New development in this chappie. Read on to find out!

Harry and Hermione had been cooped up in the Ministers office all morning, the memory ball recording deeply unsettled the trio as they watched the Chitauri raid the MACUSA. They were so efficient and organised, not to mention the numbers in which they raided the building.

It was sickening to watch as the cybernetic beings gathered the magicals like so many herd of cattle and executed them.

When the recording ended Kingsley looked up his two second in commands.

"When are the ICW convening?" he asked Hermione.

"Two days from now."

"Well I'll be sure to show them this," he said staring at the memory ball. "You said the muggles had some recordings as well."

"Yes, sir," replied Hermione. "Tony Stark, is like the Weasley Twins, half of Dumbledore and Flamel put in a cauldron with a sprinkle of Harry's recklessness and my ingenuity and then put on high heat. He's got recordings of the entire battle of New York and their defence of this world. Maybe the ICW could recognise that five muggles and Norse God defending their homes is significant enough to take their heads out of their asses."

Harry and Kingsley stared at the smaller brunette with wonder as her rant ended and she downed the glass of Firewhiskey in front of her and stood up.

"Now sir, I would like to check on my department. I trust Emmeline but the Auror Department in the hands of Malfoy is a recipe for disaster."

She swept off without waiting for permission and the door slammed shut on her way out. King looked to Harry with a raised brow and Harry hastened to explain.

"She just came from a meeting with the United Nations and she had to recount the story of the Rivera's? I remember her being messed up by that by that page of History of Magic vividly and she's also been away from Rose longer than a few days. I think she's a little bit at the end of her tether."

Kingley sighed and stood up pocketing the memory ball and gesturing his dismissal.

"Tell her it's okay," he allowed, knowing she'd be cut up about her outburst once she calmed down. "It's rare that she buckles under the weight of her assignments, maybe I should lay off a little."

Harry smirked. "She'll find out you're going easy on her and let you know about it. I'll talk to her and get her to calm down. Hermione doesn't want you to lessen the workload, she just needs to find her balance. I think once she handles business here and has Rose back in her arms then we'll be okay."

He got up as well. "I need to check up on Malfoy as well," he said as he straightened his gear. "He might be on our side but it doesn't change him from being a smarmy git."

"That's the future Head Auror you're taking about, Potter." King replied making Harry turn back.

"Did I hear that right, King?" he asked his voice low.

King sighed once more. "I think you two are needed more as a liason right now than whatever you do here." He hurried on as Harry opened his mouth to interrupt. "You're the best department heads I've got but the one thing I value most about you two is your loyalty. I need someone I can trust to head this liason, Harry. If the ICW chooses and they pick a pureblood with an agenda? Then it's guaranteed to back fire. We cannot afford a war with the muggles Harry, especially in light of recent events."

Harry narrowed his eyes at King. "I might go for this, King. But Hermione had her whole future mapped out here," he bit out recognising Kingleys manipulation tactics and not liking it one bit. "She's got her eye on..."

"My position, I know," King interrupted. "And I would make her take my seat if I could. She'll certainly do a much better job than me. But I need Granger for something greater than being the youngest and first Muggleborn Minster for Magic."

Harry shook his head. "She won't leave Rose behind," said Harry retaking his seat. "she won't do long distance, you know that, fate of the world be damned."

King set down too meeting his eyes. "And that's where you come in," he said softly. And he watched as Harry's eyes turned deadly. Minister or not he did not want to be on the receiving end of that cold stare of the Killer of Dark Lords.

"You are not asking me to try and manipulate the most important people in the world to me?" he asked his voice cold and devoid of life.

King might regret his next words but it was why he was Minister after all. It was his job to make the hard decisions.

"I'm not asking you to do that, Harry." he replied his voice still quiet. "What I'm asking is for you to make her see reason. We are stepping into the unknown. We could be at war. You're are by far my best shot at a peaceful solution. Maybe it requires sacrifice on our parts. The world has asked a lot from you two, I know that better than anybody. But this time, once again, our fate of the future rests in both of your hands."

