Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with the Harry Potter Universe nor the Marvel Cinematic Universe
A/N: Hello! Welcome to the next instalment of the Sorceress series. I was going to wait until the New Year but, as you can see, I thought I'd start this fic a bit earlier - an early Christmas present for you all perhaps!
Just a quick note that this first chapter is different to my normal ones. I'll talk some more at the end...
"Thanos is coming!" Bruce gasped the moment after he felt himself crash onto solid ground. He looked up through the wreckage he'd caused with his landing and saw two robed men staring at him in surprise. "He's coming!"
The two men glanced at each other. One of them, a large Asian man, was holding his hands up defensively but they were shielded by glowing symbols.
"How do you know of Thanos?" the other man, adorned in a red cloak, asked warily.
"How do you know about him?" Bruce countered, equally suspicious.
There was a pause when neither side spoke and then, at the same time, they all said, "Hermione."
Bruce scrambled to his feet. "You know Hermione Granger?"
"We know a Hermione Rogers," the cloaked man said.
"Shoot. Yes, that's the same person," Bruce explained. "I keep forgetting she and Steve got married. We've got to find her and warn her that Thanos is gathering the Infinity Stones. How do you know her?"
The two men exchanged another sidelong look. "That's a pretty long story."
Bruce shook his head. "I haven't got time to hear it - I told you, Thanos is coming!"
"Nevertheless," the cloaked man said, as he pulled Bruce out of the rubble with a wave of his hands and more glowing symbols, "I think, given your mention of the Infinity Stones, that it's best you hear some of it..."
Stephen only noticed her because she was in the library of Kamar-Taj almost as much as he was. Like him, she also seemed to have earned the approval of Wong because she was reading books from the Masters-only section of the library even though she didn't wear the robes of someone of that rank.
"How long did it take you to learn classical Sanskrit?" Stephen asked her once, noting that she was able to read the text without the aid of Google Translate like he was using until his photographic memory had him covered.
"When I was abducted into deep space, I was fitted with a translator that helps me understand all languages," she said not even bothering to glance up from her page.
Stephen laughed. Finally someone in this library had a sense of humour. "Good one," he said and then carried on his way to get more books from Wong.
After that exchange, he noticed her impressive displays in the training courtyard. Her mastery of the spellwork seemed exceptional to his somewhat untrained eye and he'd never seen her defeated in a physical confrontation.
Mordo saw him watching her one day and chuckled. "You don't know who she is, do you?"
Stephen looked at him curiously. "Am I supposed to know who she is? I thought we were meant to leave everything we knew at the door - surely it doesn't matter who she was before she came here."
Mordo tilted his head in acknowledgement of his point. "In most cases that is true," he agreed. "But she was already capable of magic before she came here; it was just a slightly different branch." Stephen just stared at him in confusion until Mordo rolled his eyes. "I thought you were supposed to be clever," he muttered before explaining, "that's the Sorceress from the Avengers."
Stephen most certainly hadn't expected that.
When he saw her in the library that afternoon, he stood by her table and waited for her to look up. When that didn't happen, he cleared his throat, thrust out one of his nerve-damaged hands and said, "Doctor Stephen Strange."
She glanced up at his face, down at his offered hand and then back up to his face again. "Hermione," she greeted, shaking his hand politely. "What can I do for you, Doctor Strange?"
"Uh, Stephen, please. Do you mind if I sit?" he asked, indicating the seat opposite and she waved her hand to show she had no objection. "Thank you. Look, I'll cut straight to the chase." He held up his trembling hands. "I was in a road accident a few months ago and my hands suffered extreme nerve damage. I'm a neurosurgeon… used to be a neurosurgeon," he corrected bitterly. "I came here to heal myself because western medicine failed me. However, despite all my diligent studying, my hands are no better." His gaze had inadvertently drifted downwards to his hands again and his body was wracked with a familiar sense of frustration. He needed to be a surgeon again - that was his identity, what he'd built his life around. Without his hands he was nothing.
