Despite her exhaustion from a day studying blood bonds Hermione found herself unable to sleep the next night. She changed into a bathing suit, wrapped a towel around herself, slipped out of the oversize room she was staying in and through the chateau, walking out the back door into the warm night air. The pool was large, kept at a comfortable temperature year-round, and illuminated by hanging lanterns. As much as she disliked the opulence of the whole home, she loved the pool. A few laps usually helped her unwind when she needed to give her brain a break, but, she realized while sliding into the water, her predicament wasn't going to be easily alleviated by just a few laps. She had already let the bank know she was taking a few personal days because, as much as she hated to admit it, Draco was right. The binding wasn't going to go away by ignoring it. And, though it was the last thing she wanted to do, talking to Loki might help the problem. He seemed to dislike the idea of the binding just as much as she did, and he obviously had some form of magic, so perhaps he would know the magic behind the binding better.
As she swam she became acutely aware that someone was watching her. She chanced a look up as she took a breath, and saw him standing there. Loki looked much less less intimidating in the simple black pants and gold-trimmed green tunic, though he still had an authoritative air around him. He stood about ten feet away from the pool, just in the light of the lantern, eyes following her as she cut through the water. Away from the overwhelming aspect of Asgard, and out of his over-the-top clothing, she realized he was quite good looking. Tall, lank, with dark hair swept back, and eyes that pierced as effortlessly as Dumbledore's. Had he gone to Hogwarts there was little doubt he'd be a Slytherin, but not the nauseatingly arrogant and antagonistic type, as Draco had been during their years at the school. More like Snape, who only showed arrogance when he was sure of his abilities, more aloof and intelligent, who didn't often pick a fight but knew how to stir the pot when he wanted. While she would never admit it to anyone, but now that she and her former professor were casual friends she found that sexy about Snape, and the parallels could be easily made between Severus and the Asgardian prince. She stopped after her lap, taking a drink from a bottle of water she brought out before acknowledging him.
"That didn't take you very long," she said, looking over at him.
"Longer than I thought, actually," he said with a soft smile, stepping closer. "The wards here took a bit of work to get through. I am grateful you are being kept in such a safe place, Lady Granger."
"Please don't call me that," she replied sharply. "And why do you care about my safety?"
"Do not mistake my distaste for the binding to be apathy towards you as a person. Quite the opposite. I care for your well being because of the binding. I do bear some responsibility towards you, even if neither of us will admit that magic has already been invoked. It is for that reason I am here. No doubt your friend told you of my visit. I found a couple books about you, and I confess to reading them during the day today. Books paint a beautiful picture, though I have learned that I must take the information with a grain of salt. Still, I am glad I got the opportunity to read about you before approaching you, as you have lead a fascinating life," he said, crouching in front of her so they were quite close.
She swallowed as she thought about what he had said, but her brain kept repeating the fact that he had read a couple books that day, as if one biography hadn't been enough. Why did he have to tell her that he did exactly what she would have done had she not already had a basic knowledge of him? He was easy on the eyes, she would admit that, and she found him intriguing, but it wasn't enough for her to want to spend much time with him. She couldn't risk him telling her things that would make him look like the type of man she wanted in her life, because if she found him attractive, intriguing, and enticing she may find herself doing something stupid, like letting the bond stay in place.
"Found them interesting, then?" she asked casually, looking up at him.
"Enough to realize how you were able to read the scroll, how you were able to bind yourself. You are quite the fascinating woman."
"Flattery and compliments are not going to help us out of our current predicament," she chuckled nervously, backing up a step to try to lessen the intensity of his gaze.
"No, it will not," he said, standing. "However I felt I needed to understand the binding before I could explore how to break ourselves from it."
"So there is a way?" she asked, surprised.
"I have not yet come across a situation that I could not find a solution to, however I admit I find myself at a loss as to how to change this one at this moment," he said. "Father is not known for doing things half-heartedly or incompetently. He will not have made it easy for us to free ourselves, if he even allowed for such a thing. When I modified the magic I did not think to create a way to break the bond because I thought I has assured there would never be a bond."
"You modified it?" she raised an eyebrow.
"I made it so it held the woman in an almost unattainable regard. I thought if such a woman existed, the chance of her finding and reading the scroll was miniscule, and the chance of her agreeing to the binding would be even less. I did not take into account that father may have designed the magic around the scroll so that such a woman may not have a choice."
"You think he may have taken away my choice in order to ensure this binding happens?"
"How often does an arranged marriage come with the consent of the bride and groom?" he snapped.
"That isn't how it works nowadays," she pointed out.
"In this part of your world, and I will remind you that marrying for love is, in relation to your existence as a species, a fairly new fashion."
"That depends on so many different definitions," she pointed out. "Royalty, aristocrats, maybe. Many of us have had the choice for far longer."