"Everything you just said makes sense," said Harry as he stood up. "Just like everything Dumbledore said made sense." he shot King a look of pure contempt. "I'll talk to her," he said as he swept out of the room.

Kingsley wasn't surprised to feel a tear roll down his cheek. He might have just saved the world but he had probably lost the trust of two of his most closest friends. He looked at the calender at the date of elections and poured himself another drink. He hoped that in three months time, when he was no longer Minister they would accept his apology.

His barb filled banter with Malfoy managed to calm him down enough that when he finally entered his bosses office he was slightly more put together than when he left the Minister's office. Once thing he could trust Malfoy to be was the absolute asshole when he needed the idiot to be.

Knocking on the door to the Head of DMLE he found the brunette with her hair frazzled as she flipped through the books and records obsessively.

His and Hermione's relationship was unlike any other. He loved her, very much. In every way. But she was damaged by her relationship with Ron and refused to put her heart out that way again. It happened more than a few times when one of them woke up in the others beds. It wasn't even a drunken mistake. There was no tension between them. Just an understanding.

Both of them were damaged and hurt. They couldn't really identify with the rest of the population. How do you relate to a person marked for death since he was born, or a person being tortured to near insanity just because she was born to different people. Both of them were marked for life. Both of them had scars to hide. Finding solace in each others embrace was natural. Right even.

He had talked about his confusing relationship with his best friend to Hela, who had been confused as to what he was asking. When she finally understood she had laughed at him.

"Jealousy is such a human concept, my Master." she had declared. "Wasn't she the only one who was beside you since she met you? Of course you would grow close. And physical intimacy is just an expression of ones appreciation. I have never understood you mortals hangup on sexual gratification. Do you think that I have remained a virgin for a millenia, my master?" she had asked coyly making Harry stutter.

"I understand your heart Master," she said softly against his lips. "I only lament in the fact that I cannot meet the one who has captured it so." Which was a shame and a blessing. He could only imagine what Hela and Hermione would do if brought together but he also wanted the two most important entities in his life to actually coexist with each other.

He knew it was impossible though. Hela had told him on their first meeting that any mortal who was to meet her, aside from him, their soul would want to leave with her, try to escape from this mortal plain. It was sort of disturbing but also kind of made sense, hence why he didn't try to force a meeting between them. Hermione's soul was too beautiful to be lost to Hel so soon.

When she looked up her face was immediately contrite. "He says its okay," Harry assured her taking a seat across from her. They might be intimate but he shared her need for privacy. Only him, her and Rose knew about their relationship and they preferred to keep it that way, hence why their separate rooms in the tower.

Hermione deflated at his comment and smiled at him gently. "I may have been a bit harsh on him, after all he has to present all this crazy to the ICW soon."

Harry snorted. "You won't be so charitable when you hear what I have to say next," he replied getting comfortable in his chair. He couldn't decide why this chair out of all chairs was the most comfortable one he ever sat in but he took the opportunity to sit in it everytime he came to her office.

Hermione frowned and closed the book she was perusing. "What did he say?" she asked sitting down on her own chair and fixing her gaze on him.

He crossed his legs up on her desk, her wand whipping out to move the paperwork out of the way to accommodate his boots. He was the only person she allowed to take such liberties in her office.

"Emmeline, done for the day?" When she merely stared at him for his stupid question he figured he might as well go for broke. "He wants us to permanently liase with the Americans."

He was grateful for the silencing charm he had placed on the doorway before he entered as she exploded before him.

Emmeline had done a wonderful job in her absence, which was both gratifying and also discouraging. Hermione always wished to be exceptional. It was what made her important enough to be of use to people.

Back in primary school she had always strived to be the best at learning, especially when she learned that other children wanted her help with their homework. When she learned that they only wanted her around for her homework she still strived to be good enough to be recognised by the teachers. She also didn't want to let her parents down.

When she went to Hogwarts she was grateful to find two people who needed her help, just so she wouldn't feel useless. It was Harry who made her feel like she could be more than someone that made other people happy. That was why she had been with Ron. She had found out in the middle of sixth year that Ron fancied her and in her own self sacrificing way she had decided to make Ron happy instead of chasing her own heart.