He realised he'd been quiet for too long and he looked up to see Hermione was watching him closely. "I know who you are," he said bluntly in a misguided attempt to move on from the silence, "who you're known as beyond these walls."
Her previously impassive face became tense and guarded. He didn't know why an Avenger was studying here in Kathmandu but nor did he particularly care.
"Mordo mentioned that you can use magic differently than the way we study it here," Stephen continued. "Is that true?"
She nodded stiffly. "Here, anyone with the belief and the willpower can draw on the energy taken from the different dimensions of the multiverse to create spells. The magic I was brought up with was only accessible by my family."
Stephen took in her words. "So I wouldn't be able to study your other form of sorcery?"
"You might be able to study and understand the magical theory but I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to perform it yourself," she replied with a hint of sympathy.
Stephen nodded, more than a little disappointed - and yet... "Are there healing spells in your branch of magic?"
Hermione briefly glanced down at his hands. "Yes," she said cautiously.
"Could they heal my hands?" he asked, unable to stop the familiar feeling of hope settling in his chest despite the unending disappointment he'd received in return.
Hermione hesitated. "Possibly," she eventually replied.
Stephen's mouth had gone dry. "Will you attempt it? Please. I've tried everything."
Hermione looked into his eyes but he didn't know what she was searching for because he thought his desperation was fairly obvious. "Tell me what exactly happened to your hands," she requested pushing her book to one side and reaching forwards to gently tug his hands towards her. When he hesitated, she arched an eyebrow at him. "I may not have a PhD, Doctor, but I have studied the human body extensively. Don't worry about confusing me with the necessary medical terms."
Stephen nodded and began to tell her about the classification of his nerve damage and the surgeries he'd been through to combat it. She waved her fingers over his hands and a number of colours hovered in the air. "I suppose these red lines represent the steel pins," she commented pointing to the scarlet hues. Stephen stared at the image, mesmerised by the glowing depiction of his injuries. "They'll probably make things more difficult," she murmured.
"But you can do it?" he asked eagerly.
She waved her hand and the lights disappeared. "I think so."
Before he could express his thanks a calm but clear voice behind them said, "Mrs Rogers, I wonder if I could speak to Mr Strange alone for a moment."
They glanced over to find the Ancient One smiling at them serenely.
"Of course," Hermione replied gathering her books and forcing them into the pockets of her robes, which didn't appear physically possible to Stephen but he was too distracted by a possible cure to think much on it. "I need to send an email to my cousin anyway," she murmured before bidding them both farewell.
"Are you going to sit or are we going for a walk?" Stephen asked the Ancient One. Despite her serene demeanour, he had a feeling that he was about to be rebuked.
"It's a pleasant afternoon," she said lightly, gesturing to the door. "Let us make the most of it."
He got to his feet and they strolled through Kamar-Taj in silence for a few minutes until Stephen could stand it no longer. "Why didn't you tell me that she might be able to heal me?" he asked, his annoyance evident.
"Hermione is not here to heal you," she replied unaffected by his tone.
"Does that matter?" he argued. "If she's here and she can help me, why would it be wrong for her to fix my hands?"
The Ancient One stopped and gazed over the rooftops of Kathmandu to the snow-capped mountains in the distance. "You came here for answers and learned that what you seek lies within you."
"True as that might be, that hasn't stopped my hands from shaking," he pointed out.
She turned away from the mountains to look at him. "So, now that there is the potential for an easier solution you will put aside all you have learnt here, disregard the ways you've grown over the past months and turn to someone else to solve your problem for you."
"That's what doctors do all the time," he reminded her. "When people can't fix themselves they turn to those who can."
The Ancient One smiled. "But unlike your patients, you can fix yourself."
Stephen resisted the urge to turn away from her in frustration. He respected her wisdom and mastery of her skills, but that didn't mean that he didn't find conversing with her damned irritating at times. Nor did he appreciate that there were no simple answers here - everything had a convoluted path. He couldn't deny that everything he'd learned was fascinating but all he really wanted was to heal his hands so he could go back to being who he was meant to be!
