Stark returns

Forcing that dangerous thought out of her mind, Hermione quietly left with the others.

Notably, Harry and Ron had to support Malfoy between them the entire way out of the Forbidden Forest.

His legs were so weak that he could not walk on his own, and his lips trembled too much for him to speak.

The sight immediately enraged Snape. He unleashed a tirade on Hagrid, declaring that he would report this to Dumbledore, then subjected Harry to his usual snide remarks for good measure.

Seeing the lingering fear in Malfoy's eyes when he glanced at her, Hermione shook her head helplessly.

Look how badly you scared the poor kid. Voldemort, your crimes are unforgivable!

Harry did not argue much. Instead, he seemed to have noticed something and watched Snape thoughtfully.

At the edge of the Forbidden Forest, inside an abandoned wooden hut.

Quirrell lay sprawled on the floor, trembling all over as he used his wand to pick the deformed bullets out of his flesh one by one. Each bullet he extracted made him gasp in pain.

"A Muggle's... iron pipe."

The voice beneath his turban was hoarse and distorted, seething with unprecedented fury.

"I, the great Voldemort, was beaten into fleeing like a dog by a Mudblood with a Muggle toy!"

"Quirinus, this body of yours is too feeble!"

Not only had the mighty Dark Lord been dragged down by his servant, he even had to expend his own resources to heal him.

Useless fool!

If he had not finally found a host with such an ideal identity, he would have drained this worthless fool dry long ago.

"M-master, I was careless..." Quirrell stammered. "When she took that thing out, I never imagined..."

"That is all she has left." The voice gradually calmed. "Just a little girl who can only recite textbooks and launch sneak attacks with Muggle tricks."

"Once I have the Philosopher's Stone and regain my body..."

A low, chilling chuckle echoed through the hut.

"I will deal with her personally."

New York.

She had been back for less than a minute when the phone tucked against her chest rang.

She answered, and Black Widow's voice came from the other end.

"Little Hermione, Stark was found a few weeks ago. Thank you for your help. I wanted to let you know, but I haven't been able to reach you lately."

"It's all right. I've had a lot of classes at school lately, so I haven't really gone out to play," Hermione explained. After a moment's thought, she added pitifully:

"You're not mad at me, are you, Natasha...?"

Hearing the little girl's soft, childish voice over the phone made Black Widow's heart quiver. She hurried to reassure her. "How could I be mad at you? I just really miss you. When will you come visit us at S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

After hanging up, Black Widow sighed.

As she had expected, establishing a deeper connection was not so easy. She could see it now: young and innocent as the girl was, she was certainly no fool. In some ways, she was even remarkably shrewd.

Calling her a little fox would be no exaggeration.

For all their apparent closeness, Hermione rarely shared anything about her life. Black Widow did not even know what usually kept her busy.

Until they became people Hermione trusted absolutely, like the "Dumbledore" she spoke of, the little girl would not open her heart and share everything with them.

Fortunately, S.H.I.E.L.D. had custom-made a phone for Hermione. Otherwise, even contacting her would have been difficult.

After hanging up, Hermione scoffed.

You don't miss me. Black Egghead probably wants to fish for more information.

And do you think I haven't noticed the listening device in the phone?

You really can't teach an old dog new tricks.

Still, it hardly mattered. With two worlds separating them, even the most advanced technology would be useless.

Hermione took out another phone, and dozens of messages immediately popped up at once.

A quick glance showed that, apart from telling her Tony was safe, most were messages of thanks or inquiries about how she was doing.

Hermione opened her contacts, found the only entry, and called.

This phone had also been a gift, but not from S.H.I.E.L.D. Pepper Potts had secretly slipped it to her before leaving after one of their meetings.

"Pepper, I'm back!"

Once the call connected, Hermione greeted her cheerfully.

"Little Hermione!"

Pepper's voice was full of delighted surprise. "I couldn't reach you all this time. I thought something had happened to you. I went to ask S.H.I.E.L.D., but they said they didn't know either and just told me not to worry."

"You may have amazing abilities, but you're still a child. How could I not worry?"

Warmth filled Hermione's heart.

Natasha's kindness toward her was not fake, but it was always mixed with the demands of her S.H.I.E.L.D. assignment.

Hermione understood, but that did not mean she could happily accept it.

By comparison, Pepper's feelings were far more straightforward. Beyond her gratitude, Hermione could feel that she genuinely cared about her.

"Don't worry, Pepper. I've been back at Hogwarts lately. There's been a lot going on at school, so I haven't had much chance to come out."

Hermione replied.

That was indeed the truth.

With the Quidditch Match approaching, she and Harry had been busy with intensive training, enduring Wood's torment every day.

More precisely, Wood tormented Harry every day, while she tormented Wood.

The nickname "Torture Witch" was already beginning to take shape.

"Hogwarts? What kind of place is that?"

Pepper sounded surprised. "And where exactly do you go to school? Why couldn't I find your name at any of the schools in New York...?"

Nick Fury, you bastard!

Hermione silently cursed him.

You can't do a single decent thing!

He knew perfectly well that Pepper cared about her, yet he had refused to share even a scrap of information, leaving her to worry.

Hmph!

"I'll explain when we meet. It's a long story."

"Where are you now? I'll come find you!" Pepper said immediately.

Hermione scratched her head, a little embarrassed. "I'm not really sure either. I'd better come to you. Just give me a moment."

With that, she summoned her broomstick and mounted it, cast a Disillusionment Charm for good measure, and shot into the sky, heading straight for Stark Tower.

Stark Tower.

The CEO's office.

Pepper held her phone, saying hello over and over.

The last thing she had heard was Hermione saying, "I'll come to you."

After that, no matter what she said, Hermione did not respond. All she could hear through the phone was a fierce rushing sound.

Just as she was wondering whether to hang up, she heard a tap, tap, tap behind her, as though someone were knocking on glass.

Pepper started, thinking she must have misheard.

She was dozens of floors up, a hundred meters above the ground, and alone in the room. There was nothing behind her but floor-to-ceiling windows. How could someone possibly be knocking on the glass?

Yet when she turned, she saw a petite figure in black robes sitting sidesaddle on a broomstick, hovering outside the window.

When the girl saw her, she smiled and waved.

Her eyes curved into crescents on her pretty face. With that sweet smile and those two little dimples, she could not have been more adorable.

In an instant, Pepper's heart nearly melted.

"Little Hermione!"

Pepper covered her mouth and exclaimed.

"Pep-per!"

A faint shout reached the room. Hermione's mouth moved as though she were trying to say something.

"?" Pepper had no idea what she meant.

Suddenly, a strong gust swept past. The broomstick shook in the turbulent air, and Hermione lost her balance, falling with it.

"Aah!!!"

Pepper screamed.

Before she could do anything, Hermione floated back up. This time, however, her lower legs were hooked around the broom handle, leaving her dangling upside down in a rather comical pose.

Hermione pointed at herself, then at the room.

Pepper finally understood and hurried to open the window. Hermione instantly flipped back onto the broomstick and flew inside in one fluid motion.

She landed safely, but before she could speak, Pepper stepped forward and pulled her into a hug.

"You silly child!" Lingering fright flashed in Pepper's eyes as she scolded her. "How could you do something so dangerous?"

Dangerous...? Hermione looked bewildered. She performed far more acrobatic maneuvers during Quidditch training, but seeing Pepper's worried expression, she still murmured obediently:

"Oh..."

Seeing that Hermione clearly had not taken the warning to heart, Pepper sighed softly.

She had no idea what sort of upbringing this child had had.