*author's note*

UnattainableDarkAngel: Decided to place chapters 1 through 4 together to make it look more presentable than having the beginning chapters with less than 1000 words.

Also, currently working on chapter 6 (renamed chapter 3).

*edited 1.14.13*

Chapter 1-

There comes a point in time when all logic seems to melt away and all doubt and reason finds its way to slip in unnoticed until it was too late. Day to day I've watched everyone go about in their own manner; gossiping about one another, or complaining about the load of work Snape drew out for his class. Did nobody realize that something was going to happen? Was I the only one that was feeling this overwhelming sense of dread looming over my head like a storm cloud ready to bring forth the rain? Obviously they don't call me the 'Smartest Witch of Her Age' for nothing. [sighs]

And poor Harry. I could tell by the wrinkle of his brow and the squint in his eye that his scar has been giving him more pain than usual. Was Voldemort planning to attack soon? How could I help ease Harry's pain? Why couldn't we just have one stress-free year without something big happening?

Take Malfoy for an example. [rolls eyes] Since coming back to school, he has been acting strange. Not that I welcome the taunts and teases he would lash out; but still. Harry is convinced that Malfoy had gotten the 'dark mark' during summer break after following Sir Ferret and Mrs. Malfoy to Knockturn Alley.

I do hope the boys are doing well. Now that winter break is upon us, I'm just a tad bit more excited than usual to be going on a little vacation with my parents. In fact as I write this diary, I am just waiting in my room for taxi to pick us all up and take us to the airport. Crookshanks has been already dropped off with the Weasley's and I hope he doesn't cause too much trouble while I'm away. My parents have booked us a room at the Hilton Garden Inn in Stuttgart, Germany where supposedly I get to wine and dine with the best of them… also known as 'dental conventions that look like parties'. The last time I went to a convention with my parents, all I got out of it was a dress stained by a nervous boy who was somehow drinking a glass of cranberry juice that night. I really do hope it's different this time. I do need to relax.

Shoot! Our ride is here diary, so I will have to continue when we're finally in Germany.

~Mione~

A horn could be heard from the outside of her closed window as her mother called out from the bottom of the stairs. Hermione quickly tucked her diary/journal into her black and white tote bag and stood up, giving her room a look over before heading towards her door.

"Hermione! The taxi's here!"

"Coming mother!"

She called back, closing her door behind her. Making her way down the stairs, she followed behind her parents, grabbing her luggage and wheeling it out the door to the awaiting taxi cab and settling it next to her parents' luggage as the taxi man piled them into the trunk. Hermione slipped in first, sitting as comfortable as possible as the excitement began to continually build. Once everyone was in the vehicle, the driver started the car and made his way towards the airport.

"Germany, here we come!"

Mrs. Granger said excitedly as she clapped her hands together, giving her husband and daughter a wink. Yes, this would be an exciting trip for the Granger family.

You wouldn't believe the view without me describing what I just had seen. The outside showed multiple upon multiple of windows that weren't aligned in perfect order. To me it looked like rows of picture frames from an old camera. Inside, the waiting room is surrounded by not walls, but windows to the outside. I've seen a lot of brown boxed chairs standing in a group on more than 3 round carpeted rugs, with tiny tables in the middle. The workers are also actually pretty friendly and nice. After check-in, a bellhop actually came and directed us to our adjoining rooms. This was almost the icing on the cake for me.

Inside of my room, I had my own flat-screen television, complete with a mini bar and a small table to eat at. The bed was even bigger than my own at home and could fit about four of me on top. [chuckles] I love the color of the carpet though. It's a neutral grey, but yet it looks completely soft. As I write this, I am standing next to my window peering out at my view. I cannot wait to see the city at night when all the lights are on. Being at Hogwarts, I enjoy the subtle use of candles and magic to light up a room but sometimes, I do enjoy the use of electricity.