"You are more than just a surgeon, Stephen," the Ancient One claimed, successfully reading his thoughts.
"Maybe I don't want to be," he retorted.
"That's because you don't know what you're capable of yet," she replied.
He swallowed his scoff at her mystical words and instead asked, "I know she's obviously not here for me so what is an Avenger doing in Kamar-Taj? What did she come here seeking?"
"Actually, I was the one that sought Hermione out rather than the other way round," the Ancient One revealed, much to Stephen's surprise. "Dark days are coming and I could see that there was more she could do with my teaching."
"Dark days are coming?" Stephen repeated. "I thought the Avengers had already had their fair share of those."
"Oh, they have," she agreed. "And possibly none more so than Hermione, but I sense there is worse to come..."
It was a while before he saw Hermione again but he wasn't surprised: the life of an Avenger must be quite chaotic (especially after those Accords seemed to force half of them to go into hiding).
He knew that he would be disappointing the Ancient One by asking Hermione to heal him, but really it was only his own personal fear of failure that stopped him from seeking her out. He'd built his career and reputation out of achieving things that no other surgeon would be able to complete. Now he was presented with his greatest challenge yet and, to up the stakes, it was personal. He had a perfect record to maintain. He wasn't ready to let himself be his first failure and he told Hermione as much the next time they were in the library together.
"I admire your decision," Hermione told him earnestly before walking back between the rows of shelves.
Stephen watched her curiously. He'd never paid much thought to the idea of the Sorceress despite being vaguely aware of her exploits along with the rest of the Avengers for the preceding five years. Stephen lived in the real world, with real people to treat. The lives of the Avengers might as well have belonged to some cinematic action heroes for all the relevance they had in his life. But even if he had spent a few moments conjuring up an image of the elusive Sorceress, he certainly wouldn't have come up with the real deal, mostly because she appeared surprisingly young. He estimated he had a good ten years on her and she'd been publicly taking on worldwide threats for half a decade. It unnerved him to think that the fate of humankind had partly been held in the hands of someone who'd been little more than a teenager at the time. She was obviously quite exceptional.
She didn't appear to take any pride in her obvious talents though and Stephen wondered if Hermione knew about the forthcoming 'dark days' that the Ancient One had alluded to. There was certainly an aura of solemnity around her that went further than her just being a devoted student, but that wasn't particularly unusual in Kamar-Taj. Most of the students were there because they had one grievance or another and although the Ancient One might have brought Hermione to Kathmandu, she obviously had her own burdens just like everyone else.
Her presence at Kamar-Taj over the next few weeks became increasingly sporadic but Stephen found his own mastery of the sorcery going from strength to strength, especially thanks to his ability to enter the Astral Dimension so that his Astral Form could study while his body slept.
The next time they spoke, she wasn't quite as passive as she had been before.
It was Stephen's fault.
But if the Masters of the Mystic Arts made it known that no knowledge was forbidden then Stephen could hardly be blamed for giving in to his curiosity and reading from one of the Ancient One's most advanced texts - more specifically, from the Book of Cagliostro: the text on time that the zealot Kaecilius had stolen a ritual from. The remaining pages had shown him how time could be manipulated using a device called the Eye of Agomotto. Coincidentally, he saw the described magical device on a decorative plinth only a few yards away from him. Stephen didn't even hesitate in removing the Eye from the stand and wearing it around his neck to attempt the time manipulations.
It was surprisingly easy considering the magic was supposed to be too advanced for anyone other than the Sorcerer Supreme. After experimenting on an apple, he focused on the Book of Cagliostro itself and successfully restored the pages that Kaecilius had torn out. His eyes roved over what the traitorous man and his equally fanatical followers had been so eager to discover; he felt a chill sweep down his spine as the words Dormammu and Dark Dimension leapt out at him alongside what was written about eternal life.
That was when Wong and Mordo discovered what he was up to and angrily informed him that tampering with time was forbidden in case paradoxes and time loops were created.
