Nova sat in the fireside chair, unable to sleep. School was in a couple days and her stomach was all up in knots about her upcoming mission. Her mind whirled with increasingly snarled thoughts as she turned the very unclear state of things over and over in her head.You're going on a date with Loki Laufeyson, focus on that. Nova paused, one new thought pushing through to the forefront. He's...a lot older than me. But... I turned him into a teenager. He's an immortal shapeshifter. Does age still...register into this equation? Unbidden, Tony's voice rose the forefront.
"If you ever find yourself a boyfriend or a girlfriend and you're beginning to feel like age is irrelevant... I'll kill you both. You stay away from men past a certain age. There are laws here, supernova girl."
Nova chuckled dryly to herself, trying to push the thought aside. "Something funny?" Sirius stood at the door. "I've been trying to get your attention for a couple minutes."
Nova looked at his eyes and saw they remained a dove sort of grey. This was really him. "No. Well, yes." He shut the door and came to sit, pulling a chair from thin air with a flick of his wrist. "Everyone keeps calling me a child, but the fact remains I'm an alien. I know I'm supposed to be Cierce now and they don't know I'm actually Nova, but...They called me a child before too. Maybe I sort of look the part, but I went from the size of a toddler to this in a scant few months. Obviously whatever I'm supposed to be matures very fast. And I've already been this size for a handful of years now."
"Would you prefer you be labeled an adult?" Sirius' soft voice washed over her, bringing a sort of calm to her snarled emotions and thoughts. "I could...Remus and I know the truth of your identity. We could grant you that much, Nova."
Nova felt warmth in her heart at his attempts to make her more comfortable. "Maybe. It sounds right. I've been through more than any child should ever have to be. Which is one reason I'm so upset about Harry. He's a normal boy. Comparatively. There's absolutely no reasons our trials should be so similar."
Sirius listened, making Nova feel very heard. "Nova, can I ask you something?" He gently prodded. She waited, in the affirmative. "Have you properly grieved young Mr. Diggory?"
The peace and sense of ease Nova felt surrounded in all but disappeared. "The first incident here at the manor occured when you found out he had died. You made others cry your tears in your grief and then abruptly were forced to drop the subject."
"Cedric and I were very close." A huge lump was filling Nova's throat. "I think about that night in the maze a lot. How it ended in total darkness and then I woke in the infimary. A feat no one else had done."
"We aren't talking about how you survived Nova." Sirius gently reminded her.
"He was my brother." Every word choked her as it fought to get last the lump. "My best friend. The closest you can get to soulmate while being platonic. I'd have died for him. Maybe I did. I can't even ask Harry how it happened. When I..." A sheer panic was starting to build in her chest. "He was my my very best friend and not only did it never cross my mind we were going to die, I never thought to say goodbye or tell him how much I cared for him. If love is such a powerful magic as Dumbledore puts it, then why am I still sucking air and Ced...Ced is...?" Shoulders shaking Nova felt bare and exposed and so close to a raw vulnerable center. She was freely sobbing her strange purple tears. They began to leak from Sirius' too, although he fought his back down.
"Nova, come here." He opened his arms. "It's alright. Adults can hug each other and cry at completely undignified volumes if they need to." She flew into his arms at this, finally letting herself sob it out, body wracking, soul-rending cries of deep pain.
"He was special." Nova couldn't explain any further when she finally pulled back. "He was special and now he's gone, Sirius."
"I know." He was standing. "It's late, Nova. Get some sleep. You'll see your father soon. Doesn't that make you feel some comfort at least?"
"Thank you." She waited until Sirius was gone and looked at the wand she used to do her school work. Then she looked at her hands, recalling the kind of magic she could apparently do now.
x
Loki blinked into Nova's room at a little after ten pm. Even before his eyes had adjusted, the smell of alcohol hit his nose. Then he saw Nova, surrounded by empty bottles. The room shimmered with spent magic. She looked up at him. "I forgot our date. I'm sorry. Did you know my morail is dead and I found out only a coulle days ago?" She took a swig and dropped the empty bottle. "I'm tired from using so much of that new magic and I'm still...barely tipsy." Morail? A term the blue one kept using to explain why he hates purples like Nova. How does she know that word?
She scooted on the bed spread until she was facing him. "You're handsome, you know."
Loki moved closer, within grabbing distance as he looked down at her, careful to keep a neutral expression. "I've been told that before."
She leaned in, rising up until she was nearly eye level, on her knees on the bed. "I feel brave enough to say it now. You're quite...singular. You just...you're like me. Both of us adrift from our people." She licked her bottom lip. "Let me have this, Loki. Unless...you aren't attracted."
"Nova..." Loki searched for a way to turn this on its end. He might have had a reputation for being manipulative, and while it was certainly true...Loki Laufeyson did not sleep with alcohol-impaired individuals. "How about we cuddle instead. You can tell me what's wrong and I'll listen, judgement free. I've been called a good liar, but I only got that way by being even better at hearing everything around me."
He sat on the edge, pulling away from her intended kiss and drew her in for a hug so he could start rubbing her back. The blue one said that back rubs have a literal medical effect on his people. Like an anti-depressant. Or the calm emotions spell, as Barton suggested. Nova started shaking and then crying. "I just found out he was gone, Loki. You were here for that. You know the plan involves me pretending to be a new person. That means I can't grieve Cedric. The story I've been given has me as someone who never even knew him. Or any of my Hogwarts friends." Nova shuddered in his grasp. "He wasn't just a friend. Which I don't mean romantically. The bond was just...much more integral for me. I have to cry now and seal up any reactions that might happen later. I have to force my grieving to fit pre-decided constraints."
"It's awful." He said to show that he was still there and encourage Nova to keep sharing.
"My heart is so flooded with pain and darkness. I feel...I feel close to realizing something terrible. That's the best way I can word it." Loki fought not to stiffen.
"Don't struggle. Just let yourself feel what you're going to feel." Please don't go crazy. I'd... I'd die inside if they did something to you.
"I'm afraid to sleep." She admitted. "What if I have night terrors like when I was a grub?" Loki had been briefed on these too, when the blue one said their kind normally slept in a special slime to quell their naturally dark mental states.
"I'll be right here." He kept rubbing and patting her back. "Sleep, Nova." He laid down, pulling her with him and holding her to his chest.
x
Nova opened her eyes and she was in the graveyard, coughing and holding her ribs. "Harry. Harry get up. The cup, it took us somewhere."
"A port key." Cedric winced, sitting up.
Something is wrong. Nova's thought whirled, hard. I think I've done this before. Harry who was sitting up, groaned. "We have to get to the cup. Get out of here."
Nova pointed her wand at the cup, intending to summon it. Why am I here? I wasn't chosen to be a champion. The memory remained vague and dark. Movement caught the edge of her vision and she turned to look, seeing a man pointing a wand at Cedric. His lips moved, mouthing the words to the killing curse. Nova sprang, darting in front of both boys on the ground.
The impact was sudden and...Nova wasn't in a graveyard anymore. She floated endlessly in space, flipping head over heels in a field of stars toward a cluster of colorful bubbles. They looked to be full of people like her. Alternians. There was a rushing noise behind her and Nova looked on her next rotation to see a blue woman with large white wings reaching for her. Then she was yanked down, violently careening away from both of the only points of interest in this strange place.
x
Loki felt her slipping into her nightmare and decided to leave it be unless she started exhibiting concerning symptoms. As long as my enchantment holds. They shouldn't come back for her. Loki felt troubled, thinking of the danger surrounding Nova Stark on all sides. Damn kyrian. You can't have her.