TO LOVE A SUPERHERO
Summary: High School wasn't easy. Leading a double life wasn't easy. Being a teenage superhero wasn't easy. Being the youngest and least experienced member of the Avengers wasn't easy. But falling in love? That was the hardest thing he'd ever done, and yet, he didn't regret it. He didn't regret meeting Hermione Granger.
Disclaimer: I do not own canon events and characters, they belong to J.K Rowling and Marvel. I am not making a profit from writing and posting this fanfic. This takes place after Homecoming and Infinity War hasn't yet happened, and also, neither Tony nor Natasha are going to die because I said so and I'll be making big changes to stop that from happening. Also, the Avengers are still one big happy family and they never broke up. Yay!
I've also upped Peter's age to seventeen to close the age gap a little more, and he's also going to be taller. As for the Harry Potter Universe, I'm making it so the war ended a year earlier but everything that happened in cannon still happened, just a lot sooner. Just go with it, it's less confusing that way.
This is Peter's POV.
Page count: 20
He hadn't seen Hermione in three weeks and in all honesty, he was getting worried. New York was a big place but even with the population they'd managed to run into each other several times and he really didn't believe in coincidences.
He tried to keep his thoughts from straying to her but failed and now that his Aunt knew the reason behind his distracted state, she always made it a point to question him about his new friend, wanting to know everything he knew about her. He did think it was a little strange but otherwise told her everything he knew because it kept her happy.
He had no way of contacting Hermione and he had no idea where she lived, not even the general area otherwise he would've just gone searching for her until he found her, but it was starting to drive him insane. Luckily he had something to distract him for the weekend.
Mr. Stark had sent Happy to pick him up on Friday after school because he'd been summoned to the Avengers' compound by Director Fury himself. He had no idea of the reasoning behind it; he just knew he had to pack a bag because he'd been staying until Sunday night. He did think it a little odd that he was expected at the compound especially since he wasn't technically a full member of the Avengers, not until he turned eighteen as it had been Mr. Stark's golden rule, so, for the time being, he was benched until they needed all hands on deck.
He'd been to the compound a few times and still didn't know his way around it, but he'd managed to find his way to his room –as if he had his own room!- within fifteen minutes and he had a quick look around before unpacking his clothes into the chest of drawers and putting his toiletries in his bathroom. He'd been told upon arriving that he would need to change into his suit though he wasn't sure why, but as soon as he had there was a knock on the door and he crossed the room to open it.
"Mr. Stark," he greeted.
The older man looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Kid, why are you wearing your mask indoors? Didn't your lovely Aunt May tell you it's rude?"
"Keeping my identity a secret," he replied.
He rolled his eyes at him. "From who exactly?"
"Oh," he said, clearing his throat as he reached up and pulled off his mask, giving him a sheepish smile.
"Let's go, Spidey, we're needed in the conference room," he spoke, turning and walking away and Peter was quick on his heels, falling into step beside him.
"Mr. Stark, why am I here?"
"Not sure," he shrugged. "None of us are, but Fury's got his eye-patch in a knot about everyone being present."
"And my suit? Why do I have to wear it?"
"No idea," he said. "But we're about to find out."
Peter followed him into the room which was only fitted with a large table that was surrounded by five chairs on either side and a chair at both ends of the table. The other Avengers were already present, Wanda sat next to Clint and was followed by Natasha on the left, whilst Steve, Sam and Bucky sat on the right and Tony took the seat at the end of the table, so he moved to sit on his left, putting a space between him and Natasha. He noticed that Rhodey, Bruce and Vision were missing and that those present were all wearing their suits, too.
"Shut it, Stark," Director Fury spoke, as he stepped into the room and headed straight for the unoccupied chair at the other end of the table but he didn't sit down, he just pushed it out of the way and into the corner of the room.
"I didn't say anything," his mentor replied.
"You didn't have to," he said, pinning him with a cold stare. "I'm sure you're all wondering why you're here, so I see no point in keeping it from you. As of today, you'll find yourselves with a new addition to the team."
Silence met him.
"I'm sorry, addition as in?" Captain America asked, sitting up in his chair and looking directly at Fury.
"As in a new member of the Avengers Initiative."
"And just who is this guy, why haven't we been told about this earlier and what makes him so special he's to be joining this highly skilled team?" Sam asked.
"Or she," Natasha put in.
"You haven't been told about this before now because it was irrelevant and on a need to know basis. She," he said, putting emphasis on the term and Natasha and Wanda both looked pleased to hear it. "Has a variety of skills which make her more than qualified to join the Avengers. She's going to be a highly valuable member of the team, and I've been told she's got quite the temper on her so unless you want to witness that, it's best not to upset her. She's been on our radar for almost a year and I've had to jump through far too many hoops to get her here this afternoon."
He turned and headed for the second door in the room and he knocked on it before returning to the table. The room fell silent as they all waited for the newest member to make an appearance.
The door opened and all eyes moved to it, not a single person in the room blinking and Peter had never been more surprised in his life when none other than Hermione Granger, his new friend, stepped into the room. Her wild curls were pulled back from her face and tied back in a low ponytail and she was wearing a long-sleeved black t-shirt, black jeans and black knee-high boots, the colour contrasting against her pale skin.
"Hermione!" He exclaimed and all eyes shot to him in surprise. He felt his face heat up, as obviously, he hadn't meant to say that so loud, or at all.
"Peter!" She said, looking just as surprised to see him as he was her, and he was more than aware of the surprise of the others and that was including Director Fury as their eyes darted between them. "You never told me you were an Avenger," she blinked before shaking her head and a smile pulled at her face. "Well, Mr. Superhero, you kept that one quiet."
"I...Er..." He cleared his throat, feeling uncomfortable with all the eyes on him. "I'm not technically, not until I turn eighteen. And you're one to talk, is this the secret job you told me about?"
