Coulson

As for who wanted to steal the Philosopher's Stone, Hermione knew that perfectly well, too.

It was their dear Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, Quirinus Quirrell.

Years earlier, Quirrell had encountered Voldemort's Soul Fragment in the forests of Albania during his travels. In pursuit of greater power, he had willingly joined Voldemort and allowed him to possess his body.

But any creature possessed by Voldemort would gradually weaken and age until it died, so Quirrell had set his sights on the Philosopher's Stone, which could grant eternal life.

This was also the main plot of the first Harry Potter installment.

Hermione knew almost everything about the matter, but she had no intention of warning Harry. She simply waited for events to unfold, biding her time until the right moment to act.

That evening, Hermione returned to the bathroom.

With a thought, the space around her shifted, and she returned to the Marvel Universe.

With the Nimbus 2000 in hand, she now had a way to travel quickly, greatly improving her mobility.

The Spellbook's panel appeared in Hermione's mind.

[Hermione Jean Granger]

[Magic Level lv2 (1463/10000)]

Through her recent spell practice and Broomstick training, her magic experience had increased steadily, but she was still a long way from lv3.

This also showed just how large the gap between adult and underage wizards was.

Many wizards spent their entire lives trying to cross that threshold.

Hermione, however, was not worried in the slightest. Her exceptional talent, combined with the Spellbook's power, gave her tremendous confidence.

Compared with her magic, another change had caught her far more off guard.

A broom icon had actually appeared under the Spellbook's [Curiosities] section.

[Curiosities]

[Broomstick: Nimbus 2000 (analysis complete), collected]

[Materials required for synthesis: mahogany, birch twigs, stability rune core...]

With a thought, a broom appeared out of thin air in Hermione's hand.

The first curiosity she had collected was actually a Broomstick. She had never expected this thing to qualify as a curiosity at all.

Once something was classified as a curiosity, the Spellbook would automatically analyze its composition, determining how to make it and what materials were needed.

If all those requirements were met, the Spellbook could synthesize a collected curiosity.

In other words, Hermione could now make an identical Broomstick entirely on her own, as long as she had the appropriate materials.

No craftsmanship was needed whatsoever.

Fortunately, wands did not count as curiosities. Otherwise, with her wand-making efficiency, Mr. Ollivander would probably end up sobbing himself unconscious in the bathroom.

Analyzing curiosities took time, though. This Broomstick ranked at the very bottom among curiosities, so its analysis had taken only an afternoon.

The higher an object's rank, the longer its analysis would take.

Another benefit was that once an item was identified as a curiosity, the Spellbook could turn it into an icon for storage. She could retrieve it at any time by connecting with the Spellbook, making this an unconventional form of item storage.

This feature made things considerably easier for Hermione. Otherwise, she would have had to carry her broom everywhere.

After storing the broom back in the book, Hermione walked out of the alley.

She bought an apple by the roadside and leaned against a wall, crunching away at it.

The streets are so quiet today.

There aren't any S.H.I.E.L.D. people around, either. It's so different from Hogwarts.

They probably sent all the agents somewhere else.

The Philosopher's Stone is still safe, and Dumbledore is working hard, too.

You need to keep it up, Hermione!

All the magic you've accumulated hasn't been for nothing.

The same goes for the future. As long as you keep moving, the road will keep stretching ahead...

Screeech-

As she was thinking, a luxurious black car suddenly came roaring up from the distance and braked sharply in front of her.

Sorry, no shootout.

A middle-aged man with a bald crown and a ring of hair stepped out of the car, a friendly smile on his face.

"Hello, Miss Granger. I'm Phil Coulson from S.H.I.E.L.D."

He took the initiative to introduce himself.

There was really no need. Hermione had recognized him at a glance.

Hermione nodded and asked, "Oh, it's you people. Where's Natasha?"

"Agent Romanoff was injured on a mission. She's temporarily unable to do fieldwork, so they could only send me in her place. I'm sorry," Coulson said, his eyes showing a trace of apology.

That was not a lie. It had really happened.

After Hermione left, Natasha had waited a long time without catching her and had finally accepted another assignment. She had been sent to deal with an arms smuggler. Although she had successfully taken him down, she had suffered some injuries herself and was currently recuperating at headquarters.

Hermione understood.

After all, however famous Black Widow was, and despite being a future member of the Avengers, she was fundamentally still an ordinary person with exceptional combat skills. She could not guarantee that she would come out of every mission completely unscathed.

"Natasha's hurt? What happened?!"

Just the right amount of anxiety and concern appeared in Hermione's eyes.

Seeing Hermione's "genuine feelings," Coulson felt reassured.

Agent Romanoff certainly lives up to her reputation. She carried out the assignment flawlessly. It looks like she's built an excellent relationship with this young witch.

Natasha was supposed to have come this time, but her injuries had forced the director to make a last-minute substitution, and he had been the first choice.

They had finally managed to establish contact with the young witch. Now, every interaction with her required extreme care.

Among S.H.I.E.L.D.'s senior agents, the bald, bespectacled Sitwell looked far too sleazy, while Rumlow had a vicious face. Either of them might frighten the child away just by showing up.

Everyone else had their own work to attend to, leaving him the best fit for this assignment.

Some people simply did not look like bad guys at first glance, and Coulson was a textbook example. He had the face of a friendly neighborhood uncle, the sort that naturally put people at ease.

"Don't worry, Miss Granger. Natasha only has minor injuries. Her life isn't in danger; she's simply unable to move around for the time being," Coulson reassured her.

Hermione gently patted her chest and let out a breath of relief.

Seeing this, Coulson felt even more reassured and spoke plainly. "I've come to see you because our director hopes to speak with you and share some intelligence as partners. Please do agree to meet him."

He did not beat around the bush, stating his purpose directly.

"Okay!"

Hermione agreed readily. She had long been planning to meet that Black Egghead herself.

"But I want to visit Natasha first!"

I can't break character.

Coulson nodded. They had anticipated this possibility. "Then please get in the car. We'll take you there."

Hermione climbed straight into the car, seemingly without the slightest concern.

She's still a child, after all. She isn't wary at all... Coulson sighed inwardly. Still, S.H.I.E.L.D. genuinely had no ill intentions this time.

A child's innocence could be both a good thing and a bad thing.

The good thing was that she was easy to approach and guide. The bad thing was that other people could approach and guide her just as easily.

We have to keep a close eye on her. We absolutely can't let anyone exploit or deceive this child.

The car stopped in front of a building.

Hermione got out and glanced up.

It was a towering building nearly a hundred stories tall, with a distinctly high-tech feel.

S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters, the Triskelion.

Once she entered the building, Hermione drew countless curious looks.

Since the existence of wizards was highly classified, only a handful of people in S.H.I.E.L.D. currently knew about her. The agents were all astonished to see Coulson, the director's right-hand man, bringing a little girl in black robes into headquarters.

They entered the elevator and went up to the medical floor reserved for agents, where Coulson led Hermione into a luxurious hospital room.