July 28th, 2021
A/N
Okay so it's been two weeks. I apologize for the wait. However I did deliver this chapter quicker than last time. I just hope you guys understand how busy I am right now and how overwhelmed I am feeling. Like I told you guys before, I am working 40 hours a week and trying to spend more time with my family. However I have now added driving lessons and working on my Art Portfolio to the list. Anyone have any tips for either of those because believe me I need them.
Once again please follow my Instagram page for this fic, (delaneys . world . of . fanfiction). Hopefully, spacing out the words will help you guys see what the page is. If not, message me and we can figure it out together.
A lot of you guys were mad about the instagram thing so let me explain it a bit more and you can let me know whether or not it is a good idea. Fan art is going to happen and you guys didn't seem to bothered with that so I'm going to keep that as part of the perks. As far as scene stuff goes. It's fluff. It's little things that don't have any bearing on the fic at all. Such as Helen's eulogy. Little things like that, that are mentioned in chapter but don't need to be included can be posted to instagram. Maybe some life updates so that people can know what's going on with me and my life so that you know why chapters aren't coming out on time. Is everyone good with that? Please let me know. I didn't mean to anger anyone and to be honest my heart kinda broke a little reading some of the comments saying that they would stop reading if I did some of the things I mentioned with social media. Totally warranted and fair but still hurt to read. No hard feelings?
Some disclaimers I have with the account is that it is not my personal account that I am posting this stuff on. It is a separate account for the fanfiction content ONLY. That will never change. Secondly, I will not be posting any content on there until the next chapter is published. That way everyone has a chance to tell me what content they are comfortable with me posting. Let me know because I really don't want to fuck this up. So please give me your opinions. Is that fair? Now that that is addressed let's move on shall we?
Thank you to my Beta Luke, our marvel expert for editing this chapter. Luke who is the Princess Annalise to my Erika, The Jar of Dirt to my Captain Jack Sparrow, The Mickey Mouse to my Walt Disney. (Yes, I will keep adding more every week because Luke HATES it and also names these shows/references in the comments). As well as a shoutout to my second beta Rhi! Also one last massive shoutout to my amazing ghostwriter ElianaIsabella who literally edited this chapter at the drop of a hat. I couldn't have gotten this chapter out to you guys without her. *insert clapping emoji*
Now for questions! If you have any pressing questions or just want to make some observations about the fic, ask any questions and I will try to answer them. Now I do read all the comments so if I didn't answer yours it is because I didn't think it was in a question format so just ask again in the comments with a different format.
CallaRose4ever: *Gasp*! Y-Your c-choosing Luke over me? Lol Jk I really don't care. I agree but I think in Far From Home she really did come out of her shell. I think after 5 years of being away she realised life is too short to be alone and unapproachable. Only time will tell I guess with No Way Home coming out later this year. And okay seriously that sounds so cool and I am going to check it out. I'll PM you and let you know my thoughts. The theory will be revealed to the others soon enough. I like to think that Hermione is trying to be careful with what she exposes about the wizarding world to the rest of them. If Tony found out people could control each other with a spell he'd flip and Fury would find a way to use it to his advantage. Thank you again for another thought provoking comment.
Freyja-Njorda: I already addressed this above but literally anything I post will not be essential to the story in any way! Just some fluff to help people get through the days/weeks between my posts. Like Helen's eulogy, a visual of Hermione's suits and stuff like that. For me I like to be able to see the descriptions that I'm reading because I am a visual person. Helen's eulogy is not crucial to the story but it is a little something I think would be okay to post. But let me know your thoughts either in the comments or PM me. I will definitely be having Hermione age up sometime in the future...or not so distant future if I am putting her and Bucky together. Which is why I always aged Bucky and Steve down. Both of them were in their early 30's in the first Captain America film so I wanted to make them more age appropriate. I was thinking along the lines of 24-25. I wanted to say thank you again for bringing up the instagram thing. I didn't think about it before I mentioned it and I should've so thank you for bringing it to my attention and allowing me to fix it.
