Hermione was about to close the door to her room when she noticed Loki passing by and going into the room next door. She shut her door immediately and locked it. Loki was staying in the room right next to hers. 'How could this night get any worse?' She thought. She quickly got changed into the silky white nightgown she had fallen in love with and laid on her bed. After the events of tonight, Hermione wasn't sure if you would be able to sleep, or that she even wanted to. Luckily, all that dancing made it easy for her to pass out.
...
Hermione slept in the next morning, too tired from everything that had happened the night before. She slowly opened her eyes, but turned away immediately as the sun was too bright for her liking. She grabbed her wand and used magic to pull the curtains shut. When the lighting was tolerable, Hermione stood up from the bed and got ready for the day. She changed into a pair of grey skinny jeans and a white t-shirt, wanting to be casual and comfortable today. The red dress she had worn last night was hanging in the closet. Even on the hanger, the dress looked absolutely beautiful. Hermione couldn't help but smile as she admired every detail of the dress.
She wasn't sure what time it was, but she knew it was late enough that she had missed breakfast again, not that she really minded, especially if Loki was going to be there. That reminded her of how he had saved her from Nolan last night. Sighing, she closed the door of the closet and walked over to the table by her bed to grab her wand. It wasn't there. Hermione began to panic.
She began frantically searching for the wand in the room; under the bed, under pillows, in the drawers, etc. She found nothing. Hermione's heart raced. Nobody was able to come into her room without her permission. She was freaking out. How could her wand just disappear? It had been there only a few minutes ago. Hermione tried hard to calm down, but she found herself unable to. Her wand was her only defense in case Nolan came around again. That's when she froze. What if Nolan had taken her wand? How would he though? Her door was locked. The only way he could have possibly gotten in without her noticing was if he had managed to shrink himself or something and get in before she closed her door last night. The thought scared her.
If he had taken her wand, he had to still be in the room somewhere. Hermione began digging through things, hoping to find a mini Nolan running around with her wand. She didn't find anything. Hermione, though terrified of leaving the room without her wand, opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind her. As expected, the hall was empty, except for one particular god who was standing at the end of the hallway, looking out a window. He leaned on the wall, legs crossed at the ankles. Hermione slowly approached him, being as quiet as she could. "There's no reason to be silent, Ms. Granger. I can sense your presence with ease." Hermione stopped in her tracks.
"That's not creepy at all," Hermione said. Loki smirked, but didn't reply, nor did he turn around. "It's a wonderful morning, isn't it?" He asked. Hermione didn't answer. "The sky is as beautiful as ever and oh, how I miss the fresh air." Loki closed his eyes and inhaled the air around him. "It's so stuffy in here," he said, finally turning around. "You weren't at breakfast this morning," Loki stated.
Hermione shrugged. "I slept in. After last night, I was really tired." Loki raised an eyebrow. "I see. Would you like to explain exactly what happened last night between you and that guard?" Hermione stayed silent. "Has this happened before?" Loki took a step closer to her.
Hermione remained silent, though she could tell Loki was getting slightly angry. "Answer me," he said harshly. Hermione crossed her arms. "What happened between me and Nolan is none of your business." Loki smirked. "None of my business, eh? Who was the god that saved you from the guard's advances last night? Hmm?" Hermione took a step back each time Loki took a step near her. Soon, her back hit the wall, Loki standing not that far from her. Loki smirked as Hermione crossed her arms, keeping some space between the two of them.
"Would you mind telling me," Loki began, reaching into his leather coat, "what this device is?" Hermione's eyes widened as she looked at the object in his hand. Her wand. "How did you get that?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. "I asked you a question. Answer me first," Loki said, holding the wand out of Hermione's reach as she had tried to grab it out of his hands.
"It's my only defense in case Nolan comes around again, that's what it is. Now, give it back!" Hermione tried to get the wand again, but Loki pulled it further away from her, chuckling. "This stick is your defense from that foolish guard? Surely, you're joking." He grinned as Hermione looked at him with anger. "Give me my wand, Loki," she said one more time. "How did you even get it?"
"A simple cloning spell mixed with a bit of an illusion. It's called magic, love." He twirled the wand between his fingers, the tips tracing over the vine detail on the wand. "And I thought wands would have been more spectacular, but I see now they are nothing more than a piece of wood, chiseled down to a stick with unique details on it. Loki handed her the wand, which Hermione immediately took from his hands before he could pull it away from her again.
