Chapter Three
Ready to fly again.
Hermione loved flying.
She didn't hate it or avoided it, as many presumed. She just never liked the insecurity of feeling the emptiness when on a broom, the loneliness of flying by yourself.
Yet, flying in a plane, and in an aircraft as cutting-edge as the one the Kingdom of Wakanda had lent them, was pure pleasure. The three rows of nine extremely comfortable white seats, the bright controls, the windows bigger than the ones in the aeroplanes from her universe… Yes, this was flying.
She looked out through Ron's window to her left. The mid-morning sun beamed as brightly as in her universe.
"... forty-two heading four two zero and descending to one-two thousand," the Wakandan pilot said from his seat. "White Wolf, we'll be arriving in thirty minutes."
"Roger." James sat on the first row, one seat ahead to her right in the single-seats line, from where he could interact with the pilot and Captain America.
As she peaked towards the front-right, Hermione admitted she had chosen her seat knowing she could peek at him if she looked to the front. Merlin! It was so embarrassing. She wasn't a teenager anymore. Not even with Viktor had she experienced these… these… infantile behaviours!
Hermione forced her mind to focus.
Wand. Ready.
Potion. Ready.
Protective dragon-skin clothes and boots. Yes. Harry, Ron and herself wearing them.
Various articles in secret compartments. Ready.
Her eyes involuntarily shifted towards James, impelled like they ever did since that first morning. Yes, he was her type. Hermione could see his bionic arm and its gloveless hand, his square chin with a five o'clock shadow, his straight nose and short dark brown hair that made her wonder how it would feel to the touch… But physical attributes weren't important to her. Never had been.
However, it had been a treat to watch how these physical attributes humbled under his astute and calculative eyes, his sharp attention and his resilient temper.
And yet, what had captured her full interest, eliciting stolen glances, were his questions and observations, his willingness to listen to her, to know what she needed. He was so kind it was hard to imagine him as the Winter Soldier.
After Harry eavesdropped on his conversation with Sam with his pair of extendable ears, Hermione had time to digest and understand James' past. The three of them had arduously researched, viewed and read every bit of information they could find. And somehow, instead of feeling avert to his company, James reminded them of Remus. Harry had wondered how he had missed the guilt in James' eyes, so similar to the werewolf's. But Hermione and Ron knew Bucky reminded his best friend of himself.
"Here, let me help," Ron suddenly murmured from the seat to her left, bringing her back to the present. He placed a water cup below her chin as he quietly whispered in her ear. "You're drooling."
"You prat!"
She slapped him and he howled, gaining everyone's attention, including James'. Hermione noticed his piercing bright blue eyes and the twitching corners of his lips…
"Oi! Sorry! Here! Here! It's happening again!" Ron teased between chuckles, attempting to place the cup under her chin and trying to avoid her slaps at the same time.
"Guys!" Harry scolded from the seat to her right, across the narrow hallway. "Blimey! You're not back home!"
"Are they always like this?" James asked, turning his seat towards Harry.
"Unfortunately, yeah mate. They've been bantering since our first year. It got worse after they broke up after the war."
James' eyes narrowed towards her and she felt herself gulp.
"Mate, nothing you nee…ooo… rry but!" Hermione had shut Ron's mouth with her left hand. Sam chuckled from his seat.
"We didn't last a week. We love each other as proper friends and family do." Hermione calmly replied but James kept staring at her. She needed a diversion and quick. "Harry dated Ron's sister for over a year after the war."
A fake smile appeared on Harry's face. "Er… so, are we listing our failed relationships? You have a longer list, love."
"Ew! Gross Ron!" Ron had licked her hand and was now free to talk.
"Let's see…." Ron and Harry shared a wicked grin.
"I'm sure no one is interested…" Hermione tried.
"Oh, I am!" Replied Sam from the seat in front of her, turning his seat as well towards the group. "Only for research purposes. I wonder if dating is similar in other universes." He smirked at James who gave him a murdering stare in return.
"This isn't right. Gentlemen should never talk about a lady's life." James insisted, his retort serious and indignant.
"Mate, for researching purposes, here is the list." Ron started.
"For heaven's sake!" Hermione took out her wand and pointed it toward Ron and then Harry. She felt enraged and indignant.
