I'm excited about this story and extremely nervous about how it's going to be received. A friend introduced me to Criminal Minds and I couldn't stop thinking about Hermione and Spencer after the sixth season of the show. I didn't do the characters justice, but I just had to write this. I'm sorry for characters being out of character! I tried to keep them in line but they just grew another life of their own…Fanfiction (sighs)…
Hope you enjoy!
...I really only own the plot...nothing else...bugger.
o.O.o
"Family isn't always blood. It's the people in your life who want you in theirs; the ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile and who love you no matter what." -Unknown
o.O.o
July 1993
A Most Odd Visit
The few knocks ringing through the front entrance of the Granger home woke everyone from their beds. Hermione's father hastily entered her room to pull her out from under her bed where she had hidden and into the panic room off of the first-floor hall. She protested, but his tight, worried grip on her upper arm stopped her from continuing and she soon joined her mother in the panic room while her father answered the door.
It was going on Two am when they entered the Granger home.
The ghastliest man Doctor Granger had ever laid eyes on and a man with twinkling blue eyes he had only heard about from his daughter's descriptions of the Headmaster of Hogwarts. He wanted to welcome the two men into his home but he remained wary, which seemed to gain the approval of the Headmaster's companion…at least he hoped the old wrinkled man was the Headmaster of his daughter's school.
"How may I help you?" He asked clearly, though his voice was still a tad weary from being awakened at a most awful time of night.
"Mister Granger," the old man started. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts and this is Severus Snape, Master of Potions at Hogwarts."
"I would say it is nice to meet you both," Mister Granger started, "though I have to ask if there is a reason you have come to disturb my home at this late hour?"
"There is a very good reason," Headmaster Dumbledore replied.
It was then a small bundle in Professor Snape's robes shifted and let out a startling cry that caused Mister Granger to take a step back.
"Papa?" Hermione's young voice asked uncertainly.
"Get back to your mother, Hermione," said Mister Granger sharply as he ushered her back toward the staircase in the entrance hall.
"But-"
"Now," Mister Granger ordered in a tone Hermione had only heard him use when he was reprimanding his staff at the office. Hermione did as he said quickly, knowing the consequences would be unfamiliar if she disobeyed, all the while ignoring her Professor's burning stare and the Headmaster's ever twinkling blue eyes.
"Mister Granger," she heard the Headmaster say before her mother pulled her back into the panic room and started reprimanding her, but Mrs. Granger's admonishments went unheeded by her worried daughter.
Hermione vividly remembered the first half of her Second year when she brewed the Polyjuice potion for her two friends and herself. Were the Headmaster and Professor Snape really there? Or were they imposters?
She shivered to think the two wizards were Death Eaters in disguise that had come to murder her and her family in their home. The sneering Mister Malfoy floated across her thoughts and her mama placed a blanket over her shoulders, thinking her daughter caught a chill.
The youngest Granger wished she had not left her wand lying under her bed.
It was around that point when she thought of her wand that Mister Granger finally came to bring his wife to his study before sending Hermione off to bed.
Hermione vehemently protested until her father tapped her derrière in warning and she quickly quieted and did as she was told. She spent hours sitting on her bed, clutching tightly to her wand, until the sky started lightening with the dawning of the sun, only then did her eyes drift unwillingly shut and her body gave in to exhaustion.
"Hermione," Mister Granger called, shaking her awake. "Petite duchesse," his voice drifted across her subconscious again and her eyes finally drifted open. "Come meet your baby brother," Mister Granger beckoned as he tugged her up from her seat by her hand.
Hermione excitedly followed, unnoting of the fluttering of darkest fabric that disappeared around the corner of the corridor and entered the hospital room to see her mother cooing down at a blue bundle in her arms.
"Ma chérie," Mrs. Granger said with a smile. "Meet Phoenix Cyprian Granger, your brother. Phoenix, meet your big sister, Hermione Jane Granger."
Hermione hastily wiped away at her happy tears before taking her baby brother into her arms and feeling her world shift to revolve around him as she stared down into her brother's almost colourless blue eyes of a newly born infant and cotton coloured hair.
1 September 1993
Hermione's heart ached too much when she said goodbye to her mama and Phoe while her papa loaded her trunk onto the Jaguar. She was going to miss a lot of her brother's growing as the months passed, his first words and most likely even his first steps. She would practically be a stranger to him by the time she returned during the holidays and summer.
"See you later, mon petit prince," Hermione whispered to her brother before laying him in his bassinet and giving her exhausted mother a hug goodbye.
Her heart felt heavy, leaving her family behind, but she was excited to tell Harry and Ron of the newest addition to her family. Her trunk was placed in a compartment on the train and she bounced in her seat as she looked over the various pictures she had taken of her parents and Phoenix since the day they all came home from the hospital.
"Hermione!" Harry called as he entered the compartment, followed by Ron.
"Hi Harry," Hermione greet him excitedly with a quick hug that he forced her to linger in, though she didn't mind because she knew her friend needed a caring human touch after spending all that time with his callous relatives, before turning to help Ron with his trunk. "How was your summer?" She asked her two friends.
"It was amazing!" Ron started. "Bill and Charlie came over last week and we played quidditch…" He started giving a detailed account of the game, stealing Harry's attention away from Hermione and talking over her attempts to gain their attention.
Hermione rolled her eyes before finally blocking out her red-headed friend and sat back to look over her pictures again before meticulously placing them in an album and constantly staring out the compartment's window, thinking of what her parents were doing right now and looking down at her watch, knowing it was feeding time for Phoenix.
"Mudblood."
The sneering voice stopped her wandering thoughts while Harry and Ron stood up, blocked her in the corner, then shoved their wands in Malfoy's face.
She found it odd that he was alone.
"You have no business here, Malfoy," Harry spat.
"Is the 'Little Duchess' having trouble sticking up for herself this year?" Malfoy asked in French, confusing Harry and Ron, but causing a ball in Hermione's stomach to turn leaden and drop down to her toes.
