Chapter 6 - Conversations

"Who's Thanos?" Natasha asked.

"He's a Titan, the last Titan, the mad Titan." Loki replied, not looking at anyone.

"Like Cronos?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, I think the legend of Cronos comes from his species at least." Loki said.

"Why does he want the stones?" Hermione inquired.

Loki closed his eyes, "From what I know of his history, he was the only survivor of his planet, who went extinct. They lacked resources for the amount of people and he proposed a random culling of 50% of the population to survive."

"A genocide." Hermione whispered. She was sitting on the couch, and Steve had sat down next to her, at that proclamation he took her hand in his and squeezed, both remembering mad men hellbent on genocide.

"Yes. It wasn't accepted and the population eventually died out from the lack of resources from what I know. Ever since, he's been going from planet to planet culling 50% of their population randomly. I don't know if it's revenge, delusion, if he truly thinks he's helping, either way, he wants the stones to make his plan universe-wide." Loki said, looking at the ground and Thor put one arm over his shoulder in comfort, feeling extremely guilty he did not notice Loki wasn't himself earlier.

"What are the stones?" Tony asked, looking at Hermione.

"They're not widely known, but I found out about them while doing some research in astronomy a few years ago for a project. There are six infinity stones, they've been there since the beginning and they bring balance to the universe, they're elemental, which is why the wizarding world knows about them." Hermione explained.

"They represent the various aspects of existence itself. The one in the sceptre was the Mind Stone, the one in the Tesseract the Space Stone. Beyond those two, there is the Time Stone, which is also on Midgard I believe. Then, the Soul Stone, of which little is known, the Power Stone, and the Reality Stone." Loki continued her explanation.

"So he wants all of them to bend the Universe to its will?" Clint asked for confirmation.

"Yes, he does. But he won't be able to, not this time." Luna Lovegood chimed in, having finally removed her disillusionment charm.

"Who are you?" Tony asked, staring at her. Luna was wearing a bright yellow summer dress, and her long blonde hair was falling down her back, she was a sight to behold.

"Luna Lovegood, she's a friend. I asked her to come earlier today when I was worried because I had no news from you and Steve wasn't at the Park, which I understand why now." Hermione said.

"Is she an elf?" Tony wondered.

"No, I'm a witch, not an elf. Although most people assume I'm a fairy or a veela. I've never been compared to an elf before, they're rather small." Luna said with a serene voice and sat down on the arm of the armchair Tony was sitting in.

"He's thinking of the high elves, like the ones in Tolkien, remember the movie we watched a few years ago?" Hermione said.

"Oh yes, do I look like Galadriel?" Luna wondered.

"Yes." Tony muttered, looking dazed.

"By the way, let's circle back to the whole witch thing." Clint said, changing the subject and not wanting to continue observing the weird interaction between Stark and the blonde with the big eyes.

"She's a witch, Miss. Lovegood is also a witch. There are a lot of witches and wizards on Midgard." Loki drawled from his corner.

"Really?" Natasha asked, quite curious.

"Yes, although our existence is maintained secret by the Statute of Secrecy. It was put in place in most countries after the Witch Trials. I'm not technically allowed to tell you." Hermione replied.

"Why did Stark know then?" Client asked, miffed.

"Because he's my brother." Hermione retorted.

"It's so weird to know the brother you were talking about was Stark." Steve commented.

"Not as weird as the fact you knew my father decades ago and you're almost a century old." Hermione volleyed back.

"Am I though? I wasn't conscious for decades of it. Almost 70 years, so really I'm only 24 years old." Steve said while squeezing her hand.

"Does this mean Peggy is still alive then? You talked about her like she had died, but really it was you who disappeared."

"She is. She lived a full life, got married and had kids. But she has Alzheimer and won't last very long now from what I know." Steve replied with a frown.

"At least she lived a good and long life, be happy she was happy." Hermione told him and he nodded in acquiescence.

"Right, so two of the stones are hidden away, but we don't know when this Thanos guy will come back or how to prepare for him." Bruce Banner interjected.

