Hermione Joins the Avengers

Chapter 1

Perth, Australia.

September 14th, 2000

"Alohamora," Hermione whispered to her Dragon-Heartstring wand as she waved it over the magnetic lock. The door clicked and swung open to a well-lit hallway. She was looking for a couple of former dentists in apartment 456. Four years ago she had been a little sloppy with a memory wipe, her parents were supposed to be in the suburbs of Sydney working as dentists rather than as janitors for an office building. She'd spent the last two years traveling across Australia looking for somebody who didn't exist. On the bright side, Hermione thought to herself, at least there was no chance of Voldemort ever tracking them down.

Hermione walked down, the hallway, sweating nervously. It had taken a Muggle private eye to find her parents. When she finally reached the doorway, she realized she hadn't made a decision. She stood their silently with both her hands raised, one grasping her wand and the other clenched in a fist to knock on the door. Hermione stowed her wand and pulled out the photo album she had brought to prove who she was. A few charms would be able to restore basic skills that Obliviate had purged, but she would need tangible proof of who she was in order to make it work completely. Hermione gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and knocked on the door.

Almost immediately the door swung open, and a tall, black man with an eye patch stood in the doorway. Hermione blushed and looked down, "Sorry, wrong door." The man smiled and opened the door further and motioned for her to step inside, "Please, Ms. Granger, step inside. I've been waiting a long time for you." Hermione dropped the photo album and pulled out her wand. "Stupefy!" She exclaimed, falling back against the opposite wall. A shot of red sparks erupted from her wand, and passed directly through the man. He looked down at Hermione and laughed, "Us Muggles have had to come up with a lot of ways to protect against your spells. What you're looking at now is a hologram." Hermione shook her head in disbelief, maybe she wasn't as familiar with Muggle technology as she thought. "Who are you?" Hermione asked. Suddenly, the man flickered a blue light and disallowed. A second later, he appeared again and walked out of the room, into the hallway, and extended a hand out towards Hermione. "My name is Nick Fury, and I'm here to recruit you for the Avengers Initiative."

Hermione grasped his hand, only to be sure that he was real this time, and he was. Hermione looked up in disbelief, "But... where are my parents?" Nick opened the door and picked up the remote to a television. "Come in, let me show you that they're all right." Nick beckoned her to follow, and she hesitatantly agreed. Hermione entered the room and kept her back to the wall, gripping her wand tightly in her hand. Nick stood on the other side of the room and turned on a large television, and after a moment of static, Hermione's parents appeared. They were eating cereal and reading the newspaper as sunlight poured in from a window behind them.

"This a live feed. We found them last year and moved them to America," Nick explained, "they're doing well. We told them about you and how you were working for us, but not about Hogwarts or the Wizard War." Hermione was stunned, a tear rolled down her cheek. "I still don't understand... you need to tell me exactly where they are before we start talking about my employment opportunities." Nick's face softened, "We took them to 2440 Sutter St in Indianapolis-"

Hermione looked up sharply and smiled, "Gotcha!" Then she disappeared in a puff of pink smoke with a loud CRACK.

Nick Fury stood still for a moment, waiting to make sure she was gone. He turned his head to the television, and watched as the two dentists moved away from the table. When he saw Hermione enter his view, he turned off the television in order to give his newest recruit some privacy. He shook his head and laughed to himself, "I always forget what kind of shit these guys can do." A ringing hit his ears, and Fury pulled his cell phone to his ear to answer it. A woman's voice came in over the receiver, "Disapparition, nothing we could have done about it sir, except maybe not tell her where we put her parents." Nick laughed and gave a middle finger to the surveillance camera hidden in the plant in the corner of the room. "Commander Hill, if she doesn't trust us, there isn't a chance in hell that she would help us at all, and we need her help. Now, give me a status report on Operation Harbinger."

"Yes, sir. Thor and the Captain just landed in Perth to meet up with you and the Black Widow. Team B is fully prepared in Singapore, except for the mole we have implanted in the Red Skull's entourage. The last message we received indicates that they will land in 14 hours with an extremely powerful energy weapon." Maria Hill answered him quickly, she was his best and most loyal agent in SHIELD. "But sir, if Granger doesn't come back, or if we wait to long for her, you'll be cutting it close to arrive in Singapore." Nick Fury grew stern, "Are you questioning my leadership, Commander?" His question was met with a few seconds of silence before she responded. "No, sir. I'll keep an eye on the cameras, sir. Over and out."

Nick put his phone away and sat on the couch. "You're right, there's no telling how long it will take for Hermione to reunite with her parents, or if Hermione will return at all..". Nick said to himself as he sat in silence, waiting for another puff of smoke. Just as he was nodding off, another CRACK jolted him awake. Nick Fury stood up and turned to the beautiful witch who had reappeared in the apartment.

"So," Hermione said with a coy smile, "Tell me about the Avengers Initiative."