A week after finding out the truth about Loki, Hermione walked into the office of her boss, Elise Reinink. Without a word, she placed the heavy assignment down on the large, carved desk. It was a large file, filled with what she now knew was incredibly accurate information about Norse Mythology, direct from the source. The praise came instantly.
"Hermione, this is more than I could ever have imagined. You have done incredibly good work. I look forward to seeing where you go next." The smile that covered her face was so pleased that Hermione felt a small pang of guilt in her stomach. She pushed it away and swallowed.
"Actually, I have news. It's a bit unfortunate for you, though." Elise gave Hermione a puzzled look, before gesturing for Hermione to sit down in the overstuffed chair opposite her desk. If there was one thing that Elise was good at, it was making people feel comfortable and welcomed. Hermione sat down and nervously tugged on a strand of hair, loose from her practical braid.
"Explain."
"Well, I have this for you." Hermione delved into her small, beaded bag, an upgraded version of the one that she used during their time on the run, during the war. She pulled out a binder folder with a single piece of paper inside it. Elise took it out of her hands.
"What, exactly, is this?" Her tone was going slightly frosty, the smile slipping from her face as she read the contents of the letter. "You're resigning from this department?"
"Yes. I have had an offer from another department, to work for them. I've decided to take them up on it." Hermione clasped her hands in her lap. She braced for the inevitable firestorm coming her way. Elise was very welcoming, but had one hell of a temper on her.
"I don't accept."
"You're going to have to. I start work there in two hours."
"Tell them that you're not going." Elise dropped the letter of resignation onto her desk. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Hermione, your research has helped our department so much. We've made leaps and bounds ever since you came on. You think that I'm just going to let you change departments at the drop of a hat?"
Hermione sighed. "Look, Elise, I love working here. But, the department that I'm transferring to, they can help me in my personal research more than the people here can. It's as simple as that." She stood to leave. "I have enjoyed my time here, but all things must come to an end."
"Alright, I can see you're not budging." Elise was resigned, steepling her fingers in a manner reminiscent of Dumbledore. "If I may ask, what department are you transferring to? It's not listed on your letter."
Hermione looked at Elise over her shoulder, smirking.
"The Department of Mysteries."
"Granger. Welcome to your first day on the job. You specified that you would finally come and work for us on the condition that you can focus on the area of Norse Mythology. May I ask why?"
Hermione smiled. "I believe that there is sufficient evidence suggesting that Asgard may be real. I would like to work on a device similar to the Bifrost and find a way there. Surely, there's enough mystery in that to warrant a project."
Ziegler, the tall, heavy set woman in front of her, raised her head. "What has lead you to these beliefs?"
"Months and months of research, ma'am," said Hermione. As strange as the people in the Department of Mysteries were, no matter how willing they were to believe in the odd and unlikely, Hermione doubted that they would believe her story of seeing Asgard.
"Alright. Everyone has an ambition and passion. I accept yours. Now, you won't be working on it all the time, understand?" Hermione nodded. Inside, though, she was cheering. Just to have access to the resources of the Department of Mysteries was a step forward in finding Loki and Asgard. "You will be assigned tasks to do, until you've proven yourself. Then, you can create your own chamber. We aren't going to give you special treatment, understood?"
Hermione grinned. "Understood, ma'am."
"Good. Your work robes are in that room over there. Jenkins over there will take you to your first job." Hermione followed Jenkins. "Oh, and Granger." Hermione turned. "If you tell anyone anything about this job, and I mean anyone, we will know. You can tell people you are an Unspeakable, but any details, and you're out."
"So what's this I've heard about you changing jobs, Hermione?" asked Ron, clutching a mug of tea and softly blowing the steam away. "It's all over the Ministry, you know."
"Of course it is," Hermione groaned. "Let me guess, Elise did it?"
"Correctamundo!" said Harry, leaning back in his chair. He then grimaced slightly. "That's a strange word. Don't think I'll ever use that again. Anyway, what Department are you in now?"
"The Department of Mysteries," Hermione said nonchalantly. Harry nearly fell out of his chair and Ron spat out his mouthful of tea.
"You're an Unspeakable?" Ron was beyond shocked, it seemed. Hermione snorted.
"Yes, I am."
"Well, you learn something new everyday," added Harry. Hermione nodded.
Hermione, black robes swirling dramatically around her, entered the Death Chamber. She couldn't suppress a shiver. The last time she was in this room was during the battle in her fifth year. This was where Sirius was murdered by Bellatrix Lestrange.
With large amounts of trepidation, Hermione made her way down the crumbling stone steps. The underground room was chilly, like an invisible spirit was nipping at her ankles. There was barely any light; instead, Hermione had to employ a Lumos charm. As she reached the base of the amphitheatre, she couldn't help but hear whispers. The words were indistinguishable.
For six months, she had been working in the Department of Mysteries. It was one of the best decisions she'd ever made. The leaps and bounds she's made towards making a portal similar to the Bifrost were massive. After just two months working there, she was granted permission from Ziegler to create her own chamber, which she named the Idunn Chamber. To her, it was the only one that sounded fairly interesting. The Asgard Chamber just didn't have the same ring to it.
Cautiously, Hermione reached out a hand to touch the stone of the arch. She needed to research the arch in order to further her own portal, which had recently hit a rather large snag. See, Hermione knew how to make a portal and have it take her place, that was no problem at all. It was making it take her to an unknown place that was the problem. For weeks, she agonised over the specifics of the portal, until the Death Chamber came up in conversation.
