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"I don't see why we have to be on clean up duty," Clint groused as he picked up yet another debris of metal to stash it in the SHIELD-issued trash bag.
"It's Tony's fault," Natasha said as if it was obvious.
"Hey! I saved all your asses! That mechanic squid thing was going to skewer you lot, and you know it."
"It was not," Steve muttered. "We're perfectly capable of moving out of the way. Besides, Fury was quite clear when he said not to blow the damn thing up or he would put us on clean up duty."
"And here we are," Clint grumbled once more. "Get you shiny ass down here, Stark, and start making yourself useful."
"I am useful. You missed a piece there, Cap. On your left."
Steve frowned at Stark, but did pick the piece in question, but as soon as he did, it glowed blue and the beach was gone. Everyone was gone. It was just him, his trash bag and a dark forest. Looking through the canopy, he could see twinkling stars and a full moon giving him some modicum of light to go by. Steve stared at the piece of metal he had picked up. Not a piece of the metal squid after all, but an old soda can. It was not glowing anymore, so he put it in his trash bag. No sense in littering the forest, and later, SHIELD might want to take a look at it to figure out how it had transported him to what he had to assume was the other side of the planet since it was night.
Now was the question of what to do, and where to go? Not that Steve didn't count on his team to find him. He knew they must already be moving heaven and earth to locate him, but Steve didn't want to stay idle. Not here. He felt ill at ease in this forest, as if it was watching him. He had to move.
In front of him, the forest seemed to grow darker. To his left, there was a moon-lit path shining through the canopy. Steve shrugged, heaved the trash bag over his shoulder and began walking that way. After ten minutes, he picked up sounds around him that made him think he was being followed, even though he could not say by who, what, how many, or even pinpoint their position. This forest was confusing and the more he advanced, the more he felt lost.
Steve stopped. A beat later, the sounds around him stopped. He closed his eyes, listened, but despite his hair standing on end, he could swear he was alone and that the forest was making him paranoid.
"Hello?" he called out. "Anyone?"
An arrow split the air an inch from his nose and embedded in the trunk behind him. Steve glanced at it, but it was not one of Clint's, as it was made of wood and feathers instead. Steve knew a threat when he saw one, so he bolted out of there, ran into the darkest parts of the forest for cover and the sound of thunder pursued him. Soon, something else was following him too. Something that made a pop and crack sound. It was getting closer every time. Suddenly, someone appeared right in front of him, out of thin air. Collision was inevitable, so Steve did the only thing he could to save the other person from being crushed: he curled his arms and body around them before they went tumbling through bushes, roots and rocks. His trash bag split and metal debris rained all over them until their tumble came to a stop.
Steve hurt all over. The damn forest hurt. He had never liked forests. Nothing good ever happened in forests. The person he had saved squirmed in his arms, so Steve relaxed his hold and lay on his back, exhausted.
"Now is not the time to be sleeping, mister," a feminine voice whispered in his ear.
Steve glanced to his side, startled by the large doe eyes staring at him with concern.
"What? Why-" he asked before a hand covered his mouth.
"Shhh…" the woman whispered, pulling dead branches from a bush nearby over them. "And stay down. A herd is coming this way."
Steve had no idea what the woman was on about, but the fear in her voice was unmistakable. Sure enough, not a minute later, the sound of thunder became louder, and he realized it was hoofs shaking the ground around them. What sounded like hundreds of them. A few beasts jumped right over their hiding spot, but something about them was not quite right. He thought for sure the forest was making him hallucinate when he saw the body of the horse ending in the torso of a man. Human arms completed the picture, and unless it was topped by the head of a horse, which he couldn't see from the ground, these creatures had to be centaurs, like in the Greek myths. Eyes wide, Steve looked at the woman, because she had known what was after them. She, in turn, caught his stare and nodded with a wry smile. Seconds later, she let her hand slip from his mouth. He had a thousand questions to ask, but didn't know where to start.
"Thank you," Steve said instead.
He might be a super soldier, but he had no idea if he could fight a centaur, let alone a whole herd of them.
"We're not out of the woods yet," she said grimly, then chuckled. "Sorry. Pun not intended."