Hermione hastily shoved the last of her pictures in the album and slammed it closed before turning to Malfoy, wondering how he even knew of her parents' pet name for her and suddenly she knew Malfoy could never know.
The wizarding world knew of her and her parents, but not of her baby brother, which meant Harry and Ronald could never know.
"I have no idea what you mean," Hermione responded nonchalantly, even while the hairs on her skin stood up on end. "Be gone, Malfoy," she said in English, then turned to open a book she had set aside and determined to ignore Malfoy this year, but silently swore to keep an eye on him to see if he dropped any other hints of her family life.
She knew then that she would have to be more honest and open with her parents about what had been happening at Hogwarts and what might happen in the years to come.
April 1998
"Is this not the mudblood, Draco?" Bellatrix demanded of her nephew as she shoved her wand into the side of Hermione's neck.
"I-I can't be sure," Draco responded uncertainly as he stared at Hermione knowingly. "She looks too different."
"That because the mudblood has been wandering the forest like the filth she is," Bellatrix replied with a satisfied smile. "Just imagine the Granger mudblood like this and tell me if it's her!" She ordered.
"I'm still not sure," Draco answered after a moment of looking her over, making his aunt irritated with him.
"He is not sure, Bella," Lucius interjected before Bellatrix could continue, causing the insane witch to frown at her sister's husband.
"Then tell me this is not the youngest Weasley boy!" Bellatrix demanded, pushing Hermione aside and grabbing the back hair on Ron's head and pulling it back while smiling down at him with a wicked smile, knowing no one could deny that was just who Ronald Weasley was.
Draco flinched, but before he could reply to his aunt, Greyback spoke up with excitement as he pulled Harry's arms painfully behind his back, "It is Potter, look at his scar!"
Hermione only knew pain after the moment Harry was discovered.
She knew it had been hours and her forearm ached so much that she considered relieving herself of her appendage, but someone pulled her up and tugged her away while duelling Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy. Harry and Ron's cries were growing closer and Pettigrew was blasted up into the chandelier and ominously hug there while blood seeped out from the corner of his mouth.
Mister Malfoy fought harder, along with Bellatrix, but they finally made it down to the cellar…and then Dobby came.
"Please Dobby," a woman's voice spoke urgently to the elf while Harry, Ron, and Draco held off Bellatrix and Lucius. "Please take us to our safehouse." She didn't say where and Hermione was too busy trying to stay conscious to ask what she meant.
Her head rolled between her shoulders when Dobby apparated and she felt someone cradling her in their arms before trying to concentrate on worried cerulean eyes, the same shade of blue Phoenix's normally grey eyes tended to turn when he became upset.
"Shh, Hermione," Mrs. Malfoy spoke over Hermione's mumbling, ignoring Harry and Ron when Dobby apparated them into a fine foyer. "All is well for now, sleep," she softly ordered.
Hermione could only do as the older witch instructed and closed her eyes.
When she woke, the pain in her arm and throughout her body had been soothed down to a dull ache, but it was enough for her to clench her teeth to bear through it.
Luna was sleeping beside her but had kicked off the covers and was shivering. Hermione pulled them over her friend, wondering when they had met up with Luna. She thought back on the blue eyes she tried concentrating on, but Luna didn't fit with the events that had happened in the drawing room at Malfoy Manor. The blonde that had been supporting her the whole way down to the cellar was a head taller and was also duelling.
She doubted that Luna was allowed a wand if they met up at Malfoy Manor, and she looked healthy enough.
"Mrs. Malfoy snuck food down to us," Luna spoke, though her eyes were closed and her breathing even.
"Is that where we are?" Hermione asked as she started looking about the fine room they occupied.
She was sure the drapes, four-poster bed, and bed chamber were too fine to not be Malfoy Manor, though she distinctly remembered a voice she could now place as Mrs. Malfoy requesting that Dobby bring them to a safehouse.
They were in a Malfoy safehouse.
"Mister Malfoy does not know of this place," Luna said reassuringly.
"You are sure?" Hermione asked quickly.
"Very," Luna answered. "Narcissa and Draco took a wand oath, swearing that Lucius Malfoy does not know of this place."
Hermione relaxed for the first time since she left with Harry and Ron on their hunt.
Luna placed something cold and smooth at her lips and Hermione opened her eyes to see the glass phial of a pain potion her friend had placed there.
"It will help," Luna said coaxingly.
Hermione gratefully took it with a murmured thank you before drifting off into oblivion again.
May 1998
Harry and Ron may have been surprised that Narcissa and Draco Malfoy continued to support them through the battle, but Hermione saw their determination to see Voldemort felled in their actions and unspoken words. Draco escorted Ron and her down into the Chamber of Secrets, helping to warn students and staff of the battle to come.
The battle they hoped would be the end to Voldemort.
Ron was irritated and tried to lose Malfoy, but Hermione refused to let her friend cause an argument that they didn't have time for. Ron seemed to become more upset the more Hermione ignored his attempts to dodge Draco, but she ignored him until he attempted to hex the third in their party.
"What is your problem?" Hermione hissed at him when she easily blocked his spell, causing Ron to become more red. "We do not have time for your schoolyard rivalries, Ronald. When will you grow-up?" She snapped at him before tugging Draco along ahead of her toward the second-floor girls' lavatory.
Hermione was quick to dispose of the horcrux while Malfoy kept a firm grip on her waist, doing his best to protect her from the wave of water that attempted to drown them down in the chamber while Ronald glared at him, but they were off again and met up with Harry.
Draco was the one to spot Ravenclaw's diadem and retrieve it, but not before noticing Crabbe and Goyle attempting to sneak up on them. He hastily climbed down and attempted to talk down Crabbe, but his 'friend' had never been the brightest pixie of the bunch, at least Goyle had some sense about him, but Draco found himself steadying Hermione on a broom and flying out of the Come and Go Room until Harry decided to circle back for Goyle.
He was silently thankful Harry chose to rescue Goyle even though they weren't the closest of friends.
