"WHAT!"

Instantly, Hermione yanked her hand out of the incredibly deep hole she'd somehow punched into the wall. Her chest began heaving as panic descended upon her. Hands shaking, Hermione turned them over in front of her eyes, making sure that they were real. Perhaps this was all just one awful dream, one that she would wake up from very soon. Then, she would be able to reassure herself that the only thing going wrong in the situation was her overactive imagination.

Unfortunately, using her normal technique of squeezing her eyes shut didn't work. When she opened them again, she was standing vertically, with trembling hands and a very large hole in the wall. It was like a mouth, cackling at her, mocking her for something that she had no idea about. No idea how it happened and yet it continued laughing, a maniacal sound that wormed its way into her brain and left a trail of doubt and insecurity in its wake.

A million questions began rushing through her head, like a river that was dangerously close to breaking the banks. One was pushing its way to the front though, barging through the violet ocean sloshing inside her mind. How was this happening? Her arms felt normal, her entire body felt normal. But she wasn't normal. If she was normal, she wouldn't be punching holes through walls and decimating extremely solid metal.

She sucked in several deep, calming breaths. Freaking out would do her no good whatsoever. It would hinder her progress in figuring out what had happened to her and just what was inside that apple.

A sudden spark leapt at the end of her fingers, a soft blue colour. Hermione stepped back in shock. She knew exactly what that spark was. The feeling of it was so familiar that she couldn't deny it. Her magic was taking form at the ends of her fingers, moving without a wand, without her doing, actually physically manifesting without a spell. She brought her hands up close to her face and willed the spark to happen again.

To her surprise, little bursts of light began jump around her hands, creating a type of halo. They were different shades of blue, with the occasional silver spark mixed in there. To Hermione, it was hauntingly beautiful. So this was what her magic looked like. A mystical force made up of the most stunning, calming, incredible colours that there were, at her command. It was gentle and intense, dancing an elegant waltz across her skin. The sparks began twirling up her arms, slowly heading towards her shoulders.

Hermione let out a short, startled laugh as the intensity of her magic increased. She could imagine herself reveling in the familiar wonderment of her magic, getting drunk in it. But, she wouldn't let herself do that. There were stories of witches and wizards who went rogue, becoming obsessed with furthering their power. It was a slippery slope once you fell into it, and that was not something that she was going to do.

Her arms were now completely surrounded with light, sleeves of sparks. Hermione shivered at the feeling, before her eyes fell on the hole in the wall. The hole she'd somehow created due to some super freaky strength drug that was likely inside the apple.

Maybe...if she thought about repairing the hole, she could do it. Her magic was acting in a similar way to how Loki described his magic, so perhaps if she worked her magic in a similar way to him, she would be able to repair the wall. It was worth a shot.

Gathering it up, Hermione pointed her hand towards the hole, and willed it to repair. She was repeating, 'Reparo' over and over in her head, mentally crossing her fingers. A jet of blue light launched out of her fingers and collided with the wall.

She instantly knew something was wrong.

With a loud, 'boom,' the wall exploded outwards, large chunks of green and white metal rocketing towards her. Eyes wide, Hermione leaped out of the way, just avoiding being bonked on the head with a very large piece of wall. Dust was clouding outwards, causing Hermione to violently cough.

Through her hacking, Hermione heard distant footsteps approaching the room. She gulped.

It was Valkyrie.

She desperately willed the sparks to disappear from her arms and hands, and they slowly dissipated, popping and fizzing, until nothing remained.

The smoke cleared, leaving an infuriated Valkyrie sending a murderous glare at Hermione. If looks could kill, then she would be dead as a doorknob.

"What in Odin's name happened here?" Valkyrie dangerously strode forward, sword in one hand and a large liquor bottle in the other. Hermione couldn't help but snort. It was just so...Valkyrie. She came to immediately regret it when the bottle of alcohol was hurled at her. It smashed on the wall behind her, amber liquid sliding down the only wall that wasn't exploded. The damage that she'd done was worse than she initially imagined.

So much for repairing the hole. All she'd achieved was covering up her old problem with an exponentially larger one.

Hermione sidled against the wall, towards the infuriated woman. "There was a slight...accident, you could say."

"You call this an accident?" Valkyrie took a menacing step towards Hermione, brandishing her sword in a threatening manner. Hermione gulped. Hopefully it wouldn't be thrown at her. She wouldn't put it past Valkyrie to do that. "You blew up half my bloody apartment. Explain. NOW!"

"I don't know how I did it!" Hermione instantly cringed at the lie. It was so obvious that a three year old would be able to see through it. Valkyrie saw through it, that much was clear.

"You obviously did. Tell me right now, or I will throw my sword at you and won't mind if I kill you." To emphasise her point, she raised the sword over her head. Hermione subconsciously ducked, before blurting out the entire story.

"Okay, okay. I was making myself food, and there was nothing in the cupboards. You really should stock up on food, by the way, your collection is pitiful. Right, right, story. I came across an apple, and you said to help myself to anything, so I ate it―WOAH!"