BookwormsParadise: I'm sorry that the previous chapter was disappointing and hope that this peaks your interest a lot more. As for the instagram thing, I addressed this above. If you have any questions and/or comments please feel free to PM me or put it in the comments. As I have stated though nothing regarding the plot will be posted on instagram. No teasers or sneak peaks at new chapters because I do realise now that it isn't fair to those of you without social media. However, fanart, suit design (after the chapters are out), etc will hopefully be posted. Again let me know your thoughts as I do want to fix this issue.
sandipi: Sorry for the confusion. Yes, Uncle Tom is really Hermione's Uncle. It wasn't some type of slang lol. I didn't even know that was a figure of speech until you mentioned it.
saralinn: Really? Even the MCU MJ? I totally understand your point of view but I believe that MCU Mj really broke that damsel in distress streak. I do love the Animagis idea. I was thinking of giving her a form after the war. You know a little project she worked on during her time on the run. I really love your suggestions for her name as it is giving me a lot of suit design ideas as well as names. I think I have one locked down though. But by all means keep giving me the suggestions if you have any because I really do love them.
petuniatc: Okay so I totally didn't mean to do that lol. You know Loki knows Hermione through her dad. That was totally unintentional. I honestly just liked the idea of Hermione's dad and Loki being frat boys together in college. As far as a Trelawney Prophecy goes I can promise you that. Heimdall, not so much. I can't promise you that one. I personally like that they made MJ more realistic. Not all girls are supermodels and not all girls give a shit about how they look. MCU MJ is a testament to that. She doesn't really pay attention to what other people think and if they don't like her, she doesn't give a shit. That's what I love about it and you are right I do love how they made Aunt May like 4 decades younger.
Keria-House M.D: This chapter will hopefully answer those questions for you.
Cassie-011: What don't you like about it if you don't mind me asking? PM me please because I would love to hear your thoughts.
crity2re: I honestly 1000% agree with your analysis for MJ. Personally I think Luke just has a crush on the comic's original character or even the pre MCU portrayals (Luke please don't kill me). I honestly don't even know how he won last time. Pigs must be fliyng around somewhere. As for being to harsh on Steve. That's not Hermione, that's me. I'm channeling my anger to him through Hermione. I'm still salty over Endgame. But I swear there is a truce in sight! Also I never said that being to Golden Boy was bad. What I meant was that it comes with favouritisum and privileges which to be honest I think Steve gets a lot of. You are probably right, I should done a Draco comparison rather than Harry. There's just more similarities there. The hero with a rough beginning destined for greatness. More hardship, loss and heartache then finally their destiny is complete. But are are right. If you look closely at Draco you can find even more similarities. Oh well then, missed opportunity. C'est la vie. Thank you again for another thought provoking comment I love seeing them. As always.
Also, I have not seen anything other than the 1st episode of Loki and I still haven't seen Black Widow so please no spoilers please, and thank you. I don't know how either of these shows/films affect what is happening in this first Avengers film but everything that we knew before these two films will remain that way. Pretend you know nothing.
I own nothing but the storyline. If I owned Marvel or Harry Potter I would've starred in the films. Oh and married Sebastian Stan or Tom Hiddleston.
Lastime on A Stark Contrast:
"SHUT IT!" Hermione practically screamed, a small burst of energy hitting the men. They all went to talk to her but found that they had no voice. "Now will you all shut up and listen?"
June 24th, 2012 Aboard the Mobile SHIELD Headquarters (10:43 am) - Banner's Lab
The group silenced themselves. They could see the sheer power radiating from her. This is what happened when people didn't listen to her and she got frustrated. Her magic became uncontrollable. Her hair was sparking and her honey golden eyes glowed with power. The tips of her fingers glowed a bright blue. Eventually her breathing always evened out and she returned to her normal state. However she was currently furious with them. They had much bigger problems right now and arguing shouldn't be one of them.
"Do you not see that this is what Loki wants? He wants this; mistrust and uncertainty between us." Hermione pointed out to them angrily. She removed the silencing spell she placed on them so that they could speak once she finished. "If we cannot trust each other, even remotely, then how the hell are we ever going to get anything done? At this rate Loki will have found a way to escape and take over the world by the time we stop arguing."
Natasha snorted at that. "Says the girl who happens to be his niece and didn't even bother to tell us."
"I'm sorry what?" Steve said, shooting Hermione an angry and dangerous look.
"Hermione, is that true?" Bucky asked in disbelief. He didn't want it to be true. Did she betray them to Loki? He couldn't imagine it. Couldn't believe it. Bucky knew that Steve didn't have much faith in Hermione. But Bucky thought the best of Hermione even though he'd known her only a short while. He knew that she would never betray them.