The angry fiendfyre attempted to follow them out of the room, but he quickly kicked the diadem into the flames and slammed the doors shut with a flick of his wand before the freed sliver of Voldemort's soul could retaliate.
"You destroyed it," Hermione breathed. "Draco you destroyed it!" She laughed and hugged him while Harry shook his hand.
"I would never have thought of that," Harry said, relieved. "Thank you," he said with complete sincerity while Ron looked at the blond murderously. Hermione frowned at Ron until he looked away but the man-child never apologised or showed any signs of willing to admit he was wrong about Draco.
She stuck by Harry and Draco's side, even administering potions to his godfather while he lay dying before Draco whispered something to the older wizard and beckoned them to leave quickly and do as his Uncle Severus instructed Harry.
Professor Snape instructed Harry to view his memories.
Draco held himself together when the fighting started again, even when Bellatrix cursed his mother with the Cruciatus while fighting together with Tonks and even started the killing curse to end Mrs. Malfoy's life.
Hermione had already been running over to Mrs. Malfoy and was able to quickly pull her out of the imminent danger of her sister and into an alcove in the Entrance Hall near the Great hall before handing the woman one of her pain potions to help relieve some of the pain from the Cruciatus curse.
Then they were off again…duels, deadly spells flying everywhere around her…she was surrounded by innocent blood and Death but refused to count how many people she disposed of with her friends at her side. She refused to think of Harry after as dead when he disappeared into the forest and never came back breathing. She fought for the memory of her greatest friend and tried to hold herself together, readying herself to face Voldemort in Harry's place because Ronald was busy hiding behind his mother.
Mrs. Malfoy had released Neville from the burning Sorting Hat Voldemort had set aflame atop his head and pulled him back into the crowd before Voldemort could kill or curse her. Hermione turned when she heard Bellatrix's cackle and saw her duelling with Ginny, but she now had a clear path to Voldemort and couldn't help her friend.
It was time.
She knew Nagini had been dispatched by someone, she knew not who…all the horcruxes were destroyed.
It was time.
She calmly walked to stand before the darkest wizard to walk the earth yet and sent off a silent spell that he blocked with his ominous laughter before turning to duel with her.
"It is your turn to die, mudblood," he said with a soft smile that made her want to shiver. She knew if she lived through this experience, she would have nightmares of this moment for the rest of her life.
She didn't reply to the wizard, merely blocked his next hex as he studied her moves as she had studied his over the last few months in Harry's memories.
He was toying with her and enjoying it.
She ducked his Cruciatus curse, not bothering to waste energy with blocking when she knew he could rip her shield to shreds with the force of his magic, but had yet to send another spell at him. She left most of the casting up to him until she could find the opening she needed to cast just one spell.
Another curse and she rolled away, finally sending a slicing hex at him for the Killing curse he threw at her out of boredom. She received a flare of interest from him for that and he sent another, and another, and another until she kicked out at him and knocked him off his feet.
"Touché, mudblood," he snarled before the Killing curse started rolling off his tongue again, only this time he held onto her ankle and she couldn't move. She could practically feel the evil penetrating her bare skin until a blond and black blur shoved Voldemort away and the Killing curse meant to end her blew away one of the rafters in the Great Hall, but her spell still managed to hit him at the centre of his heart.
She had spoken one word.
It wasn't even Latin or English and she had put all the meaning into it that she knew as she thought of her family and friends.
Voldemort screamed in a pitch so high it caused the ground to quake beneath the foundations of the castle.
The Order quickly threw up spells to stop the roof from caving in on everyone and still had time to watch Lord Voldemort shrivel up as though he were a mummified corpse, then turn as delicate as the seeds of a dandelion and the dust of his bones and skin started to blow away with a soft wind created by Death himself.
"Aishiteru?" A deep voice asked
Hermione looked up and gasped when she saw her friend instead of the person who asked her a question.
"Harry!" She threw herself at her friend and sobbed into his neck.
"You did it," Harry said with awe. "You defeated Voldemort!" He laughed as he pulled her into his arms and swung her around. "Hermione Jane Granger defeated Voldemort!" He shouted as everyone started cheering. "Thank you, thank you," he repeated as he held her and the Order surrounded them with attempts to pull Hermione away to thank her or congratulate her, yet through it all, she still kept a firm hold of the one hand that had saved her…and looked up to see Lucius Malfoy looking down at her with admiration.
"Mister Malfoy saved me," Hermione said, quieting everyone.
"He defeated Nagini!" Neville shouted from somewhere to her right.
"He saved me from Greyback!" Lavender also joined in.
"Thank you, Mister Malfoy," Hermione said as others started joining in with the deeds Mister Malfoy had done to help the Order and Hogwarts students through the battle. She smiled at everyone before finally giving in to her exhaustion.
"Madame Pomfrey!" Harry shouted when Hermione slumped, catching her along with Mister Malfoy.
An unknown Healer was quickly at their side and ushering them away from the crowd, toward the infirmary where they would have more privacy.
5 May 1998
Hermione felt a sharp pain in her chest slice through her exhaustion and woke with a gasp.
Harry blearily opened his eyes to see Hermione climbing out of the infirmary cot and quickly attempted to rub the tiredness out of his eyes while asking, "Hermione?"
"Harry," Hermione whispered, glancing at Mister Malfoy sleeping at her bedside.
He seemed just as tired as she felt.
"I have to leave, quickly," Hermione said hastily.
"What?" Harry asked as he slowly stood and tried to determine why his friend was in a hurry. "Why, what's wrong?"
"My parents," was all Hermione said in explanation before lifting her wand and disapparated before Harry could stop her. She silently thanked all the Gods and Merlin the apparition wards had yet to be replaced over Hogwarts.
She apparated to her childhood home, grateful that it was still standing after it had partially burned, and grabbed the emergency portkey, Phoenix's favourite dummy when he was younger, hidden in the panic room. She quickly transfigured her long hospital robe into a light cotton dress before saying the phrase that would take her to her family…she landed across the lawn from chaos.
