"Kingsley, I quit." Hermione hadn't meant to be so blunt, it just sort of came out, like word vomit. "I can't take this anymore. It's been a months and I still get ambushed every time I go to Diagon Alley, my job isn't as fulfilling as I thought it would be. I've already passed Dobby's Law and Lupin's law and I feel like, I don't know, like there's something more for me out there. I was thinking of going to America for awhile and visiting the last of my living relatives. They live in a small town in Washington and I think it'd be good for me to get away from the magical world for a while."

"I'm going to be honest with you Hermione." The dark skinned man paused to take a small drink of his tea. "I've been expecting this for a while, I'm surprised it's taken this long. All I can say is I hope you find what you're looking for." He stood up, as did Hermione, and pulled her into a quick hug before seeing her out of his office with a promise to keep in touch.

Four hours later, Hermione had sent a note to her friends, called her uncle, and packed all her things before buying a one way ticket to Seattle, Washington. Hermione boarded the plane and tried to calm her breathing and frazzled nerves. Even after riding on the back of a giant dragon, planes still scared her. They began their ascent and Hermione gripped the edge of her seat with white knuckles and squeezed her eyes shut. After the plane leveled out, Hermione found herself drifting off to sleep and before she knew it, the stewardess was gently shaking her awake to buckle up and start their decent.

Hermione never felt so glad to be on solid ground again. She walked into the terminal with a small duffle bag on her shoulder, looking for her Uncle Charlie and her cousin Bella who were picking her up. She spotted her cousin first. She had dark chocolate hair that fell in small waves just passed her shoulders and was a stark contrast to her porcelain pale skin. Her wide dark brown eyes were searching the crowd and lit up when they finally spotted Hermione. She stifled a giggle when she promptly whacked her uncle on the arm and pointed her out. They met about half way and Hermione was pulled into a tight hug by her uncle then her cousin.

"Goodness kiddo, I'm going to have to buy some extra guns between you and Bells! I'm going to have a helluva time keeping the boys away!" Both cousins blushed bright red.

"Dad!"

"Uncle Charlie!" They made their way to baggage claim and had to wait until Hermione's large suitcases were spotted. After they were safely out of the airport, they put her suitcases into the boot of Charlie's car and made the two hour drive back to Forks. Bella and Hermione chatted quietly in the back seat while Charlie stayed mostly silent.

"So Bella, do you have a boyfriend?" Bella looked at her dad before returning her gaze to her cousin.

"Yes, his name's Edward." Charlie scoffed at the name. "Dad! Anyway, we've been dating since last year. So what will you be doing since you're like what, 18?"
"Yeah, I'll be 19 September 19, you'll be 18 on the 13th right?" Bella nodded. "I don't really know, I just had to get away from London for awhile. Plus I haven't seen my favorite uncle since I was ten!" Charlie chuckled.

"I'm your only uncle kiddo." She beamed at his as they pulled into a gravel drive way next to an old red truck. "Home sweet home." They unloaded the car and drug her suit cases inside and upstairs to the spare bedroom. "I'm sorry, it's not much, but we only had a little bit of time to throw it all together."

Hermione smiled at him before giving him a one armed hug. The medium sized room had an oak desk in against the far wall, a queen sized bed, a closet, and a padded ledge on the only window in the room. "Nonsense, I find it perfect."

"Well, I have to go into the station for a little bit, I don't think Bella has any plans for today so maybe you two could, I don't know, hang out or something? I know she missed you." Hermione smiled at Charlie and nodded.

"That sounds fantastic, I just need to unpack and maybe eat a bit of breakfast." Charlie nodded before he left the room and called out his goodbye to the girls.
Hermione had been unpacking for about twenty minutes when there was a knock on the door. "I'll get it!" Hermione heard Bella call out before she walked down the stairs, only stumbling once, and pulled the door open. Hermione heard a quiet murmur of voices and decided to take a quick shower and change out of her traveling clothes, the rest of her unpacking could wait.

Once Hermione was dressed in a pair of dark wash blue jeans, an old Slytherin shirt she stole from Draco, and a black zip up hoodie, she made her way downstairs to see who was there. She walked into the living room where Bella was sitting on the couch with a pale, bronze haired stranger. They both looked up when she entered. She gave an awkward wave.

