The moment Steve had awoken and got over the initial shock of Eir passing out right before his eyes, there was a flurry of activity as Natasha and Clint moved her over to the free bed in the room, and Bruce tried his best to keep Steve situated in his own bed to be looked over.

Steve spat question after question of why Eir was there but his team refused to answer him. It wasn't until he saw the faded mark for himself did he start to doubt his entire friendship with the woman but as he thought about it, he figured he'd have to let her explain herself when she woke. After all, she had weeks to kill him or gain information about S.H.I.E.L.D if that was this new threat's plan but she hadn't. Instead, she integrated him into her life and introduced him to one of her old friends from back home while helping him cook.

When Steve had spotted the stick at the edge of his bed, he picked it up and that only reinforced that his friend was not entirely normal as she appeared to be. When Bruce patched Steve up and exclaimed that he was okay to move about, Fury immediately called him in to be debriefed and he went without a word.

Fury fired question after question of his own- the Director wanted to know exactly when and how Steve met Eir. He asked if the woman was ever interested in his line of work and the more Steve talked about his encounters with Eir, the more he realized she really was innocent in this but that didn't stop him from wondering why she had that specific mark tattooed on her inner forearm.

After Fury got whatever he wanted from Steve, he dismissed the soldier back to the hospital room where the witch resided. If she was really innocent in all this then seeing Steve's face when she finally woke up would make things easier for them all.

So there Steve sat, having moved his bed to sit side by side with Eir's as she slept. When he realized that no machines were hooked up to her to give them any readings, Bruce explained that magic interfered with their technology. And after Steve wondered aloud what was going on with Eir that she passed out, Bruce explained to him what she had done. He spoke of a magical core and exhaustion, and was assured that her body was more than likely just resting until she was fit enough to be up.

.:HP/AVNGS:.

Magical exhaustion seemed to be a pretty big deal with the witches and wizards, and the Avengers were quite shocked that it took two days for Eir to fully wake up.

Steve and Thor had been constant presences in Eir's room with Clint occasionally stopping by to bring the guys sustenance. Bruce had inserted an IV to keep Eir hydrated while she regained her strength in whatever coma her body had put her in, and Natasha made sure to keep Tony away until Eir was fully awake. The last thing Steve needed was Tony baiting him as he kept vigil over the woman.

And it was just their luck that the day Tony managed to slip by the Black Widow was the same day that Eir's eyes fluttered open.

..

..

"Get Dr. Banner. Now!" Steve instructs Thor as Eir blinks rapidly, trying to adjust her eye sight to the brightness of the room without giving herself a headache.

Though Bruce had liquids flowing through Eir's body, whatever was going on with her really did a number. Her skin wasn't it's usual ivory, her hair was limp, her lips weren't plush pink, and for being asleep- the bags under her eyes were heavy and dark.

"Wh- where.."

"Ssh." Steve shushes her, immediately crawling out of his own bed and pushing it aside in favor of standing next to Eir's bed. "It's okay. Thor went to get Bruce. Just lay there and rest."

Eir continues to blink, adjusting her gaze to her surroundings and it's then that Steve notices how dull and haunted her eyes look once more. Fighting off a frown, a scowl instead takes it's place when a low whistle sounds at the door.

"Whoa, Rogers!" Tony strolls into the room with a smug grin on his face before quickly glancing over his shoulder. "If this is what you classify as beautiful.." His words trail off as Natasha slides into the room, her eyes shooting daggers at the back of Tony's head as he chuckles at Eir's expression.

"Bugger off, you git." She manages to grit out which only causes Tony to grin rather wolfishly.

"You are terribly rude." He then turns his nose upward, moving further into the room. "But I'll let it slide until you're more coherent."

"Not now, Stark." Steve mutters harshly. "She just woke up and I'm not sure how much she remembers from before she passed out."

Tony's amused expression falters but being the egotistical man he is- he doesn't let his slight curiosity or worry show. Thor comes rushing back into the room with Bruce at his heels so Bruce could start his checkup and then tries his best to assure Eir that she's safe by telling her they're the good guys. Natasha briefly murmurs in the comm at her ear before falling silent and watches from the back of the room.

Bruce immediately produces a pen flashlight from his shirt pocket, leaning over Eir to check her pupil reaction. "Eir, do you remember me?"

