Do not own HP or Marvel

"We all have our teams and our destinations. I want you all back here safe." If anything, Cap was good at motivational speeches. Too bad it still didn't calm the twisting in my stomach.

"Mia, ready?" I nod, anticipation crawling up my throat.

"When you get the stones, break the glass bead on your watch. It'll release a spark of magic and bring you back here. One round trip." I remind and everyone nods. "Three, two, one."

It was unlike any time travel I had been through; this was coarse and new and powerful. It made me feel as if my stomach was turned inside out and I barely land on my feet when I drop to Morag with the others.

"So, this is space huh?" I mutter, looking around the barren wasteland of a planet. If only Professor Sinistra could see me now. I put Rocket's ship on the ground and cast Engorgio, bringing it back to normal size.

I feel an armored hand pull me into a tight hug and I let out a shaky breath.

"We'll be fine." I don't know whether I say saying it for Rhodey's sake or mine but, I don't think it made either of us feel better.

"Go get that stone and come right back. No messing around." He says, pulling Nat into a hug and shaking Clint's hand. I walk over to Nebula, who had been standing off to the side, with a small smile.

"I want you back home safely as well." I couldn't imagine what she must be going through, to know that all of this happened because of the man that built her. I could tell she ostracized herself because of it.

"We will." She says stiffly, shaking my outstretched hand.

"Let's go Mia. I don't want to be here any longer than we need to. This place gives me the creeps." Clint calls and I let out a nervous chuckle.

I have a feeling Vormir wouldn't be any better.

I strap myself into my seat and try to settle the sick feeling in my stomach as we take off. Not even the bright colors of the stars nor Clint and Natasha's banter could settle me.

Every experience I had with souls and stones always ended up with someone dead.

The ship stops suddenly and the knots in my stomach turn to stone as Clint walks ahead.

"I think I prefer Morag to this." I mutter and Nat sends me a nervous smile.

"Sorry, about that, I needed help with my suit." I explain as Nat and I catch up to Clint.

"Well, you're not missing much. We still have a whole mountain to climb." He grumbles as we begin our ascent.

"I bet the raccoon didn't have to climb a mountain." Nat groans as we approach the halfway point.

"Yeah but, would you want to be dealing with Thor right now?" I ask, nearly slipping on a patch of ice, just barely catching myself. "I'd rather be here than with a god who has mommy issues."

"Welcome." A phantasmal voice echoes, causing the three of us to raise our weapons. "Natasha, daughter of Ivan. Clint, son of Edith. Hermione, daughter of William."

The wraith reminded me of a dementor, and it caused chills to run down my spine.

"Who are you?" Natasha asks, her aim never wavering.

"Consider me a guide to you, and to all else that seeks out the soul stone." The shade radiated ill intent and I had to stop myself from casting a wayward patronus.

"Oh good, tell where it is, and we'll be on our way." I mutter apprehensively even though I knew it couldn't be that easy.

"If only it were that easy." The shade warns ominously before leading us to a cliff.

I knew it.

"What you seek lies in front of you; as does what you fear."

"The stone is down there." Nat states, looking precariously over the edge.

"For one of you. In order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love. An eternal exchange."

"A soul for a soul." I whisper as I watch Natasha and Clint look amongst themselves. "Thanos came here with his daughter and left without her."

"Whatever it takes." They both mutter.

"Then, I guess we know who it has to be." I see a change in Natasha's eye and I bite my lip.

"I'm sorry Clint." I say, pulling him into a full body bind as Nat rushed towards the edge.

"No. Nat! No. Let me out!" He yells, trashing again the invisible ropes and I grit my teeth painfully, watching as Natasha leaps off the cliff.

I fall to the ground, releasing the spell.

"Hermione. What did you do?!" He shouts, advancing on me. "It was supposed to be me!"

"I had to do it."

A pulse of energy rips through the atmosphere, slamming against us and knocking me into the darkness.

I opened my eyes slowly, taking in the dew on the grass and the chill of the morning breeze.

"Good morning, Mina." I revel in the feeling of James' lips on the top of my head before hearing the calls of the various waking animals of the zoo.

"We stayed out all night?" I ask, stretching my arms above my head.

"Looks like it." He grins, leaning down and kissing my lips. "We'd better get out of here before security shows up."

James takes my hand and helps me over a wall before following behind and landing next to me.

Ginny was going to kill me for being out all night but, I couldn't bring myself to care. Not when I had just had the best night of my life.

"It's almost five." He frowns, looking at the small watch around his neck.

"You have to report to the airport soon." I sigh, feeling more and more as if last night were a dream and now, we both had to face harsh reality.

"And, I'm sure Ginny is tearing New York apart looking for you." He breaths, resting his forehead against mine once more. I let out a hollow laugh and try to fight my watering eyes. Instead I take a deep breath and smile at him, as brightly as I can muster.

"Come back safe. I'll be waiting for you, Sargent." I would find a way. It didn't matter how many rules I'd have to bend.

"How can I say no to that?" He teases and I shove him with a grin.

"I mean it. Don't be a hero. Go in, win, get out. Promise me, James." He grabs my hand and brings it to his mouth holding it against his mouth before whispering.

"I promise. Oh and, don't forget about these." He grins, holding up my shoes.

I heave in a deep breath, sitting up from the pool of water, just as Clint does next to me.

Not even the stone in his hand stops him from rounding on me.

"It was supposed to be me." I sidestep his punch and nearly fall back into the water before casting him away from me. I feel an arrow slice my cheek as I barely dodge it.

