I guess you can say that it's been awhile since I've posted. Another school year have went by and I finished my finals for this semester. I am officially a rising College Junior (Yay me! *London Tipton voice*).

Quick recap: We left off with the attack at the memorial Gala that Tony and Hermione went to, Bellatrix died, and Cap's team shows up. After some tense words and suspicious glances, Vision invited everyone to have dinner to discuss some things that have been going on with everyone. Also, at the end we saw a sneak peek of what has been going on in the Wizarding World. Sooo yeah….

Here's the next chapter:


Tony's dining room had never been so quiet. Come to think of it, no room in the penthouse had ever been so quiet before. All that could be heard were forks and knives clinking on porcelain dishes. The occasional slurp and gulp would cut through the thick tension, but no one had said a word since Vision laid out the table with his newest food experiments.

Natasha and Clint arrived not long after Vision set the table, informing the rest of the group about Fury's message.

'Something's going down. Figure it the fuck out.'

"Fitting," Tony bit. Hermione took the glass of dark liquid he had just refilled and moved it out of reach, ignoring his mumbling about the 'bossy women in his life'.

T'Challa wiped his mouth and took the initiative after some time.

"Mr. Stark, you never introduced us to your lovely house guest."

He gave a kind smile to Hermione when she looked up and met his eyes. He noticed some wariness in her gaze before it quickly disappeared and she gave him a soft smile in return.

"That's because I haven't." Tony said around the chewed drumstick meat in his mouth.

Hermione glared at him before answering T'Challa. "I'm Hermione. I am-we've recently discovered that we are siblings."

Everyone looked up at this and froze momentarily, minus those who already knew.

"Sister?" Clint choked out.

"Really?" Steve asked, glancing between Hermione, then Tony, then Rhodey, and then back to Hermione. His eyes glossed over her, taking in the color and curl of her hair, to the shape of her face, and the color of her skin.

"Are you sure of this Tony?" he asked, lowering his voice.

Tony put down his third drumstick and looked Steve in the eyes. "Did you really just slightly lower your voice to ask me a question pertaining to the women sitting next to me?"

Steve gave an apologetic glance to Hermione. "I apologize-it's just…"

Hermione waved him off with a shrug. "No I get it. You're all his fri-you care about him. I expected you all to have your doubts."

Clint looked at her a little closer. "And your parents? I assume that you both share Howard as a father, at least biologically."

Hermione nodded, so he continued.

"So your parents were okay with you travelling all the way to America to find Tony?"

"She never said she was looking for me." Tony stared Clint down.

Clint smirked and shrugged. "She didn't have to. I'm gonna assume that Hermione's had some idea about her parentage for a little while before she came here and convinced you of the same. I doubt you were looking for some long-lost siblings on your own, and the idea that you two magically bumped into each and recognizing some similar traits is laughable."

Hermione bit her lip to refrain from laughing at his word choice and the look of smug that coated Clint's face.

"My parents are both dead, Mr. Barton. But even if they were not, I am 24 years old, so I know how to travel on my own."

Clint frowned, "I'm sorry about bringing your parents up."

"It's okay. It happened a little while ago, and I have made peace with it as best as anyone, I suppose." Hermione sighed and gave a small smile.

"She spent some time in the Royal Marines too, Barton. She was pretty high up too." Rhodey chimed in. "Hermione can be a bit modest but I found out that she was actually a part of a commando group that worked with protection against nuclear deterrents."

Hermione only nodded, making sure that her face betrayed nothing.

"Oh really? Who was your commanding officer?" Natasha asked, eyes unreadable.

"Colonel Pierce, for the most part. But Colonel Fraser was being promoted to Colonel around the time I left." Hermione fired back.

"And why did you leave exactly?" Steve asked.
"There was an attack at one of our bases and several buildings were bombed. I was able to evacuate some people when I got caught in the explosion. I woke up a week later, told I had been in a coma and that I have some nerve damage in my arm." Hermione held up her arm to show a light jagged scar. Only detectable to her was the slight shimmer around the edges.

