Recruit the Witch
By the Alternative Source
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Disclaimer: I own NOTHING!
Author's Note: Wow. The support for this has been outstanding. What would make it even better is if anyone would be interested in being my BETA for this series and the sequels….since I don't have one now. So any takers? Need help spotting some errors. :D
Special shout out to BenRG for helping me with the code name part. It was something that I wasn't thinking about at all.
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CHAPTER 3
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*6 months later*
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She ran at her with a small scream. Their bodies made contact and with a punch and kick she had twisted the woman over onto her stomach. Straddling her back she wrapped her arm around her neck and used her legs to immobilize her. Leaning forward she whispered in her ear, "Say uncle."
The woman tested her hold by thrusting her body backwards. When her hold didn't loosen she let out a laugh, "Uncle."
Hermione was instantly off the woman. She offered the woman a hand up. Natasha gave her a rare smile, "Nice scream, Ms. Granger."
"Thanks," Hermione took off her gloves and grabbed a towel. Wiping her face with it she said, "Even after six months of training you still call me Ms. Granger. Makes me feel old."
Natasha approached her and sat down on a bench next to Hermione. In a slightly playful tone she asked, "It bothers you?"
Hermione sat down beside her and passed her a water bottle, "Of course not Ms. Romanoff."
They had just finished an intense three hour training session where Hermione had finally taken the allusive woman down. Now all she was ready for was a reprieve to help her aching muscles. All of a sudden Natasha's face turned into what Hermione dubbed her 'serious face' as she placed the bottle down on the bench. She turned to Hermione and said, "Training is complete Hermione."
The playful tone of their conversation had ended. Hermione sat up straight and looked over at the woman she had come to know for the last couple of months. Hermione raised an eyebrow, "Natasha?"
"After months of extensive training S.H.I.E.L.D. believes that they have determined your placement level. You are ready for assignment."
"Why now?" Hermione asked in disbelief. She had wondered when this moment would come.
"You have completed all the core levels of training to work with us Hermione. Faster than anyone expected actually. Director Fury believes that its time."
Hermione perked up a little at the mention of Director Fury. Even after six months of being in there base she had not caught a glimpse of the man as she was restricted to the training levels. And from what Natasha told her he was keeping a close eye on her training and progress.
Natasha placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder, "Are you alright?"
Hermione focused on the woman again, "Just thinking. So I finally get to meet the illusive Fury?"
Natasha nodded and kept silent. During the last couple of months in training with Natasha she had become friends with the woman. It had gotten to the point where they could playfully banter with each other and where she could read the guarded woman to a certain point. She now thought of Natasha as a close companion. Someone who had a ledger like hers. And this silence that had suddenly taken over the room was odd and ill placed.
"What aren't you telling me?"
Natasha looked at her briefly, "I've been assigned another target."
Hermione pursed her lips, "For how long?"
"Indefinite."
She looked away from Natasha and rolled the bottle around in her hands, "When?"
"Tonight."
Hermione looked up in shock. Natasha always gave her a notice a couple days before hand. This had to be a very urgent assignment. "Where?"
"Russia."
Hermione tried her best to hide her disappointment. She had become used to the presence of this woman. And now she would be leaving just as she was placed in her first assignment. Hermione let out a sigh and placed her hand on top of Natasha's. The woman looked up in surprise and Hermione laced her fingers with hers, "I'm going to miss you."
Natasha gave her a contemplating look for a couple seconds before nodding. She wasn't one for emotions such as these and her next words confirmed that she would miss Hermione as well, "I'm getting soft."
She gave her hand a comforting squeeze, "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. So am I still going to be shadowing someone like I've been doing with you for the last couple months?"
"No. You will be taking over field research."
Hermione's eyes lit up and she scooted closer to Natasha, "Where?"
Natasha paused and placed a hand on the side of her head. Her com must have gone off because she was muttering small 'yes's' and nodding, "I will be right there."
She turned back to Hermione, "Director Fury will tell you all the information you need. Plans have changed. I am departing now and Director Fury wants to meet you now."
"As in right this moment?"
"Yes."
"Do I have time to change? I must look terrible. I…" Hermione looked down at her training uniform. She was sweaty, her hair probably mangled and-
A deep voice interrupted her, "I apologize but you have no such time."