Hermione sighed deeply, rubbing her temples in frustration. She hated explaining things more than once within a certain amount of time. It wasn't their fault they weren't there, but she still did not want to explain this again.
"You have to understand that that man in there is not my uncle. I don't recognize him. I don't know him. And clearly if you watch the footage he doesn't know me. I have my own theories on that, but if you really must know…" Hermione told the story of her and Loki's history again, much quicker this time.
"He was the last connection I had to my family, my given family before Tony showed up. Sure, I still have Sharon and Peggy but I mean my close british family. I didn't want that ruined before I was sure that there was no hope in saving him. I wouldn't have just let him out, I would've consulted you all and figured out a solution. I apologize for not informing all of you as soon as I recognized him. It was wrong of me and will never happen again." Hermione apologized, keeping her eyes directed at the floor beneath her feet. When she didn't hear a response, she brought her eyes forward. She immediately noticed a pair of boots a few feet away from her, and quickly brought her eyes up. Surprisingly, Steve was in front of her holding out a hand to shake. The confusion was evident on her face, and Steve began to explain.
"I'm sorry. I misjudged you. I can respect a person who's willing to admit their faults and move on. Besides, you're the only one of us trying to keep this mission together." Steve explained. Once Hermione understood, she took hold of his hand and shook. "You are just like her, you know? Poised, confident, and fearless she would be proud."
"Thank you Steve. Coming from you that means a lot." Hermione said with a slight smile. Steve mirrored her smile with one of his own. She knew it would take awhile, but she hoped the two of them would be friends eventually.
That is when Hermione spotted something out of the corner of her eye: A bright blue light.
Coming from the staff.
"Oh shit." Hermione said in a panic.
June 24th, 2012 Aboard the Mobile SHIELD Headquarters (10:57 am) - Banner's Lab
Hermione ran towards the staff, pulling her wand out and immediately running diagnostics. The rest of the crew swiftly followed, noticing the change in the staff's behavior.
"The gamma radiation emanating from this has doubled in the last 5 minutes." Hermione informed Bruce and Tony, who had begun running tests of their own.
"H-How? To have such an increase in radiation, in such a short period of time… it would take an insane amount of power-" Bruce started as Tony began running equations to see if he could find the answer.
"It's different from regular gamma. It's of magical descent, magical properties-" Hermione was cut off before she could finish explaining. Her ears were ringing painfully. Hermione crouched on the ground, clutching her head and groaning in pain. The ringing suddenly stopped and was replaced by a voice.
'You are too young for this. Far too young for this. But I fear you are the only one capable of stopping this. Stopping me. I did not have a choice 'Mione, believe me, I would never have chosen this over you or your parents. Do what needs to be done. Stop me by any means necessary. Even if you are my undoing, I will forgive you. I love you. Please be safe."
'Uncle Tom.' Hermione thought as the ringing and pain subsided. She was right. He wasn't in control of himself. Then she remembered his closing remark. She knew she wouldn't be able to kill him but she would do her damn best to stop him and get him back to himself again. She would talk to Tony about this, just not now.
"Kid? What's happening over there?" Tony's back was to her, as he was facing a screen, still trying to run diagnostics. She knew if she didn't answer soon he would turn his focus to her. She didn't want that, it was all hands on deck now.
"I-I don't know. But I'm okay."
Hermione stood up shakily with the help of Bucky, who had come over when she dropped to her knees with the pain. Once she was back on her feet, Bruce, Tony, and Hermione continued working to try and figure out what the hell was going on with this staff.
"Granger, I need an update. I can see Banner and Stark's data but I have no visual on you." Fury demanded. He didn't like being out of the loop. He was the director of SHIELD so he was always in the loop. But ever since Granger and the Asgarians came into play, not so much.
"I-I don't know. It's all chaotic. The magic contained in the staff is constantly moving and changing into different forms. There's no way to track it." Hermione explained to them, bewildered. Tony and Bruce slightly slowed their work, each listening to what she had to say. Hermione had magic to be sure, however, the duo still thought that science was the way to go about this. "I might be able to contain and control it though. But I don't know what it'll do."
Thor laughed slightly, "With anything pertaining to Loki there is no control. Only chaos. Much like him." Thor said, pointing to Fury. At Fury's stern look and everyone else's confused expression, the god of thunder continued, "You speak of control, yet you court chaos."
