Do not own Marvel or HP
"Ow stop biting me. We should have left you two in New York." I hear Brook let out an indignant squawk over Rhodes' complaint. I keep my eyes firmly closed, vividly remembering everything that night, his words, how James' lips felt on mine, how we stayed in the zoo until the first rays of dawn popped our bubble of peace.
"They're probably hungry. Have they had dinner yet?" It was a voice I didn't recognize.
"Oh, so just because you named yourself Falcon, you're some kind of bird expert?" I can't help the laugh the escapes me and I crack open one of my eyes to see Rhodes, Sam, and Vision, staring at me. The gentle whirring of machinery lets me know that we are no longer at the Base in New York.
"How ya feeling, kitty cat?" I hurl a minor stinging hex at the Colonel, who had taken to teasing me for my Animagus form. "Ouch!"
"Holy shit, you weren't kidding." Sam chuckles while eyeing the fresh welt on Rhodey's arm. I sit up in my bed, feeling more refreshed than I had in weeks.
"Where are we?" I groan, rubbing my eyes.
"On a quinjet. We're flying to Wakanda to make use of their labs." I nod, having read about Wakanda and their elusive king from the stack of files that had been on my desk.
"And your government is okay with this?" I ask, glancing towards the two fugitives on either side of Rhodes. He just shrugs. "It's the end of the world. What are they gonna do? Arrest me?"
Brooklyn nips his hand impatiently.
"Hold on girls." I untie the black bag from my waist and accio the bags of Eagle food and Owl food respectfully. "Ela tuk." I call to them and they hop towards me.
"Ela tuk? I thought their names were Brooklyn and Remi?" Sam glares at Rhodes. "That's what they've been responding to."
"Their names are Brooklyn and Remi. Ela tuk means come here." I laugh as the two birds dig into their food voraciously. "It's-"
"Bulgarian." Vision finishes, speaking for the first time. The three men eye me curiously when I nod.
"I had a vested interest in learning it years back." I huff, remembering how I had wanted to learn before visiting Viktor Krum's home country. Then the war happened. "How far are we from Wakanda?"
"Three hours. I packed your best fighting clothes. Though I may have knocked over a stack of books in there." Rhodes gestures to my bag.
I shrug, pulling out my dual blades.
"That's a bag of holding from Dungeons and Dragons and no one will ever be able to tell me differently." Sam shakes his head with wide eyes.
"Well I'm familiar with both Dungeons and Dragons so you aren't wrong." I mutter absentmindedly as I run my hands over the scratched blades, reinforcing their enchantments and restoring the integrity of the metal itself. I focus on them until the blue light of enchantment turns to orange; signifying completion. Three hours should give me enough time to work out the final kinks.
"What are we using Wakandan labs for exactly?"
"We want to destroy the mind stone." Vision answers while staring at the floor. My head snaps towards the super bot and I sputter.
Wouldn't that kill him?
"Not before we replicate his circuitry though. Shuri is the best at what she does, if anyone could do it, it's her." The Colonel adds, patting the android on the back. The three of them made an odd trio but, I'm sure people had thought the same thing about Harry, Ron, and I.
Oh god. What am I supposed to tell them?
Do I even have time to warn them?
Even if I did manage to get a letter to them, would they be able to make it in time?
"Hey, what's got you in a spell?" Rhodes asks, referring to my sudden silence.
"Harry and the rest of the Weasleys. If Gin doesn't come back. What do I tell them if we lose?" I voice my worries to Rhodes and two strangers, a rare occurrence.
"We won't lose. We're going to get them back. Even if I have to fly my ass up to space to get them." Rhodes stands and pauses in the doorway. "Because I don't know how I'd tell Pepper." Then leaves.
"On that morbid note, I'm going to get some shut eye." Sam follows Rhodey out of the room, leaving Vision and I in the med bay.
"He sent you here to guard me in case I snap." It wasn't a question. I wasn't stupid. I scared the Captain and he had me put in time out.
"You really are the Brightest Witch of Europe." Vision sighs.
"You read my file?" This time it was a question.
"I compiled your file."
"I haven't read it yet. Haven't been given the chance. Ginny thought it would trigger some kind of break down." It was true. I had had a few breakdowns over the years and that was when I truly lost myself. The things I did. What happened to me. I could never forget them.
Yet, I couldn't help but be curious, it was in my nature and I wanted to see myself how this team saw me. I was an outsider to them. I knew that but, did they see me as capable? Did they know what I have done?
"Would you like to ask me about it?" He offers gently.
