Author's Note: Hey, guys. I'm so sorry for the long wait. The first part of summer break, I was traveling and didn't have time to write, as I was spending time with family I had never met and going to all sorts of places and doing things. Then, my laptop broke and I had to wait awhile for it to get repaired, but I'm back now and can continue the story. I've missed you all so much, and I hope you can forgive me for the long wait.

After the execution, Hermione went to find Luna, which didn't take long. She was in the library, curled up in one of the giant armchairs with a blanket over her and a book on her lap. Luna looked up from the book when she heard Hermione approaching. "Hey," Luna said, putting her bookmark in so she didn't lose her place. She set the book down beside her on the table and sat up. "Hermione, I heard about the execution. Are you alright?" A concerned look was on Luna's face. The blonde was always a caring person, and that was one of the many reasons that Hermione liked her so much.

Hermione nodded her head slightly, her voice quiet as she spoke. "Yeah. I'm fine, I suppose. I just..." She sighed. "I trusted Faye. I thought that Faye was a good person, and to know that she's responsible for the death of Frigga..." Hermione shook her head, her eyes closing. "I know that what Faye did was wrong, but an execution. That's something I never expected to be part of. I didn't even ask to be there." Never in her life did Hermione think she would be a witness to an execution. She had seen deaths before, and it wasn't something she had enjoyed seeing, and being at that execution and hearing Faye and Nolan's death did nothing to make her feel better. "Wasn't Harry's death enough?" Hermione asked. "Too many lives have been lost, Luna. When will it end?"

Luna stood up and embraced Hermione tightly. "Unfortunately, everyone dies at some point, Hermione. I wish I could say that it's over, but it's not." Luna pulled away.

"How did you even know about the execution?" Hermione asked. "You weren't even there." Hermione wiped away the tears that had started falling and tried to calm herself. She wrapped her arms around herself, hugging herself tightly.

"Word travels, Hermione. I heard some of the guards talking about it this morning." Luna shrugged. "Hermione, did you want to talk to me about something?" Luna asked. "Or did you come in here to read like you often do?" Hermione couldn't keep the smile off of her face as she remembered why she had come in here in the first place. She grabbed Luna's hand and sat down in the chair next to the one Luna had been sitting in. "What is it, Hermione?" She asked, sitting back down in the armchair.

"Loki and I kissed," Hermione said, her smile growing. Luna's own eyes widened, and a smile appeared on her face. "And it was the most amazing feeling. It was... perfect." Her brown eyes shifted to the floor, her face turning slightly red as she remembered the kiss, the feeling of Loki's lips on hers. He was so gentle as he kissed her, almost as if she was this fragile doll that he was afraid he would break. Hermione knew she loved him, and she knew that he loved her back. There was no denying that the two were in love. What she had with Loki was so different to what she with Ron.

"Hermione, I'm so happy for you!" Luna's smile soon faded. "Still, what about Ron? He doesn't know about Loki. More importantly, he doesn't know about your relationship with him. What are you going to tell him when you see him again?" Hermione sighed, shaking her head. "Hermione, you have to tell him at some point. When you left, you and Ron had just started your relationship. He still loves you, Hermione."

"Luna, I..." Hermione stood up from the chair and walked away from Luna, stopping in the middle of the room. She turned around to face Luna, whose expression had changed to one of understanding, as if she knew what Hermione was going to say. "I don't even know if I'll ever see Ron again. He's still my friend, and he will always be my friend, but I just don't know." Luna stood up and walked over to Hermione. She put her hand on Hermione's shoulder.

"It's okay. I'm sure Ron will understand when I tell him what's happened."

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean?" She asked. "How are you going to tell him?" Luna picked up the book she had been reading and her blanket and headed out the door, Hermione following behind her. "Luna, tell me, please." She gently grabbed Luna's arm, making the girl stop and turn around.

"I have to go back at some point, Hermione. I can't stay here forever. I was supposed to find you and bring you back to Hogwarts, but if you don't want to go, then I'll have to return to the school on my own. Nobody else knows about what's been happening here. When I go back, I can explain to the others." Luna walked away, leaving Hermione alone in the hallway.

...

Later that day, Loki knocked on Hermione's door. "Come in," Hermione called from the other side. Loki walked in to find Hermione looking out of the window. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, placing a gentle kiss on her shoulder.

"What's on your mind, darling?" He asked her quietly, sensing that something was on her mind. "And on't try to lie to me and tell me that everything is alright because I'm the god of mischief and lies, and I always know when I'm being lied to," Loki whispered in Hermione's ear, placing a gently kiss on the shell of her ear as well. Hermione sighed and turned to face him.

She looked into his eyes, the eyes that had once held sadness, and now held nothing but love. "Luna's going back to Hogwarts soon. She's going to tell all of my friends about what happened to me and about my relationship." Loki looked at her, confusion written on his face.

