The Daughter She Knows Not. by Voracity2

The Daughter She Knows Not.

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The Daughter She Knows Not.

Hermione Granger looked at her daughter, who was fourteen, mouthy, and a huge bit of tension. She sighed. "Dear." The girl pouted at her. "Seriously, you angst more than most girls. You have an anxiety disorder." She stared at her. "I really can get you help for that if you want. Behavioral or maybe even an as-needed medicine. My mother would gladly give us a referral to someone nice."

The girl glared at her. "I'm not that bad! There's idiots at the school!"

"Yes, there's always been idiots at the school," she said patiently. "There will probably always be idiots at the school. They like it that way so no one questions things." The girl nodded she agreed with that. "But....unless we move, there's not a lot of choice about that outside homeschooling and you don't have the discipline to do that. And I don't have the time to do that for you."

She stared at her little spawn. "The day school hated you for being smart and my daughter. Hogwarts hates you for being smart and my daughter. Which means I get to raid the school later." She grinned a scary grin. "All those idiots," she sighed with pleasure.

"Hermione!" Harry complained from where he was mediating, at her daughter's request.

Hermione rolled her eyes, then grinned at her daughter. "It'll be okay. There's not a war like there was in my years. You don't have to deal with the Slytherin bullies like I did since you're one of them."

She pouted. "True. And I have no idea why."

"Well, you're powerful, Darcy," Harry said. "You like to hide how smart you are so you couldn't be a Ravenclaw. You're good at friendship and loyalty things so you could've been a Hufflepuff but you argued with the hat." He gave her a pointed look. "And I heard about the fight with the hat where you threatened it if you got put into Gryff because everyone thought you were your mother's shadow."

She nodded. "I did," she sighed, looking at her mother, who looked smug. "What! I'd rather be seen to be Dad's kid, because then there's no expectations that I use my brains. It means I get to get around a lot of problems by playing dumb."

"Which is very strategic," Harry said happily. "Which proves you're in the right house." He stared at her. "But we do have to talk about your theory work recently, goddaughter."

She shrugged but smiled. "Oh well!" She beamed at him. "But I'm bored. And I hate the school. I don't mind magic but I hate the school, Mom."

"Then give up magic. Or have some self discipline so you can learn at home."

"Point." She pouted about that. "Why are you raiding the school?"

"Importation of illegal animals," she said dryly. "Better known as the war between the arthimancy teacher and the Care of Magical Creatures teacher." She rolled her eyes and sighed again. "They need to just get back together," she muttered. Darcy laughed. She was still giggling when the door was kicked in. Hermione spun and fired at whoever it was, Harry moving to do the same thing.

Darcy squealed, heading for her emergency shelter/portal thing Hermione had created. That worked well but it was influenced by the amount of magic in the house right then. Her mother had released something tragically dangerous on whoever had burst into their house. Well, tragic for their parts. The head of the Aurors, Hermione Granger, was not the one to screw with. Amelia Bones's ghost had praised her and tutored her to make sure the wizarding world would keep going on.

So Darcy stepped into it, triggering the portal part of it. And went off. To the past. Back to the year of her mother's favorite birthday, her fifth where she spent it at the zoo. Darcy landed and looked around. The house wasn't there yet. This part of London wasn't really built yet. She sighed, going to the bank. That's what you did when you had a huge problem.

Because the Ministry was pathetic, especially back in this timepoint. But they were too stupid to catch her apparating by the method her mother had figured out during the war. The goblin on the doorway stared at her oddly. "I had an accident. I'm back in time," she told him in Goblin, which her Uncle Ron had taught her thanks to learning from his big brother. "Is there an adjustor in the cursebreakers at this point in time?"

The goblin warrior blinked at her a few times. "Yes," he said with a nod. "How do you know about them?"

"My mother's Hermione Granger." The warrior blinked a few times then nodded at that and let her inside. Someone could figure that out. She bowed to the warrior inside. "I had a temporal accident getting away from the one who tried to attack my mother and Uncle Harry."

The warrior stared then nodded. "All right. When are you supposed to be?"

"Two-thousand-fourteen."

"Oh. That's wonderful. How did you do that?"

"I had an escape portal. That I used. While someone was attacking the family home."

"Hmm. Too much magic?" he guessed.

"Mom's a nerd. Mom's one-third of the reason Molidmort went down finally with Uncle Harry and Uncle Ron. Who would've been my stepfather but he got into a temper and walked off."

"Moldimort," he said quietly, thinking about that.

"If I say his name, people flinch. Still. Fourteen years after he finally went down," she said dryly.

"Oh!" He nodded. "I'll get you to someone who can help figure things out."

"Please. What year is it?"

"Nineteen-eighty-six."

She sighed. "Oh, great. Mom's five. So in second grade and already ahead of everything so bored and Grandma is probably going to have that fateful, pathetic, asshole talk with Mom about not being smart being good for girls." She stared at him, grimacing. "She tried that with me so I told her how toxic that was to women and how she was pushing us back to the dark ages. That was right after Mom got an award for a new spell design."

"She sounds like we'll have a great time watching what she does." He led her to someone who could maybe help her, or at least learn things from her that could help the bank.

She looked at one of the warriors. "Whatever happens, someone has to help Uncle Harry. Because his relatives are *so* bad. Like abusive and then some stupid. But no one wanted to look thanks to Dumble the Great Asshole Kissing Moron."

The goblin blinked a few times. "He's supposed to be a great man."

"Would a great man lock his enemy in a tower in a prison no one else can find?" she asked. "And let him rot to death? What I know of your people, you believe in honorable death for your enemies for being an enemy."

"No," the goblin warrior admitted. "We do." He blinked a few times. "Who are you, young lady?"

"Darcy Janette Granger." She smiled. "Hermione's my mom. Eventually I guess. There was a whole 'thank god we survived the war' thingy," she said with a handwave in the air. Then sighed. "Then Uncle Ron, who was going to be the stepdad got *really* mad and stomped off. His brother Bill had a fit on him for being an idiot so they didn't get married after all...." She shrugged.

"But Mom's a great Mom. She never held it against me or Dad. Who isn't that great but he's there sometimes." She shrugged again then sighed. "But I had a portal to use for escapes. Someone attacked the house. Head Auror Granger unleashed the hell she used to help end the second blood war." She grinned at the shuddering goblin warrior then at the other one. "While I was using my escape hatch. And here I am."

"We've seen such incidences," the goblin warrior admitted. "I have no idea how to talk to her as you said she's probably five?"

"Yeah, maybe six if we're really late in the year." She considered things. "I don't want to really warp the future. Though some things could use warped. I mean...." She shrugged. "A lot could use changed so the stupid was easier to bear and the war didn't take *years*. And destroy part of the school."

The higher goblin blinked a few times. "The second blood war?"

"Moldimort's a ghoul. Uncle Harry said he was a ghoul on the back of his first year defense teacher's head when I complained about mine not having a *clue* about how to handle animals that look scary but aren't. Including bears. That loser was *so* far in his own ass," she muttered, looking up at the mural. Then blinked a few times.

"I met him. He told my mother she was mouthy but correct once about how the bank was nearly destroyed." She shrugged and looked at him. Then smirked. "Yes, I'm a Slytherin. I argued with the hat. A lot. I nearly threatened to destroy it for wanting to put me into Gryff like Mom was." She beamed. "Tactically this is a huge set of bad options at the moment."

He nodded. "It could be but we could mitigate things."

She took his pen to write notes on a parchment piece then handed them to him. "Mom's history. Direct history." She grinned. "They misquoted it in the history books saying she didn't do much. Mostly because she's a muggleborn witch."

"For her blood status or being female?" he asked.

"Both. That hasn't gotten any better. Which was why I was complaining when someone knocked in the door."

"Shit," he muttered, reading those. "Oh." He blinked then looked at her. "Oh, dear."

She smiled. "Check on Uncle Harry too please?"

He nodded. "There's blood wards."

"Doubt it. That'd mean she'd have to give a damn. His aunt hates him. Completely hates him." She shrugged. "Blood wards take intent to protect. She doesn't have it. Never did. Railed at him for daring to survive the war because her sister was too stupid to know that keeping her magic would get her killed." She wrote down more things she knew. "From Uncle Harry's journal I snuck," she admitted. "Then these are from Mom's." She handed them over.

The goblin stared. "Oh, fuck," he said in goblinese.

She smiled and nodded. "Yeah! We feel the same way!" She beamed at him, nodding some more.

The goblin reread them, then nodded at those facts. "Oh, dear. We're in trouble."

She shrugged but smiled. "I only took the first class in statistics. I have no idea which way is going to give the better outcome. But I'd really like Mom to no longer have super nightmares that makes her magic flow out to protect her. I have guards on my room for that."

The head goblin blinked a few more times. "Why would she?"

"Because she and Uncle Ron stood with Uncle Harry for the whole seven years of war."

He winced but nodded. "After they graduated?" he asked.

"Hell no!" she snorted. "We're talking horcrux, dear. Second year he destroyed one." The goblin winced at that and the warrior shuddered, shrinking in on himself. "He had to destroy seven of them. Including the one in his forehead. That one during the last battle."

"That's...bad," the higher goblin said. "May we copy your memories?"