Stephen's claim that the warnings should come before the actual spell was not well received by the other two men.
"Your curiosity could have gotten you killed," Wong pointed out, snatching the Book of Cagliostro back. "You weren't manipulating the space-time continuum, you were breaking it. We do not tamper with natural law: we defend it," he insisted emphatically before securing the book back in its proper place.
After an irritated request from Stephen for an explanation of what role the sorcerers fulfilled in the wider world, Wong and Mordo walked him back to the stand that he had taken the Eye of Agamotto from.
"While heroes like Hermione and the rest of the Avengers protect the world from physical dangers, we sorcerers safeguard it against more mystical threats," Wong explained as he turned the top of the plinth to create a projection of Earth above their heads. "The Ancient One is the latest in a long line of Sorcerers Supreme going back thousands of years to the father of the mystic arts: the mighty Agomotto - the same sorcerer who created the eye you so recklessly borrowed," he added, continuing to eye Stephen with disapproval. "Agamotto built three Sanctums in places of power where great cities now stand." Wong held out his left hand towards one of three doors which each featured a different symbol inside a circle. "That door leads to the Hong Kong Sanctum, that door to the New York Sanctum and that one to the London Sanctum," Wong explained, gesturing to each door in turn. "Together, the Sanctums generate a protective shield around our world." Glowing symbols matching the lines on the doors appeared on the projected image of Earth to illustrate Wong's words.
"The Sanctums protect the world, and we sorcerers protect the Sanctums," Mordo added solemnly.
"From what?" Stephen asked disconcertedly.
A portal suddenly glowed in the air next to Stephen and a figure leapt out, magic already shining around her wrists. The three men had flinched at the abrupt arrival, braced for trouble, but when they saw it was Hermione they made no move to conjure their own spells.
She quickly took in the sight of them but kept her magic in place. "The Stone - where is it?" she asked urgently, her gaze fearful as she glanced at the plinth.
Mordo held up a calming hand. "False alarm, Hermione," he said soothingly. "Strange took it."
Stephen suddenly found himself under a penetrating and accusatory stare. He was about to emphatically deny having any knowledge of the stone Hermione was talking about when the line of her gaze dropped down to his chest. Understanding clicked into place.
"Why did you take it?" Hermione asked him, her distrust evident. Mordo's efforts to pacify the situation didn't appear to have worked.
At the time, Stephen had thought nothing of his actions with the Eye but having to explain them to others made him feel somewhat self-conscious. "I was reading about the Eye in the book of Cagliostro," he said a little weakly.
"So you just thought you'd have a little play with time?" she asked in faint disbelief.
"It was just sitting there," Stephen said defensively. "You'd think something this dangerous would have more protection."
"Everyone else at Kamar-Taj seems to know not to pick up magical objects and experiment with them," Hermione said coolly, finally relaxing her stance and letting the magic dissipate from her arms. She turned to Wong. "I told you my warding spell wasn't enough - we need something stronger to protect the Stone."
"Well, you're here, aren't you?" Wong pointed out as though he couldn't see the problem.
"Too late," Hermione retorted. "If we keep the security measures the same and someone makes a real move for the Stone, I'm going to be filling out Ross's damned paperwork while they're getting away."
"You'll have to take it up with the Ancient One, not me," Wong told her with a shrug. The look in Hermione's eyes clearly suggested that she would.
"So the sorcerers protect the Sanctums to stop people from getting the Eye of Agomotto?" Stephen asked, feeling the weight of the mystical device a little more heavily from where it still lay against his chest.
"No," Mordo said shaking his head. "According to Hermione, the Stone within the Eye is being sought by a dangerous individual from another world."
Stephen blinked in surprise and looked over at Hermione as a past comment returned to the forefront of his mind. "You weren't kidding when you told me you were abducted into deep space, were you?"
The haunted look she gave him almost sent a shiver down his spine. "No, I wasn't."
"Thanos's threat may be of this dimension," Mordo said, drawing Stephen's attention back to him, "but the Masters of the Mystic Arts seek to protect the Sanctums from other-dimensional beings."