Loki chuckled. "What is so funny?" Hermione asked, putting her wand in the pocket of her jeans. "I find it hard to believe that you use that stick as defense. It won't protect you." Hermione crossed her arms. "That's real funny," she said sarcastically. "I've had my wand for years and every time I've been in any kind of danger, my wand was what helped me survive. So, this 'stick' can protect me, no matter what you think." Loki chuckled again.
"There's no need to get so defensive, love." Hermione couldn't move, as her back was still pressed against the wall. "Don't call me 'love.'" Loki, despite there already not being a lot of space between them, took a step closer to Hermione. Their faces were extremely close. Hermione swallowed from how close they were, not meeting his eyes. Loki smirked before backing away from her. "I hope to see you during lunch, Ms. Granger." With that, Loki disappeared.
Hermione shook her head, rolling her eyes. She needed to talk to Thor about Loki. Hermione began walking through the halls, which were always empty, except for a few guards and maids. Luckily, none of them were Nolan.
It was awhile before Hermione ran into Thor. She must have been walking around for at least twenty minutes. "Ms. Granger," Thor said as he approached her, a grin on his face. "How are you? You missed breakfast this morning." Hermione smiled politely at him. "I'm alright. I was tired after last night and i just couldn't get myself to wake up." Hermione moved a piece of her hair behind her ear as Thor nodded. "I'm not surprised," he said. "Asgardian parties are usually very tiring. It's not often that we have a Midgardian amongst us."
Hermione didn't know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. "Well, I had fun last night. I hope I did okay," Hermione said, playing with the ring on her pinky finger. Thor shook his head, that grin still plastered on his face. "You did fine. All of the guests really liked you."
Hermione was happy to hear that. "Anything I can do for you?" Thor asked, causing Hermione to remember why she had gone looking for Thor in the first place. "Yes, actually. i wanted to talk to you about Loki." Thor furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Loki? What about him?" Hermione took a deep breath. "I just wanted to know more about him. My friend gave me a book that talked about him, but I didn't really get to read much about him."
"A friend of yours?" Thor asked. He crossed his arms and looked at Hermione. "Would this friend of yours happen to be name Luna?"
"Actually, yes. You know her?" Hermione asked, clasping her hands together in front of her. "Of course. She's a very sweet girl. She's very intelligent as well." Hermione agreed with that. Luna was very nice and intelligent, too. There was a reason that she was in Ravenclaw. Then again, Hermione was extremely intelligent as well and she had been sorted into Gryffindor, though she had almost been put into Ravenclaw.
"How did you two meet?" Hermione asked. "Well, it was on accident," Thor said, moving over to lean on one of the golden walls. "When my father banished me from Asgard, I met a woman named Jane. i fell in love with her. Unfortunately, I lost contact with her for awhile, but in that time, I met Luna. She was walking down one of the streets of London when I ran into her. I'm not really sure what she was doing. She said something about... what was it?" Thor thought to himself for a moment, trying to remember what Luna had been doing when they met. "Nargles?"
Hermione giggled. "I'm not surprised. Luna's always been into those kinds of things. I have no idea what nargles are. She's mentioned them before, but after doing a ton of research, I still couldn't find anything about them. for the longest time, I thought Luna was just making things up. Luna gave me proof that nargles were real. of course, I'm still not really sure what they are. If I ever see her again, I'll have to ask her."
Hermione couldn't help the smile on her face. It made sense now why Luna knew who Hermione had been talking about when she mentioned seeing Loki in the Mirror of Erised. "When you find out, let me know," Thor said.
After calming down, Thor spoke up. "Anyway, is there anything specific you wish to know about him?" Hermione shrugged. "I guess I want to know how it all happened," she replied. "How did Loki become the horrible person Odin claimed he was?" Thor sighed. "My father lied to Loki about his true parentage. It wasn't until Frost Giants attacked that Loki learned the truth."
"The truth?" Hermione asked. Thor nodded. He began walking, Hermione following behind him. "Loki was born to Laufey, a Frost Giant. After killing Laufey, my father found Loki. He disguised him using magic and brought him here to Asgard where he grew up believing that Odin was truly his father. Loki was furious with Odin and soon turned on me as he realized that Odin would never have allowed him to rule Asgard because he was a Frost Giant."
Hermione looked at her hands. "He felt betrayed," she said quietly. Thor had heard her. "I suppose so." The two stood in the middle of the hallway, eyes facing the golden floor. "Loki, regardless of what he has done, is still my brother. I know that me and him haven't exactly seen eye to eye recently, but I believe that one day, that will change." Hermione nodded, but said nothing in return. Slowly, her eyes shifted to Thor. "Does Odin believe that I can help Loki?" She asked.
