Passing out while her first born son was actively talking about the mysterious and various ways she had used against him might not have been her brightest moment. Even Rhodes would have been surprised by her lack of decorum in this instance but he might have understood if he had found himself thrown in the middle of some children's book.
The issue is that I don't know if there is actually a way for me to go back to my own dimension. From the looks of things, my soul seems pretty content hanging out within the shrew's body and aside from the hatred she felt for the previous inhabitant, Toni decided not to hold it against anything that might happen.
From the moment Sirius had introduced himself, she had been a 100% sure that it was just an illusion created by Thanos or even Wanda to punish her for daring going against them. They barely gave me time to understand the ramifications of their words before accusations and glares full of hatred were exchanged and thrown around the room.
There was no way she could possibly stay with them : she wore the face of their abusers even though she knew she would never behave the same way. Walburga Black might have been a bitch to her sons and her husband whom she controlled with fear and anger but Antonia Stark had been hurt and beaten by her father so much for the safe of being a girl instead of the perfect little boy he had wished for. She knew how it felt to be around the parent that constantly hurt you while trying to act as proper as possible in order not to provoke Howard's ire - especially when he was drunk.
Toni - ππ, πππ ππππππ πππππ πππππππ πππππππ πΎπππππππ ππ ππππ πππππ ππππππ πππ ππππ πππ ππππππππ - looked around her in order to figure out what she could do. Her "husband" might be amenable to a separation or a divorce if she tried talking to him. There was no way that a normally constituted adult would actually want to stay married with someone as heartless as the original body owner. The only positive outcome out of this debacle would be that "her children" would grow up sans their mother's trauma and would stay alive and strong. She couldn't really do much more : she barely had access to her memories aside from a few images and glimpses here and there.
And Sirius would be ecstatic to learn that he would never have to see her again.
He didn't have to say it earlier for her to actually understand the level of loathing he had towards her. It was surprising that such a young child could harbor that much hatred without his own mother understand what was happening. From the looks of things, Walburga had hated her eldest and would have done anything to cast him out of house.
But not Toni.
Toni would protect them from the shadows, never reveling herself and only acting when necessary. Her sons would be in the midst of war, she was sure of it and the only thing she could do would be to prepare for the worst possibilities (which reminded her that definitely needed to leave this house so she could tinker and create, become a billionaire once again and just live her life away from the Isles). She doubted the Black family would easily accept her request but aside from a few delusional older senile people, everyone would welcome her departure.
Toni had discovered the Harry Potter books pretty fast in her own timeline and life. From the first moment Rowling had started sending her demos around worldwide editors, the brunette had caught a glimpse of the story. Obadiah had been adamant about staying away from everything non-related to the weapons industry - but the engineer had a hefty trust fund and had invested as soon as she could. It would be selfish of her to admit that she was actually a bit scared the saga wouldn't see it's end since people weren't aware that it even existed in the first place.
When people called Antonia Stark a visionary, they didn't only talk about her uncanny capability to predict what a consumer or even a gouvernement will want to purchase from her. She has this sort of sixth sense that pushes her towards the project that would take up most of her time, and the development of the characters and the storyline had enchanted her. In some way, she had felt close to Harry and Sirius for the abuse they had lived but was aware enough to know how privileged she had been in sort. After all, Jarvis had always fought for her - even if it meant provoking her father to new heights.
So now that she was somehow immersed in this new existence, the only thing she could do was accept it and move beyond.
Just the thought of having to change her entire personality to be Walburga Irma Black was enough to physically and mentally exhaust her. It didn't take long for her to decide that from now on, she wouldn't be Wally or Toni, she would be a brand new version of herself. Looking at the mirror and at her blue orbs, she opted for a name that would certainly make people talk :Β ππ¨π«π ππ§π. Maybe renaming herself after a famous Dark Witch wasn't her best idea, but it reminded her of the daughter she had left behind and the hope she could look for in this new life.
Standing up and walking towards the desk, the genius sighed, relieved once she saw papers she could use to list her future endeavors. The presence of a quill and ink...irritated her to no end and if her family had found their way back to her, they would have sent her to St. Mungos once and for all.
Who could help her ? Who would like Walburga enough to listen to her qualms and...
Oh.
How stupid could she be ?
And to think she prided herself for being able to remember every single detail she had ever read from the moment she learnt how.
She closed her eyes and hoped it wouldn't be a mistake. "Kreacher?," she said aloud, not expecting much before hearing the distinct πππππ ! from apparition.
