A/N: I almost forgot it was three days since my last update. And we're about to get to the good bit. Which, may I warn, contains a bit of a lemon. Not this chapter, next one. Three more days until you get that, so it's something to look forward to.
Thanks again for the reviews and support. Enjoy!
Hermione let Spencer take the lead when they came to Vespasian and Meghan's apartment building. She hung back, fearing they might run if they saw her. The apartment building was old, but well-kept, and the apartments looked small but friendly. Spencer walked up to the last apartment in a well-lit hallway and knocked while Hermione pressed herself against the wall.
"Vespasian?" he called when there was no quick answer. "Meghan? FBI."
There was the sound of the lock being undone, but not the chain. The door opened slightly, and a strong-faced boy who looked like a younger version of Tomas peeked out.
"Who the hell are you?" the man said.
"Dr. Spencer Reid, FBI..."
"Who are you really?" he snapped.
"I really am..."
"He's really FBI," Hermione announced, coming into view. "He's working with me."
Vespasian studied both of them before undoing the chain and standing back for them to come into the apartment. He quickly closed the door after them, and locked the three locks on the door.
"Andrew?" a voice called from the other room. A petite, pretty brunette girl dressed in a silk nightgown came into the room. She took one look at Hermione, gasped, and covered her mouth with her hands.
"You must have done some digging to find us. We haven't been Vespasian and Meghan for a couple years now," Vespasian muttered, ushering them into the kitchen and motioning for them to sit at the small, four-person table.
"I guess not enough digging, or we would have heard you were living under different names," Hermione muttered.
"It did kind of give you away," he replied. "Coffee?"
"I know Spencer wants some," Hermione said, squeezing his knee under the table and causing him to straighten up.
"I'll make it," Meghan said, moving to the cabinet to pull down a can of coffee and a filter for the machine.
"What are you here about?" Vespasian asked after Meghan had handed out cups of coffee in mismatched mugs.
"The recent killings," Hermione said grimly. "We have reason to believe that someone is targeting you, and that they know you are here."
Vespasian and Meghan looked at her in shock. "What would make you think that?" Meghan gasped.
Hermione explained about the names of the bars. "With the killing tonight at Teaser's Pub that means there's only one more letter before they finish spelling out your names. After that, we're afraid that your warning is over. Whoever is doing this might be coming after you."
"I knew it," Meghan said through clenched teeth. "I knew that bitch wasn't going to stop. I knew she'd find us no matter what we did to hide."
"What bitch?" Spencer asked.
"Ilse Atlantes."
"The girl you were supposed to marry?" he asked Vespasian.
"The same," Vespasian nodded. "I couldn't go through with it. I tried to do it to make my father happy, but she's crazy. Spouting stuff about blood purity to whoever would listen. Trying to start up a chapter of the Death Eaters here in America. She was thirteen when Voldemort fell, and she was trying her best to gain support to take up the lost cause here. Said it would be years before they could reorganize over in England, so we should start organizing now and start up our own 'Revolution against the Filth'. She absolutely idolized Bellatrix Lestrange..."
Hermione shuddered at the name, and Spencer grabbed her hand to get her mind away from Malfoy Manor before it triggered one of her fits of pain.
"When she was eleven and twelve she was talking about joining up with Voldemort when we were out of school. Saying that by then he should be more than ready to start branching across the ocean. She had dreams of world-wide Wizard supremacy, and told us about her hopes of Muggle enslavement."
"I've heard that story before," Hermione grumbled.
"She also thought Muggle-borns should be given the death penalty for stealing magic. She made a game out of giving them a hard time at school. But she was always careful not to do it in front of teachers, and only when they were alone. She terrorized them, and they were afraid to turn her in."
"How did she terrorize them?" Spencer asked.
"She threatened my family," Meghan said, hugging herself. "Said that they'd be easy to pick off. Especially my younger siblings. A quick killing curse and it would be all over. Told me if I knew what was best for me I'd drop out of school and go back to living like the Muggle scum I was. And, of course, your basic jinxes and hexes when I was trying to walk to class."
"Are all your family alive and well?" he asked suddenly.
"I talked to them yesterday. They're fine, still living in Pennsylvania."
"Is there somewhere they can go for a little while to hide?"