"Yes and no," she responded, reaching up to push a loose curl out of her face.
"But is this the job offer you couldn't refuse?"
"Yes, and I meant that literally, I couldn't refuse it," she said, sending a less than friendly glare to Director Fury. "He blackmailed into it."
"I did not," he scoffed.
"Yes, you did," she replied, her voice turning cold. "And if you dare tell another lie, you'll feel my foot up your arse even in your death."
A snort sounded. "I like her," he heard Natasha mutter to Clint and the archer nodded in agreement, looking amused.
"Hold on a minute," Tony said, drawing attention to him. "You two know each other?" He spoke, gesturing between him and Hermione with a wiggle of his index finger.
"Sure do," Hermione nodded, sending Peter a smile and his blush darkened, especially when he saw several of them smirking at him in amusement. "We met not long after I moved here, our first meeting happened to be him wearing his suit."
"I'm confused," Sam frowned.
"She helped me," Peter explained. "I banged my head and passed out, when I came to I learned she'd been taking care of me whilst I was out cold."
"Yes, then we just happened to bump into each other when I got lost, new city and all that. Then he just happened to be nearby when a group of drunken men started following me, I still haven't forgiven you for the whole swinging on a web thing," she told him. "Then he stopped me from getting food poisoning from a dodgy food truck, and then we happened to meet when I was falling asleep in the middle of the park."
"Why were you falling asleep?" Wanda asked her, looking at her curiously.
"I'd just finished a twelve-hour shift," she answered. "Fact of the matter is, Peter and I just can't seem to stop bumping into each other, though I admit, I have been a little worried since it's been what, three weeks since we last saw each other?"
"Three weeks, two days," he corrected, his blush darkening further when they all looked at him with raised eyebrows and amusement.
"Okay, so glad you know our rookie player but back on topic, just who are you?" Clint asked her.
"Right, sorry, I'm Hermione, Hermione Granger, and if I hear one single joke about my British heritage, I'll make you regret it for the rest of your lives," she said, smiling sweetly.
Peter saw his mentor smirk in challenge and he opened his mouth but Director Fury spoke over him.
"Miss. Granger is highly accomplished for her age and her skills and abilities are going to make all of our lives a lot easier."
"How so?" Steve asked curiously.
"We'll get to the show and tell later," he replied. "Now for some background information and for that, I'll hand it over to the woman herself."
"Right, I haven't slept in nearly thirty-six hours so please don't question me and treat me as if I'm crazy. Everything I'm about to tell you is the absolute truth and just keep in mind aliens exist."
Peter found himself sitting forward in his seat, as did everyone else.
"To put it simply, I'm a witch."
Tony snorted and she sent him a glare that was so frightening, it had the older man sinking back in his seat and shutting up.
"I was born the way I am, I was born with my magic. I'm not the only witch to exist, there's thousands of my people, both witches and wizards, that live in secret around the world. After the Witch Trials, my people were forced to retreat into the shadows for our survival and all traces of magic were wiped from the world. We built our own towns and cities and we hide in plain sight. Yes, we brew potions, yes, we have wands to cast spells and yes, we fly on brooms, I, however, hate flying. Always have, always will. There's different types of magical practitioners. I'm the first type, I'm what's known as a Muggleborn. Neither of my parents had magic themselves and it wasn't in their ancestry. I'm the first magical user in my bloodline. Next, Half-bloods who are magical practitioners that have both magical and non-magical ancestry. Most Half-bloods usually have two magical parents, but it had been known for there to be one magical and one non-magical parent. Purebloods, these have no non-magical blood in their ancestry. And finally, Squibs are what we call someone who has magical parents but they don't possess magic themselves, they're regular human beings. Muggleborns don't learn of their magic until the age of eleven which is when they're invited to attend a magical school where they'll learn to hone and harness their magic and abilities, and where they'll be prepared for life in the Wizarding World once they graduate. Half-bloods and Purebloods grow up in the hidden Wizarding World and know of their magic from the very beginning. I've put an information pack together for you all to read at a later date, and please read it, it'll help you to better understand the world I come from. We're not that different from you, we have the same needs, wants and desires only we have magic instead of technology. Questions?"
Every hand shot up in the air whilst Tony held both his hands up and looked to be attempting to lift his legs up higher, too.
"Great, I'll answer them later," she said, and dejected sighs were heard as they all lowered their arms.
"I'm here because a year ago I helped put an end to a magical war which had been happening for nearly two decades."
"You're a soldier," Bucky interrupted.
She nodded, her eyes clouding over in pain and sadness before she took a breath. "For nearly seven years."
"How old are you?" He asked, eyeing her strangely.
"Eighteen." The room was silent. "I was dragged into the war at the age of twelve and that's when I fought in my first battle." They all stared at her, and Peter himself couldn't believe what he was hearing.
He'd known she was different, he just hadn't thought it would be to the extent of what she was saying. As if, magic was real and he was staring at a real, live witch! He felt sick. His head hurt. God! He felt like he was going to pass out and he reached out to grip the edge of the table to centre himself.
"The magical war, I'm not exaggerating when I say the wizard we were up against was the magical version of Adolf Hitler."
Peter saw Both Steve and Bucky stiffening, their eyes locking on her. "It was that bad?" Steve asked.
"Well, I was a twelve year old fighting on the front line, what do you think? Our population's nowhere near the scale of yours, so when I say thousands of my people died it may not sound like a lot to you, but it was to us. In comparison, it's the same as millions of your people dying."
Peter saw everyone take a deep breath and their bodies tensed before relaxing and he couldn't stop his own body from doing the same.
