Stripped Bare

Chapter Ten

Silence had taken the place of the jovial atmosphere from that morning as Hermione opened the front door to the house. She set her keys down on the coffee table and moved toward the kitchen. She could hear Spencer moving around behind her.

"Wait," he called softly. Hermione stopped her progress. Her whole body was tense. He sighed. She could practically see him running a hand through his hair. "Are you alright?" He asked. Hermione turned to face him.

"I will be," she promised with a soft smile.

"It's just…I know that those…that those types of memories aren't something you can easily dig up and then forget again. It takes time and Gideon-"

"Spencer," Hermione interrupted softly, "it's alright." For a moment, Spencer wondered when she had gotten so close to him. "It happened a long time ago. Don't be mad at Gideon."

"He did it only because-" Spencer's hand moved to make a path through his hair again; Hermione caught his hand before it could and held it. Spencer's heart skipped one beat before nailing the drum solo. A small blush colored her cheeks as she felt the hammering of his pulse.

"He wanted to know more about me and to prove his point," her tone was still soft. "I'm not a stranger to the dangers of this world, Spencer."

"I just…I hate that you had to go through that," he admitted quietly. For a moment, they stood on the floor and stared at one another. Compared to Spencer's tall frame, Hermione was petite. Her head came to his shoulders. Hermione's heart started to pound as Spencer moved one hand from his side and cupped her cheek. His brown eyes studied her amber ones for any signs of hesitation; when he found none, he began to slowly lean forward. Her tiptoes provided the needed leverage. Slowly, their eyes began to drift closed. Then, the crash of a tin garbage can tipping over echoed throughout the house.

Spencer and Hermione shot away from one another. The figurative spell between them had been broken. They shared one look and then Spencer drew his gun. He motioned with one hand toward the front door and motioned again for her to stay put. Hermione nodded, knowing she could do nothing without giving herself away. Spencer slowly approached the door and flicked the lock open.

Hermione watched with worried eyes as he stepped outside and closed the door behind him. All the while, the UNSUB stayed hidden in the hallway with a wide grin on his face. All the FBI agent would find was a tipped over garbage can and a cat hissing in a tree. The moment the door was fully closed and he was sure that the FBI agent was off the concrete slab in front of the house. He pounced.

However, Hermione Granger would not someone that would be made into an innocent victim. The tensing of her body from before had been her reaction to the feeling of being watched. Hermione jabbed her elbow out and doubled the UNSUB, then spun on her heel and delivered a firm upper cut to the man's jaw.

"SPENCER!" She screamed, knowing that she wouldn't be able to hold the UNSUB off for long just using her bare hands. As if testament to her belief, the man returned her hit with one of his own. The punch sent Hermione staggering back. The UNSUB grabbed a hold of her hair. The front door burst open just as he pulled her to him. Hermione was once again greeted with the cold texture of a blade pressing into her throat.

"Drop it," he hissed at Spencer. "Drop it and move away from the front door." Spencer looked to Hermione, then back to the UNSUB, before throwing his gun down. Hermione swallowed and closed her eyes.

They had taunted the UNSUB far too much for him to just let Spencer walk from house unharmed. In a flash, thousands of scenarios of him harmed ran through her head like a picture show. As the UNSUB pushed her forward so that he could reach the gun, Hermione opened her eyes. They connected with Spencer's horrified brown ones.

'Now or never, Granger….' She thought as her hand slipped down to her inner thigh. Both men were locked in some type of staring contest as she grabbed ahold of her wand. The moment her hand touched it, it became visible. Spencer's eyes widened at the suddenly apparent object. The UNSUB did not notice.

"Stupefy!" Spencer watched in amazement as bright red light exploded from the tip of the stick and struck the UNSUB across the chest. Hermione was only left with a small slice across her neck as the UNSUB's body jerked backward and into the wall. Hermione winced at the impact. A bewildered Spencer watched as Hermione raised her wand and pointed it in between the eyes of the UNSUB. He stepped forward, unsure of what that object could do. "Oblivate…"

"What did you just-" Spencer started.

"I erased his memory of this," Hermione stated, waving her wand about. Her eyes filled with sadness as Spencer jerked unconsciously.

"What will he…uh…remember?" Spencer choked, suddenly afraid of the small girl standing before him.