"They've been wanting to go see some family out in California for a while."
"You should probably get them to do that," Hermione nodded.
Meghan grabbed her phone and walked out of the room.
"Do you really think they'll go after her family?" Vespasian asked in a low voice.
"I think they'd go after her family over yours," Spencer nodded.
"And she's going to come after us?"
"You may want to join your wife's family," he nodded.
"I'll tell her that when she comes back," he grumbled, looking grim.
"Vespasian, do you honestly think that Ilse would kill Muggles to get back at you?" Hermione asked softly.
"She would kill Muggles for the hell of it. Of course she'd kill them to get back at me. If it's her, she's probably having the time of her life," he replied.
"Do you still have your wands?"
"Of course."
"It might be time to bring them back out."
"We disappeared once before. We'll do it again. At least until all this is sorted out. Maybe permanently, since we'll probably be fired for not showing up from our jobs. This isn't exactly something we can explain to our bosses."
"Once all this is over you may be able to re-enter wizarding society, if that interests you at all," she pointed out.
"It's something we've been discussing. Meghan is three months pregnant. There's a good chance that our child is going to have magic. We can't hide from the magical world forever," he mused.
"The nice thing about the magical community is that we're all over the world. If you want to be well away from your family and their bias, you can be," she said kindly.
"Is that why you came to America? To get away from everything that happened over in England?"
"Oh, no. I'm just here on this business," she said, looking taken aback.
"Sorry. I just thought you two were..." he looked down at their clasped hands, and they quickly pulled their hands back to themselves. "I thought it was kind of cool, the thought of Hermione Granger with a Muggle. There hasn't really been a high profile witch and Muggle relationship where the witch hasn't been a dragon-shit crazy killer who offed the Muggle."
"I don't think I'm dragon-shit crazy," Hermione chuckled.
"And I'm sure hoping she's not planning on off-ing the Muggle," Spencer added.
"Meghan always looked up to you," Vespasian continued, looking at Hermione as he would an old friend. "Said you were her inspiration to work through the crap Ilse gave her at school and graduate. But she said she wasn't as brave as you, and when she got the death threat right before we graduated she decided it was time to run for it. She asked if I'd go with her, and I said yes. Finding jobs in the Muggle sector was difficult, but we managed. This is our second apartment, in our first one we slept with our wands in our hands. It was awful, but all I want to do is make sure she's safe. And now I want our child to be born in a better environment, to have a better life than what I'm able to offer right now. That's why it might be time to move back into the magical community. After you catch Ilse, of course. I don't think my family would hurt me, except for Marlisa they seem content to pretend I don't exist, but Ilse scares me to death."
"We'll catch her," Hermione promised. "Do you happen to have a picture of her?"
"I've got an old album with her picture in it," he said, standing quickly. He stepped through a doorway, grabbed a photo album off the rickety-looking shelf just on the other side, and opened it. He flipped a couple pages and held it out to her. A menacing looking girl with sharp features and stick-straight dark brown hair was wrapped around a younger Vespasian. "That's the best I have," he said, sounding apologetic.
"It's much better than nothing," Hermione assured him.
"They're going to leave in the morning," Meghan said, entering the room.
"I'll get some Aurors out there for protection," Hermione offered.
"We're going to leave, too," Vespasian said, standing up.
"No," Meghan murmured. "I don't want to leave."
"We have to," he said, moving to hold her in his arms. "For your protection, for our protection," he murmured, placing his hand on her lower abdomen.
"This is our home. Where are we going to live when our child is born? I don't want to have it on the street."
"We'll settle back down when Ilse is caught."
"We're going to make sure that's soon," Hermione said, standing and pulling Spencer to his feet.
"Good luck," he nodded. "What's going to happen to her when you catch her?"
"If she's convicted, it'll be the Kiss," she muttered.
"Better than she deserves."
"Be safe, and take care of your precious little package," Hermione smiled before she and Spencer shook the couples' hands and left. As they were walking through the hall she made sure the coast was clear, then waved her wand, producing the silvery-white otter Patronus.
"Pioneer Woods, Tuma Lake, east side, thirty minutes," she told the Patronus. It nodded and sped off. She sent another message to Alyssia, and told her to look up any bar names that started with a 'Z' and bring the list to the meeting.