"He was the darkest wizard to be seen in decades, even centuries and he was called Voldemort. He hated Muggles, your people, and he wanted to rid the world of you all. He wanted witches and wizards to rule over you. And because he hated you, he hated Muggleborns and Half-bloods and he wanted to wipe us all out. Did you hear about those terrorist attacks in London and Paris a couple of years ago? Well, that was him. When I was born, there was a prophecy about a baby boy that was said to have the power to destroy him for good, so he killed every family that had a baby boy that was born at the end of July. He tried to kill a baby but the magic backfired and struck him. The world thought he'd been destroyed and everyone celebrated this hero baby for saving our people, in reality, he'd just been defeated and was biding his time. Fast forward ten years. That baby came to my magical school and he became my best friend. For five years we were forced to fight off countless attacks and attempts to bring Voldemort back to full power. We tried to tell our government he was back but they wouldn't believe us, so we fought back. The resistance group that was formed in the first war regrouped and secretly fought in the shadows."
"When I was sixteen I was nearly killed in battle and it's when the government realised we were telling the truth. We fought but eventually, he took control of our government and our Headmaster, a truly powerful wizard of The Light and one of the only people Voldemort feared, was murdered. We were on our own and as teenagers, we were expected to find a way to kill Voldemort for good. We hit a few obstacles but months later after being fugitives and chased by Voldemort's followers, we knew how to kill him and the final battle was upon us. Twenty-four hours the battle lasted and just when we lost hope, a miracle happened and my best friend killed him. We'd finally won the war. Innocent people and children were no longer suffering, were no longer being forced into slavery and being executed for simply existing. We're still repairing all the damages but people are finally starting to move on now that they can leave their homes without fear."
Peter slumped back into his chair and he wasn't the only one. He really did have a headache forming.
"Questions?" Again, every hand shot up including Tony's legs. "I'll answer them later, too," she said and groans sounded. "That's the cliff notes version, everything you need to know you'll find in the packs you'll be given later. Now, keeping the secret of magic is my people's number one rule and most strict law and if that secret gets out to those who aren't deemed necessary of knowing, you face execution or prison, and our prisons are horrifying as they're guarded by dark creatures that suck out your soul. So this goes without saying, do not tell anyone outside of this room because you'll sign my death certificate, War Heroine or not. I'm only here because as I said, I was blackmailed into it," she said, glaring at Fury and he stared back unphased which Peter thought was brave given how scary she looked. "Fury discovered our existence and he threatened war on my people. Given what we've been through, we didn't take kindly to that threat so they did some negotiating. My people are left alone to live their lives in peace and Fury gets the best of the best to join your team."
"And that's you?" Bucky asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No," she shook her head. "I believe it's my best friend, but he's been through so much in his life and I know that he's finally free of people's expectations, he can live his life how he wishes to. He's engaged to his girlfriend and he's training to be a magical policeman. He's very famous in my world and just wants a life of peace. Since I was twelve I've followed him into every fight, every battle, every bad scenario because Merlin knows I love him like my little brother, but he's a pain in the arse with a bit of a hero complex and I've lost count of how many times I've had to save his stupid arse."
Peter saw Steve and Bucky share an amused smile, as did Natasha and Clint.
"For him to be here would mean ripping him away from the life he deserves and I'd die before I let someone take his happiness from him. He's one of the best fighters and flyers I've seen, he's got a natural talent for it, but when it comes to other things, well, he's a bit of an idiot. He only passed his classes in school because I made sure he did. I'm a decent fighter, I'm not as defenceless or weak as I look, but my main asset is my mind."
"Meaning?" Tony asked with a raised eyebrow.
"They say I'm the brightest witch to have been seen in decades, but they do tend to over exaggerate when I'm involved, it comes with the territory of being a known War Heroine. After the war, I helped to rebuild our community and then I started my training to become a magical doctor before I was dragged into our government headquarters by our president. I know Kingsley, we fought in battle together and I know he'd do anything to protect our people and that meant throwing me under the bus, don't worry, he felt the full force of my displeasure," she said and Natasha snorted, her mouth twitching into a proud smile. "I didn't have a choice in being here, but I would've much preferred to have been asked rather than forced and then maybe I wouldn't have been so hostile to your agents," she looked over her shoulder to Fury. "How are they by the way?" She asked innocently.
"Recovering,"
"Still? It's been three months. Oh my, if only you had access to the advanced healing of my people, such a shame you pissed off the only person who could give you that," she said sweetly.
Peter honestly didn't know what to do with all the information filling his head and he was actually a little surprised to see her acting so... different. He was used to her being kind, not annoyed or sarcastic. She wasn't kidding, her temper really was frightening and he was sure he hadn't actually seen it yet.
"You have advanced healing?" Tony asked her intrigued.
She turned back to face them and nodded. "Yes, we can heal broken noses in fifteen minutes, toes and fingers about five. We can re-grow bones entirely but it's not a nice process. We have a cure for the common cold and we can fight off symptoms of the flu. In some cases, we've been able to cure paralysis. We have a potion that can seal up wounds in minutes, we have creams that can grow a new layer of skin and a paste that can heal bruises, the time it takes is dependent on the size of the bruise and the location. I've spent the last year training to be a magical doctor and as of a week ago, I'm fully qualified, the youngest to be seen in a century is what they told me."
"What of your abilities?" Wanda asked and Hermione turned her eyes to her.
"You can't get inside my head, can you?" She said knowingly.
Wanda nodded. "It's quiet. There's nothing, no words, images, memories."
"I practice a branch of magic which allows me to block my mind from outside influences. You can't get in my head unless I want you to. Similarly, I can do the opposite, if I wished to I can read your mind, too, and you won't even know I'm doing it, not unless you pissed me off and I'm feeling a bit vengeful in which case, I'll make sure it'll leave you with a monstrous headache."
