~ Every 100 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter! Your votes keep this climbing. Thanks!
Strange dove headfirst into the portal and vanished midair.
A second later, he came stumbling out of another portal barely a meter away, completing a point-blank teleport before crumpling to the ground in a heap, the close call still rattling through him.
"See? You've got it."
Hermione shrugged, expression easy, like nothing had happened at all.
"You—"
Strange's vision went dark with fury. He said nothing. He didn't dare. The last thing he needed was to get thrown again.
The Ancient One watched him lying there in an undignified heap and couldn't quite suppress her smile. She walked over, her tone perfectly level.
"It seems you've already mastered portal creation."
Strange: ...
---
Library.
Strange sat in a corner, working through a dense magical tome with a deep frown, when a sudden chill rolled over him. His body tensed without thinking, the instinct of something dangerous drawing near.
He looked up. Hermione was heading his way.
She walked past him without a glance and called over to Wong: "Hey, Neighbor Wang!"
Wong pressed two fingers to his temple. "Miss Granger. I have told you, many times, that my name is not 'Neighbor.'"
Hermione grinned, shrugged, and walked straight to the Restricted Section. She pulled out an ancient tome with strange runes hammered into its cover like she'd done it a hundred times, and started reading, perfectly oblivious to the rest of the world.
Strange stared at her back.
He wrestled with it for a solid minute before curiosity won. He sidled up to Wong and dropped his voice. "Wong. This Hermione — who exactly is she?"
Wong gave him a look. "You don't know?"
"Should I?"
Wong shook his head and said nothing more.
Which only made Strange more curious. He pointed at the book in Hermione's hands. "Isn't that the Restricted Section? Aren't those texts supposed to be look but don't use?" He watched her begin running through casting gestures. "How is she just—"
"She's the exception."
Strange: ??
---
After that, Hermione turned up at Kamar-Taj every few days to check on his progress. Strange couldn't make sense of it. Why was this girl more invested in his training than he was?
One afternoon in the training yard.
Hermione stood with her arms crossed, leaning in the doorway, watching Mordo and Strange go at it. The two of them were trading blows with conjured blades, sparks cracking off every strike, both utterly committed to the bit.
"Okay," Hermione said, "what exactly are you two doing? Playing house?"
"You're sorcerers. Why are you in a sword fight?"
"Is casting a ranged spell actually going to kill you?"
Mordo and Strange faltered. Both of them looked a little embarrassed.
The Ancient One's voice drifted over, unhurried. "Long-range spells require years of deep foundation. Most practitioners never reach that level in their entire lives. Better to stay grounded and develop close-quarters combat than to chase something that may never come."
Magic warriors, Hermione thought, pressing her lips together. That's what you are. Magic warriors.
Then she looked up sharply, catching something.
"Uncle K's about to get started," she told the Ancient One. "I need to be there. Make sure nothing goes sideways."
The Ancient One gave a small nod. "Kaecilius's fate has already changed because of you. That is for the best. He was my student once. If there was any way to avoid it, I never wanted to see him swallowed by Dormammu."
Hermione smiled and left it at that.
She was gone in an instant.
---
The space was dark and close, the air thick with something wrong.
Robed figures ringed an altar, chanting together in low, layered voices. At the center, Kaecilius knelt with his eyes shut, purple-black markings spreading across his face.
The air bent. Hermione appeared out of nothing.
The chanters lurched to a stop, hands going to weapons, eyes fixed on her.
"Don't let me interrupt," Hermione said, waving them off. "Keep going. I'm just here to watch."
She wandered over to Kaecilius and studied the dark lines crawling across his face with genuine interest. "Uncle K, that purple smoky eye has gotten even heavier. Very dramatic."
Kaecilius opened his eyes slowly. "Dormammu may have noticed I've been leeching his power."
"Doesn't matter." Hermione shrugged. "Today's his expiration date anyway."
The fanatics exchanged glances. Who was this girl? Did she have any idea what she was talking about?
"Ignore her," Kaecilius said, flat and final. "We continue. Destroy the three Sanctums."
The chanters had questions. They followed orders anyway.
---
Hospital.
Strange stood in front of a mirror, face grim.
The Ancient One was gone. He had lived through the darkest stretch of his life, and somewhere in the middle of it, Stephen Strange had become Doctor Strange.
Her last words to him still ran through his head. They had been about Hermione. He hadn't fully understood them, but he had held onto every syllable.
---
Hermione stood quietly beside the Ancient One's spirit, and neither of them spoke.
The air had weight to it.
She'd been on the Ancient One's case about dying for long enough that she'd almost convinced herself she wanted it. Now that the day had actually come, the feeling in her chest was harder to name, complicated and a little unsteady.
It was like losing Dumbledore in the wizarding world.
The foundation was gone.
"You pestered me about dying every day," the Ancient One said, a note of amusement in her voice. "More relentlessly than Dormammu ever managed. Why do you look like you're not enjoying this?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Who said I'm not enjoying it? The Eye of Agamotto is basically mine now. I'm thrilled."
The Ancient One had chosen to sever the connection between her soul and her body herself. A voluntary departure the magic book hadn't registered as death, so the Dark Harvest hadn't triggered. That was no surprise. The Ancient One had glimpsed certain futures. She would have seen what happened to the souls of the dead that wandered too close to Hermione. She wasn't stubborn enough to test it firsthand.
"You've become a spirit this early," Hermione said. "Aren't you worried I'll fail and Dormammu swallows the Earth?"
The Ancient One smiled, something settled and peaceful in it. "If you truly fail, I'll drive Dormammu out one more time. Don't worry."
Tch. Old schemer. Hermione pressed her lips together. She'd always known the physical body meant nothing to her , didn't touch her real strength one bit.
Just wait. The second I get back, I'm changing the Kamar-Taj WiFi password to "ancientoneisgone."
➤ Next: Dormammu, I've Come to Kill You
— .—— .—— .—— .—— .——
Enjoying the story?
Read 130+ chapters ahead on Patreon.
Join the free community tier for early access to the latest updates:
patreon(.)com/DarkGolds