Hemione walked down the halls furiously. She couldn't believe that Thor and Frigga thought she could help Loki. They didn't care about her at all, and with this new information, she suspected that they would do anything to prevent her from going home. The witch wasn't even sure where she was going. She had been so mad that she hadn't even been paying attention to where she was. Hermione was lost and nobody was around. She looked around, but she didn't recognize the area, though why would she? She didn't recognize any part of the castle anyway.

It was completely silent until a voice popped into Hermione's head, making her jump. She looked around, assuming that there was someone nearby, but she saw no one. The disembodied voice chuckled as if amused by Hermione's confusion. It was a voice she had never heard before. "Wandering child, so lost, so helpless." Hermione looked down at the floor. The voice echoed in her brain, causing her to press her hands to her ears in hopes that the voice would go away. "Don't cover your ears, girl. It won't do anything for you." Hermione removed her hands from her ears hesitantly and looked around the empty hall. "Who are you? Where are you?" Hermione's breathing became heavy as her heart beat against her chest in fear.

The voice chuckled. "See that hole in the wall? Walk into it and go down the stairs." Hermione turned the hole in question. It was an entryway. Slowly, she made her way down the steps. It was dark and cold. "Lumos," Hermione whispered after pulling out her wand. The witch continued down the hall, using the light from her wand to keep her from running into anything. She walked through the darkness for at least two more minutes before she saw light that wasn't from her wand. "Nox," she whispered, putting out the light from her wand.

She saw now that she was in the dungeons. The cells held all sorts of creatures. The cells were closed by a golden forcefield to keep the prisoners from escaping. Hermione swallowed and took slow steps forward. The first cell caught her eye. She recognized the prisoner inside. Hermione stopped in front of the cell. the raven-haired man wasn't facing her, but his voice still echoed in her mind. "I see you've found me. You listen well, girl." He turned around to face her, his green eyes staring into her dark brown ones.

"So, you're the one my mother's been pestering me about." Hermione stayed absolutely silent, frozen in place. "What's wrong, girl? Why so silent?" Hermione flinched at the somewhat harsh tone of his voice. "You're Loki," she replied. The god grinned, pleased that she knew of him. He began walking back and forth, never taking his eyes off of Hermione. He seemed to be scanning her, trying to learn as much about her as he possibly could. It made Hermione uncomfortable, knowing that he was taking in as much information as he desired.

"Hermione Jean Granger, born to two nonmagical Midgardians. You're eighteen years of age and you attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You're in Gryffindor, though you're intelligence level makes you fit for a house called Ravenclaw. Your best friend has died in a magical war and... your boyfriend is a ginger with a strange last name." How he had been able to figure that, Hermione didn't know. She remembered in the mythology book that it had described Loki's intelligence level. It was quite high, much higher than his adoptive brother's.

"Am I wrong?" Loki asked, stopping in his tracks. Hermione shook her head in response, which seemed to please the god. "I had hoped that you would be more of a conversationalist. It appears you are just as silent as the night."

"Only because you've made an interesting first impression, though it's not the kind of impression I'm used to." Hermione crossed her arms. "Oh?" Loki raised an eyebrow. "And what is the impression you are used to?" His voice was soft, calm, but she could hear a faint taunting tone to his voice. "It doesn't concern you," she said simply. "Doesn't it? You weren't pleased with my first impression. Why does it not concern me?"

Hermione's eyes narrowed as he chuckled. "You do get angered easily, don't you girl? That's what brought you here, isn't it? Wandering child, lost in a world she knows nothing about." Loki grinned mischievously. "There's nowhere for you to go, young one."

Hermione heard footsteps, followed by Frigga's voice. "Ms. Granger? There you are, dear. What are you doing down here?" Frigga looked over at Loki. "Oh. I see you two have met." The god bowed his head slightly. "She got lost," he said to Frigga. "I lured her down here so I could see what all the fuss was about." Frigga nodded. "I see. Come, Ms. Granger. I'll help you find your way back."

"Wandering child, so lost, so helpless. We shall meet again soon," Loki said through Hermione's mind. Hermione pretended like she hadn't noticed, but she couldn't deny that it bugged her ever so slightly that he could get into her head so easily.

Frigga led the way back to Hermione's room. "Here you are, dear. Safe and sound." Frigga was smiling, but Hermione couldn't deny that she wanted to wipe that smile off of the queen's face. "Thor told me about how you believe I can help Loki. I'm sorry to say that I can't do that." Frigga sighed. "I know you think that, Ms. Granger. I don't blame you for being angry. I've been thinking, though. Loki didn't know about you at all. I think there's a reason you saw him in that magical mirror. I think you're fated to save him. I don't know if that's the case or not, but if I know anything, I think you should at least think about it."

With that said, Frigga took off, leaving Hermione alone.