I do not own HP or Marvel

Mia,

Tony's back home with some blue chick who claims to be Thanos' daughter. We found him and we're going after him. I want you here when we kill this son of a bitch and get everyone back. You haven't answered any of the other letters and I'm sure Remi is getting tired of these trips so, please, answer me or, better yet, come here. Our Fireplace is always open.

Rhodey

I throw the letter into the fire, just as I had done with the last three. Even if they did find Thanos, the stones are gone. I had no doubt in my mind that he destroyed them; prevent anyone from undoing what he had done. It what I would have done.

I look at Harry, sleeping on my couch and Charlie in the armchair before hiding myself away in my bedroom and pulling a jar of sand out from the desk.

I was glad I listened to my gut all those years ago but, it would still take years for me to enchant this to time sand. Then I would have to figure out how to house it and what spells to use and-

I take a deep breath, holding the pocket watch pendant firmly in my hand. I hadn't brought myself to open it yet. I didn't want to, fearing my grief would cloud my mind.

I couldn't allow that to happen. Not when there are more people out there, feeling my same pain, not when I can help them. I would grieve later. Right now, I had work to do. I owed it to the people we've lost.

My eyes wander to the framed list hung above my desk.

Ginny Weasley ~ Molly Weasley ~ Arthur Weasley ~ George Weasley ~ Percy Weasley ~ Bill Weasley ~ Ronald Weasley ~ Luna Lovegood ~ Kingsley Shacklebolt ~ Teddy Lupin ~ Padma Patil ~ Neville Longbottom ~ Cho Chang ~ Katie Bell ~ Minerva McGonagall ~ Rubeus Hagrid

The list went on, memorializing the people I had lost, the people I was going to bring back.

I unwrapped the bandages from my hands, no longer flinching from the magical burns on them, and hover them over the opened jar.

Get up Granger.

You're not finished yet.

5 Years Later

A loud banging on the door to my flat jolts me from my daze. It was finally done. The sand is done.

"Hermione, you have visitors." Harry timidly peeks his head into my bedroom, remembering what had happened last time he interrupted my work. The past five years had been rough on him. After losing Teddy, he wasn't the same. His bright eyes were dulled and his face was sunken in and pale. He didn't laugh anymore but, then again, neither did I.

Not until today.

"I've done it." I whisper and his eyes go wide. "Harry, I've done it!" I'm out of my seat and wrapped around him in an instant, pushing us both into the den. "Charlie, I've done it!"

The redhead stands with a whoop. He and Harry had basically moved in after the Snap, none of us wanted to go home to empty houses and it seemed natural to have them here. Charlie eventually started going back to the Dragon Reserve but, he was always home for supper.

A cough breaks us apart and I stand face to face with none other than Captain America.

"Its good to see you Granger." He smiles, extending his hand.

I slap it away and hug him, catching us both off guard.

"Hey, do I get a hug too? I'm the one who found you."

"Rhodey." I grin, pulling him close.

"I've got to say, you look happier than I expected." Rhodes comments, looking around my flat that had been taken over by piles of paper and sand. There were bits of Harry and Charlie littered throughout the flat but, the past year, my research had taken over. I finally focus on the Colonel's words and I feel myself begin to shake.

"We're getting them back. I've made the sand I just need to make the housing units but, the sand is done and that's the hardest part. I can-"

"Slow down." Rogers smiles tiredly. He looks as bad as I probably did. "What's going on?"

I wrack my brain for where to start when Harry puts a hand on my shoulder, silently asking my permission to explain. He knew I was too giddy to clearly explain this to wizards let alone two muggles.

"Hermione, above all else, is a time witch."

"Yeah, that's why were here. Tony and Scott think there may be a way to get the stones back." Rhodey says flatly and I roll my eyes.

It took them this long? Who the hell even is Scott?

"She's been working towards that goal for the past five years. I don't know how muggles do it but, wizards use a substance called time sand. Most of it's not strong enough to go more than a few hours back but, Mia's been working on hers for so long that she believes it can go back further." Harry looks at me for my approval and I nod reluctantly.

There was so much more to my work, the tiny details that really encapsulate it but, I would have to deal with Harry's broad strokes for now.

"All I need is a vessel to put it in." I add. Preferable it would be something controllable, much like Theodore Nott's True Time Turners. That was what Gin and I used for the mission in the 40s.

