I've restructured the last few chapters in this update. It kinda took on a life of its own. Along with the restructure was a massive rewrite of information. Some details have changed, others have been expanded upon. This includes both Chapter Fifteen and Sixteen, as well as the update chapter seventeen. I hope to have everything posted asap. Thank you so much for your patience with my muse which is unpredictable at best.
Hermione stumbled when her feet touched the ground on Earth. Only Thor's quick reflexes prevented her from falling over completely.
"Thank you," Hermion said, unable to muster even the smallest smile. The binding had been a mistake. It left her disoriented and even her magic felt significantly different. Agreeing to Odin's insistence of a "preliminary" binding was a great error. Her magic had flowed out of her to meet Loki's while they recited the necessary vows, before wrapping tightly around both of them.
Even now, Odin's smug gaze burned in her mind.
What have you done?
All throughout Queen Frigga's celebratory dinner, Hermione forcibly held onto her magic. It fought at every turn, trying to reach out towards Loki. Prior to her recognition of the phenomenon, her magic managed to reach the Asgardian it desperately wanted, and immediately Hermione's knees buckled from sheer pleasure, despite Loki appearing to not react at all.
"Thor?" Agent Romanov asked, as she entered the courtyard where SHIELD"S conduit for the Rainbow Bridge resided. Before he could greet the redhead, Hermione began vomiting violently.
"What's wrong with her?" Agent Romanov asked, rushing forward to pull Hermione's hair out of danger.
"I am unsure," Thor answered, watching the two women with an air of curiosity. "We simply returned from Asgard via the Rainbow Bridge. She did not have this reaction once arriving in Asgard."
"Did anything else occur?" Natasha asked. Thor paused, before answering the master assassin.
"We have need to speak with Director Fury."
"No," Hermione said, her voice breaking through dry heaves. It was too late to stop Romanov, however.
"What do you mean no?" Thor asked, staring at her as though she'd lost her mind. "Surely you wish to settle this contract as quickly as the All Father does."
Thor watched, his perplexion written on his face as Hermione shook her head.
"There's something I need to check first," Hermione answered, fully regaining her breathing. "Loki claimed the sceptre is sentient. He believes it usurped his mind. I must be sure."
At her words, the Asgardian nodded solemnly and allowed Hermione to pull a portkey from her beaded bag.
"Don't let go," Hermione warned him as Thor reached out to grasp the portkey. The odd pairing arrived inside the Ministry of Magic's atrium, and Thor exuded grace despite never utilizing this type of travel. It was enough to irritate Hermione as she lead him through Diagon Alley towards the wizarding bank.
"Gnomes!" Thor exclaimed loudly, the moment he laid eyes on the Goblin Horde for the first time. Hermione grimaced as each Goblin in the bank lobby glared at them.
"Thor Odinson!" Hermione castigated Thor. " We do not point at Goblins, nor do we refer to them as gnomes! Offending them is often an act of a war. Have you done so it will not be pleasant."
"From you or the gnomes?" Thor asked, although is voice was considerably quieter.
"Both," Hermione growled back at him. "You will apologize. In fact you will make any restitution that they demand for this insult!"
During Thor's emphatic apologies, the Asgardian managed to master Gobbledegook instantly, greatly irritating the witch.
Once they were in a private office with Rogrod, Thor promptly began groveling before the goblin in Rogrod's native tongue. Despite expressing said apologies in their native tongue, the goblin horde reluctantly accepted it.
The witch was forced to assure Thor that Rogrod's response was typical of the goblin horde's extending of forgiveness, which was unheard of to outsiders. Thor had promptly declared them to be a proud nation he'd happily have fighting alongside him. Of course, she then had to explain Asgardian customs to Rogrod, and upon the goblin comprehending it, the two became instant friends, much to Hermione's chagrin. In fact, Rogrod happily (for a goblin) escorted Thor and her towards the vault Hermione requested to see, primarily chatting with the Asgardian about the precious metals on Asgard.
"There is a powerful source within the staff," Rogrod informed them, once the three had joined the goblin experts in charge of examining the tesseract sceptre. It currently remained locked up with double the enchantments guarding it.
"Can it be contained?" Thor asked Rogrod.
"Yes," the goblin answered, "However few should ever possess its location, and it will need strong enchantments to keep it from influencing others. Knowing the danger, the Horde is hesitant to retain it."