It had take a lot of wheedling, but eventually she was granted permission to study the arch for a day. Best believe she was going to make the most of it.
Hermione's hand connected with the arch and the hairs on her back stood on end. She gasped as images began to flash before her eyes, memories of those long deceased. With a hiss, she removed her hand and frantically shook it. Touching it was definitely out of the question.
The memories began filtering out of her mind, but not before she latched onto a specific one. Her eyes widened as she began to create a theory about using a piece of obscure magic that was outlined in one of the memories. To perform it, she would need to do extensive research.
Nothing that she was a stranger to.
So, with a manic grin forming, Hermione sprinted out of the Death Chamber and into the Idunn Chamber, breezing past a very disgruntled looking Jenkins, who just shook his head and continued his work refurbishing the Time Chamber.
"Granger." The stern voice of Ziegler echoed through the Idunn Chamber. Hermione jerked upwards, reluctantly ripping her attention away from the fascinating book on Memory Magic. Honestly, taking up the job as an Unspeakable was the best decision she'd ever made, she was sure of that now.
"Yes, ma'am?" Hermione stood, pushing the chair under her small desk. She didn't care for huge ones. Instead, bookshelves lined the wall of her small chamber. Behind her, a portal, made of magically infused stone, swirled, making a strange whooshing noise.
"There is someone who would like to talk to you." The man next to Ziegler stepped forward. Hermione gulped when she recognised the Minister of Magic, Atlas Valerius.
"Yes, Miss Granger," Valerius said brusquely, not giving Hermione a chance to greet him. "Now, I hear you're working on trying to find a way to Asgard, if it's real?"
"That is correct." Hermione's heart was beating a million miles a minute.
"I would like to fund your project."
"What? Come again?"
"I said, Miss Granger, that I would like to fund your project. If it is successful and Asgard is actually real, the alliance that could be created would be invaluable. I trust that you're going to work hard on it?"
"I already am."
"Good, good. Now, I trust that you will use the money well?"
"You can bet on it."
The portal in front of Hermione was sucking everything close to it in, an incredibly dangerous force. So far, most of her duplicated books had been lost to it, which was a sore spot, but there was no time to think about that now. The Portal was unstable and dangerous. If she didn't shut it down soon, the entire Idunn Chamber would be lost to it. Not to mention that Hermione would be sucked through it and transported to who knows where.
Hermione slid across the floor, gritting her teeth. The Portal's power was increasing. To turn it off, she would have to channel her magic into a specific rune carved on the back of the stone frame. Unfortunately, there was no way to get past it.
With a squeak, Hermione's feet left the ground. She whizzed towards the portal and only saved herself from being sucked through it by clawing the sides. Her head went though it, though. While she was desperately scrabbling for the rune on the back of the Portal, she saw what looked like an endless pile of trash.
Her hand found the rune and Hermione fell backwards as the Portal deactivated, crashing down into the ground. She groaned, rubbing her head. She definitely was nowhere close to Asgard. At least she knew that the endless trash pile wasn't Earth, judging by the otherwordly spaceships littered over the junkyard. A spark of excitement rocketed through her. There was actually another world out there. And she had seen it!
After a year, she was getting somewhere, finally. Hermione began smiling and dusted herself off. She was getting there. One day, she would find Asgard. The Memory Magic she infused into the portal was working, it seemed.
Fantastic.
"Sir, I think you're going to want to see this."
Director Nicholas Fury of SHIELD marched over to the computer screen the terrified agent was gesturing at. He glared down at the screen. He really didn't have time for this, not when the Earth was being invaded by a crazy Asgardian hellbent on ruling the planet.
His attitude changed immediately when he saw the surveillance video.
On the screen was a normal looking department store. People were milling around, children were tugging on their mother's hands. And, in the men's clothing section, a laughing Loki, carrying a large pile of black jeans and green shirts. Next to him was a woman with frizzy hair, in her late twenties to early thirties. There was no question over whether it was the Asgardian or not; they were one and the same.
But that begged the question: Why was Loki in a department store, with a woman, buying jeans? The image was so absurd that it took Fury a second to wrap his head around it.
"Run a face recognition on the woman."The agent nodded, doing as Fury said. Immediately, a result popped up. The screen read, 'Hermione Jean Granger, born 19 September 1979.' Fury projected the image up on a large screen, so everyone in the large command room could see her face. He walked up to the front, already having everyone's attention.
"This woman, Hermione Jean Granger, was seen on surveillance footage with Loki Odinson, last year. I need you to find her and bring her in for questioning, immediately." The room filled with suspicious murmurs. Fury himself was full of questions. Just who was this mysterious woman who was in league with Loki?
Soon, he would know.
And she would regret ever meeting Loki.
Hey, how are you? I tried to fit this into one chapter, but that just wasn't working. It was all over the place, all disjointed and ugly. You could say that it was bit of a beast. So, I decided to create a little interlude, called 'The Passage of Time.' I quite like the idea of a little interlude every five chapters or so. Please, tell me what you think of the idea. Main updates are still on a Friday, or Thursday if you're in the Northern Hemisphere.
Thanks for all reviews, favourites and follows.
Sincerely,
Mariadoria