A/N: A little something different to cleanse one's palate. I know it's not quite Hermione but I dedicate this AU Hermione story to SereniteRose who have always been supportive with her reviews and adding a good number of my stories to her favorites and to follow list. Set during the events in the Battle of Hogwarts.
Disclaimer: None of these characters belongs to me. I cannot exactly put it in as a cross-over because I didn't use any SHIELD characters in it except for references to two and naming the agency of course.
Underestimating Muggles
She was shaking her head. The situation isn't ideal at all, what with the older students still here, but she has no choice.
"Wakey! Wakey!" The girl whom he knew to be Potter's friend said in a taunting voice from outside of what seems to be a glass chamber. "Have you had a good sleep Tom Riddle Jr.? Your followers are about to sleep forever in a matter of an hour or less." The mudblood taunted him as she placed a chair directly in front of him. He realized that he wasn't bound but his wand is nowhere to be found. He also saw his followers almost heaped up in piles in what seems to be a glass box while the Members of the Orders of Phoenix are sitting or lying down on mattresses. They were being attended by people wearing black suits and or tight lycra clothing.
"You're on the BUS as we call it. These babies are used by SHIELD to transport prisoners or allies to their destination," said the girl mockingly. "I don't think your friends will make it though. We'll probably just have them cremated or in Bellatrix's case, I'm planning on stuffing and preserving her corpse for decoration in my lab. You know, like taxidermists do. I might even use Dolohov's body as a piñata." She added cheerfully.
The members of the Order of Phoenix and the people in suits looked at her weirdly but they did not say a word as busy as they were tending to the sick students.
They've been preparing for this for years. Unknown to her so-called friends, she's not the Hermione she knew. In fact the Hermione they did know is nothing but a series of 7 Life Model Decoys, changed every year Hermione goes on a vacation. After all, what kind of parents would allow their only child to attend boarding school year round only to spend most of summer away? She does this for a living but this is the first time she will be at hand to actually see her handiwork on live creatures.
"Please check the temperature of the students, check their pulses and don't ever allow them to sleep. The antidote should work in a few minutes. But check for allergic reactions and administer the antihistamine if need be. Every single one of them must shower once we reach the base. We wouldn't want the British government thinking we're poisoning their citizens." The girl they thought to be Hermione called out. "Yes, doctor." One of the persons in suits said. "Also, give those members who seem unaffected some Vitamin Cs to help with their immunity, get them some juice or something!" She added as the persons in suits rushed to follow her orders.
"Why were they there in the first place? I thought you'd try to get the students out of the line of fire?" Asked one of the guys in suits to the girl who was drying her hair as she just came out of the shower, she frowned at his question. "Well, nobody listens to "children", even though their Chosen One is a child soldier and they've pinned all of their hopes on him. I tried getting them out but nobody listened to me. It's lucky most of the students have been evacuated." She replied sardonically. "Oh by the way, Voldywarts? Albus Dumbledore is alive and well and as far as I know, tanning in one of SHIELD's California rest house." The girl turned to her only conscious prisoner; further taunting the snake faced man as she adjusted herself on her seat and tossed her towel at a passing man in suit.
She was frustrated at the insistence of the older students to remain. She almost got angry when she was brushed aside by one of the order members when she said that those students shouldn't be here by stating that they, like her, has the right to be here. She hates being treated like a child, or an idiot, in this world the two words seems to be synonymous. Dumbledore have had years and "Hermione" months of administering the vaccine through oral means to the members of the Order of Phoenix but these children have no such immunity. She just hopes that the extraction team brought enough antidotes with them.
"But I've been so rude. I mean I already know your name, my specimen to be. So I think it is only polite that I give my name to you. I'm Dr. Hermione Rourke, a geneticist. I just look incredibly young. Since your father is a Muggle and you grew up in a Muggle orphanage, I presume you'd have an idea about DNA since it was discovered way back in 1869?" Voldemort hissed at the reminder of his Muggle origin while he can distinctly hear Bella moaning in the background that the mudblood is lying. The girl continued as though she didn't notice any reaction.
"SHIELD had been commissioned by Professor Albus Dumbledore to neutralize the threat you pose to the population at large. We've decided to categorize you and your group as terrorists so it was easy to get a go-signal. Plus, the agency did owe Dumbledore for neutralizing the threat that was Gellert Grindewald back in the day, so Director Fury really had no choice but to pay the favor Director Carter owed Dumbledore." The girl told her prisoner.
