CHAPTER THREE
Summary: Hermione Granger, one of the brightest minds of her generation, makes a decision that will ultimately change her future plans. At twenty-three, she finds herself moving to a strange town that's a hell-mouth for supernatural beings, pregnant, and in way over her head. And the father of her unborn child? The tall, dark and handsome werewolf, Derek Hale. Rated M for a reason.
Disclaimer: I do not own canon events and characters, they belong to J.K Rowling and the creators of Teen Wolf and MTV. This is purely for entertainment purposes and I am not making a profit from the posting of this. This is set after Season 3, and everything from season 4 onwards doesn't happen; so no deadpool, Beast, Dread Doctors, Wild Hunt or Hunters. Allison still died, Liam will still be appearing, and there is no Kira or Malia. Derek is 22 and Hermione is 23. I'm fudging the time line a bit, too.
Page count: 10
It had been four days since she'd told Derek that he was the father of her child, and in those four days she hadn't heard from him or seen him, but she didn't let it bother her; she knew she'd given him a lot to think about and he needed time to digest the news. If it got to the point where weeks had passed and he hadn't found her, then she'd assume he didn't want anything to do with the baby and she would accept his decision and move on in her life.
Since that day, she'd taken to hiking through the woods a little more than she usually would, making sure to spread her scent so he'd be able to find her and eventually it would lead to her cottage; there was no harm in making things easier for him.
It was on the fourth day that it was just after lunch and she was making her way back to her cottage, after all, she had an appointment at the animal clinic with Magic. Dr. Deaton wanted do a check up on him and ensure he was putting on weight and that he hadn't missed any symptoms of any underlying health issues.
She wasn't far from her cottage when she stumbled upon a sight that surprised her; a beautiful snowy owl that was huddled on the ground and against a tree trunk. Given the time of day, she knew it to be odd for a wild owl to be out in the open as they were nocturnal animals, and given the size, she suspected it wasn't yet a fully grown adult. She slowly approached it and got down onto her knees, and she knew the only reason it didn't fly away from her was that it looked to have a broken wing and it had blood on its face and legs, likely having been attacked by an animal, probably a cat.
She slowly reached her hand out and the little owl tried to scramble away from her in fear.
"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you," she said softly, and she allowed her hand to hover in front of its face, not caring if it bit her. She'd received many bites from aggressive owls over the years, another wouldn't kill her.
The owl shifted its head forward cautiously, before it pecked at her finger and a smile pulled at her face. She knew the owl would recognise her magical aura, it would recognise her as being a witch as all owls were able to do, whether they were in the Wizarding World or not. Owls were drawn to wizarding folk and for that reason, she was able to gently pick up the owl and she sat it on her arm, cradling it against her stomach so it couldn't fall off.
It let out a hoot of pain and she apologised before carefully but quickly making her way back to her cottage, brushing past the over excited puppy that greeted her and she set the owl on the table before retrieving a bowl of water and some pieces of chicken. She was glad to see the owl was eating, and she was sure it was a he, and she left him on the table alone and gathered the dog lead which she clipped to Magic's collar, before finding a box and stuffing it with a blanket to make it comfortable for her new friend.
She didn't bother worrying about Crookshanks attacking him, owls didn't bother him, it was rats he hated and Hermione supported that decision fully. Not that it mattered, he hadn't move from his place curled up on the rug in front of the fireplace.
She was able to settle the owl enough to put him in the box, and then she changed out of her muddy clothes and made her way out of the door and to her car, which was hidden by the side of the road with magic. She apparated to the car and put Magic in the back seat and the box on the front seat, and with a few charms to keep them both in place, she made her way to the animal clinic.
When she arrived it wasn't busy but she didn't expect anything else, after all, it was a Saturday afternoon. She held the box under her arm and the excited puppy dragged her over to the door, which she pushed open with her shoulder, and they stepped inside, seeing the waiting room and reception desk empty.
She placed the box on the ground and pressed the bell on the desk to alert someone to her presence, and soon after a young man entered from the back room and came to stand at the desk.
She knew instantly he was supernatural. He gave off the same aura Derek did, only it was more powerful, powerful like an Alpha, and she'd met several over the years. This young man still looked to be a teenager; she'd say seventeen, maybe eighteen. He had brown eyes and brown hair that spiked up at the front, with a very distinct jaw line and tanned skin. He wore a grey jumper and blue jeans, and he gave her a friendly smile.
"Can I help you?" He asked politely.