"Blimey, Dr. Banner." She groans, clamping her eyes shut at the light "Yes, I remember."

"Good." He tells her, smothering a grin. "What about these other men and woman?"

Eir blinks some before her head tilts from side to side to look around, a feeble grin lifting up the corner of her lips, "Thor." Said man beams down at her causing her to snort and then wince in pain before looking at the next familiar face. "Steve." She breaths airily.

"Man," Tony whistles in glee. "-she's got it bad for you, Rogers." He thumps Steve on the back but Steve pays him no mind.

"That egotistical prat is Tony Stark also known as Iron Man." Eir musters up her best eye roll that won't make her feel sick. As her eyes scan the rest of the room, Clint enters the room and stands back with Natasha. "Those two," She nods at them so Bruce knows who she's speaking of. "-are Agent Romanoff and Barton. I'm not sure of their code names though."

"Hawkeye." Clint smirks at her before gesturing to Natasha. "Black Widow."

"Fitting." Eir offers them a grin. "You've got great eye sight with that bow of yours and you," Her eyes lock on with Natasha. "-beautiful yet deadly."

Natasha flashes her a brief smirk before schooling her expression to appear uninterested. "Do you know where you are? What you spoke about before passing out?" Steve asks her worriedly.

Eir nods. "Yeah. I remember everything and I'm keeping my word to the eye patch bloke." She mumbles before shakily reaching up and rubbing at her throat. "I just need a little bit more time. Food to energize me some for the upcoming conversation."

"That won't be a problem." Bruce agrees, picking up a stethoscope before taking her vitals the old fashion way. In the back of the room, Clint mumbles into his own comm before watching his team interact with the newest member aboard the Helicarrier.

As Bruce pokes and prods with Eir's permission, a nurse suddenly comes in with a tray a food and rolls it up the bed before she's immediately dismissed. Steve is there to help Eir sit up and readjusts the bed into a sitting position as Thor fluffs up the pillows to make her more comfortable.

They start her off with water and a bowl of fruit- which seems to perk her up some- but it's the hot soup and crackers that starts to help bring color back to her face and that familiar twinkle in her eyes that Steve grew accustomed to.

While Thor and Steve have taken to sitting on either side of Eir's bed, Clint and Natasha sit on the far side of the room to keep an eye on them. Bruce and Tony were in out of the room- both geniuses checking she was getting better and making sure Fury hadn't started his interrogation to stick around since Eir told them she was perfectly fine with having the Avengers team present when she gave Fury her story.

It was during the time of her brief recuperation that Natasha caved and found a brush and hair tie for Eir when the witch kept running her fingers through her limp waves to appear presentable. After a quick thank you to Natasha, the Black Widow glared at her team members as if saying never speak of my hospitality but the only one she had to worry about teasing her was Clint since Tony wasn't there. Since they were partners, he apparently had it in his head that he could get away with lots of things which was true but she wouldn't tell him that to his face.

..

..

Eir's resting her eyes for a moment when Steve re-enters the room from a brief break he took, taking the vacant chair next to Eir's bed and propping his legs up at the edge of the mattress.

"So a witch, huh? Can't say I saw that one coming."

"I guess not, huh, Captain?"

There's a moment of tense silence before Steve and Eir immediately break out in matching grins, and it's Eir who falters first, sadness tinging her own. "I'm sorry, you know? For keeping it a secret." She mumbles. "You seemed like someone I could trust in the long run and I would have told you eventually but-"

"It's okay." Steve cuts her off, setting his feet back on the floor and leaning forward. "I wasn't exactly upfront with you about being Captain America. I guess you could say we're even now."

Eir looks as if she's about to argue with him on it but Fury's sudden intrusion has her snapping her mouth shut. A woman follows in after him clad in a deep blue catsuit with on odd symbol on her shoulder, a gun holstered at her hip, her hair perfectly styled into a bun at the back of her head, and a folder in hand. Both Fury and the mystery woman have blank expressions and it's after he's secured a chair at the end of Eir's bed does he speak.

"I was informed this room had been cleared out of unwanted eyes and ears. Figured we might as well have our little talk in here." He deadpans before gesturing to the woman behind him. "This is Agent Maria Hill; my second in command. She's here to take notes."