"Hello, I'm Bella's cousin, Hermione, and you must be Edward." Edward stood up and extended his hand.

"Yes, its a pleasure to meet you." Hermione almost pulled her hand back out of his icy grip. She looked up at him and he seemed to be concentrating hard, staring at her. That's when she felt the light pushing against her Occlumency walls.

When she checked him over again, her gaze turned accusatory. She let her walls down a little bit. "You're a vampire!" If it was possible, Edward almost fell over from shock.

He debated on whether to try to lie or come clean. "Don't you dare, you're not the only one who can read minds. Does she know?" He barely moved his chin up, but Hermione caught it. She whirled on her cousin. "I swear, if you so much as harm one hair on her head, you better pray your eyes stay gold."

Bella looked on as her cousin suddenly glared at Edward and his face went from confused, to shock, to offended, then amused. "Don't get cocky, you do not want me as your enemy." She whirled on her cousin. "Out of everyone! I swear Isabella Marie! What am I going to do with you?" Bella shrunk back, when they were growing up, even though they were close in age, Hermione was more like a mother to her sometimes than a sister or cousin. She knew she was in trouble, she just didn't know what for.

"A bloody vampire? You're dating a damn vampire? Does Charlie know?" Bella gaped at her cousin. It took her forever to figure it out and her cousin had figured it out in seconds.

"No, Charlie doesn't know. But h-how do you?" Hermione looked at her with her head cocked to the side.

"I suppose... Edward, how large is your coven?" He studied her for a moment.

"We don't call ourselves a coven, we're more like a family. With being on an animal diet, it's allowed us to form a deepened bond with each other. There's seven of us altogether."

"I'd like to meet them. I need to make sure my cousin is safe." He nodded and got out his phone and dialed Carlisle's number. After a quick phone conversation, they piled into his Volvo and were on their way to the Cullen's house. Ten minutes later, they drove down a long driveway and a large, airy house came into view. Edward was out of the car faster than they could blink and opening both of their doors. Hermione rubbed her forearm through her hoodie and felt the reassuring slimness of her wand. They walked up the steps and through the front door. There stood six golden eyed vampires.

"Hello, my name is Hermione."

The first to step forward was a small, pixie like vampire about Hermione's size. Hermione was quickly pulled into her embrace. "We're going to be great friends. I'm Alice. She stepped back and twined her fingers with a curly haired, blond vampire. "And this is my husband, Jasper." He nodded stiffly.

"Ma'am."

"Hello sweetie, I'm Esme, mother for all intents and purposes and this is my husband Carlisle." Hermione was pulled into another embrace. "And this is Emmett and Rosalie." She received a big grin from the brawny one, Emmett, but Rosalie scowled at her.

"Sure, let's just tell everyone our secret! It's a wonder our luck hasn't run out on this one." Rosalie sneered at Bella. Hermione felt her temper flare, she didn't know who this diva thought she was, but she wasn't going to speak to her baby cousin like that. She moved to stand in front of Bella and tensed.

"Rose, I advise you to tread carefully." Carlisle looked at Hermione with an unreadable expression. Then a kind smile lit his handsome face. "Please, come in, let's sit down and talk." Hermione cautiously nodded and grabbed Bella's hand and made sure she was as far away from Rosalie as possible, which didn't seem to be problem as she avoided Bella as much as possible. Hermione pulled Bella to a love seat, closest to the exit, and smirked at the glare Edward sent her.

"I suppose I'll go first." She looked at Bella. "I suppose you've always been a magnet for the supernatural. I'm a witch." Bella blinked at her then looked around the room. The faces ranged from skeptical, to worried, to amused.

"Prove it." Emmett said. Hermione smirked and stood up and flicked her wrist and her wand ejected from its holster and into her waiting hand. The familiar rush of power tingled in her arm and surged through her body.

She pointed her wand at Emmett and ignored the warning growl from Rosalie. "Rictusempra!" Emmett fell to the ground, holding his sides as he fought the invisible hands tickling him. His loud gwaffs of laughter caused the family to crack a smile. "Finite Incantartem." Emmett stood up off the ground and beamed at her. She faced the window and flicked her wrist. The entire window shattered. "Reparo!" The glass shards clinked together as they repaired themselves. Hermione spun on the spot and appeared again sitting next to Bella on the love seat again. Bella jumped in the air when she appeared and let out a small shriek.