She couldn't regret that decision, because it gave her Rose but when, eventually she and Harry fell into her bed, on that lonely Christmas night. She finally understood what it was like to actually do something for herself.

Harry taught her to be selfish by being the most selfless person in the world. She knew he wanted to yell about their relationship from the tallest mountain, but he held back. He never ever betrayed their professionalism unless they were behind closed doors.

And she loved him for it. It was the reason why she hadn't asked Rose to keep quiet about it when she found them together in her bedroom one morning. Putting that kind of pressure on a four year old was not nice.

Hermione wondered what Harry would think about the modified Fidelius charm she had fitted on the chair in her office that he had declared as his,l. The runic comfort charms she had imbued lovingly on the leather after their second night together? She wondered if he ever knew how grateful she was when he made himself at home in her office, when he treated her like an equal instead of a broodmare like Ron once did? She wondered if he knew how much he meant to her?

And then he would do something so wonderful, like agreeing to her daughters demand to escort them to WWW as a bodyguard that just melted her heart. She was not lying when she said to her parents that he thought of her as his sister and vice versa.

And wasn't that a mindfuck in and off itself? They had grown closer as siblings and then as something else but it did not diminish their relationship before. That was what made them become who they were to each other and of course the brother defence was what she used when her mother tried to force her and Harry to progress faster than they were comfortable with doing.

In the end, Harry Potter and Rose Granger was her everything and this was why she had kind of combusted when Harry said what he did.

She appreciated that Harry didn't try and console her by hugging or kissing her. He knew how anal she was about propriety, it was a flaw, but he respected her enough not to push her comfort levels and just cast an unbreakable charm on her snow globe and Foe Glass, a companion to which she made rose keep in her bag all the time.

Thankfully she didn't rave too much, just ranted a lot. When she ran out of steam, Harry cleared his throat and presented his side of things.

"Hermione," he never shortened her name, knowing how much it irritated her. "King pulled a Dumbledore on us, but he's not wrong," at her sharp look, which he ignored; knowing it was not aimed at him, he continued. "Thanos? The Infinity Stones? Loki? The Chitauri? The Scepter? Do you really want to leave all of this up to someone else? The meeting and final reveal of the Wizarding World, do you really trust this to go smoothly in someone else's hands but yours? I know I don't."

Hermione couldn't help but smile at his faith in her. "You know Harry, that if it was different then I would be front and center to see this through, but with Rose..."

"I could call Tony and ask if he would appreciate an excitable but increasingly cute five year old running around his precious Tower."

Hermione smirked. "Haven't you already asked?" she retorted folding her arms.

"I wouldn't ask without clearing it with you first," he replied seriously, Harry took his feet off the table and leaned forwards. "I won't do it if you tell me no Hermione, I will tell King to go fuck himself and his manipulations if you say no. I want Rose to be safe and I want you to be you Hermione. I would never ask for anything more," he extended a hand across the desk palm up knowing what her answer would be even though they both would hate it.

"I wouldn't be me without making stupid decisions," she replied taking his hand and squeezing it gently. That was the extent of their physical contact in the office but it spoke of both their feelings and how much they meant to each other. Sighing she let go.

"Come on, Liason Potter. Let's go give King the good news."

Harry stopped her and waved his wand sending Prongs off through the left wall. "Don't bother, I'll tell him," he said getting up. "We, on the other hand have a Diagon Alley trip to get to."

Rose was ecstatic to see her two favorite people in the world back in her world. Her mum had Floo called Auntie Ange to see if Roxy would be amenable to an outing, to which the obvious answer was DUH but it was still polite to ask. Unfortunately for Rose she was not able to secure the absence of Freddie but her Uncle Harry promised her to be their Vanguard in this perilous journey into the dangerous realm of Weasley Prankhood.

Her mum took her Gran and Gramps to another room to talk and all came out teary eyed and disappointed looking. Rose frowned at this but cheered up soon enough as she clutched onto her mum and uncle and twisted with them to apparate to Charing Cross Road.

