Meanwhile, Nat spoke to the rest of the assembled Avengers. "Hermione told me most of this herself, but Clint, and her best friend Harry, told me the rest. Now that you know about her, you need to know her story. However, none of this goes any farther than this room. Is that understood?" Nat just glared at the group…especially Tony…until she received their reassurances before she continued.
"Hermione was born a witch, but her parents weren't magical. In fact, they were dentists. Therefore, when she went away to her magical school, she had no way of knowing that people like her were not thought of highly by many of the wizards and witches who did have long lines of magic in the families. She was bullied all through school about it, and then by the time she was a teenager, she and the other members of the "Light" side were actually fighting a magical war against an army of those who felt that way…the ones who wanted to wipe her and others like her, as well as anybody who did not have magic at all, completely out of existence. In fact, she missed her last year of school and spent a year on the run with Harry, as they tried to locate and destroy dark magical objects that kept the leader of the Dark faction alive. During this time, she was captured and severely tortured. She has scars all over her body because of it, including a slur about her blood status carved into her arm."
Here she paused and reached over to stroke Bruce's hand because his eyes had turned an alarming shade of green at the thought of what had happened to their charming hostess, the one who had even welcomed the Hulk into her home, and who was also the wife of one of their best friends. Nat was pleased to see that Tony looked horrified, as well. That meant that he was beginning to understand. Therefore, when Bruce's eyes returned to their normal shade of brown, she continued the story with a warning. "It gets worse."
"Eventually, Hermione's side won the final battle, but a lot of lives were lost in the process – including her parents. That's a story within itself, actually. However, she and her friends were eventually able to move on. She finished school and started to work at the Ministry of Magic where she continued do so much good working towards fair rights for all sentient beings that she was elected the Minister of Magic when Shacklebolt, Fury's friend, retired. She and Clint had already met and were married by this time, but they kept it a secret from her world as well, except for a few close friends, so that he could not be used as a weapon against her. She knew that she still had enemies out there…and they had been very vocal during the election process. Even though Clint is physically strong, she knew that he could not protect himself against those who would use magic on him in order to punish her. That's why Loki's actions were so ironic…Hermione was completely unknown to him.
"Why didn't she stop Loki herself, then – especially after he had captured and used his mind voodoo on her husband…and when he was fighting us…and fighting you, her friend?" Tony asked again, even though everyone turned to glare at him. "What?" he asked. "You know that you want to know, too."
Nat just shook her head disgustedly. "She could not stop Loki because she did not know it had happened until afterwards. She had been Minister for about a year when she was kidnapped by her enemies and tortured again – by someone who held a personal grudge against her…but mainly just for being a Muggleborn witch who had been a good best friend to the man who had ultimately stopped the bad guy and was now the Head Auror…um…police chief for the magical world. Plus, she now had the gall to hold a high position in magical society. At any rate, she finally managed to fight her way out of the situation after she acquired one of her captor's wands. She captured three of the four men herself, but the fourth one, the leader, got away. In fact, they still haven't caught him and that was a couple of years ago…even after two extensive hunts: the official one conducted by Harry and his Aurors...and the secret one that Fury sanctioned."
Nat paused to sigh. "The really sad part about it, though, was that neither she nor Clint had known that she was pregnant at the time. They did not find out until later, when she was at the hospital dealing with other complications from the torture curses that had been used on her, that not only had she been pregnant, but also that she had lost the baby, and that her body was now too damaged from the experience (as well as her previous torture) to carry another one. In fact, Clint did not even find out that she was in the hospital, at all, until we left New York right after the Chitauri invasion. Once he had found out what happened, though, he wanted to quit SHIELD and the Avengers immediately and stay with her, but she would not hear of it. She insisted on going back to work after her body had healed…and that he needed to do so, as well…or else the ones that took away their baby would have gotten exactly what they wanted…and won." Nat stopped speaking and then turned to glare at Tony. "Do you understand now?"
For once Tony was speechless, and could only nod his head, as the guilt for his inconsiderate and poorly thought out words began to gnaw at him. Nat nodded. "Find a way to make it right, then, because you just reminded them both that even though they are two of the most powerful people on this planet, they could not manage to protect themselves, each other, or their unborn child…and you did it right before we are about to face another battle where who-knows-what is going to happen." All of the faces around the table were grim as they realized how true that last statement was and how little they had known about the life of their teammate. They resolved to change that last part immediately, though.