"Sorry Bella, but do you believe me now?" The vampires and Bella nodded. "I've known since I was 12, and I've read loads of books on magical creatures, especially after I met Sanguini in my sixth year."

"Ah, yes, Sanguini, old friend of mine. Colorful character he is." Carlisle nodded and chuckled. "As I remember, he was never too fond of witches and wizards. I recall him saying something about avoiding England and Scotland as a war was about to break out."

Hermione felt the guilt and pain flare in her before she pushed it back behind her Occlumency. Jasper shot her a worried look. "Yes, well, you'd be safe to visit, the war's been over for months now." She looked down into her lap as the haunting faces flashed in her mind.

"You were forced to fight, weren't you?" Jasper's quiet voice caused Hermione to look up sharply and nod.

"There's no way." Esme looked around helplessly, her mothering instincts screaming at her to scoop up the small, curly haired witch and never let her go. Hermione stood up and removed her jacket and rolled up her shirt. The scar from Dolohov was the most prominent, a jagged scar running from the bottom of her right breast to her left hip. There were other burns, cuts, and scars along her arms and torso.

"What's a 'mudblood'?" Hermione smiled sadly at Rosalie.

"It means 'dirty blood'. Just like anywhere, there's prejudice in the wizarding world. Some families, pure bloods, think they're better than everyone because everyone in their family is magical, and it goes back generations. Some families can even trace their roots back to Merlin and Morgan Le Fey. Then there's half bloods, they usually have a pure blood parent and a non magical, or muggle born parent. Then there's muggle born's, like myself. A muggle is a non magical person and a muggle born comes form a non magical family. We're considered an abomination, a freak of nature, and our blood is dirty. We're not worthy to learn magic."

Esme couldn't hold it back any longer, she walked over and scooped Hermione into a tight hug, tight for human anyway. "I've been fighting the war since I stepped into school. That's what the war was about. Some dark wizard, similar to Hitler, got it into his head to 'exterminate the vermin' as he labeled it." Hermione let out a hallow laugh. "The funny thing was, he was a half blood himself." Hermione looked at the pitying faces of the vampire family. The only one who didn't look at her with pity was Jasper.

"War is always a hard thing to go through, been there myself. First the civil war, then a newborn war."

Hermione shivered. "We learned about the newborn war in our history of magic class my sixth year. Brutal."

A little while later, Bella and Edward had made their way upstairs and Hermione found herself telling her story of the war to the remaining vampires. It was several hours later when her stomach grumbled and she cast a sheepish look at her new friends.

"When was the last time you ate something?" It was surprisingly Rosalie who said something.

"Well, I was going to eat breakfast with Bella, but when I met Edward, it was kinda pushed to the back of my mind." Esme tsked.

"Let's put our kitchen to use, shall we? There's some chicken in there and we'll make the girls fettuccine with chicken and garlic bread." Esme beamed and Hermione was dragged into the kitchen to watch the vampires make her and Bella a meal. When it was done, a large plate was set in front of Hermione and she was soon joined by Bella. The two girls ate quickly and quietly. After they were finished, Bella let out a large yawn.

"I'm going to take her home, will you be joining us?" Hermione looked at her watch, it was two in the afternoon.

"No thank you, I'd like to finish my story and then I'll just apparate home. I should have plenty of time before Charlie gets home." Edward nodded and Hermione pulled Bella into a hug and they sped off in his silver Volvo.

The rest of the Cullen's and Hermione settled back into the living room and Hermione picked up where she left off in fifth year. "So like I was saying, this evil toad of a woman used Blood Quills as punishment," Hermione held out her hand and 'I shall not tell lies' was carved into her hand. "They're a cursed type of quill that uses the blood of the writer instead of ink. Eventually it'll just scar. My best mate, Harry's is worse than mine."

It took another two hours before she had finished with her moving here. "You poor dear!" Hermione smiled tightly at Esme.

"It was hard, but it was worth it. I'm just glad it's done. I still have nightmares, but I refuse to take Dreamless Sleep anymore as I was becoming addicted."