She shrugged. "You'll probably find out we all think Scorpius Malfoy is hot but a dumbass. But sure." The warrior got someone to do that for them. The highers of the bank all watched it and then had a talk.

Darcy bounced a bit in the room they stuck her in. "I've got to get my pills," she told the warrior that came in to check on her. "Or else I'm going to have a prob. Soon. Like girlish ones."

"Pill?"

"Yeah, I'm on the pill to control my period stuff." She nodded. "I got today's."

"They can do a spell to stop that momentarily," he offered.

She shook her head. "Doesn't work on me. Made me super depressed." She winced. "Mom had to have a screaming match with the new school nurse about that and nearly had her excommunicated from the wizarding world for trying to hurt me on purpose. She had to sue the Ministry to get muggle meds accepted for students."

She got up to pace. "Oh, Mom's gonna be so pissed," she muttered. "So very, very pissed. She's going to go full on Senior Auror Granger. Which can be great to watch. It was when she arrested half the Wizengamet for being dark. We cheered." She grinned at the warrior. "We all cheered. We had nineteen students waiting to testify about that stuff.

"The school was there about the med stuff and she just verbally beat the lawyers for the Ministry into the ground until one sobbed as she tried to end herself in front of everyone for it and then got handed proof about why, so she arrested them for being dark and human slavery. Scorpius was actually envious about her evilness that day.

"Even his daddy was envious and shuddering in horrified remembrance. It was kinda cool how we could tell everyone was butt clenching hard that day. Which led to his daddy becoming Minister for Magic and making a peace treaty with Mom."

"Let me ask a healer if they can fix that problem for you, young lady." He went to find one to ask her about that. The babbling could be her age, could be anxiety, or it could be just her. Or a problem. They'd figure it out.

***

The king of the present horde looked at her. "If we change too many things the future will change."

"Yes but some things could be eased at least. What Uncle Harry had to go through was a horrible thing that made him weaker during the war. They all used him."

"We can show him those memories," he told her.

She nodded. "As long as he's saved. Please. And Mom if you can?"

"She should be fine. We've looked at her home life. Your grandmother is...strong willed."

She nodded. "Grandma thinks Mom's too smart to get a husband. Somehow that's more important to her. She tried with me and I just snorted and called her the cunt she is."

The king smiled. "She seemed like she may be in the future." He stared at her. "We will take precautions to make sure the war isn't as bad as it had been. Including helping Mr. Potter when we can. We agree, there's no reason for his treatment to keep going on. Though Headmaster Dumbledore will complain."

"Yeah, that Great User?" She nodded with a grimace. "Uncle Harry still has a fondness for him and Snape for some reason. I have no clue why. I figured it was abuse history stuff."

"That could be," he agreed. "That does leave us with a problem of how to handle you."

"Send me home?"

"The portal you used, no one knows what that is."

"Well, Mom created it," she admitted dryly. "So...." She winced. "Not sure where she found the formula though. It might've been the family portals at the school maybe?"

"It could be, or a vanishing cabinet." He stared at her. "For now, we're going to set you with a foster family."

"Here?"

"No. That's not safe. If you run into your grandparents things could be warped. Then you'd not exist. We'd be stuck in a paradox loop."

She winced. "I've read about those."

"Exactly. So we're going to send you to MaCUSA people to find a foster family." She sighed but nodded. "It'll be safe. You can resume your schooling. I would suggest you calm down a bit."

"I'm bouncy. I'm fourteen. We squeal and bounce."

"Good point." He smiled at that. "Do you think you could attend Salem?"

"I think I can. Mom made sure my education was better than hers was as it was *so* behind. The charms teacher hates me for being a few years ahead."

"That'll stand you in good stead over there as Salem is a good school with a good education." He stared at her. "We'll get you sent over tonight. Will you need much?"

"I'd love to have my jewelry box from home. I had no idea why it was stolen or hidden but I'm thinking it might've been me doing it now. And what about tuition costs?"

He stared at her. "They can handle that."

"All right." She nodded. "I know I've got to be undercover. Will they know?"

"Yes. And the headmistress."

She nodded. "Okay." She grinned. "At least I'll have different bullies. All this is nostalgia things for me so I know some of the music."

The other two in the office came over to the more lit area. One looked her over. "You're not like most of the girls in my school," she said.

"No, I'm smart, pretty, and semi-confident. I know the world's screwed up and why and someday I'll help solve some of that hopefully." She smiled, holding out a hand. "Darcy Granger."

"Lewis," she corrected. "So no one can trace you, dear."

She considered it. "Doesn't sound bad. Move Granger to my middle name behind Jeanette?"

"I can arrange that," the American auror agreed. "Can you handle other things?"

"I need my bc pills," she told them. "Soonish. Please. The spell makes me super depressed. Mom had to sue everyone to get muggle meds in the school."

The headmistress smiled. "We're fully stocked to hand those out in our infirmary, dear."

"Cool!" She beamed. "Mom said the US was ahead of the stuffy sorts here."

"We are," she agreed. "By at least a few years."

She grinned. "Great. Computers?"

"Those are for universities."

"Shi...shoot." She sighed. "But I can like them when they show up in a few years." She looked at the headmistress. "Has Emanuel come out with his third theory yet?"

"He's in college so has one probably in his thesis."

"Damn. I liked his second theory. His first sucked and was disproven later but his second rocked."

She smiled a bit. "You're going to have a long time adjusting in the school, dear."

"Yeah but I do in Hogwarts too." She shrugged. "It happens."

"It does." She let the auror go over the paperwork with her, getting her agreement. They had a good foster family that was muggle borns as well. They could handle it. Darcy could learn to calm down. Someday. They were sure she could. Hopefully.

***

Years later Darcy looked at the mess that the invasion in London had made, shaking her head. She sucked in a breath then looked at her boss/best friend Jane Foster. "Hey, boss, margs time," she called. "Please let it be margs time?"

"Yeah, I think it is. Thankfully I don't have to clean up the mess since we didn't make it this time." She walked over some of it with a sigh, going to join her intern and sub-intern. She looked at Thor, who had to run off again. Then at her assistant. "I..."

Darcy held up a hand. "I know. Me too. We need to partake of the sacred tequila, boss."

"We do," she agreed, going with her and Ian to the pub they liked. A lot of the college's kids went there.

Darcy looked over at the sight of someone popping in, waving at one with a smirk and a grin. "Hey," she mouthed but disappeared with Jane faster. Before her Uncle Harry could grab her of to talk to her. Reasonably or not. She had been missing in the current time for about two weeks.

Harry blinked, looking behind him at the rest of his team. "That's...."

"Granger's daughter," one agreed with a nod. "She's going to be pleased she made it to adulthood."

"Hermione's going to go spare," he muttered, summoning her and pointing at their backs. Hermione looked, gasping and starting to move but he stopped her. "We're around muggles," he said quietly. "Later. We'll track her home. We'll talk to her later." She stiffened and nodded. "Until then, she was here at an invasion of elves."

Hermione looked then huffed. "Why in the fuck did elves invade?" she muttered quietly. Harry shrugged. "Okay. Mertz, be stealthy and go track my daughter. Tell me where she is later so I can grab her to shake her to death and then hug her please." He nodded, fading from view as he followed the two women and one guy. The others could help the clean up. Though agents were showing up. Hermione got their liaison there to help them deal with the officious sorts in SHIELD gear.

***

Darcy got snatched from her couch bed, staring at the rooftop she landed on then around the area. "Mom, it's chilly," she complained. "And Jane's got machines up here that can sense magic. We gotta move." She took her with her to another rooftop nearby. "That's better." She sighed, summoning a long sweater to put on. "Hi, Mom!" She grinned and waved.

Hermione hugged her, giving her the tightest hug she could. "I'm going to beat you to death."

"Next time don't unleash time stop spells near the portal, Mom."

"Oh, shit."

"Yup, figured it out a few years ago." She pulled back to look at her. "I went to the bank first. I appeared in eighty-six." Hermione groaned. "So I went to the bank. They sent me to MaCUSA. So I graduated Salem."

"I looked at your dossier from them." She stared at her. "SHIELD?"

"Hell no!"

Hermione cracked a smile at that. "They seem to want you."

"And I want them to disappear from my view." She grinned at the agent staring at them as he joined them. "Hell no, SHIELD dude." She banished him with a wave of her hand. Her mother looked at the ring she wore. "I turned Grandma's ring into an alternative focus." She shrugged but grinned. "I'm in the humanities."

She nodded. "That's good," she agreed patiently. "But I'm still going to paddle you to death, Darcy."

"Not my fault!"

"Uh-huh." She stared at her. "I was worried."

"I was worried but I managed it, Mom. Did they help Uncle Harry? They said they could."

"They mitigated it but he knew. He told us after the last battle." Darcy grinned at that. She sighed. "Humanities?"

"Poli sci."

"So you're going to fix the stupid that used to make you have fits?"

"Fuck. Yes." Her mother scowled. She grinned. "I'm old enough to swear," she said in a sing-song manner.

"Uh-huh." She gave her another hug. "Why aren't you in theoretical fields?"

"Too much damn work."

"Daughter."

"It is!"