Bruce looked over at this accusation. "That's his M.O isn't it?" Bruce pointed out. "I mean what are we? A team? No, we're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're a time bomb." Bruce spit out like sour milk, with an expression as though it was a plague of some kind.
"You need to step away." Fury said in a demanding tone, but a look of concern. For who was anyone's guess. Bruce? Himself? The ship?
"Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?" Tony said seriously, placing a hand on Steve's shoulder. Hermione knew it was intended to be a joke but everyone else didn't seem to take it that way.
"You know damn well why. Back off!" Steve said, taking Tony's hand off his shoulder.
As Hermione had previously witnessed, Tony did not do well taking orders from other people. "I'm starting to want you to make me."
"Yeah. Big man in a suit of armour." Steve said as he began to circle Tony, stopping right near his ear. "Take that off and what are you?"
"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist." Tony retorted back smuggly yet simply.
"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you." Steve told Tony. "I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."
Hermione was trying her best to keep her emotions in check. Tony is the only family she had left and she would be damned if Steve let him believe he was anything less than he actually is. She didn't know how Tony was keeping his cool but he still managed to say in a calm voice, "I think I would just cut the wire."
Steve airily laughed to himself. "Always a way out. You may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending you're a hero."
"That's enough!" Hermione said in frustration. "That is my father you are speaking about!"
Tony took a moment before focusing again on what his daughter was saying. This is the first time she'd referred to him as her dad. She may not have actually called him 'Dad' directly but it was a step in the right direction. It made Tony's heart melt. He then realized that Hermione was about to go all Wicked Witch of the West on old Capsicles ass.
"What's that expression? I am my father's daughter? Well I am my father's daughter. I am smart, brave, compassionate, and dependable among many other things if I do say so myself. I saved all of your asses in Germany and despite my grief over losing my parents less than a week ago, I am willing to help you all. What do I get? The last shred of my family within 3000 miles being insulted and bombarded. Whereas you," Hermione said pointing to Steve, sharply poking him in the chest. She stared directly into his eyes knowing that the word would sink in much more if he was forced to look at her, "have treated me as if I was the dirt on the bottom of your shoes. I don't know if it's because I'm Tony Stark's daughter, or if I look a little too much like Peggy and remind you of what you lost, but all I have learned in the last several hours is that my grandmother was wrong about you. She always painted you as a fearless, kind hearted, brave man, but all I see is a disappointment. I thought eventually we could work out these differences of ours and become friends. But if you can't stop being prejudiced with everyone around you, you'll end up a very lonely person Captain."
Hermione turned to look around to look at the rest of the group. "Now unless you all start working as a team and getting along, I will be apperating- teleporting Tony and I off of this ship. Bruce, you are also welcome to come along for the ride seeing as you, Tony, and Bucky are the only ones I can remotely stand to be around right now. Now we don't have to like each other but we have to learn to tolerate each other. For the greater good."
No one said another word at her comments but silently went back to work.
June 24th, 2012 Aboard the Mobile SHIELD Headquarters (11:03 am) - Banner's Lab
Everything was fine for the next several minutes. Everything returned to normal with a cold elephant in the room, but not so much so that they couldn't ignore it. The silence was actually quite peaceful.
That was until Rogers decided that he wasn't quite done yet. Hermione or no Hermione, Stark needed to be put in his place.
"Put on the suit. Let's go a few rounds." Rogers dared. He was never one to back away from a challenge, especially one he started.
Bucky could see Hermione looking at Steve with a daring look. He saw how she defeated Loki in Germany and he didn't want to see Steve at the end of her wand.
"Steve don't-" Bucky tried to say to stop his friend. He knew it would be pointless. Steve never backed down from a fight even before Captain America, back when he was a scrawny guy from Brooklyn.
Bucky however was interrupted by Thor's gawking laugh. "You people are so petty, and tiny."
"Yeah this is a team." Bruce added sarcastically. Hadn't they just been through this? Hermione had put an end to this whole conversation, but then the great Captain America had to open his big mouth again.
"Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner back to his-" Fury began to say but was cut off by Bruce.
"Where? You rented my room." Bruce said, making a point. Not that he had trusted SHIELD before but the fact that they had built a cage just to hold the Hulk, was insulting. He could control himself, he'd spent years perfecting his calmness and composure in stressful situations. The thought brought his mind back to the days with his heart monitor watch. Back to when people only saw the Hulk; the monster, rather than the man he had worked very hard to control to be.
