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Hogwarts, The Great Hall.
The illusion faded, leaving the stone floor cold and real beneath their feet. Dumbledore turned to look at Hermione, his blue eyes twinkling with a profound, heavy appreciation.
"Miss Granger," he began, his voice soft. "To orchestrate such a theater… you have saved a man's soul today."
Hermione waved her hand dismissively, turning her back on the Headmaster. "Alright, alright. I can't stand this kind of sentimental scene. The job is done. The rat is dead. The dog is free. I'm leaving."
She walked out of the heavy oak doors without a backward glance.
"This girl..." Dumbledore shook his head helplessly, a small smile playing on his lips.
Snape watched her retreating figure, his black eyes narrowing. He let out a cold snort. "Hmph. One of the few human things Granger has done. Even if the process was saturated with her particular brand of wicked humor."
Outside the hall, the corridor was empty. Hermione stretched her arms above her head, her joints popping.
"Ugh," she groaned to the empty portraits. "This is boring."
"Sure enough, Hogwarts is a retirement home without Voldemort. I can only get by bullying Harry and Ron for so long before it loses its charm."
She checked her watch. Time to get back to the real work.
New York. Stark Tower, Top Floor Laboratory.
The lab was a chaotic blend of cutting-edge technology and ancient mysticism. Holographic screens displayed quantum equations, floating alongside parchment scrolls inscribed with runes.
"Still not working?"
Hermione sighed softly, placing her Time-Turner on the workbench. It clinked against the metal.
She frowned, staring at the parchment spread out before her. It was covered in dense arithmancy calculations and alchemical circles. This was her latest obsession: upgrading the Time-Turner. She wanted it to withstand higher magical outputs and extend the temporal limit beyond a few hours.
She had tried channeling the energy of the Time Stone into the device, but the gold casing of the Turner simply heated up and threatened to melt. It was a hardware issue.
"It seems that simply charging it isn't enough," Hermione muttered, rubbing her temples where a headache was forming. "The materials can't handle the load. I need to approach this from an alchemical perspective. Maybe Uru metal? Or Vibranium alloy?"
Knock, knock.
The heavy security door rattled.
Hermione didn't look up. "Come in."
Happy Hogan pushed the door open, looking flustered. "Miss Hermione, you have… guests. Someone wants to see you. Immediately."
"Who?" Hermione asked, dipping her quill into ink. "If it's Tony, tell him I'm not fixing his toaster again."
"It's Thor," Happy said, breathless. "And he brought a girl. She looks… really bad."
"Thor?" Hermione looked up, surprised. She had expected S.H.I.E.L.D., not the Asgardian giant baby.
"Let him in."
A moment later, the door slid open. Thor Odinson stormed in, carrying a woman in his arms. He wore his armor, but his face was etched with mortal panic.
The woman was Jane Foster. She was pale, her skin clammy, sweat matting her hair to her forehead. She looked like she was in the final stages of a terminal illness.
"Hermione!" Thor bellowed, his voice cracking. "I need your help!"
He gently laid Jane on a lab table, brushing the hair from her face. "Please! I need you to ask the Sorcerer Supreme to open a portal to Asgard! Heimdall cannot see us clearly, and the Bifrost is not fully repaired!"
Hermione walked over, frowning. "How did you get down here, then?"
"My father," Thor explained hurriedly. "He used Dark Energy to send me. But the cost is high. He cannot bring us back the same way, and Jane… she cannot wait."
"What's wrong with her?"
Hermione placed a hand over Jane's chest.
"I have no idea," Thor admitted, his eyes wild with worry. "Heimdall saw a shadow in her. A blindness in his sight. I begged my father to let me retrieve her."
Hermione narrowed her eyes. She didn't need medical equipment. She flexed her magical core, extending her senses into Jane's body.
Underneath the human skin, deeper than the bone, something was writhing. It was a dark, fluid red energy. It felt ancient. Predatory. Infinite.
Her grimoire buzzed in her mind.
[Wondrous Object Detected]
[Aether Particle (Reality Stone Host)] One of the Infinity Stones. Fluid form. Possesses the power to manipulate reality and turn matter into dark matter. [Effect: +1 to all Transfiguration Magic levels while possessing it.] [Status: Parasitic Bond] [Remaining Parsing Time: 5999h 55m 13s]
"So it's the Aether," Hermione whispered, realizing.
