Loki's magical friend? - ON HIATUS

6.

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Chapter Six : A Quaint Little Café

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Hermione's POV 

After a few hours of shopping, we realised we were both quite tired and hungry. We scoured the High Street for somewhere to rest and found a cute little book café with nooks and crannies that were perfect for reading in. It looked smaller on the outside but bigger in the inside, due to the clever positioning of the furniture, and open space. I ordered two hot chocolates. Happy had already gone back to the tower to drop off the books and would be back when we wanted to return.  

We found a secluded corner at the back of the shop, in full view of the exits and entrances of all the café's visitors. An unfortunate habit of mine after going out with my family, and in recent years, Harry and Ron. Thankfully, Loki didn't mind, and seemed to prefer being further away from everyone.

Our drinks arrived within minutes.  I sipped my hot chocolate, never tiring of the warm beverage. Loki's reaction to the hot chocolate was similar to the pop tart, although he forgot to let it cool. When the stinging had stopped, he smiled and went to go get another one. Meanwhile, I had found in the bookcase surrounding us, two of the books that we had bought today and laid them on the table. Loki came back looking happy, which turned to a full-on grin at the sight of The Hobbit. We spent the next hour simply reading and sipping our drinks. 

All was peaceful and quiet.

Until a gang of people, wearing black balaclavas walked into the café, that is.

"This is a robbery! Put your hand up where we can see them. You! Give me all the money in the register!" One of them shouted, brandishing a small handgun. The poor barista moved skittishly towards the cash register and began to gather it.

I looked exasperatedly at Loki, who mirrored my expression. It seemed we couldn't even have a nice day out without something happening. I finished off my drink, while Loki moved into the shadows, unnoticed. Mustering all my Gryffindor courage, I stood up slowly and cleared my throat, catching some of the lackeys' attention. 

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you." I discouraged them, attracting the intruders' attention.

"And why not?"

Because if you do, You'll make him mad. And I can promise you, that's not a good idea."

One of the more cocky henchmen stepped forward, looking around mockingly. "Well I don't see anyone, so I think you're lying. I don't like liars."

"Nor do I. " 

The man who had stepped towards me turned just in time for Loki's fist to make contact with his nose, a sickening crack ringing out as the bones shattered. He howled in pain as he staggered backwards, clutching his nose, which had blood streaming steadily down his face.

I approached another one close to me and grabbing his shirt down, sucker-punched him, and kneed him in the groin for good measure. He whined and slowly slid to the floor. Seeing the threat that the two of us posed towards their endeavour, the rest of the gang stood in battle stances and began to run at us. 

Whilst I had some training - thanks to training with my Uncle and Nat daily for the past year - and could hold my own, the numbers were proving to be slightly beyond my comfort zone. Discretely, I sent stunning spells left, right and centre, disgusing the enchantment with a punch. Once I had finished the last challenger, I looked over my shoulder, checking on Loki's progress. He appeared to be almost bored, for a gang of measly Midgardians were nothing compared to the great battles of legend. He met my eye and smirked, more amused at the 'attacks' than annoyed. He entertained them for a short while longer before his patience ran out. With a few swift jabs, the final robber surrounding him was sent to the floor, unconscious. 

There was only one left. 

And they were holding the barista hostage with the gun, the petrified woman as white as a sheet, with silent tears streaming down her face.

"TAKE ONE MORE STEP AND I SHOOT!" He yelled, turning the safety catch off.

I glanced at Loki out of the corner of my eye. He made a gesture so minute and sharp, that if I had blinked, I would have missed it. Luckily I knew what it meant, and slowly took a step back, holding my hands to my head. The assailant smiled, thinking I was conceding. 

What I was actually doing was making sure I was out of the way, as well as the other customers in the shop, who seemed to have caught onto my act, and followed my lead. Once he deemed us safe, Loki's hands became enveloped in wisps of green mist, his eyes vibrantly glowing the same shade of his magic. 

"I've grow tiresome of your little games. Time to finish this." 

The green mist was propelled towards the robber, whose eyes widened in fright. Releasing the barista, who ran towards the 'safety zone', the masked man tried to leave quickly through the front door, but it was a futile effort. Loki had locked the door of the café when the goons had all entered, effectively trapping  them. The man could do nothing but scream as the mist surrounded him, turning him into... a goat?

A really, really ugly goat.

There was a stunned silence as the room processed what the actual heck had just happened before cheers erupted. 

I walked over to Loki with a smile. 

"That was amazing. You don't even look out of breath!" 

"Yes, well, it felt like fighting mere children, rather than untrained grown Midgardian men. I am quite parched though, and would like a refill of my bevarage before we return to the Tower."

The barista was extremely willing and, despite our insistence, gave it to him for free, as payment for helping deal with the situation. I recieved a glazed pastry, which was delicious and, moving around the goat, which was still standing by the door, we made our way back to the Tower.

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We walked into the lounge, where the Avengers were all sat on the sofa. They turned to face us upon hearing our approach. "Would you like to explain this?" Uncle Clint questioned calmly, referring to a video on the screen. I looked over to see footage of our fight in the café earlier. I smirked proudly, watching myself land a powerful punch. 

Though that smirk soon melted off my face once I turned back to Uncle Clint, whose face was blank. I grew nervous, unsure of his emotions. I opened my mouth to begin to defend Loki and myself when he gave me a wide smile. "That made my day. Not only have you improved the power behind your punches massively, you held your own, and I'm very proud of how you handled the situation. The goat was a particularly nice touch." He grinned at Loki, who seemed confused at the archer's reaction but gave him a small smile all the same. 

Tony stood up from where he was sitting on the sofa and walked over to us, holding a tablet with various reactions to the event. "This was actually a great way of starting to convince the public of Loki's reformation, and will help our efforts of getting his charges released, at least on Earth. Good job kid. You too, Rudolph." Tony praised, nodding slightly before walking out of the room. 

Satisfied that everyone was happy of our actions, I went to my room, after extending an invite to Loki, who accepted. Once sat comfortably in the armchair and window seat of my room, he summoned the pile of books we had purchased earlier in the day, and the two of us lost ourselves in the written word, peacefully enjoying each other's company.

It was the perfect end to an eventful day.