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Chapter 19

Hermione was still drying her hair with a plush white towel as she stepped into the dining hall, having finished her quick shower and put on her duplicate uniform. A smile crossed her lips, unseen beneath the damp cloth, as the smell of breakfast reached her nose.

'There's nothing quite as good as one of Harry's omelets in the morning,' she thought, pushing the towel back around her neck, and finally taking a look around the room.

The first thing she noticed was that Tony was still in his armor, followed shortly by the fact that the other Avengers were scattered strategically around the room, with Steve being within arm's reach of Harry, his shield still upon his arm.

'Ok…' she thought, watching Harry as he moved jerkily at the stove, anger pinching his face. 'What the hell happened here?' she wondered.

Her eyes searched the area again. 'Bruce isn't here…' she thought absently. 'He must have decided to be elsewhere given the tension in the room.'

She took stock of the only others in the room at that point, the Weasleys who seemed to be intently discussing something in hushed tones except for the two youngest. One of which was watching Harry's every move behind the counter, her eyes narrowed in concern and worry; the other not paying attention to much of anything as he shoveled another fork full into his mouth, even as eggs and sausage rolled off the overloaded implement and out of his already full mouth.

'Ugh…' she thought, as he jammed the fork into his mouth. 'Well, some things still haven't changed…"

She moved toward Tony and leaned down, whispering in the earpiece of his helmet. "Tony? What happened?" she asked.

"Harry and your buddy, Ron, happened princess," he replied quietly with his helmet's modulated voice. "He blames Harry for your getting hurt, and the changes you have undergone."

Hermione stood up shaking her head. "Wonderful…" she said softly.

"Steve stopped him before it was more than just words," Tony said, turning his back towards the young man in question. "As soon as it was over and his mother put a plate in front of him…"

She nodded. "…and he's been eating ever since…" she said with no small amount of sadness in her voice. "You'd think he'd have grown up some over the last seven years, but he is the same aggravating, short tempered, bottomless mouth he's been since I met him."

He looked up at her eyes, and the depth of the sadness held there. "Not the greatest way to talk about one of your best friends," he said.

She sighed, shifting slightly, her discomfort showing. "Tony…" she began, then stopped, wringing the ends of her towel. "He is a good friend… He has been with us through a lot… a lot more than most people could ever stand," she began again, "and at one time…" She glanced over Tony's shoulder toward the object of their discussion, shaking her head. "At one time, I thought he could be more… but he has no real interest in learning… changing… growing."

A small tear moved down her face as her attention moved back to Tony. "I was willing to stay…" She paused. "I wanted to stay… in the wizarding world… It was the only place I ever felt I belonged… felt wanted."

She wiped her eyes with the edge of her towel. "The Weasleys… they are like family to me… and to Harry… I wanted to be a real part of that family so badly, that I…" She smiled at him softly. "I would have given anything to be part of it… I even considered…" She gestured towards the person in question.

"But I learned something in New York," she said, taking a deep cleansing breath and looking around at the room, at the other Avengers. "I can fit someplace else too!"

Tony's faceplate flipped open, a smile matching hers covering his face. "Never doubt that Muscles!"

She nodded, pulling him into a tight hug, letting go when she heard the metal of his suit creak, and an alarm sound inside. "Thanks Tony."

"No problem kiddo," he said.

Harry placed a plate on the counter. "Breakfast is done people, pick them up!" he said, looking up and towards the door.

Steve picked up two of the plates, as did Natasha, and Clint moved to do likewise, followed by Harry carrying his own and Hermione's.

Sitting down, Harry looked at the plate blankly, before taking a bite.

"Where is she?" asked the angry redhead, pushing away from his now empty plate and standing.

"SHE," said Hermione, "Is right here Ron!"

Ron's eyes grew wide as the seven foot tall jade green woman stood, towering over every person in the room. "Her- Hermi?"

Her face screwed up in aggravation. "I have asked you not to call me that name! Repeatedly!" she said stalking toward him, finger wagging at him. "And do you listen? No! Well you know what RONALD? That will be the last time! Do you understand me?"

The stunned young man waggled his head in the affirmative. "Her- Hermione? What happened to you?" he asked. "H- How? What? W-What did Madam Pomfrey say?"

She sighed. "I haven't spoken with her yet..." she began.

"W-we need to see her now then!" he said relief apparent on his face. "She's got to be able to do something about this!" he continued, grabbing her hand. "We've got to get you back to normal as soon as possible!"