Looking up she saw that the man in question was standing in the middle of the training mat. He was a tall and imposing man that apparently had a penchant for wearing all black. His dark head had all his hair shorn off and an eye patch covered one eye. Standing up she slowly met him half way.
"Director Fury," she said in greeting.
"Agent Granger," he nodded his head in response and got down to business. He pulled a folder out of his long black coat and handed it to her, "This is all the information you'll need. This specific assignment is having a couple issues with his systems. Issues that I think you would be most suited for. You have met Agent Coulson."
She wasn't sure if he was asking a question or making a statement but she replied anyway, "Only briefly."
Hermione had only exchanged a handful of words with Agent Coulson during her training. He would appear every week out of nowhere while she was training and inquire on how things were going with her training and her progress. She always answered his questions and just when she was about to shoot back some of her own he would excuse himself and disappear from the room. From those meetings and her talks with Natasha she had determined that he was a humble but strong man that was practically Director Fury's Number 2 man.
"He will be your contact if you have any questions about your assignment. Romanoff and he were assigned to this assignment previously."
Hermione opened the folder and flipped through the pages quickly. Her brow furrowed as she saw the issues this assignment had. Looking back up at Fury she asked, "Is this report serious? I thought I was recruited to be part of a team."
Fury nodded, "You were. The team is still in a...development phase. This is why you are being given this assignment. This person would be part of the team. And according to our reports what you've read is true. And as our expert in magical occurrences I expect a definite answer from you."
Hermione nodded. Her assignment was a little too much to take in at the moment but she had dealt with worse things. Taking a deep calming breath she said, "I've read some information about this assignment before in my work placement proposal. And the limited files that I've had access to have mentioned him before. What's the ulterior motive of this assignment?"
"What makes you think there is one?"
"I would be offended if there wasn't one."
Fury paused before replying, "Kingsley was right. Brightest witch of your age. I need you to keep a close eye on him. He's had some extenuating circumstances happen to him recently that have left him…unhinged. He needs guidance."
"Why?"
"Because no matter what he or the world thinks he's a hero. And there will come a day where we will need him for this 'team'. And before you ask 'why me' I want you to think about the support you provided Mr. Potter and how things would have been different if you had abandoned him when he needed you the most."
Hermione bristled around the edges as Fury mentioned the war. She didn't even have to wonder how this man knew these details. He had access to Kingsley. So he had access to her file.
Wanting to end the meeting now she briskly asked, "Reports?"
"Every week to Coulson."
"How long is the assignment?"
"Two months preferably."
Hermione nodded and then kept silent. They stared each other down for what felt like a couple minutes before Fury gave her a final nod and walked out. There was something infuriating and imposing about that man. And she hadn't decided if she liked it or not yet. Glancing behind her she realized that Natasha had snuck out while she had been talking to Fury.
'She never was one for goodbyes.'
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Quickly she began collecting her things. She wanted to get back to her room and analyze the file. She wanted to see what the inner workings of this assignment were. All of a sudden she felt a presence in the room. Her hand instantly went to the hidden strap on her thigh and she turned to face….Agent Coulson.
"Hello Agent Granger," he greeted politely.
Her hand relaxed and fell to her side, "Agent Coulson." By the look on his face she knew that Agent Coulson knew all about the meeting with Fury. For all she knew he could have been standing outside the door waiting to meet her after Fury, "May I help you?"
"Director Fury has instructed me to collect a code name from you."
"A code name? I didn't know this assignment required a code name."
"This assignment doesn't require a code name. It's actually for the payroll spreadsheet, Agent Granger."
"Oh. Can it be anything?"
"No. Not anything," for a second he got a faraway look on his face as if he was remembering something before he was back in the room, "Not since Mr. Stark tried to do that."
Quickly she ran through a possible list of code names. She was a wand waving witch and for some reason every code name sounded ridiculous to her, "Quite frankly I haven't thought about it. Can I get back to you?"
"Yes. Have a pleasant evening Agent Granger."
He gave her one last look before heading for the door. Apparently he was going to continue disappearing from rooms before she could ask him anything. Just as he reached the door he turned to look at her briefly. "You're not what we expected," he stated. And then he was gone.
'I'm never going to be able to ask that man a proper question.'
Heaving a sigh she collected the rest of her things and made her way back to her room. From what she gathered from Director Fury and Agent Coulson her first placement would be…very interesting. And that made her even more eager to get back to her room to go over the file.