"Uh-huh." She stared at her. "Quit swearing." She rolled her eyes but nodded. Hermione went back to hugging her.

"I'm fine, Mom. I was in some scary things but I managed it like a true Granger."

"I heard. Your dossier made me swear in two languages."

"I can do it in Asgardian," Darcy quipped.

Hermione looked at her. "That was Asgardian?"

"A nine realms alignment."

"So the elves?"

"Wanted Asgard, got here too."

"Damn it."

She giggled. "They weren't even pretty ones. I'm sure Scorpius would've pouted."

"He did." She stroked her cheek. "I can't believe we're nearly the same age now. You're even a few years older without that time stop incident."

"Ehhh. We'll handle it. Not like I can debate you're my mom."

"True. I am the Mother."

"Very often," Darcy quipped back with a smirk for her. Hermione swatted her on the arm but they settled in a heated time bubble to talk for a few weeks before she had to put Darcy back in the apartment. Jane wouldn't understand magic or appreciate it. Darcy had admitted Jane wasn't that sort of thinker.

Then Hermione went home to cry for a bit. She had missed a lot of her daughter's life. Her sarcastic little teenage girl was now a sarcastic full grown woman. Who nagged apparently by her dossier from SHIELD.

***

Hermione looked at the auror that showed up in her office the next day, staring at him. Then she got up to slap him. He nodded. "That's fair," her American counterpart admitted.

"You knew."

"My brother helped hide her," he admitted. "Got her to the foster family that helped her, the Lewises. Made sure she didn't get kicked out of Salem for being too smart for her own good and not liking what those girls did because they were shallow teens." He grinned a bit, holding up a folder. "Her dossier from us?"

She took it. "Was she *safe*?"

"As any other girl was. There were a few incidences. A few she found herself. Some she got involved in. She did lead a sit-in of her school about some of the gendered bull that they were doing. The headmistress was not amused and told her why so Darcy told her how harmful it was."

"It probably was," she agreed quietly, reading it. "She did graduate at least." She looked up. "Scorpius would be amused but he thinks she's weird."

"So do many boys. She protested having to take knitting as an elective."

"So would I. Forcing such hobbies isn't good."

"She knew the others and tested out."

"That's probably my fault," she said with a slight smile. Harry leaned in so she waved him in. "Her dossier from MaCUSA, Harry."

He smiled at her. "Your little girl was a hellion, Hermione. She had the bank help me and made sure I knew what would have happened before I got to the school so I could pretend." She stared at him; he had admitted that before but not how far it went. He nodded. "Yeah. So I'd still act like the Harry Potter everyone expected but no one realized I wasn't with the Dursleys." He took the folder to read over, nodding at it. "Sounds like Darcy. Mouthy yet strong and a bit of an anxiety problem."

"Did she ever get help for that?" she asked the other auror.

"No." He shook his head. "She did some self help stuff to work on it. She refused meds when they tried to dose her a few times because she was stressing over things like your first day of school." They both groaned. "Though I do agree, Scorpius is a pretty young man to crush on," he finished blandly. He stood up. "She'll be fine. Foster's a good big sister to her sometimes too. She does mother hen her a lot."

"I saw that from the SHIELD one."

He grinned. "SHIELD's full of it. They thought she was just an intern. Just in their way to get to Foster. They still may not agree that she's more than that. They have no idea she knows about our stuff. They barely know about the magical communities. But she is a problem solver. She shows your brains, Granger. Whoever her daddy was, he's only in her looks." He left with a grin, going back home.

She looked at Harry, who smirked a bit. He knew who her father was. He had never mentioned it and Darcy had never asked, though she had found out. It had been a 'we survived' sudden bit of closet sex. Then Molly had cursed her for getting pregnant before her marriage to Ron. And Ron had a fit about her being pregnant so they had broken up.

Little Darcy had been raised by her mother and some of her friends helping now and then, but Ron had avoided her for years. He had finally met Darcy when she was six and Darcy had found him nagging someone so kicked him on the knee to knock him down. Then nagged him about being a bad adult booger brained moron.

Ron hadn't realized until Hermione had come jogging to save her daughter and yell at her for interrupting other families. Darcy had defended it and kept the kid she was defending from Ron behind her. Ron had been very amused but said she was clearly a chip off Hermione's block. Darcy had kicked him again in the nuts for insulting her mother.

Hermione stifled the tears that still wanted to come. Harry left and came back with something to put on her desk. "It got delivered earlier."

She looked. "Is it poisoned?"

"It's from Draco," he admitted dryly. "He spotted them and realized who she was." He handed her the card from the higher born former bully. She snorted at the 'clearly your daughter learned from you' praise on the card. She put it aside, sniffing the flowers. They were pretty. She looked at Harry, letting him have the file. "She's fighting injustices."

"She always did. Even if she did call them morons first." He read it over, grinning at that. "She's a lot like you were."

"She is. She's got a poli sci degree." She sighed. "I have no idea how to talk to her, Harry."

"You open your mouth and talk. Darcy would babble back like before. Mertz said she still does it at Jane to nag her. Apparently she forgets common things like eating and sleeping. Or showering."

She nodded. "I saw that in her SHIELD file. Thankfully I had the idea to get a hacker on staff to get those sort of things for us." She sighed, looking at the Minister for Magic that was in the doorway. "I know, I shouldn't have asked him to do it for me for that."

He shrugged. "She's your daughter. She disappeared. You had to find out why to close the file." He stared at her. "Is she all right?"

"Nagging Dr. Foster," Harry said.

"That blond man?"

"Thor," they said together.

He sighed. "Like...the God?"

"Yes," they agreed with a nod. The minister groaned at that.

"Dr. Foster is apparently dating him," Harry said. "We have someone watching those three to make sure no one tries something against them for that battle."

He smirked. "To watch over Darcy or to watch over the other two?"

"All three," an auror behind him said. "Because agents are mad that they told them something was going on but they didn't care until it happened to destroy a college campus." He handed in a report, letting Harry hand it to Hermione. "SHIELD yelled really loudly but they pointed out they had called them. They ignored it. So did MI-5. Everyone ignored it."

He smirked at Harry. "They're so angry but the ladies just got another margarita and drank it while they whined." He walked off. "They're back home. Mertz handed it off to Saban, who is not amused. Darcy spotted him already but made him go away by banishing him at the river."

"Saban hates her," Hermione quipped. "The feeling's mutual. Did she make him land in the river? Her aim used to be off," she called.

"Still is. He landed by the palace," the auror said as he walked off again.

She sighed but nodded. "She could use some targeting work." Harry grinned, leaving them alone. She looked at the minister, who was still looking smug. "We're catching up. We talked last night."

"That's good. Do you need a few days off?"

"If I did that, they'd start to revert to the former ways of dumbness," she quipped. He rolled his eyes as he walked off. "But thank you for asking." She went back over the files to get to know her daughter's bare facts. Darcy was more vivid than these bland pieces of facts. She was too complex for that to be all that she was.

***

Darcy was back with SHIELD, at their order and kidnaping basically. Jane was with her. So was Erik Selvig. So was Ian but he was antsy so Darcy was out to find a coffee maker to commandeer. She nodded at a few agents, who gave her dirty looks.

They unfortunately fell down the stairs when they walked down them because she wasn't putting up with thugs before coffee. She found a coffeemaker finally and took it with her back to their suite. A few agents gave her odd looks so she shrugged. "Science takes God Juice, people."

Agent Hill glared at her. "You should've stayed in there and asked us nicely, Lewis."

She stared at her oddly. "I'd never ask SHIELD for anything because it'd come in poisoned, Hill. No one else has to kidnap us." She went back there, handing Jane the coffee maker so she could start it and make sure it was safe to use. Or maybe rip it down to make them some way to get out of there. Which Darcy could do but it'd be too obvious. Jane would realize it wasn't her. Obliviates didn't work on her either.

An agent walked in without knocking, holding out a basket of coffee supplies. "We don't want to poison you." Jane snorted, glaring at him. "We don't, Dr. Foster."

"Then why did you force us here?"

"You know things we need to know," he said.

"I know many things, including that you're sweating so much that you realize you're lying," Jane quipped.

Darcy waved at him. "We've already told you all that we know about the invasion. You can go look at the sources we found if you wanted to. Maybe you should've done that when we called for you to come handle it."

"We thought you weren't sober," he complained.

Darcy shrugged again. "Not our fault you didn't pay attention. There were anomalies for weeks beforehand. That's one reason we were in London. Now, let's let Jane have coffee so we can talk about how to destroy the building as we escape." He huffed off. She reblinded the listening and camera devices in there again with a muttered word as she flounced back to the kitchen to take over the coffee making.

Jane shook her head with a sigh. "We need to get home. I'm missing some readings."

"We need to get home to make sure things aren't destroyed by the same agents," Erik complained.

Darcy nodded. "If I could magically move us, I would."

Jane looked at her. "Magic?" she snorted.

"Why not?" She shrugged but smirked a bit at her. "Things like that would drive SHIELD nuts too."

"Point, it would. Me too though." She took her cup of coffee and sat down with a huff of noise. Darcy refilled her and then got the others coffee. Then herself. By some blip of fate/magic, there was at least some food in there to use in the microwave in the room. Darcy got them all something to eat too. Then more coffee. They could sit and plot for a bit longer.