As she watched Harry's body brought in, she realized that Albus Dumbledore might have been right to seek out an alternative plan. She still found the idea of sending a child to his death barbaric, but she had long realized that with medieval notions comes medieval ethics. As Professor McGonagall howled in grief, "Hermione" set the small box they haven't even noticed she carried and pressed the button releasing an unseen virus that would kill those with the target gene within this controlled radius. SHIELD had already placed neutralizing agents to combat the virus beyond the radius of Hogwarts' immediate area.
"DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid is a molecule that carries the genetic instructions used in the growth, development, functioning and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses. DNA and RNA are nucleic acids; alongside proteins and complex carbohydrates (polysaccharides), they are one of the three major types of macromolecule that are essential for all known forms of life…" The girl stopped even as Voldemort was trying to break through the glass using his fists. "That's built for something much stronger than you am afraid. I'm so sorry to bore you, my little guinea pig, but I'll get to the point soon." The girl said patronizingly.
"In biology, a mutation is the permanent alteration of the nucleotide sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA or other genetic elements. Mutations result from damage to DNA which then may undergo error-prone repair. Mutations may also result from insertion or deletion of segments of DNA due to mobile genetic elements. Mutations may or may not produce discernible changes in the observable characteristics (phenotype) of an organism. Now, it is actually just one phenotype that caused the mutation of humans to become wizards or witches, it's hereditary but it's recessive gene which explains the low population of wizards." The girl said as her prisoner started paying attention, she noted.
"I'm not going to bore you with the particulars of what this phenotype is, but you see, I created a virus that targets those with this particular genetic anomaly. I'm actually surprised that you didn't think Dumbledore would be capable of thinking outside the box. You were both alive during the Second World War after all, when massive weapons of destructions were first created. Just think of this as another one." The girl said as she checked Harry whom she insisted to be placed on dextrose given how he looks severely dehydrated which she fears might weaken him and allow the virus to ravage his body despite the immunity.
"Just imagine, famed half-blood wizard Tom Marvolo Riddle Jr. defeated, not by the Chosen One or by Albus Dumbledore, but by one of those Muggles and her genetically engineered virus, you and your groupies looked down on. Ironic isn't it?" The girl added smilingly. "Just when you thought Dumbledore is losing his marbles with old age… He comes back and bite you in the ass." She added shaking her head. Horror started dawning on her prisoner who tried once more to break the glass enclosure.
It took a matter of minutes; those who were moving around were affected most. Even those who have received doses of immunity in a matter of years felt weakened. But "Hermione" assured them that it's only temporary and that it seems the extraction team has enough antidote for everyone in the castle. Those who fought in Voldemort's side were unlucky given how many have started vomiting and many, weakened by years of incarceration have sunk to their knees or are already lying down unconscious.
The giants were dealt with easily with rocket launchers, fired from strategic distances which targeted their weak points. "Hermione" and Hagrid assured Grawp that he wouldn't be targeted and led the small giant back to the woods and was ordered to wait there for Hagrid as "Hermione explained to Hagrid that he needs to come with her as with the rest of the Order to ensure that they wouldn't be sick.
Inside the Castle, "Hermione" introduced herself and explained that her agency had been commissioned by Professor Dumbledore and that they needed to be quarantined so that the virus she used as a weapon won't spread out to the rest of the wizarding population. She also informed the surprised crowd that they would be meeting up with Dumbledore at the rendezvous point. They would not have trusted this girl had Kingsley not pointed out that they could have been killed if this group wanted them dead.
The girl then looked at the bigger glass box before checking her wrist watch. "I think your Death Eaters' time is up. I think they're all dead. You're very lucky, you barely have anything human left in you to kill you. Or unlucky, seeing that you're the prize Dumbledore promised me. That prison that holds you is just a small copy of your future home, where you'd be chained as I cut you up. The room is designed to counter magic. It's for Science, of course. I'm not some sadist. I just want to see how you tick. As much as I enjoy taunting you, I have to get back to work. Talk to you later, Tom!" The girl smilingly told him before she stood up and started looking at the students' conditions.