"Natasha, what happened?"
A slightly tense voice came through her earpiece.
"It's fine. I can handle it." Natasha pressed a hand to her ear and spoke quickly in a low voice.
Turning back to Hermione, Natasha said seriously, "I'm from the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. You can call me Natasha. I came to see you today mainly to ask you a few questions, young lady."
Even though English was now this body's native language, Hermione's brain short-circuited for a second when she heard that mouthful of a name.
Only then did she remember that S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't have its acronym yet.
"Uh... the Strategic what Division?"
Natasha was long used to this reaction. She had already urged Fury to change it to something easier to remember, but nothing had changed so far.
"The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division," Natasha patiently repeated.
"The what Logistics Division?"
"...The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."
"Logistics for what?"
Natasha: "..."
Looking into the little beauty's clear eyes, she found herself at a loss for words for the first time.
"Why don't you write it down?"
Seeing Natasha's helplessness, Hermione offered a solution.
"All right. I'll have a colleague bring over some paper and a pen..."
Before Natasha could finish, Hermione interrupted her. "No need to go to all that trouble."
As she spoke, Hermione raised her Wand and gave a gentle flick toward the Coffee Cups beside her.
"Flavido!"
The next second, under Natasha's disbelieving gaze, the Coffee Cups and spoon twisted and transformed into a sheet of white paper and a fountain pen.
"What-!"
Natasha looked up at Hermione in shock.
Her first thought was that someone had drugged her and she was hallucinating.
She reached out and snatched up the paper and pen, rubbing them between her fingers. After checking them over and over, Natasha finally confirmed that none of this was a hallucination.
It was actually real!
"You... how did you do that?"
Natasha stared fixedly at Hermione.
Hermione shrugged. "Just a simple Transfiguration Spell."
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
The Coffee Cups in front of Natasha rose into the air, drifted beyond the edge of the table, then dropped to the floor and shattered.
"Reparo!"
Defying the laws of physics, the broken cup pieced itself back together and returned to its original state, without a single trace of damage.
"See!" Hermione planted both hands on her hips, looking thoroughly pleased with herself.
After witnessing this string of miraculous changes, Natasha was already numb with shock.
She had seen people with superpowers before, but they merely controlled fire or water, enhanced their strength, and so on. Their abilities all fell within the bounds of scientific explanation, and each was very limited in scope.
Yet in this brief span of time, Hermione had demonstrated at least three different abilities.
Matter alteration, telekinesis, and state-or time?-reversal.
None of what she had just witnessed could possibly be explained by science.
Magic!
Magic really existed!
A top agent through and through, Natasha forcibly suppressed her horror and made herself accept the fact.
As she pieced her shattered worldview back together, Natasha said, "Actually, we discovered a series of unnatural deaths nearby a few nights ago. We mainly wanted to ask whether you knew anything about them."
She had already prepared herself for Hermione to deny it.
Instead, Hermione nodded outright. "Yes, of course I know. I killed them all!"
Natasha's pupils contracted.
Before she could say anything, Hermione continued:
"The Strategic whatever Division... never mind, I can't remember it. I'll just call you S.H.I.E.L.D. You must be a Muggle law enforcement agency, right? I got rid of the bad guys, so shouldn't I get a reward?"
She looked utterly convinced that she was in the right.
What exactly was wrong with this child...? Natasha's expression grew grave.
She asked cautiously, "Hermione... you're still so young. Doesn't killing people make you uncomfortable at all?"
"Huh?" Hermione tilted her little head and said with an innocent expression:
"But everyone I killed was bad. Don't books say we should punish bad people and reward good people? That's how it always works on TV. The main characters kill the bad guys who do evil things, and nobody says they're wrong!"
Huh? Because that's how it works on TV? Natasha couldn't stop the corner of her mouth from twitching.
Her view of good and evil really was... as simple as it could possibly get.
"But..."
Just as she was about to continue, the voice came through her earpiece again:
"Don't discuss right and wrong with her. Ask her about wizards directly!"
Natasha took a deep breath and smiled again. "Could you tell us about yourself? How did such an adorable child like you get these abilities? I'd really love to know."
She then put on an eager, inquisitive expression.
After their exchanges so far, she had more or less figured out the personality of the child before her.
"How I got them..." Hermione looked troubled. "How am I supposed to explain that... once the professors at school teach you, you naturally learn how to do it. How else would you get them?"
She seemed thoroughly confused by the question.
"Huh?"
Natasha and the person on the other end of the call both made bewildered noises.
Schoolteachers could teach this stuff?
Are you kidding me?
What school was that incredible?
But the next second, both of them realized it at once.
No!
The school Hermione meant wasn't the sort they were picturing. It was a specialized school of magic!
A school that could train wizards!
In an instant, they realized something even more frightening.
If wizards had schools, there had to be plenty of student wizards, and the teachers who could instruct those students had to be wizards as well.
Coupled with the name "Ministry of Magic" that Hermione had mentioned earlier, it was easy to deduce that there were many wizards, and that they even seemed to have their own social structure!
A whole group of beings with supernatural powers was hiding within society, yet S.H.I.E.L.D. had never noticed them. What if...
At that thought, even Natasha's hands began to tremble.
The person on the other end of the earpiece was no better off. His face was as dark as the bottom of a pot, making his emotions impossible to read, but his faintly trembling lips betrayed his inner turmoil.
Seeing Natasha fall silent, Hermione looked displeased.
"Hey, hey! I've answered so many of your questions. It's my turn to ask one."
"Even the professors don't ask this many questions in class."
Natasha came back to her senses and barely maintained her smile. "Go ahead."
Resting her chin in both hands, Hermione blinked and said, "I had a Disillusionment Charm on when I got rid of the bad guys. You shouldn't have been able to see me, so how did you confirm I was the one who did it?"
"We never said it was you..."
Hermione grew a little impatient. "I'm young, not stupid."
Seeing that she couldn't fool her, Natasha had no choice but to tell the truth.
"There was an eyewitness at the scene."
"Uncle Elvin?" Hermione shook her head. "Impossible. He's a Muggle. There's no way he could see through my Disillusionment Charm."
Natasha nodded. "We know. But there were also surveillance cameras at the scene."
Before you continue