This was meant to be a small oneshot but it turned into a 6 or 7 chapter thing. It was also supposed to be about Harry and it became more about Hermione instead. Plot bunnies, man...

Anyway, hope you guys enjoy it. 3

F.

A wave of an unknown power travelled through the peaceful forest, silencing all the little creatures it met in its path. A woman's scream suddenly pierced the expectant silence, followed by a few pained cries and the sound of breaking branches. To her it seemed as if the soft thud that announced the landing had echoed loudly throughout the whole area but she quickly realized it was all in her head. The woman rose to her feet with visible effort, her stance battle-ready even though the woman herself was anything but. One of her legs was broken and she could put no weigh on it. There were cuts and bruises on her face and arms. She had no wand. And she had no clothes.

What the…?

The bushy-haired woman looked down in horror and then away from the forest she was facing. There was a gentle river behind her and it just might be her imagination but she could swear the waters were looking increasingly less peaceful by the minute. She spotted her tunic in the distance and limped painfully towards it, picked it up and quickly threw it over her head and shoulders. It didn't really cover as much as the woman had hoped but she did feel less exposed. She also found a shoelace, still neatly tied despite the obvious absence of a shoe around it, as well as one of her socks. She frowned at the shoelace for only a moment before pocketing it into her tunic's tiny pocket.

She shook her head, desperately trying to collect her thoughts. The increasing pain joined her senses to plainly point out to she wasn't dreaming and judging by the ancient-looking trees, she could further deduce she was no longer in England. While others might suddenly panic at the idea of becoming unwilling guests in a distant country, this didn't surprise her as much as it would most people faced with a similar situation. Because the woman was a witch. And she knew something had gone very wrong with her portkey.

At least, it doesn't look like I've been followed. And I've shaved my legs. It's the little things, she tried to cheer herself up silently.

Hermione Granger had been through enough to know she was a survivor. Her first instinct was to look for a place to hide until she could come up with a plan and she turned to the woods where there were more chances of finding cover. Before she had a chance to do anything, however, a tall blond man in strange attire broke the line of trees in the exact spot where she'd landed just a few moments before.

For exactly three seconds, they both froze and stared at each other. Even from the distance she could tell there was something odd and unnatural about the man, enticing and forbidding at the same time. With impossible grace the man then started walking slowly towards her and she noticed the unusual shape of his ears. Hermione then saw the bow he carried behind his back and she ran into the trees without hesitation. Almost immediately, there was movement all around her and in a moment of panic at the thought of being surrounded, she dropped to the ground and slid under the roots of a massive tree, leg throbbing so painfully Hermione hoped someone would just cut it off and be done with it.

I shouldn't have ran. That was stupid. Bad idea.

They knew where she was. She could hear their voices just outside, first two, then three, male but strangely musical. She was trapped in a dark wooden den, barely clothed, with little space and no other way out. One of the voices rose suddenly above the others and Hermione suspected he was addressing her and telling her to come out from under the roots. The witch tried to think of any magical creature that could fit their description but her mind drew a convenient blank when she remembered that there were no known male Veela. The bushy-haired witch had the sinking feeling she'd been purposefully sent to a hostile place to die.

Shit.

"I don't think so." She said defensively, her voice trembling more than she'd expected. There was a small silence after her words and then the three men spoke amongst themselves, calmly at first but then quickly growing agitated. A different man than the one who'd spoken before, said something into the dark hole in a rash and commanding tone but it was only when she saw the tip of an arrow peeking in and crossing the threshold that the witch did truly and properly panic. Hermione lifted one hand and cried out and at once the air was displaced in front of it with a surprisingly loud sound. The arrow and the one carrying the bow were abruptly thrown back with the massive force of the accidental magic and Hermione winced as she saw the graceful man-creature hit the tree directly in front of her with a loud thud.

Double shit.