"A piece of metal went straight through. After rehabilitation, my CO told me to run through some light training we did when I first joined and my reaction time as well as my aim was completely off. We agreed that my time in the marines was most likely up."

"But you are okay now?" Wanda asked, staring intently at her arm.

"She is. She hits me all the time and I'm pretty sure I'll have some nerve damage soon as well. Now, if you're all done interrogating her, can we please finish eating." Tony's face betrayed every bit of annoyance his tone held.

Hermione looked over to her brother frowning. "Tony…" she murmured quietly. He looked up at her and they quietly communicated something with only their eyes that had him slightly nodding his head and going back to his food. None of this was lost on the others.

"How is your family Mr. Barton?" Vision asked sitting beside Hermione on her other side. "Has your wife given birth yet?"

Everyone went back to eating as Vision lightened the atmosphere back up. Clint spoke about how little Nathan, whom Natasha was hoping was a mini Natasha, surprised everyone by having a shock of dark red hair. Lila and Coop liked to pretend that their baby brother was an alien but gave no indication of negative feelings towards having another child in the house.

"It's funny 'cuz he's so small. He's the smallest one so far and with his red hair I fear he's gonna have to be subjected to leprechaun jokes his whole life." Clint laughed. Nat, Sam, and Hermione joined in. Steve and Wanda were still tense, however, eyes never straying from Hermione too long. Tony hadn't said much since earlier, except for some grunts here and there.

"My friend Ronald was a redhead. He had six siblings and they all had red hair as well, and on our first day he was recognized as a Weasley, his family name, by his hair alone. It's kind of a family trait passed down to all of the children." Hermione wiped her mouth daintily with her napkin.

Sam snorted. "He's lucky. All my family passes down is scoliosis and really weird feet." He reached down beneath the table. "Look at this." Nearly every groaned or laughed at Sam's attempt to take off his shoes.

T'Challa cleared his throat, noticing everyone had finished their meals for the most part. "As entertaining as Mr. Wilson's podiatric genetic disorders may be, I think we should discuss why we gathered in the first place." He pulled back the sleeve of his jacket to reveal a beaded bracelet-like accessory on his wrist. He rubbed one and a small bloop sound came as a holographic image of Wakanda floated above his open palm.

Tony sat up looking closely at T'Challa's gadget. "Where can I get one of those?"

He smirked at Tony, "It is not for sale."

"Everything is for sale eventually." Tony sipped at his clear glass of water.

T'Challa only smiled and shook his head before continuing. "Recently there has been some disturbances not too far from major villages in Wakanda. A large signature, somewhat similar to electrochemical waves, bounced off the vibranium molecular structure that surrounds Wakanda. Word has spread that strange people have been seen appearing and disappearing into thin air at all times of the day. They were dressed not un-similarly to the thugs that crashed the gala tonight."

"My father left behind a journal that I believe may explain who or what these people are. But what is most disturbing is what they may be after and what it could mean for the rest of the world."

"Okay, so we have more weirdos trying to take over the world. Great." Tony mumbled into his tumbler sarcastically.

"Tony this is serious. These people aren't like what we're used to facing." Steve frowned at Tony's lackadaisical attitude. "It wouldn't hurt to listen before you made your usual insensitive remarks."

"Cap," Natasha shook her head at him, gesturing that now wasn't the time to start anything.

"Insensitive?" Tony barked out a short laugh. He stood up taking his dishes to the sink before throwing them down loudly. "No, insensitive would be for me to throw all of you out on your asses after laughing in your faces even though you came here for my help. That's why you're here right? You need my brains, ideas, weapons, etcetera etcetera. Nah. I'm just annoyed you barged back into my life, insulted my sister, and then vaguely alluded to the next big threat to the universe without saying much at all."

T'Challa frowned and then clinched his teeth. "Mr. Stark, your frustration is not lost on anyone here."

"Great." Tony spat.