"You'll have to come over again sometime and I'll tell you about my time in the war." Jasper smiled at Hermione, and she returned it.

"I'd like that." She looked at her watch. "Well, it's been a pleasure meeting you all, but I must run." The Cullen's bid their goodbye's and watched with wide eyes as she vanished into thin air.

"Well, I like her, she's got fire." Everyone turned to Rosalie with wide eyes. "What?" They shook their heads and dispersed into their individual activities.

Three weeks later found Hermione with Alice and Rosalie in Port Angeles picking out birthday presents for Bella. Alice and Rosalie had already picked out a dress and a necklace for her and Hermione was having a hard time deciding. It suddenly came to her.

"Guys, would you care to go to London with me real fast? Wizarding London?" Rose seemed doubtful and Alice nodded eagerly. "I also think there is something you lot might like, I promise, if you're with me, nothing will happen." Rosalie reluctantly agreed. "Alright, hold tight and whatever you do, don't let go." The two vampires nodded and the three turned on the spot and apparated to Diagon Alley.

As soon as they landed, Hermione was crowded with people wanting autographs and camera flashing.

"Miss Granger, where have you been?"

"Do you plan on passing laws for vampires next?"

"Miss Granger!"

"Miss Granger!" Hermione let out a growl or irritation.

"I'll not be answering any questions today and if you don't bugger off and leave my friends and I alone, I'll curse you!" The crowd immediately dispersed, although there were another few pictures snapped. "Bloody paparazzi." Hermione mumbled under her breath.

"You weren't joking were you. Your a viable celebrity." Rose growled as an old wizard leered at the three of them.

"Right then, I have to pick up a few things while we're here besides Bella's present." They made their way to Flourish and Blotts. There she picked up a Fantastic Beast's and Where To Find Them along with a giant, musty tome, Vampyrs. Alice giggled and Rosalie smirked. Hermione stopped at the apothecary and stocked up on her ingredients and they made their way to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

"I'm going to warn you now, don't take anything the boys give you, especially if its edible. Don't shake their hands, you know what, just don't touch them at all to be on the safe side." The two sisters warily nodded and they pushed the door open.

"Well George, looked who decided to..."

"Grace us with her presence."

"The famous Gryffindor..."

"Princess. I must say your..."

"Majesty, we're honored to..."

"Be basking in your..."

"Glory." They finished together and grinned mischievously at her.

"And who might the..."

"Gorgeous birds be?"

"Fred, George, these are my new friends, Alice Hale and Rosalie Cullen. And don't even think about, first they're happily married, second, they'd tear you limb from limb if you even blinked at them wrong." The twins merely smirked at them. "And these two fools are like my older brothers, Fred and George Weasley. The greatest pranksters since the Marauders."

"At you service ladies." They both bowed dramatically causing Alice to giggle and Rosalie to roll her eyes.

"I just wanted to stop by and send my love, we're here for a quick visit. But we've got to run." Hermione stepped forward and kissed them both on the cheek. "Give everyone my love and tell them I'll write soon." They waved and exited the shop. "I just have two more stops and we can head back."

The trio walked into Magical Menagerie and Hermione purchased a large black owl name Hades. They made it to their last stop, a sweets shop an Hermione bought a bag of 500 blood pops. "Alright, we're ready to go!" Hermione grabbed both of their hands and they were gone with a small 'pop'.

Hermione giggled when they appeared in the Cullen's house and Emmett let out a yelp. "I have something for you all." The seven vampires and Bella gathered around. "Bella, you'll get your later. Here." She gave each vampire a sucker.

"You got us suckers? Okay, you know we don't eat regular food right?" Emmett looked at her like she was dunce.

"Who said those were regular suckers? They're called Blood Pops, you get them in any sweet shop in wizarding London. They're made with dragon blood, I thought you guys might like them, especially you Jasper, it should help in certain situation." Jasper immediately unwrapped his sucker and popped it into his mouth. His eyes grew wide and he smiled around the treat

.
"These are amazing!" Hermione smiled at Alice.

"Here, there's 500 in here, it should last you a while, when you run out, let me know and I'll pick up some more." They nodded at her and thanked her.
"Um, Hermione, is that an owl?" Bella pointed to Hades.