"I only have a few questions, really." He nods. "Is Antonin Dolohov in there?" Another nod.
"Yes, as is how you hunted him and Thorfin Rowle down to the Aokhigahara forest of Japan."
"Does it say what I did to them?"
"Yes." I suddenly feel sick to my stomach. That was one of the worst breaks I had and I couldn't remember most of it. "You mauled them."
"Is Malfoy Manor in there?" I choke out. Another nod.
"Bellatrix Lestrange tortured you, using various methods, for almost two days straight. You refused to tell her anything. She used the Cruiciatus Curse on you; the most painful curse in the Magical World and you didn't break." Hearing its name makes my arm burn and my head split, as it always did. A lasting gift from the psychotic witch.
I grip my hair by the roots, trying to calm the pounding against my skull.
"Miss Granger I think we should stop."
"No." I heave against my grit teeth. "I have one more question."
"Does it have when Ginny and I learned the Death Eaters' flight spell?"
"You and Ms. Weasley, using Polyjuice potion, successfully infiltrated a sect of new Death Eaters led by the deceased Dolohov and Rowle. Posing as the two for nearly nine months, the time came where the new recruits would learn the flight spell. That day you led twenty-six people off a cliff, one by one, in the Austrian Alps. You and Ms. Weasley learned the spell earlier that day from one of Dolohov's journals."
"How can they look at me after reading that?" I ask, referring to the other passengers. I run my fingers through my now overly frizzy hair before pulling it into a ponytail.
"Because, they also know that, the day you led that sect off the cliffs, they brought you a non-magical human family. The youngest was an eleven-year-old girl. They wanted to use them as practice for the Unforgivable curses. Everyone on this ship has done things they aren't proud of." Vision stands, offering me his hand. "But, they are still good people."
I take his arm and he helps me stand.
"Even the Captain." He adds, making me roll my eyes.
"Whatever you say. Is there any food on this thing? I'm starving." He leads me to the quiet kitchen, claiming that everyone else was getting some sleep before we land.
"Do you sleep?" I ask while eating a package of crisps. "You don't have to babysit me if you need rest."
"I do not need sleep." I believed him but, the way his eyes kept flickering to the doorway that, I'm guessing, leads to the cots tells me that there is something he needs from the darkened room.
"Go. I'll be fine." He stares at me for a moment before leaving. Once I finish my bag, I take the swords from my back and lay them on the table. Working on them until light streams into the room.
"Should they be glowing like that?" A voice startles me and I spin to face a striking woman. Black Widow: Natasha Romanoff.
I nod dumbly as she sits in the chair across from me, smiling as if we were close friends.
"You're really a witch, huh? Gotta say, you sounded made up when Rhodes told us about you." Despite her leisurely tone, she holds herself stiffly. I couldn't blame her, so did I. It was an after effect of being trained from a young age.
We sit in silence, the only noise being the humming of the jet.
"I was eleven as well, when I started. I overheard you talking to Vision last night." She starts. "It's hard to shake the habits that kept you alive."
"Doesn't make it suck any less." I mutter, surprising myself at the overly American phrase. "I've been in New York too long."
She doesn't take the bait of changing the topic as I had hoped.
"What I'm trying to say is Vision is right. We've all done thing but, we're trying to be better. This is making us be better." Natasha watches me finish the enchantments in silence before letting out a short laugh.
"What?" I ask, raising a brow at her abruptness.
"Did you really ride a dragon?" She asks and I grin cheekily.
Ginny was right; I loved this story.
"Yeah, we were robbing a bank and we got caught. Goblins and wizards alike were throwing curses at us. We were rightfully stuck." Rhodes mutters a good morning as he shuffles in, followed by Sam. "That's when Ron and Harry ask me what my plan was."
"You didn't have one, did you?" She chuckles and I could tell she had been in a similar situation before.
"Merlin no."
"Leave it to the boys to rely on us for everything." She says pointedly at the two, now four, men in the room. Banner and Rogers walked in together and I force myself to ignore the star-spangled ken doll. I wasn't finished being mad at him but, I knew my grudge would only hinder me at this point. I would never forgive him. That doesn't mean I can't work with him.
"Go on." Bruce pushes and I notice everyone is watching me raptly. "You were robbing a bank and got stuck."
"Right." I say slowly. "Like I said Harry and Ron looked towards me for a plan. Think of Gringott's Bank as a coliseum of sorts and in the middle is the largest dragon I'd ever seen; a Ukrainian Ironbelly. They were using it as a guard dragon of sorts, chaining it up and keeping it in the dark. But, you can't tame a dragon."
