Hermione forcibly suppressed the urge to snark.
Forget it. Let him do what he wants.
It wasn't her he was screwing over, anyway.
Little did she know, Fury had his own reasons for not choosing Black Widow and the others.
Natasha already had a good relationship with Hermione, and Coulson had established a certain degree of contact, too. Both could approach her privately to learn, so there was no need to assign them specifically.
More importantly, he had only so many trusted aides, and they had other missions to complete. They couldn't spend every day poring over mystical knowledge.
Hermione wasn't the only one baffled. The agents before her exchanged glances, seeing the same confusion in one another's eyes.
Director Fury had gathered them together for what he called an important, highly classified assignment, warning them not to divulge anything under any circumstances.
Then he'd brought them here... to meet a little girl in a bizarre outfit?
Hermione rarely appeared in public. She spent most of her time at Hogwarts, and even when she returned, she stayed with Pepper and Tony. On top of that, Fury had allowed only a handful of people to meet her and hadn't even entered her into the official records. So far, very few people knew Wizards existed.
Their bewilderment was hardly surprising.
"Starting today, you're students in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s mystical knowledge class. In the future, you'll form the backbone of our supernatural and mystical countermeasures team."
Fury pointed at Hermione. "And she is your teacher. From now on, she'll make all the arrangements for this class. I'm granting her level-nine S.H.I.E.L.D. clearance, effective immediately. Whatever your agent level, you must obey her in the classroom."
The announcement left everyone reeling.
An eleven- or twelve-year-old girl was going to teach them, and they had to obey her.
Worst of all, she actually had level-nine clearance???
That was Maria Hill's level. Apart from Secretary Pierce and Director Fury, both Alpha-level, level-ten agents, Hill held the highest rank in all of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Alexander Pierce served on the World Security Council and hadn't managed S.H.I.E.L.D. affairs in years. In other words... this little girl ranked directly below Fury?
Was this a joke?!
Seeing their confusion, Fury explained, "She'll show you another side of the world and introduce you to the mysteries of magic..."
Their eyes widened, as though checking that they'd heard him correctly.
Magic?
They knew about people with superpowers, and S.H.I.E.L.D. had quite a few in custody, but magic?
This was the first they'd heard of it.
"Hello, everyone!"
Hermione waved and flashed a sweet smile.
"My name is Hermione Granger, and I'm a Wizard. Nick Fury invited me to serve as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s mystical side consultant, and starting today, I'll be your teacher!"
"I look forward to working with you all!"
Nick Fury... Fury's cheek twitched.
Pfft...
Barton and the others looked at Fury, then at Hermione. They wanted to laugh but didn't dare, and holding it in was painful.
A second later, however, they all caught on.
What was that?
A Wizard?
It wasn't April Fools' Day.
If not for their rigorous professionalism as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, they might already have turned around and left.
"Descendo!"
Without another word, Hermione cast a gravity spell at full power.
In an instant, an immense force pinned everyone before her to the floor, leaving them unable to move.
Veins bulged on "Crossbones" Rumlow's forehead as he tried to push himself up. But it felt as though an enormous boulder weighed down his body. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't move an inch.
As the pressure mounted, their bones began to creak, and blood slowly trickled from their noses.
"Miss Wizard!"
Fury hurriedly shouted when he saw what was happening.
These were all elite S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. If Hermione killed them like this, the loss would be enormous.
"Hmph!"
Hermione dispelled the magic with a disgruntled huff.
"If it weren't for Nick Fury, I wouldn't bother teaching you ignorant Muggles. You're even eating into my time outside class."
Hermione planted both hands on her hips, her face puffed up in annoyance.
Barton and the others struggled to their feet, still shaken. A trace of fear entered their eyes as they looked at Hermione.
With one casual wave of her hand, this little girl had left elite agents like them completely helpless.
Magic... magic...
"Miss Wizard, it's an honor to attend your lessons. We were ignorant just now. Please don't take it to heart."
Everyone's thoughts raced, but the bald Sitwell recovered first. He bowed, adopting Fury's form of address, and looked at Hermione with a hint of flattery.
Hermione looked at the cultured-looking little bald man of Indian descent in gold-rimmed glasses. He bore quite a resemblance to Professor Yi from her previous life. She nodded, looking thoroughly pleased.
So what if he was Hydra? Hydra knew how to say all the right things!
"Very good, Agent Yi." She patted the little bald man on the shoulder.
"Um... my name is Jasper Sit-"
"Got it, little Yi."
"..."
Seeing that this display had cowed them all, Fury breathed a sigh of relief.
Sure enough, strength was the fastest way to establish authority.
But... what was that just now? Another new spell?
Fury's expression grew somewhat grave.
Every time he saw Hermione, she seemed to cast spells he'd never seen before.
Had she always known them, or had she just learned them at school?
How much more did she know... even if she was a Wizard, was this really something a student could master?
Hermione couldn't be bothered with Fury. Let him guess; he wouldn't figure it out even in his next life.
"I'll give you two textbooks first. Read through them, and ask me if there's anything you don't understand."
Picking up the little schoolbag beside her, Hermione rummaged through it.
"Huh... where did I put them?"
Watching Hermione poke her head into the bag and peer around, everyone was speechless.
It was such a tiny schoolbag that you could see everything inside at a glance. How long was she going to keep searching?
If she'd forgotten them, she should just say so, instead of pretending to search to save face.
Sure enough, even with miraculous magic, she was still a child at heart... wait, holy shit?!
At some point, Hermione had turned the schoolbag upside down and begun shaking it with a clatter.
Under their dumbfounded gazes, objects fell from the bag one after another.
Books, a broomstick, bottles and jars, a cauldron, flowerpots, clothes, a pillow, a chessboard, snacks...
Within ten seconds, a mountain had formed on the floor, nearly as tall as a person.
Never mind the agents-even Fury, who thought he was used to Hermione's antics, was stunned.
How had all that fit inside such a tiny schoolbag? Was it some kind of four-dimensional pocket?
And she shouldn't just stuff everything into her schoolbag!
What the hell were a cauldron, flowerpots, and a broomstick doing in there?!
"Mmmph, mmmph..." Hermione's upper body was buried in the mountain of junk, leaving only her two little legs flailing wildly outside.
"Pah!"
Just as Barton couldn't bear to watch any longer and was about to help her, Hermione finally fought her way out of the pile, gasping for breath.
"Phew... I almost suffocated."
Then she raised several books in both hands and waved them happily.
"Found them!"
Before you continue