Disclaimer: Do not own HP or Marvel
I sit up in a cold sweat, gasping in pain as my body protests the movement. For a moment I can still smell James' cologne and feel his arms around me. It hurt more than my injuries did.
"Mia, lie down. You need rest." Rhodey calms, pushing me down gently.
"I need Ginny." My voice cracks as it leaves my dry throat. "She can heal me."
The Colonel's face turns grim and I suddenly feel like I can't breathe.
"Gin can you hear me?" I don't get a response and panic sets in. The only way the web wouldn't work was if-
"Rhodes. Where is Ginny? Where is she?!" I sit back up and yell, startling Brooklyn who had been sleeping peacefully in her nest in the corner.
"She went up with the ship along with Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and Spiderman."
I start casting healing spells on myself and stand despite Rhode's protests.
"Hermione wait." His hand on my shoulder stings but, it's a welcome physical pain that distracts me from the emotional tidal wave that was crashing over me.
This doesn't make sense to me.
"We've never. I mean we- we always had each other. I can't do anything without her Rhodey. I can't." I stumble over my words and Rhodes wipes tears off of my face.
"She's with the best people she could be in this situation. We're going to get them back Mia. I promise." I rest my forehead on his and take a deep breath. Rhodes had become a surrogate big brother to Gin and I over the last month but, he didn't understand what Ginny and I had gone through together.
Pull it together Granger. Ginny will be fine.
Realization slaps me in the face as I realize Ginny to me is Tony to Rhodes. Both of us were missing our other half.
"You're right." I nod. "How long was I asleep?"
"A few hours. The others should be here soon." He helps me stand and pushes a piece on my hair behind my ear.
"They found Vision?"
"Yes, everyone is coming now. Cap said you called them." Rhodes knew of my aversion to America's favorite superhero but, thankfully, he never asked me to explain it to him.
"Yeah. Tony was taking too long." I sigh. "Damn boys and their grudges."
"Right, go shower. You're filthy."
Brooklyn comes running at the word shower. She loved hopping under the spray of warm water and follows me into the bathroom. Normally, I would shoo her out but, I was exhausted, in pain, and didn't want to be alone.
I step into the stream of water and grunt as a rib re-sets itself.
I never was as good at healing spells as Gin and this makes me wish I had studied them a bit harder.
If she were here, she'd have already slapped me out of this.
Once the water runs into the drain clear and I no longer feel like a thumb push puppet, I turn the water off and grab a towel, much to Brook's displeasure. I spell my hair dry and accio a pair of pants and a shirt. Rhodey had said I was asleep for hours but, I'm still exhausted; especially after using whatever energy I did have on healing.
I lay down on the bed and gaze at the picture of James on my wall. I had printed it out after the mission. It was the last time I voluntarily went to the muggle world. I had gone to the library, in whatever city Gin and I were camped out at and looked him up on the internet.
I knew what I was thinking was reckless but, I studied time. I knew the art of traveling inside and out. I knew what rules could be bent.
Sargent James Buchannan 'Bucky' Barnes of the Howling Commandos Killed in Action
One of America's brightest soldiers was killed in action during a mission led by best friend Captain America. Sources say he and Barnes, along with one other member, attempted to take over a train when Barnes fell from a train car, plummeting to the canyon below. To this day Sargent Barnes is the only member of the Howling Commandos to give his life in service of this country.
The headline was burnt into my brain like a brand, taunting me. I couldn't go back for him after that. He was a set fixture in history. I couldn't bend the rules anymore. He had to follow Captain America, he had to be memorialized.
As messed up as it is to say; the people that no one would miss are the easiest to swoop from a timeline.
My eyes wander over the worn piece of paper emblazoned with a hastily written contract and two even more hastily written signatures. I had kept my promise but, he didn't keep his.
A chattering of voices from outside my door pulls me from my thoughts. I was hoping they would walk past; I wasn't emotionally stable enough to have any kind of coherent conversation right now but, a knock echoes through my quiet room.
"It's not a good time man." I didn't need to see the disapproving look on Rhodes face to know it was there.