It would definitely be easier to Floo to the Cauldron, and it would be a little bit more discreet, Rose though preferred the whole experience of a visit to the Alley and that included Charing Cross Road. It also helped that like her mum she preferred the sensation of Apparition and like her uncle; hated Floo travel.

After greeting an ageless Tom, squealing at the moving bricked entrance, gawking at the various hooting Owls, turning her nose up at the new line of broomsticks, hiding from the angry glares of the Goblins, moving away from the entrance to Knockturn, and getting turned down for an early wand purchase, she finally arrived at the garishly decorated, outrageously rambunctious Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.

Roxanne Weasley, was standing outside, impecabbly dressed an waiting for her excitable cousin to greet her into her abode. Roxy was the epitome of beauty and elegance that a five year old was capable of. At least until she and Rose got to the second minute of their meeting and then the dark and fair skinned brunettes would be giggling and squealing away all afternoon as they lost themselves in childhood pursuits.

Harry and Hermione both took joy from the children's happiness, both having had less than stella childhoods and school live barely compensated. Even in such friendly settings they didn't belay their propriety. After all George and Ange were Ron's family no matter how much they considered her a part of them.

Hermione did take George aside though and asked the one eared Weasley about Ron's presence in America.

"Does Molly know?" asked Hermione when George did indeed confirm that he had known Ron's recent whereabouts

"No," he replied scratching his head. "If she did she would drag him back home by the ear. He asked us not to say anything." he said apologetically.

Hermione shook away his apology but her lack of faith in them was cemented by this admission. Whether she liked it or not Ron was Rose's father and she deserved to know who her father was. Instead of thinking of his neice George had decided to protect his brother, granted protecting brothers was a sore subject for him but still, she would have thought that Rose's wellbeing would be placed above Ron's insecurities. As it was she was already looking forward to the end of this outing.

After a whirlwind of laughter and minor prank wars the trio left for home. Hermione's apartment being the exact equidistance between Diagon Alley and the Ministry.

Rose went to sleep easily, which was not the case for her personal family which of course included her Uncle. As Hermione shut the door and leaned her forehead against the wood listening to her daughters steady breaths, she felt a soft hand stroke her shoulder tenderly. Brown meeting emerald green Hermione leaned towards him claiming his lips with hers and leading him down the hall.

Their clothes came of slowly and deliberately, every article of clothing revealing more and more damaged and scarred skin that was only appreciated by the other. Soft kisses, gutteral moans under silence spells, eruptions of bliss and tender caresses long after, guided them to a well earned rest.

The screaming that greeted the Secretary's ears were definitely not of bliss. But of a deep unexplainable pain of using primitive ways to wipe someone's memories.

As he entered the darkened room where the ominous chair was setup he met his bright blue eyes with cold gray ones. The screaming abruptly stopped as the memory wiping was complete, yet his twitching fingers gave away the pain he was still feeling.

Nevertheless when the bit was taken out of his mouth and the clamps holding him released he stood up and asked, looking far off into the distance.

"Orders?"

It twitched Pierce something nasty that he never knelt down for him. For some reason he couldn't fathom, no matter how accurately the Asset followed his orders, the man never once bowed down to him. All the rest did, all of the many experiments, hell even the five other Soldiers bowed to him in deference, but not him.

It was a pet peeve of his. He could slap this man, spit in his face, do unspeakable things to his his loved ones in front of him and nothing. But the man never bowed to him. It irritated him.

But if Alexander Pierce had let everything that irritated him stop him from his goals then he wouldn't be here would he?

So he gave the Asset his orders. There were new players on the field, looking to disrupt their plans for furthering their cause. Wizards they were called. Two of them were presuming to command the UN? Well they would be set as an example. He was already securing the refugees captured in The Battle of New York for experimentation, figuring what made an enhanced tick was his speciality. But the Soldier had only two targets.

Harry Potter and Hermione Granger.

So I tweaked the main pairing. What can I say I'm a sucker for Harmony, throw Hela into the mix and its a combustible team that had some issues to walk through.

If you like this development let me know. If you don't, let me know as well, just don't expect me to change it for you. My story, my decisions. Ciao.