"What? What the hell are you talking about?" Everyone stared in complete bewilderment.
Gemini frowned, repeating herself, but the words that emerged were still those same incomprehensible syllables that seemed to slip away from understanding the moment they were spoken. She released a frustrated sigh. "Forget it—you wouldn't understand anyway. The basic idea is that only the worthy can lift it."
On the screen, Coulson's face crumpled into pure despair. "So this thing is just... stuck here forever?"
Gemini considered this, her expression thoughtful. "Ever heard of King Arthur's sword in the stone? This hammer operates on essentially the same principle—it has a true owner. Besides its master, only those the hammer recognizes as worthy can so much as budge it. You'd need either overwhelming power, or you'd need to possess—"
Another stream of those strange, untranslatable syllables spilled from her lips, and everyone immediately grasped the situation—whatever she was trying to say simply couldn't be spoken aloud.
"Ugh, the words won't come. Let's just say someone like the person in that ice—someone of his caliber could manage it." Gemini switched tactics with obvious frustration.
Fury's entire demeanor shifted, his good eye sharpening with interest. Someone like the Captain—did she mean physical capability, or something far more profound?
"The soul signature of the man in that ice is honestly the purest thing I've ever encountered in my lifetime. He could genuinely be called a saint—every thought in his head is for others, with absolutely zero consideration for himself." Gemini shook her head in wonder. Even Harry didn't radiate such intensely selfless energy.
Silence settled over the room like a heavy blanket. Those requirements were impossibly stringent.
"Speaking of which, where exactly did this hammer come from? If it has an owner, surely they can't be too far away." Gemini's curiosity was clearly piqued.
Coulson instinctively glanced toward Fury, who weighed his options for a moment before speaking directly. "It fell from the sky. Coulson, have there been any unusual individuals approaching the hammer at your location?"
Coulson paused, thinking, then responded with obvious hesitation. "Yesterday there was actually this blond guy who got close to it. Claimed the hammer belonged to him. Said his name was Thor Odinson, and that the hammer was called... Mew-mew? Sorry, Mjolnir? Something like that."
Gemini went absolutely rigid, her face draining of color. "Say that again! What did he call himself?! What's the hammer's name?!"
The sudden intensity in Gemini's voice made Coulson and the others snap to attention, recognizing that something significant had just shifted. "Thor Odinson. Mjolnir."
Gemini abandoned all pretense, yanking Harry's two-way mirror from her bag with trembling hands. "Harry! Harry!"
The response was immediate, Harry's familiar voice warm with affection. "What's wrong, Gemini? Oh, and your Christmas present is in the mail—should arrive any day now!"
"Forget Christmas presents, Harry! Black family library, shelf 195, top tier! That golden book! Can you find it right now?!" Gemini's words tumbled over each other in her urgency, everything else forgotten.
Harry's expression sobered instantly, recognizing the panic in her voice. "Has something happened? Do you need me to come through right now?"
"Find that book first! I have to confirm something!" Gemini insisted, her knuckles white as she gripped the mirror.
The image shifted as Harry began moving. "Don't panic—I'm actually at Grimmauld Place right now. Going to look for it." He entered a room lined floor to ceiling with ancient tomes, a space that only Gemini regularly visited, drawn by her insatiable curiosity about magical history.
Since many of the volumes were sensitive to light, Harry had to squint in the flickering glow of his oil lamp, carefully counting shelf numbers. "194... 195! Top shelf—there!" He hung the lamp on a convenient hook and reached for the distinctive golden volume.
The book actually recoiled from his touch, twisting like a living thing, but Harry's reflexes were too quick. As his fingers brushed the ancient binding, the tome shuddered once and went still, as if recognizing his authority.
Archaic runes glowed softly across the cover, their meaning largely lost to Harry, though he could make out what might be the word "wizard" among the flowing script.
"What book is this? What do these symbols mean?" Harry asked, frowning at the mysterious text.
"The Origins of Wizardkind," Gemini replied, her voice steadier now but still tense with urgency.
"Didn't wizards start with Merlin?" Harry looked genuinely confused.
Gemini's expression was pure exasperation. "Legend claims Merlin himself was educated at Slytherin!"
Harry coughed awkwardly and wisely chose silence.
"Turn to the very last page," Gemini instructed.
Harry flipped the book around and opened it from the back, revealing pages dense with text in scripts he couldn't begin to decipher. "I can't read any of this."
"I should probably just bring the book to you," Harry said, closing it decisively.
Gemini made a frustrated sound. "I'm in a serious hurry here—how exactly are you planning to deliver it?"
Harry smiled, and she could hear the mischief in his voice. "Are you still wearing that Christmas present I gave you two years ago?"
Gemini pulled the delicate necklace from beneath her shirt. "This?"
"Press the gem," Harry said, lifting his lamp higher.
Gemini examined the pendant more closely—the central stone was indeed designed to be pressed. She gave it an experimental push.
The mirror connection severed instantly. A heartbeat later, Harry materialized through a swirling portal, stumbling slightly as the long-distance transport left him momentarily disoriented.
The dizziness lasted only seconds before Harry registered the presence of strangers. His wand appeared in his hand with practiced ease, trained reflexes placing him between Gemini and potential threats before conscious thought could intervene.
"Who are you?" The oil lamp clattered forgotten to the floor as Harry's wand found Fury, his body angled to shield Gemini completely from view.
Gemini showed zero appreciation for the protection, reaching around Harry to snatch the protesting book and slam it onto the conference table, immediately diving into its pages.
"Easy there, sir. We're her clients—discovered something that needed the shop owner's expertise. I know about wizards. I've sworn magical oaths with Tony Stark." Fury's magical eye was practically vibrating with warnings about the danger level of the young man before him. Even without the prosthetic's alerts, Fury could recognize a battle-tested warrior when he saw one. Combined with magical capabilities, this was not someone he wanted as an enemy. "Just trying to get some professional consultation."
Harry's green eyes swept the room with military precision, cataloging threats and escape routes. Both men showed signs of combat training and carried conventional weapons, but Gemini wore multiple protective enchantments. If things went sideways, they could extract safely. His stance relaxed fractionally, though the wand remained ready.
"Sorry about that. When someone you care about has a tendency toward... impulsive decisions, you learn to err on the side of caution." Harry offered Fury an apologetic nod while maintaining his protective position. "Harry Potter. And you are?"
Fury actually staggered backward, his good eye widening. "The Savior from Modern European Magical History? The same Harry Potter who takes up a fifth of The Greatest Wizards of the 20th Century?"
Harry blinked in genuine surprise. "You've actually read those?"
Fury straightened, clearly impressed despite himself. "Only skimmed a few magical history books, but your name is everywhere. You're something of a legend, Mr. Potter."
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