"He waited until you had left the room. He got his chance when you spilt some tea on the floor. You left to get a towel from the bathroom. He ceased the opportunity in your absence and grabbed me. He held me at knife point. He thought that I would come quietly if he threatened my life. You came back in from the bathroom. Picked up that lamp," she pointed toward the touch lamp standing by the hallway's arch, "and cracked him across the head with it." Spencer easily took in that information but was still eyeing the stick in her hand and her like she was a serpent ready to strike. His hands were still holding tightly to the gun. Hermione sighed sadly. "I'm not going to hurt you, Spencer…"

Despite his fear, his heart tugged at the sadness that was sudden apparent in her eyes. Despite what had just happened, he still trusted her. With that thought in mind, Spencer lowered his gun; but self-preservation did not allow him to put it back in the hostler. He closed the front door behind him, but stayed there.

Hermione swallowed back tears at the reluctance Spencer now showed her. 'What did you think would happen?' A voice sounded suspiciously like Lavender's nasally tones berated. Hermione looked back toward the UNSUB lying on the floor. He would be out for a few more minutes.

"Why?" Spencer started. The sentence seemed to get stuck in his throat. He cleared it before starting again. "Why did you hide it?"

"I believe the "it" you're talking about is me being a witch," Hermione studied him closely for any signs of disgust or fear, "in the Wizarding World we have laws. If Muggles, non-magic folk, find out what we are we have two options: to erase their memories of the magic or to perform a spell that renders them incapable of speaking, signing, or writing down what they saw."

"Which are you going to do to me?" Spencer demanded suddenly.

"I trust you, Spencer," Hermione admitted quietly, "I'm not going to erase your memory nor am I going to perform that spell. The idea of pointing my wand at you for any reason is slightly repulsive." Spencer could not doubt the sincerity of her words. It read in her stance and the shine of tears in her eyes. Spencer nodded sharply and holstered his gun. He took his phone from his pocket. He dialed Gideon's familiar number. As it rang, he shot Hermione a look and mouthed: "We'll take more on it later." Hermione nodded and attempted to ignore the fear that was building up in her stomach.

"Gideon, we got the UNSUB. He was in Hermione's home when we came in." Spencer paused. "He's unconscious." Spencer motioned with one hand for Hermione to make the scene. Hermione seeing that he was following by the story she gave him quickly made a spill of tea on the hardwood. Spencer watched slightly amazed as she conjured a glass from the kitchen and another full one on the coffee table. "See you in a minute." Spencer clicked his cell phone closed and studied the scene around them.

The silence that filled the room was border lining on unbearable. Spencer watched as Hermione tucked her wand into the leather hostler on her upper thigh and continued to watch as it melted out of his view before looking back up at her. Her amber eyes bore into his.

"I understand if you want nothing more to do with me-"

"Stop," Spencer demanded as he took the room in three strides. "What you are is frightening on some level, yes, but…I still want something to do with you. On some level, I knew there was something more different about you than there ever was about me," Spencer slipped his hand underneath her chin and tilted her face upward, "but that does not mean that I am repulsed by you. You are still Hermione Granger and believe it or not, I still like you." Hermione was momentarily silenced by his speech, so all she could do was nod in answer. "But don't think that we aren't going talk more about it later. I would very much like to learn about your world, about you. Now, that I feel like you'll be more willing to share." Spencer's eyes were twinkling slightly as he spoke. Hermione let out a breathy laugh. Spencer furrowed his eyebrows at her flushed face. "You're not going into shock, are you?"

"I'm afraid I might be," she laughed as Spencer lowered her onto the couch. Spencer shook his head with a fond smile. The smile fell at the small beads of blood he saw on her neck. He took the cloth of his shirt cuff and pressed it to the skin there. "Spence-"

"Shush," he scolded lightly, "let me take care of you, alright?" Hermione blushed brightly.

"Alright…"

"You know I find it bewildering that a man can break into your home, leave drawings on your pillow and other objects as a bizarre kind of courtship, and then attack you in your own home and still you're as cool and calculated as before; yet, my accepting of you makes you go into shock…" Spencer's eyes bore into hers over as he moved his cuff around on her throat. He gently took it away to make sure the bleeding had stopped.

"What can I say, you are quiet the shocking individual," Hermione complimented as he tilted her head slightly with his fingertips. He smiled softly at her.

"I could say the same about you," he returned as sirens sliced through the night air.