Agent Maria Hill doesn't greet Eir- merely blinking and finding a seat of her own before crossing one leg over the other and placing the folder atop her knee. When Bruce and Tony enter, Eir swears she saw the Maria woman scowl at Tony and Tony merely wink in response.

Eir purses her lips, eyes narrowing on the new agent as if trying to wonder if she's trustworthy or not. She sits up a little straighter, pulling the bed sheet a little higher up on her lap before sighing. "What I'm about to answer for you goes against my Wizarding government. I can get my wand snapped for telling you what you want." She tells him, her shoulders slumping and her eyes wandering over to her wand that's sitting on the tray her food once resided on. "When they find out I've told muggles our secret, I'm sure a certain ally of mine can get the Minister to make an exception for the Avenger's knowing of our existence but I must make sure that this information stays classified. I'm allowing you to hear my story and only the highest of officials will see your commander's notes should the occasion calls for it."

At the end of her mini-rant, Eir immediately has everyone's interest piqued if their sudden closeness to her bed is anything to go by.

Fury grunts, crossing his arms over his chest as he leans back in his chair, glaring with his one good eye. Tony isn't bothering to hide his amused grin as his gaze darts back and forth between Eir and Fury, and Clint's just as bad with wanting to see how this is going to pan out. Fury is anything but nice, especially when he wants answers, so they're surprised and a bit let down when he agrees to her terms.

"Deal. Information is confidential unless we're out of our league and need to inform others." He nods just as Agent Hill pulls a pen out of nowhere and marks the corner of the folder with some symbol and numbers before opening it up to reveal clean sheets of paper.

The silence that follows lead Eir to believe that this is her opening to reveal her story, only when she opens her mouth, her voice gets caught in her throat and her mind goes blank.

She has no idea where to start or how much to tell them.

She opens her mouth again only to snap it shut a second later and groans in frustration.

"Don't hurt yourself, Princess." Tony snorts which causes Eir to glare at him. Normally, she'd find his teasing amusing but right now, she can't exactly tolerate it. Though when she's about to give Tony a quick piece of her mind, a whimsical silver-blue mist suddenly appears through the wall. Tony's amusement is gone in a flash as he yelps, "Security breach!"

Everyone sans Eir tense before Romanoff, Barton, Hill, and Fury are reaching for their guns which only causes Eir to laugh. The moment she laughs though, she flinches and curls in on herself only remembering a second too late that her body wasn't exactly up to par yet.

"Stand down." She mumbles to the room, her eyes finding the mist as it dances around the four walls of the room. "And can someone tell me what animal form it's taking? I'm having trouble focusing on it."

"Animal?" Steve asks softly. "It turns into an animal?"

Eir catches his gaze and offers him a soft smile. "Yeah. Watch it."

"What the hell is going on?" Fury suddenly demands as the team watch the mist warily. "What is it?"

"It's a patronus." Eir sighs, readjusting her position in bed. "That there is the purest form of good magic that you'll ever see." And once those words leave her mouth, they watch on as the mist takes shape of a very familiar otter that now appears to be swimming on it's back towards her, and the agents start putting away their weapons. "It's a way to fight off dementors and send messages. Just.. listen."

The otter comes to a stop in front of her, sitting up on it's hind legs in mid-air as it's cracks open it's mouth. "Are you okay? Kingsley's just told of the attack! Please tell me you weren't spotted, Eir?! That attack is too close for comfort."

"Is that- is that Hermione?" Steve's forehead crinkles in confusion while Tony whistles appreciatively.

"Wow, Cap, you know two witches? You've been holding out on us."

Steve scowls at Tony before turning back to Eir who confirms that he's right. It is Hermione.

"The American Ministry is still refusing to call us in. A wizard came forward who caught the beginning of the fight- telling the Ministry that the deatheaters created chaos but seemed intent on harming the Avengers rather than the regular muggles. We don't know their reasoning for instigating a fight but you need to be careful. You know what will happen if they spot you."

Eir gulps, fingers gripping the sheet in her hands just a little tighter. She knows full well exactly what would happen if she were to be captured and it's only a matter of time before she is now that she's willing to help the Avengers out with whatever they need.

"I must go now but if you don't reply within the hour, I will risk war to find you and make sure you're safe. I really hope it doesn't come to that."