Police had surrounded a modest sized home and were talking to someone through a mobile and bullhorn.
"What is happening?" Hermione hastily asked one of the neighbours, thankful that everyone was so distracted that they missed her arrival.
"The Wilkins' were taken hostage," the mother said as her daughter clung to her waist.
"What?" Hermione nearly screeched and ran up to the nearest officer. "Those are my parents are inside," she quickly told him.
"Are you sure?" He asked.
"I am very sure that this is Atlas and Jane Wilkins' home," Hermione sharply retorted.
"Campbell!" The officer shouted, disturbing the man who was talking on his mobile. "This is the Wilkins' daughter!"
He sharply beckoned for her to be brought over.
"Miss Wilkins," the man started in an American accent that surprised her. "The man who is holding your family hostage lost his own wife and daughter in this very situation. He is taking his loss out on society but he seems to be empathetic. His daughter managed to plead for her father's life and we hope you can convince him to let your family go."
"Are they hurt?" Hermione asked.
"Phoenix," Campbell answered, causing Hermione to gasp, then he handed her the mobile.
"What?" A raspy voice asked.
"Sir," Hermione said uncertainly. "This is Hermione Wilkins."
"No!" Her father shouted in the background.
"Would you like to join your family, Hermione?" The man asked. "You can take your brother's place if you like."
"Yes," Hermione quickly answered even as Campbell growled 'No!' at her too. "Please, I will wait on the front stoop if Phoe is released."
His breathing was harsh before he answered, "Deal."
The line was disconnected and Hermione turned to Campbell.
"If anything happens to us, Phoenix must go to Harry James Potter in England," she said sternly. "Arabella Fig of Surrey can help you get in contact with him if you have trouble contacting Harry."
"There's no record of you listed as a family member," Campbell said before Hermione could take a step toward her parents' home.
"I would hope there is not," Hermione replied. "If you do happen to find something please let Harry or me know. My family must stay safe."
"Are you under witness protection?" Campbell asked, pulling Hermione from the step she took.
"I can honestly say you have not the authority to know the answer to that question," Hermione replied before stepping out of the man's range and heading toward the house while someone tried to instruct her on how to gain sympathy from her family's captor.
She waited on the stoop until the front door opened and Phoenix was shoved into her arms.
"Change of plans," the man hissed at her before slamming the door shut.
"Mine!" Phoenix cried as he clung to her and they were quickly ushered away instead.
Two shots pierced the air and Hermione fought the police to get into her parents' house, but the police swarming inside and the men she tried to fight with Phoenix in her arms were too much for just her.
Another shot pierced the air and she stopped fighting long enough to be ushered toward an ambulance.
"What happened, My?" Phoenix asked. "Where are mama and papa?"
"Shh," Hermione whispered as they were loaded onto the emergency vehicle. "Let's get you fixed up and then find out," Hermione said as a medic started working on Phoenix's swollen arm.
The officer named Campbell stepped out of the house and started heading toward her and Phoenix and she knew then…she knew because she felt the moment her parents' soul departed from their bodies and they breathed their last. It was in the man's eyes, the hauntings of those he couldn't save…and she knew it was in her eyes before she felt blackness envelop her in its arms.
She woke in the man's arms while he walked into the Accident and Emergency and loaded her onto a cot.
"No," She said while removing herself from the cot. "I'm fine," she said sharply, interrupting the doctor and nurses. "I need my brother. Where's Phoenix?"
"Mine!" Phoenix shouted down the corridor.
"Phoe!" Hermione shouted after him and brushed off the hospital staff as they tried to chase after her. "I'm here!" She yelled before catching him up. "I'm here, Phoe," she soothed him with her hand on his chest.
"Lay her on the cot with him," someone ordered. She felt herself being lifted up pushed to lay next to her brother. He clung to her while the nurses carefully bandaged his arm and a few more checked her pulse and took blood samples.
They were fussed over for nearly thirty minutes until every visual test and vitals were taken. She was given an IV while Phoenix's head wound was attended to. He slowly drifted off to sleep and Hermione allowed herself to relax enough to follow after him a few minutes later.
"Miss Wilkin's is exceedingly malnourished," she heard a voice explain. "There are physical…signs…of her having been tortured," the woman explained with a hitched voice. "She has tremors, her arm has been carved into. Her scalp shows bruising, mostly likely from roughly having her head pulled back by her hair…there's not a place on her body that is not covered in a bruise," she finished with a sob.
"Sexual assult?" Campbell asked.
"We cannot confirm that without Miss Wilkin's permission," the nurse answered with a strained voice after mostly collecting her emotions.
"What do you think, personally?" The man asked.
"Miss Wilkin's injuries were caused by someone wishing her harm, even death," another voice answered. "They saw her as nothing but dirt, maybe even lower than dirt. They would not stoop to dirtying themselves by sexually assaulting her."
Hermione flinched, but knew how true the unknown person's words were.
The Death Eaters only ever assaulted half or purebloods. Mudbloods were too dirty to sully themselves and she was thankful to be spared that particular torture. She shivered…but she was nearly given to Greyback by Bellatrix…she wouldn't have been spared anything by the masochistic werewolf.
"Or were you?" The second voice asked, causing Hermione's eyes to open with his answer before she could hide it.
"Miss Granger," the nurse started. "Doctor Heathery has requested a rape kit for you before your release," she said solemnly.
"There's no need," Hermione answered quietly as she stared up at the extra bag attached to her IV line.
"It's chockful of vitamins and minerals your body direly needs," the nurse explained as she reached up to exchange the nearly empty bag with a new one. "After this you and your brother may be released."
"I wish to be released now," Hermione replied. "I can wait for Phoenix if he still needs anything else."
"The kit-" the nurse started to say.
"Is not needed, as I have said before," Hermione firmly answered.
The nurse sighed before responding, "Doctor Heathery was firm in his directions that you be given another nutrition bag through your IV, then you may be released."
"I'll take the pills and be out of your hair," Hermione answered.