"In some places of your world the arrangement of marriage is still in favor."
"It is condemned by most of the rest of the world. And I believe it is usually done through the bride's parents."
"Would you rather I bring my father down here to discus the binding with yours?"
"No, I'd rather you not give my father a heart attack, thank you," she replied.
"Which is why we must discuss it between ourselves."
She sighed and played with the water. "I suppose we must," she muttered after a long moment.
He looked at her, and for the first time she saw something besides annoyance in his eyes. If she had to name it she'd call it sympathy, but he seemed unsure of the emotion himself, or at least unsure of how to portray it. "For what it is worth, I am sorry."
"You had about as much a choice as I did," she reminded him.
He looked away from her. An awkward silence fell between them.
"This isn't really a conversation I want to have while in the pool," she said. "Why don't we go up to the house? I'll get dressed and we can talk."
He nodded. She swam to the stairs and climbed out of the pool, to find him holding her towel out to her. She murmured her thanks, flushing as she noticed his eyes wandering over her, a smile playing across his lips. She wrapped the towel around herself and led the way inside.
"Are you hungry or thirsty? I could show you the kitchen."
He thought about it for a moment before saying, "Yes, I would appreciate something to eat."
She wound deep into the house, opening the door to the kitchen. Immediately a house-elf came scurrying forward, bowing low.
"What is that?" Loki asked in distaste.
"House-elf," she replied. "A servant of sorts. Sabbi, aren't you supposed to be asleep?"
"Oh, no, Miss," the house-elf replied. "Sabbi and two others work throughout the night doing the deep-cleaning."
Hermione sighed in annoyance. "This is Loki, and he would like something to eat and drink. Would you like me..." she trailed off as the elf scurried to the cupboards and started pulling out pots and pans.
"She feels no obligation to you, so if there's something you want, be polite," Hermione told him. "They are, by nature, extremely helpful. Overly so, to be honest. Please don't push her."
"I will not," he promised.
"I'll be down in a little bit. This is Draco's house, though I don't think he'll wake up, if he does tell him, and Sabbi can back you up, that I invited you in. Stay in the kitchen, and I'll try not to take too long."
"I'll be here, awaiting your return," he replied with a small bow.
She practically ran to her room, took a quick shower, brushed her hair and pulled it into a ponytail, and got dressed in a nice pair of jeans and a blouse. She hurried back down the stairs as the clock chimed two in the morning, and found Loki in the kitchen, a mostly-finished plate of bangers and mash in front of him, a tea set sitting by his elbow.
"Is everything to your liking?" she asked, unsure of what else to say.
"It is... acceptable," Loki replied, standing.
"Good. Follow me," she said.
He walked to her and, as if the action were automatic, offered her an arm. She stared at it for a moment before taking it and starting to lead him through the large house.
"This house belongs to Draco," she told him as they walked.
"Is he your lover?" he asked.
"We were engaged to be married."
"But not anymore?"
"No. We broke up a couple months ago," she shook her head.
"And that fact is well known?"
"Published in several wizarding publications. Why?"
"It would be easier to convince father to break the bond if you were already betrothed to another."
"Do you think there's any chance of convincing him?" she asked.
"No," he shook his head once. "Not with the current circumstances."
"What current circumstances?" she asked. "I heard him mention something about Midgard coming into knowledge of Asgard once again."
"My brother was banished here not too long ago. I will admit to making the situation a little more... visible than father would have preferred."
"You're going to have to explain," she murmured.
"Shortly after his banishment I was going through a time of emotional upheaval. And, simultaneously, the throne was thrust upon me when my father became incapacitated. I attempted to keep power, to keep some form of control, and when I saw my brother as a threat I attempted to eliminate him in a rather grand fashion. That confrontation took place in a town full of humans, being watched by a branch of the American government. This means that now there are those on your realm who know of us, and have seen our power. Father wishes you to be an ambassador of sorts between our realms."
"But I'm in hiding from most of Midgard. I can't go out and use magic in front of them, they don't know about witches and wizards, and I doubt the Ministry is going to let that change because I wound up bound to someone from another realm," she protested.
A smile played across his lips. "You do not realize the power you do have. You are more powerful than the average Muggle as you would call them. And you are quite powerful in your world."
"Yes, part of the world that has nothing to do with you or what you did to your brother," she shot back. "We're here," she cut him off, opening a door.
"A library?" he asked, stepping inside.
"Where else are we going to find information about blood bonds?" she asked. "Draco pretty much cleared his family library when he moved out, Narcissa and Lucius didn't use it very often and only wanted to keep a select few. The collection is the best place I can think of to start looking. I'm assuming you can't go looking in Asgard."
