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The Skies Above Washington D.C.
Tony Stark's expression behind his faceplate changed completely.
The Avengers saw a light show. S.H.I.E.L.D. saw a weapon. But Tony saw data, and the data was terrifying.
He knew Hermione's capabilities better than anyone. He had spent months scanning her, debating her, and watching her turn the laws of physics into suggestions. Even the S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists who studied her "magic" were kindergarteners compared to his analysis.
This shouldn't be happening.
Hermione's Protego shield—the "Ultimate Turtle Shell" as he called it—was a construct of hard light and folded space. It had withstood the Chitauri. It had withstood him.
But now?
The golden dome was fracturing. The Phoenix construct had vanished instantly, snuffed out like a candle in a vacuum.
Her magical output has been dampened, Tony realized, watching the telemetry. She's running on fumes.
He stared at the spiderweb cracks spreading across the energy barrier. If that shield failed, the combined firepower of three Helicarriers and eighteen wizards would vaporize her.
"Not on my watch," Tony growled.
"Jarvis, divert all power to the Unibeam. Bypass safety protocols. Maximum yield."
[WARNING: Core Output at 300%]
"Fire!"
The Mark 43 chest piece glowed like a miniature sun. A concentrated beam of repulsor energy—calculated at $P \approx 8.5 \times 10^9 \text{ Joules}$—erupted from his chest. It slammed into the side of the Alpha Helicarrier, aiming for the rune-etched hull.
It should have melted through the steel instantly.
Instead, silence.
The beam hit the glowing blue runes and simply... stopped. There was no explosion. No heat signature. The energy was absorbed instantly, sucked into the hull like water into a sponge.
[Energy Absorption: 100%]
"..."
"Are you kidding me?!" Tony shouted.
He fired two micro-missiles. They hit the hull and vanished without detonating.
"Damn it! Physics still applies to you people!"
On the deck of the carrier, one of the robed wizards—a masked Death Eater—tilted his head. He looked at the annoyance buzzing around their ritual.
He flicked his wand casually.
"Expelliarmus."
A jet of red light hit Tony.
CRUNCH.
The Mark 43 didn't explode. It disassembled. The bolts unscrewed, the plates flew off, and the helmet ejected. Tony was left free-falling in his undersuit, surrounded by floating scrap metal.
"Holy crap!" Tony yelled, flailing. "How does even a random wizard know that trick?!"
Fortunately, Tony was paranoid. He had learned from his sparring matches with Hermione.
"Protocol: Reassemble!"
The modular pieces of the armor halted in mid-air, thrusters firing. They swarmed back to Tony, clamping onto his body in seconds. He locked the faceplate just before hitting the water, rocketing back up.
The Alpha Carrier Deck.
Captain America was fairing no better.
Steve Rogers roared, sprinting across the flight deck. He hurled his vibranium shield with perfect geometric precision, aiming to take the head off the wizard powering the array.
The shield sang through the air.
The wizard didn't even turn around. He simply made a sharp, downward chopping motion with his wand.
"Arresto Momentum."
The shield—an object that defied physics—froze dead in mid-air. It lost all kinetic energy instantly, dropping to the deck with a dull clang.
Steve's pupils contracted. Impossible.
"Incarcerous."
Ropes of thick, black energy erupted from the deck plates. They wrapped around Steve's limbs, binding him tighter than steel cables.
He struggled, his Super Soldier muscles straining, veins popping in his neck. But the ropes tightened. He couldn't move.
Steve felt a wave of helplessness he hadn't felt since before the serum. He was just a man. And these were gods.
Tom Riddle, hovering above the chaos, glanced down at Tony and Steve. A look of mild surprise crossed his handsome face.
"You Muggles do have some tricks," Riddle commented, his voice smooth and condescending. "Toys and frisbees."
He turned back to the girl trapped in the cage. "Unfortunately, they are irrelevant."
The Trap.