"We can start with the chores," Steve suggested. "After all, this is a farm…and there is plenty to do – especially since neither one of them are here much." They all agreed and when Hermione and Clint finally made their way back downstairs, they found the place spotless. Nat and Bruce had cleaned it all up - while having a very intense conversation themselves, apparently. Not only that, but Steve was out chopping wood, and Tony was in the barn working on the old tractor. Hermione smiled at her husband when she realized what his friends were trying to do. That smile turned into a wide grin, however when Nick Fury himself walked in the door after having a discussion of his own with Tony in the garage.
"Granger…what were you told about taking in strays?" the imposing man said as Hermione launched herself into his arms for a hug…much to the shock of the rest of the group who had rejoined them as soon as they realized who the new arrival was.
"Well, this one bloke who stayed with us here on the farm for a while after his death told me to do it only if I can determine that they will be valuable allies," she answered cheekily, "and they most definitely are!"
"Good girl," he answered as he kissed her affectionately on the forehead…before turning back to the rest of the group, completely unaffected by their open-mouthed stares of those who did not yet realize that he now looked upon the little witch like the daughter he never had. "Now…it is time to plan!"
Throughout the rest of the evening that is what they did. However, they also managed to relax and have a bit of fun in the process, too – especially since none of them were in immediate danger for once. Therefore, they played darts and joked around while they talked strategy. They also all pitched in to cook dinner, and to clean up afterwards, as well. The camaraderie helped them to remember exactly what they were fighting for.
To everyone's surprise, Tony even volunteered to wash the dishes, if Hermione would dry them for him. Realizing that he wanted to talk, she agreed and shooed the others out of the kitchen. As she rolled up her sleeves, however, Tony caught a glimpse of the carving on her arm, and his guilt assaulted him again.
"Look, Glinda," he said and Hermione just rolled her eyes at the classic movie witch reference. Tony started to wash the mountain of dishes that the hungry Avengers had left behind. "Damn, how much did we eat? It's a good thing that Thor wasn't here, too. That man eats like he is feasting at Valhalla!" he muttered before he turned his attention back to her. "Anyways…I just want you to know that I am sorry about…before. However, I am sure that Barton and Romanoff have told you that my brain and my mouth don't always run at the same speed…and that I don't always play nicely with others. I apologize for letting that happen with you, though. You deserved better than that – especially after you had taken us in and fed us – just because we were with your husband."
Hermione regarded the plates that she was hand drying at the moment, even though she could have easily used magic to do it instead. She wondered if the man next to her knew that…but decided not to mention it. She thought about everything that Clint had told her about him…especially about carrying that nuclear weapon through the portal during the alien invasion - without any hope of return. She recognized that act of reckless bravery proved that he had the soul of a true Gryffindor…and just like her best friends (and most of the other men from that House)…a big mouth that often said things that it should not. That thought made her smile as she made her decision.
"It was not just because you were with Clint, you know," she replied as she turned to face him. "I wasn't lying when I told Nick that you would make good allies…and friends. You are all good people in your own right...even if you don't always show it." She paused for a moment and met his eyes in order to allow him to see the forgiveness in her own. "Now…tell me a story about my husband," she said, and a devious sparkle suddenly appeared in her eyes. "Something embarrassing that he wouldn't want me to know, and that his best friend would not think to tell me." Tony recognized the tactic with relief. She was not going to make him discuss his feelings. He appreciated that, so he told her about every crazy thing Barton had done since he had met the man. Ten minutes later, Clint came in to check on them – mainly to make sure that Hermione had not hexed Tony to within an inch of his life – and found his wife laughing so hard at something that Stark had said that she was actually holding her sides to keep them from hurting so much! Even though he had a suspicion that they were talking about him, he decided to leave well enough alone and slowly backed out of the kitchen before either of them saw him.
They soon rejoined the others, however, and Fury politely refused her offer to spend the night. Instead he took off to get to work on his part of the plan, after gaining Stark's permission to borrow Maria Hill. The rest of the Avengers soon went to bed, knowing that they had to face Ultron on the morrow. For his part, as soon as Clint got his wife alone again, he proceeded to show her just how much he loved her by lavishing her body with attention – especially since he did not know when…or even if…he would get the chance again. Hermione had also decided to join them on their mission and Clint was not sure how he felt about that. He knew that her skills would come in handy – especially against the Maximoff twins, but he also wanted to keep her out of harm's way as much as possible. He did not know how to say exactly what he felt, though, so he showed her instead. Hermione understood, however, because she felt the exact same way about him!