But T'Challa continued as though he didn't say anything. "And while it is completely warranted, make no mistake that this threat should not be taken lightly. You were not called because of your talents and skills. While they are impressive, I can assure you my sister could have provided all of which you have to offer alone. We are here out of common courtesy and respect for your friendship. It is okay for you to be upset with Mr. Rogers and his friend. A fool wouldn't be. But that matter can be addressed at a later time. If you are willing to put your pride away long enough to prevent a magical war from occurring, please listen."

"I'm sorry, did you just say 'magical war'?" Tony leaned forward, and incredulous look on his face.

"Yeah, some crazy people with sticks tryna jack up life as we know it, man." Sam nodded.

"Magic?" Clint looked at Nat and then back at everyone else. "Like...magic-magic?"

"Precisely Mr. Barton. Latcas, as my father called them. They refer to themselves as witches and wizards. They live amongst their own kind in smaller communities hidden from the non-magical world in plain sight. Their is a legend of a magical core that is essentially the origin of every witch's and wizard's magic that some believed to be in Uganda, or more specifically Wakanda. Several of them have been seen coming and going, and in their wake, they leave behind dead carcases from animal and nearby villagers speaking in tongues. We believe they plan to do something dangerous with this core."

"If this is true, wouldn't this mean it only affects those with magic? What business of ours is it to interfere with their world. They keep themselves separate for a reason and we haven't run into them before. Maybe we should let their world deal with it." Natasha reasoned.

T'Challa shook his head. "Although they mostly live amongst themselves, they are not separate from us. The woman told my father that some children are born to parents entirely without magic and are introduced to the world when they come of school age, typically eleven years old. Generally they tend to immerse themselves in their world, but their family are still of ours. Some children with magical parents are born without magic, and then are casted out into our world out of shame. Many live with us silently. And even though they try to hide themselves, their world seeps out into ours on the occasion."

"The Dust Bowl in the 1930s," Steve pulled out a manilla folder from the inside of the jacket he had slung over his chair. "There were reports from the local law enforcement of people in weird clothes with sticks and flashing lights causing explosions around the same time the dust storms were occuring. But nothing came up the accusations, most were too concerned with the failing crops and lack of food. The Hindenburg Crash of 1937. An eyewitness reported seeing odd men, again in strange clothing and carrying sticks, leave the scene of the explosion, almost unscathed. Both were swept under the rug as a conspiracy theory since all of the recorded bodies had been recovered, despite the fact the causes were never explained.

"Reports of a man in a cloak lifting a car with a stick in his hand by some local youth circulated in a small town two weeks before Superman comics hit the stands. The earthquake in Chile that killed tens of thousands, Amelia Earhart, The Wizard of Oz published, all of these came shortly before or after strange reports from locals and witnesses of people in weird clothes, with sticks, and weird flashes of lights and noises. And there's plenty more of these strange stories in Europe in the 70's about explosions and weird markings."

Tony read through the papers. Clint looked down at his hands, rubbing his knuckles. "And you think all of these have something to do with these magic folk?"

Steve nodded. "We believe that they're not just coincidences. People that powerful can't go unseen forever. Of course what they do impact the rest of us. And whatever they plan on doing with this huge source of magic can't be good."

Hermione scooted her chair back causing the attention to shift to her. "I'm sorry, I just-perhaps you all might want some privacy for this."

"It's okay Bunny, you can stay." Tony left no room for arguments.

"No, Tony it's fine. I promised Peter I'd call him tonight anyway to let him know how the gala went. I'm sure he's seen the news by now and I don't want him giving himself a panic attack," she laughed lightly. She turned to everyone and smiled. "It was nice to meet you all. I'm sorry about the circumstances but I look forward to seeing you again soon. Good night."

They all watched her disappear down the hall before Sam spoke up again.

"She's a little proper thing, isn't she?" He commented. Tony gave him a look which led to him promptly holding his hands up in a surrendering gesture. "Just saying." he shrugged.

