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

Chapter Twenty-Five: A Problem Like Loki

By unspoken agreement, they—Loki now included in the attempt at explaining the mess they'd found themselves in—once more omitted the smuttier parts of everything that had happened since the moment they'd all met. Just as Hermione and Bucky had done the other day when the Avengers had first found them.

"So . . . you see," Hermione said, her voice unsteady and her hands flailing in nervous, fidgeting motions, "it wasn't that we wanted to be dishonest with you, all. We truly couldn't help it. We just felt driven to protect him."

"Yeah, 'cause you'd be the first people Loki hasn't manipulated into thinking he's worth anything." Tony shook his head, an exasperated sigh tumbling out of him. He'd known trusting Bucky was a bad idea, but would anyone listen to him? No!

Bucky—not currently caring about his usual point of regarding Tony with a grain of salt due to his history with the Stark family—bared his teeth a little. "It's not like that!"

Nodding, Tony pursed his lips. "Right, because that's not exactly the sort of thing manipulated people say."

Uttering a scoffing sound in the back of his throat, Bucky threw back his head to glare at the ceiling.

Tony looked about at the rest of his team. Cap and Sam seemed to be waiting for someone, anyone, to throw a punch so they would know what to react to, Natasha and Clint were in a hushed discussion as their gazes leaped about the trio before them, and Thor . . . . Thor was strangely quiet. Calm on the surface, despite his pacing, his attention locked on his brother, all the while.

"Is no one else going to chime in, here?"

"Okay," Natasha said, holding up a placating hand. "None of us trust Loki, but there's got to be something to all of this if he made the choice to show his face here, knowing we all want him dead."

Loki tipped his head to one side as he granted the redhead a grin. "I have always admired your cleverness."

Sighing, Natasha rolled her eyes.

"Yeah." Sam shook his head. "Because everyone wants to be admired by an alien psychopath."

"Unless it's part of his plan," Steve said, deliberately ignoring the commentary as he tried to be the voice of reason. He didn't want any part of this argument. Bucky had kept this from him, and that stung like hell, but he also knew that after everything they'd been through, if Bucky said he hadn't shared any of this because he couldn't, then Steve believed him.

"I do not believe it is part of any plan." Thor broke from his pacing to approach the three. "At least, not one that benefits himself."

"Did we miss something?" Clint asked, his brows drawing upward.

Thor nodded. "We all did. This is about what you asked me on Pathios, is it not?" He met Hermione's eyes as the question hung in the air. "The koblet tre. You three are thus connected?"

Tony and Sam, the only ones who'd stayed behind, looked about for someone to explain. Nat, Steve, and Clint all scrambled to remember the exact discussion that had taken place.

Hermione swallowed hard, glancing back to meet Bucky and Loki's gazes. What were they supposed to do? Admit to this mystical bond that sounded completely ludicrous?

"You said it was some sort of inescapable connection, didn't you?" Natasha frowned in thought.

"Not in quite those words, but you capture my meaning, yes," Thor said with a nod.

Tony sneered in disbelief. They'd all left their sanity on Pathios, clearly, because this was nuts. "Did it occur to you maybe Loki's using the idea of this koblet . . . whatever it is to trick you two?"