"I have looked," he replied. "And have found that, if father does not want the bond broken, the bond will remain. And he thinks that this bond may provide me some stability and direction in my life."
"Oh," she shot him a look.
"Yes?" he asked, sound irritated.
"You don't seem like a man who lacks direction," she shrugged.
"I notice you have said nothing about stability."
"I don't know here nor there about that, and to be honest the books on the subject are not kind to you in that regard," she replied, and another smile fluttered across his face. "So, if you're unable to find anything there, and I cannot go waltzing into Hogwarts with announcing our predicament..."
"Why would you go to Hogwarts?"
"They have the largest collection of books on nearly any magical subject you could possibly want to study, but the chances of the bond staying secret if I go there looking for the information is virtually non-existent. Draco has a plan there, but I didn't ask." She went to a desk covered in old texts and placed her hand on top of a pile. "I've already pulled these, thinking they may be useful. Unless you can think of a better way to approach this...?"
"No," he shook his head once.
"Then we're just going to have to keep looking these over. Pick any you want, the stack on the small table is ones I've already looked through and found nothing," she said, grabbing Magical Marriage Rites and Rituals Throughout History from the top of the stack and sitting on one side of the large couch.
"Are there any with information you've found?"
"Nothing I didn't already know," she shook her head.
He carefully sifted through the stacks, picking out a couple books, before sitting on the other side of the couch and starting to read. They read for hours, occasionally getting up to pick another book, but they did not speak. Once Hermione turned on the couch, sticking her feet on the seat between her and Loki, but if he noticed he made no motion towards her. What they didn't know was that occasionally they would look at each other, watching the intensity of their work, studying their features, and wonder what would happen if the bond were in place.
At six thirty the next morning the door opened, and Draco walked in without looking up from the tie he was working on.
"Have you been working on this all ni..." he stopped as he looked up and saw Hermione wasn't alone. "Did you find him or did he find us?" he asked.
"He found us," Hermione replied, sounding irritated. "And you don't have to talk about Loki as if he isn't in the room."
"You should have told me he was here," Draco continued without acknowledging her irritation.
"I didn't see the need to wake you up. As you can see, he hasn't tried to drag me back to Asgard or anything. He says he's studied the bond there long enough to know there's nothing he can do there to break it, so now we're working on it here. And you happen to have the biggest library I have access to."
"Is he planning on staying?"
"I don't know Perhaps we could ask him," she snapped, then turned to Loki and continued in an apologetic tone. "Loki, would you like to stay here, or would you feel more comfortable going back to Asgard or staying at my flat?"
"I will stay where it is most convenient for you, Lady Granger," he replied softly, though there was a dangerous tone in his voice.
"I'm going to stay here the next couple days to have easy access to the library. Would it be okay for him to have the room across from mine?" she turned to ask Draco.
Draco looked extremely hesitant, but nodded.
"Thank you," she said.
"I have something I have to do before going into work today. You'll be alright here?" Draco asked, looking at Hermione, silently asking if she trusted being alone with Loki.
"Yes," she assured him.
"Take care," he muttered, leaving them to study again. Hermione noticed a house elf poking in the door every ten minutes or so, occasionally scurrying in with food or drinks. At ten in the morning a loud knock rang through the house, and Hermione, confused, excused herself and went to answer the door.
"Professor Snape!" she said in surprise when she saw who was waiting, and she immediately stood aside to let him in with the box of books he was levitating before him. "How are you?"
"Draco contacted me early this morning and said you were in a tight spot with a blood bond," Snape replied without greeting, looking extremely interested in her predicament. "He asked me to round up what books I could find in the library to assist in attempting to break the bond. I thought I would deliver them personally."
"Oh, yes, well, thank you," she murmured, motioning the way.
"I must admit I find myself surprised. He said the bond was accidental, and much more difficult to break than a regular blood bond."
"Did he tell you why?"
"No, he thought it best that you tell me."
"What do you know of Asgard?"
"One of the nine homeworlds of old Norse cosmology, if I remember correctly. Old stories, Miss Granger..."
"That one is real. And I'm bound to one of their princes."
He stopped on the stairs to look at her, one eyebrow arched nearly to his hairline.
"Come on, then," she said. "You can meet him."
He followed her into the library, where Loki was sorting through the books.
"Loki, this is my former professor, Severus Snape. Professor Snape, this is Loki... I'm sorry, I don't know. If we're going traditional, wouldn't it be Odinson?"
"That's acceptable," Loki replied, stepping forward and offering a hand to Snape, who shook it once.
"Severus knows our magic better than anyone I know," Hermione explained. "Though I don't think bonds are his point of interest.
"I think I may want to hear this story. From the beginning, if you would," Snape said, sitting on a chair as they sat on the couch. Carefully Loki and Hermione told the story from the time the scroll was made to their current situation. Severus listened intently without saying anything, until they finished.