"Yes, that's how we deliver letters. I had to make sure I picked a big, strong one because he'll be traveling long distances." The owl seemed to preen under her compliments. Hermione handed the Blood Pops to Carlisle.

"Oh Esme, you should've seen it when we got to Diagon Alley, she's famous! There were people asking for her autograph and she even had paparazzi!" Hermione laughed at Alice's antics.

"Well, have fun, I'll see you guys later alright?" She hugged everyone before she left. Hermione decided to look around for some houses as she was thinking about making her stay here permanent. She missed everyone in London terribly, but it was so much quieter here, and she was around her only living blood relatives.

*
Hermione had looked at several houses in Forks, but none of them seemed to catch her fancy. She gave up on her house search for now and made lunch to take to Charlie at work. She pulled up next to his police cruiser and picked up the plastic bowls with his food out of the passenger seat before making her way in.

Hermione weaved her way through the sparse desks and ungracefully plopped in the chair in front of Charlie's desk. "Hello Uncle Charlie." He smiled at her.
"Hello Hermione, what brings you to the station today?"

"Well, I've been house hunting because I think I might make this a permanent move and I've had no luck here in town, so I gave up for now and decided to bring my favorite uncle lunch." She pushed the containers forward. "So anything new?"

"Just a coupla hikers gone missin' in the woods. We've got search parties out now." Charlie groaned when he opened the Tupperware. "You and Bell spoil me kiddo." He greedily dug into the grilled chicken, peas, and mashed potatoes. "You know," he said in between bites, "you might try La Push, you know, where Billy and Jake live? You'd probably do well to stop and talk to him about it."

"I will, thanks Charlie. Enjoy your lunch." She walked around the desk and kissed his cheek before making her way to her new Chevrolet Silverodo. The ten minute drive to the reservation was quiet as Hermione lost herself in her thoughts. She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach and a sense of foreboding. She pushed the thoughts out of her head as she pulled up to Billy's house.

Jacob came bounding out of the house with a grin on his face. "Well if it isn't my second favorite girl!" He swept her into a crushing hug.

"Hello Jacob. Is Billy home?" He nodded and led her inside. "Have you been hitting the gym, you look quite fit." He flashed her a quick smile.

"Nah, just a growth spurt. Hey dad, our favorite Brit is here!" Billy rolled around the corner and smiled at Hermione.

"Hello Billy." Hermione returned his smile and bent to give him a hug.

"Hello Hermione, what brings you to our neck of the woods?" He gestured for her to have a seat on the couch. "I don't have any of that fancy tea you like, but would you like a soda or anything?"

"I'll take an orange soda if you've got it?" Jacob bounded into the kitchen and returned with her beverage. "Why thank you kind sir!" She giggle as he mock bowed. "Actually, Charlie sent me this way. I was looking to buy a house as to make my stay permanent and nothing in Forks has caught my eye. So Charlie suggested I come see you about available houses here in La Push."

"Actually, I think a house on the beach just went up for sale. Two stories, four bedrooms, two and a half bath, large kitchen. It's a bit of a fixer upper, but I think you'd really like it. I also have a number of someone who'd be able to help you, name's Sam Uley." Jacob let out a small scoff at the name and Billy sent him a look. "Anyway, if you'd like to take a look at it, we can go now?"

Hermione eagerly nodded and the three piled into her truck and drove to the house. As soon as she saw it, Hermione fell in love with it. It had a wrap around porch with a swing and a spacious yard. The inside consisted of one bedroom on the first floor, with a large kitchen as Billy said, a living room, and a half bathroom. The second had the other three rooms, the master with an en suit, a full bath, and a small study. She did a very unHermione like thing and squealed.

"It's lovely! Oh, where do I sign?" Billy and Jake laughed as she twirled in the middle of the kitchen.

"So Hermione, you gonna call us when you cook?" Hermione laughed at Jake and nodded her head.

"Billy, can you get a hold of the Realtor? And whoever that Sam Uley is? I don't care what the price is, its not an object."

