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"The Aether?!"
Odin's voice rang through the hall. Hermione's words had visibly shaken him.
"Quickly — take her to the treatment room!"
He snapped back to himself and gave the order.
Several Asgardian guards stepped forward at once, lifting Jane onto a towering instrument that hummed with an almost magical energy. The device activated, and beams of light swept methodically across Jane's body.
Moments later, a crisp 3D image materialized in the air.
Dark-red energy, churning and surging like something alive, tearing through Jane's body from the inside.
"It is indeed the Aether..."
Odin's expression went dark.
He recognized it immediately. The supreme relic of the Dark Elves. One of the most dangerous forces in the universe, vessel of the Reality Stone.
Thousands of years ago, Malekith, leader of the Dark Elves, had tried to use the Aether to drag the entire universe into eternal darkness. Odin's father, Bor, had led Asgard's armies against them in a war that shook the cosmos. In the end, Bor defeated Malekith at terrible cost and sealed the Aether away in an unmarked corner of Svartalfheim, unknown to anyone.
Odin had never imagined it would resurface. And certainly not inside a mortal woman.
What stunned him even more was that Hermione had sensed it before he did. He had only confirmed what lay inside Jane by combining his divine power with specialized instruments. Hermione had taken one look and known.
"This is serious."
The surprise faded. Odin's brow furrowed deep, his tone heavy. The Aether's reappearance was not a small thing.
"Can't they remove it?" Thor asked urgently, worry plain across his face. Jane's safety was the only thing in his head right now.
"Removing it is no longer the problem."
Hermione shook her head, speaking on Odin's behalf. "The fact that the Aether has reactivated means the Dark Elf remnants are about to awaken. If I'm right, Malekith has already sensed it."
"...What?"
Thor stared at her, completely lost.
Odin looked at his son's blank face and sighed.
"Thor. Aside from fighting everything in sight, could you not read a book occasionally? Look at Hermione — half your age, and she knows twice as much."
Thor felt the heat rise in his neck. Losing face in front of his girlfriend was one thing. On Earth, he was the God of Thunder, people stopped and stared. Back in Asgard, he apparently ranked somewhere below the palace luggage boy.
Frigga moved to Jane's side and looked down at her gently. She reached out and brushed her fingers across Jane's forehead, divine power flowing quietly as she felt the Aether eating into Jane's life force.
"This poor girl... the energy inside her is draining her vitality as we speak. Is there any way to remove it?"
Hermione was quiet for a moment.
"There is a way," she said finally. "But the process would be extremely painful, and it would take a very long time. Given Jane's current condition, I don't think she could endure it."
The simplest option would be to keep Jane close, let the magic book analyze the Aether continuously until it had fully broken it down, and then extract it cleanly. But Jane's body wouldn't last anywhere near that long.
"It's alright." Jane managed a weak smile. "I'm already satisfied. Getting to see all of this..." She glanced between them. "Thor. Hermione. You don't need to worry about me."
Odin's brow stayed set like stone.
If he'd had no intention of treating Jane before, he had no choice now. The Aether could not, under any circumstances, fall back into the hands of the Dark Elves.
Hermione shook her head slightly.
She did have one other option, actually.
Hit Jane with an Avada Kedavra. Simple. Efficient. Problem solved.
Yes, the Aether automatically protected its host, but defending against conventional attacks was not the same as blocking a Killing Curse. Without a host, the Aether would simply have nowhere left to go. It would extract itself.
Thor would never agree, obviously.
So that idea could sit quietly in the back of her mind.
...
Jane was taken to recover. Thor, too restless to stay behind, went with her. Odin left as well, and Frigga and Hermione found themselves alone.
Frigga led her through the palace at an easy pace.
"This way. Let me show you something beautiful."
She took Hermione's hand warmly, like a family elder showing a younger relative around.
"This garden is full of flowers unique to Asgard. Some of them are rarely seen anywhere in the Nine Realms."
Hermione walked alongside her, eyes moving across the strange, luminous blooms.
"I should say," Frigga began, "we owe you a great deal for what you did last time — helping Loki deal with those Frost Giants before they became a crisis. You removed a real threat to Asgard."
"No thanks necessary, my Queen." Hermione smiled. "I was protecting Earth from an unstable situation. It happened to benefit both of us."
So Frigga understood what Odin seemed too proud to see: the actual threats to Asgard, and that they were best handled early.
"Thor has had an easy life." Frigga's tone shifted, quieter now, worried. "He's never faced a real setback. Not once. He still has a great deal of growing to do before he's ready to be a king."
"Honestly," Hermione said, "I'm not sure he's cut out to be a king. He'd be happier chasing his own path."
A flicker of agreement crossed Frigga's eyes. "I think so too. But you've seen Asgard's situation." She sighed. "Odin has only two sons, and Loki is imprisoned. We can't leave the throne empty when the time comes. I hope Thor finds a way to mature. To carry what he should."
There's always Hela, Hermione thought.
Then she thought better of it. Some topics were better left alone.
Frigga turned to her, something quiet and searching in her expression. "Hermione. You and Thor are friends. Could you help him? Help him grow into himself a little?"
Hermione stopped.
Help Thor.
How, exactly?
Therapy? She was supposed to provide psychological guidance to a thousand-year-old man-child, her, a girl of fourteen or fifteen? That was more than a little strange.
She kept those thoughts to herself.
Before either of them could say more, they nearly walked straight into Sif.
Sif's face lit up the moment she saw Hermione. She stepped forward quickly, bowed to Frigga, then turned with a grin.
"Hermione! What are you doing here?"
Hermione smiled and pulled her into a quick embrace. "It's been a while, Sif."
Sif hesitated, then: "Actually, I saw Jane in the palace just now. Thor brought her back? I heard she wasn't well. What happened?"
Hermione glanced at Frigga, who gave a small nod. She gave Sif a brief account of what had happened.
When she finished, Sif's expression was complicated. Worry, yes, but something dimmer behind it.
"I see," Sif said quietly. "That's... truly unfortunate."
The energy seemed to go out of her. She exchanged a few more words with Hermione, then excused herself and left.
➤ Next: The Dark Elves Attack
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