"Hi, I'm Hermione Granger, I have an appointment with Dr. Deaton for Magic," she replied, giving him a friendly smile in return.
"Oh, Deaton mentioned you, you moved here recently, right?."
"Last week," she confirmed.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Scott, Scott McCall," he spoke, lifting his hand to shake hers in greeting.
Of course she knew who he was; he just hadn't been what she was expecting. After all, he was a True Alpha and they were incredibly rare within the supernatural werewolf communities. And the fact that he was still a teenager was surprising.
"It's nice to meet you, too," she replied, pulling her hand back from him.
"Well, Deaton's just taking a personal call but we'll get you into the examination room whilst we wait."
He opened the gate for her and she picked up the box and followed after him, and when they entered the examination room, Dr. Deaton stepped in through the back door, giving her a smile of greeting. His dark skin contrasted against the white lab coat he wore, his goatee was neatly trimmed and his head bald. His dark eyes landed on her puppy and he shook his head in amusement, before pulling off his lab coat and hanging it up on the back of the door, leaving him in a black long sleeved t-shirt and black pants.
"It's nice to see you again, Hermione," he said kindly, before bending to pet the excited puppy that jumped up at him.
"And you, Doctor," she replied.
"What do we have here?" He asked, gesturing to the box under her arm as he stood.
He took Magic's lead from her and with all gates and doors closed, he dropped it to the ground, allowing him to run around and explore as she put the box on the table.
"I found him in the woods about an hour ago," she answered, opening the box lid and both Scott and Dr. Deaton took a look inside, pulling back to look at her in surprise.
"How'd you manage to catch it?" Scott asked her curiously.
"He's injured, from what I can tell he's got a broken wing which made it difficult for him to escape. I suspect it was probably a cat," she explained.
She reached into the box and carefully picked the little owl up so he sat perched on her hand. She moved the box out of the way before gently pushing the owl off her hand so he hopped down onto the table and she stepped back, allowing the doctor to do his job.
"I think you're right," Dr. Deaton said, "The wounds look consistent with a cat bite," he said, his body bent over, his head level with the owl's body and his eyes looking at the leg.
He moved his hands forward so he could examine the wing, but the owl freaked out and started hooting and squawking, trying to peck and bite him and fly off, but he couldn't.
"Shh, it's alright," Hermione said softly, lifting her hand to pet the owl's head and he calmed considerably, whilst they both stared at her in surprise when the owl pecked her finger gently and rubbed its head against her hand affectionately.
"How'd you do that?" Scott asked amazed.
She smiled at him. "I've been around owls most of my life," she shrugged. "Do you want me to distract him so you can examine him?" She asked the doctor and he nodded gratefully.
With Hermione's attention on the owl and making sure to keep him distracted, Dr. Deaton was able to confirm that he had a broken wing, and before he could grab something to sedate the little bird, it hobbled onto Hermione's hand and she chuckled at him, before lifting him to her shoulder and he perched there, rubbing himself against her neck. They both stared in surprise at the action.
"Well, maybe we should see to Magic first," the doctor suggested, and they agreed with him.
It took a little while to catch the excited puppy as he kept darting about the room and avoiding their attempts to catch him, but they'd eventually managed to get him on the table.
"He's so friendly," Scott chuckled, as the puppy jumped up at him, resting his paws on his chest and licking at his face, whilst the doctor checked over his back legs and paws. "He was a stray?"
"Yes, I found him my first day here, I almost ran him over and I chased him into the woods," she nodded.
"Well, as far as I'm concerned, Magic's perfectly healthy and he's putting on weight quite quickly," he commented, sounding surprised and Hermione smiled innocently, she couldn't tell him that she'd been slipping Vitamin and Nutrition Potions into Magic's food, now could she?
"I'm glad to hear that," she replied, laughing when the puppy spun to face her and he rolled onto his back, wanting a belly rub, which she happily gave him. "Another check up?"
He nodded. "Bring him back in three months time unless he needs to be seen to sooner. If the check up's still clear, I'd like to see him every six months as usual."
"Alright, thank you, Doctor," she smiled.
All of them turned their attention towards the waiting room when they heard a bell ringing, and Scott left to see who it was. Hermione and the doctor returned to their discussion until a presence in the room drew her attention, and she didn't need to look to know who it was.
"You're a difficult woman to find."
A smile pulled at her mouth and she turned her head to see Derek stood by the door, leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest, and she caught the looks of curiosity Scott and Dr. Deaton shared.