Valkyrie violently threw the sword towards her, anger written all over her face. Instantly, Hermione threw her hands out and created a sparkling shield, which the sword harmlessly bounced off. It clattered to the floor, skittering across it until it was stopped by a chunk of wall. Hermione peeked out over the top of her crossed hands, cautiously glancing at Valkyrie.

Said person was staring at Hermione in complete and utter shock, mouth hanging wide open. Hermione wouldn't be surprised if a spider scuttled in and took up residence in there. That, or Valkyrie was a codfish in human form. She wasn't sure what the correct explanation was. Each of them was perfectly plausible…

"You have magic?" Valkyrie's voice was astronomically incredulous, though a note of excitement was sneaking through. The incredulity was of levels Hermione had never heard before. And with her hanging around Ron, that was saying something. "Why have you been hiding this?" Valkyrie caught herself in the middle of her excitement, forcing a scowl to cover her face again. It wasn't real though. The corners of her lips twitched, and her eyes were still shining.

Apparently, Valkyrie really liked magic.

"Don't think you're off the hook for eating my apple. That's my last real link back to home."

"That was a rather abrupt subject change."

"I can talk about whatever I want," hissed Valkyrie, the shine slowly seeping out of her eyes, being replaced with a stone cold rage comparable to Professor McGonagall. "You ate my apple!"

"It was in the cupboard! You explicitly told me that I was allowed to help myself to anything in it. It wasn't like there was much else to choose from. Get your story straight." defended Hermione, standing up and glaring at Valkyrie. She wasn't going to let this woman get in her way anymore. She had a newfound strength and uncontrollable magic, which really did irk her, but she was going to use it to get out of the decimated apartment and finally back home, on Earth, where she belonged.

Where she was happy.

"I don't care what I said. You ate my last link to home. Ate it!" Valkyrie was pacing, angrily bunching her cape in her fists. Hermione didn't let this put her off. She moved closer to Valkyrie, so she was eye to eye with the woman. She was done being controlled. Her leg was almost healed, and she could walk on it well.

"And where is home, if I may ask?"

Valkyrie sneered at Hermione. "A little place called Asgard, though you won't have heard of it."

Hermione's rampaging thoughts skidded to a stop immediately. Asgard? As in Loki's home? The realm she had been obsessively researching for the last year because she knew it was a reality?

"Wait, say that again. You're from Asgard?"

"The one and only," sighed Valkyrie. She flopped down onto a large piece of wall, elbows resting on her knees. Hermione sat down next to her, squishing onto the same makeshift seat. It was mildly uncomfortable, making her think that maybe she should have hauled over another chunk of her own.

"I've heard of it."

"Obviously. So, are you one of those Midgardians who are obsessed with what you call mythology?"

"Yeah, I know it's a reality. Kind of hard not to when one of your best friends is Loki Odinson." Hermione smirked at Valkyrie's reaction. Her back instantly straightened, and her eyes hardened.

"And, pray tell, how did that happen?"

"It was around a year ago…"

Before Hermione knew it, she was chatting away with Valkyrie like they were old friends. The other woman, who Hermione now learned was a four-thousand year old highly trained warrior from Asgard, seemed to relax, slowly easing herself into the conversation with Hermione. Everything was going well, until she dropped a massive bomb on Hermione.

"The reason I got so tied up about the apple...it's complicated." She shifted uncomfortably, before taking a massive swig of what Hermione assumed was a very strong whiskey. Wiping her mouth, Valkyrie blurted out: "That apple was given to me by my friend Idunn.

Hermione slumped over in a dead faint, just like Valkyrie expected her to.

"Welcome to the ranks of Asgardians, Granger," she muttered, before stumbling into her bedroom and falling into a deep sleep.

"You'll get used to your strength," stated Valkyrie bluntly. "It'll be funny to watch you fumbling around while you do, though."

Hermione sat down opposite her, still absorbing the news that she was changed forever, and would outlive everyone she knew, if she ever got back to Earth. It was weighing heavy on her shoulders. She decided not to focus on that, though. Right now, she could focus on the positives, which never did anyone any harm. That, and she was secretly looking forward to learning how to use her new magic. It would be fascinating to analyse the crap out of it, learning every little idiosyncrasy that there was. It sent a very familiar tingle up her spine, feeding into her brain.

"I don't fumble," sniffed Hermione. She reached forward for a bowl. As she picked it up, it immediately shattered in her hand, falling down onto the counter with delicate 'tink' sounds. Sheepishly, she drew her hand back, avoiding looking at Valkyrie. She just knew that in infuriating smirk would be decorating her face. "Okay, maybe I can fumble."

"You crushed it!" snorted Valkyrie.

"You set me up for this, didn't you?" Hermione's head snapped up, finger pointing accusingly. There was an endless amount of mirth on Valkyrie's face.

"Of course I did! You don't take me for an emotionless dolt, do you?"

