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Tony looked utterly bewildered. "A witch?! What are you saying? My mother could actually perform magic?!"
At that precise moment, Maria raised her wand with practiced elegance, conjuring a ribbon of silver light that spiraled around her form before dissolving into nothingness. She began pacing the study with restless energy, as if wrestling with momentous decisions.
Within minutes, an elderly woman Apparated directly into the room with the distinctive crack of magical transportation. Gemini nearly dislocated her eyeballs from their sockets—she absolutely recognized this figure! Despite the advanced age, the woman remained unmistakably identifiable from modern wizarding history texts. This was Seraphina Picquery—former President of the Magical Congress of the United States of America!
"Maria, have you reached your final decision?" Seraphina's sudden voice startled Maria, who spun around with her wand aimed defensively at the sound's source. Only after confirming the visitor's identity did she lower her magical weapon.
"Aunt Seraphina, Rappaport's Law was officially repealed!" Maria replied with weary frustration. "My family thrives in perfect harmony—I've never considered our choices mistaken."
"What's Rappaport's Law?!" Tony turned toward Gemini with desperate curiosity.
"Silence! Observe everything before interrogating me." Gemini sensed earth-shattering revelations approaching and decisively terminated Tony's questions.
"Then why summon me after all these years?" Seraphina moved with dignified grace toward the leather sofa, settling with the poise of someone accustomed to commanding magical governments. "Remember, you severed family contact for nearly five years to marry that No-Maj."
Maria approached an antique cabinet, manually retrieving two crystal wine glasses and an aged bottle of burgundy. Seraphina exploded with indignant fury: "Look at yourself! Are you actually pouring wine by hand now? Where is your wand?!"
She gripped her magical implement and executed a sharp flourish. The wine bottle's cork ejected with a resonant pop, the vessel levitating gracefully to pour two perfect servings that drifted through the air into Seraphina's waiting hands.
"Forgive me, Aunt. I simply..." Maria hesitated mid-sentence, accepting her glass and taking a contemplative sip.
"Explain what you've witnessed." Seraphina studied Maria with penetrating intensity. "As America's sole active Seer for three decades, you would never reestablish contact without experiencing significant prophetic visions."
Maria paced the study with mounting agitation, finally steeling her resolve and consuming her wine in a single, determined gulp. "I must completely sever my son's connection to the magical world!"
Seraphina shot to her feet with volcanic force. "Repeat that statement immediately!"
The memory scene suddenly blurred into indistinct shapes and colors. Tony rushed forward desperately, attempting to maintain visual clarity. The next instant, their surroundings shifted to an elegantly appointed nursery.
Infant Tony slept peacefully in his crib while Maria and Seraphina stood vigil beside him. "Are you absolutely certain about this course of action?" Seraphina asked once more, gazing at the sleeping child with profound gravity.
Maria's eyes brimmed with unshed tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. "We have no alternative. He cannot enter magical society before his thirtieth birthday. Forgive me, my precious son."
"If your prophetic visions prove accurate, we shall conduct thorough verification. Should they be genuine, the magical world will provide absolute protection—that is my solemn oath as a MACUSA council member." Seraphina released a heavy sigh, drawing her wand and positioning it precisely above the infant's crib. Maria bent down to bestow a tender kiss on Tony's forehead, then straightened and withdrew her own wand, crossing it with Seraphina's in ritualistic formation.
Both witches began chanting in perfect synchronization. The nursery blazed with supernatural radiance that seemed to emanate from the very air itself. Little Tony awakened with a startled cry, his wails piercing the magical atmosphere. Yet this interruption failed to halt their mystical working—the brilliant light gradually coalesced into ethereal chains that wrapped around the infant's form before fading and disappearing completely into his body.
"Thank you, Aunt Seraphina." Maria abandoned her wand and lifted the crying baby, soothing him with maternal instincts while maintaining eye contact with her relative.
"I must return immediately to establish protective arrangements. According to your prophetic timeline, we have precious little time remaining. Rest assured—if verification confirms your visions' authenticity, MACUSA will guarantee his absolute safety." Seraphina nodded with grave determination before turning and vanishing with another sharp crack of Disapparition.
Only Maria remained in the now-quiet nursery. She suddenly directed her gaze toward Tony's exact position, as if seeing through the memory's temporal barriers. "Forgive me, Tony. I had no choice in this matter. I know you will witness this someday, but promise me—absolutely refuse to enter the magical world before reaching thirty years of age."
Tony stared in shock and advanced two hesitant steps. Could Maria actually perceive him across time itself?
The scene dissolved once again, reality shifting to a familiar location where Howard adjusted a vintage camera with engineering precision. Behind him stood an elaborate scale model of what appeared to be a massive exposition venue.
"Ah, perfect alignment! Darling, come assist me with the final adjustments!" Howard called with characteristic enthusiasm.
Maria entered carrying approximately three-year-old Tony, who squirmed with typical toddler energy. "Is everything prepared? Have you decided what message to record for Tony?"
Howard engaged in playful interaction with his son, adopting mock-serious expressions that delighted the child. "Naturally—this is my son we're discussing!"
Tony observed his father position himself before the camera, recording the video message he would discover decades later. He watched his miniature self mischievously appropriating small components from the architectural model, witnessed Maria pursuing the troublemaker from the room, and most importantly, heard his father Howard Stark declare to the recording device: "My greatest creation, my most profound achievement, is you, Tony."
The memory blurred yet again, transitioning to another scene. Tony surveyed the new environment while muttering continuously: "No, no, no—this cannot be happening."
He observed his teenage self lounging carelessly on the mansion's sofa, engaging in their final argument as Maria and Howard prepared for their fateful departure. But from his current vantage point, he could see what his younger self had missed—his parents linking arms behind the doorway, casting one last lingering look of love and regret before walking out of their home forever.
Tony and Gemini followed the couple outside, watching them reach the estate's main gates. There, Maria withdrew the silver lime wand from her coat sleeve with ceremonial solemnity.
"Tonight is the appointed time?" Howard regarded the magical implement while smiling at his wife with infinite tenderness.
"Yes, tonight marks our destiny. I'm so sorry, my beloved." Maria returned his smile even as tears gathered in her eyes like liquid diamonds.
Howard raised his hand with gentle care, brushing away her tears with his thumb. "Never apologize for this. We both understand this is the path we must walk together, don't we?" They shared a moment of perfect understanding, and Maria raised her wand to extract a silvery memory thread, carefully inserting it into the emerald pendant's core.
"Jarvis!" Howard called with authority. An impeccably dressed elderly butler materialized behind them, his expression grave with the weight of secrets. "Return these items to their designated locations—you understand the instructions."
Jarvis nodded with the solemnity of a man who had served the Stark family through impossible circumstances. "Safe travels, Master Howard, Mistress Maria."
The final scene faded into nothingness. Gemini surveyed their surroundings and grasped Tony's arm with firm purpose. "We must exit immediately—the memory sequence has concluded."
With a decisive pull, Tony tumbled back onto the parlor sofa, regarding Gemini's sitting room as if returning from a journey through centuries rather than minutes.
"So what was all of that? What is Rappaport's Law? What defines a Seer? What were those chains they conjured? And that woman—my mother's aunt? Who is she exactly? You clearly recognized her!" Tony fixed Gemini with intense scrutiny, unleashing every question that had accumulated during their mystical journey without pause for breath.
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