"Call your team," she said as they climbed into their car. "Tell them to meet us there now."
He called Hotch, who said he was fifteen minutes away, and who said he would make sure the rest of the team was there. He turned to tell Hermione the news, but saw she was wrapped up in her own thoughts, her eyes miles away.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked.
"Vespasian and Meghan's baby. How I would be terrified if it was me."
"It's a scary situation," he muttered.
"All this because he refused to go with his family's wishes and the social norm. Twenty-seven Muggles dead because he wouldn't marry someone he didn't love. Sometimes this world just baffles me," she muttered, her fingers flying to finger the necklace he had given her.
"You'll never be able to explain why some people act the way they do. You have to accept that there's going to be some bad apples out there, and it's our job to take them out of the general population and make the world safer for Vespasian and Meghan's baby."
"I guess you're right. Have you ever considered having children?"
"If the right person comes along I wouldn't say no."
"But you wouldn't be the one instigating the conversation?"
"I'm not sure if I'd be the best father figure for a child."
"No one is ever sure if they'll be a good parent."
"Trial and error sort of seems like a bad way to figure it out, don't you think? You can go to classes and read books, but you'll never really understand it until you have a child, and by then it seems a little late to figure out if you're going to be a good parent or not."
"It's not all trial and error if you have enough of a support system the help you along the way."
"That's nice if you have that support system," he whispered to himself.
They made it to the park, where Harry was waiting with a wide smile. She was comforted and empowered to see a good friend waiting for her. But standing next to him was someone totally unexpected- Ron.
"I don't know if I'm ready for this," she muttered as she got out of the car.
"What?" Spencer asked. "You do this kind of thing all the time, don't you?"
"No, not that," she muttered. "Ron."
Spencer's head shot up, studying the long, lanky boy next to Harry. The two exchanged a glance before Spencer turned back to Hermione.
"I mean, I shouldn't be surprised. He's an Auror, too. I just thought..."
"You don't have to talk to him if you don't want," he offered, hoping she'd say no.
"No, I should at least say hullo."
He placed a hand on the small of her back as they walked across the grass towards her best friend and her former boyfriend.
"Harry," she greeted him first with a smile and a hug.
"Still 'professional'?" he whispered.
"Complicated," she replied.
"Good luck with him, then."
"Shh..." she hissed. She turned to Ron and, back a little straighter she muttered, "Hullo, Ronald."
"Hey, 'Mione," Ron replied softly, giving her a half smile.
"Congratulations on your engagement," she managed through clenched teeth.
"Thanks. Er, who's the bloke?"
"This is Dr. Spencer Reid of the FBI. Spencer, this is Ronald Weasley."
"Nice to meet you," Spencer said, though it was clear that he thought it wasn't.
"Same," Ron replied.
"Spencer, your team is getting here," Hermione said, looking at a couple black SUVs that were entering the park and turning off their red and blue lights. "Why don't you go give them a quick debriefing of our interviews?"
"Oh, sure," he said. She gave his hand a quick squeeze before he walked off.
"Are you seeing him, 'Mione?" Ron demanded.
"I'm not making any decisions until after I'm done with this case," she replied.
"He's a Muggle!"
"Is he now? I didn't notice," she shot back.
"Don't you think it's a little quick?"
"That's rich, coming from you. You're already engaged! Got over it pretty damn quickly, didn't you?"
"It's a different set of circumstances. I'm willing to go home to her at the end of the day. That seems to be too much for you."
"Perhaps not everyone gets upset when their partner has an unusual schedule."
"All I can say is good luck to him. Dating you is like dating a ghost, neither one of you are really there. If you couldn't make it work with a wizard how the bloody hell do you think you're going to make it work with a Muggle?"
She turned heel and stomped back towards Spencer. She needed someone who calmed her down, and Harry was too close to the irritating redhead.
"Is everything okay?" Spencer asked as she approached.
"Nothing," she growled. "Let's just do this."
He watched her carefully as she split the teams into several groups. Three groups would go to each of the three bars with Z names. The remaining Aurors were split into three more groups, one group was going to escort Meghan and Vespasian to safety and to watch over them for the duration, another group was going to protect Meghan's family, and the final group was going to step up security at the Apparation points. She also passed out pictures of Ilse Atlantes, naming her as their 'prime suspect'.