When someone came in to talk to them, Darcy sipped her coffee, staring at them. It let her mutter at them to go away. They walked off looking stunned. Erik gave her a pointed look so she smiled at him. He had realized somehow that she had magic. She grinned at him but Jane and Ian didn't see. So she'd help them get freer as soon as she could.

She did go to the bathroom and popped home for a second to see who was in their stuff. She blanked the agent out and made him wander off. She also got all their stuff summoned back since she had marked it. Even Ian's stuff was marked. She hurried it up so she could go back after washing her hands and flushing the toilet for show. That way Jane didn't catch on.

She'd really have to think about theoretical things to perhaps curse all of SHIELD for kidnaping them for daring to save people. Though her mother would probably be upset. Well, it was a very Granger thing to do but her mother would probably get upset. Or she'd get the Uncle Harry sigh of Grangerism again. She hated those.

***

"You're a pretty girl, you should let yourself be that," some agent smirked at her.

Darcy stared at him. "The last person who suggested that to me, he begged me to let him stab himself. Unfortunately he was stopped from doing it." The agent flinched back, looking horrified. She smirked a bit. "Anything else today, agent dude?" He shook his head, fleeing from her. She looked at the others in the interrogation room. Then she sighed and shook her head. "Jane, I'm going to break physics."

"What?" she demanded.

Darcy moved them all back to the apartment and their stuff was magically brought back from the movers that were trying to move everything. They carried it back up to put back for them. Then left to tell SHIELD to pay them anyway. Darcy sat down with a sigh, putting her feet up. "I'm tired of that."

Jane blinked a few times, looking around. "Darcy?" she asked. "Are you actually Loki?"

She smiled. "You say some of the sweetest things, Janey. But no." She grinned. "Some of us have other gifts." She shrugged. "We were born this way. Damned if I don't cast a great impotence curse sometimes."

"So you...cursed?"

"Not then. I just moved us after I blanked out their cameras again." She grinned at her. "It drives them nuts when their alarms, devices, and spy gear doesn't work." Jane moaned at that, sitting down. "Be damned if I'm going to let us be held hostage for much longer."

Erik groaned, staring at her. "Aren't you supposed to hide that?"

She nodded. "They don't realize it. If they do now, well at least they'll quit thinking I'm useless. They might even be more cautious."

Jane nodded. "That could be helpful. We should get ready to move to another area." She looked at Darcy. "How did you do that?"

"Theoretical space bending?" she guessed with a grin. "Whole different field of study, Janey."

"Can I look at it?"

She nodded, pulling one of her books out to let her see it. Jane stared at the math oddly. "Yup. Exactly. Not from here math, Jane." She took it back to hide again. Erik was sighing and shaking his head. "I didn't break a law. They broke some. I rescued us and I'm sticking to that story." She blotted out Ian's memory of that talk. Jane looked at her oddly. She grinned and wiggled her fingers. "Can't do you."

"Oh. Have you tried?"

"Once. You saw me helping someone with something but was righteously drunk that night."

"Oh, then. Was that a ghost or something?"

"Ghoul but yes."

"Eww." She pouted, getting comfortable again. Darcy got them dinner started too when she got up. Ian woke himself up again and it was like they hadn't moved from the apartment for a week.

***

The Ministry heard from a SHIELD agent who had magic. He had put up a complaint about Darcy outing magic. So she was answering it in a park for a meeting. "Dude, we weren't in the UK when they kidnaped us. I rescued us from being held hostage by thugs with weapons," she told the auror she didn't like. She sipped her coffee then put the cup down.

"Frankly, SHIELD has no way or reason to kidnap anyone, especially not me and my bosses. They have no right to take us in, move our stuff on us, make any decisions for us as we are not employed by them. We are privately employed." She stared at him. "Their recording devices were broken or stunned when I did it.

"The few agents who saw it thought I was useless and they still think I'm useless by their files I hacked. I even had to fix my birthday in their files because they're so pathetic." He spluttered. She stared at him. "They still have a capture order on Dr. Foster for daring to be a woman in science who can do things. They can all suck my ass. And you can quote me, Derrick."

He blinked a few times. "Granger can't cushion that for you."

"Why would she need to? I was rescuing us, which is a noted out in the laws of disclosure." She stared at him. "Do I need to pull up the regs for you? Especially as we were in Canada at the time?" He winced at that. "They did the wrong thing and tried to blame others. Again.

"They tried that in New Mexico when Thor appeared. Then found out they were stupid. They tried it this time and found out they were stupid and outclassed. All I did was protect myself and those held hostage with me. If they want to charge me in the courts, let them try it."

He grimaced. "They're going to try. That way they can get your boss."

"Who can probably go to Asgard with Thor if she must." He shuddered. "He's back by the way. They got real respectful because he's got a dick too." She took another sip of her coffee then put her cup down again. "They have no legal right to do anything that they've done. They know that.

"They're trying to be pushy and bossy and are going to lose. Because even if they challenge me, I'm not the bitch they think I am." She grinned. "It's not in the files but I interned under Dr. Abernathy at Culver, which is a mixed college."

He looked that name up and winced then moaned. "Oh." He really wanted to clench his lower half's muscles so he didn't crap himself. He looked at her. "Does Granger know?"

"If it was finally in the files, which I doubt it is. Abernathy is seen as a crank among magicals but he's also a seer. A true seer. Also, tell them to tell Stark that a portal around the glove will remove it so he can't snap. Just put a portal and then cut it off suddenly so the hand disappears. It's a lot easier than a decreate."

"A decreate...that's mythical!"

"It's like nine pages of math," she said dryly. "And a pain in the ass. The one to do trees instead of ground is annoying." She pulled out her phone to call up her grades from Culver, letting him see it. "They didn't have my records from Culver, I know they don't. They don't care once you graduate." He looked it over, wincing at what he saw. She had a degree there.

Her mundane one was political science. Her magical one was on theoretical chaos. She had a mastery there. She grinned as she accepted her phone back. "It's really up my field of dreams," she said blandly. "They started it, not us. I rescued us. If they don't like it, they should quit being thugs."

He sighed. "I'll let them know but they're going to try to charge you."

"They have no right to do that. They have no standing in the magical courts of any country. SHIELD is multi-national but has no home country. They have no standing in any courts really. They have their own courts and they're not legitimate in any manner. Including for war crimes as they call things that aren't." She leaned forward.

"They tried to force us to sign on with them and we refused. Repeatedly after New Mexico. Repeatedly after the other day. They need to give up. They really do. Jane's not going to give in. I'm not going to give in. Erik may do some freelance work but nope." She grinned, shaking her head. "Not while I'm here and if they try to take me out, well...I've got a waiting thing for them. They won't like it when it destroys them."

He winced. "You can't really threaten a group like that. What if they hear?"

She grinned, waving a hand in the air. "They probably have hacked into the nearby cameras. We're still not theirs and I don't answer to them. Jane doesn't answer to them. I doubt we'll ever answer to them. We tried to get them to fix things and they ignored it.

"Then tried to blame us for handling it on our own. And that's going to come out in the popular press tomorrow." She stood up to pat him on the cheek. "Jane gave an interview last week. Right after what happened." She walked around him. "Anything else today?"

"No," he admitted. "What're you going by anyway?"

"Lewis. It's easier on everyone."

"Okay. I'll make sure that's noted."

She smiled. "I'm Darcy Jeanette Granger Lewis. No hyphen." She strolled off again.

He made that note, going to tell the bosses and the people complaining what she had said. She was probably right, they had no way to charge her and her rescuing them from being held hostage to force them to work for them wasn't illegal. SHIELD was in the wrong. Again apparently.

He found that interview was out so copied it to show the higher ups so they could 'talk' to SHIELD about their ideas. Hermione wasn't upset, she was proud, but Harry was giggling in a corner. Darcy was so like Hermione, only she had worse anxiety problems. Though she did like to hide how smart she really was, a very Un-Hermione trait. Must come from her father.

****

Harry looked at Hermione the next day, after all the fallout from the interview. "There's a betting pool," he said, smirking just a tiny bit. She groaned, putting down her pen carefully to stare at him. "Both about Darcy being magical. And about who her father is."

"Again?" she demanded.

"Worse. Even the ones that weren't on it the last three times are on there. One of them is Draco."

She raised an eyebrow. "They think that she's secretly a blonde?"

"Or that the blonde only comes when it's from the legal relationship. Draco has heard, he let out a *loud* laugh. Walked off *loudly* laughing. He scared half the Ministry that saw it."

She sighed, shaking her head. "No, he's not her father. He knows that."

He grinned. "We've gotten three reports of him being possessed." She groaned. "For laughing. Loudly. Like Molly Weasley loudly." She shook her head slowly, then one quick shake at the end. "The one about her being magical got shut down because they decided she wasn't. Didn't put her together with your little girl though."

She got up, going to check on that. She looked at the list, then groaned at the two that bet that she was magical and who realized who she was because they noted it. She took that one down and glared at those two aurors. Who just smiled back and got out of the way. She looked at the other one and groaned. She took it down too and walked off shaking her head. "Stop it before I hire her to be over all of you." They all decided she needed an easy day so made sure she didn't hear a single thing that went on the rest of the day. Which Harry told her about but oh well.