Steve smiled. It was cute, but he shook off the thought as he shifted to survey the area around them. Meanwhile, his companion was stashing pieces of wood in her cloak as if they were precious.
"Looks clear," Steve said.
"Might be a trap," she muttered. "Besides, there's worse than the centaurs around here."
"Worse?"
"Spiders."
Steve thought she was joking again. Of course there were spiders in a forest.
"Spiders?" he repeated.
"Giant spiders. As big as a car."
"Ah. Better avoid them, then. Anything else I should look out for?"
She sighed. He could see her breath in the crisp night air.
"It's a full moon," she said, looking up.
"And that's bad?"
"Only if werewolves decide to spend the night here. Listen, there's a reason I'm the only one who was still trying to catch up to you. This place isn't called the Forbidden Forest for nothing. Whoever thought sending you here was a fun prank deserves to be sent to Azkaban."
"I have no idea what that means," Steve admitted.
Something he was unfortunately used to since skipping a few decades and waking up in a strange land.
"The portkey," she said. "You landed here by portkey, didn't you? The Headmistress said she felt it graze the wards."
Honestly, at this point, Steve didn't know what to say. The woman paused, looked him up and down, and a look of realization crossed her features.
"You're a Muggle!" she exclaimed as if that explained anything. "Oh. Oh, bloody hell… You're a Muggle. "
"Is that a bad thing?" Steve asked in confusion, feeling slightly insulted.
"No, no," she reassured him. "Sorry. It does explain why you were not using your wand though. Damnit, I was going to ask to borrow it…" She groaned, pulling at her curls for a moment before regaining her composure. "It's alright. Don't worry. I'll get you out of here."
Steve stared at her. Never, not once since he had become Captain America, had anyone been this protective of him. It felt… nice. Unnecessary, but nice.
"I'm Steve," he said belatedly, offering his hand.
She smiled, no recognition in her eyes at either his face or name, which was a nice change too.
"Hermione" she replied shaking his hand. "I'd say it's a pleasure to meet you, but first, let's try to not get eaten. Come on."
She stood, but didn't let go of his hand, tugging him along like an errant child instead. Steve thought the whole thing very amusing, monsters notwithstanding. Hermione guided him along animal trails, around trees larger than houses, over streams where a log had fallen, and under roots as tall as bridges. She seemed to know this strange forest well, and for a while, they avoided any other dangerous encounter, until a howl went up and she froze.
"Fuck," Hermione muttered, licked her finger and held it up. "He's got our scent."
Steve could feel her shiver. Given the pace they had been trudging at through the tricky terrain, he doubted it was from the cold.
"We're almost there. We could run…" she whispered, voice trembling now.
"Or…?"
"We sneak out way to the edge of the forest, and hope someone is still waiting for my return."
Steve didn't understand how anyone had let such a formidable dame pursue him in this dangerous place alone to begin with, but he hoped they did not abandon her so completely.
"Let's do that," Steve agreed.
They made little sound as they moved in the shadows. Only the rustle of leaves beneath their feet could give them away, so they walked on rock whenever they could. They were looking around a tree for the best route to the next one, when they heard hooves coming their way. Not as many as before, but Steve pulled Hermione against him to occupy as little space as possible to melt in the shadows. Soon a white streak sped a few feet away, followed by a dark blur while the two of them held their breath.
Steve could have sworn that had been a unicorn, although the thing chasing it, misshapen and dark as it was, he had no idea about. Hermione gently tapped his arm and jutted her chin in the opposite direction. They continued their stealthy progress and Steve knew they were close when his guide was near skipping and let go of his hand in her eagerness to find her friends. Steve stared at his hand, missing the contact already, then hurried to catch up to Hermione.
A moment later, a movement out of the corner of his eye alerted him they were not alone. Something else was heading for Hermione. Something fast, long and dark.
"Hermione! Duck!" he shouted.
She obeyed and the creature missed her by an inch. By the time it whirled around, Steve was standing between her and the beast. Up close, it didn't look like anything he had ever seen: a very sick, two legged dog maybe.
"You alright?" Steve asked her, keeping the monster in his line of sight in case it lunged again.