The phrase triggered Stephen's memory once again. "Like Dormammu."
All three of them looked at him in surprise. "Where did you learn that name?" Mordo asked gravely.
Stephen glanced between them, taking in their matching taut expressions. "I just read it in the Book of Cagliostro," he replied. "Why?"
Mordo and Wong looked at each other and, after a small nod from Mordo, Wong turned the surface of the plinth again. In the wake of Hermione's arrival, Stephen had almost forgotten about the projection of Earth that floated above their heads and the glowing symbols of the Sanctums that encased it.
"Dormammu dwells in the Dark Dimension," Wong stated and the symbols faded away. "Beyond time. He is the cosmic conqueror; the destroyer of worlds." A darkness appeared on the image of Earth and bled across the planet, causing it to disappear and give way to a strange and bleak dimension. "A being of infinite power and endless hunger on a quest to invade every universe and bring all worlds into his Dark Dimension. And he hungers for Earth most of all," Wong concluded.
"The pages that Kaecilius stole," Stephen muttered in realisation.
Wong nodded. "A ritual to contact Dormammu and draw power from the Dark Dimension."
The gravity of the situation slapped him in the face and he laughed. "Uh...OK," he said. "OK. I - I'm out. I came here to heal my hands - not to fight in some mystical war."
Those words at that time would prove to be rather ironic because, from that moment on, Stephen did find himself embroiled in the conflict he'd wanted to avoid.
Bruce held up a hand and then pointed at Stephen. "Wait - you wear an Infinity Stone like a necklace?" The Eye of Agomotto that Strange had described was clearly sat around his neck.
Stephen made a parting motion with his hands and the glowing green stone within was revealed. Not overly fond of the powerful Stones, Bruce resisted the urge to take a step back.
"And Hermione's OK with you just walking around with it?" Bruce asked in disbelief.
"It was a compromise," Wong replied. "She wanted to secret it away somewhere after the defeat of Dormammu but the Masters could not permit it - we made a vow to protect it with our lives."
"She knows it's with us and we would die before handing it over," Stephen added. "And she checks in with us regularly when she's not in New York."
"Right," Bruce said slowly. "And I'm sure you two are very capable in your magic but wouldn't it be in safer hands with the Ancient One?"
"She's dead," Stephen said shortly but with a touch of heaviness. "Kaecilius killed her."
"Oh," Bruce said awkwardly. "Sorry."
"And before you ask, we haven't seen Mordo since I created a time loop to infuriate Dormammu so much that he left with a promise never to return," Stephen added. "Mordo disapproved of us violating the natural laws to win and decided to forge his own path."
"Oh," Bruce said again. "Well, you've obviously done a good job protecting the Stone so far but Thanos is a whole different ball game, believe me. Thor and I didn't trouble him in the slightest!"
"Thor?" Stephen repeated. "You've seen him?"
Realisation dawned in Bruce's mind. "You're the wizard who helped him find Odin. I thought he meant someone like Harry - especially when he said Hermione was there..."
Thor peered up at the building as he crossed Bleecker Street.
Just minutes ago, he and his brother had been standing on the pavement in New York, watching as machines demolished the building in which their father had last been seen. And then - poof - Loki had been pulled through some sort of portal and all that had stood in his place was a card bearing the address of this building. He would've been here sooner had he not gotten lost twice, been stopped for selfies four times and engaged with a stare-off with a stray cat he was sure he had met before. (Thor won the battle, of course).
He knocked solemnly on the door twice but as he swung his fist forwards to do so again, he stumbled through the solid object and found himself in a gloomy, wood-panelled hallway.
He looked around, a little disconcerted by the abrupt change.
"Thor Odinson," a grave voice called behind him. Turning, Thor saw a dark silhouette of a caped man before a large circular window. The cape suddenly flared and fluttered and the man serenely floated through the air towards him. Thor held his umbrella-disguised-Mjolnir out defensively, uncertain of exactly who or what he was facing. The stranger's eyes appraised the concealed weapon. "God of Thunder."
