Evelyn's p.o.v.
"Is everything okay?", Thor asks as I join him in front of castle.
"Sure.", I say, faking a smile.
I could tell him what's going on and I knew he would listen patiently but the more attention I give to it, heavier will it be and I will think about it more.
"Did you hear from Tony?", he asks, giving me my gun and sword.
I shake my head, "No."
"Maybe we should go where they are."
"If we do that, we're going against Fury's order and that will piss him off."
"He doesn't have to know."
"I'm sure Dumbledore would tell him. Besides, we can't leave the school unprotected.", I say as we pass Hagrid's hut.
"Damn.", Thor comments.
"Heya there you two.", we hear Hagrid's voice and turn around.
"Searching the forest again?", he asks walking towards us.
"Hopefully we find something useful.", I say.
"Can I join ya? I could be helpful.", he asks as Thor and I share a look, "We don't want you to get hurt.", Thor tells him.
He smiles, "Don't worry 'bout that. The last time was intense, I admit but I'll be more careful now."
"You sure?", I ask.
He nods.
"Okay then, come on.", Thor tells him.
Hagrid puts two fingers in his mouth and whistles. Seconds pass and a big dog rushes towards us.
"That's Fang. He's a good companion for dangerous work."
"You have a dog? Why didn't you tell us?", I ask.
He looks at me, "Well, I thought it wasn't important."
"Of course it is. He a good tracker?", I ask walking towards them.
"Decent I would say."
"Hey there boy.", I say, kneeling down in front of Fang and offering my hand for him to sniff.
He circles around me before putting his head under my arm, hinting me to pet him.
"He likes you.", Hagrid informs me.
"I used to volunteer at an animal shelter so I know how to approach a dog.", I say, scratching Fang behind his ear.
I pull the metal part that fell of a robot out of my pocked and put it under Fang's nose.
"Do you recognize the smell? Can you track it?", I ask as he sniffs intensely.
After a few seconds he starts sniffing the area around us and runs into the forest.
"Come on, let's follow.", I say running after him.
He leads us deep into the forest. Monstrous trees make it unable to see the sky so lack of daylight makes the forest look gloomy and a little spooky. Fog is forming around us and humidity in the air makes me sweat and that attracts mosquitos. I wave my hands around, shooing the flying pests away from my damp neck and face. Fang suddenly stops, looking in front of him. Slowly, he starts to back away, signaling us that he found something he doesn't like.
Thor looks at me and I nod, pulling my gun out and pointing it at the big bush in front of us.
"Stay here.", Thor tells Hagrid as we slowly walk forward.
We watch every step but I still hear branches snapping under our feet. I feel adrenaline rush trough my veins so I take a few deep breaths, trying to calm my heart down. We move around the bush and see one of my brother suits sitting on a rock, wires falling out of it, thick metal rods unprotected and very visible going trough his arm. He moves his head in our direction, his eyes focusing on us.
"I was hoping we would meet today. Avengers never disappoint after all. Although, predictability isn't a desirable characteristic in almost any situation.", he speaks.
"What do you want?", Thor asks with his deep voice.
"What do I want? Truthfully, I myself have no desires."
"Who sent you?", I ask.
"Is it Ultron?", Thor asks.
"If I remember correctly, Ultron died so the obvious answer is no. I always consider it funny how everyone thought that Ultron was the leader, the master mind behind everything. He did have a specific way of expressing himself, I suppose that's what made you think he was the leader ...but I have to disappoint you. By the way, you can lower your weapons. This is not going to end in a fight, trust me. I am too damaged to do that, and it's not the propose of this conversation."
"What are you doing here?"
"In Hogwarts? Well, you all are humans, living on the same Earth, breathing the same air ...it doesn't matter how extraordinary someone is, in the core, you're all the same. We're here to continue Ultrons failed mission. He did tell you, the Earth won't be saved until Avengers die. But this time, we have all figured out, far beyond your knowledge, trust me. It goes way back, before the Avengers even existed ...our plan. Wizard word, as you call it, is the perfect place for us to infiltrate in, for our work. We want what belongs to us. Humans are a disgrace to this Universe. You see me as the bad guy, completely denying all wrong you made on this planet. Our goal isn't to destroy Earth, it's the opposite actually and for that, we need to remove the human race from it. Earth won't blossom and spread her colors until you are here, building, killing, destroying. All of you. And there are humans that understand, that fight against giants industries and corporations, against pollution and nature extinction. We value them but, in the end, they are only humans. We demand justice, revenge for everything that can not fight for themself."
