AN: I had originally intended to keep 'Nothing But Silence' as a one shot. Only there were some requests to continue and I thought… maybe. Then ideas popped into my head on how I'd handle things and thought… maybe. Then I made the mistake of actually sitting down and putting ideas into chapter breakdowns and how I'd advance the story and thought… maybe. THEN … well … then I wrote this.

You do not have to read 'Nothing But Silence' prior to reading this, but it may give you insight to how this story got its start. Hope you enjoy my humble attempt to entertain you.

I Will Hunt You Down

The initial meeting had been rather interesting, albeit relatively uninformative since many answers to her questions were considered top secret or 'need to know' only and apparently she didn't need to know much. From the information she had gathered the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division - aka S.H.I.E.L.D. - was in desperate need of scientist Dr. Bruce Banner's expertise with gamma radiation signatures to hunt down something they lost.

When they had come looking for Bruce, he had been living his life peacefully in Calcutta, India. They had known where the doctor was living. What they hadn't counted on his other half: no, not the Hulk - they knew all about 'the other guy' - it was the wife, Hermione Banner née Granger.

The agent, Natasha Romanoff, had pleaded S.H.I.E.L.D.'s case quite convincingly, but Hermione was not happy. That wasn't to say Hermione wasn't sympathetic: she understood the urgency, the danger and need of the American people, but they were taking her husband away to an undisclosed location for an indefinite amount of time and she was being sent to England.

The fact that Hermione was being sent back to her parents' house in Stratford at Bruce's request was not lost on her. Nor did the witch spare the scientist her ire while they prepared to leave the run-down hut that they had called home for the past six months.

Hermione paced back and forth, ranting about the injustice and utterly rude behavior of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to have simply dismissed her out of hand. Sure Hermione wasn't a conventional scientist, but she was highly intelligent and was an excellent researcher. She was a warrior in her own right, she wouldn't be a hindrance, she was an asset and they would have been lucky to have her help.

Bruce silently packed his bag, allowing the tirade to wash over him and occasionally made non-committal noises of acknowledgement because he was, of course, listening, but - wisely - refrained from taking sides… or perhaps it would be more accurate to say the scientist was unwisely only half listening to his wife's concerns. After all when Hermione turned to him and asked 'Don't you agree?' Bruce found he was caught flat footed and stared blankly at his wife. "I…"

"Were you even listening?" Hermione huffed as her annoyance spiked once again, that time solely directed at her husband. She pulled her wand from its holder and tapped her trunk. Her clothing flew from the closet and drawers to fold themselves into neat piles before finding a nice orderly home within the large case.

Bruce dodged a pair of shoes that were coming straight for his head before the trainers tucked themselves into a pocket in her trunk. The man sighed, knowing he had to somehow appease his wife. Bruce dropped the shirt he had been folding into his own bag and pulled his wife into his embrace.

Hermione pouted petulantly as he wrapped his hands around her slim waist using his thumbs to rub at her soft skin. She focused on his shirt collar and flattened it out while removing imaginary lint to keep her distracted from Bruce's touch, stubbornly refusing to give in to his calm demeanour and give up her tirade too soon. "Hermione, you're not a scientist. You're an excellent healer and a brilliant witch, not to mention the love of my life. S.H.I.E.L.D. apparently doesn't know about the wizarding world and I, for one, would like to keep you off of their radar. It's bad enough they know about me and… the other guy."

She shivered when his hands roamed freely over her skin before she finally gave in and admitted, "I'm going to miss you. We've rarely been apart since we've met and now you'll be gone for who knows how long."

Bruce trailed kisses along her neck and whispered in her ear, "I love you, my wife; now and always."

Natasha's gray eyes scanned the document in her hand while casting subtle glances at the civilian passengers directly across from her. She appeared to be more at ease in her leather outfit rather than the peasant skirt and blouse she had on the day before. Her bobbed red curls still framed her heart shaped face, but the threat-free look she had been attempting in their first encounter was no longer paramount as she sat with guns holstered to her shapely thighs.