"He didn't seem bothered by Loki being out of his cell at the ball. Is he giving Loki a chance to live again because of me?" Hermione had had her suspicions since last night and she need them to be confirmed.
"My mother has convinced him to see things from her perspective. He's starting to see what the rest of us have seen. If there is anyone out there who can save Loki, it's you." Hermione sighed. It seemed to her that everyone saw her as Loki's saving grace, the last hope for Loki. It seemed that everyone believed she was capable of returning Loki to the light.
Hermione shook her head. "Why me? What is it about me that makes everyone think I can help your brother?" Thor cleared his throat. "You are intelligent and brave. I think those are some of the main reasons. You also seem to be the kind of person who isn't influenced or deceived easily by others," he answered. "Loki is a trickster and he's very manipulative. You may be the only female so far that hasn't fallen ill to his charms."
"I supposed I've always been that way," Hermione said, shrugging. She knew that wasn't true. She remembered when she was younger and had fallen for Gilderoy Lockhart, her Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Of course, she had had a thing for him before he became a teacher, but every female tin the wizarding community had had a thing for him. That had changed after the truth about him was revealed.
Hermione rubbed the back of her neck. "Any other reasons?" She asked. Thor thought for a moment. "It appears that you have seen some horrible things in you life. Times have been dark in your world. Despite all of that, you have always been loyal to your friends and have never betrayed them, nor have you switched to the side of evil. That is useful, especially when it comes to Loki. While he may be a slightly changed man, he will always be the god of mischief and from what I can tell, you sense that he is not exactly someone who can be completely trusted."
That was more than true. Hermione had been getting a strange feeling about him, more so now that he was living next door to her. "Should I be worried?" Hermione asked after several minutes of silence. Thor hadn't expected her to ask that. "I'm not entirely sure. While my brother is manipulative, you seem like the kind of person who wouldn't be affected by his tricks. I think you'll be fine."
"I hate to cut this short, but I am needed elsewhere. Have a good day, Ms. Granger." With that, Thor walked down the hall, leaving Hermione alone once again.
She sighed, staring down at the floor. She didn't know what to do about Loki. Hermione was still freaked out by the fact that Loki had somehow gotten into her room that morning and took her wand without her noticing. He definitely was sneaky, which Hermione didn't like. Finally, after thinking to herself, she started walking down the hall. She decided to go down to the library and read for awhile. It hadn't been that long since the last time she had been in there, but she needed something to keep her occupied.
Hermione silently walked through the halls. She was still worried that Nolan would come out at some point and attack her, despite Loki's warning to leave her alone. After a few twists and turns, Hermione made it to the library. She entered the room with a smile on her face. The library was her favorite place in the entire universe, which wasn't surprising at all. What was surprising was the smooth voice of the god of mischief, which Hermione had not expected. She let out a shriek and drew her wand, pointing it at the god who had a smirk on his face. "I didn't mean to frighten you," he said, chuckling.
Hermione lowered her wand. "What are you doing here?" She asked harshly. She hadn't meant to sound so rude. "What does it look like I'm doing?" He asked calmly, holding up a book. "I'm reading. That's what you do in a library." Hermione rolled her eyes and walked over to one of the shelves. Her eyes scanned over the titles of the books, trying to decide which one she wanted to read first. She heard Loki stand up from his seat and stroll over to her. He stared down at the back of her head for a moment, but moved his gaze up to the books behind Hermione as she turned around. "Can i help you?" She asked.
"No, but can I help you? You seem to be having a hard time deciding what to read. Perhaps I can be of assistance," Loki said, placing his book down on a table near the shelf. "I think I'll manage," Hermione said. She walked away from him and moved to a different shelf. Loki smirked and looked over at Hermione. "Is something wrong?" He asked. Hermione didn't answer. "You seem very hostile towards me, which is odd since you don't even really know me."
"I know enough," Hermione said, pulling out a book from the shelf she was looking through. Loki raised an eyebrow. "Do you? What is it exactly that you know?" He asked, slowly approaching her. Hermione turned to look at him, but said nothing. She shook her head and walked past him, but her grabbed her wrist tightly in his hand. "Don't ignore me," he said harshly. "Let go of me, Loki," Hermione said, narrowing her eyes at him. He let go of her wrist and watched her walk out of the library.