She jerked her hand out of his, before he could even try to lead her out of the room. "I don't have time right now, Ronald!" she said sternly. "I need to eat, then get some sleep! I've been awake almost thirty hours as it is! Then we need to get back to work on the Deatheaters! Once that is finished I'll think about seeing her! Not before!"

She turned and sat next to Harry, ready to eat. "B-but Hermi!"

She leapt to her feet, and grabbed the metal chair next to her and crushed it into a ball the size of a bludger. "I told you to STOP calling me that, Ronald!" she growled. "My name is Hermione!" She looked at Steve, then Tony and smiled, "Or She-Hulk! Use them!"

She dropped the ball in front of him and his eyes never left it as it clanked once as it landed and rolled across the floor.

"Now do you want to hear our story or not?" she asked, returning to her seat. "If you do sit down, if not leave!"

"You really can't expect us to believe this? Can you?" yelled Ron as he stood, sending his chair clattering behind him and pointing at the monitor, and looking around at the gathered faces. "Bloody Hell! Are you all daft?" he asked.

"Ron!" his father said, angry.

"No! Dad, this is just some muggle trick!" he screamed. "One of those Mo-vie things! There is no way these people fought off an invasion of things from out in the stars! Or a god! There is no way any of this happened!"

Hermione stood to her full height, towering over the young man. "What about me?" she asked. "I saw it! I saw Loki fighting the Hulk! It happened right in front of me! His spell did this to me!"

Ron glared at her. "Maybe… Maybe they did this to you! Or…"

"Ron," Harry said, joining Hermione. "Believe what you want, but this," he said pointing to the screen, "happened! And they," He pointed toward the Avengers, "stopped it! We both saw it!"

"But- But… It's just not possible!" he said again, as he rubbed his hand through his hair. He sat down heavily in his chair. "It just can't be…" he said as he sagged forward, his head falling into his hands.

Mr. Weasley stood shakily. "I think we could all do with some sleep… If you could show us where to go?"

Clint stood up. "We've got someplace prepared for you if you'll all follow me?" he said.

After the Weasleys had left Harry sank into one of the chairs, exhaustion making itself felt. "That went well," he said in a sarcastic tone.

Natasha sat on the table next to him. "It's a big change for them, Harry," she said.

Steve spun a chair around and sat. "Their view of the world just changed, it's going to take time."

Tony stepped out of his armor, and watched for a moment as it walked on its own out of the room. "They aren't the only ones, we were there and I still have trouble believing it…. I mean Loki is one thing after meeting Pointbreak, but those Chitauri… they were just creepy! And don't even get me started on their Leviathans!" He shuddered. "Or wormholes that lead to other sections of the universe…" he said softly.

Steve nodded. "It will be hard for them, but they had to hear it to be able to understand what happened to you."

Hermione nodded and yawned. "I'm going to bed."

Harry nodded and stood to walk out with her.

Steve shook his head at the smirk on the faces of both Tony and Natasha, as Spitfire spoke. "I thought you said she wasn't his girlfriend?"

Steve looked up as Natasha walked in. "So?"

She shrugged. "Piece of cake," she said, tossing the folder on the table. "He is slowly massing for a strike against Hogwarts, the only thing keeping him distracted has been the fact that Harry was still missing. He's obsessed."

Steve nodded. "Alright, we need to start the next phase as soon as everyone is rested and ready to go… How are the kids?" he asked leaning back in his chair.

"Good, they're anxious to get going," she said, with a shrug. "I can't blame them, they want this over."

"What are we going to tell them after it's done?" Steve asked.

Natasha leaned on the edge of the desk. "You know that they have their sights on being Avengers now?"

Steve sighed. "Of course! But they have their entire lives in front of them!" he said waving his arm. "They need to finish their education, maybe go to college…" his voice trailed off.

"Or they will need to be trained… " she said. "If that is what they want. Steve, whatever they do, it will be their choice, not yours, not mine, but theirs. All we can do is talk to them, offer them advice."

Steve sighed. "Yeah, you're right… I… I was just hoping…"

She smiled softly. "That they might have better luck than you and Peggy?"

He looked up at her, his eyes filled with sadness.

She put a hand on his shoulder. "If you feel that way Steve, tell them your story. They're smart kids, mature for their age, and they respect you. They'll listen. But I don't think either one of them can walk away completely," she said with a sigh.

"You're right," Steve agreed. "Hermione called it Harry's 'saving people thing'…"

"I think she has picked up the same habit," she said with a chuckle.

Steve inclined his head. "So it seems… So we make sure they have the tools… continue to help them develop their skills and refine them."

Natasha nodded. "Sounds like a plan."