"You're absolutely sure she is who she says she is, Tony?" Nat asked seriously, no accusations or harshness to her tone.

Tony sighed and rubbed his face roughly. "Look. It's odd, I get it. She turns up out of the blue and apparently we're related. But it's true. And yeah, she's not super open about her past, but then who at this table is? Huh? We've all done some pretty dark and twisted shit, and maybe she's no different. But...she's a good girl. I trust her. And I don't want to have this conversation again." He says finally.

Clint stood and clapped him on the back. "I'm happy for you man. I think she has a good head on her shoulder as well. She seems like a pretty okay kid and I think you two will do good for each other."

Tony nodded in thanks.

"She's hiding something." Steve voices. He looks around the table. "You all notice it, don't you."

"Yeah well, I wouldn't be so quick to tell you everything either if you were looking at me the same way you were her. And speaking of that," Tony walked closer to Steve, giving him his full attention the first time all night. "If I find out that you have been making her feel uncomfortable or harassing her with your suspicions, I'll make what we did months ago look like a simple disagreement between pals. You got that, America's Mightiest Hero?"

Steve stood from his chair making his chair scrape against the floor and Clint and Nat held back Tony while Bucky grabbed Steve's arm and Sam stood behind him.

"Let's cool it boys." Nat looks between Steve and Tony. "Steve's not gonna mess with your girl, right Steve? If Tony trusts her, then so do we." She states officially.

Steve and Tony stare at each other a minute before Steve gives a hard nod.

The tension is thick before Bucky clears his throat uneasily and says barely audible, "She is a soldier. She has seen a lot. I think we can trust her."

Tony shook off the hands holding him back and scoffed before grabbing his empty glass and turning his back to the others. "Great, it learned how to speak again."

"Tony," Steve grit out between clenched teeth. "I'll show respect to your...sister if you offer the same to Bucky. He's my family."

"Steve-" Bucky shifts in his chair uncomfortably.

"No arguments Bucky, it's only fair." Steve stared at Tony's stiffened back. His hands were clenched into fists at his side.

Tony placed the glass into the sink and walked over to the nearest monitor. He pressed a few buttons that shifted furniture in the room, changing it into a conference room. Lighting brightened and metal shades slammed down, covering the windows on the walls.

"Fine, Captain." Tony mutters. "Now if we're done, can we get back to the Sabrinas running around in Africa."

Everyone relaxed once more and changed gears. Tony stood beside T'Challa, looking at the beads on his wrist and the images they showed. Clint and Natasha poured over the folders with Sam. Bucky and Steve stood off in a corner, talking quietly with one another before Bucky sat far away from the group by himself at a table.

T'Challa warned Steve about pushing Bucky too fast. Although he has been rehabilitated as much as his sister's experience allowed, it would take time before he would be 'normal' again. But in Wakanda he spent most of his time alone with his own thoughts, and being around so many people with all this modern day technology put him on edge. Steve groaned inaudibly and looked away from the sight of his slumped over best friend.

He spied Vision and Wanda near one of the computer monitors standing very close to one another, almost touching. The sight, despite the fact that neither made any contact, made for a very intimate sight. Steve glanced away uncomfortable and decided to head to the bathroom to cool down before getting down to business.

Maneuvering around Stark's penthouse was never an easy task for Steve. It reminded him of when he went on missions over enemy lines and…

"She's dead, Harry."

Steve froze at the sound of Tony's sister's voice. It floated out into the darkened hallway only illuminated by the thin glow of light from the cracked doorway.

"Are you sure it was her, Hermione?" a deep voice came from the room as well, like there was someone else inside the room. Steve inched closer, silently.

Hermione snorted. "I know Bellatrix when I see her. And I'm sure she's dead. She showed up tonight with her own crew. But I didn't recognize any of them."

He heard papers shifting around.

"I'm sure none of them were the original Deatheaters, or any of their spawn. There's been word of an underground group coming about. Drake said there's a new guy on the scene claiming to be Slytherin's heir."