"I'm not," she replied amused. "I could've very well returned to Britain; then you would've had your work cut out for you."
His mouth twitched in amusement before he raised an eyebrow and gestured to the owl still perched on her shoulder.
"Long story," she carefully shrugged, before turning her attention back to the doctor.
She took Magic from the table and put him on the floor and made sure to have hold of his lead so he couldn't run off, and then she lifted her hand to her shoulder, the little owl hobbling onto it obediently as she placed it back on the table and Scott retrieved a sedative for the doctor.
"Do you mind if I visit him on Monday?"
He smiled at him. "Of course not, he seems to be fond of you," he smiled, as she distracted the owl and he put the sedative into his system, with him falling asleep not long after.
"I'll leave you to it then," she spoke, stepping back from the table and smiling at them both before she turned and left the room, feeling Derek following after her.
"He yours?" He asked, looking down at the yipping puppy as they stepped out of the building. She bent down and scooped him up into her arms and she laughed when he happily licked her face.
"Yes, he's called Magic."
"How'd you get him through quarantine so fast?"
"I didn't, I didn't bring him with me from Britain. I almost ran him over last week, when I found out he was a stray I adopted him," she shrugged, whilst he looked amused. "I can't help it, I have a habit of helping the helpless." She shifted on her feet nervously and bit at her lip when he stared at her intensely. "So, I take it you've made a decision?"
His eyes trailed her face before moving back to her eyes. "Let's talk somewhere else," he said, moving over to a smart looking black sports car and stopping by it expectantly.
"I have my own car," she replied, gesturing to the black SUV parked not far from her.
"I thought you might, but I don't want you leaving before I have chance to explain myself."
She narrowed her eyes on him, wondering why he thought she might walk out on him, besides; he didn't know she could apparate if she needed to, so it wasn't like she was trapped.
"And Magic?" She questioned, deliberately looking at his car which judging by the looks of it, seemed to be expensive.
He shrugged his shoulders. "Don't let him touch the seats."
She rolled her eyes but approached the car, surprised when he opened the passenger door for her and helped her in. She settled Magic on her lap and fastened her seatbelt as he climbed in beside her and started the engine.
As they pulled away from the animal clinic, they missed the teenager and the doctor watching them both curiously through the window.
~000~000~000~
They made the journey in silence, and when they pulled up at what looked to be an abandoned building, she turned her eyes to him.
"Are you sure you're not a serial killer?" She questioned.
He snorted at her. "I'm sure," he replied, climbing out of the car and moving to the passenger side to open the door for her and to help her out.
She put Magic on the ground and followed after Derek as he led the way to the side of the building, up the stairs and to a large metal door which he slid open, revealing a very large room. It had light wooden flooring and stone pillars littered about to support the roof above. The entirety of the back wall was windows and sunlight streamed into the room, and light bulbs hung from the ceiling. Given the size of the room there was very little furniture.
In the centre of the room sat a single couch with a coffee table in front of it, and a little away from that sat a desk and a chair, and in the corner of the room there was a double bed pressed against the wall. That was is it.
He gestured for her to sit on the couch and he pulled the chair from the desk until he sat opposite her, the coffee table in-between them. He slipped off his leather jacket and hung it on the back of the chair, and she took off her own coat, placing it over the arm of the couch. She instructed Magic to lay on the ground by her feet, and despite the fact that he clearly wanted to go and explore his new surroundings, he obeyed, laying his head on his paws.
The silence was getting to her, he'd been staring at her for a while now and it was making her uncomfortable.
"You've made a decision then?" She asked.
"I have,"
"To be honest I was expecting for it to take longer," she commented.
"Once I'd slept on it and digested everything you told me, I knew what I was going to do, it just took me a few days to find you."
She snorted at him. "I made it easy for you, I've spent hours hiking through the woods over the last few days, hoping you'd be able to pick up on my scent and it would lead you straight to me."
He looked surprised with her revelation but didn't comment on it. "Before I tell you, I need to be sure you're not lying to me. I'm not saying that you are... I just..."
"I understand," Hermione nodded, not taking offence.
She stood from her seat and moved around the coffee table and over to him, standing in front of him. He looked up at her confused when she brought her hands up to her t-shirt and lifted the hem to reveal her flat stomach.
"Go on, take a snout full." He looked amused by her words. "Since we met at the hotel you know what I smell like, you should be able to pick up the change in my scent."