"Is this a capture situation, or a kill?" an Auror asked.
"Of course I want you to capture if at all possible, but we have been instructed to take her down at all costs," she announced to a flurry of voices. "Obviously I want to avoid a fight or a death if at all possible. Your order from the Minister is to end it, your order from me is to capture."
The groups broke off. Hermione trusted Harry and Ron to lead Hotch and JJ to one of the bars. Alyssia and Evander took Emily and Rossi to another, and Hermione and Marius took Derek and Spencer to the last bar. Hermione, Harry, and Ron, who were the most high-profile of the bunch, all had to disguise themselves before going in. Hermione changed her eyes to vivid emerald and turned her brown hair black. To someone who was really looking she was Hermione, at a glance from a distance she was different enough to pass.
"Just try to act naturally," she said as they entered Zero Hour, a half bar, half club that seemed to be popular with people in their mid to late twenties.
"I can do that," Derek said, eying some pretty girls sitting just inside the door.
"Morgan..." she warned with a smirk.
"Just making sure, girl. Can't be too careful."
They found seats in a corner overlooking the entrance and most of the dance floor. As to not look suspicious they decided to get a round of drinks, which Hermione and Marius went to go retrieve.
"So, what's going on with you and this girl?" Derek asked Spencer.
"What do you mean?" Spencer asked.
"I see the way you look at her. The way you were holding her hand. If there's not something there, you really want there to be."
"I don't know how she feels."
"She digs you, man. You should ask her out."
"I don't think it's the best time for her."
"You make too many excuses, and she'll be gone before you gather up the courage. You want me to talk to her for you?"
"This isn't high school," he grumbled. "I don't need you to pass a note for me."
"Ask her to dance," he suggested.
"I don't dance."
"You can't try for her?"
"I don't dance."
"Fine," he sounded irritated as Hermione and Marius appeared with the drinks.
"We did a lap. No sign of her, nor any traces of Magic," Hermione announced.
"That's good," Spencer replied. "What do you want us to do?"
"Keep an eye on the door and the floor. Watch for any women focusing on a single man, or any men acting suspiciously."
"How's this for suspicious- want to get down, baby doll?" he asked Hermione with a wink.
"I could go for a dance," she said, allowing Derek to lead her onto the dance floor. They positioned themselves so they could keep an eye around them, and started dancing together, though a good distance apart. Spencer watched, jaw set, for a minute before Derek motioned for him to come join them. Spencer shook his head. So Derek moved a little closer to Hermione. They repeated this twice before Derek would be grinding against Hermione if he moved any closer, and Spencer finally snapped.
"Your turn to watch the door," he told Derek, jerking his head back at the table. Derek patted his back before making his way back to get a drink. After that, Spencer felt the surge of confidence drain from him, and his body suddenly was suddenly rigid and not responding to any commands. Hermione moved closer to him dancing against him, getting bolder as the music shifted from a fast song to a slower, more sexually charged song. He noticed that after a while her eyes stopped scanning the room, they had closed and she was moving against him, waking emotions that he hadn't felt in a while. His nerves were alive with the heat from her body pressed against his. Her fingers lightly traced across his chest, and he could smell her sent with every intake of his breath. The room melted away as her hand trailed lazily upwards, fingers coming to rest on the back of his head, drawing him slowly forward towards her...
A large crash broke them both out of their trance. Hermione cursed and rushed off to find the source, Marius not far behind. Spencer quickly retreated to their table, trying to catch the breath he had been holding.
"Way to go, Reid," Derek smirked, clapping him on the back before returning his gaze to the door.
"You saw that?" he blushed.
"Half the club saw that. You need to ask her out. After that, I doubt she'd say no."
Hermione and Marius returned, announcing that two Muggles had got into a fight. Hermione took a spot next to Spencer, but she didn't ask him to dance again. The small group shifted turns taking laps around the bar looking for Ilse, but the dark witch never showed, and they left at closing time. Hermione checked in with the other groups, but there had been no sign of their quarry. Spencer chose to go back to Hermione's room with her to look over things one more time, and bid Derek goodnight as she used the Portkey to spirit him away.