"You can't use magic right now, Hermione," Harry said, condescendingly, though his eyes gleamed with entertainment.
"Quidditch star Viktor Krum in fourth year." Started Ron, his thumb up. "Our Hermione here was fifteen years old."
"Quidditch?" Sam asked.
"A sport we play on brooms," Harry answered.
"You fly on brooms?" Sam eagerly questioned though he didn't wait for his answer.
Hermione saw James look straight ahead, rapidly spinning his seat forward, and crossing his arms.
"Cormac McLaggen in sixth," continued her git friend, "who also played Quidditch."
"He doesn't count," Hermione replied, grasping the little composure she still had. It wasn't like she had any chance with James, contrary to her friends' opinion of finally having some fun and moving on. "It was one date and he tried to grope me."
"He what?!" James snapped, his torso completely turned towards her before his seat did.
Hermione waved her hand, wishing more than ever for a cuppa of very, very, strong tea. "Nothing I couldn't handle."
James glared at her and pressed his lips together.
"Then, Ron." Continued Harry, counting with his fingers.
"He broke up with me after I left to find my lost parents after the war. He couldn't have waited, of course."
"Blimey! Not that again! I've apologised hundreds of times."
"You were a prat and you know it."
Hermione saw James narrow his eyes towards Ron.
"In fourth place, Quidditch star Oliver Wood." Harry continued.
"Another sports star?" Sam joked, his left hand on his mouth trying -and failing- to hide his amused grin.
"Oh, our dear Hermione likes her wizards tall and strong," Ron explained.
Sam quickly glanced at his friend who was clenching his jaw. Bucky's lips were tightly pressed, almost white.
"He preferred his groupies and Quidditch. Left him not six months later." Yes, it was painful to recognize her love life had been terrible and had finished with a broken heart.
"Finally, Viktor again." Ron finished. Harry tensed and made eye contact with her. She pleaded with her eyes but he didn't say anything at all to stop Ron.
"The first Quidditch star?" Sam questioned, shaking with laughter, glancing sideways at James.
"Yeah mate, told you she likes them tall and strong. Surly and moody is a plus." Ron mocked, causing Sam to snicker, "That bloke's still the best flyer and seeker in the world, mind you. Pity you won't see him fly. You'd love quidditch."
Hermione remained silent, looking down her lap, flashes of her two-year-long relationship with Viktor replaying in her mind. Viktor was painful. His memory still clenched her heart. Not because she missed him or still loved him, but because the breakup had shaken the notion of her world.
Amid her hurtful memories, however, she sensed James' bright blue eyes on her. Hermione took a deep breath. This had been a bad idea after all.
"What did he do?" Sam asked, amused and ignorant of her feelings.
"He broke my heart." As silence engulfed the plane she knew she had to go away from the stares. "If you'll excuse me." Hermione stood up and shuffled to the back, where the loo was. Before closing the door she heard Harry's reprimand.
"Are you daft? You had to mention him?"
Why did Ron have to mention him? Because Ron was a git, a prat that didn't think before talking!
Almost a year had passed since their breakup, leaving her in the middle of emotional turmoil that questioned her decisions and priorities, forcing her to reconsider her values and even her job. What came first? Her priorities as an Unspeakable or as a woman? She had learned the hard way that she also needed - craved- balance in her life.
Merlin, how embarrassing! How could she go out and look at him again?
She didn't have to search for an answer though. The plane violently shook, a shriek coming out of her mouth. The humiliation forgotten for the moment, she staggered towards her seat. But it was James who was seated next to her, not Ron.
"Hermione, I'm so sorry." Harry pleaded from his seat as the plane swayed in the air. She ignored him. Ron was tensely looking straight ahead from one of the back seats.
"What's going on?" Hermione asked James as she seated and fastened her belt.
"We're near Sentry and the Void. The magic is affecting the plane. We're surrounding the fight, looking for the most suitable place to land." His voice volume was higher than usual.
"Land? Why would we land?" Harry asked from his place.
"Exactly," Sam yelled from his seat. "I can fly two of you to the site and then come back for the rest."
"No, I mean, we can fly," Harry explained.
"You can?" Sam questioned.
Harry, Ron and Hermione nodded their heads.
