The tantalizing scent caught his attention as he passed by a bookstore in Salem's Magic Quarter. Pupils dilated, nostrils flared, and throat aching, Garrett turned his head to the opened door in shock. Never had he smelled something so delectable and sweet before. He entered the store. As usual, witches and wizards ignored him as he sauntered throughout the store, trying to find his fresh prey. Typically vampires ignored magical beings, finding their scent to be putrid. That day was a different story. His new victim smelled rich and tasty, so unless a Muggle managed to find their way into Magic Quarter, Garrett's senses had to be off.
His nose led him to the center of the store, where a small witch with brown, bushy hair sat behind a large table. Witches and wizards took turns either getting her autograph or a picture. The witch, however, plastered an obviously forced smile on her face as she signed her signature away, thanking her readers for picking up her book. Taking a book himself, Garrett peered at the cover in curiosity. It was a thin book with The Tales of Beedle the Bard written on the cover in purple lettering. A single stump was painted underneath the lettering with an axe in front of it. A spilled cauldron floated above the stump with three hands peeking out of the top left corner of the book. Garrett scoffed. Could it be anymore magical?
Translated from the Ancient Runes by Hermione Granger was written underneath the stump in the same purple lettering as the title. Commentary by Albus Dumbledore sat underneath the witch's name. Garrett glanced at the witch sitting at the desk before going back to the name.
"Hermione Granger." Her name smoothly rolled off his tongue. "Well, well, well, it seems as if not all witches and wizards are rotten. Can't wait to see how you taste."
Garrett waited until the store's closing to make a move. Sauntering behind her, Garrett kept himself a few paces away from the witch and her publicist as they made their way back to the hotel. It was a classy hotel, possibly a five star, not that Garrett cared. He knew that she would have little money on her person as she was a witch, so robbing her after drinking her dry was out of the question. A few bucks wouldn't have been much for the vampire, and all his stomach wanted was a bite of her flesh.
He hung out in the lobby, lounging on a couch when he overheard her publicist (finding out her name to be Jeanette) telling Hermione to go get a drink. The vampire's mouth twitched into a small smile.
It was too easy.
If she were to get drunk, everything would be easier. She'd be confused out of her mind as he would lead her away, preferably to a back alley, where he would drain her dry.
Stalking her into the bar, Garrett waited a few moments to allow her to drink her apple martini before taking the seat next to her. She didn't make any indication that she paid attention to his intrusion, instead looking off straight ahead with a thoughtful expression on her face. Taking a seat on the stool next to her, Garrett leaned his elbows on the bar top to get closer to her.
"Mind if I buy you a drink?" he asked smoothly, and at first the witch didn't respond. Garrett's eyebrows furrowed in annoyance before the witch finally replied.
"No thank you," she replied, eying her drink.
'Ah, British. What a great strike against her,' he thought.
"A beautiful woman like yourself looks like she needs a drink," he insisted, waving over the bartender. When the bartender stood in front of him, Garrett ordered, "I'll have a shot of your best whiskey and another fruity gem for the woman next to me."
"Oh, you really don't have to," the witch began, turning her stool to the left to finally face him. When she did, Garrett got a whiff of her scent, causing his throat to ache. So delicious.
Up close she was fairly beautiful with freckles littering her tanned face. Large, brown eyes stared up at him in shock as they scanned over his own features, eyes lingering on his momentarily. Garrett wondered if the jig was up, that she knew he was a vampire, but she didn't say anything. He knew that she had to be schooled on vampires being a witch an all. He just hoped she was ignorant.
"I'll buy a drink for any beautiful woman I see," he replied with a wink, wishing to soothe her. He extended his hand to her. Perhaps a friendly gesture would calm her nerves. "My name's Garrett."
"Hermione," she greeted stiffly, not grasping his hand. His face fell for a moment before he placed his hand on his thigh. The witch was cold.
He liked it.
"What's a woman like yourself doing all alone in a hotel bar?" he asked, taking the shot of whiskey from the bartender. He was about to bring it to his lips when he realized that she wasn't taking his drink. He frowned.
"I fail to see why that's any of your business."
Garrett's eyebrows rose in shock. So maybe the witch did know what he was. Playing it off, he replied, "Hard to please, aren't you? I like that in a woman."
"That's nice for you," the witch snapped, slinging her purse over her shoulder. "It was nice to meet you, Garrett, but I must be going."
She visibly flinched when his cold hand found hers. Garrett winced, momentarily forgetting about the temperature differences. He did try, however, to be friendly one last time. "Maybe we can get a drink some other time."