"So..." Hermione asked after a tense moment of silence. "What do you think?"
"I think I should be offering you congratulations on your upcoming nuptials," Snape replied in a deadpan voice.
"That bad?" she said with a sigh.
"Obviously I do not know their magic, however I have studied bonds extensively, as the Dark Mark is the sign of a blood bond to the Dark Lord, and as of yet I have not found a method of breaking that bond that does not have a significant chance of death, usually for the weaker of the bonded pair. I'm assuming that would be you in this case, Ms. Granger."
"Probably a safe assumption," she muttered. "So, you're telling us it's pretty much hopeless?"
"Not necessarily," he replied. "My bond with the Dark Lord was one of subservience. Your bond is probably more of those who are lovers, and equals. I haven't studied those kinds of bonds, as they did not apply to my situation. However, I would caution you not to hold too much hope. It sounds as though you will need compliance from Asgard in order to break the bond, and I mean someone other than you," he added with a nod towards Loki.
"Unfortunately those on Asgard who have the power to perform such a task are somewhat keen on keeping the bond in place," Loki replied darkly.
"Just those who could perform such a task?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Most on my realm would not subject Lady Granger to my proclivities."
"I see. If there is an answer, Miss Granger, I have yet to hear of it. I brought every book Hogwarts had on the subject, though I'm sure many of them are repeats of what Draco already has. Madam Pince has issued the standard warnings about the care which is to be taken with her texts."
"Does she know they were coming to me?"
"No. She pried, but I have never been one to indulge gossip."
"Thank you for that," she murmured. "But if she knew she would know she has no worry about the condition of the books."
"I have a class, so I must leave, but keep me informed if you find anything."
"I will," she promised as he swept from the room without a formal farewell.
"That was an interesting character," Loki remarked, picking up a few books.
"Severus has never been one to mince words, and despite acting a total prat if he cares for you in any manner you'll find yourself with a very loyal friend."
"And he cares for you?"
"Not in a romantic sense," she replied. "He is Draco's Godfather, and when Draco and I were seeing each other he visited frequently. We developed a friendship in our own sense that way. He is very slow to trust people."
"A sign of intelligence," he said, opening a book and starting to read.
They worked for several hours before Hermione started showing signs of fatigue. Her eyes would shut for several seconds before she forced them back open, she constantly shifted looking for a position that was comfortable but didn't invite nodding off, and she yawned at least once a minute.
"Perhaps it is time for you to retire," Loki said softly.
"I think you may be right," she replied with another yawn and a stretch. "I just read the same paragraph a dozen times and couldn't tell you two words of it. If I just get a few hours I should be able to concentrate better."
"May I escort you to your room?" he asked, carefully placing the book he was reading down.
"That would probably be best, so I can show you your room," she said, standing.
He offered her an arm and let her lead him from the room towards the guest rooms.
"Do you sleep?" she asked.
"When my body requires," he replied. "Not nearly as often as those from your realm. The body gets fatigued just as any body would, however it takes longer to get to that state, and I require less rest when I do sleep."
"Oh. Well, you'll be staying across from me, so if you want to wake me in the morning we can get back to work looking through the books."
"I will remember that," he said as she put her hand on a door.
"You can stay in here," she said, pushing the door open. The room was large and opulent, designed by Narcissa before the chateau had been gifted to Draco, done up in rich green and silver. "It is called the Green Room. I think it's Slytherin tradition to have a room decorated in this color scheme."
"Slytherin?"
"One of the four houses of Hogwarts. Known for their cunning and ambition."
"You have such a negative tone in your voice when you say those words," he noted. "Did you not admit to being betrothed to a Slytherin at one point?"
"Yes, I was, but most of the major suffering I've been through in my life has been at the hands of Slytherins, so I still have a somewhat negative view of that house. And, to be fair, Draco and I hated each other in school. He was a tremendous git bent on taunting my friends and I, and it got to the point where I punched him in the nose for mocking a friend's suffering."
He looked at her and a wide smile crossed his face as he chuckled. "Is that how you solve all your differences?" he asked.
"I assure you that is not my preferred method of dealing with annoyances, but I admit it has its charm."
He chuckled again.
"Is everything okay in here?" she asked after showing him some of the features in the room.
"It is acceptable," he nodded.
"I'm directly across the hall," she said as she started backing out of the room. "Knock if you need anything."
"I will, Lady Granger," he tilted in a bow. "You have a pleasant rest."
"Thanks," she murmured awkwardly before slipping from the room and hurrying across the hall to collapse into bed fully clothed. The last thing she thought of before sleep overtook her was how his eyes lit up when he smiled at her anecdote, and how attractive he looked when he seemed happy.