"Is that a common skill?" Clint asked.
"No, not really. Very few people can do what I can, it takes years of practice and a lot of patience. But I'm meticulous in the way I organise my thoughts which helped me when learning this skill. There's different branches of magic and some people are just better at one than others," she shrugged.
"And what else can you do? What about your magic?"
"That's why you're suited up," Fury spoke up. "You're going to fight her."
"All of us?" Peter asked with a worried frown.
"All of you," he confirmed.
"Don't worry, I can take care of myself," she said, giving him a little smile which did nothing to placate him.
"Any limitations?" Natasha asked.
"No," Fury said. "Give her everything you've got and more."
"Even weapons?" Clint asked.
"Especially weapons," Hermione replied with a smirk. "Even hand to hand combat if you think you can get close enough."
Clint sat back in his chair, sharing a smirk with Natasha. "I think I'm going to like you."
~000~000~000~
"Relax, Kid," his mentor said, standing by the wall with the rest of the team as they all watched Fury and Hermione have a whispered but tense conversation in the middle of the training room.
It was empty, the room being the size of a football field and all it held was the four stone walls and the lights that shone from above.
"I can't, I'm worried about her," he muttered.
"You never told me about her."
Peter frowned. "I just thought she was a normal girl I kept bumping into. I had no idea this was all going to happen, that she was different and had abilities of her own."
"Well, when you get yourself a girlfriend, I feel it's something I should know."
Peter spluttered. "She's not my girlfriend," he denied, his face turning red.
"The way you look at her says otherwise," Tony replied, looking as though he was enjoying his discomfort.
"She's my friend, that's it," he shifted nervously.
"You know, it's not against the rules to be involved with a member of the team."
"Mr. Stark?" He questioned confused.
"If you want her to be your girlfriend, that's perfectly fine."
"She's just my friend," he shook his head.
"Whatever you say, Kid," Tony spoke, shrugging. "And don't hold back, if you do Fury will kick your ass."
"I don't want to hurt her," he frowned.
"Something tells me she's going to come out of this just fine, and we're the ones that are gunna need patching up afterwards," he said.
"Right," Hermione said, drawing their attention. "Does anyone have any technological items in their suits?" They all looked at her confused. "I'm mainly looking at you," she looked directly at Tony who was suited up in his iron man suit but with his helmet off. "You might want to sit this one out."
"Why?" He pouted.
"Magic and technology don't mix, it's a big no-no," she answered. "It's the reason we don't have any technological or electrical items in the Wizarding World. Our magic fries it, and it's not too great with radar systems either."
"Wait, so you have no technology or electricity?" Tony asked surprised.
"Exactly, we don't even have light bulbs. For those that grow up in the Wizarding World they don't know any different, for me, it was a bit of a hard transition. So there's no computers, TV, phones, internet, game consoles, microwaves, refrigerators, none of it, but we don't need them. We have our own ways of communicating and we have spells for cooking and storing food. Anyway, if you don't want that suit getting destroyed, I'd sit this one out."
"No way in hell am I missing this," he said. "I've got more than enough backup suits."
"Fair enough, but I warned you," she shrugged. "I don't know if you want to do this one at a time or not, whatever's easiest for you. And anything I may do I won't repeat, just so you understand the full scale of my abilities."
Peter watched as she reached for her sleeve and pulled out a wooden stick which he assumed was her wand. She took a deep breath and her eyes closed briefly before she took a defensive stance, a hardened looked entering her eyes. He'd seen it on Bucky, Steve and Sam. It was the look of a soldier.
"Whenever you're ready," she said.
Before he knew it Natasha was running forward and heading straight for Hermione but she didn't move, if anything he noticed her stance relaxing and it all became clear as to why. Natasha seemed to slam into an invisible barrier and she bounced back, landing on the floor and sliding across it until she came to a stop.
"I promise I won't do that again, I just had to show you that I'm capable of putting up impenetrable barriers that nothing can get past."
"Impressive," Tony spoke from beside him.
She waved her wand and they all saw the way a pink shimmer seemed to cover the entirety of the room, from wall to wall and ceiling to floor, showing there was nothing that would be able to get past. She lowered her wand and the pink shimmer faded.
"It's gone, try again," she encouraged Natasha.
The assassin climbed back to her feet before running towards Hermione once more, only with a flick of her wand and a muttered word he didn't understand, Natasha's feet were dragged out from beneath her by an invisible force and she was hung upside down in the air. Tony let out a bark of laughter.
"Romanoff, out," Fury called.
Hermione seemed to be concentrating on lowering her back to the ground, likely not wanting to hurt her and when her feet touched the floor, the assassin pushed her hair out of her face and gave Hermione a nod, before walking back over to the wall where the rest of them stood.
Clint stepped forward and without warning he'd pulled an arrow, aimed and fired straight for Hermione's shoulder. She didn't look the slightest bit panicked and he blinked when a blue-silver dome covered the front half of her body, the arrow bouncing off it and hitting the ground. They all blinked. Raising an eyebrow, Clint fired off three arrows one by one and then ran towards her. The arrows all hit her shield but one set off an explosion, slamming into her shield and sending her flying off her feet until she landed on the ground with a 'thud.' He barely stopped himself from running over to her.
She rolled onto her stomach and pushed herself up onto her knees before a beam of light left her wand, ropes appearing around Clint's ankles, legs and arms, preventing him from moving and firing off another arrow.
"Barton, out," Fury called.
"For future record, my shield can also withstand bullets and knives," Hermione spoke as she climbed back to her feet, brushing her loose curls out of her face. Clint nodded to her and looked down at himself amused. "Oh, sorry," she said sheepishly.
She waved her wand and the ropes disappeared, freeing him. He bent down to pick up his dropped bow and then moved to stand beside Natasha, the two best friends whispering between themselves as their eyes darted to Hermione and then back to each other.