"Yes," Hermione replied, out of breath but with obvious relief. He heard her scramble up to her feet and grasp his arm. "Don't let it bite you," she ordered before pushing passed him, holding a huge branch in her hand which he doubted she could swing around with any force.
"What are you doing?" he hissed. "Stay back."
"His bite will kill you. It will only infect me," she muttered bitterly.
The beast tensed, ready to pounce when it realized they were not attacking. Hermione really intended to face it on her own, to protect him . She was mad. Wonderful, but mad if she thought he would let her do such a thing.
The monster sprang. Together, as if they had rehearsed it in another life, she swung her branch and Steve threw out his leg in a wide arc. Both connected on either side of the creature's neck with a sickening crunch and it fell between them, limp, possibly dead.
"Hurry," Hermione said, dropping her branch and grabbing his hand once more.
They ran without a backwards glance until the trees became sparser and the grass thicker, and quite suddenly, they were out in the open, a vast starry sky and a breathtaking view of a lake next to the ruins of an old castle. Hermione fell to her knees, panting, but Steve noticed a single light bobbing their way.
"Hermione?!" a man's voice called.
Hermione looked between the light and Steve, biting her bottom lip.
"Hide," she told him with a note of desperation.
Steve didn't understand why, but he trusted her as much as any of his own teammates. More than some, actually. So he flattened himself in the tall grass and watched as Hermione hurried over to the tall man holding the light and calling her name.
"Hermione," the stranger repeated with relief, his words carried by the light breeze while he hugged Hermione in a bear hug. "We were so worried. Headmistress McGonagall just left to call the aurors."
"Oh no!" Hermione exclaimed. "Neville, please, could you catch up to her and tell her I'm fine?"
"Are you?" Neville asked uncertainly. "We heard a howl."
"A werewolf's never stopped me before," she scoffed. "Stop the Headmistress before she gets the whole LME trampling all over the school."
That convinced Hermione's friend, who finally ran off towards the ruins. Hermione waited for a moment, glanced around, then hurried over to him.
"They mustn't see you," Hermione said urgently. "They'll erase your memory if they catch you."
Steve's eyebrows shot up.
"Really?" he asked incredulously.
She nodded.
"I hate it. It's dangerous. Just don't tell anyone about anything you saw tonight. Can you promise me that?"
Steve frowned. He hated lying, but she seemed quite adamant, and he owed her that much at least for putting her life on the line for him. For saving his life, in fact.
"Alright, but I'd like to understand why."
"There's no time," she replied, sounding more and more distressed.
Several more lights were coming their way. More people he apparently had to hide from if he didn't want to forget the whole night. As he looked down at Hermione, he knew he would do anything to keep the memory of her.
"Fine. But one day, when you have the time, come and find me. Steve Rogers, in New York. Got it? I should be easy to find."
"Steve Rogers. New York," she repeated diligently, glancing nervously back at the lights again. "I'll find you."
"I'll wait for you," Steve promised in earnest, fighting back the urge to hold her hand one last time because it almost felt like a goodbye despite the promise to meet up again one day.
Hermione gazed at him and Steve could swear he saw her blush in the rising dawn. All too soon, she turned around and ran up to the group of lights. Exclamations of joy echoed, then the voices grew fainter as they walked away.
Later, when he was sure the coast was clear, Steve headed for the ruins, hoping to find some indication of where to go, or a road to follow at least, but he suddenly had the urge to walk the other way, and a good thing it was too, because he found a road down that way. He followed it for about half an hour when the familiar sound of a Quinjet broke the silent countryside. Steve stopped in his tracks and scanned the sky, finding the plane fast approaching then joering next to him so he could jump aboard. Clint and Nat were obviously relieved to have found him. Steve was glad for his friends despite the new heartache he had just inflicted himself.
On their way back home, the two agents told him all about how Stark was moaning how it was all his fault because he had made him pick up the teleporter, which, hopefully, would teach him a lesson. Then, it was his turn, but Steve could only shrug at all their questions: what had happened to him, how come he was in Scotland (was he?), if he had hit his head, if he had been kidnapped, if it was aliens, and where the hell was his trash bag?
It looked like Steve would have as many secrets to cover up as Hermione did before they could meet up again, but he hoped it would be soon.