Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, the MCU or any of the characters therein. And, sadly, I make no moneys from the posting of this fanfiction.

Next chapter! Yeah, it's moving fast. But that's okay. Keep cool and enjoy the ride!

…

Chapter Eleven

SHIELD Headquarters

4:45 pm April 8th, 2012

All hell was breaking loose on the SHIELD compound. Even so Hermione being half asleep either didn't notice or wasn't able to. Coulson found her drifting about as if a leaf on the wind—never really settling and never allowing the people about her to cause her much concern as she went on her way once again.

He rushed over to her side, taking her by her arm and pulled her over towards the evacuation truck. He helped her up and joined her up inside, sitting on the end of the bench seating. When she took note to how he was watching the road, fear clear in his features she looked over as well. At the sight of the road vanishing, she stood up holding herself steady as she snapped out her wand and proceeded to hit the road with a spell to stop it from collapsing.

Looking over to a shocked Phil, she told him, "It's only a temporary fix! The spell can only last for five minutes or so!" She looked back over towards the road, adding, "That was a tunnel cave in, wasn't it?!" He nodded. "Get whomever is in there out of there! They have less than…" She looked at her watch. "Merlin! They have four and a half minutes now!"

He got onto the phone and ordered anyone in the tunnels to get out A.S.A.P.. As soon as he was off of the phone, he saw that Hermione was sitting back down next to him, looking through her purse. She reached into it and pulled out a tray of her homemade granola bars.

"Who here needs something in their stomachs as much as I do?" She handed Phil a bottle of water, as well as one of the granola bars. "As soon as we get parked somewhere for longer than five minutes, I'll make us some coffee. It'll be instant, but it beats nothing."

"Why haven't you asked her to marry you?" came from Sitwell across from them.

"Didn't you hear? He's dating this woman in Portland," Hermione told him. "A cellist."

"Really?" he asked, arching his brow. "Is it serious?"

"It must be, as he wants her as far from his work as humanly possible," she said, looking over towards Phil, whose face was completely shut down. "But enough about his love life, Jasper, are you still dating that contortionist?"

Sitwell's face went a florid red at those words. "I was never dating a contortionist."

"Then whatever did you mean to say when you told Mason that your last date was, and I quote, more flexible than a rubber band, end quote?"

Sitwell looked over towards Coulson, who was giving him the patented glare of death at those words.

"Like I said, Mr. Coulson. I do need those noise canceling headphones. If only so I don't have to listen to 'guy talk'." She sighed, looking over towards her boss. "They respect Natasha, more than likely because she can kill them with her thighs of doom, but they just don't see me as a threat and I hear everything—whether I wish to or not." She frowned. "Unless I'm caught up in one of my projects. I've been known to walk into walls then."

"You always are working on something," Phil said.

"More times than not, but I keep hearing about how I have a sweet ass at the oddest of moments," she replied. "It may be lovely, but honestly I don't need to hear about it at work."

"Why haven't you ever complained about them before?" Phil inquired.

"Boys will be boys," she sighed.

"I'm not a boy!" Sitwell snapped.

"Then bloody well stop acting like one!" she shot back at him.

"Enough you two," Phil told them. He handed out orders, telling Hermione, "You'll be with me, Fury wants you on my six."

She nodded to this, even as Sitwell complained that she hadn't the training to have anyone's six let alone Phil's. Hermione said nothing as the truck came to a stop and everyone evacuated it. It wasn't until the agent that had been complaining about her was well out of everyone's way that she magically dumped water on him from out of nowhere without him ever knowing it was her that had done so.

Phil, on the other hand, was a different story. "Did you have to do that?"

"He was being a prat," she told him. "Of course I did."

…

Stark Tower

8:50 PM April 8th, 2012

Hermione walked briskly next to Phil to the lift, wishing that coffee—any sort—was available at that moment. The night before she had next to no sleep due to work on her latest biography she was writing about an English mathematician. That being said she wasn't expecting the world to be on the brink of being taken over by a megalomaniac and his mind washed minions. If Clint were there, he would have told her that she should have known better than to think it wouldn't happen. Wrapping her arms around herself, she started to pull herself together and went back to hoping that she would get coffee sometime soon.

"We're going to be picking up Captain America after getting some sleep," Phil told her, sounding as excited as a schoolboy thinking of meeting his hero.

"Phil?" He looked over to her. "If you get creepy, I'll be slapping your head."

He nodded. "It's for the best."

"Yes, because the last thing any of us need is a national icon thinking you're a stalker."

His face flooded with color, muttering, "I'm not that bad."

"Trust me." She watched him pulling out his cellphone to call Stark. "You are."

"Thanks," he said dryly. "He's not answering. Jarvis?"

"Yes, sir?" The British voice had Hermione's head shooting up and looking around.

"I need to see Mr. Stark," he told the bodiless voice and proceeded to give him the bypass code. "Let us off on his floor, please."

"Of course, sir."

"Excuse me? Mr. Jarvis?"

"Yes, Dr. Granger?"

"Could you be a luv and have a coffee waiting there for me?"

"I'll see what I can do, Doctor."

"Thank you," she murmured, looking over to Phil who was looking at her. "What?"

"You asked for coffee? You've already had two."

"I only slept an hour yesterday. I'll more than likely be sleeping as much as I can between now and when we get onto the helicarrier."

"You don't sleep all that much as it is. What was it this time keeping you up?"

"George Boole."

"Never mind," he sighed. "I wonder why I bother asking."

"Because you care," she told him just as the doors to the lift opened.

"I blocked you!" Tony snapped.

"I overrode it," Coulson said, as both he and Hermione exited the elevator.

"Hello, Phil," came from a willowy redhead who was getting up from her seat.

"His first name is Agent!" Tony said as he leapt to his feet. "Hey, gorgeous. What are you doing here?" He went over to Hermione. "You look half dead on your feet."

"The world is in danger, and anyone that's anyone is being pulled in. I am in dire need of that coffee I asked your man Jarvis for." He looked over towards the bar where a coffee was waiting at the coffee machine in an insolated to-go cup. Tony pointed over towards it. "Bless you!" She rushed over to the coffee as Phil and Tony spoke. It wasn't until she was half finished with her drink that she saw that the woman was watching her quite intently. "Hello. I'm sorry I'm being so rude. I'm Dr. Granger…"

She went wide eyed and looked over to Tony. "This is Minnie?"

"That's not my name," Hermione said.

Tony turned to her and announced, "I've seen your ass. That gives me permission to call you what I want."

"Just because you were there when I got an ill-advised, drunken tattoo on my arse, doesn't give you liberty to go off and call me what you want." She looked back over to the woman, who appeared to be on the verge of laughter. "You may call me Hermione…" She glared at Tony. "…as it is my name."

"Call me Pepper," she said with a grin.

"But your name is so long and boring!"

"Three syllables isn't long."

"I'm American. I have a short attention span."

She rolled her eyes and went over to Phil. "Here. You need caffeine nearly as badly as I do."

"Thanks," he said quietly, sipping it. "So do you have what you need to start the work?"

"Yeah," he said, as he went over to his computer and plugged in the thumb drive.

"Can we give you a lift anywhere, Pepper?"

"Yes!" came from the woman.

Even as Tony was snapping out a, "No!"

"See you later, Tony," Hermione said. "Hopefully I'll be more rested before you see me again."

"Will you be helping out with the work?"

"If you have math to do, I'm your girl," she told him, giving him a finger wave as the elevator doors closed.

TBC…

…

And there's another chapter strolling into the park that is the Internet. Thank you for taking the time to read my story. If you could, please review. Take care and I hope that you're all having an excellent day.