"Fuck! Is this what's keeping us in this frightful, wonky muggle contraption? Bloody hell, we've got our brooms! We can fly!" Ron unfastened his belt and started walking to the plane's door. Hurriedly.
"Wait, Ron! We need to plan!" Hermione exclaimed, unfastening her seatbelt and standing up.
Ron wasn't one of the top Aurors for nothing. He knew a well-planned strategy was the key to winning. He groaned, nevertheless.
"Right." The plane shook violently again and a very pale Ron squeaked and choked with the uncontrolled movements.
Hermione staggered back with the turbulence, but James' human hand on her arm held her down back to her seat. It was the first time they touched after that initial handshake. A touch that warmed her body through her dragon-skin jacket.
"Please, fasten your seatbelt?" He courteously asked in a low voice, his piercing eyes on her, and didn't look away until he made sure she did.
James then pressed a bright button to his left, where a set of holographic buttons had appeared.
The seats, amidst the jolting, rearranged themselves into a half-moon, a bright translucent screen materialising in front of them.
"Sentry and the Void are fighting each other on top of the Puy du Dôme, a lava dome near the French city of Clermont-Ferrand and 80 miles from where we are." Captain America started as an image of the Puy du Dôme appeared on the screen, his gear ready and unaffected by the rush of magic. "As we previously discussed, our mission consists of securing Sentry's lock of hair. I'll take James then. He and I will focus on Sentry while you three control the Void." As soon as he received confirmation from everyone he continued, "We'll get as close as we can."
Hermione couldn't say how much time had passed, but it seemed not a minute later the main door was open, wind dramatically blowing in her ears. The plan was simple. They had to jump out of the plane and she, Ron and Harry had to conjure their brooms while plummeting down to land so they wouldn't jeopardise the plane and pilot.
James and Sam stood beside them ready to jump, checking their gear. But Ron and Harry were by her side despite their quarrel. Ron with a comforting hand on her shoulder and Harry looking at her with hurt-puppy-eyes.
"Boys, I'll be fine. My Quidditch-stars ex-boyfriends made sure I could fly in these circumstances, you know how freaked out they were after the war."
"We know." Ron bowed his head and pressed her shoulder.
"But we also know you don't like it," Harry added. James shifted his body towards her, knitting his brows.
She shook her head. "This is better than that time we flew the dragon out of Gringotts." That comment made her friends relax while Sam whispered Dragon? to James. "I'll be fine. I'm not the same Hermione from ten years ago. You know this."
Both nodded again. The three of them shared an understanding smile then, a smile only decades-old-best-friends could share. Harry and Ron turned towards the space below them and checked their dragon-skin clothes, their hidden wands, their racing goggles, and earbuds.
"Ok, then, let's go!" Shouted Captain America, ready to jump and lead the rest, when James stopped him with his right arm on his chest and then turned expectantly towards her. Was James waiting for her?
Harry and Ron jumped and howled, non-verbally and wandlessly accioeing their brooms from their secret compartments and enlarging them. They were speeding in no time.
Hermione felt her heart as if it was beating between her ears. She gave a reassuring glance to James, nodded towards Sam, and after taking a big inhale and putting on her goggles, she jumped.
She cast a momentum-arrestum and, like the two twats that were already on their brooms, accioed and enlarged her Nimbus 4X, limited edition, courtesy from Viktor.
Hermione focused on grabbing the handle tightly for control then leaned forward for speed. In no time, she flew behind her two idiot friends, the air rumbling around her.
From the corner of her eye, she glimpsed Captain America and James flying beside her.
"Oh shit, man! They fly fast!" They all heard Sam exclaim with the help of their communication devices.
"Theirs go as fast as 180 miles per hour or 290 km/h." Hermione saw Sentry and the Void clearer and clearer. They still were unaware of their presence, though, fighting between them. "Mine, a tad faster."
"Dating Quidditch stars has advantages. They gift you the best broom in the market." Ron laughed, "Harry, you take the town's side, I'll be to your right and Hermione to your left."
"Right then, I suppose I really should start looking for a new best mate. I can't see why Hermione wouldn't hex you after all this is finished." Harry commented as he positioned himself to the east. He then took out his wand and disillusioned the three of them.