She dropped instantly and turned into a ball, making herself as small as possible. A deadly silence had now fallen over the forest as if the trees, animals and even the breeze had suddenly frozen at the second burst of unfamiliar energy. Hermione was certain she'd done it this time. Running, hiding and refusing to come out was one thing but attacking one of them – with magic! – was a very different one. She couldn't stop her lip from trembling as she drew in ragged breaths. Like some karmic punishment for the time she'd set Umbridge against a herd of angry centaurs, Hermione was certain they were going to kill her now, sticking so many arrows into her that she would soon be making a pretty good porcupine impression.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She whispered into her knees, her whole body shaking violently now.

After a long moment of silence, a soothing voice finally reached her ears. Hermione barely registered it at first but it wasn't long until she realized it was coming from one of the men above. She resisted the urge to remain with her face hidden and instead lifted her head slowly to look at the entrance of the root den. A pale hand was there, beckoning her to take it as the voice persisted in its gentle calling like a song she'd once loved and forgotten but was glad to hear once more. She took the hand and almost regretted it but she wasn't held or pulled roughly. Not until she'd properly grasped the hand by her own initiative did the immaculate hand slowly pull her out. She had to admire his patience.

Hermione felt the warm earth and leaves against her feet as she stood facing the three men. She let go of his hand quickly and tried pulling her tunic down, looking almost as uncomfortable as she felt. Even in the most beautiful of gowns the witch suspected she would still feel wholly inadequate in front of the armed and impossibly good-looking men with pointy ears. Two of them had long curtains of dark hair, vivid grey eyes and looked almost completely alike apart from their expression. The one who'd pulled her up was the blond man she'd seen before and he said something over his shoulder to the closest twin who looked remarkably well and proper for someone who had just been thrown against a tree.

Eerie, not a hair out of place, she thought briefly.

The victim of the accidental magic removed his elegant cloak without a word and moved towards her with the grace of a stalking panther. Hermione managed to remain on the spot despite the sudden urge to back away but she shrunk under his gaze and something in her expression must've been truly pitiful because even though he'd definitely looked mildly annoyed just a moment before, the man's clear gaze softened as he handed her his cloak. He even gave her a brief nod before backing away. His twin had lowered his bow after getting one look at the witch but he kept it close to his body and Hermione had no doubt that he was ready to use it if necessary.

It only occurred to her after she'd enveloped herself in the beautiful shimmering grey cloak that while the man showed absolutely no signs of injury, the same couldn't be said from the trunk of the poor old tree behind him. They were definitely not human. Again, that knowledge didn't bother Hermione as much as it might others but she did worry about not being able to recognize their species.

"Thank you." She hesitated after taking the cloak and she could see them looking at each other questioningly, most likely trying to determine her unfamiliar dialect. Perhaps they were in a secluded location that few wizards ever visited. The witch committed that clue to memory and then tried to calm herself down enough to show her gratefulness by at least making sure she wouldn't accidentally throw someone against a tree again. She was doing a fairly good job for now which was probably due to the fact that they kept their voices low and gentle even when addressing one another and the fact that she hadn't caught any of the three males stare at her legs before or after she'd taken the cloak was enough to lower her heartbeat. They didn't feel threatening, not towards her at least. She felt more confident. She might've even looked curious.

Hermione couldn't help it. Slowly, she raised one hand and pointed at her ear and then at the blond who had pulled her up and who out of the three intimidated her the least. His expression was difficult to read but he mirrored her movement and grinned as he said a few words in his musical language. Hermione didn't understand a word but she had a feeling she'd somehow amused him and felt her cheeks turn pink.

A few moments later and without any dialogue that she'd noticed, the three men turned to leave and beckoned her to follow. She'd taken only one terribly painful step when the quieter twin cried out in alarm, pointing at her leg and then at the sky, giving her the impression that he was telling the others about her impressive fall.

Merlin, did he see me fall? Did he see me… naked?

His brother and the blond one looked doubtful which caused the God-like man to look annoyed and sound so insistent that the witch took pity on him.

