Bewitched by You (A Marvel/Harry Potter Crossover) COMPLETED

Chapter Twenty: Pathios Remembered

The moment they'd set foot back on earth, Hermione had slapped them all with some spell that removed the ick from them. While Bucky was grateful to be free of the goop—and the very unique smell—he wondered, with her apologetic attitude, if he should be forgiving, or maybe use the entire mess against her. He'd only tease her, of course.

Then again, that sort of thinking made him wonder how much of an influence this connection they had to Loki actually might have over them.

After seeing the weary state the group was in upon their return, Tony insisted they all get some rest. They could debrief in the morning—when they didn't all look like they could fall asleep standing up.

Upon securing the locator stone in one of the many vaults Tony'd tucked away inside the tower, Thor finally gave Hermione a moment's peace from his barrage of questions about creatures which were supposed to no longer exist in Midgard.

Perhaps ending with dragons was the problem—she'd thought he would follow her and Bucky all the way to their quarters. There may have even been a mental image of the Asgardian camped out in the corridor as he asked questions through the intercom.

She very much liked his enthusiasm and wonderment, but knowing she and Bucky were expecting to go to sleep to have a chat with his step-brother—his step-brother who was supposed to be at the core of the problems they were having—made her a nervous wreck about the idea. She was also relatively certain that if not for her situation with Bucky and Loki, she'd probably fall for the hulking blond Asgardian in a blink, two girlfriends, or no two girlfriends, but that was what happened when a man of Thor's stature behaved in a manner that could only be deemed adorable.

It wasn't until they were in their quarters with the door closed behind them that Bucky turned to face her. "Next time, don't mention dragons, maybe?"

Lifting her gaze to his, Hemione only stared at him for a few heartbeats before she snorted a giggle. "I thought nearly the same thing!"

"I thought you would never be rid of him."

The pair jumped at the voice behind them.

Running on instinct, Hermione whirled on her heel, a stunning spell rocketing from her wand. Bucky, too, had spun, his stance defensive. He moved just in time to see the jet of energy strike Loki.

As she'd originally surmised, the jet-haired man was not affected as the spell intended. He toppled, managing to get his knees under him, so that he crumpled to a kneeling position rather than falling flat on his face, but he remained mostly upright, offering a pained expression.

Giving himself a shake, Loki shifted his attention to Hermione. "That packs quite a wallop."

Frowning, she lifted her wand, scrutinizing the tip—were it a gun, there would be some joke about not shooting herself in the eye, she was certain. "Yes, well, seems it works a bit different on non-Midgardians. That spell is supposed to immobilize you, but not hurt very much, at all. You're hurt, but not immobile, so . . . . This is actually rather fascinating. I'd guessed my magic might work differently if I'd cast any spell on Pathios, too." She tapped the fingers of her free hand against her jaw as she continued examining her wand. "If you wouldn't mind me testing some spells on you, I'd love to—"

"Hermione, doll? This isn't really the time," Bucky said with a strained laugh.

She glanced at him, then at Loki. Just as well, she supposed, as the would-be god looked rather startled by what she'd been interrupted from suggesting. "Right, sorry."

Though she wondered if it was wise, she sheathed her wand—Loki wouldn't hurt her. Odd how she barely knew him, and yet that was one of the few things in this world of which she was absolutely certain. Well, there'd been that knot on her head from their first meeting, when he'd tried to stop her from running to Bucky, and the spectacular bruise along her side now from getting hurled through the astral tear in the ziggurat, but she didn't actually count those.