"Just come in." I yell weakly, sitting up as Brook nestles into my side, there wasn't time to waste. I'd deal with whatever in order to speed up the process of finding Ginny.
The door opens slowly and in walks the one person I would have preferred to never speak to again.
I take it back. I'd rather not deal with this right now.
There he was, Steve Rogers, Captain America, all muscles covered in a costume and bearded. A far cry from the scrawny guy in the alley all those years ago.
He clears his throat and offers me a handshake.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Steve Rogers." I stare at his hand with a scowl. He had no clue who I was. He was the reason I lost James and he had the audacity to not remember me. Rhodey must sense my anger.
"You're on your own kid." Rhodes backs out of the room, hands up.
"Hermione Granger." I shake his hand, the frown never leaving my face. This man was the reason James was dead and he couldn't even remember the girls who saved his ass in that alley yet, everyone heralds him a good man.
A hero.
"So, your file said you were some War Hero. I didn't have time to read it all through but, that stood out. Is that an eagle?" Brook puffs up next to me, probably sensing my irritation.
"Yes, I did fight in a war and yes, she is an eagle." I keep my answers short, hoping he gets the message to leave. I had nothing to say to him.
We sit in silence for a few moments before he opens his mouth again, grinding on my already frayed nerves.
"I heard about your friend. I'm sorry. I know it's tough." The sympathetic smile on his face makes my blood boil. I had resented this man for so long and yet, here he was, trying to comfort me.
"Stop talking!" I snap, standing up. "Stop acting as if you know her. You don't know anything about her!"
Rogers stares at me with wide eyes before taking a moment to compose himself.
"I lost my best friend Bucky while on a mission in-"
White hot anger pulses through me.I feel myself shift and before either of us knows it, he's pinned to the floor by two large paws.
During the month it took for Ginny and I to complete the practice of becoming Animagi, we had discussed, mentally (part of the ritual was holding the leaf of a mandrake in your mouth for a full month), what we hoped our form would take. I wanted something that could blend in easily, something discreet to help with recon. Maybe a bird or a cat.
Naturally, I ended up a fucking lion.
The terrified look on Captain America's face was worth it.
"Damn it I knew this would happen. Mia. Get off of him." Rhodey's voice orders from the doorway and I lumber off the soldier. "I told you to take it easy."
His words fall on deaf ears and I barely have enough energy to transform back into human form. My head was throbbing violently, and my limbs felt as if they were made of lead but, I still manage to glare at America's favorite superhero.
"You're an asshole." I gasp as my legs give out and I fall back into sleep.
"Shit, it's cold." My laugh is breathless and my heart is pounding as James leads me down streets and alleys alike, not telling me where he was taking us.
I should be worried about a strange man dragging me around New York but, I wasn't.
"Ah damn." He mutters once we get to a large iron gate secured with a padlock. "Well there goes my date plan." He runs his fingers through his hair; hat forgotten back at the hall. Never deterred, he spins me into his chest despite the lack of music.
"Date? I don't remember agreeing to anything like that." I tease. I had only even been on dates with Ron and they were always at his favorite pub. The idea of a date that didn't involve listening to a quidditch game was too good to pass up. "What's that over there?" I point to a nondescript direction behind us and cast a quick Alohamora on the lock, when James walks away. The padlock and chain fall with a loud clatter and I gasp exaggeratedly.
Casting in front of a muggle was grounds for Azkaban but, I couldn't bring myself to care when James looks at me suspiciously.
"It fell?" I supply weakly.
"Oh, it fell?" he mimics with a positively devilish grin, taking steps closer to me.
"Mhm, just like that." I laugh nervously as he steps closer. I take a step back but, he slings me over his shoulder easily with a playful growl. "What are you? Put me down!"
"No can do, I enjoy this view too much."
An absolute flirt.
He slips us through the gate past the ticket booth and doesn't put me down until we're in front of a large pen.
"You brought me to the zoo?" I can't stop myself from eagerly peering over the railing and into the open-air exhibit. A brown bear lumbers around the pen, followed by two small cubs. I read the metal sign next to me raptly.