Five hours later and Hermione was handed the keys to her new house. Billy and Jake had gone home and Sam was supposed to show up any minute to take a look at the house and tell her what needed to be done. She sat swinging on the front porch in a pair of ripped jeans that hung low on her hips, a black thick strapped tank top, grey zip up hoodie, black Pumas, and her hair loose around her shoulders. She stood up and walked off the porch when a beat up black F250 pulled up. If Hermione was were the type, she would be drooling right now. The man that jumped out, because he sure as hell wasn't a boy, was around 6'4, obviously Native American, with thick, shaggy black hair, sculpted muscles, and a stoic look on his face. Until he looked at her face and his eyes glazed over and a goofy grin spread across his face.

Sam had finally gotten his temper mostly under control and could phase almost instantly. After the Elders had explained everything to him, they had worked with him and set up times for patrols. Then Paul and Jared phased and he spent most of his time with them and running patrols. He had broken up with Leah a few days ago and it was eating him up inside but he couldn't take any risks and she deserved someone who had the time to devote to her. He had just gotten off patrol when Billy called and said Chief Swan's niece bought a house on the beach that needed worked on and he had been recommended for the job. He quickly showered and dressed in a pair of cut off denim shorts, navy blue shirt, and black tennis shoes before he made his way over there.

When he pulled up, a wild haired woman, about 18 or 19, was sitting on the porch swing. She jumped up and walked off the porch to meet him half way when he pulled up. He had a greeting ready when he gazed into her dark chocolate eyes.

It's like when you see her, everything changes. All of a sudden, it's not gravity holding you to the planet, it's her. Nothing else matters. You would do anything, be anything for her. A brother. A friend. A protector. A lover.

Sam had to concentrate and try to remember what she had just said. "Hello, my name's Hermione Granger, thank you for coming out here on such short notice."

He took her offered hand and instead of shaking it, he brought it to his lips and kissed the back of it. He marveled at how small and dainty her hands were compared to his. "Its no problem. Sam Uley at your service." He sent a wide smile at her. She smiled back timidly and gently extracted her hand from his.

"Shall we?" He couldn't believe he imprinted! It was supposed to be such a rare occurrence and he had only been phasing about a month now. She was perfect, and her accent! He could listen to her talk all day, her voice was soft, and melodic, it was almost like she caressed each syllable in her mouth. They walked into the house and she showed him all the rooms. The bedroom on the main floor, one on the second, and the half bath all needed work, but the rest of the house was in good shape.

"Um, I've never done this sort of thing before, but I'll be here moving and making arrangements so feel free to come anytime tomorrow." Hermione gave him another timid smile.

"I'll be here around 10 with a few helpers if that's alright?"

"Yeah, that's sounds fantastic! I'll make you guys lunch too, I really appreciate it." Sam smiled again and she walked him outside. He took one last look at her and got in his truck and drove away.

As soon as he was home, he called Paul and Jared and they arrived shortly after.

"So what's up boss?" Sam shook his head at Jared as him and Paul plopped on the couch.

"I need your help tomorrow, got a job. Chief Swan's niece moved into a house on the beach and the house needs some work done." Jared nodded.
"I've seen her around. That's a hot piece of British tail I'd like to snag and work on if you know what I mean." Paul wriggled his eye brows suggestively. Next thing he knew, he was up against the wall by a shaking Sam.

"Don't say another word about her." Jared sat gobsmacked at the table. Sam took a couple of deep breaths and his shaking stopped and he let Paul down. "Sorry," he murmured, "I think I imprinted on her." He sat down and put his head in his hands.

"Oh shit man! Congrats!" Jared slapped him on the back.

Paul sat down and threw his head back as he laughed. "Chief Swan is going to shoot you in the ass!" Jared joined in and Sam just groaned.

The next morning, Hermione had already showered and dressed in cut off shorts that stopped a couple inches above mid thigh, an old red shirt of Harry's that she had stolen back in third year when it had grown too small for him, and red thongs on her feet. As it was an unusually warm day for mid September, she piled her hair into a messy bun. She wished her cousin a happy birthday and gave her the two books before Charlie had woke up. She stopped by the electric, gas, and water companies and had them all turned on. The fridge and cubards were now over flowing with food and she set to work making a large breakfast to thank Sam and his friends for sacrificing such a beautiful day to work on her house.