"Yes, Thor and I need to go back to Asgard, from there and with Heimdall's help, we can look into it." Loki said.

"I can create linked parchments with a protean charm so we can communicate, although I'm not sure how much is possible through the bifrost." Hermione said.

"How do you know so much about Asgard, and my family?" Loki asked.

"The Norse Gods became myths in the non magical world centuries ago, but it's still discussed as fact in the Wizarding World, although we are aware you're not really Gods but simply from another realm." Hermione replied with a smile and Loki nodded.

They continued talking about Thanos, the stones, a bit about the Wizarding World despite Hermione's reticence and eventually they used the bar to make drinks and Tony ordered Chinese for all of them, once the day was almost over, Fury came into the room.

"Well, well, well, does anyone want to tell me what the hell happened here?"

"Nick!" Hermione exclaimed, and ran to him for a hug.

"Sweetheart! What are you doing here?" Nick Fury asked her while hugging her back, Tony mouthed sweetheart to Natasha who shrugged.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione retorted.

"Hermione, Fury is the Director of SHIELD." Tony said from his armchair.

"Really?" Hermione exclaimed looking at him like she had never seen him before.

"Yes, I am. Sorry I never told you but security clearances and all that. Does Kings know about this?"

Hermione grimaced, "No, I quit my job a few months ago and then came here a few weeks ago. I never told him why."

"That explains his rant at Christmas." Fury muttered.

"I'm sorry, but last year was rough and then I found out Tony was my brother so I tracked him down. The whole thing today wasn't planned though." Hermione explained.

"It's fine sweetheart. Besides, the Avengers have enough clearance to know about the Wizarding World, Stark would be the only concern but I assume he wouldn't put his siter in danger." Fury said while glaring at Stark who simply smirked.

"How do you know Fury?" Clint asked.

"Oh, he's the half-brother of the Minister of Magic in Britain." Hermione explained, while the two of them took a seat, Hermione going back next to Steve.

"You know the Minister of Magic enough to be this familiar with his brother?" Natasha asked.

"She saved Kings' life years ago, he sees her like a little sister and so do I." Fury said, glaring at everyone in the room except her and Luna, "Hello Miss. Lovegood, it's good to see you."

"You too, Nick." Luna said with a big smile that seemed to hypnotise Tony.

"So, what happened?" Fury reiterated his first question.

"When we arrived at the Tower, Loki was already here, he tried to take control of her too but it didn't work, and then she did something and he collapsed. Wasn't himself apparently." Clint said.

"He was controlled by Thanos via the sceptre." Thor explained.

"Thanos?" Fury asked.

"Space Hitler." Tony explained.

"Right. Where's this Thanos now?" Fury inquired.

"We do not know, when Loki and I are back on Asgard we will make inquiries." Thor said.

"And the sceptre? The tesseract? Where are they?" Fury asked.

"Hidden away." Hermione said.

"You hid them?" Fury asked her.

"Yes. They both contain infinity stones, not meant for any mortal to wield, or anyone really. They're part of the fabric of the Universe." Hermione explained.

Fury frowned, "We've been working on the Tesseract for decades."

"It doesn't belong to you, it's been out there for billions of years. Besides, something of that power should never be in the hands of a para-military organisation." Hermione retorted with a firm tone.

"Can I ask where you hid them?" Fury inquired.

"You can." Hermione replied with a smirk.

"You really are his sister, it's uncanny. Although you don't really look like each other." Fury commented.

Hermione frowned, "I know, I noticed it too."

"It's a glamour, tied to your core. I assume Dumbledore put it there to make sure you would look like the Grangers." Luna chimed in.

"Can you remove it?" Hermione wondered.

"Of course." Luna said and got up, she took out her wand and scanned Hermione to pinpoint the glamour. "This will hurt." She said, before chanting a Latin spell to remove it.

Hermione screamed in pain and Steve hugged her tight, ignoring Tony's glare and frown.

When Luna finished chanting, she cast a pain numbing spell on Hermione and stood back.

"How do I look?" Hermione asked.