"Does it have to be magical?" Steve asks urgently, grabbing hold of my wrist.

"I suppose not, the sand has been infused with my magic. At most I would just need to spark it to set it off." Rhodes barks out an incredulous laugh like a madman. "I just finished it this morning."

"Get your sand. We have just the thing."

"You're joking." Charlie groans. "Does this sound like a prophecy to anyone else?"

It did but, being as I hated prophecies, I elected to ignore it and instead, walk into my bedroom to center myself.

For the longest time, this idea seemed impossible. It was a long shot at best, which is why I never told the Avengers but, now we're close. We were so close, and I had to wonder if I could continue if this didn't work.

Would I be able to move on if we fail again?

I grip James' necklace tightly, hoping it would pull me out of my thoughts as it had been doing for the past five years.

Would I be able to survive being so close to seeing him and Ginny again, and failing?

"You haven't opened it." Rogers leans against the doorway, nodding to the pocket watch in my hand.

"Most people think it terribly rude to barge into a woman's room. I could have been changing. I'd hate to be the one to tell James that you walked in on me getting dressed." I pointedly ignore his questioning look as I begin to pack my things.

"Most people think its rude for someone to turn into a lion and tackle them to the ground." I roll my eyes with a scoff and cast protective enchantments on the jar. "And the door was open."

It was only about the size of my hand and it was flooring to think that half of the universe's fate was up to some sand I had picked up on holiday while I was still in Hogwarts. Though, I wouldn't advertise where it came from to the others. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't boost morale.

"Why haven't you opened the watch?" He asks again.

"How do you know I haven't?" I bite back anxiously.

Why was it such a big deal to him?

"I'd know if you did. I carried that watch almost every day since Bucky fell off that train; it was his most prized possession. So, why haven't you?" I let out a deep breath, choosing my words carefully.

"Because, if I open it, I feel as if…Merlin." I groan, running my fingers through my hair roughly. I hadn't talked about him in five years; neither Harry nor Charlie knew about him. I knew neither of the men were very in tune with their feelings and even less inclined to talk about them.

So, how was I supposed to tell them about the handsome, flirty, soldier from the 1940s that swept me off my feet after one night? How could I talk about seeing him after thinking he was dead and only getting to spend an hour with him before he disappears?

It had been a quiet five years.

"I feel that, when I open it, it'll mean I have to start talking about him as if he isn't here and I can't. I can't go through that again. I don't want to mourn him twice." I can't meet Steve's eyes as I rush around my room, throwing this and that into my bag.

"Have you talked to anybody about what happened?" His hand on my shoulder stops my scurrying and the concern in his voice makes me smile bitterly.

Aside from explaining what had happened to Harry and Charlie? No. I haven't spoken to anyone.

"We're British. Talking is for Americans. I'm fine."

Steve takes an unscrupulous look around the room and gives me a face that screams Really? Okay, I would give him that, my bedroom made the den look spotless in comparison and I suddenly realize how bad this must seem.

It doesn't matter. I won't grieve people who are only kind of gone.

"Grief can do a lot of things Hermione." The Captain sighs.

"Grief can suck it. We have work to do Rogers. How did you and Rhodes get here?" I ask while I accio the rest of my things before wrapping the jar in several layers of cloth.

"We had a ride but, they're on their way to pick Thor up." He shrugs, then shifts uncomfortably when he sees the grin on my face. "I'm not going to like this am I?"

"Ever been pulled through a tube of toothpaste?" I ask, walking back into the den where the rest of the boys were.

"I'm pretty sure that's an obvious answer."

"Then no, you won't. Good thing you and Rhodes wore civilian clothes. I hate to think of how I'd manage getting that hunk of metal through without killing us all." I hear Charlie hide a laugh behind a cough at my words.

"Charlie, I need you to stay here and begin prepping for everyone's return. The Ministry has been in shambles ever since the Snap and are in no way prepared for the influx of people that are going to come back." He listens to my words carefully before nodding. I knew he wanted to come with me, they both did, but I needed them here.

"Harry, you need to get the rest of Dumbledore's Army back together and get them ready for a fight. I'm not naïve enough to think that this will go off without a hitch and we need defenders."

"Mia, that's only six people." He reminds me and I shake my head. That wouldn't be enough.