"What? I mean-is that possible? Riddle didn't-"

"I doubt it, Hermione. Splitting your soul, especially seven times, changes your body permanently. If he could even have kids, I'm pretty sure his libido was nonexistent."

Hermione snorted. "I don't know Harry, he did always seem pretty tense to me." Her voice took on a teasing tone and Steve couldn't sworn he heard another, feminine laugh, that didn't belong to Hermione or the male she was speaking to.

"Look into the Gaunts, Harry. Merope may not have been the only child disowned as we were led to believe. I wouldn't be surprised is Marvolo tried to have another child after one is imprisoned in Azkaban and another fell in love with a muggle. He needed an heir to pass on the blood of Salazar."

"I'll have Ginny start on that tonight."

"How is Neville been doing? Has he faced much backlash from the board on his curriculums? And how is the viewership of the Daily Prophet since Luna's replaced the bug?"

This time the male laughed. "Neville's been really good with introducing more Muggle material-pre-approved by actual muggleborns-into the curriculum. The kids love him. And Luna has found her niche. She started an romantic advice column. Which couldn't have come at a worst time, honestly with birth rates at an all time low. She's actually gotten a few successful matches so far."

"Good, good. Everything is going well then?"
"Everybody is working hard Mione. I just-we, miss you, that's all."

Steve heard Hermione sigh deeply.

"You know I have to be here, Harry. I didn't expect everything here to be so...well...bad. Tony kinda needs me a bit more right now. I can't leave him."

"Mr. Rogers." Vision's voice startled Steve and bumped into the wall, cutting Hermione's conversation off.

"I assume you went looking for the bathroom?" Vision prodded, floating closer to Steve.

Hermione came out of the room with her robe on looking between the two. "Is everything okay out here?"

"Yes, Ms. Stark. Mr. Rogers got momentarily lost on his way to the restroom." Vision interjected. "I'll show him the way. You can go back to your phone call with Mr. Parker."

Hermione bit her lip and looked between the two of them, eyes raking over their defensive stances and the guilty glance Steve gave her, before nodding.

"Okay, good night." She grinned softly before shutting the door completely.

"Allow me to show you, Mr. Rogers." And Vision swept past Steve leaving no room for argument.

They stopped outside the restroom, far away from Hermione's room on the upper level of the penthouse.

"Next time, ask for assistance Mr. Rogers before you stumble into a situation that will lead to trouble."

"The man she was talking to, his name wasn't Peter. She lied to us about who she was on the phone with. And I'm pretty sure that's not the only thing. What I overheard-!"

"Mr. Rogers." Vision held up a hand. "This past that you are leading down is a dangerous one. You need to keep your accusations of Ms. Stark to yourself."

Steve glared at Vision. "I know you know more about her than you're saying. You know she's hiding something. And if she's a danger to us."

"Everyone is a danger to you Mr. Rogers. Your morals and high pedestal that you put yourself on leave very little room for others to stand by you. You need to be careful where you step." Vision's voice darkened.

"Are you threatening me, Vision?" Steve stepped closer to Vision.

Vision only chuckled. "You think you have it all figured out, Mr. Rogers. Who is good and who is bad. What is right and what is wrong. But you are still so vastly ignorant. Noble and brave, but ignorant and stubborn all the same." He placed a hand on Steve's shoulders. "Everything is happening as it should. Trust me. Hermione is meant to be here. She is meant to help us. She will heal us all."

"How?" Steve grunted, upset at Vision's assessment of him.

Vision tilted his head and his eyes went vacant. "I am not sure yet. But it will become clear soon."

And Vision left Steve by himself in the dark hallway thinking about what he said.

The next morning found Hermione on the treadmill in the lower level gym. Tony never used this gym because Hermione liked silence and Tony preferred to use the speakers to the full capacity when playing his favorite workout playlist.

But this morning, as Hermione did her lunges with weights in each hand, Hermione felt the air stir and turned to see the door open. Natasha walked in with Steve and Bucky.