"Stephen, stop being so mysterious," another voice scoffed and Thor was pleasantly surprised to see Hermione walking along the hallway towards him. "Thor's an ally, you don't need to try and intimidate him."
The man, Stephen, did not soften his gaze nor his tone. "He's brought a known enemy of Earth back to our world. That's not something an ally does."
"I can explain," Thor announced.
"Good," Stephen said shortly. "Take a seat."
Just like with the front door, Thor suddenly found himself in a different part of the building: sat in an old leather armchair opposite Hermione and Stephen.
"Show off," she muttered to the strange man.
"You're a wizard," Thor grunted at the man and then glanced at Hermione. "Why doesn't he use a wand?"
"His magic is different to mine," she explained.
"And the preferred term is 'Master of the Mystic Arts'," Stephen corrected. "My name is Doctor Stephen Strange - "
"Strange?" Thor repeated. "Did you pick that name yourself to make you seem more..." He waggled his fingers in the air, "spooky?"
Hermione looked like she was fighting a smile.
"No," Strange said flatly.
"Thor, why is Loki here?" Hermione asked. "How is he here - he was supposed to be dead!"
"Ah, well, you know my brother," Thor said with a shrug. "He loves a good trick. Playing dead seems to be a particular favourite of his. His latest work was more of a long-term con. He cast a spell on my father and settled him into a care home a few blocks from here. He's been impersonating Odin and playing at being king of Asgard for years."
"Years?" Hermione repeated in surprise. "And you didn't notice?"
"I have spent much time away from Asgard for various reasons and, in my absence, my brother became lax in his ruse," Thor explained. "The giant statue he'd had made of himself was a bit of a giveaway. We came here to find my father but the care home has recently been demolished."
Hermione looked troubled but Strange was more calculating. "So, if I were to tell you where Odin was, all parties concerned would promptly return to Asgard?" Strange offered.
"Promptly," Thor nodded in agreement.
"Great! Then I'll help you," Strange declared.
Hermione looked at the wizard in surprise. "You knew Odin was on Earth?"
Strange shrugged. "He was adamant that he not be disturbed. Your father said he had chosen to remain in exile," he informed Thor.
He brushed aside this news. "Well, Loki's scheme is up - my father is no longer in exile. So, if you could tell me where he is, I can take him home."
"Gladly," Strange said almost amiably. "He's in Norway."
The scene shifted again and the walls they were standing by were lined with bookshelves. Strange started hunting through an old tome, muttering about incantations and modifications.
"I've been trying to reach you for months," Hermione told him.
Thor shook his head at the disorientation. "As I said, I've been away from Asgard for many moons."
Strange altered their location twice more in less than ten seconds and Thor stumbled, dislodging a shelf of books."
"We need to talk about Thanos and the Infinity Stones," Hermione continued, seemingly unphased by the quick adjustments.
"I need just one strand of your hair," Strange called from across the room.
"Let me explain something," Thor said agitatedly, ignoring Hermione and advancing on the wizard, "My hair is not to be meddled with." A sharp pain at the back of his head revealed that Strange had used his sorcery to move without Thor noticing. "Ow."
Holding the golden hair, Strange circled his hands quickly around each other and a crackling ball of energy appeared.
They shifted again, Thor tumbling down the main staircase as Strange manipulated the fiery energy into different shapes.
"We could have just walked," Thor grumbled as he dusted himself off.
The glowing magic finally formed into a large ring, revealing itself to be a portal to a green landscape. Strange motioned to it. "He's waiting for you."
Thor stared pensively through the gateway and Hermione lay a comforting hand on his arm. "All right. When I have restored my father to the throne of Asgard and seen that my brother is properly punished, I shall return to discuss Thanos with you," he told her. She looked like she'd rather talk immediately but she nodded in agreement anyway. He looked at Strange. "I suppose I'll need my brother back."