"The cell was just in case-" Fury tried to explain, not wanting to anger the Hulk.
"In case you need to kill me." Bruce finished for him. It wasn't too hard to guess where that sentence was headed. What surprised everyone however is what Bruce said next. "But you can't. I know, I tried."
The room went silent all but Hermione. At his words she had gasped, "Bruce?" She asked in a calm, reassuring voice. She didn't know what to say, but she knew that nobody should ever feel the way Bruce must've felt to do that…
Bruce looked at her with reassurance. He wasn't perfect yet, but he was getting better. The depression he had once felt when he had those thoughts, it was nowhere near as bad as it once had been. Bruce decided to explain a bit more.
"I got low. I didn't see an end." He said simply before continuing. "So, I put a bullet in my mouth, and the other guy spit it out. So I moved on, focused on helping other people. I was good. Until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk. You wanna know my secret Agent Romanoff? You wanna know how I stay calm?"
Hermione saw Fury and Natasha reach for their guns. She knew that the Hulk could protect himself just fine. It was Bruce that she wanted to help. If she could stop him from transforming she would. But for now she placed a silent but powerful protection ward around herself, Tony, and Bruce.
"Dr. Banner, put down the scepter." Steve asked slowly.
The young witch hadn't even realized that Bruce had grabbed the scepter in the first place. 'How very strange' Hermione considered. That's when Bruce looked down and in his left hand was a scepter. He looked confused and distrubed.
That's when the computer began to alert the group on the progress of the signature tracking. Tony, Bruce, and Hermione immediately rushed over to see the status. Fury and Natasha checked their own devices for the update. Everyone just wanted this to be over with, or at the very least to get off this ship.
"Sorry kids, you don't get to see my party trick after all." Bruce commented finally reaching the screen.
"You located the Tesseract?" Thor asked, trying to clarify.
"I could get there the fastest." Tony told them.
"Not without me you're not." Hermione said, smiling at Tony.
"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard. No human is a match for it" Thor demanded. Hermione didn't disagree with the god. Something so powerful should not be left to the people of this planet. Hence why the Philosopher's stone was destroyed after her first year...or so Dumbledore told them.
"You're not going alone." Steve and Bucky said to Tony as he and Hermione began to leave the room ready to go and retrieve the Tesseract. Steve had grabbed Tony's arm tightly, whereas Bucky simply placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder giving her a look, begging her not to go. It was a sweet moment for the two, which was quickly interrupted by another argument of Steve and Tony's
"You're going to stop us?" Tony asked daringly.
"Put on the suit, let's find out." Steve offered back.
"I'm not afraid to hit an old man." Tony said to the soldier with a smirk.
"Put on the suit." Steve dared.
"What is it with you and his suit?" Hermione said half joking and half serious. Bucky chuckled slightly at her comment. Steve ignored her.
"Oh my god." Bruce said in a slightly whispered tone. It would've been impossible to hear had Tony and Steve not taken a breath in between their arguments.
That is when all hell broke loose.
June 24th, 2012 Aboard the Mobile SHIELD Headquarters (11:11 am) - Known Location
The whole room seemed to shudder, knocking smaller items to the ground. Everyone was trying to recover when the room blew.
That's when Hermione's vision blurred.
She felt herself fall.
Then land, with a painful thud.
The smoke quickly filled her lungs.
She couldn't hear much since a ringing had long filled her ears.
Hermione then remembered that she was a witch and could do something about it.
The young witch reached into her pocket and pulled out her wand. She cast a silent bubble headed charm, allowing her to breathe and see a bit more clearly. Hermione then used her wand to remove the smoke from the room. Allowing her to fully view where she was.
She was in some kind of back engine room. Something that could be accessed but never normally used. She heard a cough from behind her and turned to see Bucky on his side, struggling for breath.
"Bucky?" She asked, still coming to terms with what had just happened. When he didn't respond, she jumped into action. Adrenaline coursed through her as she hauled herself up, feeling a slight pain in her right ankle, but not paying too much attention to it. She rushed over to Bucky to make sure he was still breathing.