"It had to be her." I pant, dodging another arrow.

"It shouldn't have been." He notches another arrow and, I know I'm not going to have time to deflect it.

"It had to." Nat's voice rings out from the mouth of the ship, causing Barton to turn away from me.

"W-What?" He mutters, dropping his bow. "How?"

"Hermione. That's how. Shooting arrows at someone is a really crappy way to thank them Clint." She smirks and I let out a thankful breath at her timing.

"A soul for a soul. When I was still in the war." I begin to explain. "Voldemort used a spell to make Horcruxes. The spell would split your soul and put it into any object you desired, keeping you alive but, it wasn't without its price. You had to kill someone for it to work."

"A soul for a soul." He whispers, running a hand through his hair. "That doesn't explain how she's not dead, we watched her jump."

"I figured the soul stone would ask a similar price and I wasn't willing to lose another person. When you got off the ship, I pulled Natasha aside and explained to her what I thought was going to happen. I transfigured a cup into a chicken and then made it drink a Polyjuice potion with a piece of Nat's hair into it." He looks as if he's about to ask a question so, I hold my hand up to stop him.

"It's a potion that allows a living creature to take on the form of another. Then, I set up a weak mind link between the two so Nat could control it from the ship. I'm sorry we didn't tell you and I had to bind you but, it was the only way. You had to love her"

"And, we got the stone. So, wipe that frown off of your face and let's go. If I never see this place again, it would be too soon." Natasha shudders, walking off of the craft, allowing me to shrink it down.

"You can turn a cup into a chicken?" he asks, and I roll my eyes.

"Really? That's what you got from all of this?" I scoff.

"Let's go home guys." We all share a nod and break our beads, flying through space before landing back on the quantum launchpad with the others.

"Did we do it? Did we get all the stones?" Steve asks, looking around the team.

"We did and we all lived." I laugh into my hands.

We did it. I can't believe we did it.

There was a palpable energy in the room, something between excitement and fear, for the first time in five years, we had a real chance at bringing everyone back. We could undo what Thanos had done.

"Did you know she could turn a cup into a chicken?" Clint wonders aloud, causing the rest of the team to eye him curiously.

"Is he okay?" Bruce whispers to Nat and I and we share a secretive look.

"He'll be fine. We'll explain everything later." She smiles.

"Let's not start celebrating yet, we still have work to do." Tony says in his iconic I'm smarter than you so listen to what I say tone and I fight the urge to smack him upside the head. He was anxious to get this over with, he got lucky after the Snap, he had a family to look after now. He had everything to lose and I had everything to gain.

Tony, Bruce, and Rocket shuffle off to one of the labs and Natasha and Clint announce that they're ordering food for everyone before walking away.

"We couldn't have done this without you." Steve's voice catches me off guard as I heal the cut of my cheek.

"You're right, you couldn't have." I grin before, casting an Episky on his bruised cheek. "We actually have a shot at this now. I can't believe it."

"I can't believe that you still haven't opened that watch." The aforementioned watch burned under my jumpsuit at his words. "I think he'd want you wearing it when we bring them back."

A question that had been bothering me since I left/l.'p;;['?

'Wakanda comes to the forefront of my mind.

"He said, that you helped him remember me. You asked if he remembered me while you two were on that carrier." He nods. "Why did you think he would?"

"I knew he would." He answers without hesitation.

"How?"

"Back in the war, before every mission, he'd hold that watch in his hand and he'd squeeze it. I didn't realize until we fought the first time, how deep seated that gesture was ingrained into his muscle memory, or bionic I'm not reall-"

I cut him off with a glare and he coughs awkwardly.

"Anyway, when we fought, I saw him do it. He squeezed his hand and then proceeded to kick me off a car. It wasn't until after we got the mask off that I remembered where I saw that kick before. It was you, in that alley, flattening Mark Chapel out. Except you didn't fall afterwards."

"He fell?" I laugh despite myself.

"Right on his back. I made fun of him for it afterwards." Our subtle laughter dies down into silence and Cap clears his throat. "I mean it when I day he'd want to see you wearing it when we bring them back."

"I haven't taken it off in five years." I remind him and he shakes his head before walking off.

"Am I the only one completely stoked right now? Successful time travel! Infinity stones! Show some enthusiasm guys." Scott cheers, shattering the moment, and earning a dirty look from Rhodey.

"Whatever, regular sized man." He mutters before walking away with the claim of showering.

"I'm excited." I offer half-heartedly, giving the poor man a high five before walking back to my room.

Once I was sat at my desk, I accio the picture of James and our contract to me, reading over the faded words with a small smile. I unclip the watch from my neck and set it on the desk, staring at it but making no move to open it. A tap on my window makes me jump and I stare in disbelief at the familiar black plumage.

"Brooklyn?!" I gasp, running towards the window and opening it, allowing her to smother me with her wings. I had sent her back in time two years right before the Snap and, after a cumulative seven years, she found her way back home. She screeches happily and hops towards her perch, right next to my desk, as if she were waiting for something.

"Not you too." I groan as she pecks at the watch.

She doesn't answer, obviously, but she stares at me with her version of a glare.

I breathe deeply and grab the watch before I'm able to psych myself out. I had been putting this off for years. It was time for me to stop being scared.

I open the latch and squeeze my eyes shut, half expecting something to jump out an attack me, and keep them closed until Brooklyn squawks at me; calling out my foolishness.

Don't be an idiot Granger. It's just a watch.

Until I opened my eyes and it wasn't.

You're joking.