Malfoy caught Hermione's murderous look and let out a sharp "Eek!", stumbling backward.
Hermione ignored him.
She raised her wand slowly, and the Killing Curse she'd been charging up all lesson snapped out in an instant.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Green light slammed into the moe-girl "Hermione."
The body burst like a struck balloon, collapsing into a plume of black smoke that curled and faded into nothing.
Lupin's mouth fell open. It stayed that way for a long time. He looked at Hermione, then at the students around him, his eyes full of something he couldn't quite name.
"Granger, you just..."
He pointed at the dissipating smoke, words stumbling out of him.
She'd been furious a moment ago. Now, coming back to herself, she remembered they were still in class.
She smoothed her expression and said, perfectly casually, "It's just the Killing Curse. For dark creatures, aside from Dementors, it's the most convenient option."
"Why bother learning all those flashy spells?"
Hermione shrugged. Her expression said this was obvious.
As if what she'd just cast wasn't a Killing Curse. As if it were a simple Disarming Charm.
Lupin felt something in his worldview crack.
He looked at the students around them.
They were shocked too — but only for a moment.
What was this? I'm so ruthless I'll Avada myself?
Then they remembered it was Hermione, and somehow that made it make sense. The shock faded. They settled back into calm, like this was just another Tuesday. A few of them even looked faintly approving.
Lupin rubbed his temples.
He felt like he'd stepped into another world entirely.
Had Hogwarts' educational philosophy become this... progressive? Or had he simply fallen behind? Was casting Unforgivable Curses the fashionable approach to dark creatures now?
He took a deep breath and forced himself to be calm.
This was the first time he'd ever seen a witch cast a Killing Curse without a flicker of strain, then casually follow it up with a Patronus Charm.
What kind of person was this? Bright and cheerful on one side, darkly ruthless on the other?
He opened his mouth. Closed it again. Couldn't find the words.
"Ahem. Miss Granger."
After a long pause, Lupin let out a sigh. He seemed to have made his peace with it. "We'll set aside the Killing Curse for now. You've destroyed my teaching aid."
Hermione blinked. Only then did she remember — she'd been so focused on eliminating the moe-girl version of herself that she'd completely forgotten the Boggart was still needed for the rest of the class.
"Ah. Sorry, Professor Lupin." A genuine look of apology crossed her face.
The bell rang right on cue, like a signal of deliverance.
Students filed out in a stream, already debating what they'd just seen.
As Hermione passed Draco, her steps slowed for just a beat.
Draco went rigid.
A smile curved at the corner of her mouth. Her eyes glinted with something dangerous.
"Malfoy." Her voice was quiet, but it carried weight. "You seem to have... quite a thing for moe-girls."
Draco swallowed.
He wanted to deny it. But the Boggart had already done the work for her, pulling his innermost thoughts into plain sight for the entire class to see.
Hermione took her time enjoying his expression.
"Don't worry," she said, light and breezy, as if she were discussing something completely trivial. "I'll make sure you get what you want."
"You like moe-girls? I'll give you all the moe you can handle."
She turned and walked away.
The students who'd lingered looked at Draco's hollow, devastated face and offered him sympathetic glances.
One by one, they left. Only Lupin remained, staring at nothing, quietly contemplating his life choices.
Harry walked over. "Professor, you really don't have to look so shocked."
"Hermione's always been like this."
He shrugged, the expression on his face saying you know how it is.
"You get used to it. Really, you do."
"That's just how we Gryffindors operate."
---
Stark Tower.
The moment Hermione stepped through the doors, she nearly walked straight into Happy, who was lurking near the lobby like he was casing the place.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
The second he saw it was her, he grabbed her arm, pressed a finger to his lips, and hauled her around the corner. The two of them leaned out together, peering toward the CEO's office.
Through the glass wall, Hermione could see Pepper standing very close to a man she didn't recognize.
He was behind her, one arm looped around her, pressing a small silver device against the skin behind her ear.
A moment later, a massive holographic brain bloomed to life inside the office, detailed and luminous, so precise you could see the faint electrical arcs sparking between individual neurons.
The man pointed at it and talked. And talked. The pitch of a salesman who believed in his product.
Pepper listened with obvious interest, her eyes bright with curiosity.
Hermione's eyes went wide. "That looks amazing! I want to try it!"
Happy nodded along automatically. "Right? It does look kind of fun—"
He caught himself. Shook his head hard. "No! Miss! That is not the point!"
"The point is that man is being extremely cozy with Miss Potts, and he is clearly interested in her!"
Happy was practically vibrating. The guy in there might as well have had ill intentions tattooed across his forehead.
He watched Hermione's eyes get wider and wider, and quietly felt relieved. Good. She was finally getting it. She understood the gravity of the situation.
Then Hermione opened her mouth.
"Tony's about to get cheated on?"
Her voice was bright. Delighted, even. Her eyes lit up with the particular gleam of someone who has just spotted premium gossip, and underneath it, barely hidden, a flicker of genuine anticipation.
"This is even better!"
Happy nearly choked on his own spit.
He stared at her. The look on her face was that of someone who had just sat down with popcorn.
He could not, for the life of him, understand how her brain was wired.
Wasn't a normal person supposed to be worried right now?
Why did she look like she'd just been handed a gift?
He breathed in slowly, trying to settle the storm behind his eyes.
"Young lady." He lowered his voice, leaning in, pointing carefully at the man through the glass. "Could you use your magic on him?"
"Just... you know. Make him..." He gestured vaguely. "Make him unable to perform."
➤ Next: Young Lady, You Seem a Bit Too Aggressive
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