"Killing innocent people won't get you there.", Thor tells him.
He laughs, "Innocent? You consider them to be innocent? Quite naive of you, God of Thunder. I did hope you do better but, then again, you're here for far too long to understand and see the damage they have caused. Even with your two eyes, you see only half the picture."
"I don't need eyes to see how loving and caring the human race is. I feel that with my heart. They have flaws, we all do, but they try.", Thor tells him.
He stands up, "That's not enough for me. For us."
He points his arm at us and a blue light starts to form in his palm. Before he can shoot, Thor trows his hammer at him, making him fall apart into pieces.
"What in the world was that?", I hear Hagrid ask.
"Let's go, I need to talk to Tony.", I say, rushing back to the castle.
X X X
I'm looking out of the window, rain pouring down on the Hogwarts grounds. It's dark by now and the forest is barely visible. My mind rewinds the speech we heard earlier, picking the important informations out. Finally, my watch rings.
"You called?", I hear Tony's voice.
"We had an interesting conversation with one of your missing suits."
"Any useful info?"
"He told us that their plan dates long before Ultron came to Earth and he wasn't the one behind everything. He told us that they infiltrated in the wizard world long ago and they have a plan to kill all humans for purpose of saving Earth."
"Why does saving Earth always include people dying?", Tony asks.
"If we could just go back in time and figure something out.", I say.
"Time traveling? You know that's not possible in any way."
I sigh, "I know."
"When you have a more logical solution, call me."
"Bye."
"There is a way.", Thor tells me and I look at him, "For what?"
"For us to travel back."
I frown, "Time traveling?"
He nods, "There are six infinity stones scattered around our Universe, one of them is the Time stone that allows you to travel back in time."
I narrow my eyes, "I don't know what Infinity stones are so you'll need to explain."
"Infinity stones are immensely powerful gem-like objects tied to different aspects of the universe, created by the Big Bang. Each of the stones poses unique capability that have been enhanced and altered by various alien civilization for millennia. These Infinity stones each control an essential aspect of existence: space, reality, power, soul, mind and time.", he explains.
"Does Fury know about them?", I ask.
"I don't know."
"So we can travel trough time if we find the Time stone?", I ask and he nods, "Yes."
"Do you know where it is?", he shakes his head, "No."
"Is it on Earth?", I ask.
"I don't know. But I do know someone who may know."
"Who?"
"Loki."
I sigh, "Great. You will have to go to Asgard for that info. And God knows if he will tell you the truth."
"He will if I offer him something."
I look at him, "Like what?"
"Freedom."
"No.", I say, pacing around my room.
"That's our only option. Besides, we can't travel back in time withouth knowing what we're looking for and I bet Loki knows more about this than we do."
"After everything he did, you still trust him?"
"He's my brother."
"He's a murderer.", I state.
"He's adopted.", he tells me and I roll my eyes.
"Come on, what else do we have?", he tells me.
"This is not a good idea Thor. What if he comes back to Earth?"
"He won't do any harm if I bring him here and we watch him."
I gasp, "Are you insane? Fury would never allow that."
"He doesn't have to know."
"People here know very well who Loki is. You can't bring him among children. Albus will most definitely tell Fury about it."
"Evie, he7s our only option. Think about it. We know nothing, the others know nothing. He's our only chance."
I sigh, rubbing my face.
"I know we would be risking a lot but sometimes a risk is all you have."
I hate to admit it but he's right. We have no info, no solution and no clue what exactly is going on.
"Can we wait for a few days? Maybe the others will find something out. If they don't, you go to Asgard and talk to Loki."
He nods, "Okay."
"I need some sleep right now.", I say, pulling the hair tie from my hair.
"Same. We will discuss the details when it comes to it.", he tells me standing up.
"Sure.", I say, opening the door for him.
"Get some rest.", he looks at me and smiles, "You too.", I say.
He walks away and I'm about to close the door when I see Albus approaching me.
"Good evening.", I greet.
"Evening Evie. I just wanted to remind you that you have to drink your potion tomorrow."
"Oh, yea.", I say, realizing I totally forgot about Severus.
"Every three days. Make sure you don't forget that because if you do, the protecting potion won't work as well."
I smile, "I will keep that in mind."
"Have a good night.", he tells me and I nod, "You too."