Hermione nodded, realizing that the Horde was actively refusing to retain it. Instead of arguing, the witch said, "We understand completely. Would it be possible for you to protect it while other arrangements are made? I doubt it's safe for me to carry it around."
"We will assist you," Rogrod agreed before breaking from Gobbledegook, to add in English, "You must hurry."
Director Fury's ire was predictable in the wake of being left waiting. However, it was nothing compared to the following interruption, which caused the witch to violently flinch when she heard her name bellowed.
"Hermione Jean Granger!"
"Bollocks," Hermione muttered before pivoting to face the wizard, "Harry! Did Kingsley send you?"
"No, though it's helpful to know who else I need to curse for keeping me in the dark," the messy haired wizard answered. "Did you know George has a newly framed newspaper, the New York Times, announcing the newest member of the Avengers?"
She was going to murder George. The muggle way.
"I didn't join them," Hermione said automatically.
"Funny that you already know you were featured under that particular headline," Harry said glaring at her. "Are you out of your bloody mind?!"
"Don't be silly," Hermione said, knowing that the entire room of Avengers and Director Fury were staring at them. "I merely helped them out with a small issue.
"Don't manage me Hermione," Harry said glaring at her. "You can lie all you want, but I'm not Ron."
"You're blowing this way out of proportion," Hermione said trying to dismiss his concerns.
"Technically she was never formally invited to join SHIELD," Fury interjected, earning a glare from both magic users.
"I know your standards of war are a bit off, considering we grew up surviving a magical genocide, but typically an international invasion cannot be described as a mere squirmish," Harry said.
"Like you'd have done anything differently!" Hermione retorted. "At least I covered my ass legally and went straight to Kingsley. At best, you would've gotten locked up due to shortsightedness."
"Damn it Hermione, you're not infallible!" Harry yelled. "You went into this situation with absolutely no one to watch your back."
Pot meet cauldron," Hermione retorted, shaking her head. "Would you like examples? After all, I have dozens."
"I was a stupid kid Hermione," Harry said angrily, shoving his glasses further up his nose.
"At least we agree on that," the witch said, her irritation bleeding into her voice. Without hesistating, Harry shot a stinging hex at her, whcih hit her hand, "Fuck you Harry!"
"Warlock!" Thor bellowed, maneuvering himself in front of Hermione, and wielding Mjilnoir threateningly towards Harry.
"Harm my sister again, and you shall face the wrath of Asgard!"
Thor's declaration was met with absolute silence while Hermione smothered a groan behind the blonde Asgardian over his absolute bollocks of timing.
"Sister?" Tony asked, "What do you mean sister?"
"Soon to be," Thor corrected himself, grinning brightly at the room, before turning back to Harry with a dark look. "As a future Princess of Asgard, Enchantress Granger will be treated with due respect, and commands the protections of the Asgardian Royal family."
"Point Break," Tony interrupted, "Can we pause from all the threats, which I do love by the way, and have you explain precisely what you mean when you say Glinda's joining your family?"
"Odin," Hermione said slowly, "Would like to make a permanent alliance between Earth and Asgard, the most traditional manner possible."
"That's good," Natasha commented, before catching the odd glint in Hermione's eyes. "What's the catch?"
"Odin's suggestion relies heavily upon a particularly traditional custom used to cement alliances. One of which I am not overly fond of," Hermione answered.
"He wants to marry you into the Asgardian Royal Family?" Natasha asked as her discuss showed heavily on her face. "I thought he hated humans."
"The Enchantress has proven her worth to the All Father and All Mother," Thor explained, pride evident in his voice. "Both are proud to welcome Lady Granger to our family."
"No one is questioning her value," Natasha said.
"Just her sanity," Harry muttered before glaring at Hermione, who was rolling her eyes. "You've always viewed arranged marriages as 'utterly barbaric', yet now you're suddenly volunteering to participate in one?"
"No one is negotiating it on my behalf!" Hermione answered. "It's not like I didn't get to specify terms Harry. My biggest concern has always been the lack of choices, which you know."
"Is this third brother as murderous as Loki?" Steve interrupted the two magic users.
"No."
"Small blessings," Fury muttered as Romanov and Steve nodded in agreement.