"Your hair is less curly, more wavy like dad, and a darker brown like me, your eyes are blue like mom though." Tony said, staring at her. He got up and took her in his arms for a tight hug.

"He's right, you look like Howard a lot, nothing else really changed beyond your eyes and your hair." Steve commented.

"Thank you Luna." Hermione said, before taking her seat back once she had untangled herself from Tony who blinked his eyes quickly to not cry. Luna handed him a handkerchief without comment and he took it.

"So, what now?" Natasha asked the room.

"We rest, Loki and Thor go back to Asgard." Hermione said.

"I think we should use the tower as a base for the foreseeable future. Many of the levels are living spaces, Hermione and I are on two of them but there's a lot more if anyone wants to move in." Tony said.

"Could I use the lab?" Bruce Banner asked.

"Of course, there are more than one, I have my own, Hermione has one as well without any technological interferences but there are a few more available." Tony replied.

"I'll move in then."

"Me too." Steve replied.

"You already have a place to live in New York Rogers." Tony said with a glare.

Steve looked right at him, "I have a shitty apartment from the forties SHIELD provided to facilitate my assimilation. I'd rather be here."

"I'm putting you on a level so far away from Hermione you'll never see her." Tony replied.

"Tony!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Fine." He grumbled.

They all went to bed, with Tony giving Banner his own elevator card for level 92, and reluctantly one for Rogers for level 97. He gave a tour to both of them and they all eventually went to bed. The Asgardians also on their own levels while Clint and Natasha went back to SHIELD with Fury, and Luna simply went back home with a quick kiss on Tony's cheek that left him frozen in shock for a solid minute and a hug to Hermione who was snickering.


The next morning found Tony sitting at the breakfast bar in the communal kitchen of the upper level, right below the bar they all were in the night before. Steve walked in and poured himself a cup of coffee in silence while Tony was glaring at him.

"She's not going to replace Carter you know." Tony said.

Steve looked at him coolly, "She's nothing like Peggy, I am well aware of that."

"She's not a rebound."

"Look Stark, I loved Peggy but we literally never made it to our first date and that was 70 years ago. I'm working on moving on, Hermione is a friend."

"The way you look at her isn't friendly."

"I won't lie, I would like her to be more, in time. She's still grieving, I'm still grieving."

"Fine."

Hermione came in at that moment and poured herself a cup of tea.

"Can I ask how old is your friend Luna?" Tony asked bluntly.

Hermione looked at him for a while, "She's 31 years old, and recently divorced. However, Luna is quite unique."

"Huh, I assumed she was younger. You also look younger than you are, is it because of the magic?" Tony wondered, not touching her latter comment.

"It is. We tend to live to 150 years old on average, some go as far as 200." Hermione replied, sipping her tea.

"Right, but you said some magicals marry non magicals, how does that work with that much of a difference?" Tony asked.

"They live longer by being surrounded by magic, usually from their partner and often from their home with the residual magic around. There's also a few potions made for exactly this issue, so that the partner matches the magical lifespan, the potions are only available after a wedding and I think a few years of marriage. Depending on country, a child might be necessary as well to justify it." Hermione explained.

Tony hummed but remained silent while Steve wondered how much the serum had changed his own lifespan.


A few hours later, the whole group including Luna and Fury was back on the deck, both Loki and Thor standing next to each other.

Hermione had enchanted linked parchments and gave one to Loki so he could update them on their research on Thanos, and the brothers were ready to go home. Loki having been exonerated due to Thanos' mind control in the eyes of Asgardian justice, while Fury was working on spinning the truth for SHIELD and the various government demanding answers.

"Heimdall, open the Bifrost!" Thor yelled at the sky and suddenly a beam of light enveloped them both and they were whisked away, leaving the Bifrost mark burned into the deck.

"They could have said something about that." Tony muttered, looking at his new deck in resignation.

"It looks much better now." Luna said with a wide small, holding onto Tony's arm who softened immediately, and Hermione had to turn away to stop herself from laughing while Natasha rolled her eyes.