"Bucky?" She said with more intent, starting to get worried. Steve was definitely going to kill her if she didn't save his best friend and to be honest she'd really come to care for Bucky. She placed her head over his heart to check his breathing patterns. Completely normal. So she just needed him to wake up. "Bucky?...James? I swear to god James if you make me kiss you right now I will literally-"
"You'll what doll? You know you find me irresistible." Bucky said opening his eyes tiredly, though he did have enough energy for a smirk. His voice was super gravely from all the smoke inhalation. Hermione blushed deeply, before smiling and punching him in the arm once he stood back up. She made sure to punch his flesh arm because something told her that it would hurt a lot if she punched his other one. Before she forgot Hermione silently cleared the smoke from his lungs, allowing him to breathe better.
"Better?" Hermione asked as Bucky went to touch his chest, feeling the immediate relief of her spell.
"Much. Thank you." He said genuinely, his voice returning to normal. "What the hell happened?"
"I think we're under attack." Hermione said looking for an exit that wasn't upthrough the hole she'd just fallen through.
"What makes you say that?" Bucky asked curiously. Other than the explosion, which could've just been a faulty engine, there was no indication of an attack.
"I saw the location of the Tessuract for a brief moment before the explosion, the Tessuract was less than a mile from us." Hermione informed him.
"Shit." He let out, also being to look for an exit.
"My sentiments exactly." Hermione said, trying to think of what was next. "Shit, Tony's probably freaking out right now."
"We'll get you to him as soon as-" He was cut off by Hermione.
"I have something much faster than that. But promise me you won't freak out." Hermione asked Bucky. This was the first time seeing true magic and would freak anyone out, but this was not the time for panic. Bucky nodded and Hermione took that as her que to proceed. She muttered a quick, 'Expecto Patronum' and a bright blue otter came into view. "Bring this message to Tony Stark and Steve Rogers immediately."
"Tony, Steve. Bucky and I are safe. We landed together in some control room. We'll be out as soon as we can to help. I'm pretty sure my new phone is toast but if you need to contact me try there. See you soon. Be safe. I love you."
Bucky watched in amazement as the little blue otter swam away. He was brought out of his trance by a laughing Hermione.
"It's amazing right?" She asked him rhetorically.
"That doesn't even begin to describe it." He said with wonder. "What was that thing? Why did you talk into it? Why?
That's when he noticed Hermione wince in pain as she lowered herself to the ground, holding her ankle carefully. Bucky crouched down beside her to check the injury. He put pressure on it and she howled in pain.
"It's broken. Don't suppose you have a spell for that right?" Bucky asked jokingly, trying to distract her from the obvious pain she was experiencing. But guessing from the look on her face, there was definitely a magic way to fix it.
"As a matter of fact…" Hermione pointed her wand towards her ankle saying, "Os Fractum Iturum."
Hermione yelped as the spell began to slowly heal her bone. "It's not 100 percent effective unless I let it settle for a moment. We may have to wait a few minutes before I can stand or walk."
"We can wait a minute or two." Bucky said with a smile. They sat in silence for a bit, both too afraid to say anything. Bucky decided to break the ice with a cough before asking, "So what was the ferret looking thing?"
"You mean the Otter?" Hermione clarified with a smile and a slight chuckle. He was probably in too much shock to notice the species of the animal. "That's my Patronus. It's a representation of my inner animal. It's used primarily for fighting off Dementors which in my world are soul-sucking demons who guard our prisons. However I was taught another more uncommon use for them. They can be used as a form of communication between myself and anyone I need to give a message to. It's undetectable so it's ideal for forms of secret communication."
'Sure would've been useful during the war.' Bucky thought to himself, 'Wonder what secrets she'd need to hide within her own world?' So he decided to ask.
"Why would you need to use secret forms of communication?" Bucky asked curiously.
Hermione knew she'd been caught red handed. She didn't feel like lying anymore today so she found a clever way around his question. "Me and my friends get into a lot of trouble, pulling pranks and sneaking out after curfew for a midnight snack. So in order to avoid getting caught by a teacher or prefect we use Patronus' to communicate."
If Bucky was suspicious of her answer he didn't show it. Instead he chuckled, "I don't really see you as the trouble making type."
"I've had my fair share of detentions." Hermione said simply, making sure not to give too much detail.
"Really? What could you have done to earn that? Snuck out to the library after curfew?" He teased. Hermione had in fact snuck out to the library after curfew many times without Ron or Harry, thank goodness because without those two it was easier not to get caught.