He kept his gaze locked on hers before he slowly leaned forward and his nose brushed against her skin, tickling her. He sniffed at her stomach a few times before pulling back from her with a slight frown on his face. His lifted his hands to her hips but didn't touch her, looking at her questioningly.
She rolled her eyes. "It's not as if you haven't touched me before. Go ahead," she told him.
His large hands settled over her hips and gave a gentle tug, pulling her closer to him. He pressed his face against her stomach, his nose just below her bellybutton and took several deep inhales, before a strange wolf-like whine fell from his lips and he nuzzled at her skin. She felt a smile pull at her face and he reluctantly pulled back from her, a strange sense of peace settling over her and when he looked up at her, a soft, warm look entered his eyes.
"You smell like me."
"I thought I might," she nodded, lowering her t-shirt and stepping back from him, settling for sitting on the edge of the coffee table so she was closer to him.
"I want to be a part of their life, I want to help you."
She smiled at him softly. "I thought you might, werewolves don't do well as lone wolves, and seeing as this baby is more than likely to be a werewolf, too, it not only makes them your child, but it makes you pack." He looked at her in surprise, not expecting her to know such a thing. "Derek, I know the ways of the pack a lot better than you realise. I was once part of a pack when I was younger."
A curious frown appeared on his face. "You're not a werewolf."
"I'm not, no, and neither were the other members of the pack, but we did have an Alpha werewolf that was like family to my friends and I. He died a few years ago and when that happened, the pack bond between us was severed. None of us realised how much it actually held us together until it was gone," she said sadly, before shaking her head of the memories. "Do you have a pack?"
"I did have, but now I'm on my own, or I was until I met you. Now that I know you're pregnant with my child, it puts you under my protection and binds you to me through a pack bond, despite not being a werewolf yourself."
"Just for the record, I can handle myself just fine; I'm a lot more formidable than I look." He looked at her disbelievingly. "Trust me, Derek, I'm different, too. I'm not quite a regular human either."
"You're supernatural?" He questioned in surprise.
"Not quite, but there's a reason I know of the existence of the supernatural, and there's a reason I have access to the resources I do. I told you there was something about me that I couldn't tell you, not until I knew I could trust you and this is it. My people have strict laws regarding the safety of my kind, and should I break those laws I'll be put on trial and sentenced to prison, and our prisons are not something you want to experience. The thought alone makes me nauseous."
"What are you? What are you hiding?" He leaned forward in his chair and let his clasped hands hang between his parted legs as his elbows rested on his knees.
"You wish to be a part of this baby's life?"
"I've already told you that I do."
"And can you promise me that you won't change your mind and leave half way through my pregnancy? Or that you won't skip town once the baby's born."
"I'm not going anywhere, no matter what. I won't abandon my pack," he promised.
She let out a sigh and pushed her fallen curls back from her face. "Right, then I can work my way around the laws. Seeing as you're the father of my child, you are lawfully allowed to know what your child will be once they're born. Not only will they be a werewolf, but they'll be something else, too. Something powerful, something that's thought to not exist."
"I'm listening."
She took another breath and nodded. "Alright, I'll show you something first and then explain. Keep your eyes on me."
Before he could blink, she removed her wand from beneath the sleeve of her t-shirt, and with a 'crack' she was gone from his sight and on the other side of the room.
He made a noise of surprise and blinked quickly, his eyes searching his surroundings, twisting his body to look behind him where he saw her leaning against the wall. She gave him a small smile and then disappeared again, where she reappeared stood beside him. He jumped in surprise and stared at her with wide eyes as she once more took a seat on the coffee table.
"That is was my people call apparition, it's basically teleportation."
His mouth was parted slightly and his eyes staring at her.
"Pick an animal, any animal," she instructed.
He cleared his throat and slowly pulled himself together. "A snake,"
She scoffed. "Oh, please, that's an easy one; I was hoping you'd go for something a little more challenging, but, as you wish. Serpensortia," she said.
A snake burst from the tip of her wand and slithered about the floor, hissing. He jumped back in his seat and she sniggered at him before cancelling the charm and the snake disappeared. She turned her eyes back to him, and seeing his surprised state, she conjured a glass and filled it with water before handing it to him. He took it from her slowly, scrutinising it as he held it up to his face and then he took a cautious sip.
"Derek, I'm a witch."
"I'm sorry?" He blurted out, looking at her as if she were stupid.