"I don't understand. Is that a bad thing?" He asked her, holding her close to him. "I mean, I can understand that your friend leaving may be hard, but her telling your other friends about our relationship... are you against it?"

Hermione moved away from him and sat down on her bed. "I think I've told you before about how I had just gotten into a relationship when I got here."

"It sounds... vaguely familiar," Loki said, taking a seat beside her on the bed. "Do you fear the boy's reaction to finding out you no longer have interest in him?" He asked her softly, moving a few strands of hair from her face. "Is that what it is, Hermione?"

Hermione nodded her head ever so slightly. "It is." She bit her lip gently. "I don't think I will ever see Ron again, but at this point, I don't think I could face him. After all that has happened here, I couldn't bare to see his face again, especially since I would just end up breaking his heart. It would break my own, knowing that I would have hurt someone who cared about me very much." She turned to look at him, staring into his eyes, filled with compassion. "It would be like me hurting you, and that's the last thing I would ever want to do." Loki took her hand and raised it to his lips, pressing a kiss upon her knuckles.

"You could never hurt me, my love," he said assuringly, causing a small smile to appear on Hermione's face.

Loki sighed then, and Hermione became worried. "What is it?" She asked him. "What's wrong?" Loki stood up and turned to her.

"We think there is a way to help Jane. If you weren't already aware, Jane has not been... herself, exactly. There is... something inside her that is far from human. Thor needs my assistance, meaning that I'm going to be gone for a bit." Hermione listened to him and stood up, walking over to him. "I promise that I will return to you, Hermione. I would never abandon you, and I would never do anything to hurt you." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I love you, Hermione. You are the most important person in my life, and that will never change."

Hermione pressed her lips against his gently, wrapping her arms around his neck. "As much as I don't want you to go, I trust you," she said once the kiss was broken. "If you don't return to me, I swear-"

"I will," he interrupted. "I promise you, my love. I will return to you. You have my word." He smiled at her and left the room.

...

"I am Loki of Jotunheim, and I bring you a gift!" Loki threw Jane onto the ground.

"You have taken something from us," Malekith said to Jane. "I'd like it back."

Jane was lifted from the ground and the aether poured out of her and into Malekith. After that, the battle had begun. Loki and Thor fought against the elves with all that they had. Loki had one main goal, and that was to get back to Hermione. Alas, that was not to happen.

He stabbed one of the creatures, a smile on his face as the creature turned. Shock was written on his face as the creature pulled him in, stabbing him through his chest. "No!" Thor yelled. Loki fell to the ground, his entire body shaking.

"See you in Hel, monster." Loki had put a bomb looking thing on the creature, which quickly destroyed the monster. The battle was over. Thor ran to Loki's side.

"I'm sorry," Loki said. Thor called him a fool, to which Loki agreed. "Tell Hermione that I love her. Tell her that I fought for her, and that I... that I will never forget her."

Thor nodded. "Of course. I will tell her all of those things." A small tear rolled down Thor's face. "I will tell father what you did here today," he promised.

"I didn't do it for him," Loki replied. His eyes closed and he was gone. Thor let out an agonizing cry, Jane watching and coming to his side.

...

Later, Thor returned to the castle. The battle back on earth had ended. Thor had won against Malekith. Jane had stayed with Eric and Darcy. Hermione was one of the first to approach him when he entered the castle. "Where's Loki?" She asked when she saw that Thor was alone. He shook his head. Hermione knew what that meant, and tears welled up in her eyes.

"No," she said. "No, no, no!" The tears fell like a waterfall. "He promised me that he would come back! He gave me his word! He promised that he would return to me!" Hermione screamed, falling to the floor. Thor walked over to Hermione, tears forming in his own eyes.

"He fought hard, Hermione," Thor said. "He fought to return to you." Hermione continued to cry, his words not doing anything to calm her. "Hermione, he did everything he could. He wanted to return to you. Before he died, he asked me to tell you that he loves you, and that he fought for you... he said that he would never forget you." Hermione wiped the tears from her face, trying to calm herself. She shook her head, her eyes closing. She tilted her head down to the ground.

"He shouldn't have gone," she said quietly. "He shouldn't have gone," she repeated louder, standing up. "This is your fault!" She shouted at Thor. "If you hadn't asked him to go with you, Loki would still be alive."

"We couldn't have done it without him, Hermione. Malekith would have won if it wasn't for Loki. He saved us all." Thor knew that Hermione was upset and he decided to leave her alone for now, knowing that she would need time to take it all in and calm herself.

Hermione went back to her room and collapsed on the bed, crying her eyes out. She wasn't seen for the rest of the night.

Author's Note: Thank you guys so much for being patient with me. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The story is almost over, so I hope you've enjoyed reading my fanfic, and stay tuned for the final chapter.