~ Every 100 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter! Your votes keep this climbing. Thanks!
Thor was equally stunned, but seeing Jane's confusion, he forced down his own shock and explained.
"A Dimensional Node is a space that overlaps with the real world, created through powerful magic or spatial technology. Its size depends on the creator's needs. The larger it is, the greater the power required. What you see before us looks like a small area, but it's really just the anchor point into the pocket dimension. The inside should be far bigger."
He pointed at the phantom silhouette of Hogwarts castle floating in the air.
Snape let out a cold snort. "Mere Dark Elves don't deserve to know who we are."
A light flick of his wand. A flash of white light.
It struck a Dark Elf aircraft dead center.
BOOM!
The aircraft exploded in midair, blossoming into a fireball, debris raining in every direction.
Malekith's face went iron-gray.
He hadn't expected these people who'd appeared out of nowhere to be so insufferably arrogant.
But his instincts told him they weren't opponents to tangle with carelessly.
He forced his rage down and decided not to waste time on them. His goal was to drown the Nine Realms in darkness. He had no business getting sidetracked here.
"Hmph. Ignorant fools."
Malekith spared Snape one cold, dismissive glance.
"Once I've completed my great work, you'll understand what true power looks like."
He shifted the Aether's flow, steering it around Hogwarts' spatial node.
The black-red torrent curved wide of that area and continued spreading outward, picking up speed.
Everywhere it touched, everything transformed into darkness. In that dark world, the Dark Elves' power surged. They became immensely strong, impervious to weapons. Ordinary firearms couldn't scratch them.
"Hahaha — tremble, mortals!"
Malekith's laughter rang out across the chaos.
"Darkness will consume everything!"
The three professors watched, frowning slightly. They made no other move.
"Malekith!"
Thor roared, launching himself forward. "You're dead!"
The black-red Aether surged up and formed a barrier. It swatted Thor's assault aside like it was nothing.
"Know your limits."
Malekith sneered and raised one hand. The black-red torrent rushed out, crashing into Thor.
Thor was sent flying. He hit the ground hard, gouging a massive crater.
He struggled to get up. Agonizing pain locked his entire body. Moving a single finger felt impossible. If not for Asgardian physiology, he'd already be dead. Even so, he was battered and bleeding all over.
Coulson had been watching the three newcomers closely, their style of dress, their wands, their strange and formidable magic, the way they spoke to each other. It wasn't hard to piece together. These were Hermione's people. Wizards. Hogwarts professors. Her teachers.
Hope flared in his chest.
He knew how dangerous Hermione was. If these were the people who'd taught her, they had to be extraordinary. If he could get their help, maybe they could actually push back the invasion.
Then he looked at the scene around him, and that hope dimmed.
The three professors had demonstrated real power, but they seemed entirely focused on guarding the spatial node. The darkness spreading in every direction didn't seem to interest them at all.
Coulson's anxiety sharpened into something closer to panic. At this rate, the whole Earth was going to be swallowed.
He stopped weighing the risk of exposing his faked death and ran.
He sprinted toward the spatial node, shouting as he went, trying to get the professors' attention.
The Aether responded like it was alive. The black-red torrent locked onto him and gave chase, closing fast.
Coulson watched it coming and felt despair close over him.
That's it. I'm actually going to die here.
Then, at the last possible instant, an invisible wave swept outward from the node.
It was as though an unseen hand reached out and shoved the surrounding Aether aside by force, carving a clear path through the dark.
Coulson looked up. Professor McGonagall stood above him, wand raised, the corner of her mouth twitching in acknowledgment.
He was safe.
Relief hit him so hard his legs nearly buckled. He didn't waste a second, he followed the corridor she'd opened and jogged the rest of the way to the base of the node.
"A Muggle?"
Before he could even speak, Professor McGonagall's brow creased. "Instead of fighting the Dark Elves and protecting your world, what exactly are you doing over here?"
Her eyes moved over him with cool appraisal.
Coulson felt the chill coming off all three of them. His stomach dropped a little.
Why do they look like they're going to be extremely difficult to deal with?
He swallowed his nerves and pushed through it. "I'm a friend of Hermione's. This Dark Elf invasion, the situation is truly critical. I'm asking you, please, lend us your help. S.H.I.E.L.D. would be in your debt."
"A friend of little Hermione's?" Professor McGonagall gave him a skeptical look.
Coulson nodded quickly.
"S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Something seemed to click for Snape. He snorted. "Granger mentioned it once. Some Muggle organization that claims to protect the world, if I recall correctly."
Flitwick couldn't hold it. He laughed outright.
He looked around at the battlefield. "Well. With this level of competence, that's quite the claim."
"Let's verify what he's saying first."
Snape's gaze swept over Coulson, flat and cold.
"Legilimens."
Coulson's head buzzed like a struck bell. Something forced its way into his mind, a presence, blunt and searching, rifling through his thoughts with no particular regard for his comfort.
Then, just as abruptly, it was gone.
Snape looked away and gave a single expressionless nod.
"The Muggle isn't lying. He does know Granger."
Coulson exhaled quietly and steadied himself.
"Professors, I know S.H.I.E.L.D. probably seems... beneath notice, to you." He kept his voice even. "But the situation right now is genuinely critical. The Aether is eating through the real world. If we don't stop it, the entire Earth gets consumed by darkness."
Professor McGonagall's expression shifted, just slightly. She studied him, her tone remaining strict.
"It's not that we're unwilling to act. The Aether is one of the Infinity Stones. It doesn't yield easily." She paused. "The three of us are Hogwarts professors. Our duty is to protect the school and its students. If we move away from the node to protect Muggles and lose focus — if the Aether slips through and invades Hogwarts — that's the real failure." Her eyes were steady. "Kill Malekith. Then we will move. We'll control the Aether and reverse the damage. Everything it's touched, we'll restore. But until that happens, we're not leaving this position."
Coulson understood. He didn't argue with the logic.
But kill Malekith. As if that were a simple thing.
If they could do it, they'd have done it already. Why else would things have gotten this far?
At S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, Fury had been watching every second of it.
Listening to the wizards, feeling the weight of their indifference, he finally understood something he'd only half-grasped before. The wizard community's contempt for ordinary people wasn't casual or recent. It ran deep. It was structural. Instilled.
Hermione was already the closest any of them had come.
If they made it through this, he was going to put a lot more work into that relationship. A lot more.
Then all three professors went still at the same moment, McGonagall, Snape, and Flitwick, as if some shared signal had reached them simultaneously. As one, they turned and looked toward Hogwarts castle.
➤ Next: Hermione Returns
— .—— .—— .—— .—— .——
Enjoying the story?
Read 130+ chapters ahead on Patreon.
Join the free community tier for early access to the latest updates:
patreon(.)com/DarkGolds