"Miss Granger!" Someone stated from the doorway, causing Hermione to violently recoil and hide her sleeping brother.
The door was quickly slammed closed before the nurse and two officers were looking down at her, the nurse with concern and the officers with suspicion.
"Care to explain?" Campbell asked.
Hermione sighed and pulled out copies of her parents' identification from England and her own before handing them to the man. He quickly called someone over his mobile while the nurse excused herself. He quietly talked with someone on the other end while Hermione busied herself with fussing over her brother as he slept. She firmly ignored the second man staring at her until Campbell turned to look at Hermione before speaking.
"You were wanted," he spoke.
"That is past tense," Hermione replied.
"Now the Queen has awarded you for services done for the country, she's offering a few rewards and awards…some of the highest in England," he continued, giving Hermione the impression the he was very curious behind his professionalism. "Everyone in England was wondering where you had taken off to."
"Was?" Hermione asked, alarmed.
"One of our people spoke with an Umbridge-" Campbell started before Hermione's shriek stopped him.
"What!"
"Is something wrong?" Campbell asked while Hermione hastily removed herself from the cot and plucked out her IV with a hiss.
"They could be here any minute," she said, hurriedly. "Phoenix, love," she shook carefully her brother awake. "We need to leave, now."
"Miss Granger," the second, still unknown man started.
"What on earth made you think giving away my information to all and sundry was alright?" Hermione snapped at the man as she gathered her brother in her arms. "I trusted you with this information and now I have to hide with my brother!"
"So you are in Witness Protection," Campbell confirmed.
"No," Hermione replied harshly. "I am in Hermione Protection and I find that awfully better than trusting God knows who to keep me and my location secret!" She hissed as she carefully lifted Phoenix in her arms, tucked his nose into her neck, and threw the hospital room door open. "Oh, shoot me now," she murmured as dozens of flashing lights started going off and Campbell hastily slammed the door closed again.
"She's famous," the second man said with amusement.
"Thank God they didn't catch Phoenix," Hermione said as she grabbed a hospital blanket and threw it over her brother, then turned to the two men. "I trust you will take care of our releases?" She asked haughtily. "Since all this is because you obviously know nothing of keeping a secret," she hissed at them and opened the door again before beginning to push through the crowd. Campbell and his companion helped and soon she was ushered into a black vehicle out front before a few gunshots were fired and the crowed scattered in panic while Phoenix whimpered over her shoulder before the vehicle's tyres screeched as they exited the hospital grounds at top speed.
"How's Hermione Protection working out for you now?" The second man asked.
"It was working out well until you and your mate moseyed in," she retorted, causing the man to laugh as he shook his head. "Where are you taking us?" she asked sharply.
"As much as I want to keep you for questioning, I feel it's better we get you out of the country immediately," he replied.
Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.
"Do you have your passports?" The second man asked.
Hermione nodded, relaxing into her seat.
"What will you do about your parents?" Campbell asked.
"My friends will find out," Hermione answered quietly. "They will be taken back to England."
"But you won't be there," the second man stated.
"As much as I would like to…no…I will not," she softly replied. "I trust they still do not know of Phoenix?" She asked Campbell who nodded in confirmation and she was finally able to relax until they escorted her into the airport and waited for her to buy two tickets.
"Where are you off to?" The second man asked.
"That would be telling," Hermione replied with amusement, "but since you can easily find out…I think Phoenix and I will recover in Japan before heading somewhere else in the world."
"You plan to keep moving," he said.
"I do," Hermione answered. "May I ask your name?" She asked him.
He winked and pulled out a card.
"Call me if you or Phoenix ever need anything," he prompted. "Even if it's just to lay your heads in my guest room for a month or so."
"Wow…that is…thank you," Hermione said, stunned.
"Don't you hesitate either," he warned. "Or I'll have to find you two and give you a talking to."
"Thank you," Hermione said again as their plane was announced.
"Keep in contact kid," he said before kissing her forehead and sending her off while Campbell waved to her and Phoenix.
One year later…
Hermione packed up the last box and shoved it into her handbag before taking Phoenix's hand. He waved goodbye to a few people that had become their neighbours in Washington before Hermione had to tug him toward the portkey point she had set the night before while also not looking suspicious about using magic.
They stayed in Japan for three months before Hermione decided it was time for them to move on to South Korea and stayed there for at least two months until she spotted a familiar face among the crowd.
It had been Dolohov.
She hastily packed what she could and burned the rest before using an emergency portkey to pull her and Phoenix away to New Zealand where they stayed for two weeks to regroup before moving on to the Phoenix Islands where she allowed them time to stay for a month.
They spent two weeks in Ecuador before Phoenix deemed it too hot to stay and she moved them to Mexico where it was still hot, but the heat was more bearable. She was able to have them blend in with the people for another month before Phoenix asked what she thought of Hawaii.
She thought they would find out and happily moved them to Hawaii where they were able to safely stay for two months before moving on to Washington State in America.
Phoenix loved the redwood trees and mountains.
He often spent time taking pictures with a muggle camera Hermione had bought for him in Japan and they spent time choosing which to send to the friend they made before their hasty departure from Australia before Umbridge could catch them up. Hermione bought a mobile at the man's request so he could check up on them every so often and she could check in with him every night by text.
She taught Phoenix to memorise his number in case of an emergency and Phoenix, little Slytherin she suspected him to be because he did start showing signs of accidental magic that she feared would alert the American Ministry to their location…Phoenix would steal her mobile and call their friend every so often, but he never minded when Phoenix called, even if he was working. He claimed Phoenix never failed to bring a smile to his face when he needed it the most.
Phoenix was sad this time when Hermione determined it was time for them to move on again.
She worried how this much moving was affecting his mental development and talked with her friend about it a few times. He urged her to move in with him. He had enough money to take care of them and he had come to see Hermione and Phoenix as his grandchildren. She was hesitant but he pointed out that unless Hermione settled somewhere, she would forever be on the run. Being on the run that much would certainly damage Phoenix's mental health in the long run.