"Words to live by." Sam mutters.
"I tell the boys that I have a plan but, that it was completely mad and then I blasted the railing off on the ledge we were on and leapt onto it's back. Apparently, dragon scales are sharp, sliced my hands up something awful. Anyways I break the chain tethering it to the floor and the boys barely have time to hop on before it takes off, through the glass ceiling, over a large wizarding settlement, an even larger muggle settlement and flying us all the way to Scotland."
"And it just let you all climb off of it?" Nat tries to clarify.
"No, we had to jump off into a lake and wait for it to fly away. Ron called me bonkers for worrying about it. It was half blind and conditioned to fear the sound of clankers when we broke it out." For a vague moment, I wonder if that dragon is still alive somewhere.
"What were you trying to steal. From the bank, I mean." My jaw sets when the Captain speaks.
"A cup. A goblet, I suppose."
Landing in five minutes.
Rhodey catches my gaze and gives me a knowing smile, utterly confusing me.
The monotone voice cuts story time short and I ask Natasha where I could get changed. She leads me to a small bathroom, and I pull out the jumpsuit that was made for me. It was haltered so I could have complete range of my arms and fit snugly. I didn't believe Rhodes when he said it was nearly indestructible so, of course, I had Ginny try a few hexes against it and, despite what Ginny said about it making me look like a bombshell, I was just glad it was fireproof at least.
I tap my watch and feel cool metal form gauntlets on my wrists and shins; courtesy of Tony Stark who had been going mad sitting around all day and attach the swords to my back via a sticking charm.
A knock followed by Rogers' voice, causes me to jump slightly.
"I wanted to apologize."
Well, I wasn't expecting that.
I open the door a crack and peer up at the soldier with a raised brow.
"I sorry I sent the guys to guard you but, can you really blame me? You turned into a lion." I wanted to be mad at him but, I'm tired of being mad.
"It's the end of the world. I don't have anymore time to be angry." I sigh, pushing the door open and facing him. "I'm sorry about the lion thing. I was tired and it's an instinct at this point."
"You'll have to show T'challa. I'm sure he'd love it." For a moment, I see the boy from the alley, his nervousness and wide eyes and take a deep breath.
"If you ever have someone babysit me again. I'll hex your hair off." I warn.
"Okay, just don't try to eat me again." I cast the hex silently and grin as I watch his blond hair turn a violent shade of green.
"Deal." I offer my hand and he shakes it firmly. A dull thud reverberated through the hall. "Did we just land?" I almost forget to put the communicator in my ear.
"Yes ma'am." He nods. "Want me to wait for you?"
"I can find the exit by myself Cap. I'm a big girl." I shoo him away and finish lacing up my boot when I hear a yell followed by raucous laughter. I call the birds to me, Brooklyn sitting on my shoulder and Remi hopping close behind.
"Elphaba get out here and get this off of me!" I click my tongue at the wicked witch reference and follow the sound of voices, shielding my eyes from the sun when I step down the ramp. As soon as the birds feel fresh air, they take off happily.
"Calm down Cap. It'll wear off." I mock lightheartedly as my eyes adjust to the light. When they do, I let out a gasp as I take in my utopic surroundings. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. "Like I said, next time I'll just hex your hair off completely. This was a warning."
The hairs on the back of my neck stand up when I feel eyes boring a hole into my back.
"Mina?"
Not, now. I have to focus. I can't-
"Mina." I hear his voice again and I shake my head. It wasn't him. If I turn around, he won't be there. I had had this dream before. "Mina, turn around, please."
In the end, it's Rhodes that grabs my shoulders and turns me.
"Am I missing something? Does she know Bucky?" Sam asks.
I feel all the air in my lungs in one violent breath and my hands fly up to cover my mouth.
Sam asked. Sam can see him. He's-
My feet take off before my thought finishes and I crash into James violently, grabbing at his shirt to make sure that he's really here.
"H-How? How are you here? You died, you-" His warm hand cups my cheek, bringing my eyes from his shirt to his face.
"I should be asking you the same thing." His voice wrapped around me like my favorite blanket and his eyes were the same bright blue that reminded me of the sky. "What are you doing here?
He was here. He's real and it was utterly impossible.
The words were my mantra as he wraps his arms around me.
"Don't you ever leave me like that again." I rest my head on his chest and listen to his heart racing, just as it did all those years ago. "I can't believe this is real."