Draco walked into the auror's office, looking at Potter then at Hermione. "Your little girl is a menace?" he asked with a smirk.

She stared at the Minister for Magic. "Probably. It's where she was American for a bit."

He blinked a few times. "How did that happen?"

"Someone burst in and she was using her displacement portal to escape. It turned into a time turner sort of event."

He just nodded. "That so figures from your little girl." He handed over the scroll he carried. "From the Americans." He smirked at her. "Congrats on having a daughter who graduated with a mastery in chaos."

"She likes chaos. Always did." She looked it over and blinked. "Her thesis was in what?"

"Hmm. Probably what happened?"

"Probably," she complained. She put it down. "Did you mean to get put in for a possession check?"

"It got me a long weekend off, Granger." He walked off with a grin for the aurors. "Thank you for that report, boys and girls. It meant I got to go home and rest for a few days. Oh, and Granger, if she still likes my son, he's vowed himself to a chaos god."

"Well, since Darcy's friend is dating *Thor*," she shot back. "He can probably introduce him."

Draco stopped to look back in there, then backed up to look at her. "That blond man is Thor. Actually *Thor* and we've verified it?" She nodded with a grin. "Oh, hell! Why do we have Norse gods in London?"

She shrugged. "Dr. Jane Foster is apparently dating him. She's an astrophysicist who studies energy transmission. Apparently she has something to redo the rainbow bridge when it got broken."

He blinked a few times. "Oh, charming. So your little girl is friends with a Norse deity over fertility?"

"And thunder." She grinned at him and nodded. "And not dating."

Draco sighed, rubbing his forehead as he walked off to alert people about that being Thor. That way they could pay attention to him. Which got sent back to MI-5. Who rolled their eyes but told them about all that had went on that they hadn't seen. Which got passed back to Granger.

Who put out what she knew about all that. Mysteries was not amused. They sent her a note saying they were not amused and she had to control all that as the head of the aurors. She sent back the note in pieces and one that noted that wasn't in her operational orders. That was their job, not hers.

***

Jane watched Darcy do something with a little stick that made the agents coming to bother them wander off into traffic. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Magic," Thor complained.

She smiled at him. "Awww, you figured that out finally!" She smirked at him. "Yeah, Darcy went to school for it too, Thor." He shuddered. She grinned at him, pinching his cheek. "Darcy actually has a mastery." She bounced off to go make dinner.

Jane leaned over to look at her. "You did?"

"Yes, Jane."

"What's a Mastery? Is that like a Masters degree?"

"No. Like a bachelors in a muggle school."

"Oh." She nodded at that. "So you have two bachelors?"

"Yup." She grinned at her from the kitchen. "Culver is a joint college."

Jane and Erik Selvig shared a look. "It is?" Erik asked. "Since when?"

"Monitor Square is ours, Erik."

"I've only heard rumors of that one." He looked it up on his phone. Jane did the same thing on her computer. The campus map did show it. But no one walked near there. "Is there some sort of diversion thing, Darcy?"

"Yup, sure is." She came out to look at him. "We like to keep the normies out of our hair, Erik. Before things get out of hand. Do you really want the science groups to find magic exists and is a lot harder of a discipline?"

"No," he admitted. "It'd probably warp the campus."

"No, we undid that when you guys tried that. A set of twins," she said, going back to the kitchen.

"What's your other degree in?" Erik asked.

She came out to find something and handed it to Jane to read over. Jane read it, frowning at the paper. It was a formal thesis paper. She went over the premise and moaned. "We can disprove that," she called.

"Bull. Read chapter three, Jane. Magic is one of the fundamental energies of the universe. It's a lot of the lube for the universe too."

Erik leaned over to take the paper to read over, going to that chapter after the premise prologue. He frowned as he read and then groaned loudly. Jane took it back to go over that. Erik rubbed his forehead. He took it back once Jane was done with that chapter.

He started back at the front and worked his way through it. He was amused though really horrified that she had proven her thesis. By the chapter before the end, he was sure Darcy was less scientific than she let on. He looked in there at her. "Do you understand Jane's and mine works?"

"Barely," she admitted then shrugged. "Not enough to make it make sense." She grinned at him, bringing him a plate. She got Jane one too and sat down to eat her own. Thor was pointed at the kitchen so he went to get his own while he went to meditate on the roof. She looked at Jane and Erik, shrugging with a grin between bites. They both groaned. "Also, my Mom is a Brit magical. I've already put up protections from them spying too."

"Thanks," Jane said with a nod. "Would they try to steal science?"

"No. American magicals are nearly up to date with science but Brits aren't."

"How far behind are they?" Erik asked.

"Their school doesn't have electricity and uses quills."

He blinked at that. "What?" he demanded. She grinned and nodded. "How?"

She shrugged. "The day schools are closer but the big, name brand school in the UK doesn't. Though they don't have computers. They do have pens though." She ate a bite and chewed.

Jane blinked at her. "No computers?"

She shook her head. "The school I went to in the US didn't either but they did know what they were. They just didn't encourage us to use them. Too much weird stuff out there. We're encouraged to stay out of it to keep down the conspiracies. Apparently some of the teens in my school used to start internet conspiracies."

Jane frowned. "You did?"

"No, they made sure I didn't." She grinned. "Especially with some things I learned before I went." She ate another bite.

"Before..." Erik said dryly, thinking about that.

She pointed at the thesis. "Yeah, that was me. I was escaping and the portal belched. It's like a transporter accident on Star Trek. Which is why I wrote that to figure out how to keep it from happening to others."

Jane whined, shaking her head. "You did?"

"I should be fourteen." She smirked at her. "For about another three days. Eat, Jane." She dug in while reading. Erik looked like he had a headache but oh well. Jane was horrified but was eating. She even got seconds to make her not complain that Darcy had done a thesis on magical chaos.

***

Darcy walked past her former crush and his father. "Get off the streets," she hissed in Greek. "Before SHIELD shuts it down again, because they've got a science team going rogue up the street." Scorpius flinched, staring at her. She shrugged back. "Go. Now!" She waved a hand. "Directly." He got his father into an alley and triggered their emergency leave-taking device to go home.

Draco was complaining he'd have to handle things but oh well. Darcy set her help beacon off, waiting until Harry got there to pull him aside. "SHIELD's science team is going rogue," she said bluntly, staring at him. "They're fucking morons worse than Hufflepuff when they got hold of weed.

"They're going to out everything they find. And turn people into things. They're in the green storefront, that's their supposedly hidden area. They've got three experiments going at once and it's going to be *epic* on an ancient version of that scale. So Jane and I are going to evacuate."

She grinned and walked off. "Have fun!" She faded out of sight by muggle means to go hide with Jane. A few shields around their area and they were safe. For now. Until someone wanted them to fix something.

Harry alerted the others about that. They alerted their muggle counterparts. They all showed up to stare at that storefront. Nothing seemed to be happening but the Mysteries people got a portal in to see what was going on. What they saw...that was bad. That was portals randomly opening bad and sucking in things bad. Only one thing managed to rush out and the muggles captured it with a sedative dart. The magicals were waiting on orders.

Hermione watched, shaking her head. "That's Erickson's third theory," she noted quietly. "They're self-powered though. His took an outside power source. How are they doing that?"

One of the MI-5 guys looked over. "That blue stuff is an alien metal that keeps power," he said quietly. "Can you block it for us to rush in to save them?"

She considered it then built quick shields for them. "Try it with one person coming in quietly. If so the rest can help." He nodded, handing that over and letting his better guy rush in there to see if they could solve it. The SHIELD people in charge tried to blow it off and got knocked down from a hoof that came through a portal from somewhere in space. So he found the power source and pulled it.

That loosed the other two science experiments that had been held back, by their portals on purpose. Two of the changed beings got out of hand and tried to flee. The magical teams got them down and one got changed back, the other would take something more drastic and less magical.

The other experiment was foaming up and releasing a gas. A deadly, silent, odorless gas. The agent wobbled but called that in before he passed out. Harry summoned him out to the fresh air. The teams shared a look, deciding to let MI-5 take the lead this time.

They could hide the magical things. They rushed in to save the rest. Granger banished the portals using the thing from Darcy's second thesis paper that no one had seen but her. Darcy had handed it to her. That broke the device at least. For now.

Harry blew it up so that ended it for good. The other experiment was still trying to foam up more. It was herbology based. Their people got that killed, she had a lot of people who could kill plants. Mysteries took samples to examine but not full living plants.

The rest of the building was cleared. The renters in the upstairs were sent to the hospital just in case they had gotten gassed. They found the sealed off lab to stare at. It had an energy source. MI-5 was staring at it in horrified awe like it was a monster coming to life.

"You know how people stare as Godzilla comes out of the water?" one of the aurors quipped. "I feel like we're doing that right now."

"Yeah, we are," Granger agreed, nodding some. "What is that?" she called over.

The MI-5 agents shrugged. "No idea." They shared a look.

Hermione pulled out her phone to call Darcy on video call. "What's this and how do we break it?" she asked, showing her the scene.

Darcy looked. "Jane." She came over. "How do they stop that? I'm thinking the black switch."