So, Hermione and Phoenix moved to Virginia.
Phoenix was, of course, excited to see their friend, but Hermione was a bit nervous to finally be settling somewhere.
She had to remind herself that America was safe, safer than Britain, certainly, and certainly safer than the two weeks they spent in Ecuador where the Acromantula originated.
"Remember," Hermione said as she kneeled to adjust Phoenix's collar. "Dave does not know about magic," she said softly. "We must be as discreet as possible so that he does not find out."
"What is discreet?" Phoenix asked.
"Discreet means that we must as unnoticeable as possible," she softly replied. "It will be hard for you to control your magic, but I will do my best to help you," she promised.
"Alright," Phoenix smiled. "Thank you, Mine."
"You are welcome, Phoe," Hermione said as she hugged him, breathing him in before kissing his cheek and standing to look out over the crowd. "Let us find Dave."
"We can find him faster if you put me on your shoulders," Phoenix said slyly.
Hermione laughed and kneeled again to allow him to climb up onto her shoulders before carefully standing. They stepped around the crowd for a few minutes until they heard Phoenix's nickname being called through the crowd
"Phoe! Over here!"
"There is Grandpapa!" Phoenix shouted excitedly as he squirmed on Hermione's shoulders.
"Phoe! Careful!" Hermione warned.
"Grandpapa!" Phoenix shouted and waved to the man, ignoring his sister.
Hermione struggled to keep him atop her shoulders until someone bumped into her, causing her to lose her balance.
"Phoe!" Hermione yelled as they began to topple over.
"Caught you!" Dave said as he caught Phoenix and set him onto his feet to lift Hermione from the floor and carefully help her onto hers, after, he gathered Phoenix's backpack and her handbag. "Mya!" Dave smiled as he hugged her tightly and pulled Phoenix up onto his hip as he took their largest suitcase in hand and left Hermione to handle the smaller bag. "So how was the trip?" He asked.
"It was awful!" Phoenix answered. "There was a baby that kept crying and disturbing my nap and my ears kept popping until Mine asked a nice lady named Stewie for gum or nuts! I cannot tell you why My wanted someone to drive her nuts," Phoenix whispered loudly. "The baby was doing a good enough job of driving me nuts!"
"I think Mya was asking for peanuts or walnuts," Dave pointed out with a laugh while Hermione stifled her own. "Maybe even Brazil nuts or chestnuts."
"Coconuts!" Phoenix shouted enthusiastically. "Those were really yummy in Hawaii, but they did not taste the same in the washing state. Why do they call it the washing state? I hardly saw anyone washing anything!"
Hermione couldn't stifle her laugh that time and Dave didn't bother to try and cover up his own as he led them out to the garage and his crossover.
"It's called Washington," Dave replied as he loaded the two suitcases into the back of his vehicle.
"I know," Phoenix responded, "but I did not see tons of washing!"
They laughed again until Hermione started a conversation about a few state facts with Phoenix as Dave pointed out the booster seat for Phoenix in the back. Hermione buckled him in before sitting beside her brother. The rest of their conversation revolved around Phoenix and his childlike views of the world around him.
Soon, they had pulled into a home that Hermione could only describe as a manor and felt something unexpected stir in her chest.
"You alright?" Dave asked.
"I just missed home, all of a sudden," Hermione said quietly.
"Your home is just as big as ours was in England!" Phoenix said with an awed voice.
"Tudor or Victorian?" Dave asked.
"Victorian," Hermione replied.
"The best," Dave said with a smile as he stepped out of the car.
Phoenix happily ran toward the front doors while Hermione attempted to help Dave with their bags, but he waved her off and told her to go follow after her brother before he broke something expensive.
"Phoenix!" Hermione called after him worriedly. "Be careful with anything breakable!" She called catching him up before stopping at a big red bow blocking their entrance into the rest of the Manor. She quickly removed her shoes in the mudroom and helped Phoenix out of his while Dave pulled out a pair of scissors and handed them to her.
"Welcome home," he said to them softly.
Hermione wiped away at her tears while Phoenix smiled brightly and carefully took the scissors from Hermione to cut away at the ribbon.
Dave quickly ushered them inside after disarming the security system and showed them up to their rooms. Hermione stopped in the doorway of Phoenix's room, holding in her gasp, but not hiding her surprise.
"I thought Phoe might enjoy a few things," Dave said softly as they took in the dinosaur bed set among a painted beach on the wall with cherry blossom trees and a small temple. There was a chest of toys in a play area and a few clothes in the clothing cupboard that she could see from where she was standing.
"Thank you, grandpapa!" Phoenix shouted excitedly.
"Phoe," Hermione softly admonished him. "Please use your inside voice."
"Thank you, Grandpapa!" Phoenix said at a more acceptable level as Hermione settled the larger suitcase at the edge of his bed. "Where's Mine's room?" He asked excitedly.
"Right across from yours," Dave answered as he led them across the hall and waited for Hermione to open her own door.
She hesitated to open the bedroom door.
Opening her own door would signify that her stay in Virginia was permanent. It would signify that she would be making it safe for her and Phoenix to stay in one place…that they would finally be settling somewhere.
"For Phoenix," Dave whispered.
"For Phoenix," Hermione agreed and finally opened her door.
Her room was painted a muted blue with painted soft pink, pearl cherry blossoms covering the walls and collecting at the bottom near the floor in puddles of pink. The double window in the centre of the wall across from the bedroom door was where the light brown, twisted branches of the tree began and reached for her door across the walls. The bedcover was quilted with the same blossoms, branches, and leaves. She couldn't help but strongly take to her room.
"I love it," she said before Dave could ask. She quickly hugged him and whispered, "Thank you."
"Anything for you and Phoenix," Dave softly replied before taking the smaller suitcase and setting it atop her bed. "Let's get some lunch into you two."
They turned to find Phoenix already sleeping in the window seat at Hermione's windows. Dave pulled a blanket out from Hermione's cupboard and tucked a pillow under Phoe's head before covering him.