They arrived promptly at ten. Sam and his two friends jumped out of the truck and greeted her.

"Hello, its nice to meet you all, I'm Hermione Granger, and you are?"

"Paul Lahote ma'am." He shook her hand and gave her a flirty smile to which Sam responded by smacking him on the back of his head.

"Don't mind those two, Jared Cameron." He shook her hand.

"Pleasure to meet you. If you don't mind, I've made breakfast for you all."

"Can I just say right now, I officially love you!" Hermione giggled as she was suddenly swept into a hug by Jared.

"Right well, this way gents." The three wolves followed Hermione into the house and kitchen. On the table, there were large plates of eggs, sausage, french toast, bacon, and fresh orange juice.

"I may have went a little over board, I'm used to cooking for a lot more people, but I love it so, dig in!"

"Sam, I like her, can we keep her?" Hermione giggled at Paul and took a spot in between Jared and Sam and put some food on her plate. The four ate and Hermione was surprised when Sam popped the last piece of bacon in his mouth.

"Goodness, and here I thought Ron ate a lot." She missed the flash of hurt on Sam's face, but Jared didn't.

"Ron your boyfriend or something?" Hermione burst into peals of laughter at the question.

"Oh Mer- God no! We've been best mates since we were 11. We tried the whole dating thing, but it was like kissing a brother." She pulled a face. "It just felt wrong." Hermione stood up. "Well, I'll be unpacking all day so I'll be running from here to Charlie's to get my stuff, but just let me know if you need anything. I'll be making lunch around noon. Billy and Jacob Black will be showing up around then to eat too."

The three wolves nodded. "I really like this girl." Hermione sent them one last smile and she was out the door to pick up her stuff. Charlie's house was quiet and she looked around to make sure the curtains were closed before she pulled out he wand and with a flick of her wrist, her stuff flew into boxes and packed themselves. She made sure her still shrunken furniture was intact and she started the tedious process of loading all her boxes in the back of her truck. Once the bed of her truck was full, she made her way back to La Push.

In the hour she had been gone, the guys had made great progress in the first room. New drywall had been put up on one wall, and the cracks in the other two had been puttied. As Hermione made her first trip in, she nearly dropped the box she was holding as she gazed at the three shirtless men in the spare bedroom. Sam was the first to notice her and she blushed bright red at being caught staring. She mumbled something unintelligible under her breath before putting the box on the kitchen floor and practically running back to her truck to finish unloading. Once all the boxes here in the house, she made sure the men were going okay and left for Charlie's again.

After she had the last of her boxes, she unloaded her truck and set to making lunch. She set a skillet out and grabbed the chicken from the fridge and boiled the chicken with chicken bullion cubes. Once the cubes had disintegrated, she drained the water and set to cutting up the chicken. She put the shredded chicken in a pot and dumped in a large bag of extra wide egg noodles and filled the rest of the pan with water. Once the chicken and noodles started boiling, she added Italian seasoning, a little bit of garlic salt, and some pepper. She emptied a package of Hawaiian rolls onto a cookie sheet and set them in the oven to warm.

There was a knock on the door and she quickly let Billy and Jake in. She leaned down and gave Billy a peck and was swept into a tight hug by Jacob.
"Ah, there's my girl." He grinned at her and she swatted him on the chest. "Smells delicious, what'd ya make?" He looped his arm around her neck as she led them into the kitchen.

"Ah, just chicken and noodles with Hawaiian rolls. It should be just about done." She felt Jake's arm around her neck tense and she looked up at him with a questioning glance. A glare marred his usually care free face and she looked around the kitchen to see what he was glaring at. Sam, Jared, and Paul were already sitting around the table joking around when the other three arrived. It seemed like Jake was glaring at Sam but she couldn't figure out why. Hermione didn't know why, but it felt right having them all there, her taking care of them.

Hermione shrugged off Jake's arm and walked to the oven and turned it off before removing the rolls. She got the proper amount of plates and utensils down and placed them around the table then grabbed the large pot of chicken and noodles and put it on a pot holder in the middle of the table along with the rolls. Getting out 6 cokes, she gestured to the table, "dig in!"

When no one moved, Hermione's smile turned into a frown. "Is there something wrong?"