"Oh, yeah. Right," Strange said. He made a circling gesture and another portal appeared in the air above them. They heard a distant yell, then Loki fell through the fiery circle to crash flat on the floor.
Loki stayed sprawled on the ground but he lifted his head with a sound of anger. "I have been falling for thirty minutes!" he yelled, looking very similar to a toddler that was about to bang his fists on the floor in a tantrum.
"You can handle him from here," Strange said to Thor.
"Oh, no, please," Hermione interrupted, "allow me."
At the sound of her voice, his brother paused in the act of getting to his feet, probably recognizing it even with his back to her. His head swivelled round, his previous anger overtaken by his intrigue at the sight of Hermione. Loki laughed. "Well, well, look who just keeps turning up like a bad penny," he said, smirking as he got to his feet.
"I could say the same for you," she retorted and he grinned.
"My dear - " Without warning, Hermione used her magic to slam him into the wall and she held him there, the force of the spell making the wood panels start to splinter around him, but she continued to push, forcing Loki to draw ragged breaths.
"Don't you dare," she hissed lowly, her expression and tone more menacing than Thor had ever heard it.
Strange stepped forwards, looking alarmed. "Er, Rogers," he began, but Thor put a hand across the man's chest to stop him.
"Don't bother," Thor told him. "He deserves it."
"Because of you and that infernal tongue of yours, I was ripped from this world and taken to a place of nightmares," Hermione accused.
"And look how powerful it made you," Loki choked out.
Hermione let out a small scream of anguish. She pulled him away from the wall only to slam him back again. "Don't pretend like that was your intention," she spat. "And then, when you were pretending to be Odin, you tried to stop them looking for me, didn't you? Didn't you?" she screamed.
"Y-yes," he hissed.
"I should cut that weaselly tongue right out of your mouth," she snarled and a wickedly sharp blade materialised before his face. "You think I won't do it?" she asked him dangerously. "You did make me a daughter of Thanos, remember?" Thor could see that Loki was very worried now. Even Thor was a bit unnerved by this version of Hermione.
She balled her hands up into fists. The knife fell to the floor with a clatter and then she propelled Loki through the waiting portal. She turned emotional eyes on Thor. "Don't ever let me see him again."
"I won't," he promised. He took a couple of cautious steps forward, embracing her trembling figure lightly and planting a small kiss on the top of her head. "I'll be back when I can."
Strange had watched the whole incident with wide eyes but he gestured to the portal again and Thor stepped through it.
"But Thor never returned," Strange said.
"Yeah, well, we had some whole other issues going on," Bruce explained hurriedly. "Look, I don't know what's happened to Thor now - Heimdall managed to get me off the ship so that I could warn everyone. We've gotta let Hermione know that he's coming. Can you, like, call her or something?"
"Oh, we can do more than that," Wong said confidently.
"Great," Bruce sighed. "Man, it's been so long since I've seen her and the others. I take it that a lot's happened since I've been away."
Strange gave an understated nod. "You could say that."
A/N See? I told you it was a bit different. I hope I didn't confuse you all with the jumping around. Obviously, there's a lot of Hermione's personal story that we haven't seen before we get to the start of Infinity War so the next few chapters are going to fill you all in. I know some of you are going to be disappointed that I didn't go into more detail about Hermione joining in the events of Doctor Strange or Thor 3 but I wrote how I honestly saw her fitting in. She was slightly more involved in the events of Doctor Strange but not too much because the restrictions of the Accords prevented her from moving from country to country so quickly and therefore the battle in Hong Kong was over before she could get permission to go. I didn't include that whole scene in the chapter because it wasn't necessary to know and it ruined the flow.
Anyway, unusual though this chapter was, I quite enjoyed telling the story from PoVs that I don't get to use very often. The Loki cameo was satisfying too.
Let me know what you thought. I'm going to try and be reasonably quick with the updates on this fic for once - fingers crossed.
Happy Holidays,
Lil Drop of Magic
PS - I obviously don't own the dialogue borrowed from Infinity War, Thor 3 and Doctor Strange