This is being cross-posted from Ao3. It was originally posted 29 October 2021.
A fun little Halloween piece for one of my favorite events at Marvelously Magical Fanfiction. DarkAngelOfSorrow, thank you for the great prompt and superstition! I hope you love it! Happy reading! xxDustNight
Huge thank you to GaeilgeRua for allowing me the use of her Grammarly subscription to read this over. Any other mistakes are definitely my own.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury, and Warner Bros. Marvel belongs to Disney. No copyright infringement is intended.
Prompt: #31DaysOfWriting Fall 2021 - October 7th: Only One Bed
#HHBingo21 Square G2: Aguamenti
#ExcelsiorFanfiction21 Square O4: Crossover
Superstition: When Bobbing for Apples & First Person to Bite will be the Next to Marry
Trope: Bed/Blanket Sharing
"What are we supposed to do with these?"
Hermione turned to see Ginny holding a big satchel of apples. Frowning, Hermione said, "I brought those to make candy apples, but I forgot about them." She laughed and shook her head before taking them from Ginny. "Sorry, Gin. I guess I got busy with decorating and completely forgot."
"We can set up some empty cauldrons and have an apple bobbing contest," Harry supplied from where he'd been listening to his wife and friend. He slid off the barstool that took up most of the wall in Tony's Avenger's Tower suite. "My aunt Petunia used to have Dudley bob for apples on Halloween. So it might be fun."
"Okay…." Ginny trailed off, looking sceptical. "I guess we could try that."
"I think it sounds brilliant," Hermione said, leading the way toward the empty cauldrons in the corner. They were currently just being used as Halloween decorations for Tony's party, but they would take one or two for the game. "I used to play that too when I was little. It's messy, but Tony has a cleaning crew…."
"Yeah, let him worry about the mess for once," Harry laughed, throwing an arm around his wife's shoulders.
"I can do that." Hermione set up the cauldrons and poured half the satchel of apples into one cauldron and the rest into the other. Then, getting her wand out, she pointed it at the cauldrons and muttered, "Aguamenti. There, that should do it."
Later that evening, Tony's party was in full swing. Ginny and Harry made sure that everyone was staying in the mood by running the bar along with Natasha. Hermione knew she was well past tipsy, thanks to the three of them. Wandering back toward the cauldrons she'd filled with water, she discovered Thor and Draco looking thoroughly confused at why apples were floating in the water.
"Granger," Draco drawled as she drew near, "what the hell are these supposed to be?"
"It's a game," Hermione explained, moving to kneel next to a cauldron. "You challenge another person to be the first to get an apple. The catch is that you have to get the apple with only your mouth with no help from your hands."
"That sounds ridiculous," Draco scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"Scared you'll lose?" Hermione challenged, wiggling her eyebrows.
"You wish," he said, smirking and dropping to his knees. Grabbing hold of the edge of the cauldron, he added, "Count us down, Thor."
"I love a rivalry!" Thor boomed, clapping his hands together. "On one! Three! Two! One!"
When Thor hit one, Hermione plunged her face into the cold water, only slightly fishing that she could see Draco do the same. Instead, she focused on finding the smallest apple and using her lips to push it against the bottom corner of the cauldron. Her hair and makeup would be ruined, but it would be worth it to see that smug smirk wiped clean off of Draco's face for once when she came up victorious.
The apple she found tried to slip and slide its way back to the surface, but Hermione persisted. She mentally thanked her parents for helping perfect her teeth… And with a smirk of her own, she remembered that Draco had a wee bit of a role in that as well back in the day. More fuel to the fire for her to win this bobbing for apple contest against him.
Bubbles rushed from her nose in an underwater cheer of excitement as she was able to bite the apple in just the right way to pin it. Hurrying, she rolled her shoulders and wrenched her head up and out of the water. It splashed everywhere, soaking the front of her clothes and making the floor a river. Excitedly, she grabbed the apple, chewing the bite she had taken.
Having not figured out the trick she'd done, Draco sat there in shock as Hermione held the apple aloft. "What the bloody hell…?"
"I win!" Hermione cried out, waving the apple at the Slytherin. In the next instant, she let out a squeal as Thor lifted her from the floor into the air. He twirled them around in a circle three times before planting her firmly onto the wet floor. "Oh! Thor, what was that for?"
Thor clasped both her shoulders and beamed. "That was one of the most exciting events I have seen since coming to Midgard. I must go find my brother so he and I can try!"
Hermione watched Thor go, still entirely taken by surprise by his excitement over her win. Suddenly, a towel was being tossed into her face by Ginny. "Did you see that?"
"You beating Malfoy, or Thor totally flirting with you?" Ginny asked, ignoring Draco as he grumbled about not getting a towel behind her.
Once he had disappeared, Hermione replied, "The Thor part…."
"What's that old muggle phrase… An apple a day…." Ginny started and then grinned as if she was onto something.
Rolling her eyes, Hermione playfully shoved her friend. "It ends with 'keeps the doctor away,' not 'lands the god of thunder."
"I know, I know," Ginny began, rubbing her arm, "but according to Luna, the first person to get an apple in that game is the next to get married, and Hunky Hammer God has been eyeing you up all night."
"That's just an old superstition, Ginny," Hermione groaned, using the towel to wipe her face dry. "There's no way in Asgard that he is into a simple witch like me where he's got Lady Sif and Wanda hanging around him all the time."
"Fair point," Ginny said, and then burst into laughter when Hermione's jaw dropped in surprise. "I'm just kidding, 'Mione. No, but seriously. Even before you wandered back over here to play this game, Thor has been watching you for hours. He likes you."
Stunned, Hermione turned to seek out Thor in the crowd, and while he was talking to Loki, Ginny seemed to be correct. He had his eyes trained on her and even smiled when he was caught. This was certainly something to think about further…
"I am way too drunk to apparate home," Hermione groaned, staring into the empty red cup she held in her hand. "And Tony doesn't have the floo network set up yet. What am I going to do?"
Ginny shrugged and refilled her friend's cup. "You could stay here tonight… There has to be an open bed somewhere."
"I doubt it," Hermione mumbled, not entirely wanting to drink what Ginny had given her but doing it anyway. She was already rather sloshed, and drinking made it easier to forget that a particular god of thunder may or may not be into her a little more than she'd already thought. "From what I heard Tony saying, all the spare beds were already taken for the night."
"My bed is available," Thor said, sitting down on the sofa next to the two witches. "I overheard your conversation. I hope that you don't mind."
Blushing, Hermione tried not to tip over where she sat. "I uh… I'm not sure."
"Hermione," Thor said, placing a hand on her shoulder to steady her, "I promise that I will not take advantage of you in your drunken state. I offer only to share my bed only so you have a safe place to sleep. What do you say?" Thor offered her his hand to help her to stand.
Hermione chanced a glance at her red-headed friend, who merely grinned and pushed her gently on the leg. Taking a deep breath, Hermione decided she had nothing to lose. "You know what they say," Hermione said, shooting a wink Ginny's way.
"What's that?" Thor asked, tilting his head in confusion at the bushy-haired witch.
Laughing, Hermione shook her head and took Thor's hand in her own. "I'll tell you more tomorrow when I'm sober. But, to answer your original question, yes, I'd love to spend the night with you. Thank you."
"You're very welcome," Thor said, pulling her to her feet and leading her toward the bedroom where they would be sharing a bed for Halloween.
Hermione and Ginny's little joke would stay a secret for now. For tonight, at least, she would bunk with Thor and see where things went. Of course, if she just so happened to wind up married to the Asgardian, so be it, but Hermione had never been one to believe in superstitions no matter how tempting they seemed to be.