However, things did not go to plan the next morning. After a quick breakfast, which Hermione insisted they eat because who knew when any of them would get the chance again, the previously cold fireplace suddenly burst into green flames and a man with messy black hair and glasses stepped out.
"Harry!" Clint called out happily to his wife's best friend while the others stared. "To what do we owe this early morning visit?"
Harry returned the greeting with a smile. "Well...it's actually afternoon in London, Clint. Time difference, remember? At any rate, I guessed that you were the reason that Mione darted out of the office so quickly yesterday. I didn't know that you had more company, though. Hello, Nat!" Harry even blushed a little when she waved back. Even though he was happily married to Ginny, Natasha was…Natasha…and Merlin knew that he had a thing for sexy redheads! He then noticed the other men sitting around the table and his blush faded immediately as his hand went to his wand and his mind did some quick calculations about how quickly he could perform that many Obliviates before they started to fight back.
"No need to panic, Harry," Hermione entered the room and instantly recognized the look on her friend's face. "No memory spells are needed. These are Clint's teammates, the Avengers." Harry's look of relief was intense for just a moment until he suddenly remembered the reason for his early visit. That wiped all thought of the visitors out of his mind as he crossed over to her and took her hand.
"Mione," he said urgently. "We have finally caught the bastard. We've got him. We've got Malfoy!"
"What?" Clint rushed over to wrap his wife in a comforting embrace when the first sign of shock crossed her face at the name of the man who was not only her childhood bully, but also her kidnapper.
"Yes!" exclaimed Harry. "They are convening an emergency session of the Wizengamot as we speak. They will begin as soon as the Minister of Magic arrives. It is especially important since she is also..." he paused.
"The victim," Hermione answered for him with a blank face.
"I'm going, too!" Clint insisted. His face now a mask of fury at the thought of confronting the man who had tortured his wife and killed his child…in order to strangle him with his bare hands. However, the look on his wife's face soon cleared his mind. He could see her pulling herself and her emotions together...and he knew that he had to do the same.
"No!" she said emphatically. "You know that you can't, Love. For all they know, you are just an ordinary Muggle, Clint. They can't know our secret...not while I am still in charge. If anyone comes after you, too…then all of this will have been in vain. Don't you understand?"
"I can't leave you to face this alone." Clint whispered, the lump in his throat growing larger with his repressed emotions.
"She won't be alone." Harry insisted. "It will be a closed session to eliminate the media circus. However, I will be there as the Head of the DMLE. Kingsley will be there as Chief Warlock. Ginny and the rest of the Weasleys will represent Mione's family. We love her, too, Clint, and I promise that we will take care of her. I will personally kill that piece of shite if he so much as looks at her!" Harry clapped the other man on the shoulder comfortingly and Hermione nodded slowly.
"They need you," she said as she pointed towards the group still fiercely gripping their coffee mugs and tea cups in complete surprise at the news that the wizard had brought with him. "Go. Follow the plan. The entire world is a little more important than just me today."
"The world will never be more important than you," Clint declared as he kissed her fiercely.
In the end, however, Clint agreed to go with the Avengers - even though it killed him inside to leave his wife to deal with the situation without him. He did make her a promise, though. "The world still needs to be saved today, but after this, I am finished with full-time Avenging! I will be here…with you…where I am needed…whenever I am needed." Hermione could only nod while she prayed to any and every deity that would listen to bring him safely home as she dragged him away for a quick private goodbye…where he managed to make her laugh when he promised her that he would finally finish reflooring the sun room when he returned.
She then said her farewells to the rest of the team and made them each promise to watch out for her husband...and each other. However, she also had a special message for Dr. Banner and the Hulk. "Take care of Nat," she whispered as she gave him a hug. "She is not as tough as she seems." Bruce looked startled for just a moment, as his eyes flashed green, but then he nodded thoughtfully. It was then the redhead's turn, and she just held her friend close as she made the reassurances that she knew Hermione desperately needed to hear. Afterwards, Hermione and Harry stepped into the Floo together and whirled out of sight. After they had disappeared, Clint turned towards his teammates and fiercely demanded that they head out and take care of what needed to be done so that he could get back to his wife.