Steve stepped forward, his eyes watching her curiously but cautiously after what he'd just witnessed, and Hermione's eyes darted to the shield in his hand. Peter knew she'd go for the legs, it was the most vulnerable part of him.
Captain America started running towards her and he threw his shield at her. She cast her own shield and the force of them colliding sent her off her feet once more and her back slammed into the wall on the other side of the room. She groaned but was quick to get back on her feet when Steve took a leap with his fist poised and ready hit her in the face. She fell to the ground and slid under his arms, twisting her body around and a beam of light leaving her wand and hitting Steve straight in the ass. He let out a surprisingly girly yelp that had his mentor in a fit of giggles and the others sniggering.
As he turned around and prepared to throw his shield once more, she climbed to her feet and before their eyes, she just seemed to...Disappear.
Their eyes searched the room for any sign of her but there was none until Steve's shield was suddenly ripped out of his grasp and sent flying across the room, and then an invisible force hit him in the chest, lifting him off his feet and he was sent hurtling back into the wall, making a slight crater beneath him and he was held in place with his feet not touching the ground.
"Rogers, out," Fury called.
Hermione appeared out of nowhere and they all startled a little whilst she slowly lowered Captain America back to his feet. As he approached her, wincing as he rubbed the aching spot on his ass, it sent Tony into another fit of giggles. She pointed her wand and once again said something he didn't understand but Captain America's shield came flying over to her and she caught it in her hand before handing it over to Steve, who gave her a nod of acceptance as he made his way back to the wall with the rest of them.
"I can camouflage myself into any background, I'm all but invisible but there are ways to spot me aside from using heat signature detectors," she said. "And I hit you with a Stinging Hex, it might swell a little but if it hasn't gone down after we've finished here, I'll heal it for you."
Next to step forward was Bucky and before he'd even managed to approach her, he was hit with a beam of light that had his body stiffening, his limbs locking and then he was falling to the ground like a sack of potatoes, unable to move or speak.
"Barnes, out," Fury said, sounding bored.
Tony snorted. "You're supposed to be the popsicle, not him," he said, pointing his thumb in Steve's direction and he sent him a less than pleased look in return, before helping up his friend when Hermione released him from her spell.
Bucky looked to her and they held gazes for a moment. "Soldier," he nodded in understanding and she nodded back.
Wanda stepped forward and they all watched closely as to how it would play out. There were no items or objects Wanda could use to throw at her and they already knew she couldn't get into Hermione's head, so it wasn't a surprise when Wanda fell to the floor on her knees with her arms bound to her sides by thick, metal chains.
After she was released and she'd made her way back over to the wall, everyone looked to Sam expectantly but he just shook his head.
"There ain't no way I'm going up against her, she's kicked all of your asses and I like my face the way it is," he said, leaning back into the wall and crossing his arms over his chest.
"Wilson," Fury said, sending him a glare.
"Nope, not happening," he shook his head.
It spoke volumes that Sam was more afraid of a teenage girl than he was of attracting the wrath of Director Fury.
"They call you 'The Falcon' right?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah," Sam said slowly, eyeing her cautiously when her mouth twitched in amusement.
"Please," she pleaded, "This kitty wants to play."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"There's only one way to find out, come on, I know you're curious."
"Yeah, but I don't want you using it against me, I'd much rather see you do it on someone else."
"Chicken," Tony called down the line before stepping forward.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Hermione asked him. "I really don't want to damage something covered with my house colours."
"What?" He frowned in confusion.
"My school, students are split into four houses on their first day and that house becomes their family until they graduate. My house colours were red and gold, I'm quite partial to them so I'd hate to ruin that pretty suit of yours."
"You're not getting out of this," he said, his helmet rising from his suit and covering his face.
He took flight and Hermione lifted her head and watched him carefully and when Tony fired the first shot, they all blinked when there was a sharp 'crack' and she was suddenly gone, a hole being blasted in the back wall and natural light shining through. Peter was sure he'd heard that sound before.
Tony remained in the air but his helmet retracted and he looked to them in confusion. "She's not here," he said. "There's not enough heat signatures."
Fury rolled his eye and walked over to the door, opening it and calling out, "Granger, get in here!"
They all blinked in surprise when she stepped into the room with an innocent smile on her face and a slice of pizza held in her hand.
"What the..." Clint muttered, whilst Peter found himself staring at her.
"Did I forget to mention I can teleport?" She said lightly and they all blinked dumbly. "Oh, my bad."
Teleportation! Now, that was awesome, he thought.
She walked further into the room and as she walked past him she held out the pizza slice. "Would you mind holding this for me?" She asked, and his eyes locked on hers as she handed him the pizza slice and then continued to the centre of the room.
Before he knew it, Tony was creating explosions and putting holes in the walls and Hermione was teleporting about the room, doing it so quickly Tony couldn't keep up with her. She teleported behind him and then fired a beam of light at his back, Tony letting out a gasp before his suit seemed to shut down and he fell to the ground. He would've landed face first if Hermione hadn't used her magic to slow down his fall.
Tony rolled over onto this back and lifted his head, looking at her in annoyance, amusement and intrigue. "You fried my suit," he said, sounding like a petulant child.
"I did warn you," she shrugged before the pizza slice was gone from Peter's hand and in hers and she started eating it.
"Where'd you even get that?"
"Cafeteria, I'm starving. I worked a twelve-hour shift and then came straight here; I haven't eaten since nine o'clock this morning. It's very good, compliments to the chef."
Tony snorted at her before climbing to his feet and walking over to the wall where they all stood, and he had to physically remove his helmet.
"I can't believe she actually fried it," he muttered to himself in disbelief, holding his helmet in his hands and his eyes scanning it carefully.
