AU, no Voldemort or wars, Harry Potter/Avengers crossover. Hermione Granger is an Unspeakable with an intense craving for knowledge and an obsessive urge to prove herself. When her boss sends her on a mission to find evidence of the existence of the Libido Vinculum, she is off to prove that the legend is just rubbish. But an encounter with a mysterious priest will make her want to be wrong for once in her life.
Inspired by the Instagram art challenge #enstatia12k by artist enstatia, who drew the hottest Loki variant ever: a priest.
/
As the head of the Division explained her next assignment, Hermione made an enormous effort not to roll her eyes. This was fucking ridiculous. Her boss was fucking ridiculous. Everyone knew that Xenophilius Lovegood was a nut, so much so that he was allowed to keep his weird little newspaper, The Quibbler, despite being an Unspeakable himself. Come to think about it, maybe that was on purpose: since no one believed whatever the eccentric wizard published in his rag, many a real mystery stayed in the shadows precisely because he would publish it in the periodical.
When Hermione Granger joined the Unspeakables at the Department of Mysteries right after Hogwarts, she knew it wouldn't be her choice to which sub-division on the department she would be assigned. But for a witch of her intellect and qualifications to be shoved into the Love and Lust Division was beyond ludicrous. The Gryffindor didn't even believe in love. At 21 years old, she had only had one boyfriend, and that lasted about a month. Everyone thought of her as a cold fish, and she tried to ignore it, hiding behind her job and an intense passion for research. Her heart and loins were very much on the back burner.
This new assignment, though, was too much. Lovegood wanted her to find proof of the existence of the Libido Vinculum. This legendary bond supposedly united two people under a lust spell so powerful that they would marry at first sight and then live happily ever after.
"Xenophilius, this is preposterous. There is no way to prove something like this is real. Where would I even start? Just because a couple marries in a hurry and then stays married for a long time doesn't mean that their union was the product of a magical bond. It's just dumb luck."
"Ah, my dear Hermione. Always so skeptical. You know, if you were ever in love, you wouldn't disregard the Libido Vinculum so easily." Hermione wanted to protest, offended by the personal remark, but Lovegood continued, unfazed: "I would have fulfilled this project myself had the fates not had other plans. My beloved Pandora and I were united by what I believed was indeed the Libido Vinculum. Were it not for her untimely death, we would have certainly gone from making love the very day we met to perish of old age passing together at the same time, always deeply in love."
Hermione didn't want to hurt the older wizard's feelings by pointing out that his wife's early death was indeed proof that the Libido Vinculum did not exist. She sighed and asked:
"Where should I begin my research then?"
"You must go to the place that holds the most accounts of unions of that type. Where all the known records of impetuous love are archived."
"Las Vegas?" Hermione questioned, almost laughing. Where else would there be records of a lot of people marrying strangers on a daily basis?
"No, my dear. Please be serious. The place that holds records of unions that are beyond human comprehension is the only place on earth that keeps more secrets than we do: the Vatican Archives."
"The Vatican?" Hermione gaped. "Why would they keep those records there? Aren't those priests, you know, against sex or something?"
"For such a smart witch, you are showing a lot of ignorance today, Hermione. I am disappointed in you. The Vatican Archives hold records of all the mysteries that humankind has witnessed over the centuries. And Love is indeed a great and beautiful mystery. One of which you obviously know nothing."
Hermione felt her face burn, eyes cast down. She sighed and reached to take the pile of things her boss levitated her way: research documents, travel instructions, and a portkey.
Back in her office, the witch examined the instruction package. She was to take a portkey to Wizarding Rome, then find her way via muggle transportation to the Vatican. Permission to enter the Archives had already been secured by the Ministry, probably by making her appear as a muggle British government official. Once inside, she was to contact a specific archivist, Father Loki Laufeyson. The secret document specified that Father Laufeyson was to be made aware of Hermione's status as a witch since the priest himself was not a muggle: he was a Sorcerer.
Hermione's heart beat fast. She knew what a sorcerer was: a step above a witch or wizard, they were able to perform magic without a wand or spoken incantations. Now she was truly curious. Screw the Libido Vinculum: she would try to learn about this sorcerer and what he could do. Maybe she could learn from him. There was also a code phrase for the witch to use to identify herself as a magical person in the instruction package. She thought the phrase was a bit inappropriate, but this was not her territory.
Two days later, Hermione entered the Vatican and was promptly escorted to the Archives.
