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Hermione locked the door to her flat, adjusting the basket on her elbow.
In the ten years since the war, she had been living a mostly Muggle life in a small, rural village in Wales. After her very public breakup with Ron Weasley, she longed for a quiet life away from everything.
She loved her life in the village, and since living there, she had struck up a friendship with a lovely older lady who lived out in the woods. When Nerys learned Hermione was all alone, she immediately adopted her and demanded she call her Nain.
Now, every morning, Hermione took off into the woods to visit Nerys before she went to work at the small bookshop she started in town, because that’s what a good granddaughter would do. She was forever thankful to Nerys for helping her feel at home after feeling so lost after the war.
With the basket of muffins securely on her elbow, she started down the lane toward the woods, humming We Three Kings as she walked down the lane. It was a few weeks before Christmas, and she had carols playing on loop in her store. For some reason, that particular song stuck with her.
As she made the turn on the path that led into the woods, a massive tear in the scenery in front of her opened up. She abruptly stopped, almost dropping her basket. Through the tear, she could see a setting that was most definitely not the woods in which she had been walking. Honestly, she couldn’t tell you what she was seeing.
A man stepped through the tear and onto the path in front of her. He was wearing a green almost-bodysuit with a green duster. Both looked to be some sort of leather. On his head, he wore a weird sort of crown with long curved horns protruding from the front. His long black hair hung loosely around his face, and his ice-blue eyes pierced into her.
A chill ran down her spine. “Who are you, and what the hell was that?” She pointed in the direction of the tear that was closing behind the strange man.
“I’m Loki, God of Mischief,” the man spoke with a British accent, like her, and he had an arrogance about him.
“What?”
Loki ignored her. He looked behind him as the last of the tear closed. “Where am I?”
“Wales.”
“Fuck,” Loki cursed. “I messed up. I’m not supposed to be here.” He looked back at her and gave her a wide grin, exposing his teeth. “Although it’s good to see you again, Hermione.”
Hermione shook her head. “I’ve never seen you before in my life.”
Loki frowned. “Oh. Well, ignore what I just said. I really have to go. That thing I totally didn’t tell you about going down at the Time Bureau is happening, and I really didn’t mean to pop in here. I meant to pop into a different room there. My mind must have been focused elsewhere.” He gave her a wink.
Hermione’s head spun. She had no idea what was happening right now. Had she been so far removed from the magical world that she didn’t remember this man, who was obviously magical? “I’m sorry?”
“Don’t worry about it. It’ll all make sense. Soon I hope. But until then, I need to leave, get back to battle. I am in my battle gear. What do you think?” He twirled around, and the bottom of his coat flared out around him.
Hermione had to admit, he cut a nice figure in what he was wearing. But she still didn’t know who he was, even though he apparently knew who she was. “I think you look good?”
Loki laughed, his eyes twinkling with mirth. “I’ve missed this. I promise there won’t be long before we see each other again.” With a wink, he opened the tear back up in the woods and jumped through it before it closed behind him.
Hermione stood and stared at the spot before shaking her head. “I’ll worry about that later.”
Two days later, she was halfway to Nerys’s house when the tear opened up again. The same man stepped out. This time instead of his green “battle outfit” he was wearing a white dress shirt with its sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a black tie. He was looking around the woods, eyes wide.
“Oh, it’s you again,” Hermione said stopping in front of him.
Loki cocked his head to the side, looking at her. “I’m sorry. Do I know you?”
Hermione shook her head. “Apparently not. At least not yet. I’m Hermione.” She held out her hand.
Loki stepped forward and took it. “Loki. God of Mischief.”
“Yes, you’ve introduced yourself to me two days ago. At least in my timeline.”
Loki started nodding. “Ah yes. Time. I’m learning that there is a lot more to time, and universes, than I had previously known. I’m pretty sure I’m in a difference universe now.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Well, what do you know about the Chitauri attack on New York?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Exactly.”
Hermione shook her head. “So, you’re telling me you’re from a different universe?”
“Yes. One that runs parallel to this one. Hundreds of different Earths running simultaneously.”
“That is fascinating. Tell me more.”
Loki tilted his head to the side. “You’re not put off by it? Confused? Outraged?”
Hermione shook her head. “I’m part of a magical community of wizards and witches. I’m familiar with magic and time travel. But I have never heard of the whole multiple universes thing. Or Gods.”
“Well, I’ll be happy to tell you more about everything. Do you have time right now?”
“Walk with me to my grandmother’s home? I need to deliver these scones before I go into work.”
“Gladly.”
As they walked, Loki told Hermione all about the different universes, and timelines. He told her about his brother Thor, and of the Avengers, none of which she had heard of here in her world. By the time they got to Narys’s house, she was sad to have to part from him.
“This is my stop.”
“Oh.” Loki stopped, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Well. Can I visit you again?”
Hermione nodded. “Absolutely. But you’ve been here twice, accidentally. Will you be able to find your way here on purpose?”
Loki smiled at her. “All I have to do is think of you, and I’ll be able to find you.”
Hermione’s cheeks warmed. “Oh, it’s that simple?”
He gave her a lopsided smile. “It’s that easy.” He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. “Until next time.”
She saw Loki nearly every day after that. He would pop up at random spots in the woods. They would walk and talk about everything and nothing. She told him about the war. He told her about his troubles with The Avengers and his brother. Every time she saw him, it was a consecutive visit.
She found herself looking forward to his visits. They brought a light to her days.
It was Christmas Eve, and she was making her way down to Narys with her Christmas present in her hands. She was nearly there when Loki appeared before her, wearing his battle outfit he was in that first day.
“Loki.”
“Hermione. Seeing as you remember who I am, I’m assuming I’ve not messed this up, and I’m at the correct spot in time?”
She nodded. “I just saw you yesterday.”
Loki breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh good. I was worried because the first time I jumped, I jumped too far and you didn’t know me, and then I just did this whole battle thing, which is a long story…”
“You explained yesterday that there was a possible battle.”
“Yes. I did, didn’t I? Well, we did the thing, and we were victorious! And the second the battle was over, I wanted to come and see you, and I was so worried in my distracted state I would jump too far, or completely wrong, but I didn’t. I’m here.” Loki was out of breath by the time he finished his rant, but he was looking at her with such longing Hermione could feel her heart ache for him.
Hermione smiled. “You’re here.”
“And it’s Christmas Eve, if I remember correctly?”
“It’s Christmas Eve.”
Loki took a step in her direction, closing the gap between them. “Come with me.”
“What?”
“Come with me. To the Time Bureau. We need great minds like yours to fix the mess that it is right now.”
“You want me to leave my life here?”
“I do. And I know it’s a big ask, but we can come and visit. You’ve said yourself that you feel stuck here. Come with me, and we can get to know each other more. And you can use your brilliant mind to help solve so many complex problems.”
Hermione’s mind raced. Leave everything she knew and go to something completely unknown. “I don’t know. After the war, I swore I would live a quiet life. No more battles.”
“You don’t have to fight. I’m not asking you to fight. I’m asking you to come and be a desk jockey. To research. To be with me.”
“To be with you?”
Loki closed the gap even further between them. “You have to know by now, after weeks together, that I feel something for you. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. And then I met you. If you don’t want to come with me, I will stay here with you. Just…I want us to be together.”
Hermione shook her head, before setting down her grandmother’s Christmas present and launched herself at Loki, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He easily caught her, wrapping his own arms around her waist. Their lips met in a kiss that reaffirmed what Hermione already knew, she was also falling for him.
When they pulled apart, Hermione asked, “When do we leave?”