"I hope-" Hermione started.
"Don't you dare say it," Dave quickly interrupted, stopping on the first step going down the staircase. "Don't you dare say you want to pay me back."
"At least for the clothes," Hermione tried. "I noticed there were a few in our cupboards."
"Cupboards?" Dave asked teasingly as they began to descend the staircase again. "Here in America we call them walk-in closets, say it with me," he continued to tease when they reached the main floor. " – t," he said slowly while Hermione lightly laughed.
"Walk-in closet," she repeated, knowing he would tease her until she repeated what he wanted.
"Atta girl," he said, patting her back before pulling out the ingredients for pasta with tomato sauce and meatballs. Hermione was persistent in helping him and he sighed exaggeratedly and continued to light-heartedly tease her as they worked until the doorbell rang. "Darn. I forgot."
"What?" Hermione asked with pseudo surprise. "Did I hear the great David Rossi admit he actually forgot something?" She teased.
"Quiet you," he laughed as he cleaned his hands on a kitchen towel and turned off the stove.
"I can easily watch that!" She called after him.
"Phoe told me about that attempt of yours to cook in Ecuador!" Dave called back, then answered the front door. He was gone for a while before Hermione heard him come back into the kitchen.
"It was not my fault that I mixed up the propane with the fire extinguisher," Hermione defended herself. "They were both the same colour and unlabelled. Who makes red propane cylinders red anyway?" She asked. "I thought they were mostly white or compact green cylinders for the camping propane burners!"
"They are," a deep voice answered.
Hermione jumped in surprise and quickly turned with the knife in her hands.
"Here it is," Dave said, walking into the kitchen with a file in his hands, then stopped to look at the two of them. "I neglected to introduce the two of you," he said apologetically. "Hermione, this is my team's Unit Chief, Aaron Hotchner. Hotch, this is Her-"
"MINE!" Phoenix screamed.
"Phoe!" Hermione called up to him as she ran, quickly followed by Dave and Hotch.
Phoenix was at the top of the stairs and rushed down when he spotted Hermione as she rushed up to him, he tripped as he ran down and Hermione barely caught him before he could roll down and was caught herself by Dave and his work colleague before she could overbalance and topple backwards.
"Phoe," Hermione whispered as she tightly held him and kissed his forehead and cheeks. "You scared me, Phoe."
"I saw him!" Phoenix cried. "He was standing right outside your door and looking at me!"
Hotch quickly pulled out a gun and Hermione quickly shielded Phoenix from spotting it while glaring at the man's back.
"We'll talk in a bit," Dave said as he followed up after Hotch at a sedate pace. "Hotch," he called as Hermione carefully descended the staircase and sat down near the fireplace in a small living room near the kitchen.
"He is gone Phoe," Hermione quietly explained. "He cannot get you anymore, you are safe here with me and Dave."
"Grandpapa!" Phoenix called hysterically. "He went up there where the bad man was!"
"I'm safe, Phoe," Dave said as he entered the room. "I'm right here and I'm safe," he reassured Phoenix as he kneeled down next to him, and deftly caught him when Phoenix suddenly launched himself at the older man.
"I'll go finish up our lunch," Hermione said as she stood.
'Watch her,' Dave mouthed and signalled to Hotch who quickly followed after Hermione.
"I heard that!" Hermione called back to them.
"Heard what?" Dave retorted, earning a small laugh from Phoenix that made Hermione smile.
"What's this about a propane tank and a fire extinguisher?" Hotch asked Hermione who blushed as she started chopping again but stopped when she felt a sharp pain on the tip of her forefinger and hissed.
"When did that happen?" She asked in French, then looked down and noticed a few dark red stains on her blouse, the floors, and the carpet.
"Let me help," Hotch offered, but Hermione called, "Dave!"
"Yeah," he called back.
"Check Phoenix for blood," she warned in Italian while wiping at her blood with a kitchen towel. "Don't let him see it!"
"Hey buddy," she heard Dave say while Hotch stopped her from cleaning and helped her wrap her hand in a kitchen towel. "Let's get you out of those airport clothes and into clean ones for lunch."
"Let me see," Hotch said as he unwrapped her hand when he felt sure it had stopped bleeding. "You must have cut yourself when I startled you."
"That is right," Hermione said slowly as her wound instantly flooded with blood again. She blinked away the images of Hogwarts and students covered in red, then glared up at Hotch. "This is your fault!" She said imperiously, but with a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips to show she wasn't half as serious as she tried to make herself seem. "That can only mean if I need stitches you must be the one to hold my hand while I suffer through them."
"What do you have to suffer through?" Phoenix asked as he entered the kitchen and stopped when he spotted the blood Hermione hadn't a chance to clean. "Why is there red on the floor?" He asked quietly while Hotch quickly wrapped Hermione's hand in the towel again.
"It's tomato sauce," Hotch said quickly.
"No," Phoenix said quietly as his complexion turned whiter than his already natural pale skin was.
"I was not careful while cutting up the green peppers, mon cher," Hermione said softly as she showed him her towel-wrapped hand. "I am fine though," she reassured him. "A dab of instant glue will do wonders."
"Instant glue?" Hotch asked dubiously while Dave said he would grab the tube in his office and escorted Phoenix out of the room to calm him down. Hermione quickly searched for the mop but settled for another kitchen towel with some dish soap and quickly set to scrubbing the tiled kitchen floor.
"It is better than stitches in some cases," Hermione answered as she scrubbed away with Hotch's help. "If a cut needs more than a butterfly plaster, it is safer to go to the A E rather than risk infection."
"The A E," Hotch repeated with a small smile while scrubbing away at the carpet. Hermione looked up at him with a lifted eyebrow.
"Another British term, Mya," Dave teased as he escorted Phoenix down the stairs. Hermione and Hotch just finished with cleaning the small spots of blood and she looked relieved at their timely return. "It's ER or Emergency Room."
"Say it with me," she repeated with him as he said it. " m," she copied along with him slowly.