"Buck, I figured you might want this back now." Steve steps in, handing James a small pocket watch and giving me a knowing smile. The same one Rhodes gave me on the jet.
They knew. They knew?!
"Yo- You knew?!" I hiss turning on my heel to face the smug Captain. "You knew this whole time? You absolute knobby headed berk! You total naff plonker." It's James' hand on mine that stops me from hexing Captain America back to America. Rhodey's laugh catches my attention and I aim a finger at him.
"Don't you laugh. You're next." His grin fades into a look of horror and my satisfaction grows.
"That was so British, I think I just got knighted." Nat smiles despite her obvious confusion. She winks before pulling corralling the others."Let's give these three time to catch up."
Our audience shuffles away, leaving us alone and I remind myself to thank her later.
"Frankly, I didn't know it was you until after you called me an asshole." The blond smiles awkwardly, holding his hands up.
I'll deal with him later.
"Brooklyn. Goni go dalech." The eagle swoops down at my growl, smacking the Captain and effectively chasing him away. "Asshole."
"Well, if I didn't already recognize you, your language for sure would have let me know who you were." I could once again, hear the smirk in his voice, as I turn back to James. This time I actually look at him, running my fingers down his face. Just as he did that night, he caught my fingers, kissing them gently. Then, I hear the sound of metal on metal as his hand grabs my armored wrist. My eyes follow the sound and i have to hold back a gasp when shining metal comes into my view.
Oh Merlin, his arm.
"What happened?" I ask, examining his hand.
"That's a bit of a long story." He sighs, using his other hand to tilt my chip up, wearing the same smirk that had been stuck in my head since we met. "I can't believe you're actually here. I thought I lost you after that night."
"I'm a witch." The words fill my mouth like sweet wine. I had wanted to tell him ever since that night. Hell, I had even practiced telling him while I was on that mission. "Gin and I were supposed to go to 1945 Brooklyn, England but, I fudged up the watch and we ended up in 1943 Brooklyn, New York."
The smile never leaves his face as I ramble on about the world of Magic, unconsciously leaving out the war and Shacklebolt's missions.
"You don't seem surprised. Why aren't you surprised?" I ask suspiciously and he grabs my waist without looking away from my face.
"I always knew you were a rare bird and, right now, I'm just glad that you aren't a hallucination. I'm glad I remember you." I don't miss the far away look that shows in his eyes for a split second. I had spent too much time with Harry to not recognize a lost look when I saw it.
"What do you mean, remember me?" For the first time since I stepped off that jet, he looks away and I mimic him, guiding his face back to mine. "James. What do you mean, remember me?"
"It's all in my file. I'll just-"
"No. I don't want to read about it. I want you to be able to tell me." I breathe and suddenly, the pain I felt every day was mirrored in his eyes.
"Mina, you don't understand. I've done some bad things."
"I led a sect of twenty-six people off a cliff in the Austrian Alps. Now, would you like to read about it in my file or would you rather hear what happened from me?" I ask firmly. "Do you want to hear about how I started fighting a war when I was fifteen? Because I want you to hear it from me just as I want to hear what happened from you."
We stare at each other in silence before he let's out a defeated sigh.
"Mina, we don't have the time to go into detail. Is this how you want to spend this time together?"
It wasn't but, I had the sinking suspicion that if we didn't talk about it now, we wouldn't get the option later.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I would have to be the first to share, no matter how uncomfortable it made me.
"I am a witch born of non-magical parents." I start, condensing ten years of war and torture into three minutes. I stare down at my feet, afraid to look up and see James' face. I was worried he wouldn't be looking at me the same way he had five minutes ago.
"Let me see?" He asks, gently taking my wrist as I deactivate the gauntlet. "Did you have this when we met?"
I shake my head. "I used to use glamour charms to cover it."
He stares at my wrist for a few moments before taking a deep breath.
"It started when my regiment was captured by a group of Nazi scientists called HYDRA." I listen to him with rapt attention, not wanting to miss a thing. What happened to him these past years are what made him the man in front of me; no matter how horrific they were.
"What did Steve say to you to make you remember him?" I ask once he's finished, resting my forehead against his chest.
"He told me that he'd be with me till the end of the line." He pauses. "Then he asked me to remember you."
"I understand if you didn't You knew Steve for years so don't worry about hurting my feelings." I assure.
"Oh, as soon as he said your name, I remembered. Not everything at first but, I sure as hell didn't forget that kick." It was as if the sheet of our disjointed years finally lifts and I see him.
The handsome flirt from Brooklyn.