Jane took it to look over. "Pan slowly from left to right, sweeping upwards so I get the whole thing please." She did that for Jane. Who grimaced. "Undo the electrical source, whatever it is in that black box. If that switch does it great. If not, find a way to cut the power. That's actually someone's project to summon sub-planetary and extra-planetary energy sources down to a power link. It's like calling space energy to recharge a battery so you can study it."

"Is that the Jetson paper from Columbia?" Darcy asked.

"Yes. It came from the Jetson team, named after the cartoon, out of Columbia University in the States. It was their joint project for some scientific event a few years back. They won a great award for weird scientific ideas. But I'd cut it off soon. That glow is a bad thing."

"Thank you." Granger hung up and put her phone back into her shielded bag. "Okay, people, we have to break the power source. Someone go get the external power just in case. Shield up, aurors, let's go separate that black box." They did that and headed in with others shielding them from the outside. They could change teams later if they took too much time. There was definitely radiation.

They figured out what happened to that being they couldn't change back immediately because someone else started to change. Harry banished him to the healers on standby. The box got removed to outside, letting the agents take it to put somewhere more safe and shielded from radiation. They got Jane down to break it for real once it was safer.

Hermione's team got the machines broken enough that they wouldn't ever work again. Little things were broken on the computer boards. Computer chips were destroyed because she knew what they were. Every machine in there was broken. Except the energy storage device. That was dangerous and it got shuttled off to that same anti-radiation vault. Thor could throw that into space somehow for them hopefully.

They came out to get checked, make a report, and calm down while writing reports.

Draco found Darcy, staring at her. "How did you know?"

"Erik has some visions after the Tesseract touched him." She grimaced. "They come in dream form and he considers them weird dreams. That's how we knew about the convergence being a thing." She grimaced. "He had one earlier about the creatures thanks to radiation." She shifted then sighed. "Is it done with?"

"Yes. We'll make sure Dr. Foster eats tonight for you as well," the MI-5 agent that had come with Draco offered. "It's said you have to nag her a lot. We've got her doing a decontamination wash down right now."

"Thanks." She smiled at him. "Please feed Jane and give her coffee with sugar if you can?"

"I can do that. Is Prince Thor here?"

"Up on the roof watching the sky again I think. Anything else to ask before he gets here?" They shook their heads. "Okay. THOR!" He showed up a few minutes later with the hammer flying him. "They've just stopped a huge problem that has radiation."

"How can I be of help?" he asked, staring at them.

"We have the energy they sucked down into a battery like device that's got to go back to space before it keeps infecting people," the agent said with a slight nod.

"I have no idea if I can help. Show it to me!" He went with them. He stared at Draco. "I know of your sort."

"Ministers for Magic?" he asked with a slight smirk.

"Definitely. And I recognized what Darcy is as well."

"She is one of ours originally. She just ran into a temporal problem."

"Those can be annoying," Thor agreed. They showed him the devices, letting him disable the battery's output. Jane hadn't but Thor could feel it and shut the little aperture. Then he called Stark to help. It was more his field than Thor's.

Stark knew how to shield it and how to get it into space, even arranging that for them with a side-call. By that night it was safely moved to an upcoming rocket launch and went up to be sent into space toward the sun. Thor escorted Jane back to the apartment, making sure she was fine.

The MI-5 agents made a report to their higher ups, who were livid at SHIELD. They could hold that sort of diplomatic talk with them all they wanted and the agents would just be amused at the yelling that would come from that room.

Jane found a member of that science group to warn that someone had proven their theory for them. That way they knew to figure out how it had gotten out in such detail. SHIELD was known to steal science it wanted to use. They could sue them for it if they wanted. Someone needed to before they did it again.

***

Hermione looked at the group together for the final meeting about the science problems. "Yes, muggle science has gotten a lot farther than you think," she told the muggle agent. Then she smiled. "Jane's doing a lot of fantastic things that even her own kind don't understand fully or appreciate. Something about bridges and Asgard."

"We knew about that."

"Jane's also worked on portal things, like the convergence we had. She had devices to measure and to block some of the effects. That's why she and Darcy were there during the invasion."

Draco cleared his throat. "Was that caused by science?"

"Realm alignment," she said. "Cosmic alignment basically, Minister Malfoy."

"Ah." He nodded. "It can happen again?"

"Every millennia by our reports," Harry told him. "I asked." That got a nod then a sigh. "I've put a special report into a time bubble in the archives for whoever's around then. Just in case."

"Thank you for thinking of that, Auror Potter." He looked at the agents and their head. "How do we make sure it doesn't happen again? What if a muggle-born child is into science? I believe Granger had been."

"Only as a side hobby. My mother impressed on me that being smart and seeming smart were two different things and seeming smart would keep me single. She tried that with my daughter and my offspring told her bluntly how toxic that was." She grinned at Malfoy's dirty look. "She's right, it is."

"I'm sure it is," he agreed with a nod. "What if someone like Arthur Weasley would stumble onto such science?"

"That stuff takes a lot of math," the agent said. "Even stuff that math teachers don't always understand."

"There's a crossover point where our arithmancy goes into science math," Hermione said. "Draper wrote the book on that, though it's out of date and doesn't even mention theoretical physics or calculus. Someone really should update that."

Malfoy looked at her. "Your daughter perhaps? Since she's on the side of it?"

"I can suggest that. Her mastery in chaos is nicely good for that study as well."

The head agent looked at her. "Your daughter has a mastery already?"

"We had a time turner sort of incident," she said dryly. "She's presently my age."

"Oh." He nodded. "You can get a mastery in chaos?"

"In some colleges in the US and a few other places," she quipped. She smiled. "I can make her thesis available if you want to look it over."

"Can anyone do that?"

"Any magical can take any program they're accepted into," she said with a shrug. "I've got two from different universities on spell crafting because they went into vastly different areas. The local one was more concerned with single use spells or homey type things, things to make life a bit more tolerable in the Victorian era." She grinned. "My one from Norway and Sweden, that joint program, is more focused on bigger spells and how to craft like I'm a theorist myself."

He nodded. "That makes some sense. It's still weird that you lot are so far behind."

"Not all of us. I live in a magicked muggle house." She shrugged but smiled. "All of my new aurors get to stay with a muggle foster parent for a few weeks so they can fit in if they need to. Their trainers complain but it's proved invaluable sometimes when we're watching someone. Or guarding someone."

"I like that," he said with a nod. "I'd do that but any of mine from you guys already knows."

"Sometimes. The more pureblood houses are a bit different," Draco said smugly. He looked around. "I almost expected my son to burst in again."

Hermione giggled. "He hasn't done that since he was six."

"No, he interrupted me the other night," he complained. "He's having future adult things bothering him."

"Absfeld," she quipped. "Nice book, written by a muggle born and scientifically based in real medicine. That way he's not given the drivel we were in school, Minister Malfoy."

He took down that name. "Thank you for that suggestion. Will it irritate me as well?"

"Yes. It goes over gestation and what they taught you lot was all wrong." She smiled. "We know how babies come from both parents, not just shot over from the male to be carried by the woman." He raised an eyebrow. She nodded again. "Definitely. It's even got pictures. It answers a lot of 'this is why your body's doing this stupid thing' sort of questions as well."

"That's handy," he decided, underlining that. "I'll look for a copy to approve for him later." He looked at the agents. "Her daughter's the reason they allow muggle medicines into the school."

"The birth control spell is horrid for some women," she said dryly. "It really needed to be updated." Harry patted her on the arm. "Though I'm supposing that's why so many girls got pregnant in their last year."

Draco nodded. "Probably," he agreed. He looked at the agents again. "How do we know if it's one of them going rogue or just having an accident?"

"An accident, they'll apologize or be dumbfounded," the head agent said. "Usually. I've seen a few arrogant ones who thought the universe was working oddly and against them finding things."

Hermione coughed but smiled at that. "We've got our own like that." Draco sighed but nodded. ""Do you have a response team for that so we can cross train?"

"Not particularly. We have people who can handle chemical emergencies though. That may help."

"Yes, it would," Harry agreed. "Because if the potions shop goes up again, we have no idea how to neutralize it."

"Yes we do," Draco told him smugly. "You didn't listen in Potions, Potter."

"You kept making my cauldron explode, Malfoy, and that didn't work when it went up last time. It created the sludge."

"Oh, that problem. Yes, there was quite a lot that was mismade." He grimaced. "Snape would've been furious," he muttered, shaking his head.

"We have stuff that'll neutralize anything organic," one of the agents quipped with a smile for Harry. "It's nice and it's in a fire extinguisher like system. We can show you guys so you can make your own versions."

"Please," Hermione said with a nod and a smile. "We may need it to destroy someone's work before they raise the dead or something again." She sighed, looking at Draco.

"I did not tell him to do that."

"I sent Ron to fix it." He winced at that. "He knew to make sure it wouldn't happen again because if I had to deal with another walking mummy, I was going to lose my shite."

Draco smiled. "You'd look fiery doing it too I'm sure."

She smirked and nodded. "Of course I do." She looked at the agents again. "Yes please, and if we can get the training modules you use so we know how to handle such things? We don't even have safety suits. We have shields instead."