"I'm slowly converting you to Americanism," Dave laughed. "Next we need to get you to start using grammar contractions."
"Oh, I rue the day I combine you and all," Hermione said with a dramatic sigh.
"You and all?" Phoenix asked with his nose scrunched up. "You all, youall, y'all," he reiterated the two words more quickly each time. "Y'all!" He finally shouted.
"You have corrupted mon petit prince!" Hermione cried, wiping away at false tears while smiling behind her palm. Dave laughed at the two of them while Hotch chuckled. "Say 'you all' before I faint!" Hermione dramatically cried as she prostrated herself at Phoenix's feet.
"Y'all! Y'all! Y'all!" Phoenix chanted while Hermione turned feigned an arrow going through her heart and 'fainted', spasming with every 'Y'all!' Phoenix threw at her with amused giggles.
Hermione quickly turned to her side and grabbed him, tickling him back into saying the correct 'You all' until they collapsed with laughter.
"Alright," Dave chuckled while handing Hermione the tube of glue. "Get that super glue on there before an infection actually does occur."
"Right away, grandpapa!" Hermione teased as she lifted herself from the floor and dodged his hand with a laugh. "Will you be staying for lunch?" Hermione asked Hotch when she finished cleaning her wound and applying the glue.
"I don't really-" He started to say until Dave interrupted him.
"Stay," he insisted. "We're enjoying your company and we can talk about this case after in my office instead of over the phone."
"Do you not mean mobile?" Phoenix asked.
"You're killing me, Mya," Dave laughed.
"It's phone," Hotch replied with a small smile.
"Phone," Phoenix dutifully repeated. "You have been saying everything wrong, Mine!" Phoenix exclaimed while Dave and Hotch laughed.
"I have been using the Queen's English," Hermione corrected her brother. "We are in America and their terms for various things are different from what we are used to."
"Oh, okay," Phoenix replied before sitting at the table and colouring with the book and crayons Dave handed him. "Who is this?" Phoenix asked as he pointed at the character flying above the sky with beams shooting out of his feet and hands.
"You don't know who that is?" Dave asked, looking unbelievingly at Hermione and back at Phoenix. Hermione glanced at the character and shrugged and shook her head while her brother gave the same answer. "You, Jack, and us three," Dave said to Hotch. "Tonight. We are going to make Marvel fans out of these two."
Hermione flinched while Phoenix shouted, "Papa loved Marvel!"
"Oh, he did?" Dave asked as he started up the stove again.
"I can like Marvel like Papa too!" Phoenix exclaimed.
"You in for a movie night?" Dave asked Hermione quietly.
"Sure," Hermione answered softly.
"You're home now, kid," Dave said quietly as he lightly bumped her shoulder with his own. "It's time to slow down and grieve."
"I have grieved," Hermione said as she continued chopping and handing her finished vegetables to him.
"Okay," he replied softly. "But you know I'm always here for you, Mya. Always."
"Thank you, Grandpapa," Hermione teased while he smiled lightly shoved her with his shoulder.
They finally finished up with their lunch without another incident of screaming or blood, but a lot more teasing from Dave and even some from Hotch, or Aaron, as he allowed Hermione and Phoenix to call him. They ate and laughed, even Dave enjoyed himself and his company.
"What school do you plan on enrolling Phoenix in?" Aaron asked after some of Dave's teasing.
"Oh," Hermione replied, taken by surprise. "I hadn't thought of that!
"I've converted her!" Dave whooped.
"You just will not stop until you have corrupted us both," Hermione laughed.
"Say it with the grammatical contractions, Mya," Dave teased. "Come on, you can do it."
"Alright, alright," Hermione laughed. "I'll say contractions just for your ears only."
"That's all I can ask," Dave conceded with a chuckle.
"I'm waiting to hear one of Reid's facts about grammar contractions," Aaron said with amusement.
"It'll be a hoot if we ever get these two in the same room," Dave chuckled.
"What's a hoot?" Phoenix asked, causing Hermione groan and tease him.
"It means they will…they'll," she corrected herself. "Aaron and Dave will think it hilarious, extremely funny, if I were to meet their work colleague."
"Co-worker," Aaron corrected.
"You have corrupted your own friend," Hermione teased Dave. "Now I fear I will never hear the end of it from you two."
"You've skipped using the contractions," Phoenix sighed. "Even I've taken to them quite nicely."
Hermione laughed, "Touché." Then flinched at using the word and quickly cleaned up their dishes before the adults could notice.
"Hotch and I will be in my office," Dave said slowly as he shared a look with his co-worker. They noticed her flinch after using that word and the way her hand slightly shook as she took away the dishes. "I'll expect you to have second lunch in an hour," he teased as he climbed the steps.
"I am not a hobbit!" Hermione laughed.
"What are hobbits?" Phoenix asked and Hermione dutifully answered.
"Oh, that is wrong," Dave teased from the top of the steps. "You've deprived your brother of Tolkien! How dare you!"
"I promise I'll fix it as soon as possible," Hermione laughed.
"You better," Dave retorted while he laughed with Aaron until the office door closed and their laughter couldn't drift down to her in the kitchen. She could still hear a few of their laughs through the walls and softly smiled as she washed up and set down Phoenix for another nap, then decided to take one herself.
o.O.o
From what I've read about the word Japanese word Aishiteru, it is mostly only said to the person you love when you really truly mean 'I love you', quite unlike how most of us westerners can casually throw out the 'I love you' phrase most of the time…aishiteru seemed like the perfect, purest form of 'I love you', which is why I used it as a spell for Hermione to defeat Voldemort…she wasn't telling the darkest wizard of the age she loved him, but she was expressing her love to her family and friends through the spell.
So…I didn't separate the story into chapters while writing…this story is actually finished and I'm now separating it into chapters and editing mistakes and making a few sentences here and there more coherent because I've been running on very little sleep. If you have trouble understanding something, blame me for writing and editing while trying not to nod off.
Nervous about how everyone will like this story (bites nails) but I do hope you all enjoy!