She had been so busy running between Hogwarts and New York, looting dungeons and leveling up, that she had forgotten the timeline. The Celestial Convergence was imminent. Jane had stumbled upon a portal, found the Aether, and become its host.
Well, Hermione thought, a small smile touching her lips. My alchemy experiments are stalled anyway. Might as well beat up some Dark Elves to change my mood.
She looked up at Thor. "If you're looking for the Ancient One, you're going to be disappointed. The Sorcerer Supreme has left Earth. Permanently."
Thor froze. The color drained from his face. "Dead? She is… dead?"
He looked down at Jane, despair crashing over him. "Then… what should we do? She is dying, Hermione."
Jane stirred. Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing eyes that were glassy and feverish. She saw Hermione.
"Miss Wizard…" she rasped, forcing a weak smile. "Long time no see."
"It's alright," Hermione said calmly, patting Thor's armored shoulder. "Even though the Ancient One isn't here, I am."
She reached into her shirt and pulled out the platinum pendant.
The blue gem in the center—the Space Stone—pulsed with a hum that vibrated the glass beakers in the room.
Thor stared at it. "Is that…?"
Hermione waved her hand.
VWOOM.
Space tore open. It wasn't the sparking yellow ring of the Masters of the Mystic Arts. It was a swirling, deep blue vortex of pure spatial manipulation.
Through the rift, a golden city gleamed under a binary sun. Waterfalls cascaded off the edge of the world.
"Asgard," Hermione said, gesturing to the portal. "After you."
Thor stared at her, then at the portal, completely dumbfounded. The last time he saw her, she was a powerful witch. Now? She was casually wielding the Tesseract to open interdimensional doorways.
Did she just… level up?
But his concern for Jane overrode his shock. He scooped her up and stepped through the blue mist.
Hermione followed, shaking her head. Love makes people blind, she thought. Or maybe he's just dense. He didn't even ask where I got the Tesseract.
Asgard. The Golden Palace.
They stepped out onto the polished gold floor of the throne room. The air smelled of ozone and ancient metal.
Odin Allfather sat on Hlidskjalf, his one eye sharp and calculating. He held Gungnir in his hand. He looked majestic, terrifying, and tired.
When he saw Hermione step through the portal, his grip on the spear tightened for a fraction of a second before he relaxed. A diplomatic, gentle smile appeared on his face.
"Welcome to Asgard, Miss Granger," Odin boomed.
Hermione nodded slightly, offering a respectful but not submissive curtsy. "Greetings, Your Majesty, the God-King."
She sensed the power rolling off him. Even in his old age, Odin was a powerhouse. With the Ancient One gone, Hermione wasn't keen on starting a fight she might not win.
Better to be polite, she decided. WWGYSL (Wuwu Gu Yi Si Le / Boohoo the Ancient One is dead) check passed.
Frigga stepped out from behind the throne. She radiated warmth and grace. She walked quickly to Hermione's side, taking her hand affectionately.
"Good child," Frigga smiled. "We meet again."
"Queen Frigga," Hermione smiled back. She liked Frigga. The woman was a master of magic and had better manners than her husband.
Thor wasted no time explaining the situation. Odin descended from the throne, his face grave. He disliked mortals in Asgard—their lives were fleeting, like mayflies—but he owed Hermione a debt for New York.
He walked over to Jane, who was shivering on a conjured stretcher.
"Let me see," Odin said.
He placed his hand over Jane's arm. Golden energy, the Odinforce, flowed from his fingertips, scanning her biology.
Suddenly, the golden light was repelled. A violent surge of dark red energy lashed out from Jane's skin, knocking Odin's hand back.
The room fell silent.
Odin's expression turned grim. He recognized that feeling. A power from before the universe began. A power his father had fought to bury.
"This… is not an ordinary illness," Odin said, his voice deep and echoing with dread. "She needs to be taken to the Soul Forge for examination."
Hermione stepped forward, crossing her arms.
"If I'm not mistaken, Your Majesty," she said calmly, "what's inside her body isn't a disease. It's the Aether."
Odin's head snapped up. His one eye locked onto Hermione with intense scrutiny.
"You know of it?"