"Phiiiish… crashhh!" she said, pointing at the sky first and simulating her earlier descent with wide gestures. The Adonis with the black hair beamed at her so brightly that the witch felt her cheeks burn. They all shared a few words and a knowing look before grinning at her. Leaning back, Hermione was filled with a sudden feeling of dread as she realized the three men now seemed aware of the effect that their smiles had on her. They all seemed a strange mix of curious and amused when they looked at her but she found them terribly hard to read.

The blond she trusted the most offered her his arm for support. Hermione took it but their progress was painfully slow even with his help. The owner of the coat disappeared not soon after into the woods and she suspected he'd long grown bored by the dawdling pace. And then, at last, her support seemed to grow tired as well and with only an annoyed huff as warning, he picked her up like a princess and promptly proceeded to carry her through the forest. So much for being patient. Hermione was stunned for only a second until she remembered that only Ron had ever picked her up in such a way.

"Put me down, put me down this instant!" She screamed angrily as they both laughed at her which only served to make her angrier, louder and terribly aware that she was being carried away by a group of strange men to an unknown location in a half-clothed state. She even tried hitting him a few times but the man's chest was as hard as steel.

"You can't just pick up people like that. Let me go. Can't you see the engagement ring? I'm…" Her expression shifted from one of fierce anger to painful shock when she realized that the beautiful golden ring that Ron had given her was missing from her finger. The laugher ended quickly and the blond man dropped her quickly but gently on the ground, apparently aware that he'd crossed some kind of line he didn't understand. He backed away a couple of steps and she gave him a brief glance before looking down at her hand again. She could feel one single tear sliding off her chin.

"You just don't do that without asking." she said lamely even though she understood that it made little sense in her present situation. Not feeling particularly proud of her outburst, the witch stubbornly refused to meet their eyes as she lifted one hand to clean her face.

The dark-haired man finally came closer and gave a long look she couldn't decipher before suddenly grinning like an idiot in a tooth paste commercial. Still leaning back, Hermione looked momentarily dazed and felt her whole face going red as the man laughed, successful in his attempt at getting the desired reaction. Well, it was a form of communication, she had to admit. Hermione hated the fact she couldn't control herself when they did that.

Merlin, they should just shoot me on principle.

It took her completely by surprise when the cheeky man looked away and whistled for no apparent reason. She was finishing along a long, fact-filled argument in her mind regarding his sanity when the most beautiful horse she'd ever seen suddenly joined them. Hermione patted the pale golden horse softly on the neck and scratched the majestic animal's white forehead and muzzle with tender hands.

It took her a long time to realize that the horse had been called for her but the strange Veela men didn't seem keen on interrupting her silent display of affection. If not for the burning pain on her leg, Hermione would probably have kept combing the long blonde mane for hours, reminiscing about the time she'd petted a unicorn during class. Oh, Hogwarts.

The blond elf eventually picked her up and sat her amazon-style on the horse's back and Hermione didn't fuss, pointedly meeting his pale blue eyes in silence. His movement were almost hesitant at first but he seemed determined to dispel the earlier tension between them and she was just as equally determined to prove she didn't usually act like a brat when surprised.

They moved in silence for a while and Hermione felt unexpectedly peaceful. She breathed out deeply, releasing the tension from her chest and muscles. The air felt alive and welcoming, as if invisible wards were pulling her closer to their destination. She was fascinated by the intricate designs on the wooden bows and short shorts the strange men carried. They weren't just magical, they were obviously intelligent and skilled. Even the horse seemed at the very least to have been the object of something like a cushioning spell because the witch very much doubted she'd be able to ride a normal horse without a saddle for this long. Even the trees felt alive and aware. Guiltily, Hermione lifted one hand to gently touch a thin branch, making a silent apology to the forest for the earlier mishap. She suddenly realized the two men were watching her keenly.

"Hermione." She said when the horse stopped moving without any action from her part, pointing at herself before turning her hand to the blond man.

"Glorfindel." He replied with a beautiful smile, mirroring her gesture. Yeah, alright, she thought to herself with as much cheek as she believed an engaged woman was allowed to have, You're still my favorite.