Hermione quickly returned to her room, practically slamming the door shut. Some of the stuff in the room shook and Hermione was sure that some of the stuff in the room had fallen. She pulled out her wand and used magic to put the room back in order. Hermione tucked her wand away in the drawer next to her bed and sat down. She crossed her legs and opened the book. Hermione couldn't stay focused on her reading. Her mind kept wandering to Loki. She shouldn't have been so rude to him. He had been in the library first.
Sighing, she closed her book and stood up. She needed to apologize to him for being so rude. Hermione placed the book on the table next to the bed and walked over to the door. As soon as she opened it, she stopped. Loki was standing there, arm raised. It appeared that he had been about to knock on her door.
Loki lowered his arm, placing his hand behind his back. He cleared his throat. "I came to apologize," he said. Hermione raised an eyebrow. He was coming to apologize to her? "Apologize? For what?" Hermione asked. "Your wrist. I didn't mean to hurt you."
"It's fine. I was actually coming to apologize to you. I didn't mean to be so rude to you."
Loki shook his head. "I accept your apology, though there really was no need for it. I'm still getting used to being around good people again." Hermione nodded. The two stood there in awkward silence. "I suppose I should get back to my reading," Loki said. "I will see you at dinner, Ms. Granger."
Hermione watched him as he walked away. He was going to be at dinner? 'Great,' she thought before closing her door.
...
Awhile later, Hermione was heading down to the dining hall to eat with Frigga, Odin, and their sons. She had gotten a lot of reading done since earlier that day. She was a bit nervous being in the hall alone, but Nolan hadn't been around lately. Hermione was sure that she had nothing to worry about. As she entered the dining hall, Hermione saw the royal family sitting at the large table. Their food had gone untouched, which Hermione knew was because they had been waiting for her. Hermione sat in her usual spot next to Frigga. Loki was quick to stand up from the table. He walked over to Hermione and politely pushed in her chair for her before sitting back down in his spot. The gesture had Hermione's heart pounding in her chest, but she said nothing. Once Loki had taken his seat, Odin spoke up. "It's nice to be here with my wonderful wife, my two sons, and of course, our guest of honor." His gaze turned to Hermione who gave a small smile. "This feels right, does it not? All of us here together?" Frigga nodded, a smile gracing her features.
Thor had a look of pride on his face, but when did he not? Hermione noticed that Loki's face held no emotion, which didn't surprise Hermione at all. The group began eating their meal, sitting in silence for most of the time. "So, Ms. Granger," Odin began. "You've been here for over a month now, haven't you?" Hermione looked up from her dessert. "Has it really been that long? I didn't even realize." Frigga smiled at Hermione as they made eye contact. "What do you think of Asgard?" He asked.
"It's very beautiful," Hermione said. "And the food is great." Loki smirked as he continued to enjoy his ice cream. Hermione noticed, but didn't say anything. Odin nodded, pleased with Hermione's answer.
For the rest of the meal, there was silence. Hermione was a bit unnerved by it, but chose to keep that to herself. It didn't take long before they went their separate ways. Well, almost. After Frigga and Odin left, Thor took off to do whatever it was he usually did, leaving Hermione and Loki alone in the dining hall. "Ms. Granger. Since we are heading in the same direction, might I walk you back to your room?" Hermione didn't want to be rude, so she agreed. The two walked back in silence, but she could feel Loki's eyes on her.
"So, you are enjoying your stay in Asgard?" Hermione turned her head. "Yes, I suppose."
Loki raised an eyebrow. "You suppose? Does that imply that you are not actually enjoying yourself?" Hermione shook her head. "Oh, no. I've had a good time here, truly. It's just that I miss my home and my friends. Surely, they must be worried about me." Loki nodded.
"I don't doubt it. You have been gone for quite some time now." Loki stopped walking once they approached Hermione's room. "Thank your for walking me back," Hermione said, turning to him. Loki bowed his head for a brief moment. "Of course. It's the least I could do after what happened earlier."
"There was really no need for you to apologize, Loki. It was my fault." Loki shook his head. "It doesn't matter now. Have a good night." Loki walked to his room, gently closing it behind him. Hermione sighed and walked into her room, closing the door behind her. She was really tired. She hoped that she wouldn't miss breakfast again, but that was hardly on her mind. Hermione quickly changed into her pajamas and laid on her bed. As soon as Hermione's head hit the pillow, her eyes closed and she fell into a deep sleep. That night, she dreamed about Loki.