"Parker, you're up," Fury called.
"I...Er..." he said, looking to Hermione nervously and she gave him a smile as she wiped her hands on her jeans.
"Not to worry, Mr. Superhero," she teased. "I'm sure you can handle it. But I swear if you even think about..." She motioned swinging on a web with her hands, "I'll definitely be in a mood and given my lack of sleep and my hunger, that's dangerous for anyone in my vicinity."
"Parker," Fury said, staring at him in a way that made him nervous.
"Good luck, Kid," Tony said, clapping him on the shoulder and giving him a shove forward.
Peter stumbled a little before righting himself and then he slipped on his mask and took a deep breath. They watched each other carefully, neither of them moving or speaking, just staring.
Peter knew he had to be careful as he'd never be able to forgive himself if he hurt her, even if it was accidental. But he'd barely taken his eyes off her since she'd walked into the conference room and because he'd been watching her closely, he was sure he'd figured out her weakness and that he'd be able to take her out without hurting her.
She didn't look surprised when he shot webs to the ceiling and pulled himself up, flipping over her and landing on the ground behind her, but he was definitely surprised by the balls of fire –actual fire!- that were hurtling towards him and he had to once more shoot webs to pull himself out of the way, hearing the flames colliding with the wall.
Rather than lowering himself to the ground, he swung to the wall opposite and perched himself there, watching and waiting. She fired several beams of light at him and not wanting to find out what they did, he sprung from the wall, flipping through the air and over her head, but as he did so, he shot webbing at her feet, clamping her to the ground and preventing her from being able to move. She shot off several more beams and he leapt out of the way, climbing the wall opposite before quickly firing some webbing and swinging away when the beams collided with the wall, leaving a large hole behind. By this point there were so many holes in the walls Peter didn't know how the room was still standing.
Firing off more webbing, he swung himself around the room avoiding her attacks and ignoring the sounds of the explosions and her magic colliding with the walls, ceiling and flooring. He knew she'd soon get dizzy as she wouldn't want to let him out of her sight, and when she blinked, her eyes closing for longer than usual, he let go of his webbing and dropped to the ground, shooting a final web and it latched onto her wand which he pulled from her grasp, catching it his hand.
"Granger, out," Fury called.
Hermione shook her head before looking directly at him, giving him a smile and he slowly rose to his feet, surprised that he'd been the one to beat her in a fight when he was the youngest and the least experienced person in the room. He turned his head, seeing his fellow superheroes who looked just as surprised and he let out a breath, letting his body relax with his shoulders slumping.
"Well done, Peter," Hermione praised with a smile and he reached up to pull his mask off, his eyes locking on hers. "You're the only one that realised my biggest weakness." She then turned her eyes to the others who were still stood against the wall, looking impressed, surprised and confused about everything they'd just witnessed. "My wand," she explained. "Without my wand, I'm near enough defenceless. Whilst my magic is a part of me, it runs through my blood and flows throughout my body; we need wands to aid in the focus and control of our spell casting. It is possible to be able to practice magic both without our wands and without the need to speak, but it's difficult and takes years of training."
"Can you do it?" Natasha asked.
Hermione smiled and she held out her hand, her wand being ripped from Peter's grasp, flying across the room and landing in her outstretched palm. "A little, but I haven't had much time to practice. It's not as difficult to do one or the other, but it requires immense focus to do both at the same time."
She crouched down and pointed her wand at the webbing that covered her shoes and with a whispered word, the webbing was cut free and she rose back to her full height and tugged her feet free.
"Bare with me a moment," she muttered, before she slowly made her way around the room, putting out the fires with a jet of water that came from the tip of her wand. "Much better," she nodded to herself. "Questions?" Every hand shot up and she smiled. "Great, I'll answer them later."
"No, I wanna know what you meant with your kitty comment," Sam said.
"Alright, don't freak out."
He did. They all did. As she leaned forward and before any of them had time to process what was happening, a fully grown lioness was stood where Hermione once did.
Tony dropped his helmet, Steve his shield, Sam let out a strangled cry and he felt himself sway on his feet.
"Oh My..." It seemed Director Fury had been just as in the dark as the rest of them.
The lioness rose onto her back feet and then Hermione stood in place once more. Now, that was awesome, he thought.
"What the hell was that?" Clint asked, his eyes wide.
She smiled at them. "I'm an Animagus," she answered. "It's a branch of magic that means I'm able to physically shift myself into the form of my spirit animal, which you have just seen is a lioness. Before the war took its toll on me I used to be an otter. It's not a common skill," she said before anyone could ask. "It's not exactly a difficult process but it does require a lot of patience and meditation, and there's quite a few restrictions and lawful requirements that come with it, so most don't attempt it. When I get bored or need a distraction I tend to wander around in my animal form, so don't be alarmed, I won't hurt you. I might technically be a wild animal, but I'm still me. I can understand everything that is being said to me and everything that his happening. And no, I don't like catnip, balls of yarn or fish, so don't even try it with the cat jokes because I swear, I'll scratch up your bedposts."
"Why can you make jokes but we can't?" Tony asked, pouting.
"It wasn't a joke, it was a promise. Anyway, there are some conditions which prevent me from being able to shift into my animal form and if I lose my wand as well, I'm pretty much useless."
"Which is why you'll all be spending the weekend training together," Fury spoke, moving to stand beside her in the centre of the room. "You will show her how to defend herself, and she will continue to show you how valuable she is to this team. Take this time to understand her abilities and find where she fits in. We can't risk her existence being exposed to the public so she will only be on missions in which her skills will be specifically required."
"If we had her working on every mission we have, it would make our lives a lot easier," Natasha pointed out. "There'd be no need for a team of agents, she could do it by herself."