"Bugger off!" Ron's words were a bit high for their ears causing all of them to flinch. "In position."
"I'm terribly sorry, he's a bit of a character," continued Harry. "In position."
"Really, it's fine," Hermione stated between clenched teeth. She heard James chuckle through her earbud. "In position."
"Which really means you are a dead man!" Sam snickered as he sped towards the fight, aiming for Sentry's side. "Get ready White Wolf. You can't say we don't have a plan." And without much preamble, he threw James towards Sentry.
Bucky crossed the air and knocked Sentry down, secured him with his weight and grabbed his hair with one hand. With the other, he took out his combat knife hidden in a holster on his right thigh. He was about to slash Sentry's hair when the wizard pushed himself up, expulsing a rush of magical energy that submerged them in a cutting silence.
The Void, with a new humanoid form, let out a taunting cackle that disappeared as soon as unexpected magical chains encircled him.
"NO!" The Void's angry yell filled Hermione with chills to her bones. How much hate did this creature have? The Void wrangled to free itself from their control. A spell discovered by Harry and Ron in one of the books she always carried in her bag while she worked with Shuri.
Scrambling, the Void pierced their ears with stinging shrieks, flashes of dark magic escaping from its magical jail. Its head turned upwards with great effort, glimpsing the end of three bright chains.
Meanwhile, Cap and Bucky battled Sentry. Even though he had magic, Sentry couldn't avoid the physical attacks the two experienced soldiers inflicted on him.
"I'm attempting to end it! Stop attacking me!"
"Sentry, we need a lock from your hair. Will you give it to us?" Captain America said as the three of them momentarily stopped the fighting.
Sentry narrowed his eyes. "My hair? Why?"
"Hermione needs it for an antidote potion. It will help you. And I promise it'll all end soon." Captain America continued in his calming voice that Bucky knew he used when negotiating. "It will stop the Void."
Sentry shook his head, scowling.
"It's no use! Nothing can stop it! Only me!" Sentry waved his hand, golden energy darts materializing around him. "We were created together. He is me, my responsibility." With a flick of one finger, the darts shoot, aiming at Cap and Bucky. The new and improved vibranium wings, however, protected them.
"We're both above-known magic! We are stronger than all living wizards, and I'm the only one who can stop it!" Sentry formed energy balls that flew through the air towards them, impacting again in the wings. The effort of casting magic, though, made Sentry spasm in agony.
Bucky took this chance and ran, jumping on Sentry's back and surrounding his throat with his bionic arm while Sam hit his abdomen and face, trying not to inflict too much damage on the wizard.
Meanwhile, the Void wasn't an easy target either. Three dark shadows stealthily followed each chain to its invisible caster. The effort wasn't in vain. Painful groans were heard, the weak damage on the casters enough to weaken his magical jail. The next moment, the Void had vanished.
Sentry, realizing the Void had disappeared, gave a desperate howl. He waved his free hand and cast a simple wizard's spell that made his bidding.
Sam's armour protected him as he staggered backwards from the spell's force. But Bucky tumbled to the ground with a thud, unconscious. Free, Sentry vanished in thin air in pursuit of the Void.
After the Void vanished, Hermione's first instinct was to look for James. When she saw him fall in slow motion, Anthony disappearing the next moment, Hermione felt her vision tunnel.
She gripped her broom handle and leaned, obliging it to go as fast as it could. As soon as she landed, Hermione rushed to Bucky's side, a deafening silence all around her until she saw his face. Until she knew for certain he was alive.
Hermione didn't hesitate. She recognized what Anthony had cast.
"Renervate." She murmured, her wand clenched in her right hand.
Her lungs were able to breathe again when Bucky opened his eyes and gasped for air. Hermione, crouched beside him, helped him sit, her friends' steps telling her they'd landed nearby.
"I don't like scans." James gruffly said.
"I'm afraid you don't get a say, James." Hermione was quickly waving her wand in front of him, her other hand not leaving his back for a second. "Merlin! You're fine." She exhaled and closed her eyes briefly, relieved.
"It's Bucky." He tiredly smiled at her, not even attempting to move from her grasp that still held him tightly.
Hermione softly bit her lower lip, her mouth attempting to form back a smile. She could feel herself getting lost in his blue eyes.