Tony rocketed up to the edge of the magical barrier, hovering as close as he dared.
"Hermione!" Tony yelled over the comms. "What on earth is going on?! My lasers are snacks to them!"
Hermione looked at Tony through the cracking shield. She looked tired, but her eyes were burning.
"It seems the Ministry of Magic is finally making its move," Hermione said, her voice tight. "They've been colluding with Hydra for months. Hydra wanted world domination; the Ministry wanted me."
She glared at Riddle.
"Senior Riddle," she called out. "It seems your Ministry is ready to burn bridges. But I'm curious... aren't you afraid of Dumbledore?"
Riddle smiled. It was the smile of a politician who had already counted the votes.
"Albus Dumbledore is the undisputed greatest wizard of our age," Riddle admitted freely. "We are no match for him in a duel."
"But unfortunately," Riddle spread his hands, "his greatest weakness is that he plays by the rules. And the rules, Miss Granger, are written by the Ministry."
"You are an anomaly. A threat to the Statute of Secrecy. A Dark Witch prophesied to bring ruin."
Riddle's voice boomed, broadcasting his justification to the world.
"This is a Ministry-sanctioned execution. We are protecting the future. Once you are dead, and order is restored... Dumbledore will mourn, yes. But he will accept the fait accompli."
Inside the S.H.I.E.L.D. command van, Nick Fury's face was blacker than the bottom of a pot.
It's the same logic, Fury realized. Preemptive strikes. The World Security Council. Project Insight.
The wizards were just doing it with wands instead of algorithm. They were labeling Hermione a threat and removing her "for the greater good."
And frankly? If Fury were in Riddle's position—facing a teenager with god-like power and zero oversight—he might have done the same thing.
But right now, Hermione was his asset.
"Get out of here, Tony," Hermione said suddenly. "This is not a fight you can win. It's an Anti-Magic Array. Specifically designed to kill a high-mana target."
"Impossible!" Tony argued. "If I leave you, Pepper will resurrect me just to kill me again!"
He raised his hand repulsors, charging another shot.
"Stop!" Hermione snapped.
"It's useless, Tony! The array absorbs energy. Kinetic, thermal, magical. It eats it all."
She pointed to the glowing runes.
"Your blast just now? You didn't damage the ship. You charged it. You made the cage stronger."
Tony froze. "What? I'm the battery?"
"Essentially," Hermione sighed. "The Department of Mysteries is very good at creating insidious traps. They are feeding off my magic to power the guns that are shooting me."
She looked at him, her eyes softening. "Go. They are restraining themselves because of the Statute of Secrecy. They don't want to massacre Muggles on live TV. But if you push them... Riddle will kill you. And you won't last a second."
The Breaking Point.
Down on the ground, Natasha Romanoff had cleared the Triskelion lobby. She looked out the window, her heart in her throat.
Steve was bound. Tony was useless.
They had seen Hermione perform miracles. They thought she was omnipotent.
But now, she was trapped in a cage designed by her own kind. Eighteen elite wizards and three alchemy ships were crushing her.
CRACK.
A massive fissure opened in Hermione's shield. The golden light flickered and died.
The protection was gone.
The beams of magical energy—fire, ice, death—rushed in.
Riddle smiled. "Checkmate."
Hermione stood exposed in the center of the storm.
She didn't scream. She didn't cower.
She sneered.
"My magic..."
Hermione's eyes suddenly shifted. The pupils vanished, replaced by a swirling, galaxy-like darkness. Her hair began to float, defying gravity.
"...isn't something you can just TAKE!"
She reached into her pocket and pulled out the pendant.
CLICK.
The Space Stone (Blue).
The Reality Stone (Red).
The Mind Stone (Yellow).
The Time Stone (Green).
She slammed her hand against the invisible wall of the absorption array.
"You want energy?" Hermione whispered, her voice echoing in the minds of every wizard present.
"THEN CHOKE ON IT!"