"Then you'd be out of the job," Fury said and they snorted at him.
"I'm always on call," Hermione said. "I mean, I do work at the magical hospital in Manhattan but I'm going to slowly start dropping my hours until I no longer work there, I don't want them getting suspicious and I know they will if I suddenly hand my notice in out of the blue. Once I'm done, I'll be doing some freelance work on the side in order to keep up appearances in my world, but mostly I'll be here."
"Doing what?" Tony asked.
"Putting my magic to use. Aside from you all now having access to magical healing, I'll be working on a few projects in hopes of improving your weaponry and suits."
"Such as?"
"Well," she looked to Clint and he raised an eyebrow. "How often do you run out of arrows?"
"All the time," he shrugged.
"What if I can make it so you'll never do so again?"
"That's possible?" He said in surprise.
"Yes, it'll take a little tinkering and maybe a Duplication Charm or two, but it's possible," she nodded. "And your shield," she looked to Steve. "I might be able to make it so that any force it faces can be absorbed and redistributed." She then looked to Natasha. "For you, I reckon I could alter your clothing to better camouflage you into your surroundings, making you all but invisible. And you," she looked to Tony and he raised an eyebrow. "It seems we're going to be spending a lot of time together."
"Why?" He asked, but he didn't look upset or disappointed with the news, just curious.
"We'll be spending our time trying to figure out a way to have both magical and technological items working together, which means a lot of fried wiring and probably a few explosions, too."
"The magic words," he smirked.
"And now if you'll excuse me, if I don't get some sleep I'll pass out on the floor right where I'm standing."
Hermione waved her wand and a stack of papers appeared in front of everyone, hovering in mid-air. Peter blinked in surprise, realising it must've been the information pack she'd mentioned and it had to be at least a couple hundred pages, but nevertheless, he knew he was going to read all of it and he wasn't going to sleep until he did.
"As far as first meetings go, it's been a pleasure kicking your arses," she said, giving them a salute and then she spun on her heel, disappearing with a sharp 'crack'.
"I like her," Clint said aloud.
~000~000~000~
Peter honestly had no idea what time it was, but given how long he'd been in his room, he suspected it to be around the early hours of the morning. Once Hermione had left the training room, he and the rest of the Avengers had convened in the conference room where they all spoke about the newest member of the team, and from what he'd heard, they all seemed to like her but for different reasons. Natasha and Wanda for her being a powerful, 'badass' woman, Clint and Tony finding her funny, and Bucky, Sam and Steve all respecting her as a soldier.
He'd barely spoken allowing the adults to converse whilst he processed everything he'd learned in a matter of a couple of hours. Once they'd been excused, he'd followed Clint to the cafeteria and grabbed some dinner before returning to his room where he'd immediately started reading through the information pack Hermione had given him.
Several hours later, he found himself sitting on the ceiling and hanging upside down, the now read papers being spread out across his floor in an unorganised mess, a headache forming and his mind officially blown.
He'd learned about the last two decades in which the hidden world of magic had suffered and all that Hermione and her friends had done to bring peace to their people. She'd done some things he was sure he'd never have the guts to do and when reading over certain pieces of information, some of it had been so bad it had taken him several tries to get through it, though he was sure things were still being left out. There were blanks, holes in the timeline and he was curious as to what was still being kept from them but he supposed it had been done for a good reason.
He knew he should get some sleep as he was expected to spend his weekend training with the others - and he was grateful he'd been summoned at all considering he wasn't actually an Avenger yet- but everything he'd seen and learned was still fresh on his mind and he found himself wide awake and hungry.
Now that he knew where the cafeteria was and that there was a kitchen nearby fully stocked with food and snacks, he decided a raid of the kitchen was in order. He pushed himself off the ceiling and landed smoothly on his feet, and knowing he'd be beyond embarrassed if he got caught wandering around in his boxers, he headed for the chest of drawers where he found a supplied set of pyjamas. Much to his amusement, when he put them on they were a light grey colour and although his draw string bottoms were plain, the matching t-shirt had the Avengers symbol on the right side of his chest and 'Spider-man' was scrawled across his back in black lettering with the little black spider beneath it. He wondered if the rest of the Avengers' pyjamas were the same.
Grabbing his sneakers, he slipped them on his feet and then picked up his phone from the bedside table and wrapped the chord of his earphones around it before leaving out the door. He was quiet as he walked down the dimly lit corridor and as he rounded the corner, he found himself stopping in surprise when Hermione came into view.
She was sat on the ground with her back pressed up against the wall, her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs and her face buried in her knees. He could see that her pyjamas were similar to his only hers were red, she wore white socks on her feet and her hair was pulled back on top of her head in a messy bun. He looked up, seeing the door beside her and it said 'Granger' on the name tag. Given his said 'Spider-man' he thought it would change when she was given her own code name.
He slowly approached her and seeming to hear his footsteps, she lifted her head from her knees and looked to him, her gaze locking with his. The first thing he noticed was her tired eyes, dark bruises sitting beneath them and the second thing was that she had a golden lioness printed on the back of her t-shirt along with 'Granger.'
Wordlessly he moved until he sat beside her, putting his phone on the ground beside him and crossing his legs.
"What are you doing out here?" She asked.
"Hungry, I was going to raid the kitchen. You?"
"Couldn't sleep," she sighed. "I mean, I got a few hours before I woke up and I couldn't take the smell of the room anymore. It's too clean, sterile, it reminds me of a hospital and I've seen enough of them to last me a lifetime."
"You're a doctor," he said amused. "Congratulations, by the way, I said you'd do it."
She gave him a tired smile. "Thank you," she said. "And working in one and being a patient are completely different things."
"Why couldn't you sleep?"
"Nightmares," she muttered. "The war's over but that doesn't mean the torture is. I'm in a better place than I was a year ago but I still suffer with nightmares, it's normal," she sighed.
