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Tony's expression shifted completely.
Others might not see what was wrong, just a terrifying display, intimidating at scale. But Tony wasn't like the others. Setting aside the wizards present, nobody understood Hermione's capabilities better than he did. Not even the S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists who spent every day studying her could touch him on that.
With her magical ability, this shouldn't be happening.
The Fire Phoenix disappearing out of nowhere earlier had already been strange.
He always joked that the Shield Charm was the ultimate turtle shell, bickered with Hermione about it constantly, but in truth, he knew exactly how strong that defense was.
And it was cracking. Under this level of attack?
That wasn't right. It wasn't even close to right. It was like her magic had been gutted.
He stared at the spider-web fractures spreading across the shield, and his heart dropped.
No deliberation. Thrusters at full burn, charging straight for the center. He locked onto the nearest Helicarrier, raised his palm, and a blinding energy beam hit the carrier's flank dead-on.
The explosion never came.
The beam, hot enough to melt steel, hit the surface and disappeared. No flash. No sound. Swallowed whole, like it had never been fired at all, absorbed by something he couldn't see.
"..."
"You have got to be kidding me."
He fired again. And again. Same result every time. Laser missiles struck the hull and produced nothing. Not a ripple.
"Damn it!"
On the carrier, one of the wizards glanced up at Tony still hammering away outside. Barely an afterthought. He flicked his hand.
Red light.
The suit exploded apart, and Tony dropped, man and scattered metal falling together.
He knew this feeling.
"Motherfucker — why does every wizard know that trick?!"
Lucky the suit wasn't what it used to be. He'd upgraded it to modular specifically to counter Hermione's Disarming Charm. In midair, the pieces found him, swarmed back, locked into place.
On the other side, Steve bellowed and hurled his Vibranium Shield, precise, hard, aimed at another wizard standing on the deck.
The wizard didn't turn around. Didn't even look. He gave a single lazy flick behind him.
The Vibranium Shield, the shield that had held against Mjolnir, stopped dead in midair.
Steve's pupils snapped tight. He couldn't process it.
Then an invisible force clamped around his entire body. He couldn't move. Couldn't push against it. His super-soldier physique was completely irrelevant. He was as helpless as any ordinary person, and the feeling was so total it dragged up a memory he'd buried, the scrawny kid from Brooklyn before the serum, the one who couldn't fight back no matter how hard he swung.
Tom Riddle's gaze drifted to Tony. A flicker of surprise.
"You have some tricks."
His tone was flat, carrying the particular weight of someone looking down from a great height.
"Pity. At the end of it, you're still just a Muggle."
The vein at Tony's temple jumped.
Normally he'd chew this pretentious bastard apart, give him a full breakdown of exactly what Iron Man armor was worth. But the cracks in Hermione's shield were multiplying, and that was the only thing he could see right now. He flew to her side.
"What the hell is happening?!"
Hermione looked at him.
"The Ministry of Magic finally couldn't hold still. They've been working with HYDRA from the start. I was the target all along."
Her eyes went back to Riddle.
"Senior Riddle. So the Ministry is done pretending." A cool edge in her voice. "What I can't figure out is, aren't you afraid of Dumbledore?"
Tom Riddle had expected the question.
"As the strongest wizard of this age, Dumbledore is a force we cannot match. That's true."
He spread his hands.
"But his greatest weakness has always been how much he cares about those laughable rules." A pause. "And the rules, as it happens, belong to the Ministry."
"Hermione Granger. You are the Dark Witch foretold to bring ruin to the magical world. That is beyond dispute."
"Everything we have done is for the future of the wizarding world. To prevent the next great terror from rising."
His voice carried across the open sky.
"Once it is over, once it is done and cannot be undone, I believe Headmaster Dumbledore, who understands what truly matters, will come to understand why we had no choice."
Tony's expression went strange.
Hold on. Why did that sound familiar?
Because it was the exact same logic Fury used. World security.Greater good. Detain any powered individual who might someday become a threat.
Fury's face darkened to something unreadable.
He used the same logic himself. He knew it. If he'd been standing in Riddle's position, he'd probably have made the same call.
But right now Hermione was clearly on his side of the ledger. She was one person. Whatever damage she caused was contained. A Ministry of Magic willing to partner with HYDRA was a different category of problem entirely, no limits, no hesitation.
Compared to these "official wizards" who'd just materialized out of nowhere, everything Hermione had ever done to aggravate him looked trivial. Minor trouble. Minor attitude. Practically nothing.
At least Hermione still talked to them. Mostly to drive them insane, but still.
These people in front of him were something else.
Much as he wanted to help, they couldn't manage HYDRA on their own, there was no version of events where they were useful against a group of wizards wielding this kind of power.
"Get back, Tony." Hermione's voice was quiet and direct. "This fight isn't something you can get involved in."
"Not happening." He didn't hesitate. "I leave you here and walk away, Pepper kills me when I get home."
He fired at the carrier again as he said it.
Hermione shook her head slightly.
"It won't work. This is a Magic-Sealing Array, set up by the Ministry specifically for me. It drains my magic continuously. Not a full seal, but my power is a fraction of what it should be."
She breathed in, slow and steady. The light around her shield settled, fractionally.
"If I'm reduced to this, you're not even a factor."
"Your attacks have been charging the array. Every shot you fire makes it stronger."
Tony went still. "What. I've been helping them?"
"That's one way to put it." Hermione's tone was dry, resigned. "The Ministry is very good at this kind of trap. It's what they do."
She looked at him, something sharp behind her eyes.
"The only reason you're not dead is that they're still holding back. They're trying not to kill Muggles outright. If that changes, what happened to you earlier — falling out of the sky — that would be the easy version."
"They want you dead, you don't last a second."
Inside the Triskelion, Natasha dropped two more HYDRA agents without breaking stride, helping S.H.I.E.L.D. push through and reclaim the building floor by floor. Her eyes kept cutting to the sky outside.
Steve and Tony felt the same weight.
They'd seen what Hermione could do. That kind of power had a way of making a person think she was untouchable. Invincible. That nothing could reach her.
But that had always been against superhumans and aliens.
This was different.
The enemies were wizards. They held the same power she did. And it wasn't one, it was a group, organized and prepared, with a trap built specifically around her.
The giant Magic Circle above wasn't accidental. It was designed for one target.
They couldn't stop watching. Couldn't convince themselves it was fine.
"It doesn't matter."
A cold smile crossed Hermione's face.
"My magic isn't theirs to take."
➤ Next: Wizard Battle
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