"No." Hermione said with a playful eye roll, "In fact my best friends Ron, Harry and I once-"
Hermione was cut off by the sound of her phone ringing. She had kept it in her back pocket and since she had fallen on her backside during the explosion, she assumed that it had broken. Guess not. She read the name under Caller ID. Tony. He must be worried sick.
"Tony?" Hermione answered quickly, not making her father wait any longer for the response he'd probably been hoping for.
"Hermione? Are you okay? I mean I know you said you were I got that weird little ferret thing-" Tony sputtered off in a rant.
"Otter." Hermione corrected. "Yes, Bucky and I are fine. Is everyone else okay?"
"Bruce and Natasha aren't here. Must've ended up on a lower level near you. Roger and I ran to suit up so I didn't see where Fury ended up. You're not injured or anything right?" Tony asked once again looking for a full confirmation that she was all right. She decided to tell him the truth, just in stages that wouldn't worry him so much.
"Better. I did hurt my ankle but I used a spell to fix it. I'm back on my feet now." Hermione informed him as she heard him sigh in relief. Before he could speak again Hermione wanted to answer a question that had been swirling in her head the last couple of minutes. "Any idea what caused this? Is the ship going down?"
"That's what Rogers and I are going to check out now." Tony informed her. While he was muttering to himself Hermione decided to ask Bucky,
"Did you want to talk to Steve?" She said in a whisper, holding the phone away from her ear. It would probably be nice for both of them to hear each other's voices to confirm their safety.
Bucky shrugged. "I'll see him soon. He never could keep away from a fight. He'll be okay."
Hermione nodded before getting back to the phone, just in time to hear Tony.
"I have to go. I'll let you know as soon as I have any information." Tony said in a promising tone.
"Okay. Be safe." She asked him.
"Likewise." Tony said hoping he could trust Bucky to keep his daughter safe. "Love you."
"Likewise." Hermione said with a breathy chuckle which was cut off as she hung up.
"So about this 'trouble' you get into-" Bucky was once again cut off by a worried yell followed by loud crashes and banging noises. "Did that not sound like-?"
"Natasha." Hermione finihsed. She began trying to stand up, not used to the weight being off her freshly healed ankle.
"Can you walk?" Bucky clarified before they went any further to try and help.
"Guess we'll have to find out." Hermione told him.
They both listened for the noises and followed the echoing sound. Natasha was a stong women, she wouldn't be screaming bloody murder without good reason. Eventually Bucky and Hermione reached a semi open area that looked like a tornado ran through it.
"The explosion didn't affect anything else on this floor." Hermione said before pointing to her left. "It looks like the trail leads that way."
Hermione began to walk down the hallway, Bucky following reluctantly behind. A large growling sound seemed to be getting louder and louder with every step they took. Hermione decided to take a leap of faith and call out.
"Natasha?" Hermione asked. The room went dead silent. Until a few moments later when Natasha came barreling towards the two.
"Run!" She called.
Hermione and Bucky didn't understand what they were supposed to be running from. That was until the great green rage monster that Tony was such a big fan of, came lumbering quickly towards them from behind Natasha.
They were about to come face to face with the Incredible Hulk.
Okay guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Once again sorry for the long wait. But since you all missed them so much here was your cliffhanger!
Ok for last week's poll question, I win which means balance has been restored to the universe! It also means that the score is now:
Delaney-5
Luke-2
Now this weeks poll question is did Bucky deserve a redemption arc? You all can probably guess my thoughts on this...hell yes! He had no control over what he did during his time as the Winter Soldier. Now that he is free he is trying to make amends. As he said in TFATWS he's gone from one fight to the next for decades so really he'd doing the best he can. Luke however disagrees and for once he is going to give you his reasoning for his beliefs. (No matter how stupid they are) So here it is:
Personally I believe that Bucky has done way more negative things in his life than he could possibly hope to make up for. Sure he has done a lot to make up for it, but there's way too many things that are evil. I'm convinced that he's not fully over the trigger words from Hydra, and he's shown signs that he still has extremely violent tendencies. Not to mention he regularily has situations that could make some sort of PTSD activate that would cause him to resort to his Winter Soldier style.
Anyways leave your thoughts in the comments because seriously we can't let Luke win!
Please leave any name suggestions for Hermione's Avenger's name in the comments because I am really loving some of the names suggested!
Alright, that's all for me this week, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Finally, I just want to thank you all so much for reading and for giving me all the support. It is what keeps me going. See you all next week! (Hopefully)
-Delaney