Hermione stood up from her lunge and placed the lunge carefully on the ground beside her.

"I hope you don't mind that we crashed your session. Tony's been blasting Justin Timberlake Cry Me a River on repeat for the last hour and I can't take it anymore. We took the hint and came down here to finish working out in peace. Is it cool with you?" Nat asked, sauntering in the room.

Hermione wanted so badly to say no but she took this as her chance to let them warm up to her. She knew the reformed Russian spy would be her best bet to win over Steve since they seemed pretty close. And Clint was easy enough to win over with the sympathy card. He just screamed 'world's greatest dad' so she could work that angle. The Sam guy seemed nice enough, childish and a bit of a flirt, but cool. The dark haired witch wouldn't be easy, but she had a feeling Vision could keep her occupied enough. And since the Wakandan King didn't spare her a wary glance, the only one she had left to worry about was the quiet sullen soldier who hid behind his dark curtain of hair.

Tony had briefly spoken about the Captain's betrayal in support of his friend, Bucky Barnes, who killed Howard and Maria Stark. And though Tony has a lot of resentment for parents, he still mourned their death. But she knew, even without him telling her, it wasn't so much the realisation about Bucky's involvement with their death, but moreso Steve's adamancy in protecting him from Tony's wrath. Tony didn't trust Steve or Bucky, and by extension Nat or Sam. He respected T'Challa and he and Wanda will never get along. But Steve broke a bit of his heart.

"Sure." They nodded and walked in after a bit of hesitation. "Captain Rogers, can I speak to you, please?" Hermione requested. She ignored the look Natasha gave her and walked over towards the punching bag. Her sources told her it was one of Steve's favorite gym equipment.

"Yes, Ms. Stark?" Steve said not unkindly.

"Vision told me what you were doing outside of my room last night."

"Ms. Stark-"
She shook her head, cutting him off. "You don't trust me. That's fine. I personally, don't give a rat's ass. I know why I'm here, and frankly, it's none of your business. But Tony asked you to back off." She turned towards the punching bag and began punching it. "Now," she huffed out in between punches, "despite your strained relationship, I know you still see Tony as a friend. And as someone whose gotten to know Tony very well, I know he will eventually forgive you. But not if you keep up this conspiracy against me." She gave the bag a hard kick this time, causing the chains holding it to rattle harshly.

Steve glanced at the chains holding the bag to the ceiling before looking back down at the small woman in front of him. She had on dark workout bottoms and a sports bra. Her curly hair was in a messy knot on top of her head, starting to come out. Sweat started to settle on her forehead and her face was set in determination.

"You don't have to like me. But you do have to get used to my presence. Because unlike most people in his life. I'm. Not. Going. Anywhere." Punctuated each word with a hard kick at the bag. She quickly grabbed the bag to stop its movements and turned to smile up at Steve. "I hope we understand each other Captain Rogers."

She walked away from the bag without another word. He stared off after her watching her grab her water bottle and leave the room.

"Cap," Nat startled him. "I know you're just looking out for Tony, but if she's really a threat, she'll reveal herself sooner or later and we'll handle it accordingly. But for the meantime, you have to back off. I get the feeling she's not gonna take your bull lying down." She hip checked him and walked over to the balance beams.

Steve glanced up once more at the heavy duty chains that were holding the punching bag to the ceiling and saw a large crack where it wasn't before.

"I get the same feeling."


GREAT! Another chapter. I've made it a goal to publish at least 5 new chapters in total for any of my stories before summer is out. I'll try my best to stick to it, but like I've mentioned before, I do have a life and other responsibilities.

But I appreciate all the support from everyone that has not given up on me and my stories and you guys keep me going.

But if any of you are followers of AGT or FE those will most likely be one of the next stories I update...just putting it out there...in case you want to check them out as well...she says shamelessly promoting her other ffics.

As always let me know what you think. Any predictions? Questions? General statements of admiration? I welcome them all and will try to respond as quickly as possible.