Out of nowhere, a little creature appeared. He visibly looked worried and had a crestfallen facial expression - and for the first time ever since she had opened her eyes in this room, she felt like someone actually cared about her. To- Morgana hoped he wouldn't hate her once she explained what happened to her ; but he might be swayed if he thought his Mistress was still alive somewhere and would come back. Still, house elves were a tricky bunch and it was better to be cautious when conversing with one - especially one as hard headed as Kreacher.
"Oh Mistress is alive !," he happily squeaked. "I knew it ! I knew you would prevail against your good for nothing son and..."
Oh.
Yes, it was easy to understand how the elf had gotten comfortable enough to publicly and shamelessly insult one of his Masters within their own home. Unfortunately, Sirius had been killed in the future because the hatred they harbored for each other and the lack of love the elf had towards his owner. When the Black sisters had promised him a better outcome, he had believed them. It was now her job to make sure to create a bridge between the both of them ; seeing them as friends to each other might be impossible, but it didn't mean they couldn't be civil.
"From now on Kreacher, you are forbidden to insult Sirius nor Regulus. You are not to discriminate between them. You are not to get involved in their squabbles and, most importantly, you protect both of them with your life once I am not here."
She was aware of how much he would hate her orders - but she had somehow hoped he wouldn't notice the last bit she had uttered. Luck wasn't on her side since he threw himself on the floor and started crying at the top of his lungs - and I finally understood Hermione's vehemence at liberating them. Walburga had always been awful with him ; treating him like the dirt on her shoe but he had been faithful to her until the annihilation of their Ancestral House.
This time around; she tried to use another method with him, hoping he wouldn't be too spooked by her different behavior. But she wouldn't be able to even act like Walburga since she hated her more than anything - behaving like her, even for a few minutes would definitely fry half of her neurones - which she definitely needed if Voldemort and Dumbledore would be fighting like dogs with a bone.
"Now, I need your help," she whispered, hoping no one would hear her. "I don't feel like wearing dresses after...my incident and I was hoping you could transfigure me an outfit so I can go to Diagon Alley and get some things that I need." She crouched down next to the elf, offering him a gentle smile. "I think you can clearly see that my sons hate me. My husband cannot bear to look at me.Β I don't have a reason to stay here - and maybe, if everything goes well, you can join me, right ?"
He had stopped shedding tears as soon as he noticed her getting at his level, feeling shocked that she would sully herself on the floor for the sake of his comfort and mood.
"But Mistress is very talented with Magic, she can do the transfiguration better than Kreacher can and..."
She shushed him, raising a teasing eyebrow that flustered him.
She stood up and walked towards the bed, looking for her wand. For some reason, she had the inkling that it wouldn't want to work for her anymore - she ended up being right since it exploded in her face as soon as she held it between her fingers. "Here is your answer," she lightly smiled and finally showed her elf how serious she was. "I do not remember anything my dear Kreacher, aside from some hazy memories." She sighed and showed her sadness and displeasure - trying to reign it in since he would probably try to hurt himself if he thought it was somehow due to his incompetence or some other hogwash excuse he would find to hurt himself.
"I don't even remember how to use Magic, which is dangerous for me. Do you agree with me Kreacher ?"
He acquiesced, eager to show her they thought alike.
"I was thinking of staying in New-York for a bit, learning everything I have forgotten about magic and...my life," she started explaining. Since he was still heartbroken and she guessed he thought she was trying to get rid of him, she thought for a little bit before offering him an alternative solution. "While we're out, we'll go by Gringotts and get a few other house-elves, one for each member of our small family. If you train them enough, you will be permitted to accompany me. Deal ?"
Kreacher looked eager to prove himself to his Mistress and stood up. Before he could leave, she decided to just act spontaneously and hug him. He looked ashamed and shy for a few minutes before joining her.
She didn't know if it was the remnant of the spell, the backlash of dying from the Infinity Stones, the emotional toll it had taken on her to leave her family behind or maybe the hatred every member in her new residence had - but she just started crying. Kreacher tried to comfort her but her tears just kept on falling down her cheeks while holding her aching heart.
"I am sorry Kreacher, but it's...," she took a deep breath before speaking again. "You're the only one that has been nice to me ever since I ended up here. It's better that I leave : they hate me."
Unbeknownst to both of them, the two teenagers and their father had decided to spy on their mother and her acolyte before being stunned by everything she had said.