"You come close to it, sometimes," Hermione muttered. She ducked, avoiding the ceramic bowl that was thrown her way. Unfortunately, she lost her balance, causing her to plummet towards the ground. Her hand shot outwards, grabbing onto the countertop. To her surprise, the countertop crumbled where she held it, and she hit the floor. Hard.

"Yeah, you're definitely struggling."

"I am not!" squeaked Hermione, brushing herself down, cheeks flushed a brilliant crimson.

"Yeah, you are." Valkyrie paused for a second, before flashing a shark-like grin in Hermione's direction. "I think I'll keep you for a bit longer."

"I DO NOT AGREE WITH THIS."

Maybe Hermione did agree with it. It was with great reluctance that she admitted this fact to herself. Over the last two months, though she was still stuck in the apartment, she had become close friends with Valkyrie, who she now knew incredibly well.

Maybe too well. She knew that Valkyrie was trying to drink until she was dead, which had eased off slightly ever since Hermione decided to get closer to her. She knew that Valkyrie had a small scar on her elbow from training with her friend when she was two-hundred, and that she'd elected to keep it because it was a reminder to keep on keeping on. And Hermione knew that Valkyrie, though she had an incredibly tough outer shell, was quite sensitive on the inside, a fact which hadn't really startled her. It did make her smile, though.

Valkyrie really was a nice Asgardian (not human, she kept reminding herself), once you dug your way past the barriers she so carefully erected, found your way through the haze of alcohol she wore like a veil. She laughed at stupid jokes, and cared about small things. She even restocked the cupboards each week for Hermione, which was a miracle in itself.

It was strange, she thought. She could have left at any moment, just teleported out. She was now in decent control of her magic, which flowed through her body and left her feeling lighter every time she practiced it. To leave would have been so easy, so simple, like taking candy from a baby.

And yet she stayed.

"I don't know what's going on," she murmured, carefully waving her hands in a vaguely familiar pattern. She was currently trying to project her memories with her magic. It was a skill she'd been working on for a few weeks, on and off. With the constant failures, though, it was now a top priority. Hermione couldn't even imagine how incredible it would be to pluck a memory out of her head at the drop of a hat and view it in front of her. Plus, the academic applications would be boundless and endless, something that made her salivate slightly.

Not that she would ever admit to it.

It was far too crude to admit to.

She closed her eyes, letting a wave of calmness engulf her. A happy memory played at the forefront of her mind. It was of when she celebrated her twenty-fifth birthday with Harry, Ron, her parents, the Weasleys and a few other friends. That was also the day that she met Maria, Ron's little girl, for the first time.

Slowly, silvery strands of magic began slithering out of her hands, edged in a gorgeous light blue. The light began knitting itself together, forming a scene. Hermione's eyes opened in trepidation and hope when she heard when she recognised as the tinkling laughter of Maria. Warmth flooded her body, with a small smile of triumph. The scene was playing out in front of her, ethereal figures chatting around a table.

"What's this?" The curious voice of Valkyrie came from behind Hermione. In her shock, she stopped concentrating, and the memory faded from existence. She sighed in defeat, before turning to Valkyrie, who was leaning against the doorframe.

"Memory Magic. I've just modified it slightly to my new magic. It's taken me a few weeks, but I've finally completed it."

"Sounds interesting. Show me more."

For Valkyrie, that was her version of extreme enthusiasm.

"It's actually very difficult, you know. I don't know if I can do it again. It's taken me weeks just to get to this point, and I am uncertain as to whether I will be able do it within the next few days."

"Come here."

"Pardon?"

"I said come over here." A little shocked by the sudden change in subject, Hermione stood and walked over to Valkyrie, who was looking strangely bashful. It was a stark contrast from her usual brash self.

"Why?" She was now standing directly in front of Valkyrie.

"I want to try something."

And before Hermione knew what was happening, Valkyrie was softly kissing her, before pulling away, deep brown eyes, cast downwards.

"I'm sorry."

"No, you don't have to be." Hermione didn't know why she was saying it, but the kiss didn't feel wrong. It actually felt kind of...nice.

"Really?"

Hermione grinned. "Maybe we could try this, and see where it goes?"

"Sounds good to me."

Hermione smiled softly, before returning the soft kiss. This was all new to her, but she wanted to discover what it was. Perhaps it could turn out to be something that Hermione never knew she wanted.

Who knows?

I quite enjoyed writing this chapter. I also completed my Grade 6 Musical Theatre Exam with Trinity College today, which is why there is a slight delay in this story. I think I sang very well, so woop for me.

Thank you for all of the reviews, views, favourites, follows, all that jazz. We've also reached 5000 views, which is phenomenal. In such a short time, too.

Hope you enjoyed. I'm curious to see where the kiss leads to. It kind of popped out of nowhere, so I decided to try my hands with a soft romance. Also, Loki should be returning in around two chapters, which is a week in chapter time. Woo!

Sincerely,
Mariadoria