Brown Bear (Ursa Arctos)
Found in North America, Diane the Brown bear was relinquished to The Bronx Zoo after being hit by a buckshot. Unable to return to the wild, she now receives three square meals of deer, chicken –
"James look! Her name is Diane." When he doesn't answer, I turn and find him staring at me with an odd look on his face. "Are you okay?" I ask, shaking him from his thoughts.
"Is Mina Granger worried about me?" His look of concentration gives way to his usual flirty smile. The red lip print on his cheek shines in the moonlight and he sends me a wink.
"Not anymore." I huff, wandering from the bears and to another pen. "Most mammals in the animal kingdom are nocturnal hunters. Do they have lions here? I'd love to observe their nighttime habits."
"Are you a closet Zoologist?" I laugh at his question, shaking my head.
"No, I just like knowing these things. I read a while back that it's actually the Lionesses that hunt for the pride. The girls." I clarify and jumps when he rests his chin on my shoulder from behind.
"I know the difference between male and female lions Mia." His chuckle in my ear sends shivers down my neck.
"Sorry, my friends back home normally require further explanation for most things. I had to teach Harry how to fry an egg at one point." I realize I'm babbling but, I can't seem to calm down.
"Harry? I hope he isn't you're roguishly handsome Brit boyfriend." James teases with a hint of seriousness.
Wait… is he?
"Jealous, Sargent?" The words barely leave my mouth before he turns me towards him and traps me against the railing; arms on either side of me and leaning down so we could see eye to eye.
I raise an unimpressed brow at his sudden action, crossing my arms across my chest and standing up straight despite the galloping in my chest.
He says nothing and just stares at me intensely.
"I'd just like to know how many guys I have to fight off for a second date with you." He grins playfully, breaking the brief silence and causing my face to heat up.
"Harry is my best friend, well, more like my brother really. We've been friends since we were eleven. He, Gin, and I went to the same school along with our other friends." I can't help but smirk at the relived look on his face. "We've been friends forever."
"Kind of like Steve and me. I've been saving that punk's butt most of my life." I laugh knowingly.
"To answer your question James, no. The only thing waiting for me back in England is my books."
And an empty flat is Ronald Weasley knows what's good for him.
"How many guy friends do you have?" He asks suddenly and I take a moment to think.
Well, there's Harry, obviously; Ronald, George, Percy, Charlie, Neville, Dean and Seamus, Ernie, Lee…
"I'm not sure, at least ten, why?" Although I'm not sure I'd count Ronald anymore, the right prat.
"They're all idiots."
"Well that's not very nice." I joke but, he doesn't even chuckle.
"You're telling me they've had you since you were children and never made a move yet, I only get you for one night?"
"If its any consolation, they had Hermione Granger since I was eleven. You have had Mina Granger for her whole life." My breath catches in my throat as he leans his forehead against mine.
"You're as smart as a whip, aren't you Mina?" He breathes. "It's still only one night."
His words led my mind down an impossible path.
"Are you saying you'd like to see me after tonight?" The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. "I had you pegged for a one-night stand kind of man."
"I won't lie. I was until this morning, Rare Bird. Then I just so happened to watch the most beautiful dame I've ever seen drop Mark Chapel with one kick and I spent the rest of my day thinking about her and hoping that she'd come to the hall." Gone was his playfulness, his voice was low and it sent my mind in a tailspin. His breath smelled faintly of the bourbon we had shared earlier in the night.
"And?" I ask shakily, looking at my feet.
"Steve's always talking about how he'll know when he's found the right partner to dance with when he sees her. I used to tease him about it." He stands, using a hand to guide my face to look at him. His blue eyes we nearly glowing in the moonlight. "Then, I saw you."
Between the atmosphere, his words, and how close we were, I thought for a moment that this night was nothing but a dream. As if I had seen this film before and dreamt myself as the heroine.
So, what would the heroine do? I ask myself while biting my lip. Once again, the red lip print I had left of his cheek glares at me.
"Just kiss me, you sap."