"If they're easier to move in, that would help," that agent admitted. "Decontam suits are stiff to move in."

"Yes, but shields depend on the person being able to hold it firm," Harry said. "So they're usually holey. Or worse, fail regularly."

The head agent nodded. "We can go over that with you guys. I can send one of my trainers to do that, Miss Granger."

"Thank you," she said with a smile. "They could all use it. Can they do that at our academy so the newbies learn as well?"

"Probably be safer than in the building here," he agreed. She beamed at him for that. "We can go over the modules we train with so you're not left without some skills. We'd hate to have to come in to save people after you all fought and lost against something huge." He didn't add an again because he was polite.

"Yes, that's what I'm trying to avoid as well," Hermione agreed. Harry nodded to back that up. Someone knocked then leaned in. "Oh, Scorpius. Your father was just looking for you. Huge problem?"

"The sphinx in the Alley woke up. Again. The aurors aren't abusing it but they're chatting with it and one's already failed two questions," he finished blandly.

"Let me go put that thing back to sleep," Harry muttered, going to do that. Ron, who was a cursebreaker, was already there. "Hey, Ron." He looked at the magical creature. "We really should move you to a preserve so you're safer and less bothered."

"I won't have anything to guard there," it complained.

"Well, here, you're guarding a closet."

"It has a portal." He smiled at him.

"It has a what?" Ron demanded, going to look. "Just checking to see what sort of portal. Those things are miserable." He cast a checking spell, getting thrown across the atrium for it. "Oh, bloody hell, it's a *portal*, Harry."

Harry looked in there then at the sphinx. "Good job keeping people out of it. Thank you for that service." The being beamed at him for that praise. "Guys, it's a temporal bubble. I just saw Dumbles when he had red hair and a wife in the hall that got destroyed a few years back by Voldie." A few moaned. "Go get Granger." They ran to do that as a group. He helped Ron up. "Go get someone who can help?"

He called in from the floo. "We have a temporal portal here. The sphinx is guarding it," he told his overseer. Who blinked. "Potter saw people from when Dumbles had red hair and a wife."

"We'll be right over. Don't let anyone touch it yet."

"I did a checking spell. Knocked me on my arse," he admitted.

"Don't do that again, Weasley. You know better." He hung up. He got a few of the seniors, including Ron's big brother and sister-in-law to go handle it with Granger's people.

The auror who had talked to Darcy called her to ask where they could find that decreate spell so she told him about that guy in Germany and the titles of his two books. They got that sent in from calling the German ministry. They were amused that anyone wanted them.

Hermione looked it over. "You can't do that in this case, it'll destroy that version of the world and we may all die." The auror pouted. "But it's a good skill we may need so please study it." She went to look at the portal by walking around the cursebreakers. "Can it be popped, bound, sucked into something else to hold it, or just folded up into a box?" she asked.

"Sucked into a vault maybe," Bill admitted. "Popped might have the same effect as that decreate spell. And I want a copy of those," he called over.

"The Ministry of Germany had them, Cursebreaker Weasley."

"That's a whole lot more dangerous than I deal with," Ron quipped. Bill scowled at him. "It is!"

"That's because you don't want to advance," he shot back. Ron rolled his eyes. "Fine." He checked the portal over with the others. Hermione took readings for Mysteries, which was suspiciously absent. Until one got banished back into their presence by someone in another part of the city. He was wearing a 'here, have your moron' tag on his neck.

"The portal shifted when he showed up. That means he helped create it and if we can get more of the creators in here it'll automatically shut down," Bill said.

Hermione looked at him. "We can take resonance readings to find out who." He nodded so she got people to get that device. There was some spoofing of signatures as it came up with Draco and a muggle girl.

Draco strolled over. "I swear on my magic that I did not have anything to do with that portal," he announced. That broke the cloning signatures spell. It worked on all of them but polyjuice. Hermione did the resonance test again then had people go snatch people to show up.

As they walked in their magic released from the portal and it slowly faded into a smaller bubble. That got put into a safe box and the sphinx was happy to guard that as well. Hermione got it some treats so it was happier. She had a lot of people to talk to tonight before she went home.

***

Harry looked at Hermione that night while she was doing reports. "How are you not screaming in rage?"

"I haven't been able to get away long enough to go rant in the forest again," she admitted, looking at her oldest friend. "I could use a good few hours but if I leave early, it'll not only look bad but others will start to cause problems."

"They're professionals," he noted. "And I'm right here, Hermione. Let me handle some of this. Okay?" She sighed and put down her pen, getting up to hug him before leaving for the day. She went to her usual screaming place and let loose until she felt better about humanity continuing. It'd take a good few hours though.

Harry walked out to look at the staring aurors. "She's upset, she's stressed, and I *vow* that if you give her shit this week I'm going to use you for target practice." He smiled at them. "Got it?" They all nodded. They understood that threat. Harry had proven he was a fast draw more than once on a new trainee auror who tried to annoy him about being the Great Harry Potter. They also usually tried Hermione. And lost thanks to her skills. It was a visible teaching moment they all learned from.

***

Draco looked at Hermione after the meeting a few days later. "Mysteries has asked me to make sure you're not going to turn into a Dark Lady," he said dryly. "While I know you could, just to fix things," he said with a grin. "I wanted to make sure you didn't act because of this last week at least."

"I'm peeved," she admitted. "In that very staid, British meaning. I'm a bit wrung out. But if Mysteries does something to push me again I may just go destroy just them. Not everyone else. I'd hate to do your paperwork, Minister Malfoy."

He smirked at that. "Hermione." She glared. They had made enough peace with the past to be polite to each other. Not that familiar though. "If your daughter hadn't been sent off I may have had to remove my first born son so we weren't in-laws officially. You've proven to me what muggle borns can do and how very warped you all are." She snorted, grimacing some.

"So I need to know if you need some vacation time to go rebond with your daughter, or to go pounce whoever her father is again to perhaps have a second one? That was also suggested by Mysteries and about half of your department. They think it'll cure a lot of the stress you're under about Darcy."

"I'm aware some mothers who lost children have done that but I didn't really lose her. She's across town. If I was being honest, with the way she has to help her boss, I might have a grandchild in Jane Foster." He smirked again, nodding some. "Though I doubt I could pounce her father again."

"By the rumors, half of them were in my house."

She raised an eyebrow then grinned at him. "No. Comment. Same as always. Thanks though."

"Ehh, go have one for Longbottom. He needs a few heirs and hasn't had one yet."

"They have two."

"They're girls. His title is males only."

"There's ways around that. I've talked to Hannah about a sperm selection spell. She's presently pregnant and the checks say male and twins."

"Can you work that magic and share it with a few other families?"

"Probably. It's in the common curriculum. It's the Peterson version of the contraceptive that made sure people can't have daughters."

"I hadn't thought about that. Huh." He made that note. "That book was a good read and Scorpius said thank you by the way."

"He's welcome. Astoria's done a great job making him a better little boy than you were."

He nodded. "True. He is a lot nicer than I was at his age." He sighed, looking at her. "Would you like some vacation time? To get knocked up or not? Maybe some beach time? You haven't used your vacation time in years. You've got something like four months worth of leave built up."

"I have closer to five," she admitted. "The last time I took some I got called back because my team was being an idiot in public. I had to arrest some of them while in a bathing suit."

"I heard. I also heard that Potter vowed to use them all for target practice this time."

"I do adore that about Harry. He's tired of the problems too."

"You know, Potter could use a few heirs."

She stared at him. "He can't do that."

"He can. There's ways around that curse. Including not being married when it's conceived. That would mean it's not a legal heir by magic's standards."

"I hadn't thought of that but I did let Harry adopt Darcy in case I fell so he's her godfather."

"I heard. She's a lot like him at times."

"Well, he did do some walking of her when she had colic. And taught her to read because I was busy that week."

"It shows. She just needs the messy hair sometimes." He grinned. "You can have vacation time if you so desire."

"I'll think about that. Thank you for the offer."

He stared at her when she stood up. "Why is Mysteries so mad at you now? I remember they got livid when you got your mastery, the second one."

"Because I also took the International tests for aurors and got a high score. The International Confederation offered me a job as sub-head of their version of Mysteries."

He raised an eyebrow, getting comfortable. "You did? We didn't hear that gossip or announcement."

"It's coming out next month. They petitioned for my score to be cut because I'm a muggle born. Horn and his group down there. As usual."

He nodded once. "You're one of the few muggle borns who used their gifts in a way that showed how weak some others have become."

"Which I realize."

"It's also stupid. And I hate it. I do not want to be a Minister for Magic that oversees the destruction of the Ministry."

She smiled. "They needed to be remade for years."

"They have," he agreed with a nod. "They're hiding things that even I think are darker than they should be."

She stared at him. "The clone of Dumbledore?" she guessed. "The Book of Ancient Names? The book that lists the various demon summoning methods that's well read down there?"

"Is that because they're stopping it or doing it?"

"I have no idea," she admitted then smiled. "Do have fun finding that out?"

"Yes, I believe I could. My mother would be good at that."

"Ask Dennison." She smirked and got up, going down to her office.

"That's not a bad idea. He'd definitely know. And he is supposed to be watching over them." He got that one sent up and stared at him. "Why is Mysteries reading a book on demon summoning?"