Sam shook his head. "Ladies first." Hermione smiled and made herself a decent sized plate and took two rolls and in a flash, the men dug in and all but Billy piled their plates with heaping amounts of food. As they tucked in, Hermione made polite conversation with all of her guest.

Lunch passed quietly and Hermione was soon bidding goodbye to Jacob who was fast becoming a great friend to her and Billy who she took a shine to like a second father. Jacob leaned down and pressed a kiss on her crown and gave her a lopsided grin before bounding out of the house to help his father, and then they were gone in a cloud of dust. Smiling fondly, Hermione made her way back to the kitchen to clean up the dishes from lunch and then she needed to 'go to Charlies' to get her furniture.

It took Hermione no time at all to do the dishes and she drove to a secluded side road and began enlarging her furniture in the back of her truck before taking it back to her house. Sam, Paul, and Jared had taken a break and helped her unload everything and she soon had everything at her new house. She stopped by the hardware store to pick up some paint for the living room and some house hold items.

When she made it back to the house, she could hear arguing in her back yard. Hermione immediately put her bags on the porch and ran to see what the commotion was. When she arrived, Paul and Jared were in each other's faces, yelling, while Sam stood in between them, trying to calm everyone down. She could hear them yelling, but couldn't figure out what they were saying. As she drew closer, the words became cleared.

"If you really think so Lahote, bring it on! I don't think you're man enough to do anything!" Jared emphasized his point by shoving shaking, furious Paul backwards. Hermione cautiously walked up behind Paul and placed a hand on his shoulder.

This was apparently the wrong thing to do as Paul let out a feral growl and exploded in a fury of fur and ripped clothes. Hermione let out a shriek as she was knocked backwards by a giant wolf paw connecting with her arm. She let out a hiss as she applied pressure to the bleeding wounds on her arm. She examined her arm and found she had three long gashes going from her shoulder to her elbow. Her head snapped up as she heard growling and snapping jaws.
Jared stood off to the side as a horse sized midnight black wolf bared its teeth at a dark silver, slightly small wolf. Hermione watched as the bigger wolf snarled and growled at the smaller one who began whining and flattened his ears and sank to the ground. She turned her wide eyes back to Jared.

"Sam, she needs to be looked at, those look kind of deep." The black wolf seemed to nod and trotted off to the bushes and soon a very naked, very furious Sam walked out. Hermione let out an 'eep' and shielded her eyes. Sam unabashedly walked over and scooped up Hermione, totally oblivious to his nakedness. In an almost involuntary move, Hermione found herself nuzzling Sam's neck and chest. She felt her magic humming in her veins and felt very drawn to Sam at that moment.

"Mmm, you're warm." Hermione felt intoxicated by the smell of Sam and her magic going crazy. She could almost taste it in the air. If Hermione would've been in her right state of mind, she would be panicking right about then, she felt out of control of her body as the tip of her tongue darted out and tasted his neck. She felt an overwhelming need to wrap herself around this man and never let go.

She was startled out of her thoughts at that and the pain in her arm made her wince. "Dammit."

"I'll call Doctor Cullen to come take a look at it." Hermione nodded at Sam as she felt herself getting dizzy and lightheaded. The last thing she remembered was Sam's worried face as he carried her inside.

"I've stitched her up and gave her a transfusion. She'll be out for a while but, she's okay." Carlisle finished washing his hands.

"I- thank you Doctor." Carlisle gave Sam a gentle smile and shook his offered hand.

"It's no problem." Carlisle didn't say anything about already knowing Hermione because he wasn't sure how much they had told each other, just that she was too close when Paul phased and she might not even remember it all correctly.

Sam called Billy to let him know and went home to change and go on patrol. He stepped outside and jogged into the woods before taking off his shorts and tying them to his leg and phasing.

Anything new?

Nothin' boss man. Jared hesitated for a second. Paul feels like shit, is she okay?

Sam let out an involuntary growl. She's out right now, but she'll be fine.

Good to hear, I really do like her, I think when the pack gets bigger, she'll be a good Alpha female. Sam let out an agreeing howl.

Get home and get something to eat and get some sleep, I'll see you later. Jared gave a sharp bark and all was silent as Sam galloped around the woods and secured the perimeter.