"Loki and I are the only sons of Odin," Thor explained, oblivious to the temperature of the room. At his pronouncement, everyone save Hermione stared at him in utter disbelief. "My brother has agreed to the match, and the Enchantress' safety is his paramount concern."
"Asgardian marriage vows ensure the married couple cannot harm each other," Hermione explained.
"Please tell me you didn't agree to marry a sociopath to secure an intergalactic treaty," Tony asked immediately as he stared at Hermione mournfully.
"Of course she did," Harry answered for the witch bitterly. "As if the Brightest Witch Her Age could resist sacrificing herself, rather than accepting help from other people!"
"Now see here Sorcerer," Thor intervened angrily, "You will speak to the future Princess of Asgard with due respect."
"Believe me, I am," Harry answered scathingly, not bothering to remove his eyes from her. "How fucking stupid can you be Hermione? Did you think at all about the consequences of such a decision?"
"Enough Harry," Hermione said glaring at her best friend.
"I don't think so," Harry retorted, his voice growing louder with each word. "This is by far the stupidest decision you've ever made. How could you be so selfish?"
"Selfish?" Hermione asked angrily. "I'm being selfish?"
"What else would you call this obsession to martyr yourself without any thought for the rest of us?" Harry yelled. "Worse yet is that you managed to convince Kingsley to classify your job as a part of the Department of Mysteries! You've legally gagged anyone who does know, which means we're left in the bloody dark."
Hermione groaned as the endless argument between the two resurfaced, yet again. Harry's obsession to keep his family safe always remained in contention with Hermione's job. He'd been opposed to her joining the Auror Department, even going as far as sabotaging her interview. It was why she convinced Kingsley to classify her job under the Department of Mysteries.
"My job has always been dangerous, and it's safer for everyone to not have the details," Hermione said trying to hold onto her temper. "We've talked about this how many times? You know this!"
"Your job is unnecessarily dangerous, and only because you insist on taking the most dangerous jobs! You're addicted to this lifestyle," Harry retorted.
"So what if I am?" Hermione asked. "Why is that truth so shocking to you? DId you never think that our childhood wouldn't have consequences? It didn't occur to you that the constant rush of adrenaline each year wouldn't impact us? Of course this is my job, it's been my lifestyle since I joined Hogwarts. I've successfully been risking my life repeated to protect you. Pretty hypocritical considering you're just as addictive as I am."
"That isn't true!" Harry argued. "I have limits. You, on the other hand, ignore all of yours."
"Oh, so your limits include risking your neck each time Dumbledore dangled an 'opportunity?" Hermione asked. "Not once did you ever stop to consider the consequences. How long did you refuse to take a desk job amongst the Aurors despite Ginny begging you.? Face it Harry, if I wasn't for me taking these missions, you'd be the one out there on them!"
"I never asked you to protect me!" Harry bellowed.
"Just like you never asked me to save Sirius in our third year?" Hermione asked, after she'd broken out into hysterical laughter. "How about when I followed you in fifth year to the Ministry, despite telling you it was a trap? Remember how you berated me for his death while I was still in the hospital wing?"
"What about the summer before seventh year? You never asked me to obliviate my parents and go on the run with you. No. You didn't. In fact, not one of Albus Dumbledore's plans involved protecting my parents. I was forced to make that decision. You and your precious mentor never once spared a thought for my muggle parents."
Hermione was breathless by the time she finished speaking. Tears streamed down her face, and she was unaware of everyone staring at her. All she could focus on was that she no longer remembered how to breathe. As she desperately tried to remember, angry ants started crawling upon her skin, biting angrily without pause. One moment she was standing in the conference room, and the next she was in the middle of the hallway, far from SHIELD and Harry.
She gasped for air, struggling to retain oxygen or focus on anything.
"Breathe," a deep voice said. Her brain, far away from her mind, told her she knew this person and that he wasn't a danger. Her body allowed him to pull her back against him as the man reminded her how to breathe. She didn't recognize her surroundings.
"Follow my breathing pattern," the man reminded her. It was hard. All she could focus on was the danger she'd been in. She needed to get away from the danger.
"You are safe here," the voice said. "I will allow no harm to come to you."
The assurances were almost hypnotic. His voice spoke with undeniable truth, and her magic even calmed with his promises. Her eyes were heavy, but her body kept shaking. Her legs spasmed uncontrollably as she fought to listen to the words, as difficult as it were.
"Witchling, I will protect you."