That former auror and Under Minister over the courts, blinked a few times. "I don't know. Who said they were?"

"Granger. She also mentioned a clone of Dumbledore. What's a clone?"

"They made a magical copy to grow and let live a new life?"

"That's a what?"

"A clone is a magical copy. If we're talking one of a person that's not temporary, it's like giving him a child that's actually him being reborn. But raising him would change who he became."

Draco considered that then sighed. "Go figure them out. They're pushing on Granger. Granger's already stressed enough that some of her aurors were warning she might turn Dark. They were serious and Potter's stepped in to make them stop pushing on her again." Dennison laughed at that.

"She admitted Mysteries tried to get her International certifications undone because of her blood status and that they're reading a copy of every demon summoning method ever. So go do an audit before I have to lose some hair over them?" He smoothed his hair down. "Or before I see if the current Slytherin students can outdo them as they're better than in my year."

"The current crop is a good bit of students. I can do the audit, Minster Malfoy."

"Thank you. I don't want them to destroy the Ministry on my watch. Rebuilding them would take my precious free time from me."

He nodded. "I can do that, Minister Malfoy." He left to go start that. He still had the power to arrest as an adjunct auror. He had the cunning to get around the stupid down there. And it was definitely a problem. He walked in and nearly got eaten by a demon. He stared at it then summoned help from the other aurors. It was something Granger had created so they didn't have to wait as long for backup.

The whole unit came down to help and clean up that mess. Potter banished the demon. Granger punched the head of the department when he sneered. Then they destroyed the vault holding their experiment together. Which killed the magical clone at least. And the other two clones in there that were crossbreeds. One agent screamed that they had destroyed his life's work. Oh well!

***

Minister Dennison looked at the gathered Wizengamet. "We come before you today to note that we have arrested a lot of Ministry officials due to their problems." He saw a few winces. "After finding the demon that Mysteries summoned with the help of a few in the archives, some in the paperwork portions of the Ministry, and two or three outside sources, I stopped my audit and moved to arrest people.

"We have nineteen people up on charges today, another three that the official paperwork to charge them hasn't been completed yet so it'll be next week, and one very upset head auror because the demon was meant to infect her and make her bear it an heir."

"We can charge them this week," one of the judges offered.

"It is against Ministry policy to ever hold a trial without the paperwork finished so we can no longer do what Fudge had done and arrest people on specious charges then hide them in the worst of prisons," he reminded them. "Though I did offer them the right to do a noble sacrifice of themselves instead of a trial. Just to save myself work and frustration."

The head judge nodded. "We can handle that. That way we have the time to do proper trials to make sure all charges are covered. How bad are we looking?"

"Beyond the felony of summoning a demon?" he asked. "The magical clone of Dumbledore?" That got some horrified looks. "The person who was breeding two cross-species people with dragon, gryphon, and house elf blood mixed with human blood? Their own human blood thankfully so no one could complain that we killed their children without consent."

"They did what?" that judge demanded.

"Exactly." He handed over the trial files. Then he smiled. "I say we proceed today before someone finds them and has a discussion with them. I'd hate for them to miss out on their rightful punishments and have to charge others for taking that fun from us all. Though I'm fairly certain Auror Granger is more than happy to challenge them all to duels if we fail in our duties."

"I think she'd use it for good stress relief," Neville said from his seat. "Let's get on with the trials. I want to be amused by them begging, Minister for the Courts."

"If I can, Lord Longbottom." He got the first one sent in at the judge's nod. They were dragged in complaining and ranting they were protecting the wizarding world from uppity muggles.

Potter stopped him to stare him down until he shrank down. "I'd rather have uppity muggles than a third blood war thanks to uppity purebloods who think they're special when they're just inbred." The man tried to hit him so Harry punched him. "Go sit in the chair," he growled, pulling his wand. That scared him and he ran to the accused's honesty chair.

Harry stood guard for now. The other aurors stood behind him. They didn't want to get in his way. Getting hit by accident would suck. Granger was in her seat looking calm and collected but also unhappy. It was her usual look in that seat. It scared people. Started all sorts of rumors about her going dark too.

The plots against the muggle borns and 'light' families in the Ministry came out and a few groaned at that coming back. They implored Draco to stick up for them and their ways. Draco stared at him looking bored. "If I stood up for that I'd have to remember how much she did during the war and how mean she can be when she has to be," he noted impatiently. "I am not going to ruin my family and my son's future by going against Granger again. It's bad enough I had to have the impotence curse removed."

"Point of order, Minister Malfoy, that wasn't me who cast that. We all believed it was Pansy. I do admit that I am the reason you kept turning into a living frog person however."

He looked at her. "I hated that. Did I do something in particular?"

"Yes. You picked on Harry about his parents being dead. Again. Thankfully you grew up as we all did," she said smugly. "Partial transformations was a great lesson she taught us."

He snorted but looked amused. "You were subtle. I thought that was Longbottom."

"No, I'm the reason you kept getting flower crowns in your hair," he said with a smirk. "One for each time you picked on me actually."

Draco looked at him, one eyebrow raised. "You're the reason my hair turned into daisies?"

"Yes. With the color it wouldn't turn into roses or anything like fly trap plants."

"That's evil but good work, Longbottom." He smiled. "That was actually very impressive. We all got amused when they sprouted suddenly. Outside the one in potions that blew up the room from the falling petals."

He grinned. "Thanks. I had fun." He sipped his tea. "Even if he did stick up for it, that would mean an immediate expulsion from his position for going dark, though there is a blood and magic vow in place about that as well, and either I or Harry or Hermione would run to replace him. And if we weren't allowed we'd nominate Ron Weasley."

Hermione winced. "I'd rather not see that happen," she said. "I'll gladly take over to fix things though. Including upping educational standards."

"Ditto," Harry agreed. "We'd have to have an argument about who'd take it but I'd gladly take that additional stress and hell to make sure their kind can't and so we don't have to have Minister Ron Weasley." Neville smirked at his plan working. "Nev, are you all right, mate?"

"Bit tired, Harry. Hannah's pregnancy is going well."

"Oh, that's wonderful news!" Hermione said with a grin for him. "I'll send over a new copy of the baby manuals I used with Darcy. I know the old one I gave you got burnt by her making soup one night."

"I'm sure we'd like that. Your daughter was turning out wonderfully until that accident."

"She's still good, Neville. She got sent back in time." He winced. "She's fine though. We've talked." She smirked at him. "She's a great little girl even though she's older."

"Which is nice because now I don't have to worry about being her in-law," Draco quipped, sipping his own tea. "Her daughter is more fierce than she is herself."

Hermione smiled. "She can hunt. We made sure she could hunt if she had to for survival." Harry nodded at that. "Scorpius would make good prey."

"Yes but she's too old for him now," he said dryly.

"True, which is a shame. Astoria did an astounding job with your son."

He nodded. "She truly has." He sipped his tea again. "Make him quit boring me please," he ordered with a hand wave at the man in the seat.

"We can sit in judgement now if he has nothing else to say in his defense," the judge agreed, staring at him. He was nearly crying and shaking his head. "Then let us move to find him innocent or guilty and then discuss punishments. Then Minister Malfoy can go talk to the press so they stare at him in awe."

"They have reporters in the stands," Draco said dryly. "They don't need me to talk to them."

"That's fine as well," the judge agreed. "Simple vote yes or no on each charge please."

***

Harry looked at the other aurors that night. "Today and yesterday, the Ministry lost about fifty-two people and we have three or four more trials to go," he announced. "Nineteen of them were on trial and the others heard their plans were stopped so quit immediately." He looked around then at the open spot in the lines. "There's a few of us missing as well due to them quitting. Hopefully that'll stop all the problems we've had.

"If it doesn't I'd hate to be the reason behind it when we lose our shit on you. Also, stop the suggesting that she's going to go dark or have another kid. If she goes dark we'll all be in a better shape after she's done as all the ones who hurt others for fun will be gone, and if she gets pregnant again all of you will get to have mood swings with her." He smirked. "I did last time. It's all your turns because you wanted her to have another kid."

One raised his hand. "They've been pushing on her for that?"

Harry nodded. "Yup, sure has. Which peeved us all." He grinned. "Are we going to stop it and act like big wizards and witches now or do we have to let Lord Longbottom have his way and nominate Ron Weasley for Minister for Magic?"

A few looked at each other then shook their heads. "Hell no," one of the others said. "We'd end that threat to the world, Potter." He grinned. "I know you're mates but we'd end that threat to the world real quick."

He grinned. "Ron would probably help you do that. By the way, two of you go watch over Longbottom's house to make sure he doesn't go after him for suggesting that idea. Before his mother hears. His wife's pregnant with twins." A few went to do that just in case. Weasley had a temper and so did his mother. "Are we done with the plots, people?" They all nodded.

"Good. Business as usual tomorrow please. She's got all day sitting in judgement so let's not act up and make her come back here to wear out the boredom and stress on us, all right? If you're done, go home." They broke up and went to log in or log out to go home. Harry went to his own to look at the curse that was sent at him right after he had won the war. Could it be that easy to just not name them heirs at first?

Maybe he should've asked Hermione when he first got it.

***

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