My father informed me just before we got into our rooms that there was a party tonight that we were planning to attend. I am extremely excited and cannot wait to 'wine and dine' with all the people that will be there. It's my first 'black tie' event. [giggles] I get to be girly tonight.

~Not a bookworm tonight, Mione~

Hermione closed the journal in her hands and sighed in complete relaxation and content, clutching the book against her bosom as her eyes traveled towards the view of her suite window once more. In the back of her mind her thoughts drifted back towards Harry and Ron in hopes that their winter break was just as well as hers. Remembering what she wanted to do tomorrow, she made a mental note in her head to do a bit of city exploration for any hidden wizarding shops to see how Germany wizards deal with being hidden by muggles… but also to mainly shop and see just what kinds of books they had here to add to her ongoing collection of books.

Now turning back to face her room, Hermione moved towards the bed and tucked her journal inside of her bag before walking over to her unopened luggage that was laying on the floor. Settling down on her heels, she unzipped it, opening it to see just what she packed.

"It's a good thing I brought my beaded purse with me on this trip. After trying to figure out how to cast the undetectable charm, who knows what I would have done if I wasn't able to bring all my school books with me while on vacation."

She chuckled to herself as she pulled out a 'never before worn' black Audrey Hepburn meets Breakfast at Tiffany's type of dress with added white collar and aired it out lightly, draping it over the edge of the bed.

"Hmm… what else do I need? Shoes…"

She leaned closer towards her luggage and began rummaging through it until she found her black shiny new Mary Jane heeled shoes that she remembered having with her.

"Perfect."

Getting up and picking up her much needed toiletries, she knocked on the adjoining door to her parents' room, announced that she was going to get ready and proceeded to the loo to freshen up and get ready for tonight's events.

The room was dark and cold. Upon first glance, you could tell that there were no windows to bring in any light. Perhaps this place was hidden underground, away from the prying eyes of Fury and his band of S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives and from the newly appointed 'Avengers'.

There were no sounds in the room except for the light sound of the lone person sitting almost in the middle of the empty room. Not even underground critters like rats would venture out this far. The room vibrated with the hum of energy and magic that wasn't originated from Earth.

Loki glared at no one in particular the moment he was back inside his own body after talking to the Chitauri clan of their restlessness of waiting for him to activate the portal that would lead the clan to invade Midgard (Earth) for him where he would eventually rule and for them to finally acquire the Tesseract.

After his own self-banishment from Asgard, Loki drifted in a void of complete emptiness and burned with even more hatred than ever for his adoptive brother Thor. Couldn't the Allfather (Odin) see that he was only doing what he thought was to show the people of Asgardian why he was the rightful choice as heir to the throne? Thor was just a hothead with a passion of fighting. He was the more tactful one. But Odin didn't see it that way... and they will also eventually pay for that as well.

Reaching out, he swiped the sweat off his brow with his left hand as he slowly stood up on his feet, still cradling his Chitauri sceptre tightly in his right.

"Soon, they will ALL feel my wrath and Earth will be mine."

He smirked to himself, making himself look even more sinister and evil than he already was. Letting out a light chuckle, he made his way towards the other side of their hideout to inspect the progress of the humans he had acquired—Dr. Erik Selvig and Clint Barton (aka) HawkEye in particular. Loki stood in the sidelines, watching as Dr. Selvig continued in recreating a refiner portal generator with the use of the Tesseract.

Clint Barton and Dr. Selvig conversed between the two of them of what was needed for the generator to stay stabilized while the portal was in activation mode when Loki stepped up from behind them. Dr. Selvig grinned from ear to ear as the god approached them.

"Hey! The Tesseract has shown me so much." Dr. Selvig replied the moment Loki stepped up near them. "It's more than just knowledge, it's… truth."

"I know." Loki smirked knowingly. "What did it show you, Agent Barton?" he asked turning his head to face the other man influenced by Tesseract.