"You win,"
"Win?"
"Your secret was definitely bigger than mine," he nodded and he was pleased when it pulled a laugh from her.
"Surprised?"
He nodded. "Still not sure how I didn't pass out," he replied and she laughed again, her eyes seeming to light up a little more. "I've read the information pack."
"All of it?" She asked, looking genuinely surprised.
"Yep, it's why I'm still awake, I couldn't sleep until I'd finished it. I've got to say, I don't know how you managed to get through all of that."
She smiled sadly. "Harry," she answered. "He got me through it, just as I did for him. He's not just my best friend, he's my little brother. We may not share blood and I don't care what anyone says, he's my brother, he's my family, he's all that I have left. He wasn't happy about my moving here and joining the Avengers, but it's about time he has some happiness in his life."
"And what about you? You didn't seem happy about being here."
"I'm not happy about the fact I wasn't given a choice. If they'd have just asked me I probably would've agreed. Besides Harry, I had nothing keeping me in London. I'm hoping this can be a fresh start for me, somewhere I can find my own happiness, somewhere that will help me deal with the aftermath of my actions in the war. Being here, with you and the Avengers, it might just be what I need."
"I hope it is," he said sincerely and she gave him a small smile, her eyes fluttering closed. "You need sleep," he said.
She sighed. "It's no use, I'm tired but I won't be able to sleep again tonight. Some nights are good, some are bad, you've caught me on a bad one."
He frowned before looking down to his phone and he got an idea. Picking it up and unwinding the chord, he brought up his playlist and flicked through the songs before picking one at random and pressing an earbud into his ear and holding out the other to her in offering.
She looked confused so he said, "Sometimes listening to music helps me sleep."
She smiled tiredly and took it from him, pressing it into her ear. "I haven't listened to muggle music in years so don't be surprised if I don't know any of these songs," she said as he pressed play, stretched his legs out and set his phone down in his lap.
"Do you have your own music?" He asked curiously.
She tilted her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. "Yes, we do," she answered. "As I said before, we're still human and we have the same needs, wants and desires. We have our own music, foods, schools, hospitals, government, law enforcement, teachers, newspapers, banks and monetary system, modes of transport and communication; we even have our own sports, a league and the world cup."
"It's still hard to wrap my head around the fact magic exists, there's an entire hidden world from us and I'm sat next to a witch. It doesn't matter that I know aliens exist, I can't seem to process it."
"I know; I went through all this, too, once. Strange things used to happen when I was younger, children have accidental magical outbursts and they only stop when they get their wands at the age of eleven. When I was mad vases would shatter, if I wanted a book but couldn't reach it, it would levitate over to me, food I didn't want to eat or clothes I didn't want to wear would end up in the bin. It scared the hell out of my parents but they were relieved when they finally had an explanation as to why all of those things happened."
"Your parents, what did they do?" He asked, wondering if she'd answer him.
"Dentists, both of them," she said. "As you can imagine, they were very strict about my sugar intake and oral hygiene." He chuckled. "Now they're gone I tend to eat a lot of sugar just so I can remember the way they used to tell me off, just so I can remember their faces and voices."
His hand reached out on its own and covered her hand that rested on top of her knee. In response she twisted her hand beneath his and twined their fingers together, bringing them down to rest on the ground between them.
"So, what music did you used to listen to?"
"Not a lot, to be honest books were more my thing. But my dad used to play a lot of classic rock in the car, and my mum wasn't that fussed, she liked anything from the 50's up to the '90s, so I'm most familiar with that, modern music is a foreign subject to me," she answered.
He noted that the more she talked, the sleepier she sounded and he felt his mouth twitch into a smile when a few minutes later, she shifted to get more comfortable with her head tilting to rest against his shoulder. He didn't say anything, not wanting to disturb her and he let his own eyes close and his head drop back against the wall, listening to both the music playing and the sound of her breathing evening out.
He must've fallen asleep because he felt himself startling awake, his eyes opening at the sound of footsteps. His neck ached a little at the odd angle it laid at and he realised that he'd fallen asleep with his cheek pressed atop Hermione's head. He didn't know how she didn't wake at both the sound and him moving, but he supposed she was so tired nothing would disturb her.
When he looked up to see who was walking down the corridor, his eyes caught the gaze of the redhead assassin who was still wearing her spy suit and boots, so he assumed she'd been off doing something and hadn't yet gone to bed like the rest of the team. At seeing him and Hermione in their current positions, she came to a stop in front of him, looking down at him with a raised eyebrow, her arms crossed over her chest and an amused smirk on her face. He shifted nervously but tried not to, not wanting to wake Hermione.
He cleared his throat. "Hey, Miss. Romanoff," he said nervously.
"What's up, Peter," she replied, still watching him with her amused smirk. "Want to tell me what's going on here?"
"Well... Er... Actually..."
"Relax, Kid," she snorted. "You don't have to tell me, I can probably work it out for myself, but you should get yourself to bed, you're going to need your sleep."
She moved over to Hermione's room and opened the door, before stepping back and making to continue down the corridor, only she stopped and looked down at him.
"You know it's not against the rules to date a member of the team, right?"
"She's just my friend," he replied.
She raised an eyebrow. "If you say so," she said. "And Peter, you can call me Nat like everyone else," with that she left down the corridor and he watched as she went.
He sighed before pulling the earbud from his ear, removing his hand from Hermione's and then carefully shifting out from beneath her. It was a little difficult to lift her into his arms without waking her but he managed to do it without her making a sound. Toeing the door open a little wider, he stepped into her room and headed for the bed -briefly observing that her room was identical to his- before he gently set her down on the mattress, covered her with the blanket and then turned and left, closing the door behind him.
