DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN OR MAKE MONEY FROM ANYTHING YOU RECOGNIZE! STORYLINE IS ALL MINE THOUGH!
AUTHOR NOTE: I LIVE! So sorry about the long break! Just had so much going on IRL. But now I am back! I know I left a cliffhanger the last chapter! I have been thoroughly chastised! I needed a bit of a break to deal with evil plot bunnies that kept interrupting my story. Now they have been silenced for a minute and I can focus back on this story. Thank you all for your patience!
Chapter 14: Fallout
Sometimes consciousness comes quickly, other times it is a slow process. Clint was struggling to open his eyes, the sluggish feeling made his brain fuzzy. Something kept tugging on his boot laces. He glanced at his feet to see a blurry brown blob that kept tugging until it pulled his boot off. His ears were ringing. He could barely make out the sound of snarling as the blob retreated under a pile of rubble, dragging his boot with it.
He felt as if his head was underwater. He could hear voices that were distorted. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't understand a word they said. He shook his head to clear it. As the ringing began to fade, he could make out two separate voices. The quiet, soft tones of a woman. Perhaps the speaker was Helen. The other was a deeper rough voice of a man.
Clint forced himself to focus, and take in his surroundings. Stay calm and assess the situation. First he tried to get up. That was a mistake. He had failed to register that he was pinned to the wall by a large heavy trunk. Pain shot through his chest and leg. Looking around, he saw Nat slumped on the floor not too far away. Thankfully her eyes were open. They met his and they showed the confusion he felt. She glanced around the room and saw Helen on top of the remains of the bed, large wings flowing over the sides. She was still glowing.
Clint wasn't even sure how to process what he was seeing. His first thought was that maybe Helen had been one of Professor Xavier's students. It was the only thing that made any sense, but at the same time just didn't seem like it was the answer.
He turned his attention towards the voices he heard from the other room. He could see an unfamiliar man and woman holding sticks. He blinked to clear his vision. Yep. Sticks. Still there. He must have hit his head harder than he thought he had. It made no sense. Then again nothing about this situation was.
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It was clear to Nat that she would have to take the lead in handling the situation. Clint was pinned wall by Helen's large trunk. Her gun was out of reach for the moment. Taking a risk, her fingers inched slowly and quietly towards her boot where her knife was located. Her fingertips just made contact with the handle when a woman spoke to her.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Nat's eyes shot to the doorway where a woman was pointing a gun at her. Wait, not a gun. A stick. What? Really? Natasha could honestly say this was a first. Being held at stick point. Snickering, she quickly pulled the blade and drew her arm back to throw it. A flash of white from the stick changed her mind.
Her body snapped straight, stiff before falling over, the knife slipping from her hand. She willed herself to move but couldn't. It was if she was frozen. Lord just wait until the guys at S.H.I.E.L.D heard about this one. The feared Black Widow laid low by a stick. She'd never hear the end of it.
A low pained moan came from the wreckage of the bed.
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Merlin, her whole body hurt. She felt as if she had been trampled by a whole herd of centaurs.
"Miss Granger."
Who was calling her that? No one knew who she was here. She needed to open her eyes. Forcing them open, her vision cleared to show an unfamiliar man pointing his wand at her. She reacted instinctively. Scrambling back away from the man, her wand in hand. Wings aloft. The man froze, gobsmacked at her reaction.
A woman walked over to the man and smacked the back of his head.
"Honestly. She's a war veteran dummy. You NEVER approach one like that. You are lucky she went on the defense and didn't just hex you. Just wait until Jorgenson hears about this. You will be hearing it from him. I promise you that."
Hermione watched the two unfamiliar magicals argue. She focused on the woman when she addressed her directly, hands out front in a gesture of surrender.
"Miss Granger. I know this must be a bit disorienting for you. We are just doing our job. I am Julie Rosier, MACUSA DMLE. Can you please explain why you not only broke the Statute of Secrecy, performed magic in front of no majs and are in possession of wand not registered to you?"
Hermione's eyes widen. Her mind scrambled to explain. Breaking the statute was a big deal. It could mean time in prison. She did not survive a war and deal with all this to end up in prison.
"I didn't mean to. I usually wear suppression cuffs to assure there won't be a problem. See? Oh they aren't on. Well that could be the issue. It was just an accident. I don't usually have a problem."
" I see. And the no majs? and the wand?"
"These are my friends, they just happened to be here. Helping me after a rather painful memory triggered. Miss Rosier. Surely you must understand what someone who is as well known as I am must have trouble enjoying any privacy. After all I did for our world. All I suffered. Don't I have the right to my own life?"
"I haven't used the name Hermione Granger since the day I left Britain. I have tried to avoid even using magic when I can. That is the so called price of my fame. When I decided I needed a new start. I created a new identity and have been using that name since. That is the name the wand is registered to. Please. Haven't I given up enough of my life?"
"That may be Miss Granger. And while we appreciate your sacrifices, the fact remains that the law is the law. Despite your elevated status in Britain, I still have a job to do."
Hermione sighed. She hated to pull the trio card. But if it would help, she would do it.
"I am Hermione Granger, Order of Merlin First Class. One third of the Golden Trio. As such, I have diplomatic immunity within the magical community, so there will be no punishment for the crimes."
Before Miss Rosier could answer, there was a loud stomping of boots and the sound of a door being kicked in. A bald, dark skinned man wearing an eye patch over one eye and a leather trench coat entered the room, gun in hand. Rosier threw her hands up.
"Another no maj? Merlin and Morgana the amount of paperwork I am going to have to do."
She shot her partner a look and the man jerked himself out of his stupor.
"Oh right! Accio gun!"
Three guns zoomed towards the wizard. He was caught off guard and only managed to catch one before the others hit him. One in the stomach, the other smack him in the face. He dropped the one he caught so he could cup his now bleeding nose. The man with the eye patch sat stunned for a second before he started to dive for his gun.
Rosier rolled her eyes. "Oh for Merlin's sake. Stupefy!"
The man collapsed unmoving on the floor. She turned back to Hermione.
"Where was I? Oh, yes. In light of your immunity, I must still urge you to use caution. We would be forced to deport you should another incident occur. The wand must also be re-registered under your correct name. Alias or not, reasons or not. Are we clear?"
Hermione nodded. "Yes ma'am."
Rosier turned around and faced the no majs. Sighing she began to obliviate all three before she popped them outside the apartment. Her partner repaired the windows and turned to Hermione.
"Miss G-granger, ma'am. Do you think I could maybe possibly…..getyourautograph?"
His cheeks were flushed and he rushed the last bit as if afraid to lose his courage.
Hermione smiled. "Sure."
Rosier yelled from the apartment door for her partner and the man blanched and rushed off to follow her. Hermione sighed. She began to put her room to rights as she thought about it. On one hand she was fortunate to escape prosecution. But it had cost her two potentially good friends. She sat on the edge of her bed and summoned her compact. She knew Bill and Fleur would have felt the pulse of magic and would be worried. Maybe they would have some advice.