"Father Laufeyson is in the Initium Arcanum. He is the only archivist allowed in there. I don't even understand how you got permission to be in here, let alone be permitted to enter the Arcanum," the escorting priest grumbled. Jeez. This guy was a misogynistic arsehole. Hermione hoped Father Laufeyson wouldn't be such a prick. "He's over there," the escort pointed to a glass cubicle at the end of a long hallway where a figure dressed in black stood with his back to them. She tried to say thanks, but the man had already turned tail and was scurrying away at a furious pace.
The Gryffindor took a deep breath and moved toward the tall figure. From behind, the man looked like anything but a priest: he was wearing black denims, motorcycle boots, and a leather jacket. He slowly turned around as her footsteps approached. The first thing she noticed was the clerical collar on his black shirt. Then her gaze went up, and Hermione Granger froze in place. This was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. He was almost unreal, with those emerald green eyes, the perfect face, and a facial expression that went from peaceful contentment to something fiery and wanton as soon as their eyes met.
"Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned," the code phrase escaped Hermione's lips before she could help it; this encounter did feel sinful. A shaky breath escaped Loki's throat. He walked toward her, standing very close.
"We must not ask forgiveness for the gifts we have been freely given," he answered, an elegant hand extending to her. Hermione rested her hand delicately on top. A soft glow involved them. "You are no ordinary witch," Loki continued. "Your power goes beyond what your meager education has provided you."
"Meager?" the witch tried to protest; she had worked very hard a Hogwarts, even going as far as using a time-turner to double the number of credits obtained. But Loki seemed wise beyond his years, so she let him continue.
"Do not fret at my words," he said while their hands tangled and untangled, fingers brushing, caressing, unable to pull apart. "My time at Durmstrang was also not enough for me. I joined the Church following a premonition. I needed to find my way into the Arcanum, where records of all the deeper mysteries of magic are kept. Here I found the information that confirmed I was more than a wizard. I was a sorcerer. I thought I would find myself here. I never expected…"
"What?" Hermione asked in a breath, standing even closer, the warmth of his body pulling at her like a magnet.
"I never expected to find something beyond me. Someone beyond me. Not in this chaste place. But why else would you be here, looking for answers about the Libido Vinculum? Do you think this a coincidence, Hermione?"
"I...I don't know," she whispered. "I don't believe in coincidences."
"May I?" He asked in a silky voice, long fingers reaching to hover close to her temples.
The witch thought she should say no, but the words did not come out. Eyes wide, Hermione stood there while the mysterious priest entered her mind and robbed her of the most intimate secrets. Being so young, nothing inside her mind was objectively terrible—episodes of accidental magic as an infant. Schoolyard embarrassments; making a few friends at Hogwarts; her immense fear of failure. An instinct that said that she was much more powerful than her classmates. And that one instance that haunted her: the day she found herself hiding in a broom closet with Ron Weasley, him trying to entice her to touch him, her not wanting to despite being in a relationship. She wanted to want it; it just didn't happen. Two days later, Ron was dating Lavender Brown, and Hermione should have been humiliated, but for some reason, she felt relieved. Something inside her told her better things would come. Her skeptic's heart refused to believe it. Then two years of tedious work at the Ministry culminating in today's mission. And there it was: clear as day, as if projected on a screen, the scenes that run through her mind as she met the enigmatic and enticing Father Laufeyson. Images of long fingers caressing her skin. Of lips kissing her whole body. Of a tongue savoring her mouth and lapping at her most intimate places. Hermione took a step back, Occluding her mind in embarrassment.
"I have to go," she tried, but her hand seemed unable to let go of his.
"Why? You came here to find out if the Libido Vinculum was real. Is this not enough of an answer?" he challenged, one hand closing over hers, the other wrapping to hold behind her back, pressing her tight to his body.
"You are a priest," she tried weekly, leaning her head back to expose her neck.
"I am other things also," he responded, lips fluttering over the offered skin. "If I quit, I will still be a sorcerer. If you allow it, I will be yours."
"This may hurt a little," she said, apparating them away. They landed in her hotel room.
"I never cared for the pull of apparition," Loki quipped with a smirk.
"My apologies, Father," she offered, eyes on fire, her fingers pulling the clerical collar from his shirt.
"Call me by my name. For I now must forfeit my vows and will be a priest no more."
"Isn't that a sin, Loki?"
"Yes. But maybe I'll be forgiven," he said, leaning in to devour her mouth.