"I'm a witch, a wand waving, spell casting, potion brewing witch. Just like you were born with your lycanthropy, I was born with my magic, but neither of my parents had magic themselves. I'm what we call a Muggleborn, which is a blood classification for a witch or wizard. I didn't know of my magic until I turned eleven and a witch turned up at my door, explaining that I was a magical witch and I'd been accepted to attend a magical school where I would learn to harness and control my magic, and they would prepare me for life in the hidden Wizarding World, where my people live their lives freely and safely. Due to the Witch Trails we were forced to wipe all traces of magic from the world and we retreated into a world of our own where we could practice our magic safely. I've always had magic in me and when I was younger strange things would happen around me and I knew I was different to others, I just didn't know what it was until I was eleven."
He stared at her, speechless.
"What was more surprising, learning I'm pregnant or that I'm a witch and magic exists?"
"Definitely magic," he said instantly and she laughed at him as he slowly pulled himself together.
"I know it's a lot to take in, but seeing as you've decided to be a part of the baby's life, you're going to be around magic everyday now, especially when the baby is old enough to start displaying signs of magic, which is usually around the age of five." A thoughtful looked crossed her face. "I'll be right back," she said, and before he could speak, she apparated to her cottage, retrieved Hogwarts, a History and then returned, holding the book out to him.
He shook his head of his thoughts and took the book from her, his eyes looking it over curiously.
"That book will explain everything you need to know about me and magic."
"You're in a book?"
"Several," she sighed. "Look, when I said I was able to take care of myself I meant it. In my world, when I was a child a war broke out and I was dragged into it and I had to fight for my life as well as others." A horrified look crossed his face. "Everything is explained in the book as I'd rather not talk about it, it brings up painful memories that I try to block out. It's been five years since we won and defeated the psychotic bastard that wanted to take over the world, and everything's still hard to talk about. We suffered great losses and we lost a lot of good people," she said sadly, looking down at the ground.
"People you cared for?" He muttered quietly.
"Yes, Remus, the Alpha werewolf I mentioned and his wife both died, leaving behind a newborn baby, he's five now and absolutely adorable. My ex-boyfriend, his family all but raised me and one of his older twin brothers died. We lost professors and friends and peers." She shook her head, fighting off the memories. "Anyway, I better go, I need to feed Magic and Crookshanks."
"Who?"
"My cat,"
"You have a cat, too?" He said, sounding amused.
"I do, he's my familiar and I've had him since I was thirteen, he gets grouchy when he's not fed on time and I'm not having him scratching up my bed in retaliation for my being late with his feeding schedule."
She stood from the coffee table and moved to retrieve her coat, before slipping it on and she picked up Magic's lead and headed for the door.
"Wait a minute," he called, putting the book on the coffee table and moving after her, gently taking her arm in his hand and spinning her to face him. "Look, the reason I didn't want you to leave without giving me the chance to explain is that I don't like the idea of not being nearby during your pregnancy." She raised an eyebrow. "I just feel as though if you're in my line of sight, I can protect you and make sure no harm comes to you or the baby."
"I understand that, from what I've been told Remus was the same when his wife fell pregnant during the war. So what are you thinking? You want me to stay with you?"
"Well...Yeah, I do," he sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"Well, no offense, but I'm not staying here," she told him, gesturing to her surroundings. "It's not exactly a place I should be growing a child, is it?" He frowned, looking around himself and knowing she was right. "But if you really feel the need to be close to me, you can stay with me."
"I can?"
"Yes, I have a spare bedroom you can use. It's not a bad idea to actually have you around either, I have no idea how to raise a supernatural werewolf, a magical werewolf I could probably get away with since I'm an expert in magical creatures, but my knowledge on your type isn't as extensive. Besides, I've been getting really bad morning sickness, sometimes it knocks me off my feet for a few hours so I'm probably going to need your help anyway."
"So you live in Beacon Hills now?"
"Yes, and don't look at me like that, I didn't move here because of you. I know you listened in on my conversation with the bartender at the hotel, which means you heard me telling him that I'd been transferred in my job. I've been transferred here, to Beacon Hills. I don't know if you've noticed, but this place is a hell-mouth for the supernatural and seeing as it's my job to protect their identities, this is the place I need to be at all times. I had already planned on moving here before we met, and it just so happens that I fall pregnant and the father happens to live here, too."
"That seems strange," he commented with a thoughtful frown.
"I know, but there's nothing we can do about it," she shrugged. "Read the book and when you're ready, look for me, I promise it won't be hard and I'll give you your starting point. Look for me in the woods."
Before he could reply, she stepped away from him, picked up Magic and with her wand in her hand, she spun on her heel and apparated.
