This is being cross-posted from Ao3. It was originally posted on 14 December 2020.

Huge thank you to GaeilgeRua for Beta and alpha reading. You are a grammar goddess. 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: #MMFBingo19 G4: "Broken" by Seether & Amy Lee + #ExcelsiorBingo19 Square: I1 Song Fic

It was Hermione who discovered Scott was trapped in the Quantum Realm after Thanos snapped his fingers. Initially, he'd been thankful for her help, but then he realized that something was missing.

Hope.

She had disappeared with her mother and father, along with half of the entire population, leaving Scott trapped in the Quantum Realm. Hermione was heartbroken for her friend, but there was nothing to do about it. She'd lost people too. Harry, Ron, Ginny, and so many others had vanished into dust the moment Thanos had won.

It didn't help that none of the remaining Avengers wanted to listen to Scott when it came to planning a rescue mission. Hermione spent most of her days sitting idly by as Scott attempted to figure out quantum physics on his own. As much as she wanted to help, Hermione was much more suited to runes. Nevertheless, she stood by her friend until at long last Bruce, Steve, and Nat finally took him seriously.

"If we can only get Stark on board we'll be set," Scott muttered as he scribbled on blueprints that once belonged to Hope and her father.

Hermione bit her lip with worry. "Do you think these alterations Bruce made are really going to work for sending you back in time?"

"They have to," Scott muttered without looking up from his musings.

After watching him for a few more minutes, Hermione left him alone to work. She wandered around the Avengers facility until she stumbled upon Nat. The former assassin was scrolling on her phone as she sat in the makeshift library. She and Nat were the only two females that resided here these days as everyone else had disappeared. They had a silent agreement to have each others backs when it came to dealing with the men.

"I don't know what's worse," Nat muttered as Hermione perused the bookshelves. "Loving someone and you both no it's never going to happen, or loving someone who is never going to love you back."

Hermione whipped around, her curls practically slapping her in the face. "What do you mean by that?"

"I see the way you look at him," Nat explained. "Scott. You have feelings for him."

Sighing, Hermione shuffled over to the chairs where Nat was sitting and plopped down. "It's that obvious, huh?"

"To everyone but Lang, that is," Nat said without looking up from her phone this time. "Although, he flirts with you more than a taken man should."

Hermione rubbed at her eyes with the heels of her hands. "I know, and I'm not sure how to take it. I flirt back from time to time, but what happens when…" She trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. Meeting Nat's eyes, she knew she didn't have to. The woman knew exactly what she meant.

"I guess we just have hope that he makes the right choice," Nat said as she stood up from the chair. She slid her phone into her pocket and smirked down at Hermione.

"That was a horrible choice in words," the witch told her friend. She narrowed her eyes when Nat's smirk widened.

"I know."

That's all Nat said before leaving the room. Hermione sat there in silence for quite a while as she contemplated what to do next. She could go and tell Scott how she felt or just keep it to herself. He did have a lot going on right now, after all. Tomorrow they would attempt to send him back in time as a test. Perhaps tonight was not the moment to add any further stress to his mind.

If all went well, there would be plenty of time to figure things out in the end.

To say that things did not go well the next day was an understatement. She was in the kitchen cooking tacos for lunch when Nat stumbled in laughing her arse off. Glancing her way, she said, "Do I even want to know what happened?"

"Let's just say I'm not sure which is funnier, Scott as a baby or Scott as an old man." Nat wiped the mirth from her eyes and gestured to the stove. "Tacos again?"

"No one has been to the store in a while," Hermione answered and then set aside her wooden spoon. "Please tell me Scott has returned to normal."

"He has, but I think his ego may be bruised a bit," Nat said and then tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Maybe you can take him a plate and ease his wounds."

"I know what you're doing," Hermione said as she grabbed a plate and began to load it up with tacos. "And it's working."

She left the room to the sound of Nat's laughing, hoping that maybe she would be able to comfort Scott. He was bound to be feeling worse off than usual, given the failure of their situation. She found him sitting out front on a bench and staring off into the distance.

"Scott?" she asked before approaching. She didn't want to startle him.

He looked her way, a sad smile playing at his lips. "I take it you've heard then. Did they tell you I wet myself too?"

Hermione bit back a snort at that as she took a seat next to him. "No, Nat left that part out. Are you hungry?" She held out the plate and was relieved when he took it.

"Thanks," he mumbled, staring down at the plate. "Tacos make everything better."

"Look," Hermione began tentatively, not quite sure what she was doing. "After you're done eating, and I clean up the kitchen, do you maybe want to go and see a movie? It might help take our minds off all of this." She gestured around them, knowing he would understand what she meant.

"Sure," Scott said, his eyes brightening just a tad. "That sounds great. Can I pick?"

"Absolutely. Now, don't look so glum," she told him as she stood and brushed off the back of her jeans. "We'll all put our heads together tomorrow and figure out a Plan B. Something will work out in the end."

"You always know just the thing to say," he said, giving her a grin. "I'll see you a little later, Hermione."

"See you later, Scott," she said with a smile and wave before heading back inside to clean. Maybe things would work out between her and Scott.

She was right about things working out, of course. Tony turned up with a plan and the next thing they knew, they had the Infinity Stones. Sure, they lost Nat along the way, but they could bring everyone back. And, they did, but at a price. Thanos too came through, and they were forced to put a hold on celebrating to save the world once and for all.

In the end, it was Tony that saved them all. It was over. They could breathe again and could just maybe move on with their lives. For Hermione, there was only one thing standing between her and Scott.

Hope.

By reversing Thanos' destruction, Hope had returned. There was no reason for her to stick around. Whatever had been brewing between Scott and her was in the past now. He had Hope again, and she would be all but forgotten in their reunion.

Smiling sadly, she caught Scott's eye across the battlefield. He smirked, that familiar look in his eyes that he always saved just for her. At that moment, Hope joined him and said something, drawing his attention away from Hermione. When he looked back in her direction, Hermione had made her decision.

She wasn't going to make him choose. He'd worked toward this reunion for years, and now that it was here, Hermione couldn't bring herself to deny him the love of his life. Smiling, she waved and then disapparated without another word. Her friends would be back and wondering where she was. She'd greet them with a broken heart, but at least Scott would be happy. That was all that mattered at the end of it all.