Bruce fidgeted in his seat in an attempt to get comfortable. He bided his time with naps or reading with the few breaks to go to the toilet or eat a snack. Hermione openly watched the red headed woman with blatant malice in her hard gaze and tapped a rhythmic tattoo on the armrest of her seat. The witch had decided that she was not a fan of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and would happily hex her.

The flight from India to England was long. Ten hours cooped up in a metal tube in the sky was not Hermione's idea of fun.

Hermione's arguments about joining her husband were ignored or countered, having been told her services were not needed nor wanted. Bruce understood both sides of the argument, but was still quite adamant about leaving Hermione in London with her family where she'd be 'safe'.

The witch huffed and folded her arms across her chest because these Americans obviously didn't know who they were dealing with and the brunette had no wish to correct them. She was even more annoyed that their honeymoon had been cut short in order for Bruce to help these ungrateful, foolish Yanks. While Calcutta wasn't her ideal place for a honeymoon, Hermione understood Bruce's desire to help the sick and dying. After all, it was at a health clinic that the two had met. Bruce had been working there when Hermione came to volunteer her services. Who knew Hermione Granger would get bored on her yearlong forced sabbatical from St. Mungo's?

Bruce's kind nature, high intelligence and quiet, unimposing demeanour caught her attention. His inner strength, conviction and similar morals won her heart. Theirs wasn't a match made in heaven, they both had their personal baggage, but their love was true and honesty was the foundation of their relationship.

In his half asleep mindset, Bruce reached out for his wife, but his hand dropped to his side a moment later. Hermione watched him and a small smile tugged at her features. She wanted to be angry with him, but those long dark eyelashes and brown bedroom eyes batted sleepily in her direction when she moved. Hermione melted at the vulnerable desperation he displayed when he sat up, "Where-"

"I'm merely going to the loo, Bruce. For pity's sake, how far do you think I can go when we're stuck in the middle of nowhere on a plane?" Hermione huffed.

"You can do that poof thing and disappear and I wouldn't even know until we land or something." Bruce countered, but soon winced when the irate woman growled.

"I can't very well apparate if I don't know where I am. If we're over water, land isn't near enough and, as fabulous as magic is, it does have limitations. Apparating is a short distance form of travel. Besides, I have to have been to a place in order for me to apparate safely or at the very least have coordinates to the specific location or similar foci." Hermione had once again slipped into her lecturing mode that made Bruce grin like a loon. Seeing the besotted look on her husband's face, Hermione's anger dissipated entirely. The witch leaned forward and brushed her lips against his, cupping his cheek tenderly. "I'll be back, love. I really do need the loo."

Landing at Damyns Hall Aerodrome in Havering, Hermione gathered her belongings and stuffed them in her beaded bag. Bruce waited to escort his wife from the plane. The witch paused before exiting and stared at the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, "Bruce will be calling me often. If, for reasons beyond his control, he cannot call me before three days have passed, you will do so on his behalf because if something happens to my husband, I will hunt you down."

Bruce gave Natasha a lopsided grin, "Hermione is rather protective."

The agent kept her eyes trained on Hermione as she was currently the bigger threat, "I assure you that nothing is going to happen to Dr. Banner."

"And I assure you," Hermione smirked at Natasha, "You had better hope not."

The scientist blushed and guided his wife off the plane with a hand gripping possessively at her hip, "You're sexy when you get so territorial."

"Territorial? Am I to mark you next?"

"I wear a wedding ring. Isn't that enough?"

"Perhaps or perhaps I simply need to nibble on you a bit more." Hermione laughed softly at Bruce's growl and continued off of the plane, pausing long enough to pull her coat tighter around her at the bottom of the steps. "I forgot how cold England can be."

Her husband followed her off the plane in order to wrap his arms around her and bury his nose in her neck. Bruce inhaled deeply, "I'm going to miss you."