The patronus fades away and Eir isn't that surprised by the American Ministry doing nothing. They have always been a lazy lot and it didn't seem like they were likely to change anytime soon. When she looks up though, her amusement is back with a vengeance as she sees questions burning in everyone's gaze but before they can ask, there's something she must do.

"Mind if I reply? Hermione's not a patient witch especially when it involves my safety." She grins tiredly at Fury. "It doesn't matter if I give away my location or not because there's tracking spells for that but I will have to tell her who I'm with so I can quell some of her worry.." She softly pleads.

Fury's once again silent, mulling over the witch's words and it's Thor who backs her up. "If you're worried about any further exposure, there's no need. The Wizarding Community is just as secret as S.H.I.E.L.D and these people Lady Eir speaks with are of the good variety. Anything said will only be spoken to those worthy of knowing."

Eyes travel back and forth from Eir to Thor and to Fury as Agent Hill furiously scribbles down whatever notes she deems worthy of going over later. Very reluctantly, Fury nods his approval and Eir sighs in relief.

Reaching over and picking up her wand, Eir bites her bottom lip to keep from smiling too much, and while gripping her wand just the right way she thinks of a current happy memory to call upon her own messenger. "Expecto patronum."

The tip of her wand glows, the entire room watching intently as the whimsical vapor oozes from said wand before gathering together and swirling around the room. The moment it takes shape of a fox, the patronus runs and leaps along all four walls before doing something she's never seen it do before.

Her patronus sizes up each individual in the room.

Fury, Agent Hill, and Tony get a flick of the tail as if it's not interested in them while Clint, Natasha, and Bruce get curious head tilts which seems to make Tony pout. The fox circles Thor's head, coming to a brief stop at the back of his head as it playfully swats at the pony tail that Eir just now realizes the God is sporting but since the fox is only a patronus, it's paw goes right through Thor's hair without him feeling it. And Steve, Steve gets the curious head tilt and an almost affectionate form of nuzzling from the ethereal fox to his cheek.

"Wh- what's happening?" He gulps as the patronus tries nuzzling him some more.

"I'm not sure." Eir giggles. "It's never done that before." The room's occupants are torn between looking amused at Steve's expression and worried when Eir says that it's never done this before. After a few more seconds of Steve feeling uncomfortable, she calls it off. "Oi! I need you for a message not a cuddle." She barks and once more, the team is shocked that this ghostly image actually listens and Agent Hill is back to scribbling in her notes.

Once the fox trots up to her, he cracks opens his mouth and Eir relays her message. "I hate messages via patronus, just you know. I never know how to start one off but you threatened war so here it is. I was out and about during the attack so yes, I was spotted." She sighs, taking a couple of breaths before continuing. "But I'm fine, really I am. That Captain America bloke saved me but the deatheaters were hell bent on taking him out. The moment he fell, I stepped in, and you know I'm not one to walk away from a fight when someone's life is on the line." Eir grins but quickly continues on to finish her message. "Tell Kingsley I'm sorry but I have to tell these Avengers who and what they're dealing with. I know what the consequences are about telling muggles but I'm sure Kingsley can run interference and keep the Ministry from summoning me.

Now.. these blokes are just as secretive as the Wizarding Community, from what I gather, so I won't be telling you all that I'm bound to find out with them. Our fight just became their fight, 'Mione, but if they think we need more help you can bet your arse you will be the first witch I call even if we risk war with the American Ministry. Don't be mad and if you can, owl me my pensieve. I have a feeling I'll need it." Once Eir finishes, she sets her wand down and nods. "Take the message to Hermione." And with a nod from her fox, the fox runs around the room before disappearing.

The team is left speechless as they watch the fox disappear and Agent Hill is too busy scribbling in her notes to notice the awed looks of everyone around her. As Eir takes a moment to readjust the pillows behind her back, she takes a sip of her water that was on the tray next to her bed before grinning over at Fury. "I know it's eating you up on the inside, sir, so what's your first question?"

Without missing a beat, Fury answers, "What exactly are deatheaters?"

Lol. I am not that sorry for yet ANOTHER cliffhanger.. only because I need your input on something! Promise.

I'm a few chapters away from completing the ENTIRE story which will be 28 chapters in total, but I need your advice. There is a white bengal kitten and a white barn owl being purchased and I need names. What would you name a white bengal kitten and a white barn owl?