Speeding through the halls she thought about the last couple of months. She had been here for about six months. Training Block A of the Home Base to be exact. After the meeting with Kingsley she had thought about it for about two days before coming to her decision. All her friends had moved on with their lives. Half were married and the other half were off trying to start careers, rebuild the Wizarding World, and just generally trying to get past the horrors of the battle against Voldemort. And all the while Hermione lived in her small empty flat while flying up the Ministry ranks. She was alone. She was bored. And she needed something new.
After talking with Harry, Ron, and Ginny she had come to the decision that this would keep her sane. This would keep her on her toes. But most importantly it would help her move on from the pain that she still felt when she thought about the war. So after packing a small bag with some meager tokens of her Wizarding life she had put on the ring and disappeared. When she appeared at the warehouse that she was expected in she was surprised to see Natasha standing there pointing a gun at her. Neither of them moved as Natasha analyzed her momentarily. As if trying to see if she was real.
"They did tell you I was port-keying in?"
This seemed to placate her and she lowered her gun. After the initial awkwardness Natasha explained that they had been told about the port key but she still found the action quite…surprising.
This first assignment had come after six months of grueling training. When S.H.I.E.L.D. said they needed her to go to training to determine her placement level they had been serious. These last couple of months she had gone through extreme physical and weapons training beyond anything she had experienced at the Ministry during her Auror training. The physical part of training was carried out by Natasha when she wasn't on assignment. It was tiring work but under Natasha's hand she had advanced her hand to hand combat skills greatly. Weapons' training was left to Clint. The resident Hawkeye had taught her how to handle pistols, assault rifles and even gave her a crash course on the bow. She had caught on pretty well but nowhere near his ability for all three, especially the bow. Plus…her choice of weapon was still her wand. Old habits apparently died hard.
When she stepped off the elevator she saw Clint leaning against the wall near her door.
'Speak of the devil.'
He looked up as she approached him. A soft smile bloomed on his face when he saw her, "Hermione."
She greeted him with a small smile. She had become quite close to this man as well during her months of training. He was not as closed off as Natasha but he kept her at a distance as well. Everyone did at this place, "Clint. I thought you were on assignment."
He shook his head, "I'm on assignment here."
She looked at him in confusion. Most assignments weren't at the home base. Unless something needed…protecting, "Really. Where?"
"Don't know yet. I was on my way to see Director Fury when I ran into Natasha. She told me of your assignment."
The look on his face changed and he pushed away from the wall. Hermione watched him as he approached her. Apparently he was done with talk about his assignment and was now focusing on hers. Instantly she knew that he was keeping something from her, "Should I be concerned?"
He stared down at her with intense eyes, "Just be careful. This assignment…is volatile now. Has been for the last couple of months. Besides Agent Coulson no one has been able to handle him."
"Even Natasha?"
"Yes."
As she stared up at him she noticed for the first time the insanely different colors of his eyes. She'd never seen eyes like his, "I'll be careful. Promise."
He seemed like he wanted to take a step forward. As if he wanted to do something else. But he took a step back and made as if to leave, "Agent Coulson knows how to contact me if you need anything."
She noted his slightly apprehensive manner but let it go for the moment. Something had just changed between them, "Thanks Clint."
He stood still for a second and glanced at her before saying, "You're welcome Hermione."
And with that he was gone. Hermione watched his retreating form until he disappeared around a corner. Clint was a mystery to her sometimes. He was all business when it came to training. But it was moments like this that let her see that somewhere in there was a tender man. Turning to her door she activated the retina scan to gain access to her room. As much as she wanted to analyze the new and changing relationships between Natasha, Clint, Agent Coulson and herself she was deathly curious to see what her assignment truly entailed.
Once inside she tossed the file on her desk and made her way to the small kitchenette. After preparing a cup of tea she grabbed the file and stretched out on her bed. Sipping it slowly she flipped through the folder in search of a photo of her assignment. When she found it she placed her cup down and stared at the brunette man. He was quite handsome. No denying that point. But something about him screamed danger, mystery, and…playboy. Putting down the photo of him in his 'normal' wear she picked up the one of him in his 'suit.'
Shaking her head in disbelief she muttered, "What kind of man wears an iron suit?"
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Author's Note: The crazy bunnies are jumping about everywhere for this story. This is the end of Part 1 of my recruit series. Next up is: RECRUIT THE PLAYBOY. So, here are some things that need to be addressed.
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