"Then pull in Draco and Blaise. Hell, I'll even take McLaggen and Wenlock. Anyone who was there at the Battle of Hogwarts, I want them ready. Come here." Harry walks over towards me, used to my bossiness, and I hold his head in my hands, establishing a mindweb. It wasn't nearly as complicated as mine and Ginny's but, it would work.

"When the time comes, I'm going to send you an image of where I am. I want you to pull it, put it in a Pensive, and show everyone. Then I want you all there." He nods and I wrap my arms around him; Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, my best friend. He wanted to be done fighting but, the fight kept pulling us back in, against our wills.

"Be careful Mia." He holds me tightly before letting go.

"I will. Go get something to eat, you need meat on your bones. Both of you." I lever a glare at the two men, and they chuckle.

"Yes, mum." Charlie smirks, reminding me so much of his sister.

"Rhodes, Rogers, take my arms and don't throw up on me."

Rhodey doesn't have the time to question before I'm apparating us back to the Avengers Head Quarters.

"I can't believe you found her." Tony grins, patting me on the back when we get inside.

"Well, we had to follow that damn owl all the way to England." Rhodey groans, probably still feeling the after effect of apparition.

"Tell me you have an idea." Tony mutters into my ear.

"Look at Tony Stark, the man of science, relying on Hocus Pocus." I tease, reminding him of the time he called our magic unreliable.

"Let's just say that, after dealing with Ginny, I have been more open to the idea of magic."

"She hexed you, didn't she?"

"My hair was pink for three hours." He gripes. "Regardless, our original plan was to use AntMan's pim particles but, they degraded rapidly once brought out of the quantum realm."

"I'm not even going to pretend to understand anything you just said. I have time-sand. It's what wizards use to travel. I just need a housing unit. Rhodey said you had that covered."

"That we do, follow me."

He leads me to a side lab, and I can't hold back my gasp when I see Banner or Hulk, or whatever he was now. A lot had changed in five years.

"Hey Hermione." He waves before going back to flipping switches and turning dials.

"Bruce." I nod, turning towards an anxious looking man in a white suit being prepped by a girl with blue skin.

Or, was she an android?

I don't have time to ask questions.

"We only have enough for one test run. Can you do this?" I raise a brow at the fidgeting man. Shockingly, my words do nothing to calm him and I roll my eyes.

"I'll do it." A voice says from behind me and I turn to look at this newcomer. I hadn't seen him before but, the way he held himself and the determined look in his eye gave me a certain confidence that the man in the suit didn't.

"Clint, are you sure?" Bruce asks and something clicks in my mind: this man was Hawkeye. He nods.

"What do you mean we don't need the quantum launchpad?"

I ignore Tony's whining while placing the vial filled with time sand into Clint's suit. I didn't want to waste time explaining how wizard time travel works, instead, I tell Clint to set his watch with his desired time and destination.

I really hoped that this works of muggles.

I set a final enchantment on the sand; a timer of sorts and set it for three minutes. Once activated, he would have three minutes and then, hopefully, be pulled back.

"Are you ready?" I ask and he looks me in the eye before giving me the okay.

"Test run in three, two." I take a deep breath. "One." I send a spark of magic to start the enchantment and Clint is gone.

"Did it work?" Natasha worries and I have to remind myself to breathe. It had to work.

The minutes pass by at an agonizing speed and no one speaks.

Five, four, three, two-

I clamp a hand over my mouth in relief when Clint shows up, right where he left from, a bit worse for wear but, still in once piece.

"It worked." He says incredulously, tossing a catcher's mitt to Tony.

"Now what?" Scott asks aloud.

"Now, we get the stones." Steve grins. "Meet in the board room in an hour."

I begin to walk back towards my old room when a small, furry hand stops me and I look down at-

"I don't think we've met properly." I laugh. "I'm Hermione Granger."

"Rocket Racoon." He grins. "I just wanted to say, if this works, we all owe you big time."

"I just want everyone back. Don't thank me yet." I don't mean to sound grim but, it's a hard habit to break. After spending five years talking to the same two people, you get used to talking a certain way.

Once I'm sat on my old bed, my eyes wander towards the picture and paper that were still stuck to my wall after all of these years. I hadn't allowed myself to stop since the day of the Snap. I couldn't rest, not when they were counting on us.