Natasha instead, and the line was silent still. It was then that the girl heard some commotion in the common room.
Damn it.
"Friday?" She spoke, watching as her phone's screen turned blue.
"Hello, Miss Stark, your father has been trying to reach you for the past four days." The AI informed, which caused Aria to groan.
"Okay, Friday I need you to tell my dad to come. They're taking my stuff, and the teachers are acting weird, especially Quirell, I don't wanna stay here anymore." She spoke urgently , before quickly shoving her phone under her pillow when Daphne and her friend walked inside the dorm.
"Professor Snape asked us to bring you up to the feast, everyone is there." The blond girl rolled her eyes, waiting for Aria to follow them.
Swallowing, Aria glanced toward her pillow, then back at the girls, before sighing and begrudgingly standing up and following after the girls.
She hoped her father got the message.
Aria had successfully avoided any conversation with her 'twin' for the last couple of weeks. After days of the guy and his little friends following her, insisting that she's mistaken and she needs to be resorted. That she's a Potter and therefore she belongs in Gryffindor—and she's hanging out with a bad lot...he finally gave up.
The brunette took a seat next to Blaise and Draco, her blue eyes scanning her table for a sign of Pansy.
At the staff table, James' heart broke. Halloween marked the night that voldemort had attacked his home and ruined his life all together.
If it weren't for him, neither would they have abandoned Aria, nor would Harry be in constant danger.
The man still didn't know how to feel in regard to his daughter having grew up with the avengers, as they liked to call them.
The fact that she's been calling that Tony guy her father...when it was his blood that ran through her veins.
Potter blood.
As James watched his daughter from afar, a wave of regret crashed over him. The weight of his choices bore heavily on his heart, knowing he had missed out on so much of her life.
The pang of guilt grew stronger with each passing moment, a constant reminder of the bond they could have had, but were denied.
He couldn't help but imagine the moments he had missed, the milestones that belonged to another family. The first time she said "dad," the joy in her eyes as she took her first steps towards him, and the sound of her laughter filling their home. These were memories he had been robbed of, all because of the manipulation and deceit of others.
In that moment, James yearned to turn back time, to rewrite the past and reclaim the role he should have had in his daughter's life. He wished to hold her close, to comfort her in times of need, and to be the father she deserved.
With a surge of determination, James made a silent promise to himself. He vowed to make amends, to reach out to his daughter and show her the love and care he had dreamed of giving her from the moment she had been born.
He knew it would not be easy, that trust needed to be rebuilt, but he was willing to do whatever it took.
The messy haired man, who still somehow looked almost the exact same as when he'd left Hogwarts, turned his head to the side, hazel gaze falling on Dumbledore, who instead of staring at Harry like he usually did, had his twinkling gaze pinned on Aria.
Since when was the old man interested in Aria?
In a sudden moment of unexplained protectiveness, James stood up and came face to face with Dumbledore.
"So... about Harry's training..." he started rattling on, taking the headmaster's attention away from the girl.
However he didn't really need to do that anyway, because Quirell took it upon himself to crash the feast all of a sudden.
And, only a couple of words were needed to send the hall into complete chaos.
"Troll! In the dungeons! Thought you ought to know..."
Thud.