"Maybe," the witch said coldly, tugging her warm hand away from his. She stood up from her seat, nodding to the bartender, eventually glaring at Garrett. Garrett, however, gave her a toothy grin before bringing his whiskey to his lips. He downed it, enjoying her hips sway as she walked away.
'She has quite an ass,' he thought as he placed the empty shot glass on the counter. Handing the bartender some bills to cover both drinks, Garrett hopped off his stool and sauntered out of the bar. He managed to catch up to the witch at the elevators, pushing his body into an elevator at the last second. The witch huffed, glaring at him.
Whistling to himself, Garrett saw that she was going to the sixth floor. He devised the perfect cover story. "Same floor. What a coincidence."
"I highly doubt it," the witch muttered, and Garrett couldn't help but smile.
The two remained in an awkward silence, Garrett glancing at her every once in a while as the witch stared straight ahead. She looked pretty, looking all pouty and upset. If he wasn't going to kill her, Garrett thought that maybe a proper date would be in order. He had heard of vampires dating witches and wizards. If she didn't smell so delicious, he would have changed his mind right then and there.
Unfortunately for her, she just smelled too damn good.
The elevator dinged when it got to the floor, and the witch hesitated.
"Nice meeting you again," she said, taking a step forward. When Garrett didn't move, she turned around and tentatively walked to her room. Garrett decided to slowly follow her. He had been calm at first, taking a few strides while glancing at the paintings the hotel hung up on the walls. When she stopped, however, Garrett almost collided into her.
He decided to pounce. Grabbing the back of her shirt, Garrett pushed her up against the wall, wrapping his other hand around her neck. He was shocked that she didn't scream or flail like other victims would. Instead, she remained indifferent about her current situation.
"Foolish witch," he sneered, covering her mouth with his other hand. Perhaps a joke was in order to make her squirm. "Unfortunately for you, I hate the British."
His eyes widened in shock when she brought up her wand arm. How stupid, he thought, forgetting about her magic. He nearly screamed when he felt something push hard against his chest, sending him into the adjacent wall.
"Unfortunately for you," the witch began, "I'm not an idiot like the rest of your prey."
She disappeared with a soft pop!, leaving him alone in the empty hallway. Garrett couldn't help but smirk.
She'd be fun to hunt.
He picked himself up, deciding what the next course of action would be. He couldn't just barge into her room, thinking that her publicist would be there. Two witches against a vampire? It would be suicide. Actually, going up against any witch or wizard would be considered suicide, but the witch just had to be so damn delicious, Garrett couldn't help himself. He acted on impulse, yet that literally landed him on his back.
Slamming a hand into the wall, causing a small hole to form, Garrett cursed out loud. He'd simply need to corner her again. The question was where? He thought back to the bookstore, to all the witches and wizards tittering about Hermione, and an idea quickly formed in his mind. Perhaps all he needed to do was follow her around. Her scent was strong, giving him the possibility to track her. While he wasn't a tracker by nature, perhaps something would allow him to follow her.
'Yes,' he thought, 'I can just get her schedule.'
Going back downstairs, Garrett first went back to the bar and bought a few more shots of whiskey. While alcohol didn't do anything to a vampire's sense, the liquid still burned when it went down his throat. Garrett went on and on, buttering up the bartender, telling him how the girl he sat next to spurned his advances. The bartender went along with the show, laughing here and apologizing there. Garrett liked him, but he was hungry.
The bartender would have lived if he didn't go out the back way. Perhaps another worker would have been drained dry that night, going out the back door where Garrett waited. Garrett didn't care, as his throat throbbed for the witch's blood. Frustrated, Garrett kicked at the brick wall before disappearing into the shadows.
He had a plan, and the plan would work no matter what.
Umm, wow. Thank you so much for all the responses! Over 40 follows, 13 reviews, and I think 16 favorites? Holy shit, thank you so much! I believe I thanked each and every reviewer privately, but if I haven't just tell me! I'll be glad to thank you through a PM.
Okay, as usual I don't own anything. If I did, things would be changed in all the books. I don't even own the cover of The Tales. I borrowed that from the actual book that is published.
This chapter was hard to write, as I didn't know whether to go straight to Garrett's POV or continue with Hermione. Then the first paragraph came to me. You see, I recently got a job as a florist, so I've been working early in the morning. That requires me to get up before 7AM to get ready for an 8AM - 12PM shift. Then I started school on Thursday, and even though I'm taking two classes, it's still tiring. So there's my life story. Working and going to school is making me tired and wanting to fall asleep around 7/8 at night. So I apologize if this chapter isn't that good. I just decided to write Garrett (which is really fun in itself), even though I pretty much copied the first chapter. Did try to change it though. Hopefully I did a good job with that. So please read, review, favorite, and alert. This long block of text is done!