"My next target." Barton says without a hint of emotion.

"Tell me what you need." Loki looks at Barton straight in the eye.

Barton walks quickly to the side and opens a case that carried his 'famous' bow, "I'll need a distraction." and pulled it out, snapping the bow in place. "And an eyeball."

"Hermione?" Mrs. Granger knocked on the adjoining door before opening it, revealing herself in a hotel robe with just her makeup and hair done up. "Are you decent?" she asked, walking fully into the room carrying a box with the words 'Posh Girl Vintage' scrolled on the top.

"Yes mum?" Hermione stepped out of the loo and into the room seeing her mother sitting at the edge if her bed, holding a box. "What's that?" she gestured at the box, curious at what her mother had brought.

"Well, your father and I wanted to do something big for your 17th birthday, but alas you were at school; so..." she picked up the box and handed it to her daughter. "Happy belated birthday from the both of us."

Hermione took the box and said her thanks, sitting down next to her mother as she stared down at the box now on her lap and idly traced the brand name with her fingers. "You both didn't have to mum. The new robes I needed for school were good enough for me."

"Yes, I've seen that." Mrs. Granger chuckled and turned to fully face her daughter, clasping a hand into hers that was just tracing the letters on the box. "And we know how much you loved the new advanced textbooks from Diagon Alley too; but not every day our favorite daughter turns 17." she grinned.

"Thank you for the added present mum... where's father?" She asked, leaning forward to peek through the opened adjoining door.

"He had to speak with someone from the convention. Something about our itinerary of engagements we were planning on attending." she stood up and smoothed down her bathrobe as she walked back towards her room. "We'll see you shortly." she closed the door behind her, giving Hermione time to herself.

Hermione sat cross legged in the middle of the bed and placed the black and white box in front of her. Unraveling the bow of white ruffle that held the box together, she opened the box to reveal black wrapping paper. Unfolding the paper she realized that there was a dress folded inside.

Pulling out the dress delicately, Hermione slid off the bed and walked straight towards the mirror doors that hid the closet and stared in amazement. The dress was a black strapless number with a tight under bust. The skirt flared out daringly in a mix of ruffles and silk that stopped right above the knee. She gasped in shock at the sight of how it looked against her body.

Squealing in delight, she jumped up and down a couple of times before rushing back towards the loo, now in a hurry to get dressed to see just how she would look in her new dress.

Loki stood inside a room that resembled pretty much like a dressing room of some sort. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, he adjusted his black silk tie before putting a scarf designed with brown circular patterns among a solid green and beige color around his neck to blend perfectly against his black suit.

He was ready to attend a function that was located at the Stuttgart Building that was just a block away from the Hilton Garden Inn where the Granger's were staying for their vacation.

Grabbing the Chitauri sceptre now resembling more like a cane with a glowing blue orb, he walked out of the room with a strut in his step, now seemingly in a great mood.

"Time to crash a party." Loki smirked inwardly as he left the hideout, knowing that Agent Barton and the others were on their way to retrieve the iridium that Dr. Selvig needed in order to keep the portal stabilized once opened. Things were going ahead without a hitch. Loki was very happy.

End of Chapter 1.

The image of the dress can be found here at: http : www . poshvintage image / BD217 . jpg (just remove the spaces)

Loki: -taps me on the shoulder- You haven't written us meeting yet Angel.
Me: -turns to face him- And? What's your rush?
Loki: The fans demand it. -smug-
Me: Hold your horns oh god of mischief. I'm getting there.
Hermione: -walks in- I don't mind the wait. I have a grand entrance just as good as he does. -rolls her eyes at Loki-
Loki: Mine is better.
Me: Only because it'll be just as similar to your entrance in the movie. Hermione's special because originally she was never meant to meet you. -smirks-
Loki: Hmph. -crosses his arms over his chest-
Me: Exactly. -high fives Hermione-
Loki: Mortal women... -walks away-