Hermione wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pressed her body to his, "Then don't go."

Bruce chuckled, "I have to go, babe. Not many people are familiar with gamma radiation. The threat is currently contained in America, but if it isn't taken care of now it can spread around the world. You know I can't sit by and allow that to happen if I can help stop it before it gets that far."

She sighed softly and tightened her hold, "I know in my head, but my heart wants to keep you close and safe."

"I do love that heart of yours." Bruce kissed along her jaw until their lips met. He pressed his forehead to hers when their lips broke from their kiss and he sighed longingly, "I'll call you when we land. Are you going back to the house?"

Hermione winced, but nodded. "I hate staying at that house, but if I stayed anywhere in the wizarding world I can't receive your calls." She ran a finger along his neck wrapping the chain that draped there around the digit, "Don't take this off. Ever."

"Never," Bruce mimicked her movements and tapped the matching medallion that hung around his wife's slender neck.

"Excuse me, Dr. Banner. We're refueled. It's time to go." One of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had poked his head out of the door to speak to Bruce, but reentered the plane quickly to give the two their privacy.

Hermione's soft chocolate brown eyes met dark bedroom eyes. Bruce pulled his wife in for another kiss and grinned against her lips when he felt her shiver. "I love you."

"I love you, too. Stay safe, love." Hermione forced herself to release her hold on her husband and turned on her heel towards the small terminal building.

The engines on the jet fired up behind her, but she wouldn't turn around. If she allowed herself a look at the plane taking her husband from her, she might bring it down and possibly kill everyone inside just to keep him at her side. Hermione sighed, wondering where those selfish thoughts had come from and forced herself to stop moving away. She watched with a heavy heart as the jet taxied across the grass and was soon shooting across the dark night before she apparated to Stratford.

The house loomed over her looking dark, cold, abandoned and uninviting. Hermione stared at the sight before her and desperately tried to remember the good times she had spent in that house with her parents. She wrapped her arms around her middle and a small smile tugged at her lips. She thought of how her father swung her around in circles, her mother drying fruit with her much like other mothers baked cookies with their daughters; how she had clung to her father as he pranced around the living room, giving her a piggyback ride and her mother teaching her how to crochet.

Hermione gave a small shudder when the wind whipped past her and moved forward to enter the abode. She felt the wards tingle around her as she approached and with a wave of her wand the back door opened for her. She flicked on the lights and did a quick scan of the premises. The house was spotless as expected and Hermione smiled, "Winky."

A small pop announced the arrival of the house elf who squealed her excitement. The female house elf - with bat-like ears, a tomato-sized nose and huge brown eyes - wore a skirt and blouse with a matching blue hat. "Miss Mine is home!"

Crouching to eye level with Winky, Hermione's smile widened, "Is that a new hat, Winky?"

Winky patted her hat with pride, "Miss is spoiling Winky too much, Winky now has three hats!"

"It is absolutely darling." Hermione handed over her bag to her house elf, "I will be staying for a while. Please put that in my room for me. I'll also be brewing while I'm home. It will be nice to have a proper lab again. Do we have anything to eat? There wasn't much to eat on the flight from India."

Bouncing on her feet, Winky's ears flapped like wings and she grinned happily, "Winky takes care of Miss Mine. Does Miss want to start with a warm bath first or food?"

"Oh a bath does sound good, but it is getting late. Food first, then bath and then sleep."

"Yes, Miss!"

With a soft pop the house elf went off, leaving Hermione to pull her mobile phone from her pocket. It was late, causing Hermione to hesitate, but she knew better than to arrive home and not let her brother know she was in town. She sent a quick text and dropped the phone back into her pocket before making her way to the dining table.

The moment she sat down a bowl of stew and soft warm bread with melting butter appeared along with a glass of milk. She managed to eat three bites of her late dinner before her phone rang. She answered after the second ring, "Hello, Harry."

AN2: Just a quick note: not all chapters are short, but the overall story is.