"Oi! Don't eat in front of the starving!" Of course, it was Ron's voice that unfortunately brought Bucky and Hermione back.
"Man! You're the worst friend ever!" Sam exclaimed, astonished, massaging his temples.
Harry, slack-jawed, shook his head towards Ron. And Ron… Ron paled when Hermione's eyes locked with his.
His hands went up, palms out, taking a step back, then another one.
"Now, Hermione…"
Still, in her right hand, her wand twitched, but it was Harry who jumped.
"Ow! Why me?" Harry asked after feeling the effects of the stinging jinx on his left leg.
"You didn't stop him." Hermione's hair seemed to crackle with electricity, her lips tightly pressed. "And you!" She stood tall from Bucky's side and walked steadily towards Ron, who had given various steps back, "You, obnoxious insensitive wart, you deserve to suffer!" She raised her wand.
"No! I promise…" Ron lost his red hair, "… I'll shut my trap…" Ron's body writhed under painful boils, "No! I'm sorry! You know I don't mean it!" Bats started coming out of his nose, attacking him, " No! Not the bat-bogey hex!" By this point Ron was running around, trying to miss the attacking angry bats.
"Hermione, I think that's enough." Harry pleaded with his palms out, almost by her side. She could hear Sam and Bucky -Bucky! She could call him Bucky!- sniggering behind her back. "He's been a wanker, I know… I haven't seen you this angry since he left us in the tent…" Harry closed the distance that separated them and lowered his voice so she could only hear him, "... but we know this isn't about Ron. Since Viktor, it hasn't been easy for you. And this - er, feeling - has been unexpected... We know you suffer when the persons you care about are hurt. This is one of your best qualities because your mind focuses on protecting whoever or whatever is in your heart, and nothing else really."
Hermione's hand hesitated until slowly the wand finally rested beside her body. Harry's green eyes knowingly gleamed at her, the corners of his mouth twitching. But sadness enveloped her when she instinctively knew that the balance she looked for would be real with Bucky by her side. It was her own desperation, her own despair at her lack of control over her present circumstance, of lacking just one chance to pursue something she desired, that made her frantic.
Finite. Ron landed on the ground breathing heavily, only the boils bothering him. Hermione slowly approached the laying wizard and healed his wounds. "I'm sorry."
Hermione extended her hand to help him stand. Ron took it and gave her a strong one-sided hug, rubbing understandingly her arm. She wanted to cry. She was going bonkers for the first time in her life and her best friends weren't leaving her side.
"I think there are more pressing matters. We don't have a lock of hair." Harry scratched his scar, thinking, and talking to the rest of the group.
"Wrong, Potter." Bucky's hand searched in his right jacket pocket and took out a mass of golden hair.
"Best in hand-to-hand combat." Sam nodded approvingly.
"Poor bloke. That probably hurt." Harry said as he saw the messy hair.
Hermione took a step towards Bucky but steeled her feet in time. Something pressed her chest very painfully when she understood that she shouldn't give him anything more than an approving look. Hermione forced her smile to remain, amidst the emotion she now identified. Heartache at knowing that James "Bucky" Barnes, the astute and skilled soldier, the loyal and cautious human, the gentle and caring man, would taunt her for the rest of her life. A path she couldn't walk.
There was only one way then. Inwardly, Hermione nodded and caressed her hurting heart. If time gifted her with only hours of his company, then she would make the most of them.
A/N: We now have Hermione's point of view. Equilibrium in life is hard to achieve, sometimes you have to put on hold something, sometimes you have to make sacrifices. Don't you think? She discovered this the hard way as she'll explain in the next chapter. About her flying skills, when I reread the books and get to parts where JKR describes her poorly playing quidditch with Harry, Ron and Ginny at the Burrow, I like to think that in the future she neither despises flying nor loves it. Equilibrium isn't a word she thoroughly knows in the books, but that I think she learns later in life. In this chapter, however, flying is an analogy to how Hermione views loving relationships. So, what do you think so far of the friendship Harry, Hermione and Ron share? Let me know in the comments! Don't forget to follow this story if you want to know the ending. Next chapter, Bucky POV returns and has a needed chat with one of the characters. Who do you think might be? ;)... Enjoy the rest of your day! - Aniara27